I - Just - Couldn't - Resist

Having a wonderful time :)

A handmade sweater? That fits? Never!

I don't want to make this post long - I don't really want to be reading or posting blogs right now - I've got THE BOOK (which already has 177 reviews on Amazon) and that's all I really want to think about and read. Yesterday was the Spider summer gala, which was even more fun than I could have anticipated. Virginia was a most gracious, imaginative and fun hostess, the weather was fantastic and the company, as always, was wonderful.

So, just here to show off my recently finished hourglass sweater:

Only one pictures because it's not blocked yet, and I was having some timer/colour issues - plus, there's THE BOOK.

Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
Yarn: Jaeger Trinity in colour #439 - this is a vibrant orange/flamingo colour that seems to vary in intensity, and is a bugger to photograph :) I love this yarn, it is perfectly light-weight and makes for a perfect fall/spring sweater, and has a slight 'distressed' look.
Needles: Denises US #8 and #5 - various cable lengths.
Mods: I made the sweater longer. I also did 4 more decrease rounds at the neckline. my size is also between 2 sizes, however the gauge was off with the trinity, so I knit the larger of the two sizes, and i feel the fit is perfect. I'm thinking this is probably more luck than judgment.
Thoughts: This is just what I needed after the first sweater disaster. Had it not worked out, I'm not sure I would ever try another sweater. But it did, and it's nice to know that I *am* capable of wearable clothing, besides socks and tanks :)

Stay tuned, when I get back - a free sock pattern to be released. AND a blog contest (it's about time). Speaking of contests, you should totally check out knitting sutra has a great little contest of her own going on with fantastic prizes up for grabs - she wants help finding a non-pooling sock pattern, and don't forget to tell her I sent you :)

Have a wonderful Sunday/week, I'll see you all when I get back from San Fran.

Welcome to WIP-land

Thanks to non-knitting stuff going on, there's not too much going on in the finished knitting department. Just a bunch of WIP's...

First up the boy charades in Regia 4-ply. The yarn started out as a pair of socks for myself, but Mr. B. commented about 5 times about the colour of the yarn. I got the hint, and after several false starts, the yarn sung with the Charade pattern - I had a bugger of a time trying to get a true colour respresentation on this one though - I failed.


Secondly, my latest WIP. The Esther* socks, I saw these this week and just knew that it was exactly what the Lorna's Laces languishing in my stash wanted to be. It's such a pretty pattern, it took a while to get the hang of the pattern, and the cabling nearly made my head explode and I'm probably doing it wrong, but I'd say it's worth it.


Finally there's the hourglass sweater from LMKG, which was left neglected some some time when the heat started to build. This week though, knitting has gathered speed as I realize that we will be in San Fran in less than 2 weeks!! I'm very excited about this trip, first time that far west, and a City that Mr. B. and I have been dying to see for a loooong time. I'm hoping he will be pursuaded to make a little detour to a LYS or two. My priority is to go to Artfibers. But I wouldn't mind checking out Article Pract and/or even ImagiKnits. Any other suggestions for while we're there (beit knitting/yarn/craft places or a not-to-be-missed restaurant/bar or random suggestions) would be greatfully appreciated.

* The link is to a German Yahoo, sock knitting group, there are a few patterns available if you become a member of the group, and the patterns are in English as well as German.

He loves 'Em!!

Yes indeed, the Post office pulled through, they stopped striking and got Dad's socks to him in time for his birthday yesterday. When I called him and asked if the socks fit he responded "I don't know, I packed them already". The thing is, you see, my parents are about to experience a major life change - they just bought a house in Bad Ischl, Austria, which they will be converting into a place to live (for them) downstairs, and a couple of vacation apartments upstairs (you know, so they can earn money for food and mortgage).

My parents needed to sell their home in the UK in order to buy the Austrian house - they put their house on the market on Wednesday, and accepted an offer on Friday!! So, you can imagine that socks are not foremost in Dad's mind - although he did email me later to let me know that the socks fit, he loves them, and they will be perfect for those cold winter days in the mountains. I still can't believe how beautiful it all looks though.



