would this bother you? February 28, 2008

I chose to use short-rows for the shoulder shaping on the CPH, rather than just binding off the rows, and, as a result, ended up with a dilemma. Because the rows continue on past where they would have if I had just bound off, I ended up with one more opportunity to cross the cable. However, because of where the short row turns fell, I couldn’t actually finish the cable. Because of a quirk on the fronts, I was able to rework the numbers and squeeze in one more crossing row:

However, that was not the case on the outer cables on the back:

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the paired cables in the middle of the sweater (on the right side of the picture above) are crossed one more time than the single cables on the edges. Will it look strange if I leave it that way? In order to fix it, I’d have to make the back a couple rows longer. This would then make it longer than the fronts, which isn’t a huge deal, but I don’t like that. And I don’t feel like redoing the fronts, too.

There’s a hood on this thing, so it’s not like anybody is really going to notice. But would having two columns of cables that cross one time fewer than all of the others bother you? Did I mention that they will meet up when the shoulders are seamed?

3 pieces down, miles of knitting to go February 25, 2008

I finished the fronts of CPH this weekend! Here it is in a lovely view of it folded up on the couch.

This cardigan is suddenly just zipping along. Admittedly, that is at least partly because the fronts are so narrow. Which means that there’s a heck of a lot of finishing that has to take place on this thing is assembled. I’m going to be good and block the pieces before sewing them up, so I’m going to subject these to a good soaking in the near future.

Now I just have two sleeves, a hood, a cable band that’s got to be like 5 feet long, and the button bands. Piece of cake. However, I always forget how long sleeves really are and they seem to take forever as a result. Once all is said and done, I believe I will also take the Yarn Harlot’s advice about stabilizing the neck. If I even do the hood, that is. Someone on ravelry modified the pattern to make it a regular cardigan without a hood. I’m considering it.

moving along nicely February 21, 2008

I have once again finished the back of the Central Park Hoodie and am well on my way to the front. I decided to do short rows for the shoulder shaping, which worked beautifully. The stitches look fine in the larger needles, but I’m still worried about how they’ll grow when blocked. I’m hopeful, though. Pictures to come next time.

In the meantime, now that I finished February’s socks, I need March candidates. The current Hogwarts Sock Swap neatly solved that dilemma. My pal is a Hufflepuff, so I got some Cedric yarn from Faery Fiber. Get it–Cedric was in Hufflepuff in the book. (side note: I did a search to confirm that he was indeed in Hufflepuff and I wasn’t just horribly misunderstanding the name of the yarn and in the process discovered that Cedric Diggory–an imaginary character in a book–has his own wikipedia page. Seriously??)

I love that the yarn isn’t just Hufflepuff (yellow and black) colors, but instead takes off from that and makes something more interesting. Here’s how Orianna, the mistress of Faery Fiber, described the colors in the skein when I asked if she was planning a Hufflepuff colorway: “I was going to do a Cedric one using yellow, black, blue(for his eyes), a hint of redish/pink for his complexion with grey and brown.” I love it when there’s a story behind the yarn. Even if you make it up, I’m going to find the colorway more interesting if you describe it in terms of what inspired it. The yarn is so pretty:

She also included Hufflepuff stitch markers in with the yarn, which is great, because I have to get some for my pal as well. Love that!

I’m swatching with it now and trying to decide what to make. The many colors probably won’t lend themselves well to a patterned sock, so I’m thinking about making these. Wondering why I’m giving so much detail about something that’s supposed to be secret to the recipient? Unlike the last round of the swap, this time the identities of our pals are secret, and the person you’re knitting for is making socks for someone else. So my pal could be reading the blogs of everyone in the swap, but that’s unlikely. If not, at least it’s only narrowed down to someone in one house. I think I’m safe.

another pair of socks down February 17, 2008

Two months into the year, and I’m still on track with my sock a month goal. The lilypad socks are done.

I’ve also posted the pattern here.

he’s a keeper February 14, 2008

I’ve decided to try making the same size on the larger needles for CPH v2. I’m now about halfway done with the back. No pictures to show off at the moment, but I think this will work. I’m not taking it apart again, so if it ends up not fitting, I’ll just give it to someone smaller (Mom).

And, lest I forget, happy overly commercial celebration of love day. I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. Even when we’re on the same continent (which, come to think of it, we weren’t last year, either; there seems to be a theme here), at my request, we don’t celebrate it. However, I recognize that some people love it and, as a result, guess what W’s doing for Valentine’s in Scotland this year? Babysitting a 6-month-old so that the parents could go out. Overnight. Isn’t that sweet of him? I think I’ll keep him.

I just noticed that last year I got a snow day on Valentine’s Day. I’m very bitter about not having a snow day yet this winter. Everyone in the DC area, go do whatever weird tradition you have to make it snow. Just make sure it snows (a lot) overnight on a work/school night so that we can all stay home and don’t have to venture out into it with all the crazy drivers. If we don’t get a snow day by March, I propose that we all unilaterally declare one. Who’s with me?

the one where it comes back to bite me February 11, 2008

I finished the back of the CPH last night and finally had to face facts–it’s probably too small. I’m still on the fence about this because my gauge is exactly the same as it was in my (pre-washed) swatch, and it will grow when blocked. However, the combination of making smaller size and using smaller needles seems to have done me in–I forgot to take into account the pulling of the cables and how that affects the gauge. I keep stretching it out to the width I’d like it to be after blocking, and I think it’s a bit too much to ask of the yarn. So I’m starting over.

