Weekend!

Nothing much going on here. I am waiting for an internet order of yarn to come in so I can start my next project. So I have just been crocheting a little bit. I've got a long weekend because all of my professors are Jewish and observe Yom Kippur.

I did read the next book in the Edwardian Mystery series by Marion Chesney, A Hasty Death. It feels like reading a story outline. Chesney doesn't bother to elaborate on ANY plot points. She just zips from one place to the next. It's really, really weird. One minute Rose and Harry, our protagonists, are breaking out of an insane asylum. The next they are at a country house party. Ten pages later they are confronting a crazed murderer. Because of this ADD-style, the characterization suffers. This is a shame, because the characters were the best part of the first entry in the series, Snobbery With Violence. Now I'm not sure what to expect from the next installment. These books are short (~200 pages), so I don't mind giving another a try. I just hope Chesney will slow down and take a breath in the next one. I would give this a 5.

Quick Movie Review

I'm waiting for Adobe to convert a PDF to a text format so I can use the highlight tool in it. While that's running, I figured I should write a quick post.

I finally saw The Constant Gardner this past Saturday. I had been wanting to watch that one since last year. Anyway, I thought it was very well made and very compelling. Ralph Fiennes portrays a UK diplomat who inpulsively marries a young radical, played by Rachel Weisz (she won an Oscar for this role). Then, she is killed in Africa for sticking her nose in a corrupt drug company plot. Her husband pieces together what she was doing and continues her work, in the process discovering much about her, himself, and their relationship. It's a horrifying romantic movie, though it has a typically cynical Le Carre ending. (I have only ever read one book by John Le Carre, so I'm going more off of what I hear than first hand experience.) Ralph Fiennes's performance certainly makes the movie. I was also particularly taken with the use of color and focus to signal flashbacks. Overall, I would give it a 7.

Into the groove

So classes started this week. I am contemplating International Trade, Industrial Organization, Time Series, and Cross Section/Panel. That might be too much econometrics, but I do want to take these courses.

And I finished a short book, Snobbery With Violence by Marion Chesney. It's the first in the Edwardian Mystery series, featuring Lady Rose and Captain Harry Cathcart. I found Chesney's style very appealing, full of dead-pan humor and wit. But the book is only a little over 200 pages, and the mystery part didn't start until quite a ways in. I felt the pacing was off. I understand that Chesney was trying to introduce us to the characters and their lifestyles, but the ending was really rushed. But I am looking foward to seeing how the relationship between Rose and Harry progresses. Rose is a suffragette with very little understanding about how the real world works, while Harry is a world-weary war veteran. Of course the requisite sparks fly, but these are interesting characters who can rise above the somewhat cliched "opposites attract" situations. I would give the book a 6.

Red Sweater: Finished

That's all, folks! I would probably make some more modifications if I were to do this again, but it was a positive experience overall.

Yarn: 10.5 balls Knitpicks Mainline
Pattern: My own (top-down raglan)
Needles: US 8 (Denise interchangables, then dpns for the sleeves)

As I have mentioned before, this was supposed to be the Something Red sweater from Knit and Tonic, but after a running out of yarn fiasco, I switched gears to this.

Oh, and here's the back view.

***Edited to add the pattern!

Red Blazer

Finished Size: The sweater is a small, measuring 33" across at the bust. My bust measurement is just under 32", and it fits me with a dress shirt underneath.

Materials:11 balls of Knitpicks Mainline (82 yards/50 grams, 75% pima cotton, 25% merino wool)
1 29” US 8 circular needle
1 set of US 8 dpns (for the sleeves, you could also magic loop these)
6 0.75” buttons

Gauge;4 stitches/6 rows per 1” in st st

The Collar:Using the circular needles, CO 57 stitches. Work in seed stitch for 2”. At the beginning of the next row, ktog. Work the rest of the row in seed stitch until you get to the last two stitches. Ktog. Work the next row in seed stitch. Repeat these two rows four more times, so that you have decreased a total of 10 stitches, 5 at each end. Break the yarn.

