fun with felidae

I finished my clapotis! i'm wearing it today (unblocked, of course) and i love it. I forgot to take pictures of it because i was too busy torturing my cat. We dressed her up like RapCat and took many embarassing photos. And to add to the fun, Big O got a Wii last week. So now we can look at silly websites and watch YouTube videos on our TV!



It was nice knowing y'all. Its very probable that i will be suffocated in my sleep tonight.

when the yarn speaks, you do she wants

Clapotis has been on my "to knit" list for a long time. (not just in my head. look, its over there in the sidebar!) I've been waiting for the right yarn to come along and tell me that it belongs to that pattern.

I have been dyeing a ton of yarn lately. Mostly sock yarn, but i'm also completely enamored with some amazing Bluefaced Leicester yarn that I got. Been itching to get my needles into it. I didn't plan this color, it just sort of put itself together. When it emerged from the dye crock i was immediately in love with it and new it had to become Clapotis. Its pale pink, chocolate brown, magenta, purple, and a really pale gray/lilac. Makes me think of Pansies.

I have 600 yards, so i'm making a more scarf-y (less wrap-y) sized Clapotis. One of the skeins came out darker with almost no pink in it, but the other two match each other very well. To avoid choppy changes in colors I knit halfway through the first light skein, then started alternating light and dark skeins every two rows. I can still see the shift because i know its there, but its not really glaring. I'm really happy with how its coming out. The DK weight BFL is awesome to knit with and is going to be great as a scarf.

And its such a quick pattern to knit. I started it two days ago, and the rows just keep flying through my fingers. I'm about half done already!

insta-hat for this insta-winter

Crocheted hat for insta-winter
Originally uploaded by Skeintily Clad.

The extremely late onset of sudden winter made me realize that i don't have a good hat! I am constantly losing my winter hats, so they are usually cheap purchased ones or very simple hand knit ones. This is no different. I had a skein of very soft coopworth yarn that i spun a few years ago in my stash. It is natural colored and navajo plied. (squishy! yay!)

My crochet skills are completely abysmal. It even took me a few attempts to actually get the hat right, but oh well. i think my head looks ridiculous in this shape of hat, but Big O says its cute. The hat is thick, warm, and definitely gets the job done. That's all the matters.

In news for Knitting Scientists:
Go listen to the most recent podcast at Its a Purl, Man. This week Guido interviews fellow boston area knitting scientist: Kathy, aka Grumperina.

baaa.

attempt two
Originally uploaded by Skeintily Clad.

Big Orange asked me to make him some mittens this winter. (to review: In the past few years i have knit him an orange hat, two orange scarves, and handspun sweater.) Of course, I can't refuse a direct request! I showed him the adorable skull and squirrel mittens from Hello Yarn that i'd been itching to knit. He asked me to make his with video game characters instead. He designed the first pass at the stitch pattern - Tetris blocks on one side, space invaders on the other.

For the first pass i cast on 48 stitches. I knew it would probably be too small, but i didn't want to knit a flat swatch so i started the mitten pattern anyway. Second attempt i tried 54 stitches. Still too small. Then i had the 'brilliant' idea to actually MEASURE his hand... 11" around at the widest part. duh. at 7 st/inch, that would be 77 stitches around. I figure i should deduct at least 10% to make a snug fit. Would 20% be better? I don't know. This is how projects get put in the "on hold basket of doom".

Ok, i admit it. i am one of those knitting sheep. It has taken me years to fully realize this, but I really don't like to think about my knitting. I rarely finish projects that i can't zombie knit at night in front of the tube. I knit because the repetitive motion calms me. Once something requires dedicated brain waves, i often lose interest. I really admire all the knitters out there who design truly creative projects from scratch. Its time that I finally accept that I am just not one of them. Maybe in a few years, after grad school, i will want to be challenged by my knitting. Just not right now.

C'est la vie!

what i haven't been knitting

what i haven't been knitting
Originally uploaded by Skeintily Clad.

i took a headlong jump into my UFO pile and started ripping. Also a few scarves and bags that i finished but never wore. gone.

On the top of this picture you can see what WAS a nearly complete Hot Lava Cardigan, but i hated how it looked on me. I started it last weekend after meeting the gal who designed it. But i need to rethink that because the style can be less than flattering to us boobularly inclined gals.

Finished: Starsky

Every beginning knitting book i've ever read says that you should NEVER EVER block ribbing. that's just silly. I understand not wanting to lose the elasticity of the ribbing, but obviously the collar of Starsky needed to be blocked. MUCH better.

Not being a fan of belted sweaters, i never planned on making the belt for Starsky. I figured i'd just knit some buttonholes into the collar. Unfortunately, i completely forgot about that plan until i was casting off the #(*&%^ collar! grr. I'm currently wearing it held closed with a safety pin. classy. When i find some buttons that i really like, i plan on knitting some i-cord frog/loops to close it. No rush, since i have no problem wearing sweaters 95% complete. (I wear my Ribby Cardi all the time; still no zipper.)

Summary Specs:
Pattern - Starsky from Knitty.
Yarn - Debbie Bliss Merino Aran. Purchased from the Webs garage sale. 17 balls completely used, no belt.
Started - May 2006
Finished - Jan 2007
Mods - knit plain stockinette back.
Thoughts - Easy pattern to knit, love the finished sweater. I think the whole sweater needs to be washed one more time to soften up the yarn even more. It has gotten softer each time i've worn it.

The sleeves are rather large, but they match the style of the sweater. The pattern claims to be designed with 8" of ease, putting me at the XL size. I love it when designers list the predicted ease in the design. I much prefer it to telling me what size the model is wearing. (how does that help me, if i don't know what her bust size is?!) Ever since the horrid results of my blue/green aran, i'm especially wary of the suggested ease in sweater designs. [that sweater is still in 'time out' on my basement floor. next to the washing machine, because i just can't bring myself to throw it in the hot water to shrink it to a wearable size.] For Starsky, I chose to knit the size L instead and i'm glad i did! Yes, Starsky is designed to be comfy and oversized... but I really don't think the model in the photo is wearing a sweater with 8" of ease, which would be extremely baggy. If nothing else, i've convinced myself that I do not personally like sweaters with more than 5" of ease. I might make another sweater similar to this, but i would use the large body measurements, but make the sleeves in medium.