Shelter in Place: Day 11

On March 27, 2020March 27, 2020 By FogKnitsIn WIP7 Comments

Current Mood: Undecided

Why do I even bother making plans? Last you heard…I was going to turn that skein of Cosmic Wonder Dust into a Ripple Bralette. Needless to say, that’s not even remotely close to what is happening. I’m sure you longtime readers could have predicted this!

I second guessed myself over gauge. I always go down minimum 2 needle sizes to get gauge. The Ripple Bralette has suggested needle sizes of 2 + 4 so I was looking at 0 + 2. Rather than deal with that crap, I switched my yarn to worsted. If I was switching gauge & yarn entirely, might as well switch patterns too.

Zaftig, an old Knitty pattern, seemed like a nice alternative. Especially because it’s a modification of the Th-Th-Thong pattern, which I’ve already made. (One day I’ll find those photos and it’ll be worth the effort.) Thinking back, this may even be the pattern I first learned short rows for. The idea is, one short row pouch = banana hammock, two short row pouches = over the shoulder boulder holder.

So I started knitting.

I was pretty skeptical at this point. I decided to press on anyhow. At this point, I’ve knit my two short row pouches. The Zaftig pattern calls for them to be joined to a knit band in succession. At this point, it’s also worth mentioning the suggested yarn for this pattern is Cascade Fixation, a stretchy yarn with a bit of spandex in it. My yarn is 100% wool, completely different, not stretchy the way Fixation is. This made me question the gauge calculations for the rest of the band. Rather than worry about that, I decided to join my pouches with a vertical band instead. I’ll have more precise control this way, and hopefully get the best fit.

Rather than worry about that, I decided to join my boob pouches with a vertical band. There should be no question about the fit this way. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to measure as I knit and work until it’s long enough and no more. I decided on a wide seed stitch band. Wide enough to stay put and balanced so it won’t roll.

At this point, I’m mostly doubting that crotch pouches and boob pouches are so easily interchangeable. And, since I make all my decisions on the fly, I’m wondering if I have enough of this yarn to get me where I need to be. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m skeptical but still pressing onward.

I haven’t frogged this cowl yet, either. I keep thinking maybe if I look at it longer, these colors will grow on me. Or maybe if I add more colors, the ones that clash now will, suddenly, start to work harmoniously together. Maybe??

Or maybe I just need to start something else as my easy, obviously it’s going to work project. It’s Friday and Friday’s are for casting on, after all!

Anything to distract from the reality of the world, right now. I’m very thankful that dithering over did I pick the right color yarn is the worst of my worries right now. I hope everyone out there in knitlandia is as lucky. Stay safe, folks!

Shelter in Place: Day 8

On March 24, 2020March 24, 2020 By FogKnitsIn Casting On, Misc4 Comments

Shelter in Place: Day 8

Current Mood: A little ranty.

Shit is getting real outside. I went out for a walk early this morning before the masses descended upon the sidewalk. This was the first thing I saw out the door. Right in front of my building. Right in front of my car. It was the only one of the block though.

I gotta say, if only one car on the block is going to get broken into, I don’t mind if it’s the most expensive vehicle out there. That will most definitely never be my car. Also, this is a Tesla. How the fuck do you street park a Tesla? I see this particular car on the block all the time. It’s one of two Tesla’s on the block, actually. They clearly live in the neighborhood but still, shouldn’t you be parking that thing in your garage?? Leave the street parking to those of us slumming it in our gas guzzlers.

Then I went down the street a bit and saw this…

Hit the tree, took down a sign on a thick post and left lots (most?) of the bumper scattered down the street. Seeing these things, it’s no wonder that this is what’s become of local businesses…

At least the guy with the plywood supply and the neat stencil will be making a few bucks! The playgrounds have all been closed…

And since we’re doing all of this to flatten the curve but no one is showing us any curves, I’ve taken it upon myself to track & chart the local data they’re providing us. Of course, the testing issues make all the data suspect but it’s what we’ve got.

You don’t have to be a math major to know that’s not a flat curve. It could certainly be worse, so fingers crossed.

As if all that wasn’t enough, I may have made a very poor color decision with my cowl.

The yarn is Zombie Yarns, Monster. It came as a set, 4 half skeins of DK weight yarn. They’re okay together in that they are all bright saturated colors. They belong in the same palate. I’m just not sure they all belong in the same project. We’ll see. I’m not convinced the transition from green & purple to blue & white was a good idea but mini skeins only go so far…and I’m not ready to rip it out (yet).

Here’s a potentially good thing. I pulled some Pashmina in Cosmic Wonder Dust from the stash. I’m going to knit a Ripple Bralette out of it. If I’m going to spend the next couple weeks in lounge wear, cashmere boobs need to happen. I haven’t cast anything on in 48 hours…I’m due.

And here’s a good giggle…someone has written a hat pattern to knit a coronavirus has! LOL! Find it on Ravelry HERE! It’s worth a click!

