I finished the Christmas Knitting!

Christmas 2007, that is.

Actually, I didn't even make my Mother's Day goal. But it's done. The Clap is finished!

As for my other "goal," you may have noted that I wore nothing hand-knitted to Maryland Sheep and Wool. My Flair is languishing in my knitting basket. I'll finish it, really, I will.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Wrap-up

Happiness is an armload of Socks that Rock yarn.

Standing in line at The Fold was not how I planned to spend MDSW, but I finally understand what all that chatter about “yarn fumes” is about, because I was high on something when I got swept into that line. How could anyone resist the colors, the smooshiness of it all?

It’s a testament to the general good hearted nature of knitters that the line to pay for the STR at the fold went out of the barn and stretched outside down past the next barn and no one seemed to be just grabbing an armful of sock yarn and making a break for it. Instead, everyone got her yarn in an orderly fashion, took it outside, and stood patiently in line. Some people knit, other people had their arms too full of sock yarn to knit, but everybody was in good cheer and chatted pleasantly with their neighbors in line. It was a surprisingly lovely experience.

As for the rest of the haul:

From Brooks Farm, assorted colorways of Solo, their wonderful DK single ply

From Tess, well, a lot, two skeins of sock yarn, two skeins of laceweight merino (dude, I don’t even knit lace), and two absolutely divine skeins of Silk and Ivory, a gorgeous silk and merino blend.

From Just Our Yarns, some green cashmere laceweight (again, dude, I don’t know how to knit lace).

From Cloverhill, a bunch of indie dyer sock yarn

From Spirit Trail, two skeins of beautiful sock yarn

And from the Barefoot Spinner, a stunning skein of handspun, hand dyed sock yarn (and if anyone has a tag from her yarn, please weigh in on the comments, as I don’t know how much yardage I have).

It was a great time, if not a bit overwhelming. Ideally, I think the perfect day would have been to have Saturday’s selection with Sunday’s crowds, as Saturday was a mob scene, but things looked pretty picked over the next day. But in short, A++++ would attend festival again!!!

Random stuff

If you're as perplexed by some of The Drama on Ravelry lately as I am, check this out for a most excellent laugh.

And now, for a "book" part of this blog, I recently became an "advance reader" (actually, I'm not sure what my title is) for Random House. This means that every so often, I'll get some advance reader copies or uncorrected proofs of upcoming books in the mail, and in return, I am to blog about them. If you click on the Good Reads widget on the side of the blog, you'll see a link to the non-fiction selection, The Billionaire's Vinegar. At some point, I'll post an actual review.

Also at some point, I want to blog about my Noro sock experience thus far. If you've knit with this, I'd love to hear your comments.

Finally, it's primary day in Pennsylvania! Be sure to vote!

Mindless Garter Stitch....

...can be really beautiful and soothing. See?


(Lucy the Cat would like to point out that she is very beautiful and soothing as well.)

The first is the bodice of Juliet, knit in this gorgeous red colorway of Malabrigo I picked up at the Pittsburgh Knitting and Crochet Festival. The second is the beginning of my Knitting Rite of Passage, my first Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Surprise Jacket, knit in Brooks Farm Solo, also purchased at the Knitting and Crochet Festival. (Please note that not only am I knitting from the stash, I am knitting with Precious Things from the stash.)

Both projects are really beautiful, but both have been a wee tad bit stressful in different ways. The Juliet is knit top down, and the beauty of that method is that you can try on as you go. So I tried on.....and realized that the bust measurement given by most designers must assume that the arms are toned. Um, mine are not, and so the underarms of the bodice are way too tight. At this point, I have to decide if I just rip back a few rows and continue with the increases. Or I can frog the whole thing and knit the large, but then possibly not be able to make the sweater as long as I'd like it. (And it turns out that the downside of knitting with Precious Things from the stash is that you can't just run down to the store and get more yarn if you run out.)

As for my Baby Surprise, well, I was surprised that getting started is a lot more complicated than it looks. I got confused by the third row. After a frantic email exchange and a phone call from a Concerned Michelle, I figured it out (the text of one email from me was, and I quote: "*$_)_)&$^#*#!!!!!") and am now rolling along with the help of a cheatsheet from Ravelry. Does it still count as a successful rite of passage if you use a cheatsheet?

I leave you with a delightful "perk" of my new job. I was the first to open the box of Noro Kureyon Sock when it arrived, and I bought the first one. Isn't it pretty? I'm Magic Looping for the first time, so wish me luck.

Love/Hate

I love the color and stitch definition of my Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton that I'm using for my Flair. I hate how hard it is on my hands as I'm using a size 6 needle to get 4.5 stitches to the inch; I can do only one or two rows at a time before I have to put it down and give my hands a break.

I love my KnitPicks Harmony Options set, for the most part, really, I do. But I hate that a wooden needle part pulled out of the metal join in the middle of a row. I was going to frog my Talia anyway because I'm not sure I'm doing the YOs properly in the purl rows, but having the needle fall off mid-row was the last straw.

I love Ravelry, but my goodness, people, the drama on the boards lately.

Cat's out of the bag

I can finally end my radio silence on all the Secret Knitting I've been working on. The last project was delivered yesterday.

Presto Chango, knit in Punta del Este Yarns South American Cotton for Peanut Sprague. Presto Chango is a really fun knit and the lace panel is surprisingly easy. The yarn is stunning with the depth provided by the space dying process, but I apologize to Bethie in advance for the hand-wash only care instructions!










Miss Dashwood, knit for Miss Sophia, who is finally home! Love, love, love this pattern and love it even more knit in Malabrigo. However, it took me three hours to cast on -- yes, that's right, three hours! -- because I'd never done a picot cast-on before. The K4TOGTBL (srsly, who thinks this up?) round nearly did me in so I skipped the bobbles in favor of a seed stitch band.




Seyi's hat, for Miss Seyi's first birthday. The pattern is the Children's Cotton Hats from Last Minute Knitting Gifts. It's become my go-to gift, and yet.....dudes, this pattern is all jacked up. I can't get gauge with the yarn it calls for and the eyelet holes are messed up. Why isn't this in the LMKG errata? Still, cute, cute, cute.










