I Swear I’m Knitting

I’m sure my four readers have been getting bored looking at the same old posts every time they check in. I assure you I am knitting! And here is some proof:

 

I am almost finished with my husband’s Seamless Hybrid sweater, which is my first real sweater project. The second picture is intended to show you that I’ve completed the cuff of one sleeve. I’m experimenting with ribbing on the other sleeve to see which he likes better. I tell you what, I will never save the hems until the end again. Of course all you seasoned web-log knitters out there know about Jared of Brooklyntweed’s ingenious and beautiful contrasting color hems which started the Seamless Hybrid knitting trend this past year. Well, I wasn’t ready to figure out how to do it when I hastily casted on for this sweater in mid-January. So I read through EZ’s book Knitting Without Tears and in which she states in her section on hems that one of her favorite ways to do them is to leave them until the end. That was just what I wanted to hear! I happily casted on the body and sleeve stitches, knowing that I could and would finish the hems at the end.

But what a pain! In fact, the whole project since joining the sleeves to the body has been a huge pain in my rear end. I must have frogged a good three times after the joining, several rows at a time, until I finally finished the saddles. (My one and only success of this sweater is that I managed to my first graft of the stitches in the saddles thanks to this video. I was not able to graft the stitches in my first project that called for it, the Quinn  Cabled Bag, and to Yvonne- who graciously commented on my early blog when I started her pattern - I promise someday I’ll post a nice picture of the finished product along with a story about the process of knitting your pattern.)

Then, it was time to add the hems. ARGH! Not fun. First I did a K1 P1 rib neckline, using the the same size knitting needles, which I’m not entirely happy with and will probably redo with at least one size smaller. Next I tried knitting the hem on one sleeve using the same size needles and 10% fewer stitches as Elizabeth Zimmermann suggests in her book. I tried picking up the inside stitches to leave a nice edge, didn’t like it, ripped it back. Then I tried using smaller needles and a purl row. At this point I don’t think I decreased 10%. This worked pretty well, but my sewing isn’t perfect and it looks a bit twisted on part of the sleeve - I really wish my camera were good enough to show you. However, I don’t know if my husband will think it’s too tight now, because it was already snug to begin with. So I’m knitting ribbing on the other side to see which he likes better.

Next problem: Using a smaller needle worked a lot better but I don’t have a size three needle long enough to knit the body hem. So I try it with the same size needles, decreasing 10%, with a purled hem. Hate the way it looks - FROG. I finally found a fairly long size 4 needle, pulled up stitches through the inner loop instead of using a purl turn, and decreased 5%. I think this might work. I have one more round to do then I will try to sew it in.

Steps left until finished:

(1) Finish body hem and sew in.
(2) Re-knit neckline.
(3) Find out which cuff hubby likes better, rib out other cuff and re-knit. 
(4) Sew in all yarn tails.

I think I can do this! Of course, at that point I must block, another first for me. I must say, I thought this would be easier. Maybe it’s not that hard. Maybe it’s just me. Anyway, I might try knitting a top-down sweater next to see if it’s just more my cup of tea. Although, that’s not to say I won’t knit EZ’s pattern again. I know there is another Seamless Hybrid Sweater in my future, and at next time I will be armed with experience.

Spring in Colorado

It’s Spring! Can you tell? Casey and I went for a little romp in the snow this morning, and then he warmed himself by the fire. Since my last post, Tim had a birthday. I made cupcakes, bought tulips, and gave him his present about four days after his birthday. Above there is a picture of his birthday sweater. It’s coming along nicely, but of course it wasn’t finished in time for his birthday, or for the cold weather, for that matter! This was probably the last week he would have been able to wear it. Oh well, it’s good practice anyway. Maybe next year my I’ll start my winter knits on time.

I have my own winter scarf that’s very close to being done - I’m a bit sad that I didn’t get it finished in time to wear, but I’ll be happy to have finished my first sweater. Anyway, I’ll be very happy to start on fresh spring and summer knits soon. Bright things that will knit up much faster! I’ll post a picture of my scarf tomorrow.

Staying On the Right Side of My Brain

I wanted to share with you one of the first pictures I have drawn in nearly a decade. See I just got this work-from-home job where I grade the speaking tests of ESL learners. I wear a set of headphones and stare off into space or at my cuticles. I started doodling (I haven’t doodled since college!) and decided to give sketching a try. You know what? It felt awesome. I think I might try a daily drawing meditation to keep me at it, so my grand-kids will remember me as a drawer/painter (as I’m told my grandmother was).

I’ve taken a total of 4 drawing classes. Two of which were when I was ten years old and were both titled “Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain.” On of those was a weekly Parks and Rec class that I attended with my mom. At one session we were told to walk along the park trail and find a an interesting looking twig. We were then to hold it in our non-dominant hand and draw the two together. When touring the room, our teacher noticed that my mom and I were drawing the exact same picture in mirror image. My mom is right-handed and I’m a lefty. We each had chosen the same exact hand pose for our twigs. As a ten year old whose biggest hero was her mother, it felt magical.

These Aren’t the Prettiest Photos

Above is a photo of the delicious casserole that my husband made last night. It’s been a busy week with me starting my new Internet job and helping out friends with scrambling for a residency positions and picking out bridesmaids dresses. Because of all that, I didn’t try very hard to make these photos perfect. You can see the pile of mail that we have been trying to sort through, and the cropping may not be the best. Below are some snapshots of my husband and me at home on a Saturday night - the night before Easter.

 

What’s this last photo of you ask? This is what happens when your 12 year old dog decides to be picky about bones and whines all night long while you and your spouse are trying to read, work on a presentation, or watch Project Runway. One day my husband got the bright idea to reduce beef broth on the stove, coat some pork flavored rawhide with it, and then bake it in the oven. It was a pretty successful idea. So much for that phone conversation with my mom:

Me: What am I supposed to do? Boil bones in broth every night?

Mom: Well, yeah!

Me: (Laughing, shaking head)

Well, we’ve succumbed. But we do enjoy watching him watch us boiling and baking bones every other night. And besides, how can you ignore this precious pout: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really need to Post!

I pretty much finished the little Quinn Cabled Bag  and it’s gorgeous. I say pretty much because I didn’t get the strap sewn on before I gave it to my little sister. I also didn’t block it or line it. My sis will do a better job of putting in a lining anyway and I wanted to leave the choice of fabric up to her, but alas, the thing will never get blocked now.

 Anyway, it’s in Santa Cruz, California now with my sister, and she has almost gotten the strap sewn on… Soon she will send me a picture of herself wearing it and the matching headband - which somehow makes her look quite “bad-ass.” I just wanted her little ears to be warm up in the North.

 So what am I up to in the knitting department today, you ask? I’m knitting my very first sweater. And it’s a big one! It’s for my hubby and I need to finish it before his birthday on the 30th! That gives me about 20 days. I was working on it all last week in the car on our cross country trip, but I still have a long way to go.

 Take a look:

 

After spending too long trying to figure how to get the pics formatted for this site, I had lunch. Here is  a picture of Casey during lunch. He is perched on the back of our couch:    

This is what he’s after:  

        And then Tim got home:

 That’s it for today.