"Whats the Skinnny?!"

Today I named my sweater! Mostly because Ravelry.com requires it. But I kinda like the name "Whats the Skinny!?" Mostly because I am not skinny! lol

This sweater is moving right along! I finished the upper back on Monday and joined for KNITTING IN THE ROUND! NO MORE PURLING until I get to the ribbing! I was thrilled! Now the sweater is started to look like a sweater! (Kinda and only if you are a knitter!) I am hoping that the edging you add at the end makes the cast on stitches for the front look a little better. I mean they look fine it's just that there is two inches of straight and than a slow increase which slopes into the front. The third picture down kinda shows what I'm talking about. Other than that I am thrilled with the sweater thus far! :)



I have 24 more rows until I seperate for the sleeves! :) So I'm going to get some knitting done tonight! I'll be back once the sleeves look like sleeves!

And so it begins.

As I said yesterday I choose the Skinny Empire pattern so knit as my FIRST complete sweater for myself.

Can we talk about the fact that I don't think it is fair that I don't look like this gorgeous (sideways!) woman! Oh well.

I decided to do the 3 XL size. It is a 53 1/4 inch bust. Which from my measurments should fit! I'm using Cascade 220 heathers yarn. I purchased it at Cozy Cabin, which is my favorite yarn store! My brother told me when I bought the yarn that it was a terrible color but I have always loved it. It is a gray with a little pink and blue shining through. I am using a size 4 (US) needle and a size 3 (US) needles.

My goal for yesterday was so swatch so I could figure out my gauge and to cast on the sweater. Now for every knitter who has EVER met me knows that I HATE to swatch! I never ever do it. However I felt that since I am actually going to finish this I should feel confident that I'm going to have enough yarn and that it will fit! So I swatched and figured out that i was spot on with my gauge. This is probably because I am the TIGHTEST knitter or record. I know you can't read the ruler but it says 4 inches and there are 24 stitches in there!

After i finished the swatch it was time to watch a movie with my brother and grandmother. (Across the Universe, terrible movie GREAT music.) Anyway I cast on and got through the first round of increases and started the second. It is boring at this point and not in the good way. I love just knitting because I don't have to pay attention to it. However this isn't like that because I am knitting and purling! I don't like purling all that much. It makes my right hand hurt especially on these needles. After about 2 hrs of knitting today I have one more increase row before I cast on the front of the sweater and start knitting in the round! Can't wait!!

I'll keep you posted! for now I'm going to Panera for salad and I'm going to see Alice in Wonderland. Where I'll hopefully finish knitting the foot on a very boring sock!

The saga of the sweater!

Sometimes this blog sits idly by why I read blogs about fashion, yarn, knitting, and politics and I do nothing. I am not good at keeping a diary (I never was), my livejournal was always a teenage bitch fest (and luckily has been deleted.) and now my life is so boring that no one wants to read about the silly little things that happen to me! (Which I am TOTALLY ok with!)

That being said I have been knitting seriously for about 2 years and in those two years I have NEVER sucessfully completed a sweater for myself! I have bought yarn to make sweaters (which when you are a 2 or 3 XL is A LOT of yarn!) and i have started the sweaters, but than something always happens. With the February Lady sweater I screwed up the lace pattern (note to self lace + overnight work = VERY BAD IDEA) and ripped it out. (Truth be told about half of the garter stitch top is still sitting in my drawer waiting to be ripped!) Than I cast on Nora (fromInterweave Knits winter 2010) becuase I loved it! But I didn't have enough yarn and I was worried that after all the work I did it wouldn't fit! So it is sitting in a basket waiting for my to make a decision.

And than Brenda (Best knitting friend EVER! lol) Sent me a pattern from Knitting Daily called Zarabel which I promptly fell in love with and blindly cast on using the yarn I had left from the failed February Lady Sweater. I did the two inches of ribbing at the bottom and did the first 25 rows of the COMPLICATED cabled/ lace pattern and LOVED how it was coming out. however I was having vision of running out of yarn, the sweater not fitting, it looking TERRIBLE on me etc. So last night I pulled it from my needles and ripped a few rows. Than I tried it on. (Of course the thing was BIG ON ME!!!!!)

But if it weren't for doing that I wouldn't have decided to write in my blog (This is me FINALLY MAKING my point!) I thought MAYBE if I kept track of my sweater knitting and pretended that people were reading the blog that I would actually feel that I HAD to finish! So last night I went to my yarn book shelf (yes I have a shelf) and went through ALL my plus size knitting books to find the perfect pattern for yarn I already had.

