The Yarn That Would Not Become a Jumper: Volume IV

This is a gripe about a specific project, and probably not interesting to people who aren't me.

Third time around, I finally turned this yarn into a jumper. I had to buy an extra ball of yarn to finish the sleeve, and didn't have enough to do hemming around the neck, but it was finished.

But.

I like jumpers to be slightly oversized, but my efforts at sizing my own clothes that way always come out larger than intended. It's possible I should enlist someone else's help in measuring myself, or at least look in the mirror to see that I'm holding the tape measure in a straight line.

I finished the jumper, and while the body is comfy, the sleeves were too baggy. For aesthetics they were only a bit too big, and I would have left it but for the fact that I wouldn't be able to wear trailing sleeves in a lab, and given the time that I've put into it, it seems silly to only be able to wear it on weekends. And it's a raglan-sleeve jumper (which is lovely and straightforward! Who knew?), which meant undoing the sleeves meant going right back to the start.

What is up with my fingers? The gods themselves, they do not know.

So my evening of rewatching Sherlock while finishing the jumper as it rained outside did not go to plan. I ended up with a bag of yarn, again,  instead of a jumper, and my heart hurt because John thinks that Sherlock is dead, and it was raining. Apparently I'm a masochist, but I was also raised Catholic, so in practise I just do conventionally unpleasant things, and the resulting joy and shame cancel each other out and I feel neutral about the whole thing.

On the positive side, for a generous definition of 'positive', I'm going to Sunshine House in a few weeks, so I can bring that down as my night-time project.

In progress

I have a few bits and pieces ongoing at the moment.

I stopped by This Is Knit's sale with a friend (I think it's fair that I don't have to be Not Buying Yarn if there's a sale on) and he bought this Debbie Bliss Winter Garden for me to make him a hat. I'm using the Hat Fit For A Fella pattern (Ravelry pattern page here), which I've made before, removing the brim and using my modification from the last time I made it. The cables have eaten the yarn and I still have a few inches to go, so while I've been failing to go back in and get some more, I've started working on...

a jumper! I bought this yarn (Debbie Bliss cotton, I do like cotton) as an end-of finals-present to myself last year, started this tunic (Ravelry pattern page here), realised half-way through that it was the wrong sized and ripped it out, re-started it, realised half-way through that it was the wrong size and ripped it out, and then left all the yarn in a bag until now, unable to bring myself to touch it. I think it was a good move, as a third failed attempt would have bred supervillainy-inducing levels of frustration and resentment, and that would be a very underwhelming origin story.

In the year's interim I went off the pattern - or at least how it would look in this shade - and decide to make this v-neck instead. I think I'll get more wear out of it than I would the tunic.

It's top-down and has raglan sleeves, both of which are new to me in a jumper, and I've already had to restart once because "At the same time" is my enemy. I like how it's turning out, and now I don't feel guilty for having the bag of yarn sitting in the corner of my room, silently judging me.

I spent Saturday and Sunday hiking some forty kilometres of the Wicklow Way with some members of my volunteer group. It's easy to forget, especially living in Dublin, that Ireland is quite breathtakingly stunning, despite the national pastime of complaining about Ireland.

The second photo is of Powerscourt Waterfall from a height and distance, and the last one is of Glendalough valley. When we were walking across the planks in the fourth picture, the wind was so strong and the hill so exposed that I had to lean into the wind to end up somewhat vertical, and still nearly got blown off into the bog a few times. (You might think bogs are for low-lying flat land, not the top of hills, but you would be wrong.) We got very lucky with the weather, and I got sunburned wearing the one racerback top I own, because of course I did. It's not Summer until I have uneven tan-lines.

I'm currently a a tech volunteer for the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. So far this has meant moving props between shows, but they were important props. I've sat in on two plays so far, because I am the kind of very cultured and important person who sees two plays a week - premieres, no less. Bash: Latterday Plays is very intense, dark, harrowing and excellent. My Second Self is awfully sweet, quietly hopeful, and funnier than I was expecting. The program changes next week, so I'd recommend either or both if you're in Dublin this week!

wip: Sister's jumper

I finished a commissioned hat of my own design on Friday, took photos on Saturday, wrote the pattern up just now, and was all set to post when I realised the photos were rushed and wonky-looking.  So I'll try to take better ones to go with the pattern.

In the meantime, this is the jumper I'm making for my sister.

My garden has daisies and we nearly had sun!

The patern is the same one I made for my first jumper, the Allegoro Scoop-neck Pullover.  The yarn is Louisa Harding Ianthe, which is a mix of cotton and merino.  It feels at once cool and snuggly.  Cotton is some sort of magical fibre.

