Random update

I decided to knit Amber for my cardigan. I knit the back and front together, and have one sleeve done. It is progressing reasonably well, though I still need to knit the little finishing part of the front. Knitting pure black things is a challenge. You can't see what the hell you're doing, and there's no pretty colour changes to distract you from the four hundredth row of stockinette stitch. I shall slog on, though, I'm nearly done! I think I'll block this bugger before seaming it up, as the cotton/bamboo blend seems to like curling in on itself and looking sullen.

I've got lots of ideas for hats for people, but I'm trying to behave and knit just the cardigan. I had a brief fling with a sock, but the gauge was off, so, back into the stash that yarn goes.

I also decided to pimp my loom a bit. I just bought a sectional warp beam and a new 15 dent reed (I have a 10 dent currently). For those who are blinking and going "huh?", that means that the string I put on the loom will be more easily corralled and I can have a finer weave result. Just smile and nod, ok? :)

Other exciting things are in the pipeline, though they have little to do with current projects, and more to do with long term plans. I'll talk more about 'em when they're more solidified.

Funny how that works.

Huh. Swatch, work on project, it gets done.

Wild.

Piratical hat for nephew is finished and ready to go zooming away. Whee!

Maybe I'm doing this wrong.

I've been thinking about my knitting, as I am wont to do.

I realized that once I knew someone else knit, I haven't really given any handmade gifts to them (aside from the handspun to Laura).

I think this is the wrong approach. After all, who better to appreciate a well-made item than someone who actually understands what goes into making it? My reasoning has always been that "they can probably make it themselves, and probably would want to."

Well, everyone is good at different aspects of the craft. Personally, I love cables, socks and two-strand colourwork really seems to blow my skirts up. I can do lace, and can enjoy it, but I'm not totally in love with it, as evidenced by my half-finished shawl that I wandered off from sometime in May. Since that time, I've tended towards comfort-based projects; things I can knit on in the dark, or without being glued to a pattern. I tend to knit as a means to keep my hands busy whilst being social, when I'm on the road, or with my yarn shoved into my bag as I wait for someting. You know, activities that involve being distracted and interrupted a lot, which lace has no patience for.

Maybe this winter I'll have some time at home where I'm sufficiently relaxed to be reabsorbed into fiddly projects.

And in the meantime, maybe I could think about actually making gifts for my crafty friends. Just because you can do it yourself probably doesn't mean you wouldn't enjoy the occasional pressie. Just a thought.

And the number shall be three!

For I've just finished knitting the third Baby Surprise Jacket.

I'm a woman obsessed.

But who is about to be distracted. My sister and brother in law both have this hat. Jen has it in purple, Brian has it in black. They've requested it for Gavin in navy. What kind of a doting aunt would I be if I were to ignore this request?

(Never you mind how I heartlessly gave up on the duckie blanket. I just haven't felt like crocheting for the last couple...years.)

I'll be modifying the pattern a little bit, to make it a little less...tall. Just trust me on this. Unless you happen to be a conehead, there is no call for having that third layer so damn tall. Maybe I'll even remember to take a picture, though I'm not holding my breath on it. I suck at remembering to actually photograph things before sending them off into the wild.

Cardigan Ideas

So, I know that we are all loath to comment, but I'm looking for input. As I said yesterday, I am not in love with my knitting project. Maybe if it wasn't in black, it wouldn't be so damn boring, but I want a black cardigan.

Thus, I have found options. Please to be making with the voting.

Nifty circle cardigan. It would be fiddly as hell, and I'd have to mess with gauge a little, but it's interesting.
Honeycomb cardigan. The sample colour is quite dark, so hopefully it'd work in black. I like the shaping. POCKETS! I friggin' love pockets. I have a rant about how corporate America is actually trying to kill off all female workers by not enabling them to have pockets to carry cell phones in, so we'd never get those nifty "the world is ending, duck and cover!" messages that get sent out. ...Maybe this comes from me working with the gov't too long. Anyway. Pockets are good.
Lace. Would work with black, though it would still be fiddly, as, well, LACE.
Cross-hatch cardigan. Similar to the honeycomb, but no pockets.
Feather and fan. I'd make the sleeves longer, as I do not want 3/4 sleeves for my cardigan, dammit.
More lace. This is actually the correct gauge, and intended for cotton, so there are two points in favour of it. I'd have to make it shorter, as I don't have as much yarn as they want me to have.
Pointy lace. It'd work in black.
Amber. This is pretty much exactly the shape I'm looking for, though I don't know if I'd dig out beads for it or not. Beads are fiddly, but...shiny!

Oh, dear.

Between a flurry of hats, and the third incarnation of the Baby Surprise Jacket that I've made in the last month or two; I've been trying to work on a cardigan.

