Mychawd: The Knitting SAMurai

Flowers from Boyfriend and Baby

2011-05-09T21:12:00.006-04:00

Linus Loves His Bag

2011-05-07T05:44:00.001-04:00

The Woman In White

2011-04-26T08:05:00.002-04:00

Last night I finished The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. It had been recommended by Dr. Gemma on the CogKnitive Podcast. She compared it to Charles Dickens and I must say that is a true comparison. For the past week I’ve been transported to 1850s English countryside where I was completely absorbed by the gothic romance style of writing. Like Dicken’s the plot is somewhat improbable but I was able to look beyond that and enjoy the story. Very rich character development and several mysteries run through the piece moving along the plot. I can’t say enough good things about this book. I will mention that the first few chapters are a bore but like the introduction to a new world and people there are some clichés that must be undertaken. Once familiar with all the players the story takes off and is an instant classic in my mind. It reminded me of both Dracula and Tale of Two Cities. So if you enjoy either of these works, give it a shot.

Next up, something completely different. The book I would consider the greatest Science Fiction novel of all time. Dune by Frank Herbert. I read this in college at my father’s suggestion and thoroughly enjoyed it. Being some 10 years past it seemed like the right time to revisit it. The Boyfriend has been reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy by Douglas Adams to the baby. He considers this the best piece of Science Fiction ever written which I find somewhat humorous knowing that he’s never read anything in that genera and only rarely watches Star Trek. I do not give him much in the way of Sci-Fi Geek Cred. He wouldn’t even watch Battlestar Galactica with me. Of course I’m not complaining having never read the book myself but seriously enjoyed the movie.

You might find this interesting

2011-04-20T05:56:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure how to say this so I'll just tell you that you might find this interesting.

And perhaps that will explain where I've been the last few months and what I've been up to.

It's March!

2011-03-06T07:08:00.003-05:00

I officially finished the Haruni on Feburary 10^th. It was a labor. I can’t even say it was a labor of love. Blocking was almost as tedious as the knitting. I’m so glad it’s finished though. I brought it to Knitting group where we all showed ours off. That was a good time. Seeing finished shawls from worsted to light fingering weight. Seeing a 4 foot shawl in the same pattern as the tiny shawlett next to it. Seeing the variety of colors and textures was wonderful.

My vote goes to WickedPyssa’s black for most elegant, mine for lightest weight, and Beachyknitter’s for warmest.

But they were all lovely.

After thaking a month off to recover and think about what kind of shawl I’d like to torture myself with next, I’ve decided to take a shot at the Flamboyan by Stephen West. I’m using String Theory Caper Sock in two colors that I can’t pronounce, Nerrivik and Tavikki. It’s a pretty straight forward color block shawl. I think the finished results will be beautiful and the color changes will make the shawl an interesting knit. I’ll keep you posted on that progress.

52 Pair Plunge. It’s been months. I did finish a pair in December and another in January but I’ve been more interested in knitting baby stuff and shawls. Baby socks? Possibly. I didn’t think the day would ever come when I would follow so many knitters before me and evolve away from socks to shawls. Socks just seem so much more functional to me. But my sock drawer is full. I have 8-10 pairs ahead in storage. And I’m on a mission to find a shawl that I can wear like a rock star (the Haruni wasn’t it).

A Winter Wonderland

2011-02-06T17:49:00.004-05:00

Went to Webs with the family this weekend. It was a funny experience. The Boyfriend followed me around with the shopping basket catching the yarn as I threw it at him and raced through the store to get everything on my list before they closed. The cousins were in pursuit shooting questions about yarn at me. Yardage? What’s soft? Care instructions? I barked answers running up and down the warehouse isles. I’m sure the four of us were an entertaining site. I got everything on my list and two new project bags. I was astounded to see Di’ve Zenith in about 800 colors for $4 a skein. It's a 100% merino worsted yarn that knits like butter. It was all I could do not to buy another two sweaters worth (yes I already have two sweaters worth of it).

After the whirl-wind Webs trip we walked the downtown of Northampton doing some fun shopping and having great Italian for dinner. The rain didn’t dampen our spirits although the icy roads and sidewalks did slow us down. It was a merry adventure I won’t soon forget.

Haruni, day 465!

2011-01-14T17:08:00.002-05:00

At least that’s how it feels. Not sure what possessed me to suddenly become a monogamous knitter but I have been since the moment I cast this bad-boy on. Really it’s been 7 days and I’m a third of the way through the second and final chart. The lace itself has become very interesting, and the purl back rows have become gigantic!!! At roughly 400 stitches a row, it does take a chunk of time to complete each row. Going forward I’m going to branch out a little and knit some socks but work to complete 4 rows on the Haruni a day until it’s done. Which would put me roughly at the end of next week. We shall see how I do with that. But on the positive side, this will definitely count toward my 12in2011 as this is most certainly stash yarn.

Haruni update

2011-01-10T20:09:00.001-05:00

Alright, so I've been home for a couple hours and knit 8 rows on teh Haruni. I'm pleased to announce that I haven't fallen asleep yet. Which is good, only 10 more rows to go until I'm onto the exciting Chart B!

The Haruni

2011-01-09T11:09:00.004-05:00

The local knitting group is doing a shawl knit along. I wasn’t there when the details were discussed but when I saw the post on Rav about it I was so excited I cast on almost immediately. The shawl is one that I’ve admired and despised. The Haruni is both intricate with the flower edging and a bit old lady with the flowered edging. It’s gone in and out of my queue several times over the last year, since it was first published. Currently there are 3,000+ projects shown on Ravelry. Clearly I must be the only person having doubts about it. And since the other girls are doing it, I want to join in as well. I dug through the stash and found a red yarn with the right yardage, 460 yards according to the pattern which will make it the largest shawl I’ve knit to date. I picked a merino bamboo blend that I never understood why I bought. Bamboo is not good for socks, and I don’t knit light fingering weight yarn. So it seemed that the pattern and the yarn were meant for each other.

