Knit Once, Purl Forever

Mistake Isle

This sweater back marks my progress for the Fair Isle Hoodie. I finished the back on Saturday, but I haven't cast on for the sleeves or the front of the sweater yet. Fear is holding me back. What's my fear you ask? Well, I'm afraid that the sweater is going to be too small. Doesn't it look small in the photo above?

I've never done this before as I hate finishing work, but I'm thinking that I should soak the back and block it out before I knit any other pieces of the sweater. And I hope that I have a similar experience with the Wool of the Andes yarn as written about over at Gwibbles and Knits. Oh, how I hope the sweater will grow a little. Not a lot, mind you. (Except how much is a lot? I hope it will grow an inch or two. Is that a lot in terms of sweater gauge? I'm thinking it probably is.)

I'll probably take the sweater plunge this weekend. (Remember the Nestea Plunge?)

Here's the answer to the "mistake" question from last week's Technique Tuesday entry. As noted in the photo, there are three mistakes in all. (Feel free to let me know if you spot any I've missed!) I haven't fixed those yet either...

The Hoodie

Things have been hectic around these parts lately.

There's been a little knitting on the Fair Isle Hoodie. This thing is addictive. After a couple false starts with regards to gauge, I knit this much of the back of the sweater on Sunday. And that's as far as I've gotten. I haven't knit a stitch since Sunday.

Since Sunday, I've been a bit preoccupied with another hobby of the freelance variety. So much so, that I'm afraid it might replace the knitting and knit blogging for a few weeks. Of course, every time I say I'll be knitting or blogging less, I end up knitting or blogging more. We'll see how this goes.

Of course, if it's even more quiet around here than the norm, then you'll know why.

Outta Control

You know that feeling that you're not quite in control? Maybe you're driving along when the rear tires of your car no longer have traction with the road. You can feel it in the steering wheel as the back part of your car slides away from the front part. You immediately take your foot off the gas or break pedal and do your best to gain control by careful steering. This all happens spontaneously--there's no time to think about any of it. It's automatic. A total reaction to the feeling of being out of control.

I've been feeling like that lately, and not just when I'm driving my car. I feel like I'm sliding, but I'm not sure how to correct the slide--even with careful steering. Part of the problem is that I'm not sure what the problem is. I suspect (or should I say, I hope?) it's just stress. So, what do I do when I feel this much stress in my life?

Here's my stress buster:

It's the yarn for the Fair Isle Hoodie I posted here. I've already cast on for the hoodie. I'm hoping to knit that stress right out of my life.

Too Skinny?

I've been cranking out the knits this year. Here's the first half of another scarf for the Red Scarf Project. This is the Purl Scarf from the Last Minute Knitted Gifts book:

My what a skinny scarf you have there!

I KNOW! I was just thinking that myself. How skinny is too skinny for a scarf? And will this thing grow wider after blocking? I have no idea. I guess I will have to repurpose the scarf if it doesn't meet the requirements for the Red Scarf project. Of course, the Baby Alpaca Grande is soooo soft that I might just be looking for any excuse to wrap this around my own neck. Ya never know!

Speaking of skinny, after slacking on my fitness goals during the holidays, I'm committed to getting back on track and hope to meet my goal weight within the month or so. And as I get closer to that weight, I've noticed that I tend to weigh myself more frequently. Before the weight loss mission, I rarely stepped on the scale because I didn't want to know the damage.

And I remember thinking that one of my friends might have an eating disorder after she shared that she weighed herself daily and watched what she ate if she gained even a pound. And I think, for me anyway, that there has to be a balance between weighing every day and never stepping on the scale. I guess, I will have to find that balance once I meet my goals.

Just sayin'.

Regarding the Knotty Question
Thank you so much for all your comments regarding yesterday's question. I really enjoyed reading your comments AND I even managed to learn something new. I actually looked up the split splicing that some of you mentioned because I've never done that before. I always do the twist and weave thing. I'll have to try something different next time. The split splicing technique is explained in detail here, in case I'm not the only one who missed this technique.

And, I'm not saying this is "right" but this is what I do: If the knot is too big to even attempt knitting it in, I clip it, twist the old yarn into the new for a stitch or two, and weave both ends later. If the knot is very small, I fuss around with it until I can knit it on the "wrong" side of the project.

