I finished Rogue's first sleeve! I may really end up with a completed sweater this time. Though for some reason, I keep thinking about the Grimm's fairy tale where seven (six?) brothers are turned into swans, and their poor sister has to sew them all shirts by the appointed day, or else they'll stay swans forever. To add insult to injury, the poor girl has to remain mute for the seven years that she has to work on the shirts; she can't even complain about how unfair it is, or how her shoulders hurt from hunching over her sewing all that time. At any rate, she manages to finish them all except for one sleeve on the last shirt, and that brother has a swan's wing instead of an arm for the rest of his life.
This fairy tale has been intruding on my thoughts ever since I started working on the sleeve, and I've decided to interpret it as a cautionary tale from my subconscious. I don't want to have to sprout down feathers to stay warm because I was struck down by Second Sleeve Syndrome.
In other news, I signed up for a class at the end of March with Cookie A at Wild Fibers in Mt Vernon. It's Knitting on the Bias. When I called, there was still one spot left in Cookie's Advanced Cables class in the morning, as well as spaces in the afternoon class that I'm taking, in case you're local.
Showing posts with label rogue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rogue. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Friday, February 13, 2009
knitting ADD
First, I've been noticing hits on my blog by people who seem to be looking for the Apple Yarns blog. :) Here's the link:
http://appleyarnsblog.blogspot.com
Now, on with the show.
For most of the past three years, I've been too busy knitting for other people to think much about personal projects. I've been really focused, getting one project squared away before starting on the next. But now that I'm taking a break from deadline-based knitting because of my neck and shoulder, I find myself flitting from project to project, with the list growing bigger by the day.
Last weekend, I finished knitting the back of Rogue and blocked it to see how much it would grow (about an inch horizontally, without any stretching during blocking). While it was drying, instead of finishing my other Ducky, like a sensible person would do, I started on a charity knitting project, Baba's Bed Socks. These will go to the local hospice. Easy peasy project that I managed to turn into an ordeal by unraveling the heel flap to do slip stitches, which in turn was unraveled to do a short-row heel, which was unraveled again when I realized I didn't use enough stitches for the heel. Then I decided to just stick with the pattern, but absentmindedly made the heel flap 17 stitches instead of 16. Sigh.
I've also been trying to figure out something to make from two skeins of my sport weight organic merino yarn, to wear to a possible yarn soiree this spring. I'm thinking short-sleeve cardigan, or maybe a vest. Thank goodness for Ravelry, because I would never be able to find anything just through Google.
I like this cropped (only I'd try to make it longer) pattern by Blue Sky Alpacas. Well, except the neckline is too broad, and I'm not sure about the ribbing on the bottom half; I'd prefer something lacier. I was thinking about maybe a modified February Lady Sweater without the swinginess. Then I just came across Viola and I really like the U-shaped neckline. LOVE Delphine though I'm not sure I can actually picture myself wearing it.
Meanwhile, Rogue still needs to be finished and I need a new hat. I've never liked my current one--it's ugly and I don't like the color--but it's warm and it's there in the morning when I need it. Plus my little boy has been asking for felted slippers like daddy's, and then tonight he asked me to make him a turtle. I should really drop everything and at least make him some slippers, but I need to have closure on something before I take on anything else. Focus, woman, focus.
http://appleyarnsblog.blogspot.com
Now, on with the show.
For most of the past three years, I've been too busy knitting for other people to think much about personal projects. I've been really focused, getting one project squared away before starting on the next. But now that I'm taking a break from deadline-based knitting because of my neck and shoulder, I find myself flitting from project to project, with the list growing bigger by the day.
Last weekend, I finished knitting the back of Rogue and blocked it to see how much it would grow (about an inch horizontally, without any stretching during blocking). While it was drying, instead of finishing my other Ducky, like a sensible person would do, I started on a charity knitting project, Baba's Bed Socks. These will go to the local hospice. Easy peasy project that I managed to turn into an ordeal by unraveling the heel flap to do slip stitches, which in turn was unraveled to do a short-row heel, which was unraveled again when I realized I didn't use enough stitches for the heel. Then I decided to just stick with the pattern, but absentmindedly made the heel flap 17 stitches instead of 16. Sigh.
I've also been trying to figure out something to make from two skeins of my sport weight organic merino yarn, to wear to a possible yarn soiree this spring. I'm thinking short-sleeve cardigan, or maybe a vest. Thank goodness for Ravelry, because I would never be able to find anything just through Google.