I watched a couple movies with the Boyfriend and Isitt while I worked chart A of the shawl. It was entertaining enough.

Shutter Island was one of the movies. I’m certain that if I had read the book that would have been a total mind f&%k. Having watched the movie I felt it was uneventful. I don’t think they translated it well enough to the screen to be the mental thriller that it could’ve been. But the rainy weather matched our weather outside so I kept watching to the end. And when that ended I realized that I had to knit 4 more repeats of the chart for this shawl. 16 rows of the same diamond/leaf shapes for another 4 more times. Each row longer than the last. I fell asleep at 7:30 last night, I was so board with this knitting.

I woke up refreshed, thinking I’d jump right in and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had made it out to be last night. After 3 rows I took a nap at 8am in morning!!! This is overwhelmingly exciting lace knitting. I’ve now read the comments on other people’s projects about how they omitted the diamond/leaf shapes and did straight stockinet stitch.

Man I wish I had seen that yesterday!!! I’ve completed 2 of the 4 repeats and I know that if I put this down I will dread finishing it and not come back. I think my main problem is that I expect lace to be different on each row and exciting, why else would you need a chart.

I also expect it to change, I don’t think I’ve ever done such a monotonous lace pattern. My pervious lace endeavors had me on a new chart every 20 0r 30 rows not the same pattern for 80 rows. Plus the big payoff is chart B when the flowery part is knit, the intricate and old lady part. Remind me again why I jumped right into knitting this project that I’ve been on the fence for months about? At least I didn’t waste the Madeline Tosh fingering weight yarn I just bought on this. I think I just need a tattoo or something in my face to remind me that I’m not a fan of lace knitting and to stop trying.

Wait, what did I forget?

2011-01-05T17:56:00.002-05:00

We just bought my parents CRV. It’s a 2007, silver EX-L, which is to say a super loaded 4 wheel drive SUV with a killer stereo and decent gas mileage. I’m feeling really spoiled. Today was my first day to drive it. (The Boyfriend and I have agreed to share the new car). This is the same vehicle that Mum and I drove all over the Northeast this fall to cat shows. In four months we put something like 15,000 miles on it. Of which I drove at least half. So this morning shouldn’t have felt that different compared to the past. First thing I noticed was all the space behind me. With an empty trunk and back seat, the CRV is huge. Next thing I noticed was how small my handbag looked on the seat next to me. Shouldn't something larger be there? I had this nagging feeling I was forgetting something. Something important. I drove on but the feeling persisted. And then I got the a red alarm message through my brain … “HEY Genius!!!! You left Mum at the hotel!!!”

After I remembered that it was a Wednesday and I was driving to work I concluded that it was Mum that was missing from the seat next to me. That was my nagging feeling of forgetting something. I’d never been in the car without her as my copilot. Funny.

Christmas socks

2010-12-27T15:12:00.003-05:00

The Boyfriend bought me sock yarn for Christmas. I had mentioned Knit Picks Essential or Opal in red, blues or purple. He also helped his mother and brother buy me sock yarn. His parents came up with a teal Regia, another excellent choice. His brother and his wife gave me a red-blue Opal and a blue-white Opal, more excellent choices. And The Boyfriend, he gave me a yarn gift certificate accompanied by “Tiger” Opal. You know what tiger means? Orange and white and Yellow and Brown and Black. I’m seeing a communication breakdown here.

And what was the result of getting three skeins of sock yarn I really liked and one I despised? I cast on the Tiger yarn immediately and informed Mr. Boyfriend that he’d be the ‘lucky’ recipient of this pair. To which he stated he’d be happy to wear them. And now that I reflect upon the happenings I’m wondering if he had an ulterior motive here. His high school mascot was a Tiger after all.

Arya didn’t much care for the sock yarn. She was more interested in being a present.

Yarn Buyer's Remorse

2010-12-24T05:34:00.002-05:00

I find the best way to deal yarn buyer’s remorse to knit with it immediately. 9 times out of 10 if I buy yarn and cast on right away it's because I'm feeling guilty about adding to the stash. And psychologically if I knit it up and out right away then it was never stash and I didn't do anything wrong/questionable. How do you like that logic?!?!

This is not a confession, this was some advice I recently gave a friend on a yarn diet who fell off the wagon. I was pleased with myself and thought I'd share.

Finished my third shawl

2010-12-21T06:14:00.003-05:00

For the last two years I’ve been waiting for the shawl bug to bite me. I went through the mandatory felting period, where I knit and shrank almost everything I created. Next came the sock crazy. I’ve been submersed in socks for years, as you know. Loving them so much, in fact the last two years I’ve taken the 52 Pair Plunge, yes that’s a pair of socks a week. Some weeks are better than others. I’ve knit a few sweaters, averaging 2 a year I think. With all the girls going gaga for lace in 2009 I caved around Christmas time and tackled the springtime bandit. A rainbow colored Socks That Rock yarn. Not the greatest color or weight choice. Too heavy and so bright all of the detail of the lace is lost. Understandable I wouldn’t be hooked after that. A few months later I tried to get hooked again, this time with a more two color red-orange Schaefer Nicole yarn. Yes the feel of the yarn is wonderful but again too heavy and not enough yardage to make the size shawl I’d like. Again, not hooked. Should I be worried that I’m trying so hard to become addicted to something? To fit in with the crowd? I went back to my socks. Love my socks, they come out just the way I want and after knitting fifty or so pairs I don’t have yarn weight issues. I know what works and I use it.

