Jessimuhka Knits

Last month's knitting goals,

1. Knit the stupid thumb for the 2nd Fetching Mitt. It will take 5 minutes. - DONE
2. Finish Unst sock. - DONE
3. Finish Chart 1 of Tina - DONE
4. Update here regularly again - Not done, due to lack of camera
5. Be a more social knitter - DONE, social knitting almost every weekend this month.

This month I want to

1. Finish chart 3 of Tina
2. Finish blue Koigu socks
3. Finish one other pair of socks
4. Work on either the second Amenoi mitten or second Nordic mitten
5. Update twice a week

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I made some good progress on the Tina Shawl this weekend. After spending Sunday afternoon picking up stitches around the sides, I got 13 rounds into the 58 rounds that make up charts 2 and 3.

Lump of crap view. It's not going to be anywhere close to spread out until I get about halfway through the edging.

Detail view 1. This shows the start of the double yarn over diagonals. So far this is a fun knit.

Detail 2. This one shows the little "strawberry" at the space between the diagonals. The strawberry is a traditional Shetland lace motif. Once I get through the 58 rounds, I'll have approximately eleventy billion rows of edging to do (okay, I checked, 1,700. I think eleventy billion is still accurate).

Saturday Jen hosted a frogging party at her house. Cora, Krys, Kristin, and Marisa all were there with either knitting or frogging.

Jen, ripping out a double stranded chenille shrug. I would have just thrown that away.

Krys, working on her here and there cabled scarf with the Lousia Harding wool/silk yarn we both got on another group outing. (I already finished my scarf with that yarn. =P)

Marisa and Kristin ripping out Kristin's Simply Marilyn. Kristin has a whole lot of Cashmerino Super Chunky on her hands now.

And now, for a completely random photo.

This nose was glued to the inside of a stall door in the women's restroom in Peterson Hall at UCSD. Now the use of a camera in a bathroom is generally a no-no, but this was too weird not to photograph. We'll pretend no one could have possibly heard the shutter click. (I did wait until there was water running.)

If you have any interest in more of my adventures with my new camera, here are about 60 pictures I took for a class project in North Park.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I've been MIA lately because I lost both the USB cord and battery charger to my old camera. After spending a couple of days tearing my house apart, I decided it was time for a new camera anyway. I'm still learning how to work all the new features, so these pictures could probably be better, but hopefully as the learning curve picks up the quality of photos here will improve.

While I was camera-less, I finished the Unst socks I started ages ago.

The yarn is Claudia Handpaints in Just Plums. I like this yarn, but I don't love it. The pattern was Nancy Bush's Unst from Knitting on the Road. This is my second pair of socks from that book, and there will probably be more in the future.

After the Unst socks, I started and finished an entire pair of socks in about 10 days.

Monkey Socks, in Mountain Colors Barefoot. I lost the ball band, so I don't know the color name. I think it was something like Alpine maybe?

I loved knitting these socks. The pattern was the perfect mix of interesting and intuitive to make them easy tv knitting while holding my attention. Time for some detail shots.

The leg up close. I still need to figure out taking close ups without getting uneven lighting.

Foot close up. I really like where the little purl triangles meet the stockinette of the foot.

I enjoyed working with this yarn. It's a little heavier than something like Lorna's Laces or Koigu, and made a nice dense sock. I wore them the other day at the house of a friend who has hardwood floors and no heat, and my feet stayed nice and warm. Once I've worked through my sock stash a bit and can buy sock yarn in again I will definitely get some more of this.

And finally, last week I started another pair of socks. These ones are plain 2x1 ribbed in a bright blue Koigu.

Color is 447. I got a 6" cuff and 10" foot out of one ball with only a small amount of yarn left. I'm about 3" into the cuff of the second sock, and will probably take it with me to knitting at Jen's this weekend. She's hosting a frogging party, so I need to look at my in progress list and see if there's anything that needs ripping out. I'm thinking the Fixation stockings might be on the chopping block. I just don't like knitting with Fixation.

The Tina Shawl is continuing on schedule, only 8 rows to go to meet my goal. I plan on lightly blocking the center square before picking up stitches around the edges, probably just a spray blocking so I won't have to cut the yarn off the cone. I'm actually getting excited about that project again, now that it's going to get interesting soon.

That's all for now, but I should be back with more pictures soon.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Time for the extra fun task of listing all my projects in progress. I'm going to put a general status report with each item and if the status hasn't changed by the end of the year, it's getting ripped.

Sweaters

- Rogue, needs one front shoulder, hood, and finishing work.
- Self designed Luxury Tweed sweater, most of a sleeve done.
- Trellis Baby Sweater, needs a 2nd sleeve and most of a collar.

Lace

Tina Shawl, about 2/3 through center square.

Socks

- Norwegian Stockings, heel and foot to go on 2nd sock.
- VK Embroidered Stockings, top of calf shaping on 1st sock.
- Unst Socks, past gusset on 2nd sock.
- Cabled Mitten Socks, 1st sock complete.

Accessories

- Fetching Fingerless Mitts, 1 thumb to go (this is embarrassing).
- Aneomi Mittens, started ribbing for 2nd mitten.
- Nordic Mittens, started thumb gusset for 2nd mitten.

Blankets/Afghans

- Lizard Ridge, 3 squares completed.

A grand total of 12 projects in the works. This is actually fewer than I thought, so that makes me feel a bit better. I'd like to get down to only one project per category except socks, which is allowed two. I ripped a few things while going through my knitting drawer, but mainly things I'd cast on for, knit a dozen or so rows, then cast aside.

