Twists of Fate

Saturday, 30 September, 2006

Ta da!

Filed under: knitting, knitting-fo — moiraeknittoo @ 11:55 AM

A sweater destined for a friend of mine back on the East Coast! This is the Portland Pullover from IK Fall ‘o6, as previously mentioned here. It was a super fast knit, being of bulkyish Colinette mohair on US 11/13/15s in the Velvet Olive colorway.


Just a sleeve. Pretty sleeve! I used partial skeins in constructing all of the sweater parts – one skein for the sleeves, one skein for the body, and another skein for the yoke. I didn’t actually finish using any of them. There’s plenty left for a scarf, I think.


A shot of the simple neckline. It’s rolling at the moment, as it was bound off fairly loosely with Elizabeth Zimmerman’s sewn cast off. I’d rather have it roll than not fit over the recipients head, you know?


The finished, and as yet unwashed and unblocked sweater. Alas, I wasn’t paying as close attention as I should with regards to dye lots, as you can see here in the vast difference between the body and the yoke. But I think it actually works here. At least, I don’t think it looks *too* bad, does it?

It’s my experience that Colinette tends to bleed fairly heavily in the wash, so who knows. Maybe the color will even out after a bath. *snorts* Or not.

This is a really lovely, yummy, warm sweater, though she’ll have to wear a turtleneck under it, I think. The Colinette mohair, it is The Beautiful but not particularly…soft. The seams were, well, they were an adventure at 2am this morning while simultaneously watching MacGyver. And the sweater will probably look fairly bedraggled after the wash, as mohair tends to be. So while I’ll send the instructions along with it, I think she’ll probably have to pop it in the dryer for a couple of minutes on fluff, then turn the thing inside out and press the seams with a cool iron to really make it fabulous.

So yay! First sweater complete! I’m so stoked! :)

Friday, 29 September, 2006

Depressed

Filed under: brain_dump, knitting — moiraeknittoo @ 11:43 AM

A moment for US politics…. Twistedchick says it better than I ever could. So depressed. Wearing black. Wondering if we’ll even have a Presidential election in a couple of years, or will it be a coronation instead? It never fails to amaze me just how quickly the world can change, and not for the better.

In fiber news, I actually finished the mosweater last night, but will take pics later today when the light is better. It’s really groovy – I was a bit concerned that the yoke was too long or something, but no. It all worked out. Occasionally you can in fact trust the pattern directions! *boggles!*

Today is going to call for major reinforcement. I see a Chantico in my near future.

Thursday, 28 September, 2006

Too many tasks

Filed under: brain_dump, random — moiraeknittoo @ 4:01 PM

I have too many things going at the same time. Two, or is it three? pairs of socks. This project, and the “ramping up” projects that lead to the big thing. Washing fleeces (I moved on to Polwarth. At least I think it’s Polwarth. I need to check my list.), finishing the mohair sweater…it’s enough to make a girl’s head spin.

Now that it’s cooling off, I’m thinking more about my selection of teas and cocoas and budgets. I say cooling off, but it’s like 80 and clear skies and sunny here today. Anyway, I’m thinking of the warm beverages I want to have available as the seasons turn, and have I mentioned Scent by Spirit teas here lately? I have the company listed in the sidebar, and for a good reason.

The teas are the best I’ve ever had. I’ve ordered from adagio.com, and Rachel’s teas blow them out of the water. My next favorite, after Scent by Spirit, are Republic of Tea teas, but SBS has so many more flavors. Plus? She’s my source for my all time favorite winter beverage: Aztec Gold Sipping Cocoa. Best. Stuff. Ever. And the Rum Raisin Rooibos? Mmmmmmm!

I need to bust out the Peach Ice Tea bags I got in my last order. I re-arranged some things in the kitchen, and forgot about them! Today would be a most excellent day to put that to use. Mmmmm.

This is not the most coherent recommendation ever, but I try to support my local small businesswoman, and SBS makes me ever so glad they’re located in my backyard. They have excellent customer service, a superior product, and I am always, but ALWAYS pleased with my order when it arrives.

Try ‘em. You won’t be sorry! :)

Wednesday, 27 September, 2006

So fabulous!

