The Icy Hand of Time is, Well, Icy.

Gah. Another week without a post. At least this time there is knitting, and with grainy, off-color pictures! Yay!

These are pics from a baby sweater. It's called the Peach Blossom Baby sweater, and it's a Chinese-style cardigan. I love it, but my gauge is off (again) and it's going to be too big for a newborn (again). But it's so cute!

This is a scarf that I've decided to abandon. It's pretty, but that took two hours. Yes, two hours for four inches. I've already made myself a different scarf and started another, and I'll probably use this yarn for another baby sweater like the one above.

I don't have any decent pics of the other scarves I've been making because my camera won't cooperate with me. They're both in this funfur stuff that's really soft, and the colors are like peacock colors. I've tried repeatedly to make it into a shawl, but the stuff is too hard to knit with when you have to count stitches; I always ended up with too many or too few. Oh well, I'll make all of it I have into scarves and use it up hopefully.

I made a regular garter stitch scarf first, and now I'm making a three-sided scarf. It's like a + but minus one side, so there are just three instead of four, if that didn't confuse you too terribly. I really like the idea, and I'm gonna make more of these. Pics of scarves next time, plus updates of the sweater and anything else I've forgotten.

Better Late than Never

Yeah, it's been a week since I wrote last. I have hardly had time to sleep this week. I had an essay due yesterday, and a minicrisis with my final exam in one class, which was this week. I know I've not really talked about my personal life in this blog, but man, this was a doozie.

So, as you might know, I'm a theatre major, so I have to worry about stranger things than other classes. In my directing class, for our final exam we have to direct a scene. Well, mine was due today. I didn't have time to plan rehearsals until Tuesday, when I found out that my actors had to drop out because they were too busy too. I had a mini meltdown, but then I got it together, found two new actors (with help), and they did awesome, even though we only had three rehearsals. So now I have a half-day off, and boy was it great. I took a two and a half hour nap.

This week was so busy, I have not knit a stitch. I may knit something this weekend, but man, I'm just grateful that I finished all my homework this week. Next should be much less hectic, and hopefully I'll be able to post more often. I can't imagine that I'll have to post less often.

I'm going to go watch tv, eat dinner, and be lazy tonight. I've earned it.

Something Knitty This Way Comes

My friends are all having babies at the same time. There's a girl at school having one in about Feb-March, a friend at home having one in November, and another at home having one in about May or June. Good thing I like knitting baby stuff, eh?

Mom bought me some new baby yarn-aka Caron Simply Soft- so I can knit more baby sweaters. Simply Soft is good for babies because a. it's soft (duh), b. I don't think it's prone to pilling, c. it's washable in the washing machine and dryer, d. it's cheap (more knitting for the buck.) So I make all baby clothes in this.

The girl due in May or June is a goth, as is her husband, so I'm gonna have fun modifying popular baby patterns into goth patterns. I'm envisioning a black summer dress with pockets, with skulls on the pockets (and red bows on the skulls if it's a girl.) And a baby skull cap with a skull on it. Maybe some socks with cherries, or eyes, or something. I can be creative if I have a basic pattern to work with to start out.

I really prefer goth colors, so I love black and white, black and red, and black and purple, so I usually change the colors of the knitted objects to these anyway, and I love irony, so I'll make a really preppy pattern in punk or goth colors (see the cabled baby vest, in the book it was powder blue and white, and I changed it to neon blue and black.)

So what I started out saying was, I haven't done any knitting since the last post, but I'm going to have to start knitting more to keep up with deadlines, because more than anything else (except maybe weddings), baby knitting has unbreakable deadlines.

Time is on my mind, but not by my side

I have been knitting. In my little amount of spare time. Here are a few pics.

This hat is Le Slouch, from Knit and Tonic. I like it. A lot. I think I know what I'll be making people for Christmas. But in stockinette, because seed stitch is annoying. And also, who wants the same hat as everyone else? Mine should be different.

