two steps forward ...

... and one step back. My wrapped pullover was a lot further along last night before I went to bed. After completing the usual steps of binding off stitches at the beginning of each row, and after working even in pattern for a few more inches I was instructed to work a decrease row:

     K2, P1, P2tog ...

That's odd, I thought, my row starts with a single knit stitch, not two. To keep the rib pattern consistent I decided to  K1, P1, P2tog... and with the decrease row completed I worked even in pattern for another few inches. No problem, I thought.

At 2:30am I awoke with a start. HEY, my decrease row ought to have started with a K2. Mine didn't because I'd bound off a stitch at the beginning of each row once more than required. Aaagh. And wouldn't the entire armhole edge look nicer with a K2 column at each edge? Of course it would.

From 2:30 to 4am I lay awake thinking about ripping back to fix it. Okay, I was also thinking maybe May 19th was a good day to go to the garden centre.... and did we have anything in the fridge I could take to work for lunch tomorrow? ... and what should I pack in my overnight bag for dog-sitting tomorrow? ,,, and could I fudge the front to match the back? ... and what should I get my sister for her birthday in three weeks time? ... and if my table is delayed, maybe I should call the retailer and make arrangements for my sister's table to ship ahead of mine? ... and why can't I sleep. And for a lot of that time I was thinking if I'm not going to sleep anyway, maybe I should just get up and fix the d@mn knitting so that I can stop thinking about it and then I finally fell asleep.

This morning I ripped back and got all the stitches back on the needle. You're not surprised, are you?

work in progress Wednesday

I've been knitting quite monogamously on my (w)rapped pullover, in no small part because I'm participating in a KAL and lagging behind. Around the midriff of this pattern is this section of banded rib which I just love. It's quite distinctive, isn't it? That's what drew me to this pattern and inspired me to queue it as soon as I saw it.

The yarn is from Shelridge Farms - their Soft Touch Dk. It's lovely to work with but I struggle to see the stitches in the poor evening light with this dark colour. In fact, minutes after taking this photo I discovered a stitch that I purled where I should have knit about a dozen rows back. "Nobody else will notice" said Gavin, but I'm fixing it anyway. After all, I'd know it was there and my eye would always go to it. The ribbing is 3x2 rib, so that's the problem. I can't knit that on auto-pilot the way I would with 3x3 rib or 2x2 rib. Note to self: check your knitting regularly.

When I started this pullover it was meant for me, and it may still be for me. But lately as I knit, it's saying someone else's name to me. I guess I'll carry on and decide that once it's done. My goal is to finish the front to the shoulders by the end of the weekend. And then cast on the back to work on next week.

So that's what I've been doing. Have a look at what everyone else is doing on this work-in-progress Wednesday over at Tami's Amis.

just the postage swap

I think I mentioned the other day that I had signed up for a new swap group on Ravelry, right? Yesterday I got my first swap package, and it's awesome!

Full disclosure: there was chocolate in the package as well, but Gavin and I made short work of that!

Of course two balls of sock yarn will be put to good use. The yarn is a "confetti" pattern, so I'm curious to see how it knits up. I'm considering Hermoine's Everyday Socks for this. Seems like every couple of days I see another pair of these on somebody else's blog, and think wow, great pattern.

Also included was 240 yards of merino, mohair, karakul and alpaca handspun yarn from Whimsy Wool. It's a beautifully textured yarn in heathery purples and very much reminds me of my Mom's favourite afghan. This simple shawl pattern looks like just the thing - simple enough to let the yarn shine. And the pattern seems particularly apt since it's from a collection of shawls inspired by music and my swap partner is very musical.

That red, black and gold bookmark? That's made from vintage saree material. Don't you love it? The photo doesn't do it any justice - the red and gold threads are metallic so they shimmer in room light. I have a quilted bedspread that is almost a perfect match for this fabric. I think they were meant to be together. And last but not least is that clever little knitting notions box. There's no excuse anymore for those beads and stitch markers rolling around at the bottom of my knitting bag!

Now I just hope my swap partner likes her swap package as much as I like mine!

Year of Projects: Road to Oslo 01

Knitting on the Road: Canada • Canal du Midi • Conwy • Dalarna • Denmark • Friday Harbor • Hiiumaa • Huron Mountain • New England • The Road to Oslo • Santa Fe • Spey Valley • Christmas in Tallinn • Traveler's Stockings • Uinta Cabin • Unst • Whitby

This blog post is a bit of a cheat, because I actually have no progress to report on my year of projects. After finishing my Santa Fe socks last week I looked through my stash for likely yarns for The Road to Oslo socks. The pattern calls for sport weight and that's got me perplexed. There really is no sport weight sock yarn in my stash. What I am considering is whether I could pair two light fingering yarns and get away with that? That's what I'm going to try, I think.

And while I've been pondering that I've been trying to catch up on the (w)rapped KAL that I'm taking part in. The pattern here calls for Madeleine Tosh DK; instead, I'm using Shelridge Farms DK. But I think my yarn is a bit lighter than the Tosh yarn, because my gauge swatches are knitting up small. They grow after washing, but I've decided to also move up to a larger size. Having sorted that out, the next thing I discovered is that I wasn't doing the banded rib stitch correctly. YouTube to the rescue - now let's see if I can make some steady progress on this without any further drama!