Goals for this month are:

1. Knit the stupid thumb for the 2nd Fetching Mitt. It will take 5 minutes.
2. Finish Unst sock.
3. Finish Chart 1 of Tina
4. Update here regularly again
5. Be a more social knitter

Posted by Jessimuhka at 07:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I've been thinking about what kind of knitting goals I want to make for the new year, what kind of knitter I am, and how to get away from things that are supposed to be fun causing me stress. The conclusion is I have too many WIPs and it stresses me out. The solution?

2007 will be the year I make a conclusive call on each of my projects. January 1st (or thereabout) I will post a list of all my WIPs. Any project that doesn't get worked on for the entire year will be ripped out on Dec 31st. Because really, if I haven't worked on it for more than a year, it's not getting finished, and my gauge probably would have changed even if I wanted to pick it back up.

This doesn't mean I have to finish every project that is currently in progress. That would just be setting myself up for failure. And I know that the loophole is to knit a stitch or two on everything the last week of December next year (and I withhold the right to do this on a project or two I can't bear to rip out), but the point really is for me to step back and take a second look at what I've decided to knit. If I'm never going to work on something again, then I should rip it out and reclaim the yarn to make something new and fabulous.

While I've just planned this as something to do for myself, if anyone wants to play along, I'd be interested to hear your take on it.

Now that you've read my ramblings, here's a treat. Now that my finals are over, I've been working on Eunny's Anemoi Mittens. The yarn is J&S Shetland Jumper weight in Acorn and Rust. The Acorn was the rest of the partial ball left from the Endpaper Mitts (that got me to the mitten tip) plus a second ball from the stash. I used about 3/4 of a ball of the Rust for this first one, so I figure I'll probably have half the second ball of Rust in the end. J&S really is the never ending yarn for me.

Back of the Right Hand.

Right Palm

Inside of mitten.

I knit them inside out, like Rebekkah does colorwork on DPNs, and it helped my stranding quite a bit. I have a tendency to over compensate my stranding and leave too long of floats, which can make things look wonky even after blocking. I decided against weaving the floats, as the Shetland wool is sticky enough that after a blocking I'm not worried about catching my fingers in the floats. If I used a smoother yarn, I probably would have trapped any floats longer than 5 stitches.

I've cast on for the second mitten, and it will be coming with me on the train to Fresno tomorrow. I'm visiting my family the 21st through the 26th, so posting will probably resume when I get back. I will have my laptop and Internet there though, so maybe a picture or two will show up.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm on a definite colorwork kick, as this picture will show.

That's the start of two different mittens. The blue and black my second Nordic Mitten from an old issue of IK (I knit the first one in July of 2005). The rust and brown is the start of an Anemoi Mitten. I love Eunny's modified corrugated ribbing. Brilliant! Man, I'd so much rather work on these than study for my finals. They'll have to do as study breaks.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 03:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I finished the Endpaper Mitts this week and unpinned them from blocking this afternoon. Pictures and details below.

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang.
Yarn: J&S Jumper Weight in Lovat and Acorn, purchased from Schoolhouse Press.
Needles: Knitpicks 2.0mm DPNs for the ribbing, Inox Grey 2.75mm DPNs for the body.
Started: Nov. 17, 2006
Completed: Dec. 1, 2006
Modifications: I didn't do the tubular cast on, and I did a different kitchner bind off.
What I'd do differently: I'd go up to 2.25mm needles for the ribbing. The cuff is a smidge tight at the top of my forearm, as it hits right were my arms start to get bigger. It's not a big problem though, they still fit fine.
Blocking: A god send with colorwork. I have some pictures below of the pre-blocking lumps, how I blocked, and a flat post-blocking shot.

Pre-blocking. The color is a bit off, as it was late afternoon light with no flash, but you can see how the ribbing wants to flip up and the stranding is a bit lumpy.

Blocking. I ran wires up the purl faux-seam lines and pulled them apart to pin down. Then I pinned down the ribbing and thumb gusset.

Post-blocking. No flash with better sunlight, so better color accuracy. Kathy sent me a tripod for my birthday (Thanks babe!) so I could get these nice flash free non-blurry photos.

In conclusion, I couldn't be more thrilled with this project. It was super quick to knit, maybe 4 evenings of work all together, and now that the weather seems to have finally turned down here I'll actually be able to use them. You can see all the photos I took of this project here.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 05:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Ok, so I finished this ages ago, but was a slacker about sewing the buttons on.

Pattern is from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Almanac, the February baby sweater.
Yarn is Rowan Summer Tweed, 2.5 skeins.
Buttons from Beverly's Fabric.

Overall this was a pretty quick and easy knit. The pattern is "pithy" so I had a bit of trouble interpreting how long the sleeves should be, but it knit up in a weekend. I didn't love working with the yarn. It's kind of dry feeling in the hands, and stiff, because it's a blend of two fibers with no give. It turned out nice though. I have a skein and a half left that I have no idea what to do with.

If you are a San Diego knitter having a baby, this sweater is probably for you ;)

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last set until there's a pair, I promise.

Getting a little help and warmth with my Con Law assignment. Yeah, I know the color coding of highlighting is pretty dorky. I have a system.

Blocking. I threaded wires up the sides along the purl columns and pinned them equal distance apart. Blocking really made a difference in the lumpiness of the colorwork. It looks much better now.

Out in the sun, no flash.

On in the sun, without flash. This one is probably the most color accurate, in the foreground.

I cast on for the second one last night and got 1/3 through the wrist. This weekend is supposed to be mostly for studying, but I do have a few breaks built in, so there might be a finished pair by Monday.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I didn't get as much done on the Endpaper Mitts this weekend as I thought I would. After my first glass of wine at Wine Steals with everyone on Saturday, I realized I didn't know where I was on the chart and didn't care to figure it out, so I switched to socks. I finally got back to it tonight during Heros and finished the patterning.

