What I did in November - the final reveal

In November, I knitted and knitted and knitted some more and 27 days later I had a completed cardigan. It was all in response to NaKniSweMo - a challenge to knit a sweater of more than 50,000 stitches in November. (The acronym stands for National Knit a Sweater in a Month. Though it should more properly be international these days). It was inspired by NaWriNoMo (National Write a Novel of 50,000 words or more in November). The sweater tried to document the process and kept a diary which you can read here.

A sweater in a month? Why not? I’ve done it before. A sweater of 50,000 stitches plus in a month? Doable. When the month is November….? Now maybe, we’re pushing it. It’s marking month. I’m going on holidays at the end of the month. It’s late spring here in Australia and the weather is warming up. We’ve already had a few days over 30 degrees Celsius. And I have to finish my DFAD for the IFFF Fungus Among Us CKAL by the 18th. But what the hell, you never know till you try.

It’s time to knit something substantial for me. I’ve knitted both Mark and Mel a jumper this year. I’ve made me two shawls and a stole and a hat and some fingerless mitts (2 pairs). Must be time for a sweater (or more properly a cardigan). I’m not so much of a sweater girl but I do love me a good cardigan.

Rhodium has been on my radar / floating around the queue since I got a copy of The Knitter’s 70th issue. In fact, I pretty much want to make the whole platinum collection. I have three jumper lots of yarn for me just sitting around. This is going to be stash busting. I have some weird dirty cream / tan / latte coloured up-cycled yarn I got from the Lifeline Op shop for $5 for the whole bag. It’s a pure wool blend with little black threads and angora in it I suspect. I have 16 balls.

I swatched on the 31st October and washed and blocked the swatches on the first of November. The pattern calls for DK weight yarn on 3.25mm. I knitted swatches using both 3.25mm and 3.75mm of all three main stitches. The row gauges given in the pattern for the rib are weird - less rows over 10 cm for rib than reverse stockinette? I’m going to match the row gauge for the reverse stockinette as the bulk of the jumper is this and it only has rib bands.

I’ll count the stitches in a spreadsheet but a quick calculation based on gauge and the schematic is fine to meet the target of 50,000 stitches.

Pattern: Rhodium by Deborah Helmke from The Knitter Issue 70, The Platinum Collection
Needles: 3.75mm
Yarn: dirty cream / tan / latte coloured up-cycled yarn, pure wool blend with little black threads and angor, op-shop special
Total cost: $5

The family is ambivalent about this and an overall finished garment. They like the colour, praise the execution and the lace but really dislike the overall design. Long fronts and a short back look weird according to them. I love how deliciously snugly and warm this is. They just don't get modern design.

It took a while to get the finished modeled shots for this given I went on holidays as soon as I finished and it's been too hot to wear a winter weight cardigan. But finally courtesy of the non existent summer weather, we got the photo-shoot. Thanks to the boy for his awesome photography skills once again.

Diary of a sweater

 

Day 1:
Hey, I'm more than a nebulous idea in a knitter's mind. Today I came into being. The long journey into fully fledged wearable garmenthood has began. They say the journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step. Mine began with a cast of of 114 stitches for my back. A whole ball and a bit of yarn and 7383 stitches later, the rib and the lace pattern and its following rib as well as two rows of the cast on shaping for the batwing sleeves are done. I look pretty bloody impressive. Let me take a selfie....

But before the needles were picked up, my knitter exercised her mathematical brain and ninja spreadsheet skills and calculated how many stitches I would contain. I admit to a slight flutter of nervousness at this stage. After all if I had come out at less than 50,000 stitches my chance at the needles was shot. But I will contain 68,640 stitches! I'm excited to be eligible to play in the prize division - after all a girl always wants a shot a winning and there are no talent contests / slash best in show here. It's random and I like my odds.

Then my knitter showed a bit of forethought given she was playing with some recycled op-shop yarn, unlabelled, unweighed, unmeasured and with a yarn weight only loosely guessed at. She did the maths based on the swatches. There should be enough yarn in the 16 roughly 50 gram balls of dirty latte coloured wool blend yarn I'm to be made off to knit around 80,000 to 85,000 stitches. All systems were go for launch....

