Ribbit

I frogged it. I had good reason. Somehow, I'd dropped a stitch between the pink and the bone. Okay, it was just one, I could have picked it up, but I'd noticed a couple of other things along the way. My issues with this sweater so far:

1. The dropped stitch.
2. Somehow on one stitch, I only picked up 2 of the 4 strands, resulting in an ugly stitch.
3. 2 rows in, the bone had an ugly join in the yarn, and it made for an ugly bump in the fabric.

So, it was the trifecta. I live by a 3-strikes, you're out rule. If I'm not too far in. Once I get to a certain point in the work, I can sometimes live with whatever the issues are. In this case, I already wasn't in love with the neutral color, so the other specific issues on top of that before I was 25 rows in, well, it got frogged. So, I'm changing the color rotation while I'm at it. I love the blue, so I want it to feature more strongly. And the pink will be the next color, and then the neutral will be just an accent instead of a main color, and I'll get a lighter color for it.

Must find a way to duck into Michaels or A.C. Moore today, or I'll just be depressed until I can get there. I can't finish my first 19 rows without it.

BSJ #2, In progress

So, I tried planning out stripes for this BSJ. I wrote out what stripes I'm doing for what rows, and I'll see how it pans out. I'll either like it or I won't. But I already know the recipient, and I'll just hope that she likes it! ;) I wish I'd chosen a lighter yarn, already, for the "neutral" stripe, but I like it the way it is. I'll chalk it up to something to remember for the future. But this is what I have now, and what I can afford, so it is what it is. :shrug:

By my calculations, the BSJ is 114 rows of knitting. So, I'm aiming for a week for the jacket. 6 days, 19 rows each, and the 7th day will be devoted to seaming and buttons. Without further ado.....

Day 1:

Yarn Love

I've always loved yarn. The softer, the better. I love to pace the yarn aisles at the craft store, savoring the feels of the different fibers, anticipating which will make the softest socks, sweater, etc. But I'm relatively new to the world of knitting. I taught myself a few years ago, from one of those $2 leaflets from Wal-Mart, and extensive use of Google. I made a multitude of projects in the cheapest yarn I could find, with free online patterns. And throughout, I've developed a way of knitting that I'm comfortable and happy with, a nice even stitch, and a beautiful finished product. So now, I'm ready to move on.

I recently joined a knitting circle that meets locally at a bookstore, and fell in love with some of the beautiful colors the ladies were using, the incredible finished products. "What? That pattern is only in a book? Not free online?" "How's that? You dyed that yarn yourself, so I can't just go buy it somewhere?" A whole new world has opened in front of me, and that world contains the "MD Sheep and Wool Festival".

I first heard about this phenomenon from the aforementioned knitting circle. The first mention didn't do much to catch my interest. What can I say? Up until now, when I wanted nice yarn, I went to Michaels instead of Wal-Mart. Like I said, I'm new to all this. And then, a friend showed me a bizarre compilation of yarn, still on the needle, with this funky wave to it.

"What is that?" I innocently ask.
The friend replied, "A baby surprise."
"I'm sure he'll be surprised. I won't tell him. But can you tell me what it is?"
"It's a baby sweater."
"Oh cool! So what's the pattern you're using?"
"It's a baby surprise."
"Okay! I swear I won't tell him! What's the pattern?"
"It's a baby surprise sweater."
"Who's on first?"

Okay, really, we got it figured out after that. Then I asked her for the pattern. She told me the book she got it from, Elizabeth Zimmerman's The Opinionated Knitter. The pattern is the Baby Surprise Jacket, and boy, was it. I ordered it on Sat. night, received it on Tuesday, and had a finished blob of my very own by the next Sunday. But wouldn't you know it, that blob did indeed become a jacket, and I am officially hooked.

I have several more in mind, with various striping patterns, as experiments. And thus was born a renewed desire to blog. I had to share my magical blob! Surprise!


Pattern: EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket
Materials: Size 6 circ. needles; Bernat Sweet Stripes in Splash, border in Bernat Baby Coordinates in Sky.
Started: May 1, 2007
Finished: May 7, 2007 (except for buttons)
Recipient: It's a surprise! (no, really, I don't want to put it here until it's been given, but I do have an intended for it!)

In other news, the Sheep and Yarn Festival. Well, the ladies talked me into wanting to go. Brandon, Mom, and the kids had other plans for Sunday, but they fell through, so I had company for the festival! I don't think the kids had a thrilling time, but they liked seeing the sheep, alpacas, llamas, and bunnies. Brandon was way more interested in the spinning than I thought he'd be (or maybe he was just faking it for my enjoyment.... ;) ). I wasn't as tempted as I thought I'd be. While the handspun, hand-dyed yarns were striking, I'm a softie, and insist that my yarn is, also. Many of the handspuns were too rough for my taste, and I wasn't even tempted. I knew I wanted to get a special yarn for Catie, to make her a sweater, though, and I did find just the thing.

I went into analysis paralysis, though. There were gorgeous soft yarns of every imaginable hand-dyed color at Tess' Designer Yarns. I am still quite budgeted, so I couldn't buy everything I wanted, but I refused to leave empty handed -- I would have regretted it forever. So I settled on Superwash Merino in a brilliant purple and turquoise. There were softer yarns available, but they were out of my price range. This was wonderfully soft, though, and I feel that all the yarns were a marvelous quality -- this is just what I could afford! I plan to go back to her for more, though, when I can. I fell in love!



Now, I just have to figure out how to get these monstrous 570 yd. hanks under control. It's so luscious, I'm sure I'll have a great time playing with it!

KnitTwit

So, now you know about me and my family, and why I need a creative outlet.... :)

My mom taught me to crochet when I was a kid. I think I learned when I was about 7 or 8 and have done it ever since. However, I learned a few things about crocheting, and while I still prefer it for certain tasks, knitting has become preferable to me for a few reasons.

1. Prettier finished fabric. Okay, this is utterly subjective, and if you disagree, well, I don't care. When you're using a bulky fuzzy yarn, you can't even see the stitch, really, but when you are using a smoother yarn that shows the stitch, there's just something so satisfying about those perfect little "V"s in straight rows, nestled in their perfect little columns. Yes, I'm obsessed.

2. Takes longer. I see this as a huge plus, provided I'm not strapped for time on a deadline. I am not creating things to sell, where I need to churn out as much as I can in order to make money. No, for me, yarn purchases are solely money-out. So, if a project takes me longer to complete, that's longer before I have to buy more yarn. Voila, less money spent.

3. Less yarn. If you crochet a 10" x 10" square, and then knit a 10" x 10" square, you'll see the knitted version uses significantly less yarn. So, this is another facet of knitting being more cost-effective for me.

4. Brandon likes it. Let's see, it makes me happier to look at the WIP, the FO, and the receipts, and it keeps me happy for longer. Of course he likes it, even if he doesn't care one bit what I'm making. (And, well, he usually doesn't. ;) )

So, once in a while, I do still contribute a bit of crocheting to my little world of crafts, but mostly I'm a KnitTwit at this point.