Memorial Day weekend

Well, May was a bit of a wash, eh? I've finally hired a new assistant, but she doesn't even start until June 7, so right now, I'm on my own. This whole month I've felt a bit like a little boat bobbing along in a turbulent ocean, just trying to stay afloat but not really in control of the situation. I'm starting to come out of that a bit--some long days and nights of work saw to that, but I'm really grateful to still be here, and looking forward to this summer, when hopefully things will slow down a bit and even out.

I have been knitting, but not much, and not anything great. I call these projects "palate cleansers". They are just enough to keep you going, but don't really taste like much and are soon digested, leaving you ready to take on something bigger.

FO #6:

Pattern: Bertoo's cowl by Ariane Caron-Lacoste



I really love how Ravelry hooks people up with designers and designs they might never run across otherwise. Just look at her cute designs! I hope this won't be the last project of hers that I make. The pattern was really easy, and I had just enough of the Cascade Eco Wool left over from my Hemlock Ring blanket to make a generous cowl. I can't even tell you how much I've worn this since I made it. I love my red cowl and some of the other ones, but this one is neutral, and matches everything, and is really warm and snuggly! I love it. Also, I like how you can put the ribbing at the top or the bottom. I think I prefer it at the bottom, but either way, the cowl is one of my favorite things I've made for myself.



Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool, about 190 yards or so. Each skein is about 400 yards, so it was almost half a ball.
Needles: Size US 10.5 Boye circulars. I really love those Boye circs, but they do tend to untwist quite a bit. I never use the key though, so it's my fault, really. I think I need to get a few more cables for the set though, as I seem to have lost a couple...
Notes: I made this a bit longer than the pattern stated, just because I had the yarn left over and wanted to use it all. I basically did, too. The knit/purl pattern was really fun, and shows up wonderfully in the eco wool. I finished this back in March on a business trip to Washington DC.

FO #7:

Pattern: Simple Sweater by Claire Montgomerie, from her book Easy Baby Knits



Yarn: Leftover Sirdar Snuggly DK from the Daisy Swing Cardi and some random acrylic from my stash for the bottom. I basically divided the cream ball I found into two equal sized smaller balls and just knit the back until that ball ran out, and then matched the front to that as I went along. So that random stash ball is gone, as is 1.5 balls of the Snuggly. I still have one ball of Snuggly left though, but I think I may use it for a toy for yet another pregnant co-worker. I'm really sick of looking at the color though. Also, I think I'll stick to cotton for baby stuff going forward. The ease of having a project in acrylic doesn't make up for the shitty experience knitting with it. Even though the Snuggly was pretty soft, it still wasn't a great experience.

Needles: US 5 straight bamboo needles. This may the first time I've used those needles. I don't even know when I got them or why anymore.

Notes: Well, the biggest mistake I made was in pairing the DK weight yarn with a worsted for the band at the bottom. The band should have been knitted on a bigger needle, because the US5 made it really stiff, so instead of seaming it up like in the pattern, I just left that part open, so it would be easier for the recipient to deal with. I also cast on half the sleeve stitches that the pattern called for to make the arms a bit shorter, since the baby lives in Atlanta, and I thought a short-sleeved sweater would be more practical.



The buttons are vintage, and I just added the patches to keep the whole thing from being too basic or weird. It came out very boxy and wide. I can't tell if that was because of the artificially large band at the bottom or because of the pattern. I am never really satisfied with these patterns. They're so basic, but every time I've tried one, I've had mixed results. Oh well. Maybe I just need to use better yarn! I hope that the sweater fits, too. It's for our friend Robin's fourth child, who is a ten pound boy. Yikes! :)



Next entry: Isabella's skirt, which will be FO #8. It's been done for a while, but I'd forgotten to talk about it here, and it's not so much of a palate cleanser. It was a lot of work!

Right now, I'm focused on finishing a pair of socks for my mom's birthday at the end of June. I'm in the gusset decreases for the second sock now, so I'm sure I'll make it--I might even be close to done by the end of this weekend, but I've been working on them for a while now, and again, I'm getting really sick of the yarn. After that, I want to finish my sorely neglected Clementine Shawlette, and start a new shawl and a sweater for Ian's dog Francis. I'm waiting on his measurements though before I can start that one. It's in some really cool yarn though, and I can't wait to see how it knits up!

Finally, I've resisted buying anything from the Webs anniversary sale. I'm cold-sheeping, and I really, really want to cut down on some of my stash before I start buying yarn again. It's sooo hard though when things are on sale and possibly discontinued. But I just don't have room for any more yarn, and I want to knit some of the awesome stuff I already have, so I'm taking it one day at a time, trying to get through the summer without any major purchases. It's not the money, just the storage space that I don't have that is the motivating factor. I want to use up some of this stuff and reclaim my house!

Anyway, more tomorrow. It's easy to blog when you have time. Not so easy when every minute you're moving from one thing to the next.