Day 2:
My knitter is fond of rainy Sunday mornings. Tea, breakfast and some comfy couch knitting before the rest of the family crawls out of bed. Knitter Bliss. I know the love will be limited today as the marking is piling up around the place and the deadlines are rushing up like a high speed express train on the tracks. (I know my knitter loves me more than that computer and pen and calculator and horrible marking stuff. I'm secure. The marking should realise she only pays it attention cos she is paid to). Today I got to be the reward system for completing a range of tedious tasks for my knitter as she sneaked in a few rows here and there. I had my sleeve increases and 14 rows of the straight stretch of the back of the sleeves done (4914 sts completed). The only issue today is that my knitter doesn't own a 3.75 mm circular needle despite having apparently several thousand needles. So I'm feeling very cramped on the needles at the moment and have to be careful not to slip off.

Day 3:
A few on again / off again straight rows today wedged in between marking, housework and work. (Only 1755 stitches).

Day 4:
I'm officially about a third finished! I have a back now. Today my knitter powered through 7107 stitches for the day and 21,294 over all. I had my ends sewn in. There were lots as I am being made from recycled yarn from unravelled jumpers from a op shop / charity store / thrift shop. I got hand washed (an enjoyable process with nice warm water and shampoo). Then there was the blocking - a slightly torturous process involving lots of pins. I'm not going anywhere for a while. I need to dry first.

Day 5:
Now I get the start of a front. Rib done in a day. 24 rows of monotony. Rib apparently is not thrilling to do. (2256 sts).

Day 6:
Lace begins. There's more lace on the fronts - 5 repeats as opposed to two on the back. Less cursing coming from knitter as she begins to fathom the logic of the lace (and less muttering of "Where the hell have you people put my pattern?" "Cat, get off the pattern, I need to see what comes next!"). Also today, the sixth ball of yarn was liberated from it's storage bag and now gets to join the knitting party. The knitter is quietly happy about how far the yarn is going and is fairly confident of yarn supply meeting stitch demand (or some such nerdy knitterly thing). (2820 sts). The back was removed from the rack having blocked up beautifully....

Day 7:
Knitter is muttering again. No, wait, it's not about me. It's about work and evil marking eating into her knitting time! OK. I'll raise a few complaints in sympathy with her. But it's Friday. Friday night is sacrosanct - it's couch, TV, occasional alcohol, weekly family debrief and knitting time! The weekly unwind sesh. So today progress was two full lace repeats and eight rows of the 5th and last one. (3384 sts).

Day 8:
A few more knitter expletives. My knitter is glad she's no novice as there is an error in the pattern for the left front. Early morning saw the last of the lace patterns polished off and the rib sections and decrease done. It was time to increase for the sleeve. The knitter correctly finished the last row of rib on the right side of the work as the pattern directed and went to start the sleeve increases as written with the wrong side of the work facing. Trouble is that is the front band edge not the side edge with the lace where the sleeve should be. The knitter reread the pattern about 6 times, read the pattern for the right front for good measure, checked her count and placing of the rib rows, threw her hands up and added a plain row before beginning the sleeve cast ons. She also checked the pattern page for Rhodium on Ravelry and discovered she was the first person to knit this on Ravelry and that there was errata listed on The Knitter webpage. However, the errata is about bust measurements not sleeve shaping for the fronts. So she made a comment about the error on the pattern page and went back to knitting.

I also got to pose for my own photographic session this morning. Having my photo taken always makes me feel like I'm semi-famous or something.

Apparently I was deliberately obstructive today. Who, moi??!? The knitter got to the end of the sleeve shaping and the stitch count was out by two. And it was all my fault. The knitter is a perfectionist. I'm not complaining mind you. I think perfection is an admirable trait when you are on the receiving end of it. But it does involve occasional pain. My sleeve shaping got frogged back to the beginning. 14 rows of stitches disappearing off into the ether - the great stash in the sky. But the shaping was successfully re-knit and well as 11 rows of the straight sleeve section. Powering along and almost at the end of my 9th ball of yarn. But oh, the ends!!!! (4620 sts).

Day 9:
Only 18 rows and 2394 sts today. Despite it being a Sunday my knitter went to work for a while today and gave those nasty assignment things more love than me. About 50 assignments uploaded and another 60 or so marked. The knitter is feeling virtuous and her students will be happy to have all their marked work back before the exam. I can't just blame the assignments though. It was hot though. 30 degrees Celsius plus for the second day in a row. My knitter is possibly not the sharpest tool in the shed taking on this challenge heading into an Aussie summer. Apparently knitting wool gets sweaty when it's hot. State the bleeding obvious or what!

