Knitter Monkey

If there is one thing the skirt did for me, it was make me want to work on smaller projects for a while. I've been working on a few small items at a time, including the Baudelaire socks. I finished one, and I am pretty happy with it though I probably could have made it even smaller - I guess I like tight-fitting socks.

It fits, but it doesn't have to stretch much to get on. I also added some increases in the cabling area on the leg to accomodate how quickly my calves widen, but again, it probably wasn't necessary since it doesn't really have to stretch much. I am torn between making the second one just like I did this one, or re-knitting this one in the medium size. So instead, I cast on with what was left of the seventh skein of Koigu and made the Dream Swatch headband.

I modified the pattern a fair amount - I cast on eight stitches and did increases up the sides until I had 18 stitches, then I decreased back down, so there's less bulk at the base of my neck. I also measured my head and the yarn and knit so that it was exactly the right size to fit around my head fully stretched, then seamed the cast on and cast off edges together so it's actually a headband. I don't want to block it too much because I don't want to ruin the stretch, so I'll probably just put it on after my shower and faux-block it that way.

I'm also working on Blossom for my boss's new daughter, and I made a Sock Monkey Hat that everyone at work now wants. When those are done, I have to pick which of my to-knit projects will be next. Possibly Sizzle, so I have it before it's too cold, or Christmas stockings, so I have a chance in hell of finishing them this year before I do any Christmas knitting.

Posted by Erin at 10:08 AM | Permalink

I just turned the heel on the first Baudelaire, and the foot section is about a quarter of an inch longer than my actual foot. 24 rounds is a lot of gusset increases, apparently I should have started them sooner. I know I need to frog back, but it's the whole heel and the 24 rounds of gusset increases that will have to be re-done, which basically means all of the knitting I did yesterday is moot. OH WELL. The skirt marked the turning over of a new leaf, the leaf where I tried to be a good knitter instead of a rushing, hurried, lazy knitter. Besides, I may have wasted yesterday's knitting, but if I keep going making socks that are too big, I guess I'll waste a lot more knitting too. I have the ill-shapen garments to prove that I won't wear ill-shapen garments.

Posted by Erin at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Pattern: A-Line Skirt from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2006
Yarn: Koigu KPM in chocolate brown and pink
Needles: Size 2 Addi Turbos

Modifications: Most notably, I decided in the end not to do all of the embroidery and ribbon weaving that they did in the magazine. I actually started it and wove the ribbon in to about half of the lace section and embroidered a couple of the flowers, but realized pretty quickly that I actually liked the skirt better without it. Maybe it is because the brown I chose is so much darker than the pink stripes, but it just started looking too busy.

I also modified the pattern to work the skirt in the round, primarily because I knew that knitting something as arduous as this (a whole skirt! out of sock yarn! on size 2 needles!) would mean that if I knit it flat, I'd finish the front and never the back. Other than that, the only other changes I made were for sizing - I started out with the "large" width and worked up to the "medium" sized waist because I know that I am hip-py and need a little flare out for my skirts to look decent.

Overall, I am really pleased with this skirt - it looks super cute on (though without the ribbons you need a slip under it), and it is by far the most challenging thing I have ever knit simply because of the work involved. It's also the first thing I've made that actually fits me exactly the way it is supposed to, which is probably directly related to its being the first thing I've ever done a large swatch for instead of just the 4"x4" square. However, would I knit it again? Doubtful, unless I get extremely bored, considering this is about 80,000 stitches (not to mention almost $100 worth of yarn!), but it's a great project if you can afford it.

Posted by Erin at 03:27 PM | Permalink

It's off the needles, well over 70,000 stitches later. Now to decide if I should block it first, then add the crochet edging, like the directions say, or the other way around - the edging seems like it ought to be blocked too, doesn't it?

Posted by Erin at 04:50 PM | Permalink

Okay, the reviews are out, people are using them, I'm trying to decide if I want to shell out $60 for the set since, let's face it, I am probably going to keep buying needles anyway. But in review after review, I keep reading that one of the complaints is that the sizes are not marked on the needles.

Um, I don't know why I am the first person to mention this, but none of the metal circulars are. At least, none of the ones I have, which include Addi Turbos, Boyes, and Susan Bates. I mean, of course I have sat there trying to figure out if I'm holding a US2 or a US3, but this is being mentioned like it is a design flaw rather than something that is unfortunately just common to all metal circular needles. Why, I don't know, but it's not like if I opted to buy a bunch of Addis instead I'd be any less in need of my needle sizing card. Though if anyone has found some magical source of Addi Turbos with sizes on them, please e-mail me straight away so I can buy some.

Posted by Erin at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I believe I have actually just finished the primary knitting of the skirt. I still have to knit another inch for the elastic casing, but the skirt body is completed. And, of course, I still have to crochet the edging, block the whole thing, embroider the flowers, and, oh yeah, weave in a million tiny ribbons before it is even remotely wearable. Still, I should be able to try it on by tomorrow or Tuesday and see if I need to make any adjustments.

My fingers hurt, though.

Posted by Erin at 11:20 PM | Permalink

I am still working on the skirt, though I confess to cheating on it for two days with socks - I love the new Baudelaire pattern from Knitty. I threw it down in disgust, though, because while my sock was turning out in a lovely fashion, I really can not stand the way toe-up socks look. There has got to be a way to make them so the toes aren't shaped like duck bills, and I am going to either find it or make it up, and then I am going to start the Baudelaire socks again.

In the mean time, this is what my skirt looked like last week. I have since added another four or five inches of stockinette to the top, with 45 more rounds to go (yes, I'm counting, and You. Would. Too.). I love this skirt, it's coming out beautifully and it's very soft and even if it doesn't fit me right (which I hope it will), I'll be very proud of myself for tackling such a daunting project. Not that's hard, or anything - the challenge is to keep going, day in and day out, with all those tiny stitches.

Posted by Erin at 08:34 AM | Permalink

I am still working on this insane project, believe it or not. I had a couple of teeth extracted a few weeks ago and thought that this might result in some prime knitting time; instead it resulted in a blood clot in my arm which is basically the opposite. I've just started to be able to knit again in the last couple of days, so I am trying to take it easy but make up for my lack of progress. I'm probably about halfway done, but I've hit a small roadblock. See, here is the skirt:

I am a little bit past halfway done with that lacy part with the ribbons, and soon I am going to have to start doing the decreases for waist-shaping. I had sat down and done all of this math because I am so unnaturally hip-py, and I need it to be 42 inches at my hips but then decrease down to 35 inches at my waist in a relatively short amount of time. So I was re-checking my gauges to make sure everything was in place, since I seem to have a problem with gauge which I assume is the result of being off a quarter or half a stitch multipled by 15 in the real garment, when I had my idiotic realization: if I make the waist 35 inches, I won't be able to get this skirt over my hips.

So now I am not sure what to do. I can try to calculate the ease to figure out the absolute smallest circumference that will go around my hips, then add elastic, or a ribbon, or both at the waist. I could also start knitting it flat just past this lacy part and sew in a zipper, though I don't really know how to sew a zipper into knitting. I might also be able to do something similar but using a ribbon lace-up, which could be cute. Do I have other options I haven't thought of? I am terrified that I will put all of this work into something only to screw it up right at the end.

Posted by Erin at 09:28 AM | Permalink