Damn That Ravelry!

Perhaps if I didn't spend so much time on Ravelry I'd actually get some knitting done.

Projects:
Panel 2 of Sudoku is almost finished. I only have nineteen rows left... What's taking me so long? Oh yeah.. That damn Ravelry.

Three Cornered Shawl in Clover Leaf Pattern is still sleeping. I'm missing some stitches and because I'm stupid and don't believe in lifelines, it takes me about an hour to undo one row of knitting.

I really want to start the Hanami Stole by Melanie Gibbons, but I promised myself I wouldn't buy the yarn until I've finished Panel 3 of Sudoku.

Back to knitting I'd like to see if I can get five rows finished before bed.

Goal: Finish Panel 3 of Sudoku before Monday.

Must Knit

No posting tonight, I've got to make some headway on this damn Sudoku. My Ravelry queue is going to keep me busy enough for the next decade and I want to sketch my next double-knit project. I'm going to knit J a Notre Dame scarf. It's going to have the N/D logo on the ends and say IRISH in the middle and the flip side will have the leprechaun done in three colors. My lys has some beautiful Galway yarn in just the right colors. I think a skein and a half of each color will be sufficient.

Double Knitting Love - Introduction

As promised in the Double Knitting group on Ravelry, here's the beginning of my Double Knitting Pictorial Tutorial.

In the Beginning
When I first embarked on my Sudoku project I thought about using nine different colors or nine different stitch patterns in place of the numbers. But as I started plotting my design I realized I was either going to have come up with a control pattern or color and that I would have to either knit two sides or somehow line the wrong side of my afghan. Neither of these options appealed to me. First I hate seaming and having to knit two whole afghans only to have to seam them together was out of the question. As for lining it, YUCK! I didn't see how that would look appealing and leaving it a one side afghan seemed like a cop out. I thought about double-knitting, which got me to thinking about a two-sided sudoku afghan with one side being the unsolved puzzle and the other side the finished puzzle.

Two Problems

1. When you double knit an image on the right side the image on the wrong side is a mirror image.
2. Even if I correct for the mirror image with the numbers I realized if you flip a Sudoku puzzle over, the layout of the puzzle is a mirror image of the puzzle itself.
   

Unsolved Puzzle


Solved Puzzle - The bold numbers are the ones
that need to be reversed in the pattern.

All the numbers are now where we need them, but the fun has only just begun. Tomorrow I'll show you how to go from these images to this one.


Reversible Number Six

Panel 2

Panel 2 is on the needles.
Five rows down
Twenty left.

106 stitches x 20 rows = 2120 stitches left.

That's depressing...

Sudoku Panel 2

I've charted out Panel 2 and will cast it on tomorrow. Perhaps I'll have it finished by Christmas???

First Panel

016
Originally uploaded by tesalc

1,248 Stitches

Yesterday I cast on 624 stitches not once but twice. My mother and I went to Rosie's Yarn Cellar on Saturday where I bought some lovely Jaggerspun Zephyr in an aubergine color. I have about 2300+ yards to work on a shawl from Victorian Lace Today. I'm in love with the the Three-cornered shawl in clover pattern and am determined to knit it.

The first time I used the loop cast-on as suggested in the book. Well I've never liked that cast-on and this did nothing to change my mind. The second time around, I used a cable cast-on which made it much easier to begin the first row. However while knitting the first row, just before I reached the middle marker I lost about 10-15 stitches and could not get them back on the needle in any way I liked.

Tomorrow will be 1,872 stitches and counting. Perhaps I'll try a crochet cast-on, just for fun.

You have new Picture Mail!

Bramble Leaf Scarf with French Trellis Border

I recently finished knitting the Bramble Leaf Scarf with French Trellis Border from Victorian Lace Today. Interesting stitch work and lots of fun to knit. I had never done a knit on border before and loved it.

No. 10 Crochet Cotton - Ecru
Size 2 Needles.

Notes

I finished Wrapped in Tradition - Disappointed, it's okay, everyone else liked it but not a pattern I would choose to do again.

Victorian Lace Today - Amazing book! I want to knit it cover to cover. The best knitting book, not for beginners.

Sudoku - Staring at me waiting for me to pick it up. Probably next week now that holidays and Secret Pal are over.

Mercerized Crochet Cotton No 10 is my crack and I love it.

Wrapped In Tradition

I'm starting Wrapped in Tradition from Wrap Style, because I like working on 80 billion projects at once! Of course I can't upload a photo right now... erg!

If my brain will let me, I would like to make it a capelet instead of a poncho.


eta

Double Knit Five

Sudoku Makes an Appearance

Since I still haven't gotten around to picking up the skein of yarn I need to finish Clapotis, I've finally gotten around to Sudoku.

To start I've decided to double knit it in order to keep it reversible. One side will be the unfinished board and the flip side will be finished. I'm constructing them in blocks of 3x3.

Pics will follow soon as will a pattern, once I make it small enough.

OUT OF YARN

25 rows left and I ran out of the Karabella yarn I was using for Clapotis. Actually I don't think I ran out so much as I think I lost a skein, hard to say which is worse though. Of course since it's Labor Day I can't run out and buy some.

What to do?

Brioche Scarf

Someone, please smack me. I'm 2/3 of the way through Clapotis and Saturday my mother and I went to Finely A Knitting Party where I bought two skeins of Lamb's Pride - worsted in Pine Shadows and Mulberry. Now I'm 7 inches into the Brioche Scarf from Weekend Knitting.

Before the day is through I will post pictures!

Oooh Oooh Oooh

I found this link for knitting graph paper.

Enter the number of sts and rows for a 4-inch square and it'll make graph paper for that gauge.

Procrastinating

I had the best of intentions. Really, I did. I went to Technicolor Sheep last night and looked high and low and found many lovely yarns I could have used for the Sudoku afghan. But no I bought some aurora melange 0019 by Karabella yarns instead. It feels so nice and I love the colors. I'm using it for Clapotis and so far it's knitting up quickly.

I've decided Sudoku would be better served as a stash busting project something simple and inexpensive. Tonight I'm going to work on a pattern. I can't decide if I should use bold colorways and simple garter stitch (which I hate) or simple colors with bold stitch patterns. I think I'll do a gauge strip of each and see which I like better.

Aches & Pains

Wow! I had no idea there were people out there wanting to know more about my Sudoku Knitting. I guess I better actually get started on it. I've been busy looking for a new job, planning my wedding, and dealing with a flare-up of a nerve injury in my right arm.

Another thought I had, and this one I've already started, is to do a Sudoku sampler. Using the same yarn, but different patterns arranged like Sudoku.

Send me a link if you've started or finished a Sudoku knitting project.

Chaos

Remember that beautiful sock yarn I bought, the same yarn I quickly came to detest? Well my mother bought the exact same yarn, in the exact same colorway. Perhaps I'll like what she makes with it more.

For my birthday, her boyfriend bought me 2 skeins of Wildfoote Luxury Sock Yarn made by Brown Sheep Co in the Rock 'n Roll colorway- center. It feels lovely and the colors are so vivid. I love handpainted yarn.

My brain is a mess. I want to do some Log Cabin knitting, work more on my Sudoku pattern, start on a sampler afghan using the cable patterns I still have to pick out for James's sweater. Then there's the sweater I have started for Michael but I don't like it and am thinking of starting over.

But first an inventory.

Blasphemy

Well I finished one of my Sockotta socks and can't bring myself to start the second one. It's so boring. The colorway is blah, blah, blah... I hate it. I don't want to do it. I don't, I don't, I don't!