But we officially are over half way in the stitch count - 55% done. Oh, and there was a quiet session of half an hour or so of end sewing in today too. I feel a little less messy - I think it's the sweater equivalent of having your hair brushed.

Day 10:
I just had a good look at my front and I'm coming up a little rough. My straight reverse stockingnette sections have some exceptionally wonky stitches. I'm hoping that blocking tidies me up a lot!! 2929 stitches done today. The last three rows of the straight sleeve section and 22 and a half rows of the sleeve shaping cast offs. The knitter laid down the work having just reached the end of the 8th ball of yarn tonight. The knitter is a happy little Mummy today. Future Doctor daughter is home for SWOTVAC cramming before her last major exams. She hasn't been home for months. And the baby boy got his first year Uni results and he passed everything.... (This was by no means a done deal when he went off to University at the beginning of the year). All is love, peace and happiness in the knitter's household today.

Day 11: 
I got to finish my day yesterday with an overnight soak. I could just feel those wonky stitches evening out. I will look professionally even. I have a completed left front. We powered through the last of the shoulder shaping and the collar section. My knitter manfully sewed in ALL THOSE ENDS. I'd applaud her but it's hard to do with only one arm. 2642 sts yesterday (Including 2 rows of rib for the right front) - Overall total so far 42,169 and 64.2% complete...

Day 12: 
I started my morning rolled in a towel shedding a few excess pounds of fluid (water actually) dictating yesterday's sweater dairy to the knitter. (What you thought I was writing this myself? Sweaters can't type! I may have arms but I'm sadly lacking in the finger department. I suspect gloves could write their own diary but not those silly fingerless ones). Then it was stretching time. On the floor, on the mats and all those pins.... I feel like a pin cushion. Not a flattering look. I refuse to take blocking selfies. It's so undignified. And I suspect that fluoro alphabet mats are not the most flattering background for my colouring.

The cat decided to help the knitter with her blocking. Random flying sneak skid attacks - or maybe they were attempts at tacklehugs...?, willfully sitting in the middle of the damp unpinned section and stopping to wash its nether regions and patting the wheel of pearl headed pins under the TV cabinet. I feel the knitter showed great restraint in not blocking the cat as well.

However, only three rows achieved.... (what a paltry effort knitter!)

Day 13:

I swear I'm going to kick the knitter where it hurts for wasted opportunity today. Four whole hours of train trips to the big city for planning meetings and what did she do with all this potential knitting time? She forgot to take another ball of wool with her so wasted nearly three hours of it! Got the rib nearly done (and ran out of yarn and had to twiddle her needles). At home in the evening finished the rib and the lace set up and the first two rows pf the lace panel done. A quite respectable 2068 stitches for the day but it could have been so much more!

Day 14:
I participated in a zen knitting evening (couch knitting and bad teenage chick flicks on TV with the middle daughter). 3 and a bit repeats of lace and 4136 stitches (75% complete now). I could feel all the tension and stresses of the week flow out of the knitter. Good vibes all round.

Day 15:
I'm going on a road trip. The plan for the day is collecting the baby boy home for the year from his University in Geelong and watching the eldest daughter cheer at the Australian championships in the late afternoon. Cheer comps are great knitting venues. Bit much having to drive for my knitters liking today though (about 6 hours or so) but I will still get some love, fresh air and a change of scenery. However, the knitting was paltry as the cheering was too exciting - only 12 rows done.

Day 16:
Today was an exceptionally creative day for the knitter. But all that creativity wasn't focused on me. I am so jealous! It was all about some knitted and crocheted mould of all things. The knitter has been quietly designing patterns for a series of knitted penicillium moulds for a CKAL and today was the day for the instructions to go live. So there was a lot of Photography, primping of the samples and final frantic crochet followed by pattern writing today. I still got slightly over 2000 stitches done on me though in the evening and I'm up to the sleeve shaping on the right front. All the lace bit is done.

Day 17:
You remember that story about the tortoise and the hare? Slow and steady wins the race and all that. That the approach we are taking here. A quiet evening of knitting in between proof reading job applications for the Head of the Household and attempting to mark essays saw the all the casting on for my sleeves finished and about 5 rows of the straight section completed. The knitter is quietly satisfied and tells me she is still loving knitting me. Smug sweater here. (So go on tell me you other NaKniSweMo sweaters, how many of your knitters still love you when they are doing sleeves??)

