since i had to run to a craft store the other day to buy some buttons, i thought i'd check out their lion brand homespun (since i've just been dying to start cathode). i was worried about the potential fuzziness of the homespun, so i ended up getting a light color: gazebo. for the ribbing, i bought lion brand baby soft in pastel pink.

i started on it that night (the 25th) and got a lot done that day in the next. however, i took an honest look at it last night (after the main part was already half-done) and finally admitted that it was too small. i really need to start making larger swatches. i haven't frogged it yet, but i did start over with the second skein of homespun. i'll probably just frog as needed once i finish the first skein.

what does this mean for the fabulous gedifra fashion trend astrakan that i bought on ebay? well, here's the plan:

::cheap cathode
mc: 2 skeins of lion brand homespun in gazebo
cc: 1 skein of lion brand baby soft in pastel pink
cost (with tax): ~$13.50

so far, the only adjustment i'm planning on is making it 2 inches longer with the mc. if i like how the sweater fits and am happy with it in general, i'll make another...

::nice cathode
mc: 6-7 skeins of gedifra fashion trend astrakan in 4701
cc: tbd
cost so far (with shipping): $65.99

after working on it before and during snb last night, i'm 4 rows away from (re)finishing the collar. it knits up very quickly, so i'm hoping to have everything but the ribbing done by sunday night. wish me luck!

just a quick update on other things i have on the needles at the moment.

::cardigan for shiela
this is the cardigan from the first stitch 'n bitch book. i haven't really worked on it in a while. plus, i can't find my snb book anywhere. hehe...

::skully sweater for my
this is another project that's been put on hold due to the disappearance of my snb book.

:the back of skully, so far...:


::spiderweb capelet for nadine
yesterday, i completely frogged the half of a large poncho i started months ago to go with this dress of nadine's. i wanted to make something using the yarn, though, so i looked in my books and this pattern (which has the prettiest picture in stitch 'n bitch nation, in my opinion) calls for yarn with the same gauge as the yarn i just frogged. so far, i have 14 rows done and only 7 more to go. not bad for just startin on it yesterday.

:progress on the spiderweb capelet:


:detail of lacework:

for: myself
yarn: <2 skeins of kureyon by noro in 088
needles: us size 5 double-pointed needes (set of 4)
pattern: hurry up spring armwarmers by renee rigdon
source: stitch 'n bitch nation by debbie stoller

i LOVE these and am so glad i decided to make them. they use surprisingly little yarn (i'm actually thinking of making a second pair.), and have actually made me a better knitter. i can't even count the number of times i had to frog back on this project, but it was worth it. i did end up doing the second armwarmer incorrectly, since i didn't understand how to read the chart backward. (this was my first time reading a chart that wasn't just knit and purl.) i'm definitely a much better (and more careful) knitter after making these.

:my armwarmers:


:right:


:left:

yarn: lion brand wool-ease in hunter green, with a flower in lion brand homespun in coral gables
needles: us size 10

this hat was initially going to be for nadine (to match the scarf i made her), but i didn't check my guage. i added the flower to make it a bit more fun. it was just knit flat in a simple 2x2 rib.

:green hat with pink flower:

well, i bought the actual yarn used in the pattern for the main color. tsk, tsk. it cost a lot, but was cheaper than anywhere else. so, here's what i got:

:fashion trend aastrakan by gedrifa: in color #4701, a rich red.

now, i just have to wait to get the yarn and find some sportweight stuff to use for the rest of the sweater. i got 10 skeins for $66 (with shipping), but will probably only use 6. if i don't fall in love with the yarn, i'll probably end up selling the remaining skeins.

well, since i can't find my stitch 'n bitch anywhere, i've decided to start working on another sweater for myself. also, due to the utter nightmare that seaming ended up being on xmas eve, i'm going to do a sweater that is knit in the round: cathode.

however, i'm having a bit of a hard time finding yarn. gauge and price are my big limitations at the moment. i'm going to post possible yarns here as i find them.

main color: 8 sts/12 rows = 4 in. in stockinette stitch on us 11 ~300 meters
:cork by rowan: quite a few solid colors; 14 st/4 inches on size 11 needles; $10.80/100m ball; total cost: $32.40

:peruvian collection cuzco by elann: only 2 colors, but the blue might work; 8st/4 inches on size 13; $4.60/40m ball; total cost: $36.80

:boucle by lion: a lot of colors, but i'm not that i like them; 10st/4 inches on size 11; $4.49/52m; total cost: $26.94

:two in one by schachenmayr nomotta: only a few colors, but i like the olive; 15st/4 inches on size 8-9; $4.19/88m; total cost: $28.76