Filed under: knitting, knitting-wip, spinning-fleece — moiraeknittoo @ 12:24 PM

I can’t believe how long it took for my first scoured skein to dry. Days and days! I should get a skein blocker to help that along next time, I think. Regardless, it IS finally dry and I wound up a smidge last night and set to work swatching.

Man this yarn is fabulous. Soft, flowing…a total pleasure to work with. I haven’t really worked with silk all that much, but I love it so far! I did two small swatches last night while watching MacGyver (so much love for The Adorkable One). The one on US 3s felt a bit dense, so I went up a needle size. The US 4s swatch is much more drapey, but still fairly cohesive. That may be the winner. I might do one on 5s, just to see how it looks, but I’m pretty happy with the swatch on 4s.

I was so tired last night that I didn’t measure the sts/in and the row gauge, but I’ll do that today. I’m also trying to figure out how big I want the final object to be. The bigger it is, the more room I have to work with the design elements. Decisions, decisions.

Oh! I also figured out last night how I may end up dyeing the thing to get the effect I’m looking for. It’ll involve a fairly MacGyvered setup, now that I think about it, so who says you can’t learn anything from television? I’m a bit nervous though, because if I do it the way I imagined, there’s like zero room for f-ing it up. I see a lot of test dyeing in my future, which means I finally found a perfect justification for having bought all that KnitPicks Bare yarn. Huzzah!

I really have no idea what I’m doing here. I’m just making it up as I go along. :D

In other news, Nadine has finished her bath. I need to remember to pick up a few more pillowcases from the thrift store, or some other container-like thing for storage. If I had the money, I’d buy these zippered 100% cotton cases I found online somewhere once, but IIRC, their ordering process was non-secured and faintly suspicious.

I’m rambling. Didn’t really get any good sleep last night, and should now head out to run errands and other fun things. Hope y’all are enjoying the day!

Friday, 22 September, 2006

Yay it’s here!

Filed under: dyeing, knitting — moiraeknittoo @ 8:11 PM

I’m a little cranky right now, because though the yarn I ordered specifically for this project came in, well. The pricing I was quoted and the price it ended up to be differed quite a bit. By $1.75/oz actually. Per *ounce*. I ordered 32 ounces. You can see why I might be a wee bit miffed.

However, I sucked it up and paid (I’ve been waiting three weeks! Like I’m going to leave it there!), and have been staring at the skein in front of me for a bit. I’m not quite sure where to start with it.

Here’s what I have:
- nearly 2lbs of unscoured Henry’s Attic Silk & Wool
- Country Classics dyes
- some dyeing supplies, including masks, bottles, and if I can find it, I may have a pot to dye in

So here are my questions. There are many.
- Do I wash a skein of this before I even begin swatching? I do realize in order to get the best dye takeup, I need to scour it all before dyeing.
- But what is the best way to wash it?
- Does the dyepot absolutely need to be stainless steel?
- Will dyeing the yarn change the gauge at all in the finished swatch?
- Should I swatch first, then dye?
- Can I use the swatches to test various dye bath strengths with any accuracy?
- Where’s the best/cheapest place to get a digital scale?
- What needles are best to start with to swatch a yarn that’s 2000ypp for a snugly knit, but still flowing fabric? The project is likely to be stockinette, though if I have enough yarn left over, I’d love to also do a similar project in lace.

I want to be a little conservative on the swatching, because w/out a swatch for gauge, I’m not really sure how much yarn I’m going to need.

Basically, I’m not really sure where to start. It’s all overwhelming! I do know I need to start with a swatch, if only to get the stitches per inch/row so I can start graphing the designs. But do I wash all the hanks (there are six, I think) in the same sort of soap in order to maintain consistency with the dyebaths?

Gah! So many questions. If you have any advice, I’d love to hear it! :D

Thursday, 21 September, 2006

Whoa. Time flies.

Filed under: knitting, pagan, spinning-fleece — moiraeknittoo @ 3:24 PM

Happy Mabon! I wish I felt like preparing a big old feast to celebrate the holiday, but I’m going to have to settle for leftover Pagliacci’s pizza and a coke. We’re halfway through Fall in the way I think of time, and the world reflects those changes. It’s getting cooler, and it’s downright nippy at times. The harvest is proceeding apace, and it’s a bountiful time with a bittersweet twist.

