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First things first… these stripes made for the steek stitches are quite pleasing in and of themselves, aren’t they? There is just something so symmetrical, and well, straight about them. It almost makes me want to knit a sweater that incorporates the stripes into the design itself. (Almost.)

That being said, the shape of the actual sweater before the steeks are cut is quite ugly. I got a little tired of looking at it, and hurried along so I could finish and just cut the darn thing. Not to mention the fact that I wanted to try it on.

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So cut I did. But not before I “secured” my steeks with crochet stitches. Oh, the cutting of the steeks did happen at 2:00 in the morning, of course, but it was every bit as pleasing as I thought it would be. Definitely the highlight of making this sweater.

Now, I put the word “secured” in quotation marks because these steeks were most definitely not “secure.” As I halfway suspected when I started this sweater, the silk in the green yarn made it too slippery to, you know, stick, and the little steeks started unravelling before my eyes as I picked up stitches for the edging.

Ahem. So, at least I tried the crocheted steeks, and I’m not sorry I did. Next time I’ll try it on yarn a little more suitable. Until then, big kiss to my lovely sewing machine…

Stay tuned for the finished product. (I leave you in suspense as to whether it fits.)

Forgive me, I know this doesn’t have anything to do with knitting, but I’m very excited about my new sewing machine. I haven’t sewn in (many!) years, but I’m sure it’ll be as easy as falling off a bike. I even got a simple pattern-designing book that seems like it will go far in helping me figure out how to make things fit and look the way I want them to. After I get started with it, I might blog a little about my sewing projects on another part of this site for anyone who likes that sort of thing. I have some ideas for clothes I want to make, but I have to practice sewing in a straight line for a little while first…

I’m up to the armhole steeks now. Not too much longer and I’ll be able to cut right through this baby. Oh, wait, I do have to secure the steeks first, don’t I? I guess I shouldn’t forget to do that. There are so many people who have knit this vest, there is little else for me to say about it that hasn’t already been said. Apparently row gauge was hard to achieve for a lot of other knitters who tried the pattern. It’s nice to know I wasn’t the only one.

When I first started knitting, I would go crazy, thinking I was the WORST KNITTER IN THE WORLD because I had such a hard time achieving correct gauge (both row and stitch). I taught myself to knit from books, and I didn’t know any experienced knitters of whom I could ask advice or get perspective. It took me a while to figure out that: A) lots of people have a hard time getting gauge right at first, and B) I shouldn’t worry so much about being a “good” knitter. Trying hard tends to not produce results as nice as when you simply get lost in the process and stop thinking of yourself as separate from the thing you are working on…

“You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It’s easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally.” - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

I’ve been having a great time with my mom here, so haven’t had as much time to knit as usual. Here is the little amount of progress I’ve made on the argyle vest.

I tried size US4 needles first, but settled on size US3 to get a gauge closer to what the pattern calls for. I think my row gauge is still going to be off by a little bit, but I can alter the amount of rows and change the shaping to accomodate that. I’m also making it a little shorter than it says in the pattern. Hopefully I’ll make some headway on this in the next few days (or weeks)…

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For any of you knitters who worry about carpal tunnel syndrome or ever just get tired hands, I’ve recently started using my Baoding balls regularly and they really do help. They’re also great for relieving tension and supposedly stimulate accupressure points in your fingers to promote good health in other parts of your body. If you’re interested there’s information about how to use them here, as well as many other places online. I think I bought mine in a drugstore years ago - they are pretty easy to find. Bonus: mine have little chimes inside of them, so… free music!

Part of the mystery of the “Purple Monster” is thus revealed…

Obviously, then, this will be pieced together to make something. What that “something” is will be unveiled at a future date. For those worried that this was to be an object for a human to wear, you can rest assured. No furry purple novelty clothing for me, thanks.

I tried a crochet steek for the first time on a swatch for the argyle sweater. They are holding up well, yay! It was pretty exciting to cut through the swatch, and it felt somewhat liberating, as well. Let’s see if I feel the same way after I finish my mom’s C. Black Roses and have to cut through that sucker.

Here’s the little bit I’ve (re)started on the Deep-V. I’m using size 4 needles which should give me (about) the right gauge, but I’ll probably need to adjust the shaping and number of rows since my row gauge will most definitely be off by at least a little bit…

And just for some more spring fun, some lovely tulips. You can’t be grumpy in the morning when this is the sight that greets you.

I’m on such a roll starting new projects that I have not one, but TWO to report today. Yeah, dig it. First of all, after the post office lost my package from Knit Picks a few weeks ago, they kindly replaced it (Knit Picks, not the post office, silly) and I just got the yarn I needed to keep knitting Eunny’s Deep V Argyle Vest.

I had a little of this yarn before, and had started it weeks ago, but have since frogged it and started over - just ’cause. The colors are more muted in real life, and they are close in value so the argyle pattern isn’t going to be dramatic, I don’t think.

And I started the Irish Crochet Evening Dress. I know what some of you are thinking - I got the Color Your Own yarn from Knit Picks (a.k.a. spaghetti) and I’m not even dyeing it. But I WANTED the cream/natural color. So there. Look how pretty it is! I think it will look great for this dress. I’m sure I’ll dye at some point but hopefully not in the immediate future (ahem).

Oh, and check it out, ’cause this little bit will be frogged soon - the gauge will make it WAY too small. That’s what’s fun about vintage patterns - there is little to no gauge information, the yarns they call for are no longer made, and sometimes the needle sizes are even different. So you just got to figure it all out from a little blurry black-and-white picture. I’m loving it.

I’m still working on C. Black Roses. I think I have enough done so that when my mom comes to visit tomorrow from California (yay) she can “try it on” to make sure it won’t be too small. The sweater still looks boring right now, so here’s a pic of the yarn that came in the kit. Pretty!