Adventures in Lace Knitting

To quote Method Man, "HOLLAH"!

The Paisley Lace Shawl is in the bag, baby.


my trying-to-look-like-the-model pic

Here's some more!

And here's everything you never wanted to know about my PLS. (questions copied from Caro)
Name of Project: Paisley Lace Sack Shawl
Pattern Source: Evelyn A. Clark for Interweave Knits (Spring 2005)
Yarn: Knit Picks Shimmer
Fiber: 100% baby alpaca
Color: turquois **The pattern calls for 1125 yards, so I bought 3 hanks. I used just less than 2.**
Where did I get the yarn: Knit Picks, duh
Is it the yarn the pattern called for? No, it called for Jaggerspun Zephyr
How long did it take to knit? less than 3 weeks
Did I change anything? Nope
What would I have done differently? My only beef is that the variegated yarn kinda hides the lace pattern, so if I had to do it all over again (the horror!), I would probably use a solid-colored yarn. That being said, I just love the colors of this yarn, so I really don't care!
Were the instructions clear? very
What did I learn? the circular method of casting on and how to follow a chart
Was it worth it? Yes, I love it!
Would I do it again? Despite the above answer, NO. Took too stinkin long for a shawl.
What seaming methods were used? NADA
Will I knit with the yarn again? oh my god, yeah
Do I think I'll wear it? YES. It is moving into my cubicle tomorrow
Do I have shoes to match? (my favorite out of all the questions) check it out for yourself!
Scary, huh?
Process or Product? Both actually. I'd never knitted lace before (except Lucky), and I desperately need some type of "covering" to protect me from the Arctic environment I work in!
Final Thoughts: This pattern was really fun in the beginning when I could crank out several rounds each night. But after counting stitches and following charts, I think I need some hot stockinette action!


LOVE 'EM AND LEAVE 'EM

No sooner had I spread the PLS out on the dining room table to block, and I was running upstairs for the yarn to start the short-sleeved top from Vogue. Previously, I had called it the ruffled top, but Winnie clued me in that there is an actual "ruffled top" and that's not what I'm talking about. To avoid any further confusion, here's what we're looking at.



I know I may get some upturned noses for this, but I'm using Lion Brand Microspun in the extremely bright red pictured above. Yes, it's *gasp* acrylic, but it was in the stash-ola and I'm hoping that said "acrylic factor" will mean that I actually get some serious use out of this top. I know I'm not the only one who's knit something fabulous with some expensive yarn and then didn't want to wear for fear that the Boogey Man would come along and piss all over it. Go ahead - deny it all you want, but we know the truth!
  ¶ 05:41

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  how one great rock show can change your mood

Okay, it's been awhile, and I know I was a bit out of sorts last week. I apologize. Who am I kidding - you come here for insane knitting talk, not depressing I-hate-my-job whining. Well, I'm here to tell ya that I'm back, baby!

WE WILL ROCK YOU

Joe and I roadtripped to Cleveland on Sunday to see an Audioslave concert. Yes, I am somewhat obsessed with Chris Cornell, and I had a few moments, while driving through the blizzard, when I realized just how crazy I am. We had intended on spending most of the day in the city with our friends doing touristy stuff, but Mother Nature had other plans. Well, she is one chica loca if she thinks she's keeping me from my Chris Cornell fix. Ah, the concert was amazing. I LOVE seeing bands in small-ish venues (maybe 1000 people), and this band puts on an amazing live show. Great great energy, but Tara is getting a little old to be stuck in the middle of the mosh pit.

I took Monday off of work to recoup (and put off having to come back here), and I spent a good chunk of the day working on the PLS. I feel bad b/c I've had so many picture-less posts lately, but people, it still looks like a sack. Only bigger. I have started binding off with the picot edging, so I'm going to go out on a limb and promise finished PLS pics tomorrow night.