:wool of the andes by knit picks: tons of colors; 18-20 st/4 inches 7-8 needles (i'd need to knit with 2 strands held together.); $1.79/100m; total cost: $10.74

:andean silk and andean silk twist by knit picks: a nice selection of colors; 18-20 st/4 inches 7-8 needles (i'd need to know with 2 strands held together; $3.29/100m; total cost: $19.74

:homespun by lion brand: tons of colors; 14 st/4 inches on size 10 needles; $4.99/167m; total cost: $9.98

:color waves by lion brand: nice colors; 14 st/4 inches on size 10 needles; $4.99/118m; total cost: $14.97

contrasting color: 24 sts/28 rows = 4 in. in stockinette stitch on us 5 ~ 170 meters
:andean treasure by knit picks: a good selection of nice colors; 24 st/4 inches on 3-5 needles; $3.79/100m; total cost: $7.58

for: deedee
occassion: xmas
started: ~october 2004
finished: ~november 2004
yarn: <1 skein lion brand homespun in florida keys green
needles: us size 15
pattern: hot head
source: stitch 'n bitch: the knitter's handbook by debbie stoller

i bought this yarn before i even knew what to make with it because i just loved the vibrant green. since nadine sister loves green, i made this hat for her for xmas. it isn't the warmest hat, but it's really cute and soft.

:deedee wearing the hat on xmas:

for: uncle fee
occassion: xmas
started: 11.27.2004
finished: 11.28.2004
yarn: 1 skein of lion brand wool-ease thick & quick in spice
needles: us size 15

i just did this scarf in a broken rib. however, the thick yarn made the pattern very obvious and it knitted up really quickly. the color was also very nice.

for: patrick
occassion: xmas
started: 12.16.2004
finished: 12.19.2004
yarn: ~2 skeins of lion brand wool-ease thick & quick in claret
needles: us size 15

i knitted this entire thing in a boken rib pattern. it's nice and long, and very warm. working with bulky yarns is always fun because the results are almost immediate.

for: nick
occassion: xmas
started: ~october 2004
finished: 10.16.2004
yarn: 1 skein of caron jewel box in lapis 0013
needles: ...
pattern: windy city scarf
source: stitch 'n bitch: the knitter's handbook by debbie stoller

nick picked out the style and yarn for this himself and, i must admit, it came out really nice. however, the yarn was an absolute nightmare to work with. chenille tends to do funny things, and this yarn was actually 2 strands of chenille and a thread. oh, and it split easily. sigh...however, it was worth it.

:the scarf:


:close-up of scarf:


:the scarf of me:

for: kayla
occassion: birthday
started: 10.19.2004
finished: 10.21.2004
yarn: 1 skein of joann sensations angel hair in 221
needles: us size 17

this yarn was so soft that i just had to get it. it knitted up quickly, and ended up producing a pattern as i knit with it. the scarf itself was just a simple garter stitch one. i was really tempted to keep this for myself, since it ended up being very soft and warm.

:the scarf:


:close-up:

for: morgan
occassion: birthday
started: 10.17.2004
finished: 10.18.2004
yarn: 1 skein of of bernat boa in 81420; <1 skein of some random cream yarn
needles: us size 17

i just did a simple, thin, garter stitch scarf. however, when i started knitting up the boa on its own, i found that it wouldn't be warm enough. so, i went into my stash and used some simple, worsted weight, cream yarn and knitted them up together. it came out really nice, and she liked it a lot.

:the scarf:


:a close-up:

for: tracy
occassion: xmas
started: 11.18.2004
finished: 11.24.2004
yarn: <1 skein of lion brand homespun in coral gables
needles: us size 10
pattern: windy city scarf
source: stitch 'n bitch: the knitter's handbook by debbie stoller

i made yet another windy city scarf as a xmas gift. it came out really well and, even though homespun isn't flexible, i still love working with it.

for: auntie lottie
occassion: xmas
started: ~october 2004
finished: ~october 2004
yarn: <1 skein of tlc amoré in plum print
needles: us size 10
pattern: windy city scarf
source: stitch 'n bitch: the knitter's handbook by debbie stoller

this scarf came out great. the yarn was easy to knit with, the colors turned out well, and it was really soft.

the color in the bottom picture is closest to the yarn's actual color.

:on me:


:close up:

for: grandma
occassion: xmas
started: ~october 2004
finished: ~october 2004
yarn: <1 skein of bernat soft bouclé in 06163 (a dark burgundy)
needles: us size 17

this was just done in garter stitch, and was incredibly fast to knit up. however, it came out great. so great, in fact, that i bought some of the same yarn in white to make myself one.

the bottom picture is closest to the actual color of the yarn.

