UNDERGROUND JUSTICE AND HANDMADE LUCK

i finished up this cardigan over the weekend while i was visiting my family in pennsylvania.  i’m seriously psyched on the finished product. i had a few issues with sizing early on because i was knitting in a smaller gauge than the pattern called for. i couldn’t tell if i should move up to the large or stick with the medium. in the end, i knit the medium and i think it turned out perfectly, although for the life of me i could not take a picture today that didn’t feature backlighting worthy of either jesus or bret michaels. regardless, here it is:

i mentioned before that i made a few mods to the pattern. i changed the hem, neck and cuffs to 1×1 ribbing, and added a few rows of seed stitch in the middle of the lace chart. a few other knitters on ravelry did this, and their versions were really the ones that sold me on this pattern. anyway, i’m happy with the end result.

my brother and sister and my brother’s girlfriend went out with me to buy buttons. we decided on really plain ones; the lace on the sweater is really pretty and i kind of wanted to let that be the most noticeable part. ravelry details are here if you want ‘em. i have two skeins of this cascade 220 heathers left over and i’m already brainstorming good uses for it. i’m so into this color.

also, probably no one really cares about my new shoes, but i love them, so now you get to look at them:

i’m so happy to finally have chilly fall weather. it’s nice to be able to wear sweaters and drink hot toddies comfortably. lots of projects coming up. and this is the year that i really start my christmas knitting early. as in now. because both of my siblings want sweaters, and i’m over the last-minute holiday frenzy.

be good!

thunderstorms this morning made staying in bed the most appealing thing in the world. i eyed up my bag of knitting and my big fat envelopes of zines that i’ve yet to read and i thought, well maybe. BUT there is so much to do that i just can’t justify that kind of day right now. my options are: working on the new apartment or going to the office. my fingers still feel raw from pulling up carpet yesterday, and neither i nor my toolbox can face any more staples right now, so i choose the office. whereever you are, i hope it’s not raining.

so. knitting. a little while ago i knit this shawl/scarf with the spinning bunny corriedale singles i mentioned maybe last month. it’s really basic but i think a good choice for showing off the yarn. meg and i recently had a discussion about needle size, and i will share with you something i have learned about myself: i knit pretty tight. like almost problematically so. and try as i might, i just can’t stop it. i also tend to favor smaller needles and finer yarns. i always think bulky yarns are pretty, but i am less inspired by them in terms of imagining completed projects. i am slowly learning to overcome these things, however, by giving in and using larger needles. i am weirdly proud of myself for knitting this scarf on size 13 needles. i am weirdly proud of myself for even owning size 13 needles. i am promising myself that when it comes to needle choices from now on, i will go big or go home. to seal the deal, i even bought myself some addi turbo size 9 circulars. see? i’m invested in this now.

this is all. ravelry details for this project do exist. my crazy ominous neighbor is moving out of the downstairs apartment soon. jess gets here tonight. i feel like that poster that says “hang in there kitty!”

the garter yoke cardigan is pretty big on ravelry right now, and of course i had to get in there and make one too. i like when i look through a project gallery and i really feel like EVERYONE’S version of the pattern looks really nice. that’s a really good sign. and another reason why i love ravelry more than maybe anything else on the internet. so, here you go, here’s my new sweater:

i’m pretty happy with the finished product. like i mentioned before, i used yarn that i recycled from another sweater at savers. using recycled yarn is especially great because i won’t worry about wearing this sweater out, pilling, whatever. sometimes using a really fancy yarn for a sweater (or anything) that i’m making for myself makes me worry, because i don’t really live a lifestyle that protects fancy or fragile garmets, and i hate feeling like i’m going to ruin things. i added four sets of two decreases in each sleeve, because i’m not a huge fan of wide sleeves. they make my wrists feel freakishly small.

you can kind of see that there’s some extra bulk in the back. but it’s not bad, and if nothing else, it gives me a little room for layering. and anyway, i’d rather have a little too much sweater than not quite enough.

as for the buttons, i did not feel like going out and buying some, so i went to my big ol’ button jar and found a few that were about the same size and would kind of look okay the sweater and maybe even each other.  not spending money on buttons = i still kept the cost of this sweater at about $6 or less. and i still have a ball of this yarn leftover to use, enough for at least a hat. not bad!