Day 18:
Today the knitter's brainspace was taken up with dealing with academic marking apprehension - a peculiar affliction common when marking exams. Had her students in fact learned what she thought she taught them? Her mood ebbed and flowed during the day as she came to realize that her first year students were not as disastrous as first feared. They hadn't preformed brilliantly (except for a small group) but most of them had limped to a pass. (They do say Ps get degrees). So I got a cursory row here and there and only 1330 stitches (Almost 85% complete though).

Day 19: 

I'm more than a bit mad with my knitter today. She publicly humiliated me all over Ravelry today. I feel violated. She posted pictures of MY WRONG SIDE in the NaKniSweMo discussion thread, dangly yarn spaghetti of unsewn in ends and all. It's the sweater equivalent of posting pictures of me in my underwear - and daggy underwear at that. She told people it was the ugly side of knitting - no photoshop here. However, 16 rows of the straight section of the sleeves done (2128 stitches). One more row and we are on to the cast offs for the sleeves

Day 20:
Who can't love the sleeve shaping in this pattern? There are less stitches each row. You can knit and watch the numbers of stitches on your needle get progressively smaller. And it means the piece is almost finished!! When the knitter can home from taekwondo last night after a frustrating and messy class wrangling other people's children, she picked up my needles and you here an audible sigh of relief. The needles flew, the stitch count decreased happily to plan. (The exams waited. The knitter marking in a grumpy mood is a recipe for disaster for someone!) And we're on a deadline. The knitter flies off on a very very very much needed holiday on the 27th and I need to be done by then. (And blocked beautifully and photographed).

Day 21:
It's Friday night again. After a hard day of marking exams, the knitter embraced the whole Friday evening combo again, couch, TV and unwind knitting time! (The exam marking today went more smoothly then expected. A student even managed to work a Big Bang Theory reference into an answer about effective science communication and it made the knitter's inner nerd happy for hours. Chocolate and a random serving of gift plum pudding and custard at 11.30am also helped). Productive knitting ensued. Right front finished. The 25 sets of ends sewed in (Yes, there really were 25 sets of ends - that's 50 individual ends for the mathematically challenged among you). I got my warm bath and squeeze and this it was the blocking board torture again.

The knitter started joining the left front to the back by sewing up the upper sleeve seam in order to pick up stitches to complete the cuffs. The knitter picked up 66 stitches along the cuff. My sleeves are apparently a little short (rubbish, her arms are incredibly long!) so the knitter is adding a lace repeat at the bottom of the sleeves before she does the rib cuff. About 10 rows into this….

But the knitter is really not happy about one thing. My pattern is designed so that you leave a a small section in the middle of the centre back to sew in the short collar section. But then the stitch counts on the sleeve shaping don’t match up when you are stitching it up. The edges have have to be gently eased against each other as a they are stitched together. This is a design fault in the knitter's eyes. She had sewn the sleeve seam nearly up to the shoulder before she discovered this…. and had to un-stitch way back to the beginning. It’s gong to be a pain…..

Day 22:
Today I sat in the corner and mocked the knitter. She could feel her knitting fingers itching to pick me up. But exams and 28 essays which have to be done before 9 am Monday!!! A little knitting sneaked in here and there but not a lot. The end of the lace repeat and some tricky decreases to maintain the pattern into the rib. 15 rows of rib done.

Day 23:
I’m inching closer. I have the sleeve cuff on one sleeve finished and blocking. Now for some assembly and then the second cuff. The knitter is running head first in massive brick wall deadlines. She has three days to finish this (+ mark 75 exam papers) before we go on holidays. It’s hard for her to find the discipline to mark papers before knitting! (I'll try not to tease her too much at the moment. It's kind of like kicking a puppy - unnecessarily cruel)

Day 24:
Useful day today on many levels for the knitter. 16 exam papers marked and an excursion for some pre-poll voting for a state election as she is out of the state on holidays on the actual day. The knitter still has about 60 exam papers to mark but they are quick to do now (and they HAVE TO BE DONE by 5 pm tomorrow). I am now a fully assembled cardigan on one side at least and the collar has been set in and sewn down. My second shoulder seam done and stitches picked up and 10 rows of the lace done. The end is in sight. I am officially 95% complete

However, on a down note, the cat did throw up on the magazine which my knitting pattern is in. It is never going to be the same....

