As I mentioned yesterday, I picked up Eris, a cardigan that I started, gosh, over a year ago. This is a few rows past where I left off:

I love the pattern, it’s amazingly well written and so detailed I don’t know how anyone could mess it up. I went through the forty pages with a highlighter for everything I need to do, and as I go along, I highlight each step that I’ve completed. It was a breeze to see where I left off in the pattern and pick it up right away.
The yarn though – it’s bothering my allergies a little. It’s a heathered yarn, Elann’s Peruvian Aran. It’s got these red threads running through it that are a little stiff, and they itch me a little. My eyes start to water after an hour or so. I have to take an antihistamine to keep my eyes from running and I want to scratch my skin.
I know it will be okay after I wash and block the sweater, because I did that with my swatches (the ton of swatches I made) and they were a lot smoother and comfortable after the bath. But now, eh.

This is where I left off on Friday. I did a lot more on Sunday during the trip to the Lavender Fields. I think I’ll be able to finish this if I bring it with me on vacation next week.

I really got into the rhythm of the pattern last week and made some real progress.

I had put it down for a while while I worked on the Jaywalker socks and swatched for another cardigan that I have been mulling over for a while in my brain. In fact, I hadn’t been knitting for a while at home, I was playing with new toys, racing my husband on XBOX, reading a book or three, and just wasn’t feeling it.

But a few weeks ago, I picked it back up again and really cranked along and got to the top of the sleeve, all 18″ of it, and bound off on each side and started the shaping. I followed the directions, and suddenly I was done! But it didn’t make sense. I got out my calculator and did a little math and realized it really didn’t make sense. So I put it down for a bit and wrote to the yahoo group for White Lies Designs, hoping someone had an update version of the pattern that had the correct calculations.

I waited for a few days and didn’t hear anything, so I finally wrote to the designer directly and appealed for help. I bought the pattern back in 2003 or so, and she agreed that there had been a few corrections since then. She sent me the corrections and now I can get back on my way.
But meanwhile, while I was waiting, I was in such a knitty mood after signing up in Ravelry and putting in my done/half-done/dreams of projects, that I spied another member’s Eris cardigan and decided to pick that up. I’ll show some of that tomorrow, as I’ve been cruising along on that sweater, and since it’s with Aran weight it’ll be done in no time!
Meanwhile, take a gander at the lace and edging on the Heirloom Lace Jacket. I love the color, the yarn, the lace, I am having a hard time deciding between the two patterns.

Pattern: Jaywalker. But no, I couldn’t stop there, I had to get all difficult, and do the toe-up version, and in a size that wasn’t part of the original pattern.
Yarn: Regia Schatten color 5163 – Jeans. I’ve used Regia sock yarns before, and it’s fine. This yarn was perfect for these socks with the way the stripes work. Loved it for this pattern.
Needles: Assorted 2mm, 2.25mm dpn’s and circulars.
Method:Started as two socks on 2 needles, a la Cat Bordhi. Then one at a time on a single circular needle, then on dpn, as I got bored with what I was working with.

And that’s when the trouble started. I like my soles to be on size 0 (2mm) because I like a nice tight sole. And, having read all over the net that this pattern is a little small on the foot, and having honking huge feet, I decided to use the smallest needle, but the largest size, figuring it would all come out in the wash.
I started by knitting 2 on 2 circs, since I have such a short attention span and will never remember what I’ve done enough to replicate it. So, I knit both feet and then had to split onto separate needles to do the heel turn.
I got to the first heel turn, tried the sock on, and holy crap it was tooooo long. Ripped back to before the increases started, and back one more inch. Started again, got back to the heel turn, tried it on, and it was not as long, but now it’s too wide, I like it a little more snug. So, I decided to rip out the whole thing and start from the beginning on the next size down, and then I’d increase when I get to the ankle if needed.
That worked, so after finishing the heel, I increased to 100 stitches, knit the whole thing, and tried to try it on. Sigh. A little too tight in the cuff, but I figured it would stretch out.
Then I ripped out the second half-sock and started again, the same way as the last time, but this time when I got to the cuff, I increased to 100 stitches and also switched to 2.25 mm needles. On the cuff, it doesn’t need to be so smooth like the sole. This sock fit much better.
So, I ripped out the first one, back to the start of the cuff, and re-knit it like the second (fourth?) sock and finally had a comfortable pair of completed Jaywalkers.
After I washed them they fit better, but now I think the cuffs are a little too loose.
If I knit them again (which I doubt) I think I’ll use a size 0 on the sole and size 1 on the top and follow the pattern for the third size. That might come out a little better.
I think the real problem for me was the heel. I don’t really like the method in the pattern, it doesn’t really have the little short-row cup like the bottom of a top-down sock, instead it has a pretty long flap, and I think that’s where I went wrong. Maybe I’ll knit another pair and try to replicate that little short-row cup instead. I’ve got a boatload of sock yarn, so I’m sure I’ll come up with something.
Other than my preference for a different heel, there were no problems with any of the patterns. I’m sure they have been knitted enough times that all errors have been worked out by now. One thing I did notice – knitting them toe-up makes the points point in the opposite direction from the cuff down. One way to spot toe-up vs. toe-down amongst your knitting pals.

