Unsupervised

This is my 3rd independent knitting attempt. I am using Berroco Mohair Classic Heather which is discontinued, slightly painful to work with and does not yield the close to perfect results I tend to aim for regardless of what I do. I kind of feel like I should be doing this with cashmere which I have never used either and it is probably the most expensive yarn there is. The pattern called for Sandness Mohair from a Finnish yarn company and I kept misreading it as Sadness Mohair and like thinking what is that supposed to mean? This is a scarf by the way. I will probably get annoyed and destroy it before I am half way through but I wanted to post this as documentation of my struggle to wherever it is that I am going. I have to say I love the way the bottom came out.. it was knitted flat but looks curvy and the holes look decent but as a whole this looks messy and would benefit from another color.. white maybe?

January 19th, 2009

January 24th, 2009
I completed my knitting assignment and went back to working on this. I cannot seem to be able to get back on track. My instructor often says that untangling yarn builds character. I wonder if undoing row after row of clingy mohair and then putting the stitches back on affects one in a similar fashion.

Opera

This is a chocolate covered lemon wafer that I found in Bazaar by accident. I think I ate about 10 of these today.

Cake

Glaze

January 3rd, 2009
I was going to take this photo off but it's just too pretty. I tried to make a cake that totally did not come out. By the way this whole thing is pretty silly and not just the cake part. Anyway I used one stick of butter instead of 2 and the cake came out very not moist but I ate like an 1/8th of it anyway. I was hoping it would taste better each time I tried it and now I feel totally sick. I threw it out. I will try again once I get over the initial trauma. The glass has a little of the batter in it that you are supposed to pour on top after the cake is done. I keep remembering the knitting instructor's words on the matter. She said that when she makes a new recipe she makes it exactly how it is so she knows what it's supposed to be..

This is called Chudo I think. It's a baking dish which belonged to my grandmother in Russia. It must be 100 years old. My grandmother Maria used to make some kind of cake in it that sank at the slightest vibration and I was not allowed to jump in the kitchen while it was being baked in the oven. At my age I find the need to jump in the kitchen quite confusing. I bet my grandmother thought the same.

This is a closeup of the Chudo bottom. You can see the one hundred year old knife marks probably because various cake things refused to leave this baking container voluntarily.

1-25-09 1:35 AM Wondering what happened to this. Should try this cake again.

3-17-09 8:27 PM Cake #2

Painted Snaps

This is for project #6 from March. Yes .. it took me this long. This is what my instructor does.. and I forever ignored this part because I always thought it was ridiculous. She paints buttons with cheap nail polish. Why someone would buy buttons of one color and paint them one of another is very beyond me. However today, out of nowhere I totally fell victim to this process and suddenly I find this to be for lack of a better word .. adorable. She had some metallic gold markers lying around.. the kind that I liked growing up. She said I should paint the snaps, because they came in solid black and did not match the sweater I made for T. I said that she should do it, I was scared to ruin something as usual, so she striped them. It would never occur to me to stripe ... I am so in the box. I would have painted them and gotten the marker all over the sweater.. not like you could tell. I kind of now wish she insisted that I paint them. I need some imagination exercises. The photos are a blur but they look good as a blur because the snap blends in completely into the background.

Project #11

December 19, 2008
It's the first snow storm of the year. I am sure it will not be as beautiful as last year's snow thunder storm that I very accurately photo documented. Besides it's only a snow storm. I almost feel like last year meteorologists did not accurately identify the phenomenon. My building is perched on a hill and I can see the storm very well outside my living room window. Anyway project #11 is for my friend Masha. I don't have the yarn yet. It's a lacecap from knitty.com by Adrienne Robson but my instructor changed it around. I feel like she just does it because she simply cannot not change something around. With her everything is removed and rearranged, buttons are ripped off and new ones are sewn on, pieces of sweaters are removed and new ones are added and she has this one sweater where I have no idea what she did to it. She flattened it or something, or maybe it was a shawl and she made it into a sweater. Anyhow this is the pattern.. sl1, k1, psso, yo and k4. I should stop while I am ahead because I said I hated k2tog and I hated ssk so she actually made it psso. Except I said I hated #9 needles and I hated plastic and she totally did not accommodate for that factor. In addition she said had I paid attention in class I would have known that after #8 needles start being plastic because they are too heavy to be metal which only confirms the fact that even needle makers do not like to go past #8. I said I do not remember her telling us this, and Heidi said "Why?" and it was funny because then I said "Why don't I remember?" She actually wanted to know why #9 were plastic but Heidi is a teacher so "Why?" coming from her could only mean one thing in my mind. Anyway I left Heidi and the instructor and went home. The instructor said that it would not be as much fun without me but she was not saying the truth, besides Heidi and her will manage just fine.