And then Thanksgiving was coming. The many days of knitting while visiting with family usually means I can tackle a big project and make some serious headway. A few years back I started my Ivy League Vest over Thanksgiving and was pleased with the results come Monday morning. This year I opted to do a little Christmas knitting and tackle another shawl. I had bought yarn for this purpose at Rhinebeck and with the help of my friends, landed on the Seaside Shawlett by Wendy Johnson. Pattern in hand I went to stay at the Oceanside cottage for Thanksgiving. It seemed fitting. I knit fifty percent of this shawl over the holiday. It is a lovely cashmere blend fingering weight yarn. Not too heavy. Dark chocolate color to really show the stitch details. And the pattern was just the right challenge to entertain my brain.

Finally last week I finished my third shawl. After the three part bind off, it took forever! I stepped back and looked at my creation. Is that it? Is it really this small? That wouldn’t fit a child let alone my intended recipient. I fussed and fretted. I consulted the pattern and my left over yarn ball. Both indicated mine was somehow smaller than the one pictured. I reviewed my notes. Yes I had completed all the chart repeats, I had notes day by day. No way I got confused there. And then I looked at my needles. Pattern says size 6 needles. “if these are size 6s I’ll eat Isitt!” and I checked. Not size 6. Not size 5. Not size 4. But size 3!!!! How could I be such a dolt?!?!?! I was so anxious to cast on over Thanksgiving that I hadn’t checked the needles, just grabbed what I thought was a 6 after a few glasses of wine. I was heart broken. This lace thing would never work out. I won’t be able to give this beautiful Christmas gift I’d been planning. I walked away in disgust for a few days.

Late Sunday night I soaked the shawlett. I pinned it out with the help of Isitt and Linus. Both were relieved that I hadn’t actually meant to eat Isitt. I walked away for a few more days and resolved that I would still give the gift with my best of intentions and promise to knit another. During blocking I could see that the pattern didn’t look nearly as beautiful as it could’ve had the stitches been the right side. But you know, I am a loose knitter so it is probably more like a size 4. I could also see that the shawl spanned the width of the bed. None of my previous shawls did that. I had taken care to pull out the points along the edge but maintain the triangle shape as in the past I’d ended up with a more curved triangle that leaned toward my left arm instead of hanging nicely down to a point.

This morning The Boyfriend’s alarm went off at 5am. Try as we might, Isitt and I just couldn’t go back to sleep. So I unpinned the shawl from the guest bed. Moment of truth. It fit me just like the picture!!! No this can’t be right. I ran to the bathroom to check in the mirror. Yes, the point hits my waist. Or if I wrap it around my neck the ends hang down well to the sides. Plenty long. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!! My faith in shawls is restored. Overall I’d say the shawl is pretty. You can clearly see the lace details. It is symmetrically blocked so the point hangs down nice and straight. It is very light and airy having the perfect weight yarn. The cashmere blend is soft and pleasant to the touch and neck. I will be proud to give this gift. I will not however knit another shawl anytime soon. While I’m pleased to say that I can knit lace, I’m not overwhelmed by the return on investment. Give me sweaters and socks!

Any idea where this quote came from?

2010-12-15T19:22:00.003-05:00

I know, it's not Christmas-y but I recently watched this and couldn't get the power of his words out of my head.

"There’s an Earth saying, Captain.

A phrase of great power and wisdom. And consolation to the soul in times of need, Allons-y!"

also new licence plate.

52ppIV AND 12in2011

2010-12-13T13:00:00.005-05:00

I think there are several reasons sock knitting has eluded me this month and yarn purchases continue to occur.

First off, let me say that 28 pairs of socks in 29 weeks are a lot socks. That’s 56 individual socks. Sure some of them were baby socks. But 56! I have to admit that I’m worried there is some burnout going on. As comfortable as it for me to knit on size 1 needles, I am getting tired of producing the same thing over and over. And complicated interesting patterns don’t really speak to me, because they are slower and require more brain power. The other variable is the yarn which has lead me down the yarn buying path since stripping yarn matches so well with simple socks and my stash is remarkable low on stripping yarn. I just did a quick count, before going stripping yarn crazy there were only 11 skeins in the stash of stripping yarn. So I’ve stunted/halted my sock knitting by forcing myself to overproduce unchallenging socks. Realizing this, I’m giving myself permission to knit other things.

And once that permission was granted, well don’t you know that I went a little crazy. A couple new books arrived at my house, the Sock yarn book, and the New England Knits: Timeless Knitwear with a Modern Twist. Both have enticed me away from socks and onto other things. The NE Knits book is seriously beautiful. I class unto itself. I’m so inspired by 7 or 8 of those patterns that I want to knit nothing but sweaters. But coming back to Earth, I realize that I knit myself two sweaters in 2009, and so far two sweaters in 2010. So before I launch into giant sweaters worth of yarn purchases I decided to do two things.

First finish my Lefyi sweater. I knit half of in a week this summer while The Boyfriend was at fishing camp, and upon his return I promptly put in the closet to sit untouched until now. There are three other sweaters on the needles right now but two are summer weight so no rush there, and the third is colorwork which I intended to be a slow project.

Secondly join the 12in2011 group on Ravelry. This is a club that encourages it’s members to prep for a 2011 stash down by identifying 12 projects they really want to make next year and then pairing them with yarn that’s already in the stash. In my usual fashion, I over did it, and found 17 projects. But the point is, half of them are sweaters from New England Knits.

So once the Lefyi is finished, I’m launching into a new adventure with the 12in2011. That’s not to say I wont knit socks anymore. I’m just not going to feel guilty for knitting something other than a sock. And I’m still accomplishing the same end goal of using up some stash yarn if I stick to the rules of the 12in2011.

First on the needles…January 1^st 2011…

The Melrose Peacoat by Cecily MacDonald using my navy Cascade Eco+. Don’t worry, I’ll give a full accounting of what my 12in2011 in the coming weeks as I get prepped for it.

Grinch

2010-12-12T16:56:00.002-05:00

The tree is up. The lights are up on the tree. I think we’re decorated.

