Come on, someone had to say it! Motivation (or was it peer pressure?) got me going on my lovely Atomic River socks. I LOVE it! It was nice to knit with soft yarn from non-psoriasis suffering sheep. I did miss the burrs though. I finished the first sock today during lunch and I hope to start the second one tomorrow, if not tonight. I can safely say no one has socks like these and that you'll be able to see me from a mile away. Actually, I may get started on the Foliage socks for the dentist just to get some of the gift knitting pressure off my back. I found a chart that converts shoe size to foot circumference once, but of course I can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know what I'm talking about or can tell me what size to knit for a man's 9.5 shoe size?

Oh yeah, I finished the cardi with the Yarn-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. It's still a little damp (I'm telling you there's no sun here, only constant rain) and I still have to sew on the buttons (the pink ones), but I figured I would just post about it now.

Pattern: Marylin's NSS
Yarn: Do you need to ask?
Needles: Addi Turbos 4mm 32", 3.25mm 24"
Date Started: 09.15.05
Date Finished: 10.11.05

Did it really take me that long? I didn't even realize it since I was having so much fun! Seriously now, the yarn just kept me away from this project. I think my hate for it has been well documented so I won't bore you with it anymore (though how I managed to grab the yarn made from a little dry-skinned, rolling in burrs, and most likely shunned sheep baffles me). I'm thinking I shouldn' t have blocked this though, the sleeves were nice and tight before it hit the water. Now the sweater is kind of stretched and I don't think it's going to spring back. Actually, I was warned about this yarn's lack of elasticity from a reliable source before I was done and now I'm passing it on to you.

The pattern was alright to knit, nothing really too exciting here. Some of the wording in it confused me at times and other times I either just ignored it or figured out my own way to do it. I didn't make the raglan as deep as the pattern suggested (since I didn't know what it was telling me to do) and in turn I removed some of the ease built into the pattern. Thankfully I did this, since the sweater stretched out quite a bit. Other changes I made were: adding about three inches to the length, using two colors, picking up more stitches at the underarms and then decreasing them (no holes!), knitting instead of crocheting the ruffles, only knitting one ruffle per side vs the two in the pattern.

I'll grudgingly wear this, it's getting cold after all, but it's not my favorite knitted item. Besides the problems I had with the yarn, the resulting fabric is a little too flimsy and has an odd drape for my tastes. I'm also worried about how much stretching this thing is going to get after wear. Actually, I'm more worried about the wet sheep smell that won't go away.

The yarn is a definite loser, the sweater? We'll see, it's in the middle right now heading toward loserdom. It's one of those wear it and see situations. Don't believe me about the yarn? I have two skeins left that you can have for free. Free yarn! All you have to pay for is shipping, which is a small price to pay to proove me right, I mean to test out the yarn.

Posted by bitter purl at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Can I tell you how happy I am to be finally done with this project? This yarn from the little dried skinned sheep just has to go. I ended up with two leftover skeins that will either be burned or be given away. The cardi is blocking as we speak; I originally thought I was going to steam block this one, but after all the, arhem, dander and burrs in the yarn I decided to dunk the biatch. I even used scalp revitalizing shampoo to wash it, something the sheep could have used. The water was pretty nasty after rinsing the sweater, I wish I had taken a picture!

While this sucker takes forever and a day to dry (we haven't had sun here since Thursday), I dove in to some old and new projects. The atomic river socks are knitting up nicely, though it was weird to get back into knitting these after so much st st on US 6's. They don't look much longer than before, but trust me I'm working on the leg. Lolly's Socktoberfest has me all sock-happy, which has got me thinking about what other socks to knit. I figure I won't be greedy and knit up two pairs for myself at the same time (that would be unseemly), so why not knit a gift pair? Remember the Foliage I bought at Stitches East? I bought three skeins to knit some bulky socks for the dentist, any ideas on patterns? I'm not sure if I should let the yarn do all the work or make a fun pattern out of it. Are there any "manly"patterns that you know of?

You would think two socks would make me happy, but nope I wanted to get started on the Bulky Mini (aka BMC) right away. I was working out my new numbers, but I think I already messed up on the third row and ended up with more stitches on one of the sections that I should have. I'm guessing it's all the yo's and kfb action going on in the pattern. Any tips on how to apply your stitch ratio to that? Apparently the lack of sun has made me very inquisitive today.

Posted by bitter purl at 06:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It's a pretty grim day today, which is perfect for staying at home, maybe do a little house cleaning (doubtful, though I keep losing things in here) and finish up some knitting (let's hope, shall we?) unfortunately, there was no knitting to be done yesterday. Why? Because I got to hang out at a convetion center full of dentists and hygienist, that' why. Say what?!