I like this cropped (only I'd try to make it longer) pattern by Blue Sky Alpacas. Well, except the neckline is too broad, and I'm not sure about the ribbing on the bottom half; I'd prefer something lacier. I was thinking about maybe a modified February Lady Sweater without the swinginess. Then I just came across Viola and I really like the U-shaped neckline. LOVE Delphine though I'm not sure I can actually picture myself wearing it.
Meanwhile, Rogue still needs to be finished and I need a new hat. I've never liked my current one--it's ugly and I don't like the color--but it's warm and it's there in the morning when I need it. Plus my little boy has been asking for felted slippers like daddy's, and then tonight he asked me to make him a turtle. I should really drop everything and at least make him some slippers, but I need to have closure on something before I take on anything else. Focus, woman, focus.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
in a sea of dye
I've started knitting the back of my Rogue. I tried it on and, my, it is form fitting. After I finish the back, I'm going to wash and block what I've got so far. Before I do the cabling around the V-neck, I want to be sure that 1) it's going to fit and 2) the cables don't disappear into mush.
But I haven't had much time to knit lately. I'm doing the final dyeing for my current group order, which I want to get wrapped up before the next group order is placed--probably toward the end of next week, is my guess. Then last night, I was at a hospice fundraiser hosted by Apple Yarns, and the owner talked to me about wanting to place another wholesale order right away. I feel like I'm already squeezing every possible hour out of the day. Eeek.
Still, it's a good problem to have! There's also the possibility that Apple Yarns will host an open house featuring local designers and me in the spring. So I should start thinking about knitting something appropriate for warm weather to wear to this shindig, using one of my yarns that they carry.
I'm feeling more certain about applying to be a vendor at OFFF this year. I had initially thought about doing the Sock Summit also, since it's just down the road in Portland. But the booth fees! I believe it's something like $325 for a 5' x 10' booth, and $650 for a 10' x 10' booth. With such small spaces, there's no chance of sharing with someone else--you couldn't both have enough stock to cover your costs. I don't think the smaller booth would even hold enough inventory for one seller, and with the larger booth, I'd have to net $1000 just to break even on the costs (booth, lodging, mileage, food). Net after the cost of the base yarn at the bare minimum, not gross sales. Heck, to even gross $1000, I'd need to sell 500 skeins. The organizers say that 5000 people have expressed interest--well, even if all of them actually showed up, I would still need to get more than 10% of them to purchase a skein of my yarn. In competition against a zillion other people. I have confidence in my yarn, but the cards would be stacked way against me. This is definitely not a venue for the average independent dyer.
But I haven't had much time to knit lately. I'm doing the final dyeing for my current group order, which I want to get wrapped up before the next group order is placed--probably toward the end of next week, is my guess. Then last night, I was at a hospice fundraiser hosted by Apple Yarns, and the owner talked to me about wanting to place another wholesale order right away. I feel like I'm already squeezing every possible hour out of the day. Eeek.
Still, it's a good problem to have! There's also the possibility that Apple Yarns will host an open house featuring local designers and me in the spring. So I should start thinking about knitting something appropriate for warm weather to wear to this shindig, using one of my yarns that they carry.
I'm feeling more certain about applying to be a vendor at OFFF this year. I had initially thought about doing the Sock Summit also, since it's just down the road in Portland. But the booth fees! I believe it's something like $325 for a 5' x 10' booth, and $650 for a 10' x 10' booth. With such small spaces, there's no chance of sharing with someone else--you couldn't both have enough stock to cover your costs. I don't think the smaller booth would even hold enough inventory for one seller, and with the larger booth, I'd have to net $1000 just to break even on the costs (booth, lodging, mileage, food). Net after the cost of the base yarn at the bare minimum, not gross sales. Heck, to even gross $1000, I'd need to sell 500 skeins. The organizers say that 5000 people have expressed interest--well, even if all of them actually showed up, I would still need to get more than 10% of them to purchase a skein of my yarn. In competition against a zillion other people. I have confidence in my yarn, but the cards would be stacked way against me. This is definitely not a venue for the average independent dyer.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Rogue update
I'm pleasantly surprised by how fast this is going. I've never made an adult-sized sweater before, so I was steeling myself for months of work. But after just a week, I'm almost ready to split for the armhole shaping.
