Confessions of a Sociopathic Knitter

Luna Moth Shawl

Elizabeth — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:37:48 +0000

Luna Moth Shawl

Needles: Knit Picks #6 US Circulars

Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss Lace

I wasn’t sure about the color. It’s a light brown-ish, heathered color. It was only after I washed and blocked the shawl did the true beauty of the color came out. It’s a an easy pattern and the outcome is beautiful. I bought some Jaggerspun Zephyr in Basil and I’m thinking that I just might need to knit another one.

Lace Galore

Elizabeth — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:16:31 +0000

It hit me one day – “KNIT LACE!!!” I wonder if this is how Grumperina feels? She is one of my favorite bloggers but I never understood why she knit so much lace. Now don’t get me wrong, I love lace, but I’ve always leaned toward the more “practical” side of knitting ie. tops, sweaters, etc.

Pattern: Fountain Pen Shawl (found in the Spring 2009 Interweave Knits.) Wonderful pattern. Fun. Very quick knit which is a change of pace when it comes to lace knitting.

Yarn: 2 Skeins Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Pinot

Needles: US #6 – 24″ Knit Pick Circulars (in hindsight I should have moved up to a 32″ just to give myself more room on my needles.)

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl- Extremely easy knit. Three lace pattern changes, love the outcome and I especially enjoyed making all the nupps. In hindsight I would have repeated the diamond pattern several more times in order to have a larger shawl.

Yarn: 1 skein Knitpicks Gloss Lace in Blue Bird

Needles: US #6 – 24″ Knitpick Circulars

Obsessed with lace

Elizabeth — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:56:40 +0000

Long hiatus… no blogging… no knitting… life changed drastically… happy now… started knitting again… obsessed with lace. Any questions?

Lace blocking wires are god’s gift to lovers of lace knitting! I bought a set through knitpicks.com and you should too!

Not enough

Elizabeth — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:54:43 +0000

I’ve been slowly working on my Apres Surf Hoodie only to find myself in a conundrum… I don’t have enough yarn. How these things happen I don’t really know, but I’m guessing that counting yardage involves math which involves numbers and 200 + 200+ 200… Wow that’s a lot of two’s and zero’s…. So I’m a good 200-400 yards short. I would really encourage people to read and do a bit of research first when it comes to your particular pattern’s yardage before jumping face first into your project and by “people” I really mean me. So I’ve tossed my hoodie aside and am at a lost as to what to do next. Problem is, I don’t seem to have any time these days to do anything, but basketball season has started so that means a couple of extra hours on the weekend in which my butt is firmly planted in the bleachers which means my hands are available to do just about anything I want them to do (not including flipping the bird to a referee who makes a bad call – apparently that’s frowned upon not just in basketball but in all sporting events.)

Oh, and my son was invited to play Select basketball. We shall see how this goes… I suspect spectacular meltdowns and a lot of hair tossing as his bangs fall into his eyes.

“Mom and Dad, why did you vote….”

Elizabeth — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:25:35 +0000

Democrat?

My husband: Because the republicans piss me off.

Me: Because we are open minded, forward thinkers, not afraid of change. We don’t want the same ole boy network.

Today is an AWESOME day for all Democrats and what an incredibly graceful concession speech given by Senator McCain.

Night of the Living Dead

Elizabeth — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:33:30 +0000

I kind of feel like the living dead. Been super busy, started a new job, which I LOVE. It’s a non profit that brings arts back into the public schools. The job is extremely rewarding and the kids (for the most part) are awesome. I’m amazed by some of them and their level of abilities and talent. Unfortunately with all the other stuff I do, life doesn’t seem to leave much time for knitting. I am working (very slowly) on the Apres Surf Hoodie in red (surprise.)

Gathered Pullover

Elizabeth — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:29:19 +0000

Gathered Pullover

Pattern Source: Interweave Knits Winter 2007 or Knitting Daily

Yarn: Henry’s Attic Peruvian Tweed

Needles: #6 US Knit Picks Options Circulars

Size: 32″

I love this sweater so much. I fell in love with the colors in this yarn about 1.5 years ago. I used some of it to make a scarf for a friend but because this yarn comes in 600 yd hanks, I had a ton left over on top of which because I love it so much I had bought a second hank. I only used about 1.25 skeins of yarn. I went down two needle sizes because I prefer fitted garments, I also added waist shaping – 4 decreases/4 increases. This pattern was extremely easy and quick, I love the simplicity and though there is a cable motif, even that was simple. I can’t say enough about this sweater, I love it, and my husband insists that this sweater is my best yet! It’s definitely going to get a lot of wear this winter and winters to come.

