Anais

Pattern: Anais from Norah Gaugan vol. 1
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in #6273 Irwyn Green
Needles: US 3 and 4
Modifications: Knit in the round and added significant length to the pattern. To space the length out more naturally, I added an extra row between the waist shaping and knit for an 1 1/2" between the waist decreases and increases.

I am loving this knit. It was a rough start there.... I nearly finished it once when I realized that it was way too big. So I started the next smallest size, which, as it turns out, is not too small. Even though I added lots of length to my knit, like lots of alpaca yarns, it stretched in blocking. Mine measures roughly 23" long, and if it were an inch longer still, I wouldn't mind. As noted by many on Ravelry, sewing in the insert and sleeve caps was not fun and games, but not horrible either. I used a whip stitch, and just eased them in with stitch markers before sewing up. The one thing that would have been handy would have been some kind of schematic for where you're to sew them in. The front insert fit perfectly from shoulder to shoulder, so I sewed it in that way, but it makes for a bit of a tight squeeze to get it on. Same with the sleeves. I started them roughly an inch from the initial bind off, but the armholes are a bit tightish.

All in all, I'm very excited to have my first wearable knit of the season done!

Catawampus

Lately, my world has gone all catawampus. Catawampus is a deliciously fun word for what has been a decidedly un-fun fall. Everything that can fall apart seems to be doing so, all at once. In fact, one reason I’ve been so delinquent around here is that my cable and internet went out without warning two weeks ago. That is a story I don’t need to rehash for you, because I’ll just get upset again, but let’s suffice to say that my cable was mistakenly disconnected by Comcast and it took countless customer service calls, five scheduled service appointments (2 of which no one showed up to), two weeks, and more waiting that I have patience for when I’m not massively stressed out to restore my ability to check my email from the comfort of my own apartment. Not to mention the episodes of Pushing Daisies that I’ve missed (not that I had time to watch them at the time, or even now to catch up on them…) My car had a little issue that has now been solved, but not before royaly screwing up plans for transportation to a conference in Chicago. Not too mention those little student-y things like papers, presentations, midterms, projects, and let's not forget concerts.

And Anais, which I got this far, has to be frogged. You plan and measure and calculate and pray, and then the stupid thing comes out too big. And here I was thinking that stockinette in the round was completely within my mental faculties.

Not only is it too big, but it's also too short, which I can see now that it's off the needles. I'm reknitting it in the next smallest size. P.S. This pic is NOT an accurate representation of the color.

I also started a pair of socks for my brother's fiancee. Now that she's going to be part of the family, she won't be able to escape handknits any more. So I stared Azure, which is a lovely pattern, but it required me to knit on two circulars, which I haven't done, so I was doing it on dpns. It turned out to be a lot more work that I was willing to do. They really are meant to be done on circulars, and even though it can be done on dpns, I don't recommend it. Another thing frogged. I'm now on making the Waving Lace socks from Favorite Socks which I inherited from my aunt who has abandoned knitting for beading. They are much more my speed. That is, fast. And simple. With a familiar construction.

And the next thing to hit the needles (as soon as I'm past the ribbing on Anais again so I can use the needles) is my dad's vest. I swatched last night, and it's really going to be sharp, but I'm a little concerned about sizing (since I haven't been doing so well in that department lately). I'm going to have to do some extensive modifications to the pattern, plus I lost the measurements I made months ago. They were last seen stuck in the book with the pattern, and now they're MIA. I'm going to have to enlist my mom to measure again if I have any hope of finishing this by Christmas. A vest for a man with a 48 inch chest on size 3 needles is no joking matter. I'd better get on that....

Anecdote Saturday

This morning I went to go pick up my race packet for the Dino Dash 5K that I'm doing tomorrow morning. The bank where the race committee had set up shop was hopping, and I had to circle the lot a couple of times before I found a parking spot, so I was already a little annoyed walking up to the table. I told the guy my name and he says to me,"Adult Division?" Just like that, in question format. Now, to be fair, this race has children's and adults' divisions - it's a family oriented event, hence the name "Dino Dash" and the cute little dinosaur dressed up in a race t-shirt at registration. But still, this guy looks at me and says, "Adult Division?" "Yes," I say, giving him a funny look.

Now, maybe this doesn't seem like such a funny story from the outside, but if you knew how many times people ask me if I've graduated high school yet or how many times I've entered a high school and gotten mistaken for a student, this would be just one more story to add to the pile. A personal favorite of mine involved a high school, a gig I was playing in said high school, a security guard, and a tardy list that he was trying to force me to sign.

You know how when you're 13 all you want is to be older? Well, now I am older, and people don't believe me!

Anyway, knitting.

Pattern: Evangeline Mitts
Yarn: Plymouth Encore
Needles: US 8

Destined for gifting, though I'm not sure who will receive them yet. I needed a quick, gratifying project, and these certainly fit the bill. Less than 2 evening's distracted work for the pair.

I finished the Man's Vest v2.0 but, alas, it does not fit. Too small. What I needed was something between the two sizes I made, but after knitting it twice, I can't say I'm anxious to rip it out and do it AGAIN. Besides, we seem to have skipped over vest-wearing weather here and have landed squarely in sweater country. I have only good things to say about Classic Elite Four Seasons, though. Lovely to work with, blocks beautifully, and showed zero signs of being ripped and reknit. If you're looking for a cotton blend, I highly recommend it.

So, I've moved on to Anais. Here's what I've got so far:

Not much. I think I've got sizing figured out, if I can get gauge, but that requires purchasing some smaller circulars. To speed this thing up, I'm going to knit it in the round.

I'm also on board for Socktober Fest, and I've got my pattern picked out - another Nancy Bush special in a medium blue for my brother's fiancee!