Claudia Knits

The Party Has Moved!

2007-05-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

Everyone, it's time to update your favorites:

I think the world is ready.

More Sockage

2007-04-25T01:08:00.000-05:00

Here's the portion of a sock that I've been flying though while reading. I've tried to make socks from this yarn before and the colors pooled really terribly. This time around, it's pseudo-self-striping, and I could not be more pleased. And the rib is really fun too.

And here's another piece of fabric that I might sample for a ripple blanket. It's the lining of a bag from Mom and Kate. It's one of the prettiest prints ever; I really love the colors.

Rippling Monkeys!

2007-04-24T11:59:00.000-05:00

My Monkey socks are complete!

These were so much fun, and so fast! It's the siren-call of the repeated pattern, I'm telling you. The yarn was Knitpicks Essential Tweed, which I will not be using again for a while, if I can help it. It's perfectly fine yarn, but it splits like crazy. Also, it had a hard time sliding just so over my bamboo needles, which made me nuts in its own right. Still, I'm really pleased with the results. Last night after I finished I cast on some very bright ribbed socks in some of the spoils of Knitswap. I don't have a larger project to work on right now; a couple of things are stalled in the waiting-for-materials phase, but essentially I'm left with nothing to do but make socks at what I predict will be a furious rate. More pictures coming soon!

Also, I've been lurking around the No-End-In-Sight Ripple-Along. It makes me want to crochet so badly I can almost taste it. I was sitting there last night thinking about how much fun it would be to do a ripple a day,how inexpensively I could obtain the yarn, how I would palette it. I've already decided that if I do get it together enough to learn to crochet and make a blanket (hey, look, a flying pie!), I'll palette it after one of the skirts that Mom's made me.

Admit it, those colors would make a killer ripple blanket. The real questions are: since when am I interested in crochet? That's always been something I make Katie do for me. Why is the project that inspires me one that would take months to complete? What's going to happen if I take up with crochet with the same, or at least similar, vigor that stirs me to knit? I may never sleep again!

Spring, Sprung

2007-04-20T17:13:00.000-05:00

The spring! It's springing! This photo is a few days old, and there has been noticeable growth since then. I think everything's been holding back for so long that now it has no choice but to burst forth. Spring in the Hudson Valley is a true thing of beauty, and I'm very excited for the blooms and blossoms and buds.

But, on to what you really came for. I'm about 97% done with Liz's graduate Clapotis. This thing just flew off the needles. I made it about two thirds of the width that the pattern calls for, which I'm glad about because it's very bulky and puffy. The yarn clings to itself so fiercely that it actually has to be persuaded into dropping stitches.

The colors are much brighter in person. That purpley stripe above the leftmost dark grey is actually magenta. I'm just having trouble getting it in the right light. I love working with the Kureyon; although it's a little scratchy, it has a wonderful hand. I'm a little worried about it for a scarf, but am hoping that a wash and a little conditioner will smooth things out.

So anyway, there I am, knitting along as happily as can be, decreasing like crazy, and pow! Out of yarn!

I'm starting to think I have a curse. I've got about twenty more rows to go to finish up the last corner, but I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and order more yarn. If this were my scarf, I would probably just bind off and go with it; after all, this scarf's natural tendency is to roll itself up like a neck-enchilada. But since it's a gift, I want to do it right. So, once my paycheck comes, I'll order one more skein, and use the leftover to felt me an iPod cozy or something. *sigh*

There is a silver lining in all this: Monkey!

I've been puttering around with a few unsuccessful socks lately: a couple of Jaywalkers that didn't fit (too small, then too big), some crap-assily pooling ribbing, and a general sense of disappointment. That said, I can't tell you how exciting it is for me to have completed the first perfectly-fitting, super-comfy, -machine washable sock that I get to keep! I started this on Monday, and it went so fast that I managed to finish in class this afternoon. I think it has something to do with the stitch pattern. When you've got an 11-row repeat, it's just so easy to say, "Well, I'll just finish this pattern repeat," or, "I'll just work the pattern once more." And then, before you know it, sock!

Project Spectrum: Lemon Pudding

2007-04-12T18:52:00.000-05:00

This month's Project Spectrum colors are pink, green and yellow. Green is just beginning to emerge and pink has yet to really make its presence known, but yellow was just sitting there waiting for me in Kline.

The color is a little more acidic in person, and oddly translucent. It's sort of eggy, like something from space. I love it.