I’m just not into it this year. Something about it being December 12^th and 45 degrees with a steady rain and not a single snow flake has fallen this winter. If you can even call it a winter, I think of it more as an extended fall at this point. So how can I feel holiday cheer? I submit that I can not. Humanly impossible.

I can’t even bring myself to knit Christmas gifts. I’ve accepted that this just isn’t my year for Christmas. That must make me the Grinch.

It is still early, I could be rehabilitated. Here’s hoping.

November 52PPIV Progress Update

2010-12-01T17:09:00.001-05:00

1. Finish the 3 WIPs and 8 pairs of hibernating socks I currently have on the needles. One of those pairs is from April 2009. Really it’s time to finish it.

November: five pairs of socks hibernating. Now including all three of last month’s new WIPs. Oh that’s a sad state. I hadn’t realized. –Isitt-Dilemma, Purple Socks, and Yes to the Dress.

Added a few more active WIPs because what would life be if I didn’t have WIPs? The Boyfriend Socks out of a Fortissima Socka self striping yarn he picked out and I immediately cast on during the Birthday Appetizer Trip. It’s a simple 4x4 rib but I ‘accidently’ made the first one too small so they’re for me. Really I didn’t mean to make them too short. I will have to knit him another pair so there’s no avoiding it.

Oh and I found the Froot Loop socks. I know I started them at a show this fall. Not sure when but I’ve been knitting them at lunch and in the car when I’m stuck in traffic. This is a great pattern for the classy results for minimal brain expenditure.

2. I currently have give-or- take 90 skeins worth of sock yarn. Enough to make 90 pairs of socks with lots of remnants. I will not stop buying new sock yarn but what if I can only knit the new after I’ve completed a pair with the stash sock yarn. Imagine if I cut the stash down by 26 skeins? That’d be a good part of a yarn bin free.

I’m going backwards here and I don’t even want to look. 9 new socks worth of yarn. I don’t want to talk about it. So I’m net 27 new skeins on this year.

3. Knit more with DK weight yarn. I’ve never knit a DK weight sock but it couldn’t hurt to make a pair of house socks for The DH, Mum, Dad, & Myself. Those will be quicker than regular socks.

I really don’t mean to be such a downer, but here is another goal that I’m falling short on. Just one pair!!!!! That’s all I need to feel like I complied.

4. For every full size pair I knit, knit a pair of kids socks. Not baby socks. Those are so small they’re useless. Kids socks that I can give to Sophie or Simon or put away for some future child.

But then, there was some success!!!!!

This month I got the Sock Yarn One Skein Wonders book by Judith Durant. Lots of cute patterns including an interesting baby sock pattern by Helen Bingham. So I knit one. And then I knit another in a different color, and then I knit a third and before you know it I was cranking out a sock a day for several days in a row until I had a baby sock rainbow. 10 pairs in all. Which puts me at 28 completed pairs. And as of November 20^th I should be at 27 pairs. So for one brief moment I am ahead! In the count if nothing else.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T20:27:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I spent another enjoyable year with my In-laws, all 15 of them.

The Boyfriend and I counted, and we’re pretty sure this is the tenth year I’ve attended.

I’m pleased to say it never gets old. Each year is different in some way. Each year I get to know another member of the extended family a little bit more.

Each year I’m amazed that this family manages to come together once a year, every year for the past thirty plus years.

My in-laws are a wonderful mix of personalities and I am happy to be counted among their numbers.

They are completely different form my extended family yet I love them both and feel I belong with them both. I am truly thankful this Thanksgiving.

Ahh-chooooo

2010-11-22T12:08:00.000-05:00

It looks like it could snow any moment, and my lovely husband recently gave me a cold. Wont that make for a fun ride home, ahh-chooo, ahh-chooo, in between wiper swipes! I should really be at home, but Black Friday is looming...big…and bad…and ugly. I sincerely hope you're going shopping.

Ladies of the Family Get Down

2010-11-16T18:28:00.002-05:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

October 52PPIV Progress Update

2010-11-02T20:03:00.007-04:00

This is the progress update after the fifth month of the 52 Pair Plunge IV. I’m going to evaluate myself according to the 4 goals I’d set for myself at the start.

1. Finish the 3 WIPs and 8 pairs of hibernating socks I currently have on the needles. One of those pairs is from April 2009. Really it’s time to finish it.

This month I blasted through the Teacher’s Pet Monkey socks. I’m not sure if it was the pattern (I just love it and always want to knit just one more row) or the yarn. The Santa Fe sock yarn blew my mind. It’s a perfect substitute for Claudia’s Hand paint. I love that highly twisted texture of the yarn but have a hard time justifying 100% merino socks. I wore through my a pair of them in less than 10 wears, which is totally not worth the effort of knitting them. But now, who should walk through the door but this Santa Fe sock yarn with 10% nylon? See The Samurai smile. That’s not say that I love Claudia’s any less, I just won’t use it for another pair of socks (or if I must, not without reinforcing thread).

Next off the needles was a pair of simple two by two rib socks intended as mindless car knitting. And that’s just what they were. I knit these on the way to cat shows all over New York and Pennsylvania. I haven’t used the Trekking XL much, but it seems like a good workhorse yarn. Not too soft but I’d be willing to bet a skein of yarn that five years from now these babies will be well worn and ready for more.

And most recently I finished off the Red Queen socks. It’s the Anastasia pattern paired with this self stripping Ditto sock yarn. This is the second time I knit this pattern and I still enjoy its subtle change in the direction of the stripes. The yarn has been discontinued which doesn’t break my heart. I found it somewhat splitty which is not a complaint I often have being a loose knitter. I did enjoy the almost tonal stripes. It was difficult to tell when the next color would start which kept my interest.

And to replace those three FOs there are three new WIPs on the needles;

1) The Isitt-Dilemma or Isitt an Emma Dilemma: A stitch pattern from my page a day calendar and some Lorna’s laces Sheppard’s sock in Irving park. Named for the girls, Isitt & Emma.

