Success!

I finally figured out the lace for the blue top I've been wanting to make and I've cast on, it's going really well (I'm not at the lace part yet but that's fine).  It's a bottom-up summer top, and there's no way I'll have the thing ready this summer.  I was initially really disappointed about that but I've decided it's not so bad.  I'll knit it and have it photographed this summer, then size the pattern over the winter, run the test knit in the spring, then release it next late spring/early summer.  It's a much more workable timeline and will end up making the project enjoyable rather than bananas.

One of the things I've gotten better at is figuring out how to make the process of designing and releasing my patterns work well and this timing really fits in with that.  I am hoping to have it done early enough to get to wear it this year, though.  In other news I was told yesterday that one of my patterns is missing a column in a chart (I don't know how the heck that happened).  I hate having this not done well, but have managed to sort it all out now.  The new file is uploaded everywhere but Love Knitting, but I'll have that done soon.

The next thing I have to figure out in terms of the blue top is how I'm going to join the yarn.  It's bamboo, isn't plied, and in about 8 balls, so I need a join that's going to work well with that, it'll take some research.

Maybe if I actually worked on it

I've been procrastinating about figuring out the lace for this summer top I'm working on, at this rate I'll be able to wear the thing next summer.  I have a vague image in my head and I just can't seem to get it figured out.  I've gotten frustrated and been working on other things, I've gotten a bunch of little jobs around the house done, which is awesome but not exactly related to knitting.

I finished knitting Bonny, just need to sew up the seams and block it.  I love it and I'm really really hoping it fits.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of the yarn, it's Merino/Silk and I don't want an inch of it to go to waste, but there's not a ton, I'll have to weigh everything and try to figure out how much I have left then play around with Ravelry maybe.

Getting things done

A week ago yesterday I managed to cut the pad of my left index finger pretty badly, knitting wasn't a problem but I'd hit it every time I'd purl and occasionally get the tip of the needle caught in the bandaid.  All that to say I haven't got a lot of knitting done in the last week.  It has helped me be super-productive.  I've gone through the five next patterns I plan to release and written out things like gauge, yarn requirements, worked on the measurements, basically all the boring stuff I normally procrastinate about, and it feels really nice to have that done.

I'm about halfway done the upper back on Bonny, still think I have crazy amounts of yarn left over but I did get blocked gauge so I'm keeping going and hope it won't shrink (it shouldn't for any reason but I'm waaaay under the amount of yarn the pattern said I'd need.)

I'm super excited about the patterns I have for fall release but am in no rush for fall, this weather is far too nice.

Worrisome

I've completed the front of Bonny, it looks great.  I have about 35 more rows to do on the back and then I'm done, I'm really looking forward to wearing it.  The ball of yarn was supposed to have had 785y, the project was supposed to take 700y.  I'm not finished but am reasonably close to the end, and the ball of yarn looks like I've used slightly less than half of it, which has me worried.

There are a few options, it's possible that the yardage of the ball band was off (not super likely to be off by a lot but it's possible the ball had a bit more than was stated.)  It's likely that the pattern does overestimate how much yarn it takes to give knitter some insurance and so the yardage estimates come out to nice even numbers.   It's possible I'm having some major issue with gauge and the hole thing will turn out horribly when I block it.

I'm just really really hoping it's not the third possibility.

Work

Somehow I have finished almost all of my projects and have only Bonny to work on, plus a hat that needs a crocheted flower to be finished.  I've been planning a summer top out of the yarn that I had originally bought for Bonny but I can't get the lace in the swatch right.  I mean I can't get it how I imagine it looking.  I have a great other project all sorted, swatched for and charted that I'll start tomorrow, I just need to pick up one last supply this afternoon.

Yesterday the children had simultaneous three hour naps, which is nothing short of a miracle.  I spent the time putting a large knitting chart I had made by hand onto the computer.  I don't remember the last time I've had that long to just sit and work.  Entering the chart took me about 50 minutes and I didn't get up, no one asked me anything, I didn't have laundry to change, I just worked.  At the end of it I felt so refreshed.  It reminded me of something I read once from Maria Montessori, that children need to concentrate and actually find working uninterrupted restful and I can so appreciate that.

TextureScape

A friend of mine is having a baby and I have made her a baby blanket (and kept the fact that I have a blog a secret from her, hopefully she doesn't stumble upon it.) They're not finding out what they're having which is what I did. I love the surprise, but I found when I was pregnant that there wasn't a lot of really nice gender neutral things for babies. I don't know why, there are so many colours. Orange, emerald, teal, red, grey, browns, but everything "gender neural" was this pale and boring yellow, and I wanted something that was gender neutral and made a statement. A statement that's cool and interesting, not just that says "I can't do blue or pink and have forgotten that all other colours exists."



It's inspired by old sampler scarves, where the entire scarf was made up of different textures and patterns as knitters just practised new techniques.  It's knit on a bias (so the entire thing's a diamond, rather than a rectangle), and the multi-colour sections are made up of slip stitch motifs, so each row only has one colour used at a time, so if you've been wanting to add some colour to your projects but are intimidated because that seems hard, this is a reasonable place to start.  If you're as charmed by it as I am you can get it on Ravelry here.

Progress

My quilt is going pretty well. I have all of the squares assembled and should have the quilt top and (hopefully) the border on today. You can tell I'm not experienced, but I'm happy with how it looks and it is being made with love so that's all right.

I'm on the lace section on TinCan Knits' Bonny. I thought the project would be really dull for the first while, when it's just 12" of laceweight stockinette but it ended up that I'd work on this when my other projects were too fussy, or when I was watching TV and was shocked when I got to the lace part. There's actually an extra half inch there because I didn't realize I had already hit that measurement. I like my tops long, so that works out quite well. Things are going quickly now because the lace is interesting, which is good because it's the only thing I'm actively working on, I've lost the pattern for my other project and because I had charted it out by hand I'm going to have to do some work to recreate it before I get back to it.