I love it! Just a bit of ribbing to go, and then another to make. I'd like to have these done for finals, since my hands always freeze and get sore during the 3 hour exams.

I also had a great weekend for Tacky Xmas, my tree came!

I couldn't get a picture without a flash to turn out, sadly. I'm hoping to get a tripod for my birthday next week, which would improve the quality of pictures here. Oooh, and my parents got me a membership to the Socks that Rock Sock Club for my birthday. Yay!

Posted by Jessimuhka at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts.
The sun had set a bit more than is optimal for this picture, it's not actually that lumpy. I've just finished chart A, and am about to start the thumb shaping.
The yarn is J&S Jumper Weight from Schoolhouse Press in Lovat (blue) and Acorn (brown). I'm totally loving this so far, it's been a while since I did any colorwork.

In other news, I'm waiting for a baby sweater to dry so I can sew on buttons and take a picture.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I finally took a picture of the socks I started right after finishing the Conwy socks.

They're another pattern from Knitting on the Road, Unst. I'm using Claudia's Handpaints in Just Plums. It's a really nice yarn. I'm not sure exactly what to compare it to, as the base yarn doesn't remind me of any other luxury sock yarns, but I'm pleased with it.

I did a bit of shopping this weekend. The Grove was having their 3rd anniversary sale, with all craft books 40% off. I found a copy of Rowan's All Season Cotton Collection and decided with Cotton Ease coming back, $6 was a good deal for the booklet. Then we drove out to Alpine to visit Lori's. I'd never been out there before (West County San Diego snob here) and was planning on just picking up a couple of sets of Inox Grey DPNs. Well, I got the double points, in US 2 and 3, and another brand of the Teflon coated metal in 2.25mm, but I also saw something else that needed to come home with me.

It's Yarn Place "Heaven", a 55/45 merino/tencel blend. I'd never heard of this yarn before, but damn does it feel nice. And at 3,100 yards for $30, it's enough to make the Spider Queen Shawl at a very good price. The brown will be my Spider Queen Shawl, and the blue I picked up for Krys, after calling her to check the required yardage for the SQ. What are knitting friends for if not to field calls that consist of "Are you by the internets?" "Cool, look this up for me." Ah well, she may have been the only person I didn't call in my "how many cups in a pint?" supermarket trip last week. (My sister Ariel for the win on that one. Check out her website, you get to dress up a cupcake!)

And because I can, gratuitous detail shot. I turned the flash off and tried to hold the camera steady to get a good shot of the color. It's shinier in real life, but other than that pretty accurate.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm working on a sweater of my own design right now. I haven't decided what I want to do with the pattern, so here's a teaser picture.

The yarn is Jaeger Luxury Tweed. I've got about 1/4 of a sleeve done so far.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

October Goals:

1. Finish Icarus. I have about 40 rows to go, something like 410 stitches a row right now. DONE
2. Finish at least one pair of socks. Any of the 4 pairs in progress I have going right now, or a completely new pair, as long as I finish some. DONE, I finished 2 pairs in progress and started one new pair, which I need to photograph.
3. Work on Rogue if it gets cool enough. DONE because it did not in fact get cool enough. What, that counts. Shut up.
4. Start the Tina Shawl, after I finish Icarus. DONE
5. Finish another Lizard Ridge square. Not done. Oops.
6. Update at least twice a week. Kind of done. I updated 8 times in October, but not technically twice a week.
7. Make it to Rebecca's on Saturdays. Kind of done. I only made it to one, but had good reasons not to go to two others. The other one I was just slacking.

November Goals

1. Finish Chart 1 of Tina and pick up stitches for Chart 2.
2. Finish at least 1 pair of socks in progress. (Unst, VK Stockings, Cabled Mitts, and Norwegian Stockings)
3. Knit 2 Lizard Ridge Squares.
4. Make some progress on new, self designed sweater.
5. Work on Rogue. It is cold enough now.
6. Update twice a week. (Mondays and Thursdays are probably realistic days for me to do this)
7. Go to Rebecca's on Saturdays.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 09:04 AM | Permalink

While watching Adult Swim last night I felt the need to crochet something. As of this morning, here's the result. (I'm aware it's ugly as sin.)

It's about 6" square right now. I chained for about 4" with left over Socks that Rock yarn and alternated rows of single and double crochet until I ran out of yarn. Then I turned 90 degrees, and started over with scrap Koigu and am currently using left over Fleece Artist. In another couple inches I'll turn 90 degrees again and go in the other direction. Eventually I will have a very ugly lap blanket or something. Yeah, I don't know what's gotten into me.

In the more natural pursuits, I've started a new lace shawl, the Tina Shawl from Fiddlesticks Knitting.

2 of 9.5 repeats. It's fun so far, and I'm loving the yarn, Jaeger Super Fine Merino (from Sarah's Yarns).

Oh, and bonus point, anyone get the Webbs catalog? There are two lace projects photographed wrong side up and it's so weird. (pages 15 and 23) You'd think they'd know better.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Pattern: Icarus from SU 06 Interweave
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Lace, 2 balls. I had about 4 yards left, which was very nerve wracking while binding off.
Needles: US 3 (3.25mm) Addi Turbos.
Time: I started this in May, right when the magazine came out, then took a huge break because I was bored with it. I picked it back up to finish the edging last month. It probably could have been completed in about a month if it stayed my primary project the entire time.
Impressions: This is probably the most boring shawl I've knit, but I *love* the result so I'm glad I pushed through and finished. The YO columns got old real fast, and even the edging was fairly repetitive and easy. I don't plan on knitting such a simple shawl again due to the boredom factor.