2) The Need More Purple socks: exactly the same colors as the Isitt-Dilemma socks. This is the Hermione’s Everyday paired with some Aussie Sock in the color Hot Pepper, I just love that name.

3) Say Yes To The Dress: can you tell what I’ve been watching? Another simple 4x4 rib to knit while traveling to cat shows, in the show hall, or when I’m brain dead at the hotel after a day of showing. Who know showing cats could be so exhausting!?!? Sometimes I’m just too tired to even knit. Gasp!

I’d like to say that I have the same 4 pairs of hibernating socks that I did last month but I have to be honest, the Waves in PacaPeds and the new Isitt-Dilemma Socks have both moved into hibernation. I’ll definitely go back to the Isitt-Dilemma socks but for now they need more mental capacity then I have. Plus the yarn is VERY thin, a super light fingering which isn’t my favorite to knit with. And the Pacapeds are pooling something awful, hahaha the Wave socks are pooling! I’m not in love with the Nanners pattern with this yarn so I might just frog them and make fingerless mitts with the yarn instead. I’ll get back to you on that one.

Alright, well you have to give me some leeway on this one. I mean Rhinebeck was this month. How could I not buy sock yarn. But I did buy two sweaters worth of sock yarn. That’s a feebile attempt at explaining how it is that I acquired 21 skeins of sock yarn in a month. That more than undoes all of the work I’ve done to this point. Having completed 18 Pairs this plunge to date. And while I added 21 skeins I did finish off 3 so net is 18 new skeins.

I did cast on a pair of sport weight socks! That’s closer to DK then I’ve ever been before. They knit super fast! They are the Say Yes To The Dress Socks.

No baby socks this month.

In October I knit 3 pairs of socks, added to the 15 from the last four months and I’ve fallen a little further behind as I should be at 22 on October 26^th. And now we’re approaching Christmas knitting time, mittens, hats, shawls, and cowls are in my future. But I’ll keep at the simple socks for Show Hall and in public knitting.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-28T20:46:00.003-04:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Rhinebeck 2010

2010-10-19T21:40:00.000-04:00

Rhinebeck WAS! It is an amazing display of yarn and goodies and a non-stop knitting runway show. I love the fall atmosphere and the fried artichokes! As you can see I did some damage on the stash front.

--Pictured are several colors of Socks That Rock –including two skeins of medium weight for a BSJ,

--Sanguine Gryphon Bugga (20% cashmere fingering weight merino) in the color Cowkiller (no less than a sweaters worth),

--Footnotes Optics and Kashmir for socks and a Christmas shawl, somebody who likes brown better watch out…

--Feederbrook Farm worsted handspun –lime, navy, and plum -120 yards for accent on a hat

--Pinewoods sock yarn, two skeins because she amazes me with her dye application and smooth color transitions

--Briar Rose 4^th of July is the green-blue barber pole worsted yarn. Shown in the giant skeins on the right. Another sweaters worth

--Lorna’s laces Sheppard Worsted in Zombie Barbeque. I couldn’t resist the color once I read the name. IT’s the lime, gray, red color way. Another BSJ? A hat for me?

I also picked up the perfect buttons for my Scottish Green hat that I knit in January for Rhinebeck but was unable to find buttons that matched its mix of argyle and sophisticated style.

And who could forget the bummer stickers. The best one is on my fridge “If knitting were exercise, you could bounce a quarter off my ass.”

MMH is pumped to go to Maryland Sheep and Wool this spring. I could definitely be persuaded…

Happy Anniversary Dear!

2010-10-13T21:33:00.000-04:00

Rhinebeck Just 3 Days Away!

2010-10-12T18:27:00.000-04:00

The forecast for Friday is rain.

Saturday is Windy with a high of 56.

Sunday is Sunny and 63.

Which means we’ll have a rainy drive down, a cold say Saturday and a warmer relaxing day on Sunday. I’m ok with that. Right now my desk is covered with tiny post-it notes reminding me to pack tissues, an expandable bag to carry purchases in, and my full set of needles so that I can cast on with new yarn. Going away with a bunch of gals always intrigues me. Not that woman want anything different than men, it’s just the group dynamic I guess. I’m wondering if there is some perfect snack item that we would all love or if a breakfast muffin mix would be appreciated more than a trip to Dunkin’. Probably not. Although that does remind me that I need to pack coffee, where’s the post-it? I get up entirely too early to wait for everyone else to wake up and go before getting some of that into my system.

Rhinebeck Here I Come!

2010-10-06T18:29:00.002-04:00

I’m not sure where September went but I’m pretty sure October is going there too. Between the start of the busy season at my job and running to the Cat Shows every weekend, I haven’t had a moment to stop and think. I am pleased that the hard work all around has paid off. First Mum and I have been having so much fun together as our Bella excels in the show ring. And this week I was promoted which is a nice pat $$ on the back for all of my efforts. My immediate thought was, ‘great now I can buy more yarn and sweaters!’ As only a true knitter would think. Something about fall makes me want to buy cloths. Perhaps it’s working in retail and hearing all of the seasonal hype. And the chill in the air gets every knitters blood pumping giving their fingers a rush of energy to knit more more more.

Oh and I know just where to buy some yarn!!! Rhinebeck is less than 10 days away!!! Can you believe it? I shouldn’t go without a shopping list. I did that the first year and bought entirely too much lovely sock yarn and nothing else. This year I know to buy some wine, buttons, and artichokes in addition to the mountains of yarn I’m inevitably drawn to.

To start the shopping list… I’ll definitely be coming home with

*Some Heavy Weight Socks that Rock, two skeins per color for some DK weight projects.

*A sweaters worth of something blue or brown,

*A few tempting skeins of sock yarn dyed in a manner that only an indy dyer can.