And I think that's it for the Secret Knitting for awhile. I have a baby gift coming up in June, but I feel pretty confident that the recipients don't read knitting blogs. I'm going to challenge myself with a Baby Surprise Jacket or the Pea Pod baby set. And other than the *$%_@+ Christmas 2007 knitting (yes, 2007) I have to finish, I have time to knit for me, which is a pleasant surprise.

For those of you who don't know, I just started work at Natural Stitches. I'm there Mondays in the daytime for now, so stop by and see me!

What Not to Wear: Md Sheep and Wool Edition

So, what does one wear to a knitting festival? Seriously, I’ve never been to a major one, just the Pittsburgh Knitting Festival. Poking around on Ravelry and talking to real life knitters yields two schools of thought on the upcoming Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival:

1. OMG, a knitting festival, I have to wear hand knits! How else will everyone know I’m a knitter? (Um, by the sack of yarn you just bought hanging off your arm?) Seriously, this fascinates me. Is it a desire to show off a little? (And I’m not saying this is a bad thing because knitting can be darn hard work and of course you should be proud to wear what you make.) Is it to establish some kind of street cred? I really want to know. I’m participating in this by casting on for Flair, hoping I can get it done in time to wear to the festival. But school #2 gives me pause….
2. Wear your precious handknits? Are you insane? This school of thought implies to me that this is not a simple trip to see sheep and buy yarn. No, we are preparing for a great journey to the wilderness. We must pack a sherpa with water, wear good hiking shoes, dress in careful layers, and be prepared to get really, really dirty. In all seriousness, this seems like excellent advice because I don’t want to ruin my handknit socks in the mud, I don’t want to pay inflated prices for water, and I don’t want to get overheated in my handknits and pass out, therefore missing the booth with the Socks That Rock.

So is there a common ground for these two schools of thought? What do you wear to a knitting festival?

[Malabrigo] March Madness

For the record, I completed six (very small) projects and cast on for two more for Malabrigo March.

The Toddler says "I love Malabrigo!" Okay, really, he says "Yar!" and then throws it on the floor. He also uses yarn to practice counting ("eh, niiiiine, elelen," and NO, I did not buy eleven skeins of Malabrigo) and color identification ("BOO!").

Here, The Toddler is snuggling up to my latest Malabrigo score, the beautiful Brilliante colorway that I bought today at Natural Stitches "egg sale." Lisa "No, I Cannot Even Get to My Needles" Be and I were so excited about this, it wasn't even funny. We were supposed to leave my house at 10:45, but at 10:20, I looked out of my front door to see Lisa sitting there. Okay, I thought, we'll go a little early. Maybe there'll be a line and we can act like Mr. Smithers knocking Lisa Simpson down to be the first to get to Malibu Stacey. And if they let anyone in early, it would be Lisa.

But no, they didn't let us in early, and of course, I didn't expect them to. We went in and had the store to ourselves for just a few minutes, and then slowly but surely, the knitters flowed in. It was very pleasant with just the right amount of help. I scored a 25% discount in my egg and got the yarn for a MinnowKnits sweater for The Toddler, some sock yarn (duh), and some Malabrigo for Talia for myself.

What was it I said about not buying so much yarn this year?

Jumping up and down like a little girl

WARNING: ROCKIN' SOCK CLUB SPOILER AHEAD


Perhaps this is a sign that I need to get a life, but the feeling I got when I read that the March '08 Rockin' Sock Club shipment had gone out sent a little thrill through me. Because I received my January shipment a few days later than everyone else, I didn't get my hopes up too high that I'd get it this week. So when my husband brought in a package yesterday from the mailbox, I started jumping up and down and clapping like a drunken Paula Abdul on American Idol finale night.

If the package alone got me that excited, you can imagine how I felt when I actually opened it. This colorway is a gorgeous study of greens, and if each shipment is going to be a study of color (January was red/orange), I am beyond thrilled with my membership.

So happy.

In other knitting news, I decided last week that I wanted to set some completion goals for myself. At the risk of making my fun leisure activity too much like homework, I decided to try to finish a sweater vest for The Toddler by Easter. I finished last night and wove in the ends this morning; all I need to do is find suitable buttons.

I have two secret knitting projects I need to finish by the beginning of April, so those are up next. I want to have Flair completed so I can wear it to Maryland Sheep and Wool at the beginning of May. And I MUST finish that *$_#_&% Christmas knitting, so the Clapotis will be finished by Mother's Day. I swear.

Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it!

I P-Touched my child

Somehow I made it through a whole lot of graduate school with people thinking I was super-organized and efficient. Those of you who have been to my house know what a big joke that is. I am a "cluttery" person who uses the "big piles and stacks of stuff" method of organization.

Yet when I saw this P-Touch was $10 off at Costco yesterday, I felt that was a sign from God and Martha Stewart herself that I was meant to have it. I rationalized it by telling myself I would use it to organize my knitting; and I did, I used it to label my growing stack of three-ring binders that house my patterns. I also plan to use it to organize my Christmas knitting (that's Christmas '08, even though, yes, I still have outstanding projects from Christmas '07) by wrapping the finished objects in tissue paper and labeling them.

But I couldn't help myself. A toddler cries out to be labeled with a P-Touch, don't you think?

May I be excused? My brain is full

That's how I felt after leaving my "Socks Every Which Way" class that I took with Carla at Natural Stitches on Friday. In a three hour period, I learned to cast on for

• one sock at a time on two circular needles
• two socks at a time on two circular needles, top down AND toe up
• one sock at a time using the Magic Loop method
• two socks at a time using the Magic Loop method, top down AND toe up

See why my brain is full?

I think using the DPNs (or, Sticks of Satan as Melissa calls them) is seriously a major cause of my slow, slow, slow sock knitting, so I'm willing to give these other methods a go. The downsides, as I see them are 1. a huge mess if I make a mistake and have to rip back on not just one but two socks, and 2. not as many size options. I have a lovely DPN sock set from KnitPicks and appreciate the variations in size, particularly as I knit with variegated yarns that might pool with the slightest gauge change.

Any recommendations for a simple toe-up pattern?

Good parenting for Malabrigo March

Yesterday The Toddler picked up the ball of Malabrigo I was working with and gave it a hug. This morning, he picked up another ball, petted it, said "soft" as well as a toddler can, and tried to carry it around with him like a stuffed animal. I hated to take it from him.

Obviously, he has excellent taste.

