If I had to grade myself, today, I would definitely consider an incomplete. I haven't worked on Lucky at all. This almost-finished sweater is still sitting in a laundry basket, waiting for another 20-some inches of 1x1 ribbing. This is just one of my shortcomings:
Last April I made my first attempt at sock knitting...It was even one of my "resolutions" for 2005. I figured I would start with a basic sock just to get a feel for how things work. Using a basic pattern, I set out to knit a pair of 2x2 ribbed socks. Things were going really well, until I turned the heel. The pattern that I was following used a "Sherman Heel," creating short rows. This process was very fiddley, and it took three tries before I had what looked like a heel.
I pressed on, even though I hated the way the sock-in-progress looked. I just wanted to go through the process. After knitting the foot, still in 2x2 rib, it was time for a "Sherman toe." I fought my way through the toe shaping, only to find that the sock ended up too long! I thought that I would rip back an inch and finish the sock. Well, I just couldn't. There were just something about the sock that I disliked. For nearly a year, that sock has been sitting in a bag, in my stash, waiting to be ripped.
After seeing all the hubbub about the Jaywalker socks--especially the knit along--I've gotten the itch to throw my hat into the ring. I cast on the first sock on Monday, and just finished the heel this morning!
I love my apartment. The new place has a small sunroom with three big windows. In the afternoon, the whole place gets flooded with really nice sunlight, making everything feel warm. Unfortunately, I'm not always at home in the middle of the afternoon, so I haven't been able to get any good pictures of my latest knits. I know I could use the flash, but my colors always come out wrong.
I find it kind of unbelievable, but I finished the Lace-Leaf Pullover in exactly 7 days! Yesterday, during lunch, I grafted the top and bottom pieces together. It looks awesome. I bound off the two pieces of the body with waste yarn, then grafted the pieces together. This worked out really well. The problem that I usually have with Kitchener stitch is that I end up with a ton of twisted stitches. For some reason, I can't wrap my mind around which way you are supposed to go through which stitches. With both sets of stitches bound off, all of the stitches were in the correct orientation, and the action was just like grafting bound off edges. Once I was done grafting top to bottom, all I had to do was "unzip" the waste yarn!
Oh, and in case you're actually wondering what happened to Lucky...She took the week off. After knitting 6+ ft of neckband, I decided to start sewing it to the body. Without the band, the sweater just falls off your shoulders and looks crap. I worked and worked, and worked some more only to come up short! That's right! And, not just a little short. The band made it up one side, around the back, and stopped about 3 inches down the front. Thankfully I didn't bind off before I started this endeavor. After a week of rest and relaxation, I'm ready to continue complete the nightmare.
Last Thursday, I started my Lace-Leaf Pullover. Since then, it's been whizzing by. By Thursday night, I had finished the yoke and upper body. Right now, I'm 20 rows away from finishing the second sleeve! Perhaps this sweater will be ready for a weekend debut.
I usually don't knit bulk or chunky knits. Actually, this is the my first project on needles larger than 10.5. But, since I really like the look of this sweater, I thought I'd go for it. Knitting with the large needles has taken a little getting used to. They feel pretty big and clunky, and my joints feel a little sore after knitting for a while...I guess I should be glad this will be a quick project.
Yup. I actually finished something over the long weekend. Unfortunately, it wasn't Lucky. I made a lot of progress, though. I blocked and seamed the pieces together. Now, all I have to do is finish the neckbang. At last count, the neckband is just under 5 feet long, which means that I will have about 20 more inches to knit.
My 1st finished object of the year is Branching Out!
That's the only way this neckband is going to be done. I've made it my bus knitting. Even though it's getting longer -- 30 inches at last count -- it still fit neatly in my bag. I have a three day weekend coming up, and with any luck, I can finish Lucky. If I'm motivated enough, I think I will block the other pieces tonight after work.
Since the neckband is my bus-knitting, Branching Out has become home-knitting. So far, I have gone through about 3/4 of the first skein and I have 12 pattern repeats. As I'm knitting, all I can think about is the fact that the entire scarf is knit in one direction. That means that when I go to wear the scarf, the two ends will look different. (I know this isn't a problem for most people, but it seems to bug me) I've seen a lot of lacey scarf patterns that have you knit two halves, then graft them together. What do you think? Would that be too much effort for a simple scarf? Hmm...I'll decide when I get to the end of the first skein of yarn.
In other news, I am becoming obsessed with the Jaywalker socks that everyone on Earth seems to be knitting. I can't believe all the great looking socks! And, most bloggers have commented that they aren't too difficult, even for a beginner. Now, my only problem is that my small needles (size 1 &2) are in sets of 4 not 5...Good thing my yarn diet doesn't include needles and notions, too.
Over the weekend, I finished both sleeves for Lucky. I felt really good, thinking that I was really close to finishing this sweater. Well, I'm not! I still need to knit the band that goes all the way around the neckline, plus the ties. The pattern calls for about 6 feet of 1x1 rib...needless to say this will be no small feat. I casted on for this Sunday evening. As of last night, I had just over a foot done. How boring!
What to do? Start something new! Yup, I cast on for Branching Out. I am using 2 skeins of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush that I received last year in a Secret Pal Exchange. This stuff is super soft, and color is perfect. So far, I've made it through four pattern repeats.