The Neck:Using the same needle you were knitting on before, CO 8 stitches. Then pick up 7 stitches along the slanted edge of the collar. Purl across the live collar stitches. Pick up 7 stitches along the other slanted edge of the collar, then CO 8 more stitches using a cable cast on. Start the raglan:Seed stitch across the first 15 stitches. Knit 2. M1, K1, M1, knit 7, M1, K1, M1, knit 25, M1, K1, M1, knit 7, M1, K1, M1, knit 2. Seed stitch across the last 15 stitches. On the next row, seed stitch the first 15 stitches, purl until the last 15 stitches, seed stitch these last 15 stitches. Repeat these two rows until the raglan armholes fit around your arm.

Divide out the sleeves:Work in pattern until your first raglan increase, knit across the three raglan increase stitches (where you were doing your M1, K1, M1’s before), transfer the sleeve stitches to a holder or waste yarn, knit across the next three raglan increase stitches (where you were doing your M1, K1, M1’s before). Knit across the back until the next raglan, knit across the three raglan increase stitches (where you were doing your M1, K1, M1’s before), transfer the sleeve stitches to a holder or waste yarn, knit across the next three raglan increase stitches (where you were doing your M1, K1, M1’s before). Finish the row in the established pattern.

Work the body:On the next RS row, begin the bust decreases. Seed stitch the first 15 stitches, then knit the next 13. Then perform a double vertical decrease: “Insert the right needle into the next two stitches as if to ktog, and slip them to the right needle. Knit the next stitch on the left needle. With the left needle, pull both slipped stitches over the stitch” (Vogue Knitting Quick Reference pg 21). Knit through the back, and do this decrease again on the other front. Work the WS in pattern (without any decreases). Repeat these two rows once more. Then repeat the vertical decrease every four rows 5 more times.

AT THE SAME TIME work underarm decreases: one inch after dividing for the armholes, ktog 9 stitches before the armhole join, and ktog in the same manner after the armhole join. Repeat this under the other armhole. 8 rows later, ktog 7 stitches before the first armhole join, and ktog in the same manner after the armhole join. Repeat this under the other armhole. 8 rows later, ktog 5 stitches before the armhole join, and ktog in the same manner after the armhole join. Repeat this under the other armhole. 8 rows later, ktog 3 stitches before the armhole join, and ktog in the same manner after the armhole join. Repeat this under the other armhole.

AT THE SAME TIME, work three 2 stitch button holes starting 10 inches after the start of the body (measured from the neckline). These should be spaced 2 inches apart. Work even until the body is 4.5” shorter than your intended length.

Hip increases: Work 15 stitches in seed stitch and 16 in st stitch. M1, K3, M1, knit until there are 34 stitches left, M1, K3, M1, finish the row in pattern. 4 rows later, work 31 stitches, M1, K5, M1, and then work the back and the hip increase similarly on the other front. Continue to increase in this manner two more times, every 4 rows.

End border: Work in seed stitch for 2 inches. BO.

Sleeves: Transfer the sleeve stitches to dpns. Knit in the round for 1.5”. On the next round, ktog 3 stitches before the underarm join, and 3 stitches after the underarm join. Repeat this decrease round 2 rounds later, then 4 rounds later, then 7 rounds later, then every 10th round. Continue in this manner until the sleeve is 1.5 inches shorter than intended. Work in seed stitch for 1.5 inches, then BO. Repeat for the other sleeve.

Block as desired, and sew on the buttons. Three are used as decoration, to give a double-breasted effect.

Enjoy!

More sewing

My red sweater is finished blocking, but I haven't taken photos yet. I hope to have some soon, along with a write up of the pattern.

