WIPs increasing daily! or too many things to try, no time to finish!

Several things have conspired to increase my number of WIPs, despite my good intentions on January 1 to finish one before starting another!

Firstly, I was seaming the 112 squares of the Diagonal Diamond Wrap. I had only 2m (80 inches) of seam left (of 23.15m/28yds approx). In other words, I had two panels to attach and the wrap would have been complete. It was then I realised that I had sewn two of those 5x5 in squares in the wrong place. Now my whole design was off! Worse still, I had sewn in all the ends and the yarn I was using was the worst kind, a sticky kind of mohair that just will not unravel! I was so disheartened I folded the wrap (or its component parts) and put them neatly on the (rarely used) piano stool. My new friends at Knit4Charities made soothing comments like: "a man on a galloping horse won't notice". But I'm not on a galloping horse, I'm sitting here, trying to ignore the cries of those two misplaced squares as they are separated from their family! (Blues should be with blue, purples with purple - you know what I mean). I know the purpose of the wrap is to keep "cold humanity warm" but I want my designs to be right. Each wrap is designed to test a new colour pattern I'm thinking through. And there is so much work in this one! 112 squares, all that seaming, at least 672 ends sewn in! Trying to unravel the seams will be at least another couple of hours work, I may end up destroying the squares and I don't have enough yarn to reknit them! (I was knitting to use up odds and ends). If only someone would come and take the wrap away so that I don't have control over it anymore! :-(

The arrival of my parents for DD's 21st birthday and party meant I had to find simple projects to knit because mum, DD and I knit and talked quite a bit and it's hard to concentrate on a complicated pattern while talking. That accounts for the red scarf and the purple rolled brim hat referred to in a previous post. When they went home, my parents found an article in their local newspaper about a lady knitting jumpers for Aids babies in Africa. I started one last night and will hopefully finish it at the Blue Mountains knitting group today.

Having recently joined Knit4Charities, I am inspired by all the other interesting things that are being knitted. All these little projects can be completed in a very short period of time (compared to 6-8 weeks for a wrap) and have the potential to use up odd balls of yarn.

Then there are new techniques to try - yesterday I knit a coathanger cover with lace edging. The day before that WM, DD and I unravelled a ball of Knitwise Pricewise #001 into it's two strands: the lashes and the baubles. I made two child-size coathanger covers - one from each type of yarn. There will be another post about those when they are completed. I'm thinking about knitting i-cord (a new technique for me) to go over the hook of the coathangers instead of using plastic tubing. Earlier in the week I knit a ball in six segments, now I want to try to knit a ball in one piece!

And what about my 'dormant' WIPs? I completed the right front of the summer cardigan but had not done enough rows for the sleeves before casting off (I'm knitting from the top down) so now I have to frog most of it! The baby shrug is still waiting for a button (when I figure out where to put it - I think I'll take it with me today and get some help). I need to buy adult size coathangers for the two lace covers I've already made - I mistakenly bought child size! The socks are still waiting for Kitchener stitch toes and the Large Flying Geese wrap is just waiting because I'm bored feeling jaded with knitting squares and sewing them together! As yet I haven't felt inclined to pick up those socks I started in the seventies!

When will I learn to prepare properly**?

If I had knitted a swatch I could have weighed it and used that to work out how much yarn I needed, since the pattern didn't give any indication of how much yarn is needed to complete the shrug.

It was coming along well - although I notice that I have slightly uneven tension on 3mm needles using 4ply (fingering) yarn for garter stitch. Anyway, I was almost halfway when I realised I didn't have anywhere near enough yarn to finish it! Having knitted about 17cm of the 40cm body, I was reluctant to frog! What to do? Use another colour - what else? My baby shrug now has yellow stripes and is certainly different! And I should use up most, if not all, of the blue yarn and about half of my yellow yarn - knitting from my stash is what stashalong is all about! :-)

I will post photos of my stripey shrug as soon as it is finished. I am using it as my Lint for Lent project so I am knitting at least 30 minutes every day - hopefully it will be finished before Easter. LOL

On a more positive note: I did a swatch for my summer cardigan, and carefully divided my yarn, with slightly more for the fronts than for the back. I am knitting it from the top down with the sleeves as part of the body, that way I can make it as long as possible with the yarn I have, rather than making it a certain length and then realising I haven't enough yarn to finish; or, worse still, that I have a silly little bit left over. I'm knitting a simple lace pattern (K1 *sl 1, K1, psso*, repeat from * to * to end of row, K1) on size 8mm (US 13) needles so it's knitting up quite quickly (much faster than the shrug!)

**Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

The cardigan that never was Part II

Today I had another look at that cardigan. At first, I couldn't find the hole that I knew was in one sleeve. Finally I found a hole - near the armhole shaping, not near the cuff as I remembered. Perhaps I had been holding the sleeve upside down.