Happy Malabrigo March

The Malabrigo Junkies Group on Ravelry is sponsoring "Malabrigo March," as if anyone needed new excuses to knit things from my beloved Merino Worsted. To do my part, I've completed this Amanda Hat:*


And I started this Linen Stitch Scarflet:


The Amanda Hat proved to be surprisingly easy for a lace pattern (where easy = can work on it in the same room where The Toddler is playing), and I inadvertently taught myself how to knit on two circulars when I was unexpectedly out knitting without my DPNs.

I've been on radio silence for the past few weeks, due to catching not one but two colds, working on Secret Knitting that can't be posted on public blogs, and taking a much-needed trip to Florida, as The Toddler and I tagged along on the orchestra's recent tour. It's hard to be back in the cold, but a Malabrigo Fix on a cold, stormy day is not a bad way to get through a snowy weekend.

* A shout out to Lisa, who took this picture at Natural Stitches. Sadly, that's ME in that blog entry who keeps asking stupid questions about not being able to get at her stash in disbelief. What would you do if you suddenly were cut off from your stash? Would it be liberating? Panic-attack inducing? Talk amongst yourselves.

Lookit my new swift!

Isn't it nice? This is the special treat I picked up for myself at the Pittsburgh Knitting and Crochet Festival from the Knitting Notions booth.

I'd been using my mother's twenty+ year old wooden umbrella swift, and of course, I was used to using that kind of swift at the PKAB. This kind is new to me, and I found it very easy to set up and use.

On the swift and ballwinder is Knitting Notions superwash sock in the Thyme colorway. I don't know what I'm going to knit with it yet, but it was fun to wind.

It's cold and snowy out, the perfect day for winding and knitting. If you're in the Pittsburgh area, I hope you're enjoying your snow day and staying warm!

Abundance and Gratitude

The beginning of last week was, for a number of reasons, hectic and sad around here. My husband returned from his tour sick, we suffered a pretty big disappointment, and we had to take The Toddler to Children's Hospital for some medical tests. In the middle of all that, I turned the big 33.

In the end, the three of us will be fine, but I felt the urge to self-medicate with some yarn shopping.

I know, I know, I said I had rules for this and was cutting back, but please see the disclaimer I put in for myself under "special occasions," particularly the Pittsburgh Knitting and Crochet Festival.

First, while waiting for what seemed like twenty nurses to return my phone calls, I cruised Ravelry's Destash group and picked up some lovely sock yarns from people looking to unload in preparation for Stitches West. Then I saw that Sonny and Shear was having an anniversary sale and ordered some Smooshy and Shibuiknits sock yarn. The code "oneyear" is good for 25% off, in case anyone needs any enabling.

Then on Friday I ran into Natural Stitches to pick up an extra ball of Trekking Pro Natura for my husband's Gentleman's Fancy Socks just in case I ran out, and I ended up using my frequent shopper discount for some gorgeous Cascade 220 Heathers in the "Mallard" colorway for my husband's Cobblestone Pullover from last fall's Interweave Knits. It's gorgeous, just like the color of a beautiful blue mallard duck. I'm really looking forward to making it for him.

Then woohoo, on Saturday, my mother kindly volunteered to watch The Toddler all day, and, armed with birthday money from my very generous parents, I set off with Lisa and Beth for the 4th Annual Pittsburgh Knitting and Crochet Festival. This year is the first I got to go as just a plain civilian knitter: the first two years I was the one holding down the fort at PKAB and last year I manned Tania's booth for her in the morning. It was great to be able to just go and enjoy myself.

I got some really beautiful things. I wanted to stick to yarns that were handspun or dyed, not made by a big company, or that I couldn't get at Natural Stitches. I think I succeeded. I got a pattern for the Wonderful Wallaby, which I've been looking for for a long time. I got some sock yarn that NS doesn't carry, plus some crack, I mean, Malabrigo (worsted AND chunky) in new-to-me colors. I picked up some Brooks Farm Solo and Four Play that I'd been wanting to try for awhile.

And best of all, I got some lovely kettle-dyed semi-solid sock yarn and a NEW SWIFT from Knitting Notions, a family-owned business from Tennessee: she dyes the yarn and he makes the swifts and other wooden knitting supplies by hand.


But maybe even better than that was being able to donate a lot of my older yarn to the Three Rivers Crochet group. Check out their blog to see what they're all about and please consider going through your stash to see if you have anything for them. I'm thrilled that my yarn is going to a good place, for some great causes.

So in the end, at the risk of sounding trite, I am grateful. Grateful for the means to go a little overboard at a Knitting and Crochet Festival once a year. Grateful for good friends, who go yarn shopping with me, knit me beautiful things, and take me out to lunch; good friends who listen to good news and bad. Grateful for the overall good health of my family, particularly my beautiful son. Grateful to be one year older.

As I write this, the wind has started to howl and the snow is blowing. Hope everyone is either safe at the festival or snuggled up at home with some good knitting!

I'm making progress with the Christmas Knitting!

Gentleman's Fancy Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks.

I really wanted to finish these socks before my husband came home from his trip. He came home Wednesday night, and I finished the socks this morning, so close enough. I cut it super duper close with the yardage (Zitron Trekking Pro Natura) to the point where I picked up an extra ball at Natural Stitches just in case I ran out. Fortunately I didn't and I can exchange the extra ball.

It's a lovely pattern and I really liked the calf shaping. If I did it again, I would not do the wide toe called for in the original; while I appreciated having only twelve stitches to graft at the end of each sock, the toes looked rather like something Legolas would sport. I shortened the leg to seven pattern repeats and lengthened the foot to nine repeats to accommodate a size 10.5 foot.

Now if only I could finish The Toddler's Vest and my mom's Clapotis, the Christmas Knitting would be complete!

I love these mittens

Yesterday I unexpectedly got a few hours of free time, and I headed down to Starbucks to knit in peace. I couldn't find my dollar store gloves, so I threw on a pair of Dashings that I'd made last month in a fit of Malabrigo-itis. They were so warm....except, you know, for the part where my fingers hung out in the cold.

So continuing in the theme of "if at first you don't succeed," I decided to try again making mittens with a variegated skein of Malabrigo. Instead of the doomed Subway Mittens pattern, I cast on for Elizabeth Zimmermann's Mitered Mittens, the May pattern in her Knitters' Almanac.

Look, no pooling! I love them so much so far. The afterthought thumb, where EZ instructs you to just snip and unravel, scared me, so I'm using the modifications for a thumb gusset found in Kathryn Ivy's blog.

