Patrick

Patrick
click to wallow in cabley goodness
Finshed...uh, YAY!

Okay, this project was waaaay more work than it should've been. Talk about forcing a yarn to work with a pattern... this is it. I love the Beaverslide, but it's not an aran weight, but rather a bulky weight. I love how the pattern looks, but the directions were a little challenging (second time I've knit a Black Purl design... and both, while beautiful designs, aren't for the novice knitter... quite frankly they need a copy editor to proof read them).

So let's do a quick summery. Matt likes very neutral colored sweaters. Creams, grays, taupes, khaki. He'll wear t-shirts and polo style shirts in bright cheery colors, but he only wants drab colors for sweaters. So I bought him the Beaverslide yarn in Autumn Licorice (a truely stunning shade of orange) and gifted it to him as Christmas gift. I mean, who doesn't want a yummy box of yarn for Christmas? I know I do!!! Well, he wasn't as amused as I was. I promised him a sweater out of it (hey, no deadline if you give them the yarn as a gift, right?). I wanted to make Patrick for a while and even started it in an alpaca yarn, but never got past the ribbing. So I started it with the Beaverslide. Seemed fine... until I was well into the cabled sections. I realized how hard it was to work the cables and while my gauge was on, my fabric was a little stiff.

I suffered thru the hard to work cables, the poor directions and the tedious of not loving knitting it (I did however, love how it looked). Took me almost a year, but Matt has a super warm snuggly dog walking sweater (the yarn relaxed quite a bit with blocking). I have to say that I'm pleased... not only that's it's done, but the ending results. Let's do the project stats:

Pattern: Patrick by Black Purl Designs (their site has been "under construction" for a really really long time, and I understand they are not responding to email inquires, so no link)
Yarn: Beaverslide McTaggart Tweed in Autumn Licore (the 2 ply, not the new 3 ply)
Changes to the pattern: I did my own thing with the sleeves, as the increases didn't seem right.
Problems with the pattern: just not well written in some areas.
Overall impressions: don't use a bulky yarn for this! The ending result seems to have been worth it and I'll knit the pattern again in a different yarn for Matt. The pattern is gorgeous and I love the cables. I love the yarn, and I would use it again, but a more appropriate pattern for the weight.

So I have been working on other things here and there, including gloves/hat/scarf for Matt. I'll get photos of those up soon. With one more month left, I think I can get an other sweater done before the end of the year, right?

AKA: The Junk Drawer

A bit of an odds & ends post today.

First, I want to catch up on comments. I hate that I can't email back to commentators, especially when they have specific questions.

To contessa who left a lovely comment about Matt's Gedifra 509 sweater (and the reason it doesn't show up right away is that I approve comments... as I get a lot of spam). I'm sorry I can't help you find the pattern (I actually had a friend track it down for me as I couldn't find it anywhere either). I'm not ready to sell mine yet, as I'm considering making it for me and there's an other beautiful sweater in it that I would like to make. I know how frustrating it is not being able to find a pattern that's no longer in print, so I'll send good vibes your way that you can track it down!

knitnsticks asked me about the Bartlett sport that I used for my Tangled Yoke. My Tangled Yoke is the first project I've finished with the sport weight. I finished a cardigan years ago in the aran weight (sadly no longer fits, as I was a wee bit heavier back in those days). I have to say that I much prefer the sportweight. It's coned, so it's a little "raw" when you knit it directly from the cone. I love how it washed up, and I love lightweightness of it. Plus the heathery tone is scrumptious. I have some solid red and a heathered purple in my stash that I'm now looking forward to doing something with...

Anyway, I'm going to try to be better about responding to questions in my comments (I do have good intentions... so if I missed a question, forgive me, just leave it again and I'll get to it!)

Okay, so my attention span on projects is all over the place again. This means one of two things: I need to go get a blood test or I'm procrastinating on finishing a project. Since my hair isn't falling out, I'm going to blame Patrick.

Ironically, Patrick has been progressing, but I don't think I'll have it done by the end of this week as I had hoped. The first sleeve is done, and I've started the second. To help motivate me, I went ahead and blocked the body. uh, YAY! the yarn is so much nicer after a quick soak and spin in the washer (it did take about 3 days to dry). It's still going to be a warm bulky sweater for Matt, but washing it helped relax the fabric a great deal. I'll get my 8 rows done today. I promise.

In the meantime, I needed a change of pace (and we won't discuss all the projects that I've cast on/played with over the weekend). Since I had so much yarn left over from my Special Olympics scarf, I did a quick crochet one last night:


Nothing fancy, just good ol' seed stitch (one of my faves). I still have a wee bit left over, but I'm not sure I'll get an other one done (or if I have enough).

Well, I guess I'm still procrastinating on Patrick by blogging. Maybe an other cup of coffee then I can get that baby underway!

Am I falling for Patrick again?

Patrick's first sleeve
click to get a bigger view
I'm actually cranking out Patrick a bit faster than expected. I spent most of Sunday and Monday working on it, and I only have 7 more increases to do.

I did get a few more rows done on Cassidy as well. I'll get something done soon! Then I can really concentrate on Gaelic Morning Mist. Or cast on something new?

An other view of Patrick's sleeve
to see the dog hair, just click to enlarge

I've given Patrick a two weeks notice

I really want to finish up a couple more things that are really close to be done, and Patrick is first on the list. I am so not in love with Patrick. I think Matt is sort of ambigious on his feelings towards Patrick (I think he's waiting until it's actually finished before declaring himself). I have one and a half sleeves left to go and I figure if I spend just an hour or two a day on it, I'll have Patrick done in two weeks. Then I can can concentrate on something else.

