stash, knit, repeat

Blogs imitate life?

2006-07-22T21:55:00.000-04:00

Given the big move coming up in our lives (the husband is *finally* going to get us a new place to live tomorrow, we hope), I thought it would be a good time to move the blog yet again.

Well, that's not entirely true. In fact, I feel a little silly moving away from blogger so soon after starting this one. But we finally went ahead and got real webhosting for ourselves, and I've been playing around with WordPress and really enjoying it. My FO galleries have yet to be updated, but! Please follow me over to stash, knit, repeat (the new and improved version) and continue down this fiber-strewn road.

FO, FO, Fib!

2006-07-17T22:17:00.000-04:00

Things chez stash are, shall we say, a little crazy. A big move, me leaving my job (for the indefinite future, yay more time with the baby), a long knitting-filled road trip to get... well, we don't actually have a place in Monterey yet but let's just gloss over that shall we k thanks what was I saying a long knitting-filled road trip to get to the Monterey penninsula! I'm sure that once we're on the road it will be fun and relaxing and a great break for the family, but right now things are absolutely bananas around here.

There was some finishing, though.

The hoodie would like a hug.

Please ignore the weird wrinkles, it sat in the knitting bag for a few days before the photo shoot.

It's all folded up and ready to go to Miz N., who will need it approximately NEVER because your friendly neighborhood New England weather has secretly been replaced with the Deep South Heat of Hell. :) Nah, I'm only kidding. I'm sure it will be cold here again, and she'll be toasty and stylish and geeky, all at the same time.

Pattern: Striped hooded top from original Baby Cashmerino book
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, 4 balls purple, 2 balls fuschia
Needles: US3
Buttons: Oh my gracious cute
Baby: Fiesty and geeky, like her parents
Modifications: Just the stripes, ma'am.

The leaf lace shawl is finished and beautiful and perfect and I haven't spent some quality time with the camera, sadly. I've also started a lap blanket out of Berroco Ultra Alpaca (yum!) for my Grammie, so I owe you pictures of that too.

Wish me luck!

Drowning in silk, and indiscretions

2006-07-10T21:10:00.000-04:00

In coincidental timing, I've finished both the hoodie and the shawl tonight. FO posts will wait until there is proper picture-taking light, hopefully tomorrow. Am I already swatching for the next great thing? Of course I am! What is it? An Elsebeth Lavold cardigan for my maternal grandmother's birthday, in Silky Wool. I'm totally in love with the Silky Wool. Divine. Inspirational. Gorgeous drapey fabric.

Where did I get it?

Weeeeelll.... I might have done a little shopping when we went to WEBS. It's not all mine, of course. The Greatest Enabler Of Them All came with me and bought plenty of what you see above. What's that? You don't believe me? Well... you're right.

See that tiny little pile on the right? That's hers. This... uh... this is all mine. *cough*

In my defense, most of it (all except the red Silky Wool and the sock yarn) is for birthday, baby, and Christmas gifts. And further in my defense, this haul just about doubles my stash. (Which TGEOTA pronounced "pitiable", I'm sure just to get me to buy more yarn! ;-) I admit to getting a slightly-crazed giddy feeling when I left the store with bags heavy with wool and silk. Speaking of Christmas gifts, does anyone have a recommendation for a sub for Jaeger Cashmere 4-ply, which I can't seem to find? It's for a very special scarf.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to petting my acquisitions... I'll leave you with some sneak previews.

Knitting on the road

2006-07-03T22:14:00.000-04:00

There are changes afoot Chez Stash, and they necessitated a spur-of-the-moment road trip to Burlington, VT this weekend. And what's a road trip without a little knitting? The hoodie is finished except for some buttons, but I'm saving the pictures for an FO post. Which leaves the lace:

It turned out to be really good car knitting. I finished the ten recommended pattern repeats (for a DK weight yarn and the small size), but I've decided to add one more repeat because I have the yarn and I'm enjoying working with it so much. This Pure Silk gets my vote for Yarn of the Year, all the way.

From Burlington, we drove to a birthday party in CT by way of the Green Mountain Spinnery:

I got some of this truly amazing Mountain Mohair in three colors for a sweater for young master J. I was shown around the spinning-related machines (it's VOODOO I tell you, TOTAL MAGIC!), and fondled much yarn, and generally had a grand time while the hubby and son were playing outdoors. It was a really nice day.