So I know you’ve all been waiting to hear about my soaked-but-not-blocked swatch results, right?
Work life has been crazy. So crazy that I have to confess something. You see my blogroll over there? Well, it sorts the unread entries to the top of the list, which means that the blog at the top is the one I am most behind on reading. I think I have about a dozen Yarn Harlots unread by now. I’m too busy to do my daily blog cruise, never mind post anything myself. When I get home at the end of the day, I don’t even want to look at my computer. Until today, I hadn’t even updated my iPod for two weeks, in fact I was also behind on podcasts.
Well, the good news is that the gauge is fine.

I think you can see the red line falling right where it needs to, perfectly framing the lace stitches and making me feel confident that the gauge is right on.
I am hopeful that I didn’t misunderstand the directions, or this will be one giant sweater when I’m done!

With that lingering doubt, I started on the sleeve. It does seem a little wide, but I know it’s supposed to bell out and be all flouncy, so it should be fine. If it’s not, I’ll do the second sleeve differently and see which I like better before moving on to the body.
Can you see the difference between the unwashed and washed wool? It’s pretty wild how it goes from string to a really nice fabric.
I got stuck on the sleeve though, because I’ve been distracted by these:

These are some tiny socks (2 on 2 circ method, for those counting at home) for my nephew Wyatt, who’s mom mentioned that she couldn’t find any non-girly warm socks. I offered to make some, and this is the first pair. The next will be made from the leftovers from his Christmas present.

Pattern: My own, modelled after photos of Ernie
Yarn: KnitPicks Swish Superwash wool
Needles: KnitPicks 4.0mm
Here are the final shots of those Christmas presents, above is the Ernie sweater, for Wyatt, who’s mom said “Did you remember that Ernie was my favorite?” Did I remember?? So I’ll make him some socks he can wear with his new winter boots he got from his Yia Yia (I think) so he can play in the snow and rain of his home state of Washington.

Pattern: Adapted from Debbie Bliss’s Baby Bolero
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (wool/cotton blend)
Needles: KnitPicks 4.0mm
And this is the Baby Bolero, for my niece Ava. Her eyes are an amazing shade of blue, so this should look lovely on her. I think my next distraction will be something nice for her, because she is such a cutie, who could resist?
I hope to get some pictures of the kids wearing their new duds in the new year. Both patterns were made a little large so they could grow into them.

There’s a lot of reasons to knit the Heirloom Lace Jacket by White Lies Designs.
1. I have the pattern. I bought it at the first knitting convention I attended. I had seen it on line, but in person I was smitten. I asked Joan about it, and I think she said it had taken her the better part of a year to knit it, but that it was worth it.
2. I have some beautiful yarn to knit it in. When I was in NH this fall, I stopped by Harrisville and picked up some New England Shetland in the color Bermuda. I love the color, they have such great heathers that have all these subtle colors in them. Yum!

3. My stockinette gauge is right on. Not sure yet on the lace gauge.
4. I am familiar with the lace pattern, which I used before for my “Knit for the Cure” scarf. A coincidence, but what a lucky one! I should be able to tell pretty easily if I make an error and be able to correct it.
5. I am much more confident in what I can do, and not afraid of a little challenge. I think I have mastered everything needed for this jacket, so it should be a breeze. Famous last words, I know.
6. It’s lacy, and I am itching for the magic of lace.
7. I can knit from my stash. I’m not joining the great stash-along of 2007, but since I can, I might as well knit from my stash.
8. I like supporting a designer who supports me. Joan at White Lies Designs creates patterns for everyone, not just the twigs in Vogue Knitting, although she designs for them too! It takes a lot of work to scale up designs to larger sizes, because it’s not a straight multiplication of all dimensions, as I have found out when trying to do it myself. And we are not talking the Lane Bryant of knitting here, she makes beautiful romantic designs that any woman would love to wear.
Reasons not to knit it?
1. Pattern calls for sports weight, but I’ve got a 2-ply. However, I am getting the stockinette gauge spot on, and I like the drape of the fabric in that gauge. Plus, I live in Southern California, and a lightweight sweater is all that’s needed most of the year.