*And perhaps some Brooks Farm or Briar Rose. I’ve contemplated both in years past but haven’t been able to justify the price. But maybe this year…

Oh and looking at the vendor list I see that Jennie The Potter will be there. After hearing the Knitmore Girls talk about how great her stuff is, I’ll have to spend some time in that booth as well. Ditto on Carolina Homespun and Creatively Dyed Yarns.

And most importantly, fried or frenched artichokes. So yummy! Rhinebeck here I come!!!

September 52PPIV Progress Update

2010-09-30T09:14:00.001-04:00

This is the progress update after the fourth month of the 52 Pair Plunge IV. I’m going to evaluate myself according to the 4 goals I’d set for myself at the start.

1. Finish the 3 WIPs and 8 pairs of hibernating socks I currently have on the needles. One of those pairs is from April 2009. Really it’s time to finish it.

Last month I put the SKU socks in hibernation. It was a short one because I promptly finished them in a day of weekend knitting.

I had a short severe cold this month. And what do you do when you have a cold. Sleep and watch X-files. Which made me pull out my X-files socks. I don’t know why but I had made a rule that I could only knit on them while watching the show. I finished off the second sock in no time and have a new super heavy weight pair of socks to wear with my burgundy colored clogs. Can’t wait. Why is the Lightweight Socks That Rock closer to a sport weight?

I’m pleased to report that the sock yarn from my Fairy Yarn Mother has been turned into a lovely pair of Switcheroo Socks. The skein must’ve been ginormous because I knit myself, my size 11 feet a pair of tall socks and still had a quarter of the skein left. I love the lace of this pattern and knowing that Regia will last and last and last. I have a feeling these babies will be around for a while. As you can see, Isitt approves of them.

Four new WIPs on the needles as we speak, the 1) Teacher’s Pet Monkey: Monkey socks with Santa Fe yarn for a lovely teacher, 2) The Red Queen: a second pair of Anastasia socks with Ditto yarn for a fellow sock enthusiast, 3) Waves: a second pair of Nanner socks with Peca-Peds, 4) Arya’s Adventures: a simple 2x2 rib with Trekking XXL to knit in the show hall.

With the completion of two hibernating socks I’m down to just 4 pairs of hibernating socks. Overall it’s been a good Sock-tober.

Considering I completed two pairs of hibernating socks (which count as stash) and cast on a new pair with brand new yarn, I’m down 1 skein of stash. And than there was the Isitt yarn purchase which puts me up a skein overall.

I could say I’m still trying to overcome this challenge and knit some DK weight socks but that wouldn’t be true. I am completely stuck here. Alright next pair I cast on HAVE to be DK weight for The Boyfriend! No if-ands-or-buts about it.

No baby socks this month.

So for September I knit 3 pairs of socks, added to the 12 from the last three months and I’ve fallen a little behind as it should’ve been 5 for September. I’d give myself a 50% for this month since I only hit two goals. Of course it’s had to knit when my hands are full of kittens and we’re on the Cat Show Circuit. I’ll keep on it though! 5 in October and I’ll be back on track.

Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks!

2010-09-29T20:14:00.003-04:00

It's here!

My first book! Ok it's not officially my book. But I did contribute a pattern for the book. The Boyfriend is secretly envious that I got my name in print before he had a chance to. I haven't received my final copy yet but I'm thrilled to see it listed on Amazon. You could order your copy today!

I bought yarn today and Isitt saw me

2010-09-09T18:02:00.003-04:00

And as you can tell, she was less than pleased.
I'm rushing around preping for another cat show weekend. Thank goodness The Boyfriend can run the show while I'm away. He's wonderful! And I'm so lucky. Wonderful Boyfriend and adorable Isitt, what more could a girl want?

This Morning's Photo Shoot

2010-09-06T08:43:00.001-04:00

I finished the Skew socks last night while watching 3:10 to Yuma. Very good movie by the way. This morning we had a photo shoot, me, the socks, and Isitt. I couldn't keep her away. So here are a few of her inspired photos.

Here is Isitt’s interpretation of ‘mother in motion’. I like the way my blue toe nails bring out the blue of the socks.

And here we see the white or pale yellow of the sock as Isitt daftly places here head in the space between the socks.

And my personal favorite. 3 Feet.

Kitten foot framing socks. How she knew that the timer would snap at just that second and that her foot would not hide my feet, I’ll never know.

Poll: Please help us settle this pressing issue...

2010-09-05T09:16:00.001-04:00

There is a heated debate in our house this morning...

Would you rather your partner burp or farted in your presence?

August 52PPIV Progress Update

2010-08-31T22:21:00.008-04:00

This is the progress update after the third month of the 52 Pair Plunge IV. I’m going to evaluate myself according to the 4 goals I’d set for myself at the start.

1. Finish the 3 WIPs and 8 pairs of hibernating socks I currently have on the needles. One of those pairs is from April 2009. Really it’s time to finish it.

I carried 3 Works In Progress (WIPs) into August, The Zike Marriage Socks, The Christmas Juliette Socks, and The SKU socks. As far as I'm concerned all three of those can go into hibernation. Although I'm about 70% complete on the Juliette socks I just don’t feel like finishing them at this point. Maybe next month.

I also cast on a new WIP with the Regia Step yarn that my Fairy Yarn Mother sent me. I picked a nice simple pattern, the Switcheroo from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn. Yeah, I realize this isn’t a handpainted yarn but it’s a strong semi-solid and it will be wonderful in this pattern just the same. And in case my artful dodge has succeeded, I must now fess up that I didn’t complete any WIPs this month and there will be 1 additional WIP and 3 new hibernating socks heading into September.

I’ve finished two hibernating socks… The Socks That Refuse To Die and The White Planes Socks.

Two pairs of hibernating socks…one yarn with an amazing dye job and one that made me want to pull out my hair.

Two pairs of socks…one pair without any pooling what-so-ever and one pair where pooling was the main feature of the yarn. I HATE POOLING! If I wanted POOLING I’d knit intarsia!