And now to eat the pudding.

(By the way, if anyone can tell me how to make a button from an image, please let me know. I feel like the html can't be that hard, but my fluency in computer languages is about equal to my fluency in Hindi. I want to button!)

Acquisition

2007-04-10T16:30:00.000-05:00

Look what I found in my mailbox today! Four skeins of Noro Kureyon in color #188, also known as, "Claudia, this colorway would be perfect for Liz, so why are you messing around with anything else?" I cast on the mini-Clapotis right away, and I'm already making progress. Lately all I've had to knit on was a sock, and while I love to make socks and all that, I have been languishing in between larger projects. This is really fun; I attempted a Clapotis a couple of years ago with some godawful chenille on aluminum needles (which I hate), and it was not enjoyable. I hadn't yet learned how to 'read' my knitting, so I was constantly losing track of where I was and what was going on. Tedious. But this time it's just flying.

Once I get to the stitch-dropping part I think it's really going to bloom. I just love how this yarn knits up. I mean, come on, how amazing is that?

One Bummer and One-and-a-Half Hoorays

2007-04-07T19:26:00.000-05:00

Bummer: I can't submit my bird sweater for publication to Knitty, as I have already shown pictures of it here on my blog, and that is against the rules. This disappointment is somewhat eased by the probability that they wouldn't have taken the sweater anyway, which leads us to the next topic.

Half-Hooray: I've been planning on moving the party over to a domain of my own in hopes of self-publishing a few patterns, increasing readership and generally working my way toward becoming one of those big-name knitbloggers and joining the ranks of those whose work I so admire. The bird sweater is the perfect launching tool for such a move. Don't rush to update your favorites yet, as I'm still in the planning stages.

Hooray: Librivox. Did someone say free downloadable audiobooks of titles in the public domain? Why yes, I think they did. I haven't tried it out yet, and am assuming that some of the readings are going to be craptacular, but still, I could not be more stoked. First on my list:

Completed Birdness!

2007-04-06T17:24:00.000-05:00

After a spring break-flavored hiatus, I am proud to show off...

...a finished bird sweater!

Vital Statistics: I ued Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, ten balls of Grass and 1 of Cream. I worked at 5 st/in on size 8 needles, and the whole thing took about 2-3 months. Like a I said, sleeves demand fortitude.

This picture is a bit more true to the color. It also shows my favorite detail; the crossed-over striped v-neck is so collegiate. Anyone else want to join the Harvard crew team?

Here's where the sided ribbing meets the hem, another nice-looking detail (if I say it myself). I'm working on writing up the pattern to submit to Knitty, and this is the hardest part to describe coherently. By the way, if anyone can think of a cute and/or clever name for this sweater, I'm all ears.

All in all, I'm really quite pleased with how this came out. There are some parts that I don't like - the sleeves are a little short and the body a little loose - but in general I'm very happy. Nothing soothes my soul like a completed project. Hooray!

New Sock Yarn!

2007-04-06T20:07:00.000-05:00

There is a lot to post about lately. First of all, I got my new sock yarn: two discontinued Knitpicks Sock Memories colorways, three skeins of each. Hooray for Knitswap! The colorways I got are Carnival and Flower Power. One of the skeins of Carnival is almost to the heel of a Jaywalker sock, and I have enough Flower Power for a pair of matching socks and gloves. Nothing can stop me now!

The other recent acquisition is my very own copy of Fitted Knits - thank you Mom! I'm so excited about this book; I don't often buy knitting books because it's rare for me to want to make more than two or three of the patterns, but I want to make almost every single thing in Fitted Knits right now! The only problem is deciding which to make first. Perhaps a light cotton top for summer travels, or a puffed-sleeve cardigan for working in air-conditioning? Or a pullover with buttoned side vents? How do I choose, I ask you, how do I choose?

Good-Looking Surprise

2007-03-29T00:38:00.000-05:00

Just when I think I know what I want to make in the near-ish future, I come across something like this.

I have got to get hold of a copy of Fitted Knits.

Think Of The Future

2007-03-26T14:53:00.000-05:00

I am swamped in a sudden avalanche of midterms (so much so that it's got me mixing metaphors), and so not much knitting is going on lately. At the moment I'm dreaming of Wednesday afternoon, when everything will be turned in and I can sleep the sleep of the accomplished. However, there is a certain finished object blocking in my dorm room as we speak (pictures and post coming soon). Until then, I leave you with a picture of what I look like in my fantasy world (as opposed to real life, in which I am disheveled, sleepless, and full of coffee from the cafeteria that is so strong I swear they must be brewing it with cocaine or something). Ah, to be graceful.

