Double Knitting

I think it’s safe to say that I stay within my comfort zone when selecting knitting projects. I avoid patterns that utilize techniques other than plain stockinette, cabling, and lace. I am terrified of colorwork, and I will never steek. (I can’t imagine cutting something that I’ve spent months knitting.) So it may come as a surprise that I’ve decided to try something new.

I really want to double knit. In fact, I want to double knit so much that I’ve written quite a few double knitting patterns for scarves and blankets. I know that it’s kind of strange to write double knitting patterns without having double knit before, but I’m very good at creating mirror images! (Technically anyone who can color in boxes can create a double knitting chart.) I’ve done a bit of research on double knitting, and I believe I have a fair understanding of how the process works. However, understanding it and doing it are two different things. I’m sure my first swatch will look horrendous.

I will definitely release my patterns if I (or someone else) make some sample objects from them. I hate when people release patterns without a sample photo. I will offer my designs for free, of course, since I’ve taken advantage of so many free patterns over my knitting career. My copyright blurb will go something like, “You may use this pattern however you please. Usage includes but is not limited to knitting the pattern, folding the pattern into an airplane, using the pattern as a coaster, showing the pattern the Siberian landscape, eating the pattern with a glass of milk, and substituting the pattern for toilet paper. You are free to do whatever you want with objects made from this pattern, as I do not own your projects and cannot police whatever action you choose to take in regard to your finished objects. Please do not attempt to sell this pattern. I will hunt you down and destroy your operation. Thank you.” Yes, I do have a bit of an issue with some of the copyright blurbs I’ve seen. Some people may disagree with me, but I find designers who specify what knitters can do with objects knit from their patterns to be pompous. If you’re so uptight about people selling objects made from your pattern, don’t sell them the instructions! Sometimes I find patterns similar to the following:

Knit Scarf

1.) Cast on 25 stitches
2.) Knit row 1
3.) Knit row 2
4.) Repeat steps 2 and 3 until desired length is reached.
5.) Bind off.

…with copyright blurbs like this:

“This is my pattern. Do not sell any objects made from this pattern. Do not sell any objects that look like my design. Do not sell objects made from an altered version of my pattern. I work hard to provide you with free patterns, and I would like my intellectual property to be respected. If I find that my patterns are being abused, I will have to start charging people to use them. Thank you.”

El – Oh – El. That’s all I have to say. I completely understand why designers wouldn’t want unscrupulous people to sell or claim authorship of their patterns, but this crap about copyrighting the knit stitch? Puleeeeze.

Anyway, I’ve already told myself that this weekend will be dedicated to knitting my Thermal, but I might be able to throw a little swatching into the mix. You know, just to make sure the charts work. ;)

12-Point Baby Blanket

Well folks, I’ve started yet another project. This one should go fast, though. I anticipate that I’ll have it done by the end of this month. I am using this pattern, but I’ve modified it slightly. Instead of doing two rounds of big shells and two rounds of small shells per repeat, I’m doing two rounds of big shells and one round of small shells. Many of the Ravelry users who have already completed this project say that the blanket lays better if a 2-to-1 ratio is used. I am not terribly experienced at crocheting, so we’ll see how this goes. I’m already confused about where the increases take place on the small shell rounds, if they do at all.

Originally I wanted to make the blanket in black, white, and varying shades of pink. Unfortunately, I could not find varying shades of pink at Michaels, and I had only $12 to spend. I ended up with one skein of Red Heart Soft in “Black,” two skeins of Vanna’s Choice Baby in “Pink Poodle,” and one skein each of Vanna’s Choice Baby in “Angel White” and “Sweet Pea.” The Red Heart Soft feels very nice, but the Vanna’s Choice Baby leaves much to be desired. I’m surprised that it feels so rough – being a baby yarn and all. I hope a run through the washer and dryer will soften it.

Here’s a picture of my progress as of a few days ago:

I didn’t realize until after crocheting this far that I chose watermelon colors.
I have a particular stripe sequence in mind, but I’m not sure how far I’ll get with the small amount of yarn I purchased. I will be switching back and forth between this and my Thermal. I have less than three inches to go on the body before splitting for the neck placket. That’s when things will get hairy. Yikes!

And now for a bit of sad news – I’m considering throwing away my Palindrome. Yes, you read that right. I would very much like to take what I’ve done, snip it from the skein, and throw it in the trash. I hate the way it looks, and I would be embarrassed to give it to anyone. Some of the cables are messed up, it’s fuzzy and worn looking, and I doubt it’ll be useful in actual winter weather. The yarn isn’t worth frogging. It’s already nasty looking, and it’s just Caron Simply Soft. I think I need to be honest with myself and frog all of the projects that I know I’ll never finish. I have some projects that have been hibernating for so long that I didn’t mention them in my list. Most of those need to go. And I should photograph the ones I can’t part with, so that I can put them on Ravelry and hold myself accountable.

