Entangled

Finished, blocked, and modeled -- unfortunately not in natural light.

The color in these shots is much more accurate:

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang, fall 2007 Interweave Knits, size 38" bust
Yarn: Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK, color 0008, approximately 1,666 yards/656 grams (including two gauge swatches)
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) Knit Picks Options and US 3 (3.25) and US 0 (2.0 mm) fixed circs
Started/Completed: April 24/June 5
Mods: none

I first swatched for this sweater sometime last year -- so long ago that I don't even remember when. Luckily I had the foresight to note my gauge with my chosen needles on a Post-It in my copy of the magazine, so when I was ready to cast on, I didn't have to start from scratch.

My gauge was a little off, so I decided to knit a size larger than normal in order to ensure a little bit of positive ease (I usually wear sweaters with one or more layers underneath, so I didn't want this to be tight). I gained some additional ease in blocking, as the yarn stretched ever so slightly, resulting in a very comfortable sweater that will be cozy and soft to throw over my shoulders come fall.

I think the cables pop nicely in this cabled yarn, and thankfully the puckering I saw when the sweater was fresh off the needles smoothed out a lot in blocking.

As to the buttons, they're a dark gray that came from the grab bags I bought at a big-box store months ago, and as luck would have it, I had exactly the number I needed. I think they're a perfect fit.

Overall, I'd say this sweater was a success. Perhaps I didn't do the best job of substituting yarns, but I'm happy with the result and I know this sweater will be worn many times during the colder months of the year.

And, as predicted, as soon as the last stitch was cast off and all the ends were woven in, we began experiencing temperatures in the 80s.

It Should Be Getting Hot Soon

Why? Because I'm getting close to finishing my Tangled Yoke Cardigan, and I'm sure the minute it's done we'll get full-blown summer weather, forcing me to put it away until the fall.


I finished the cable section last week. It looks nice, but it's clearly in need of a good blocking.

I don't think I've shown you my on-the-go project, have I? As I'm sure you have no problem believing, I have copious amounts of leftover sock yarn in my stash. I decided it was high time I did something about it, so I've started a log cabin-style blanket using the scraps.

For now, I'm sticking with superwash yarns for ease of care, and I'm grouping scraps in the same color family for each square. This is a long-term project, so I have no idea how many squares I'll make or how big the blanket will end up being. Heck, I haven't even thought ahead to how I'm going to join the squares yet! So expect to see this project from time to time for the forseeable future.

Meanwhile, in non-knitting news, The Mister and I (along with my brother) spent a good portion of the weekend clearing out the kitchen in preparation for the big renovation. We're actually gutting the entire room, closing up a mostly unnecessary pass-through to the dining room, and putting in new cabinets and new appliances. I'm very much looking forward to an oven with more than one rack that will actually heat to the set temperature (two of them, actually!) and a gas cooktop. The demolition starts tomorrow morning, and the whole process is projected to be complete by mid-July. Stay tuned for progress pictures!

Remember Me?

Hi there! No, I have not fallen on the face of the earth, though the lack of enthusiasm about blogging continues (I think it must have something to do with the fact that I'd much rather be knitting or spinning in the evenings than sit at my computer). However, I have made significant progress on my current projects, so I thought a brief update was warranted.

First of all, I'm on to the yoke part of my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I'm in the very boring knit-back-and-forth portion of it, before a round of decreases and the fun part (i.e., the cabling) begins. And, as usual, I'm already starting to worry about running out of yarn. I have, I think, three more complete skeins left after this one.

I'm also very close to being finished with my Waves of Grain. I have about 24 more rows until I'm done with the specified number of repeats on the second half, though I might continue for longer than that both to make the ends match up as closely as possible when grafting and to use up more yarn.

Meanwhile, on the spinning front, I have still not finished my merino/silk laceweight, though I'm getting close. I've plied about half of it; my goal is to have it completely finished by the weekend, if only so I can start spinning this:

This is the May/June spinalong fiber from All Spun Up. I'd thought about sitting this round out, but I'm so glad I decided not to -- these are so my colors, and the fiber is superwash merino, which is, of course, my favorite fiber for sock yarn. I'll give you one guess what I plan to spin it into.

And, as I did not want this fiber to get lonely on its trip across the county, I ordered another bump of merino/silk from Kristin as well:

Tomorrow is the third Wednesday of the month, which means I'll be joining the Hurricane Knitters at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble starting at about 7 p.m. Hope to see you there if you're in the neighborhood!

Doo De Doo

I haven't blogged in a few days because I've been steadily knitting along on my current WIPs without much excitement, but I think I've made enough progress to warrant an update with pictures.

My Tangled Yoke Cardigan is coming along smoothly. I'm nearly finished with the first sleeve, so that should be done tonight and the second sleeve cast on.

My lunch break knitting, since finishing the Lace Ribbon Scarf, has been Waves of Grain, knit with my own handspun. I'm just a handful of rows away from completing the first half, so the plan for tonight is to finish that up and cast on for the second half.

