Needles & hooks

And on to the next part

I finished the sleeves last night. Never so happy to see a part so done. I think more than just the complex pattern with the twisted stitches and small cables, I was worn out by the constant checking whether I needed to increase on that row to get the shape right. So exhausting. To much to think about.

I cast on the stitches for the front of the sweater last night and worked out my issues with the cast-on method that I had before. Basically, as soon as it was clear how the rib pattern should go, I decreased one stitch at the end that would make it work out right. However, I think I’m going to rip it out and redo it. Once I got a few rows in, I noticed that the non-twisted stitches in the first row are bigger than the following twisted row. So I’ll add the twists during the cast-on instructions and that should clear it up.

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Marcel’s the Man

I worked on the sleeves for Marcel’s sweater last night. I’m in the part where I’m decreasing to shape the shoulder and I don’t have that much further to go. So I’ve decided to pause my rotation so I can finish them off and get started on the body pieces. I’m heading to CA for the weekend (from Boston) and I’d like to have a project to do on the plane and in other downtimes. This is the only one I’m working on where I can bring a small number of supplies. The other projects are too close to completion or require too many balls of yarn.

Maybe if I finish the sleeves tonight and get the cast on and pattern established for the front by tomorrow night, I’ll work on one of my other projects before I go away.

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Pictures!

Had some time before making dinner to take some photos of works in progress.

The star-shaped baby bunting. This is the back. I’m in the middle of one side of the front.

The striped romper. This pattern is done in mirror image sides which are joined for a seam down the middle of the back and then buttons up the front. This is one side.

The corn bunting. This is the beginning of the back.

The mouse baby set. This is the back and sleeve of the sweater.

Now if only I had the energy to take photos of a night’s work before bed….

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Yay Pats!

I’m steadily making progress on my projects, strictly following my rotation.

Thursday I started the front of the star bunting. I’m halfway through the right side of the front.

Friday I worked on the striped romper. I had to rip out 5 stripes back to the point where there was an error in the pattern. I succeeded in re-doing 3 of the stripes in that setting. Also by Friday I’d picked out the sweater I’m doing for my sister (see it here). However, the yarn featured is way, way too expensive, so I’ve got a few alternates in mind that I have to test.

Saturday I had pegged as a day for supply runs. I wanted to get the yarn for the Mouse Baby Set and I wanted to get some test balls of yarn for the sweater I’m making for my sister. And if I had to go into the city, then I was also going to get a ball of the Lion Brand Magic Stripes purple mix that I’ve had my eye on to make some more socks for myself. Well, my husband decided that he needed to update his wardrobe and that he couldn’t do it without me, so I had to go shopping with him and that ate into my plans. But, I was able to get the Mouse Set yarn (although the balls for the sweater and for the blanket are two different dye lots). I also got one ball of a yarn to test for my sister. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any of the colors I wanted to see, so I have to keep looking or just take a leap of faith and order it. After all of this, I had some time to start working on the corn bunting. I’m about halfway through the back.

And yesterday was the superbowl. I brought the Mouse Baby yarn with me to the party to counterbalance all the testosterone in the room. Unfortunately, I completed most of the back before I realized that I forgot to switch needles between the hem ribbing and the main section. So it’s probably a little tighter than it’s supposed to be. But rather than rip it all out, I threw caution to the wind and finished the back and one of the sleeves. I’m going to measure it tonight, but I bet it will work out alright. Besides, I always knit more loosely than a pattern suggests and usually work with smaller needles.

Hopefully I’ll also break out the camera tonight so I can show you all the progress that I made.

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