Part 2: Seeeeeeeeeeee, I tooooold you.

Who wants to guess what I didn't do today...

To any and all who said "take pictures of your knitting like you promised you big, fat jerk" then you were correct. I swear I'll do it tomorrow in my room by the window with the great light. Honestly. I'll have nothing much to do tomorrow between opening presents and making The Big Dinner. (Yes, my family has enlisted the teenager to make Christmas dinner. They're bright.) I'll do it, I swear.

P.S. I'll even get some shots of the now-sewed-up neck warmer. And maybe I'll add some
pics of my Onerva so far.



I looooooooooooove knitting lace or lace-knitting or whatever. I love it and you can't stop me from making all of the lace shawls in the whole world and buying all of the lace yarn in the world and hoarding it in my room, just stroking and petting it for the rest of my life.



(Too bad I still have a harboring passion for simple slouchy hats made out of worsted yarn...)

Part 1: I swear there will be a Part 2

Go look at my projects on Ravelry. Do it, I'd dare you but that sounds lame. No, really, go look at them..

Oh, wait, there's nothing to look at because I suuuuuuuck and have severely neglected taking pretty pictures of yarn, WIPS, and finished stuff. And the hats I made for Sami and Andrew were given away before I could properly photograph them.

Today is that day that pictures will be taken. They will go from life to camera to computer to Ravelry. Sorry I've been holding out on whoever wants to see my knitting. (I'm still wondering if anyone actually reads this blog.)


Besides that I will be watching episode after episode of Gilmore Girls and knitting on the scarf I promised Mr. Kiesling (choir teacher) because the sooner I get it done the sooner I can give it to him and then he'll stop bugging me incessantly. Oh, and ya know.. I'll be working on Onerva.



The neckwarmer dried with astonishing speed and, as hoped, it doesn't smell anymore. Well, it does, but like the SOAK wash it marinated it. (Pictures later, I promise.)

I am wickedly excited about the whole "knitting lace" thing.

I finished the first repeat for Onerva, and I am way excited about how it's going to far. It's beautiful, and the only errors I've made are minimal. It's going to be so wonderful once its finished and blocked.

