Officially moved to the new blog!

Hey everyone!

I am officially moving my blog.

To subscribe, click on any post and scroll all the way down where it says "Subscribe to our mailing list"  and type in your email address.

Then, go to your email, where you should have an email from "Gramma Ruthie's Knitting Blog". Click on the link in that email to confirm your subscription!

Thank you so much for your support! And a special thanks to the fiancé, who helped me set up the new blog :)

The Courage Dress

There's a certain kind of courage that comes with knitting. When we embark on a new project, we know there is a good chance we will make a mistake, maybe even a mistake that will force us to start over. OK, maybe that's just me. You're probably a much better knitter. The following is my favorite quote on courage:

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear; The brave may not live forever but the cautious never live at all. (Meg Cabot, The Princess Diaries)

Well, look at me, being all courageous! Last week, I had to rip out 12+ hours worth of work. Look at me now!!!!!! I'm COURAGEOUS!

It's a dress.

The right arm and part of the body.

Look at the pretty colors!

OK, in the grand scheme of things, I'm not that courageous, but knitting is teaching me to be. In the right areas. I know that quote says that cautious people have no life, but please, be cautious where it counts. Be courageous in your knitting.

I know that with this dress, I'm not out of the water yet. I might still screw it up royally. But I have to keep chugging along, one stitch at a time. With graduation looming, I need all the courage I can get. I've lived in the St. Louis suburbs all 22 years of my life, and then just a few days after graduation, Mike and I are going on a grand adventure to Europe, then a grand adventure to Boston, and then the grand adventure of marriage.

With all that in mind, and as cheesy as it sounds, I've decided that this is my courage dress. With every stitch, I am one step closer to being ready for all of that adventure. My goal is to be done by graduation, even if it turns out like crap or doesn't fit. And then I'll be ready for life.

Ok that was a little too cheesy and now I want to throw up. And then I'll get back to knitting.

Happy weekend, my reindeer friends!

Ruth(ie)

Bonus pics of Baylee in her sweater:

Model shot.

Well, hey there.

Why hello. I've missed writing this little blog.

You might ask what has kept me from writing. Knitting, perhaps? 

No, it's school. School ate me. I defended my thesis (and won.) I won so much that next month, I get to go to Cornell and present it at their Undergraduate Linguistics Colloquium. So that should be terrifying. Now is the part where I realize I am enrolled in other classes besides writing my thesis and I get to play catch up. (Guess how many books I'm behind in German? Need a hint? It's also the number of feet I have.)

Anyway, I received the yarn for my Laneway on my birthday! It was a rather exciting birthday present. It is Berroco Alpaca Ultra Fine in Blueberry mix and Pink Berry Mix.

Birthday Yarn

 The following is a picture story of my last week or so. 

1. My beautiful swatch and perfect gauge!!

Attempt ONE: Long tailed cast on not long enough. I needed 5 more stitches here.

3. Attempt FOUR. (due to stupid mishaps of not understanding yarn over short rows (I'll tell you another time.)

The collar and body so far.

Wait...is my arm supposed to be that skinny...?

Beautiful, right? I was so happy. So so happy. I had done 7 of 12 repetitions on the stripes, almost ready divide the stitches for the arms. and then I realized. The arm sections didn't match up. Not only were they not on opposite sides of the body, they were different sizes. One arm for me and one arm for a baby gazelle (they have thin arms/legs, right!?)

I checked the pattern. I misplaced a stitch marker. For about a day, I contemplated how I could still make this dress work. Most of my ideas involved only lifting weights with my right arm, therefore matching the arm holes. But then I realized that my life goal of attaining Michelle Obama arms was really predicated on having two Michelle Obama arms. So I decided the whole thing must be ripped out. 

Where I am at now:

For the first time, I mostly don't mind knitting that thing again. It is quite enjoyable and really exciting to see the progress!! The only part I am dreading is the twisted stitch ribbing for the collar again. For the fifth time. I really hate ribbing. Flipping my yarn to the front or back every stitch is just too much work. It might take me a day or so to work up the courage to cast on again.

Happy knitting, reindeer friends.

Ruth(ie)

One Sock Down!!

