Casual Delights

Okay, so I'm recycling an in progress photo for the finished... but I love that photo of Jake, and the afghan looks exactly like that, but with no ends. Let's do some project stats:

Pattern: "Casual Delights" from the Leisure Arts booklet 12 Subtle Shades Afghans (OOP)

Yarn: TLC Essentials in Linen/Aran/Steel Blue

Problems with the Pattern: none.

Changes to the Pattern: did a couple. The DC in the row below were to be in front of the chains, but I did them around (so the afghan is completely reversible). I completely changed the color sequence. Wove in the ends rather than do fringe (we discovered we are not fans of fringed afghans).

Overall Impressions: I'm very happy with how this turned out. Doing the DC around the chain stitches makes for a very squishy thick afghan. The TLC Essentials is a nice afghan yarn. It's a good size and doing it in two stages was nice (got half of it done, put it aside for a while, then it finished up in a few weeks).

I actually made this afghan before, using the colors used in the pattern, and following the directions exactly. It's our dog protector couch cover (it's easier to wash an afghan than it is the couch). If you've seen my family room couch, you've seen this afghan, but Jake also modeled it for me back in the day:

(oh my... he looks like a puppy in that photo!)

So that's the 20th finished project done for 2009. The question of the day will be shall I cast on something new (probably) or try to get some work done on project #21 (which is TBD).

Wide Load

I had thought I would have the Casual Delights afghan done yesterday... but after laying it out, and seeing how much yarn I have, both Matt and I think it could use an other repeat. It's about 44" wide right now, so an other repeat will make it nice and cozy. I can not wait to snuggle under it.

However... my arms are killing me! I thought it was from the cleaning on Saturday (as I hade to move around furniture to get to some things), but I realized the reason I feel like I've been doing biceps curls non stop for a couple of days straight is that well, I am. Lifting and turning the afghan at the end of each row is a lot of work! Who needs weights... just a lot of yarn and a crochet hook!

So hopefully it will be done today. I have a couple of other afghans that are about half way done, and one will probably get back into rotation. This is the best time of year to work on them (as I'm not tired of winter projects yet, and the warmth of working on them right now is very cozy).

I still have 4 more projects to finish up this year (and socks are starting to sound tempting?)... but maybe Matt needs a new vest. In bulky yarn.

Update @ 4:47 pm: done! ends woven in! Love it! I'll do project stats tomorrow.

The Non-Stitches Weekend

So Julie, Theresa and I did not go to Stitches East this year. Hartford is just far enough (and we didn't enjoy the last two in Baltimore enough) to justify going. So let's see how the weekend went.

I cleaned on Saturday (and I understand Satan bought a new winter parka). Okay, I didn't actually "mean" to clean, but I spilled a drink and so it started. My knitting nest was cleaned up. This included dusting off and organizing my music stand. Here's a photo of it in perfect knitting supply usage:

(ya, it's behind Matt against the wall... tho' I do think this photo pretty sums up the hierarchy in our house). It's the perfect circular needle holder. I can put notes and patterns on it. I loved my music stand.

Then it broke. Simply snapped at a weld point (I've had this music stand for many years now). I think the dust might have been keeping it together. Ha, shows me why you shouldn't clean.

Now I've got to come up with an other storage system for my circs (and btw, I only use circs... straight needles are for making stitch markers)... tho' there are some DPN's there.



So I was so glad when Sunday rolled around so Julie, Theresa and I could do our "mini Stitches". Meaning we had lunch at the Olive Garden (be sure to order the pumpkin cheesecake) then off to Stitches with Style. So much fun! I got some Ultra Alpaca and a few patterns. Perfect day!

Now I'm trying to finish up the Casual Delights afghan... which will be my 20th project this year. Only 4 more to go (hope to have photos tomorrow!)

(day 5 with no Xbox 360... and I don't think the UPS truck is going to stop by today).

It's a keeper

Portland in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran. Ya, I like it.

Red Ring of Death

My Xbox 360 finally subcummed to the dreaded Red Ring of Death. For those not familar with the RROD, this is a common problem with the 360 where the system dies and either has to be replaced or repaired. The issue is so prevelant that the warrenty for this specific issue is 3 years (compared to the standard 1 year warrenty). So off to the repair shop it goes.