Oh, and please ignore that glaring error in the lace. It was late last night, I knew it was there but didn’t feel like fixing it since it was just the swatch. I wanted to get it in the bath to see how the yarn would look. I’m knitting it off a cone, so the yarn’s a bit rough until it’s washed.
2. My lace gauge doesn’t match the pattern. Now here’s a problem, maybe. I finished up my swatch last night and blocked it out with pins. I blocked the lace to within an inch of it’s life. After unpinning it this morning, it is still well blocked out, even in it’s relaxed state, but the gauge is much closer to the stockinette gauge than what it’s supposed to be, which is 30 sts/10cm.
Now, the pattern states the finished measurements “prior to blocking”. And when I look at the photo on WWD, the lace isn’t all spread out like I did with my shawl with enormous holes, it’s a little more relaxed. So what I have decided to do is to dunk my swatch back in the bath and I have spread it out to dry without pinning – so the yarn can relax and take it’s own shape. If I still can’t get close to gauge, I may just knit a smaller size, or write to Joan for advice. There’s also a yahoogroup out there called WLDknitalong where I might be able to get some help if I get stuck.
Hmm, the pluses far outweigh the minuses, so I’m going to do it, even if it means some more math. But hopefully it won’t.
… waiting for swatch to dry … waiting for swatch to dry … waiting for swatch to dry …

When we last saw our hero, she was well blocked, but still awfully floppy and with a collar that just wasn’t cutting it.

When I first knit this sweater, my first ever adult human sized sweater, I didn’t actually follow the pattern. First, I knitted it in the round because I didn’t want to learn to do two-color stranded knitting in the flat. It’s a raglan sweater, which means no shoulder seams, and I steeked it. Very floppy.
I tried to compensate, I knitted the last few rows of the body on smaller needles to get a tighter gauge, thinking this might give some stability. Not really. Another mistake I made was to knit the collar right onto the body without binding off.
The buttons were all wrong. They are really pretty, but not right for this sweater. See how they flop? The button band was at too loose a gauge to support buttons with stems. I needed a flat button instead. And more buttons.
And here she is.

The collar is long enough, and shaped nicely, and has a nice new stable band. It breaks nicely, instead of just splaying. The new buttons lie flat and straight.

I bound off the collar stitches, then picked them up on both sides and knitted three rows of 1×1 ribbing. Then, using the three-needle bind off, but not actually binding off, I merged the two sides of stitches into one. Then I began the 2×2 rib that would become the collar, increasing at the edges and at the back to cause the collar to roll outwards. I made it longer than before, so that it had somewhere to go. The bound off stitches and the 1×1 rib stand gives stability to the collar.
I increased from seven to eight buttons. Which meant I needed to re-knit the button band as well. Then, taking off the old buttons left some holes in the other button band, so I re-knit that also.
All in all, I think she came out so much nicer that she’s been for the past 2 years. A new lease on life – nicely blocked and clean and ready to be added back to my wardrobe and worn with pride.

All this ripping and re-knitting started on Tuesday night. I got a good bit of the collar finished on Wednesday night at Stitch n’ Bitch and then finished up Thursday morning while my husband drove us in the carpool lane. (I get the passenger seat in the morning, when there is light, then drive home in the afternoon when I would have trouble seeing what I’m doing anyway.) When I got home Thursday night, I pulled out the buttonhole band and re-knit the buttonholes in their new positions. Then I made a mess while removing the buttons, so re-knit that side also. Thank the great maker that I had saved those balls of yarn leftover from the original project.
I finished up on Thursday night, just in time for the earth to tip the other way, starting a new season, and giving a new life to my old sweater.

I have a few sweaters now that I have made for myself, but have been avoiding wearing because I haven’t washed them and they are in need of a wash.
I have been wanting to make a wooly board for a while, but kept putting it off. After the great success of the blocking board and my shawl, I decided it was time to do it.
I didn’t have a pattern, so I used Google Images and searched on both “Wooly Board” and “Wooly Horse”, and then used those images, along with a pattern found here to make my own.