What I found was Custom Knits written by Wendy Bernard. I loved this book when I saw it and my brother got it for me for my birthday last year. However I haven't made anything out of it yet. So after looking at EVERY pattern twice I settled on the Skinny Empire. Of course this calls for a DK weight yarn which I don't have. But I was determined. So starting today I am going to make a sweater a blog about it. Begining to end. Good, bad and ugly! I'm going to swatch today and either post again today when I cast on or tomorrow.

So this is my promise. I promise to FINISH this sweater. I will blog about it at least once a week! I don't promise not to talk about my job or the other projects I'm working on. But this will mostly be about the sweater!

Wish me luck!

Life!

Well it's been an interesting two weeks since I last wrote. In my knitting world the Feb. Ladies sweater has been put away for a little while because I'm kinda bored knitting it. I'm about to start a knit along mystery sweater for Warm Woolies (exciting!) I'm currently working on Bern's Bellas Scarf and a pair of socks. :) So the knitting world is going well.

Weight Watchers is also going well. I've lost a total of 21.6 pounds! I haven't been doing all that well. But I will do better! However I have been taking the dog for longer walks! Which when your my size is saying something! lol

My job is not going so well. I am ACTIVELY searching employment. The overnights STRESS me out! I have this TERRIBLE feeling before I go in EVERY day. And I hate it! Sadly there isn't a lot of work right now. But hopefully something will come up! (SOON!)

Well I'm currently knitting and watching the Librarian (I'm really enjoying!)

Happy Easter!

Katie :)

2nd Week of overnights!

My second week of overnights is ALMOST over! After tonight I'm off till Saturday! Last week at Weight Watchers I lost 1.4 bringing my total to 18.8! :) I'm so close to 20 I can taste it! However it hasn't been a great week. I had a terrible day Friday (family stuff) and ended up running away to Suzi's in Philly! Which was great! However we ate TERRIBLE! and I felt guilty for running away from my problems! Luckily my mom and I talked about out issues and were doing better.

My knitting is moving along. I've got almost one sock done for my second pair for Warm Woolies. They are really cute socks that have a seed stitch! My sweater is moving along. I've got like 12 inches done on it! I also just cast on a scarf to match the Bella gloves I made for Bernadette!

Well I've remember to update! One more long night! :)

Ravioli!

I started my new overnight shift last night. It was so nice to go to work and not HATE it. And although from 5:30 to 6 am I was HURTIN it went well! I suppose tonight and tomorrow night will be the true test. However I must admit I love my job again which I wasn't loving it so much last week! :)

I FINISHED my first Warm Woolies sweater However it is TINY! (Apparently I knit TIGHT! LOL) I also went to the grocery store and discovered 99% fat free chef boy r d Ravioli! They were magnificent! and only 6 points for the can! I was THRILLED! I also bought enough strawberries to last a year. :) I lost 2.2 pounds last bringing my total to 17.4. I'm superexcited! :)

Well I'm off to watch Chuck and knit!
Katie :)

"Bicycle built for two..." Ahh the Quiet Man!

Well what did it take me a week to start forgetting to write in this! The problem is i think of stuff I want to write when I am NO WHERE near my computer! So I think I am going to have to start jotting things down! It is a lazy saturday at 828. I have like 5 loads of wash to do. And if I don't clean my room my grandmother may actually throw me out! (BAD!)


So I'm working on THREE knitting projects right now. I know no why I don't do this. I like results and the more I have going on the less I get done! I have the Warm Woolies sweater going. All it needs is two sleeves. I am hoping to have that done by next Sunday for the WW sit and knit at Cozy Cabin. I also started the February Ladies sweater. I am only about 20 rows into that. I am making in a size smaller than I am in the hopes that when I wear it next winter it will fit! :) I am also working on a super cute pair of socks with pink, cream and brown sock yarn! I love them so far. I had a pair of Harry Potter socks going, however I HATED the pattern I was using so i frogged the second sock and will probably toss the first sock which is already completed! (Unless someone knows how to disassemble a sock!) I finished my first sweater this week. It was a cabled baby sweater for my niece bella! It is SOOOOO cute! I love it! and I didn't hate the seaming as much as I assumed I would. Although it was fairly small! (Made to fit a 2 yr old!)

I am kicking some SERIOUS Weight Watchers butt! I've lost 15.2 so far! I am THRILLED! And waiting for my first big screw up! I am also trying to figure out how I am going to get through the parade. I think my plan is to only drink at the bars. I wont be able to afford much so I wont drink much and if I stay fairly sober I might not make as many bad decisions as last year! I've found some GREAT WW recipes and I may post them here so I can remember them!