Day 25:
And I am finished (the knitting part at least!). I got a very small cuff baths and an overnight pin out to block as well. The knitter sneaked in a lace completion in the morning and the rib in the evening. I've seen a lot of the kitchen table and the couch in my short lifetime of being knitted.

Day 26:
And it did happen. It was the day from hell. Deadlines galore. Marking of final exams, last day at work, packing for holidays. My final seam got completed at about 10 pm at night after all the rest of the important things. I am a finished sweater (actually cardigan). The knitter tried me on and it was good. I am suitably warm fuzzy and cuddly. I fit in all the right places and skim where I should. The knitters family though were less than complimentary. "It's just weird with that short waist length back and long fronts. What a crazy design". But they do agree I am marvelously well knitted and that my lace is awesome. They can criticize my fashion worthiness all they want. I know my knitter will wear me with pride.

Day 27: 
Who looks their best when someone is taking photos of them scrumpled on the couch at 6 am in the morning? You want to take a photo of me now? Really, you can't wait until I've brushed my hair and put my makeup on? (Actually sweater equivalent is a styled outfit for the knitwear model, semi professional photographer, the good camera, etc...) However, I can't complain as it was necessary for the knitter to post a finished sweater shot before she nicks off on holidays in the sunshine for a week (and uncertain internet access). I do want to be eligible to win a prize for all my gorgeousness. And we are officially done. And here endeth my diary.

Junkyard Pumpkin

If clothing had feelings, this poor cardigan would be complaining that it was being bullied or racially vilified for its skin colour.

Recently I had a short holiday. Not that I went away anywhere. I just wasn't at work all the time. Over a couple of weeks I juggled the final marking of this semester's batch of exams and the attendant meetings to ensure consistency and compliance with regulations with some serious couch potato knitting time. And so I cast on for a new work cardigan. I'm definitely a cardigan rather than a blazer girl when it comes to my professional work clothes.

I have copped more flack on this poor project in the knitting process than anything else I have knitted. None of my male acquaintances have had anything flattering to say about this while I was knitting this. “You really gonna wear that thing? It looks like a giant pumpkin!” (Cue gratuitous Charlie Brown picture. It made me think of Linus and the Great Pumpkin, though at least no one was denying my cardigan's existence, just its wearability).

I love the colour, after all that's why I bought the wool, but the menfolk had to be convinced. The first day I wore it work it got three compliments including the ultimate, “Where did you buy it?” I feel vindicated.

When I saw the beautiful Yui cardigan in The Knitter Issue 55, I initially thought that this simple and elegant cardigan would fit beautifully in future Doctor daughter's wardrobe. But then I thought, I'm the Queen of Cardigans, why not make it for me?

Pattern: Yui cardigan The Knitter Issue 55
Designer: Kyoko Nakayoshi
Needles: 3.75 mm set of dpns for the sleeve cuffs, 4 mm straight needles for the beginning of the collar, 4mm 80 cm long round needle for the body and my favourite jumper length set of antique size 8 (4 mm) Aero needles for the sleeves.
Yarn: Pure wool up-cycled wool from an op shop. I suspect that this is old Bendigo Woolen mills machine wash. 14 balls ranging from 110 to 180 g.

The wool is up-cycled pure wool from my favourite op shop. I love the invisible little old ladies who unravel unwanted knitted garments into balls of yarn and put them in cool see through bags in big tubs at bargain prices. It lets me indulge my love of quality natural yarn without breaking the budget. Real wool is made to last and I love the fact it’s almost resurrection and re-invention of a well loved garment.

This was such a fun knit. Its my first top down seamless cardigan but it won’t be the last. I love the simple elegance of Kyoko’s pattern. The knotted cable detail make it sit beautifully across the front and still swing. I would have liked it a little longer but the perils of recycled yarn is you can only use what you’ve got. I have about 1 meter left….

I'd like to acknowledge the boy for his willingness  to track into the perils of mud, muck, slime filled ditches and coal dust and help me take photos in the old workshop area near one of our local power stations. I used to work here when I was first married before it was all privatized. It's sort of sad to see what was once such a bustling work area wearing a air of forlorn neglect and dereliction. But it makes for an interesting backdrop.

