WiPs

I have many works in progress this week. I just started a pair of little girl socks for my friend A's little soon to be four year old, started a pair of fingerless gloves for a newlywed friend and have some knee high socks that are waiting for me to finish the gusset on the second pair. I'm excited that I have so much knitting going on!

Supervisor projects 1: main supervisor sweater for Miguel

Although I have devoted most of this year to learning how to knit lace, I didn't really think it was appropriate to give my male main supervisor a delicate lace shawl (although I would have liked to see his face if he had gotten one).

For Miguel I chose a simple pattern with lovely cables all around. I knew I wanted cables and something of an Aran feel, but I didn't want to knit something that was too busy. I also knew I wanted nice blue wool. I chose this pattern for the sweater because I loved the simple, clean look it had and I thought it would suit my supervisor very well.

Then it was time to get the wool! Nothing really is as exciting as going to the wool shop for a project you are going to give someone that is very important in your life. Miguel has been a thoughtful, kind and all around A+ supervisor, and I wanted to give him a graduation present that reflected how thankful I was for this opportunity.  I used a visa run to London as the perfect opportunity to get some lovely, hand-dyed, Aran weight wool. I went to Loop for the wool and spent a little more than I had hoped (but after spending the better part of an hour talking about wool with the nice woman there I just had to pay the eighty pounds :/ )

I knitted the sweater with some help from E, Mg's mom. She explained some things I didn't understand about the pattern (I didn't know how to read sweater patterns!) and it took me about three weeks of full-time knitting. It did come out even better than I imaged though!

Aaaand I'm back!

It has been too long since I felt the need to sit down and write in my knitting blog. It's definitely not that I haven't been knitting. I have just been completely overpowered by my thesis. Anyway, I am back and have done tons of knitting and have a lot of works in progress. My thesis is printed and I'm enjoying these last few days as a PhD student. I think I might write a lot of posts today, along with pictures (which is what really has me excited!)

Ripping out is hard to do...

About 70% into the knitting of the 'supervisor shawl' from my 'Wendy Knits Lace' book (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tiffany-triangle-shawl) I realized I had to rip it out. I had knitted a lot of it in airplanes, didn't quite bother with paying too much attention to the pattern and when the stitch count had not matched I just 'knitted through' by adding or reducing stitches. It looked OK but my supervisors did more than just OK with me and its important to follow patterns. I mean, if I'm committed to learning how to knit lace I have to face the fact that I will have to rip out hours of work, right?

So I ripped it out, rolled the lovely hand dyed purple Merino wool and started again... hopefully, more careful knitting and stopping when I'm tired (and adding 'life lines' after finishing sections deemed 'OK') will help me learn to do better

:S

The shawl

So on my way to Granada I decided I needed a project. I mean, it was a long trip (took more than 12 to come from Bergen, thanks to awful weather and delays)... so I needed something to do. I didn't have any sock-weight wool, but I did have the lovely lace-weight Merino I got for my supervisor's graduation present. So I started the shawl. It all went fine until I found myself having more than 80 sts and being tired and just too bullheaded to stop and rest. I continued and made a lot of mistakes. I am now almost done with it but think it might not be good enough to give to my supervisor. I might keep it to throw on a chair or to wear and try to make it again. Sigh

At least I got some fly time and now I know more and better!

My mom's scarf

My mom likes to call me her 'little spider', because she says that every time she turns around I'm just knitting. That might be true. When I was at home this January, she asked me to make her something. Guatemala City is not a place where you can a lot of knitted things, so I decided to make her my first lace scarf. It didn't come out perfect, but I am proud of having done that project. Just like with the shawl I'm making now, I have to learn to be more careful when counting stitches, and have to just learn to rip out what doesn't come out right instead of just 'knitting through'. It really messes with the pattern. Any way... here are two pictures. One of my  mom wearing the scarf and a close up of my mistakes, so that I remember not to make them anymore! :)

Finally some pictures!

So I am finally more or less settled in Granada. I came here to spend two months with my supervisors, who are currently on sabbatical in this lovely town in the south of Spain. This is a picture of the fingerless gloves I made for my friend Lisa (as a thank you present for hosting us in Philly this January). I'm very proud of the gloves and when she got them she gave me a lovely compliment: they look store bought! to a beginner lace knitter, that is something alright!