Thank goodness for lifelines..

Long time no see!

Anyway, I'm close to being done with my Nightsongs shawl. I was (so I thought) at the end of the body repeats and ready to start the edging. I knit the first row of the edging and discovered...

The stitch count didn't add up. Rechecked the row, and I knit it correctly, it just didn't line up with the row before it. After consulting numerous versions of the patterns and looking in the Ravelry fora for other people who had had similar problems, I discovered...

I was supposed to have ended the last repeat of the main motif on row 32, not continued on to row 38. Frogging back to row 32 would have been a nightmare, with all of the yarn-overs that I would have had to make sure to pick back up, and unknitting that far would have been far, far worse. Luckily...

I had put in a lifeline before the last repetition of the main motif, in case I didn't have enough yarn to do the last repeat and the edging. I just frogged back to the lifeline, and started knitting the last repeat all over again. It's irritating to lose a couple days of work, but that's what I get for not paying enough attention to the pattern.

Lessons learned

When winding 100 grams of fingering weight yarn into a center-pull ball by hand, make sure to leave a long tail for the center-pull.

Otherwise, it gets lost inside of the ball, and you have to do it all over again.

Finish line!

The Ravelympics are over, and I finished both of the events I entered!

Contestant 1: Senior Auction Mittens

Pattern: The Alice Carroll All-rib Mitt, Yarn: Plymouth Encore worsted in a yellow-orange color.

They were a hit. The person who won these in the senior auction was properly enthused about getting them, and sent my hallmates and me a nice email thanking us for all the hard work that went into them. Score.

Contestant 2: Cthulhu Bag

Pattern: Cthulhu Dice Bag! by A.A. Leavitt-Reynolds. Yarn: Red Heart in Black and a lime green.

This is my third try at making a coin purse of a reasonable size to carry laundry money in. While this one is smaller than my last attempt (the Tsantsa shrunken head bag), it still is the size of a small evening purse, not a coin purse. Conclusion: I need to use thinner yarn if I want to make a bag any smaller. Going down a needle size isn't going to cut it: this bag was worked on 6's and is already approaching bullet-proof fabric. It stands up on its own. Sport-weight yarn may be the way to go.

Ravelympics Time!

Well, Tepes is nearly done. I just have to weave in ends and embroider the spikes. It would have been nice to have had it done in time to be helpful during the Snowpocalypse, but I managed to survive without.

But I'm putting that aside for the moment, because...

It's Ravelympics time!

I'm doing two projects for Team Mine (Selfish Knitters and Crocheters), and if I get both of them done before the games are over (cue laugh track) I'll maybe start something else.

The entrants:
1) Senior Auction Mittens. Entered in Mitten Moguls and Single Skein Speed Skate. The pattern is The "Alice Carroll" All Rib Mitt, and I'm using Plymouth Encore in a gold color. This is my contribution to the mitten, hat, and scarf set that my hall-mates and I entered for the senior auction. I was a bit hesitant about entering this for Team Mine, but the proceeds went to fund Senior Week, which I definitely have a stake in, so that's enough selfish motivation for me.

2) Cthulhu Dice Bag. Entered in Bag Jump and Nordic Colorwork Combined. The pattern is Cthulhu Dice Bag! by A.A. Leavitt-Reynolds, and I'm using some acrylic that I know the black is Red Heart, and I think so for the green too, but I'm not sure. I need something to put my laundry quarters in, and so far all my attempts to knit a coin purse have been unsuccessful. Hopefully this one will actually hold coins and not be the size of a small evening bag.

See everyone at the finish line!

Socks!

Well, the Bat Shawl still hasn't been blocked yet. I can't find any flat surface in our house large enough to pin it out and let it dry without it getting in someone's way. However, my sister assures me that she has no immediate plans to wear it, so it's not a problem. I still want to get it completely finished before I go back to school, though.

Promised picture of Owl Pin:

Pattern: hoot! by Ysolda Teague. Yarn: Red Heart Heather in Grey Heather.

And now, the exciting news: I finished my first pair of socks!
Here's one:

Pattern: Lifestyle Toe Up Socks -- No Swatch Needed from K1 P1 Design1 Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll in Mermaid.

I haven't had a chance to take a picture of both of them yet, but the second one looks pretty much just like the first one.

Currently up: hat for me. Details to come...

Merry Christmas!

Well, after much delay owing to the snowstorms that shut down the East Coast, I am home and with my family for Christmas.

Due to the snowstorms, I had a lot of time to knit over the weekend, and as a result, and after superhuman effort, the Bat Shawl I knit for my sister is finished, except for blocking and weaving in ends. It took almost continuous knitting for the last several days, and my wrists are about shot, but it was finished in time (late this afternoon) to wrap and have her open under the tree, with a promissory note for the aforesaid finishing. It was received with much appreciation.

Also, as the ultimate last minute Christmas gift, I made my mother an owl pin between when people started unwrapping presents and when people finished up, with a similar promissory note for weaving in ends.

Pictures to follow when all the finishing is done and they look all pretty.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

My New Yarn -- Before

This is my new yarn:


I found it at a thrift store for 3 dollars. 48% wool, 22% viscose, 16% nylon, 9% angora rabbit, 5% cashmere.

It'll take a bit of work to return it to its original yarny state, and I'm not sure what I'll make out of it. Something warm and fuzzy, that's for sure.