Jealous much? The bf's dad came down for the annual meeting, apparently this year they are trying to forge things. I got to hang out all day at the marketplace with the rents. Now these dentists know how to do it right. Just for showing up and pretending I was the office manager I got a new stash; toothbrushes and pastes galore! How come we don't get free stuff at our knitting conventions? Hell, even a bag! Oh, that pretending thing? Well, I noticed early on in the day that my badge was color coded to scream "not in the biz!!" and I lost out on a lot of samples this way. After lunch, the mom and I decided to strategically hide our badges and see what happens. We ended up with free shit left and right, hell, we even got invited to presentations that ended with bags of free samples. Do I need or want all this? No, but it was free! It was more about fooling everyone; I must have been some sort of con-artist in another life.

On to some knitting: both sleeves are now done. Just need to do the neck and button bands. I hope this goes fast since I want to be done already and move on to the Hot Lava. The crappy weather should help my cause. Ignoring the bf is another trick I like to try out.

Any suggestions on which buttons I should use? I don't feel like going out and buying any, but these happened to me in my stash.

If you are thinking of knitting this pattern or if you are in the middle of it, can I give you a suggestion? Well, too bad, I'm giving it to you anyway! For a completely seamless sweater (shouldn't all top-down raglans be this way?) pick up more stitches than the pattern tells you to once you start knitting up your sleeves. On the left is my first sleeve, where I followed the pattern faithfully and ended up with a big old hole. Personally, I don't like sweaters with (unintentional) holes in them and hate to see a sweater start it's life out like that. On the right is the much improved second sleeve. I picked up more stitches than I had in the underarm section and then decreased the extras on the second round! Easy peasy!

Posted by bitter purl at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

ok kitty-kats! I'm back, did you miss me? This week has been extremely busy with work stuff, comp stuff, and basically life. The boy is gone for the weekend, so I've been able to hang out in my pj's most of the day, knit that whole time, and have no one complain about it. For you I showered (well that combined with the gym made me do it) before I took these pics.

I was hoping to take these pics when the sun was still up, but alas I jump around a lot when I knit. I constantly check my email, check what everyone else is knitting, listen to music, snack, and then knit in between all that. I also took a break before I was done with the body to pick up some longer needles for the sleeves (magic loop baby). You know the annoying part? I was going by the kitchen clock, well, some genius (who is out of town and shall remain nameless) didn't tell me that the clock was set 30-45 minutes behind! The whole day I was in a time fog and I almost didn't make it to the yarn shop. I kinda wish I hadn't made it since I was treated a little rudely, but that's a story for another post.

Let's talk about some knitting ok? I have managed to get something done, see!

Notice that my cardigan looks completely different than Wendy's (and I'm sure you noticed that I'm wearing pajama pants). Mine shall be called the not-so-short cardigan; I added about three inches to the body and actually got rid of some of the ease. I have to be completely honest though, the shrunken ease was sort of done by accident. I had never read "raglan portion of sleeve" in a pattern before and I took that to mean the width of the sleeve. I'm glad I went by the circumference of my arms though, because now it has the slimmer fit that I like to wear. I tried it on at the suggested length but it looked kinda weird ie kinda fugly. Short torso combined with really short sweater is not a pretty sight.

It's hard to tell in the top image, but I made my hem in another color (pink of course!) to add a little variety. The pink yarn doesn't have as many of the scratchy things, but instead it takes me back to the lotiony problem. The body took just a little over three skeins of the main color and each skein has been really different. I'm guessing there's something wrong with the lot I bought, which makes me less confident in the quality control. I'm sure a good soaking when I block this baby will help.

I figure I'll start on the sleeves tonight so, hopefully, I can start on the bands tomorrow. I'm trying to hurry Carrie!

Posted by bitter purl at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

ugh, This post was originally started this afternoon, but apparently my computer had other plans. Crashing was one of them, ceasing to work was the other. I'm on the boy's computer now while he tries to save all my documents on mine. I hate to think of all the images I've lost along with all the patterns I had in there. At least I was able to save my thesis paper and images, though I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with them now.
Enough about that, though I will give you a PSA: Backup your computer!

On to knitting. It was tough to not immediately start on a new project with all the new stash yarn, but I was strong and stuck to my "finishing things" mantra. Funny thing is, I haven't been knitting that much. The last time I touched this sock was on Saturday night when I got to the heel. Can I just say how much I like not having to pickup a bunch of stitches? I actually restarted the sock on Friday morning on the way to Stitches to get a better toe then worked on the foot on the way home and some on Saturday. The heel was done twice, but I'm still not completely happy with it. One side is perfect, but the other side leaves something to be desired. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not using long enough needles and that side stretched or because of the way I purled together the stitches with their wrap. When I pick it up again I need to decide what to do with the leg; do I keep the lace exactly where it is or do I somehow spread it around the whole leg?