So pretty.



Now if I could only get them away from the cat.

Gauge and I are not friends

I have not been able to get gauge with the past THREE projects I've done, which has resulted in me ripping out said projects and starting over at least twice per project.

First, the Toasty Topper Debacle posted about below.

Second, my attempt at the Child's Cotton Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts:
See how it's all pointy? Knitting with the recommended size 7 gave me 4.5 stitches to the inch, while the size 8 gave me 4 stitches but a ridiculous looking fabric. So I split the difference and knit the toddler size at 4.5 stitches to the inch. Other than the point, it actually looks pretty cute, and despite the mysterious extra eyelet, I won't be ashamed to give the hat to its recipient. But it's still frustrating.

I bet some of you are wondering "why isn't she doing gauge swatches and saving herself a lot of frustration?" I'm not doing them because I am trying to channel my Inner Elizabeth Zimmermann, who said that one should just start knitting, particularly if it's a small project, and then check gauge. And for the most part, she's right because it doesn't make sense to swatch for a baby hat, particularly when it's done in the round. But MAN, EZ must have had the patience of a saint if she was willing to do it this way and just keep ripping, ripping, ripping if it didn't work out.

And that brings me to the third project, the sweater vest for The Toddler that I had originally intended to make for a Christmas present. I've ripped it out three times already. Here's a question: other than doing the Dreaded Math, would it be better to knit a larger size in a tighter gauge or loosen up the gauge and knit the size intended, even if one is not nuts about the fabric created? Or what about Option C, chuck the whole thing and knit something else?

If at first you don't succeed....

...keep ripping it out. Seriously, after several attempts and just in time for this glorious thaw we're having, I finished The Toddler's Toasty Topper from Knitty. It's a clever little pattern, a hat knit top down with a built-in scarf.

I'd had it in my Ravelry queue since the pattern came out, thinking it would be a good stash-busting charity knitting project. But this past cold snap made this kind of hat a necessity, so I set to work.

First I tried using two strands of Cascade 220 Superwash together. That got me gauge, but after I'd knit all the increases, I realized the hat was stiffer than cardboard. So I ripped (that's becoming a habit with me lately). And I broke my resolve to stash-bust and ran down to Natural Stitches to pick up two skeins of Wisdom Yarn Poems.

Still, I had problems: instead of getting 4 stitches to the inch, I was getting 4.5, and the yarn was suspiciously itchy. But I could not, would not buy more yarn. I had to, to quote my beloved Tim Gunn, "make it work."

So here are the modifications to the original pattern:

• Yarn: Wisdom Yarn Poems
• Gauge: 4.5 stitches to the inch using size 9 US needles, ribbing done on size 8 US
• Added an additional round of increases to 72 stitches
• Worked short rows as written (but as a short row newbie, that's another story....let's just say it didn't occur to me to work the wraps as I went, but I don't think they show too much.)
• Followed short rows with an additional four rows in pattern before casting on for scarf portion
• Added pitiful attempt at a pompom

Then the hat took a bath in a little bit of Eucalan in an attempt to soften it up. But the big question remains....after all this, will the Toddler wear it?

Best. Knitting. Day. Ever.

WARNING: ROCKIN' SOCK CLUB SPOILER AHEAD

Yesterday morning I started reading Ravelry and various blogs and realized EVERYONE had their January Rockin' Sock package but me! How could this be? I paid, right? I gave them the correct address, right? I even started pacing a little bit by the doorway and peered down the street for the mailman. But no package.

But Beth, Lisa, and Not-So-Blogless Michelle were coming over later that day to knit, and I needed to go to the store, so I bundled The Toddler up in the stroller and off we went. To my great surprise, when we got back, I found not one but TWO packages on my porch!

The first package was from Plimoth Plantation and contained a kit for Square Heel Tudor socks, which I volunteered to knit for the interpreters at PP. (You can read more about that here.)

The second package, of course, was from Blue Moon Fibers. I don't even know what to say, I am so delighted with it. I adore the colorway and am looking forward to learning how to do a short row heel. I'd been starting to worry that the club was just too much money, but now that I see everything that you get, I am really pleased.

Flying (and knitting) solo

Okay, so only Blogless Michelle is really going to get this joke. Today marks my first full day of solo parenting for a few weeks, and I'm going to try to mark the time by accomplishing a few things.

I'm actually going to refer to "books" part of this blog and work on a paper for a conference at the end of February. But more importantly, the "yarn" goals:

• I have a "secret knitting" project that I started last night that I want to finish.
• I want to start and finish The Toddler's sweater vest that I meant to make for Christmas.
• I must finish my husband's Gentleman's Socks, which were also supposed to be a Christmas Present. I had the lengthen the foot considerably and that was demoralizing, so I stuffed them down in the bottom of my knitting basket.
• I must, must, must finish my mother's Clapotis. I tried to appease her with a pair of Fetchings and a Tudora, but I must finish the Clap. (By the way, you can get Fetching and Tudora out of one skein of Malabrigo and it's a great quick fix.)

Wish me luck!

I ripped

So the pooling on the Subway Mittens broke up beautifully when I switched to larger needles and did the increases for the thumb gusset. Yay! Imagine my dismay when it started pooling all over again after I put the thumb stitches on waste yarn. Boo!

Considering I'd cast on for these mittens three times, I figured the Universe was trying to tell me something, namely that this beautiful colorway isn't meant to be mittens. I put it back on the ballwinder and frogged it, and I'll do the mittens some other time in the plain old Cascade 220 I had originally planned.

But, but, I wanted to knit something, anything with Malabrigo! Never mind that I have oh, around four UFOs I could have been working on instead. I needed my fix. So while I had the ballwinder and swift out, I decided to wind up a hank of a semisolid colorway from my stash. Big mistake. I had a winding disaster that reminded me why I should not feel nostalgic for the old Knit and Bead days where I'd spend entire Saturdays winding customers' yarn. It was 9:30 at night: I had wet laundry waiting to go in the dryer, the dishes were undone, and here I was untangling Malabrigo.

But finally I cast on for Dashing. I got my Malabrigo fix, but it was hard-won. Ahhhh, that feels better.


