Tag Archive: knitting

$ cd ~meri > knitting

A new twist on the Spectral by Debbi Stone.

2015.02.15

I’ve been working on Debbi Stone’s Spectral for the past few days. It’s coming along very nicely, I think. (Sauron picked the color scheme.)

Speaking of colors, that’s actually 4 different shades of grey [aside: as a huge fan of grey-scale work, I’m incredibly annoyed that the phrase ‘shades of grey’ has been permanently subverted in the public vernacular] yarn shown here. They’re all part of Miss Babs’ 5-color Pegasus gradient set, and are awesome. Eventually, the cowl will go from dark to light (there’s one more step down in intensity left in the set) to dark again. (more…)

Annoyances, Craftiness

, ,

Ask the [Knitting] HiveMind: Do I have to use a long-tail cast on here?

2015.02.09

[covert-ops] question mark (sitting inside)I’m preparing to start work on Debbi Stone’s Spectral, using a Miss Babs gradient set in Pegasus. Assuming I don’t pull my hair out in the process of splitting the balls of yarn in half by weight (and then further marking off another 11 grams on one of those balls), the next step will be to cast on.

Using ball A1 and a long-tail cast on, cast on 336 stitches.

Now, really. Is there any reason it has to be a long-tail cast on? Couldn’t I use, say, a cable cast on, and not have to either a) redo the cast on 4 times to finally get enough in the long tail, or b) have an egregious excess of yarn in the long tail going to waste?

Following the cast on are 4 rounds of k1, p1 ribbing. This ribbing is repeated as the last 4 rows before the end, and the cowl is bound off in pattern.

Thoughts?

Craftiness, HiveMind

,

Grab Bag: Circadian what? Can’t sleep. Casting on. Introducing Legend.

2015.01.27

While G was away, I discovered something somewhat perturbing: any concept I have of a regular schedule is driven almost exclusively by two things: G’s schedule, and Sprocket demanding to be fed at some point between 4:30 and 6:00 AM. As such, I’ve spent the last 10 days pretty much sleeping whenever I got tired, and waking up (generally) whenever my body could no longer handle being flat. Sadly, this little experiment did not produce any interesting results. The aches and pains are still going strong, I still managed to catch a cold, and I didn’t even manage to feel rested. (more…)

Annoyances, Craftiness

, , ,

Train of Thought » Ravelry Edition

2015.01.24

There is something you must understand about Ravelry. It’s like Wikipedia for people who play with yarn. You go there looking for one specific thing, and five hours later, you’re looking at something that couldn’t possibly be more different than your original goal, and you have absolutely no idea how you got there. This blog post shall detail just a short trip a friend and I took through the Ravelry wormhole today. The whole conversation took place in less than two hours, with much of that time spent with one or the other of us not at the keyboard, or discussing terminal emulation issues, or bemoaning Kids These Days™, or the best way to feed pills to finicky cats. So, really, no time at all.

(TL; DR: Yarn, kids these days, pandas, and you really can’t ever take anything off the Internet.) (more…)

Amusements, Craftiness

, , , , ,

Work in Progress: Brownstone

2015.01.05

20150105-wip_brownstoneI have arrived at a new milestone in the knitting of the Brownstone sweater: I have completed the actual body of the sweater. Only a few steps remain:

  • Knit on the shawl collar (that gap in the cleavage (and on down to the belly button) will be filled by the collar, I promise)
  • Seam underarms
  • Weave in loose ends (so many!)
  • Knit toggle loops
  • Attach toggle loops
  • Attach toggles
  • Weave in even more loose ends
  • Steam block

… Ok. There’s more to this than I realized. But! Definite progress has been made, and the end is in sight.

It looks like the sweater is going to be pretty long, particularly given the intended recipient. Luckily, this shouldn’t be a problem, as that style is a favorite of hers.

Craftiness

, , , , ,

Ask the Knitters: Which yarn should I get?

2014.12.29

20141229-sanquhar_cowlI posted about the Sanquhar Cowl by Wendy D. Johnson a while back. Even though I’ve been obsessing about it ever since, it hasn’t hit my needles yet, for two reasons. First, I’ve been working on other projects. Second, I haven’t had the available funds for the yarn. Well, progress is definitely being made on the existing projects, so the first reason may not be a factor any more. And, some wonderful friends gave me a gift card to WEBS for Christmas, so I may be able to afford a bit of a yarn shopping spree.

I’ve narrowed down the yarn options to three potentials, and now I’m stuck.

This is where you come in. (more…)

Craftiness, Polling, Research, Shopping

,

Such pretty colors!

2014.12.19

While the sweater is still going strong, I’ve reached the point on the body where every other row is p200, which takes forever. So, to break up the tedium, I’ve case on a new project, a ridiculously cute hat. I’m knitting this for a friend whose hands aren’t so happy with the idea of knitting anymore, but who wants to give this hat to her daughter. Proxy hands to the rescue! (more…)

Craftiness

WiP: Harvest

2014.02.14

Three things happened: I remembered that I have a dress form. I remembered that I want to take a picture of my Harvest sweater in progress. And I remembered both of these things at the end of a row. Go me. (Please ignore the disaster that is my upstairs desk.)

[2014.02.14] Harvest

 

Craftiness

, ,

I have a new shawl to obsess about, and a project update.

2013.12.20

Updating the project list from my last post, the only project I’ve actually completed is the Helix scarf. I’m hoping to finish Celestarium today. (Really, it’s just loose ends. I have no idea why I haven’t finished it yet.) And, I forgot to include the Peter Easy vest that I’m knitting for Shamamama. (That one has both the front and back pieces done. I just need to sew them together, and do the arm holes and neck.) (more…)

Craftiness

Ask LazyWeb: Calling All Knitters…

2013.03.06

I need input (cue Johnny 5 impression).

I have about 1,000 yards of fingering weight yarn that knits up best on US3 needles. Point me to your favorite shawl or scarf pattern that will help me use up this wonderful yarn.

Craftiness, Layout