Intricately knotted cables

Happy birthday Louise - I made you a hat!

My blog has a lot to thank Louise for. She is, in a way, responsible for its very existence. Louise's own blogs first introduced me to the delights of blogging and she patiently held my hand and guided my initial tentative baby steps into the Wide World of Blogging. It's hard to believe that was two years ago already. And darn it, I've realized that I missed my second blogiversary which was about a fortnight ago.

Louise is an awesome photographer. Louise sees her photography as capturing moments. She loves to convey stories and memories through her photographs. Have a look at her current blog: Louise Barbara or her Photo Diary.

So last night was Louise's 21st birthday party and I was honoured to be invited. Louise and my middle daughter Mel are off on the European adventure of a life time in late November this year. So it seemed appropriate to make Louise her own unique accessory appropriate for the depths of a European winter and fashionable enough that she would be proud to wear it. So when Louise was here a few weeks ago baking salted caramel macaroons with Mel and doing the next installment of trip planning, I got her to try on some of the kid's hats, did some measuring and subtly probed for appropriate wardrobe color choices.

Louise and Mel made salted caramel macaroons. They were awesome!

I had a plan. I knew a long soft slouchy beanie with a softly draping crown would suit Louise the best. But none of the patterns I had were quite right. I wanted something structured and cabled by with a feminine twist. I wanted to create a hat that would set off her long loose curls.

Cat and a hat. This is a common sight. I quite frequently find Cara the cat curled up on or around my current knitting project. She has a second sense of avoiding pointy things whilst still snuggling up to soft cuddly things.

On the front of Issue 55 of The Knitter is a beautiful soft pink cable and lace cowl jumper by Martin Storey called Winterbloom. Whilst it has a lot of things about it that I dislike enough that I would never make it (it's pink and has a cowl and it's 4 ply so would take forever) there was still something about it that called to me. I love how from a distance that delicate cable and lace pattern formed a checkerboard with strong diagonals that draw the eyes  across and up. I realized I wanted to use that stitch pattern but not as a jumper. Alright I thought, why not recreate it as Louise's hat?

U

Pattern: Adapted stitch pattern from Winterbloom Jumper by Martin Storey
Source: The Knitter Issue 55
Needles: 4mm set of 4 jumper length Antique Aero needles
Yarn:  Upcycled 8 ply (DK) op shop wool. Creamish brown blend. It has a really soft fuzz and light halo and blocks up with a light soft squishy feel and drape.

So this is my first go at making my own hat without a pattern. I've made enough of them now though using patterns to have an idea of what I was doing and I know my gauge with various needle and yarn weight combinations. I cast on 100 stitches on 4 mm dpns and completed 15 rows of single rib. Then I increased 10 stitches evenly around the next round of rib giving me 110 stitches. The pattern repeat from Winterbloom is 22 stitches and 24 rows. So I set up 5 repeats around the beanie and completed five repeats of the pattern overall giving a long deep slouch before the crown shaping. Then I decreased down to 10 stitches over the next 12 rows. I wanted to maintain the pattern whilst I was doing this so I began by decreasing the purl strips between pattern elements, then gently decreased the width of the cables whilst still being able to complete the cable rows and finally decreased the lace stitches. I decreased 5, 10, 15 or 20 stitches roughly every second row depending on which pattern element I was decreasing. I am really proud of how this turned out.

I'm now looking forward to numerous gorgeous pictures of this hat on its trip through Europe with Louise.

What's on my needles!

OK. I have a confession to make... I'm having awful trouble being faithful to just one piece of knitting at the moment. This is not like me. I'm by nature a monogamous knitter, tending in general to have a fairly linear approach to projects. I start a project, knit on just it fairly exclusively (the odd dabble with a small bit of crochet doesn't count) till I finish it up in a reasonable time frame before I begin the next thing. That is, unless irreconcilable differences arise between the knitted object and me the knitter and we can no longer bear to spend time in each other's company and it goes and spends time in the naughty corner till I decide exactly how to deal with its recalcitrance.  And we shouldn't really mention the small issue I have with sewing things up... But now, I'm cheating on the cardigan I started making in October for future Doctor daughter with a pair of gloves, a couple of cowls, some beanies and knitted help with a homework project for one of my young taekwondo students. I feel vaguely like that skanky girl at high school who picked up the entire football team at a party but couldn't settle on just one of them.