It took me just a few days shy of a year to complete the Refuse To Die socks (on the left). And the White Planes socks (below) were cast on during a trip to White Planes this spring and finished on a return trip that took me straight through White Planes. It seemed fitting although many hours of knitting on these made me want to spew. “If you’re gonna spew, spew into this”

With the above additional hibernating socks I now have 6 pairs of hibernating socks. I was so happy with those two completions and worried I’d be out of half finished socks, but not to fear…more have arrived. Excellent (insert sarcastic sign here) These numbers should be falling not rising. I promise to do better next month! It is Sock-tober after all.

Considering I completed two pairs of hibernating socks (which count as stash) and cast on a new pair with brand new yarn, I’m down 1 skein of stash. And that new skein was a gift so that shouldn’t count against me, really! So a check on this goal. 1 skein down, a few more to go

No socks to report on. I think there is a hold up in my brain that if it’s not on size 1.5 needles it’s not a sock. I’m still trying to overcome this challenge and knit some DK weight socks as I see some great Christmas Gift Opportunity here.

Definitely not keeping up this end of the deal. I can’t help it. I don’t like knitting baby socks. Although a coworker is due October 4^th and what better reason is there to knit baby socks? I was able to knit a pair of socks with the leftovers from White Planes Socks. They are so cute and they’re unisex so that’s a plus.

So for August I knit 3 pairs of socks, added to the 9 from the last two months and I’m still on track for the 52 Pair Plunge. I’ve done fairly well this month achieving my goals. Ok I’d give myself a 76%, but hey that’s not all bad when you consider the fact that I’ve been distracted by shawl and sweater knitting.

Good Luck

2010-08-30T19:25:00.003-04:00

listen to the entire thing and keep it out of your head...I dare ya!

Fuzzy Season

2010-08-29T08:28:00.001-04:00

Did I mention that its “fuzzy season” as The Boyfriend likes to call it. The time of year when I spend most of weekends at a cat show with fuzzy kittens or a wool festival with fuzzy sheep. This was another great show weekend! Bella and Arya did very well. This was a bigger show with lots of top quality kittens. The girls split the judges in half. Bella made a 3^rd best kitten in show. Yeah Bella!

And Arya was consistent in the three out of six finals she made, an 8^th best kitten and two 10^th best kittens. OK so to you that might sound disappointing. And in light of a 3^rd for her sister that might sound disappointing. But there were 60 plus kittens there; including some big classes of Siamese and Persians (I’ve decided they’re the poodles of the cat world). And when the judges look around and decide that your little love bug Arya is better than 50 other kittens it makes you smile. Her coat is still slowly coming in but as one judge pointed out, she is charmer constantly trying to rub her face on the people around her while she purrs up a storm. Can you tell I’m pleased? You know she was my favorite from the moment they were born!

And what are The Boyfriend, Mac, Linus, and Isitt up to? Boyfriend is doing some trail cleanup with the Appalachian Mountain Club. And this is fun? Mac, Linus, and Isitt are happy that life has returned to it’s normal speed now that the painters are gone.

I had a panic moment last week when I realized that the month of August was practically over and I hadn’t finished a single pair of socks. I was so distracted by the Leyfi sweater and the mitered square shawl that I almost completely left off sock knitting. So I’ve been hurrying to finish what I can so I will have something to post on the 52 Pair Plunge monthly update in a couple of days.

Good Show

2010-08-23T16:36:00.003-04:00

There are three reasons why someone has a great time at the cat show.

Reason 1: It was a slow show and lots of knitting was accomplished

Reason 2: There were lots of interesting people to talk with, either friends you don’t see often or new acquaintances or the spectators were really chatty. Usually for me, it’s that I’m seeing friends and catching up.

Reason 3: The kitten/cat being shown is phenomenal or at least above par, and has been called back repeatedly. There is a definite high that accompanies those Top Ten ribbons. It’s the reason we’re all there, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

This past show was a combination of all three.

I had not expected Bella to do well. Mum insisted on bring her. It’s been two weeks since I last saw Bella. And at 5 months old, two weeks can make a big difference. Bella’s head has really flatted on top (this is a good thing for Devon Rex) and most importantly, she grew about a half inch of coat. It’s all black and red patches with lush waves. Very beautiful and very much like Isitt’s. What this translates to is an excellent weekend for Bella. She made 5 out of 8 Top Ten Kittens. Scoring a 9th, an 8th, another 8th, a coveted 2nd, and best of all a BEST KITTEN!!! In four years of showing this is the first time we’ve ever had a BEST KITTEN. And a couple of pet owners that live in the area and came out to the show for a few hours were just in time to see it happen. We were all thrilled to share such an event with them and to hear all about how Abby Gale, Dallas, and Lerado are doing with their family.

And not to be completely outdone, Isitt’s other daughter Arya (my sweet girl who is the rare color lavender) grew some coat as well and scored two Top Ten’s of her own ranking 5th best kitten in two rings. It was without a doubt a successful Cat Show for Curlfect! And as we drove home this morning planning our future we talked at length about next weekend’s show when we’ll head to Pennsylvania taking just Isitt’s girls but with high hopes that more of that luscious lamb coat will come in.

Photos: Bella, Wilbur, Arya, & Cinders (left to right).

It's a combination of Mac & Isitt

2010-08-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

Off to the show

2010-08-21T07:21:00.002-04:00

Mum and I left yesterday at 8am with our kittens. During the 8 hour drive they were perfectly quiet SLEEPING in a kitten pile the ENTIRE time. Last night we did take out and ate in the hotel. You'll be glad to know the kittens made it thru their first night in a hotel without any incidents. And they continued with their perfect behavior, at least in my opinion. They all slept with Mum and used her as playground periodically during the night. I slept thru it all. And now Wilbur and Cinders are chasing each other around the room. Oh Wilbur is sneezing. It seems his sister bonked him in the nose.
More to come as we have the first day of showing today and expect Wilbur and Arya to do well. But ‘doing well’ is relative to how the judges hang the ribbons. I just hope we make a couple of finals.