All photos of Icarus complete and in progress. You can also click on the photo in this post to get links to larger versions of the photos composing it.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 03:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

I finally started binding off for Icarus last night. Here's how far I got before I had to admit defeat and go to bed.

That's probably 1/6 bound off, and took 30-40 minutes. I'll be catching up on some podcasts binding off tonight. Look for a finished photo shoot Thursday or Friday. Even if I get it pinned out tonight, there won't be enough light for photos after school tomorrow.

Today's real excitement though was getting my annual Halloween Goodie Bag from Tammy. Check it out.

I fully intend on coloring this bag. It will be awesome. Like 100,000,000 hot dogs.

The booty. Candy, stickers, spider ring, and one item that needs a close up.

Yep, you read that right. Light up candy. Seriously, WTF? The package admonishes me not to point the light into my eyes (darn) or put the tongs into water (double darn). They don't want you to have any fun.

I don't know if I mentioned it here or not, but my roommate and I are having a Halloween party this weekend. While hunting around for decorations I found this site of pumpkin templates. I love pumpkin templates, as I'm not a very good drawer, but I can follow a pattern like nobody's business. I think I'll need to pick up a few pumpkins this week to carve for Saturday. Anyone want to volunteer to carve with me? I'm thinking Thursday or Friday afternoon/evening.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Another finished pair of socks!

Pattern: Conwy Socks from Knitting on the Road, Sock Patterns for the Traveling Knitter, by Nancy Bush. Fun pattern, with mock cabling and calf shaping.

Yarn: Socks That Rock in one of the Rare Gems colorways. I love this colorway, it reminds me of grapevines and wine. The yarn is nice and soft and squishy too, one of my favorites.

Needles: 2.75 Brittany Birch DPNs. I love these needles, but wish they were a little pointier for the mock cables.

Modifications: I made the legs about an inch shorter because I was worried about running out of yarn (it wouldn't have been a problem, I have plenty left over). Other than that I pretty much followed the pattern to the letter.

Impressions: The pattern was fun to knit, and while it made the yarn do some crazy pooling, I like the outcome. Pooling/flashing doesn't really bother me for the most part, because it's more important the pattern be interesting for me to get it done. I deem them a success.

Close up photos.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I'm a joiner, what can I say. I realized last night that I was closing in on finishing my 2nd pair of socks for the month, so as I've been having my own private Soctoberfest anyway, might as well play with the group.

My Soctoberfest questions - with pictures!

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

June of 2004. I taught myself from a knitty pattern.

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?

My first pair were knit out of Elann's version of Cascade Fixation. They're very thick and the stitches on the heel flap are twisted. I accidentally ran them through the dryer a few times, so they're kind of crap looking now.

What would you have done differently?

I would have used wool, made the leg longer, and not twisted the stitches (or at least known I was twisting the stitches).

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

I always love working with Lorna's Laces, Schaefer Anne, and Socks that Rock. Koigu is also yummy. I have some Mountain Colors Barefoot and Claudia's Handpaint in my sock drawer to try soon as well.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I don't like how crocheted socks look and think they're too thick. I've knit socks using DPNs, 2 circs and Magic Loop, and in general I prefer DPNs. I'll use ML if I think I'll need to try on the socks multiple times for fit, since that does make it much easier. The only way I really dislike knitting socks is 2 at once on 2 circs. It just feels too slow.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

Heel flaps fit me better. I like either a round or Dutch heel. I like the look of short row heels, and use them occasionally (with the YO method).

How many pairs have you made?

My my best count, 16 pairs. I see 15 pairs in my Flickr sock set, not counting the 2 pairs received in exchanges, and know a pair I knit my mom are missing from it. I currently have 3 pairs of socks in progress (one pair is about a day from completion) and enough sock yarn to make at least a dozen more pairs. Better get cracking.

(yeah, I know one pair is in there twice. I miscounted when setting up the mosaic.)

Oh, and on a bit of blog maintenance. I've decided to close comments for posts over 2 months old (so currently pre-August 1, 2006) because I get a lot of junk comments on old posts. If you ever need to ask something about a post with closed comments, please email me. The address is at the top of the sidebar.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Opal ribbed socks with afterthought heels.

I knit these for my mom. When I started them last spring they were going to be for her birthday, but that didn't happen. I just found out she's having foot surgery the first week of November and will need to be off her feet for 6 weeks. Sound like a time for hand knit socks, at least once whatever bandages come off.

The heel is an afterthought heel.

Waste yarn knit in where heel will go. I like to knit two rows with the waste yarn so I can cut it out instead of picking it out. This picture was taken April 9th, and I hadn't touched them again until yesterday.

Getting the stitches back on the needle, the most annoying part of this heel. I knit the heel over 60% of the socks because my mom's feet are a bit wider than mine.

Stitches distributed and ready to knit. The afterthought heel is basically knit like a toe. Decrease 4 stitches every other row for a while, then every row the last few times around.

I like this heel with self patterning yarn because it doesn't break up the pattern like other types of heels do. I'm also pleased with my ability to make them pretty much match. I hope she likes them.

All pictures of these socks

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Chart 3 of Icarus is complete.

There was a mini-crisis on the 2nd to last row. My phone rang and when I reached for it my hand got caught in the needle cable, pulling it out of about 20 stitches. A couple of them ran 4 or 5 rows, so surgery was required. All's well that ends well, though it may have shorted my life by a couple days.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I joined the Leapin' Lizards KAL and finished another square.

This picture is with no flash, and the colorway is 157, one of the overstocked colors from Webbs. I have a 2nd ball of this color and a ball of 158, and then I'll see if I can get another square out of all the scraps.