But meanwhile, I have been sewing a bit. I have gotten used to making tote bags, and I whipped up one last week that I thought looked decent enough to share. It's Batman themed, lined with Batman licensed fabric I got at Sewfisticated Fabrics and adorned with a Batman and Catwoman illustration by Jim Lee (from the Hush arc by Jeph Loeb). I like the size of this tote, and it's great for taking to the library, though really oversized books don't fit in it.

I also learned how to make sewn headbands this week, so I think I'll make a few for myself. I feel like that would be a cool fall accessory, now that I'm wearing my hair down again. (I have to tie it up in the summer, or else it drives me crazy).

Fingers crosssed

I think I'm almost there. I may not end up liking the way I blocked the collar, so that could still create problems. But otherwise I may actually finish this sweater! If this works, I guess I can bury my complaints about the project. And by the way, wet wool/cotton smells a lot like wet dog. It makes me miss Mr. Puppy. (Also known as Jiminy, my parent's dog.)

Tutorial: T-Shirt Stenciling

Grumperina's post this morning inspired me to share my method for t-shirt stenciling. I have been stenciling for almost a year now, and I'm not great, but I have found what works for me.

Step 1: First you need a shirt, obviously. I always buy mine at a craft store, since I find that the “youth” medium size fits me. Make sure that the brand of shirt looks respectable (many craft stores carry Hanes, which work well). Other possible sources are discount stores like Target. But you probably don’t want a shirt that is ribbed. Stenciling on bumpy fabric is really hard. Cotton or cotton/poly blends are good choices.

Step 2: Wash the shirt to remove the sizing. A lot of people skip this step, but I have heard some people say that the ink doesn’t set as well if you don’t. I often also machine dry the shirt to see if it will shrink a lot.

Step 3: Pick your stencil. There are tons of great sources on the internet for stencils. The motherload is http://www.stencilry.org. I also sometimes download webdings fonts from http://www.dafont.com/. One thing to keep in mind is how difficult the stencil will be to cut (are there tons of little lines?). You also have to watch for “inversion.” This occurs when you cut out the negative space in a stencil and then paint the stencil as if these spaces are the positive ones. A better explanation, including diagrams, is here http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/1084/inverting4aa.jpg. If you cut out the dark spaces of a picture, you should paint these in a darker color than your t-shirt.

Step 4: Resize and print your stencil. You can copy a picture from the internet into a program like MS Word and resize as you choose. Then print it out on normal printer paper. Photoshop can help, but it isn't strictly necessary.

Step 5: Tape your stencil onto a piece of freezer paper. You should tape the stencil onto the papery side, not the wax side. Freezer paper is like one-sided wax paper. You can buy it at the grocery store, usually next to the wax paper. If you can't find it in the grocery store, they also sell it at craft stores for quilting and applique work. If you live near a Wegmens grocery store, I did find a 75 square foot roll of freezer paper there.

Step 6: Cut out your stencil, making sure to cut through both layers, printer and freezer paper. You can use an exacto knife or small scissors. I usually prefer the latter, as it is easier on my hands. But for some stuff, a knife will be needed. If you are using scissors, gently poke the tip through in a large space that you are cutting out (like we did in kindergarten to cut holes in the middle of paper). One thing to watch out for is “islands,” places where you don’t want to cut out a piece, but they are surrounded by space you do want to cut out. There are two ways to deal with these. One is to just cut these out and save them. Later you will attach them to your t-shirt in the appropriate places. The other is to leave “bridges,” strips of paper that connect these islands to the rest of the stencil. You will have to paint in these spaces left by these later. It’s your preference. I usually go with the bridge method, as I tend to lose the little pieces.

Step 7: Remove the printer paper from your freezer paper stencil (be careful to pick off all the tape or else it will get scorched). Iron your stencil onto your shirt where you want it, wax side down. The wax will stick to your shirt. You should set your iron on the appropriate heat setting for the t-shirt fabric you have. If you have any loose islands, iron them in the correct place. Make sure your stencil is really stuck on there.

