knitting has me treed

I have hit such a knitting wall.

My angora sweater has been ripped and re-done too many times to count, and is now waiting patiently in little balls. I tried some different lace patterns, but so little of the brown was being used that I decided it wasn't worth it. I am not in the mood to be adding yarn to my collection - I really want it knitted up and in use. I think I may make a cropped jacket out of it. I need to think more about what stitches I'll be using (maybe beads, too?) but I know what the basic style will be.

I have finally come to terms with the fact that Annie Modesitt's top-down silk corset is just not going to work out for me. In my first attempt, I managed to get to the waist before trying it on and finding it a little too small for it to be truly comfortable. That is when I realized that either the math is off for the amount of stitches to cast on, or Art Yarns' Regal Silk has way more stretch than Reynold's Mandalay. I recalculated a few numbers and cast on for two sizes bigger. This time I was more careful to try it on, and by converting it to the round it was easier to judge fit. It was going tolerably well until, again, I reached the waist. That's when I realized that this pattern is definitely not meant for someone who has 8" difference between bust and waist. The corset looks incredibly lumpy on me - not quite the look I was going for. I considered short rows, but really I am just so sick of knitting this that I think it's over. Again, this leaves me with quite a bit of silk yarn with no purpose. I am so adamantly against having a stash with no purpose, but I think fate is conspiring against me! I think I might make this into some sort of shell or short-sleeved sweater, but for now it has me boggled.

All of this is particularly frustrating, since I've promised myself that I can't start work on my next fair isle sweater until I finish these two projects. Grr.

another multi-project update

I'm back from under the Mason-Dixon line, and while there has not been a lot of blogging, there has certainly been some knitting.

The tesselating fish are steadily growing, most appropriately being knit on the beach. I now have seven purple, six pink, four red and seven gray fish with another on the needles. I am having lots of fun making these. The pattern is short enough to memorize and execute quickly, but there is lots of interest in making it - each row is different. I am using US 8s for each fish, but as you can see there are slight variations in size, as all of my yarns are different. With careful placement and seaming these differences shouldn't be an issue in the final project.


I greedily decided that I did not want to start the wool short-sleeved sweater yet, since I couldn't wear it immediately in this heat. Instead I opted for a silk camisole also found in Sarah Dallas' Vintage Knits. I substituted the Rowan that was recommended with Reynold's Mandalay in color #12, a heathered purple which is more of an eggplant color than is shown in the picture. The silk looked lovely knitted tightly on US1s, although I had to take frequent breaks since it is so non-elastic. I got nearly halfway done with the camisole before I finally came to terms with the fact that this pattern was just not going to work for me. The fabric is too thick for a piece that is meant to be for summer, and while the seed stitch looks so pretty, it is just not attractive on. The word "sausage" comes to mind. I am going to let this sit for a little while longer in case anything miraculous occurs to me, but I think ultimately this is going to be ripped. I have Annie Modesitt's corset top in mind for another project for this yarn. The gauge is looser than what I was struggling for on the US1s, and I think the yarn may behave nicer for this project.

Crichton has its buttons on. I always want to use the masculine pronoun with Crichton, even if it is knitted in pinks and oranges. There will be modeled shots as soon as the clouds go away. The Vogue cardigan will also be modeled, as soon as I can find some hook and eye closures.