With flash. I really like this colorway. This time I broke and spit spliced the yarn when it was time to change ball ends. For my first square I broke the yarn and left ends, but there's no way I want to leave that many ends. I'm not carrying the yarn up the sides because I think it's too far to carry the right amount and will wind up with that side being either too tight or too loose. The spit splicing solved the problem nicely.

I also started a new sock this weekend, in Lorna's Laces Swirl DK Vera.

No flash

Flash. I'm knitting them on 2.5mm DPNs (the Knitpicks ones. They're ok.) 60 stitches around. This is a tighter gauge then I would normally knit DK yarn at, but I liked how Krys's socks came out using this yarn and 2.0mm needles, so I'm giving this a go. So far so good, and my hands haven't fallen off yet. I'm 2" shy of starting the heel, which will be a toe up flap and gusset, something I haven't tried before. Exciting, I know.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I finished my scarf in Louisa Harding Grace color 6. Pictures!

Stats:
Yarn - Louisa Harding Grace 50/50 wool/silk, 3 balls
Needles - 2 size 6 Inox Grey DPNs
Pattern - Mistake Rib, 35 stitches *k2 p2* every row, ending with p1.
Blocking - Washed in wool wash, laid flat under table to dry, spreading ribbing slightly.
Impressions - I loved this yarn! It's a very lofty single and very soft with a nice sheen. I'd love to have a sweater out of this someday. It's fairly reasonably priced for a luxury yarn, $11 for 110 yards of DK weight. I was pleased to get a scarf as long as I am tall out of 3 balls, which I picked up on sale at the Bonita Knitting Store.

I've made some good progress on Icarus this week, while watching Season 2 of House. It's easy enough to knit while watching TV, and I can pretend I'm concentrating on it when things get gross on screen.

Chart 2 complete, which was my goal for the month. I'm going to set it aside and work on my other goals for a bit, but might pick it back up in a few days because of this -

Yarn for the Tina Shawl. It's JaggerSpun SuperFine Merino from Sarah's Yarns. I must say I was extremely pleased with both the prices and service from Sarah's Yarns. I got a 1lb cone for what 8oz cost on most other websites, and it shipped just one hour after I placed my order. I received it 3 days later, along with a color card for a lace weight yarn she'll be offering this fall (Super Lamb). The color is Graphite and I really want to get started working with it, but can't until I finish Icarus. As usual, it takes the call of starting something new to get me to want to finish something old.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My first square for Lizard Ridge. My obsession with this blanket confuses me. I don't really like Kureyon, and I've never had any desire to knit a blanket before, but I saw this pattern and I must make it. This square was fun to knit and took about 4 hours. Now that I have the pattern memorized I'm sure it will go quicker. I have no idea what the colorway is, because Nancy gave me this random ball of Kureyon. Yesterday I ordered a couple balls from the clearance section of Webbs to add to this. I plan on picking up a ball once a month or so and in a year I'll have a blanket.

Here's the other thing I've been working on,

A super simple mistake rib scarf in Lousia Harding Grace (color 6). The yarn is really really nice, a 50/50 merino/silk blend that reminds me of Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb, but in a DK weight. I grabbed 3 balls of this from the Bonita Knitting Store and am just over 1 ball in. I'll probably get about 5' of scarf after blocking. It also comes in a blue-grey shade that matches my eyes almost exactly, and I'm thinking of getting a couple balls to make a matching mistake rib hat. The softness and the sheen of this yarn is just wonderful and it feels great to knit with.

Other than these two projects, I've done a bit of work on a couple baby sweaters. Nothing photograph worthy yet, unfortunately. I also had someone at a yarn store try and talk me out of Dale Baby Ull for a baby sweater because it was "too thin. It'll take forever." It wound up being a long and involved conversation about how yes, I did want to knit a baby sweater on fingering weight yarn, and yes, I did really have a pattern that called for it, and no, it's not actually going to take that long. *sigh*

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

So last August I made some goals.

August Goals

1. Finish the baby sweater. It should really only take an evening. - Nope. I ripped out the dumb way I was doing the sleeves and knit one sleeve.
2. Get through the boring part of Icarus and start on the happy fun lace edging. - No, 7 rows short of completion.
3. Finish the second Conwy sock. - Haven't touched it, got distracted by the VK stocking.
4. Go to Rebecca's on Saturdays so I actually accomplish these goals. - Done
5. Get a picture of my new haircut up. - Done

So yeah, not so good. I did actually get some knitting done this month though, and mostly on projects I already had going on, so that's something. I'm really hoping September will be cool enough to pick my sweater projects back up.

September Goals

1. Finish baby sweater, start and finish other baby sweater.
2. Finish 1st VK stocking, start 2nd.
3. Finish Chart 2 on Icarus.
4. Get some work done on Rogue.
5. Post here at least once a week.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have some pictures of my knitting progress this month and figured I should get them up before I set next month's goals. I made some good progress on the Icarus shawl, only 7 rows to go to meet my goal, so I might make it tonight.

I also finished the sleeve of a baby sweater. It's freakin' adorable. The body was completed a couple months ago, only one more sleeve to go.

And finally, the VK Stocking. I'm almost to my knee, but I'm thinking of making them thigh highs because I have plenty of yarn. Then I'll get a garter belt and wear them with skirts. Or, I'll get bored with them and just knit them to the pattern length so I can embroider them. We'll see.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The hot weather has finally broken, and it may be time to start knitting again. I actually haven't knit more than a couple stitches in about a month. Went to Fresno to see my family, it was too hot to knit. Got back to SD, and it was still too hot to knit. That, and I haven't been making it to the usual Saturday knitting at Rebecca's due to weddings, apartment hunting, and general laziness. I do plan on making it out this weekend unless I'm still apartment hunting, and I'm going to try and make it to Knit Salon on Thursday. Oh, and I cut off all my hair. Anyway, I had goals in June.

