So you might see cute Lucky pictures (and I can only *hope* one is forthcoming here) and say "that is cuuuuuute. I am going to make one." Winnie, Carolyn, and Dee have finished, and did a great job. Seems like it might be a fun project to knit, right? My advice to you: DON'T DO IT. Seriously, I could have made five, no fifteen, sweaters in the time it took to make this one. The neckband alone probably took like 7 hours. There is no reason to do that to yourself. Please, don't do it.

There is one circumstance in which I'd recommend someone knitting this: If you have about $60 total yarn budget for the next 3 months and already own SnB Nation. hey, this will keep you busy! go for it! see you on the other side!

I spent much of today seaming, seaming and seaming.

Here it is. The neckband is still in progress, but its getting cloooose.

So Jacqueline tagged me for the book meme. Generally, I am not a big proponent of these meme things that go around the blogs. But hey, here we are, and Lucky is not quite ready for debut, so lets talk about books.

Let's begin with the story of my bookshelf. My bookshelf is this not-fabulous wooden thing from the garden section of Target. One day, I was annoyed with its rampant disarray and wanted to just get rid of it and all of the books. It looked awful and messy and was a serious eyesore. I was in the midst of a major room overhaul which had thus far included painting the walls. So I painted the wooden thing with leftover wall paint and organized the books by spine color. So much more pleasing this way! I kept my books.

Total number of books in your house:
ummmm. maybe 150? Here they are:

Sam has claimed the white shelf. He pushed all the books on one side to the back and likes to jump up there and lounge. I don't have the heart to evict him.

The last book you bought was:
by Malcolm Gladwell. I had just read and was unimpressed, but felt like the idea had potential. I thought maybe the good arguments were in The Tipping Point. But I ended up equally unimpressed. and now I own both. argh.

What was the last book you read?
by Steven Landsburg. This is one of those books that changed the way I saw the world. He makes points that are often in conflict with the mainstream media and unspoken but established cultural worldviews. For example, he equates zealous environmentalism with a form of religion. I found it refreshing.

Write down 5 (or 6) books you often read or that mean a lot to you.
by Jean Baudrillard.
by Steve Krug. Its about web usability, one of my favorite subjects.
by Elizabeth Zimmerman.
by Roland Barthes. No, its not about the Greek/Roman myths. More about societal norms.
by Susan Sontag. Photographs are everywhere, but I didn't really get what they meant until reading this.
by Bob Glover. I am a serious runner. Not saying I am seriously fast or anything, but I run. Last year, I ran the NY marathon. This book spends a lot of time on my bedside table.

Who are you going to pass this onto and why?
Grumperina, because I bet she is really well-read; Purly Whites, a favorite new knitblogger who everyone should read; and Stephanie, because I am curious.

Maybe these meme things are ok. They are like get-to-know-you activities done on retreats. And since we knit bloggers mostly talk only about knitting, maybe this is good for us! Thanks for tagging me, Jacqueline!

My mom came to Brooklyn this past weekend for Mother's Day, and she left fully stocked with knit goods. Well, maybe "fully stocked" is an overstatement, but she did leave with this scarf:

Its a basic feather and fan pattern. I followed the pattern from word for word because I am a feather+fan newbie. Here's a close up.

The yarn is Cascade Bollicine Sissi, which is a variegated mohair. I used only one skein, with leftovers.

Mom also made off with my Ribby Cardi. To tell the truth, it never really did anything for me, kinda short and uneven at the bottom, and I was thinking about undoing it. But it looked a lot better on Mom. and even though she is from Arizona, she is still always cold.

I just love when knitwear finds a good home.

Yea for a finished Lucky Clover Sweater!
Check it out!

Yarn: Rowan 4-ply cottom in shade 135, Fennel.
Pattern: by Melissa from Stitch and Bitch: Nation; Size Small
Gauge: 26sts/4" in stitch pattern on size 3 bamboo circs
Pattern Modifications: Adjusted sleeve length to 19 inches before cap. Also lengthened body to 13.5 inches.

