Since I finished the bathing suit about a month ago, I've been working on the Bat Shawl

I'm doing it in Paton's Brilliant, Black (so it sparkles slightly).

I've gotten about halfway through the second row of bats.

It's going slowly, both due to dropped stitches and having to frog, and the fact that it is a more complicated lace than I've worked before. I'm having to pay really close attention to what I've knitted. I really can't knit with lots of distractions, as I get lost in the pattern.

Working in black adds a layer of difficulty as it sucks up light and makes it hard to see.

What I've gotten, done correctly, I'm really happy with. I think it'll be great when I'm done. Getting there, though, will take a while!

Woot! and Woohoo!

I finished the bathing suit! I sewed in the last bit of the lining a couple of hours ago! I fully lined the bottoms as well as the cups of the top.

There will be photos later!

Overall, I'm really happy with it. It reminds me of 1940s bathing suits and is cheesecake without being slutty.

There are bits I wish I'd done differently but oh, well! I'll probably be using the basic lace pattern for more tank tops. (I know I don't need any more but I've got yarn that would look lovely as a tank top! ;-p)

The bottoms ended up being string bikini style with a lace inset along the front and back top edges.

I may well be working on a separate bikini top because I think there's enough of the purple for that as well. We'll see when I get back.

The tankini portion really is a walking along the beach/playing in the waves sort of suit rather than a let's swim a triathalon suit. It's meant to be cute and sexy and I think it totally succeeds!

I've finished the skirt! I'm getting ready to start the decrease row.

The skirt is 8 inches long, which I hope is long enough.

I've worked out the lace pattern and tweaked it so that the lace ribbing looks fine after the decrease.

Hopefully, the bodice will go quickly!

I can't believe it!

The bathing suit project is going swimmingly! ;-p

I've knitted about 6" worth (am on my third ball of yarn) and have finished the chevron bits.

I worked out roughly how I'm going to handle the big honking decreases in a couple of inches (where I go from the skirt to the body).

The next big obstacle is the shaping of the top of the bodice. I want it to mirror the chevrons in the skirt and the purled edges. I'm not certain how to purl on the diagonal.

I've figured out how to knit continental style. In continental style the yarn lies over the index finger of your left hand (in right handed knitting) and you scoop it up. (In British style, you hold the yarn in your right hand and flick it around the needles).

OMG! Is continental style so much faster! I LOVE IT!

I'm also happy that even after knitting on and off for 30+ years that I'm still interested and learning new stuff.

**sigh**

Whilst chatting with a fellow Browncoat at Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse's Saturday showing of Serenity for Equality Now about my knitted bathing suit I noticed some errors; huge, horrible errors that would effect the entire design.

The only recourse: frogging. :-(

So, I spent the next two days taking out 1700 stitches. Grrr! Argh! indeed!

**sigh** I finished up the last of the frogging this morning on the metro.

Part of the trouble was that the spot where I changed skeins was a point where I needed to do a yarn over and it got missed. Then there was the yarn over done in the wrong spot and the dropped stitch.

So, I'm back to where things went wrong and can pick up again. I hope this is the last of the weekend mess ups. ;-p

I've finished up the first skein of Patons Brilliant on my bathing suit. There's only 166 yard per skein, so it's not surprising that I've already finished one up.

One skein knits almost 2 1/2 inches at 336 stitches on size 4 needles. I'm estimating that I'll need 6 skeins, which is what I've got.

I'm a touch nervous. I prefer having plenty. Since this is one I'm creating on the fly and this is the first time I've knit this, I've no idea if it'll be enough.

Luckily, I've found some places on-line that I can order from if need be. The local Michaels is getting rid of the lilac (and the blue and mint green) and I got the last they had. There are other Michaels I could go to but with gas as expensive as it is, I really don't want to drive all over creation just looking for a skein of yarn. If I need to go that direction anyways, then sure but I'm not driving to Kentlands or South Rockville (between White Flint and Twinbrook) for 166 yards of yarn. ;-p

I just had to take out about 4 rows worth (over 1200 stitches) because I forgot a yarn over.

**sigh**

I've backed up and have fixed the error. Hopefully, I won't get so far before I notice the next goof.

I've been working out how to knit skirts and lace this spring. As one of the projects that's a culmination of these efforts, I'm knitting a bathing suit!

It's a two piece that'll look more like a one piece. It's got a little bit of a flouncy skirt, that'll just cover my tush.

I'm making it out of Patons' Brilliant yarn, color Lilac Lustre. I'm knitting it on size 4 circular needles and I've gotten about 1 1/2" worth of length. (That's 15 rows, if I counted correctly.)

I'm knitting from the hem up and I cast on 336 stitches. I'm working a lacy chevron in setts of 42 stitches, about 1 1/2 from the hem. I've got markers every 21 stitches, so I know where the points of the chevrons are going to be. Above the chevron will be lacey ribbing in setts of 7 (six knits and an open stitch). At a low waist, I'll decrease and treat the bodice as a tank top with pinted tops with spaghetti straps.

Under this will be a bikin bottom that ties on the side.

I'll fully line the bikini bottom with probably a white cotton tricot and give the top a built in bra of the same white tricot. (I've got some tank tops with built in bras that are just an extra rectangle of cloth gathered with elastic. That's what I plan to do here.)

Hopefully, I'll finish before we go to Puerto Rico! ;-p

I'll post photos when there's something photo worthy!

EDIT 6/16/08: Changed color to correct one.