June Goals

1. Finish the little something for the little someone. - Nope. I decided to knit the sleeves in a stupid way, and should probably just rip them out and knit them normal if I actually want to finish.
2. Get through the boring part of the Icarus Shawl. - Not quite, about a dozen rows left on this.
3. More Socks! - Finished one sock, started its mate.

August Goals

1. Finish the baby sweater. It should really only take an evening.
2. Get through the boring part of Icarus and start on the happy fun lace edging.
3. Finish the second Conwy sock.
4. Go to Rebecca's on Saturdays so I actually accomplish these goals.
5. Get a picture of my new haircut up.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is my entry for the xtreme challenge at The Amazing Lace KAL. Just about the only thing Icarus and I are extreme at is partying, so we're giving you a window into one of our drinking games.

Set up and ready to get started. We've got our quality vodka, shot glasses, and quarters.

Cheers! So far it's an even match.

Preparing to take my first throw at quarters, using my highly perfected nose rolling method.

And GOAL! Take that Icarus!

Icarus gets ready for her first throw. As she doesn't have a nose, she's using the more controversial two needle approach.

Miss! Close, but no cigar. I'm way ahead now.

So far I have a 3 to 1 advantage over Icarus. I'm starting to feel a little guilty here, but not enough to throw the game. What can I say, I like to win.

Unfortunately, Icarus doesn't know when to stop, so we have some yarn barf. I held her hair back like a good teammate, and suggested we call it a night.

The next morning. Icarus, "Ugh, why is it so bright..." Me, "Shhh, don't talk so loud." We're still recovering.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

I worked on the boring part of this shawl all weekend and made some good progress. I'm just shy of finishing the 3rd of 5 repeats before the happy fun edging. I plan on working on this during the World Cup games I manage to catch too, since it's pretty imposible to screw up.

I had a fun weekend. Friday night I saw Cars, which was great. Krys and I lost it when the rusty cars requested Free Bird. I think I need to see it in theaters again. We saw a digital projection of it and it was so pretty.

Saturday, there was knitting at Rebeccas. Small group this time, just Kristin, Jen, and Cora, but still lots of fun. Sunday was Kris's goodbye knitting event, and while it was fun, it was also sad. I'll really miss knitting with you Kris! At least blogs will let us keep in touch though.

Later this week I should have my X-treme lace knitting entry for Amazing Lace. I'm not a very X-treme person, so this should be interesting.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 08:52 PM | Permalink

Finished the first sock and the ribbing of the second while watching Buffy last night. I'm still enjoying the pattern and yarn, so hopefully there will be a new pair of socks soon. This should be a pretty good weekend for knitting. Tomorrow is Rebecca's (who else is going? I just saw Kristen posted she was.), then Sunday is the Kris goodbye gathering. That is going to be sad. I'll probably take the Icarus Shawl to both of those so I can make some progress on the boring part.

Anyway, off to study for a bit so I can go see Cars tonight. New Pixar movie! Yay!

Posted by Jessimuhka at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Finished the gusset on the Conwy socks last night, after turning the heel twice.

The first time I turned the heel I was off by a stitch, due to a counting error in the first row of heel turning. I'm back on track and good to go now though. I shortened the leg by an inch for two reasons. First, my leg is a bit bigger around above the 7" mark than the pattern specifies. Second, I weighed my remaining yarn and was almost halfway through the yarn for the first sock. I usually do a 6" leg, so these will still be a bit taller than my average socks. I tried it on, and the fit is very nice. The calf shaping results in a nice snug ankle, and the STR is so soft and pretty.

Tonight is poker night, so probably not much knitting (I will take the sock in case I get knocked out of the game early). If I win, maybe more STR will be my prize. BMFA has some great new colorways up (I love just about ever color of theirs I've seen, so saturated and pretty), so maybe I need a new one?

Posted by Jessimuhka at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I started a new pair of socks this weekend. I've been itching to use my Socks that Rock, so I cast on for a pair of toe up socks which were going to have a lace inset. That didn't work out so hot, so I ripped out the lace bit and started just plain socks. About halfway up the foot, I tried it on, and my normal stitch count was feeling a bit big. Also, I was bored with the plain sock. So I ripped out and looked around for patterns calling for slightly less than my standard sock stitch count.

I love Nancy Bush patterns, but most of them seem to be written for narrower feet than mine. With the slightly heavier weight yarn, I can actually knit one of her patterns without modifications. This is the Conwy Sock from Knitting on the Road. I just finished the calf shaping (which caused the pooling to swirl around), and have about 2" of leg until the heel. Hopefully I'll be turning the heel tonight.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

May Goals

1. Finish Koigu socks - DONE, see below
2. Finish throat cabling on Rogue - Half done. It's freaking hot lately and Rogue is huge.
3. Finish Mom socks - heh. Nope. Probably not going to happen for a while.
4. Start Creatures of the Reef shawl - DONE. Finished it too.
5. Make some progress on either Nordic Stockings or SFCKAL - and again with the nope.
6. Finish sewing zipper in York - also no.
7. Take it easy on starting new projects/buying yarn - I'm giving this one a 'meh'. I did ok I think.

June Goals

1. Finish the little something for the little someone.
2. Get through the boring part of the Icarus Shawl.
3. More Socks!

I think most of my wool sweaters will be set aside for a few weeks. It's just too hot right now for wool in the lap.

