kimberly May 10th, 2010

Those who follow me on Twitter know that I have spent the last six weeks or so, on and off, working on what I affectionately refer to as the Black Cardigan of Doom.

When my mom casually mentioned that she’d love a hand-knit cardigan, I felt it my duty as a knitting needle-wielding daughter to make one for her. And when she mentioned that she wanted the cardigan to be lightweight but not airy, I figured I could oblige. And when my mom said she wanted it to be black, I gulped and hopped online to order yarn.

Now I know why I never knit with black (even though I love wearing black clothes). Solid black, sock-weight yarn has made me go nearly cross-eyed trying to pick up stitches and weave in ends. If it weren’t for the fact that I still have nearly two full skeins of this yarn left, I would vow to never knit with solid black again.

Undeterred, I soldiered on, and am happy to report that as of Friday, the Black Cardigan of Doom is off my needles and on Saturday it was delivered to its very happy new owner.

Never before have I ever been so thrilled (and relieved) to complete a project. And my mom was pretty pleased with her very well-fitting cardigan. (Knitting project details are on Ravelry, if you are interested.)

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Tags: featherweight cardigan, knitting

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kimberly January 25th, 2010

Since I’m (mostly) committed to knitting from my stash this year, I’ve been looking through my yarn and trying to match skeins with projects (and in some cases, wondering what possessed me to purchase some of my finds). While it was easy to find sock and shawl patterns for the fingering and laceweight yarns, I felt a bit stymied when I happened upon a bunch of three-ply merino from 100purewool, which I’d initially purchased for soakers and longies — but never used because we went with AppleCheeks diapers instead of prefolds.

And so, I was thrilled when Adam started complaining about needing a scarf. Having read horror stories of strangulation caused by scarves (and not completely convinced Adam has the dexterity to actually secure a scarf around his neck in a non-choking type way), I quickly moved on to the idea of a cowl (the Windschief). Or, as Adam prefers to call it, a nose and cheek warmer.

Trying to get a good photo was a bit challenging and Adam was slightly disappointed to note that it wouldn’t be terribly effective as an eye warmer while still allowing him to actually see. Project details available on Ravelry. Adam is now actively planning out his list of all the other things he would like me to knit for him, which should keep me busy. Forever.

To further encourage my stash knitting efforts, I joined a knit-along with Laines Magnifiques that started mid-January. We’re each knitting different projects but all with Nicole’s yarn. My first project was some socks for me (Monkey socks minus the purl stitches) using some bamboo/merino/nylon sock yarn in Winter Ice.

As is usual for me, I knit them toe-up, and I’m particularly glad I did, as I was able to maximize my yarn use and bound off with less than three metres to spare. Phew. Project details available on Ravelry.

And since there are still several weeks left till the KAL ends, I cast on for a sweater for Leah: the Elsie Cardigan using Champion BFL in Bohemian. The blue-purple-pink colourway is gorgeous and I’m pleased that there’s no unsightly pooling.

Hopefully I should be able to finish the sleeves shortly and then I’ll be on the prowl for the perfect buttons. Hopefully I’ll find just the right ones before Leah outgrows the cardigan!

Tags: 100purewool, elsie cardigan, knitting, laines magnifiques, monkey socks, windschief

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kimberly September 30th, 2009

We’re a week into Autumn and it’s time for me to start getting my butt in gear for Christmas: Christmas knitting and sewing, that is. Apparently there are only 85 days till Christmas, and given that I have 13 gifts left to make, I will need to average one project every 6.5 days. Hmmm… I think this is doable, though it might leave me (more than) a little ragged by 24 December.

I actually cast off this Gothik Scarf last night at SNB and it is waiting to be blocked. Hopefully I’ll get to that part tomorrow. Or maybe Friday, at which point I’ll take some better photos that will show off the stitch detail a bit better. And speaking of SNB, it was rather quiet last night; just Rochelle and me were there to knock back copious amounts of coffee and attempt to make great progress on our various projects.

Since I was still feeling in the scarf-knitting groove, I immediately cast on for Japanese Vines. Two pattern repeats later, I have the beginnings of a delicate lacey scarf.

Now I just need to get it done in the next 5.5 days to keep on schedule.

