Because of my recent discovery that (a) I am tall and need to lengthen sweaters, and (b) I therefore need to buy more yarn than a pattern calls for, I am finding myself up knitting creek without enough yarn for my current WIP. 

I'm making Aidez with Cascade Eco Wool, just to be completely original.  These are monster skeins--250 grams and 487 yards.  My ball winder shuddered in fear at just the thought of balling those puppies up.  I had two skeins in my stash that I bought last year before the price of wool increased.  Most people on Ravelry were able to finish their sweaters with just two skeins, so I started the sweater with confidence that I would be fine. 

I scoured Ravelry for people making the same size (44") with the same needle size (9), and it looks like most people still used just two skeins.  But I decided to add an extra inch to the body length, and I started to get nervous.  The first skein got me through the back and the left front, except the last two inches.  So I started looking around for a third skein.

This must be the smallest dye lot in the history of yarn.  I could only find one person on Rav with the same dye lot, and hers wasn't for sale.  I did find the same shade, although different dye lot, at a local-ish yarn store, and I figured that was as close as I was going to get.  The new skein is very, very close to my old skeins.  But what's the old saying?  Close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes?  (Wow, what a lovely saying.) 

I swatched the two together, and the difference is detectable.  How detectable to people other than me, I don't know.  I don't think it's so bad where I alternated every two rows.  Can you see a difference? 

The stripes are more visible on the bottom of the swatch, where I alternated every 8 rows. 

Alternating every two rows.

The new one isn't as brown as the old one.  I have just the two sleeves left to do.  What approach should I take? 

1. Knit one sleeve from the remaining skein, then knit the second sleeve from the new skein.
2. Knit both sleeves from the new skein.
3. Knit both cuffs from the new skein and the sleeves from the old skein, hoping the old skein holds out for both sleeves.
4. Knit both sleeves with both skeins, alternating every two rows. 
5. Knit both sleeves from old skein, and switch to new skein when I run out. 

Clearly, this is ridiculous.  I've never run out of yarn before, so I've never faced these kinds of decisions.  But I didn't put this much thought into choosing grad schools.  The longer I think about it, the more options I discover.  (Knit one sleeve with old skein, knit second sleeve alternating new and old skeins.  Alternate skeins with greater/lesser frequency the closer I get to the sleeve cap so that the cap will be mostly old skein so as to match front and back knit from just old skeins ...  The polar ice caps are melting, and my most pressing concern is two different dye lots of yarn.)

From a distance, it's not too bad.  (Hello, poor, sad, neglected Granny Stripe in the corner!)

In the end, I'm going with option 4.  It's the most time consuming, but the safest in terms of producing two identical sleeves with the best hope of matching the rest of the sweater. 

In these circumstances, what would you do? 

FO: peabody sweater

It seems like I've been knitting like crazy with not much to show for it.  That's what happens when you work on sweaters!  The wait is long, but the reward is worth it!  And I finally have my first sweater of 2012 to show for it. 

For my review of this pattern, I'm instituting a new format.  For each FO, I'll touch on the following categories: Process, Mods, Product, Yarn, What I Learned.  This should keep me organized!  

Pattern: Peabody sweater by Leila Raabe, published in Brooklyn Tweed Fall 2011. 




Process:  The body and sleeves are knit in the round until the armholes.  I was nervous about that because my tension changes when I have to purl, but it turned out just fine.  I love projects that have enough stockinette to keep things moving, but also some lace to keep me interested. 

Mods:  I added 4 sts to the CO for the size 37, and the body fits me very well.  It has about 1"-2" of positive ease in the waist and about 1/2" of positive ease in the bust.  The sleeves, though.  I made the largest size, and even did one extra increase after all the prescribed increases.  They do fit well, but there is no ease.  I also added at least 3" to the sleeves, and 1/2" to the ribbing on both the sleeves and the body.

I started the neckline just a bit early, which meant I had to eliminate that middle leaf on the last pattern repeat.  I don't think it looks odd, do you?  I also made the armholes a tiny bit bigger, I think.  I didn't keep notes on that, so I was amazed when the sleeve caps fit perfectly into the armholes. 