We also stopped at Northampton for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. After lunch, we went to Webs. All of the times I've been to the Pioneer Valley, and I even lived there for a summer, and I'd never been to Webs. It took my breath away. I was literally too stunned by choice to buy any yarn. (The baby was getting really cranky, and after the initial interest wore off husband was loudly bored.) I got out of there with a few hard to find patterns, a couple of books, and a firm resolve to visit again. Soon.

In fact, since the husband is in Italy this week, perhaps I'll visit Friday! Anyone interested in a road trip? ;-)

Whoosh!

2006-06-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

...and there goes a week. I had a lovely birthday, filled with much knitting-related goodness. In addition to that gorgeous silk, I got some great books: Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan, Inspired Cable Knits by Fiona Ellis, the new Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK book, and I finally got with the program and received Yarn Harlot: The secret life of a knitter. In reverse order, OH MY GOODNESS Stephanie is so funny. I have had to read several passages aloud to the husband already, and I'm not even 70 pages in. Love the new Debbie Bliss book, too. There are some gorgeous cardigans, including one that I definitely need to make myself soon:

The detail on the back there makes me swoon, I swear. I like the cable knits book but nothing called out to me immediately. Knitting Nature is full of completely fabulous pictures, and despite the problems others have had with the patterns, in addition to the ordinary number of errors, I think I need to knit several things out of this book. Of course, it basically is marketed at me personally, with all of the lovely little math bits. :) The basalt tank will be the first, I think. I have some dark blue Rowan wool cottom that will be just perfect.

Only one more repeat on the shawl done, but I'm nearing completion on the hoodie!

I always forget that hoods are enormous. Still, the hood is now finished and seamed (though the seams aren't pressed yet):

The sassy recipient Miz. N was gracious enough to try it on.

Just ribbing, seaming, and pressing to go!

Why I have the best husband ever.

2006-06-19T11:15:00.000-04:00

One down-side to knitting multiple projects at once is that sometimes, even though you've been knitting and making progress, there's very little in the way of interesting pictures. I finished both hoodie sleeves and they're blocking along with the front ("only" the hood and finishing to go!), I got over my splicing fear and have knit a few more rows on the leaf lace shawl... but that doesn't really make for anything visually exciting.

This, however...

This is my birthday present. Now, my birthday isn't until Sunday, but since Mr. Stash is going to be out of town until next Monday, we celebrated this weekend. That's *two* hanks of Cherry Tree Hill Cascade Silk, fingering weight, Java colorway. It's going to become Seraphim, probably after Leaf Lace is done. Because the Misti Alpaca is wonderful and light and airy and all that, but the Pure Silk is definitely giving me a taste for silk's smooth feel.

So three cheers for Mr. Stash!

To life!

2006-06-13T12:03:00.000-04:00

I have a brand-spanking-new nephew as of Saturday afternoon, so not much knitting. I had a nice long drive to Maine to ponder the socks, though. I think I just love the colorway too much to let myself knit a pair of "enh" socks out of it. So back into the stash it goes, and if I bring it up again before September, please pour forth with fire and brimstone. It is now *definitely* time-out for that yarn.

I do have a little bit to show, though. The Fibonacci hoodie now has a finished front and a tiny little zygote of a sleeve.

I've also finished four out of ten repeats for the Leaf Lace Shawl.

That sounds like a lot, except that the shawl is started in the center back with just a few stitches. So, the repeats are getting much longer each time. Still, the yarn is a dream to knit with and I really like the resulting fabric. (Well, as much as one can really tell what the resulting fabric is, with lace.)

So off the list with the Oak Ribbed Sock! With only two projects to finish, I should have a new gift and a new shawl in no time.

On sizing and socks, and help from you.

2006-06-05T20:55:00.000-04:00

Remember Harvey? When I knit it for my unusually-large child last fall in the 3-6 month size, I assumed it would be just right. Turns out, it was huge. Then this spring, it was still kind of large. And now, on my still-unusually-large 9 month old, it's still kind of big!

He'll be able to wear it this fall! What's *up* with that? Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

Knitting has progressed, but since 4 repeats of the leaf lace shawl looks about like 3--that is to say, a crumpled mess--I will give you a peek of how the Pebble Beach socks are turning out.

...and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I actually like the striping. Or did, at least.

I was okay with the striping! But then there was flashing, and now there's striping again. And I know what you're saying out there. "Come on, Amy. This is just a sock. No need to get neurotic." And you're probably right.

But don't you think it looks a little bit weird? Please tell me. And please be honest, now. Because I'm not sure I can learn to wear and love these socks. And I'm happy giving them away, if they're not objectively hideous. But I don't want to gift someone with hideous socks and not even realize it.