Too bad it's going to take forever since I have 800+ yards of yarn for this and I'm working on US 3 needles and each repeat is only about 1.5" - 2" long. GAAAAAAAH. This is going to take forever, but I am loving it, and so for now it's all good.

~~~

And I finished a neck warmer I was working on. It's a nice creamy-white color, and made out of baby alpaca. Want to know how it smelled while I was hand washing it? I don't think you do. Imagine wet dog smell times 10. It was horrible. I think it'll go away once it dries.. I hope. Anyway, it turned out very nice.


I have 40 million things I need to finish knitting, such as: a scarf for my mom, an orange scarf for my friend Lauren, Onerva, Serpentina, and all of the projects I have the yarn for but haven't technically started yet. (Like the hat I want to make out of Mirasol K'acha in this warm buttery yellow/gold color. The yarn is great except for the fact that is sheds more than a golden retriever.)


The ugly tote bag my mom wanted me to knit her? Yeah, she finally took it away from me and finished knitting it herself. Nice. She got it exactly how she wanted it and I got off scott-free. Now I just have 2 more tote bags exactly like it to knit in other colors.


I have a church Christmas party thing to go to tonight, it'll be fun.



Early New Years Resolution: Start blogging on here more often instead of my normal blog. Talking about knitting is much better than talking about silly high school stuff.

Onerva pattern (revised)

I posted a blog (that I have now deleted) with the “almost finished pattern”. Then, a couple hours later, began to actually start knitting it. I immediately realized that despite double and triple checking the damn pattern, I’ve managed to make a big mistake.

As soon as you get to row 5 (according to the chart) you become horrified at the fact that you are 2 stitches short. And then you come up with an easy way to add 2 stitches, keep going along, and then come to row 7 (according to the chart) and realize that you are again 2 stitches short. You put down the knitting, look at the pattern, and then you count how many stitches each row begins with and then how many each row ends with. You realize that after every wrong-side row, the next row requires 2 stitches that you don’t have. Every. Single. Right-side row. And then you get to row 13 and realize you are 4 stitches short (which is all my fault because I put a k3 instead of just a k. Don’t worry, that’s fixed now).

Needless to say, it was a big giant mistake in the written pattern and I went through and fixed it. Now that it’s fixed it should be good to go. I will start over on knitting it (considering I frogged it once I realized I’d screwed up) and will note and fix any more mistakes that I spot. I did the math again and it looks like adding 2 yarn overs to the WS row will account for the stitches missing.

And, well, here’s the revised pattern: (send me a message on ravelry for any more mistakes, I’m knittynwitty)

● CO 3 sts
● k3
● k, yo, k, yo, k
● k2, p, k2
● k2, yo, k, yo, k2
● k2, p3, k2
● k2, yo, k3, yo, k2
● k2, p5, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2 (this bit is the first row of the chart)
● k2, yo, p5, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p7, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p9, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p11, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p13, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p15, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p17, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p19, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p21, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p23, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p25, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k15, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p27, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p29, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k15 yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p31, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p33, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p35, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p37, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p39, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p41, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, k2tog, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p43, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k7, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k7, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p45, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p47, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p49, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p51, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, sso, k2
● k2, yo, p53, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k15, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k24
● k2, yo, p55, yo, k2

● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p57, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k15, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p59, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p61, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p63, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yok3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p65, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p67, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k3tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p69, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p71, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8,k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p73, yo, k2
● k2 k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, , k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p75, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p77, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p79, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, , k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p81, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k14, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p83, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k9, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p85, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k15, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p87, yo, p2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p89, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p91, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog,k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p93, yo, k2
● k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k4, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k6, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k8, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k8, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k6, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k4, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
● k2, yo, p95, yo, k2

Mmmmm.

I was on a plane today. A 3 hour plane ride, actually, from Iowa to Arizona. 3 hours of sitting requires a few things:

Yarn, a small project (such as a bright blue hat on circular needles), water, food, and my ipod. That's all a girl ever really needs.. Except for maybe a full-sized restroom where she could wash her hands frequently because the feeling of grimy-airport-hands is disgusting to a MAX.


"Hey, I might as well take a picture (very coyly) of my mom playing with her phone and making a very attractive face."


"Heh, nice. Wait, wait a minute.. there's a woman in the background. Waaaaait a minute. She looks like she's doing something crafty.."


Yeah, my attempt at a "better shot" just included this months' issue of Women's Health with Ashlee Simpson looking gorgeous. Nice, but not what I was aiming for.


Here we go, the killer picture (that was poorly executed and slightly blurry). A knitter, a fellow knitter, sitting (ironically) in the same isle as me. I swelled with pride. I discovered that she was using these needles and this yarn in the Tomate colorway.. I think. not sure. I know it was Berocco from the tag, and it was thin like maybe a sock yar, or a sport wieght... So Peruvia seemed like an option, because even though it's listed as a worsted weight, that's so hardcore BS that I'm not even going into it right now. If Berocco Peruvia is worsted weight, then I'm a size 2. HAH!

Anyways, yeah, fellow knitter. My mom was chuckling at how amused I was. I was more amused at how well her 4 year-old son (hidden next to her) was behaving, sitting (mostly) quietly either watching a movie or doing his "homework" while she quietly knitting away on her totally beautiful scarf that my picture does not do justice because blackberry cameras suuuuuuuck.

Yeah, so, knitters on a plane. Two of us, in the same isle, it was destiny.



My mom and I got off the plane and went to head home in our truck, which, of course, didn't start because the car-fates loathe me and are out to get me on a pretty constant basis. (While we thought we'd need a rental car to get home, the car-fates brought NASCAR into town and thus a bunch of fans who quickly ate up every single rental car available in Phoenix. Yes, every single one, it was pretty astonishing. Nicely done, car-fates, nice work.) We then spent 2 hours waiting for a tow-truck-guy to come get the car when it reality all he needed to do was spend 20 minutes recharging the battery enough to get us home. And he did, and in the span of 4 hours that it took us to get home (when it only should've taken us an hour and a half) I got no knitting done. Yeah, I know, none. It was strange. I just listened to my ipod and slept. i was to tired to knit. I know.. strange concept.


Anyways, like the hat? I'm going to fold up the bottom part of the brim to keep my ears toasty and besides that, it's your typical regularly-scheduled simple ribbed-brim hat.

Oh, the joys of the winter season.

Once upon a time I asked my friend Lauren what she'd like for a Christmas gift if I were to knit her anything (excluding an afghan or a sweater) she wanted. She wanted fingerless mitts. Bright orange fingerless mitts with a bright blue thumb. I've been looking and looking and finally found a pattern that I think she'll enjoy wearing and I will enjoy knitting for her. Here it is. I figure I'll just swap out the orange for the blue when it comes to the thumb shaping and it'll be all good.

That will be a perfect gift for Lauren, it'll definitely suit her personality.