anyway, my ravelry details are here, and you should probably go see how nice everyone else’s versions look. have a great monday, everybody!

edit: this is unrelated, but i think important. read flint knits’ post about following copyright terms on free patterns on ravelry or elsewhere. i’ve read lots of similar posts about people using free patterns to make a personal profit (ie using someone else’s pattern to knit things to sell without permission) but i hadn’t realized that this happens with small yarn shops as well. anyway, pam makes some good points, and this is worth reading and thinking about.

hey, internet! the next time you hear from me, this sweater will be finished, blocked and (hopefully) wearable. after i took this picture yesterday, i finished the entire right sleeve, although i may go back and add an inch or two to it – even though i added some decreases in the forearm, my wrist-region is still way to skinny for the sleeves. but i think making them a little too long, and therefore slouchier, will make that more acceptable. i would have taken another picture after the sleeve was done, but it’s grey and rainy here, and there’s not enough light. it’s really hard to get a relatively decent photo of this yarn. i’m using recycled yarn from a sweater i thrifted at savers. i think i posted a picture of the yarn awhile ago, but here it is again anyway:

so, between the two pictures, you can obviously see a difference in color. in some light, this looks super purple. and in other light, super grey. i can’t even blame the camera or the internet, because this has looked like a different shade pretty much every time i’ve picked it up to work on it. yarn can be weird like that, i guess.

have a great weekend, and see ya when my sweater’s finished!

what a good week for knitting! i promise, i did other things as well. you know, like work, package up zines to send to distros, go to the gym, clean up the apartment a little, and watch every vhs tape gary and i own because our dvd player is broken again (maybe this time for good). i’m trying to figure out a way that i can knit AT the gym. maybe on the stationary bike, but that’s really not my favorite thing to do. i may just have to reconcile myself to the fact that i’m better at knitting when i’m sitting. not running.

so this week i made three things FOR MYSELF. i’m finally learning to be a selfish knitter! thanks, ravelry!

my owls sweater is done! and it fits! i was a little worried about the sizing before – even the medium felt a tiny bit too snug. not to the point of being unwearable, but just a little tighter than i wear things. but after blocking it came out nice and slouchy and perfect. see, blocking? a necessary evil. not evil, even, just a slight irritation. i don’t even have that pesky “extra fabric” in the back that a lot of people mentioned. this is probably because i have a sort of broad upper back/shoulder region.  i just need to buy some notions for the eyes. i’m starting to lean toward beads instead of buttons – my owls are a bit small, and i don’t want the eyes to overpower them, or make the neckline too cluttered. i know some people left the sweater as-is, with no eyes at all, which still looks nice, but i know i want something there. i just don’ know what exactly!

after i finished my sweater, i finally got back to my frostberries kerchief. i had maybe thought i was done earlier, but didn’t feel like it was quite wide enough, but by then i’d lost momentum and just let this sit on the needles for several weeks while i worked on other things. but i’m really glad i finally finished this, because i think it’s something i’ll get a lot of wear out of. i think i mentioned this before, but i’m so absurdly happy with this yarn. it’s recycled angora/wool from cantrix. hand-dyed, totally soft and wonderful. and so affordable! i really can’t say enough about it! i’m probably going to buy more and maybe make myself a similar kerchief in blue/green. love love love.

and this hat. it’s nothing fancy, but i’ve been feeling like i need a basic knit hat for awhile, and for some reason i’ve never gotten around to making one for myself. which is absurd, because i made this in the duration of one movie. i’m not really a person who looks good in hats, but it gets so cold in the wintertime and my walk downtown every morning can be a gross one. my ears should be warm! this is made with more yarn that i really like, reynolds lite lopi. i can see how people might not dig it thought – it’s a bit scratchy, so i wouldn’t use it for a cowl or scarf or any other garment that’d be up against skin. but i have to admit that i kind of like the scratchiness. it feels kind of old-fashioned and rugged. those are two qualities i’m interested in cultivating.

so suddenly i find myself in the rare position of having absolutely no projects on the needles right now. i’m kind of torn about what to do now! last night after i finished the hat, i spun up a little yarn on my drop spindle while i watched the sound of music. i haven’t done much spinning and i have literally pounds of roving bagged up in my bedroom waiting to become yarn. but i might take a little break (as in a day or two) from yarny matters and work on a little embroidery project that’s been on my mind for the last week or two. we will see.