Do you like my new boots?  Aerosole had a President's Day sale!

Product:  Really, it's a pretty, standard sweater.  Definitely worth the knit.  It's not a show stopper, but it will be in my wardrobe for a long time. 

Yarn:  The Cascade 220 is like knitting with an old friend.  It's dependable and predictable, which is good in a yarn.  It is so warm, I don't think I'd wear this sweater with a coat unless it's below freezing.  Wool: the wonderfiber.

What I learned:  I need to automatically add two inches to all knitting patterns!  I don't know why I thought that the knitting world would be different than the ready-to-wear, off the rack world.  I always need to buy talls and longs; why would it be different in knitting patterns?  I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out, but at least I have. 

This also means, however, that I need to buy an extra skein of yarn for every sweater.  That's sort of a bummer, but not as much of a bummer as having too-short sweaters. 

Other than that, I didn't develop any new skills.  I did realize that I really like seaming.  I love the little victory of joining two pieces of knitting and having them look, well, seamless. 

Ravelry project page: linky

So thank you, Peabody, for helping me accomplish one of my 2012 knitting goals! 

Next up: another sweater!  Aidez!

Can we live through February?

I am exhausted.  It's been a rough month for us in a lot of ways.  There was a homicide in our neighborhood, we had to fire our nanny, our daughter started at a new day care, we had to cancel a much-needed working vacation at the very last minute (our car was packed), and now we're all on the verge of getting sick. 


And then the snow,
And then the snow came, and we were always out shoveling, 
And we'd drop to sleep exhausted,
Then we'd wake up and it's snowing. 

So I thought of that Dar Williams song, February. 

Fortunately, my February is not as bad as hers.  March is coming.  And I'll have a new sweater to wear when it gets here.  So things must be looking up!

a winter lament

At the risk of people throwing things at me, I've got to say I'm sort of bummed it's been such a mild winter.  Everyone around here is ecstatic and acting like they're finally getting the kind of winter they deserve, but I could really use a couple good storms.  We've had maybe three inches of snow, total.  And that's being generous.  I'd really like a good ten inches that stays around for a while. 

First, I like winter.  Snow really is magical, the way it transforms everything.  It's special.  It only happens a few times out of the whole year.  I know it's a big hassle to clean up and drive in, and I get tired of those chores after a few months just like everyone else, but we shouldn't let the extra work distract us from the specialness of a good snow.

Second, we need winter.  I'm from California, so I know that a mild, dry, warm winter is not a gift.  It's serious concern, and can actually mean life and death.  Without a snowpack in the back country that will melt throughout the spring and runoff through the summer, the forests and brush be mountains of kindling by September.  And my home and the homes of the people I love will be nestled among the firewood like sitting ducks.  It's almost an animal instinct in me--when there's not enough water in the winter, my hide is prickly with anxiety. 

Third, on a much lighter and selfish note, I want to wear my woolies!  What's the good in having cuddly warm cowls and sweaters and hats if it's too hot to wear them? 

Most folks around here are thrilled that it's 55 degrees in January, and they act like any mention of the Season-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named will completely jinx them, so I've kept my laments to myself.  But surely there are other knitters out there who feel like something's not quite right when you can't layer yourself in handknits in January, right? 

Ah well.  Here's what I have on the needles at the moment.

• A Peabody sweater.  This is from the Brooklyn Tweed Fall 2011 collection.  

I love this sweater so far.  It's the perfect blend of miles of stockinette and beautiful lace to keep things interesting.  I can knit it when I'm exhausted and can't spare any brain energy, and I can knit when I'm alert and need something to keep me thinking.  I'm using Cascade 220 that I got in the Webs anniversary sale last year.  It's a purple heather with shades of blue, coral, and pink.  I love it!

• A never-ending Thundercloud Cowl.  

I started this thing a thousand years ago.  I made pretty good progress, but then took a break for Christmas knitting, and I lost all my mohair mojo.  It's a simple pattern and I like it, but knitting with the mohair is like knitting in molasses.  I'm in slo-mo.  I just have one more repeat and I could probably knock it out in two nights.  Sigh. 

