MG: oregano v.2

socks finished! to resolve the pooling-barbershop-pole woes, i worked part of the second sock leg inside out for a spiral running in the opposite direction. the color patterns of the two socks don't particularly speak to each other, but it is not distractingly disjointed either... i think.


the two accidental sorts of short-row spines are in mirrored position. matching ones are either both on the outside or inside of the heel.



i've started oregano's redo. craving a cozy knit and inspired by the shape of the sweater on the left (click to visit it at Phildar)...


i cast on for a sleeve with my clover mini circulars. this version of oregano bears no resemblance to the first (teehee). i'm thinking scoop neck, snuggly ribbing, and columns of double eyelets.


mmmmm... tubular cast-on--i used the version in Wiseman's (2002) The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques and adjusted for 2x2 ribbing.

MG: a farewell to oregano-v.1

i'm 97.8% certain on a do-over for oregano. here is the version.1 photo--buttonless, ends hanging out and all:


i should lengthen the sleeves, which are a smidgeon short. that weird bulge along the side seams (right below the armscye) has to go; those increase rows are too close together. it pulls a bit funny where the sleeves and body join, probably caused by a difference in ease. the sleeves (knitted flat) are much tighter than the body (knitted in the round). i've since learned there could be significant differences in gauge between flat and circular knitting.

i think i'll also add a couple of short rows at the hem so the middle drapes more evenly with the sides. and perhaps i'll knit the ribbing on smaller needles. that's it, i think.

while brooding about oregano, i saw this over at knit-ticisms. this version of the Glampyre Minisweater (aka Boobholder) by Stefanie Japel was so adorable it reminded me i had been admiring the pattern for a while.

i had in my possession four balls, about what the pattern called for, of Elann's Peruvian Collection Highland Wool in victorian violet. it had been purchased to become legwarmers, but as my weatherpixie to the left over there will attest, Berkeley has left legwarmer weather behind for the time being.

yummy pattern + yarn i already have = double yay! for this grad student knitter, so i started my own boobholder to soothe those oregano woes:


i love the pattern, and the color makes me smile. knit knit knit!

MeowGirl: ready for the yoke, sort of

oregano's sleeves and body have arrived at the armscye. as you can see, the pieces are ready to be gathered onto a single circular needle to begin the yoke. um, almost ready, i still have to chart out the collar decreases and decide the angle of the raglan decreases. i'm not sure how it will work out, since i've not done this before. i will read some more, then chart, then knit, *then frog, then knit, then repeat from *.

oh, a link to share... i love everything about this story: the spirit and the resulting display (my favorite is the green glass tea set). knitting can be a purpose in itself, and we all need reasons to hop out of bed in the morning, don't we? i read about it on boingboing.

MeowGirl: growing oregano

oregano is about 9"/22cm or up to my ribs. the final decision was center double decreases for the "seams." as the photo below illustrates, this creates a line that should echo the decreases of the raglan sleeves.

hubby's watchcap is finished. i played with double decreases for this project also--not crazy about the outcome. i'm not sure i like the effect of non-center/side double decreases (what's the proper name for this?). also, i'm left with questions on how to best integrate decreases into ribbing patterns and how to make decreases reversible (attractive from both sides of the work). still learning...

MeowGirl: the oregano incident

as Kitty Kitty wrote, i'm now reveling in the holiday weather of ohio and crossing my fingers for some fluffy snow very soon. oregano had to stay behind in berkeley, but this is where i left off:

i completed the sleeves (sleeves to my first sweater!!!) and began knitting the body in the round. it was 18 rows or 3 inches like this:

then i noticed something... the side decreases were wobbly! created circularly, my sweater depended upon increases/decreases instead of side seams, and mine were squirming like wiggly snakes. this is a problem.

i had planned one stitch increases/decreases for each side of the sweater and ended up with left-leaning ones due to patterns in the ribbing. um, this doesn't make for a straight line, at least not with me knitting.

i had no experience to guide me--time for test knitting:

the swatch has three types of decreases interspersed with regular rows (no decreases). A is a center double decrease, B left decrease (slip pullover), C right decrease (knit two together). these are not exactly comparable decreases, but they were the ones i knew.

the swatch told me i had made an extremely unwise choice. in alternation with regular rows, B not only wriggled but the stretched right-side stitch emphasized any irregular spacing of decrease rows. A is the straightest, while B is acceptable. also, the fabric pivots on both sides of A, but just one side of C.

in any case, oregano couldn't have such funny wobbly side seams, so... yes, i ripped out the whole thing. back to the drafting board on the body for me.

i have some time to work on the pattern before i'm reunited with oregano. i've been to the public library to check out The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt (out of print), Vogue Knitting, and The Knitter's Guide to Sweater Design by Carmen Michelson & Mary-Ann Davis (out of print). some research is in order, and i've been learning all about slipped versus pullover decreases, different double decreases, and even decorative decreases.

no final pictures of strawberry cream and chocolate ruffle because procrastination has permeated the finishing stage of the scarf. as you can see from Kitty Kitty's picture, it is still in its curled state and needs to be block. the only reason it appeared in public was because i carried it on the plane to reduce the number of ends yet to be weaved in. i have 5 out of 80 left, then block, then final pictures.

MeowGirl: name change

well, a bit of a change. Kitty Kitty and i both have feline friends in our respective households. mine taught me kitty noises, so i'm known to meow at kittykind (also, sometimes, just sometimes, at peoplekind). hence "meow.meow."

however, my hubby asked for the nth time the other day: which one are you? meow.meow or Kitty Kitty? i guess he has a point. we are not exactly exploiting contrast for mnemonic ease, are we? so, i am now known as MeowGirl. i like the sound of that.

Kitty Kitty's story about knit-chatting with a stranger is heartening. what is it about knitting that binds us?

strawberry cream and chocolate ruffle is almost done!! actually, i finished but didn't like the ending ruffle. frogging occurred... um, more than once. i will try again (and again), then wash, then block. next time you see it, it'll be happily hugging my neck.

oh! i found remedy for my selvedge issues. it nagged at me incessantly as the scarf progressed, so i googled and found this page. it has cleaner edge options with an illustration of the results. i tried the open edge (slip first and last stitch on knit side), but that left me funny wobbles on the final knit stitch side.

during my google session, i also read about many knitters (and their grandmothers) who always slip the first stitch of every row. i tried that--tah-dah, neater selvedges, nagging stopped. then (troubled only a little by the fact some of my stitches were technically missing rows), i zoomed along on my scarf.

yes, this means the edges on strawberry cream and chocolate ruffle are inconsistent. the proper thing would have been to rip and restart for all-around nice edges. i didn't. i had already changed colors 26 times. see? my perfectionism has its boundaries.

and what's this?

it's the beginnings of a sweater! a homegrown sweater! my oregano sweater! that ribby cuff you see is a sleeve (the left one), since calculations for those are complete.

i've been having fun with math, and it looks something like this (working with centimeters for better resolution):

math makes MeowGirl powerful! in a single bound (over the stretch of weeks and days), projects are conquered with calculations, geometry, and graphing paper! this Knitty article was comfort to me.

all measurements have transformed into stitch and row numbers, though i'm still tweaking increases/decreases in the body as those will not be evenly distributed. also, the collar and fancy button thingy are to be charted.

and i've been working on my pinku flower swap project, progress photos and all, but nothing for you until my flower is with Takeyah in Japan... meow