Burn out finis! || March 24, 2003 ||9:33 pm

The Vintage Cotton lace pattern is finished! I'll e-mail it to the printer tomorrow. Writing this pattern was trying, but I also learned a lot. It's interesting trying to write a pattern for a sweater I didn't design. I like the problem solving aspect of this. The problem I needed to solve here was that it was necessary to write line by line instructions for the armhole and neck decreases, but there are 4 sizes, and the way I'd figured it, none of the sizes would be on the same row of the 9-row lace pattern. I didn't want to write 4 sets of line by line instructions, so I figured out a way to make them all be on the same row. Anyway, it's all finished! I'm so glad.

Last night while watching the Oscars, I finally started Henry VIII. I got about 1/2" into the corrugated ribbing and decided that I wanted to make the smaller size instead of the larger. So then I ripped back and cast on again. I got to close to the 1/2" before the end of the show. Not much to show yet, so I'll wait a few days before showing a pic.

I'll be having minor surgery this week, to remove a "pseudo-cyst" on my right vocal chord. The procedure is not a huge deal, but I'm taking off from work starting Wednesday, all through next week, since I won't be allowed to speak for a week. So I've taken home some knitting homework - more hats for the hat book.

I finally finished the scarf that matches the Aran hat (damn that honeycomb!), and talked with Berta about having someone else knit the rest of the scarves that go with the hats. She was very receptive to the idea. Which is great, because I hate making scarves.

I'm officially over my knitting burn out.

Burn-out is imminent. || March 18, 2003 ||3:10 pm

I've been very neglectful of my blog lately. I guess it's because I'm not so very inspired by the things I'm working on right now. I re-did the bottom of the Vintage Cotton tank in a bigger size, and now I've started the top lacy part. As I'm writing this, I got a call from my boss clammoring for the pattern, since she's been getting lots of calls for it. It was featured in a Karabella ad in the spring Knitters. So tonight I will work and work and work on that. Originally the plan had been to just change needle sizes on the lace part for the S, L, and X-L, but when I swatched it with a larger needle, it looked horrible. So instead I had to do a lot of math to make the pattern repeats work out. And I'm a little concerned about writing the directions for the shaping, since that can be difficult in a lace pattern. Ay, me, I may be in over my head here.

I spent some time on Sunday swatching the Amelie sweater. I put the movie on again for inspiration. My results so far haven't been so great, but I'll keep working on it. At this rate there's no way I'll come up with something good in time to submit it to Interweave, as was my plan, but that's okay. I'm feeling like I want to do something just for ME.

The scarves that go with the two hats I've made for the hat book are coming slowly. In fact, I haven't even started the second one. I think I'll ask Berta if there's any chance of one of her other knitters doing the scarves, so that I can focus on the hats. I really dislike making scarves! They're so long and tedious!

Still busy... || March 11, 2003 ||2:45 pm

I got my yarn to swatch the Amelie sweater! I have 5 shades of red, plus yellow, emerald green, and chartreuse. I've been sitting here at the office all day arranging the skeins in various combinations. I can't wait to start swatching, but I probably will have to wait until the weekend. And it's going to be a busy weekend, so I may not even get a lot done then. Woe is me!

I finished the front bottom part of the Vintage Cotton lacy tank. (The bottom part is not lacy; it's plain stockinette.) I'm a little worried that it will be too small. Perhaps I should have lobbied for the large size being a little larger. I mean, I'm not even that big, so what would someone bigger than me do?

Oh, I forgot to take a picture of my oh-so-cute hat that I made on Saturday. I'll try to remember to do that tonight. I've been wearing it every day, and have gotten many compliments on it. I really want to keep it for myself rather than give it to the store.

And I'm plugging away on this scarf to match my sea-foam green cable hat. Honeycomb is so very slow and tedious. Can't wait to finish. Have a ways to go I'm afraid.

Also I took home some finishing work. Just one sweater - I've been doing a seam a night so I can finish it by Thursday without stopping the other projects. So much to do, so little time! (How often do I say this?? Far too often)

Busy as a bee || March 09, 2003 ||5:48 pm

Lots going on! Thursday I wore my new sweater to work, and Berta and Arthur liked it enough to buy the pattern from me. Here's a photo of me wearing it, taken outside in yesterday's sunny weather.

I also brought in the first finished hat for the hat book, which Berta also liked. In fact, she wore it around the store for a while. And now I'm working on a scarf to match. Meanwhile, I picked the yarns for the next hat, and made that yesterday. It's very cute. Scott thinks it's the best one I've ever done. I'll post a photo tomorrow; my camera batteries died and are now recharging.

Also, on Friday at the store I was working on a pattern for a sweater that someone else made. It's a summery top in Karabella Vintage Cotton, with a lace top part. It's very pretty. I mentioned to Berta that I would like to make one for myself, and she said that if I did it right away, the yarn would be on her! That way, I can test the pattern, I guess is the rationale. So I've also started that.

So Henry VIII is on hold for a couple weeks, which is fine. I haven't really been in the mood to start it anyway.

And finally, the yarns for my Amelie design are on their way - swatching to commence soon!

Henry swatch! || March 05, 2003 ||10:57 am

Last night I swatched for Henry.

I have mixed feelings about my color substitutions for marjoram and autumn. Scott suggested that I switch the order of bronze (the lighter gold at the top) and the fake autumn (the orangy one), and I think that's a good idea. But that means I need more bronze. So I ordered that, along with a bunch of reds to swatch my Amelie sweater. Exciting!

Not much other knitting news. I have that between projects feeling. Tonight I'm going to try and finish the cable hat so that tomorrow I can start the next one. I think I'm going to need to pick up the pace on these hats.

I think I've become very product-oriented lately, rather than process. It doesn't exactly hamper my enjoyment of my knitting, but perhaps it makes me slightly more crazed. I just need to repeat to myself "It's not a race. It's not a race."

But then I go to work at the store and feel a little like it is a race. And also there are so many things I want to knit. Never enough time for them all!

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