It's September, and the young knitter's thoughts turn to

Tank tops apparently. While everyone else is thinking about fall knitting, and cozy sweaters to wear to Rhinebeck (

grrrr!

), I was inspired to cast on for another sleeveless sweater. Granted, winter in southeast Texas starts on or about December 15th, and ends on January 31st, but still - do I need another tank top?

Regardless of whether or not I need it, I've recently become obsessed with Norah Gaughan's Basalt tank, and am screaming through it. OK, maybe not screaming through it, but it's moving fairly quickly for this time-deprived knitter. This sweater is just so clever. The entire thing is made modularly by knitting hexagons and attaching them in appropriate ways. The front is one big hexagon, and you pick up stitches along the edges to knit the rest of the pieces. The armholes are made by omitting one sixth of the hexagon, and the back is raised by adding a half hexagon. This is also a good stashbuster - I'm using some of the Brown Sheep Cotton Top

my aunt sent me

a while back.

I'm having a hard time deciding on the true color of this yarn. In this picture, it looks pretty brown, but under daylight it's more of an olive green. This picture is a bit better:

In my travels around

Ravelry

(love that place!), I found a very appealing modification of this sweater. The original design has hexagons on either side that hang down lower then the front edge of the sweater, conveniently highlight the hips. Or at least, it looks like they might highlight the hips. In any event,

Kelp!

did a great mod on her Basalt tank that I am swiping whole-hog for mine. Instead of knitting whole hexagons for the lower sides, she did half hexagons, so her sweater is straight across at the bottom. Fabulous! She also did some waist shaping on her's which looks great, but since I no longer have a waist, I'm not going to worry about it right now. If need be, once I get more of this thing done, I can go back and do waist shaping. I'm well into the first half hexagon on the sides, thanks to a very long bus trip in from the dentist's this morning. Hopefully I can finish this thing before it "cools down" around here.

No really, there is progress being made

I just haven't gotten my act together enough to blog/photograph it. So for this post, you'll just have to take my word for it on what's been done.

I've been working on Coachella off and on during my commutes for the last week or so (since there's nothing like whipping a big pile of knitting out of your bag to freak out your fellow commuters), and it's almost done. However, I realized that I haven't posted any details about it since the teaser shot when I first started. I'm using Berroco Flax for this top, a 100% linen worsted weight, in a natural color. My initial thoughts about this yarn were none too happy - it kind of feels like knitting with kitchen twine, although it is rather soft. Originally I was going to use this yarn for Eileen from No Sheep for You, but there was no way in hell I was going to get gauge, plus it's a bit on the splitty side, which was the death knell for any pattern with p3tbl! This yarn also sheds quite a bit - I get big clouds of tiny linen fibers floating aroung and sticking to everything every time I move it. Not so cool, but no one has yet complained about a linen allergy so I guess I'm in the clear.

I did swatch for Eileen, and washed my swatch, so I knew that the yarn didn't really change gauge with washing (although I didn't hang the swatch to see about length over time). So I just started right in - first time starting I used US7 for the "ribbing" and US8 for the body. Decided the 7s were too small, and redid the ribbing with US8, which I liked much better.

That's the only major modification I've made so far, and it's speeding along. I've finished the increases at the bottom, so now I need to try it on again when I get home and decide how long I want it to be. Since I don't know if it's going to stretch much lengthwise, I'm going to be a bit conservative on the length. Hopefully I'll get it done and blocked over the weekend, and be able to wear it next week.

PS - Pea Pod is done but for the buttons. And trimming the ends that I left from weaving in. Maybe that will be this afternoon's commuting project, cause my friend's poor wife is about to explode!

OTN Report

So here's what I'm currently working on:

1. Commuting socks – I ride the bus to work, which in Houston means 1 hr+ from where I live on the west side of town to downtown where I work. Socks are always in progress – this pair were supposed to be a present for my Dad for his birthday. His birthday was at the end of March. I used to have a really hard time remembering the exact date of his birthday (the 21st or the 22nd?), but now I have no problems because his birthday is the day before my oldest daughter’s birthday. Problem solved. Anyway, his birthday was at the end of March, and I cast on for his birthday socks a week and a half ago. Oooops! In my own defense, I was working on a pair of birthday socks for my husband in March, and his birthday is earlier in the month then Dad’s, so…these are the current bus socks: Trekking XXL with Knitpicks Essential on the heels and toes to maximize the stripy goodness.

2) Baby pants from Alison Hansel’s pattern. in Knitpicks Shine Sport, which I’ve never used before – it’s very soft and nice to knit with. Plus machine-washable which is a necessity with anything going within a 30 foot radius of a baby. Or at least my baby. I’m trying to finish these very soon so they still fit her. You may wonder why a baby would need knit pants in Texas in June*, but her classroom at daycare is approximately the temperature of a meat locker, so these seem like a good idea.

Another knit item for said baby: EZ’s baby surprise jacket in the wrap-around, V-neck version from Spring/Summer 2007 Vogue Knitting. This poor sweater has been languishing for at least a month and a half with one shoulder grafted. All I have left to do is knit the cuffs and (maybe) do some edging. And find buttons. Not so hard, right? I predict this sweater will be finished when its intended recipient is potty-training. Oh well.

So that’s the current OTN list. Want to take any bets on how long it takes to get them finished? Also: please note the attractive backdrop for the first two pictures is the ongoing kitchen renovation. Not the most lovely of photo ops, but so be it - it was handy.

*My husband rolls his eyes and says “Knit pants???!!!” in a totally scandalized voice whenever he sees them. Whatever dude, they’re cute.