knit1frog2

double stuffs

Sorry I've been away so long...I was under the weather and also under a pile of 5xfrogged yarn trying to figure out how to complete the buttonband of the puffy.  I knew that it would need to be knit on smaller needles so that the band didn't scallop once buttoned and pulled across my (ahem) chest.  But after trying it, one layer was not thick enough so I started researching the doubleknit method.

It only took a few or five times to get the hang of and then I was off and knitting.  My gawd.  Seriously.  I obviously made it more complicated than it needed it to be!!!

So get this. 
After picking up 126sts down the front o the sweater, the doubleknitstuff setup began.  Once this happened, try to imagine if you will, adding a 2nd ball of sticky wooly yarn to the mix, knitting with both hands -- one hand continental, the other english and there's more...I had to remember to seed stitch.  That's right.  Knit, Purl, Knit, Purl...but twice.  OMG.  At first, I thought I'd be all thorough and if I was knitting the front stitch, well then of course I should purl the back stitch right?  Yeah, uh no.  That got SO complicated!!!

But I am proud of the outcome...check it out, it produced a nice, still buttonband:

before binding off

And just to prove that it really is doubled...here is proof!

splitting out the sts from 1 needle to 2 to bind off

kinda funny

I'm working on the buttonbands for the puffy sweater...nothing else much to report...except...

Something kind of funny happened this week...while at the Proclub, I saw one of authors of a Blog that I've read at one point or another!  I almost said something, but um, is that weird?  "Hi, you don't know me, but I've seen your picture on your knitting blog...no, I don't think I've ever left a comment, but um, I wanted to say hi!"  Doesn't that sound a little stalkeresque?!  Instead I washed my hands at one of the many sinks, smiled and moved along to my workout.

forge ahead

I made another batch of peach jam tonight (some in smaller jars to share with interested co-workers) and am working on the puff-sleeved sweater.  Red plum jam is next on the list...!  Wait.  What am I going to do with all of this jam?!!  Jars upon jars upon jars are starting to stockpile in my cupboard.  It's really pretty to look at though.  Well, and tasty too of course!

yum jam.  who wants jam??

I've knit like a mad woman and made it to the part where you split the sleeves out (yay!).  Now I'm trying to figure out where to put the darts since I'm knitting not-to-pattern (eek).

This is why I press on...

cutie, no?

I can't wait to get to the point where I sew them to the (hopefully) not wavy or scallopy buttonband.

i swear

Sometimes knitting can be so relaxing...it can be such a zen experience.  Then there are other times when you've gotten the zen hit and it is rudely interrupted when you realize you've knit the wrong size...so you frog the entire thing to start over at the next smaller size...and you've been trying it on along the way...and you're really worried about it clearing your boobs b/c you hate when buttons pull the buttonband into a wavy, scalloped formation...but it does clear them (yay!) so you keep knitting...forgetting to pay attention to how it's fitting your back...and you realize that you really need to add more decreases to the back than the pattern says...because you do have a big back and smaller waist...dammit.

I have knit two, almost complete sweaters already.  Please tell me the 3rd time's the charm.

no seriously, the next one will work, right??

But I do like the decreases and increases on the front...at least I have gotten more practice with these...sigh.

I should have done these on the back too.

It's late...I need sleep. Frogging will begin tomorrow...unless I give up knitting altogether.  ugh.  But hey, I guess I can always make jam.  I made peach tonight, raspberry last weekend and blackberry the weekend before that.  so there.

the secret

While the Branch scarf really isn't that complex, I can't tell you how many times I have looked up at the TV and lost where I was in the pattern!  If you've ever frogged mohair, um.  Right.  It's not something one wants to do repeatedly.  Talk about sticky.  I finally had to write out the pattern on graph paper and highlight every 5-block...the other secret to successfully get through the pattern for me is, I must commit to completing 5 rows at a time (well, really 10, but I wasn't including the no-think return rows).  See what can be done when concentrating?

I kind of like the way the end of the scarf isn't straight...I haven't decided whether to block that out or not.

tweed can be soft

Sometimes it's easier to just knitknitknit than stop to take pictures, resize the image for the web, upload the image, code the image, post the image.  So that's what I've been doing, knitting.  Of course as I was taking photos of some recent knitting, it made me wonder what other people out there were doing the exact same thing on a Saturday morning...taking pictures of their knitting...funny thought, eh?

Did anyone else living in my city go to WW and use the 20% coupon?  It was valid thru yesterday.  I totally spaced and forgot that I had put some skeins of Karabella Soft Tweed on the hold shelf!!  I have been looking at this yarn for I don't know how long.  Z can attest to that fact.  I have never felt a softer tweed...ever.  I have been thinking about it ever since I first felt the swatch (though not with my face, thankyouverymuch).  I am not kidding.  I have thought about this yarn a LOT.  It is soft, tweedy AND light.  I really think this is what I'm going to knit the UA with.  I'm going to knit up a swatch tonight.

x13 (hover over for close up)

See what I mean?  It is lovely.  I think my dad would have liked it.