~~~
I made my first-ever knitting birthday present for my friend Sami. A simple stockinette beanie with ribbed edging. I put it on the back burner and finally started it late Monday afternoon. No problem, I'd get it done in time.. but wait, her birthday is on Wednesday, that's only a day and a half to knit this hat.. Shoot.

Oh well. I did finish it, and she did love it, I just had to drink half a pot of coffee and pull an all-nighter last night so currently I am way burned out.

I'm glad she loved it. I figure I'll knit her a matching something to go with it for Christmas and it'll be a perfect gift for her.

~~~

Well.. that covers Lauren and Sami. That's only 2/3 of my best-buds group. Kim, the other third, is a treat I might add. She tells me she doesn't want a knitted gift, and then she tells me she does, and then goes back to looking disgusted by the idea of it. I'm not sure if I want to knit her anything because I don't know what she'd actually use or like (and it helps a lot that she won't tell me) or if I should just buy her a book of ghost stories and an industrial-sized bag of red Skittles and maybe a lifetime membership to Taco Bell or something.

If I do knit her something, she will love it, or she better pretend to love it when I'm around or I'll cry.

~~~

Okay, so uhhh.. Any want to help me out here: Where the hell did October go? October was my buffer month for the holiday knitting I need to accomplish and it's gone. And November is whipping by and December is not long enough and I am starting to think that maybe, just maybe, I might not get everything done in time.. Oooops.

Part 2: Turning the charts for Onerva into a written pattern (up to row 16)

That chart for Onerva has teeny boxes and even teeeeeeeny-er symbols. For me, reading charts is hard enough. The stupid symbols tend to merge and get all scrambled together after a while and I just don’t have enough brain function to deal with it by that point. Anyone else like this? Anyone else who’s like me and would so much rather just read a stinking pattern?

Oh, and uhh, anyone need some help figuring out how to start your work because the stupid freaking chart doesn’t include the little starting bit. And it doesn’t show the garter stitch border because the symbol for knit is a blank space. And it doesn’t include the wrong side, only ever other row that is the right side. Yeah, suuuuuper helpful chart.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am your hero. I have written up the chart as a pattern up until the 16th row (so far). You want it? Do you reeeeeeaaaaaly waaaaaaaaaaant it? Well, fine, here it is:


• CO 3 sts
• k3
• k, yo, k, yo, k
• k2, p, k2
• k2, yo, k, yo, k2
• k2, p3, k2
• k2, yo, k3, yo, k2
• k2, p5, k2
• k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2 (this bit is the first row of the chart)
• k2, p5, k2
• k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
• k2, p7, k2
• k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k, yo, ssk, k2
• k2, p9, k2
• k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
• k2, p11, k2
• k2, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
• k2, p13, k2
• k2, k2tog, yo, k, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, k2
• k2, p15, k2
• k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, s1k2togpsso, yo, k3, yo, ssk, yo, ssk, k2
• k2, p17, k2