Koigu Socks

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, label missing.
Needles: 2.75mm Birch DPNs
Pattern: Embossed Leaves Socks
Modifications: Lots.
- Regular long tail cast on.
- Only twisted every other row in the twisted ribbing.
- Twisted the vein stitches on the leaves to make them stand out more.
- Regular slip stitch heel flap, French heel, didn't cut and reattach yarn after turning heel.
- Made the socks mirror images of each other, which involved reversing the toe detail for the 2nd sock.
- Only did the toe detail on the top of the foot.
Impressions: This is a pattern that I liked in theory but felt suffered from problems in execution. I'm very happy with how my heavily modified version came out. They fit great and are super comfy. It's my second time knitting this pattern, and I don't think I'd knit a third pair, but I was entertained through two.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After finishing a shawl in a week and a half, I had to cast on multiple new things. First up, the Icarus Shawl from the new IK

This is about two days worth of progress. I'm planning on working at this mainly at Rebecca's on Saturdays, because it's really easy, so I can talk and not screw it up. The yarn is Misti Alpaca lace weight, out of my stash. I picked it up at a 20% off sale somewhere, I believe.

Next up is the Sunrise Circle Jacket [.pdf].

I started this last night in Araucania Nature Wool, that I picked up at $3 a ball from Carodan Farm. I read in a couple of blogs that the yardage for the jacket was coming up short, after I'd already ordered my yarn, so I'm doing the hem facings in blue. It should help stretch my yardage, and I think it will look pretty neat too. I'm about 1/3 through the first sleeve right now, and looking forward to starting knitting the semi-circular front off the top of the sleeve. I should at least have a completed sleeve to show for myself by Friday.

Oh, I'm not going to be able to make it to Rebecca's this week. Dyeing party at Wendy's! Woo! I'll try and remember to take pictures of us all playing with dye.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 12:47 PM | Permalink

Several detail shots:

Seafoam and Fish Motifs

Fish and Starfish Motifs

Seahorse and Crab Motif

Specifications:

Pattern - Creatures of the Reef
Yarn - Scacel Merino, received in a swap. Slightly lighter than lace weight, 1200 yds/100g
Needles - 3.00mm Addi Bamboo for main pattern, 2.5mm Addi Turbo for Seafoam motif, 4.0mm Addi Turbo for cast on.
Started - May 7, 2006
Completed - May 18, 2006
Modifications - Smaller needles, because of the finer yarn. Backwards loop cast on instead of knitted cast on, because the knitted cast on takes way too long for 437 stitches.
Impressions - I liked knitting this shawl (as evidenced by how fast it went). The shortening rows were nice, and the changing motifs kept me interested. Casting on 436 stitches was not fun.

Links:
All of my entries on this project.
All photos of this project on Flickr

Posted by Jessimuhka at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

My new blocking wires didn't show up until this morning, so the full and complete finished shawl post will have to wait until Monday. I ordered the blocking wires from Knitpicks, and feel like they were worth the price for saving me time and back aches. It only took 20 minutes to block this shawl, most of that time spent threading the wires into the shawl. Blocking a shawl with all pins, even with my string method, took at least twice as long. I don't even want to think about how long it took me to block Peacock Feathers.

I'll be wearing this to Rebecca's Saturday afternoon, if anyone is interested in seeing it in person. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, but I'll save all that blather for the Monday post.

After finishing this yesterday afternoon, I picked my Koigu sock back up, and then decided to try my first intarsia project. I have the Kaffe Fasset Tumbling Blocks Cushion kit, so I'm giving that a go. I don't know if intarsia is my thing, but I'll reserve judgment until I'm more than 3 rows in.

I also need to decide what to do for the first Amazing Lace challenge. So far, I'm thinking of wearing all my lace projects at once and holding the yarn and pattern for the next one. Feel free to chime in with better ideas. (The gist of the challenge, if you don't want to go read it, is introducing yourself and your project.) I'm still leaning towards the Icarus shawl as my next project, mainly because it's stash busting. I would have done the Rona shawl from Knitpicks, but not charted, ewww. I did call Knitpicks to complain about the pattern not being charted, but the woman I spoke to didn't seem to understand what the problems was. I also think there's an error in the 5th line of the pattern, but I can't tell for sure without knitting it to see or charting it. Not going to happen.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

92.5%

I think I'll finish tonight! Hopefully I'll have fully blocked pictures by Friday's post. Here's a close up of the newest motif.

Fishies!

I got half my Knitpicks order yesterday, this pattern. Much to my dismay, it is not charted. Line by line instructions for a circular shawl? Ick. There's also no indication of when the motifs change, or how many stitches there are supposed to be in each round. Now I have to decide if I like the pattern enough to chart it out. I'm leaning towards no. If you're actually interested in the Rona Shawl, it calls for 3 hanks of the Alpaca Cloud, and has a diameter of 52", both details missing from the pattern description.

*I watched the first half of Freaks and Geeks while knitting last night. How did I miss out on this show for so long? Even though it's set in 1980, and I was in high school from 96-00, it still rings true. I relate a lot to the 'nerdy kid trying to be cool' thing Lindsay has going on, and while watching it now I like the Ken character better, Nick is the kind of guy I would have dated in high school. Let's hope for a speedy Netflix turnaround, so I can watch more soon.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Creatures of the Reef is moving along nicely. It's amazing how much progress I can make on a project when it's the only thing I work on for a week. Here's the whole thing.

And the detail of the Starfish Motif.

I'm still predicting a finish by next weekend, but now I'm hoping to have it blocked to be able to wear to Rebecca's on Saturday. Hopefully all the newly free SDSU people will be able to make it out.

In blog news, I'm planning on updating Mon/Wed/Fri this summer, unless I have something really big to report. With only two classes this semester I actually have quite a bit of knitting time, so I'm hoping to get a good number of projects done.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I've done a lot more work on Creatures of the Reef. According to the shawl calculator, I'm 49.2% complete. (I use the calculator available for download from Rose-Kim Knits.)

