Yarn Crawl

WIP and Life Update, 2009 Goals

I've been waiting to post until I have a modeled pic of Big Thaw and it STILL hasn't happened yet...so I thought I would share what else has been going on lately with my projects and life in the meantime. I also didn't set any specific goals for 2008 to revisit/discuss progress on, but I decided that 2009 will have some specific goals. I accomplish more when I have more structure and specific goals!

So, first the WIPs:

Around Christmas Eve, I cast on two new projects.

Snow White, with that blue/green Riata I was previously considering for the Central Park Hoodie

It's pooling, but I think in a good and interesting way.

and Amused, with that orange Elsebeth Lavold Chunky AL I bought from Sharon last year. I tried a number of yarns for the swatch (4 stitches to the inch, which I don't have many yarns in stash that work for) and the Chunky AL worked out perfectly. It is super soft, and I love the technique that Jordana uses for the crossover neck section.

I learned some new provisional cast on techniques with both designs and discovered I really like the crochet cast on that Jordana uses in Amused. I knew another provisional crochet cast on, which involved (confusingly) holding the crochet hook in one hand, and the needle in the other and trying not to drive yourself crazy while casting on over and under the hook and needle (UGH) but this one is easy. You just make a crochet chain with waste yarn and then knit into the back of the crochet chain with your working yarn. It unravels nice and clean and easy too - no picking around to unravel the stitches like with the other provisional long-tail type cast on (the only other provisional one I knew before this, beside that other wacked out crochet hook/Twister-esque balancing act.)

Anyway, I love learning new provisional cast-on tricks as they come in oh-so-handy with seamless knitting. My only other WIP is Mirepoix and I have about half the chart knit for the body - 2" or so to the armholes - and this WILL be done in 2009.

Other Life Updates:

1. I went back to work yesterday and things are MUCH better. New boss moved into his permanent office instead of sitting next door to me so we have a little space (no more random "head poking" which makes me crazy). I also decided to invite him and the other people who were in the office to go out for sushi yesterday, so I got to know him better and he's actually pretty cool. I had found out he liked sushi when we had our holiday party a few weeks back, and despite my apprehension, I decided to make the move to get to know him on a more social level. The lunch actually turned out to be a lot of fun, so I am feeling much better!

2. Blu Coral was bought by a new owner and they are opening January 5th! Jim and I went to Kona Grill for lunch on Saturday and one of the waitresses there recognized us from Blu Coral and came up to us to tell us that they were opening back up soon. It will be called Blue Ginger now, but it will have mostly all the same employees (Jim's comment? "Soon (head sushi chef) didn't call me!!" OK....) so we hope the same menu or at least the really memorable things we were addicted to, like zuke salmon. They show up as having availability on New Year's Eve on opentable.com, so I went ahead and made reservations for then, but someone called me yesterday from there to say that they actually aren't opening til the 5th. So I'll have to figure something else out, no big deal.

3. After getting some unfortunate news about my MIL's health, we cancelled our cruise in March. We were on the fence about going, and had until January 4th to either get our deposit back or make final payment (75 days before sailing) and then this kind of pushed us in the direction of not going. FIL is doing really great when we talked to him on Christmas, just needs to have his other knee replaced to help with his ability to walk, but mentally, is completely lucid, energetic and vital. He's had a complete turnaround and surprised a lot of people who already had given up on him, so I am keeping the same positive attitude about MIL. Keep her in your prayers and/or positive thoughts, if you're so inclined.

4. Kind of related to #3 - Jim's bank (one of the few that is doing well in this economy) just announced layoffs of 450 people, mostly from the downtown Chicago offices. He won't know if he's in that group until sometime in January. If it happens, it happens, as now we're used to doing fine on my salary (did it for three years while he worked on the home renovations) but it would be better if it didn't.

Now on to the 2009 Goals....

1. Convert Wheat Ear Yoke sweater pattern to be knit seamlessly and actually knit it. I've been wanting to do this for awhile but haven't gotten to it.

2. Finish Mirepoix FINALLY - this will be my first steeked FO.

3. Incorporate my serger into my sewing projects to make them look as professional on the inside as I think they do on the outside. I haven't really ever used it (or the previous one I owned and sold) for any of my knit fabric projects, just my Husqvarna/Viking Platinum regular machine and my Janome 900CP coverstitch machine.