Ruffled Top

...had been resurrected. Hooray!

Works in Progress – Updated 7/30/2010

-Short Sleeved Cardigan (Now going to Rae.)
-Palindrome Scarf (Currently my at-work project.)
-Houndstooth Scarf
-Owl Sweater (On hold until yarn is bought.)
-Lace Panelled Baby Blanket (On hold for next shower – whenever that is.)
-Dalmatian Cross Stitch
-Ruffled Top
-Thermal

My list is getting longer! How did that happen?

A Teeny Rant

I am hardly a perfect writer (or speaker for that matter). I make mistakes. I’m sure my posts are littered with grammatical errors, spelling errors, punctuation errors, etc. I can’t diagram a sentence. I don’t know when to use “who” and when to use “whom.” I don’t even know what an adverb is. (Although I’ll be looking that up after finishing this post.) I doubt there is a person on this planet who knows anything and everything there is to know about the written English language. However, I’ve seen (and heard) some pretty atrocious things written (and spoken) by otherwise intelligent people. Here are three of my biggest peeves:

The I-Me Complex

I don’t know who deserves the blame for this I-Me problem. Maybe the schools? Parents? TV? In any case, it is blatantly apparent to me that a large portion of the American people see the use of “I” instead of “me” in any context as an easy way to sound “smart” and proper. Oh no, no, no. There are many situations for which the use of “me” is necessary, and people who omit “me” in attempt to sound smart ending up sounding, well, stooopid. I know that someone who majored in English (or perhaps paid more attention in English class) could explain the following in much more detail with fancy terms and diagrams, but you’re stuck with me. Deal with it!

Mom took Tracey and I to the store.
Greg asked Michael and I to help him move.
This is a picture of Jackie and I on the beach.

All three of these sentences are incorrect. Think about it. Once the person partaking in the activity with you is removed (And I’m sure there’s a special term for that person, but I don’t know it.), you’re left sounding like this:

Mom took I to the store.
Greg asked I to help him move.
This is a picture of I on the beach.

Perform this test next time you’re thinking about using “I” instead of “me.” If the “I” can’t stand alone, then the “I” should not be used.

Here’s the same situation from the opposite direction:

Tracey and me went to the store.
Greg and me asked Michael to help Bob move.

WRONG!

Here are the sentences post-test:

Me went to the store.
Me asked Michael to help Bob move.

Obviously the “me” cannot stand alone, so “I” should be used.

Apostrophes

I hate it when I see something like, “I brought my cat’s inside.” I always want to ask, “Your cat’s what?” or “Oh my God you gutted your cat!” An apostrophe never makes something plural! Apostrophes are used to show possession or to signify a contraction. (i.e. Meghan’s book, it’s = it is) (There are other uses – like for quotes in research papers – but I’m not going to get into that.) Interestingly enough, I discovered fairly recently that “hers” and “yours” should not include apostrophes. Go figure!

You’re, Your, Their, They’re, There

These are pretty self-explanatory. Obviously these words have different meanings and are not interchangeable.

You’re = contraction – you are
Your = possessive

Their = possessive
They’re = contraction – they are
There = a position in space

Thermal Progress

I didn’t get much crafting done over the weekend. I battled a case of strep throat instead. I managed to sneak in some Thermal knitting, and I’ve completed about 7 inches on the body. I believe my risk taking has paid off, as I can now see that the waffle stitch is very stretchy, and the 32” size should fit me just fine. I’m going to try to knit 13 inches worth of body (instead of 12) to account for the negative ease ride-up phenomenon. I may vote against that as time passes by, though. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to make the sleeves longer. I have freakishly long arms. And I see that there’s some short row action further along in the pattern. ::shudder:: If I do finish this project, I think I will feel invincible.

I have been tasked with the unfortunate (haha!) job of finding a new “at-work” project. My latest at-work project (a cross-stitch Christmas ornament) is pretty much done (…except for the french knots, which are driving me bonkers.). Let’s see…I could do something from my Ravelry queue…or I could try to get a head start on my cousin’s baby stuff…or I could resurrect one of my hibernating works in progress. Which will I choose? It’s a mystery!

Pink Slouch

Last week I finished a pink slouchy hat. If you’re interested in knitting it for yourself, it’s called ETTA on Ravelry.

Getting a good picture of this hat in action was pretty near impossible.

