Things as of late have been...how shall we say...&*@$ing insane. My mom has been in and out and back in the hospital (for what, the doctors have no clue.) So in between running to the hospital to see her, working and trying to get a tenth of what she managed to do at home done, I decided it was time to make myself a sweater that actually fit.



Enter Cupcake from the Happy Hooker. (Ravelry link) I absolutely love this sweater! It fits me like a glove, the colour isn't as obnoxious as I thought it would be. Best of all, I got a bag of mill end Caron Simply Soft out of my stash! I think this piece will quickly (weather permitting) become a staple in my wardrobe.

Specs: Cupcake sweater pattern from The Happy Hooker, size I hook, just under 1 lb (approximately 12-15 oz) of Caron Simply Soft in hot pink and a quarter skein of black for edging. I didn't put the ribbon into the eyelets because I think it looks perfect without the ribbon.

This sweater only took about 4 or 5 days to complete. Sewing the sweater together was an adventure. I read several blog posts about people who had issues with inserting the sleeves, so I approached them in segments. I found the middle of the sleeve and matched it with the middle of the shoulder seam. I used the tail of the shoulder to sew the top edge before starting on the underarm area. Working in smaller sections over the whole sleeve helped to prevent the always annoying extra fabric at the end of the seam.

If my sister decides that she wants one, then maybe Santa's crocheter will make her one for Christmas. ;)

I went to the wine and spirit store today to find a nice bottle of wine for the weekend. I found one. It's a pinot noir from New Zealand called Dyed in the Wool. I bought it solely based on the fact that it had a sheep on the label. I've hit a new level of fiber nerd-dom: buying my spirits based on the fiberous content of the label.

...of my two week vacation that is. I got a butt load of knitting done during this time. It feels like I've been out of work for two months, while at the same time, I can't believe that two weeks are already gone. It was nice to get a lot of little stuff done, like arranging my bookshelves, visiting my man in NY (which had the added bonus of letting me visit my favourite yarn shop in NY, too.)

So what have I accomplished in my time off? Well, my UFO pile has gone down by a couple pieces, my stash has gone down by a couple balls, and it was all brought right back to where it was by casting on new stuff and buying new yarn. Yeah.

So, first up is what I managed to finish besides my birthday sweater.

( The theme this week is: baby stuff. )

From a slightly drunken conversation with Chris about whether I should use the rest of my vacation to finish old UFO's.

Chris-Do they have a pill, like Ritalin, for knitters with ADD?
Me-Well, no. I guess just just regular Ritalin. They'll call it Knitalin.

Pfizer, Merck, Astra-Zeneca, please pay close attention to the previous statement. Thank you.

I finished a sweater all for myself in time for my 27th birthday. Even after ripping out the body and reknitting it so that it looked more like a sweater and less like a tent, I still managed to finish it on time!

For those who don't know what the Pluie Sweater looks like go here.>

What attracted me to it was the interesting eyelet increases. I thought that the shape and increases might be flattering on my rather curvaceous figure.

This is the sweater when I finished it the first time:



Yeah. All it needed was a roof and I could have moved in. I promptly ran a lifeline, ripped back to just below the bustline and began working decreases with the eyelets, decreasing 4 stitches with each eyelet for a total of 24 stitches decreases over about 4 inches. That brought the total ease in about 9 inches. Goodbye tent!



OH yes, so much better. Still a little bit bulky and oversized, just as it should be, not nearly as bad as the original. Now, the sleeves are not as long or belled as the original, but I am ok with their length. I am actually debating whether I am going to do anything to lengthen them or not. For now, they are staying as is.

Now for my critique of the pattern: overall, it could have been a lot better. The pattern itself was a little hard to follow and could have been better written, more streamlined for a sweater that has no body shaping. The eyelet increases are beautiful and elegant and I love them. I would love to use them again in another pattern. The non-eyelet rows, on the other hand, are bulky and stick out worse than a sore thumb with a big fat nail stuck through it waiting for the ER doc to figure out how they are going to remove the nail. I re-read the directions for the non-eyelet rows about 12 times to make sure I was doing them right.

In the end, I decided to do them differently, opting to slip the first two stitches as if to k2tog, then knit into the eyelet as directed before passing the slipped stitches over the worked stitches. It gave the eyelet a smoother appearance than I had previously worked.I also added two repeats to the length of the body. The pattern calls for the same length for the body and sleeves for all sizes. With my, ahem, ample cleavage, the prescribed length would make the sweater more like a cropped top.

It's an ok guideline for making the sweater, but miding the following is essential:
-Check your gauge
-Try it on as you go
-Run lifelines every couple of repeats. This is not a sweater you want to have to keep ripping.

Specs: Pluie Pullover, pattern by Teva Durham, 20069 Spring Knitscene
Size 13 circs
1.25 lbs mystery alpaca (?) blend from the mill end bin at A.C. Moore

I've come down with a severe case of Startitis. I only seem to be capable of starting new projects right now. The problem is, I have no clue WHAT to make. I have enough yarn to make myself several sweaters. I have patterns, sizing, everything. And yet, I can't bring myself to commit to a huge project right now. I've completed the christening dress, but I just can't seem to put another big project on the needles.

