Not So Fancy Nancy

Catchin a few Zs - projects in hibernation

I've decided to get in front of my knitting queue. I seem to start projects half way through the season, and as Risa says, I'm always getting distracted by shiny pebbles. Well, I know that I will always pick up pretty stones at the beach, but I feel the need to organize the ones I've already brought home.

So, in the spirit of taking control, I'm deliberately putting some projects in the "Z" category. I am going to get each one out, figure exactly where it is and leave myself instructions for the future. I'm going to admit that I probably won't remember that I made that critical change to the pattern that I've not written down (yes, I knit, like so many things, by the seat of my pants). Then, with everything duly annotated, I'm going to put them in storage marked "get out in September". Then maybe I will have them ready for wearing next winter. Because it's not going to happen this year. What's going to happen this year (if I don't take action) is that I will be knitting wool in May, get bored and still not finish anything, then be behind on the spring and summer projects I've got in mind. Time to break this cycle. Time to take charge.

DH has worked three days out of the last four while the kids have been home on a four day holiday so I've not been able to sit for long. Did this blog overhaul in bits and pieces, so I apologize if you came through when it was in turmoil - at one point the banner filled the entire screen. Wanted to learn my new Photoshop and I didn't need no stinkin help files or tutorials - not me. Knew certain features were there somewhere, just had to find them.

This is the design I will keep for a while, though the banner image will probably be created again since it lost resolution with the obsessive number of adjustments I made. Please let me know if you have a problem with the way my blog uploads on your PC.

Look for photos and project updates tomorrow when the kids go back to school. I've got Clapotis II started. I've got new yarn and projects. I'm looking forward to Spring baby!

Chapter II - In which our knitter learns the true meaning of Swatch

Last week was a very long week on the mommy front. Not worth taking precious post time to describe (and anyway, you don't really want to know since excrement was involved). Suffice it to say I was busy trying to raise two young humans to adulthood without committing myself to an asylum.

But I did knit. I'll start with WIP updates:

Front and back of Klaralund are finished. Realized while doing the bottom border of side two that I'd knitted one ridge too few on side one, so I just adjusted down. Ripping the entire side one flitted through my mind only to be blasted away with a crazy laugh. Not even I would commit that knitting madness. Without these being blocked you can't really tell, but I did slight shaping on the waist.

Also picked up Rowan Birch again. It's just starting to feel like it's going faster thank goodness - these top rows are a long haul. LOVE the Bryspun needles for this and highly recommend them with Kidsilk Haze, which is basically a fuzzy thread. But what lovely thread it is (click this pic to see the shine close-up). This mohair can't be ripped, so it's imperative to get it right the first time and I'm finding that the cream color of the Bryspun helps me see the yarn and the points are perfect for picking stitches. I wrote before I thought they'd be good ... now I know it for sure.

Now, about those swatches...

Here was Rocktorp on Friday. Doesn't it look like a nice basket?

And like a nice basket, it is woven so tightly it could hold water! During all that swatching and deliberating over the stitch pattern I never took gauge. Let's not go there - I've already beaten myself enough. And I entered that knitter's delirium where you lie and delude yourself for far longer than any reasonable person should. I was using the specified needle. It did look like the photo. But, re-read that top paragraph and imagine what my knitting was like last week...

stitch Emily stitch STOP stitch hitting stitch your stitch sister stitch stitch stitch Rachel stitch I stitch don't stitch want stitch to stitch hear stitch that stitch out stitch of your mouth again (looking up from knitting) ...

And so on and so forth. Ad nauseum (my stomach at least - they seem to bounce right back don't they?) I kept telling myself to loosen up as my arms would start to hurt. Finally, some still sane part of my brain demanded I take gauge. Guess I was running just a little tight. Moved up a size and got gauge perfectly. Just a slight difference eh? Well at least I know this stitch pattern by heart now. Haven't ripped or cast back on, but will soon. Needed to take a little time apart.

With my new respect for gauge I took on Gloria. Thanks for all your very thoughtful comments and recommendations to do a swatch and thanks even more for not adding idiot after (I forgive anyone who even thought it - I did). Hey, it was midnight when I posted and I'd had a margarita. Between comments and emails some of you suggested following the pattern and alternating the yarns. OK, I hadn't actually read the pattern yet (what do you expect from me huh?) and didn't have the book with me at the LYS. Did get gauge on the recommended US 8's.

After taking this shot I got very disciplined (for me) and even knitted some rows with 8's for the Bliss and 7's for the Noro just to check the Noro's tension (being chenille and all). Even did a few rows with both on 7's. Now, my new-found discipline didn't actually extend to going upstairs to find free 7 needles when these were so handy.

See, I do know my WIP and where it's living in my stash, I just choose to ignore it. Going to stick with the 8's.

Please note:  Just spent some time updating my photo albums. Going to start putting yarn specs and pattern info in the finished work album and sometimes the WIP album. Once I define a new project it will be often be referred to by name only, so look in the photo albums and the category list for details. Old items won't have all the details, probably because i don't know them myself any longer. Was googling my heart out yesterday looking for something and I kept being teased by blogs with the yarn/sweater, but not the stats. Decided not to make that pattern, but would have loved to figured out the info sooner. So I will try to do my part to add useful content to the blog world.

Klaralund? And other thoughts on Noro.

