Things in Progress

Two quick things, for your viewing pleasure...

Number One:Bertha Bag 2.0 is progressing nicely! It's been knit, fulled, fulled again, fulled some more, cut, pieced, sewn and now embroidered upon, all by me. If all goes well (and I don't get distracted,) tonight she's getting a button and handles. Then it's off to my Etsy shop with her!

This series of bags (of which there is another on the way soon,) is, of course, named after Bertha. When I made the original bag a milion years ago (or January 2006, whichever you prefer,) she liked it enough to snap it up when it first went on sale. I really hope she doesn't mind that I've named my bags after her!

Here's the original bag, since it was never posted about on this blog:Total serendipity, that. I only had a rough idea of what I was going to end up with when I made that one. Now, I have a little more experience with the making and construction of the bags, but it's still a pretty random process.

Number Two:I cast on today for my first sweater EVER, the Central Park Hoodie. There's not too much to see just yet, but that's enough evidence for me that I'm actually knitting a sweater. I am in love with this pattern and have been for quite some time. Here's hoping that it goes well!

Wanna buy some mittens?

Yes, it's late in the season, but it's still cold where I live! Maybe it's still cold (or at least cool) where you are too? Maybe you'd just like to get your hands on something ready-to-wear? Maybe you'd just like to take these home?Yes, the Folky Latvian Mittens are up for sale in my Etsy shop.Instant Latvian mittens? Always a good thing!

Oh, mitten

Dear Mitten,

Why do I get the feeling that our relationship was doomed from the start? You had to know that you were only a diversion -- a plaything, if you will -- to tide me over until I settle into a Serious Relationship with The Sweater. I even told you as much at the outset of our affair. You were right next to me that night as I sighed over the pattern and groped its yarn. All things considered, I suppose I should be thankful that you're taking this as well as you are.

But coming out huge like this? I wasn't expecting that at all. I'm half a stitch off gauge for these needles and suddenly you're the biggest mitten ever. I even considered frogging you entirely and then trying this relationship on a smaller scale, but then I decided that I didn't want to throw away all the effort that we've put into it so far.

Why the sudden embiggenment? Is this because you've been hanging around that Swatch? Clearly you want me to abuse you the same way I did him. You may be pleased to learn that there is a scalding-hot Dr. Bronner's bath in your future. Maybe that's all it will take to get us to suit one another better. I'm more than willing to give it a shot -- after these past few days we've spent together I'm starting to get attached.

Sincerely,

Spilly

Can it be? WIP Wednesday!

Check it on out -- I'm actually doing one of those "blog things" -- in this case, WIP Wednesday. This is total coincidence, I promise you, but I'm going with it anyway.

You haven't seen The Swatch in a while! This is what he looked like the last time we saw him:Well, last night I decided that it would be more fun to waste my Dr. Bronner's soap and scald my hands than to knit another row of boring, BORING Swatch. Here he is after his first bath:He shrunk a bit, which is to be expected in the fulling process. I'm still debating on whether to give him another bath or to start turning him into something else now.

And now for a true WIP (this being WIP Wednesday and all,) the Komi mitten from the other day has grown a bit:Ohhh, Mitten. You just might not get abandoned after all.

For reals this time

Allow me to begin by saying "thanks!" for all the lovely birthday wishes. It's a good feeling to know that there are nice people out there who care enough to write...so, thanks!

Now look at this mitten:I'm about 2" in to the 3 1/2" inches of ribbing prescribed by the pattern. Somehow, it is going impossibly slow. I'm almost out of the woods, though, and that's about the only thing that's keeping me from giving up on the whole thing. I have bad news for you, mitten: unless you happen to have the good fortune of being finished within the next little while (which, luckily for you, is a distinct possibility.) Yes, you will be abandoned and the production of your mate might not occur for some time. No, it's not your fault. Things are happening around here mitten. Big knitterly things.

Wonderfully big and social knitterly things! This is because in the next little while I'll be making the trip north to join Heather and Adriana, at which point I will cast on for my first sweater, the ever-popular Central Park Hoodie.

Now, this is an Event in and of itself -- those of you who know me (or at least know my knitting habits) are probably aware that my introduction to sweater-knitting is long overdue. So overdue, in fact, that last June Heather actually shoved a bag of wool at me in a valiant attempt to get me going. Strangely enough, it didn't take then, but now...O! now...

Now I'm lining up sweaters that I want to make. I want the Wanderlust Hoodie (scroll down) sans bobbles and Hooded Pullover from the Fall 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting. I have even been thinking of finally attempting Sweet Mary Jane with that laceweight that I bought so long ago (years ago, now!) for that very purpose.

It's as if a whole new corner of the knitting world has just opened before me (which I suppose it has, really, and it's one of the biggest "corners" out there, too.) I can't wait to dive in.

Hey -- it's not a mitten!

