The good news is, I'm back. The bad news is, I brought the Mad In-Laws strain of viral bronchitis with me. This means I have no energy and can't really do anything that involves being away from my bed for more than an hour. That's okay though... I have plenty of yarn.
(Interrupting this post to bring you Breaking News: I really can't believe how much I enjoy knitting on these tiny little bamboo DPNs. Oh wait, that's only news to me. Carry on.)
Through the wonder of Google I learned a fast and easy way to swatch "in the round." I spent most of my knitting time on the trip swatching the Trekking, and NeedleNut said it looked ready to go, so I could be starting on socks for the Mad Husband right now... if I hadn't misplaced my tape measure. Again. I'm starting to wonder if I should invest in one of those really nice decorative tape measures because maybe if I spent that much on something I'd make more of an effort not to lose it. On the other hand, anything that would cut into the yarn budget is questionable, and I'm not sure if it would even work anyway. By the way, Trekking is much nicer than I used to think it was when I saw other people working with it. It's nice and soft and the color changes are awesome.
So since I can't start his socks yet, I'm doing another fake-in-the-round swatch with Saucy. This stuff is sooo nice and now I really want to hurry up and make it into socks before I switch to sandals for the summer. I'm really starting to understand why so many people claim sock yarn doesn't count as stash.
By the way, Good Kitty is delighted with our return and is requesting lots of pets and lovin'. No No Bad Kitty is... well, being bad. She stopped just long enough to scarf down the guilt treats, including Good Kitty's share. Good Kitty was uninterested in said treats because her love is freely given, not bought. Whoops, gotta go, No No Bad Kitty is trying to eat the Saucy. It's just called Marinara, you dumb cat!
Showing posts with label swatching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swatching. Show all posts
Friday, March 28, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Swatching, continued
Though I wasn't so sure about the Rowan Damask for the Shapely Tee after my swatching session, I took it in and showed it to StringTheory2.0 anyway. She agreed that it might not work for the pattern, but thought it was worth trying to knit more tightly. (Actually, she looked at the loose part and asked if I'd been drinking at the time.) I've been trying that, but I think I'm about ready to set it aside for a while, especially after finding out from NeedleNut that it's really more sport than DK. But I'm not freaking out about having that project delayed, since I picked up a copy of Knit Simple (which coincidentally has one of the most adorable crocheted hat patterns I've ever seen) and it's got a adorable and very straightforward pattern called the Rolled Edge Tee. I want to knit it in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton -- my knitting pal Risa passed me some of her surplus and I fell in love. Now I just have to wait till Easter so I can buy the yarn.
Giving up yarn for Lent has been... interesting. It's been a good lesson in self-control and a valuable reminder that happiness does not come from material things (though as NeedleNut pointed out, "but happiness does come from yarn!"). It really hasn't been that hard up until the past week or two, but now I'm very ready to be done with it. I just hope I'll be able to hang on to some of that self-control, because over the past five weeks I've seen a lot of yarn that I want.
Giving up yarn for Lent has been... interesting. It's been a good lesson in self-control and a valuable reminder that happiness does not come from material things (though as NeedleNut pointed out, "but happiness does come from yarn!"). It really hasn't been that hard up until the past week or two, but now I'm very ready to be done with it. I just hope I'll be able to hang on to some of that self-control, because over the past five weeks I've seen a lot of yarn that I want.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
So this is why we swatch
I started my swatch for my first "real" project (the Shapely Tank from White Lies Designs, though I may add the sleeves and make it the Shapely Tee) tonight, and man am I glad you all convinced me I needed to swatch. I'd planned to use Rowan Damask, and I'm learning all sorts of stuff about it. Like it doesn't like me that much.
I didn't realize this yarn had such a thick-and-thin texture to it. It doesn't seem so pronounced until you realize how small the yarn is in general, so relatively it does make a difference. My only crochet experience with thick-and-thin was Araucania Magallanes, and it was a disaster. So far I can't say I'm liking the knitting experience much better. It seems to be messing with my tension, which StringTheory2.0 says is very good for a new knitter, and that makes me unhappy. Also, the suggested needles are making a much more open fabric than I expected or am really comfortable with for a pullover. I can get smaller needles, but I don't know that that will fix all the problems.
Also, I'm becoming less enchanted with the colorway (Silicia) as it knits up. It becomes less pink and more magenta, which isn't what I had in mind. I knew I should have gone with one of the blues instead. Maybe it will grow on me. And maybe I'll swap it for something else.
Plus I've discovered for myself just how much tension can vary depending on the amount of tension you have -- the part I knitted right after I got home this evening is much tighter than the part I knitted right before bed.
I plan to use combination knitting on this one. I was just overwhelmed by the response I got to my post on combination knitting, all the kind comments and especially the help, both in person and virtually. I'm embracing combination knitting, and will buy my own copy of Confessions of a Knitting Heretic as soon as it's back in stock. StringTheory2.o got me started on binding off and increases and decreases today, and I was kinda amazed when the increases and decreases were just as "easy" as someone declared to me at Needle Nook yesterday. ST2 is encouraging me to look at the different increases and decreases in my knitting books and try them so I can discover which ones work for me. I'm increasingly thinking that I really can figure out how to make patterns work for me in combination knitting. This is all kind of amazing to me; I'm used to crochet, and crochet doesn't really have so many different ways to do one thing.
It kind of feels to me like crochet is playing with Legos, where individual blocks snap neatly together, and knitting is more like working with live wires, where things are much more intricately connected and easier to screw up. I'm getting a little more comfortable with the wires though.
I didn't realize this yarn had such a thick-and-thin texture to it. It doesn't seem so pronounced until you realize how small the yarn is in general, so relatively it does make a difference. My only crochet experience with thick-and-thin was Araucania Magallanes, and it was a disaster. So far I can't say I'm liking the knitting experience much better. It seems to be messing with my tension, which StringTheory2.0 says is very good for a new knitter, and that makes me unhappy. Also, the suggested needles are making a much more open fabric than I expected or am really comfortable with for a pullover. I can get smaller needles, but I don't know that that will fix all the problems.
Also, I'm becoming less enchanted with the colorway (Silicia) as it knits up. It becomes less pink and more magenta, which isn't what I had in mind. I knew I should have gone with one of the blues instead. Maybe it will grow on me. And maybe I'll swap it for something else.
Plus I've discovered for myself just how much tension can vary depending on the amount of tension you have -- the part I knitted right after I got home this evening is much tighter than the part I knitted right before bed.
I plan to use combination knitting on this one. I was just overwhelmed by the response I got to my post on combination knitting, all the kind comments and especially the help, both in person and virtually. I'm embracing combination knitting, and will buy my own copy of Confessions of a Knitting Heretic as soon as it's back in stock. StringTheory2.o got me started on binding off and increases and decreases today, and I was kinda amazed when the increases and decreases were just as "easy" as someone declared to me at Needle Nook yesterday. ST2 is encouraging me to look at the different increases and decreases in my knitting books and try them so I can discover which ones work for me. I'm increasingly thinking that I really can figure out how to make patterns work for me in combination knitting. This is all kind of amazing to me; I'm used to crochet, and crochet doesn't really have so many different ways to do one thing.
It kind of feels to me like crochet is playing with Legos, where individual blocks snap neatly together, and knitting is more like working with live wires, where things are much more intricately connected and easier to screw up. I'm getting a little more comfortable with the wires though.
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