Had a wicked case of post-partem knitting blues after finishing Clapotis. Spent my creative time Thursday just puttering with stash and doing a needle inventory. Now I'll admit, I'm a person who rearranges deck chairs. My house may be in chaos, but my needles are well-ordered thank you very much. Since I spent way too much time on this chart that organizes by size, material and company. I'll be glad to share. If you want a copy just comment and I'll email you the MS Word doc. If you're scratching your head and thinking I'm crazy, well that's true, but I used to do this for a living so for me it's mindlessly engaging. I keep a copy tucked in my wallet for use at the LYS.

After a day off, I awoke refreshed and ready for a new knitting challenge. But I didn't expect this much of a challenge.... CO for the Noro Rocktorp in a medium and got to knitting just happy as could be. I tend to knit over gauge and I wanted a M+, so I figured it would work out. What I didn't figure is that the stitch instructions would proved to be so frickin unclear.

The instructions for "tweed stitch" (as she calls it) in this pattern do not specify where to carry the  secondary yarn - front or back. Makes a huge difference.

To back up, first I started by slipping knitwise, and by the fourth row my arms were hurting so much I couldn't imagine knitting this sweater. Looked in the books and found the obvious issue there - always slip purlwise to keep the stitch untwisted. OK, maybe common knowledge, but I argue that it's not a big deal to add the clarifying notation "purlwise". Anyway, I accept that as my problem.

I ripped and consulted books and the net for tweed and linen stitch instructions. Seemed that maybe I should be carrying the yarn in front. CO again and the sample below is what came from that. (Let's not talk too much about why I didn't swatch.) Not good huh?

Ripped again, did a swatch (yeah, at least not a three-time idiot), and determined the yarn should be carried in the back at all times, which looked like the back side of the attempt above. CO again and here's where I am. Still not sure... The book photo is not perfectly clear and there's no close-up, but I think this looks right.

If you have a strong feeling this is NOT right, please say it now or forever hold your peace.

So, what did a really really need after that? A mindless project! Straightforward knitting. Not lace, no tricky patterning, nothing new to learn. Just knitting.

My mailman delivered a solution. Ten skeins of Noro Silk Garden arrived from an ebay buy. Love this subtle colorway. I typically go for reds and strong colors and I want to break out of my comfort zone.

Silk Garden #88 for Klaralund

Not on the agenda, not in the stash, but yet here it is. Klaralund is on the needles. Got smart and pulled up the centers to evaluate the color order of each ball before CO. Don't care about the body matching, but I like the sleeve striping to be somewhat aligned so I paired the balls with the best matches and saved those for the sleeves. Here's the first ball knitted up.

Now, one final issue. Silk Garden has changed. My guess is that Noro's success has meant they've sought out other yarn providers who aren't as good as their primary mill(s). Or they've decided to cut costs. Something happened. I remember last summer/fall no one had any Noro and everyone was back-ordered. I'm sure they were busting ass to meet the demand. Sad result is inferior product.

Three years ago I bought SG for the Debbie Bliss Enrelac sweater I've been wearing ever since. In that yarn the silk part of the blend is gorgeous - better than this photo can show. It's got that lovely silk shine that makes it stand out from the more subtle wool and mohair. The noticeable silk slubs only add to the rough beauty. The mohair gives a light, attractive halo. Overall the yarn is soft and there was virtually no rough matter - sticks, unspun fibers, etc.

That was then. Still love the dying, but this is low-quality yarn. Not sure I would have bought this in a store and I'm so glad I got an ebay deal on it, but it's still not cheap - it just feels like it. No shine or smoothness to the silk, no mohair fuzz - in fact you'd be hard pressed to say either fiber was used by just casually looking at it. Sticks and hay throughout. Little white kinky fibers falling out of every skein. I've had two knots already I'm just starting the second ball. Total crap. Just did a little googling and it seems from the WiseNeedle reviews that I'm not the only one who's gotten a bad batch. Thankfully the colors still say Noro.

So, my suggestion would be to touch your Silk Garden before buying if you think this would bother you. Next time I'm in my LYSs I'm going to see if any SG in stock looks good. I'll let you know.

Clapotis almost done and Noro waiting

OK, I fess up, when adding photos of my yarn to the yarn-in-waiting gallery I kept missing this Noro stash somehow. Guess I didn't want to admit to yet another dream tucked away in my closet. But today I just knew it was time to start Rocktorp from the Cornelia Hamilton booklet (#2).When I bought the booklet I loved this pattern and am thrilled to find short tweed jackets are in this year (might I even be fashionable?). When I went looking for the yarn last September (shortly before starting this blog) I had a tough time finding it since the fall Noro shipments had yet to arrive on these shores. But I did find it, and it's been waiting patiently for me to re-discover it ever since.

The Noro wrapped balls are Shinano #13 (65% wool, 35% silk) and the balls wound by me are Cash Iroha #22 (40% silk, 30% lambswool, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon). Look at these colors together. How could I have resisted so long? Yeah, this is a gratuitous 2nd photo, but it's just so beautiful. The color in this close up is more accurate. It's raining right now and the light is low.

While they were hidden away I'd forgotten how much I LOVE these yarns. I admit it, I'm a Noro freak. I also must admit I bought 10 balls of Silk Garden on ebay today for Klaralund - I'm late to that particular party, but while wearing my entralac today I just kept thinking about knitting with SG again. Will show and tell when it arrives.

Socks are on the toe box - finished photos soon.

Clapotis is on repeat 11/12 and getting ready to be decreased - I expect to finish tomorrow. Jacq recommened keeping the standard length, so I'm getting pretty excited about the impending cast off. FO - YEAH! Already planning a spring version in light, soft colors. Maybe a silk/cotton or silk/merino blend? Thanks Beth for putting that in my mind!