We've been enjoying a couple of days of fabulous weather and as a result everything in the garden is starting to look summery. There's a carpet of blooming Vinca (Periwinkle) in the beds along the back fence, and the Dicentra (Bleeding Heart) has started flowering. It's just too nice to be indoors, so I think I'll head out there now with my little snips and prune the shrubs back into some sort of order. Happy Sunday!

Finished Object Friday

This Celtic Knot dishcloth is something I whipped up to add to my swap package for a "Just the Postage" swap in the new Canada Let's Swap group on Ravelry. This is the first time I've ever been involved in a swap, so hopefully I'm doing this right.

My swap partner is also a sock knitter so that made my choice of yarn easy. For this swap the idea was to select something new and unused from the stash; in my case it's this Fiber Optic Foot Notes skein in Lochness Batik. On her questionnaire, my swap partner indicated that she prefers "rich jewel colours including purples, greens, reds and blues so this fits the bill. It's gorgeous yarn, but when I bought it I ordered two skeins. After knitting up one skein, this other has been lying in my stash for a year and a half.

I filled out my little swap box with other goodies. My swap partner can't tolerate chocolate  - oh can you imagine? - so I've tucked in a box of Mike & Ikes for a sweet. And then there are a couple of knitting accessory items like two sample packets of unscented Soak, a couple of handmade buttons and some highlighter tape for marking patterns.

But something was still missing; it all felt a little impersonal. Reading through her posts on Ravelry I found that she was interested in Celtic Knot patterns, so I had a look and decided on this simple little dishcloth pattern. Ideal, right? It's quick and easy and I've used stash yarn. So what do you think? Have you ever been involved in a swap? If you received this swap package would you be happy with it? Have I left anything out that should be in there?

It's Friday! Have a look at the links at Tami's Amis and be prepared to be wowed by all the finishes. And if that doesn't keep you busy, you could spend some time over at Africam. How cute are those Cheetah cubs, eh?

Work in Progress Wednesday

Note: I am absolutely determined that this (w)rapped pullover will fit me perfectly. I will take all the necessary steps - measure, swatch, measure, rip out as required, remeasure, reknit - until it's perfect. I promise, cross my heart.

Step 1 is to swatch. The pattern indicates that my gauge should be 24sts/30 rows in 2x3 rib and Banded Rib Stitch across 4 inches. So last night I dutifully cast on 50 sts, worked a few inches in 2x3 rib and then another couple of inches in banded rib.

Well. The fact that my swatch is wedge shaped shows clearly that my gauge for 3x2 rib is not the same as for banded rib. Not surprising really, considering that 3x2 rib scrunches in a lot more than banded rib. Obviously combining both stitch patterns in a single swatch was a mistake. So what to measure? I've decided that the gauge of the banded rib is most important to this pattern, and when I measure that, my gauge is about 30 sts/30 rows, but I'm guessing because the banded rib is being distorted by the 3x2 rib below it.

What to do? The only thing I can do; I'm going to rip out and reknit this swatch in banded rib only. It's too early in this process to be uncertain about gauge; the risk of that coming back to bite me is just too huge. And I think I mentioned that I am absolutely determined that this pullover will fit me perfectly.  But first I'm going to knit on my Tardis socks - they're behaving nicely and fitting perfectly with no drama - while I try to convince myself that knitting a pullover for myself is a good idea.

As always, check the links at Tami's Amis to see what other crafters are working on. Chances are someone out there is getting gauge!

Surmount the Stash May Update

Monthly budget of $50 for all knitting related expenses: I ended last month with a deficit of $35.64, which is bad news considering that I was planning all along to spend, spend, spend at the Knitter's Frolic marketplace.

I splurged when I bought bulky yarn and needles to knit a headband and cowl for a departing coworker to the tune of about $50.00. I spent $7.22 more when I bought black sock yarn for my Tardis socks. And then I really overspent at the Frolic - all in all I probably spent about $110.00 there. Oh yeah and I spent $6.04 for the (w)rapped pattern just yesterday! I don't have all the receipts, but I'll estimate my deficit at $160.00 now. Is a budget of $50 a month is unrealistically low? Or should I put myself on a spending moratorium for the next few months?! I think the latter.

Manage my WIPs: Last month I started and finished a couple of dishcloths, a teddy bear, a small cowl, a large cowl, a headband and a couple of pairs of socks. Here we are on the first day of May and there's just one pair of socks on my needles. That's going to change though, I'm swatching for my (w)rapped pullover this evening.

Plan projects to work through my inventory of yarns in my Stash:  I'd estimate that in April I knit through about 1500 yards from my stash. I'd hoped to use some stashed DK cotton for the (w)rapped KAL but I've purchased yarn instead because I think it'll need the stretchiness of wool. Two skeins of sock yarn have been destashed  - one in a swap and one I've donated as a Ravelympics prize. Speaking of the Ravelympics I've got my project planned: Clapotis from silk mawatas in my stash.