So what am I doing in the meantime? Little projects. Washcloths, baby hats, quick scarves. I have pictures of all of them, but they aren't all that interesting. I need motivation. I need to get my mojo back. I need...socks? A fast sweater? WHAT?!?!?!?

Until I figure out what I am doing, here's the christening dress:





Specs: Just under 5 balls of Paton's Grace in white, 5 shell buttons
Size 4 circular needle, size E crochet hook (for picot edging on the sleeves)
The pattern is a custom design of my own.

I've been making slow but steady progress on the christening dress. I'm hoping to have everything completed by the end of the month. We'll see...

In the meantime, I frogged Tudora. I was a little sad about it because on the mannequin head, it was beautiful. On me, it was pretty much non-functional. So to the frog pond she went. A few short days later, I had reknit the yarn into Calorimetry.



It was a completely worthwhile time investment. It keeps my head so much warmer than Tudora was keeping my neck. Soft and squooshy and wonderful, I love it.





I don't know if I like the button on this one as much as I liked the button on Tudora, but it works. The button from Tudora was too big, so I had to downsize.

Specs: 2 balls of Knit Picks Andean Treasure in Lagoon
Size 7 needles
1 button (a random button from my collection)
Pattern: Calorimetry from knitty.com

Mom asked if she could have one of her Christmas presents early this year. About a month ago, we went through some of the fingerless mitts I had queued on Ravelry to pick a pattern for her. She loves the mitts I made her when I was in college, but told me a few months ago that they are just a little too short on her arm. She wanted a pair that would go up her forearm a little further and down to the knuckle on her middle finger. (I'm not touching that...it's too easy of a joke.)

We eventually picked out Evangeline. It had everything that Mom wanted. Easily adjustable length, simple pattern (Mom never wants me to fuss over the stuff I make her), and cables to add some extra warmth to them.



Mom got her Christmas gift today.

These gloves knit up sooooo quickly. Although it took three weeks altogether, most of that was downtime while I worked on a commission. I am in absolute LOVE with this pattern! I want to make myself a pair, perhaps the elbow length version.

Specs:
Yarn-Kraemer Summit Hill, 1 skein
Needles-Size 7 DPNs and a cable needle
Pattern-Evangeline (See link above for pattern)

As I type this, I am borrowing the mitts to keep my hands warm. I need to cast on a pair of these for myself, like yesterday.

Oh, for those wondering why I made another gift for my mom when she was getting Tudora? Well, I hit a little snag with Tudora. See, I didn't tell her I was making Tudora for her. I had her try it on and she kept complaining about the scratchiness of the alpaca. So Tudora is mine now. I've also run into the problem of Tudora not holding her shape very well if I wear her for extended periods of time, so I am thinking that she will probably have to be saved for chilly but not freaking freezing my arse off, send the dogs to bed 15 minutes before I go to bed just so they can warm up the bed for me, days.

I've completed one christmas gift so far.



This one is for my mother. It was incredibly luxurious to knit. The alpaca, so warm, so soft, so squishy...oh how i heart it! I also love the fact that I used yarn that's been kicking around my stash for YEARS!! I bought it from nsmom a few years ago and I've been waiting for the perfect pattern to come along and say "Make me from the Knit Picks Andean Treasure!!!"



Specs:

Pattern - Tudora from knitty.com
Needle - Size 6 bamboo circs, cable needle
Yarn - Knit Picks Andean Treasure in Lagoon
Notions - Random button pulled out of my hugnormous button collection

I bought a hatbox.



It holds my tophat in it.



I am entirely too excited about the fact that I own a hatbox that I am actually using!!! SQUEE!!!

And so another piece of my costume is complete.



It was a fun little piece to crochet.



I absolutely adore the Bonsai. I would love to have an entire top from this yarn.



Any clue as to what I'm going to be yet??

Specs:

Pattern-Burly-Que Hat from Spring 2007 KnitScene
1 1/2 hanks of Berroco Bonsai in dark gold
Size G crochet hook
Cream and metallic gold ribbons (from stash)
Peacock feather
Antique pin

I sewed the cream and metallic gold ribbons together to make the hat band. The feather is sewn in place underneath the ribbon and the pin is simply pinned in place. Instead of following the directions to crochet wire into the hat for structure, I opted to starch the hat into shape. It resulted in a darker hat, but I think the overall effect is nice.

The verdict: I freaking LOVE this hat!!!! I cannot wait for Halloween!!

I've been on a sort of a kick lately. I want yarn (so what else is new?) but with the economy in shambles and being busy putting together my best Depression-era revival fashions, yarn is not exactly at the top of my priorities.

( So, when things get tough, the tough get ripping. )

So what have I been up to since the end of the Ravelympics?? I finished a couple of baby sweaters. One for a coworker who is having a baby, another for my friend M's wee one.

( Click for the pics )

I bound off the last stitch of the Dr. Who scarf at 1:32AM this morning. The body is finished, save for the 38,128,569,137 ends to be woven in. After that, the fringing. After that, the washing. After that, the mailing. And after that, the oral sex carpal tunnel treatment.

I can never resist a good Monty Python reference. :P

I've signed up for the Ravelympics 2008 over on Ravelry. I've yet to join a team or decide on events, but I am narrowing the field quickly. Has anyone else joined?