Link to the new blog

Ladies and gentlemen...

May I have a drumroll please.....?

dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum

dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum

dum dum dum dum

A sock!

I finished a whole sock!!!! I feel a deep sense of pride that I did not expect...

If only I had one foot.

I guess I should start that second one one of these days. Tomorrow.

We all know there are two types of knitters. There are the knitters who start 15 different projects but never finish them. Cough mom cough.

Then, there are the knitters that I aspire to be. The ones that have only 2 or 3 projects on the needles at a time. I don't just aspire to be one of these knitters, I must be. Mike and I just might be able to afford a closet in Boston, and I don't want to start our life together buried in yarn. It might scare him off.

In my self-discipline, I made a grave mistake. I now have no yarn to start my next project. And it's my spring break. Let me repeat that. I have no yarn on my spring break.

Ok. Slight exaggeration. I have enough yarn for that next sock...but that's my side project. The one I pretend to work on in public. So I've had to improvise. I grabbed some cotton yarn from my mother's stash and made this:

If you think it looks terrible and uneven, you would be correct. If you can't tell what it is, it is the beginnings of Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth. I don't have a post-graduation job set up in Boston, so this crappy rag will be my contribution to my future household. This is also my attempt at knitting continental style, which means I hold the yarn in my left hand instead of my right. I probably shouldn't mention that this isn't even the first try...

I think I'm finally getting into a nice rhythm, but it's still awkward. But I must do it. I can already tell that when I get the hang of it, it will be faster than my yarn throwing ways, and probably better on my carpal tunnel syndrome laden wrists. Also, if I can hold yarn in either hand, I can hold multiple colors at a time, allowing me to do colorwork such as intarsia more easily!! Then I can finally finish that TARDIS blanket that I have been meaning to finish for a couple of years. In summer 2012, I made a list of things to do before I turn 30, and one of them was knit a giant blanket. So I of course chose a giant TARDIS blanket and started on it immediately. And then I realized it was a train wreck. Someday, I will show you how I tried to fix it. It was not pretty.

Anyway, that's my spring break. No yarn. Yarn on its way. Awkward continental knitting. Oh and a flat tire! That was fun. I hope your week has been smoother than mine and that you are enjoying the beautiful weather!! (at least in St. Louis!)

Happy Knitting!

Ruth(ie)

Grandma vs. Hipster

Before I begin, I should thank my perfect fiancé, Mike, for setting me up with a Ghost blog! Pretty soon, I'll be switching blogging platforms. I'll let you know when that happens, but you will always be able to find me by typing in grammaruthie.com.

He also set me up with an email address, so if you ever have any questions for me feel free to contact me: ruthie@grammaruthie.com

Baylee's Sweater Review

Hello, my reindeer friends!!

Baylee's Sweater is completed! I have not yet had a chance to actually put it on her, so I sadly do not yet know if it fits. I bet it does. I'll make it fit whether she likes it or not. 

Back

Underside..I swear it's not as lopsided as this looks.

Pattern: Dog Sweater

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash in Lake Chelan Heather

Size: Large (for a 12 pound  dog...)

Techniques I learned: 

1. Mattress Stitch. This pattern was knit flat in two pieces, joined for the turtle neck (in the round) and then seamed together. I've never learned how to actually seam things, just kind of winged it. But, since I am all about learning properly now and blah blah blah, I actually looked up mattress stitch on knitty and learned how to do it! It creates an invisible seam between two sections of stockinette stitch. I won't say my seaming is the cleanest, but I am proud of it for it being my first time!

Challenges I bravely faced:

1. Ripping out a few inches of the back to correctly place a leash hole. All in all, not that big of a deal.
2. Those darn purl stitches. As you may recall, I was twisting the first stitch of every purl row...Turns out I was actually just doing the first purl stitch with the yarn behind the needle, not in front if it. It was a mess but you can't tell. Now I feel like a magician.
3. After knitting the last row of the underpiece, immediately joining it in the round with the back and making a turtleneck. Felt awkward, but I just did it and it worked.
4. Ribbed edging. Adding on the ribbed edging to the back felt really awkward, mostly because you just picked up stitches along the edges and around the corners, the whole time hoping it stayed the same shape. It did! I think it would have been easier on circular needles like the pattern suggested, but I just braved it on some long, straight needles and it looks decent.
5. Leg holes. If there was one thing that I did not like on this project, it was the leg holes. When seaming the underpiece to the back piece, you kind of skipped a couple of inches to leave room for the leg holes. Then picked up stitches around that hole. I had to redo them each a few times....I would set it down for ONE SECOND and the needles would leap out.
6. Weaving in ends. I just decided to add this too my list because i just found another end to weave in. There are lots. From edging, leg holes, seaming, back, front turtleneck.