Has it really been a month?

Elizabeth — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:05:05 +0000

Wow. I hadn’t realized that it had been so long since I posted. You would think since the kids are back in school I’d have a ton more time to dedicate to my “art.” Unfortunately just because they aren’t around eight hours of the day, doesn’t mean I have tons of free time, although I admit I have more free time than I should.

I have been busy knitting, designing, and ripping. It seems like I’ve been doing the latter the most.

Flared Sweater – Own design (poorly thought out.)

Knit with Hempwol from Knitting With Hemp. Lovely yarn. I think it would have looked a lot better with less buttonholes and bigger buttons. I also did not like the collar, it was too tight. RIP.

#28 Short Sleeved Blouson – Knit.1 Summer 2007

I fell in love with this shirt after seeing several FO’s on Ravelry, and even though many people had issues with the bagginess, I assumed that since I am a pro at taking bigger patterns and scaling them down to fit, I wouldn’t have the same issues as others. I was wrong, so very very wrong. The top was so huge it could have only fit if I had magically grown double F’s (do those exist?) overnight. Fortunately I am determined (ie. crazy) enough to try and discover the mystery of this short sleeved blouson. RIP.

DROPS Lace Tank

Third time might be the charm. I had to restart this top because I had done the rib in a smaller needle only to find that it was really tight, but not so tight that it wouldn’t have worked, but being the way I am (crazy) I chose to frog and go up a needle size so that there was not as much stress on the yarn. Again, this is coming out fairly baggy, but according to the pattern it’s supposed to be pretty loose (but not as loose as a two bit whore.) I’m thinking about making a few changes, one of which might be 3/4 sleeves instead of short sleeves.

I’ve been itching to find the perfect sweater because for some reason I’m really determined to knit a sweater before the cold weather comes (which lasts for maybe 2 hours here in Central Texas.) Oooh. Slightly off track, I did take the opportunity to pull out my girlie cobblestone and wear it the other morning when it was a nippy 60 degrees out. Yay! I was thinking of using the hempwol to knit Gathered Pullover but I’m not entirely sold on the idea because the hempwol has speckles of cream and I can’t get over the idea that the Gathered Pullover has to be in a solid color.

BTW, hope everyone is planning on tuning into the big debate on Friday!

Dog Gone Days of Summer

Elizabeth — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:22:00 +0000

Yesterday was the first day of the new school year. This year both kids will be on the same campus which is really nice because then I don’t have to do pick up at two different locations. My son received the teachers he wanted, and we’re extremely pleased with my daughter’s teacher, so I’m definitely looking forward to this school year.

I’m still knitting, although if you go by the massive quantity of blog entries about it, you’d think I had given up the hobby. I’m designing a sweater. When you’re designing your own stuff the process is a little slower. It’s a lot of trial by error, or at least that’s the way it is for me. I’m almost there though, I’m working on the second sleeve and pretty soon I’ll be able to attach them to the body and knit the yoke!

Molly Ringwald

Elizabeth — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:48:39 +0000

Pattern: Molly Ringwald – Knitting daily, or Knitscene Fall 2006

Yarn: 2.5 skeins of Gloss, Knitpicks.com

Needles: #4 US Knitpick Options Circulars

Modifications: I did some research before jumping into this project and had read several people’s notes about the loosenss of the top with all the ruffling. I took that into consideration when choosing the yarn on top of which, the smallest size is a 34″ bust. Gloss is a fingering weight yarn and I took the chance that by using a thinner yarn and smaller needles I would be able to knit a top that fit my bust size and without doing a swatch beforehand, I think I did a pretty good job. It is a 3×1 rib, so I cast on 92 stitches and ommitted all selvedge stitches because once again, I knit this top in the round. The decreasing and increasing was a little tricky and I’m not entirely convinced it looks that fantastic but I thinkit works. Because of my modifications, I didn’t have to add the single crochet along the edge to keep it tight.

Notes: Of all the tops I’ve knit, this is definitely my favorite. I went outside my comfort zone and went with a bluish-grey color. I love everything about it, the color, the style, the design, the fit. It is absolutely PERFECT! I have some Gloss in Cabernet and I think I’m going to knit another.