In other exciting knitting news, I have a Secret Knitting Project to do! However, I know something that I'm not supposed to know, so not only do I have to keep the Secret Knitting a secret from the recipient, I have to rig the Secret Knitting so people other than the recipient don't know that I know that secret something. Confused yet? I am.

Holy pooling, Batman! (or, To Rip or Not to Rip)

I love Malabrigo. I love this Stonechat colorway.

That said, UGH! I cast on for the Subway Mittens from Interweave Knits last night (even though we really have no use for such a thing, given the way public transportation is set up in Pittsburgh).

Here's one side of the cuff. Very pretty, huh?


And now here's the other side. UGH!


What would you do? Whenever I see projects that have pooled on Ravelry, I think "Man, that would drive me nuts. Why didn't she rip that out?" But now that I'm in that position, I spent two freaking hours on that cuff last night (yes, I know I am a slow knitter). The pooling is shifting as I work more on the thumb gusset, but will I look at the cuff and think "yuck!" every time I wear this?

Is spinning the new knitting? And other short musings on fiber arts

Is everyone spinning but me? I see spinning everywhere lately. Cosy is teaching classes. Every time I go into Natural Stitches, they have more new drop spindles and roving. Knitty Gritty has aired multiple episodes about it.

Is this the trendy new thing, or the natural evolution of the knitting craze, as knitters and crocheters take a greater interest in where their materials come from and want more control over the final product?

The irony in this is that I have no strong interest in spinning, and yet I have access to a plethora of materials. My mother has an art degree and her minor concentration was fiber arts. She mainly focused on weaving and felt work, but she has a spinning wheel, a few drop spindles, a hand carder, a carding machine, huge rubbermaid storage containers of roving, plus many more containers of yarn that she spun herself and never used. She went back to ceramics, so all this stuff is just sitting in storage and I could borrow it at the drop of a hat. The question is, do I want to go down that road and get into what I would consider an entirely new hobby?

In semi-related fiber musings, have I been living under a rock in terms of the level of vitriol and hate towards crochet? I've always been aware of the subtle (or perhaps not so subtle) bias against it: I worked at the Knit and Bead, not the Knit and Crochet and Bead, and we had only one employee who could crochet worth a darn. One day, a regular knitting customer came in to select a project for her daughter-in-law. The customer announced "She crochets but I love her dearly anyway" and we all laughed and then looked at some beautiful hand-carved crochet hooks. So I was aware of the red-headed stepchild thing, but my goodness, have you all ever seen anything at the level of this outburst when Knitting Daily dared to feature one blog entry about crochet? Sweet merciful crap, people. And I'm told that this is tame in comparison to other boards!

Last FO of 2007/First FO of 2008

Out of nowhere, yesterday afternoon during The Toddler's nap, I started whipping through the pattern repeats on Foliage. Other than my barely started Embossed Leaves sock, I've never done lace before and I've never knit from a chart before. When I started it, I was so afraid I was going to screw this up that I would only work on it when I was alone, no baby, no husband, to distract me, and if you have a baby and/or a husband, you know that time is rare.

Then suddenly I realized I could do this. If I could do all those complicated cross stitch charts in my other Crafty Grad School Period, I could certainly handle a few yarn-overs and double decreases. The Foliage pattern is pretty straightforward, and it hides the few mistakes I made well.

When The Toddler went to bed, I realized I had only one set of pattern repeats plus the ribbing to do, so I set to it, determined (particularly after The Debacle that was Christmas Knitting 2007) to have just one more thing off the needles for the New Year. We watched The Departed and I made it through the pattern repeats. We watched an old tivo'd episode of Kitchen Nightmares and I almost finished the ribbing. Just as the ball dropped I realized I still had 20 stitches still left to bind off and the ends to weave in! Shoot, I almost made it.*

But here it is! Foliage knit with Malabrigo Merino Worsted in the Forest colorway. I used size 7 and size 5 US needles as called for in the pattern. This pattern is not suited to the blunt Clover needles I have and in fact went much faster when I switched to my size 5 Knitpicks Harmony needles. It's a hard pattern on the hands, since you are using a smaller needle than recommended for Malabrigo. Between that and the second pair of Malabrigo Fetchings I started for my mother the other night, my hands are pretty sore.

A glance at Ravelry tells me I completed eighteen projects in 2007, not counting the umpty million Mason-Dixon bibs, burp cloths, and warshrags that I refuse to enter individually. I have five WIPs right now thanks to the Christmas Knitting that is still hanging over my head. So much for my rule that I have to finish something before I cast on for another.

* And yes, since starting Ravelry, I realize I must be an extraordinarily slow knitter. I refuse to blame the fact that I throw. It must be something else.

Happy New Year!

This is not a yarn diet, but....

I have been thinking an awful lot about my stash since Ravelry

• Forced me/gave me a place to organize and catalog what I have.
• Enabled me to buy more by showing me new yarns, new projects, and lovely links and discounts to new retailers.
• Hosted discussions about materialism and stash, stash-busting, and yarn diets.

If you’ve read any knit blogs at all, I’m sure you’ve seen this by now: The World’s Biggest Stash. When the pictures were posted on Ravelry, I thought a person could write a sociological study on the reactions knitters had to it. Some thought it was the greatest thing ever and wished she could aspire to such a stash. Some thought the Stash Owner was a mentally ill hoarder on the level of that poor woman on Oprah who hoarded 10,000 square feet of stuff into a 3000 square foot house. And some used the picture to spin off threads about how “excessive” stash was yet another product of the materialism that runs rampant in this country. All very interesting stuff that made me examine how I felt about my own stash.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the very idea that someone else gets to pronounce judgment on how much yarn someone has is disconcerting. If I feel comfortable with my stash, it’s no one else’s business but mine and the person I share my home and my finances with. I actually think that woman's stash is awesome, a true artist's studio. And yet as we get to the time of year where we make all kinds of good-intentioned resolutions, I am going to closely examine my stash and where my yarn money goes. I don’t feel comfortable with how many posts in this blog have received the label of “yarn shopping” this year. This is not a diet. This is not exactly a year of stash-busting either. But for now, here are the rules.

I may purchase yarn if

• I have a gift card (which I do, both for Natural Stitches and Jimmy Beans Wool, go me).
• It is needed for a gift and I have looked in my stash first.
• It is something I am totally and completely sure I will not be able to get at a later date and I absolutely love it (keeping in mind that I am a member of the 2008 Rockin Sock Club and the Chewy Spaghetti Blue Plate Special and if that doesn’t satisfy my jonesing for “new and exclusive” I don’t know what will).
• It is a special occasion, like the Pittsburgh Knitting Festival.
  
