Black Sleeves, Obviously!

I finished a sleeve yeserday. A fully knitted grey sleeve! And then I thought about it after a conversation, and decided the sleeves would look a lot nicer if they were black. With a black collar. So I have a useless grey sleeve.

This sweater was supposed to be done over a month ago. Shit.

Techniques for Knits and Purls

I taught myself to knit from a book. For the most part anyway. There was a time I knitted a wristband with the help of a friend Melissa, who I have not seen in easily five years. When I learned from this book, I skipped that whole part about knitting while holding your yarn. I don't at all. I drop it and pick it up every stitch. I'm sure a lot of you are thinking "that is SO lame" but for me, there was no other way to do it. This also goes with how I knit and purl.

I was showing my friend Debbie a knit and a purl stitch one day, when Angie (my roomie) noticed that I pull my yarn and knit it differently from her. I never really gave it much thought, there are tons of different techniques to achieve the same stitch, but today when I was watching videos online at http://www.knittinghelp.com, I noticed the different way to knit and purl. So I tried it. And I can't help but wonder which one is better. I'm still working on that sweater sleeve, so I did about four rows with the "new" technique and noticed the stitches looked a bit cleaner (that's my way of saying you can see them better in the wool yarn), but not by much.

I think I'm going to just finish the sleeves the way I knitted the rest of the sweater and knit my next project with the new technique. I'll let you know how it goes.

Coming Along Nicely...

The worst part about knitting an image into a pattern is that it takes a lot out of me. I'm concentrating much harder than a basic knit requires and I find myself tugging too hard and the image gets a bit fuzzy on the sides. I just hate how human knitting can be. How flawed. But at the same time, I love to knit. It's one of my favorite things to do.

So that's why it took me so long with Soulbot. He was coming along nicely, but taking a lot of effort and I was getting to the point where I almost dreaded picking up my needles. He wasn't hard, he was just tedious and time consuming. It took a lot longer than I had hoped, but the front of the sweater is finished! I'm currently working on one of the sleeves, and after one more and a collar, he will be complete. Then he will be rushed to his owner and hopefully he will be as loved and cherished as he is in my hands. Possibly more.

Someone suggested to me that I sell or release my image patterns for Fair Isle/Intarsia knitting. I would be so disgusted if someone wanted to knit this piece. Not because it's a terrible one, or that I'd be jealous of someone stealing my thunder, but because the love and time I put into this is worth much more to me than being recognized for it. I'm half regretting posting pictures of it, but I am so proud. And I want to remember just how long it took and how funny all the pieces were before they were sewn together. It won't be mine for much longer.

Soulbot legs DONE!

Soulbot legs
Originally uploaded by drxgirlfriend

One thing I hate about working with a mid-row color change is how shitty stitches tend to look. Obviously from a fair distance, you can't even really tell, but I can and I hate! HATE! Hate ittt! How hard is it to make something perfect?! Obviously pretty hard.

I'm 78 rows in, not much further to go. I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend, get the sleeves done in two days, seam the last day and send it off for a marvelous birthday gift. Wish me lots and lots of luck!

The Difference Between Intarsia and Fair Isle is BEYOND Crucial...

I am an idiot. Wait, no, I just failed at the front of my sweater because I never bothered to read the chapter on Fair Isle Knitting in my SnB Handbook. So, yeah, I guess you could consider my actions idiotic, but this doesn't happen too often. I'm learning my lesson.

So yes, as you must have assumed, I have unraveled the front to start fresh, meaning I lost three days of knitting. This sweater MUST be done by the end of the month, and it's already the fourth! I have to finish sleeves, and sew seams, and make an attempt at BLOCKING! I have to buy fancy wool wash and write a card! Good thing I don't work tomorrow so I can stay up until five making up for lost work. Oh wait, I do have that tattoo appointment tomorrow. Well, Heather won't mind if I take a nap during it.

WARNING! Intarsia in progress...

soulbot in progress
Originally uploaded by drxgirlfriend

This is my workspace: my bed. Pay no attention to the Little Mermaid fleece throw: it was extra cold last night and it's the only extra blankie I had! Don't judge me! You can't see all the bobbins, they're underneath the sweater front, but trust me, it's a jumbled mess. It's such a hassle I can't even bring it to work! That means it's going to take me longer to get it finished, and I want it done in LESS THAN A MONTH!

All I can think about is knitting this thing. Work will be super long and boring today!

Back is DONE!

I finished the back of my beloved grey sweater a few days ago, and plan to start the actual intarsia pattern tonight after work. How sad is it that I have no social life because I'd rather be knitting? True story, two seperate parties invited me out last night and I said no to both so I could start the front of the sweater, knowing that I could get the bottom done, work some stockinette at work the next day and be ready to start Soulbot when I got home. Regardless, I love it and plan to never give it up.

I think I want to learn crotchet, mostly because I found some pretty cute patterns that I want to make. However, I still feel the need to learn more about knitting rather than just pick something else up as well. I'd like to be an expert in one trade, rather than so-so in two. I really need to tackle DPNs, so I think after I finish this amazing sweater, I'll try to make some gloves or something.

I'll post pictures of my progress tomorrow, or after I get some of the intarsia in. Pictures right now would be somewhat boring.