Making Eyes

2007-03-22T21:58:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I began to contemplate summer projects. As some of you know, summer is the time when I like to let loose and make something really complicated, with lots of cables. I like to choose a project that I wouldn't usually have time for, what with school and all. And besides, what's the fun of summer vacation if my hands aren't full of heavy wool? Still, as I've been bopping around the internet lately I haven't seen anything of that ilk that has made me say wowEEE!

And then it hit me. If I choose simpler projects, I'll have time to make two new things to wear in my last semester of college/first months of Real Life. And so I hereby announce Claudia's Prelimiary Summer Picks:

(1) The Union Square Market Pullover. Eunny Jang, my knitting hero, has one in her archives with the clever and sleekifying modification of narrowing the bell sleeve, which I really like. And that neckline is just too cool. Maybe in a deep purple or chocolatey brown...

(2) Simply Marilyn. (I am so about Interweave right now.) I"m picturing it in Lamb's Pride Bulky in Charcoal Heather, because an oversized dark-grey sweater would be eminantly wearable. And this way I would still get my cabling fix. And then of course there are socks to make, Anemois to fair-isle, projects to plan, dreams to dream.

Questions? Ideas? Comments?

Scholastic Interlude

2007-03-21T21:33:00.000-05:00

I have so beaten the system.

The great thing about a fiction project is that working on it is mostly fun. Unlike most of my peers, I don't have to wrangle any 'real facts' or 'true answers', nor do I have to keep a scrupulous bibliography. At the end of a paragraph I know that the next block of text can consist of whatever I damn well please, at least within far less confining strictures than most other senior projects.

As such, I have found in my project not only a chance to grow and develop as a writer while earning my degree, but also a great way to put off far less enticing work. Yes, I should probably be working on my paper, but technically I am working. I'm not really procrastinating, in fact I'm making progress.

Insult To Injury

2007-03-20T13:48:00.000-05:00

Although I never sympathized with Cinderella's wicked stepsisters, I always wondered why wickedness was so directly linked to having big feet. I had no idea at the time that I would grow up into a pair of size 11's. Still, I was reminded of that early confusion yesterday, when I attempted to try on my first Jaywalker.

Aaaah! Nooo! It won't go on my foot! Thank goodness I hadn't gotten beyond the heel, so I only had one week's worth of knitting to frog. I like to try the sock on after turning the heel because it's so very satisfying to feel my own heel lock into place, cradled by perfect short-rows. Plus, variegation made for the best heel.

Anyway, I ripped it out and started over, this time making the bigger size. It turns out that my gauge is tighter than that of the pattern, and that that, like, matters. I don't mind frogging when it will make for a better finished product (in fact I start most projects at least twice), but frogging because of my own stupid mistake makes me crazy. At least I have a seminar this afternoon, the perfect chance to make up for lost time.

Oh, Fortune

2007-03-19T18:51:00.000-05:00

How you mock me.

Look at the wonderful progress:

Yes, it is just a taste. Anyway, I got the yoke done over the weekend and now all that's left to do is sew up a bunch of seams (including reinforcing the raglan shaping, which is a little laddery) and work the edging for the collar. I'm going to do an echo of the 3x2 rib that I used on the hem and sleeves, with some white stripes. It'll be about 10 rows deep, crossed over at the front and... oh dear. Look how much yarn I have left:

I know it's hard to see how little there is in the photograph, but suffice it to say that there is simply not enough. It's completely irritating; that sweater could be blocking right now if it weren't for the stupid yarn. But that's okay. ever one to make a good situation out of a bad one, I used the fact that I was already paying for shipping to justify some needles and the yarn for Clessidra. At least for that project I will be prepared.

Questions, Questions

2007-03-17T13:31:00.000-05:00

So as many of you know, my good friend Liz is graduating in May, only a few days after her birthday, and I want to make something for her as a graduation/birthday gift. Although I had thought about making her some arrr-gyles, I started to think that maybe she would like something else better. Something a little more luxurious. Something kind of grown-up and fancy that she can wear when she's working in galleries an such. So I've narrowed it down to two options, upon which I need your input.