FUTURE PROJECT REPORT

I'm still not thrilled with Ultra Femme, so I've decided to sideline her until I am in the mood to properly swatch and examine the outcome. So here are my options after the PLS:

1. Orangina - I really really want to make this, but I don't know if I can handle two projects knitted with Rowan 4-ply simultaneously. My poor little fingers just might not be able to take it!
2. the ruffled top from Vogue Knitting - I'm all ready to go when my US5s are freed from the PLS.
3. felted purse - Felting may not be considered a good spring/summer project, but I have oodles of yarn left over from last year's Sophie obsession. I also have a crapload of beads (for no explicable reason) and a cute purse shape in mind. Plus, I need me a quick project, dammit!
4. Salina - This one is really out in left field, but I loves me this yarn/project. Other people are knitting winter sweaters, so why not me?
5. Lucky - yeah yeah, I'll finish the second sleeve "sometime soon". I still have mad time until my self-imposed deadline of July 5. No fear, people.
6. Chris doll - I am still trying to decide on his attire. At this rate, he may just have to be naked. And I have no problem with that at all.

PROJECT ENVY

• I've already talked about it, but since it has been the object of my obsession for quite some time, I must again direct your attention to Grumperina's VPC. Simply fabulous! I have a list of yarn suggestions compiled and am stalking eBay for bargains.
• Run - don't walk - to Winnie's site to check out her finished Lucky and Hot Lava! Both are oh-so-cute, and I am seriously fighting an urge to make me a Hot Lava now.
• Have you seen this pattern? I stumbled across it last night, and I think it is love. Methinks I just need to get over my current dislike of cotton.
• And these are my motivations to get started on Orangina and Salina.

DO YOU LIKE SEAFOOD?

I feel bad for the lack of pics, so here's the dinner I made last night.

see......food

And here's the recipe for the beef wellington. Yum!

  ¶ 22:23

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  I've got The Funk

Ladies, it has been one of those weeks. Does anyone have a joke or funny story to cheer me up? It's been a bad week at work and a bad week for knitting.

It all started when I came across reports of ill-fitting Luckys. I was freaking out. Lil bit. This thing is going to consume some serious knitting time, and if it looks like crapola in the end, it might push me over the edge, okay? The only thing keeping me remotely sane is knowing that there are some very experienced and clever knitters out there who may have pity on me and offer some tips. But I stopped working on Lucky and casted on for Ultra Femme.

Ah, Ultra Femme. It looks so good on paper. But is it realistic? I worked a bit of the ribbing (in cotton yarn) and just wasn't feeling it. After listening to the advice of a lovely glass (or two...or 3) of merlot, RRRRIIIPPPPP goes the yarn and it's R.I.P. for Ultra Femme. But now that I'm sober the fog has cleared, I'm rethinking the frogging. Before I jump back into this project, I have 2 questions for you guys.

1. Do you think cotton yarn is really appropriate for ribbing? Should I use wool instead?
2. Does anyone know of someone who's knitted Ultra Femme? I googled until I couldn't google anymore and I haven't found ONE. Maybe that's a sign.
   

I think perhaps this is why I decided to knit a little rockstar doll. Who doesn't need a little comic relief in her knitting? But my problem is choosing which one to knit. Not "who" because the "who" is the uber sexy Chris Cornell, and I will leave it at that because I don't want to open the floodgates. You don't want to get me started. Believe me. But that boy is one little rockstar chameleon. We have the half nekked, long haired, young and horny Chris; the dark clothes wearing, spikey haired, slightly demonic looking Chris; the wife beater wearing, skater haired, brooding Chris; and last but not least, the wife beater wearing and sometimes half nekked, curly haired, happily remarried Chris.

I've thought long and hard about this and looked at many pictures (oh, the pictures), and I've decided on Chris circa Superunknown. You know how I like to be a dork about things, so I've decided to start working on him as we're roadtripping to Cleveland this Sunday to see him in all his *hopefully* half nekked glory. humminahumminahummina.

And just for the record, you know it's a bad day when Tara is talking about Sexy Rock God and not peeing her pants/drooling uncontrollably/experiencing severe vertigo.

