nipperknits

Vintage Knits

I'm thinking about making this sweater from Vintage Knits. I'm a little worried about a couple of things though.

1. The yarn that is called for in the pattern is no longer made. This wouldn't normally be a problem, but I'm not used to making lace and getting gauge is going to be difficult. I did find some 4-ply Botany on eBay, so if worse comes to worse I can always buy it from there.


2. Another problem is that gauge is given in lace repeats. I can't test yarn out to make sure that it is the right size if I can't knit with it, so that means only buying yarn in a shop. Not a problem, but buying online is always so much cheaper.


3. The sweater is only shown in one size. Again, this would not normally be a problem except that it is lace. I size sweaters down all the time, but I'm not quite sure how much or how to go about sizing down a lace sweater. I guess it just involves taking out a pattern repeat or two, but I'm afraid about screwing it up.

So, those are my worries. What do you think? Should my first big lace project be easier? Or do you think I should jump in head first and learn as I go?

I'm very excited that Jen is thinking about combining the same R2 sweaters as I am. Knit along time! I think we should take a cue from the way the R2 magazine names all their sweaters adjectives like Sweet and Tasty and name our adaptation an adjective as well. The question then is, should we keep in the same form as the magazine and name it something like Swanky or Cutie? Or should we be ironic about it and name it something like Hirsute or Gaudy or Lurid? Personally, I swing more towards the ironic. I love the word Hirsute for our furry hooded sweater, but I think Gaudy better describes the sweaters in the magazine on a whole.

6 days.

New Projects

I'm feeling much better about the Cardi Raye fiasco now. A couple glasses of wine, a bath for fussy babies and some successful knitting later and now I have a much better perspective on things. I noticed that I have been Miss Bitch and Moan lately and for that I am sorry. I don't feel like I have all that much to complain about, really. If I focus on the one project that didn't turn out well, I'm not thinking about the other 5 or 6 successful projects that I have finished in the time that I've been working on Cardi Raye. Yes it was frustrating, but I also made the amazing Rogue, beautiful and difficult. I made a few Buckets (which I wear almost everyday.) And I just completed my Washi Tank, the second tank that I have completed this spring season. I don't mean to complain and I don't want to be that friend that you only hear from when something is wrong in her life. So from now on, I am going to try to give the good, the weird, and the funny. Not just the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Starting with the Washi Tank. The Washi yarn is from a trade with Pinku. I actually didn't use very much yarn for this tank and have 2.5 balls left. The tank is a little skimpy and I get a little chilly in it, so I'm thinking about making a little scarf or something to go with it. I thought about a poncho, but that would cover up the tank... What do you think?

I also started my first lace project. It is using a thick and thin mercerized cotton yarn and it's looking pretty good for a lacey summer scarf. Lace is easier than I expected. Granted, it is probably more difficult with more pattern repeats, but with only 2 in this scarf it's quite easy. I'm hoping to work my way up to one of the pretty lacey sweaters in Vintage Knits soon. What do you think, can I jump from one lacey scarf to full on lace sweater?

After killing off Cardi Raye (why does the phrase "Who shot JR? come into my head when I say that? Who shot Cardi Raye?) I looked through my stash for the next big project and came up with a lot of wool. I don't really want to be knitting a heavy, woolen sweater right now, so I broke my yarn diet. (That was quick, right?) I was originally going to wait to buy any new yarn until after I got a job in New York. I'm poor and there is no end to the poor-ness in sight, right? Well, screw that. I was depressed and a little retail therapy never hurt anyone. My next project is going to be from the R2 collection. It is a combination of this sweater and this sweater. I like the hood on Sweet, but would prefer that the sweater itself have a bit of sleeve like Flush. I think it will be a really cute summer sweater and I'm really excited about that Paper-tape yarn. I really dig the fringe on that hood, don't you?

9 days.

Cardi Raye is Dead.

And we have come to the end of this Cardi Raye experiment. It has failed. We tried many different variables, none of them have worked. It is time to put this aside and go on to other things. Perhaps one day we can come back to Cardi Raye with fresh eyes and fresh ideas, but right now... Cardi Raye is dead.

The right side of Cardi Raye is so much larger than the left side. I must have been knitting looser when I redid that side, because if you remember it was the right side that was too small a month ago. I can't believe I sewed up the sides and sewed in the sleeves and collar, and sewed on half the hook-and-eye placket before I realized that one side was larger than the other. I must have been more worried about matching up stripes than making sure everything was the same length. It wasn't until I noticed that the placket was going to be too short on the right side before I realized something was up. So Cardi Raye is going away for awhile. It will have a special place at the bottom of my stash with the Stitch n' Bitch Monkey Backpack that made me jibber and scream. It will await the day when I can look at it again without crying. This pattern has been nothing but frustration for me. I just wish I didn't love it so much. Bring on the black armbands.

In other news, in an attempt to cut down on all the spam posts that have been showing up in my comments, I will be closing comments on posts that are two weeks old. I can't be having with the Penis Enlargement Pills and Hot Farm Sex comments and links anymore. Until now, I have been deleting them manually, but once a day is far too many. This seems like the best way to solve this problem. If you have a blog, do you have another way of dealing with the spam posts? What do you find works the best?