Ssshhhh.
Be vewy, vewy quiet.You are about to get a glimpse of the rarest of species to be found here on Yo La Tejo. The gauge swatch.
Maybe it's been isolated from its herd, but...what a sad little specimen this is!
I swatched to make a Picovoli tee from the Adrienne Vittadini Marissa yarn I picked up over the winter break at We'll Keep You in Stitches in Chicago. I decided I needed to actually swatch (even though hot needles in my eyes are infintely preferable) because I really want this to fit well! The Marissa is half cotton, half silk, and previous experience with cotton tells me that it likes to sag, sag, sag. I knit Bonne Marie's Chickami ages ago with Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere, and ended up with a tank that was perfect...for my mom! I certainly don't begrudge her the top (if you check out my Flickr photos, you'll see that she looks quite fetching in it), but I want this one to stay with me.
Anyway, I even knitted this swatch in the round (sliding the swatch around on the circs with floats in the back in order to get a more accurate gauge), and I even gave it a little bath to see if it would grow. I was satisfied with my gauge once it dried, but I have to confess, I didn't cut the floats in the back, so that I could frog the yarn and use it (in true ghetto style!). Hey, it's Adrienne Vittadini yarn...momma didn't raise no fools.
I picked two colors--lime green and lavender--because I liked the way they looked together. One problem, though. I don't like stripes, and I don't want to do colorwork. What to do? Knit big chunks of each color, in a Mondrian type of design? Mehhh. That might look weird. I decided to suck it up and just knit stripes.
So progress is being made, as you can see. Too lazy to decide on a stripe pattern, I decided to let fate dictate. I am rolling dice to see how many rows to knit for each color! I let my friends, if they're around, take a turn with the die, and I just knit to my little stockinette-loving heart's content.
The only problem is the color changes/jogs, which are underneath the arm. They are fugly, let me tell you. But hey! That's what strategically placed purses are for.
How to go from Zero to Three Knitting Deadlines, Without Even Trying.
In other news (hi, socksister Ina!), I am due to get my Hill Country sock yarn any day now, so I can commence knitting my sockpal's socks. Any day now. I actually just got an email from Discount Yarn Sale telling me that the package was shipped out today, so things are going to have to start happening around here. I have a few patterns in mind, but really my big dilemma will be deciding between a lace sock or a ribbed/cabled sock. Maybe when I see the yarn, it will speak to me. (And maybe, if I can quiet the other voices in my head, I will hear it!)
Sockpal Deadline: May 2
Plus, I volunteered today to knit a shrug for my roommate so that she can wear it to a wedding, in about two or three weeks. She mentioned wanting one, and I jumped all over it, because I love her and I love knitting, so what more provocation do I need? She liked this.
Shrug Deadline: March 11
And if that's not enough stuff happening around here, I joined the Sew? I Knit! sew-along about a month ago, but have just gotten around to adding the button to my sidebar. I got my sewing machine, oh, back in September (I think), and have managed to fix a few hems and even sew a pillow, but have been itching to expand my repertoire. Our first project is a skirt, and I have the pattern and the fabric all picked out, but have yet to find the time to start cutting.
Skirt Deadline: March 20
Hi! The girl who wouldn't join the Knitting Olympics because she fears deadlines more than the dentist? (In case you don't know about my deathly fear of the dentist, that's a lot of fear, y'all.) If I took my school deadlines as seriously as I take these knitting deadlines, well. I might now be within spitting distance of graduation day!
P.S. Does anyone know why Blogger sometimes dumps all the sidebar contents down at the bottom? I was adding my Sew I Knit button, and everything suddenly went bonkers. It's making me crazy!
9 Comments:
Nice progress on the Picovoli! I have some yarn waiting in the wings for one, too. And I love the dice rolling idea for stripes. That's the only way my brain would allow me to be random. Will definitely have to give that a try soon.
And I hear ya on the deadline knitting stuff--it sure can sneak up on you in a hurry! *grin*
Your Picovoli is beautiful!! I love the lime and lavender combination- very pretty and very spring-y. I'm so envious (and considered turning you in to the Ghetto police, save for your contritious act of salavaging your swatch yarn) of your Adrienne Vittadini Marissa! I ordered the AV Spring 2005 book last month and while I love the patterns, I'll probably end up substituting with other (read: non-AV) yarns. ;-) Where is this mythical LYS that has AV yarn at 1/2 off??! In any case, your Picovoli is one gorgeous beauty and I can't wait to see the modeled shot! And, BTW, you mean zero to FOUR deadlines, right? Because I'm not the only one who got :cough: suckered (just kidding, Laura! :-)), I mean, convinced, to join Eunny's stole-along, right?? C'mon!! All the cool kids are doing it and you know you want to, hehe... ;-) Take care, Miss O! :-)
Go google "jogless jog"--it'll take care of the need to hide behind a purse!
Although, if the purse is cute. . .
That is a lot of knitting deadlines, girl! You're braver than I am for sure.
Don't fear the deadlines . . . you can do it!!! Your Picovoli is beautiful, I really love your colors and the stripes. And extra points for doing a dreaded gauge swatch . . . sometimes they are so worth it. The shrug pattern is really pretty too, and the specified yarn is Lion Brand . . . the ghetto in me so wants to knit one too. :) Um, for the sidebar, I think maybe the new KAL button (or Sew A Long button) is too big. If you can size it down some and then add it, your sidebar should pop right back up where it should be.
I love the colors on your Picovoli! If you don't mind, I'm going to use your uber-clever dice idea when I knit up an iPod cozy on vacation. Snake Eye! Boxcar!
First, let me say that I am WRACKED with guilt for all the knitting projects that I have been trying to suck you into. I am a bad, bad friend. Although I would also like to remind you and Chris that there is NO deadline for the Stole-along. Just sayin'. ;)
That Picovoli is sweet. I love that color combination so much. Cute, cute, cute. And the dice idea is fantastic! You clever girl.
Sidebar: yup, image too big.
Swatch: i had a swatch guard for my coca cola watch back in the 80's. I didn't have enough money to buy an actual swatch watch.
Look at you go! What was Edmund Hillary's answer to the question, "Why do you climb mountains?" "Because they're there." You just pick up a challenge of many challenges. Love the beginning of your Piccovoli, and that shrug is soooo pretty! What color are you going to knit it in?
Spring break is right around the corner for me - what that really means is free evenings since I'll still be working - and I'm going to be working on sewing curtains for the house. I get to use my new sewing machine for the first time! Yay! I had an old one I bought on Ebay but I kept having serious problems with the needle tension.
Keep us posted on how you're doing! More pics! More pics! ;-)
1. It's spelled M-a-r-i-s-a
2. I do NOT sag sag sag
But seriously, it figures a yarn named "Marissa" is 1/2 & 1/2!
--you favorite (if only) Part-o-rican
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