So this project takes a while. But its definitely do-able. I rushed at the end and went into 4-ply cotton overload when finishing it. I took off some about-to-expire vaca days in order to do productive things like spring cleaning and updating my resume, but ended up knitting right through them! I was a knitter on a mission. My mission: finish Lucky and gain freedom to knit something else. But when it became apparent that the neckband was going to take just as long as the other pieces, 4-ply cotton overload set in. In retrospect, it would have been okay not to rush it.

Lucky knitters out there: take your time. Labor day is the perfect time for a sweater to be done. Knit it all summer. Knit other things too. Its all good.

Neckband Installation:
After reading Winnie's report, I took care when seaming the neckband for a nice v-neck style. I used the mattress stitch to seam the neckband evenly along the left and right fronts. Along the sleeves and back of neck, its necessary to pull in the sweater more. I seamed two rows of the neckband with two stitches of the sweater like this:

It might appear to be way off during the seaming process, but once the yarn is pulled tight, the neckband gathers the sleeves and back neck quite invisibly.

This is a super comfy sweater. The cotton is nice and soft. It is a bit loose, but for summer, that might be very comfortable. If I were to knit it again, I'd probably adjust the pattern so it would be smaller in the body, and longer. Not to say that I am doing that! This is my one and only Lucky!

Next up is the Organina top from Glampyre! I can't get enough of small-gauge cotton, right?? Its just way too cute to resist any longer.

From what I've heard, the construction is pretty simple: front and back worked separately from the top down, then joined for ribbing and seamed at the end. I can handle that!

I've been thinking about this top for awhile, and casually investigating colors of 4-ply cottons, but nothing had jumped out at me yet. Then, Monday night, I noticed Elann had posted Endless Summer Lara. I have a credit with them! It was fate!

Coral colors have been really appealing to me lately, so I went with this, Brick.

It should come in the mail maybe today. Hopefully its the right color in person. What if it is super red?? Hmmm. maybe I will just go with it.

I bought 9 skeins, which is probably way too many, but it had slightly less yardage than the Rowan 4-ply. Any ideas for 4-ply cotton leftovers??

So yesterday, Lucky was done. ostensibly. All parts were in place, and it worked as planned.

But something kept bugging me. After taking the photos and going through them, I wished it fit better. The body was loose, but when I tied the inner and outer ties extra tight, the sides wrinkled in an unattractive way. I knew even before starting that I was in-between sizes and had decided to go for this one. But it bugged me now. Was there any way to make it fit closer?

Since the inner ribbon tie was tricky to tie and somewhat bulky, I decided to try modifying the ties so that the inner tie threads through the right side seam and wraps around the back, meeting the other one at the left side. It would eliminate the inner ribbon tie. The Rebecca wrap is done this way, as are some commercially-knit wrap sweaters.

I'm not sure if you'll be able to tell in the photos, but the fit is really improved!

I am picky in this way, but for me this was the difference between an OK sweater and a favorite sweater. It feels more secure. Although it did require more knitting of the 1x1 ribbing!

*now* its done! really. I promise.

One sock down, one to go.

I have this rule that once the first sock is done, immediately cast on for the second one.

Reinforcement yarn was called in for the heel and toe. It's just plain brown, so doesn't follow the striping pattern, but I think it looks alright. I used the Schoeller Esslinger Stopf-und Beilaufgarn from Elann.com. (man, am I a walking advertisement for Elann, or what??)

Regia Sock yarn on size 1 needles + reinforcement thread = virtually bulletproof heels and toes. It was a fair amount of effort just to do the ssk and ktogs on the toe with this combination. They are *never* going to wear out!

The Lara yarn came in the mail Thursday, and its wonderful! yea! Its shiny, and reddish, but with orange undertones. In some light, it even looks coral. *perfect*

So today, the weather people said it was going to rain. But it really turned out to be quite nice! Who are these weather people?? The newly-started Orangina and I went to the park.