• It is Malabrigo (sorry, I can’t stay away from this crack. I will try, though).

I will try to stash-bust in the following ways

• I will haul out the stash and put it where I can see and access it, not stuffed in one cabinet, thus preventing me from throwing up my hands and saying “I have no suitable hat yarn” and running off to the store. I will also be honest about the projects I plan to complete and put all the yarn I have for them into my Ravelry stash.
• I will knit from stash throughout the year, interspersing large projects with small, and putting projects away into a “Long Term Planning Box” ala The Yarn Harlot, thus preventing a yarn binge in October and November and subsequent frantic knitting for Christmas 2008 (because, dude, I still haven’t finished Christmas 2007).
• I will embark on some charity knitting such as the Dulaan Project.

Okay, so I’m posting this on my blog to keep myself honest. Let’s see how long I can go.

PS: I want a new knitting bag, one that does not scream "Here is my cheap knitting bag from Joann's!" (okay, I actually like my cheap Joann's bag, but I want something I can use in all grownup, professional situations and still have some knitting on hand). Jordana Paige? Namaste? Everything is getting mixed reviews on Ravelry and I don't know what to do.

Thumbless Toddler Mittens: In Which I Attempt to "Design"

I’ve been on a mission, in between the frenzy of Christmas knitting, to find the Perfect Toddler Mitten pattern. My requirements:

• Must be easy to put on a moving toddler
• Must stay on said moving toddler
• Must not be easy to lose

It turns out that finding this pattern was harder than I thought, in part because I don’t know about the rest of you, but I cannot get my squirmy toddler’s thumb to fit into a thumb gusset. I just needed something to stick over his hands so they’d stay warm while we’re out walking with the stroller.

I ended up adapting Louisa Harding’s pattern from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. The original is knit with a light DK weight yarn and worked flat and then seamed. My version is knit with a light worsted and converted to be worked in the round. I don’t know if my changes are substantial enough to be considered a new pattern (please weigh in on this in the comments section if you can), so with apologies to Louisa Harding, here is my adaptation. This is my first substantial attempt at changing a pattern/design, so please be gentle.

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash (I used two colors, you can use whatever strikes your fancy)
Needles: Size 4 US DPNs, Size 7 US DPNs
Gauge: Not sure it matters for toddler mittens!

Cuff
With Size 4 needles, CO 32 stitches in Color 1, place marker, and join for working in the round.

Work in K2, P2 ribbing for three inches (this creates a cuff that can extend down the wrist or can be folded as desired).

Increase round: Work 4 stitches in rib, M1 around.

Hand
Change to Size 7 needles (and Color 2 if desired). Knit around until hand is just short of desired length. (To determine this, hold your squirmy toddler down and measure from wrist to fingertip. Then let said Toddler wander off with your new Lantern Moon sheep tape measure, which he will then promptly put in the cat’s water dish.)

Decrease for top of Hand
Change back to Color 1 if desired.

Place a second marker in the middle of the round.

Round 1: K3tog tbl, knit to 3 stitches before marker 2, K3tog, K3tog tbl, K to last three stitches of the round, K3tog.

Round 2: Knit

Rounds 3 and 4: Repeat Rounds 1 and 2.

Round 5: K2tog tbl, knit to 2 stitches before marker 2, K2tog, K2tog tbl, K to last two stitches of the round, K2tog.

Round 6: Knit

Rounds 7 and 8: Repeat Rounds 5 and 6

Cut yarn, thread tail through remaining stitches and secure.

This is a rough prototype, so please let me know if you see any mistakes. My plan is to knit the second the same as the first and join them with a three stitch I-cord.

Of course, when I showed the mitten to The Toddler, he shook his head and walked off. Your Toddler May Vary.

Malabrigo is the New Crack

Crafts 055,
originally uploaded by bookscatsyarn.

I took a break from Christmas Knitting to cast on for Foliage, from last fall's Knitty. I love Malabrigo. I love the softness. I love the colors. I even love the price. I can't walk out of Natural Stitches without a hank of it in my bag.

So how's that Christmas Knitting coming along?

1. Gigantic Garter Rib Socks: ALL DONE!
   
2. Clapotis: I don't think it's going to happen before Christmas. I got way too ambitious with this one, and when I realized how bad it was getting, I confessed to my mom what was happening and she ordered me to put it aside and finish everyone else's gifts.
   
3. Fetching and Calorimetry: ALL DONE!
4. Thuja: Despite The Toddler, I should be able to finish these tonight or tomorrow. I just have one foot and toe to complete.
   
5. Gentlemen's Fancy Socks: Yep, I have the yarn.
6. Child's Sweater Vest: Have I mentioned I have the yarn?

So obviously, these final two are not going to be even cast on before Christmas. I whipped up a pair of Men's Handwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts to stand in for the socks. For Henry's vest, I started a pair of mittens adapted from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Babies. I'm actually kind of excited about these; I've changed the pattern so much it might almost be an original design that I'll share here after Christmas.

I've been thinking a lot about stash and projects for the New Year, and avoiding this situation next year (!), so look for entries on that soon.

I turned my back just for a minute....

....and The Toddler pulled out two of the three DPNs on my Thuja sock. And put the stitch marker in his mouth.

You would think I would have learned by now.

I'd update the status of my Christmas Knitting, but I think I hear The Toddler playing in the toilet. More later.

Going to the Crazy Place, aka Christmas Knitting

GAH!

You know how the Yarn Harlot talks about going to the crazy place around this time each year? I fear I am going there too. Here's what I have to do before Christmas:

1. Gigantic Garter Rib Socks: I just turned the heel last night. I have to knit the too-long foot to match the other one, and this project should be done by the end of the weekend.
2. Clapotis: I'm on the 5th repeat on the straight section. Why am I knitting this again, again? The Sheep Shop yarn is really beautiful and lovely to work with, though.
3. Fetching and Calorimetry: I bought the yarn yesterday at Natural Stitches. Have I mentioned I've been there three times since the shop opened less than two weeks ago?
4. Thuja: Uh, I have the yarn.
5. Gentlemen's Fancy Socks: Yep, I have the yarn.
6. Child's Sweater Vest: Have I mentioned I have the yarn?

