FO: VK Block and Cable Throw...with a slightly different meaning

While you've always known 'FO" to be an acronym for 'finished object', there exists a slightly different meaning that applies to projects of a certain caliber: 'Finally Over'.

I've finally done with the Block and Cable throw and I couldn't be more pleased--and excited to be able to start something new! I cast off Tuesday evening but there were still dozens of ends to weave in.
All in all, this baby took me 8 months to complete. Eight! Mind, that's 8 months of knitting mainly on the weekends, sitting at my desk at work all day, answering the phone and the like. Sheesh, that's almost as long as it takes to make an actual baby.

But before I show glorious photos of this thing, a few tidbits about the previously hinted-at shenanigans.

About 20 or so rows before finishing it, I realized that I was going to run out of yarn! Now, I was sure that I'd bought the right amount but I wasn't about to give up any length. As luck would have it, Knit Picks has discontinued their superwash worsted weight yarn so I turned to Ravelry and found 2 skeins for sale! Thanks Christine!! (As if one needed more reasons to love Ravelry). I ended up needing only about 3/4 of one, which is okay by me.

The second shenanigan was really my fault, but I'm in a diffusion-of-responsibility kind of mood, so let's just chalk this one up to the afghan, shall we?
This blanket has a 5-stitch knit border, which is sometimes preceded by 2 knit stitches. Sometimes I'd space out and purl those 5 stitches when they followed 2 knit stitches--I guess it made sense to me somehow. I'd usually catch the mistake as I knit the next row and rip back to fix it, but not this time. When I caught this one, I had 4 or 5 rows of stockinette stitch, meaning that I'd made the mistake more than once!
Like before, I tried undoing just those 5 stitches but for some reason it didn't work and I ended up with a bigger mess than before! In the end, I threaded a lifeline 9 rows above and frogged. I'm one of those knitters who doesn't mind ripping back at all; in fact, I find it satisfying. There's something about undoing something you've just done, and the knowledge that you're fixing a mistake. But it really surprised me how fast 9 rows, each consisting of 200 stitches, could be frogged. In less than a minute I had undone hours' worth of work. Kind of humbling, in a way.

After that, things progressed smoothly. I bound off and then took a couple days to weave in the many, many ends. Sheesh, I ran out of yarn despite using every last morsel! My gauge must be abysmally off...or it's just of of VK's mistakes.

I'm SO excited to finally give this to Paul!

Pattern Specs

Pattern: Block and Cable Throw #29, Vogue Knitting Magazine
Yarn: KnitPicks Swish Superwash Wool in Sand Dune(18 balls)
Needles: #9 circulars
Started: September 2007
Finished: April 15, 2008
Total Time: about 7.5 months
Cost: $58.93 (not including needles)
Satisfaction (1-10): 9.5

I was going to hang it out in the sun for a few hours after blocking it but then got lazy and decided that I've kept it clean while I knit it as it is.

It looks like the length is about right--60"--since it reaches all the way up to my chin! KnitPicks' Superwash wool is soft and springy, so it shows off the cables and texture very well. It's amazingly warm, too! All I have left is to make a card with care instructions and it'll be ready to be gifted.

A little undeserved hedonism...

Despite my better judgment, after finishing class last Friday, I made a beeline for my favorite downtown haunts: the LYS and the thrift store. It's no so much that I needed a reward as much as a morale boost. I ended up dropping my physics class a few weeks ago since only a miracle would've made me get a passing grade; serves me right for taking 3 science/math classes in one semester. So while I still don't have time to knit during the week, I now have time to study for my remaining classes!

I wanted the new issues of IK and VK badly and since they've been out for a while now, I knew my best bet was my LYS rather than the bookstore. While I love this store's atmosphere and selection, their customer service isn't famous for being great; some people have gotten ignored, others talked-down to. I usually feel like I don't belong and that the sales person isn't giving me her complete attention. But that's no big tragedy, at least not to me. I get most of my yarn online, anyhow (shame, shame).
So after the saleslady laboriously finishes typing my info into the computer ("to let you know about sales") she hands me a notice on a pink slip of paper: the store is moving! Whaa?! It's not moving very far, but I'll no longer have my favorite places in the same same area--so much for my bank-LYS-thrift store triangle. But I'm glad I found this out before showing up to find an empty store!



The next stop was the thrift store where I scored some pretty good loot, as always:

A few books to satisfy the bibliophile within

A few records to add to the already sizable collection

And lastly, my most favorite find...



Maybe I'm the only one who can't help giggling over this. I don't know when this was published in relation to, oh, everything else she's famous for, but I'll definitely look it up. The book's actually not bad at all, content-wise. I'm actually going to use this book.

As for the VK Block and Cable afghan, it's still in progress but so, so close to being finished.