The first option is a mini-Claoptis done in Shepherd Worsted in the Irving Park colorway. I would make the scarf half as wide as the pattern calls for, but keep the length. I frankly do not have time to make a full-sized Clapotis - the rows are 107 stitches long, for heaven's sake. But half-size would go fairly quickly, and it's fun to drop stitches on purpose, it really is.

The other option is a little more uncertain, but still is the one I'm leaning toward. It involves getting a skein of Regal Silk in colorway 114 and making a triangular garter-stitch scarf. Or, with a little budget-stretching, I could get two skeins and do a parallelogram (or a bigger triangle. Or a shorter mini-Clapotis. Hmmm...). What excites me about this option is the idea of working with pure silk, and the fact that I know Liz would love both the fiber content and colorway.

I honestly don't know what to choose. What do you guys think? I'm completely torn.

They're Everywhere

2007-03-16T23:09:00.000-05:00

It seems that everywhere I look these days beautiful sock yarns and patterns are coming out of the woodwork. First, there's Cookie A, whose patterns are making me drool. German Stocking, Rhionnan, Twisted Flowers, they're all so beautiful. Then there's The Loopy Ewe, selling the most beautiful variegated sock yarns ever. Not to mention the most gorgeous sock yarn in the world at Kpixie. And then there's this great tutorial on dying your own self-striping yarn that makes me want to bust out the Kool-aid right now and make something blue and green and red and orange. Something you can see from space.

In other news, I've finally begun the yoke of my bird sweater. I know, you thought I'd forgotten about it, but not so. The short version is that sleeves require fortitude and great strength of character, especially when they're knit flat in a plain rib from the cuff upward. *yawn* I like working on sweater yokes; who doesn't love a home stretch? I'm hoping I can finish it before the snow melts so that I can take pictures of it in a wintry forest (for the future pattern). And then the much-anticipated $1.50 Cardigan. I'm really loking forward to that project - finally a sweater without vast plains of plain stockinette to be trekked over. Lace, cables, a pretty color in a nice yarn... I can't wait.

Beyond My Control

2007-03-15T11:46:00.000-05:00

Something weird happened on Tuesday morning, after I'd written the last post. I happened across Jaywalker, and I looked at my partially-cuffed sock, and then I looked at Jaywalker, and I looked at my sock, Jaywalker, sock, and before I knew what I was doing, this happened:

At least it made a pretty yarn-noodle. Anyway, I started over and by yesterday morning I had this:

It grew some more yesterday, but the light is terrible right now so I can't take a picture. I think this pattern makes the yarn look much, much better than the previous incarnation. Also the brioche stitch was a little loose, and this is a nice, dense fabric. All in all, highly satisfying.

And now I must go because my computer is running very slowly and it's making me insane!

It's The Little Differences

2007-03-12T22:32:00.000-05:00

Finally, my first pair of socks is complete!

It's true that there are certain ...shall we say... asymmetries, but still, they're done, and that makes me happy. And the intended recipient is a non-knitter who will (probably) never know. My one major complaint was that the yarn split more easily than a summer camp friendship, but it has the virtue of being machine washable, which puts me in a forgiving mood.

Tonight in class I started my first Roza Sock. Really what I'm doing with these is borrowing the stitch pattern and applying it to the sock pattern in Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. The brioche stitch pattern doesn't show up quite as well as I would have hoped, but I'm still really enjoying doing it.

The effect in the end is that of a slightly fancied-up ribbing. Highly enjoyable. And the yarn is great to knit with - nice and springy, with colors changing often enough to keep my interest going. I don't know how well it shows up on the screen, but the colorway is super-vibrant. Yum.

Other than that, I just returned from a super-excellent weekend in New York with Boyfriend. We were very busy the whole time, mostly with going to see long movies that had nothing to do with each other. We saw Zodiac, which gets points simply for being a movie set in San Francisco in 1969 without being set in San Francisco Land! (TM) Way to dodge a bullet there (so to speak). Also I love watching Robert Downey Jr. do his thing. The movie took a definite downturn once he was no longer in it. I was also able to finally see Into Great Silence, which I havebeen looking forward to for a while. It was absolutely beautiful. The film produced a lot of yawns, but was just gorgeous nonetheless. After 2.5 hours with monks who engaged in a total of maybe ten minutes of dialogue, it was a very strange feeling to re-emerge into New York at night. Also, can you think of a greater treat than seeing a group of largely solitary monks with the most ascetic lifestyle of any Catholic order cut loose and go sledding?