(Although I am so thoroughly in love with the heel that it's hard to express in words.)

Thank you, drive through

2006-06-02T09:17:00.000-04:00

Sadly, the Yorkshire Tweed in my last post is no longer destined for anything.

(Apologies for the crappy lighting--things are good and dark and stormy here in Boston.) I had hopes that it would work for Eunny's Deep-V Argyle Vest, which I'll be knitting for a friend later this year, but sadly not. The tweed obscures the argyle pattern, and the whole fabric is generally too heavy and scratchy. It might make a good yarn to crochet the steeks with, but for the main body it's just too rough.

The other yarn is Debbie Bliss Pure ~~Heaven~~Silk, and it's a definite winner.

When we have some natural light, I'll have to capture the beautiful sheen of this yarn. It's indescribably luscious. And it's on its way to being the Leaf Lace Shawl from Fibertrends. There has also been small progress on the Fibonacci Hoodie and the socks, but pictures will have to wait for another day.

On monogamy

2006-05-28T10:59:00.000-04:00

It seems that my (previously) anti-stash nature isn't the only thing that has changed recently. True to form, I wove in the ends and blocked the back of the Fibonacci hoodie:

I cast on for the front, but halfway through the first big block of fuschia I got second-sleeve syndrome. (The front and back are essentially the same, two big squares.) I thought about continuing on the Pebble Beach socks, but decided they're still in quarantine except for car trips. Of course I have plenty of stash to work up, and that Misti Alpaca was tempting, but then I visited my LYS to chat about Bea with the ladies. And now I have two things to distract me this week before taking up the hoodie again:

Any guesses on the identity of the first yarn, or the destiny of either?

Fee Fi FO Fum

2006-05-22T21:23:00.000-04:00

Bea is finished!

Pattern: Bea from Rowan's "Little Treasures"
Yarn: Rowan Soft Baby, cream color
Needles: Recommended US7s gave me pattern gauge (which I have of course forgotten)
Thoughts/Modifications: Aside from using a whole half-ball *more* of the yarn than the pattern called for (despite perfect gauge!), I didn't deviate from the pattern at all. It was a fun knit, and for most of the time I was working on this sweater I didn't understand why it got the 3-star difficulty rating. And then I got to the finishing. Man, there's a lot of finishing. Most of it is very easy--nothing of drastically different lengths to ease in, or anything--but I eventually wound up agreeing with the difficulty rating if only because your average knitter would toss it across the room in boredom. Since I'm fairly anal about such things, it was okay. :) If I were to knit it again, I'd recommend just picking up and knitting the button bands and the collar, both of which were knit as pieces and then sewn on.

The yarn, as I've said before, is divine to work with. One thing I didn't get with Harvey was that after awhile, the yarn did hurt my hands. But since I always have a sock to switch out on, it was okay. All of the photos for the project are up on my .mac site. No photos of it on the recipient yet, as the 11-month-old I'm knitting it for lives in CT. Soon, though!

(Edit: A friend wrote to remind me of all of the ~~bitching~~ constructive criticizing I did at the beginning of this sweater. It's true! The chart in the book is almost impossible (for me) to read, and so after some major ripping I eventually just had to figure out what the cabling pattern *should* be, and do it. Also, MJ: sewing on the button-bands is *totally wacky* and I have no idea why they suggested it, but I always knit a pattern as by-the-directions as I can, the first time.)

I've been knitting on the Pebble Beach sock, and *gasp* I'm actually enjoying the striping. No photos of that for now, though, since I'm taking a short break. I was pretty excited about the next baby sweater I have in the queue: The Hooded Striped Top in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. I'm knitting it for another friend's baby girl. And because this girl is no namby-pamby pastels girl, I'm altering the stripe pattern a bit.

(Please excuse the horrendous lack of blocking.) Yup, that's a Fibonacci sequence! Two of them, actually, interleaving from top and bottom. I'm tremendously excited about it.

I stopped by my LYS today to show off Bea, though, and asked for a substitute for the Suri Elegance recommended for the Icarus shawl in the current Interweave Knits. (I felt it in person some time ago and was underwhelmed, for the price.) They recommended Misti Alpaca to me, which happens to be only $6.50 a skein there. (Score!) So guess what came home with me?

So the real question is... how long before I cast on for it?

Bea Bea Bo Bea, Fanana Fanna Fo Fea...

2006-05-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

Bea is not yet finished, due to an impromptu trip to CT this weekend. However, I did get it blocked and partially seamed up, and knitted the button bands.