  ¶ 08:51

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  on knitting with ribbon and how I really feel about hooking

Work sucks. It just had to be said. And if there are some of you out there who love (or even like) what you're doing, phooey on you too! (You all know I'm joking, right? If you're lucky enough to get paid for something you enjoy, rock on with your socks on cause, believe me, it ain't moonlight and roses for all of us.)

More bitching ahead, so beware.....

So, as I promised, I started Ribbon Xback Friday night after dinner. I swatched and "appeared" to get gauge, so away I went. After about 3", the People's Eyebrow started to go up b/c it just wasn't looking right. Thank you to whatever inkling of logic or impatience prompted me to put that 3" onto a piece of scrap yarn so that I could try it on. Um, yeah. Something wasn't right, kiddies. Not only were *cough* nips things visible, but the whole thing made me feel like Flipper stuck in a tuna net. The annoyance factor was rising, but I look at the pattern and Jackie just looks so cute in hers that I decide to truck on. I go back to my swatch, and after some rough love, I see that the problem is that ribbon yarn will stretch, but it does not (or at least Lion Brand Incredible does not) unstretch. Now I'm feeling like a genius for figuring that out and decide to reswatch using needles 2 sizes smaller (US 10). Less holey but still just...........eh. Ladies, do you know what I mean? Have you ever started something and your gut was screaming at you to stop? That's the only way I can explain it, but I decided to abandon ship. Honestly, this was more about destashing than coveting the finished object, so back into the stash goes the ribbon yarn.

And speaking of coveting......... have you seen Grumperina's VPC? Oh people, it is too cute, and I am deathly afraid that I will resume my quest for yellow yarn. Someone talk me off the ledge!

In another attempt to destash, I knitted a swatch for this sweater from the Spring/Summer Vogue. There are 4 designs in there that I really really like, and I had yarn for almost 2 of them. Lucky me. Now here's the thing.... I didn't really "look" at the pattern before I swatched. Details, details. But after swatching, I take a lookie and see that the purtly little scalloped edge around that top is crocheted. @#!%&$%@!!!!!! Can you say "deja vu?" Didn't I just go through this for Summer? And more importantly.... do I want to do it again? I don't. I really really don't, but the yarn works, I have enough of it, and I think this is something I would wear quite a bit. But who am I kidding - crocheting sucks. Crap.


  ¶ 15:42

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  t-minus 1 year and counting

Bust out the champagne because today is our Pre-Anniversary! That's right. Joe has one year of freedom left before that ball and chain get hooked to his leg and he has to spend the rest of his life doing my bidding. Mwahahaha!

Thank god he doesn't read my blog or he'd body slam me for acting like a crazy bitch.

I should probably get my butt in gear and start planning things, right? The only fun part is making the travel arrangements. Can someone do the rest for me? PLEASE?

Okay, on to the knitting because I'm bored with wedding talk and so are you.

Let's get a halle-fucking-lujiah up in here b/c Dulaan hat #3 (aka The Double-Knitting Nightmare) is done!


Indy Bear had a rough nite.

Seriously though, I like the pattern and I can definitely see myself making Joe one of these in wool for next winter. But man, this things seemed to take for-e-e-e-ver. Compared to the butthole hat ala Norma, which took one flipping night. Oy.

For those of you who've complimented on the baby lace shawl, THANK YOU! I was mad nervous starting this project but have some to realize why lace is so addicting to so many people. At this point in time, PLS stands for Paisley Lace Sack because that's exactly what it looks like.


Paisley lace.....hobo? And yes, that is my broom handle.

Up next for Dirty is Ribbon Xback, which I hope to crank out this weekend (US 11s, ka ching!), and my very own rockstar, but I'm not telling who. I'll give ya two hints: I've posted his pic here before and I'm going to throw my panties at him see him in concert April 24 at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland.  ¶ 17:54

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  Push the little daisies and make 'em come up!

Okay, I forget where that line is from... Anybody have a clue?