4. Buy a new dishwasher. Ours is driving me NUTS. It was in the house when we moved in and is the only kitchen appliance we haven't replaced. It doesn't match the new stainless appliances (it's black, like the rest of the old appliances were - the circa 1990 black refrigerator lives in the basement now) and more importantly, hasn't been getting the dishes clean even with two cycles anymore. It's gotta go.

5. Work on the decor aspects of the house. Jim's done the heavy lifting, now I need to organize things/buy some new furniture/work on getting things the way I want them from a decor perspective. I don't want to get too specific on this one, as I'm not sure exactly which room to focus on first, but I will improve this house from that standpoint this year, in some way.

6. Create at least one seamless sweater design and publicize it. Not sure of the exact avenue for this, but I'm thinking Ravelry for the first one rather than focusing on either paper or online magazines.

7. Continue doing the treadmill workout every day with the Bowflex twice a week. The consistency seems to really work for me, so I'm keeping that up. If I miss once in a while, it's fine, but every day needs to be the goal to keep the habit going. I've been really consistent for the past two weeks (and include weekends now, whereas I used to take those off) and I think that is what this 2nd-half-of-the-30s body needs to look the way I want to. I also added in strength training back in as a supplement, not a substitute, for cardio.

8. Learn more about my camera. I have a tripod and remote now, and want to incorporate those into my blog picture routine. I also want to explore and understand its features, as I still haven't found occasion to take it off the "Full Auto" setting as the pictures have been pretty decent without doing so. (Adrienne is cringing right now...)

Those were kind of all over the place, but that's me. I guess that's it for now. Happy New Year!

Christmas Pics

I hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays!

Jim and I exchanged our gifts yesterday morning and here is a picture of the tree with all the gifts under it, before the carnage that would ensue:

I got the Knit Picks Options needles I mentioned to Jim a while back in passing, some accessories for my camera, a Wii and Wii Fit with some accessories that look fun (a tennis racket/golf set thingie) and some fabric that I had picked out before, plus some other stuff. Jim always gets me a couple of Waterford ornaments with the year on them, as I really like those, so we got a few more for our collection.

Jim got his Big Thaw sweater, a digital camcorder and accessories, some long-sleeve Harley T-shirts from a few different dealers across the countries (he collects them from everywhere, although he wears them pretty hard, so they aren't exactly collectors items or anything), a replacement Armani Mania cologne (love that stuff) and some new Bose in-ear phones for his iPod for the train.

Next, we went over to Aunt Vicki's house and got pictures of the kids wearing their gifts. Still no pictures of Jim modeling Big Thaw - he liked it but hasn't tried it on yet.

Here they are - McKenna wearing the sweater coat I made her - loosely modeled after "Fame" from Rowan Babies, except changed the sizing and converted to be knit seamlessly (bottom up yoke construction.) It's a little big on her but she is growing like a weed and I thought it would be good for her to wear outside over layers of clothing in the spring/fall (it'll fit for awhile.) I had pushed up both sleeves a bit but she managed to undo this on one side before I took the picture.

and here she is mugging for the camera when Jim was walking around with it:

Here's her little sister, Mia, modeling her Bounce skirt.

You can't really tell in the picture, but it is a bit too big on her. I had made this one between the size 3 and 4 for her (she has been 4 for only a few months) and what I didn't know is that she is still wearing the size 2 one I made for her last year. I should have just made the 3. She and her twin brother Noah are on the skinny end of the spectrum and have to be urged to eat. McKenna doesn't have these issues, and is strong and tall for her age.

Mia, making a funny face - poor thing gave herself an unfortunate haircut a few weeks ago (just cut off her own ponytail one day and then proceeded to give herself a lopsided haircut in the front of her hair) so her mom had to have a hairstylist try to work around it. It'll grow!

And here's Noah, sitting listening to his sister's Barbie CD walkman, looking like a little old man:

He's a very sweet kid, and he really liked the racetrack set Jim picked out from Amazon for him. Interestingly, I guess his dad was looking high and low for this set and couldn't believe we found it! We didn't even know he wanted it, just that he liked Matchbox cars. So that worked out well. The girls really liked their Bratz Pupz too, as we gave them each one of those in a different theme, after hearing that they had been getting into those this year. Now I don't know what will end up happening with that brand post-Mattel lawsuit, but we can always go back to giving them other things if they aren't made anymore. I try not to pass judgment with gifts, and try to give everyone what they want, even if it might not be what I would want or think they should have. (Hence, the additional Harley shirts....)

