It only took 9 months....

avastfinished
Originally uploaded by WoodlandSprite

No, it wasn't a baby!

Avast is done :) and it only took me 9 months to finish! Due to the color of the yarn, it is very difficult to see the cable on the bottom hem, though it did indeed come out quite nicely.

All the fine details are here on the finished goods blog.

Arrr. It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

In honor of talk like a pirate day, I stopped with the procrastinatin' and did up the hems and front bands of Avast. (Avast means "Stop" in pirate-speak, don'cha know?) Determined to make said sweater more useful than ballast, I stuffed it in me booty bag (that would be the bag all the yarn goes into) and hauled it and its zipper off to the local tailor. (I daren't feed handknits to the beast that is called a sewing machine that lives in my household.) It should be ready for its finishing touches next Monday. Now if we could just talk the weather into being a bit more reasonable I'll be set :)

Nearly There...

As the summer creeps onward, I snatch time as I am able with Avast. All the knitting is done, and the poor sweater was left abandoned in a heap on the back of the loveseat awaiting my pleasure (and patience as I can't stand having that much wool in my lap when the temperatures are still topping out near 110 F!)...course I do let the cat(s) sit in my lap if they are so inclined ;) I can't resist a content kitty...

Anyhow, I figure if this sweater is going to be ready once the temperatures settle back down to a much more reasonable temperature, I need to stay somewhat focused and continue to make progress with the finishing. In this case, it meant taking it off the back of the loveseat, filling a sink and drowning it giving it a good soak so it could be rolled between towels like a sweater-filled burrito and then laid out flat for blocking.

I swear by blocking for lace - it's where all the magic happens - I'm not so fond of blocking sweaters. I'm not sure why - I think it has to do with my fear of getting a sweater all wet and relaxed, only to find that the fabric stretches and stretches and the next thing I know, I have a dress on my hands....

Happily, that awful scenario didn't play out with this one. The fabric tidied itself up nicely in the blocking process, making everything look happy and uniform. The above photo is of the zipper bands (yes, I need to turn them back on themselves and stitch em down) - and to the left we see the happy raglan decreases.

I completed the blocking freehand, seeing as the garment is essentially complete minus the finishing details like turned in hems, cuff and installed zipper...To make sure it was about right in size, I grabbed a favored jacket and laid it on top of the relaxing sweater - and it looks like I got the dimensions just right.

Once dry, the sweater will move back downstairs so I can tack down the hems/flaps that need tacking, and I will be hunting for zippers...Anyone out there have suggestions? Initial measurements indicate I need to find myself a 32-inch zip in a suitably matching hue.

A small glimpse...

...into what my home looks like when I've been doing shop-work:


cat included for scale :) (and yes, that is some new fiber that will go up next month :) )

Typically, I don't have drying racks occupying what little free space I normally have in my kitchen - however, I had to bring the fully loaded racks inside due to an impending dust storm (we can't have all that freshly dyed yarn getting all dirty and dusty!)

No news (or little news) to be reported on the knitting and/or spinning front - I'm ever-so-slowly filling my second bobbin so I can knit the Wing o the Moth, and I'm making slow, steady progress on some stealth knitting. Avast, has alas, been set aside due to my aversion of "finishing" pieces - yet when I sit and think about it, there really isn't *that* much left to be done - I need to turn in all the bands/hems and have someone install the zipper for me! And voila! It would be done!

A few loose ends

Just in time for the summer monsoon ;)

I've finally finished all of the knitting on Avast - it's all finishing tasks I have left to do - basically I need to sew down the hems for the sleeve, and turn in the bands and sew those down. Once that is done, I'll need to wash and block the sweater so I can take a measurement for the zipper - then go zipper hunting and decide if I dare install it myself or if I'll hire out for that (again).

Preliminary fittings indicate that it will fit perfectly :)

Flamin' Hot!

We're well into the summer and the weatherfolk are figuring that it will not be a surprise to see temps in excess of 120 F at some point this summer. Yeesh. And what do I do? I play with wool, of course! It almost looks like the carder is on fire, doesn't it? Well, don't worry - it isn't :) That's a new colorway called Daffodil - now in the shop, along with some other July updates :D

Speaking of wool, I'm on the front bands of Avast! I've essentially got the front bands and the bottom hem to go, then some tidying up of random dangling yarns and then off to pick out a zipper. A brief (really brief - remember, soaring temps and wool sweaters don't mix ;) ) try-on indicates that the sleeves and body are indeed long enough and it looks like it will be a good fit :D hooray!

Projects on the Needles

This is what the couch looks like...poor cats, there's no room for them! I guess this would probably be why they typically sit in my lap while I'm knitting...

The blue is my Noro Lotus - as you can see, the simple dropped stitch pattern shows the yarn off very well. It's simple and soothing to work on, and it's going really fast, as dropped stitch scarves typically do :)

The bright orange mass is a lace project :) You might be able to pick out leaves in there...The yarn isn't really quite that bright...it just looks that way in the photo.

The gray is Avast - I'm over halfway done with the yoke - I'm loving this part of the knitting because with each row, the knitting goes faster and faster! Once I get the collar done, I plan to kitchner up the underarm stitches (I left them live) and I'll get a preliminary try-on done. I sure hope it fits...I figure if there is length that needs to be added to the body, I can get away with adding a bit at the bottom since I have to pick up for the bottom hem still...the sleeves though, will be the clincher. I sure hope I wasn't too hasty in joining them up with the body!

Together, at last!

Finally, after breaking free from the Knitting Black Hole, I have attached the sleeves to the body of the sweater and am cruising along on the yoke!