Its latest shenanigans will be explained in a later post. I'm really looking forward to getting it done and gifting it.

I can't believe how big it's gotten!

A happy weekend to you! Now stretch!

FO: Seaman's Cap (and other news)

Pattern Sepecs

Pattern: Seaman's Cap by Brenda Zuk (Ravelry)

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca (6209); 3/4 skein

Needles: US #6, 7

Started: January 2008

Finished: February 2008

Total Time: >1 month

Cost: $8.50/skein, ~ $6.38

Satisfaction (1-10): 10

After being sick for a week and then desperately trying to catch up with my classes afterwards, I finally got around to blogging!

I'm pretty sure that Donny liked his hat, although he couldn't understand why the yarn was a little fuzzy. I blocked the hat a little so that the brim wouldn't roll up so much but it still does a little bit. Otherwise, I'm extremely happy with this FO! It knit up so quickly and the pattern was straightforward. Since I've finished it, two other salesguys at work have requested hats.

A while ago I had started on my dad's Urban Necessity Gloves (Ravelry) but only got half-way through the cuff before frogging them. I had knit loosely at one of the joins and couldn't get it to tighten up. Besides, a different cast on method will probably make the k1p1 ribbing look better.

Knitting with 5 DPNs, how shall I say it, perilous. I've more or less gotten the hang of holding my work so that it doesn't flop around everywhere, but it can still be awkward sometimes. Knitting on two circs looks really good at times like this.


I'm still plugging away at the VK Block and Cable throw. A testament to exactly how long I've been working on it is that the manager I'm making it for no longer works for the company. Not to worry, I emailed him and will hopefully get it to him soon. Two repeats to go! (Plus the half-a-repeat and border at the end). There are dozens of little ends to weave in, too, and that's going to take a while.

Lately I've been itching to buy things knitting-related (like the latest IK that I haven't had time to pick up!). Actually, this offer from Interweave has caught my attention:




The book would be really helpful for a self-designed sweater that I'm planning to knit in the future, and the yarn requirements pamphlet is bound to come in use whenever I don't use a pattern. For $24.95, I just might...



It's beginning to look a lot like spring...











Does it make me a bad person if I wish it would stay cold for a little bit longer?

A Tale of Two Firsts

Want to know what else is a first? Updating more than once a month. Blogging to document my knitting as well as getting to know other knitters is my ultimate goal and I'm slowly learning what it takes to achieve that. Perhaps viewing laziness as a virtue is part of the problem...

But onto the aforementioned firsts!

After finishing my VK pullover (Ravelry link), I decided to knit my mom a hat, something I'd been promising to make her for a while. She had picked out the yarn (Rowan Super Chunky) and the pattern (Sideways Hat), as well. The result was so deliciously hilarious that I'm surprised that I forgot to blog about it. In the end, the hat wouldn't have fit my fist. For those familiar with Ravelry, this is my very first Ugh!

The construction is interesting enough--it's knit sideway and incorporates a lot of short tows--but my gauge must've been insanely off. I know I knit tightly, but this was ridiculous! Anyhow, I frogged it a few days after 'finishing' it. The yarn is lovely and I'll have to find a pattern that suits it.

Mom still wants a hat, of course, and had the nerve to request one made from the yarn I was using for another project. Incidentally, the other first!

My first hat, ever! Heck, it's the first thing that I've knit in the round, with the exception of the collar for my VK pullover. Mom was lusting over the yarn and lucky for her, I have a whole skein left (I have no idea why I bought 2 when I only needed less than one.) The yarn was a dream to work with; incredibly soft and warm with just the right amount of fuzzing. The recipient was very pleased. Donnie is a sales guy at my work. He'd come by once in a while to watch me knit it and ask questions about what I was doing; really, that's the best part about knitting for someone. Even though I finished it last week I don't have photos yet.

A closeup of the inside of the fold-up brim:



Currently, I'm only working on Paul's Block and Cable throw. I promised him that it would be ready by mid February and hopefully I can make that deadline. I've only got 4 pattern repeats to go and while that doesn't sound like much, my classes are borderline overwhelming so it's not a guarantee. Compared to the Berroco Ultra Alpaca I used for Donnie's' hat, the yarn I'm using for this afghan feels like cotton even though it's wool! Is this yarn love? Funny, I've never experienced that before and frankly I like it. I want to knit everything with Ultra Alpaca. Absolutely everything.

The not-so-finished FO

Pattern Specs

Pattern: Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 1989
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss (Woodland Sage); 7 skeins
Needles: US #2, 3
Started: April 2007
Finished: November 2007
Total Time: ~8 months
Satisfaction (1 to 10): 8

Well, here it is. All finished, or so it seems. Seems. Seams! As I'd expected, the seaming part was a bit of a challenge, but not impossible. The sides didn't quite match up in length so I thought I'd be clever and cinch up the longer side little by little as I seamed. It's a worthy technique, no question, but it was probably no match for the length difference I was trying to hide (which wasn't that much). Needless to say, the sides pucker in a way that doesn't exactly inspire joyful kissing:
ARG! Look at that puckering! The first picture shows the weird hip curve as well--that part definitely sticks out too much. My only option is to rip out the side seams and start over.
But wait, there's more!

