Monday, May 25, 2020

A sweater story

About two years ago I spotted the Ixchel sweater published in PomPom Quarterly.  I gave it a try.  Halfway down the body I realized it was going to be a bit too small.  My initial enthusiasm disappeared.  The sweater went into hibernation and I moved on to more fun projects.

A couple of months ago I finally exhausted my Ravelry queue.  Trying to restart the sweater with more stitches sounded more interesting.  I jumped right in and suddenly I had a completed sweater.  Well, almost completed.  There were several dozen ends to weave in.  I also was not satisfied with the work in a couple of sections.  I ran low on the main color of yarn toward the end of the sleeves and my changes to accommodate it did not look good.  The cherry on top of this sundae was that the sweater was a bit too big.

Should I frog it and start again?  Should I weave all those stupid ends, block it, and live with it as is?
Time to do something else for awhile.

I grabbed a couple of braids of BFL and hand spun some yarn.  I have an idea for using it, but it will take some more planning before that can start.  I have not had enough energy to do much (sleep problems, not anything viral) so another project was needed.


I knit these socks from a pattern called Hello Sunshine.  I used some recently acquired yarns.  The multicolored is from The Dyeing Arts.  It has metallic threads in it.  The twist is good, it doesn’t split, and the metallic part stays put without ending up all over the place.  The pattern has cables that aren’t actually twisted.  There is enough going on to keep you from getting bored, while being easy enough to memorize.

Then there’s the sweater.  Remember the sweater?  This was a blog post about the sweater.  Midway through the socks an email appeared.  The Ixchel sweater pattern has been updated to increase the size range.  I gave it some thought and decided to try again with the updated pattern.  I am going to order an additional skein of the main color just in case I need it.  The yarn is slightly more semisolid than solid, so it should blend in okay.

My next project is frogging and swatching.

Saturday, May 2, 2020

(Virtual) Maryland Sheep and Wool

I always wanted to visit Maryland Sheep and Wool, but didn’t think I would ever get to do it.  This year’s festival has gone virtual because of that stupid virus.  I have been visiting the MDSW marketplace and having a good time.  I bought a show mug and T-shirt because I would’ve done that in person.  I have plans for ordering some yarn, hopefully some show exclusive colorways.

My big find was a kit for some socks that I never thought I would get to do.  It is the shark week socks by the late Tsarina of Tsocks.  She passed away several years ago.  A company called BeadBiz is offering some of her kits under the name Art for your Feet.

In between virtual shopping trips, I am working on my Ixchel sweater.  It was frogged and put in time out almost two years ago.  I figured out how to increase the size without making too much of a mess of the pattern.  There are several zillion loose ends to adjust and secure which will improve the appearance.

I did one project before I jumped into this.  A woman on Ravelry made a blanket pattern called Safe at Home.  I liked it but did not want to buy a bunch of worsted weight or commit to yet another blanket.  I had a pillow form and more than enough fingering weight, so I made a pillow.  I think it is cute.

Back to the sweater and PBS.  Bob Ross painting happy little clouds always cheers me up.