Zipper Installation Time

On February 20, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP4 Comments

The knitting is done! Woohoo! I’ve also secured the steek, cut it and bought the zipper! I even wove the ends in! The only thing left to do is sew the zipper in! Naturally, this means I’m second guessing my design decisions.

As a pullover, this sweater fit perfect. I like pullovers with positive ease. Only problem…it’s a cardigan. I like my cardigans closer to zero ease.

My first thought was to re-steek the front panels to remove an inch from each side. That’s two more steeks though…why do twice the work, when I could just trim one front side and have an asymmetric look. Then I thought, why cut it again at all? What if I abandoned the zipper and went for a double breasted look?

Big decision. I’m totally undecided. And this weekend is Stitches West, which means no time for such focused work. I’ve got plenty of time to sleep on it. In the meantime, I’m still wearing it…shawl pins work just fine on sweaters too!

Must.Knit.Faster.

On January 25, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP9 Comments

The race is on. I feel my unemployment coming to an end very soon. I started the week with no job opportunities and now, I have two. Things are looking good on the job front! Of course, this brings a whole new urgency to my knitting! Can I finish this before I start a new job?

The good news is…I’m well passed the sleeve divide and into the body. It’s smooth sailing all the way down to the hem from here. It’s nothing but stockinette in the round. I love this bit. It’s the part of knitting I love the most. The autopilot part!

The business of steeking, adding a zipper and duplicate stitching the final details will take some time though. Either way, I think I’ll have a new sweater in time for Stitches. I’m crossing my fingers!

I’ve also finished an Etsy update because who knows when I’ll have time for that again! I had fun doing a couple snarky Valentine’s day hoops. I mean, what’s the point of having a significant other if you can’t share a little snark?

And of course, now that we’re having a clear spell, I’m making sure to get out and visit my favorite sit and knit for a spell spots while I still can.

I even met a reporter from our local NPR station to record an interview about The Palace of Fine Arts! I’ll definitely share when it’s been broadcast. It was the kind of fun thing I definitely don’t have time for once the job starts up! I’ll definitely be making the most of my weekend! Happy Friday!

WIP Wednesday – RBG Squid Ink Fade

On January 16, 2019January 16, 2019 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP2 Comments

Now that’s it’s finally on the needles, I’m making good progress on my latest sweater. Of course, any notion of following a pattern was quickly laughed off. I mean, I could try but it wouldn’t work out. I started off with a peacock fade but now I’ve decided to go darker with it…a squid ink fade, if you will.

I started with Idunn, a Knitty pattern by Ragga Eirikisdottir. Initially, I thought, I’ll just knit this sweater as is. The yoke details could pass as an RBG collar no doubt. Ultimately though, I’ve decided to knit the sweater in plain stockinette with no colorwork in the yoke. I’ll add my RBG collar details after I’ve finished the knitting via duplicate stitch. It’s an unconventional approach…but that’s definitely the way I roll.

I’ve finished my first color and ‘faded’ into my second color. I’m knitting top down, in the round, with the intention of steeking and adding a zipper. I’m just about to divide the sleeves off.

That’ll be a big help! Right now, it’s just sort of a big blob. I feel like it’s too big, despite all the math & gauge working out. Fingers crossed that good news awaits on the other side of the sleeve divide.

I’m also working on a few new cross stitch designs for Valentine’s Day, so I’ve updated my cross stitch gallery with a new page for 2019!

I’m really looking forward to growing my collection this year! My idea book is overflowing and I’ve finally found my stride, post-holidays. Stay tuned for much productivity!

WIP It Wednesday

On December 5, 2018December 5, 2018 By FogKnitsIn Nephew, Shawl, Sweater, WIP3 Comments

I’m back in the swing of things with my knitting, which means a classic case of Cast on-itis has manifested.

It’s not enough to finish just finish my nephew’s super cute christmas sweater. No, I couldn’t just enjoy my beautiful seams. I had to start another sweater. Of course, that sweater can’t be knit in a dark movie theater so I had to cast on a movie theater project. I’m still working on my latest shawl too!

It’s all going well! Baby’s first ugly Christmas sweater is almost done. It’s acrylic and I’m thinking of ‘killing’ it. Not something I’ve ever done intentionally but I think it’ll take this sweater from stiff to drapey. That should up the cozy factor! I’m planning to wash and dry it in the machine. Then, hit it with the steam iron.

I’ll keep you posted! Hopefully it’ll be ready for a big FO Friday reveal! You aren’t gonna want to miss this one!

WIP Wednesday – Tweed Season

On October 10, 2018October 10, 2018 By FogKnitsIn Nephew, WIP3 Comments

It’s only one tiny thing, in a long list of things but I fixed my knitting! Wooo! My tweedy nephew sweater is back on track!

It’s not often that I rip out all my progress and just start over but in this case, I’m glad I did. The sleeve cap on this little sweater is so much better today than it was yesterday.

The good one is on the left. The one I ripped out, on the right. The difference between them is a matter of fit. On the left the sleeve cap is a bit ‘puffy’ and on the right, it’s more sleek. For myself, I’d pick the right sleeve cap but for a wiggly little baby, a roomy shoulder is a good thing.

With the raglan shaping done and the sleeves divided, it’s just stockinette in the round from here on out. Happy place knitting! Yaaaay!