There is one thing about the Endless Summer Lara yarn. Its really splitty. There are about six strands that make up the yarn, and they're not held together all that well. I have to pay lots of attention to make sure it doesn't split. This is a big difference from the Rowan 4-ply cotton, which didn't split at all. ah well, it is pretty and no major splitting so far (*knock on wood*).

I am using size 3 bamboo circs, the same ones that were used on Lucky. Gauge is pretty much there. It should block out to the necessary 18 inches. My gauge swatch was a bit smaller than it should be, so I am trying to knit loosely. Its about 16 inches across, but easily stretches out to 18. And based on the dramatic pre- and post- lace blocking pictures I've seen around, it should do just fine.

One half of orangina is done!

Although it didn't seem this way at first, the lace pattern was easily memorized. The pattern is made up of the same repeated stitches, just offset by differing numbers of plain stitches at the beginning and end of RS rows.

I am surprised how my hands learned the pattern on their own.. they just go through the row, doing the right stitches, while my mind wanders off. Every so often, I remember to check, "whoa, is that right?", and usually it is fine.

And the splitty yarn? Its still doing its thing. I have to keep an eye on it on the purl rows and with the slipped stitch of the skp in the lace. A couple times on each row, I have to go back and catch little dropped threads.

Side B is about 2 inches started. I am looking forward to the ribbing. This is going to be a quick knit!

Side B, here's your new friend Side A. Hopefully you two will get along just fine.

I am so surprised about how fast this is going. The two parts of Orangina are almost ready for the ribbing. They really need a good blocking, but I think I'll wait until after the ribbing, then block the whole thing.

Okay, so this fast knitting isn't just from casual knitting-while-watching-television. I've been out sick from work a couple days with a cold/sore throat, so I've had whole days to knit Orangina. Knitting is such a bonus to being sick and out of work, that it makes me feel guilty about taking a sick day! Even if I am legitimately ill, you know I could go in if I really *needed* to. Once I decided that I was definitely staying home, the next thought in my head was: "yessss, knitting all day!" Its downright guilt-inducing.

So I am totally in a red phase. I find I am attracted to colors in phases. Before this, I was all about the cool green/blue color range. Case in point: shoes that match orangina, and I didn't even plan it.

Hello and welcome to Diana's knitting and shoe shopping blog. mostly about knitting, but sometimes about shoes. I am not really a shoe person (i.e. one who really enjoys buying footwear), but sometimes there are good pairs. so once in awhile (actually, only when inquiring minds request such information in the comments) it will be about shoes.

Here is everything I know about the sparkly shoes from yesterday's post:

1. I bought them at a street vendor in SoHo, NYC for $25. I tried on like 10-15 pairs before deciding that these were the ones. Yes, I tried them on right there on the sidewalk. It was a nice day. Other people were doing it too.

2. There are vendors selling them around NYC on the sidewalks, and at street fairs. They come in many colors.

3. They are also available on ebay; I found some with this search. Also, I think other more mainstream brands are making their own versions.

4. They are uni-foot. Meaning there is neither a right or left one. who knew.

5. Apparently they are handmade and from India.

6. They are not the most comfortable or supportive shoes ever, and the soles are just leather, so probably meant to be worn indoors. But they can definitely be worn outside, though I wouldn't count on them for long walks or anything. They break in and stretch out over time.

7. They are getting to be pretty popular here, I bet you can find them in your town too.

Tomorrow it will be back to the regularly-scheduled knitting content!

I tried out a new color for the chevron scarf. Its this super bright Koigu, shade 822, and looks neon, like antifreeze.

  

Its paired with the darker green from this scarf's previous incarnation, alternating skeins every 2 rows. You know those wallpaper landscapes from the seventies, where a whole wall would be filled with say, a forest scene?? My grandparents have one of these in their basement. This was my color inspiration.