I know I’m not quite ready for the light to dwindle and leave us with months of darkness. Or, here in the PNW, days and days and days of unrelenting, soggy grey skies. It’s been overcast and raining here for quite a few days now, and I feel this sense of panic that’s proving a bit hard to shake. I’m sure it’s a result of still being off-kilter from being ambushed by family, but it’s a very disconcerting feeling.

To combat this, I’ve been working steadily on a few knitting projects. I needed a break from size US 0 & 1 DPNs, so I’ve been working on the Portland Pullover from Fall IK ‘06. I’ve just placed all the stitches for the body and the sleeves on the circ, and will work on the yoke tonight. I don’t think I’m going to finish it tonight, but perhaps by the end of the weekend.

Question on finishing, as this is my very first sweater. Do you wash/block the sweater before or after sewing up the sleeves and weaving in the ends? There really won’t be many loose ends here on this project, but I’ve not actually done this before, and feel a bit dumb about asking. However, I’d also really like to avoid frogging Colinette Mohair, so better dumb than bedraggled. Anyone?

I just put in another batch of fleece to soak. Nadine from Skylines Farm. Again. I just love her fleeces. She’s also listed in the sidebar if y’all want to go look. I think she’s about sold out for the year, and considering how many fleeces she had this year (over 70? I think?), that’s quite a testament to the quality and popularity. Of course, me pushing it like a dealer on a playground probably doesn’t hurt. I really should’ve spent more time washing in the past couple of weeks, but I’m way behind schedule.

And can’t quite bring myself to care. “My Give a Damn’s Busted” by JoDee Messina seems to be my anthem lately. I’m not really a country music fan, but she’s naturally in my range and I enjoy singing along with her. Plus, it blocks out the sounds of my neighbor having truly enthusiastic sex up against the wall between our apartments. Last night was especially…operatic. I have to wonder if the person he’s with is a professional (singer! geez! brains! gutter!), or if she’s just naturally got big…lungs.

Er, yes. There is just no way up from where this is heading.

To address a comment my beloved KnitterPatter left – I have no idea how to address the RSS feed issue with the giant question mark. I do know that if you go to bloglines and type in the URL for the blog, you can sub that way. I just haven’t had the energy to dig into learning .php from the ground level, so it’ll be a while before I can truly customize the format here. If you have any suggestions about that, please do leave a comment.

How y’all doing?

Wednesday, 13 September, 2006

Down.

Filed under: knitting, personal — moiraeknittoo @ 3:50 PM

Can you give yourself caffeine poisoning by drinking two twelve-cup pots of coffee in four hours?

It has not been a good week. Had a big family to-do a couple of days ago, and I am still reeling. No one on earth has the power to wound me more deeply than my family, and that’s saying something. I am adrift and rudderless in a sea of tears and emotion, and if I’d won the MegaMillions jackpot last night, all you would see of me right now is my dust as I cut bait and run. Far, fast, and very much away from here. A weeks worth of undies, some jeans and t-shirts, my bathroom kit and arrangements for someone to pack up the rest of it and stick it in storage, and Bali, Tahiti, Hawaii or Fiji? Here I come.

Alas, I didn’t suddenly trip into an ocean of $100s, so I am left to empty yet another box of kleenex, and try not to snot all over my knitting. I still can’t concentrate very hard on any one thing, so I gaze at the mountain of yarn that apparently marks me as a slob and ponder beginning a new project or seven. Seriously, they’re honestly bothered by my stash to the point of demanding that I get professional help about it. I have never wanted Stephanie to magically appear in front of me and beat them about the head and shoulders (or not, as she seems to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and the only way that might happen is if you take away her coffee three days before her final deadline or something), in defense of knitters everywhere.

Sure, the stash is bigger than some, but way smaller than many. It’s just another symptom of their desire for me to conform to their standards, their ideas of the kind of person I should be. I nearly strangled them both with my WIP, but you know what? Not worth the effort. And, by the by, no more hand knitted gifts from me either. Guess I’ll have to find another teeny person to give that Fall IK ‘06 mohair sweater to. And forget the yarn I was eyeing to make brother mine a sweater for the holidays. I’m of a mind to actually give them a giant lump of coal each.

Maybe I’ll just save the tags from the fleeces and put them in a gift bag instead.

Anyway, very down. Not much fiber happenings, er, happening. May leaf through Big Girl Knits and try not to hear their voices telling me that fat can’t possibly be healthy, but it sure is ugly.

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