Gansey woes

On October 12, I started a gansey for my dad. He loves fishing, especially ice fishing, and his mother had made him an aran sweater that he loved (it's currently in my possession). I used that sweater as a schematic for mine.

On October 14, I was merrily knitting along, very impressed with the look of the seed stitch initials I had knit into the bottom of the sweater. I stopped to admire my handiwork, and I realized that I had knit the WRONG INITIALS. It's my dad, for goodness sake! It's only three letters! So, I ripped that part down and crochet hooked it back up - it took an hour and a half. I guess I shouldn't knit while watching cheesy movies.

On October 17, I was into the patterning. DP went to bed early, so I stayed up watching less cheesy movies. After about 6 inches, I again stopped to admire my handiwork. It was looking a bit small, so I measured it. 5" less in circumference than it should be. The cables didn't draw in that much...then I discovered that instead of working over 242 stitches, I had been working over 224 stitches. I may not currently be a math genius, but I got a 5 on the calculus AP test, and I took advanced math courses in college. The fact that I created motifs specifically to fit over 224 stitches when I had written on the first page of my notes "Over 242 stitches" blows my mind. I ripped again, increased inside the definition ridge and started the pattern again.

What will I do next?

I'm trying to get DP to take me to the yarn store that's NOT on the bus line...I want to pick up some cascade 220 for bed socks. I've also been wondering how 220 works steeked...how much reinforcement (if any) it needs. But, I don't want to waste any of my yarn on a practice swatch :)

I've been spinning this fiber from Squoosh on Etsy. It's quite pleasant to spin with a bit of drafting. I'm using the fractal method that I read about in Spin Off. I've spun up the bobbin with the most changes, and I need to start the one with the longer color repeats.

Dear me

I participated in my first swap, and it looks like I screwed it up. Sigh. She got the package and liked it - hooray!

That accursed swatch still hasn't dried yet, and my sister in law will be over in a forty-five minutes. Not everyone likes the smell of wet wool, least of all someone 6 months pregnant!

I'm also working on a mini Retrofit, with sleeves each of a different green. DP was having trouble choosing a color.

Viva, regina

Well, I've been working on the swatch for Juno, and I'm at an impasse. The gauge is taken over 2x2 ribbing, and my ribbing on various needles all seems to scrunch up to the same gauge. I just washed the swatch and it's drying now, so maybe there will be a change. I'm dying to make this sweater, but I don't want to make something that won't fit.

I finally got a picture of the slippers I made for DP:



He insisted on having that movie in the pic.

I also finished my sock for the October swap:



And from the front:



The toe is a little pointy, but I'm proud of the design :) I was going for a jack o'lantern face and an indian corn type toe. The orange is some stash yarn I had left over from a consignment project, and the reddish black is STR Lenore. Strangely, only the orange bled when I washed this sock - people had been complaining about the Lenore bleeding all over the place, but no dye loss at all.

This is what I was up to last night:



Sitting on the couch, drinking vin santo, and reading a Knit Picks catalog. Nerdly? Why yes!

CLB attack

When we went on our honeymoon, we went camping for the first night. When we woke up in the morning, our tent was covered in asian lady beetles, or (as I called them) CLBs. Now, it seems that they are invading my house. ARGH!

In other news, here's the hat and mittens that I finished a few days ago:

Thumbless mittens (with interior pocket):





Squash Blossom hat:



I bought the yarn for the hat because it looked like Green Bay Packer colors, and my sister is a huge sports fan. She loves the smooshy feeling of the hat, and my BIL loves his thumbless mittens :)

I also finished a pair of slippers for DP, though I don't have the pic up yet, and I'm working on his scarf. It's simple brioche stitch, over 18 stitches, on US 11s. This is the scarf I've tried to make for him for 2 years. It's my fourth try; there's always something I don't like about the scarf and I rip it out. The yarn is lovely: Louisa Harding Grace in black.

I'm getting things done!

Really I am!

He did it again...

I was spinning this delightful yarn on Saturday:



and DP came up and said, "That looks great! I'd love to have a pair of socks made of that!" Eep!

I just got a mini-swap package today, and it included a row counter bracelet!



I've always wanted one, but I never really wanted to buy one. Now I don't have to :)

I'm also doing another non-mini swap, for the Folklore and Fairytales group on Ravelry. I'm pretty sure I know what yarn I'm going to give my swappee, but I have to figure out the rest of the tchochkes to go along with it.

Burglers

When I got into work today, I found out we'd been burglarized again. Everything was a mess, and several of my drawers were broken...though not broken into. I hate robbers.

I'm currently working on mittens for my brother in law. He wanted something like mittens, without thumbs, that he could wear to a football game and put handwarmers in. I've made one so far, but I haven't yet added the interior pocket to hold a handwarmer. My recipe, such as it is, is to cast on 40, rib for about 5", then work straight stitch with yarn held double, increasing by 5 two times. When I get to mid-palm, I put 10 stitches on hold--10 single yarn loops. I keep knitting around on the other loops, so I have no hole where I held the 10 inside. When I'm done with the mitten, I'll pick up those loops and make a kind of pocket, whipstitching it to the inside.

Back to my knitting.