What the hell is up with these sleeves?! (I'm not even going to rant about how very 80s they are because, well, the pattern's from the 80s so it's my fault). But it is what it looks like: a pouch on my underarm. Amy Winehouse has nothing on this little hiding place. I know that I knit the sleeves as per the pattern, so what gives? I can understand the shoulder pads--it was the 80s, after all--but what's with the weird bagginess? Does it serve as a purse? Illusion of big muscles? Easy accommodation of arm fat one may acquire between 9 and 5?

Actually, I'm not angry in the least. It was an invaluable learning experience both technically and, uh, practically. Older patterns should be picked with care; it's useful to check for errata, too.

One more detail I'm a bit perplexed about and then it's on to happier stuff:


The ridges don't match up! I painstakingly matched them up for the sleeves and upper body, but there just wasn't the same number on both sides. Weird, but at least the evidence isn't in a noticeable place! Unless I lift up my arms and flaunt it.

So as for the puckering, it seems like my only option is to take the sides apart and start over. Unless I stash it in my closet and never see it again, that is. Which would be sad, considering how much effort I've put into it. No, I'll get to it soon, because otherwise I can't let myself start a new project (there's a gorgeous sweater I've been eyeing in the last issue of IK)!

Paul's afghan is progressing well. I can't believe how big it's gotten!


Yep, it's long enough to cover my legs but I've still got almost as much left to go! I somehow didn't manage to work on it very much during the week while I was on winter break. Weekends, however, are completely dedicated to working on this afghan. Work would be intolerable otherwise. It's already being put to good use, actually, as the room I work in is really cold. It's much better with a snuggly afghan on your lap although it'd be even better if I could tuck it under my feet, too! Anyhow, I promised Paul that I'd be done with it by mid February, but we shall see. It's gotten too heavy to bring to school, which is just as well since all of my classes this semester are math ans sciences; no opportunity to knit.

In other news, I've gotten the hang of knitting with DPNs! I started Donny's hat (procrastination has the darndest effects, eh?) but I'll probably rip it out and start over. The joins weren't the neatest and want this hat to come out well.

The VK pullover is blocking...and I'm in a knitting rut

It's blocking. Or was, actually, since it's been dry for a few hours. I laid down the sleeves last Monday but only got to the body this Tuesday. Everything looks alright so far, although the fabric got alarmingly fuzzy-looking after getting wet.

Next I have to sew one shoulder seam together and knit a neckline. One of my reference books suggests using a needle that's one or two sizes bigger than what was used on the rest of the garment, so I bought size 4 needles today. The picking-up-stitches part is a bit indimidating to me, actually. I'm really hoping that I don't mess it up.

I'm aiming to have it done by Wednesday, which is Knitting Night. A couple of members also have green FOs, so we've arranged to share them then. 'Can't wait!

This past week has been beyond busy--I didn't have time to knit at all! Hopefully I'll make up for it this weekend.

I decided to start Dad's Glitten's tonight--what a disaster! I knew learning to use DPNs would be challenging, but this seemed near impossible! The needles (the project calls for 4) kept moving out of position and twisting around. Just like when I was learning to use circulars, casting on a few times helped a lot. I still haven't got the hang of actually knitting with them, but I'm sure it's only a matter of practice. Seriously though, these things are so awkward!

One of the downsides to having non-knitting parents is their ignorance of things like UFOs or project boredom. I'm the kind of knitter who is more focused on the finished object, so it's a bit unnerving when my folks ask me why I haven't finished the VK pullover and why I'm looking to start a new project when I've got two already. They're so serious about it too, as if it's something akin to my schoolwork. They're probably just antsy because I haven't knit them anything yet!

Speaking of folks: this year's Thanksgiving was quiet and modest. 'Just us, a salad, and the turkey I got from work. And some good white wine, too. Desserts was similarily simple: I baked a pumpkin mirengue pie which we had with tea and more wine.

So close I can almost taste it!

I may have finally gotten cables down, but the art of regular blogging still escapes me. That's something that I need to learn how to do; if I'm going to document this knitting adventure of mine (which is actually rather subdued), I might as well do it right!

