Monthly Archives: April 2014

around and around (turnstile in progress).

Posted on by
2

IMG_2050

First of all, to give you a sense of the kind of excitement happening around here, this is what I did last Saturday night. I took whatever was left in the bottle of rye (not much) over to my friend M.’s house, she made me a (delicious) Manhattan with chocolate bitters, and we both proceeded to continue writing our dissertations. I’m not complaining; it was better than attempting to keep putting words on the screen at my house…

IMG_2051

This face pretty much captures the general malaise that is the end of the semester.

IMG_2053

Lila in action. I like it over the top of other layers like this.

IMG_2063

Snapped this picture for my mom, as this dress was a present from her last year. And also because this is my professor costume. (Thanks to K. for that description.)

IMG_2072

Boh! I know it looks like he’s growling, but I actually snapped this at the tail end of a yawn. We took a walk in the arboretum earlier this week just before the skies opened, so we had the place to ourselves.

IMG_2075

And, as my post title suggests, more turnstiling.

IMG_2076

I really love the stripes.

IMG_2082

Snapped this yesterday while writing on the porch. (Handspun eternity scarf number 2.)

IMG_2084

This guy brought his ball and his bone out to the porch, but spent most of our time out there looking at me and pleading for belly rubs. Tough. Life.

IMG_2086

A new section — back to orangey-red and yellow stripes, and after that, one more solid orangey-red block…

 

Advertisement

turnstile progress.

Posted on by
5

While Lila was blocking, I may have cast on something else: turnstile. Warning, folks: this pattern is addicting. There’s something about the helical stripes that makes it impossible to stop. And the pattern provides some amazingly effective advice on how to switch colors for super smooth striping.

IMG_1835

I chose three colors I love, and cast on.

IMG_1846

And pretty close to immediately, it was time to start striping. (It certainly didn’t hurt that I was binge-watching Veronica Mars at the time.)

IMG_1982

I love these colors, and I’m thinking this is going to be perfect for late spring and for all summer activities that include air-conditioning!

IMG_1991

Boh doesn’t seem to mind this project, either.

IMG_1993

I’m making the largest size (but in fingering weight yarn instead of sport), and I’m about halfway done. Here’s hoping I can maintain this knitting momentum!

FO: lila.

Posted on by
6

IMG_1831

Lila, blocking. The pattern called for blocking the sweater before knitting the neckline, and then my friend D. and his new dog came to visit, which is why it has taken me a few days to share this with you. (Pictures of his sweet dog, Honey, below.)

IMG_1969

None of my pictures of Lila do it justice. The lighting is terrible, and I’m including this shot so you can see the hemline, even though I think I’ll wear this over a tank instead of over a v-neck tee like this one.

IMG_1971

Again, awkward pose, but this shot has some of the best lighting in the set I snapped yesterday. You know, when I knit the neckline and then put on the sweater. And then didn’t take it off.

IMG_1978

This shot shows how pleased I am with the armhole/shoulder area of the sweater. This construction seems to fit my shoulders better than any top-down raglan I’ve knit. Hooray! I think I might block this one more time, a bit more aggressively, to get a smidge more length and a tad less width in the finished product, but I’m really happy with how this turned out. I promise to take better pictures the next time I wear it.

IMG_1912

And here’s Honey, perched in the window.

IMG_1917

And here she is napping with Boh after A LOT of playing.

IMG_1929

And here she is, absolutely out cold in my grandfather’s chair. Love her.

 

all lila, all the time.

Posted on by
7

IMG_1787

So that thing I said yesterday about balancing knitting and writing didn’t really happen. But it was the Friday of my spring break week, so I think it’s allowed. Yesterday I finished knitting the body of Lila and started the first sleeve.

IMG_1788

I’m following the pattern as written even though I’m a little worried that the length/style of this sweater might not be quite right for my shape. We’ll see!

IMG_1790

Boh set his head down on my needle case as soon as I unrolled it to find dpns for the first sleeve. Sweet, sweet dog.

IMG_1791

The garter stitch sleeve cuff.

IMG_1793

Serious sleeve progress.

IMG_1794

Checking the snugness (so far so good) after some knitting with my coffee this morning! Today I do need to write, but I’m hoping to reward myself with at least a few knitting breaks. Happy weekend!

cast on, can’t stop.

Posted on by
7

IMG_1776

I have no idea what happened, but on Wednesday night, all of a sudden all I wanted to do was knit. And so I started poking around Ravelry and my stash, and decided that Lila, a pullover with an interesting hemline, was what I needed to be knitting. Immediately. So I bought the pattern, dug out some special yarn (a bag of Schaefer Miss Priss worsted in a lovely variegated gray that I got for knitting a sample maybe five years ago), wound up two balls of it, and cast on.

IMG_1777

Well, first I swatched. And then I washed it, and decided my numbers were close enough to gauge that I could start the sweater and then confirm my sizing/needle choice in the morning. (Which worked.)

IMG_1778

I’d gotten this far on the garter hem by the time I went to bed on Wednesday night.

IMG_1783

And finished the garter hem and began the short rows on Thursday morning.

IMG_1785

And Thursday night, I’d knit several inches of the body. I haven’t had this “just one more row” feeling in quite awhile, and I love that it’s back. Here’s hoping I can balance knitting with some solid dissertation writing today. (And happy Friday!)