| rabbit rabbit |
saturday 01.01.2005 |
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looks like it's going to be a good one.
happy new year, everyone!
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| a barrel of monkeys |
monday 01.03.2005 |
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i paid some bills this morning and i had to void one of the checks because i wrote 2004 for the date.
thuy's new year resolutions:
1. get used to writing the number 2005.
2. think of more resolutions.
look what i made with the left over yarn from the earflap hat.
 another beanie! quell the surprise!
i used us13 needles and casted on 48 stitches, two less than the flapper's
circumference. i used up every last yard of that yarn. there were exactly six inches left when i cinched the crown shut. not bad.
that was on january second. on new year's day i finished the bunnies, all nine of them.
 beanie doubled as barrel
i made the mistake of tossing them into the dryer after the washes. i don't know what i was thinking. they all shrunk and the imperfections in the hand spun yarn got magnified by the heat so the bunnies got all tweaked. they're a lot rougher looking than the first one i made (far right with red scarf) but they're still charming.
i think.
it took me quite some time to give them faces and scarves. now they're ready to face the new year in a new home. i hope the new owners will like them as much as i do.
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| news flash |
monday 01.03.2005 |
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if you're one of the savvy web users, please update your rss feed for schmeebot. it's been fixed so that you are not required to register to read each new blog entry.
signed,
non savvy web user
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| aran, anyone? |
tuesday 01.04.2005 |
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i've been thinking a lot about what i would like to have accomplished for 2005. i'm aiming for 33 new things to do but so far, i only have four. knitting an aran sweater is one of them.
i have always liked this one sweater called moss stitch+cables by kristin nicholas. it's featured in the knitting in america book. so, as wisely advised by elizabeth zimmermann, i'm knitting a beanie sampler. although i'm making it more for learning to follow the charted cable pattern than for gauge.
100 stitches around on us7
it sure takes a lot of time to keep track of all the stitches. only 3.5 inches long after two hours. anyway, i had to modify the chart some and add a four smaller cables to make it an even hundred. i hope it won't look too busy.
this is the sweater i'm going for.
except i'm going to knit it in the round because i don't like the way the sleeves are sewn to the body. i'm also going to modify the major cables to be less angular at the outside bends. i hope i got the skills.
what do you think? wanna add an aran sweater to your to do list? knit one along with me! please?
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| it's official! |
wednesday 01.05.2005 |
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my very first knitting buddy has a blog!
yay, erin!
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also, the aran sweater knit along is on! i had no idea that i would out so many knitters with their closeted aran tendencies!
here are the lovely participants:
1. chauntel
2. erin
3. holly
4. me, and
5. you!
the rules are simple:
1. choose the aran sweater pattern of your choice. by aran i mean fancy
cables and stitches. it could be a guernsey, gansey, fishermen's, etc.
2. get the required yardage of yarn. let's aim to use up the yarn in our
stashes instead of buying more.
3. make a gauge swatch. if your pattern is knit in the round, you could make
a beanie sampler.
4. last but most importantly, join us! leave me a comment* with your name
and a bit about your project. you are not required to have a blog.
i would be more than happy to post your progress on schmeebot.
you can get knitting as early as you like. let's aim for the first of february as the latest start date on this knit along.
i am super excited! this knit along is going to bond us forever!
* schmeebot's comment function failed to work from 5 pm last night until 10 am this morning. so, if don't see your comment, please try again. i'm sorry about that.
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| knitters make dangerous snowboarders |
sunday 01.09.2005 |
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holy smokes, the number of aran project participants has doubled!
5. donny
6. tracy
7. melissa, and
8. alice
thank you so much for joining the knit along! i'm already loving everyone's choice patterns. looks like we'll all be making a sweater except donny. check out his comment:
I'm working on an aran blanket that I started several months ago.
it's my "I'll work on this when I don't have anything else to work on"
project. [...] hey ladies... get your men knitting!
ooh, those fighting words! i've already tried and failed to get jg on the needlecraft train. meet someone who has done donny proud.
amanda
crafters' circle
that's beeze, me, and amanda all freshly showered and sitting around the stove talking needlecraft. we had just gotten back from a full day at northstar. anyway, amanda taught beeze to crochet a while back so he could put his time riding the italian subways to good use. together they've made and sold many of their beanies for 25 euros a piece. amanda even has her own label!
only available in florence
isn't it impressive? them two are powerhouses with their crochet hooks as well as their snowboards. they look like they're dancing when on they're on the slopes. unfortunately, the knitter of the group is still an out of control skidding hazard when attached to a snowboard.
car knitting
the day after i learned to carve back and forth without slamming into pines, i began my aran along project. i was left alone in the cabin all day friday to knit and i was rather pleased with myself. "oh yeah, i'm gonna be way ahead with my sweater. the aran alongers will weep when they see how far i've gotten."
well, no evil thought goes unpunished. it hurts me to even type this: i'm going to have to start all over. let's see if i can recount this story without sobbing.
it started out innocently enough. the picture above shows the exact moment i realized i didn't like how the major cables transition vertically. i decided to rip it back three rounds so i could try to make the cable twist less tightly. as i took the stitches off the needles, i thought, gee, why does this sweater feel so wide? then i held it up properly and saw that it was huge! it's at least 48 inches in circumference! i would have never guessed because it looked and felt just right when it was all scrunched up on the needles.