I think this may be the last year for the knitted gifts, or I need to be better about getting measurements so that the stuff fits them when they get it rather than trying to have them grow into it. I always hated when adults gave me stuff that was too big, so I didn't mean to do that this year. It's OK, I guess, as they actually *will* grow into it, but I think it's a bummer for them when the stuff doesn't fit perfectly now.

Hope everyone has been having a great holiday season! I am off work today, then am in the office Monday through Wednesday (it will be an extremely quiet short week, in which jeans will be worn) then I'm off again til the following Monday. Jim is at work and I think he will be every day except New Year's Day. Stupid banking....

Next post - Big Thaw Pullover, modeled!

Baby Cables and Big Ones Too - FO

I finished weaving in the ends on Baby Cables and Big Ones Too and got Jim up from his nap to take my picture. He was a little annoyed with me, but I didn't know he was sleeping til he already woke up. Oh well - it is 3 in the afternoon!

Here it is:

Pattern: Baby Cables and Big Ones Too by Suvi S. (knit along with the Sexy Knitters Club)

Size: 32.75 - actual finished measurement is 32"

Yarn: cashmere from Yubina.com

Needles: size 4 Addis

After all the trials and tribulations I had with this sweater (not with the pattern, which was great and easy to follow) I am glad I stuck it out. It's survived 1.) a broken circular on an airplane 2.) split-prone yarn 3.) dropped cables 4.) overenthusiastic wet blocking and 5.) the dryer on the high setting (for five minutes.)
Note - I see when I looked up the designer's blog that she had the same exact problem when she wet blocked hers and that her sweater also took a trip into the dryer! I'm glad that my gauge wasn't very far off (it ended up turning out to measure 32" - I had originally been going for 34" but I'm glad my gauge did its own thing on the actual sweater) and I like the fit and color. I should learn that 32" is always the right size for me in pullover sweaters. If they have to button, they need to be a 34".

Today I also finished weaving in all the ends/making crochet ties/sewing in elastic/wet blocking the three knitted gifts I had left and will show pictures on the recipients once they get them!

Happy Holidays!

Then Again, Maybe I Won't

No, this is not a 70's era Judy Blume novel. Just my thoughts about our planned trip to Blu and the fabric store today. Um, this is what it looks like outside my knitting/sewing room window:

Looks like a good day to stay inside and make cookies instead!!

Knitting up a Storm!

Although we have been having lots of winter snowstorms here in the Chicago area, I wasn't clever enough to plan on a double entendre a la Marjorie with my title today, but noticed it after the fact.

I have been knitting LIKE CRAZY. I finished Jim's sweater yesterday, I finished Baby Cables the day before, and all I had (notice the past tense) on the needles was Mirepoix. So last night I cast on Snow White and plan to work on it pretty much monogamously, except for those times when I feel like following a fair isle chart for Mirepoix. I do just have like five more inches to do on Mirepoix and I plan to finish up the knitting part shortly. There is a lot of finishing for it, though - steeks, sleeve seams, shoulder seams, setting in sleeves - so it may take me a while to get motivated to do that.

I'll have pictures of all the stuff I finished soon as I haven't quite gotten there yet. Jim and I are thinking of going to the Vogue Fabrics 60% off knits sale (to see what, if anything, they have left at this stage in the sale as it has been going on for awhile at lower discount levels) and then to try out Blu Coral's sister restaurant which is still open, Blu, which is also in Evanston near the fabric store. (I know, my idea of heaven, right? Knit fabric AND yummy sushi.) We're jonesing for zuke salmon (marinated salmon sushi with truffle oil and enoki mushrooms - TDF) and Blu Coral/Blu seems to be the only place we can get them, although they just call them "atlantic king salmon" in the signature maki section of the menu. We're hoping it's the same thing we used to get at Blu Coral, but it sounds like it, so I think we're good. It's too far for us to go on a regular basis, but worth the trip once in a while! It'll be our holiday lunch!

The only other thing I have to do is wrap Jim's remaining gifts (a few of which haven't arrived yet), weave in the ends/make a crochet chain tie for McKenna's sweater coat, and finish sewing in the ends on Mia's Bounce skirt. So far, so good! Hope everything is going well for everyone in their holiday preparations/celebrations. I will try to blog again before Christmas with a modeled pic of Baby Cables, then I probably won't until after everyone gets their gifts and models them for me.

