FO: Honeycomb Vest

I finally have a photo of my finished Honeycomb :D I am very very happy with this project, not least because I finished it within the Ravelympics deadline. The yarn is Rowan Purelife Organic DK - my birthday present from the BF, a mere 300g of it. I knit it pretty much to the pattern, apart from adding an inch at the hem, and it fits wonderfully - better than in the photo in fact. It looks somewhat lumpy around the middle for some reason. I swear it's not. Nor am I (My lumps are beginning to position themselves on my hips instead - too much cake). I think this is probably a result of it being scrumpled up into wrinkles at the foot of my bed. I CAN'T HELP IT! It gets very hot in this bedroom, there is much flinging off of jumpers.



Also lookee! New haircut! I got a fringe cut last Tuesday for the first time in about 8 years. I regretted it so much when I first had it, probably just because I felt I didn't look like me, but I really like it now. It has a bit of a split personality too, sometimes it's wispy (as above), sometimes it's straight. I prefer the wisps, they are more friendly to people who miss being able to see their foreheads, but I'm getting used to the straight fringe as well though (it's more fashionable - I'm not accustomed to being fashionable). It looks cute with hats too :D I think I may be brave enough to knit a beret next time.

Watch this space for me experimenting with more wooly hats and passing out because the sun has now decided to come back to England.

Whoosh

I'm not really quite sure how I've managed to knit this so fast, but I no longer have any worries about finishing this before the end of the Olympics (of course, I've now jinxed it, so four of my fingers will fall off today). Admittedly I haven't been watching much of the Games. I had planned to but, egad there are a lot of different ways to move over frozen water. I got behind and it was clogging up the Sky Plus box, so I've given up and I'm just watching the twirly girly ice skating and ignoring the rest now.

Since I've been zipping through the vest so fast, Iive also entered the Aerial Unwind event to frog old project fails (getting a headstart on reknitting later in the year too). I already frogged Rapunzel earlier in the month, with the intention of starting again from scratch (sob), and last week I demolished Chloe and the Snapping Turtle skirt.

These sad and weary projects are no more.


This was something I was designing myself, but I didn't touch it for ages, kinda lost track of what I was doing, and the yoke's looking somewhat funky. It'll probably be re knit into something vaguely similar, but starting from the top.

This was all but finished, but YACK, so unflattering. FAIL. This will be something completely different, possibly a stripy hoodie.

Better luck next time

Olympic fever

Happy Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year/Day 2 of the Winter Olympics*, world! I am, perhaps insanely, participating in the Ravelympics this year. For those not on Ravelry (why?), the idea is to cast on a project - or several, for the overachievers - at the opening ceremony, and finish by the closing ceremony. Kind of like the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics, but taken a step further/more competitive since we now have The Best Knitting Community Since The Dawn Of Time. I am now attempting to finish a small gauge, all over cabled garment in less than two weeks. Hmmmmmm. We'll see how this goes. At least it doesn't have sleeves.

Speaking of things with no sleeves, I have a newwww finished top, finished a couple of weeks ago, just in time for my birthday, but only just photographed (quickly, because it was extremely cold).

This is the Big Montana Tunic from Interweave Knits Fall 09, knit in Sirdar Big Softie. I think I pretty much knit the whole thing twice. The first one I did, with 2" negative ease was ginormous and hugely unflattering, and then once I'd knit the smaller size I had to unpick the cowl again and make that smaller too. I made it about 3" shorter as well, didn't like the tunic length version, despite having a nice cosy bum first time round. I love this jumper now its finished, and helpfully my long-sleeved tshirts seem to be breeding to accomodate it (Thankyou Primani)

Ah, I am enjoying knitting for myself again. Pah to Christmas.

I don't mean it Christmas. I still love you. Really.

To everyone participating in the Ravelympics, enjoy crazy deadline knitting with no consequences if you don't finish in time!



*No, I'm not celebrating any of these. Martin and I aren't having flowers and chocolate, or dim sum and noodles, or, um, maple syrup and moose meat. We are having pizza, on the sofa, watching a marathon of Chuck.

Chloe adjustments

So I pretty much spent the last few days in bed with a cold. Fantastic. The only person I know who had a cold recently was my old housemate Martin who I met on Thursday night and gave one brief hug to. Bah, stupid physical contact. Of course getting home from work at half 3 in the morning does not help matters much either. Mind you, it was glowstick night yesterday which made it all worthwhile (they do themed promotions every Saturday) - I have a glowstick in my bin now that's still glowing.

I've redone Chloe up to the point where I start the yoke with some neat little shoulder darts, hopefully it should fit better now, but I won't really be able to tell till I get up to the neck again.




















