Crafts

And Now…

Sarah Carolyn, Crafts

…Back to my regularly scheduled crafty blogging! Maybe. I haven’t really managed to get back into the knitting groove yet – I took a nearly two week hiatus from all things crafty and it takes a while for me to find the motivation to start back up.

So instead of knitting, I’ve been thinking about some sewing projects. First of all, I have Carrie’s Snoopy pajamas to finish, because if I don’t finish them soon she’ll never be able to wear them! And I bought a pattern to make a doll bassinet, which also has instructions for a kid-sized diaper bag. Carrie and I went shopping for fabric for the diaper bag (I already have the fabric for the bassinet.) I picked out a really pretty blue fabric with big bright daisies on it for the outside of the bag. And here’s what she picked out for the lining:

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I kid you not, the child carried the bolt of fabric in her lap all around the store (she was sitting in a cart) while I tried to coax her into picking something else out. Sigh. I suppose, since it’s going to be her bag to carry, if she wants the interior of it to be dogs brushing their teeth and painting their nails, who am I to argue? (Although if I were a really nice mom, I’d make it the outside of the bag!)

Note To Self

Sarah SockapalOOOza

Sarah, when planning to steal random moments of knitting time during rehearsal, it helps to make sure that the knitting project you bring currently has the correct number of stitches on the needles – after all, you’re practically knitting in the dark. If you do discover that there’s a major error, it is not especially wise to try to fix it, still in the dark, during the 30 seconds in between two songs. This is even more important if, for example, you happen to be knitting a lace sock on size 0 needles. And Sarah, if you fail to follow this advice, you only have yourself to blame if you need to rip back an entire 12 row repeat of the lace pattern because you’ve somehow dropped a stitch and can’t exactly find where it went.

Oh, and quite frankly, Sarah, you wouldn’t have this problem if you hadn’t been so fickle about the second SockapalOOOza sock in the first place and had finished it before moving on to other projects. Instead you could be working on something simple like an intarsia baby sweater in the dark during rehearsal. Won’t you ever learn?

FLAK decisions

Sarah FLAK

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to have the front of my FLAK cardigan look – the way my cables relaxed when I washed my swatch meant that taking out the center 12 stitches as suggested in the pattern would have given me a button band that was about 1 3/4″ wide instead of just over an inch. Since I couldn’t decide between using my filler stitch or using a different cable I “swatched” them both: I did the left front with the moss stitch and the right front with the wave cable.

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After pondering it for a bit, I think I’ll go with the moss stitch. (The little yellow “blips” are where I put in a lifeline so when I rip it out I don’t have to worry about picking up the stitches in the right order – all those cables make it a bit more complicated!)

Once I rip and re-knit those 22 rows on the one side I’ll be ready to start the sleeves!

FLAK progress

Sarah FLAK

No pictures, because it’s way late and I don’t want to take flash pictures of it, but I’ve picked up FLAK again. I had put it down to start a baby sweater (no pictures of that either, sorry) but I had to do some cabling today! I finished the back while Carrie napped this afternoon and I spent the closing ceremonies of the Olympics this evening picking up stitches for the front and starting the increases. I decided to make the armhole 9.5″, and once it’s blocked out it may even be a little closer to 10″, because it seemed like 9″ would be too close fitting for something I plan to wear over other shirts. Hopefully it won’t be too big!

OK, off to bed so I can actually function tomorrow…

Got Socks?

Sarah FLAK, SockapalOOOza

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OK, so it’s only one sock. But I’m super happy with how it came out. I actually knit a good deal of it during breaks in rehearsals, so it was a pretty easy lace pattern to keep track of. I grafted the toe last night, but I didn’t cast on the second sock because the picot edging is a bit fiddly and I was too tired to concentrate that much. I should definitely do that tonight before I succumb to Second Sock Syndrome!
Update: I’ve gotten a few inquiries about which pattern I’m using, and although that information (and the details about the yarn) is in a previous post, it’s the Lacy Scallops pattern from sockbug for anyone who’s interested. Thanks!

