flyinmysoup

so i think that i've gotten things here fixed up enough that i can post an actual blog entry--not just a test one to see how the templates behave. there are still a few wrinkles that i want to iron out, but for now, i'm feeling fair to middlin' about how this new blog is looking. it's been an adventure, let me tell you, and i'm definetly getting my money's worth out of the web page design class i took a couple of years ago! (and i thought i'd never need it...sheesh)

things have not been progressing on the HBDS. i attempted to do a row here and there, ya know, for a break between tweaking my CSS, and i think that it was all just too much for the brain. as of right now, i've cocked it up somehow...but it's that elusive sort of somehow that i can't really suss out. add to that the fact that i've come down with sinus ickiness (thank you, indiana weather). the fact that i've been running a temperature and have been slightly more loopy than normal isn't really all that condusive to a complex twisted stitch pattern shawl with a chart you have to watch like a hawk. *sob*
to satiate my need to knit, and the desire to not pull out my hair in frustration, i've started on the Flow Motion Socks (Cat Bohrdi's design) from the Fall 2006 VK. they're knit with a double strand of sock yarn, so they are working up really quickly. (of course, working something up on 6's instead of 0's will do that). i love the shaping on these--there are on side gussets; all the shaping takes place in a wedge on the top of the foot. it's nice to try new techniques in old favorites.

(sorry there are no pictures...that's one of the wrinkles set to be ironed!)

i still haven't gathered up the strength to pick the HBDS back up yet. somewhere in the back of my mind, i just know that i'm going to end up having to tink back row upon row of knitting. and at that thought, i die inside just a little bit. i'm resisting the urge in me that wants me to just make a stitch and be done with all the crazy scouring of the pattern, trying to find where i went astray. cause i just know that if i do that, a few rows down the line, the addition will be as glaringly obvious as a bright pink neon sign. (you can't convince me other wise)
so, to keep myself busy (and so i quit thinking about the HBDS) i started the Flow Motion socks Cat Borhdi contributed to the Fall 06 VK. i'm all a-twitter about the shaping used. here is a picture of it: can you see how the stitches flow out from the one yo in the top center of the foot? isn't that great? (it should maybe worry me a bit that i'm so very excited about this, but to paraphrase the Yarn Harlot, i could be this excited about cabbage, right? minus points for recalling how excited i was about purple cauliflower...)

the fella and i took a trip to one of the LYS yesterday, and i found one of the most stunning examples of overpricing that i have ever encountered in my yarn-buying carrer. it seems that the owner has finally gotten some laceweight in (i have been on her for awhile to do this), so at first i was jazzed. then i looked at the price tag: Merino Lace yarn from Skacel for $28.99. i couldn't believe it--more than double the MSRP. now, i know that LYS will often charge a bit more for yarn, but i think that this is just about the most ludicrous example that i've ever seen. so, we hightailed it outta there before she remebered that i'd asked her, on several different occasions, to get in some laceweight!

have you heard about Michael's yarn sale? yeppers, every yarn in the store is on sale, and while michael's doesn't carry the cream o' the crop, i decided to go check it out. and i ended up buying Lionbrand Woolease to make two sweaters. i'm making the Ribby Cardi from Chicknits, one for my sister (in the blue and the brown) and one for myself (the green and the brown). now, over the years, i've developed into quite the little yarn snob, and i've turned my nose up at most acrylic and acrylic blends. unfortunately, the bank account has not evolved with me. Even at Knitpick's killer prices, the wool yarn for the sweater would have run me about $26. i paid $32 for the yarn for both sweaters. and since i've been practically salivating for some stash enhancement, this was an affordable way to go. not to mention, i've been pretty iffy about knitting my sister something that is both a large investment of time AND money. she's pretty fashion conscious, and she goes through clothing like some people go through food. (i almost never have to shop she always has clothes for me to go through...i call it shopping at the House of Beth.) paying $16 for the yarn makes it alright, though. and i like the colors, so when the sweater gets moved to the Goodwill/kate pile, it'll all be good.

i turned on the comment authentication for this site. i want to be able to mark people as "trusted commenters," but i can't do that if you aren't authenticated (my, sounds sorta creepy doesn't it?). this is a bit more in-depth process than Blogger's code entry thingy, but you only have to register one time, it's painless, and then i can make you trusted and your comments will be automatically posted. in addition, if you take the time to become an authenticated commenter for Fly in my soup, i will post a sidebar link back to your page. think of the prestige you will gain in this little corner of blogdom!