• My beautiful Granny Stripe Blanket!  

I'm about halfway done, I think.  It's going to be way huger than I'd planned, but that's okay.  A too-big blanket doesn't exist, and a too-small blanket is the worst.  I think it might be able to fit a twin bed, so if we ever get a twin bed, we'll have something to put on it! 

• Some home-dec sewing, a first for me.

That's a Heather Bailey print.  I have a couple others to add in my slow family room redo. 

Time to head out and enjoy the sunshine, I guess! 

FO: Butterick 5523

I put down the crochet hook long enough to make a dress in January.  I actually finished this dress weeks ago, but only found the gumption to hem it this week.  I've messed up hems before, and it's so discouraging.  Having a good dress I couldn't wear finally wore me down, and I screwed up my courage and sat myself down at the sewing machine.  Ta da!  An hour later, I had a wearable new dress.

I wish I'd remembered to put on lipstick!

This is Butterick 5523, a pattern I picked up at a Joann's sale for $1 sometime last fall.  I wasn't really confident in my ability to pick a good pattern, since sewing was something I was just getting in to.  So I came home and immediately googled it to see if other sewing bloggers had made it.  Yay!  They had!  The pattern had potential.

After reading lots of reviews about how the pattern ran short, I measured things carefully.  I added six--six!--inches to the skirt and three inches to the arms.  The skirt ended up being a perfect length.  I took a 1.5 inch hem, so I really didn't have too much to spare.  I could have added several more inches to the sleeves, but I like them this length. 

I used a double knit from fabric.com.  My husband says I need to wear more navy, and I agree! 

I didn't add the little tab thing on the back.  I made it, but I wasn't super committed to it.  I guess I still could, but I sort of like it plain.  It is a simple dress with a low drama factor, but it's super comfortable and very easy to wear on winter work days. 

I"m putting this one in the success column!

FO: GAP-tastic cowl

Did I show you this yet?  My first FO of 2012.  (And my only FO to date, because the Granny Stripe blanket has taken over my fingers.) 

This would have been very speedy except that I knit it twice.  I didn't do a gauge swatch, so I accept all responsibility.  (Who else would accept it?)  I tried it on several times, and each time I thought it probably wasn't wide enough.  I kept knitting, thinking it would get wider?  I don't know.  I was halfway through the third skein, so 5/6 of the way through the project, when I decided I just had to make it wider.  I frogged it, CO 20 more stitches, and viola!  Three days later I had the perfect width cowl. 

The yarn is amazing and soft.  It wasn't splitty, even after being frogged.  I ordered it during Webs' year end sale. 

Yarn: Great American Yarns Superfine Merino Wool
Pattern: GAP-tastic cowl
Ravelry page

Meanwhile, I'm still crocheting! 

one track mind

Exhaustion.  Hibernation.  Recovery.  Hermitting.  All perfectly good synonyms for January.  This is because

• A: It's cold.
• B: We used up two month's worth of energy holiday-ing.
• C: Well, I guess really just those first two things.  But it seems like there should be more.

I want to be one of those people whose January looks like the cover of Martha Stewart Living: clean and bright and fresh and new and active.  But instead, I look like this:

  All those big plans I had?  Still there.  Still big plans.  Every night I think, "I should go cut out that dress," or "I should measure that swatch and work out the math for that new sweater."  But then I pull out this basket of super bright yarn and mindlessly crochet the night away.  And really, I think that's okay for January.  And look what I have to show for it:

This was a few days ago, so I'm already much further along than the picture shows.  This is Attic24's Granny Stripe Blanket, and I've already made a baby-sized version for a friend. 

The yarn is 100% acrylic, Stylecraft DK something-or-other.  I only use acrylic for big blankets.  This one is for the couch, and I'm glad to have something that is low maitenance.  I bought the yarn from a UK site, deramores.com.  They have a great package, and with free shipping to the US right after Christmas, I got 17 balls at around $2 a ball.  The colors are just what January needs.  I might not be too far from that bright and fresh Martha Stewart start to the year after all!  Just don't look at the rest of my house.