Real Autumn

There was some really great knitting on Friday.  I finished sleeve 1.

It took a long time because this sleeve had a lot of stitches.  I had to do a fairly rapid series of decreases to get it to the right diameter for the cuff.  Indeed, I did a series of decreases in the ribbing.  But it fits perfectly.

And then I took a day away from it.  

It was a chilly weekend so I made time to work on my socks.  

Sock one is done, but it looks like it is going to be too long.  And yet...  I will try it on later this morning before I start sock 2.

I started work on sleeve 2 Sunday morning.  

I could have knit more but it was time for sleep.  I hope it will be finished today.  If I can get it done, I am going to wear it tomorrow and that is exciting.

I have also been thinking about my lovely Linger sweater.  I'm going to need that before too long. I have some cats to make (remember that from spring?) and as ever more things I want to knit. The days are getting shorter and darker and I need some cozy warm things.

Woweeeeee

The was a lot of knitting yesterday.   I finished the bottom ribbing

and did the neckline before starting sleeve one.   I did the neck first so I could be sure not to run out of the darker grey Mulespinner 2 ply.  It would be so easy to forget about it in the excitement of doing sleeves.  Unfortunately, it will have to be reknit.  I picked up too many stitches at the back neckline and it sticks out weirdly. 

I know this because I did a try on and but for that error, I am so pleased.  The upper yoke fits very well and best of all, I got the back of the neck short rows just right.  Lately, the backs of my sweaters have been sitting differently on me and that leads to my old nemesis, a chill on the back of my neck.  I wanted this sweater to sit up and over my bit of a widows hump. The usual three or four sets of short rows are just not enough so I did short rows almost to the base of the front neckline.  And it is perfect.

I had to stop for the day long before my heart was ready to stop knitting.  I wanted to keep going and finish sleeve one but my hands told me not to be so silly.  Oh well.  

I thought about knitting on a sock.  My brain thinks that is easier on my hands than knitting a sleeve in the round. It is not.  I will show you a picture of where I am on my sock.  It helps me to stay honest and to remind me that a little knitting here and there makes a difference 

because the last time I showed this sock, it looked like this.

This time, I am making a garter stitch toe up heel flap.  I messed it up just enough that it is going to take some thinking to recreate the error for the second sock.

My first cup of coffee is finished.  It is time for a second and Anne from My North Knit Corner has a new video up and that and my sweater sleeve are where I am going to start my knitting day.

So Close

I had so hoped to finish the back yesterday. I got vey close but my hands were done and I know them well enough to know that pushing would stop my knitting for weeks. This morning I have three rows and  cast off to do.  

I am one and a half rows in  and will finish shortly. 

You may notice that the ribs are more or less the same length.  They are.  I decided to make front and back the same length because because the sweater is long enough that my lower back will be comfy and warm as is. The other and likely the main reason is I am lazy and want to finish.

It was so lovely yesterday that both the front and back doors were open.  Our full screen doors are perfectly placed so that fresh air swoops all through the house when there is the smallest breeze. As I was going down the hall, out of the very corner of my eye, I saw a leaf fall from the maple in the yard across the alley. I stopped and watched the leaves gently fall, fluttering, wafting from the branches on the way down to earth.  It was a perfect moment in time.

Some days that is the medicine your soul needs.        

 

I'm Here

I did a little too much on Monday, so yesterday, I took the day off.  Instead of writing, I took the time to knit and to listen to books ( yes, multiple books ) and to watch some Digging for Britain.  It was a pretty good day.  And after an epic sleep last night, I am ready for a new day.  It's 10 a.m. and I am still on my first cup of coffee.  

I am well into the ribbing.  

Ribbing knits fast for me when I am going back and forth.  I can knit through the back loops and wrap my purls wrong to my hearts content. (Wrapping my purls the other direction means that I can knit through the front loops on the other side and is what makes ribbing fast )  The powers that be** only refer to this style of purling as wrong, but like everything else in knitting, there is a place for it.  Back and forth ribbing is it.

I am watching Aka Nora Knits this morning and she is talking about a cardigan that has been on her needles for a very good part of this year.  It reminded me of my shawl.  

I started this Bridgewater shawl in 2012.  It is the oldest of all my WIPs.  It is from the time before, before my husband died.  

I think about it each time I dig in the WIPs bin.  I think about it each time I pick out and wear a small shawl to keep the chill off the back of my neck.  I think about it a lot for something I am not knitting on but really do want to finish.  Maybe time to finish?  