It's suffering from extreme pre-blocking pile of crap syndrome.

Here's a close up of the Crab and Seahorse motif, stretched out a bit.

I'm hoping to finish this shawl by next weekend, and then maybe start the Icarus Shawl from the new IK (assuming my LYS has it in by then). I'm all about lace right now, and I have enough lace weight for a couple more shawls, so I'm working through my stash. Go me!

Other shawls I really want to make:
The Spider Queen Shawl - I'm obsessed with this shawl. I'm thinking of knitting it in a traditional shetland cobweb weight yarn, maybe J&S, in a cream color.
Tina Shawl - Krys is knitting this soon, so maybe I'll borrow the pattern once she's done. That should be sometime this decade probably.
Sheep Shawl - Sheep!
Pacific Northwest Shawl

Posted by Jessimuhka at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I cast on for the Creatures of the Reef shawl on Sunday, and according to the shawl percentage calculator I have, I'm 28% complete. I don't know if I believe that.

It looks so small. The rows are finally starting to feel shorter. I'm halfway through the Seahorse and Crab motif.

This shawl takes a little more attention than Peacock Feathers, at least for me, because I can't see the repeats. This is the first pictorial lace I've tried, so far so good.

I also got something fun in the mail yesterday. Last fall I signed up for a sock exchange in the livejournal advanced knitting community. Yesterday, my socks arrived.

I think the pattern is Waving Lace from the Spring 04 IK, and I'm guessing solid Opal, by the feel of the socks. They fit great and are very pretty. That makes two new pairs of socks I didn't have to knit myself this month.

Speaking of socks, as some of you may or may not know, I run a Flickr sock group. This week I got a nasty email from someone after deleting some off topic spam she put in the group. It was some sort of sock chain letter, and she told me I was hostile and ruining the group's potential by deleting things. Riiiight. I told her not to let the door hit her in the ass on the way out.

I'll leave you with another Weavette square. Have a Weavette Loom? Join the Flickr group here.

It makes a great coaster.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My sock pal was Rachel. She knit me these great Pomatomus socks.

Thanks Rachel! I hope my sock pal likes the socks I knit her as much as I like these. The fit is great! The yarn is solid Koigu, which has great tone on tone varigation, which makes the pattern really stand out. My string of great luck with secret pals and swaps continues!

On my own knitting front, I've finally picked Rogue back up, and finished half the throat/neck/shoulder.

The reason for picking Rogue back up? I really want to knit a pattern from Big Girl Knits, Curvalicious Cardigan. You can see a picture of it here, third picture down. I'm not going to start any new sweaters until I finish Rogue, so it's time to get moving on it. This sweater uses Calmer, so I'm going to scope out Calmer colors in person this weekend, and maybe buy a ball to swatch with.

Speaking of this weekend, Krys and I are going on a mini yarn crawl, checking out Knitting in La Jolla and Common Threads tomorrow. Yay, pretty!

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Detail shots:

I love it!

Stats:
Pattern - Peacock Feathers Shawl by Fiddlesticks Knitting
Yarn - Zephyr wool/silk
Needles - Addi Turbo 4s
Started at the end of August 2005. Geez, it took me a long time to finish this. The ever increasing rows were disheartening, but I love how it turned out. It's pretty massive, but I'm tall and large, so it works for me. I didn't make any modifications to this project.
All my entries on this topic.

All my photos of this project.

I also got my Weavette Loom and made my first square last night.

I like how the Lorna's Laces sock yarn I used came out in a plaid pattern. I made a couple mistakes with it, but the next one will be better. It was really fun to make.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Last month I had a pretty stripped down goal, This month I'm going to do another "start nothing new" month, so that's the main goal. Other than that, I just need to finish my Sockapaloooza socks on time.

I succeeded in finishing my Sockapaloooza socks on time (yay), and the only new thing I started was the Koigu sock from last post. I'm going to call this month a success. I finished three WIPs this month, the Sockapaloooza socks, the Mountain Stream Scarf, and Peacock Feathers (which has been blocked, just needs to be unpinned and photographed). I didn't do much knitting at the beginning of the month due to school, but I think I made up for it during my week and a half off.

May Goals

1. Finish Koigu socks
2. Finish throat cabling on Rogue
3. Finish Mom socks
4. Start Creatures of the Reef shawl
5. Make some progress on either Nordic Stockings or SFCKAL
6. Finish sewing zipper in York
7. Take it easy on starting new projects/buying yarn

Posted by Jessimuhka at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Koigu sock this morning:

Koigu sock tonight:

I love it. The fit is perfect, and it's so soft. It was a little touch and go with yarn at the end, but I made it. Tomorrow I should cast on for the second one after picking up my school books (classes start again on Tuesday). I know the picture is crap, but that's what you get at 1am. I'll take a better one when both socks are finished and blocked.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 01:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Embossed Leaves socks in Koigu. The multicolor doesn't show the pattern as well, but I don't mind. I'm enjoying knitting them, and my feet have been missing their weekly Koigu fix since the washer ate my Falling Leaves socks. I have 16 rows to go until the heel flap, speedy socks!

The drawing is a top I'm working on for my sister. I was going to link you to the inspiration piece, but it was on a used clothing website and has been sold. Glad I sketched it instead of just bookmarking it. So far we've decided on Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in solid pink. The top has ribbing on the bottom half, with a nipped waist, and lace up top. I'm excited to work on it, once I get the yarn in. It's different from what I usually work on. If it turns out well, I may write up a pattern to share.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 04:44 PM | Permalink

Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Winter 05 IK
Yarn: Schaefer Yarns Anne
Needles: US 2 Brittany Birch DPNs

Modifications: I made several modifications to this pattern. For starter