it's 5 am ...

... and I'm still going strong. I've been taking Sudafed for my extreme sinus and allergy thing I've got going on, but I don't think I can blame this on it. Let me just mention now that I think I'm a convert to the whole sinus rinse deal.

Looking through some older posts, there is so much about what I'm "going to" do. If I said I was going to do it, I probably didn't. I haven't sewn a damn thing since they Aboyne. I quit Couch to 5k after week 1. I started it again 3 different times but not it's too hot to swim. It's going to be over 100 tomorrow! With the unseasonably cool spring we had, this ought to suck.

I've been meaning to restart some kind of daily photo thing, but haven't. I've been really lax about taking pictures and have a TON of stuff that needs to be photographed. I finished a Haruni shawl, and do not have a single picture of it. I even got all dolled up and wore it to a wedding and still didn't take pictures. (I knit it to wear to the wedding.) I have a lot of FOs that need proper pictures taken of them. I knit a Thorpe hat in 2009 that I don't have a single picture of, and it's knit with my hand-dyed. Good grief. I don't know what my deal is. I think after 365, I'm just kind of over taking pictures. It's really an all-or-nothing situation for me.

The only real thing I've really accomplished lately is to start an etsy shop. It's just got Highland dance cross-stitch patterns in it right now, but when there is knitting relevant stuff, I'll probably blog about it. I have a ton of shrinky dinks and stuff that would be perfect for stitch markers. Just need to get in gear and put them together. And uh, photograph everything for it. Heh.

I bought some seriously yellow yarn and don't know what to do with it now. I've got 1300+ yards of both Knitpicks Shadow Tonal in Golden Glow and Knitpicks Gloss Lace in Dandelion. Any suggestions? The Golden Glow is the orangey one; Dandelion is just straight up yellow.

finished Featherweight!

finished Featherweight!
Originally uploaded by dead redhead

I LOVE IT! I want a million, but I'm not sure if I could deal with that much stockinette.

This is just a preliminary FO shot. It's only been steam blocked here, and after a wash and block it is wonderful. The stitches looked REALLY uneven as I was knitting it, but look totally perfect now.

I also really love the color of this yarn. It looks just plain heathery grey, but up close it has purples and reds and sometimes it looks almost brown.

pattern: Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
yarn: Knitpicks Shadow Lace in Basalt Heather
needles: US #6s / 4.0mm
[rav project link]

back on the sewing wagon.

I've got a sad, crappy little sewing machine that sat unused for YEARS. I got it for Christmas my sophomore year of high school when I was taking a sewing class. This same class is the one that inspired me to knit because I am so unbelievably terrible at sewing. This is her:



This year, kind of out of the blue, I got inspired to sew again. After at least five years. Between all the amazing projects that the knitterly and crafty types have been churning out and the numerous costumes we need, I had to get back into it. (Really, what I'd love to do some day is make myself a white Lilt dress out of crepe back satin. Let's all hold our breath for that!)

I ended up at a fabric store with is, no joke, on the same block as my favorite restaurant. I knew where they both were, but never related the two. They had the absolute coolest fabric I've ever seen! Yeah, that's really a bunny torturing a raccoon!



Also found some super cute plaid, and decided to make myself a skirt for St. Patrick's Day. This turned into making a new Aboyne outfit, minus the vest. (Because I am NOT up for sewing velvet. Heck no.)



I ended up using about 3 1/2 yards for the skirt, and I honestly could have used double that and been happy. (I thought that would be a lot, but this was a fairly lightweight fabric.) I put in a deep hem to add weight to the bottom and it worked wonderfully. It did take me forever to hem, because I sewed it by hand.

Here it all is in action:


In this one you can kind of see the plaid (shawl-thing) that I spent hours making fringe on:


And just for comparison's sake, here are new and old next to each other:

I have to say that I like blue and green better than blue and red, just purely color-wise.

I'm heading to the fabric store again tomorrow. Between wanting to make box bags and an infinity dress, who knows what I'll come back with!

Couch to 5k

I started Couch to 5k in January, and did pretty well with it. For about a week. Then I had what was possibly the most stressful week of my life, which included a Highland dance competition with totally new steps (my first in six months and my first time doing the 2010 Championship steps), and my BATD Member’s exam (which would allow me to teach Highland). I was practicing every day and decided that doing Highland and running would probably not be the best thing, especially for my joints. My ankle agreed, and thanks me for it now. After the competition, exam, and grueling workshop the day after, I got a little lazy. Didn’t start running again, and lo and behold, now it’s more than a month later and I hadn’t run. ‘Til today! I’ve officially started Couch to 5k again, and just completed week 1, day 1. I’m blogging about it because I think that will help me keep doing it. You’ll know that if I don’t blog, it’s probably because I didn’t run. This means I’m due to blog again on Wednesday, so keep an eye out!

I also want to mention that I really, truly hate running. I need to be exercising more, and this is what it’s come to.

Also, if you’re wondering, I passed my exam! I found out last night. Thank you to anyone who helped me, or listened to me bitch, or reassured me that I would do fine. You guys got me through it. I only cried once that whole weekend! (And that’s a feat, truly.) For your enjoyment, here is a cute picture from that weekend. The ladies pictured helped keep me slightly distracted and sane that day. Our photo sesh was the highlight of my day.

two things i love: yellow and shamrocks!

two things i love: yellow and shamrocks!
Originally uploaded by dead redhead

my girly Cobblestone sweater has finally come to fruition.