It is a very practical cardigan. Because my prior work cardigan finally gave up the ghost, I decided to replace it with a handmade version. Thus, it is black. Cotton/bamboo blend, which is nice and soft, and not too oppressively warm for the workplace. As I know myself pretty darn well, I know that where my creative impulse dies is when I have to actually hem up projects. Thus, I've decided that knitting the thing with as few seams as possible is a good idea. And it is a good idea.

The problem is that it's deadly boring. I knit one impossibly long row, sigh, and put it down. There is a bit of lace, which means that I'm failing to memorize the pattern entirely, and it necessitates actually looking at my work. It isn't as fiddly as cabling, nor a totally lacey pattern, and it has a lot of working through the back of stitches. It isn't hard, but it isn't really fun, either. Again, practical.

Either this will be a long-term project, or I need to find a different pattern that grabs me a bit more. This has the finished look that I want, but dear gods. Just shoot me.

I am such a nerd.

But this link makes me giddily happy.

Yes, I've been spending a lot of quality time with my loom lately. I've managed to strain the tendon in my left elbow, so whilst letting the darn thing rest, I've found that having my elbow constantly bent doesn't feel good. You know, like when one is, oh, knitting.

Fie on you, gimpy elbow. Fie.

In the meantime, I'll be over here, with my wheel and my loom, bein' all old fashioned and such. Just as soon as I utilize the interwebs a little more. Lack of advanced technology can only go so far, you know.

Also, AWESOME!

But...But...WHY?!

Dear gods, why?

Argh.

So. I've gotten to the point in the knitting process where I was finally able to try the cardigan on yesterday. I'd finished knitting the yoke and shoulders and lo, when I put the sweater on...the arms are too long. Like, way too long. I don't have palms when I have this sweater on.

Unfortunately, due to the Clever As Hell (tm) nature of the pattern, in order to fix this...uh...I'd have to pull out about 1/4 of my work. I'd have to tear back to before I had joined the arms, then shorten the arms individually, then do all of the work of the join/yoke/shoulders/half of hood that I already have knit.

I don't know if I have it in me to do this.

I also don't know if I will want to wear a sweater that doesn't fit. The sleeves have a fancypants flare to them at the bottom, so if I tore back that way, it'd take away that part. Also, I'm not sure if I can do that or not. (Oh, I know I could, I'm just being wibbly.)

So, I need input.

Continue to knit, knowing that I will hate the end result?

Tear back a week's worth of work, with the concern that after I do that, the will to knit this sweater will likely be sucked right out of me and it'll end up on the UFO pile indefinitely?

Or try to mess with the bottom of the sleeves to make them a more acceptable length, cute flared sleeve be damned?

Or is there another option that I'm not thinking of?

Nrgh.

Edit: After knitting a quick test swatch, I can tear back the sleeves from the bottom. It'll be fiddly and tedious but hey, I knit. Fiddly and tedious is what I do. It's *repeating myself* (be it via speech or re-doing work that I already did once) that is so disheartening to me. I can deal with a little less fancy sleeve bottoms.

Secondary Edit: Oh, WTF. The sleeves are supposed to be that long. That is a retarded design "feature". I'm docking 3 cleverness points from this pattern for that.

Ravelry links 'o terror and cardie progress report

I wonder why nearly every pattern for monkey toys I can find to knit ends up being terrifying.

I'm quietly relieved that this pattern is no longer available for download, as the one on the right has...well...apparently Lovecraft designed that monkey. Monkey faces should not resemble lady bits quite so closely.

This isn't too bad, though the finished objects that people posted pictures looked NOTHING like this.

This appears to be a monkey/pig crossbreed. At least it isn't nightmare inducing.

Apparently this monkey is also a vampire, judging by that widow's peak.

This has potential, but only if you apparently figure out some short row deal on the face. The third monkey isn't too bad, but the one with the hat on it seems to be posed like it's trying to be sexy, which is disturbing to me.

DEAD MONKEYS! They'd be cute, if their little eyes weren't x's.

And just because it came up in searching for "toy monkey free" on Ravelry, I present the Useless Knit Object of the Day.

I found a dog pattern in a book that I think could be converted relatively easily. It'll be a gift, so I'm not really aiming for that kind of mental scarring.

Oh, and as an update on the blue cardigan; I'm up to nearly the top of the yoke, and will be working on the shoulders soon. I love this sweater, for it requires no seaming up. The body is knit in one bit to a point, you knit the sleeves, then join the whole shebang together and continue on up. Admittedly, it now weighs approximately a ton of wool/alpaca blend, but I think the stitch definition and drape is going to be quite lovely. It will be perfect for cold days. I'm debating if I should make the hood or not...I'll probably try it on and figure out once I've finished the shoulders. This thing knit up stupidly fast, considering I cast on less than a month ago. Ah, the joys of projects!