Conclusion: This was a pretty painless dog sweater. I am excited to see how it looks on Baylee next week!

Is it bad that I'm a little disappointed how painless this was? Something that I screwed up more would make for better blog posts...

Up Next in Knitting:

• Going to see the Yarn Harlot on Tuesday the 11th in St. Louis! Am going to try to have my first sock completed by then..
• Gonna make myself a sweater or a dress! Currently looking for patterns.
• Making this cowl for my Maid of Honor, Casey! 
• Learn continental knitting so I can retackle this TARDIS afghan.

Up Next in Life:

• SPRING BREEEEEEEAK!!!!!!! My last one.
• Applying for post graduation jobs...
• Revising that thesis (at least there is a 68 page finished draft!)
• Drooling over all of my friends' pictures of the beach...

Happy Knitting!!

Ruth(ie)

I hate school.

OK...that's a lie. I actually love everything to do with school. However, I haven't had much knitting time at all because of this little thing called a senior honors thesis. It's due Monday. Which is why I am writing this instead of my thesis!

Things I've been doing instead of knitting:

1. Working on my senior thesis.
2. Eating French Fries.
3. Writing a stupid paper about how a stupid poem about a stupid forest represents the German soul. Sometimes, a forest is just a forest.
4. Playing Sporcle quizzes.
5. Nursing my aching wrists back to health.
6. Finding out what kind of cheese I am on BuzzFeed. (Easy Cheese, thank you very much.)
7. Reading all of the Yarn Harlot's books...she's coming to STL in March!!
8. Looking at my mostly finished sock in my purse...
9. Discovering bent DPNs in the pit that is my purse.
10. Discovering that said bent DPNs fell out of my sock :(
11. Sleeping. 

A bent needle found in the abyss of my purse.

Now, about that doggie sweater for Baylee. I hit a roadblock when I realized I was supposed to make a leash hole as I was decreasing on the back. The instructions say to make the leash hole near the top of the back. Now, if you are a good small dog owner, like Baylee's mom is, you use a harness to make it more comfortable for your dog to be on a leash. And you don't attach the leash to the collar. Therefore, I knew I had to put the leash hole more in the center of the back. Sadly, I do not get to see Baylee every day, so I had to wait until I could measure where the leash hole needs to be in relation to where her harness falls on her back.

I finally got see the little princess and measured her for the leash hole. And I found out I had to rip back 2.5 inches to make the leash hole :( Oh well. I did that this afternoon instead of writing about my linear regression results in my thesis...I was hesitant to put the leash hole in the middle of a cable, but I just couldn't stand to not have the leash hole perfectly centered. Sometimes all you can do is hope...

Here's something that makes me feel dumb. So each end of the back I am knitting is in stockinette stitch. As in, one row starts with a knit stitch, the next starts with a purl, and so on. I've been doing the first purl stitch wrong every. single. time. I thought that it was curling at the edges more than it should,. Turns out it's because I'm twisting every purl stitch at the beginning of a row. Wrapping the yarn around the needle the wrong way. I've been able to do a simple purl stitch since I was roughly 8 years old. That's 13 years! And I'm still doing it wrong! Thing is, I'm too lazy to rip it out and fix all those stupid purls. So I'm not going to. Muahahahahaha. Such a rebel. 

That, and since I'll be adding a ribbed edging and the underpiece to it, I think the curling will disappear...

I hope. 

I'll be a hermit for the next 48 hours finishing my thesis.

Happy knitting!

Ruth(ie)

Bonus photo of Baylee giving me her best bitch face side eye.