(And but of course I have progress pictures to show you.)

I like the fabric resulting from a steam block better than a wet block, with the soft baby. The sweater retained all of its fluffy goodness.

And it behaved itself, too. The edges got nice and flat, and the pleat in the back stayed put very well. Oh, and did I mention fluffy goodness?

Ready for a Mother's Day seaming party. (I was thrilled that among the day's festivities was time for me to sit and watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban while knitting. Hooray!)

Seaming the first button band:

...and the second is all sewed on too:

I'm looking forward to at least knitting the collar tonight. Soon, sooooooon it will be done!

Yarn acquired!

2006-05-11T20:37:00.000-04:00

Nothing exciting, though. Just more Soft Baby to finish Bea. All of the pre-blocking pieces are complete:

Next I block! Then, button bands and collars and seaming. I should be finished this weekend, which will be exciting. I'm really looking forward to giving this one away, it's turning out beautifully.

In two shocking displays of restraint, I managed not to sign up for Sundara Yarn's sock club and when I saw that my LYS had new Lorna's Laces sock yarn in my two favorite colorways (watercolor and aslan) I did not buy any. I'm sweating from all of the virtue. :)

Mind over matter

2006-05-09T21:04:00.000-04:00

I am no longer fighting with the Socks that Rock.

However, this is not because the socks pictured in my head are anything close to becoming a reality. I sucked it up and tried alternating between three strands of yarn. There is still a noticeable stripe-pattern:

If it were producing the sock in my mind, I would happily and without complaint deal with the pain-in-the-butt three strand knitting. Since it isn't, and I'm not very far along into the first sock, I'm just going to rip and re-wind the yarn, and put it into storage until I've gotten this mental image out of my head. I think, if I change my expectations, I'll actually like them stripey. So, off to the stash bin with the str for a month or so!

Which let me pick up Bea again:

Yup, that's a second sleeve. I haven't been to the yarn store to pick up more yarn yet, so for the moment I'm just plugging along until I run out. Hopefully before a week has passed, I'll have another FO and have regained my mojo.

I think I might even get bold enough to cast on for Eleanora socks in a solid (!!) purple Lorna's Laces.

cough

2006-05-03T07:40:00.000-04:00

I suppose that I shouldn't really make decisions at 10:00pm when I'm cranky and tired. But last night, the yarn started striping and flashing even though I was alternating between 2 balls, and I flipped out and frogged the whole thing.

Now, the yarn and I are having a bit of an argument:

On the bright side, I noticed that the heel flap had absolutely perfect variegation. So now I'm thinking, what if I knit with *four* balls of yarn, and only did half of each round with a single ball? That would surely keep it from pooling, right?

Right?

Old news

2006-05-02T13:48:00.000-04:00

I'm back at work this week after a very extended maternity leave, so daylight to take progress pictures has been lost in a flurry of preparation. But after finishing the pooling colors scarf, I cast on some socks that rock (pebble beach colorway) in the oak ribbed pattern from Vintage Socks.

Why, do you ask, did I not simply finish Bea? Well... Since we last left our friend Bea:

I finished the left and right fronts, and the first sleeve. Further sleeve island margaritas were stymied by a distinct lack of yarn. In a fit of pique over Rowan miscalculations (my gauge is spot on), I put the sweater down for some sock knitting distraction. Hopefully I can make it to the yarn store Thursday. Argh!

Anyway, the socks that rock pretty much lives up to its promise. It's sproingy, the colors are vibrant and terrific, it is smoother than any other sock yarn I've worked with, easily as soft as Lorna's Laces, claims to be machine-dryable, and the fabric is to die for. The downside? For me, anyway, it wants to pool. So much so that even if I alternate balls of yarn, there's a discernable pattern:

I've basically sworn off Lorna's Laces for the same issue (see earlier frustration), but now I'm wondering if it's me. Am I joining the second strand of yarn in the wrong way? Other people don't seem to have this problem. Maybe I'm just too obsessive about pooling? If you have suggestions, please chime in! This mars the yarn for me, and that makes me sad. Not that it's making me hate the sock. And I won't avoid this yarn in the future, certainly.

Since the above pictures were taken, I've turned the heel and am almost through the foot. I love how quickly socks go!

Yet another knitting blog?

2006-04-29T22:07:00.000-04:00

I'm afraid so!

I finally decided to make the move from livejournal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/zog_knits/). Archives for the last few years will still be available at the lj site, but all new content will be here. Welcome!