I took a risk and did the ribbed brim with size 5 needles. The sample pictured on the pattern appeared to have a very loose brim (done with size 6 needles), and I knew I wouldn’t wear it if it kept sliding off my head. However, I’m not sure what convinced me that I’d get gauge. Of course my gauge was much tighter, and the brim turned out a little snug. Some serious blocking widened the brim a bit, and I can fit the hat on my head, so I guess I can call the project a success. Besides changing the needle size for the brim, my only other modification was to knit 4 pattern repeats (instead of 3 like the pattern said) because the hat wasn’t slouching to my satisfaction.

So as of now, I have two knitting projects that I’m working on regularly. There’s the pink cardigan that needs about an inch or two on the body, both sleeves, and button bands. I’m going to give the cardigan to my sister because I am absolutely certain it will not fit me. I hope this change of recipient will make the cardigan easier to finish. (Less mods!) The other project I’ve got going is Thermal. A while back I mentioned that I bought yarn for some fingering weight sweaters, and Thermal was one of them. I’m doing this sweater as part of a knit-a-long with my friend, Sara. I’m hoping the knit-a-long aspect motivates me to finish the sweater in a decent amount of time, but I’m positive many new projects will be started and finished before Thermal leaves the needles. In fact, I’ve received word that one of my family members is expecting a new baby (Not my immediate family! I don’t want to start rumors.), so I’m already thinking about what I’d like to knit/crochet for her. Anyway, I’m doing Thermal with size 3.0mm needles and Knit Picks Comfy Fingering yarn in “Lilac.” I chose to knit the 32” size because I’m crazy. I really want this sweater to be both form fitting and flattering, but my bust measurement changes so dramatically from month to month that selecting the right size is hit or miss for me. (I go between 34” and 37”...and I mostly miss.) I’m hoping I get gauge. I didn’t swatch, though, because that’s how I roll. :)

There’s really nothing else of interest to report. I’d like to finish up that sewing project I started. Weekends have been kind of busy around here, but I think this coming weekend will be pretty slow. If I’m not feeling too lazy, I might take a stab at finishing it. I'll probably have to re-iron everything. ::groan::

You Won't Believe It

…but I did it! The Gentleman’s Shooting Stockings with Fluted Pattern are finished!



They are a tad baggy on me, but I suspect they’ll tighten up when they accidentally go through the wash one of these days. Is it silly that I’m scared to use them? I spent so much time knitting them that I’m afraid I’ll wear a hole in them. I can already tell that felting will occur. Nonetheless, I love them. I can count my first attempt at adult socks as a success!

I need to amend my Works in Progress list a little bit. Obviously the Shooting Stockings have graduated. I frogged the WWII socks. (??!!) Apparently I still lack the ability to judge gauge, and as such they were coming out way too big. I’ll probably try them again sometime towards winter. Grandpop might get a hat instead. The Baker’s Kitchen dishcloth will be heading to the frog pond next time I dig it out. A couple of weeks ago I tried working on it, and progress didn’t go very well.

Works in Progress – Updated 7/6/2010

-Short Sleeved Cardigan
-Palindrome Scarf
-Houndstooth Scarf
-Owl Sweater (on hold until yarn is bought – Septemberish. Actually, I haven’t even started this project. It’s more like a planned project.)
-Lace Panelled Baby Blanket (on hold for next shower – whenever that is)
-Dalmatian Cross Stitch
-Ruffled Top

Oh? Did you see that I snuck in something at the bottom of the list? The pattern is here. It looks simple enough, and I’ve already cut out all of the pieces. I managed to do some damage with my handy dandy seam ripper, so I’ve been scared to continue working on it. I hope to finish the top this weekend. I should work on it tonight, but I’m much too exhausted to play with a machine that pokes stuff. Plus I have to make sure Xerxes isn’t in the immediate area while I’m sewing, and that’s no easy feat. He finds the pedal to the machine absolutely delightful and steps on it every chance he gets. Anyway, I’ve chosen a royal blue fabric for the chest band and straps and an Asian inspired blue bird print for the rest of the top. I think it has potential. Mine isn’t going to be as “billowy” as the sample. I’m going for a non-maternity look.

In other news, I visited the dog park with my posse last Sunday. Darby and Xerxes overdid themselves in swimming hole, so they slept pretty much straight through to this morning.


Darby injured herself doing who knows what. One of her foot pads is peeling. When I first saw the damage I was pretty upset, but it isn’t bleeding, and it doesn’t look infected, so I’m just going to let her take care of it. She’s really milking her situation, though. She now stops mid climb (stairs, hills, etc) and demands a boost.


The scenery was exceptionally nice during our visit. (The water was pretty muddy, but usually it isn't like that.) If you’re ever in the area, you should definitely go! The park is called Freedom Dog Park, and it’s located in Medford, NJ. It’s attached to a large people park, so you could make a day out of it!