I am still not really digging on it. This time it seems waaaay too bright to actually wear. and also rather stripey still. The example scarf in Last Minute Knitted Gifts features colors that flow into each other, where the color changes between skeins are indistinguishable.

But maybe I am making up excuses here. Maybe the problem is that I am not down with varigated yarn. Maybe varigated yarn is just not for me, in a scarf at least.

Koigu is definitely for me, though. I've been daydreaming about a solid-color Koigu clapotis in a deep red color. I've heard such a thing would take 3 skeins. I am also toying with the idea of knitting one end in a contrast color, like aqua or lime green.

A fringe benefit of this failed attempt to come up with a chevron scarf?? Lots of leftover koigu. yeaaaah.

So imagine this: You're knitting something, happily moving along. Its going so much faster than expected! Then, almost at the end, there's a little detail to knit. a neckband, some ribbing, it seems like it should take all of ten minutes, max. Its basically done! Plan on wearing the sweater *tomorrow*.

Then, you're knitting and knitting and knitting, but the sweater looks exactly the same. Its definitely taking more than ten minutes. and its dead boring. Will it ever be done?

Thus: the knitting optical illusion. Seems like its quick and easy, but really, its life-suckingly slow. It takes great strength of will to get through this.

Case in point: the ribbing on Orangina.

The lace pieces, each 15 inches long, pretty much knit themselves. But five inches of 3x3 ribbing in the round? taking FOR-ever. I am caught in a rift in the knitting-time continuum, and its unclear if I will ever make it out..

This weekend I turned a sweater into sock yarn. One might think that the unraveling process would be tedious. Actually I found it quite engaging..

The sweater beforehand was this striped number from Old Navy. I purchased it 2 Christmases ago for like $15.

It fit great, but the sweater basically self-destructed. Being from Old Navy, I didn't expect it to last long, and it sure didn't. Holes developed in random places, and the bottom ribbing started to detatch itself. I tried to wear it a few more times even with the holes - Lars said "this is Williamsburg - you can wear it." Eventually I gave it up but kept it around to maybe knit another sweater with the same fit.

This weekend I saw it up in my closet while cleaning and decided it needed a new purpose in life. The gauge looked like it could be sock yarn, so sock yarn it became!

Check out the extended entry for an image-intense story of the sweater's demise..

Way back when I was a new knitter, I bought an issue of Interweave Knits Summer 2004. With a lace scarf and a couple pairs of fingerless gloves under my belt, I was ready for the next project. And there it was. Teva Durham's Ballet Sweater.

It looked cute and basic, and I had yarn that got gauge. Unfortunately, it was exceptionally bad yarn, but being a new knitter, I had no idea. The yarn was a silvery grey color, acrylic. I bought it on ebay for like $8, along with another quite awful cone of magenta mohair. Somehow I thought it work out.

This yarn in person is actually shiny and quasi-metallic. I don't think it is trying to be metallic. I think its just the acrylic talking.

As you might have guessed, the sweater was less than fabulous. I undid the whole thing months later and blamed it on the yarn.

Then, in a moment of weakness during this long winter, I bought the required yarn - 10 balls of Plymouth Napa. I don't like giving up.

So now I have Plymouth Napa. Its a rayon/acrylic blend, which is not really fabulous, but the color is perfect for summer. and I'd like to do something with it.

Projects I am contemplating for this yarn include:

1. A sweater in the style of the Ballet Sweater, but less bulky. The pattern calls for the yarn to be held doubled, but I was thinking about altering it for a single strand.

2. Debbie Bliss' assymmetric ribbed sweater from her Cathay collection. (should really save this for the Cathay I am trying not to buy.)

3. A plain hooded cardigan(or pullover)with long sleeves and a long body.

4. A simple sweater with a roll neck, long sleeves, and roll bottom.

5. Knit the Ballet Sweater, again. I feel like this is the easy way out.

Any suggestions or pattern ideas, please let me know!