:me wearing the scarf:


:a close-up of the scarf:


:an even closer close-up:

for: auntie eleanor
occassion: xmas
started: ~november 2004
finished: 11.25.2004
yarn: <1 skein of lion brand homespun in adirondack
needles: us size 10

this was just a simple, garter stitch scarf. because of the way the homespun was dyed, it varied from a deep purple to more of a light brown, but it looked nice.

for: dad
occassion: xmas
started: 12.01.2004
finished: 12.03.2004
yarn: <1 skein of lion brand jiffy in demin
needles: us size 10

i didn't use a pattern for this one. i just chose to do the entire thing in a broken rib pattern. simple, but nice.

for: john
occassion: xmas
started: 12.01.2004
finished: 12.01.2004
yarn: <1 skein of lion brand jiffy in black; a tiny bit of lion brand jiffy in denim
needles: us size 10
pattern: hot head
source: stitch 'n bitch: the knitter's handbook by debbie stoller

when i made this, i made it a bit longer than the pattern, since the pattern always seems to come up a bit short for my tastes. the stripe actually came out really nice.

for: jeannie
occassion: xmas
started: 11.27.2004
finished: 11.27.2004
yarn: 1 skein of lion brand fun fur in copper
needles: us size 11
pattern: yo, drop it by ellen
source: stitch 'n bitch nation by debbie stoller

i actually messed up this pattern a bit, so i didn't need as much yarn as i thought i would. i wasn't sure how i'd like working with the fun fur, but, even though it has zero give, it wasn't too difficult to see where i was. in the end, it wasn't very warm (obviously), but it's definitely a nice, dressy scarf.

for: uncle john
occassion: xmas
started: 11.22.2004
finished: 12.05.2004
yarn: ~1.5 skeins of lion brand wool-ease thick & quick in charcoal
needles: us size 15

i didn't use a pattern on this one. however, i wanted it to look interesting, so i decided to chose a basket weave pattern. it came out a bit chunkier than i had planned, but it looks very nice. plus, it'll definitely be warm enough.

for: amanda
occassion: xmas
started: 10.16.2004
finished: 11.18.2004
yarn: 2 skeins of lion brand polarspun in ice blue
needles: us size 10
pattern: windy city scarf
source: stitch 'n bitch: the knitter's handbook by debbie stoller

this was my most crushing lesson in checking my gauge so far. it came out at least twice as big as the pattern. the size itself wouldn't be a big deal, but the polarspun was an absolute nightmare to work with. this was the most difficult item i've made so far, just due to the problems i had knitting with the yarn iteself. the end product was really soft, cozy, and warm, and actually very pretty.

how in the name of all that is holy do i NOT have a picture of that scarf? i'm going to have to send nadine on a mission to take a picture of amanda wearing it.

for: heather (and her mom, joy)
occassion: joy's baby shower
started: june 2004
finished: september 2004
yarn: 8 skeins of king stampato extra, 100% merino, color #8008
needles: ...
pattern: big bad baby blanket by shobhana
source: stitch 'n bitch: the knitter's handbook by debbie stoller

this was the first really time-consuming project i attempted. i reallly like how the simple patterns used make what was a really easy thing to knit look very interesting. the latest report, from heather's mom, was that this blanket is "really warm". perfect for chilly chicago winters. if any of my other friends ever have a baby, i'll definitely be making another one of these.

the last picture, which shows the center of the blanket, is closest to the actual color of the yarn.

:blanket on a stool:


:detail of one end:


:close-up of center:

well, i went to my first stitch n bitch (snb) meeting last night. it was really fun. i had never been able to attend the "proper" chicago snb since it's pretty far (wicker park), but, luckily, someone started a group in the south loop. hurrah!

while i was there, i worked on the knit-round scarf (actually, a shoulder/upper-arm warmer type of thing) from the knitting experience: the knit stitch. i'm currently working it with lion brand homespun in a a bright green and a more sedate purple-brown color. i really like it so far.

after that, i want to get back to working on the skully sweater from the first stitch n bitch book. however, i'm thinking of rewriting the pattern so that i can knit it in the round. i know i'm a bad knitter for saying this, but...SEAMING SUCKS! i had a real nightmare of a time when i was finishing up my mom's sweater for xmas (on xmas eve, of course) and i just need a break from it. i also finally decided that i'm going to have "nerd" going down the sleeves instead of the skulls, since i really don't think i can carry them off.

oh, and i have pictures of everything i made for folks for xmas, except for my mom's sweater, and want to get them posted at some point this weekend. i have monday off (yay!), so i should have time. i've neglected this blog for far too long.