Anyone else at the Crazy Place yet?

My knitting is making me really happy

Knitting is always pleasurable for me, otherwise I wouldn't do it. But every once and awhile, all good forces in the Knitting Universe collide, thus making the experience truly wonderful.

This tree is what I see every morning when I wake up:


Now this is the sock I'm making:


Isn't that wonderful? I know the pictures don't do it justice, but the beautiful colorway of this sock yarn is the exact same color of the trees outside. The variation, the subtle shift in hue, it's all there. This gorgeous stuff is Dream in Color Smooshy in the Chinatown Apple colorway. The pattern is Embossed Leaves from Interweave's Favorite Socks. Both yarn and pattern are now my new favorites. I know I have no business knitting non-gift items at this time of year, but this project is truly a pleasure.

Knitting for Plimoth Plantation: Happy Thanksgiving!

Ever since all those "[insert historical period here] House" shows on PBS started coming out, my fantasy job has been to be one of those historical consultants that they use to do things like decorate the house, provide recipes and stock the kitchen, determine what the family will wear, etc. In fact, the spark of my dissertation came from my obsession with 1940s House and "Kitchen Front" recipes. My #2 fantasy job is to be one of those women who walk around Sturbridge Village knitting stockings and answering questions.

And now, just in time for Thanksgiving, a very small part of #2 has come true. I am going to be a volunteer knitter, making stockings for the historical re-enactors at Plimoth Plantation. Bill saw the call for volunteers linked into Ravelry and passed on the information to me. I'm going to be knitting plain stockings to start with, but the idea of knitting the fancy ones are intriguing. I'm such a geek, but I'm so, so pleased about this.

Speaking of stockings, I started my first foray into lace socks, casting on for Embossed Leaves. No, my Enormous Man Socks aren't done, but 1. I'm bored with them, and 2. I'm paranoid I'm not going to get the extra hank I haggled for on Ravelry. Here are some more sock skills I need to learn to complete these successfully:

• How to keep track of where I am on the chart.
• How to prevent huge, gaping ladders when the first stitch on each needle is a purl stitch.
• How to recover my project and pick up tiny dropped stitches after stupidly leaving the sock project where the toddler can get at it.

Could this sock be any bigger?

Crafts 013,
originally uploaded by bookscatsyarn.

Seriously? I mean, seriously...wow. I'm knitting for a man's size 11, and this is the sock that never ends. From what I'm learning on Ravelry, socks need to be knit at a really tight gauge, much tighter than what the label on the yarn suggests. I'm knitting these, made of a fairly thick fingering (KnitPicks Memories), on a size 1.5 DPN set. I'm not sure what my gauge is, but the stitches are very, very tiny, and I've had to beg for a third skein of this colorway on Ravelry. Combine that with a mindless but fiddly garter rib pattern and you have Sock Boredom kicking in pretty quickly. One down, one to go!

I'm having a really good time knitting with friends lately. Last week, Amy held an informal "Take Your Knitting Up a Notch" class and wrote a hat pattern for three friends who knew how to knit and purl but not much else. We went to Bloomin' Yarns, hereafter known as the Sock Crack Den, where I picked up two different colorways of Claudia Handpainted fingering for gifts. Then yesterday I met up with Lisa, Beth, and Michelle and ended up taking an impromptu fieldtrip to the newest LYS, Natural Stitches, where I bought yarn to do Backyard Leaves. The Cascade Wall is really fantastic, and the store has the best Malabrigo Worsted selection I've ever seen, so I will definitely be back with my husband to choose yarn for that sweater I've been promising him for years.

And also? When I worked at PKAB, I never had a stash. I never understood the concept of a stash. Sure, I worked on more than one project at a time, but I bought the yarn for projects as I went along. Today I am merrily entering my purchases into my Ravelry stash and it tells me "You are entering your 78th stashed yarn!" Where did all this yarn come from?

Posts that describe yesterday better than I could

Melissa and Amy summarize yesterday's "Knitting Bee."

All I can say is God bless Panera for not kicking us out for loudly discussing breast pumps, lactation consultants, Jenny McCarthy, controversial semi-famous in-laws and many other interesting subjects. ;)

Look! I can finish projects and blog about them, too!

Long time, no blog. I'm going to have to do an Amy-style list to catch up.

My new knitting rule is that for each project I want to start, I have to finish a WIP. My hope is that this will combat Startitis; if I have to slow down and make myself finish something before casting something else on, this should (ha ha) prevent me from starting projects on a whim.

So, SOCKS! Here's what I've learned:

• Socks are so much fun to do, with the magical turning of the heel.
• There's pretty much no finishing whatsover, which means that I can complete them and not have them stuffed in the bottom of my knitting bag for over a year like certain projects we will not mention.
• One can purchase all the sock yarn one wants because sock yarn doesn't count in a yarn diet*.
• Socks should be knitted on needles much smaller than you think because loose socks will wear out.

* In a fit of madness, I joined Blue Moon Fibers Socks that Rock 2008 and the Chewy Spaghetti Blue Plate Special Club. So that's $300+ worth of yarn that "doesn't count." Hmm.

ANOUK!
I still think this pattern is the cutest thing going in knitting. But I have to say, I am disappointed with the yarn and have my doubts about how well this sizes up. I'd knit it again for a newborn, with something with a little bounce in it like Cotton-Ease, in a heartbeat.

Many thanks to Lisa for doing some of the finishing work for me, and anyone who wants to join our Finishing Club, in which we trade projects we're tired of looking at, is welcome!

zomg! I turned a heel!

Wow. I get it now, I really get it.

I was forced to take a little break from Anouk (I need to reprint the chart, and the printer is on the third floor, and it wakes the baby, yadda yadda) so I picked up my sock again, which had been languishing as a boring tube for months. I'd started the heel flap at Beth's, and while zipping through my tivo'd Ugly Betty and Gray's Anatomy, I followed the Yarn Harlot's directions from Knitting Rules and turned the heel.


It was amazing. It was magical. People have said not to try to make sense of turning the heel ahead of time, just do what the pattern says and it will turn out. I never believed them because who the heck does a pattern without visualizing what you're supposed to do? But it's true. You just slip and knit and purl and suddenly, a heel!