In knitting news - twisted tweed socks are complete!


I've emailed the pattern to the people who volunteered to test knit (if you didn't get your pattern, check your junk box, or email me schrodinger212 AT gmail DOT com). I'm hoping the pattern will be available, for free, in the next couple of weeks.



I also finished one-skein wonder last weekend, but didn't get a chance to photograph it. It's a bit meh! to me, I'm not enamoured with it, maybe it's the yarn, the bulk of it, the feel, maybe it needs to be slightly bigger...


Yarn: ONLine Linie 44 Ravenna - black (about 3 skeins)
Pattern: One Skein Wonder by Stefanie Japel
Needles: Denises US 5 & US 8



One the sewing front, I did have success with these cute little headbands by Heather Bailey (thank you to gleek for pointing out the pattern).


They really do work, and are a cinch to make - best advice I got was to make many at a go, since they are so easy to do, so I have 3 of them, but I seriously wish I made more now.

Weekly update.

Thank you everyone for your sweet and wonderful comments about the bowling bag, I did have some issues leaving my apartment with my gigantuan head for a few days :) The bag goes to work with me everyday, and it's working out perfectly - and, yes, I am still boasting when I get the chance.

Now on to what's been going on with my crafty life this week. Firstly, I have an FO: Mr. Schrodinger Senior (AKA, Dad) has a pair of socks for his upcoming birthday on 07/07/07. I have to get these in the mail tomorrow and just hope like crazy that they will get there for Saturday, which might be tricky thanks to a Postal strike in the UK.

The socks ain't exactly newsworthy, but they should be perfect for a man who'd want nothing more than "just plain socks".


Pattern: basic top-down, short row heels with 2x2 ribbing for the cuff.
Needles: Knitpicks US #1
Yarn: Regia Stretch Color, color #98
Thoughts and Outcome: well, they're socks. Actually perfect for train rides, 3 hour car rides to Staten Island (don't ask), Spiders, cabs and anywhere else I could pull them out and get a few rounds in. I'm a little concerned the leg might be a little tight for him, we shall have to wait and see.


And here's a nearly FO, my "Twisted Tweed" Socks. Partly nspired by Sandra's Charades and partly by how the RPMs worked on Trekking, I wanted something, spiral and tweed.


So I found this stitch patern and I think it is nearly perfect. I say nearly, because the row gauge is so completely different to that of st st, the foot looks quite bizarre when knitting it. However, after blocking it was a lot less noticeable and (in the true test) the sock fits me perfectly well.


I plan on sharing the pattern with you as soon as I've finished, there will be a toe-up and a top-down version available. Anyone wishing to test knit before then, just drop me a comment and I'll email you the info. I also have to work out where to store the pdf for others to download it - any ideas on this front will be gratefully appreciated.

Now for the jealous-making part. For those of you in tiny spaces, you might want to stop reading now and go to Katy's amusing post on sewing in an NYC apartment.

After 3 months of looking, I finally found it, and my "sewing table" arrived on Friday, Mr B. put it together for me yesterday - and what a star he was, the horrible thing took about 2 hours, thanks to some poorly drilled holes and other 'issues'. However for $82 (including tax and shipping - gotta love Target baby) we couldn't really complain too much, AND it's as solid as a rock and looks pretty cool too.


As you can see, it's not truly a sewing table, just a desk with a sewing machine on it, but it's perect for my needs. The height is adjustible and there's a little drawer for some knick-knacks. Now my craft corner is almost complete.


I say almost, because there is the little issue of this to take care of.


Some shelves, and additional cubes will be added as money permits, but it's certainly looking great to me. Now I have no excuses for not sewing...

Well... except for the small task of changing my online photo storage from fotki (which is a truly great site and I have no problems with it, ever) to flickr. While I still have my reservations about flickr (it just seems more limited compared to fotki), it does look cool, and it works with Ravelry, and that was enough for me to decide to make the switch now that my second year draws to an end with fotki. So, I apologize to those of you who get email updates from flickr, I will be adding a LOT of old photos over the coming days (and months).