Vested, I mean Gifted!

I finished the Mangyle vest for Jorge the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He was thrilled-- I don't think he realized how much I did NOT enjoy knitting this vest. It was a total chore. I did already assure him (selfishly) that I will not make another no matter how much he likes his vest.

I also gifted the Fleegle socks to my mom who LOVED them. She went on and on about how much she loved then, how soft they were to wear and how she would like more in different colors. Of course, I created a monster!

No more WIPs...now what!? I want to knit for me but my sister and brother both requested knitted items and I'd like to make my dad a hat to match the mittens that I knit him last winter. My sister wants a pair of Convertible Mittens in black (she wants to blind me apparently). My brother wants a hat with ear flaps, though I couldn't tell if he was just kidding about the ear flaps. Maybe this one? I dunno. I still haven't picked out a pattern for my dad's hat but that should be easy-- something simple to show off the beautiful hand-painted variegation of the yarn. Maybe this one? It's simple enough, right!?

We'll see. I didn't plan on all this holiday knitting. And I'm sure that the fam has no idea how long it will take me to knit them all goodies. What a PIA. What can you do, ya know. If they're all done by the time Christmas rolls around, great. If not, they'll get them when they get them. I'm not going to worry about it. They would be extras at this point since I bought them all gifts already!

Goodies!

I had to go into the office early yesterday so I decided that I was leaving at 4. What would I do with this extra time that I had on my hands??? Hmmm...I dunno, go to my LYS!? Ok, that's a great suggestion! And so I did.


I was in search of "real" bobbins used in stranded knitting. I made some bobbins out of tag board and they just weren't cutting it. They were bendy and kept making my yarn unravel. What a PIA! Talk about time-consuming-- I'd have to stop, knitting, rewind each of my eight bobbins several times before I got through a single row of color work. At that rate I'd never finish this godforsaken vest!


I also got highlighter tape to help me follow the chart easily, knit clips to help me with finishing/seaming, and a pair of Addi Turbos just to see if what everyone says about them is true.
Man, those needles are expensive! We'll see if they live up to their reputation.

Mangyle...my arch nemesis!

Mangyle, why do you hate me so? What have I ever done to you? I don't deserve to be taunted yet that doesn't stop you. Just when I get comfortable reading your chart and knitting with 3 different colors (only 3 colors...but 8 bobbins!), you screw with me by tangling and undoing my neatly wound homemade bobbins. You cause a level of frustration that makes me want to throw you across the room in aggrevation. You continue with these antics because you know that I will not give up on you. You know that I want nothing more than to conquer you. You laugh at the thought, but it will happen. I want you to submit!

Progress!

I have been making progress on my 2 WIPs this week but color work....I'm not so sure about it! Any tips? I haven't done very much of it and I'm afraid. So far, I don't feel like I'm very good. The color-work portion seems to be lumpy and tight in comparison to the stockinette body. Ick. I don't know how to fix this. Is this normal? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

As far my socks (sock) goes, I'm almost done with the foot of the first sock and will be forced to turn the heel. Ahhh...a lot of scariness with my projects lately. I have very specific instructions on how to make a basic heel, so I think I've got it under control for now...you'll probably hear me whine about in the next day or two ;-).

I have to say, I don't know why anyone wouldn't knit a sock toe up. It's awesome to be able to try it on as I go. I guess knitting a sock cuff down is like knitting a bottom up sweater. I always feel like I'm taking a gamble when I do that because it's hard to gauge fit when you can't actually try the piece on.

As I knit on the Mangyle and the sock, I daydream about swatching for my February Lady Sweater or my Central Park Hoodie. I'm not even exagerating when I say dream-- I'm literally dreaming that I'm winding my skeins of yarn to begin swatching. I know, I'm totally crazy! Oh well, I'm just selfish and want to knit sweaters for myself! I'm the only one who truly appreciates my knitted FOs. Well, that might not be totally true but I can appreciate all the hard work and time that goes into knitting them.

"Hey, Teach, how do I fix my tight neckline?"

I finished my Hey, Teach! yesterday morning. Once I completed the finishing, I tried my new sweater on and, to my dismay, the neckline was bound off much too tightly. Oh man....and I wove in all the ends so well that I can't find the end to rip the bound off edge back to re-do it. What to do, what to do....

I was thinking that I'd just snip a few of the stitches on the bound off edge and try to rip from there. Does that sound like a good idea? Any suggestions? Help! Once I'm happy with the neckline, I'll pick out buttons and sew them on.

I knit Hey, Teach! out of Knit Picks Shine Worsted. I've never knit a garment with this yarn before. I've noticed that it sheds a lot so I'm thinking that it will probably pill quite a bit. I'm wondering how it will wear shape-wise. Will it stretch out and loss it's shape? What's your experience?

My next project is Mangyle. I've cast on and knit a few inches of the back. The main color is black and the two contrasting colors are cream and gray. I've never knit a sweater this larger. I hope it doesn't take me forever. I'm just itching to start my February Lady Sweater!