Back from the Dead

This project had been hibernating so long, I practially forgot it was still on the needles. But then we got some frigid weather (today, for instance, it's about 17 degrees F) and my Odessa has really been wearing out, so I decided it was time to finally finish the thing.

Pattern: Shedir by Jenna Wilson (special Breast Cancer Awareness Month edition of Knitty, 2004)
Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play (50% wool, 50% silk), colorway PB7, less than one skein (approximately 50 g/1.75 oz left)
Needles: 16" US 3 (3.25) Inox circular and Clover bamboo dpns
Started/Completed: February 17, 2007/January 19, 2008
Mods: I omitted rows 45-52 of the chart (skipping to row 53) and substituted a slightly heavier yarn

This was my oldest UFO, probably ever. When I picked it up again this past week, I remembered why I'd put it down in the first place. There's a lot, and I mean a lot, of cabling in this pattern, particularly in the center section. Most of the cables are worked over only two stitches, so I worked most without a cable needle, but having to cable that often is rather hard on the hands. I'm pretty sure I only needed an actual cable needle was for one row that had three-stitch cables that involved working the second stitch on the cable needle before the first; I just couldn't figure out how do it without the extra tool in such a way that it would actually be faster.

I did use a heavier weight of yarn than called for in the pattern, and while this resulted in a cushy, warm hat, it did mess with my measurements. The pattern calls for one ball of Rowan Calmer, which is a DK-weight yarn. I substituted this dreamy worsted weight silk/wool blend that I picked up from the Brooks Farm booth at last year's Pittsburgh knitting festival. The hat fits just fine around my head, but as you can probably tell from the pictures, it's a tad bit long in spite of the fact that I cut out an entire repeat of the preliminary cables. For the time being, I've been wearing it with the brim flipped up -- not the most ideal, because it covers some of the cable work, but I've only really cared about the fact that it's keeping my head and ears warm the past couple of days.

I do love how the decreases are so subtly worked into the cabling that you can't even see them. Clearly, my hat could use a good blocking to get the top to lie more flat.

I may knit this pattern again one day, although next time I'll be sure to use a DK weight yarn.

For those of you who may be thinking about this pattern, I do want to let you know that I came across an error in the pattern. It's something you'll probably realize if you've done cabling before and are paying attention to what the symbols in the chart mean, but I thought I'd point it out nonetheless. The written directions tell you that at the end of certain rows (53, 55, 56, 60, and 70), you will be knitting up to the last stitch and then moving the marker that marks the beginning of the row before that stitch. This is because what was previously the last stitch of the round will be used in the cable that begins the following round. The mistake is that you also need to do this at the end of round 62 in order to work the "twist right" cable at the beginning of round 63. Like I said, you'll probably see this when you get there, but then again you might just be like me and stare at the knitting and the directions and think you're just an idiot because the stitches don't line up as they should until you realize you need to use the last stitch of the round.

Now that this is off the needles, there's only one more UFO tucked away, but I feel less guilty about letting that sit for a while longer. I've still got baby sweaters to knit -- you can expect a report of the next one very soon!

The Return of 40 Guy

So last night was our monthly knit night and I met up with Jen, Jenn, Besty, and later Lori in the Barnes & Noble cafe. While we were waiting for our favorite eccentric, we also noticed a teenage girl with a brand-new tattoo and jeans so low we saw ass cleavage. We started to worry that 40 guy wasn't going to show, as he seemed to be running a little late. Plus, there was a cop wandering through the store who seemed to be particularly interested in the cafe area, and we all started theorizing that perhaps 40 Guy had gotten his 40 by ripping off a liquor store and wasn't showing up because he knew he was going to be busted if he did.

We needn't have worried:

Ah, 40 guy. He never disappoints. Unfortunately, I think he may be onto us, as I caught him looking at us several times. We may need to lay low with the pictures and so forth for the next month or two, just to put him off our scent. (And for the record, I took this shot very sneakily, pretending I was showing pictures already on the camera to Jenn and turning off the flash.)

Meanwhile, I did get some knitting done while keeping an eye out for 40 Guy. First I finished off a sock that had been started last Sunday:

This is the Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks. You may recall that I tried this pattern once before, but ran into an issue with fit as a result of not knowing how to YO correctly. No problem this time; it's a perfect fit, and half of the leg of the second sock is already done.

These socks are only one of several WIPs I've still got going. I started Shedir last weekend with the Brooks Farm Four Play and it's coming along slowly. Hats usually are a relatively fast knit, but this pattern has cabling every other row and rounds that are 128 stitches around (this is worsted weight yarn worked on US 3 needles).

This doesn't look like much, but the pattern is much more apparent when it's stretched out.

the yarn is delightfully silky and soft. It can be a bit fiddly when working the cables as it has a tendency to stick to itself. This was an issue when I wound it into a center-pull ball; I never actually got it on the swift, but instead had to manually unwind it from the hank and then wind it on the ball winder. I'm doing these cables without a cable needle to speed things along, but I have to be careful that I don't drop the stitches when I do.

Finally, there's J's Cambridge Jacket, which is moving steadily along. Here we are as of last night -- back complete, left front complete, right front started, and Elmer for scale:

For some reason I've been finding it hard to maintain progress on this project, and I think I've finally discovered the reason -- I'm fine with the knitting of the sweater, but I'm worried of ruining it with shoddy finishing. I still haven't gotten over the disaster of the first sweater, and it would just devastate me to have finally knit J a sweater and have it be another mess. Fortunately the order I placed with Knit Picks yesterday (which contained absolutely NO YARN, I will have you know!) contains what might prove to be my savior: Finishing Techniques for Hand Knitters. That title pretty much says it all, doesn't it? I also ordered Nancy Bush's Folk Socks, a set of US 9 dpns, and a chart holder, since I seem to be so into lace socks these days. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed those knitters in Leetsdale don't get their hands on the package ...