Step 8: Paint! Using a sponge brush, dab fabric paint all over your stencil. Don’t brush it on, instead, dab in an up and down motion. Also, add paint gradually. Do not glob it on. You may need to do a few coats to get good coverage. Wait for it to dry.

Step 9: Peel off your stencil carefully. If you had bridges, carefully fill them in with paint. Heat set your paint with an iron if the bottle says to.

Done! Be careful when washing your custom shirt. I usually wash them inside out and hang them to dry.

Post pictures at craftster!
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?board=140.0

Other tutorials:
http://72.29.83.164/~stencil/tutorials.htm
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=45311.0

Paint recommendations:
I have used both Speedball screen printing inks and Jacquard fabric paint. These work well, but you need to heat set them or they will just "sit on top of" the shirt and not bond to the fabric. Note that some brands of paint will not show up on dark fabrics.

And here's a copy of the stencil I used in the picture above. I made it from a sketch by Cameron Stewart, a great comic book artist, of Catwoman.

Go, go, go!

I am almost there on my "not quite Something Red" sweater. I have the bottom of the second sleeve, then some blocking. I'm not 100% happy with it, but this is what happens when I go it totally without a pattern. I always think I can do better. I put the buttons on the front so I could see what they look like, but I am contemplating getting different ones. I'm not sure yet. I sort of just want to finish so I can talk about something else!

Shopping Spree

As I mentioned before, Michelle and I went to the Hub Mills Classic Elite yarn outlet last week. It was intense. They had lots of deals on Classic Elite yarns, including cones and mill samples. They also carry Sirdar, Stacy Charles, Cascade, Brown Sheep, and GGH. I ended up getting four balls of red Sirdar Nova (they were the same dye lot as some balls I had bought in Rochester last winter, so I thought that they were fated to come home with me) and sixteen balls of Patina samples (only 3.50 USD for over 100 yds of a cotton/silk blend) in a light blue color. I'm not totally sure what they will become, though I am thinking of making another of this sweater with the Patina. Michelle picked up some bright yellow and orange cotton for a baby sweater, a cone of cotton laceweight, and a cone of some interesting white yarn that she's going to do some dyeing experiments on. A good time was had by all.

Back from Rochester

I was visiting my parents over the weekend. I didn't bring my knitting, because I'm too paranoid about it being seized by airport security. I did do some crocheting, but I don't have pics of that. I got back last night.

Today I actually used my sewing machine. I made the "Flare Bag," the first pattern in a book called Bag Boutique by Amy Barickman. Since I really suck at sewing, I'm pretty pleased that this came out useable. I'm hoping to make some totes soon too.

I also finished the body and started the first sleeve of my "Not-Really-Something-Red" sweater. I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Plus, tomorrow Michelle and I are going to the Hub Mills Classic Elite warehouse store!

Almost there

I have made good progress on my "formerly Something Red" sweater. I had to rip back a couple times because I didn't like the waist and bust shaping, but I'm cool with what I've got now. From here on in, I just have to make sure it fits over my hips and that the button holes look good. And of course, the sleeves. Can't forget those.

In other news, I forgot to mention two movies I saw in the last month. The first was Wordplay, a documentary about the crossword puzzle culture encouraged by Will Shortz and the NY Times. I very much enjoyed it, even if the story wasn't exactly groundbreaking. They had great personalities featured, including Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart. Stewart was particularly endearing when he said he was so confident about his Monday crossword skills that he would write it in glue stick. I would give it a 7.

The second movie was Clerks II. This was the usual offensive Kevin Smith fare, complete with lots of lurid sexual and bathroom humor. But surprisingly, this movie was also a very sweet love story. I was bored during the first half, but then there was this random extended dance sequence (I kid you not). And from there on out, the heart of the movie won me over. I'd say it was a 6.