To reward myself for plugging thru icky Patrick, I've been treating myself to Gaelic Morning Mist:

Gaelic Morning Mist
click to get a close up!
I have about 15 more rows on the cabled section, then the rest of the body is just reverse stockinette stitch. The color is indescribable, and it changes drastically in different lights. Sometimes it looks very grayish blue, then it looks like a very soft green. I love it. Just a little. The cable pattern itself is very simple, so it's going at a good clip. Let's hope I can keep that motivation when I hit the reverse st. st, eh? (this in knit in one piece to the armholes... not my favorite, but this one it makes sense with the way the cabled pattern looks).

Okay, 4 more rows of Patrick, then back to Gaelic Morning Mist... or maybe I should swatch something from my Stitches haul? hmm.... that might cost me 8 rows on Patrick.

Yarn Smells... gooooooood!

Yesterday's trip to Stitches was perfect (apart from the highway robbery of parking in Baltimore... but I knew that). Julie and I arrived at Stitches right after 10. It wasn't as crowded this year as last (but I'm not so sure that's not my perception).

I hit Black Water Abbey first, as they ran out of the color of yarn I wanted last year. I got it and an other color... and a few more patterns (Marilyn always has the best cabled sweater patterns). After that Julie and I just meanandered around the rest of the show. She bought a few things, and I bought some Cottage Craft (ya, as usual, I come home with enough yarn for 3 projects. It's like some unwritten law). Then we left.

Just enough time was spent browsing... and we wanted lunch! Lovely lunch at Olive Garden, and we were full of yummy pasta, and yarny goodness.

I'm so glad I went, but I must say there were some things that freaked me out. A: too many vendors recognize me (and I'm not sure that's a good thing) and B: It amazed me how many beautiful samples I looked at and said.. "oh I have that pattern or I've started that sweater or I bought that kit, but haven't cast it on yet". YIKES!

So I'm as inspired as usual after going, which is why I do enjoy the knitting events like these. So enough chatting... I've got knitting to do!

I'm Only Going to Smell

Julie and I are headed down to Baltimore today for Stitches East. I wasn't going to go this year (I did not enjoy last year at all... but I was sick and that may have tainted my excitement).

I do not need a single skein of yarn. Or pattern. Or any other knitting related product (okay, maybe I could use some blocking wires...).

However, I want to go see what everyone has been knitting. What the shops are showing off... and the smell of good wool. There is something always very inspirational about the knitting shows, and I always enjoy seeing some of the long distance knitters that I don't see at any other time of the year.

So I won't be buying anything. Or much. Well, I'll keep it within reason....

Not Counting...

Special Olympics Multidirectional Scarf
click to enlarge
Ya, I know, two posts in one day, but I wanted to get the photo of the finished scarf up. I only got about half a triangle done while waiting to vote (didn't take me as long as I expected... only about a half hour). I love the way this turned out, and Matt's already requested a version for himself (but in different colors... probably will do a navy and white one).

While I'm thrilled this is done, I'm not going to count it towards my "finish 20 in 2008", as I really want to focus on getting sweaters done... so I still have one more sweater to finish before the end of the year. It will get done, oh yes, I will finish an other sweater before the end of the year!

Instant Gratification

Special Olympics Scarf
click the enlarge
I've had the yarn to make a scarf for the Special Olympics for a while now, and I've been browsing thru my stitch dictionaries looking for a fun 2 color pattern. Yesterday, while in post project completion restlessness, I decided I just needed to get started.

I'm using the super fab Multidirectional Scarf pattern, alternating colors every other row (when changing short row directions on the left side, I work the second color in the back, weaving as I go. Seems to be working well, and I'm very happy with how the colors work together... and it's going very quickly. I should have it done today (after I go stand in line to vote... or maybe while I stand in line to vote).

As a matter of fact... I'm off to vote now.

Tangled Yoke Cardigan

Tangled Yoke Cardigan
click to enlarge
While I hate doing the self portrait in the mirror thing, this is the best I can do today.

I was so disappointed in this cardigan yesterday. I tried it on, and the sleeves still were a little snug and the buttonband looked horrid (even tho' I had tried to fix that rippling effect that I've seen on most finished, including the pattern). I must admit that it's a pet peeve. I think that a rippled/wavy buttonband looks sloppy and amateurish. This is what it looked like yesterday:

Tangled Yoke Cardigan with ugly buttonband
click to enlarge
So I ripped off that buttonband, went down to a size 1(US) needle and picked up fewer stitches. I now love this sweater! Okay, it's still just has saftey pins to keep it closed, but I'll get some buttons later today.

Let's do some project stats!

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Bartlett sportweight
Changes to the pattern: increased the sleeve circumfrance by 1" (could've gone 2" for a little more ease... I have to be careful what I wear under it). Short row bust darts, refined the buttonbands. Shortened sleeves a good 2".
Problems with the pattern: I think that the directions were fine for the pattern, but I had some issues with how it was designed. The sleeves, especially for the upper sizes, are very very very slender. Again, I have issues with sloppy buttonbands.
Overall Impressions: I'm pretty happy with the sweater. It's a lot of knitting, but so worth it. The sportweight yarn makes for a very non bulky sweater (which is always very nice). I think the styling is very attractive and I love the color of the Bartlett yarn a lot. I know the yarn is also very "sturdy", so I can wear it a lot without the concerns about it looking worn. So it's now getting a thumbs up.

I'm also thrilled that I have an other finished project (well, apart from the saftey pin buttons). Hmmm... what else can I get done!!!!