You may notice some strange quantity of needles in that photo - I am knitting the sweater back and forth on one long Denise needle (because the plastic tips are kinda bendy and cause my hands less distress - though it seems like the yarn sticks on the cable :( making moving stitches around a little bit of a pain). You might spy some plastic DPNs with needle protectors or even some other long circulars.....those are all there to hold onto the few live stitches at the underarm. Yes, I realize I was supposed to bind those off...but this is one of the modifications i have made - I am knitting the entire sweater seamlessly. The arms were knit in the round, the underarm stitches with be grafted together....

As you may note, there is slight striping on this sweater - this is due to the yarn I am knitting with - it has fairly broad stripes; however, since I find the broad stripes objectionable - so I have been knitting from two ends of a ball, or from two separate balls in some cases. I'm still getting a little bit of striping, but I think it looks much happier this way.

Yarn. Everywhere.

Before I get too far into everything...you should know that:


The shop updated over the weekend - most of the regular colorways are all back in stock, plus 10 limited edition colorways that will never be repeated!

One would presume that if I have just updated the shop, that yarn would no longer be all over the house. That would only be logical. However, it seems that as I keep trying to decide on projects, I wind up making small piles of my personal stash in various locations in the house.


Right now, there is a ball of Globe Mallow on the couch, attached to some secret knitting....it is snuggled up next to a couple of balls of Karaoke, which happen to be attached to several pieces of Avast....which is actually seeing some progress after the sleeves miraculously reached escape velocity of the knitting black hole. It seemed for quite some time these last few weeks that no amount of knitting on the sleeves was resulting in any sort of measurable length - though last night, before I put it down, I took a measurement and it looks like I may only have an inch or so to go before joining the sleeves to the body....just in time for the summer ;)

Also lingering around the house are several balls of red SWTC Bamboo - the same yarn I knit my Shetland Triangle Shawl out of - it is trying to decide if it wants to be knit into another Swallowtail...Apparently I'm in the mood for Lace.

I've got several other skeins laying around the house in states of dishabille trying to decide what they want to be - one of them has me actually thinking of trying to design a pair of semi-lacy socks...the base stitch pattern is 6 stitches (I think). I think it should be fairly straight forward - though most socks seem to have 64 stitches in the leg...and 6 does not smoothly go into 64. It does go smoothly into 60 and 66 - though 66 is no good for splitting the pattern for the foot....ah well, I guess I'll start my scribblings and see. Right now I'm feeling the tug between attempting my first sock design and knitting on someone else's design...namely Cookie A's Twisted Flower...arguably, I could do both...though that may not be the smart thing for me to do...

Thank Goodness I'm a Knitter :)

It's downright cold down here - it's actually gotten below freezing!

The good news is it means I get to haul out the knits and swath myself in wool - the bad news is I'm a wuss when it gets down to a certain temperature and having to run outdoors - so far, I've managed to reschedule my runs to once the sun is up and the air temp has had a chance to rise. Unfortunately, I'm supposed to make a trip to the frigid north in the not too distant future and am not quite certain as to what I'm going to do (temps currently up in that direction are in the negatives for the lows, and low teens for the highs! eek!). While I do have technical apparel, it works fine for hiking, but I'm not so sure about the running - especially if there's snow or ice on the ground (as is likely). As it is, I'm going to have to scrounge for mittens/gloves (no, I don't have any - how embarrassing for a knitter!) If any of you are runners and you have suggestions on how to cope with the cold, I'd love to hear it.

Oh, I did get the swatching done, and a good thing too - I've discovered through the magic of swatching that I had to go down 2 needle sizes, but miraculously, on US5s I hit gauge right on.


See? that's about 4 inches of Avast - I did the cable band, picked up my stitches (somehow managed to pick up too few, and had to resolve the issue on the next row), and have been knitting away on the body - I'm not sure what I think of this mindless back and forth of stockinette - as this is a mens sweater, there isn't even any shaping to keep me entertained! The good news is, given a few nights of intensive tv watching, I should make fast progress. The sleeves, once I get there, will both be knit at the same time - I'm trying to decide if they will be done in the round or not. With some luck and fast knitting, I hope to have this jacket done before the season for sweaters passes.

Shameful.

DH has asked for a sweater at long last, and have I cast on for the swatch yet? um... no.
But at least I haven't cast on, knitting willy nilly to find that I'm completely off gauge either :D

With some luck, all the things above "Knit The Swatch" on the ToDo list (can you believe it? There are things *above* Knitting the Swatch on the ToDo list - how wrong is that?) will get done before the weekend is over and the swatch will get knitted and washed and the sweater will be on its merry way. It better be. Spring, believe it or not, is not too far off.

Stop the Presses!

My DH has decided he wants a sweater!

After consulting all my books and all the online sites for patterns and inspiration - I was about to get ready to go out and buy Knitting with Balls for inspection - but then I found Avast at Knitty and figured it might be just the thing. Simple, but with one happy cable. I printed the pattern out, and ran the photos by the DH - and it passed muster! Hunting in the stash turned up a cone of Karaoke in the Black Sheep Colorway - DH patted the cone, asking if it's scratchy...uh - it's Soysilk and wool. It's not scratchy - the man is going to have more luxury knits than I do! And *I'm* the knitter! LOL - anyhow, I've taken the appropriate measurements, I've weighed the cone to make sure there's enough yarn, and now I have to knit the dreaded gauge swatch. *sigh* all in the name of love right? ;) After all, I didn't even knit myself a gauge swatch for any of my own sweaters!