It's still okay

So I didn't freak out and suddenly rip out my sweater. At least not yet. I am liking the way the collar is shaping up, and the color is still speaking to me. I really do not like how much this yarn (Mainline from Knitpicks) sheds, though. After I knit for a while, I am covered in little pieces of red fuzz. And these fuzzies pill up on the surface of the knitted fabric too. This may start to piss me off alot, as time goes by. However, I only paid about $20 for the yarn, so I'm not really going to complain too much. Hopefully I will reach the part where I divide out the sleeves from the body soon. I do love knitting top down sweaters!

Let's try that again

I frogged Something Red. I decided to try to make myself a jacket without using a pattern. I wanted a notched collar, but I didn't really have any other vision for the project. So I decided to just cast on for the collar and go with it. After I started rolling, I realized that this may end up looking a bit like a top-down raglan version of Kim Hargreaves new pattern, Thea. That is totally cool with me, as I like the look of that. Plus, if I run out of yarn, I can opt for the short sleeve version Ms. Hargreaves has so kindly already worked out. I'm debating what sort of shaping I'm going to use and whether I should do a back vent or not. I would probably edge the whole thing in seed stitch if I did (as opposed to ribbing along the bottom). We shall see, I guess.

Rewind

So I got to the button band on Something Red, and I decided that I don't like this project. Between the praying that the yarn lasts and picking up 200 stitches, it lost some of the fun. Plus, I don't think it looks quite right on me. So it's time for a jump into the frog pond! I'm not sure what will actually emerge from this project.

Progress

I have been really busy with Something Red. But I'm not sure I'm going to have enough yarn. I skipped the second round of increases in the ribbing portion, and went up two needle sizes instead. Fingers crossed. If I do make it, I'll probably be down to the last yard.

Rolling

I made some progress on Something Red today. I cast on this morning and started the raglan increases. I'm liking the feel of the knitpicks yarn. We shall see how it wears.

In other news, Mike and I saw the "Americans in Paris" art exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, today. The show featured the infamous "Madame X" painting by John Singer Sargent, along with numerous fascinating works by Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, and many other notables. "Madame X" was displayed next to "Mrs. Henry White," also by Sargent, which made for an interesting contrast. When it was first released, "Madame X" was considered too daring, cutting into Sargent's portrait business. It's still provocative today. This show was a superb collection, though I wish it were more economical to see (student tickets are $21 on the weekends, though I believe Harvard students can see it for $5 during the weekdays). Plus afterwards we stopped by the Copley room, my favorite gallery of all the art museums I have ever visited.

New project

I decided I should actually post in progress photos of one of my projects. I keep knitting things for swaps, which I feel like I shouldn't post pics of before the recipiants get them. Otherwise, I have been knitting quick little projects. But I have finally decided to start another sweater for myself. It's Something Red from Knit and Tonic. I ordered the yarn from knitpicks, because they had put Mainline on sale for $1.97 a ball. I figured about $20 for the yarn was a steal. The color I chose was "Red Velvet Cake," since I couldn't resist the idea of having this cardi in red. So I swatched last night on my Denise 7s and 8s. Although I kinda like the 8 swatch better, the 7 is much closer to stitch gauge (the swatch on the right is the 7 one). Though my row gauge is off by about 1-2 rows per 4 inches. I'm going to have to watch out for that, but since this is a top-down raglan, I think I can deal.

Encore

Happy Birthday Gus! Yesterday we hung out with Gus and co. all day celebrating his birthday. We sat around at Walden, went to Unos, and then played Encore at Gus's place. This game involves trying to come up with as many songs as possible that contain a given word. You have to be able to name six consecutive words surrounding the target one. For some reason, I continued to try to think of more after the game ended. And I realized that one of the words we had, "home," was ludicrously easy. This is way after the fact, grant you, but at least I can think about me "dominating the pro tour unmercifully" with these gems.