I had already starting ripping it back before remembering to take a picture. Here’s the first version of the CPH that was not meant to be:

This is particularly annoying to me because this time I did everything by the book. Not only did I swatch, I did it with three different needle sizes and even washed them, recording the measurement before and after. It took a whole ball. What can I say, I have a lot of the yarn.

(Always wanted to know the gauge in Cashmerino Aran in needle sizes 6, 7, or 8? I’m your girl. Let me know.)

In the process of acknowledging the unavoidable, I’ve been reading what other people had to say about the sweater on ravelry. Virtually everybody says they were afraid it was going to come out too small. Some then flipped to fearing it would turn out too big. It occurs to me that, no matter how much prep work we do, whether something large like a sweater fits is largely a crapshoot. You can swatch all you want, but things change when you get the whole mass of a sweater sewn together.

Now I’m not sure how to proceed. Do I make the next size up with the smaller needles, hoping it won’t be too big? The flaw in this plan is that the next size is 4 inches bigger. That’s a bit more than I want to overestimate. Do I make the smaller size with the bigger needles that the pattern called for? That would seem like the smart thing to do, but I don’t like how much looser the fabric turns out with those needles. However, looking at the gauges side by side, I guess it’s not that much of a difference. I don’t feel like recalculating everything in order to make a size in between those in the pattern, so I’m sticking with these two choices. I must go ponder.

happy blogiversary to me February 10, 2008

It was one year ago today* that I took W’s advice and started the blog. I had no idea what I’d post about for more than a week, much less a year, but I’ve somehow managed. Thanks to all of you who have joined me and whose blogs I have discovered in the meantime. Here’s to another year of knitting and blabbering on.

And no, I still haven’t figured out the French pattern I was complaining about in the first post.

*(The first entry looks like it was on February 11, but it was actually posted the 10th and then edited on the 11th. I promptly learned that that changes the date and never did it again. I wasn’t really that gung-ho in the beginning that I posted twice on the same day. Just thought I’d throw that out there.)

tempted February 9, 2008

The latest Interweave Knits came in the mail the other day and I promptly decided that I just had to make a couple of the cardigans: the Holly Jacket and the Auburn Camp Shirt. When I saw the Holly Jacket on the cover, I wasn’t all that wild about it. But the more I looked at the pattern, the more I liked it. (Though I would not make it in that color. As great as it looks in the picture, it would look awful on me.) It’s not something I’d usually go for, but I love the construction of it. I fear, though, that it would look dated in a season or two, so that might not be the best thing in which to invest so much time and yarn. What do you think? The Auburn Camp Shirt is more classic, but with fun details. Did you see the little bands on the sleeves? Love that! It also appeals to me because it’s made out of fine-gauge yarn (we’re talking sock yarn here). I’ve never liked the way chunky yarn looks on me, but I’m getting to the point where I’m not even so fond of even what most of us would probably consider normal-weight yarn for a sweater.

(I just added these to my queue in ravelry and noticed that some of the designers are responding to questions about the patterns. How great is that? There are also people who have already finished sweaters from this issue. That’s insane. Did they just knit for a couple days straight after getting the issue?)

The only problem with that plan is that I’m in the middle of another sweater and don’t have any yarn that would be even remotely appropriate for either of these. And then there’s the dragon intarsia scarf and the socks I always have in progress…

brace yourself February 7, 2008

I’ve made actual progress on the Central Park Hoodie. The excitement is almost too much to stand, I know.

I love cables. They’re so simple, but they look difficult and make such an impact. Now I must remember that half of them turn one way, half the other. The yarn (Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran) is turning out better than I expected. It’s a great yarn–so soft–but I thought it might be a little too insubstantial for this project. I went down to size 7 needles, and I think that helped. So far, I’m really happy with it!

strategy of avoidance February 5, 2008

I am not a fan of the 18-month presidential election cycle.

I am also not a fan of the perpetual news cycle.

I do care who wins the primaries today, but I do not intend to watch any of the Super Tuesday coverage. It seems that I must be in the minority on this because every news outlet seems to be covering today with the same insane ferocity they usually reserve for the actual election (special anchors! up-to-the-minute coverage! analysis into the wee hours!). This would seem to correlate with some expectation of people intending to actually watch such overkill coverage, but who knows.

In fact, the more sources of constantly updated information that I have at my disposal, the less I want to avail myself of any of them. I rarely ever watch TV, and I only occasionally check news online during the course of the day. My strategy for finding out the winners of the primaries is to get up tomorrow morning and take a look at the Washington Post headline and turn on NPR. Then I can get the results in one place with all of the high points highlighted. It seems to me that this is like allowing someone else will do the work of sifting through all of the noise for me.

Then it occurs to me that I’m relying on newspaper and radio. I seem to be technologically regressing.