Project Update and Future Projects

I've been working on my Same But Different sleeveless top this morning. I had to rip back the front because I knitted it just like the back and the front has a neckline. But, of course, I ripped back to far and have to knit a few more inches before I can start the neckline.

Even with all the ripping and re-knitting on this top, I'm really enjoying the process. I've been checking my length every few minutes or so. I pin the top to the bed so that I can be sure to get an accurate measurement. Measuring on my leg just doesn't work!

Once the top part of the top is complete or at least the shoulder seams sewn I'm going to rip out the bottom 4 or 5 inches so I can lengthen the top and redo the bottom border. I was hoping to get the top done this weekend but I'm not sure if I will. I'd rather get it just so and fitting right then to wiz right through it to get it done.

I also started a cotton dish cloth for my mom for Mother's Day. I'm wanting to make a set of 4 in a couple of different colors. Mom is coming to Austin from Seattle for Mother's Day so I'll be able to give them to her in person. I'm also making a set for my SIL who's birthday is next month.

Also this week I greated a list of knitting projects to complete this year. It sounds kinda of anal but I really need to know what I need to knit for gifts for birthdays and Xmas so that I'm not scrambling at the end of the year trying to get everything knitted. I came up with some timelines of when to start and complete each project but those are mostly guidelines so that I can keep on top of everything.

And of course, there are several projects for me too! I think my next garment will me a tank top. But I need to get the sleeveless top I'm working on done first!

Not Ripping! Yeah!

Or at least not all the way!

I went to my local Stitch and Bitch group that meets at Book People on North Lamar on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday in Austin, Texas last night. I took some yarn samples that a few yarn companies sent me and my sleeveless top.

I knitted up swatches of the sample yarns to see how they knit up so I can review them on my next podcast on Sunday. I got some feedback on the yarns from the other knitters in the group that will be invaluable to my reviews.

But anyway... I also took the sleeveless top and right before I was leaving I pulled it out to get opinions on whether I should rip it out or not. Of course, they were as distress as I was about ripping out all the stocknette I had already done!

Becky and Claire both had suggestions. Becky suggested that I pick up stitches on the bottom to make the border longer to see if that helped with the rolling. And she also suggested turning the border under itself halfway. Those were good suggestions but I'm not sure I could do either skillfully.

Then Claire suggested that I put in a lifeline in a row of stitches, cut of the bottom, knit some more stockenette top-down and redo the border for a few more rows. I love this idea especially since I feel like I started the arm hole before I should have and the top would be too short. Now I can add more length, fix the rolling and not have to rip out the whole thing!!! Yeah!

Oh and if anyone has the January issue of Creative Knitting, Becky is looking for a copy because she want to do the Cross-hatch Hat pattern that is the match for a free online cross-hatch scarf she did.

To Frog or Not To Frog

I've got a WIP that I think I just might frog all the way out. It is the "The Same...But Different" sleeveless top from the Yarn Girls' Beyond the Basics book.

It is a really cute pattern with an eyelet bottom border. However, my eyelets are rolling. I used a needle size one size to big, the size used in the rest of the pattern. And I split it up the side for a few inches.

So the roll is pretty significant. I kept telling myself that it would block out, but I'm just not sure.

And now I realize that I've started the arm hole too early. Why is it that you can measure and measure and measure and think you've got the right length, in my case 16 inches. And then after you've worked a few more inches and you check to see if you are close to the top, you realize that your original measurement was wrong? And that the top will be shorter then expected?

It is very frustrating. But if I keep knitting in hopes that all this will correct itself then I'll just end up with a garment I just won't wear. But having to frog the whole this is a bit disconcerting too.

And I'm not sure I like how the fabric is knitting up either. I can see a difference between where I was knitting in the round and where I started knitting back and forth for the arm hole.

Plus, I can't explain exactly what is happening but the stitches seem bigger in some areas and not in others. Like they poof out more.

I'm using Berroco's Soft Twist which is a wool and rayon blend. I love the drape and feel of the fabric, put I'm just not sure I like the how the stitches look.

So overall, I'm dissatisfied with the garment.

Drat! That means I should probably just frog the whole thing and start again. Maybe I just need to take a break from it and start on a different project.

One Skein Knit-Along

I joined the One Skein Knit-Along. It was started to let knitters knit together the patterns in Leigh Radford's book, One Skein, which will be published in April.

I've gotten a preview copy for the publisher, Interweave to review on my podcast, Knitting News Cast. Apparently, there has been some early release of the book even though it isn't available on Amazon yet. So there are already several people who are working on projects.