Can you tell I'm really excited about this? I broke a DPN*, messed up somehow picking up stitches so I have two holes in various parts of the gusset, and discovered that the whole sock is full of ladders. But I've unlocked the mystery! I can do it!





* I've been using Crystal Palace DPNs and after this latest needle-breakage, I've come to the conclusion that long, fine bamboo ones just won't work for me. I need either the Lantern Moon Sock Sticks (ahem, stocking stuffer, ahem) or the set of Knitpicks Harmony DPNs with extra included in case of breakage or loss. (And yes, I realize that the third option is to learn to do it on two circs or Magic Loop, but one new skill at a time, people.)





PS. I went on a lovely yarn crawl with Lisa last week, where we hit Yarns Unlimited and Bloomin' Yarns.

Anouk musings

So I've been having a heck of a time getting gauge on Anouk. The recommended size 6 needle gives me 5.5 stitches per inch. Going up a size gives me 5.25 stitches per inch. The gauge on the original pattern is 4.5 stitches per inch. On Ravelry, my BFF Kate Gilbert told me she thinks Cascade must have reformulated the Pima Tencel since she originally designed and knit the pattern.

Oh well. So I plowed ahead and knit the front of the largest size with size 7 needles. It looks HUGE. The drape is nice, but the fabric is a tad bit see-through, and I wonder how on earth it's going to hang on a big baby or toddler, and I'm starting to wonder if my BFF Kate Gilbert actually tried a size other than the smallest one on a real baby. Plus, I don't know if it's me or the pattern (I suspect it's me), but the directions as written for the shoulders are backwards. Still, it's a super-cute design. I'll finish it and see how it works; if it doesn't, I'll rip it out and start over again on smaller needles. With any luck, I'll have it finished in time for Melissa to take with her when they visit Sophia, and by then, I hope the Guatamalan government can get its act together and let the adoptions in limbo go forward before the deadline.


In other news, my sister tried on her Tempting! We still need to get a nice ribbon, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

To Knit or Not to Knit

....knit Christmas gifts this year, that is. If I am going to do it, now is the time to decide.

Pros:

1. Economical! I can combine the Christmas budget with my Knitting budget and get hours and hours of entertainment.
2. Stash Busting!
3. Ravelry Queue! I can justify knitting those crapzillion scarves I put on my Ravelry queue. I can add them to my finished projects and have a sense of accomplishment.
4. Appreciative Recipients! I don't knit for "Muggles" anymore, so I know the recipients will like what I make for them. (Shameful Confession: I knit a Haiku each for my husband's niece and nephew but didn't give them to them when I realized my sister-in-law wouldn't appreciate what they were and they'd get trashed.)

Cons:

1. Not Economical!
2. Not Stash-Busting!
3. Horribly Time Consuming!

Here's why: I am, for some unknown and unfortunate reason, fixated on making a Clapotis for my mother (yeah, I know that's sooo 2004 and moreover, I vowed never to make one again). I have no Stash suitable for a Clap; I would have to buy more yarn. Hmmm.

In addition, I have horrible visions of me being consumed by Holiday Knitting, ala the Yarn Harlot, and family members opening boxes of half-finished projects and random scraps of yarn.

In other news, I have the back and right front of the Tilted Duster completed. It's a quick knit, but I think I messed up the shoulders. Sigh.

I joined a KAL

I've never done this before! I joined the Tilted Duster KAL, thinking I could use all the help I could get on this one. I feel like I'm making my first grown-up sweater, which is odd considering how long I've been knitting.

I allowed myself to cast on last night because I'd finished almost all the projects I started last summer in my Fit of Startitis. Tempting is now completed except for threading the ribbon through! I'm not 100% happy with it and I've decided that I just don't have the finishing skills to deal with those underarm seams. But to a non-knitter, it probably looks fine, and I'll post a picture when my sister tries it on.

I also swatched for Anouk, and I can't quite get gauge without it looking too open and airy. I'm terrible at this gauge thing, but if I'm getting 5 stitches per inch instead of 4.5, would that really be so bad for a baby garment? It would just be slightly smaller than it's supposed to be, right? Or maybe I should just try again with bamboo needles instead of my Denises. I know I sound like a complete idiot, but since I stopped working at a LYS, all common sense I had about gauge seems to have left my brain. Sigh.

Still more finished projects

The Placket Pullover from LMKG and the Moss Grid Handtowel from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I'm not entirely thrilled with either one of them. Both could certainly benefit from some blocking!

More Finished Projects

I've noticed this blog has become more about what I'd like to make and not so much about things I've actually done. Whoops. So here are two projects, just to prove that I am capable of finishing what I start.

The Men's Cashmere Scarf from LMKG; here it's become the Men's Sort-Of Cashmere Scarf. I used KnitPicks Panache. It feels absolutely beautiful, but it does fuzz a bit, and the stitch definition isn't as sharp as the 100% cashmere looks in the book.

Adaptation of the Candy Cane hat from Itty-Bitty Hats. Oh dear. This is going on the UGH! list on Ravelry. I was going for a fun Steelers hat for a toddler, but this looks like a misshapen bee disaster. It doesn't help that I used wool instead of cotton (the KnitPicks wool was the only yarn I could find that came in true Steeler colors), as the wool gives it this fuzzy blended look that makes the gold look dirty. Cotton would have been a lot crisper, at least. Ugh.

So many projects, so little time

I've decided I NEED to make the Tilted Duster, pictured on the cover of the latest Interweave Knits. Something about it is so appealing to me, from the beautiful drape of the "skirt" falling from the empire waist to the jauntiness of the asymmetrical fastening. It's been staring at me from the cover of the magazine ever since it came in the mail, and I finally succumbed. Jimmy Beans pulls through again with the yarn pre-packaged by size. Mine is going to be a beautiful heathered gray.

The other really lovely thing from the latest issue is the Minimalist Cardigan. I was daunted by the amount of seaming on it (I have vowed to knit in the round as much as possible) but my mother kindly volunteered to do the finishing work for me. Woo Hoo! These two sweaters are truly lovely and unlike anything you can buy in a store these days. I feel fortunate that I can knit well enough to make what I like.

And as always, I need to finish some projects before I begin the new ones. The boyfriend scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts is done. Henry's placket neck pullover, also from LMKG is also just about done, except for (what else) the finishing work. I think I will make myself finish Tempting and allow myself the pleasure of casting on Anouk, and then I can begin on my own sweaters.