Meanwhile, I've been furiously spinning away on my merino/silk laceweight. I managed to finish off the first bobbin late last week and am probably halfway through the second. I'm anxious to finish this yarn, not only because I want to see how it turns out but because there's some spinalong fiber on its way to me from my favorite fiber pusher.

While I have been working diligently on these projects, I've been feeling a bit of ennui about my knitting in general lately. I'm not sure what it is or what's causing it, but it's been a bit of a cloud hanging over my head and has been keeping me from blogging as often as I like. I feel like there's not too much point in blogging when all I have to say is that I'm still working on a project and all I have to show for it is a progress shot that looks very similar to the last. So I may not be posting until I have something exciting or significant to show for a while, at least until I get my mojo back. In the meantime, if anyone has some good tips on how to chase the knitting blahs away, please feel free to share!

Inch by Inch ...

... my projects are growing. For one, my Lace Ribbon Scarf is done, though not yet blocked.

And while my Tangled Yoke Cardigan may look very much the same as the last time you saw it, it has grown. I believe I have two more sets of increases and about two inches left before I put the body on hold and start the sleeves.

I think I need to start a little bit of lace now that my scarf is done. I have some handspun all wound and ready to go for Waves of Grain. Bring on the beads!

In Spite of the Weather

It's spring outside, though you wouldn't know it from my knitting. Since finishing the monkey, I've been knitting only for myself. My big project is one that's long been in my queue: the Tangled Yoke Cardigan.

I'm knitting this in the delicious Sublime Extrafine Merino DK, a delightfully squishy cabled yarn. It's a little heavier than the called-for Rowan Felted Tweed, but I love the extra squoosh of the knit fabric.

Meanwhile, my lunchtime knitting has been a Lace Ribbon Scarf out of my first Intentions yarn club shipment. This colorway is called Bliss, and it definitely describes the experience of knitting with this wool/bamboo blend.

This is probably just a few hours' knitting time away from being done, and then I'll have to find something else to fit in my purse knitting bag. Got any suggestions? (I think I'm off socks for the time being.)

Can I Cast On Yet?

So, I swatched again for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan, this time on US 4s. I'm still not perfect, but I'm much closer. My gauge over four inches was 23 stitches and 33 rows; the pattern gauge is 24 stitches and 36 rows. The row gauge doesn't bother me much. As to stitch gauge, I am going to use that quarter of a stitch to my advantage. I know that this sweater is designed to have negative ease. I am smack dab between the two sizes, so I am going to knit the smaller of the two and allow those extra stitches to get me to a slightly larger real-life size.

But, I'm not allowing myself to cast on just yet, as much as I want to. I am still working on the two other sweaters, and they're taking enough time without adding a third into the mix.

One thing that's not taking a lot of time is the most recent Rockin' Sock Club socks. I cast on for both at the same time, but I've only been taking one to work with me to knit on during my lunch hour. That first sock was finished last night:


Trust me when I tell you this sock is absolutely adorable on, and the colors are much more vibrant in person. Granted this is not a colorway I would have selected on my own, but it works very well with this pattern and is behaving itself (no unsightly pooling!). The pattern itself is very quick: a lace cuff (20 rows) followed by an inch and a half of ribbing and an inch of stockinette for the rest of the leg portion, an eye-of-partridge heel, and easy-peasy stockinette foot. Although I only picked up the second sock -- for reals -- last night, I'm already into the gusset. This pair should be done by the end of the weekend, or at the very first for the beginning of Socktoberfest!

Next?

Thanks for all your compliments on the Canada socks. I'm quite pleased with my first "real" stranded colorwork, and I've certainly been bitten by that bug. I'm not sure the Soft Sea Wool was the best yarn to use; it has a rather bumpy texture, and I think because of that the colorwork portions aren't as smooth or distinct as they could be. But the socks are incredibly squishy and comfortable, and I know come winter I'll be glad to have them.

Knitting continues apace on the two sweaters. The Seamless Hybrid isn't moving very quickly; to be honest, I haven't given it much attention the past few days. The CPH is coming along faster (as you would expect for something at a larger gauge). The back was complete last Thursday night, and now I'm about halfway through the left front. Seeing as we're still experiencing highs in the 80s, I'm in no hurry to finish a hoodie at the moment.

While I'm far from completing either of the two sweaters on the needles, I'm already thinking of what's next -- the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I bought the yarn for it back in July, and last night I swatched on US 5 needles. I bought the yarn primarily because it was so incredibly soft (although it's being on sale didn't hurt!) and I suspected it would work well with the cables. I was very pleased at the remarkable stitch definition that resulted, even after blocking:


Unfortunately, my gauge is way off. I'm getting about five stitches to the inch, and I need to be getting six. So tonight I'm knitting another swatch (going down a size) and hoping for the best. I'll be okay if I'm off by a stitch or two, as I'm between the sizes given in the pattern and can use it to my advantage, but being this far off makes my head hurt to even begin to think of the math involved!