I didn't think so.

Precious...

2007-03-07T21:21:00.000-05:00

About a week ago I splurged a little and ordered myself some sock yarn from Knitpicks (because I officially can't get enough of sock making). Today I went to check my mail, and there it was.

First, some machine washable Essential Tweed, destined to become Monkey. I love the texture of those socks, but I am of the belief that one must choose between texture and color as the focus for a project. I can deal with subtle variation, but I would not want to knit something with tons of texture in a yarn that won't let it show (variegated).

Behind door number two, some Memories in the Morning Glory colorway, which will become a variation on Roza's Socks (scroll down). I like this pattern a lot, but it will need some adjusting for my gauge. This time it'll be subtle texture, lots of color. I think I'm actually going to do these ones first, because the merino is so nice to be around, and I just love knitting with a variegated yarn.

And, of course, there is a new issue of Knitty that must be reveled in. As usual when the new one comes out, I immediately looked at the patterns and fell upon one in a Gollum-esque frenzy. Tucked in at the very bottom... Clessidra. We wants it, we wants to knit it so very, very much. We are thinking we needs a luxurious yarn like Gloss in Cocoa that will look good with all our shoes. *sigh* We already loves them so.

ARRR!

2007-03-06T19:33:00.000-05:00

And now it turns out that Liz loves argyle. And skulls. And here I've been wondering what to give her for graduation.

Score one for Captain Luck.

First Sock Done!

2007-03-04T11:41:00.000-05:00

I finished my first sock yesterday!

It was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to starting the other one tomorrow. I grafted the toe, which didn't come out exactly to my liking; perhaps I'll try a three-needle bind-off for the second sock.

For the cuff edging I cast on all the stitches onto two needles held together, then removed one and worked the first row like this: k1tbl, bring yarn to front and sl1 purlwise. After the first row I divided the stitches onto four needles and started the ribbing. Generally, a successful first sock.

Also, I found this great skull-gyle (or is the correct term arr-gyle) chart on Moth Heaven. I think it would be really cute across the front of a sweater, or maybe down a sleeve. I've been seeing a lot of cool-looking argyle charts lately. They're starting to give me ideas.

PS - Thanks to everyone for the comments! I love getting commented on - it makes me feel special.

PPS - Check out the lovely new Weather Flapper, keeping my faraway readers updated on exterior conditions. Any suggestions for a flapper name (besides Zelda)?

Argyle On The Brain

2007-03-05T16:48:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm really starting to have an argyle fixation. It's just that it's all coming together so perfectly. First of all, Knitpicks makes a sock yarn in a billion colors, the colorcard for which happens to be arriving by mail sometime this week as part of a previous order. Then I discover that the inexhaustible Moth Heaven contains both an argyle sock chart and an argyle sock tutorial. What's a girl to do?

I have to make them. They're just... so... simple...

Sock It To Me

2007-02-28T19:21:00.000-05:00

There. I said it. I had to get that out of my system.

Here's the first of Boyfriend's socks as it stands. I've turned the heel and am woking on the gusset. Like I said, a super-fast project. At this rate I could turn out a sock a week (ideally).

And here's a close-up of one of my favorite features of this pattern, the slipped-stitch heel.

Slipping every other stitch on the right side makes this nice thick, spongey fabric at the back of the heel, which will wear so much better than plain stockinette against the back of a shoe. Hooray. I've got 2.5 hours of class tomorrow and 4 on Friday, so this sock should be all done by the weekend.

In other news I'm steeling myself to frog the start I made on my Anemoi mitten. I think I want to switch the colors. Also the cuff is a little tight. And this and that and the other... I think this project needs a new start. It may wait a little while though. For one, I'm not looking forward to re-doing that cuff (size 0 bamboo needles - they feel princess-delicate in my hands), and also I'm not enjoying having three projects going at once. It's like three-handed dominoes: one keeps getting left in the dust. Besides, with two tiny projects my hands are not as happy as they once were. They miss the days of worsted-weight.

Sorry, Anemoi, you'll just have to wait. And sorry, hands, but what with the sock-making and the project-typing, this is going to get worse before it gets better. Be strong.

Bears For Kids

2007-02-28T00:16:00.000-05:00

I just read about this in Interweave Knits and I've already been to the site and placed my order for a copy of the pattern. The bears look quick and easy to make and they get sent to kids who are all by themselves, and who don't really get to be kids. Come on, let's all make bears.