2008 Recap Post

I was chatting with Annie today about how many sweaters I usually complete in a year, and I mentioned that I completed like 35 last year and linked her to this post where I summed them up. I guessed that I would have a significantly lower number for 2008, but that I would possibly make up for it with sewing FOs completed.

So then I decided to go back and do another FO recap post for 2008, and was surprised to find that between sewing and knitting (and there are a few things missing off the list that I know I forgot) I will have 43 finished projects this year by 12/31/08 - almost exactly a 50/50 split, too: 22 knitting, 21 sewing.

Here's my list! I've included the few FOs I haven't quite finished yet but will in the next two weeks, with estimated ETAs. LOL!

KNITTING:

1. Jawbreaker Cardigan
2. Back to School Cardigan
3. Cabled Cardigan #24 (from Vogue Knitting Winter 2007/8)
4. 28Thirty
5. Wicked
6. Cherie Amour
7. Swing Top
8. Tea Rose Halter
9. Ophelia
10. Aleita
11. Split Neckline Tee
12. Cable Down Raglan
13. Forecast
14. Dirndl Raglan
15. Burnished Tunic
16. Opulent Raglan
17. Silken Scabbard
18. Ingenue
19. Big Thaw Pullover – will be completed by 12/24
20. Baby Cables and Big Ones Too – will be completed by 12/26
21. Colinette Point 5 sweater coat for McKenna – will be completed by 12/24
22. Bounce skirt for Mia – will be completed by 12/24

SEWING:

1. Wicked skirt –
2. Simplicity 4020 knit top
3. New Look 6669 bias skirt
4. New Look 6843
5. New Look 6816 knit top
6. New Look 6729 knit top
7. Amy Butler Anna Tunic
8. Simplicity 2850
9. Simplicity 3678
10. Simplicity 6729 version 2
11. another New Look 6843 skirt
12. New Look 6648 knit top
13. New Look 6648 knit top for Dawn
14. Simplicity 3918 knit top
15. another version of the Simplicity 3678 knit dress
16. Simplicity 3775 knit dress
17. Simplicity 4074 princess wrap knit dress
18. New Look 6780 top
19. New Look 6429 knit wrap dress
20. Simplicity 3775 – version 2
21. New Look 6780 for Monica – will be completed by 12/20

I'm very happy with my accomplishments in the knitting/sewing world for 2008, especially the sewing, as it didn't come as easily to me. I have some ideas for 2009's goals, but I'll save them for another post after I think about them some more.

Elfing Around

Yesterday, I finished the first sleeve on Jim's Big Thaw Pullover (I had a migraine yesterday so I ended up going home from work mid-morning) and decided that the short rows are a good thing. I tried starting the other sleeve first without the short rows and the sleeve cap looked funny, so I stayed the course with the way the pattern was written and it worked out. I ended up making the sleeve longer than what they said, as I compared it against the other sweater I made for Jim that fits him perfectly and went with that measurement instead. He has kind of long arms, so it makes sense that a pattern I customized for him originally that fits great would be longer than the standard pattern measurement.

So I finished the first sleeve, and got done with the cap shaping/short rows on the other sleeve. I should be done with that tonight. I decided not to weave in any of the ends until he tries it on, though, so that it will be easy to adjust if it's not perfect. Other than that, I finished up the rest of my Christmas shopping online on Amazon with the Prime 2-Day Shipping as I figured out some other things to get for Jim. He knows about the sweater, so I can blog about that, but I won't mention the other gifts until after Christmas.

I also wrapped all the gifts I've purchased so far yesterday while I was home, and then when Jim got home he took the rest of the wrapping paper and wrapped my gifts in the basement. I have some more things arriving though, and I still need to finish the last few things/wrap the nieces' knitted gifts, so I need to buy more wrapping paper and some boxes. Other than that, though, I am done! It feels good.

Sleeve Island

Yesterday we closed the office at 3:30 because of all the snow in the Chicago area. It was pretty slippery and I was glad I had the Jeep this year. This person from my building who drives a Mini Cooper was having a LOT of trouble getting traction on a small ramp we have to go up to exit the parking lot. I was a little nervous that she wasn't going to be able to make it up and her car would slide backwards into me and the people behind me, but thankfully she made it. I couldn't believe her car seemingly just
wouldn't go up the hill.