so, i furiously counted the cables over and over thinking i might have added a few too many. nope. then i checked each and every cable for extra stitches. of course there weren't any. the cables would have looked all tweaked if there were extras lying around. i was at my wit's end. i got so upset i made myself carsick. i was swearing up a storm when jg decided to intervene. he had to tear the knitting away from my death grip and calm me down.
what's the difference between these two hanks of yarn?
as soon as we got home, i ran to check my gauge swatch. it's the only thing i could think of that went wrong. when i picked up the swatch to recount the stitches, i thought it felt thinner. then i noticed how the yarn's end splits in two. wait a minute! two? i had to spit splice the yarn for the sweater earlier and there were, you guessed it, not two!
the source of my misery
i bought twelve hanks of that yarn over a year ago from a canada based website. i got nine 3-ply and three 2-ply. the difference in gauge is exactly half a stitch per inch. so, when i casted on for 42 inches, i was making a 48 inch sweater!
so, it's back to square one for the schmeebster. let this be a lesson in buying yarn without labels. tomorrow i'm going to send briggs+little a sample of the 3-ply and beg them to rustle me up a few more hanks. meanwhile, may your aran along project be blasting along and your gauge swatch yarn be extra-ply free.
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| button |
tuesday 01.11.2005 |
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this will change as more knitters, if any, join the knit along.
a blogspot has been created for this project. come and join us!
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attention maura: i am looking forward to seeing your knitted animals.
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| sock, take two |
wednesday 01.12.2005 |
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thanks to everyone for sympathizing with my extra ply fubar. monday i blindly ordered yarn from briggs+little. medium gray. i'm hoping to supplement the odd hanks that i'm using for the aran along. i'm not hoping for much except may be a 75% match in color. that would make me a happy little piggy.
in the meantime i'm thinking about starting up another sweater for the aran along project, one for me instead of jg. i can't find another cable+stitch pattern that i like. i'm really set on nicholas's layout, the one i'm using for jg's sweater.
yarn from maura
remember those? i've been staring at the yarn everyday since christmas trying to work up the nerves to cast on. looks like i can cross off sock knitting on my 2005 to do list.
the colors are a lot lovelier than what you see. what you also don't see is the pain in handling those tiny needles! it's my very first time using us2s. my left hand cramps up after every second or third round. urgh!
as usual, i'm making it up as i go along. no pattern. the heel is something i saw maura knit once. i love garter stitch short rows; it's something i can do without thinking. i'm ribbing the back of the cuff and the bottom of the foot to make it form fitting. i have no idea what i'm going to do for the toe. probably more of the garter stitch.
i did some googling and decided to cast on 70 stitches without gauging. too big. i casted on 60 and it fits me a lot better at the cuff. but now that i'm at the foot, it feels a bit snug. i suspect that if the yarn shrinks, the sock would become tight.
right now the back side of the cuff looks like it's shorter than the front. i wonder if this problem is only obvious with ankle high socks. anyway, i think it needs short rows much like the back of the sweater does in order to look level all around.
so, it looks like i'm going to have to rip it. i should try knitting the toe now and learn from whatever it has to offer before i start over.
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| funny math+other logical things in my head |
thursday 01.13.2005 |
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it has been brought to my attention that my writing is very confusing. you may already know the reasons but allow me to make it official:
1. i am not a good writer.
2. i have a short attention span.
3. you lack the ability to read my mind (because in my head,
everything makes perfect sense).
i recognized the danger of blogging since day one. i forced myself to write stream of consciousness style for the sake of content. i didn't care about being incoherent, off tangent, or offensive. all because i was under extreme pressure of my webmaster, who seriously threatened me:
"i'll create a blog for you, but you'd better be blogging everyday!"
so i learned to write, as they say, with a shovel. here i am today, totally blind to the fact that schmeebot is plagued with b.s. i thought that if i threw in a jpeg or two, you'd never notice the crappy writing.
as a resolution, i have added two items to my 2005 to do list:
1. give you psychic mind reading power.
2. stop writing.
here is where i throw in a jpeg.
nicholas's cable
that's the beanie sampler for the aran along. i used us7 needles and casted on 100 stitches for this beanie. that's 90 for the standard template plus 10 for the numerous cables.
i've been wearing it so it is nice and blocked. last night i decided to do a little gauge experiment. i know that cables take up more stitches than plain knitting, but i wanted to know exactly how many for this pattern.
so i measured the beanie; it is 9" wide lying flat. 50 divided by 9 is 5.55. i picked up the same needles and yarn and knitted a stockinette swatch. i got 21 stitches over 4 inches, or 5.25.
conclusion? 5.7% more stitches.
now you know the sort of hocus pocus knitting i do. i expected a 11% difference (10 divided by 90) but the experiment proved otherwise. hey, how about more jpegs?
supplemental cables
not that you can see much but that's the crown decreasing
have a great weekend, everyone! don't forget the aran knit along.
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| P (aka) = m x v |
friday 01.21.2005 |
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the aran knit along is gaining momentum, everyone! we are now ten!
10. summers
9. suzanne
8. alice
7. melissa
6. tracy
5. donny
4. thuy
3. holly
2. erin
1. chauntel
the official start date is february first, give or take a few weeks because one of us is still wondering if she should rip her project for the third time.
so, stop thinking about it and join us! the rules are simple. all that's really required is that your pattern has cables and may be some fancy stitches. as hard core or as simple as you like. be sure to leave a comment here or on the aran along blog so i may update the list above. you are not required to blog, but you are more than welcome to share your thoughts and show off your progress there. easy!
of course, the updated button:
is it just me or is it looking worse and worse? i just don't got the button skills, yo!
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