The Undulating Odyssey of My Brother's Sweater

Nothing has been finished this week Chez ChristineOlea, though much progress has been made on several different things.

Kaffe is Undulating along nicely. I have, however, reached a crossroads. The first sock is finished and the leg is just on the wrong side of too tight. I can get it on my foot, but not with ease. Do I knit the second one on a size larger needle and rip the first one back and do the same? Add a pattern repeat to the second one and rip the first one back and do the same? Or just carry on and only rarely wear socks that I would otherwise wear all the time because they don't quite fit. I think the only good answer is going to involve ripping back, taking time to do it right and all that. I may have to set them aside and let that idea steep for a bit.

The Odysseus Sweater has grown by leaps and bounds. The sleeves are all attached (both of them) and let me say that the second sleeve is not nearly as painful when the sleeves are only 4 inches long. Short Sleeves Huzzah! Using my new stitch dictionary courtesy of Babs Walker I added a little lace insert along the raglan seams and everything seems to be going nicely. I have to ask Penelope what sort of neckline she wants. The good part about finally reaching the yoke is that every couple of rows I decrease 8 stitches so it only gets shorter.

It looks a bit goofy on the needles but I think a good blocking and Penelope's delightfully zaftig figure will make this sweater work.

This actually is quite an attractive red, though like all reds it is difficult to capture on film. Especially with my lack of effort and care.

I've been swatching and swatching on My Brother's Sweater. By the time I actually start the sweater I'll have knit a sweater's worth of swatches. I thought I was finished and ready to cast on, but I don't think I am. The colors just aren't quite working, though another trip to the yarn store and a couple more swatches ought to remedy that. Then I can order yarn from various sources and actually start.

That and Ravelry has taken more time that it really should. The novelty should wear off soon but the knowledge that more people are joining weekly and adding their projects and such means that it is constantly new and changing with all sorts of wonderful things to look at.

Undulating Kaffe

Take 'one more row' multiply by 'one more color' sprinkle with rain and a mindless job. Steep for 2 shifts.





Kaffe Fasset is one of those designers that I've always liked but never had a desire to actually knit. I love that you can pick his designs out from across the room, I love the colors and textures, but I just don't have the desire to actually put any of his designs on my body. Then I heard about Mr. Fassett's affair with Regia. Finally something of Kaffe's design that I would actually wear. In my usual fashion I coveted the unborn Regia-Fassett children until I promptly forgot all about them.

Then, while trying to kill some time, I entered a Not-So-LYS in a search for something else entirely. My first stop in any yarn store is the sock yarn, conveniently located by the door in the particular store. I saw the Regia-Fasset children and I had to have some. The long list of projects waiting to be cast on didn't even enter my mind as I looked through the pamphlet (free with purchase) and decided which ones would be coming home with me. I picked Landscape Earth 4255 for me and Mirage Storm 4250 for someone for Christmas.

I've had my eye on the Undulating Rib pattern in Favorite Socks for awhile now and the perfect opportunity presented itself. Who was I to resist. Penelope and my Brother will just have to wait. I can already tell these will be consistently on the top of the pile.

Yet Another Lavender Sachet

If I didn't already know the answer I would ask where the time went. I don't even feel guilty about it. I graduated more than two years ago and I still sometimes marvel that time not spent doing homework is all of my time now. My time on sites like ravelry is still time spent putting off other things, but the vaccuuming doesn't work on a deadline and won't grade me on my work.

Moving directly on to the point. Much of my non-ravelry time this week has, in fact, been spent knitting and I have a lot to show for it.

First off:

Yet Another Lavender Sachet!

Pattern: Cameo Lace from the Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker. (I like to think of her as Babs.)

Needles: Size 0

Yarn: Some Cotton off the cone from Weaving Works.

Since I started these I have cleaned out my mother, my brother and just this weekend my Aunt of all their lavender. When you look at lavender bushes they don't look like they have all that much lavender, but when you cut it and put it all in one place there is an astouding amount. As it stands now I should have enough lavender to make sachets for every drawer in the house, whether or not there is any wool contained therein.

Secondly:

The third installment of the best club in the world.

Pattern: Solstice Slip Socks by JC Briar

Needles: size 1

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Firebird.

Notes: Mine are toe-up with a fabulous picot bind-off, my very first picot edge. I've always wanted to do a picot edge and just never did, but I thought these socks were perfect for it. My picot doesn't lay flat so much as stick out totally flat, but it really just makes my socks look like their dancing all the time and I love it. All of my socks may have picots from now on.

Thirdly:

The Odysseus sweater has sleeves. I'm completely out of odyssey references, but the going is short from here on out. I just have to do a tiny bit of math to figure out my decreases and I'll be on my merry way. Penelope is already planning her next sweater but she'll have to go at the end of the line.

That squelching you heard earlier today was me being sucked into Ravelry. I hauled out all the projects I have to hand, except hats which will come another day, photographed them and put them on my ravelry page. Whew. My bum's a little sore and I want my day back so I can do something more productive.

Don Quixote

Pattern: The Windmill from Barbara G. Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns

Yarn: Zephyr 50/50 wool/silk, Real Red. Off the cone from my favorite LYS

Needles: size 0

Notes: I knit this one flat and seemed it together. I got a little overzealous on my blocking and the yo holes are a little big; the lavender has a tendency to fall out. However, since it will just be sitting in a drawer I'm not too worried.

I still can't get enough of the spicy smell of Lavender, and I just got more laceweight off the cone so there are more of these to come!

Lavender Green

Lavender Sachet

Yarn: Bollicine Sissi, 70/30 Kid Mohair/Polyamid

Needles: size 2

Pattern: Lace chart from A Gathering Of Lace. Its from a pair of socks at the end, the book is upstairs and I am downstairs. I did the 13st bold pattern.

Notes: This one has the pattern on both sides, no particular reason, I just figured since it wasn't a picture it wouldn't necessarily need to have the pattern on only one side. I did this in the round with a three needle bind off at the top. Then I filled it with lavender and sewed it shut. There is a good reason there isn't a close up of the seems, but since it's just going in a drawer anyway I'm not too fussed.

The yarn is a little to camoflauge-y to me, and it would certainly detract from a more intricate pattern. As it is I'm just testing things out. I used larger needles because the mohair really called for it. I'm not worried about the lace escaping through the yo holes, mostly because it is so fuzzy.

P.S.

my Ravelry name is ChristineOlea. Come on by and say hello.