FLAK_back_progress_TN.jpgI’ve also gotten a fair amount done on FLAK. In fact, I’m surprised at how quickly this is knitting up: I started the saddles just one week ago, and I’m flying through the back. Right now the armhole depth is about 7″, and I’m planning on making it 9″ – although I’m starting to worry that it won’t be deep enough. I don’t really have an Aran-weight sweater to measure the armhole depth on, so I’m guessing from the finer-gauge sweaters that fit me well.

I also guessed at the neck measurement, and I’m a little worried that that will be too wide at 8″. But then again, I don’t like anything too tight around my neck. Plus it’s going to be a v-neck cardigan, so if it’s a little on the big side it will still look OK.

The next decision I have to make is whether the cardigan will button or zip. I’m leaning towards buttons at the moment, but I will have to make a firm decision before I start the fronts so I know how many stitches to cast on.

This is definitely a fun project, because this sweater – even though it seems like half the knitters on the Internet are knitting it – will be completely customized to fit me, and I hope I can take some of this and apply it to other projects so I end up with things that fit well more often than not.

SockapalOOOza update

Sarah SockapalOOOza

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This is the beginning of my sockapalOOOza socks. The yarn is Regia Cotton Surf Color #5411, and I’m using a free pattern from sockbug called Lacy Scallops. I’m beyond pleased with how the pattern is working with the colors of the yarn, especially with the picot edging on top! It’s also going pretty quickly: this picture (from yesterday) shows 5 of the 6 repeats needed for the leg of the sock, and since then I’ve finished the last repeat. I’ll definitely be able to finish these well in advance of the deadline. The funny thing is, patterns more complicated than stockinette stitch seem to go so much faster – I think I need the extra motivation of an interesting pattern for something to hold my attention long enough to make progress. And the best part of these socks is that there’s absolutely no ribbing to get bogged down in!

Olympic Knitting

Sarah Knitting

I’m pretty sure every other knitting blogger out there has joined the Knitting Olympics. Knowing that I was going to get my yarn for FLAK right about now and that the rehearsal schedule for Sound of Music was going to get more intense kept me from jumping in with all of them.

But the Olympics are definitely good for knitting – I already have 4 out of 6 repeats done on the leg of the first of my sockapalOOOza socks! Tomorrow I think I can get those last two repeats done, and maybe even start the saddles for FLAK.

Oh, and Carrie has a new little cousin who was born earlier today, and he’s going to need a sweater…so I’d better pick out a pattern and see if there’s anything appropriate in the stash to knit it with. Not that it would be the end of the world if I had to go yarn shopping, of course…

FLAK

Sarah FLAK

FLAK_swatch_closeup_TN.jpgMy swatch for FLAK is finished and blocked, and I’m really happy with how it came out. I decided to swatch the cables it originally called for before trying to substitute any of them, and I like how they came out so much I’m not going to bother switching anything. The cable I didn’t think I’d like so much is the set of three horseshoe cables in the middle of the swatch. That’s never been a favorite of mine, but I’ve never actually done it in 100% wool before and I think that makes a big difference in how they look.

I’m going to figure out all the measurements required for the sweater and decide how much yarn to order tonight! (And I’m going to make a final decision on the color. I do love the avocado green and will most likely use it but I figure I may as well peruse the color card a little more first.) By the end of next week I ought to have my yarn and will be able to get started on the saddles. Yippee!

Here’s the project page with the picture of the full swatch on it.

February Cross-Stitch

Sarah Cross Stitch

I skipped right over November, December and January so I could have one done in time! And let me tell you, I was really tired of looking at the October cross-stitch by the time last night rolled around. But this one turned out cute, I think, and I have the next few months done through June.

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A Whiter Shade of Pale

Sarah Knitting

Want to know what happens when you leave a pile of knitting in front of a west-facing window for 18 months?

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Those are four of the six squares I’ve made so far for my Aran afghan. Luckily, just the one square (of course it would be my favorite) got bleached by the sun. I’m trying to decide how bad it is – it’s actually a bit more obvious in real life than the picture. Is it worth re-knitting the square – assuming I have enough extra yarn? Should I knit a number of the remaining squares in a different color and make a checkered afghan so the cream squares aren’t next to each other? Should I just leave it and put the whole finished blanket in front of a window for a few months? Should I try dyeing it?

I suppose for now I’ll just ignore the problem, knit another square or two, and then decide…that will only be, what, another year or so?