We just had a glorious spring weekend here in Pittsburgh. The kinda weekend that you want to spend laying in a hammock sipping lemonade and listening to Led Zeppelin. But since we don't have a hammock, we settled for going to the dog park and then vegging in the sun after the pups were pooped. There was some knitting in the sun too, of course.


Baby Dog says, "I love the dog park!"

Friday after work I got started on the PLS. The beginning was a tad tricky - mostly because dpns give me anxiety attacks - but I didn't screw anything up so YAY! This shawl is worked from the center out so I'm sure the knitting will take alot longer once it grows, but check out how cute the little baby shawl is.


Too bad spiderwebs aren't this purty.

Maybe I should design some lace curtains for Knitty. HA! And I know my window looks nasty. Tara hasn't done much spring cleaning yet. Oops.

I'm pretty close to finishing the double-knit Dulaan hat (thank god), and then I plan on whipping up a clutch b/c I know I'll be in need of a quickie after all this tedious work on the PLS and Lucky.

I also stitched up another purse over the weekend. Hopefully this will be one of many that I'll try to sell at a craft fair or two next fall to raise money for the wedding/honeymoon. Yeah! I know it's a little "granny" looking, but I'm still pleased with it. I felted a nasty sweater that I bought at Goodwill, so I'm going to try to sew that into a purse too. Kinda nervous about that one though... will the felt fit through the sewing machine?


oh, granny!

That's it for me. I'm off to cook some chicken teriaki and snow peas and watch last night's "The L Word". Later, taters!  ¶ 18:41

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  Summa, Summa, Summa Time!

Here it is......a groove....slightly transformed. Just a bit of a break from the norm...

Sorry I bust out in song every now and then.


Now. Is the fact that I finished "Summer" last night while watching The O.C. :

1. like totally tubular!
2. random coincidence because what else would I be watching on Thursday night?
3. extremely dorky and I need to get a life

I'm going with #3, but I've accepted my dorkiness and moved on. Without further ado.......heeeeeeere's Summer!


My attempt at a "serious" model pose. Hold the laughter, Please!



Here's me thinking "man, am I a dork or what?"

PATTERN: Ruffled Top from Spring/Summer 2005 knit 1.
YARN: 3.5 skeins of Knitpicks Merino Style in hollyberry. I love this yarn - so comfortable to wear!
OTHER MATERIALS: US8s, size G crochet hook, buttons, and ribbon
NOTES: This thing was quick and easy, but the crochet edging takes more time and yarn than I expected. I used over 1 full skein of yarn just crocheting! Other than that, I recommend adding a few inches in length to the pattern cause I'm going to have to block her again just to get it to cover my belly!

I know I said Ultra Femme from SNBN is next, but I'm casting on ASAP for the PLS. It's come to my attention that I work with a bunch of friggin polar bears, so the PLS is now a necessity! I made the mistake of wearing a skirt to work yesterday b/c silly me thought "hey it's 65 degrees outside". Yeah, after sitting in this Concrete HellBox all day, my legs were so stubbly I could've sanded a door down with them! Apparently the Big Wigs think that if they open the windows to let in the breeze we'll start trying to escape. Or jumping to our deaths.

In other news (duh, like any of you don't know this), the new Knitty is out.

First off, I was kinda frightened that my two favorite Knitty contributors, Stefanie and Jenna, didn't have submissions for this edition. And I think they were sorely missed. That being said, there are 2 things that I may possibly knit. this and this. I have ribbon yarn for some freaking reason that's escaping me, so I'm fairly sure I'll make Ribbon xBack. And I'm all about cute purses, in case you haven't noticed.

And on that note, I'm outtie. Got me a shawl to knit!

Have a good weekend!!!  ¶ 15:21

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  You better sit down for this

I'm going to tell you something that you're not going to believe. You may call me a liar, and you may even call the loony bin to tell them to make room for me. *deep breath*

The Great Yarn Binge of 2005 is over. Well, for quite a while anyway.