I will be doing the review on my March 26th episode.

I have a bunch of yarn that I only have one skein of. My goal is to use only yarn that is in my stash for the projects.

How To Wind A Ball Of Yarn By Yourself

Today I wanted to wind a ball of yarn but I was home alone so I didn't have any one to hold the hank of yarn so I can wind the ball of yarn.

I'm waiting on a ball winder and swift to arrive from Joann.com. So I improvised and used a chair to help me out.

First, I removed the label from the hank and untied the ends. Then I put the hank over the back of a chair.



Next, I got a used medicine bottle and placed one of the ends of yarn inside the bottle and closed it with the cap.



Then I wrapped the yarn around the medicine bottle. This can be kind of tricky. First, you have to be careful to not pull the yarn up off the back of the chair. This causes a big mess with yarn getting all tangled up. Believe me, you don't want this to happen!

Second, it can be difficult to get a round ball by wrapping over the end of the bottle. I usually have to try it a couple of times before it doesn't move itself off the bottom. I found that the more yarn you have on the bottle the easier it is to get the ball round.

Third, you have to be careful not to wrap around or over the cap or you won't be able to open it to get the bottle out.



When you are done wrapping, remove the cap, pull the bottle out of the center of the ball, and wala! you have a center pull ball of yarn.



Okay, I didn't come up with the idea of wrapping the medicine bottle for a center pull ball. I got this great tip from Vickie Howell on Knitty Gritty.

However, I did figure out putting the hank around the chair. Yeah! Now I can continue knitting my "The Same, But Different" sleeveless top.

P.S. Don't you love the green of the yarn! It is a dark forest green that is just royal.

Preemie Hats For Evie

Just got done knitting the second of two preemie hats for Evie. I knit the first one flat with a seam like the instructions stated, but I hate seams. So the second one was done in the round.




The hats are done in Bernat Softee Baby. It is sport dk weight yarn. I did the seamed hat on size 6 needles and the non-seamed hat on size 7 DPNs. The color number is 31203. I used this pattern:
BEV'S SECRET STRIPED PREEMIE BEANIE

The hats are so tiny but so is Evie.



The above picture was take on Evie's birth day, February 10, 2006. That's Andy's hand so you can really tell how small she is. Evie weighed 3 lbs and 9 ounces when she was born.

Evie is two weeks old today. Tomorrow I'm going to Kelly's baby shower. It was planned for 5 weeks before she was due, but Evie had other things in mind!

The Same But Different

That is the name of the pattern for a sleeveless top I've started from the Yarn Girl's Beyond the Basics book.

The recommend yarn in Berroco's Cotton Twist but I couldn't find a colorway that I liked at my local yarn store. Well, I did find a colorway I liked but they didn't have enough for the top.

That is one of the most frustrating things about going to a yarn shop. They have tons and tons of wonderful yarn in all textures and colors imaginable, but hardly enough of one type to do much more then knit a scarf. Often I'm told that they can order me some of the yarn. But heck I can do that myself on the Internet and usually pay less per skein than at the LYS.

But I did find enough Berroco Soft Twist in a lovely deep forest green colorway to do the top. It is a wool/rayon blend whereas the Cotton Twist is a cotton/rayon blend. But Soft Twist is the same gauge as the Cotton Twist so I bought it.

I'm changing up the pattern a little. First, I'm going to do the top knitted in the round instead of knitting the front and the back and seaming them. I hate seaming! And this way I only have to seam at the shoulders. Second, I'm knitting the bottom part of the top where there is an eyelet design in two separate pieces and starting the round knitting after about 20 rows. I've continued one eyelet up the side of each piece. The part of the top will not be seamed and will be less constricting then knitting the whole top in the round. I need more room at the bottom of the top then I need at the waist and bust. Because, you know, I'm a hippy kinda gal!

I've nearly got the front portion of the bottom eyelet section done. My goal is to finish that and start the back one next with the hopes that I'll get them connected this weekend. Then I can mindlessly knit in the round for awhile until I have to do arm and shoulder shaping.

It is a three day weekend, thanks to President's day on Monday. So I hope to make a lot progress on this.

Of course, I also want to work on the Knitting News Cast website. I have a new design for it that I've already posted but there are several more sections I want to add including reviews of the knitting books, websites, blogs, and yarn I have included in my past podcasts.

So it will be a busy but knitting kinda weekend.

And we get the RV on Sunday!!! Yeah!