The yarn, Queensland Kathmandu Aran, is really lovely to work with. I read some complaints about VM and yarn breakage, but I haven't had a problem with either. Yes, there's a little VM, like one or two pieces per 50g skein. I don't think it's a dealbreaker.
My one concern is about the cables. The stitch definition is fine now, if not ideal for the cables; the fabric has a lot of drape and the yarn itself is a little fuzzy, not smoothly plied. I'm wondering what's going to happen after blocking. Maybe I should have used size 7 needles and made the sweater the next size up. Other people were using size 6 needles with this yarn and pattern. I don't know; I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
The yarn, Queensland Kathmandu Aran, is really lovely to work with. I read some complaints about VM and yarn breakage, but I haven't had a problem with either. Yes, there's a little VM, like one or two pieces per 50g skein. I don't think it's a dealbreaker.
My one concern is about the cables. The stitch definition is fine now, if not ideal for the cables; the fabric has a lot of drape and the yarn itself is a little fuzzy, not smoothly plied. I'm wondering what's going to happen after blocking. Maybe I should have used size 7 needles and made the sweater the next size up. Other people were using size 6 needles with this yarn and pattern. I don't know; I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Knit Picks Options review
In anticipation of finally knitting Rogue, I ordered some KP Options needles in a few sizes. I love my Addis, but because of my tendonitis, I have a hard time knitting with needles where the tips are longer than 3.5" or whatever length the Addi 16" and 20" tips are. The 5"+ tips on the 24" and 32" needles, which I need for sweater knitting, force my wrists into uncomfortable positions.
I saw that the KP Options are 4.5", so I thought they'd be worth a shot. When I got them last week, I cast on for the Amethyst wrap. The tip length is not an issue, which is great.
But the tips keep coming unscrewed. This causes stitches to get caught in the gap between the tips and the cable, and once the cable came off altogether, dropping a bunch of stitches. I've used the little pin to try to crank the tips on as tightly as possible, but they still loosen up. Happens with all three sizes of tips that I bought. If I end up using a size 8 for Rogue, I'll probably use beeswax to keep the tips screwed on. A handy little tip unearthed from my dusty bicycle mechanic lore, but really, I shouldn't have to do anything like this.
Also--and I know this is a feature, not a bug, for most knitters--the tips are super pointy. In the winter, my hands get super dry, and a couple of years ago I actually poked a hole in my fingertip from too much knitting. Like, with blood and everything. So I'm wary of sharp tips. Plus, they hurt.
If I used needle lengths greater than 20" on a regular basis, I would be very tempted by the new Addi Click interchangeables. I know the tips are about the same length as the KP Options, but I don't want to drop $150 in order to basically buy one needle.
In other Rogue news, I've finished the hem facing, which I did with some silk/camel/wool handspun yarn that my lovely friend Denise made for me. I wanted to use something that was a slightly lighter weight than the main yarn, and I also wanted to use a yarn that had some meaning for me, not just a random skein that I pulled out of my stash. This yarn works well on both counts.
I had a frustrating start. Even though 95% of my knitting is in the round, I somehow managed to twist my stitches when I joined them after cast-on, and despite much scrutiny, didn't figure out that I'd done out for four or five rounds. Not just once, but twice. I finally got it right on my third try. Sheesh.
I saw that the KP Options are 4.5", so I thought they'd be worth a shot. When I got them last week, I cast on for the Amethyst wrap. The tip length is not an issue, which is great.
But the tips keep coming unscrewed. This causes stitches to get caught in the gap between the tips and the cable, and once the cable came off altogether, dropping a bunch of stitches. I've used the little pin to try to crank the tips on as tightly as possible, but they still loosen up. Happens with all three sizes of tips that I bought. If I end up using a size 8 for Rogue, I'll probably use beeswax to keep the tips screwed on. A handy little tip unearthed from my dusty bicycle mechanic lore, but really, I shouldn't have to do anything like this.
Also--and I know this is a feature, not a bug, for most knitters--the tips are super pointy. In the winter, my hands get super dry, and a couple of years ago I actually poked a hole in my fingertip from too much knitting. Like, with blood and everything. So I'm wary of sharp tips. Plus, they hurt.
If I used needle lengths greater than 20" on a regular basis, I would be very tempted by the new Addi Click interchangeables. I know the tips are about the same length as the KP Options, but I don't want to drop $150 in order to basically buy one needle.