So how much exactly is on my needles (or just off them) at the moment:

1. Garter stitch gloves from Interweave Knits Winter 2013.
I started these in late January but have stalled. There are three main reasons why:
One: I went and played in a Cowl KAL for Feburary and knitted most of two cowls instead,
Two: there is a massive knot in my yarn and it's going to end up in a lace bit and probably be on the right side of the garter stitch, and
Three: I don't like how the lace is coming up around the arm area of the glove. It's all bunchy with a weirdly large number of decreases being made in the last row of the pattern.
In fact, I'm not sure I like them at all. They even didn't want to photograph very nicely....

Bunchy Lace

Now the dilemma is do I finish them and give them away / sell them? I'm leaning towards frogging!

2. The BFF Cowl: which for ever after shall be known as The Misbehaving Cowl.
If ever a project deserves severe punishment for intransigent behaviour it is this one. I am currently on Mark III version of the cocoon stitch loop of this cowl. It's partially my fault that it is my third go at this link. It's mainly because I chose to use unlabelled and unweighed seconds from a spinning mill that I had in my stash because I was so enamoured with the colour combination of bright blue and green given in the original pattern (even though I know I can't and shouldn't ever wear green as I makes me look like a walking corpse). Oh and I didn't feel like knitting a tension square. And didn't really check that the pattern called for worsted weight (not the DK I was using).....

This is where I started. I had to frog this as the tension was too tight with the needles suggested in the pattern. So then I knitted the tension square I should have started with. Then I began again.With bigger needles.

I got to 11 repeats before I ran out of yarn... I needed 13 to make it long enough. I sat and contemplated it for a few days and then decided to frog the lot. Then I raided the stash and started again...I was still feeling the blue and green combination from the initial pattern so I dug out this (worsted weight this time) pure wool in bright blue with white flecks.

But now I don't like it. I've decided I wouldn't wear it. It doesn't go with anything in my wardrobe. (And I got distracted for a little while by a birthday beanie). When I came back to it I frogged it again and, don't tell anyone, but I went and bought some more wool - a rich rusty red.

And here's Mark III - Gorgeous colour that I'd actually wear. Interesting pattern to knit. (And I'm still loving it even though this is essentially the third time I've done it).
Moral of the story - preparation and care and planning and thorough reading of the pattern instructions at the beginning of a project leads to satisfactory results. And beware of using stash yarn without checking weight or yardage! Have I learned my lesson? Probably not!

3. Laptop cozy
I got a new work toy in late February - a tablet computer. It has a screen I can write on with an electronic pen. This is the world's most wonderful invention when you lecture maths and stats. I can write on my PowerPoint slides whilst I'm projecting them! Normally typesetting mathematical equations is a tediously slow process. I've had a loan one for most of the last two years and wouldn't want to be without one. So when the loan program shut down and they were gifting the just out of warranty tablets to previous users of the program I jumped at the chance. As it came without a bag, I decided it needed it's own knitted sleeve to protect it as it's carried it around to its various classes.

The yarn is one of those printed acrylic self patterning yarns and it only cost $4. And with 8ply (DK) and 4mm needles it was a fun, mindless and quick knit. The laptop loves its laptop cozy. The cat clearly likes it too.

4. Homework help: (pouch for baby kangaroos). Abby, one of my taekwondo students, knows I knit. (Her mum knits too). As part of a school project she is recruiting people to help make things for Wildlife Victoria: a wildlife rescue service. She and her Dad made some possum boxes and she recruited some knitters to help make Joey Pouches. These are knitted drawstring bags used to house orphaned joeys (baby kangaroos). How could I refuse such a request? It wasn't going to take very long and it's for a good cause.

The only stipulation was that the yarn used had to be wool not acrylic. I had this yarn I found in a moving sale for my local favourite op shop (thrift store) for a while. It's a homespun fairly greasy wool with some flecks of other fibre. Perfect! And yesterday at training I delivered it to the excited recipient.