Shelter in Place: Day 7

On March 23, 2020March 23, 2020 By FogKnitsIn Casting On, Cowl, Sweater, Uncategorized4 Comments

Shelter in Place: Day Seven

Current Mood: At least there’s still toilet paper.

And knitting.

I’ve bound off the body of my sweater. I’m still bowled over by all this green. I love it. I also love the simple details of this edging. Nothing complicated just a garter stitch edge with a few slipped stitch details and a tidy i-cord bind off. Everything lays flat naturally, no worry about blocking that shit out. It’s perfect!

Next up, Sleeves! I took a little break though. I have trouble as a monogamous knitter. I don’t even pretend. Plus: a week at home and no new cast on?? That’s just not right.

Pro Tip: Keep an eye on Ravelry’s Hot Right Now list. There have been loads of generous designers offering new, free patterns for the quarantined & locked down. The Hot Right Now list is just like it sounds…a snapshot of what Ravelers are looking at right now. It’s a great feature on a normal day. It’s been even better over the last week. It’s got high turnover, nothing stagnates. It’s been a wide variety of designs by an even wider variety of designers. A lot of them have even been free.

This is how I found Nancy Marchant (Brioche Queen’s) latest design, the South Beach Cowl. It’s a Double Tuck Stitch cowl. I’m down with brioche but I’ve never ventured into the broader tuck stitch family. It seemed like a fun palate cleanser.

If you’re familiar with brioche, imagine a modification that works each row twice…row 1 is and since brioche already works each row twice, I guess this means we’re really passing each stitch four time to ‘work’ one row? That sounds dreadful but it’s actually kind of fun. Each Sl1Yo gets worked twice so when you come back to BrK (or BrP) you’ve got three strands to knit (or purl) together, instead of two. POW! Mind Blown!

It’s fun to mess around with. I’m continually amazed how many variations there are for the humble knit stitch. That’s not what I ended up casting on though. Turns out, I don’t need that much excitement in a new project. The swatching was fun but this cowl calls for the stitch to be done over six stitches, sort of 4 tuck stitches and 2 ribbed stitches. It was too uneven. It’s like K3, P2 ribbing…my brain just can’t. The asymmetry is more than I can handle. I can never find a syncopated rhythm like that when I knit, so it ends up being a fight and I nope out.

Ultimately I went for a plain brioche cowl but I picked some fun colors! It’s rejuvenated me enough to tackle at least one sleeve!

And, I found a little cross stitch suggestion I wrote down and stuffed into a pocket a couple weeks back. I have definitely not run out of craft projects yet!

Shelter in Place: Day Three

On March 19, 2020March 19, 2020 By FogKnitsIn Sweater3 Comments

Shelter in Place: Day Three

Current Mood: Still doubting I’ll ever get bored. However, cabin fever is real.

Living in one room is great in the ‘I only have one room to clean’ context. It’s not like I can go upstairs or even into another room though. I predict a large scale furniture rearrangement project in the near future. At least I can fake it!

Then again, with this project on the needles, I don’t look at the walls much anyhow. Maybe I won’t even notice my stagnant scenery. This gradient is even better than I dreamed it could be! I am really loving these colors!!

This sweater is a cardigan I started back in August, 2019. It’s a collection of green, speckled, indie yarns that I impulse bought, one skein at a time, over a period of 18 months. By limiting myself to one color, I figured I’d be able to come up with some kind of fade sweater. Turns out, I should have been following this method all along!

I did swatch my colors, so I had some kind of idea. There’s a lot of ways for a sweater to go wrong, though. I’m fading my colors from the top down in a marled style, holding two strands together and then switching one out at a time. So far, so good!

I’m using another sweater that I like as a guide for the length. This is totally a lazy way to take measurements. I approve. I’m just beginning my bottom edging. A few more inches and the body will be done!

Also happy to report, I remembered to put short rows up at the top so the back of my neck will get a bit more coverage. I did a quick fitting and yes, confirmed…my short rows worked and I’m getting close to finishing the body.

Hopefully I’ll be working on the sleeves by this weekend! I’ve still got plenty of yarn. Haven’t decided how I’m going to do the sleeves yet. Maybe 3/4 sleeves. This decision will be my excitement on Day 6. Stay tuned, it’ll be more fun than watching potatoes grow.

Another Blogiversary!

On February 6, 2020February 6, 2020 By FogKnitsIn FO Friday, Hat, Shawl4 Comments

Time marches on! Unbelievably, another year has passed. It’s Bob Marley’s birthday again. It’s my Mom’s birthday again and it’s yet another blogiversary (5 years!! woo!) So many happenings for one, otherwise, nondescript day.

Despite my absence here, my needles are still on the go! I have a couple fun finishes to share!

