Finish (or frog) – Everlasting Bagstopper

Why has it taken me over a year to unite this perfect ribbon to this awesomely colorful string bag?

I don’t know. Because I’m super lame? That must be it. Good thing we have the Finish or Frog Knitalong to kick our butts into action.

I finished the knitting on Everlasting Bagstopper several months ago.

I’m embarassed to tell you how long ago I started it, and how long ago I vowed to finish it. Sewing ribbon to knitting, while making sure that it can support like 10 lbs of stuff in the bag, is a pretty daunting challenge. But it fits with my “try something new” theme. And I fricken need to finish this thing.

In other FoF news, I’m very close to the finish line on Exchequered.

With any luck, I should be able to present both of these items to my sister the next time I see her!

Week 4 – Salt and Pepper Tweed

Salt and Pepper Tweed (not to be confused withSalt N Pepa) makes a firm fabric with an interesting wrong side.

It is so stiff that I would be hesitant to use it for a garment, unless it was a very tailored jacket. I usually use #6 or #7 needles for Cascade 220, and I used #8 for this swatch. I suppose in a drapey fiber like alpaca it might be suitable for garments, but in wool I would be more inclined to use it for a cushion or a purse.

Finish (or frog) – Exchequered

I think the Finish or Frog Knitalong is a marvelous idea.  I have far too many projects that I’ve abandoned, and I’d really like to cull through them and get them under control. 

But today, we focus on prevention.  What makes me abandon projects?  How can we identify, and then prevent, UFOism?  In honor of Finish or Frog I’ve decided to focus on (and please-oh-please finish) an “at risk” project.

You remember exchequered.

I’ve come so far that frogging isn’t an option, so the “finish or frog” decision has already been made. But this project has definitely become a slog, unfortunately. I call this project “at risk” because I’ve already missed my deadline – I wanted to give this to my sister in December. If I keep putting it off, it will be too warm for scarves before I know it, and I would probably never get around to finishing it. So my new deadline is February first. I have a week to finish this bad boy.

I tend not to make scarves because it’s so hard to mentally measure your progress. Once a scarf is a few feet long, another couple of inches doesn’t make a noticeable difference. I’ve been departing from the checkerboard pattern a bit in the main body of the scarf, so I can mentally check off my progress by thinking “four magenta blocks from the variation in the pattern, now five, now six.”

I think it’ll go a lot faster once the checkerboard pattern breaks up. I haven’t been following her chart, I’ve been making it up as I go along. Whenever I do that I find the knitting goes faster, because I want to keep going to see how it turns out. We’re at 52 inches now, so finishing in a week is reasonable if I really focus on this project.

Say hello to my leetle friend

(I actually hate the movie Scarface)

My husband got me (or rather, let me get) a new camera for my birthday and I am super excited about it.

I have a lot to learn, but I am very excited about this camera so far. Hopefully you’ll see an improvement in the photography around here, but that might come at the cost of relatively less knitting. I am looking forward to this process though.

One of the really cool things about having a new camera is that it occurs to me to take photos of things that I find interesting. Here is a picture of the snow that fell the other night.

We live in the city, so all the streetlights really do make the snow that color. I love the sparkle, and I love the shadows cast by the fence.

One thing I am really excited about is playing around with those artsy, only-a-little-bit-actually-in-focus so popular on the knitting blogs.

Here are three knobs:

And here is one perfectly sharp knob with two blurry knobs:

I feel fancier already.

Week 3 – Macedonian Stitch

This is Macedonian Stitch from the Second Treasury. I think this pattern would be nice for a man’s sweater, because it’s somewhat interesting to work but simple enough for a guy to wear (particularly if the color contrast was more subtle).

Initially I thought that it looked better with the darker color as the background, but now I think they look equally nice. It has a more subtle look when the background is the lighter color. The texture and the lighter color both “pop” against the rest of it, so when the texture is in the darker color it balances out.

Note: I’ve decided to switch “Swatch Saturday” to “Swatch Sunday” because it fits my schedule better.

Shetland Triangle

I got so caught up in year-end and new finished object posts that I almost forgot to show you my last finished object of 2008: Shetland Triangle.