I've since finished the front of the VK pullover! As with the back, I somehow lost my place in the ridge pattern repeat and while I fixed my mistake much faster this time around, the de-ja-vu feeling was less than enjoyable. (Afterwards I started circling each row as I got to it to make sure I knew exactly where I was. Who knew that it was okay to write on patterns?!) There was also a bit of confusion about the length right before I began to bind off for the neck. At first it seemed like the piece was going to be a bit longer than I wanted, but as I finished up the armholes, it turned out that it was just right. At this point I don't care how that worked. I'm just glad that it did. Both front and back pieces match! Well, actually, the back is wider in the bust than the front and I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's my knitting tension, or maybe it's just because of different armhole placement for each piece (which doesn't make any sense).

I finished the front on around Oct. 21st.

The second sleeve is about 2/3 finished!

After that it's on to blocking, picking up the neck cuff, and stitching it all together. It hasn't really sunk in yet, actually. The thought of wearing a garment that I made is bizzare to me.

I'm still plugging away at the VK Block and Cable Throw for Paul. This sucker is going to take a while to finish. Why is it that I always choose projects with small gauge? Talk about masochism! I worked out the math in my head while riding the bus home one day (warning: NERDY CONTENT):

There are 28 rows in the repeat, and I need 12 repeats plus the first 14 rows, and then 5 rows for the border. I can knit an average of 3 rows per day. I've done 1 repeat so far and am 12 rows into the second one. This means that I've got 327 rows to go, and if I knit 3 rows each day, then I'll be finished in 109 days (!!!!!!!) Methinks I've got to knit more than 3 rows per day. Or at least knit more than 3 rows on some days.

A few photos:

(A closeup of the stitch pattern. No idea where the funky color is from; the color in the other photos is correct, though)

(The WS looks like chromosomes! Hee!)

On the bright side, I bought some new yarn recently for upcoming projects! The first one is Berroco's Ultra Alpaca for a Seaman's Cap . A co-worker asked me to make him a beanie so I obliged...er, will oblige, soon. As soon as I finish my VK pullover. (No photo of the yarn yet as I still haven't recieved it.)

Next, I'm going to make a pair of Urban Necessity Gloves for my dad. The yarn will be Cascade 220 :

A few weeks ago I took my mom to a Real Yarn Store! It's owned by a woman who I know from knitting night ('not sure if she'd care to be mentioned, so she'll stay anonymous for now!). Ma wants me to make her a hat and after parousing patterns on Ravelry, she finally picked one out: the Sideways Bobble Hat. Ma doesn't want the pompom, and so don't I, for that matter! At first I was really against this pattern seeing as it's so simple, but the upside is that it's going to knit up very quickly. My mom picked out some Rowan Big Wool Fusion for it:

Knitting night is still the thing I look forward to most during the week. Even if I'm not in a social mood when I get on the bus to go there, I already feel better when I get off at my stop. By the end of the night, I'm in a pretty damn good mood. So, long live knitting night! I need to remember to get the new issue of VK and possibly IK's Holiday issue. Like I need more projects in my Ravelry queue.

WIP update and a bit of inspiration

On the WIP front: The VK pullover is coming along well. The front is about half-way done as of now. A photo from 2 days ago:

I have since started the ridge pattern (which takes forever). The sides are held down by pins, so they're not really that angular!

I cast on for Paul's afghan on the 2nd (Sunday) and was less than 10 rows in when I frogged it at Wednesday's knitting night. My stitch count seemed off and since I'd be dealing with cables, it seemed best to have the correct amount of stitches on my needles. I've since gotten further than I was before I frogged it but I'm still a few rows short of cabling.

At this point the stitch pattern doesn't look like much so it's not worth photographing.

At first, knitting with circulars was a bit awkward, but once I learned to turn my work so the two ends of my knitting wouldn't join, things progressed pretty quickly. Circular needles have intimidated me for so long, so it was a surprise to me how easy they are to handle. My only complaint is that the needles can spontaneously untwist from the cable! It's happened twice so far. I sort of panicked the first time and did this fancy maneuver of transfering the stitches from the separated needle onto a stitch holder. The second time happened in class and I didn't have anything to hold the stitches. Sliding them all down onto the cable and then re-attaching the needle worked perfectly, so I guess fancy maneuvers aren't necessary. I'm used to stitches getting lost the instant they slip off the needle, so I think the chunkier yarn of this project plus the bigger gauge is the reason that didn't happen.

These needles are the screw-in kind and it looks like that's not the best mechanism.

I've also discovered the joys of knitting in class. Yes, I swore that it could never work for me and yes, I am now eating my words. As long as I don't need to constantly write things down, knitting in class is possible.

Now on to the inspiration:

Some leaves I found on the ground a few days ago. The colors are absolutely stunning. Someday, if I ever learn how to dye yarn, I hope to attempt to recreate these colors. A few of my favorites:

In in attempt to preserve them, I've pressed these leaves into a Webster's dictionary. I discovered a pressed spider as I was flipping through it--made me jump about a foot. Note to self: don't use books to kill spiders hanging in mid-air by their webs.