Songs with home in them:
-Rocket Man by Elton John, "I'm not the man they think I am at home. Oh, no, I'm a Rocket Man." Sung in a Stewie from Family Guy voice, of course.
-The Way by Fastball, "You can see the shadows wandering off somewhere. They won't make it home but they really don't care."
-I'll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan, "So pack up, go home, you're through."
-Spiderwebs by No Doubt, "Sorry I'm not home right now. I'm walking into spiderwebs."
-Journey Into the Past from Anastasia, "Home, love, family. I will never be complete until I find you."
-What if God Was One of Us by Joan Osborne, "Trying to make his way home."
-Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire theme, line that goes "Yo home, to Bel-Aire!"
-Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls, "You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't want to go home right now"
-Adam's Song by Blink-182, "I couldn't wait 'til I got home to pass the time in my room alone" (extra points because that has "room" in it, another one of our words)

Swap Knits

So I finshed the Skully and the winter set that I was working on for two swaps on craftster.

Skully Sweater
Pattern: from SNB
Yarn: Doubled Caron Simply Soft
Needles: US 11

Winter Hat, Mittens, and Scarf
Pattern: Hat is the Basic Cable from SNBN. Mittens were made up as I went along. Scarf was based on the Irish Hiking pattern.
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino
Needles: US 10 for the hat, US 10.5 for the scarf, US 7 for the mittens

Click here for pics, unless you are the recipiants: Skully, Winter Stuff.

Catch Up

Sorry for the lack of posts. I was going to post earlier, but I ran into computer trouble. So let's catch up.

Crafting news:
As usual, I have been working on some things for swaps at Craftster. I did the Friend of Craftster swap, where I crocheted and stenciled a bunch of things (you can see them at the recipiant's blog, here and here). I'm currently working on a knit project (an Irish Hiking cabled set of mittens, scarf, and hat) and stuff for the X-Men swap I'm organizing. Otherwise, I haven't been doing to much crafting for myself.

Work news:
My job at the Fed is going well. The data set I've managed to wrangle has some promise. But we have a definite endogenity problem that needs dealing with.

Reading news:
I finished two books by Isabelle Allende, Zorro and Daughter of Fortune. Both were excellent, though I would say Daughter of Fortune was more totally realized. Allende has a lovely way of just naturally dropping her readers into an incredibly detailed world. She will drop hints of what is to come, but these seem entirely natural. This reminds me a bit of the early Tom Clancy novels, where you felt as if you were just watching real people's lives, which had a spontaneous, full quality. I also was fascinated by her exploration, in Daughter of Fortune, of a bi-racial relationship between a Caucasian and an Asian. It's not something you see as often as say, a Black and White relationship, and that was interesting in and of itself. But of course, I am also in such a mixed relationship, so it had a personal resonance. As for Zorro, I was quite taken with Allende's recasting of the hero as the son of a Native American. It added an unexpected quality to the character. I would give Zorro a 7 and Daughter of Fortune a 9.

Movie news:
I saw A Prairie Home Companion, X-Men 3, and Pirates of the Carribean 2. All three were good (though none was amazing). I would say that I enjoyed Pirates the most, but that was just because of it's incredible enthusiasm. It really wasn't plotted that well, but the lines were funny (not inspired, but definitely amusing), the acting was accomplished, and the direction was visually appealing. The long sight gags were the highlight. X-Men 3 has a similar feel, though everything is just of slightly poorer quality. In particular, I have no idea why some things like the Angel story-line were included. It added nothing to the rest of the film. A Prairie Home Companion was very well acted and directed, but it too didn't have a snappy plot. It just was. I am not a fan of NPR, mind you. I grew up with an indifferent affiliate in Rochester, and I have trouble hearing the chatter of it in the car. Something that makes me feel deaf is not appreciated. However the movie has its fun moments. I would give X-Men 3 a 5.5, Prairie Home Companion a 6, and Pirates a 7.