Branching Out is done!
It came off the needles on Sunday and has been blocked. I am excited to have another Christmas gift completed. Once I got into the rhythm of the pattern, it went relatively quickly. I have an additional skein of the Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in rose, so I plan to knit another Branching Out down the road. I like the leaf lace pattern a lot.
I also finished the double seed stitch scarf…do you like my models? =o)
When I was almost done, I found a mistake around the halfway point.
I must have knit the wrong row. And I even used a row counter to keep track of my four-row repeat, which makes this mistake even worse! LOL Actually, I think I might have been teaching someone to cast on when I was knitting this section. The mistake is noticeable if I’m looking for it, but I decided not to fix it because it would mean frogging about 16 inches. This scarf is for myself, and it’s supposed to be my fun/easy/relaxing project. If I had to re-knit that much of it, it wouldn’t be fun anymore. I can live with the mistake, so I’m letting it go.
This past week I have felt the need to get some projects off the needles so that I can begin the ones that I’m itching to start. Now that Branching Out and Double Seed Stitch are done, I’m going to attempt to line the Sophie Bag, and then finish the Bolero and the Irish Walking Hat. I’m also planning to rip DH’s Retro Rib socks and start them over on size 3 needles instead of size 2. I didn’t knit a swatch, and I’m really concerned that the socks will be too small if I leave them as they are right now.
Upcoming project: Around mid-August, Lynette and I are doing our own knitalong for Tivoli! I know that some of you have already knit it, but if you’re interested in knitting along with us, let one of us know!
In non-knitting news, I seem to be going through a cooking phase right now and I’m not even really much of a cook at all. In fact, just last month, I bought a magnet that says “I was going to cook you a great dinner… (then there is a picture of a woman in the kitchen)…but then I remembered, I don’t cook!” =o) Not counting frozen ravioli and meatless spaghetti (using sauce straight out of a jar), my repetoire includes around ten main dishes. Three of them are heavy stews which don’t seem quite right for the summer (but I’ve been making them anyway). I am getting tired of eating the few things I know how to cook, so I’ve been hunting for relatively easy recipes to try. The operative word is easy as I fall under the novice cook category. So far I’ve found some recipes on foodnetwork.com and allrecipes.com. DH and I even tried out this one on Sunday. Granted, it’s very simple, but we were pleased because it tasted good (YAY!) and we made the sauce from scratch!! I know this is a really baby step, but we are talking about two people who really don’t know much about cooking. The cinnamon makes the sauce interesting. I used ground beef instead of proscuitto and it still tasted fine. Next time around I plan to try it with shrimp. If you are interested in trying the recipe, I recommend reading the reviews for suggestions on altering the recipe. I also just purchased a few cookbooks from Amazon (thanks again for the gift cert, SP5!), and can’t wait to look through them. I’m slightly hesitant about getting into cooking because I went through a cooking phase last fall and it didn’t last. I bought a few “quick and easy” / “one-dish” cookbooks composed mainly of “American” recipes, and the flavors just didn’t appeal to me. This time around, I am focusing on two cuisines (Chinese and Italian, my two favorites) and hopefully I will be more successful! It would be wonderful if my interest in cooking could be more than just a passing phase. If you have tips/recipes/cookbook suggestions to share, I would love to hear them!
First, a belated thank you to Tori of RAOK for sending me these lovely stitch markers last week!!
Also, my wonderful SP5 sent me a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate!!! YAY!! I’m excited about using it! I’ve never received an Amazon gift cert before!!! Thank you, SP5!!!
Last week I knit the Sophie Bag, which will be a Christmas present. This is a very quick and easy knit, so I highly recommend it if you want to knit a small gift for someone but are limited on time. It only takes 1 skein of Cascade 220, so it’s also an economical gift. I knit the bottom of the bag on Tuesday and Wednesday (though I don’t know why it even took me 2 nights to knit 39 short little rows), did the sides and the handles on Thursday and Friday, and felted it on Saturday. Here are the pre- and post-felting pics:
I plan to line the bag (my first attempt at lining) and add a magnetic clasp. I’m a bit hesitant about doing the lining because I’m horrible at sewing, but I’ll let you know how it goes.