On a few obvious notes: the first and past 2 stitches will always be knitted, and on the wrong-side-rows you’ll always purl all of the stitches except for the knitted border. Also, you increase by 2 stitches every right-side row except for when you get to 9. When you increase to 9 stitches you stay that way for 4 rows, I know, it’s weird, but that’s the way it is and it will look fine after blocking I promise. (The first row of the chart is when you have 9 stitches, by the way.)

Abbreviations (I think they’re all pretty obvious except for the long one, but I’ll post them all:)

k: knit (if there’s a number after it, you knit that many stitches)
p: purl (if there’s a number after it, you purl that many stitches)
yo: yarn over
k2tog: knit 2 stitches together
ssk: slip slip knit (or the cheating way like I do it: knit 2 stitches together through the back of the stitches)
s1k2togpsso: (it’s a double decrease, a.k.a. turning 3 stitches into 1)slip one stitch to the right needle with the yarn in the back, then knit the next 2 stitches together, and then move the slipped stitch over the stitch created bu the k2tog as if you were binding off


Okay, well that about covers it. Have I casted on yet? Nope. I missed a few days of school while I was in California, and now I have the task of making up all of my homework. As much as I wish I could knit while doing my homework, it’s kind of impossible. Maybe I’ll cast on tonight after I’m finished my homework.. Mmmm, maybe.

Part 1: Decoding the pattern for Onerva (READ THIS IF YOU NEED HELP FIGURING IT OUT TOO)

Do you know what is really, really frustrating? Trying to figure out a !@#$%^&* lace pattern when you’ve been awake for 18 hours and you’re only running off of 5 hours of sleep. That is not even close to being enough sleep to function normally, and especially not enough sleep to decode a lace pattern written in Finnish. Well, actually, some other (most likely well rested) patient individuals had already decoded it and made up a chart in English. So technically I’m trying to decode an English chart. And under normal circumstances I can do that. I have Google, I have Ravelry, I can pretty much figure anything out using these 2 tools.

So what happens when Google can’t help me, and not everyone on Ravelry is jumping at the opportunity to decode the pattern for me? Things get frustrating. Insanity levels become moderate. Levels of my patience drop considerably. I become a very hostile knitter.


See, my problem? There’s a preeeeeeeetty triangular shawl. Her name is Onerva. Onerva is Finnish. There’s a language barrier. Then I discovered Onerva 2.0 in English. I just assumed that this Onerva 2.0 would be easy for me considering that any English-speaking idiot would be able to read a chart that’s written in English.. So, so stupid of me. This Onerva has brought me to be my knees, whimpering, crying out in pain, and the worst part? I haven’t even started knitting it yet.

!@#$%^&*. If I am being defeated by a shawl I haven’t even CO for yet, can you only imagine what it will be like once I do CO?! It’ll be a nightmare. A scaaaaaaaaaaaary nightmare in which a life-sized pair of knitted needles stab me in the stomach and a mutant pair of embroidery scissors chop of my head. It’s a gory, terrifying, painful nightmare in which I am the main star.


I figured everything out except for the abbreviation “m”. Nobody knew what “m” meant. Then someone figured it out. “m” means s1k2togpsso. Now if I can just Google what that last part means I’ll be ready to go and WAIT, WHAT?! My Internet got slower, and slooooower, and then it came to a halt. Awesome, just what I need.

So.. No more Internet, no more pattern help, just me. By myself. Confused out of my mind. Getting way more frustrated by the passing seconds. And what do I do? Pull up WordPerfect and type out a makeshift blog that will be posted later when the Internet comes back.