But not today. I am on a sweater kick and want them more than a shawl at the moment. 

**Just who are the powers that be anyway?  My inner six year old wants to know and my outer 66 year old is delightfully free from caring.  Such are the joys of getting older.

Fronts and Backs

The front.

I am  so pleased with the way this is looking.  In a perfect world,  the years would have magically made the dyelots of the grey a perfect match but since it is not a perfect world, oh well.  A perfect world would be boring.  Vive le chaos.  It's only me here everyday and I am the only one who will ever notice it.  And Keith I suppose but he will never 'see' it.   

The back.

I have a good start on the back.  Once this last Silver Thaw Noro row is complete, there is only grey. I plan to make the back about two inches longer than the front and I have decided it will all happen n the ribbing. It will give the best balance to the whole.  

And then sleeves, but only three quarte sleeves.  This is a garment that I will wear often and I want it to be a good sturdy working garment.  I hate the fuss of having to push up sleeves.

Not A Knitting Day

I am at the ribbing!  

Just at it but it has to start somewhere.  

As happy as this makes me, I am going to take a day off from it.  Our weather has cooled and we are in full fall mode today.  Grey skies and high temperatures under 20 C means the usual fall complaint in my thumbs has arrived.  A day of rest will be good for them. 

I am not sure if I will sew or is I will make pin loom squares.  I have an interesting project upcoming in the sewing room.  I want to make some boxes that will act as drawers on some shelving.  The pin loom squares are interesting too.  I love watching the colours play against each other as I weave.  

I also could prep my slightly larger pin loom that Keith and I are working on.  I have been making dishcloths on a 10 inch square pin loom and though the cloths are a great size when they are fresh off the loom, they shrink up a bit more than I like after a good hot wash.  We are going to try to make a slighty larger loom using some needlework stretcher bars.  My part in this is to space out and mark the spots for the nails to go.  Keith's part is the nails and securing the corners.  

Even though there won't be knitting, I am looking forward to all the things the day will bring.  So much to do.  So much fun ahead.

Everytime

Working continues on my sweater.  

I have at least six more inches to go and my debate now (there is always a debate)  is more stripes or do I just do the grey from here on?  

I want a fairly generous ribbed hem, three inches and possibly four, in the grey, so that is a good bit of the knitting I need to do.  Each stripe is about two inches wide so if I do a grey stripe and another Noro stripe, the balance feels like it will be off.  It wouldn't match the top.

Keeping up the stripe sequence through this bottom part, would feel unbalanced to me.  That kind of balance and my personal need for it is one of the things that make or break a sweater for me.  Even if it was a great fitting sweater and even though it might look lovely, if it doesn't match my inner sense of balance and proportion, it is not going to be worn.  

 

What I want now, what I always want is a thing, that when I wear it, I look at it and say, "I like this, I appreciate this"  .  Fulfilling me every time I put it on. That's what I want.

One Step Closer

Split!

I reached the point where it was time to split front and back.  

I based the split point on some of my previous sweaters and on the a shirt I sewed.  The shirt hem split is too high and it feels like it is ripped up the whole side each time I move.  I measured the seam so that would not happen on this sweater.  I measured the side of my purple vest and a green tunic I knit a few years ago and settled on a length that was going to work.  

And away I went.  

Of course that means that I will be knitting flat for the rest of the body, not always the fastest thing, but it does mean I can knit my normal style.  And that means that it will go fast.  It will also feel fast because only half the stitches are being knit.  I might be able to get two stripes done in a day.  That may be a bridge too far, but one and a half stripes should be quite reachable.   

The new yarn is being knit.

It is, as I suspected, quite different than the fist skeins of grey, but so it goes.  I always knew it was chancy. I have reserved the rest of the old grey to do the upper arms so that at least there is some balance to the colour change.

Happily, I will be splitting the hem n about an inch and a half.  I was debating about it but struggled to decide.  I picked out a split hem vest I made a few years ago to wear yesterday and that made up my mind.  I will make the back hem about two inches longer than the front, the better to keep out the lower back chill  often feel on windy winter days and the front will be a nice tunic length.  

I have also been thinking about the Silver Thaw Noro that will be left over.  I had three skeins and they go a long way.  I only started using the second ball two rows from the end of the last set of Silver Thaw rows. I thought about making a turtleneck collar but I think I will make a cowl instead, to wear with this sweater.  It is a lovely soft yarn with good amounts of Angora in it, perfect for a cowl. That way, when our winter world is not blustery, I can take it off.  You cannot do that with a turtleneck.