I've reached the slightly unfortunate stage where the pattern is no longer nothing but mindless stockinette stitch, and the piece is getting a bit big to fit into my knitting penguin.  I'm not sure whether I'll bring it into work tomorrow or not.  I have nothing else small to work on though, so I probably will, my hands like to have something to do, so it will probably make me less annoying to be around.  (I finished a ball of wool half-way through a day of nothing much in work last week.  It was quite distressing.)

My knitting penguin, here seen wearing the start of the cupcake hat.

In other news, I am just about back on solid foods!  It's a pretty exciting time for me.

FOs: Hoodie and Amy Gloves

I had all four wisdom teeth removed on Friday, and these photos were taken on Monday, which is why it looks like I suddenly gained a lot of weight in my face.  (The swelling on the left side has gone down more than the right, so I'm still a bit swollen and lopsided.  I also have to rinse with warm salt-water every time I eat.  I don't like eating enough to make myself do that too often.  On the upside, I have progressed to eating soup with a soup spoon, rather than a tea-spoon!)

I'm told it's a perfect fit on the recipient.  Not so good on me but very snuggly.

Puffy face.

I dyed my hair purplish post-exams, but it's already starting to fade.  I might get it done properly next time I get my hair cut - my hair is quite dark, so if I do it myself I have to go for something dark enough to show up, and it'd be nice to go for something brighter.  Maybe red!

This is the ribbed border of the hood.  The ribbed pattern is one I hadn't come across before (p1k1 on the purl side, k the knit side).  It's simple, but a little different, and I like it.

I've mentioned the hoodie and it's details in other posts, but I'm a fan of giving credit where it's due!  The pattern is most Skully, but I used Under the Hoodie, both from the first Stitch 'n' Bitch book to work out how to make the hood.  The pocket is the result of my own foostering.  James C. Brett chunky acrylic yarn on 6.5mm needles, yup yup.

I finally finished my Amy gloves!  I didn't have much to do for my first week in the lab, but I did have my own desk, so I spent a lot of free time knitting while I read papers for my mod project proposal.

 I've already chronicled my misfortunes with these gloves, but there was one yet to come after I left off last time.  While read-knitting, I didn't pay proper attention and got most of the way through a second left glove.  It was a better fit than the first one though, so I finished it, frogged the first one and re-knit it as a right glove while watching films with a giant puffy face.

Here is the pattern...

Here is the colour.

The pattern is does it every bother you that your life doesn't make [any] sense?, and the yarn is Debbie Bliss Rialto.  I have a lot left over, though not enough to make a pair for my mum who's very taken with them.

I need to improve at accessorising, if only because I can't wear anything I've made for myself until the weather gets colder.

Aaand we're back.

I finished exams!  They could have gone better, but could have been a whole lot worse, so I shouldn't complain.  I also broke my one-post-per-fortnight rule, but my laptop broke the day before my last exam and I only got it fixed yesterday, so I think I can be excused.

To reward myself for finishing exams, I made this hat:

Check me out, taking photos outside where there's light instead of in my room where there's not.

I don't have a good photo face.  I've decided to stop trying.

The pattern is Tori by Erin Kate Archer.  The pattern calls for bulky yarn, but I really liked the striping of it and couldn't find any nice variegated bulky yarn.  I used Louisa Harding Grace - so lovely and so soft.  It's worsted weight though, so it didn't come out as slouchy as the original, it's more of a beanie, which I wasn't going for.  I am happy with it though (and I don't usually wear bright colours but I am trying NEW THINGS).  The pattern is lovely and it knits up quickly (I made it while letting my brain melt watching horror films), and I might keep an eye out for suitable bulky yarn to make another more suited to the harsh winter months.

My follow-up indulgence was my Amy Gloves.  I'm using 4-ply yarn (Debbie Bliss Rialto), instead of 3-ply as suggested by the pattern, both because there's a wider selection and I'd imagine it to be snugglier.  I finished the left one the other night, but decided there was just a little too much wiggle room.  I've ripped it out and am reknitting the whole thing on slightly smaller needles (2.75mm), so it should be a better fit.  I'm glad to be redoing it, the lace pattern was just a little wide and sloppy for my tastes as it was.  I find lace on large needles just looks gappy.

Red toenails are Summery for me.

I'm nearly finished my friend's hoodie.  This photo was taken before I'd sewn up the sides.  I didn't think through the pocket properly.  I intended to pick up stitches, but realised that that left me with the yarn on the wrong side, so I pulled a length of yarn to the back to pick up at the front and then kept on knitting at the front.  Then to attach the top I sewed the last row, pulled the live stitches through using a crochet hook and bound them off on the back.  Not ideal, but I'm satisfied with my minor feat of engineering, and it's a lesson in planning ahead for next time.  I also grossly underestimated how much yarn I'd need, and when I went in it was clealy a different dye-lot.  Oops.