I feel that I'm in a bad karma phase with things right now. Between some dental issues (my dentist did a horrid job with my last fillings... and made it worse with the correction. I'm now looking at a root canal... and a new dentist). The extremely painful pulled back muscle, followed immediately with the head cold. Right now I'm killing time (sans Xbox 360, btw) for more blood work for my thyroid disease (ya... have I mentioned the massive hair loss?). Sigh. My Xbox has been my savior... I can play Oblivion for hours and not wallow in self pity (which is totally selfish and a little over reacting... these are NOT major issues).

So I did the little meltdown when my Xbox decided to die on me. Matt was fabulous and comforting (and we ordered a backup 360... not just so I have one to tie me over while mine is out for repairs, but the second one will be put on the second TV so we'll have easy access to Netflix's Instant download on the other TV).

Meanwhile, here's the first photo of Portland (I've done an other repeat since I took this photo:

Too lazy to reboot

So no photos today.

I'm still in a bit of a knitting funk (but can happily play several hours of Oblivion a day.)

I did cast on a new project yesterday that I'm pretty happy with (and I did get a photo of it... but as I said, I need to reboot for my computer to read the memory card. Eh. I'll do it later).

I started Portland (Ravelry link, registration required) by Lisa Lloyd for Matt in some wonderful stash yarn: Jo Sharp's Silkroad Aran. This is very different feeling than the tweed version of this yarn and I'm happy with the stitch definiton. The color (called Ricepaper) really looks nice with the cables.

The only issue is that the silk/cashmere content makes the yarn a little less flexible, so I've got to be more careful with that dreaded purl after the cable thing. Matt's going to really like the softness and drape of this yarn... and the non-color will look fab on him.

Meanwhile... I think I'll play Oblivion for a few hours before I work on it today.

Nesting

As I said in my last post, not really working on much right now (unless you count Oblivion... which is really all I'm doing). Since I'm feeling a little better (head colds suck, btw), I was able to get some photos done today.

As the weather is definitely turning to fall and I'm perpetually chilled, I always seem to feel the need to make afghans this time of year. So I undug an older afghan that is well on it's way to getting finished:


As usual, Jake is not very patient with the whole "finishing" aspect of afghan construction. He likes to test it during different stages of production. Now that's a dedicated QC department.


I think it's got the go ahead... it's my breakfast project right now. It's worked lengthwise, so while the rows are really long, I feel like I don't have a lot left to do on it. I'm guessing I'm about 3/4 of the way done (not including a border. If I decide to do one).

The only other thing I'm working on is an other crochet afghan. This time doing hexagons (I think I've shown this project before, but I just put it in Ravelry and I've had problems getting a decent photo).


This is actually a little slower than the granny squares. I don't have an "assembly line" feel to it, as I'm weaving in each round as I complete it, plus I'm attaching as I go. This will be great in the long run, as I won't have to sew the hexagons together or weave in a bunch of ends... but I don't feel like I'm cranking out the hexagons. Still, it's fun and I'm enjoying it (tho' right now I'm questioning the DK weight yarn... it's a fairly lightweight afghan and did I mention that I'm chilled?)

So here we are mid-October and I really wanted to get 2 more projects done this month. The teardrop afghan might make it... but not sure I'll get anything else done this month. Eh... what gets done gets done.

Out of the Office

Thanks to a poor decision while unloading grocercies, I've been out of commission for a few days. (Note to self: work on those core muscles! oh, and don't lift more than you can handle... especially when you lift and twist).

The back is immproving... which is good, as Matt gave me his head cold. Back strain with sneezing and coughing... not so good.

Anyway, I've been mostly playing video games as I just didn't want to deal with knitting. So nothing really to update on the blog. I'm hoping to return to a regular schedule in a few days. Probably as soon as I finish all the achievements for Oblivion (which might just be in time for the new Ratchet & Clank game... what? I'm trying to finish 24 projects this year? Doesn't Fallout 3 count?).

Soup's On!

It's definitely fall: I'm working on afghans and thinking soup.

I have to say that I'm a huge fan of soups. For many reasons. I can sneak more vegetables into my diet (always good). They're warm, comforting and easy to make. Plus they freeze well so that's one less dinner I'll have to make down the road.

So I went on a little cookbook shopping spree. I needed a little inspiration to expand my standard soups. Here's a quick run down (remembering that I have yet to actually try any of the recipes). All links will take you to Amazon.

My favorite of the group so far is Enlightened Soups. I like the presentation of the recipes. The intro is full of great ideas on the basics, what to stock and other generalizations. Probably will try something out of this one first.