It took me a while, but I finally beat this yarn into submission. I'm so happy with it!

Pattern: Cobblestone by Jared Flood
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Stone, 5 balls/ 1035 yards
Needles: US #6s/ 4.0 mm
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/JessSacto/cobblestone-pullover

Mods: I totally re-did the math for this. I read some other places that some ladies had got the pattern to work as-is in the smallest size, but with my gauge it just wouldn't work. I got out my copy of Vogue Knitting, and used the formula they have for bottom-up yoked sweaters. I was a pain in the ass, but 100% worth it. I also didn't do any of the yoke shaping in the pattern, which if I remember correctly is to make it longer/higher in the back than the front. There are short rows, I think. I probably could/should have, looking back. The neckline is a little wide, which should be ok. I also added waist shaping. Nothing too dramatic, but it is a must for a form-fitting sweater for me (otherwise they bunch/ride up around my waist).

I don't understand how this was designed to be a men's sweater because it is SO flattering on the female form. The garter stitch panel down the side is so figure-flattering.

I also feel compelled to say: THIS YARN SHRUNK IN THE DRYER. I know. It's cotton, of course it shrunk. It didn't shrink a lot, but enough to notice. Look at the difference in the first two pictures. First is washed, second is pre-wash. The main difference is in the length. I'll be hanging this to dry from now on.

Some incarnations of this sweater before everything got fixed:



And the horrible Molly Ringwald top that this yarn was before:

sock thoughts

I hate turning heels. It is absolutely my least favorite part of knitting socks. I dread it, most of the time. I hate picking up stitches. I started doing short-row heels for a bit, but with my fat feets, I need a gusset. Thankfully, I’ve found a way to do toe-up socks with a gusset and flap that doesn’t require picking up as many stitches as a normal one would, and works the way I always thought a heel should. (It’s from this tutorial, which I highly recommend.) Anyway, I’m only complaining about this because I’m currently in the process of knitting a flap and then will be turning the heel. Frankly, the only reason I’m typing this is because I don’t want to work on the sock. I tell myself all the time that I’m never going to knit another top-down sock, but I end up falling in love with patterns and doing just that. This pair is Clessidra:

I love them, and can’t wait to wear them. I’ve got one completely done, and yet I’m stalling. I just don’t want to knit this heel. I also need to frog the toe of the first one and add about half an inch to the foot because in my haste to finish them, I made it too short.

Now I’m contemplating churning out some socks for the boyfriend for Christmas. They’ll be toe-up at least, I know that much! And certainly not knee-high.

And if you’re wondering, I haven’t made much progress on my girly Cobblestone.

yarny destiny

There are often times I wonder about yarn and whether it really wants to "become" what I have planned for it. Yeah, I know. I'm weird. But when it takes me five tries to get past the cast-on and bottom edge of a sweater, I think of things like that.

Meet some gorgeous, girly versions of Cobblestone:



I liked the pattern from the moment I saw it, but theboy declared it "too much" for himself. I can see what he means. Then I saw one of these, and fell in love. I knew it would be a perfect sweater for me, and might be perfect for some yarn I had laying around: a sweater's worth of the new LB Cotton Ease in Stone.



I swatched for it months ago, and (of-fucking-course), forgot what size needles it was on. Side note: I remember knitting the swatch and thinking about the trick where you make YOs in the same number as the size of needle being used, and decided not to do it. Bad decision! Based on the swatch, I guessed that I used a US #8. WRONG! I ended up with a sweater with ten inches of positive ease. Which is twelve inches too many. I realize I did the swatch on #6s. Frog. Cast on again, and knit a few inches. Realize it's still too big. Frog. Re-think it, and decide to add waist shaping, but use the same numbers. Do my waist decrease math incorrectly. (I forgot that you decrease in four places in the round, not just two like you would flat!) Realize that, and frog. Re-do math, and divide incorrectly. (19/4 does not equal 3.75!) Cast on again, with wrong number of stitches. Knit for about four inches. Realize it's now going to be way too small. Frog again.

Then I thought the whole thing through again. Almost re-designed it from the top-down since I think bottom-up sweaters are silly. Give up, because I don't want to do another shit-ton of math and just do simpler math to make it still bottom-up. I've cast on for the FIFTH time, and this will be the last. If this doesn't work, I will chalk it up to the fact that this yarn does not want to be Cobblestone. (Did I mention I already knit another top with this yarn and decided I didn't like it and frogged? Yeah.)




Cross your fingers for me. I'm just about to start the stockinette portion of the body.

[365.2.11]

[365.2.11] surveying
Originally uploaded by dead redhead

we all spend a lot of time just looking out at the lake and watching boats and animals (there was a family of otters out last night! so not usual) and whatever is out here. it's pretty relaxing. it's really neat that at night you can see the headlights of the cars coming into town across the lake. last night we could see a fire burning on a hill out of the frame to the left. we could also see the red lights on the fire trucks going to it. we've also watched an osprey fishing (he got one!) and an egret/heron catching minnows. no one has caught a fish yet, excepting the neighbor guy who lives here.

i went on my first jet-ski ride today. it was fun. what i really want is a water-proof camera for times like that.

2008 finished knit and croched projects

2008 knits and crochets
Originally uploaded by dead redhead

they were mostly small things, and there were many that were not even photographed. (i have a huge to-photo list.) but overall, i LOVE all of them.

and hi! i can't believe you still read this blog. i've been gone for so long. i really need to start making an effort to post here.