Tags: christmas, gothik scarf, japanese vines scarf, knitting

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kimberly August 17th, 2009

I’ve had a weird, long-lasting case of start-itis when it comes to projects lately. Having noticed that I haven’t posted any crafty endeavours since May, I looked through my shelves where my various works in progress live, and realized that I have begun and then cast aside eight projects in the last three months:

• a pair of Monkey socks that just didn’t suit the yarn;
• a circular knitted blanket (Girasole) that just became too cumbersome to knit (and I decided three skeins into it that I didn’t really want a circular blanket — I like corners);
• a pair of Beaudelaire socks that Leah liberated from the needles and I couldn’t bring myself to pick up oodles of tiny stitches;
• a dress for which I cut out the fabric before we brought Leah home and of course it’s two sizes too big so I’ll wait until she’s closer to fitting that size;
• two shawls that required more brain power to knit than I had to spare; and
• a couple small projects that got thrown aside before I had invested much time or effort in them.

Wow, that’s quite the impressive list of unfinished items, eh?

Last week, I felt inspired by Rochelle to cast on for the February Lady Sweater, which I’d started last fall, but then lost some weight and it no longer fit properly. So I dug around in stash, came up with some Dream in Color Classy in In Vino Veritas and promptly cast on. It took me three tries to cast on the right number of stitches because Leah and Adam had managed to strip me of my ability to count to 83. Then I managed to mess up the buttonhole placement. Sigh. Finally, today I finished the yoke, split for the sleeves, knit a few rows of the body and held up the sweater to admire.

Hmm, I thought. It looks a little small but I’m sure it will be fine once it’s on. So I knit a little further, making excellent progress and feeling grateful that I was pressing on with the project. I decided to try it on so I could admire it while I struck a few poses in front of the mirror.

Crap. It’s too small. Somehow, I assumed that since I got 4.5 stitches to the inch last fall, I in no way needed to waste my time swatching. So I didn’t. Guess what my gauge was? Five stiches per inch, leaving me a whopping 8 cm shy of the measurement needed. Oops.

However, I refuse to let the sweater win. I ripped it all back, and have now checked my gauge and am ready to start anew with a latte by my side. I am hopeful that, at this rate, I should finish the sweater by the time Toronto cools off enough to warrant an extra layer of clothing. Or Christmas. Or next spring.

Tags: february lady sweater, knitting

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kimberly May 1st, 2009

The waiting is now driving me insane. Some days a little more quickly than others. We’ve been running around trying to get everything ready to be able to hop on a plane to Seoul at a moment’s notice (more like a couple days’ notice, but still) and while that has kept me busy, I’m now just terribly anxious and excited and tired of waiting for our travel call. It’s technically only been five weeks that we’ve been waiting (since we received our Letter of No Objection) but it feels like an eternity and it’s hard to believe Leah is now nearly nine months old.

Seriously, I feel like the proverbial teenage girl sitting by the phone, willing it to ring. I’m pretty sure the advice generally given is to get out and do stuff, because what guy wants a girl who just sits around waiting for a phone call, but I’ve done all kinds of “stuff” (purchased clothes for Leah — I’m really hoping 12m is the right size, exchanged money and ordered traveler’s cheques, ordered a new carseat for Adam, pulled out the baby toys and books, and bought new clothes for me) and am now just ready to go. The situation isn’t helped by the fact that Adam asks at least twice a day when will we be going on the plane and seems to be pretty excited to meet his “little sister.”

And I’m feeling so consumed with wanting to travel right this minute that I’ve had a really hard time getting up any energy to bake or cook (I’ve been trying to eat better these past few months and most food no longer appeals to me much at all, which makes it even more difficult). I did manage, with Adam’s help, of course, to bake some muffins this week.

Applesauce Oat Bran muffins (VCON) are a family favourite (this time made with raisins), and since my parents were coming over for coffee on Wednesday, I decided to share the vegan muffin love with them. While my parents are definitely not veg, they both loved the muffins, so I sent home the extras with them. 

And I am managing to get some knitting done, mostly while I’m studying Korean on the computer. Right now I’m working on the Shetland Triangle (Wrap Style) using merino sock yarn from Oceanwind Knits. It makes for pretty mindless knitting once you get going on it, which makes it perfect for background knitting while I learn how to tell people my phone number in Korean.

Tags: adoption, knitting, muffins, oceanwind knits, shetland triangle, vegan baking, waiting

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