Natalie Knits

Progress has been made! I have all the main part knitted, with ends woven in. Now: Blocking. I also finished making my blocking boards the other day, they are cute! But with the red and white checked fabric, they do look a bit like a picnic table. The picture shows how it sort of kind of maybe looks like a sweater! I'm hoping to block and begin seaming by the end of the week so over the weekend I can pick up the stitches and do the hood. I'm going next weekend to visit my parents, and if J decides to go with me, (and he always likes to be the driver) that would be 6 hours of knitting time! That always speeds up my projects.

I am not quite sure why it makes me so happy to watch this silly, less than 20-second clip from the daily show, but it does. Maybe it's because I think Dimitri Martin is so very funny, or because the kid in the clip is so funny, too. I want more schamily schmow!

Well, the name of this post says it all... it's been slow going.
I finished the sweater last week (yay!)... but the zippers weren't quite right (boo!). So I made a plan-- the two zippers on the sleeves look great, lie flat, blend in. Very nice. The zipper on the front and the hood-- not so nice. Too big and clunky, don't lie flat, don't blend in. I have been going in circles trying to find the right zippers! So now I have a plan-- get a matching, close-end zipper that matches the zippers on the sleeves for the hood. And for the front zipper, the one I use the most, I got a riri (a fancy-schmancy european zipper). It was a bit of a splurge-- I couldn't justify to myself getting riri's for all the zippers, it would have cost like 3 times what I spent on the yarn. Now I have to rip out the old ones, and put in the new, then maybe it will be done.

One thing this project has taught me is how to be patient! I have stuck with it, weaving in all the ends, sewing up the pieces, and now I just have a bit of finishing to do, and I don't mind it, I just need to wait until it feels right. I have been pretty exhausted lately. I will be done with my coursework by the end of the week (yay!) and done with statistics tomorrow (double yay!!!), but then I have my annual review and lots of research paperwork to take care of. But at least I'll get to sleep a little more, and maybe worry a little less. It's hard to be balanced with work piling up to the point I can't put it off anymore (though I do try!), it will be good to clear my mind and take a break.

And as soon as the new zippers are on I'll have some pics...

And tomorrow, I'll have pictures of the new yarn I've been spinning, I'm thinking it might eventually become a sweater! I have been doing some legwork to set up my next projects, too-- more to follow soon. I've been collecting patterns and yarn, it's going to be good!

Is it sad that a ball winder can make me so excited? I don't care, it does. I ordered one today, along with the yarn I'd like to use to make my mom a sweater. I'm planning on making it a birthday present, which isn't until November. That leaves plenty of time! I ordered one ball of the yarn last week, and when it came I was really pleased. I would like to buy the expensive yarn, but what the pattern recommends is roughly 12-14 skeins of Berroco alpaca, and then you double it in the knitting. So I was looking for something a little bulkier, that would get the same gague, but that I'd have to buy half as much. I finally decided that I'd give knitpicks a try-- I am a bit of a fiber snob, but they have this 100% alpaca that looked good, so I ordered one skein to give it a try, and it's wonderful! So I ordered more, and a ball winder to make it easier to use. I can't wait for it to come!!!

This has been a very long week, though finishing classes helps A LOT. Though it has also severely limited by ability to post on the blog, or to do much else for that matter. I like taking classes-- sometimes I wonder if when I am done with classes that I'll miss them. I'll be taking less in the fall, though I will be teaching, so it's always something. But I don't mean that in a negative way-- I think being balanced in some sense is VERY important.

Also, working on this sweater has helped me find some patience. I often feel frustrated with the details of a project, but working on this sweater I found that I wasn't frustrated, and when I had worked through some small piece it felt good, and helped me see the larger picture. Also, having to replace two of the zippers (and having to frog various parts of the sweater at various stages) let me see the value in taking my time to do something well, and understanding how investing the time and care on the smaller parts adds up to a good finished product. So as for the sweater, I am close to finished. And I am trying to take this lesson with me into other area of my life, particularly in thinking about the research projects I am working on and in the process of starting. I feel so frustrated by putting together the paperwork for the IRB, and finding the right measures, and making the contacts where I want to collect data. But seeing each piece as a small, important part of the whole has given me some patience, and a better perspective. There is something satisfying about finishing each little part, and I'm feeling good about my next research project and my next knitting project.

Ok, and I will post some pictures soon!

Guess what I got! I'll give you a hint...

Yes! It's the ball winder! I spent an enormous amount of time winding yarn. I mean, how could I not????

It's perfect and beautiful, and clearly the highlight of my week. And I was finally able to wind some of the yarn for the new sweater...

And last but not least, while I am plotting and planning and measuring for the new project, and finishing those damn zippers on the last (I'll have pictures soon!), I whipped up a little homespun. I have been thinking a lot about the process of making a sweater, and how personal it is.  And I have always been drawn to (read: unable to stop myself from buying copious amounts of) the different colors of merino roving avaliable, and how beautiful they are when blended.  So I don't know what the fate of this yarn will be, but I spun it up thinking it may, some day, become a sweater... A girl can dream...

Ok, I am still trying to figure this thing out.  I got it to post a picture for me today (yay!) but it keeps wanted to link the text to the  picutre.  Why?  I don't know!  It's not too problematic, just annoying.  Eventually I'll get all the kinks worked out!

 

 

So, this is the next sweater on my plate.  I came across it in the current issue of knitscene.  They have some funky stuff in the magazine, and this seems to have just a touch of funkiness (it's not a symmetrical pattern!) It also looks fairly straightforward.  I read through the pattern, and everything made sense on the first try!  The last sweater was such a learning process, I kept getting so excited when I would figure something out, like I could feel myself learning and I liked that a lot.

Here are some other pics of the sweater-to-be.

I am planning on making this a present for my mom, for her birthday.  Her b-day isn't until November, so I left myself PLENTY of leeway there.  I also snuck into her closet and measured a variety of sweaters last time I was home.  And when I compared to measurements I took to the sizes of the sweater, I almost had a perfect match, so I know which one I am going with.

 I swatched on nines and tens, and now I am going to block my swatches to see what size needles to go on.  I really like this process-- I am not satisfied with scarves these days.  It's not that they're too simplistic, but they aren't holding my attention the way a good sweater does.  I like that--the other day Molly came over to play with my ball winder, and commented on how I've really stepped it up.  It was nice of her to say, and I think she might be right, I have never felt quite like this about my knitting!