Knit-tag

Man I'm a terrible blogger... Well, my buddy Erin over at Kniterly has forced me into writing something by tagging me in this game of Knit-tag. Apparently the idea is that I answer these questions and then tag someone else. Erin has already tagged all the blog friends I have who write about knitting, so I think I'll leave out that second part, but here's the first:

1. Are you always happy with your FO’s?

For the most part, yes. Since I joined Ravelry in early 2009, I think I've had maybe 2 or 3 projects that I really haven't been happy with, and even then, it was usually because I either made them too small or accidentally blocked them using an iron on an acrylic carpet (yes, I'm occasionally really stupid). For certain projects, such as my diatom shawl, my Cable Luxe sweater, and my Emma cardigan, I just looked at the finished project and admired my awesomeness as a knitter. Seriously.

2. Are you sometimes so disappointed that you frog everything and start a new project? Why? Color? Yarn? Making? Too small? Too large?

This does occasionally happen. My mother-in-common-law gave me some fluffy acrylic/mohair yarn recently, and the first project I made with it was this very pretty crocheted sweater, the Lush Cowl-Neck Sweater from Sweaterbabe. It had the potential to be really lovely, but even on gauge, and making the largest size, it was still way too small...

Well, I just ripped that sucker out, which was no easy task considering the fibre composition of the yarn. That's happened one or two other times, and mostly because of fit or the yarn just not working with the pattern.

3. Do you wear your knits or do they end up at the bottom of a cupboard? If so, why? How do they age after being washed and worn?

Hells yes! I wear my knitted things as much as possible. I'm trying to build up an entire sock drawer worth of knitted socks. I'll admit that there are one or two knitted things that have ended up at the bottom of the drawer, but for the most part, I'm happy with what I've made and I'll wear it. My socks have aged very well after several wearings. They tend to felt a bit on the sole, but that just makes them squishier. I usually machine-wash them on cold, and then dry them flat. As for sweaters, I wash them very rarely, and usually by hand. They've all stood the test of time pretty well. I should also note that I've been knitting for only 3 years, however, so "the test of time" doesn't mean all that much.

4. Do you always make a swatch? (maybe it should have been the first question, lol ?!)

I very rarely swatch. For garments where I'm not sure about the fit, I do sometimes, but as a rule, I just start knitting the thing, and if the gauge looks about right, then I keep going. If not, then it's frog time. No big deal. I often try to make garments that I can try on as I go, however, or that have instructions like "Knit until it's a certain length" or whatever. I actually swatch more often when I do crocheted garments because my gauge can be very variable in crochet.

5. Finally, would you rather work with some yarns you know well rather than others to avoid bad surprises?

I'm willing to work with almost any yarn. There are a few brands I come back to, but I'm not opposed to trying something new. I've never had a really bad surprise with any yarn. The one exception is that I will never knit with fun fur.

Alright, there you go, Erin!

By the way, if anyone was wondering which sweater I chose to start from the last post, I went with the Morning Dew sweater because of purely practical reasons. Also, I just happen to be using the yarn from the Cowl-Neck Sweater I mentioned above and frogged. I think I'll do the Lore Hoodie after that because it's just so pretty!

Alright, enough rambling from me. I promise I'll post some knitting goodness after I'm done my committee meeting and this upcoming Mike Brown lecture. Cheers!