The knitting moves on

The vest is sitting until I can find buttons and figure out how to steam it. I had just barely started the Bohus-Inspired Sweater from Knit So Fine when I got distracted by the vest. Though I was sorely tempted to start something else, I decided to pick it back up.

Here's where it was:

I realized when I wrote it up on ravelry that I had forgotten to increase before the turn row, so I tinked back and added an increase row. I wasn't brave enough to frog it since this is knit using two strands held together. I had thought it would be a huge pile of crinkly yarn, but it wasn't nearly as big as I was expecting it to be.


Since I was redoing it anyway, I figured I'd try different turn row that I heard about somewhere ages ago. Instead of purling, I k2tog, yo across. It gives it a quite dashing picot type edge.


We'll see how long I last before I give in and start something new and more interesting.

Busy sunday

First off, a yummy breakfast with the 'rents at Canyon Creek Cafe in Bot-hell as James prefers to call it. Pumpkin pancakes, quite delicious.


And since I tend to make funny faces in most of the pictures taken of me, here's Mom making fun of me (pardon the back lighting).


We then wandered around River Days, which was a bit of a street fair with local businesses and artists with booths. I don't tend to wear jewelry, or I would have been more interested. I did stumble upon a quilt group with a wonderful raffle quilt. I bought two tickets, well see if I'm lucky. I was shy and didn't get the lady's name, but she's current president of the Busy Bee quilters.


They also had a couple blocks of classic and collectible cars. Fascinating to take a peek under the hoods, where everything seems much simpler and less crowded than cars today.


Mom and I went shopping for various house type linens afterwards. I'm surprised how limited the color palette is, especially bedspreads. My parents just moved and have a really pretty, super dark green carpet. There was nothing even close in curtains, sheets, bedspreads and pillows. Everything is sage or olive green. After much dithering, a machine washable neutral colored bedspread was acquired, plus window scarves that I will get suckered into putting up later this week.

On the knitting front, I am basically finished with the vest. I only have a few ends left to weave in and buttons to sew on. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to block it... it doesn't lay flat after I put the armhole and neck edgings on. The pattern vaguely refers to steaming, but I've never done that before. More research, I suppose. Photographic proof of progress:


This was my first time picking up stitches around shaped edges. It's really quite a pain in the arse. I had to fudge lots of places and pick up around too many strands in other places or I would have left big gaping holes. The pattern always called for the decreases to happen right at the edges. I've seen elsewhere that you leave one stitch at the edge to be worked normally and decrease the two before it. I wonder if that would have made a cleaner edge. I'll have to play with it at some point.

A nerd confession...

I play games. I know, no big deal. Well, my game of choice happens to be (ahem) world of warcraft. I'm a bad ass bear tank most of the time. See?


The funny thing is that everyone thinks video games are not social. This is not the case with wow. We have a hell of a good time hanging out with our guild. Lots of like minded folk, where I can make a geeky math joke and people will actually laugh at it. Very fun!

We spend a couple nights a week raiding. For anyone interested, we've cleared Ulduar to Yogg. We spent last night learning new bosses in Trial of the Crusader. (Killed the first two).

So, now you're been warned. I'll try not to ramble too much about it in the future.

Redone vestiness

I gathered my wits and ripped back my vest. Not quite so traumatic as I thought it might be. It helped to pull quickly and dramatically to the row before I wanted to pick up, then take the last row out a stitch at a time while I put the live stitches on the needle.


Here's the fixed vest, plus more more work on the back.


I quite like the patterning on the back. I'm halfway between starting to work straight and shaping for the neck. I'm still amazed how quickly it goes. I should do large gauge projects more often...

Current travel/boring meeting project

Yesterday was a rather interesting day. Work like normal but James disappeared around lunch time with his boss. (Side note: We work together with my cube across from his office. It's never been an issue). Three hours later I get a text that they're at the bar, been drinking since lunch. Around quitting time, I was invited to join them. I was a little worried it was bad news that precipitated this, but actually the opposite. Both of them were quite drunk and very amusing to listen to. I also got an opportunity to do my first official bar knitting.

This project started when I bought this Handmaiden Sea Silk on my honeymoon. James was agreeable to yarn store visits and I took him up on it :).


I did some ravelry research and decided I'd use it for a Clapotis. Such a popular pattern, but I haven't made it before. After I finished my last travel project that I keep in my bag, I decided this would work well.

Here's where I was this morning:


I dropped my first stitch yesterday. Woohoo!


I'm a few rows farther after some boring meeting knitting this morning. I think the meetings are more enjoyable for me than anyone else on the team because I knit through them. Luckily they let me, helps keep me sane. James always jokes that he'll bring in some soldering for the meetings.

We'll see how long it takes to finish. The only dedicated time this will get is about an hour on Thursdays.

Frogging time

I've been knitting merrily away on a vest. Small size, worsted weight, big needles makes it addicting to watch grow.

Exhibit A:


Unfortunately, if you look closely (see exhibit b), there's a bit of a problem. It's pretty subtle, but I skipped a row or two of lace. The bottom two leaves are right, with four pairs of yarn overs. The top two are wrong, with only three pairs each.

Exhibit B:


The rather funny and ironic piece of this is that I thought I noticed something funny right at that spot. So, I tinked back two rows and continued on, even completing the left front. I thought things seemed a little strange when one row ended with a yarn over, but I kept going.

Punchline, before I ramble too long. I tinked back two good rows and continued on leaving out two rows in the lace pattern. Sigh. I'll have to take it back to the stitch markers you can see in the first pictures.


A bit of nerdiness:

A first post

I'm rushing this just a bit to be able to play with blog layouts. We'll also have to see how the name and everything feels after a bit.

A picture test: puzzled clouds.