January 4th, 2009
Hat. I started it again for the millionth time. I hate the yarn but I am on Row#5 of pattern and did not make a single mistake so this is keeping my motivation in check.

6:04 PM
I am hating this hat. I had to undo everything because I cannot see enough to put the stitches back on after I make mistakes.

January 5th, 2009
I restarted it again, I don't even know what time this is .. it's definitely over 20 times. I did 5 holes and then I am not sure what the instructor wanted me to do. I thought the holes would continue to slant, but the way she has it for me, they start a little away from the 1st set but like to the right and not in the center.. so not sure what she meant, wanted etc as usual. Will ask tomorrow if I go.. well actually today since it's 1:08 AM on a Tuesday the 6th already.

January 15th, 2009
I tried this hat again. I have to say after knitting with discontinued Berroco Mohair, this yarn suddenly seemed really great. I tried making the holes bigger and screwed up but before I screwed up, I did not think they looked so great anyway. I cannot figure out why they look so good on the scarf and so bad on this hat.

January 18th, 2009
Started the hat again. I think I can finally do it. I can now stop anywhere and know exactly where I left off. I am wondering if I have to relearn that every time I do a similar project. It's been exactly a month since I got the yarn. It's like everything fell into place but only today? I moss stitched the bottom in my poor attempt to defy the instructor who asked to rib the bottom. Anyway it's like some magical intervention took place. I don't even hate the yarn..


January 19th, 2009
6:00 PM



This is not bad at all. I hope I do not jinx this whatever that means. Note the opening photo in this blog.. what was that all about? And "that" lasted almost a month.

January 20th, 2008
Done. The top is goofy because I ran out of yarn.. plus I spent 5 hours doing 10 rows over and over again. Long story. The hat is adorable, as always. My friend R said that the instructor and I have a "ridiculous dynamic". I think this is the best description yet. I started on another hat and the instructor told me not to come back until I have 5" done. I am wondering what have I said today? I feel like I there is a choice of several things. Masha said a new hat from an old friend is just what she needs. I guess this means post office for me.

Pattern:
[This is the first full pattern by my instructor that I have here] Wonder if anyone can follow this..
4.72=1 on 8"
Cast on 92 for the above gauge
Multiples of 6 plus 1 knit on each edge for sewing
Make a rim of some sort: k1, p1 or garter or something that would be tighter then the body of the hat
Row#1: *sl1, k1, psso, yo*, k4
Row#2: purl
Row#3: k1 *rep*, k3
Row#5: k2 *rep*, k2
Row#7: k3 *rep*, k1
Row#9: k4 *rep*
Row#11: skip the 1st hole [there is no room to make them]
Row#13: same as Row#1
Continue the above until the hat measures about 6".. I think we did a little less.. maybe 5 and 3/4th

Decrease:
Stop 1 stitch before the slip stitch, slip 3 onto the right needles knit wise and knit them together then yo and knit 3, on the next RS you will have knit 2, next RS knit 1 and next RS knit 0.
We did this but then at some point there was not enough yarn so when there was nothing left to knit after the 3 slip&knit stitches [the path was knit 3 together, and then you subsequently had 3-2-1 to knit before you got to the next 3 together ..] we stopped making yo.. and as a result the top is wavy. After we stopped the yo on the next RS row we knitted 2 together minus the 1st and last stitch, and were left with 16. I think normally you would continue to yarn over until you could not do that anymore and then the top of the hat would not wave and you would be left with less then 16.

Finishing:
Pull the top in tightly and sew 7-8 times in and out at the stop going in a star motion. Then sew either from the top down or from the bottom up depending on where you have left over yarn. Make sure the hole designs form a continuous line when you put the seam together.