5. The birthday beanie

My nephew seems to have had a beanie stapled to his head for the last few years. The beanie has a twofold purpose. It hides his ears and keeps his incredibly curly hair under control.
The current beanie may now be qualifying as a health hazard as he never washes it, so I made him a new one for his 21st. It’s made from a ball of what appears to be handspun wool from my stash. This is one of those mystery balls. I have no idea how it found its way into my stash but I know I didn’t actually pay money for it. It’s a gorgeous blue grey and matches his eyes.
So I did it in less than a week and it cost nothing! Ultimate pressie. And then I got a very sincere compliment from the birthday boy: “I thought it was a bought one!”
Thanks to my boy for modelling this! It matches his eyes too and now I have to make him one too. He enjoyed modelling it so much. There's now another one on the needles using the leftover yarn from the homework knitting project...

Pattern: Wurm by Katharina Nopp
Needles: 4mm dpns (actually they are still labelled as size 8 - antique jumper length Aero dpns)

5. Arundel: Clinical Clothes for a Future Doctor
This is the story of the cardigan that started it all.
That moment of opening a new knitting magazine is like a throw back to that childish gleeful anticipation of ripping into a pile of Christmas presents. You never know what you're going to get but you know that there will be at least one thing you like and something you love.

I got my hands on a copy of the Autumn 2012 issue of The Knitter magazine late last year. (I went Newsagent browsing whilst waiting for the local Noodle shop to cook my lunch. This was actually an exercise in semi productive procrastination. I was supposed to be marking an endless pile of scintillating essays and exams). The Knitter is a UK publication that is written for experienced knitters. It's not the easiest to get all year round around here in regional Australia and we're always at least a season or so behind.

And here's the pattern I absolutely loved - a short sleeved cardigan based on a vintage blazer design. My eldest daughter is moving into the clinical phase of her Doctor training. This means appropriate clinical clothing. She has an extensive, quite sophisticated uni student wardrobe after three years of uni in the big city with a retail part time job. But clinical clothing is different. No overly bright colours. Nothing see through and no cleavage to distract the patients. Minimalist jewellery and pared down accessories. Skirts should be knee length or longer. And the biggest indignity of all, no heels. She also has the added issue of being a smallish person both in stature and overall size. And anything made to fit an Australian size 6 (American 0 to 2) tends to be aimed at 16 year old girls who like to flaunt as much of their bodies as possible. Her current way around this dilemma is a wardrobe based on a series of professional looking patterned 1950's and 60's style full skirted or A-line dresses topped with a blazer or cardigan. This should fit right in. It got the seal of approval for both style and colour and so I began.

Pattern: Arundel by Kyoko Nakayoshi
Source: The Knitter, Issue 49 (Autumn 2012)
And here's the problem, I once again decided to use yarn from my stash. There are five balls here and I have part of another ball. The pattern called for five balls (no six balls now I look at it again). They are DK as required and the right weight... The wool is from the 1970's and discontinued... Can't you just see the potential for a massive problem looming?

So I cast on (no translate that, jumped blindly in). I dug out the right sized circular needle (4mm) as this is knitted in one piece to the arm holes. I knitted to the end of the lace section and about half of the stocking stitch section and then measured it against the required pattern dimensions and it wasn't matching the row gauge and there were major issues with getting the shaping for the bands and the collar to match up with the required length to the armhole. So I ended up frogging it all and begin again with a 4.5 mm circular needle (after I purchased one this size).

So I knit up the whole body section and sewed up the shoulder seams. Future Doctor daughter and I went shopping and purchased black yarn for the collar and cuffs and chose some gorgeous metal buttons. I went to start on the sleeves.

Then there was this little problem.... This is how much yarn there was left! I was absolutely sure there was another ball. I pulled the wool storage to pieces but couldn't find any more. I then checked the number of ends I had sewed in on the body bit and realised that this was it. There's a a little bit of it in some squares of the Granny Wants a Latte Macchiato granny rug which I could steal but realistically it's not enough for two sleeves even if I unravelled the squares. So now I have the bulk of a cardigan I love but not enough yarn to finish the sleeves. The daughter and I discussed options - reversing the sleeves, black with a tan cuff (resounding no), different coloured sleeves (maybe - the jury's still out on this one, I like it in a close shade of tan - she's yet to be convinced), trying to find more yarn of the same type (deemed impossible due to the extreme vintage nature of the yarn - none of this colour listed in the Ravelry yarn database) or turn it into a vest (this is the daughter's preferred option - I'm still emotionally attached to the cardigan idea).

Is it any wonder, I'm an unfaithful knitter?