Hey, so uhh, funny thing, I have a blackberry. A black berry with Internet. And while I am not going to blog on my blackberry, I can surely look up what psso means on my blackberry, my blackberry’s Internet still is working. When do I figure this out? Half an hour after I could've originally figured this out.

...


Excuse me while I go bang my head against a slab of concrete and cry quietly for a little while.

Psso means pass slipped stitch over. The entire thing? S1k2togpsso? That’s code for slip 1 stitch to the right needle, knit 2 stitches together, and then pass the slipped stitch over the stitch you just made by knitting two together. It's a double decrease.

That’s simple enough. I know how to do that.

Onerva 2.0 has a lot of abbreviations that took me entirely too long to figure out. And to anyone who can not handle the insanity I went through, I will now post the abbreviations for Onerva.



o (yarn over)

/ (right decrease, or knit 2 stitches together)

\ (left decrease, or slip, slip, knit. I’ve learned this can be more easily accomplished by just knitting 2 stitches through the back loop. It’s exactly the same.)

m (slip 1 stitch, do a right decrease, then move the slipped stitch over the stitch made by the decrease like you’re binding off)


Oh, and for the odd rows? You knit the first 2 stitches, purl to the last 2 stitches, and knit those last 2. The chart doesn’t really show the garter stitch border, but there is one, I promise.

Long, overdue post about buying too much yarn.

While I was on vacation in Santa Clara I did my best to go to a yarn shop - for the first time ever I might add - and I successfully went to 2. Bobbin's Nest and Green Planet Yarn, both of which were visited twice. The goods (because me? going to a knitting shop and not buying anything?! BAHAHA)

1. 2 skeins of Mirasol K'acha in Sunshine (it's more like a warm, buttery color). It's super soft, and super fuzzy, and super beautiful, and OH MY GAAH IT SHEDS MORE THAN A GOLDEN RETRIEVER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER!!

2. 2 skeins of Stonehenge Fiber Mills Sheperd's Wool in Blue Spruce (emerald green + teal = looooooove) and uhhh... some bright cobalt blue color.. let me go check *toddles over to room and rifles for four hours in the yarn bin trying to find the one stinking skein and..* AH! It's good, plain, Blue. Seriously? Lame. Anyways, yeah, in the skein it's alright, but as soon as it hits the needles it gets sooooooft. I can only imagine how much more it softens after a wash.

3. 1 skein of Malabrigo sock in the LAST AVAILABLE SKEIN OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COLORWAY THAT EVER EXISTED, or Solis. It's variegated with blues and greens and seriously, I'd kill somebody and run around the world naked for a skein of this yarn. And I got it, I'm so happy. I wasn't even expecting to find it because the yarn shop didn't claim to carry it (which they didn't, up until a month prior) and because it's the yarn I need for Onerva and the universe usually hates me in situations like that(rants about this topic a littler later, stay tuned).

4. 2 skeins of Atlante in a pretty lavender color(technically, shade 2107, but that's no fun). It came as a kit for the zig-zag lace scarf, I can't resist kits, they're just so easy. Problem? It's 100% bamboo. What does this mean? That the yarn, despite being smooth and beautiful, is ridiculously splitty and a paaaaaaaaaaain to knit with.


So total? 7 skeins.. And quite a few new sets of needles (straights, curculars, and DPNS).