i've finished up the sleeves for my sister's Ribby Cardi. i went ahead and did them both at the same time even though i really really hate doing that. i figure that matching sleeves might be more important. and the match to a t, let me tell you. want an extremely exciting picture? here you go: i've never done raglan shaping piecemeal before, and i gotta say, the sleeves look extra strange to me. they certainly get pointy! i know that a lot of knitters don't like the process of seaming up their work, but i'm a freak and i adore it...i'm looking forward to the miles of mattress stitch that i will have to do to finish this cardi. i could easily work most of it in the round, but then i would miss the pleasure using the big ol' yarn needle. by the way, i figured out how to knit and purl backwards at the top of these sleeves. (i knew how to knit, the purl had, up 'til now, escaped me). i got tired of flipping the pieces over to work a measly 10 stitches. the dog was not excited with my new found skill, and he huffed audibly when i woke him up to show him.

driven by the desire to work on something that wasn't the Ribby Cardi (there was a dyelot thing, but that's another post) plus the fact that i joined Lacevember i picked the Heere Be Dragon Shawl back up. oh, and the second season of Lost might have had a bit to do with it also. anyhow. after tinking back the same damned two rows about nine times, counting and recounting, and then counting again, i finally found where my mistake was (i think). even if i didn't find the actual mistake, i figured out something to fix it up enough that i could move on, so at this point, i couldn't give a shit if what i did was actually "fixing". but i digress. here's a pic of the progress through the second set of charts:

there was a bit of a hitch in my giddyup around rows 150-151. in these rows, the pattern uses a combination of floating twisted, traveling stitches and what is called the "wing stitch". a tip to anyone attempting the HBDS: when you get to theses rows, remember to always work the floating twists on the same two stitches. i found that it was helpful to move all the stitches that need to be worked out of order BEFORE i actually worked them; just moving them from the left hand needle to the right hand needle, switching the order as called for, and then moving them all back to the LH needle to actually work them. after i started doing this, the rows with traveling floating twists were much less a pain in the butt.

in terms of percent finished on the HBDS, i made a little chart up. this is where i'm at so far:
the next two sets of charts are going to be very interesting to work, not because they're going to be terribly difficult of anything, but because the actual charts are going to take up so much room. each of the rectangles is an 8" by 11" piece of paper printed the long way, of course. i haven't come up with a really great idea on how to handle this. we'll just have to see, i suppose!

last post, i mentioned that i had encountered a dyelot problem with the Ribby Cardi. let me expound on that a bit. i bought the yarn at the Michael's yarn sale where it was super cheap. i've not had a lot of buying-yarn-at-Michael's experience, and i had apparently blocked from my memory digging through the bins of yarn trying to find sufficient amount of yarn of the same dyelot. (looking back, i remember it..grrr). anywho, the blue yarn that i decided on for my sister's cardi--the main body color, incidentally--was stocked in at least three separate dyelots, none of which contained enough yarn separately for the project, of course. so, i had to get one lone skein of a different dyelot. (she's rather particular about colors she will wear). i decided that i would just work from two skeins alternating between them to minimize the difference. HA!! see the stripping? it's not supposed to be stripped! GAH!!! at this point, of opted for the "fuck it" method of fixing this. the sweater will still look nice made up, all be it stripy and nuts--at least on the back. this little incident slowed down the progress a bit. that and the fact that said sweater has been delegated to the "knitting while i watch streaming tv shows" area. it doesn't get knit on all that much lately.
in happier news, i picked up a set of the Susan Bates double pointed needles from Joann's (yeah 40% off coupon). i've been lusting after them for a while simply because they contain a set of 1.5mm and 1.75mm needles. i haven't a clue why i want to knit socks on these, but i really really do. here's a pic comparing the 1.5mm needle (the blue one) with a 2.25mm Britany needle isn't that a trip?
on the HBDS front, chart set 3 is going swimmingly.
i've got about half of the set to go, and i've not yet encountered any real problems. thanks to everyone for your nice comments on the HBDS so far--i love the encouragement and hope that i can help at least someone from experiencing the same stumbling spots that i have by keeping up the play by play. keep up the commenting. it really helps to have a participative audience!

more progress shots of the Heere be Dragone Shawl! what fun, eh? the shawl has gotten big enough that i now have to take it off the needle and put it onto a bit of waste yarn to spread it out. and it's too big for my weeny little blocking board, so it has to be pinned out on the bed.

Clicky for bigger pic

there were really no big problems encountered with this set of charts. it all went pretty smoothly. i was a bit confused on some of the symbols used, however. the part of the chart that shows the dragon's head spike thingies (this is a technical term, i assure you) the symbols are done in blue. on the key, they are not in blue. i did a bit of searching on the web, came up with nothing, and decided to just work the symbols as if they were exactly like those in the key and call it good. so far, i don't really notice them looking glaringly wrong, so hopefully it was the right decision!