It looks better with actual arms in, I promise.
















Vaguely busy week at uni for the first time next week. I'm so not prepared for that. I blame Martin.

I am finally back online in Bournemouth after being pissed about by Virgin Media for about 2 weeks and my God I have missed it so much. I have access to the internet at uni, but the library is always so busy that I just about have time to check my email before I have to relinquish the computer to someone who's actually trying to do work (pah, who are they trying to kid?) I am gonna attempt to keep up to date on my blog now I'm back on the net, partly because it's a fantastic way to procrastinate from what I'm supposed to be doing (my poor sketchbook is lying abandoned under a pile of books and magazines on my desk) and partly because Alison called me sparkly and full of life, and that made me disproportionately happy. And also because I get to use words like disproportionately, which just don't fit into everyday conversation.

So, yes, 2 week catch up, uni is going slowly, we're on a design project (my last with any luck) at the moment which means largely independent study rather than studio time, so not that great for getting back into the swing of early mornings. I'm in the same house as last year, which is great 'cause I don't have to work to make it feel like home. My new housemates are lovely, though at this stage that opinion is mainly based on the fact that I'm not the only person in the house doing the washing up and taking the bins out. I also just started a job last week working behind the bar of my favourite club - could be a little odd when I go there on a night out, but at least I like the music and the clientele. It's only 2 nights a week on minimum wage, but I get by pretty well on my student loan anyway so that just means an extra £70 a week to spend on whatever I want. I’m thinking new knee high boots, if I ever find a decent shoe shop that sells half sizes.

Knitting wise I'm in a bit of a bad mood recently. I seamed up Rapunzel when I got back and it doesn't fit. I am devastated. Seriously, I think this was designed for rugby players; the shoulder seams are about 3 inches longer than my shoulders. I vow never to knit from another pattern without doing my own maths first. I'm currently debating whether to cut and sew (dead scary) or rip it back and knit it again (annoying as hell).
I got Chloe up to the neckline, but yesterday I decided it was a bit baggy in the chest so I've ripped that back to where I attached the sleeves and I'm gonna put some more decreases in it.
On a more positive note, I finished my roll neck jumper just before the holidays (but forgot to take it home). I realised halfway through knitting it that it wasn't going to fit me, but was hoping it would fit my mum, and Ta Da! It does! Success at last.

Not dead yet. It's a close call though.

So, first year at uni is long gone and only a week left till year two starts since the summer holidays flew past in a haze of nothingness. Initially I made up my mind that I was going to stay in Bournemouth, get a job and revel in my independence. Then I realised that I was barely earning enough to pay rent, all my friends were at home and Bournemouth is full of foreigners in the summer. Ok, the Polish people who suddenly invaded my house were nice, but it's a bit odd to get the bus to work every day and never hear an English voice. I lasted about a month before I came crawling back to my parents' house. Eh, I have the rest of my life to be independent.

Managed to successfully finish the Elizabethan costume, and yes, it did look vaguely more exciting in colour.

And here's a closeup of the headdress and ruff (look, knitting! oooo):

And the shoes! I love the shoes, they makes me happy

Eighteenth century menswear to come this year, with any luck.

Can't wait to start second year, not only do I get to specialise in making (no more designing, yaay), but there's a possiblity of a study exchange to America in the Spring term.

*small squeals of excitement*

Since I have been way too lazy to get myself a job back in Wycombe, the last two months have been spent moulded to the sofa watching an endless string of Buffy, Spaced, Doctor Who and Heroes (in between getting drunk, my summer hasn't been that wasted) and trying to get back into the swing of knitting.

At the moment I'm attempting to design my first garment. It's called Chloe. According to the note scribbled beside a sketch I did about a year ago, this is because it was inspired by a photo of Chloe Sevigny, but I can't honestly say I remember that. I'm sure it was a lovely picture though.

Progress so far...

It's based on Tempting as a starting point, because I love the way the sleeves are attached on that, plus some bust shaping (which you can't see on the photo because I managed to take a photo of the back - genius), and a yoke with some type of collar. Not sure what type yet, kind of making it up as I go along. I've ground to a halt at the moment though as the neckline's getting too small for the needle, so I'm back to zombie knitting until I can buy some more DPNs.

Zombie knitting (mostly while getting annoyed trying to work out yoke decreases) has been a matching hat, scarf and mittens set - finished but not photographed, and a spiral bag - a frugalhaus pattern that seems to have disappeared from the internet, which I started yesterday. I don't have gauge for that though, and I want to make it about half the size it's supposed to be in the pattern so....not really sure how that's gonna work out. I may end up with some huge shell shaped table mats instead.