Here are the parts, all laid out.

On one end of the sleeve poles, I put straight ends, for sweaters with square sleeves, like my kimono sweater.

For the rest, angled ends, so the sleeves are more arm shaped.
If I were to make another, I would create a jig to make all the holes line up properly. Some of them are a little wonky, but it seems to work ok. I’ve only run into one problem so far, the smaller dowels I used for the pegs is a little soft, and I’ve already broken a few of them. Luckily, I could see that coming and made a few extras. It’s a pain drilling out the holes from the pole ends. When I can find some harder wood, I’ll replace them all. I didn’t use any wood glue to hold those pegs in, so I will be able to pull out the non-broken ones.
So today, I want to block my first sweater.

This was the first one I ever made for myself, and I never blocked it or washed it. I’ve been wearing it since May or June of 2004 when I finished it. It’s made with Cascade 220, and it’s also a little pilly, so blocking it out will give me a chance to clear off the pills.

Here it is stretched out on the wooly board. I soaked it in soapy water, rinsed carefully, and sent it for a spin in the washer to mostly dry it out, then placed it on the board and adjusted to the dimensions I need. I had marked the inches on the board so I would know where to put the upright pegs to stretch it to the right width.

And here with the button band sewn up to keep the buttons from pulling.
While it was stretched out, I discovered that there is a hole in the back!! Ack.

But lucky for me, I still have some yarn left from when I made the sweater. The original pattern called for a Fun Fur collar. Anyone who knows me knows that I could never stand to have that stuff near my face, so I just made a small ribbed collar, but I have always hated it.
So much so, that I took a class last year at Stitches West called Collar Obedience Training. I had always planned to re-knit the collar and button bands, and this was an excellent class to teach me all I need to know to make the collar look right.

I keep the handout in my knitting notebook, along with other class handouts, articles printed fro Interweave Knits (Beyond the Basics and other technique articles) and patterns that I want to try one day.
I’ll post after I replace the collar, which I plan to do before starting the still undecided lace project.

I finished the fingerless gloves for the huz, and am just adding the cuffs to the Ernie sweater and I will post that after Christmas, once it’s been sent off to the recipient.
What a week I’ve had. I had to go for a medical procedure on Wednesday, but then they moved the appointment to Friday so I had a whole two extra days to worry about it. Then I went yesterday, they did their thing, and now I have to wait for the results. Ugh!
Once the above-mentioned cuffs are done, I am itching to start something new. I’ve got the lace bug, and bought some Trendsetter Kid Seta in a nice red to make the stole from the cover of Victorian Lace. I think, unless I do something completely different, like take the pattern from Myrna Stahman that is inShawls and Scarves: The Best of Knitter’s Magazine (Best of Knitter’s Magazine series, The) and swap out the lace pattern she used with one of my own.
Then I snooped around on the web and found a lovely example here of the shawl knitted up as written. Maybe I just didn’t like the white and grey examples in the book? Maybe I’ll just buy her book:Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves: Lace Faroese-Shaped Shaws from the Neck Down & Seamen’s Scarves.
I’ve got some linen that I was going to use for the shawl in Big Girl Knits, but now I am thinking Faroese style. I love the shawl I’ve already made, and want more more more!

