Snap Happy

Yipee! Let's kick this entry off right with some FO photos, shall we?

The finished Suede Tank from the front...

from the back...

and from the table.


You might notice a small flag of yarn sticking up out of the back. I didn't notice it until my back was photographed. Just an end that needs a little weaving in. I used Berroco Suede in color #3717 (Wild Bill Hickcock... yee haw!). I used just about every last scrap of three balls, which leaves me with one complete ball. I tried out my first pair of Addi-Turbos knitting this tank (US7), and wasn't that impressed. I think part of the problem was that this was a difficult yarn to knit with, so I will give the Addis a try with some wool before I pass final judgement.

But what of the lamb all-in-one? Still cooking:



One wee sleeve and another on the way. How cute!


Thank you Parikha for your suggestion on getting a good picture of this thing. I tried setting the exposure in a dark spot, and the picture improved, but was still dark. I was moaning about it to my boyfriend who suggested putting a white towel underneath it. Of course that works perfectly well, and I feel a little dim for not thinking of it myself. I plan to continue working on the second sleeve tonight.

But wait! There's more!



Come on! I had brand new, never tested yarn in my possession. How could I possibly resist its siren song? I'm only human, after all.

I went ahead and swatched for Rogue last night, you know, just to see if the yarn works. It does. It was nice to knit with, it felt soft and was easy on the hands (especially after the Suede), but it is a little coarse. Fortunately, Rogue should be big enough for my BFF to wear something underneath. I can't wait to cast on, but I'm forcing myself to finish the lamb first.

This summer has been all about slow knitting. It seemed like last summer I finished a ton of stuff. I blame softball and the Hades-like heat and humidity of this summer for my slow knitting progress. Here's looking forward to fall!

So....

I finished the Suede tank last week. After a nice wet blocking, it fits beautifully. A little on the big side, but nothing I can't handle. As soon as we get a nice, sunny day where I'm not working, I'll take a picture.

I'm about halfway through one sleeve for the all-in-one. For those of you who have sewn a child's snowsuit, you know about the neat contruction of the mitt and sleeve combo (I love sewing those). This all-in-one uses the same construction! For such a small project, this lamb packs a big whallop in technique. I did the half sleeve in about one evening's work, so I could conceivably have both sleeves done this week. The baby will definitely be born before I'm through, but it's okay.

I got yarn today that I'm going to swatch for Rogue. I chose Peruvian Highland Wool from Elann in Oxblood. I was surprised by the yarn's softness when I opened the package. I was also a little surprised by the color. It was a lot darker than I expected, but the more I look at it, the more it grows on me. I plan to cast on for Rogue ASAP, as I would like to send it to my friend for her birthday on September 25. Can it be done? Stay tuned!

As the weather turns cooler and the kids get ready for school (my nephew starts kindergarten this year!), my thoughts turn to long-languishing projects that need just a little work to be finished.
Ribby Cardi: Needs a zipper facing, collar, and zipper
Zippy Cardigan: Needs a zipper
Fingerless Gloves: First glove needs two fingers, then I need to make the mate
Velvet Oblivion Eyemask: need to conclude battle royale with fun fur
Isn't it totally pathetic that these things aren't done? I won't dwell on that, instead I'll look forward to quick finishes!

I finished up the main piece of the lamb all-in-one last night. You might notice something a little off in this photo.

If you look up at the tops of the fronts, you will notice that the shaping is identical on both sides. This, of course, should not be. Fortunately, it's just a couple of rows. That is why I hate when patterns just tell you to mirror the other side. I always have this crises at the end where I get myself so confused that I just jump in. I've been lucky up to now. I didn't even notice until I laid the piece out for the picture. I will begin the sleeves this week, and hope to actually have the whole enchilada wrapped up by next weekend. I also need to put a zipper in the zippy cardigan, and then I can mail both things out at once.

I'm working on the first triangle bit of my tank.



Whenever I'm working something in the round, I rarely, if ever, use stitch holders to hold my non-working stitches. This is convenient for me, because then I don't have holders flailing about and I feel like I have more control over the piece, but it's not so good for picture taking. I'm very excited to see how this comes out. I hope I did my math right and it fits!

I would also like to bring to your attention the severely different lighting in both of these photos. I took these pictures about three minutes apart, in the same room, in the same amount of natural light (no flash), and from the same angle. What the hell is going on? I can't get a good picture of this all-in-one for love or money! I'll keep experimenting, I guess.

A New Knitalong in Town

So, sometimes last week I decided I would like to make the infamous Rogue for my BFF. I bought the pattern (holy cannoli! 19 pages!), and already had yarn in the stash (a deep red wool I bought when I went to visit her last year).

Yesterday, I was going through my Bloglines list and read Sheep in the City, where Stacey was talking about a new knitalong she had joined. For Rogue. I just love serendipity like that. So I joined. Would you like to join?

No knitting yesterday, I went to the demolition derby! I look forward to it every year. The Wednesday derby is a little smaller than the Saturday night one, but it's also a lot less crowded. I had a healthy helping of onion rings, a cherry Sno-Cone and cotton candy (I only ate the blue portion of the bag, a friend and I will share the pink and yellow today at work). I love fair season. For several reasons.
1. Fairs = Fall
2. Exhibition Halls, not "craft fairs"
3. Livestock (at the big state fair, they even have sheep dog trials. I love watching those!)

I should get along and get to work. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to spend your days knitting and sewing and reading and playing Nintendo?

Like A Broken Record But Without Sharp Edges

I can feel my knitting mojo coming back to me, but the last couple of weeks it was worrisomely absent. Work continues on the lamb all-in-one:

The funny thing about this all-in-one is that my friend's doctor told her that her baby will weigh between seven and ten pounds when he's born. Yay for big babies, but boo for too small baby clothes. Fortunately, she plans on having more children, so I will still send this along, but the news took a little bit of wind out of my sails.



I had a swatch I'd done with Berocco Suede in my knitting basket for the longest time, and I finally decided it was time to make something with this yarn. I couldn't find any tank top patterns I wanted to use it for, so I'm making one up. This is my first time making something with no guidance. I've made sweaters in the past that didn't have a pattern, per se, but I followed the guidelines in Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns (highly recommended, by the way). I'm kind of excited to see how it turns out.


I'm about halfway through the waist shaping.



I love how this yarn feels knitted up, and it looks great, but it's hard to knit with. It has zero give, so I feel like every stitch is a struggle. I'm also trying out the much revered Addi-Turbos with this project. I have a feeling I'd be more impressed with them if I were using normal yarn. The struggle is worth the effort though.

Finally, I've decided what I'm going to start after these projects are done (aside from finishing up some projects that have languished all summer). I bought two patterns last weekend, both shawls. One is a cape kind of thing with a feather and fan trim and simple stockinette/reverse stockinette body. It's perfect for my grandmother, who asked me to make her a worsted weight shawl. I stash dove for the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece I'm using for it. The second is a Fiddlesticks pattern that uses lace weight yarn. This will be my first foray into actual lace. Wish me luck!


I'm using Zephyr for the laceweight shawl. It feels so soft and kittenish. The worsted weight shawl is Sonoma by Oat Couture. The lace weight shawl is Creatures of the Reef, by Fiddlesticks.


It's an absolutely gorgeous day outside today, so I'm going to run off and enjoy it. Let's see if the camera batteries will last for a few photos that I can share later.