Do you ever experience a bit of a let-down at the end of a project? At the conclusion of a good book, or after you finish a knitting project you really enjoyed working on, do you feel down? Post-project ennui often strikes me, making it difficult to choose my next knit-deavor (and you thought I'm just a good-time girl!).
That's what happened to me Friday when I wrapped up my Color is a Lifestyle socks. I think it was a combination of staying invested in a good knit, & the pressure I put on myself to choose the next 'right' project, the 'best' pattern for a particular yarn, or an 'appropriate'-ly challenging new technique.
Which is, of course, ESTUPIDO. I mean really, I must know by now that there is no 'right', 'best', or 'appropriate'. Which is to say, I spent several hours surfing Ravelry Friday night to find the right project that would show off some yarn in my stash to best effect & give me the opportunity to test myself with an appropriately challenging new technique. 'Cuz I'm just as susceptible to internal pressures as the next guy.
That's what happened to me Friday when I wrapped up my Color is a Lifestyle socks. I think it was a combination of staying invested in a good knit, & the pressure I put on myself to choose the next 'right' project, the 'best' pattern for a particular yarn, or an 'appropriate'-ly challenging new technique.
Which is, of course, ESTUPIDO. I mean really, I must know by now that there is no 'right', 'best', or 'appropriate'. Which is to say, I spent several hours surfing Ravelry Friday night to find the right project that would show off some yarn in my stash to best effect & give me the opportunity to test myself with an appropriately challenging new technique. 'Cuz I'm just as susceptible to internal pressures as the next guy.
All this is my long-winded way of introducing you to my new project, Spunky Rack Cover, aka More Stripes Vest by my friend Amy King of Spunky Eclectic. It's a steeked vest (the 'appropriate technique' part), designed to show off Noro striping yarns (the 'best yarn' part), & it just feels right.
I've had ten skeins of Noro Akogare in my stash f o r e v e r. Similar to Silk Garden, Akogare is a Bulky weight 45/40/10/5 blend of wool/silk/angora/nylon, & I thought it would be a natch fit for Amy's pattern, which is written for Silk Garden. I had to adjust the gauge for a bulkier yarn, & since I want some negative ease (this is, after all, a rack-a-licious vest), I'm knitting the 36" size to cover my 42" bodacious boobies.
When I took it off the needles about 2" in, to see if I'm on the right track gauge- and size-wise, & it was obvious that it's way too big; I was thinking "Hell. Gonna have to rip it out. Grr." But no! As it turns out, I'm just portlier than I realized! I checked it against the circumference of my favorite old man-styled vest & it is spot-on.
The pattern is written for knitting a front and a back, but yeah... NO. No offense, Amy, but I'm with EZ: I loathe purls & seaming, so it's in-the-round, all the way, baby! I'm also tweaking the way that I work up the striping: the pattern calls for 2 shades of yarn, but I'm only using one, & to get nice, 4 row stripes, I'm switching between 2 balls; but I'm not carrying them up the side, I'm spit-splicing them. The silk in the mix means they don't felt together quite as well, but it seems to be working. Just don't use your beer-swilling spit: it makes the ends sticky. ;0
A note on angora yarn: iz sheddy! Good thing I seem to have lost my childhood sensitivity to it; once upon a time, my eyes would swell shut at the mere hint of any bunny fur (no, really, it happened: in a Bon Marche in Portland, while shopping with my Nana, I played with a stuffed rabbit covered in real rabbit & by the time we got to the car you couldn't pry my eyelids open with a chopstick. Although, I don't know why you'd want to.) Fast forward to now, this stuff may only be 10% of the fiber content, but it seems that every last puff of it wants to escape & live on my fleece pants.
The design itself is a simple 4x1 ribbing; knitting it takes very little effort, leaving lots of brain cells available to contemplate the upcoming steeks. Been meaning to learn how to do 'em; this is as good a time as any to make that happen. The deep-V neck is written as a steek, so that the two sides match up; I'm thinking of doing the armholes as steeks too, so I can just knit a giant tube & then, SNIP-SNIP-voila! Amy promises to hold my hand through the process if I lose my courage.
The pattern is written for knitting a front and a back, but yeah... NO. No offense, Amy, but I'm with EZ: I loathe purls & seaming, so it's in-the-round, all the way, baby! I'm also tweaking the way that I work up the striping: the pattern calls for 2 shades of yarn, but I'm only using one, & to get nice, 4 row stripes, I'm switching between 2 balls; but I'm not carrying them up the side, I'm spit-splicing them. The silk in the mix means they don't felt together quite as well, but it seems to be working. Just don't use your beer-swilling spit: it makes the ends sticky. ;0
A note on angora yarn: iz sheddy! Good thing I seem to have lost my childhood sensitivity to it; once upon a time, my eyes would swell shut at the mere hint of any bunny fur (no, really, it happened: in a Bon Marche in Portland, while shopping with my Nana, I played with a stuffed rabbit covered in real rabbit & by the time we got to the car you couldn't pry my eyelids open with a chopstick. Although, I don't know why you'd want to.) Fast forward to now, this stuff may only be 10% of the fiber content, but it seems that every last puff of it wants to escape & live on my fleece pants.
The design itself is a simple 4x1 ribbing; knitting it takes very little effort, leaving lots of brain cells available to contemplate the upcoming steeks. Been meaning to learn how to do 'em; this is as good a time as any to make that happen. The deep-V neck is written as a steek, so that the two sides match up; I'm thinking of doing the armholes as steeks too, so I can just knit a giant tube & then, SNIP-SNIP-voila! Amy promises to hold my hand through the process if I lose my courage.
Took it with me to Sit 'n' Knit at YARN-fun in Eureka (where I picked up my earned-on-credit yarn - more tomorrow!). Look how far I got! Already at 5" after casting on yesterday morning!!
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my friend felted with wine and an electric toothbrush.. so a beer spit splice sounds kind of tame to me.
ReplyDelete3000 mile away hand holding. yup. Snip that bitch. You can do it.
ReplyDeleteVellllmaaaa... will you please document your steeking adventure when you cut it? I have never tried steeking and I really want to see how this turns out, in detail!
ReplyDeleteAlso, omg perfect yarn for vest yum.
Yes, yes and yes on the post project ennui! Perfect COLORBOMB approved colorway in your new project. :)
ReplyDeleteIts really very fine. thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteWhen it is the right project, it just zooooms along!
ReplyDeleteThat vest will match your gorgeous socks perfectly. Happy knitting!(but how could you not be happy with colors like those?)
ReplyDeleteOoh! That will be one knockout of a vest! Steeking is a breeze. You'll love it.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing about the steeking adventures too!
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome so far. I'm dying to get my current sweater project underway but no matter what I do, it's just not working! Maybe it's back to Ravelry for me. Can't wait to see how yours turns out.
ReplyDelete