Pattern: Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersockin a mill end that I got from my knittyboard secret pall way back in March 2007(thank you fiberfool!)
Made for: Myself
Worked on: July 12, 2008 – December 31, 2008

I started this project way back in July, right after I finished knitting the DPP sample. I cast off on December 31, and took a picture of the unblocked lace in the last rays of sunlight in 2008.

Blocking works magic. Bonnie at Blue Peninsula did a great post on blocking lately.

I am very pleased with the way the Supersock holds lace patterns. Check out the crisp little points. I will certainly use Supersock for lace in the future.

In all, I am very happy with how it turned out. It was a very boring knit (which can be good) because I made it at a much smaller gauge than called for. I chose this pattern for this yarn because I thought fir cone lace would be perfect for this fir colored yarn.

I haven’t exactly mastered the artful draping that shawl-wearing seems to require, but I’m working on it.

Week 2 – Pythagorean Pattern

This is Pythagorean Pattern from the Second Treasury. Since it is perfectly reversible, I might use it in something like a scarf, stole, or dish towel, where reversibility would be a big advantage. It’s very easy to make. The one challenge is remembering whether you’re working on one side or the other, since the two sides look the same.

Otto

Pattern: Otto by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Cascade 220, approx. 3/5 of a skein
Made for: Mom
Worked on: January 3, 2009 – January 6, 2009

My mom’s birthday is this week, so I made Otto for her. For some reason I always end up doing toys in last-minute marathons, I think because I underestimate how long they take. I finished it though!

Otto was a hit, and now Elijah has a buddy!

It’s really amazing how much the cuteness is enhanced with a little leftover black yarn. I embroidered the face when I was still knitting the legs, because I thought it looked a little creepy without a face.

That worked out just fine, but it made me feel a little bad to stab him in the head as I was sewing on his ears

ouch!

As Ysolda notes, Otto’s legs are constructed differently from Elijah’s. Otto’s legs are a continuation of the body, and Elijah’s are picked up and knit from his rear end. You can see the difference here:

I felt very rude taking this picture.

Now that it’s been a couple of days, I think that the legs were equally fiddly to make, and that there is really no way around it. The effect of the legs is different, and if I made Otto again I might use the Elijah legs.

As you can see, Elijah’s legs are floppy, and Otto’s legs are stiff.

As a result, Otto can stand if propped up. The downside is that he can only sit if propped up, and Elijah can sit on his own. I tried to stuff Otto’s thighs very thinly so it would make it easier for him to sit, but that was nowhere near as effective as the natural hinge formed by picking up Elijah’s legs in a triangle arrangement. Depending on your intended use for one of Ysolda’s knit toys, I might suggest swapping the leg styles.

I salute Ysolda on yet another clever and adorable knit toy, and I would highly recommend it.

Vestee

Pattern: Vestee by Marjorie Brigham
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Bunny Hop Print in “Blue Jeans” (3 skeins)
Made for: Baby Nate
Worked on: December 13, 2008-December 24, 2008

I finished it before Christmas, but between all the snow we’ve had and leaving town for a few days, I didn’t have a chance to deliver it until last night. Baby Nate is not a year old yet, but he’s pretty big so I knit the 12-month size. It fits him perfectly! I’m very pleased with the fit, since I don’t have much experience at all with babies and I was flying blind, having not seen him for a couple of months.

I think the yarn works well with the pattern. The texture still shows up, and the mottled look will hide stains better than a solid color would have.

There was a tiny bit of pooling, but nothing major. I’m very happy with how it turned out.

Week 1 – Mosaic Sampler 1

Welcome to Swatch Saturday!  This is Mosaic Sampler 1 from Barbara Walker’s A Fourth Treasury of Knitting Patterns  (showing three repeats across and two down, separated by the green band). In keeping with my theme of “try something new” I tried mosaic knitting for the first time.  I’m not sure what took me so long, as it is a simple enough concept.  Indeed, as you can see here, the pinstripes on the DPP are formed with slipped stitches.

I think a pattern like this would be appropriate as a subtle accent to a hem, cuff, or edge of a cardigan.  I’m not sure I would ever use this particular pattern for anything, as I find the motifs to be somewhat swastika-like in shape (my husband doesn’t see it and thinks I’m being too sensitive).  I guess it’s not so bad, and some mosaic patterns are much worse in that respect (I’m talking to you, number 43!).

What would you use this pattern for?