I am looking forward to wearing this sweater, hoping it turns out as good as it is inside my head.    

The Universe Strikes Back

I said I wasn't gong to purchase another ball winder but Amazon had some for twenty bucks and it was hard to resist.  So I gave in and ordered.

It came just when I needed to wind the first of the new colour of CWM Mulespinner yarn and I was off to the races.

Or not.

This is an occasional ball winder issue and the great google does help you sort out how to fix it. The gears are not meshing properly inside.

So I asked Keith to check and in this case, the gears could not mesh.  The teeth of the gears did not match.  So back it goes to the source.

I guess I will stick with my first instinct and wind by hand. 

The only real problem with winding by hand is that the balls like to roll away and my yarn bowl broke a few months ago.

At least I have knitting to console me.

A Sockish Sort of Day

I looked at Linger yesterday but it didn't feel right.  I picked up the other bag that doesn't fit in the WIPs bin.  

I did a couple rows and have really enjoyed it.  I am slowly becoming used to holding the yarns in the same hand.  I tried just going with my fingers but ended up going back to using this.

I found it much easier to control my yarn tension though it is just a bit fussy setting things down and picking it up.  So easy to twist.  But it made the knitting quicker and very natural feeling.

I only had so much brain capacity so though I did work on it, it wasn't for long.  I ended up working on socks.

Cold weather has come.  Fall cold, not winter cold but it is enough that I am looking for warmth. This  morning it is drizzly with a bit of wind and it is only 10 C.  The warm sweaters are out. 

I started the day yesterday thinking about socks because my feet were cold.  I decided a while ago that I need more heavy socks. I am absolutely in love with the work sock pair I made earlier this year out of doubled Kroy, and I have been wearing my Big Fabel worsted weight pair regularly.  

I had another pair of Big Fabel socks on the go but I needed to restart them.  I don't know what I did on the toe but it felt uncomfortable when I tried them on and they were also too big!  The last was a surprise. Too many stitches.  I knew that I had decreased once already, but I was sure I was where I needed to be. The change in my foot size strikes again.  Honestly, it's like having new feet.

I restarted.

I am pretty happy with it and it is a nice tidy 40 stitches on 3.25 mm needles.

I started thinking about other socks in the WIPs bin while I was knitting.  Why am I not knitting socks?  I use them every day.  They are almost revered in my wardrobe.  I didn't find any answers yet, but I did figure this out.

I don't  like what is happening here.

I picked the multi colour yarn because I thought it would give me pretty little socks on the big sock.  I don't  like these.  I love the bottoms but not the little socks on the top of the foot.  I think I am going to restart this pair too.  I love the pattern ( Operation Sock Drawer by the Knitmore Girls, the A Drawer Full  pattern) but I think I am going to use some solid colours and change for each row of socks.   

Anyway, that is enough for today.  I could talk about each pair I have on the go.  I could talk forever about socks and sock yarns but it is time to be knitting.  We shall see what my hands get up to today.  

A Different Grey as Expected.

It arrived.  My extra yarn for my sweater.  I was glad to have it but now I have to decide what to do.  

The new yarn is lighter than the old.  I expected that.  I have one skein of the old and three new.  I have to decide how to work them in.  Do I worry about it at all?  Do I keep the rest of the older, darker yarn to work the upper part of the arms so the grey switches out at the same place as on the body?  I don't know.

There are two rows left to go in the section of grey I am working on and I am debating ripping back and reknitting this part with the new grey.  It may be a good idea if I try to make the grey change at a particular stripe row on sleeves and body.  

Maybe I am too lazy to do this.  I would lose a whole day.  That means more time till I get a new sweater.  Decisions, decisions.  That will be my day.  Till then I will knit on my Linger.  That sleeve is getting longer slowly.

I seem to be able to knit a stripe a day.  I always seem to end up a few rows short each day but since I was those few rows short the day before, I know I have knit a full ten rows.  

I wish I could do more but my hands don't seem to manage it.  All is well but I cannot do the full long days of only knitting anymore. Such is life and I am knitting.  It is enough.

A Home for Yarn

Shhhh.  

I'm busy.

I have spoken about the magic of knitting stripes before.  There is always the next one to look forward to and because of that, the knitting feels fast.