"Great," I thought to myself, "I can pull out those few rows, and reknit them. Then I'll give the cardigan to mum, she loves the colour and she'll really appreciate it."

The frogging was easy, picking up the stitches wasn't too difficult, but then, to my horror (and a lesson learnt, I hope), I couldn't find any notes in my journal about what size I was knitting, which needles I had used, etc! The size wasn't too difficult - I counted the stitches in the cuff ribbing and looked at the pattern book. Hmm, two sizes with the same ribbing. I counted the stitches in the ribbing on the back - ah, that's the size!

Because it's a dark colour it was difficult to tell where I was up to in the textured pattern but I finally worked it out - now all that remained was to do a swatch to find the needle size, and to work out how many rows still to go before commencing armhole shaping. I checked it once more with the other sleeve, and, to my horror, there was the original hole - big enough to pass a pingpong ball through - near the cuff of the second sleeve, in the part where the stocking stitch curled under.

I ground to a halt! Should I knit both sleeves again? Or, since I'm not entirely happy with the textured pattern, should I pull out the whole cardigan and start again? Or maybe use the wool to make something else? Pulling out the whole cardigan will at least show me where wool has been damaged by those pesky little insects - even if there is no apparent hole (yet)!

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of the The Cardigan that Never Was!

I've changed my Stashalong participation

I realised today that I had met my Stashalong goal on 2 March. Option 3 was "don't cast on for any new project while WIPs are on the needles". I signed on in January to complete 5 projects, the fifth of which was done on 2 March. Here is the list copied for my sidebar:

1. Diamond Wrap #1
2. Diamond Wrap #2
3. Striped Squares Wrap
5. Diagonal Diamond Wrap
6. teddy**
7. jumper with cables
**to be finished in February 2007

So I have signed on for Option 1 for two months - to knit only from my stash and not to buy any yarn in that time. However, I do have one free day per month so that allows me to buy yarn next Saturday at our knitters' group meeting if anything takes my fancy! Woo-hoo!

I still have to complete two WIPs before I will allow myself to cast on for a new project. The first of these is the Diagonal Diamond Wrap because I joined Lint for Lent on 2 March, and because I want to get that laundry basket full of acrylic yarn used up! The projected finish date for this project is 17 March. Then I'll knit the back of that jumper and finally get to start a new project! :-)

edited: 12 March 5.40pm
Am I insane? Less than a week to finish that wrap! I don't think so. I still have about 50 squares to go. At 40 minutes a square, there is no way I can finish by this Saturday! What was I thinking? Finishing date, including sewing up and sewing ends in - 31 March.

another FO!

After the sad saga of the cardigan, the good news is that I have finished another wrap (afghan) - hurrah! This one is 72in x 40in and weighs 968 grams. The second picture shows scale - I am 5 feet 6 inches, so you can get an idea of the size of the wrap.
Now I have only two more projects to complete (see sidebar) before I can cast on a new project. Since the Lynne Johnson workshop last weekend, I have been yearning to try out some new ideas I've had.

I intend to have both of these finished by Saturday 17 March which is the date on which our knitters' group meets. We have Anita from The Wool Inn coming and I want to be able to buy if something catches my eye. It's also the day that our "one skein challenge" begins, so these two project need to be completed.

The cardigan that never was!

As part of February is for Finishing, I opted to finish a cardigan which I began in 2003. The knitting was all done - all that was left was the finishing. At the time I started it, I worked full time in corporate administration. I left home at 7.30am and returned ten to twelve hours later. I needed layers of warm clothes for the trip to work by public transport. A coat over a cardigan over a long sleeved blouse (with a collar) was a good option. I replaced my cardigan with a blazer in the office.

However, winter 2003 was probably the last time that I wore hand-knitted wool cardigans or jumpers regularly for two reasons.
1. I resigned from that job in the summer of 2004 (February).
2. I can't stand the feel of wool against my skin, no matter how soft it is in the skein.

Since winter 2004, I have worn shop-bought synthetic zip-up jackets over long sleeved tee shirts for layers of warmth. This is more practical in my current job as an English teacher to adult migrants/refugees because a zip is easier to deal with than the buttons on a cardigan or pulling a jumper (sweater) over my head. Besides, all my classrooms are heated and I travel in my own car (also heated)!

On Tuesday (27 February), two days before the end of National Knit and Sew-up Month, I pulled the cardigan out of storage. Western Sydney has experienced severe thunderstorms every afternoon for a week; the cardigan is navy blue and I needed good light to see what I was doing so I had been procrastinating. As the end of February loomed close, I determined I was going to finish that cardigan whatever the weather. I carefully pulled out each piece, the back, the right front, the left front, one sleeve - all looking good. I pulled out the second sleeve and there it was - a hole so large I could pass a ping pong ball through it! :-( Some nasty, wool loving insects had found a tasty treat despite all my precautions.