Love Soup is a vegetarian soup cookbook. If focuses on seasonal/fresh ingredients. I think this one is going to be worth it just for the fab sounding vegetarian broths in the beginning. (while Matt and I are not vegetarian, we are not "full time" meat eaters). The Basic Dark Vegetable Broth sounds like a good basic stock.



I also got Saved By Soup. This book is also very nicely laid out with great photos. Also looks very promising. The dessert soups especially (I'm a big fan of fruit soups in the summer... and Summer Fruit "Minestrone" will definitely be given a try in season).

Meanwhile, I'm sort of in a sweater funk right now, so I'm working on some afghans. One is a crochet hexagon afghan. Not as much fun as granny squares, but I'm attaching as I go (and weaving in ends as I go) so this will be done when I'm done with the last hexagon. The other afghan is also crocheted in a simple teardrop pattern (worked length-wise). I'll get some photos later today (as both will need to be added to Ravelry!). Good projects for the playoffs!!!

Movin' On

The Rendezvous is slowly progressing as I'm not knitting much right now. (I've got all these Oblivion gates to close).

I ended up ripping back and removing the garter stitch side detail. I know in the long run I won't even remember that they were there, but I thought it was a nice designer touch on the pattern. However... it would be more of a distraction on my figure.

I'll also have to say that Patrick the 2nd has grown on me. I still wish I had made it a bit longer for him (and I still might try to block it a bit more). Matt's wearing it today and thinks it's very comfy. Again... over time, I won't remember why I was so disappointed with it. Sometimes we focus on what we don't like about a project rather than see the overall success.

While I still want to get two projects done this month... my motivation is lacking right now, and I would rather play Oblivion. So I am. I'm sure the knitting mojo will be back soon!

Patrick the 2nd

I have to say... I'm disappointed. Granted, as Matt has been wearing it, it does look a bit better (I might need to do an other blocking... once he fixes my broken wooley board).

Part of me just might be bitter with the annoying pattern. I also think I need to realize that dropped shoulder styling might not be the best suited for Matt's body. I should've been a little less lazy and done a fitted sleeve.

Anyhoo... it's done. He's happy... and even wearing it (advantage of him working from home most days of the week! Photo sessions mid day!)


Let's do the obligatory project stats.

Pattern: Patrick by Black Purl (no link... as you do not want to use this pattern)

Yarn: Cascade 220 in color 9459 (which is so completely stunning... words can not describe it)

Problems with the pattern: the patten is horrible. Apart from cast on numbers/set up rows, I had to do my own thing. Even with removing 14 stitches from the sleeve, I still ended up with 20" sleeves. The increases given for the sleeves are soooo wrong (did I mention that it has you increase 2 stitches every right side row 13 times?)

Changes to the pattern: well... not surprisingly, I didn't do the insert sleeve (not that the original had a huge one... like 1") I did my own sleeve shaping. I accidently didn't start the front on row 19 (again... I did that on the first one). While I like where it ends at the front neck, the problem is actually on the sides, as the two cabled sections line up next to each other. No biggie, and I would rather the neck end at an attractive spot than worry about the sides.

Overall impressions: I'm disappointed. I know, it doesn't look that bad and he's happy... but I was expecting more... especially with the tweaking that I did. I love the cabled pattern. I love the color. I just don't love how it fits him. I'll also be the first to admit that the pattern annoyed me enough that I might just simply be bitter about the project right now. Given some time, it might grow on me.

However, no matter how ya slice it: It's done. He's happy. I'm moving on.

Rendezvous or Bust

Patrick the 2nd is still drying (probably won't be ready to seam til tomorrow). So I'm spending some time on the beautiful Rendezvous Jacket:


Yummy! Notice that I already have the garter detail done. I'm right where I should start the armhole shaping.

Then I realized... those garter stitch bands aren't going to hit me in a great spot.

I am busty. This has the side effect that my boobs are lower than average (as they take up more acreage.. in fact they are also a little higher than average). Those pretty little garter ridges are going to hit me here:


(using the Bee Balm, as it's a good angle on said acreage).

So the question? Is that bad? It's only on the sides (it's not like the line will go straight over by bust). I "could" add bust darts, but I'm not sure that will really help that line? I'm also considering just making the body longer so that line hits lower (that's what I did for my Hey Teach... but that line does go all the way across).

hmmm... maybe I should just knit for Matt.