North Pole

Here at the North Pole, we're furiously knitting stockings, but we just don't have a lot of progress to show.

That's because I'm making another Candy Cane Stocking and that pattern is a slow knit for me due to all the color changing and all. This one is a traditional red and white candy cane. The crochet chain stripe and the cuff will be pink on this stocking. I can visualize the finished stocking now, which is good because the knitting is slow.

Slow but steady. It's going better the second time around, which is the norm for me and my learn-as-I-go style of knitting. The stocking is knit flat and I'm trying to improve the stitch quality and the look of the color change stitch. To achieve this, I "knit" the purl row with a smaller needle size (a US 7) than I use for the knit rows (a US 8).  And I'm careful to only twist the yarn once when changing colors. I think these changes really make a difference for me even if the going is a little slow.

Overall, life is good here on the North Pole. Busy, but good.

Tis the Season

...for the holiday spirit. And I have it in abundance this year. I'm feeling a holy jolly Christmas coming on. I've been listening to x-mas music for weeks and I've been eying the holiday decor, but I've been resisting the urge to put the tree up early*. This is not the norm for me as I'm usually reluctant to embrace the holiday spirit.

I think I've been drawn to the good cheer because work has been so stressful lately. It's hard to feel stressed out with a full carload of Silent Night serenading me while I drive home. I may have taken the holiday spirit just a little too far.

I have hopes and aspiration of making handknit Christmas stockings for all of my family members. Of course, I hatched this plan before I calculated the number of stockings to be hung by the chimney with care. The number? I will need 15 stockings for the family that live here in the Midwest and 6 more for those in the Pacific Northwest. These stockings are in addition to the throw I've been knitting off and on all month.

The stockings are not meant as the main gift--just a little something extra. I'm planning to fill each stocking with candy and other trinkets specific to each recipient. I think it's a nice idea, but can the Holiday Knitting Elf deliver before X-mas?

That's the question of the season.

* Anytime before Thanksgiving is early in the Knit Once book.

Dizzy Day

Wanna get dizzy?

If so, take a gander at these bad boys. The bigger you click, the dizzier you get:

What lessons have I learned? Seed stitch is not very photogenic. So much for its modeling career, I guess. Good thing the red scarf has brains warmth and softness going for it, that's all I have to say.

Answers in Red

The answer to my dilemma in the last post is clear today. I will do both, of course. I divided the length of the Lacey Throw by the number of weeks until X-mas. Once I get my alloted knitting complete for the week, I'm free to knit for the finished object gallery. Works for me.

And while practically everyone in Blogland was at Rhinebeck, I was off to the local yarn store to buy red yarn for the Red Scarf Project. I used all the red yarn from my stash on this project last year, so I had to get more. And I have to say, I think this scarf is turning out even better than the last one.

I'm using Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande, which kind of sounds like coffee but isn't, and knitting the scarf up in seed stitch on size US 10 1/2 needles. I couldn't get a decent shot of this project tonight, but the seed stitch is working up nicely in this yarn. I'll try to capture a better shot later. I've never used this yarn before, but I will definitely use it again. Soooo soft.

Dear Blog Letter

Dear Blog,

I just can't seem to find the time to post much here lately. I want to post.

Really, I do.

I'm just too busy or else I'm too tired. You, dear blog, are very important to me and I really do have things to say here. I will try to post more frequently this week.

Really, I will.

Sincerely,

The Knit Once Blogger

*************************

The latest knitting project:

The way they were: 3 skeins of Classic Elite Premier in Natural 5216, Mimosa 5212, and Cherries Jubilee 5234. Update: I had the last two colors reversed for some reason...Of course, the Mimosa is the yellow colored yarn and Cherries Jubilee is the pink stuff.

The way they are: the Skinny Scarf from Knitty Gritty on the DIY Network.

Up close, but no time to get personal.

The Project That Ate My Blog

I didn't realize I was predicting my future with my whole "Nothing to Say" post. Actually my silence here isn't a result of nothing to say, instead it's the results of having no time to say it.

What have I been up to? I've been up to this...

And this...

And I'm not finished yet. There will be more.