I actually said that out loud to Joe, totally expecting my fingers to cross behind my back, but once it passed my lips, I realized that I meant it. And even more strange, it felt a bit satisfying to admit it. I knew things had gotten bad when I went clothes shopping last week (my favorite pastime before knitting took over my life) and tried to talk myself out of paying $40 for a pair of shoes. After I just dropped $90 on yarn. I'll take that straightjacket in size Small, please.

Last week I received my yarn to make Orangina, Salina, and the Paisley Lace Shawl, so by my calculations, I have enough projects to keep me busy for mmmmmmm, a year? Or until I talk myself into going to Stitches East. Or the new Knitty comes out. Okay, yeah, I'll probably be calling myself a liar right along with the rest of you. It takes a big person to admit their weaknesses.

I wish I had some FOs to show you guys. I do have another confession that will come as a bit of a surprise. In the midst of all the yarn package arrivals last week, I kept plugging right along with Summer. I've been hooking my little bum off. That sounded bad. I'm working on the last round right now, and I'm totally digging how it looks. I'll still have both sleeves to do, but that should fly in comparison to the part I've already done.



I wore Ubernatural to work today, and as much as I love this sweater, it's never quite fit right. I'm thinking that it has to do with A) it never being blocked and B) the cast off row at the waist being too tight. Hopefully this will be easy enough to remedy, so when I get home from work today, I may actually put Summer down and fix this baby.

I just read over this post, and I must apologize because I think there's something wrong with me. I actually sound rational! What kind of knitter am I? I think I've been hanging out with the old ladies in the lunchroom too much. You know, some of them have NEVER knit or crocheted anything for themselves? What the fuck, people?!  ¶ 17:55

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  Meet the Dirty Girls

Dirty Girls --> dirty purls. Get it? Yes, there was some method to my madness when I named this bloggy blog.

The Dirties (or DGs) met during our first semester at Penn State and the rest is pretty much history. Like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we're all pretty different but still kick major ass. (kowabunga!) Need a better analogy? Think the girls from Sex and the City (we prefer the ladies from The Golden Girls) only younger and with less expensive (but just as many) shoes.

Okay, so now that you're down with the Dirty, let's do a picture book of the weekend...




Melissa vanna-whiting Independence Hall and me checking out the Liberty crack.



It is all about the Benjamins, baby!



Check out the pickle purse I bought in Olde City! Sew cute.

Sarah caught up with us in the pickle purse store, so 2 Dirties became 3. We got to see Sarah's new house, which is near the Art Museum, and that's all I'm going to tell you about Friday night. I can't give away all our secrets, now can I?

On Saturday, we headed west to Reading, PA to see Dirty #4 (aka Thi) and her 4 month old baby, Christian the Cute.


The DGs all growed up! Left to right: Thi (the mommy!), Melissa with Christian, Sarah, and me.

It's so wild that one of us has a kid, but I think Christian would win over even the biggest skeptic. He is just too cute and such a good baby! We spent most of the day with Thi's family (and got to eat yummy wonton soup!) and then headed back to Philly.

During the drive back to the 'Burgh on Sunday, Melissa and I drove through a raging blizzard in the Appalachians throughout which I simultaneously cursed Mother Nature for being a nasty bitch and myself for moving back to Pennsylvania. Thank god Southwest is coming to Pittsburgh so I can just fly my lazy ass to Philly next time ($29 one way, hello!).


Knitting Content?

Precious little knitting was done over the weekend, but here's a pic of Dulaan hat #3.


I'll be a big hat someday...

Everyone (including myself) is in awe of the double knitting and how it makes your fabric reversable. It is excrutiatingly slow! I think I'll be making all butthole hats from here until July.

I did get Summer seamed up last night, and my coworker Cathy gave me my first crocheting lesson today. ohmygodohmygodohmygod, why am I so scared of a stupid little hook???


And lastly, I simply could not resist when I saw this quiz on Jill's blog. I'm a Child of the 80s, what can I say?


You are Andie Walsh (from Pretty In Pink)!
Misunderstood and full of angst, you are
intelligent, talented and will probably go on
to do great things...once you're out of the
hell of high school.


Which John Hughes Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla  ¶ 18:00

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