What have I been working on then? The NSS Cardie is moving along, though for a while there I thought I was never going to split the sleeves. The rows just kept going and going. It's a little faster now, but surprisingly not by that much. I think what's keeping me from picking this up all the time is the yarn. This yarn gets really rough and starts drying and scratching my hands. For some reason I keep finding plant matter in it (last I checked Noro had conquered the "plants in yarns" game) or what I think is plant or cactus or something really rough. I love the color (#09), love the pattern, hate the yarn. Silky Wool is a definite "never again" for me.

I still will try to make it this week's exclusive project, it's finally starting to feel like fall here and I would love to have a new cardigan by this weekend to wear in these cool nights. This is definitely a lofty goal I'm sure I won't meet, since once the body is done I have to: knit the sleeves, pick up the button and neck bands, and somehow knit instead of crochet some ruffles. So, I'm not making any promises...

Posted by bitter purl at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

I didn't think this day would sneak up on me so easily or so quickly. I knew it was going to happen, there was no denying that, it happens to most of us. I've become my mother. There I said it. How do I know? How am I so sure? The first clue was the stashing. It starts innocently enough, you like a magazine so you buy an issue or two before you commit and subscribe. That title is joined by one or two more, then one day you realize you have a whole display table of six different subscriptions, back issues and all. Would you like to look up something in the November 2004 Vogue? Are you sure, because I can whip it out for you. I have food, wine, fashion, and science magazines coming out the wazoo. It wouldn't be so bad if I got rid of the old issues, but nope, they are neatly stacked in chronological order. My mom's magazine of choice was Vanidades (think Cosmo in Spanish for an older audience); she would stash them away in her night table. If she thought she missed an issue, then she would send me off to search the greater Miami area.

You might be asking yourself, "why the sudden enlightenment? you admit you have a yarn stash problem, wasn't that a clue?" Apparently it wasn't a big enough one. When boxes of shoes fall on your head as you scream in pain, something just hits you. We have a problem here; my closet is never this messy. Look at the color coordination and all the shoes still in their boxes neatly stacked. Go figure that the night I'm rushing to dinner I grab the one box that lacked balance. This is not a good thing to do in front of the boyfriend, the one that starts to wonder what else I'm hiding. I don't think you get the magnitude of the problem with this picture, the shoe boxes are arranged four boxes high and at least that many across. If my mother were here, she would tell you how she solved this problem. Buy clear, plastic shoe boxes for storage and easy access. The woman has at least eight stacks (I believe it's more) that go five boxes high. Of course this doesn't include "everyday shoes". Those need even easier access. I present to you exhibit B:

The stash of shoes that live under my dresser. My mom keeps her's somewhere near the bed, but I find my spot to be very strategic. It makes things easier when I have to vacuum, here's a whole section I can skip. I don't "need" so many shoes, but I have a thing for Pumas and, I admit it, I'm a mood dresser. I need a lot of options while getting dressed, who knows what my feet will want to sink into. Would you like to see what lives atop my dresser?



Makeup that I use, makeup that I don't use, makeup that I'm allergic to, makeup that most likely has gone bad. Each one of those bags is full of makeup, but it isn't "everyday makeup" (do you see a theme here?) so they hide in the bags that hide in drawers. My mom one-ups me here as well, along with makeup on the dresser, she has some in baskets in my father's night table, and one of those huge train cases in her closet. The woman knows how to hide a stash.
I should need to get rid of some of this. Why do I still have the "oh, everything is blurry, wait, why do my eyes burn?" mascara? I don't want to hurt it's feelings that's why! But this weekend has been proclaimed "to hell with inanimate object's feelings fest". Nothing will be spared. No puppy eyes from the shoes that give me blisters or the lipstick that is too sticky. I'll even go through my magazines, my fabric, my books, and who knows what else I may find. I can't live with useless things anymore. Too bad for the boyfriend, he will be forced to go through all his stashes as well. If you want to hear about how he's becoming his mother as well, then hopefully we can get him to start his own blog.

What about my famous yarn stash? I am making some sort of progress. No more random skeins I say (unless it's sock yarn!). I took a good, hard look at the stash and took out anything that either I have no clue what I'll use for or just simply have no use for and took them out of there. I even took some Koigu out of the stash and back to the store yesterday (did I mention I have a receipt stash?) and exchanged it for some yarn I could actually use (go figure). Bye-bye Koigu, we will meet again, hellooo Silky Wool. Are you surprised it's not pink? I quickly cast on a top-down mini cardie from the lovely Wendy. My hands are confused about the yarn though. They say, "my, how soft you are!" then they turn on it and ask "umm, has someone been lotioning you up? Because I have to break it to you, I hate lotion. I hate it so much, especially when it gets between my fingers, that I used to make my mom put lotion on my legs (that's another post entirely)". We'll see what my hands decide.

Posted by bitter purl at 02:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)