Anyway, because we closed early, I went home right away and started working on the first sleeve for Baby Cables. I'm doing this one with the SKC and the "deadline" for the knitalong has been extended to December 26th. Looks like I'll be able to finish in plenty of time, even though I also have Jim's sleeves to finish by Christmas! I'm truly on Sleeve Island now.*

I decided to knit the sleeve as written - garter stitch just for the background of the cable for most of it (it starts about 10 rounds into it) then garter stitch all the way around for the bottom part of the sleeve (the last 30 rounds.) I think it's more balanced that way. Strangely this yarn works well in garter stitch, better than stockinette - maybe because if (who am I kidding - WHEN) it splits it's easier to hide in a bumpier stitch like garter as opposed to stockinette.

*SURVIVOR SEASON 17 SPOILER ALERT*
As an aside, I also watched the finale of Survivor online and the best person definitely won. If I had to survive in the wilderness, and I couldn't have Jim with me, that Bob guy would be my pick for a companion. I would never, ever sign up for that show (I could never be that conniving - those people are INSANE) but just thought I'd throw that in. I thought Bob played a great game - he did a little bit of conniving, but not nearly as much as other people, and didn't seem like he was nasty to be around. He should have won just because of the two fake immunity idols he made and the fact that he was able to get people to believe they were real. I couldn't believe he could make those things out of seemingly nothing - bits and pieces he found around. So anyway, I thought it was a pretty good season, as I watched the entire thing within the last week.

Simplicity 3775 - Version 2

I was wearing the second dress I made from Simplicity 3775 (with the ruching this time)

and realized that I hadn't shown it on the blog yet. I brought in the old point-and-shoot to have Dawn take my picture, and the light is pretty bad in her office, but here it is!

I think it turned out pretty well, despite my face looking like the walking dead!

A close up of the midriff section:

I would definitely make this one again!

Weekend Update

This weekend I got a lot of knitting done, and not much of anything else.

I finished the body on Baby Cables and Big Ones Too and I really like the fit. After planning to end up with something measuring about 34" because my gauge as indicated by my swatch was looser than the pattern indicated, I didn't actually end up knitting that loosely and I have something that is very close to the 32.75" size (or a little smaller.) The good news is that it fits very well and I'm glad I went that route (in spite of myself.) I think this is a design that needs at least 2" of negative ease.

You can see the sleeve cable a little better in this one, but as I'm sure many of you know from first-hand experience, it's tough taking pictures at the crack-a&& of dawn without any natural light whatsoever.

I also finished the body on Big Thaw Pullover for Jim and started the first sleeve:

I'm a little nervous about the short rows making up the cap of this sleeve as it is almost looking a little poofy right now (not a good look for a guy.) It might flatten out nicely on Jim's actual shoulder because he does have pretty broad shoulders for his overall frame. It also might flatten out more when I wash it. I've almost got half a mind to rip the short rows back and just knit it straight down after picking up the sleeve stitches. Has anyone else ever done short rows when shaping a sleeve cap from the top down, for a man's sweater?

What else? Friday, we had our holiday luncheon. Despite being very good about only sipping one glass of wine during the 1.5 hours of standing around drinking (at noon), despite multiple attempts by waiters to refill my glass like every 2 seconds, my resolve disappeared when we sat down for lunch and I was seated between the VP of HR and the retiring CEO. Yeah, I gave in to a couple of (half-glass) refills at that point. Anyway, it's over. I didn't say anything to embarrass myself but I was just more vocal than I have been lately in the office (which I was hoping to avoid.) When I got home I started working on my pregnant friend's top and have it cut out with most of the seams sewn. I just have to do the neckline band, sew in the raglan sleeves and put in the elastic at the bottom of them, and do the hem. I'll finish that up this week before the party this upcoming Saturday.

Back to this past Saturday - after doing some grocery shopping,I just watched Season 17 of Survivor on cbs.com (still haven't seen the finale so don't tell me what happens) while I was working on the body of Baby Cables (can't believe I finished half of the body in one sitting) and then started watching Season 16. Then yesterday afternoon, my friend Susan and I went back to that Hollywood Blvd theatre and saw Four Christmases. It was actually pretty funny and I think it may turn into a (irreverent) holiday classic.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!