I'm making a Kaylee sock out of my Serenity sock yarn. Anyone who knows me will know why I like them. I've finished one, but the cast off is too inelastic to go over my heel! I have to force it over, and once it's on it looks great, but getting it on is crazy hard. Oh well, I don't like making socks toe-up, I know this for sure now, so I'm only going to do it when I have to. and this pattern doesn't work upside down, just because of the nature of it. Sigh. I have to make another one. I sure like the way it looks, though. Such a pretty pattern.

I'm going to work on my Selbuvotter glove tonight and hopefully finish it. Three months is time enough to make one glove, even a fair isle one, don'cha think?

Coming at it Sideways

So, I was bored yesterday. I decided to try something new. I found a pattern for socks that are knit flat, sideways, and kitchenered together, with the toe and heel added after. I finished the main part, but don't have pics yet. I'm going to try the heel tonight, if I have time after my homework. I have to write a paper for my theatre history class, and boy am I dreading this. Oh well, a few more months and then a break. Yay!

Inside-Out Socks

Inside-Out Socks

1 skein (or less) Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky (or equivalent)
Size 8 dpns (or 9, because I knit very loosely)

Cast on 38 stitches.
Rib for cuff, making length as desired (I did five rows.) Separate for heel, with 16 stitches on the first needle and 16 on a second, or 8 and 8 on the second and third.

Heel: Slip 1st stitch, knit 16 stitches. Turn. Slip 1st stitch, purl 16 stitches. Continue this pattern for another 14 rows, 16 total. Knit 9 stitches, K2tog, k1, turn. Slip 1 st, purl 3 sts, P2tog, p1, turn. Slip 1, k4, K2tog, turn. Slip, p5, p2tog, turn. Continue this pattern until you've knit all stitches, ending in a purl row. 10 sts.

Gusset: Knit at stitches on heel, pick up 9 stitches, through the slipped holes (needle 1). K all top sts (needle 2). Pick up 9 sts down other side of heel (needle 3). Split heel stitches onto each gusset needle, 5 on each.
Row 1:Knit to last three sts of needle 1, K2tog, k1. Knit all sts on needle 2. K1, SSK, knit rest of sts on needle 3.
Row 2: K all sts.
Repeat these 2 rows until 38 sts remain. Knit to desired length minus about an inch for the toes.

Toe: Row 1: K to last three sts on needle 1, K2tog, k1. K1, SSK, knit to last three sts on needle 2, K2tog, K1. K1, SSK, knit rest of sts on needle 3.
Row 2: Repeat row 1.
Row 3: K all sts.
Repeat rows 1-3 until 4 sts remain. Graft toe. No needle is needed, because the yarn is so thick; you can just push the yarn through the holes with your fingers. Weave in ends on outside, then turn inside-out and enjoy.

Perhaps a change of pace is in order...

These are the socks I made a few days ago. I like them enormously.

These will be petticoat socks eventually. Why yes, the yarn does look familiar. It is, in fact, the selfsame yarn that was previously destined to be a pair of Pomatomus socks, but I wasn't liking them in this yarn, so I frogged them and cast on for this. It's a lot more attractive than it looks here, but I can't take a decent pic until it gets a little longer.
Why, goodness gracious, what can this be?

I Lied.

There are no pictures today, because I'm too lazy to plug in my camera. I finished the chunky quick socks, and boy were they quick. I finished the first one last night while I watched a movie, and the second one during class and a little after. I'll post the pattern tomorrow with a picture. I only needed about 2/3 of the skein, so I don't know what to do with the leftover. Maybe a hat for a baby? How much chunky yarn does that take? To Ravelry!!

ZOOOOOOM!!!

Movin' right along.

I haven't been knitting much lately, mainly because I've been so busy. I've got about 2 inches into a sock, and really that's about it. I'm ready for a get-it-done-quick knit so I can satisfy my thirst for product rather than process.

I find that I go through stages of process vs. product. If I go a long time without anything getting finished, I get in a mindset where all I want is something done so I can show it to people. I want something that I can put on and say, "Look what I can do!"

I have some really really chunky yarn, and I'm going to make some socks with it. I want to make fast, quick socks that are warm and thick and finished.

I just need to find the time to do it.

Pictures next time, I promise!