On this sweater, the other magic is watching the Noro colours come to life.  This isn't my favourite colourway of Noro and yet, I am charmed by it. When I worked at the yarn store, this poor Noro was always at the back of whatever Noro was there besides Kureyon and Silk Garden.  It isn't particularly flashy but it is fuzzy and interesting.

 

In the skein, it looked more grey, but once wound, on most of the skeins, the red brown gold sections stands out.  It doesn't take over, but it does demand its space.  

As it stayed on the wall at the store, I would look at it and play my favourite game.  What would I make with this yarn.  I never did figure it out, but they sat there, unloved by all the customers who came by.  

Eventually, just like old books, they came home with me.  I hated those lovely yarns not having anyone to love them.  A fair bit of my stash is my stash because of this.  It made me feel good to give those yarns a home. Like a cat lady, I had a compulsion to buy the yarns no one seemed to love.  

I don't  remember how I came to put the two yarns together, but they made one of my perennial favourite sweaters.  I can feel the pleasure of wearing this new sweater even now, knitting it.

Superlatives

What a weekend!  It was Marcus' birthday and I was knitting something wonderful.  

My saddle shoulder sweater is progressing fantastically.  

I took this photo to try it on to see if I had the yoke long enough and fell in love with this project all over again.  It has only been a few days and I never fell out of love with it and here I was, falling in love all over again.  

I knit a few more rows and joined at the underarm.

I am so happy.  I love everything about it.  I am in fact, taking a long time to write about it because I stop and stare at the way it looks.  

I love the way the two yarns work together.  One, a Japanese yarn with a wide blend of fibres and colours that celebrates the joy of fiber with an inimitable Japanese sensibility and the other, very much a Canadian prairie yarn, stalwart, easy gong and capable of strength and a simple majestic beauty that never shouts its glory but just is.     

One bids you to consider the delicate marvel of a single unique snowflake and the other considers the substance and power of a prairie winter wind.      

 Fall is in the air. The autumnal vibes are strong and that may be part of it too.   Just like all the creatures of my world,  I am preparing for the cold. They are storing seeds and nuts, or are gathering in great flocks to fly to winter nesting grounds while I am making my own cozy warmth for the long winter days ahead.  

I know this post is full of superlatives, almost nauseatingly so, but when I say it was a great weekend...

Hiccups

First thing yesterday morning, I decided to wind yarn off the cone of singles to prepare to knit a sweater.  And then this happened

That put paid to my whole process of thinking about this sweater.  I am not sure I want to replace the ball winder..  Most things in my stash are pre-wound so my need of it is much less than it used to be.  I ended up deciding to order  three more skeins of yarn from Custom Woolen Mills.  Doing that meant that  I  could start working on something now.  

I pulled out my favourite place to start from, when I know I am going to wing it.

I wanted something different than I have worked on for a bit.  It is good excersize for a mind besides being fun.

I decided to go with a saddle shoulder though I am making a simultaneous set in sleeves.  I love that way of knitting sleeve caps.

My number one goal here is to have a back of neck that sits high at my neck.  I always feel cold if I am chilled there.  The second goal is to have a relatively close fitting crew neck collar but not the choking feeling kind. I just joined the two front pieces and have a few rows to knit before I try it on to check if the neck has the right fit.

It feels so right to be working with this yarn.  I already feel cozier. 

The Bad, the Good and the Gosh Darn Wonderful.

I hate when this happens.

I am calling it a day on the Anyday Sweater.

Yup.  I am ripping it all back.  It hurts a lot to say that, but I am never going to wear it as it is.  I picked the wrong size.  It is too wide and the neckline is ginormous.  It is just not what I was looking for.  It is always a bit of a heartbreak to lose all the time and energy you work into a project.  I felt more than gloomy when I faced it on Saturday.  

The only uplifting thing is that it can be taken apart and rewound into yarn cakes and made into what I want from this very nice yarn.

But not today.  Today I am going to work on Linger from Knitty.com.  I tried it on yesterday too, and it fits perfectly.  I am going to focus on what is right and what is hopeful and good.  

It's a lovely cool morning.  The front and back doors are both open and the air is flowing through the house.  It is fresh and clean and is oh so very good.  Out across the ball parks, the fields are turned golden and ripe and almost ready for harvest.  In the evenings as the daylight fades, I can hear the geese and ducks call as they gather to fatten up for their fall migrations.  

It is sweater weather my favourite time of year.