Starting to Shape Up

So after knitting those 36 rows I totally missed in the instructions, the back of my Rogue pullover is now even with the front and I could bind off the shoulders together.

I even tried it on and it fits fine so far.  I'm very pleased with my work on this.  I'm still terrified of seaming it all up later.  

This is why an upcoming project will be the V-Neck Man's Pullover from Knitting Pure and Simple.  No seaming!  Jake picked out some Rustic Wool for the project and it's really soft.  I'm in the process of swatching it now.

No, this nothing to do with my Sekrit Project.  That project still remain sekrit.

I have cast on for the May Sockdown project.

When I'm done, my sock should look just like the one on the cover of Sock Innovations.  A sock pattern that shares the same name as me AND has cables.  I couldn't resist signing up for the sockdown.  I'm also glad I learned to read charts early in my knitting career.

The semester is winding down; one more week of class and then finals.  I will be taking Intro to Plant Biology this summer so I can keep my student employment.  I want to get my biology out of the way anyway.  I don't have too much of an issue with dissecting plants.

Rogue Sans Back

I received my Loopy Ewe "Don't Be Blue" kit in the mail last Friday and it really made me happy that I at least tried to get in.  Handmaiden dyed a really beautiful yarn just for this kit.  It's so soft too; that bit of cashmere added in really makes a difference.

This past weekend Jake went to Cleveland for a demoscene convention and I had no schoolwork to do.  That equates to a free weekend, so I cleaned up the house Friday night so I could go to Needleworks early to get help with the Rogue pullover.

(On a side note, Jake won all of the music competitions except one and came home with money, books, tshirts, and a top of the line gaming computer.  It was awesome.)

I was ready to seam the shoulder together and pick up stitches to start the hood.  That is, at least I thought I was ready to do that.  Matthew was there on Saturday and was happy to help me out.  He pointed out, to my embarrassment, that I completely forgot to knit 36 more rows after the armhole shaping.  The back was much shorter than it should be.

He said that that particular direction looked like it was snuck in at the end of a paragraph when it probably should have had its own paragraph...like all of the other important instructions.  He undid the bind off for me and set me up to knit those last rows.  Then I'm going to undo the bind off at the front shoulders.  Instead of seaming, I'm going to do a three needle bind off with the front and back shoulders at Matthew's suggestion.

Here is a photo of the back.  The back was about as short as where the two strands of yarn are.  You'd think I'd notice something like that, but I haven't knit anything like this before.

In other news I managed to get a net score of 100.8% on my latest chemistry exam.  I got 100% on the polyatomic ion quiz which is added on to the exam.  So...wow.  As a reward to myself, I'm stalking the Loopy Ewe for their Numma Numma and will get some if I can catch it.

Full of Chemistry and Algebra

I honestly really enjoy going to college and actively learning, but it really keeps me busy.  If I'm not balancing equations, I'm juggling logarithms in my head.  I dream about it.  Unfortunately, this does not leave much time for knitting.

Now that I've become adjusted to college again, I can make better use of my time.  I have short days on Tuesday and Thursdays, so I make myself take an hour or two to knit or play video game.

Oh yeah...Star Ocean?  That'll be the death of my A average if I let it.

In fact it would be great if I could update this every Tuesday and Thursday.  Lets see if I can stick with that.

So way back in February, Jake said that he would take me on a road trip to a nearby city of my choice for my birthday. Visiting a big city is fun, but going to a fiber festival would be even better.  So we'll be at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair.  This year they are going to have an alpaca pavilion (which totally sold Jake) and the dyer of Creatively Dyed Yarn will have a booth.  Is anyone else going?

So, here is what I've been working on.

I am still plugging away at the Rogue pullover.  I'm just now finishing up the front shoulders and the cable design on the front.

This is something I finished late last year and never got a chance to talk any photos of it.  This is a Turn A Square Hat in Cascade 220 and Noro Silk Garden.  I've since forgotten the colorways, but Jake picked them out.

This is his 2008 MAGFest Hat.  I knit him one every year.

This is the Tamarind Cowl made with the Worsted Deluxe LP yarn Addie and Ariel got me for my birthday.

I got to use it the day after I finished it and I loved it. It kept my neck warm without feeling too bulky.

Also....Sekrit Project.

A Rogue and a Jaywalker Walk Into A Bar

While I am in stasis between work and school, I started on a project I've been coveting since I started knitting.

The Rogue Hooded Pullover from The Girl From Auntie.  After consulting with the owner at Needleworks and my wallet, I decided to knit this using Ella Rae Classic in the Toast colorway.  It feels fantastic.

I threaded in a lifeline through the stitches that are picked up to start the pocket.  That way I was sure the pocket was straight and that the stitches were evenly spaced apart.  I'm sure that not putting in the lifeline would have given me a headache.

The cabling detail on both sides of the pullover makes the knitting interesting enough considering that everything else for the body is stockinette.  I added an extra cable repeat to give it length after reading posts on the Rogue Knitalong group on Ravelry.  I'm now wondering if I should have used a cable repeat that doesn't give Rogue any shaping.  I like to eat a lot of apple pie.

I hope it fits; the ladies at the knit shop measured me so I could be sure of the numbers at least.

I also finished a very old work in progress.  Two years old is my estimation.

Sexual Chocolate Jaywalkers.  These are knit on size 1 dpns in a Lorna's Laces in a colorway only available at Purl Soho in Manhattan.  You can purchase all of their exclusive colorways here.  This one is called Chocolate Stripe.

I initially knit the first sock one size too small and had to frog it.  Then I got tired of looking at them and threw them in the closet.  When I had more free time, I fished them out and finished them up.  The grafting on one of the toes came out and I fixed it the best I could, which means it looks a little sloppy.  I am totally OK with this at this point.  They are done, they are mine, and I rather like them.