Oh, and as if I didn't buy enough yarn, lets go off on a completely unrelated rant about how my mother found a pattern at a quilting convention for a handknit tote bag out of pieces of fabric tied together. She picked hot pink, forest green, black with multi-color polka dots, and baby blue. Individually they're pretty, but together? It's relatable to clown vomit. Half-way through me knitting the giant thing, she went off and finally recovered her sanity and decided she hated the colors together(Uhhh, I could've told you that mom) and wanted to pick new colors. You'd just assume I'd rip out the ugly thing and give her the fabric back but nooo, she wants to see how it's knitted up before she cuts more fabric in case she hates the pattern. *headdesk*

~~~

A a few weeks ago I found a pattern called Onerva. It's a triangular shawl and it's beautiful. Problem? The pattern is written in Finnish, the chart is weird and also in Finnish, I've never even read a chart before, I've never knit lace or anything like lace before, and I've never knit a triangular shawl before. Oh, and I don't speak Finnish or know anyone who does speak Finnish.

Of course this will be a piece of cake.. you know, after I find some sort of something on Ravelry that will help me decode this thing. And I did! Obscuriosity KAL, and old one, but still extremely helpful. Bonus: it included new charts in English, and I like things written in English.

Case #1 of the universe helping me out.

Then I decided to go to a yarn shop and see if I could find some yarn comparable to the yarn required for the pattern. Turns out the yarn shop had just started carrying the yarn I needed.

Case #2 of the universe being cool.

Oh, and I found one single skein of the most beautiful colorway that ever existed. They had sold out of all of the skeins except for one, which was all I needed.

Case #3 of the universe handing me everything I wanted.

Oh, and I found the right sized needles, the only pair, hidden behind a bunch of needles that were too short.

Okay, 4 for 4.


So you'd think that as soon as I got home and got my hands on the pattern I would instantly start it up.. right? Maybe not. Well you see, I have a bunch of unfinished projects, and most of them are Christmas/birthday gifts that I should get started on, and well you know how these things are.. FINE, I'LL ADMIT IT, I AM THE WORLD'S BIGGEST WEENIE. Yup. I printed out the pattern, I read everything that is about Onerva, I've looked at 46,856,235 pictures of it and I practically drooled all over my keyboard. Thing is, I've never done this before, and I'm a little intimidated.

Why the heck should I be scared of a shawl. What's the worst that will happen? It won't work out and I'll have to frog the entire thing? Seriously, it's not going to eat me, no one will throw eggs at me if I mess up, it won't kill anyone, I can pretend like it never happened. And hey, you know, I might even be able to do it right and have it look just as fantastically as everyone else's. You never know.

I will knit this damn shawl because I AM BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN YOU ONERVA, YOU HEAR ME? I CAN FROG YOU AND SEND YOU TO THE BACK OF THE CLOSET JUST LIKE SERPENTINA, GOT IT! I AM THE MASTER, I AM KING! (Or er.. you know, queen.)

~~~

No finished objects, just a few WIPs. (I got some serious staritis this week, it was the yarn fumes.)


Oh, and as an added note, my yarn stash is growing at an alarming rate. It's overflowing the 3 available yarn bins I have for it. As of now, I'm on a yarn diet. WOOT!

Magic Ribbon

I am frightening close to being done with this periwinkle hat. All I have left to do is to work about an inch more, decrease for 2-3 rows, bind off, and sew it up. I was originally looking for some black satin ribbon to weave through the holes created by the increases at the top of the ribbing, and then I found the bright yellow ribbon that was on The Knit that Sami gave me for my birthday. It's fate, let me explain.

1) It's the perfect length. It is long enough to thread through the holes, but short enough to tie into a bow without cutting it.

2) It contrasts the periwinkle/indigo/blue/purple/whatever-the-heck-color-it-is yarn perfectly. Seriously, it's kind of ridiculous how good the colors look together.

3) It's the perfect width. It's not too thick that it over-powers the ribbing, but it's not so thin that it's like thread.


Honestly, this was fate. The knitting gods influenced you to pick out this ribbon, because it is perfect for this hat. Sami, I thank you for the magic ribbon. I'm a big fan of magic ribbon.


Now, if I could focus long enough to finish this damn hat so that (a) I can start something else, and (b) I can wear it to the bus stop tomorrow so my ears won't turn bright red and threaten to freeze and fall off.


Pictures will be posted either tonight or tomorrow.. or in a couple of days because I am laaaaaaaaaaaaazy.