I'm finally starting on the project I've been swatching up a storm for this spring.

I'm using Patons Brilliant (lilac) and size 4 circular needles and knitting myself a slip, mini sundress; I'm not exactly certain what it'll be until I've knit it up. It might be too seee through to be a dress.

Anyways, it's going to have an eyelet chevron around the hem and eyelet stripes going up from the chevrons. It's also going to have a full skirt.

I'll post photos when there's something to post!

I've gotten it in my head to knit a skirt. Not just a simple little straight skirt but a fun and flirty mini-skirt with a lace work chevron pattern around the hem.

I've figured out everything except the waistband. I'm going to be doing a test swatch to see whether or not I need a closure or if I can just get away without one. The question is, "Will the knitting stretch enough to get over my boobs or my butt without a closure?"

I picked out a really pretty, charcoal grey, Lincoln long wool fleece at Maryland Sheep and Wool that I'm going to use for the skirt. Depending on how much is left over after the skirt, I plan to knit a pair of Over the Knee socks with lace insets and that fasten about the knees with ribbon, that matches that woven through the lace chevrons in the skirt. If there's still left over yarn, I'll do a matching beret.

My goal is to have this all done my next years MDSW so I can enter it in their garment competition.

I'm also working on a another flirty piece which I'm thinking of as a slip/nighty with lacework and shaping. Thinking about it is going well and I've even graphed some of it. Graphing works so much better for me than the abbreviations!

So, anyway, that's the knitting I'm actively working on, as opposed to those projects that are just percolating!

Y'all take care!

I whipped out a poncho for the kidlet out of Lion Homespun a few weeks ago. It's a beautiful sea green/pale turquoise blend that we trimmed with a deeper green/turquoise eyelash. There was a slight error that I turned into a design feature. (I increased too much where the rounds met and ended up with a point. It now goes in the front and it looks great!)

I realized a few weeks ago that one could knit skirts. I know that sounds daft; one knits hats, scarves, sweaters, socks, etc. why wouldn't one knit skirts? Thing is, when I'm out and about, I don't see knit skirts. I don't see people wearing them or hear people talk about knitting them.

Anyways, I've been working on a pattern for a knit skirt and have just about finished it. I've been working up swatches for things like the hem, the chevron lace and the decrease for the waist. I've still got to figure out the closure but I've got ideas.

I picked out a fleece at Maryland Sheep and wool that I'm going to use for the project. I'm hoping there will be enough left of te fleece for thigh high, lace socks as well.

I've also got lots of other projects in the works. I've got the yarn for two caridagans, a duster, and a long sleeved shrug for the kidlet, not to mention the socks. There are always socks!

I'll keep you posted on how they progress!

I finished on Xmas eve!

It's about 36 inches long, with about 8 inch fringe on either end. She really liked it.

It really knitted up quickly, being your standard stockingnette stitch.

I'll post photos soon!

I've got several projects on the horizon and am still working on the afghan.

More later!

Yesterday I went to a craft gathering and made really good progress on my scarf!

I'm aiming for about 48" and now have 19". Not quite halfway there, but almost! Yay!

I'm thinking the project will need just over two skeins. I've gotten to 19 inches on one skein, so I'll probably need about 2 1/2.

Things have been progressing on the afghan. The last time I measured it, it was about 22" long!

I'm over a quarter of the way done!

I may be pushing 30" complete. It's wide enough now that it covers my legs nicely as I crochet.

It's very colorful, which is just what I wanted. I'm alternating between a variegated yarn and a solid yarn. The solid yarn is one of the colors in the variegated yarn. Each yarn is different and I try not to repeat the same yarn within about 8 or 10 inches of each other. I'm trying to get even more distance between repeats but I'm flexible.

I'm taking a bit of a break, as I've got holiday stuff to work on but I'm not abandoning it entirely.

Y'all have a good one!

Hey all!

I'm working on a scarf for a holiday present. I'm working it on size 10 or 10 1/2 needles and using Bernat's varigated grey eyelash yarn.

I've already had to frog it once because I've realized it was just to wide. I cast on 48 stitches and that ended up being about a foot wide!

I'm using a basic pattern I created myself, an inch of garter at each end and on the edges and stockingnette in the middle. Nothing fancy. With a yarn like eyelash you really don't need a complicated pattern.

So far, I've got about 4 inches done, that's after starting over last night when I realized my oops!

I'll let you know how it's going as I continue!

Y'all have a good season!

Things are coming along but I've hit a bit of a speed bump. Grr! Argh!

I've gotten about 8-10 inches completed but will ahve to take out the last few. I misplaced my crochet hook and when I bought a new one to replace it bought the wrong size. I found the original one and now I need to rip out what I did and do it over with the right size.

Ah, well at least it wasn't much.

More updates soon!

So, I've been working on an afghan for our bed for the last two months, on and off whilst watching Buff the Vampire Slayer and Angel on DVD, and realized this afternoon, that it had gone wonky. Way wonky. **sigh**

So it was time to frog. (Can yo do that for crochet?). Anyway, it's back to stitch one.

I'm going to go with my second idea as this one proved ineffective. the place where I turned the corner was getting bigger and messing up the square shape.

I'd wanted to do something that would look like a giant log cabin quilt block. I'd tried actually doing it more like a log cabin quilt block, where I would crochet one direction, bind off and do the other side, but that messed with the basic square shape even worse.

The new design is basic stripes with occasional stripes that consist of blocks. It'll be edged in black.

Back to the design board!