Yarn info:
Smart Mohair by Berocco
I did not like knitting with this at first because it has a tendency to split
FIBER:
41% Mohair, 54% Acrylic, 5% Polyester

BALL WEIGHT:
1.75 oz / 50 g

BALL LENGTH:
108 yds / 100 m

GAUGE:
4 sts = 1"
16 sts & 20 rows = 4" (10 cm)

NEEDLE SIZE:
10.5 (US) / 6.5 mm

CARE: Turn sweater inside out and place in sweater bag. Machine wash on delicate cycle in lukewarm water with mild detergent. Lay flat to dry.

January 20th, 2009
I tried to take photographs of the hat. Not very photogenic as usual.




January 21st, 2009
5:44 PM
Shipped the hat to New York about an hour ago. All I have left are these photographs. I really hope it fits. In conclusion I would like to say that after this project I lost my fear of knitting hats on straight needles. I used to think everything I made would come undone and if something could be done on round then I would chose that option but knitting hats on round needles is absurd. I think this blog's direction should be changed.. as in more useful and less blabber.

10:25 PM
Hat is in the mail.. I really really hope Masha can wear it, that it's not too wide, too short and too cold and that she does not notice the waves at the top. I told the instructor that the hat is cute and she said ".. and you gave me such a hard time about this hat!" .. and that I did do.

Want

I am going to put everything I want to make in here:
1. A loop like Linda has on her sweater which emerges from a cable.
2. Some kind of cable scarf in white where fringes are 8" long and some are twisted and some are not. Carmen had it on today.
3. The sweater the instructor had on today for my mom. It had squares, a rolling neck, the sleeves had no ribbing and the bottom was going outward so it did not cling to the body. It was gray with squares. The instructor said she added a red square to it? I have to remember all this so I can remind her.
4. Once I wanted to make something out of this yarn. It looked like a rope and then had colors in it, very skinny yarn it was.
5. A fringe looking thing with short rows and where the edge is not bound off ..
6. A scarf with sleeves and holes
7. A back there there are 3 slits like the one from Free People with embroidery
8. A sleeve where the ribbing is on each side on the arm and meets in the middle.. the one I saw had a rib in the middle but I do not like the rib
9. A sleeve where the cuff is ribbing and there is a cable going around next to the ribbing diagonally around.
10. An edge where it's folded over and looks round
11. The green sweater from Verena
12. Jan28 A fabric covered button on top of a hat
13. Feb17 Heidi made a sweater and a part of it had a gray and pink striped piece.. I want that piece
14. Feb19 Stars knitted in of a color other then the item
15. Feb 19 The striped something raspberry and gray alternate on it

Project #10

I am thinking that on small things you should not slip the 1st stitch ever. Uggghhh.. Started #10 without completing #9. The instructor made #10 up. I have been dreaming about this, since I started coming to her store. It's only a hat but it's made up! I already messed it up because when I got home I just had to work on it, without knowing what I was doing. I will see tomorrow. I have officially made 10 things with the Instructor.
1. Sweater [Dad] 2. Sweater [Mom] 3. Gloves [Mom] 4. Hat [Mom] 5. Sweater [me] 6. Sweater [Masha] 7. Sweater [Tanya] 8. Sweater [Eli] 9. Sweater [me] .. in Progress10. Hat [?] .. in Progress
I am so mysterious. I already cannot wait until tomorrow. I hope it does not hail or something. I am still recovering from this morning's weather. I still have to fix my dad's sweater, then buy more snaps for Tatyana's sweater, then do the hat and my sweater. I saw the instructor today trying to mend a sweater and I don't think she did anything to it for like 5 hours because repairs are b-ooring. It's a light blue garment and I think she said the sleeves needed to be shortened but if you ask me they should buy a new sweater. It had a huge yellow stain on it.

December 13th, 2008
I learned short stitches. I should go look up what that is in my book since no one explained them to me. I mean I see what they did.. they bend a straight section into a triangle on one side at the top. The instructor had to weigh my yarn for the 1st time in my knitting life to see if I had enough. Something else I do not know. How many grams equals a hat?

Technical Notes:

Short stitch for stockinette
On the RS stop 2 stitches away from the edge and begin to knit. Slip the first stitch (#3) purl-wise. The next time stop 4 stitches away from the end.. etc.

Short stitch for garter
On the WS side stop 2 stitches away from the edge, bring the yarn from the back to the front, slip stitch #2 purl-wise, bring the yarn to the back, put back stitch #2 on right needle. Turn work around on the RS and continue

Hat Edge:

If you are knitting purl the last one and then on the other side knit through the back of the 1st one so you form a braid. Knitting through the front makes a knot. And if you are making a hat with different colors you cannot slip stitches.