It's my birthday today! Here, look at a tam!Moreover, it's a tam that has two things going for it -- it went up in two days and allowed me to cull the Noro Kureyon population in my stash. That yarn -- of a long-forgotten and indeterminate colourway, and if you know which one it is I'd be happy to hear it -- had been hanging around for ages. The contrast colour is good old Elann Peruvian Highland Wool in Golden Bark. I love how the warm tone of the Golden Bark adds richness to the otherwise too-saccharine-for-its-own-good Noro. If I was getting married next week I would go with the bright blue and bronze colour combination that's happening on the underside of the tam. I'd also have peacock feathers everywhere (and actual peacocks since we are currently operating in the realm of fantasy,) but that's beside the point.

I did the tam in this morning while (ostensibly reading) and obviously listening to Andrew Bird's new record Noble Beast. Mr. Bird is almost ridiculously talented! I have tickets to see him this spring, and oh my crap, the show can not be two full months away, can it? Yes, it can -- I have no choice but to endure. This is helping immeasurably:



I've cast on for a new sock today as well. Pictures will happen later when there is more sock to see. But yes, it's another of my own designs.

The best part about today being my birthday is that in a matter of hours I'm going to be staring down the loaded barrel of a table covered in Korean BBQ (and bi bim bap. Can't forget the bibimbap.) If only every Friday could be so lovely!

NaKniMitMo, pt. 12: The wrap-up

What a month for mittens -- and what a great KAL! I'm pleased to report that NaKniMitMo was my first true (and successfully completed) KAL, and I had a great time participating. I finished my Bloom mittens this morning:They took me one week exactly, from start to finish...and I had more than enough yarn. I'm always worried that I'm going to run out and I never do (this is a very good thing!)

Those of you who keep track of such things will note that I've bottomed out at 3 1/2 pairs of mittens this month:Of course, that's a family portrait of Bloom, Give A Hoot, Wurst and Bavarois, all together at last.

So that's it for me for NaKniMitMo 2009 -- somehow I think seven mittens is plenty. Plus, I'm almost out of January! This is not an entirely bad thing as 30 January is my birthday.

Don't be fooled just because I cast on for a tam today -- there are more mittens on the way. You're shocked, I know.

NaKniMitMo, pt. 11: It gets WURST

It's out! Go on, do your Wurst!Now you can have your meat and wear it too! Happy little sausages trail down both the front and the back of these unconventional mittens. Pick the pattern up here on Ravelry or here in my Etsy shop.

Want more Wurst-info?

The pattern is a clear, concise, 4-page .pdf file with large charts and images which I will send via your PayPal email address as soon as I possibly can!

Size: Women’s Medium (or any hand that is 8” in circumference.)

Gauge: 9 stitches = 1 inch (2.5 cm) in Stockinette st.

Yarn: One ball of Knit Picks’ Palette (231yd / 50g) in each of the following colours: Suede (Main Colour -- MC,) and Salsa (Contrast Colour – CC.) Alternately, any other fingering yarn in these colours or colours of your choice may be used. A 15” piece of waste yarn of the same weight in a contrasting colour to hold the thumb stitches is also required.

Needles: One set of five (5) double pointed needles in US 1 (2.25 mm) or size necessary to obtain gauge.

Notions: A stitch marker to mark beginning of round (optional,) and a sewing needle to weave in ends.

Skills Needed: Knitting in the round, chart reading, twisted stitches, colourwork, and grafting.

I expect to finish my Bloom mittens today! Look out!

NaKniMitMo, pt. 10: The home stretch

NaKniMitMO may be almost over, but there's still time for one more pair of mittens!I finished the first of the Bloom mittens the other day while reading and listening yet again.

Here's the palm:I tweaked several elements of these mittens, but I won't bore you with the list here (unless, of course, you'd like to be bored by the list, in which case I will be more than happy to oblige.) The important thing is that I've already cast on for Bloom mitten no. 2, and that if all goes well it will be finished long before the 31st.

In other mitten news, I am going to attempt to release Wurst today. Fingers crossed!

NaKniMitMo, pt. 9: You know you want it

...or at least I hope you want it."It," of course, being the pattern for Bavarois. Say it with me now: "bah-vah-wah!"

Bavarois is an elegant pair of sport-weight mittens with an elaborate (but shockingly straightforward) Bavarian twisted stitch motif running from cuff to fingertips.

You can get it, of course, here on Ravelry, or here in my Etsy shop.

The usual suspects:

Size: Women’s Medium (or any hand that is 8” in circumference.)

Gauge: 6 stitches = 1 inch (2.5 cm) in Stockinette st.

Yarn: Two (2) skeins of Filature Lemieux Québécoise (210yd / 100g) in colourway 84 or the equivalent amount of any other sport weight yarn. A 15” piece of waste yarn of the same weight in a contrasting colour to hold the thumb stitches is also required.

Needles: One set of five (5) double pointed needles in US 3 (3.25 mm) or size necessary to obtain gauge.

Notions: A stitch marker to mark beginning of round (optional,) a cable needle (also optional,) and a sewing needle to weave in ends.

Skills Needed: Knitting in the round, chart reading, twisted stitches, cabling, and grafting.

Oh, and the charts are large and clear and have been meticulously colour coded for ease of reading. The charts in black and white were making me go cross-eyed! What this means is that the charts are there to make your (possible) introduction to the Wonderful World of Bavarian Twisted Stitches as painless as possible. Just another of the Spilly-services that we provide here at SpillyJane Knits.