Like Mom’s birthday knit! She sent me some very skinny cashmere for Christmas. Thread weight maybe? Even using size 0 needles, I had to double up the skinny cashmere and add a third strand from my stash to get a reasonable gauge! It was was worth it though! Yes, triple stranded on size 0 needles and yet look at that drape! The fabric here is just perfect!

I love the marled look, the lightweight fabric and the fun color blocking. I worked this hat top down, which really helped me design on the go so I didn’t even need a pattern. I cast on without a real plan and just let the hat tell me what to do. For example, I ran out of that pink strand of cashmere. I didn’t lose at yarn chicken. It was just the hat telling me what it wanted. The color blocking was meant to be!

Best part: it even fits right! Woo! (Details Here: itty bitty stitches project page)

Then, there’s this beast of an FO:

Westknits 2019 MKAL, The Starflake! I love it. It took forever and spent a lot of time being ignored but once I bound off, it didn’t take long to weave the ends and block it. I used two yarns both MCNs, (Yoth Little Brother and Sun Valley Fibers fingering weight) so the softness can’t be beat! And the shape is very wearable. It situates itself nicely around the shoulders with the tips creating anchors in the front so it’s no-fuss. I really like that.

I love it. I was hesitant to join this year’s MKAL but I’m glad I got talked into it! This is a great shawl. Westknits really are the best knits!

Way back during Clue 1, I cast on a second version as well. I’m mid-brioche section on that one. I can tell I’m going to love #2 even more! I’ve got a sweater I really want to finish first though. And I’m working on my first pair of baby longies for my nephew. and I want to knit a bunch of hats for a trip to Tahoe next month. And I’ve got a couple other shawls on the needles too.

I’ve got plenty of WIPs to get into shape! That story will never change…so much knitting, never enough time! And so, with that, I’m getting back to my needles! Stay tuned for a Stitches West update…it’s only two weeks away! I’m going to attempt a second year in a row of no buying yarn?!?!

I’ve got a commercial!

On May 27, 2019May 27, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Misc, Uncategorized5 Comments

Long time readers will recall this project from last spring.

Sadly, my friend’s bike was stolen. Thieves stink. But, it inspired my friend to make a little tribute video/commercial of the project with footage she took during our consultations and fittings!

Check it out…

It’s great, right? Someday maybe it’ll even run on the local access cable channel…a girl can dream! Bwahahahahahahaha.

Overdue Update

On April 9, 2019April 9, 2019 By FogKnitsIn cross stitch, FO Friday, Nephew, Shawl, Sweater6 Comments

Well, Heeeeeelllo!

It’s been a while. I’ve been busy. Work, eh? Takes up all the best hours of the day! Never fear though…there has still been knitting! No time to talk about knitting but still time for knitting! I’ve finished up a bunch of projects too!

Like my Striped Esjan! It’s awesome. I’m glad I finally made one! It’s inspired me to put more holes in my knitting for years now! The ends aren’t woven and it’s not blocked yet but that has not stopped me from wearing it. It’s an older WestKnits design. The big swiss cheese holes have always attracted me to this shawl. All the increases to create those holes resulted in nearly 1200 stitches in the final rows! The bind off took an entire day but I’m super stoked to have finished it. It’s fun to wear.

There’s also my latest nephew knit! Another sweater for the little man…it’s just a top down raglan with a few stripes for interest. Hopefully he’ll get plenty of cozy time from it!

The kid is growing like a weed so I had to knit this yarn up quick before he outgrew the 3 skeins I bought! The yarn is from Swan’s Island’s ecowash collection. Don’t be fooled by that convenient name, that also sounds like it might be better for the environment than superwash. This yarn, while listed as washable, is not machine dryable which, for me, negates the whole purpose of being washable. It behaves like superwash, in that it grows upon washing. So…poooooooooh. I should have read the label closer. As much as I dislike superwash, it’s the way to go for kids clothes.

It’s gonna be a while before I start the next nephew sweater. It’s going to be a Mini Sunset Highway for his first birthday. It’s going to be incredibly adorable. I can’t wait to see him wear it. But for now it’s on the backburner. I’m shelving all knitting until May. That sounds drastic but…

I’ve been accepted into another street fair, the Bayview Mercantile, April 28th, in San Francisco, at All Good Pizza in the Bayview neighborhood. Let’s face it, they had me at pizza! So, no knitting for the next couple weeks while I prep some new cross stitch hoops for the event!

Luckily, it’s kind of addictive and I’m not upset at this self-imposed ban on knitting. I have cross stitch ideas faster than I can stitch them so a month long cross stitch binge is just what I need! My crafty Mom is getting in on the action too..she sent me a big package full of hand dyed aida to stitch on! The colors are so fun! I especially love the rainbow stripes!

I love a good pop culture reference. I still have lots of song lyrics, movie quotes and of course, Game of Thrones quotes on the drawing board…I’m curious about what you’d like to see too! Leave your suggestions in the comments!