In PLAN news, I still want to make myself a hoodie, though I'm now thinking of making something light and summery, maybe in cotton.  I also want to make a big snuggly cardigan because I can't find any I like in shops.  I also want to make a skirt out of fabric I've had for ages now.

I'm starting an internship in the developmental biology lab on Monday.  Exciting!

wips and project wantings.

I have a habit of only posting FOs here, mostly because I forget to take photos of anything I'm doing.  I'm working on a few different things at the moment, though, so between that and exams it will take a while for anything to get finished.

So here are some wips!  Crummy photo quality as the photos were taken on my laptop and the light here is good for studying but not so good for webcam.

A friend asked for a jumper with big pockets and a hood.  I couldn't find a pattern I liked, so this is a bit of an amalgamation.  The main body is the Skully (best pattern for knocking out a quick big comfy jumper) from the first Stitch 'n' Bitch book, and the I'm basing the hood on Under The Hoodie in the same book.  It's a bulky acrylic yarn on 6.5mm needles.  Everything else I'm working on uses smaller needled and finer wool, so it's nice to have this to take a break, and be able to see results faster.

Another goddamn Grumpasaurus, this time for my brother's girlfriend's sister.  This one has kind of been put on the back-burner as she's gone home, and I've made so many, and my brother has asked for more for other friends...  DK merino wool (I have two skeins of this colour in my stash and I don't know where it came from) on ... 2.75mm needles, I think.  I much prefer using two sets of circs for knitting in the round, but didn't have the right size, so I started off being kind of lazy and only distributing stitches on two DPNs, and then.. didn't incorporate the third.  It's more sac-like on circs or with the third needle.

I am also making a SECRET THING, but it's for my boyfriend who reads this, so I can't post pictures.  It's a pity, it looks cooler than the others even unfinished.

My sister has requested a jumper like the one I made for myself, so on Friday we met up for lunch and then went to This Is Knit (best shop best shop) for wool-shopping.  She doesn't knit (she tried a rectangle once but it kind of turned into a triangle), so there was some explanation of wool weights required, and then some time of "Does this blue look kind of purple to you?  I don't want it to be purple.  This blue is kind of grey, I'm not sure cool colours suit me.  What do you think of this?  Wait, is this the same as the blue I just said was too purple?  I'll go with this one.  Actually, I like this pink."  So we left the proud owners of Louisa Harding Ianthe.  Is nice wool, fun to touch.

My craft-related feelings at the minute are split pretty evenly between "Yay, lots of projects!" and "Oh god, so many hours of stockinette."  It would be nice to take a break from it with projects that call for more interesting techniques, but I do feel bad putting my own projects before someone else's request.  The two biggish projects I'd like to make for myself at the moment aren't really any respite in that regard, a top which looks like mostly stockinette and the Tom Baker-era Doctor Who scarf, which is nothing but garter stitch.  I'm also tempted to make Under The Hoodie from above, but again, hours of stockinette, and I'm trying to reduce the amount of non-machine-washable clothes I make.  Maybe if I find something nice in acrylic.

More interesting projects I would like to make are this lace hat (how do I pay for things on Ravelry?  Do I have to set up a PayPal or something?  But it's only 70cent!  Hassle of that, etc., and that is why I probably will intend to make this indefinitely) and these mitts (yes another Doctor Who pattern, but I am a geek and the wardrobe department clearly know their business.  Also I like cables and fingerless gloves).  They're both small enough projects to make a nice break, I think.

In other news I haven't had a haircut in three months, have passed the point of being a Westie and am now turning into a mop.

The big snuggly jumper I've planned for so long.

I finally got around to making it! A yarn shop in town was selling giant (200g) balls of chunky wool for €6, and I was already having a wool-shopping day, so I picked it up. I used the Skully Stitch 'n' Bitch book, minus the intarsia. I started it at the end of August, and finished it last weekend. I didn't realise how stripy the wool would turn out, and it's bigger than I intended (though I had deliberately made it longer than the pattern said to), but I'm happy with it, and now I can still make the other jumper I had in my head another time.

I have quite a backlog built up.

My boyfriend gave me a voucher to a specialist yarn shop for our anniversary last year, so I thought I should be a bit self-indulgent and make myself something biggish. I had seen someone else post a picture of a top they made using this pattern, which looked lovely. I started it in February, but between birthdays, college, travelling, and general being busy I didn't finish it until August. It's bigger than I wanted it to be (I cannot gauge to save my life, it seems), but I was able to fix that a bit with blocking, and I think it still looks alright.

The yarn used is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, which is absolutely lovely.