Almost Crafty

I’m a bandwagon jumper. I admit it. If a bandwagon rolls on by, I’ll be hopping on the back, trying to find a seat.

Which means, of course, that the February Lady Sweater bandwagon has got one more passenger. Can you blame me? Look at some of the gorgeous sweaters people have made form this pattern:

1. Olympic Lady Sweater, 2. One Classy Lady!, 3. February Lady Sweater, 4. February Lady Sweater, 5. February Lady Sweater Ravelympics 2008, 6. february lady sweater

It’s a pattern that appears to look good on various body types, and it’s “interesting” enough to make the actual knitting more enjoyable (at least for me).

“But Susan!” you’re thinking. “I thought you swore off sweaters after the whole Forecast debacle. You said that garter stitch sweaters would make you look bigger! Why on earth would you want to cast on for a garter stitch sweater, after you claimed that you’re more of a sock/hat/scarf/accessory knitter?”

I have no idea. I can only say that I’m fickle. I’ve been knitting nothing but socks and hats and scarves and accessories for over a year now, and it’s time to change it up. I want to knit a sweater.

I cast on this weekend, and have knit the yoke past the second buttonhole. I’m in that phase of endless, ever-increasing rows of garter stitch are starting to wear on me, but since the entire sweater isn’t garter stitch, it makes it much easier to persevere and keep going.

On an entirely different note - it feels so good to be knitting again! It’s funny, but when I sat on the couch this Sunday and pulled out my needles, it finally, finally, finally felt like our new apartment was “home.”

You’d think, since I ended up having all of last week off, and won’t be working until after the move in a couple of weeks, that I’d be getting a lot of knitting and crafting done between all of the packing and organizing and preparations for the move.

Sadly, there hasn’t been that much knitting. Last week I was so on edge with worry about booking movers that I couldn’t even focus to knit. Finally, about mid-week, I had to do something to distract me from the stress, and started a super-bulky, garter stitch scarf on size #17 needles. It was just what the doctor ordered. I hadn’t used such huge needles for awhile, so while I didn’t have to think about the stitches, I had to pay attention to actually manipulating the needles.

Right here is where I would normally put a picture of the scarf, but I’m just not that together.

Instead, I put together this collage of all of the WIPS I have that I would LOVE to finish before the move (although we all know that probably won’t happen):

From the top: a shawl I finished knitting OVER A YEAR AGO that just needs blocked, an orange hat that’s done that needs photographed, a Caliormetry that needs nothing but a single button, a Tulip cardigan that just needs a final photograph, a shrug that Ruby is sitting in for, since I have finished the knitting but didn’t even get a picture of the yarn, a Baby Surprise Jacket that just needs two simple seams and five buttons, the smaller Babette blanket that just needs some seaming and maybe some edging, and (DEEP BREATH) that’s it.  Phew! (The final spot is a avatar I made at www.faceyourmanga.com that I though was cute - plus, I needed another photo to even out the collage. Although I could have put the super-bulky scarf there. Oh well.).

Yeah, none of that is getting done, not even the photos.

But that’s OK - because in a couple of weeks, I’ll be in Louisville, all unpacked and moved in and settled and back in my routine, and I’ll be able to sit down and knit and crochet and sew my little fingers off.

I can’t wait.

I’m not sure why, but once the warm weather hit, I can’t seem to stop knitting. Which is strange - I figured that once the warm weather hit, I’d be all about the sewing. Weird.

Actually - not so weird. We have air conditioning in the current apartment, while the previous apartment did not. I suspect that has something to do with the urge to play with wool in July.

Here are some recent projects that are off the needles. This year, I decided that I would only join one sock club, and I would knit each and every pair that came in the mail as soon as possible.  I decided to sign up for the Woolgirl sock club for a few reasons, including: variety of yarn companies included, excellent word of mouth/blog about the club, ability to choose either sport or fingering yarn (that clinched it for me) and its fairly affordable price tag considering the exclusive nature of the yarn and patterns.

I have not been disappointed. In fact, I’ve kept my promise to myself, and have knit the first two kits immediately upon arrival.

Here are the April socks:

Project: Reina Socks, (Ravelry Link). Pattern by Lisa Dykstra

Yarn: Mama Llama Perfect Sock (sport weight) in Georgia’s Inspiration on size 2 needles, Magic Loop

I experimented with these socks by knitting both socks at the same time. Not on the same needle, though. I happened to have 2 size #2 circs in my drawer, so I would knit on both socks back and forth on both needles - cuff of sock #1, then cuff of sock #2, then the leg of sock #1, the leg of sock #2, then the heel of each, etc. etc. etc. Not only did this keep me from finishing one sock and putting aside the second, it also helped me to keep them remarkably similar, since anything I fudged on sock #1 I would remember for sock #2. I have to credit Stacey with this idea, as she mentioned it in the comments way back in this post, and I finally tried it. I’m now a believer!

Here’s the June Sock:

Project: Froggin’ Socks, (Ravelry Link). Pattern by Lisa Dykstra

Yarn: Dashing Dachs Dachs Sox:Sport Superwash Merino in Froggin’ colorway on size 2 needles, Magic Loop

When I saw this yarn, I thought it was the anti-Susan yarn. I mean - green? orange? YELLOW? These are not the colors I gravitate towards. These are usually the colors I avoid at all costs.

However - I told myself that I’d knit each kit, and figured I’d give these a go. I am SO glad I did, because I absolutely love these socks and this yarn and (yes) even these colors.

I didn’t follow the pattern exactly though. Instead, I knit these from the toe up, with a plain stockinette foot - both at once, magic looped on the same needle. While these got a tad fiddly, it was still no more fiddly (to me) than DPNs. The actual knitting seemed to go slower, though, but when I got to the heel, I had to remind myself that I had already knit TWO sock feet instead of just one. That was pretty nice.

I turned the heels, then proceeded up the legs using the pattern stitch. While the stitch pattern itself is obscured in the colors, I liked the overall texture of the stitches (rather than the pattern for the pattern’s sake, if that makes sense). From there, I knit each sock separately, and finished with some twisted 1×1 rib.

Those were the first two of the five club kits, with the next due to arrive in August. I can’t even imagine what the yarn or colorway will be. I can’t wait to find out!