From this easy project, I learned something important about myself: I take knitting directions much too literally. Example: When binding off for the top of the bag, the instructions say BO 29 stitches, put next 6 stitches on a stitch holder, and BO next 29 stitches. The handles of the bag are knit from the 6 stitches on the other side that are not put on a holder. After the handles are done, they are Kitchenered to the 6 stitches on the holder. Well, if you follow the directions too literally like I did, then the handles will not be attached appropriately on one side. There is a gap (for lack of a better word). Here are some photos to explain what I’m referring to:
Correct handle
Incorrect handle
What I should have done was BO 29 stitches, cut the yarn, put the next 6 stitches on a holder, re-join the yarn, and then BO the next 29 stitches. I elected not to re-do the handles because I didn’t think that this was a crucial issue. Yes, it’s noticeable, but only if you’re looking carefully at it. I can still see the difference after felting, but I don’t think it takes away too much from the bag. I’m planning to knit a second Sophie bag down the road as another Christmas gift, so I’ll make the adjustment the next time around.
Yesterday I cast on for the Irish Walking Hat that is a modification of the Basic Cable Hat in SnB Nation. This is my first hat! I’m knitting it to match the Irish Hiking Scarf I finished a couple of months ago, and two together will be a Christmas gift. No pictures yet, but barring any major brain farts this looks like another quick knit. I’ve learned that I need to have at least one easy knit on the needles so that I can bring it with me to SnB. =o)
I have been wanting to knit the Tivoli for myself and my sister. I keep reading such great things about the pattern! I was planning to knit the medium size first for my sister using Lion Brand Cotton-Ease that I found on clearance, but now I’m not so sure because: (1) I’m not entirely convinced that the 36″ would fit her — it might be too big, and (2) I can’t seem to match the row gauge in the pattern using Cotton-Ease. With size 7 needles my swatch is 5″ long instead of 4″, and using 6 needles I’m still off by 3/4″. I don’t really want to go down further because I think the fabric would be too tight. I’m rather puzzled because others have managed to match the row gauge using Cotton-Ease, and I’m usually a tight knitter so I was expecting this swatch to be small. Hmm….but I think my main reservation is that she is between the 31″ and 36″ size so I don’t really know which one to knit for her. I might just have to knit myself the small one using the Cathay, and then see how the sizing turns out. Of course, I have too many WIPs on the needles right now, so this will have to wait. Perhaps when I finish the Bolero, I can cast on for Tivoli.
Enough rambles from me for now…hope you have a great week!
Last week I hit a rather low point with my knitting. I think I was too invested in getting the Clapotis right, and I just let myself get much, much too frustrated with it. It was very unhealthy and it even affected my sleep because I insisted on staying up late to work on it. The lesson learned is that I need to make myself put a project down when I get too obsessed. It’s a hard thing to do (at least for me), but now that I finally let go, I am feeling sooooooooo much better. I plan to start knitting the Clapotis again in the future, just not right away. And the next time around, I’m going to put in lifelines before I start having troubles!
I needed a very easy project to recuperate from my Clapotis and Bolero problems, so on Thursday night I cast on for a double seed stitch scarf with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I actually knitted one about 6 months ago as one of my first knitting projects. I really like wearing that scarf so I decided to knit another one in pale blue. I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll keep this one or give it as a gift.
(I couldn’t manage to take a picture that reflected the true color, but trust me, the yarn really is pale blue.)
I’m about halfway done. Working on this quick knit has been very soothing. When I knit the first one, I remember getting bored with the pattern, and I actually put down the scarf for awhile. Now I think it’s the greatest! LOL! I guess it’s all about perspective. Twenty-four stitches per row certainly goes by a lot faster than 80 or 90 or 100 per row (like on the Clapotis)!
I started Branching Out, which will be a Christmas present. I’m using the Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Moss, and I like it — it is soft and can withstand quite a bit of frogging (which is always an important test for me!).
The yarn hanging down the left side is from the lifeline. I’m not taking chances here!
It took me a number of tries to get this scarf going correctly. I’m following the chart (my first), and found that I have to concentrate a bit harder than usual so that I don’t mess up. Many thanks to Cyndi who posted about how to fix a missed yarnover without frogging an entire row. Her instructions worked perfectly!