It’s been cold for the past week, like 37F, and 42F in the morning. Cold enough to close the windows, which we haven’t done much since it was too hot and we put the air on.
Thursday night I slept with two shirts on and my shawl wrapped around my head and shoulders.
Last week, when it was still 90F, I had called for an estimate to get our heater replaced. It’s quite old and we knew we would need to turn it on soon, but didn’t realize how soon we would need it. We have had two very different estimates, but the much more expensive one seems a lot more thorough, so we may decide to go with it. The same night the second estimator came was Thursday, and before he arrived, we tried to turn on the heat and no go. It was frakking cold in the house.
I almost think that the windows we just replaced are so efficient that they are keeping out the heat that the old windows used to let in! That, coupled with the complete lack of insulation in this house are just killing me.
At the same time, my husband, thank the Great Maker , has a new hobby that is finally up to a point where he can play with all his toys, but since his office/ham shack is at the back of our garage (which is a separate building from the house) he is freezing out there in this cold. The only other items he has ever asked me to knit for him are as skull cap and some of those Fiber Trends clogs which he loves, so much that he’s on his third pair.
So I started a pair of finger-tip-less gloves for him, in black Knit Picks wool, which is just what he wants. I started out with size 4mm DPN and 60 stitches, in a 3k2p rib, and increased for the thumb and as I was getting to the point where I wanted to close off the thumb, I consulted the book that I find I use the most of all of my books – Mary Thomas’s Knitting Book.
Mary Thomas’s Knitting Book is such a great book, and at under 10 USD, how can you go wrong? In the book, she has several mitten/glove patterns. She mentions using smaller needles on the fingers, which made so much sense after I read it, because that’s what I always had a problem with when making half-finger gloves. I always felt like the fingers were too fat in worsted weight. So I used 2.5mm glove needles to make the thumb and fingers, and had him try on the first glove at each milestone to check the length of the fingers. He wants to be able to use the dials and buttons on his radios, so if the fingers are too long, that would make him cranky ;/.
I hope to finish the second one this weekend.
Today though, we got up to go to an appointment and it was again freezing in the house. We sluggishly dressed and headed out the door, only to find that it was beautiful and warm out in the sun, it was at least in the 70sF at 9 AM. We came back from our appointment and went back inside to change into play-clothes, and headed down to the beach to take advantage of what might be the last warm weekend for a while.
We got down to the beach and it was beautiful. The water was so blue, reflecting the clear sky (well, except for the brown smudge) and the wind was slight but very comfortable in a t-shirt. We walked for about 30 min., and I caught up on some half-listened podcasts. Thank you so much majordojo for mentioning the Galactica Watercooler podcast, I’m loving it after listening to all the whining and nitpicking on CIC.
While we were walking, the wind started to pick up. Since it’s been so dry the past week, the sand isn’t moist enough to stay on the ground and starts dancing on the pathway, and starts to form a fine dust cloud about 4-5 ft high. The sand started singing too.
We decided to turn around, which made it worse because now we were walking into the wind. We ended up on the sidewalk instead of the path, otherwise we would have probably ended up blind from the fine dust. I wish I had my camera while the sand was dancing, it was quite mesmerizing.
It must have been in the high 80sF today, as I ended up beaking a sweat on our walk, and had a little sunburn (or maybe it was a wind burn?).
And another random thought, have you seen Green Wing? It shows up on BBCAmerica once in a while, and is completely over-the-top hilarious. I just received the season 2 box set and it is even more over-the-top than last season. We have a region-free DVD player so my husband can watch stuff from France that you can’t get over here, so I bought the Green Wing DVDs from the UK. They are broadcast as 30 min episodes here, but they are actually 50 min long! They are so severely censored that sometimes they don’t make sense. Anyway, if you get a chance to see them in full, take it. It’s like Scrubs without the patients, but way more funny.

So I worked on the bolero while I was away last week. I wanted to travel light, so I copied my chart into my smaller notebook, but in words instead of images.
Last night I thought I was ready to piece the whole thing together, or at least block it so I can start on the final trim pieces, and decide if I’ll do lace or just garter stitch.
Do you see what I see? Are you thinking what I’m thinking? How can the back be so much shorter than the fronts??


And this sleeve? It’s way too small for the arm hole! What did I do wrong?


The gauge is fine here, looks spot on.


That’s not right.


Sleeve fits the armhole on the back. What happened?
I dug out the charts that I made from the original pattern and discovered several problems. In addition to my gauge being too loose on the fronts, the chart is a little off. There are too many rows before the armhole decreases, and too many rows after also. I must have been distracted while I was working on the chart. In fact, I am sure I was, because it was the night before my vacation and that’s what was on my mind, not my chart.
Then when I transcribed the chart into words before my business trip, I again messed up. I miscounted some of the decrease rows, adding even more rows. What the heck?
Anyway, I’ve ripped back to the beginning of the fronts and have them both on the needle again, ready to follow my corrected directions. You would think that after knitting this four times, I would have figured it out, but luckilly the pieces are small and portable.
Which brings up another topic… When you attend a proffesional conference, is it acceptable to knit while attending lectures? What about the keynote speeches, lunches, breaks, etc? Personally, I think anything to get me through the keynote speech is a plus, they usually go just about 30 min too long and the whole audience is squirming to get off the uncomfortable chairs by the last 20 minutes. In the dark, I knit during the keynote. At least I wasn’t as rude as some people who walked out on one guy. They kept bailing, man after woman while the guy was talking. Hey, I was bored too, but that’s just rude. During lectures, I didn’t knit, but I did while waiting for the guys to set up projectors and the like. What else is there to do? Anyone have a different opinion?