I’m really enjoying this yarn. It’s KnitPicks (relatively) new yarn, Provincial Tweed. It’s a superwash Highland Wool but I’m not hating the superwash. There’s really no way around superwash when it comes to baby clothes so I’m just enjoying the softness of the yarn, it’s lovely sheen and the fun tweed.

I’m not convinced the tweed bits will last through a machine wash cycle. They’re very loosely spun, in most cases. I’ll definitely get my sister to report back to me on that. She’s a maniac when it comes to doing laundry. When we were kids, the washing machine broke one day and it never got fixed. We spent the next decade carting our laundry to a laundromat…10 miles away. And, we never had a dryer. Line drying was the norm. I think the ‘novelty’ of having a washer and dryer right in the house never wears off. At least, for me, it hasn’t. There are loads of chores I hate but I don’t mind doing laundry. Doing laundry is mostly sitting around waiting for the machine to finish. I am very good at that.

So, tangent aside, I’m confident this sweater will get a trip through the washing machine and I’ll get a report on how well it wears. It could certainly be a contender for more fall sweaters as the nephew grows. It’s not fall, if you don’t have a tweed sweater to wear!

As for my wordpress/photo problem…That’s a work in progress too. It seems like lots of people have tech issues when it comes to image display and loading. I’ve now done all the basic re-boot stuff, cleared my cache, etc. Hopefully some of that helps. I’m gonna work my cross stitch gallery a bit this afternoon, should be a good test.

This Week, In Review

On September 28, 2018September 28, 2018 By FogKnitsIn Cowl, Shawl, WIP8 Comments

You’d think since I spent the week blathering on about VKL instead of showing off WIPs, I’d have a lot of progress to show. My dragon fade Match & Move pretty much looks the same though. I really am closing in on the end though. I keep saying it but this time, I really do mean it! 16 rows plus the bind off. It will be finished soon and it will be gorgeous. Until then, it’s like wrestling an octopus. It’s incredibly unwieldy.

I’ve got lots of things I want to start on but I’m trying to clear the slate first. I did need a project to carry around at VKL though. Enter my 3-Color Cashmere Cowl.

It’s not done but I couldn’t resist trying it on! I don’t think I’ve been giving this project the proper presence of mind. It’s just a stashbusting, quickie. It was trivial. Until, I put it on. Now, the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts. I really like this. Duh…there’s a reason it’s been so popular!

I’m frequently a late adopter when it comes to the hot, new pattern. The original 3-Color Cashmere Cowl was released more than 3 years ago. There’s over 6000 of these cowls on Ravelry. I shouldn’t be surprised at all. These things are always popular for a reason.

Of course, I’m not actually following the pattern. I’m using DK weight yarn instead of fingering and I’m just making up my own patterning as I go, using the original as a roadmap. So far, so good…it helps that I’m using cashmere, I did keep that part the same! 100% Noro Cashmere…it’s yummy! I can’t wait to block it and bloom the cashmere. It’s going to be amazing!

Have a great weekend! I’m hoping to squeeze all this finishing in. Woo!

All the WIPS Wednesday

On September 12, 2018September 12, 2018 By FogKnitsIn Sweater, WIP5 Comments

Remember this sweater? I started it waaaay back in June. At the time, I wondered, ‘which can I do faster…get a job or knit a sweater?’ It’s now September and I’ve done neither, so the debate rages on…

I found out, last night, I did not get the job and, that’s okay. It wasn’t a great fit. It was a really good practice interview though. I’ll be dialed in when the next one comes. Plus, now there’s still time to knit a sweater! It probably won’t be mine but this little nephew sweater is rapidly coming to a conclusion…

The pattern is Newborn Vertebrae, with KnitPicks ‘Hawaiian Shirt’ Felici self striping yarn. It’s the cutest darn thing! I’ll be finishing it ASAP! Turns out babies grow quick and I want him to get plenty of wear out of this sweater. I got this picture of the newborn size socks I made him…

Time for new socks too! So much knitting, so little time between growth spurts! Of course, there’s non-baby knitting too…

Nothing motivates me like nearly losing my free time to work. After all the recent interruptions, it’s been especially nice this week getting yarn into my hands again. I think, my annoyance at the Wonder Woman wrap has subsided and I’ve decided to press forward on it.

I’m starting to remember what set me off in the first place. It’s a garter stitch pattern, which one typically assumes to be all knit stitches. Well, You know what they say about assumptions. Turns out, in order to maintain the stripes properly, a portion of this pattern is the oft-forgotten all purl garter stitch. m*$@F*$^er. I was so pissed when I got there. There was a lot of cursing that day. To say I did it begrudgingly was an understatement. And there’s no way around it, in order to construct the iconic stacked WW, it has to be done. It was immediately following that section, the project went into the timeout corner.

I mean, c’mon…all purl garter stitch??? Who does that? Clearly not me. UGH. I’m never in the mood for all purl garter stitch. NO. Never. I’ve finished working that portion of the pattern. It’s done so hopefully, I’ll get over it mentally, too. :) Maybe it won’t be as disastrous as I thought last week. The yarn is an amazing 50 silk/50 merino blend and the colors perfect together, even if they aren’t classic Wonder Woman. Or I could just put it back in the timeout corner! I want to finish my Dragon Fade Match & Move. I’m getting really close now!

FO Friday…Here I come!!