In other Rogue news, I've finished the hem facing, which I did with some silk/camel/wool handspun yarn that my lovely friend Denise made for me. I wanted to use something that was a slightly lighter weight than the main yarn, and I also wanted to use a yarn that had some meaning for me, not just a random skein that I pulled out of my stash. This yarn works well on both counts.
I had a frustrating start. Even though 95% of my knitting is in the round, I somehow managed to twist my stitches when I joined them after cast-on, and despite much scrutiny, didn't figure out that I'd done out for four or five rounds. Not just once, but twice. I finally got it right on my third try. Sheesh.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Rogue
I can barely remember a time when I didn't long to knit Rogue. I finally bought the pattern about a year ago, and since then I've been wrestling with what yarn to use.
For a long time, I thought I'd use the colorgrown black Blue-Faced Leicester yarn that I've been hoarding. It is the softest, fluffiest BFL I've ever seen--and many, many kilos have passed through this house, from various vendors. I have a kilo of it that I've been saving for just the right project, and I thought Rogue was it.
Then I realized that the cables might not show up that well in a black yarn. And since I haven't done much cable work, I should probably use a lighter-colored yarn so that I wouldn't go blind trying to figure out my inevitable mistakes. I already seem to be on the fast track to bifocals, so no sense in making it worse.
I thought about dyeing my own yarn. Not variegated--Rogue needs a plainer yarn, to show its cables to best advantage. But I thought I might do a solid or semi-solid. However, the more I browsed other people's Rogues on Ravelry, the more I wanted something tweedy. Or maybe heathered.
I considered Bartlett Rangeley, which sounded like it might be on the coarse, scratchy side, but the price was right and I really liked the Blackberry colorway. I remembered Blackberry Ridge's heathered lines--they had beautiful spring and autumnal heathers that I always admired, but never bought. Alas! They have discontinued their heathers, due to lack of interest. I have never been one to stash sweater quantities of yarns, but I might have to start, lest any other longtime favorites disappear into oblivion.
My Rogue fantasies finally settled on Queensland Kathmandu Aran. As luck would have it, it's also been discontinued. Still, I hung onto my little dream, and stalked people's Ravelry stashes in an unhealthy way.
All that OCD behavior may have paid off. I found two people who were willing to part with their Kathmandu. One lovely person offered to send me a snippet of the yarn, since I can't tell which of the myriad online photos has the most accurate color of it. The other person has the colorway that I love best, at least on screen. So that batch should be on its way to me soon, and I may buy the other lot as well. I've learned my lesson--your sweater stash can never be too big.
For a long time, I thought I'd use the colorgrown black Blue-Faced Leicester yarn that I've been hoarding. It is the softest, fluffiest BFL I've ever seen--and many, many kilos have passed through this house, from various vendors. I have a kilo of it that I've been saving for just the right project, and I thought Rogue was it.
Then I realized that the cables might not show up that well in a black yarn. And since I haven't done much cable work, I should probably use a lighter-colored yarn so that I wouldn't go blind trying to figure out my inevitable mistakes. I already seem to be on the fast track to bifocals, so no sense in making it worse.
I thought about dyeing my own yarn. Not variegated--Rogue needs a plainer yarn, to show its cables to best advantage. But I thought I might do a solid or semi-solid. However, the more I browsed other people's Rogues on Ravelry, the more I wanted something tweedy. Or maybe heathered.
I considered Bartlett Rangeley, which sounded like it might be on the coarse, scratchy side, but the price was right and I really liked the Blackberry colorway. I remembered Blackberry Ridge's heathered lines--they had beautiful spring and autumnal heathers that I always admired, but never bought. Alas! They have discontinued their heathers, due to lack of interest. I have never been one to stash sweater quantities of yarns, but I might have to start, lest any other longtime favorites disappear into oblivion.
My Rogue fantasies finally settled on Queensland Kathmandu Aran. As luck would have it, it's also been discontinued. Still, I hung onto my little dream, and stalked people's Ravelry stashes in an unhealthy way.
All that OCD behavior may have paid off. I found two people who were willing to part with their Kathmandu. One lovely person offered to send me a snippet of the yarn, since I can't tell which of the myriad online photos has the most accurate color of it. The other person has the colorway that I love best, at least on screen. So that batch should be on its way to me soon, and I may buy the other lot as well. I've learned my lesson--your sweater stash can never be too big.
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