December 14, 2008
I figured out that if you use several yarns it's best to de-tangle the one you are using next and then use it. This seems to work out best. You will still get tangled again but then you can untangle the one you are using once again. It took me a while to figure this out. I used to periodically try to de-tangle everything which was a waste of time. It got so bad when I was soing my mom's sweater that I think I had to rip the yarn at some point which I really took hard. I hate ripping yarn.

The Pattern

This is the pattern by the way in Russian handwriting. This is all it is. You can see the yarn was weighed because she was not sure if I had enough gray. What's amazing that less then 1 oz told her that I did have enough. Let's see if I can remember this a year from now. I am looking at this, and I am like what is l.g. d.g.? I am a moron. What's even more amazing and makes me an even bigger moron is that the actual less then sign is a computer term! It totally screwed up this blog entry.. I just realized this today 12/18/08

December 15th, 2008

I am done. It's adorable. I am not sure I want to part with it. I came in this morning thinking that I can do another one just like that but the finishing and the tiny tiny flaps took all day. First we made the flaps, pick up (9) ? stitches, work in stockinette for 3 rows starting with purl then decrease.. K1, slip 2 as if to knit, then slide the left needle in the front and knit through the back then knit the 2 tog, and then the last one on the end. We did this twice and were left with 5 stitches. Then one side was the strap so I knitted it in garter.. then the instructor picked up stitches on the side of the flap, I think it was 15 in light gray.. I bound them off knitting on the wrong side, then knitted the 5 I had at the end of the strap and bound those off then she picked up the stitches on the other side of the flap so I bound those off then we had to sew the edge on the inside so something did not stick out. Then the other flap.. I don't know what she did. Maybe picked up stitches in the center of it which I bound off. Anyhow the thing looks amazing. I told the instructor I was in love with it and I think she was annoyed. I knitted so tightly that my thumb has some kind of growth on it that is quite painful. Ridges: d.g. 11+1 where we bound off d.r. 7 d.g. 6 l.g. also 6 Strap: 5 stitches I am looking at the top where the instructor sewed it together and it's perfect. It forms that flower I saw when I did the other hat on the round. She said to go into the bumps and she was not even sure if it would work.. or so she said. Here it is below..

P.S. The instructor gave me a button .. for free.. not sure what is going on.

6:17 PM
I just spent the last hour or so sewing on the button. I need alcohol. I sewed it on 3 times.. it's still not in the center and the button simply refuses to go through the button hole. I have no idea how we did the button hole. K2 and make a hole and like the sweater?

6:43 PM
One of the sweaters I saw today had the ribbing folded in half, stuffed and sewn together on the collar and where the buttons go.

7:28 PM
I only now understood why my finger hurt so much. It had a hole in it. I just bandaged it.

8:36 PM
The hat actually took from the 12-15th so 4 days. It's a 4 day hat. The red in the hat is Tahki Bunny 027 which is deep red.

December 16th, 2008
I asked about the button hole today and she said it was knit 2, slip 1, knit 2 tog. I don't remember that. The instructor today said that she only buys yarn that she can see. I always wondered how she can buy yarn without seeing it but guess what.. she does not.

December 18th, 2008
The hat was well received. I kind of miss it but I know it will be loved. I actually did not want to post photos of it in case 'someone' was watching but now I can go all out! I actually emailed interweave to see if I can submit this without the ear flaps.. but I just read the above entry where I am trying to recall how to make it and like I do not think I can submit anything. They are not accepting anything until January 2009 and I really do not have anything to submit. The below adorableness is not mine.

Beginning stages ..

This is my favorite photo..

January 1st, 2009
!!! Someone on ravelry favorited this project. This is the 1st time ever anyone favorited anything of mine on that site. I am proud I think.. well the design is not mine.. but I have a sense of pride to some degree.
February 23rd, 2008
7 times favorited. I realize people have hearts in the thousands and I just 7 but I knew this hat was a winner even before it was done. I told the instructor we should publish the pattern. Too bad because now I remember nothing and although I may be able to reproduce the hat.. I will most likely not be able to do the strap since I cannot remember how we picked up stitches.. I don't think I ever picked stitches up in general.. and how we knitted around the edge?