I guess I could frog the sleeve and knit it again but, as I've already said, I don't wear knitted woollen clothes anymore, so what would be the point? I will use the wool (5ply) to knit something else - stay tuned for Part II of The Cardigan That Never Was!!!

I've got an idea!

While visiting Scarlet Purls blog, I read that she had knit a shawl for her friend because her friend found it cold sitting in front of the computer.

It's summer here so cold is far from my mind, but I was reminded that in winter, no matter what I'm wearing, my knees get cold when I'm in front of the computer.

Remember the sad saga of the frogged-knitted-frogged-knitted-frogged 80s cotton sweater? A knee rug (lapghan) is a good solution for that yarn. I can mix it with the Panda Regal Cotton I bought (before Stashalong), knit it on larger needles (perhaps in a lace pattern) and the 20+ year old yarn will have a new lease of life!

I'm really keen to try lace, especially when I look at the work of people like Anna and Monica at our knitters' group.

Watch this space!

I'M FINISHED!!

I was too polite to shout on Stashalong or February is for Finishing, but this is my blog and I'll shout if I want to! (apologies to Wally Gold, John Gluck, and Herb Weiner)

I finished the Patches Wrap (afghan) by sewing in over 2200 ends. I counted to 2200 but the end was in sight and I wasn't wasting any more time counting! 2200 was close enough!

Presenting ... Patches Wrap (ta-dah!)

The photo doesn't do it justice, the purple patches stand out but the subtle gradings of colour (that's how we spell it in Oz) don't show, so here is a close up.
It's a loose diagonal knit (or I'm a loose knitter) done on 3.25 needles (US 3) using 4ply (sports) baby yarn, mostly nylon but some acrylic and some wool. The idea was to use up oddballs left over from other projects - the tan patch in the centre (top photo) was from a jumper (sweater) my mother made my daughter about 18 years ago (the jumper is long gone). The variegated yellow/white (above photo, bottom right) was left over from the first baby article I ever knitted, it was for my nephew who is now "twenty something" and a father himself. But these are new yarns compared to one of the blues which I inherited from my grandmother; I assume she used it to knit for my brother and he is now in his mid-forties! There is so much history in this wrap that I wonder if I can really give it away.

Anyway, as I was saying, the idea was to use up odd-balls, but, as is often the case, the project needed more yarn than I had so I bought more; now I have nearly as many oddballs left as when I started! No wonder the Good Book tells us to count the cost before beginning.

And, finally, here is a photo to give it scale: teddy is 13 inches tall, so you can see how many patches there are.
Teddy is my second finished project this past weekend - and my fourth for 2007! Woo-hoo, I'm on a roll!

Teddy's off to join his family and I'm off to my next WIP
- a cable jumper in 8 ply (worsted; DK) wool which I started a few years ago.
I didn't have enough yarn to finish the project (this has never happened to me before); while I waited for more yarn to arrive by mail order from Bendigo Woollen Mill I started something else and lost interest in the jumper. Now, I have to swatch again to determine what size needles I was using. Ah well, at least the stitch count is easy!

Welcome to my blog

Hi, welcome to this blog coming to you from Australia.

My mother taught me to knit when I was young. The first garment I tried to knit was a cardigan in red fashion/novelty yarn. I didn't know that I should move the yarn from the front to the back alternatively to do the rib, so I ended up with many more stitches per row than I should have! I gave up knitting for several years; then, inspired by a classmate who knitted, I completed my first garment - a vest in 5ply aqua coloured wool. I still have the pattern but the vest is long gone!

I used to knit at least one new garment for myself every year. In 2002 I started a jumper (sweater) with 65 colours - my own design inspired by Kaffe Fassett. I finally completed it in 2005. However, with air-conditioners becoming increasingly common in workplaces and on public transport, I rarely wear jumpers/sweaters, I just get too hot. Pulling the garment over my head while trying to teach is not a good look, not to mention what it does to the hairstyle! LOL

Lately much of my knitting has been for charity, mostly for "Wrap with Love". I am a member of the Blue Mountains Knitting Group and the weblog Stashalong. I have set myself the task of completing all my UFOs (see sidebar and footnotes) before beginning any new projects; I generally spend a lot of my knitting time thinking about forthcoming projects. Sometimes I'm not sure which is the most exciting: the planning, the working or the finishing!

Summer or winter, why don't you join me? Pick up sticks (or needles or pins) and let's knit. Too hot? Never! :-)