LOOK

2010-08-18T21:14:00.003-04:00

Look at what my yarn-fairy-good-mother sent me! Isn't it lovely?!?! Regia and red...pretty close to perfect. I have a giant smile and can't wait to cast them on. The note inside the envelope said it was to help support my 52 Pair Plunge. How can I resist casting on?

thank you with lots of love.

Round 1: Venus 1, Leyfi 0

2010-08-15T14:43:00.003-04:00

Just when I feel like I love my new sweater (Blue Blood Leyfi), I’m tired of it. With the upper body and a sleeve complete I’m nearly half done. I’m a third of the way through the second sleeve, with a torso of stockinet to go. I think I fell in love with the sweater (because my favorite model was wearing it) and didn’t stop to think if I wanted to wear a sweater like that. Sure it’ll be great when it’s done and the lace portion has been a lot of fun to knit. But overall I’m not wild about pullovers and I’m even less wild for wide drape sleeves which I completely overlooked in love for the lace (absolutely no fault in the pattern just me being overzealous). I’ll definitely finish the sweater. The sleeve will make for a nice evening of knitting and then the torso will be perfect in public knitting as I knit miles and miles of stockinet. I’m sure I’ll be happy to wear it come fall but right now I’ve just ground to a halt on it.

In it’s place the Venus shawl has reemerged as a front runner for my attention, please note that this is not a sock and neither is the Leyfi sweater. There has been minimal sock action this month and it’s already half over, eeek! Isitt enjoyed modeling the shawl for me.

And now that I’m looking at the pictures I can see that there are two brown squares on one side and none on the other. I’ll have to do something about that on the next row. I’m almost finished the 7th of 11 rows. Each square takes about an hour and I like to do two at a time on a long circular needle.

Blue Blooded Leyfi

2010-08-12T21:36:00.001-04:00

Oh Hai,

What have you been up to? I’ve been knitting a lot while I wait for The Boyfriend to return from a week long conference in Montreal. To be honest there were several nights with a good 6 or 7 hours of knitting after work. When left to my own devices I’ll forget to eat if the knitting is interesting enough. And this sweater is one of those projects. It’s the Leyfi by Romi Hill published in the Fall 2010 Interweave Knits magazine. I’m using the Knit Picks City Tweed Heavy Weight in the color Blue Blood. It’s a deep rich maroon color with flex of black, beige, and tan. I’m rather proud to be nearly at the end of the first sleeve.

The back story makes this funnier...but it's still funny

2010-08-09T21:30:00.000-04:00

Isitt's Magical Painting Tour

2010-08-08T08:45:00.010-04:00

Hello and welcome to my house. I'm Isitt. Check out my cool shawdow in this picture. It's like I melted into the floor. Oh and check out the beige walls and white trim in the entryway. It kind of looks like the car is going to come crashing into the condo at any moement, doesn't it?
And here is the view up the stairs in the entryway. That's my brother MacOban in the stairs. He likes the way the black star looks against the new walls. And my other brother Linus is sitting at the top of the stairs. Unlike me, he doesn't rush to the center of all the pictures. I should go check and see if he needs any help. He always needs help with something but never seems to know he needs it.
Linus: this is what the entry looks like from the top of the stairs. Lots of white if you ask me. Where has that Isitt gotten off to? Probably about to sneak up behind me and make me hiss at her. How does MacOban stay so calm. Look at him hanging out on the stairs like nothings going on.

Isitt: Sorry about that, there was a toy mouse-y in need of capture. Now back to the tour. This is the teal guest room upstairs which now has white trim. This room is boring.

Next up, the upstairs bathroom which is mauve with white trim. I like to sit on the bathroom sink and drink water. Nice cold refreshing water. Are you thirsty? When I sit on the sink and drink this is what I see. MacOban is always trying to get on that shelf. I don't think it could hold him. He's twice my size, you know?

And this is my bedroom where I let the humans sleep. It's hard to tell that it's yellow, but now it's yellow with white trim.

And this is what the yellow bedroom with white door looks like from on top of the dresser. I spend a lot of time trying to get up here and usually I fall. Don't laugh, that dresser is tall!
...And now I will show you this plant. I like to look through it at the bird feeder like this. Silly birds never even know I'm there! ha! The plant is sitting on the bay window in the dinning room. That hasn't been painted yet, but it will be white soon too. We hope you have enjoyed the Isitt Magical Painting Tour and will visit us again soon for more updates.

Clean car = Rhinebeck Fund

2010-08-07T18:49:00.000-04:00

Two hours, a roll of paper towels, and a whole lot of elbow grease will get you a nicely cleaned interior for your car. Typically at least once a year, if not twice a year I have my car detailed inside and out. Each time it costs between $70-$100 depending on where we take it to be detailed. But since The Boyfriend went back to school full time and left the money tree, aka his hateful job that paid him like they knew how awful it was to work there and they were sorry to make him be there, I’ve had doubts as to the necessity of car detailing. October was the last time it was done so things have been going down hill. And if there was any doubt as to the ‘need’ for a good cleaning that was squashed last week. The expression on my young cousin’s face when she opened the door to get into my car told me it was time to clean things up. Granted her father’s favorite pastime is washing the cars, which he does religiously at least once a week nine months out of the year when they aren’t buried under a giant pile of snow. So her expectations may be a bit inflated, but I was starting to feel the grit too.

So long story even longer, I just finished cleaning the inside. And it looks so nice. Tomorrow I’ll hit the carwash for the maximum in washing and waxing and call it good. Yay me! I bet I haven’t cleaned the inside of a car since 2003. Wow did I say that out loud? I think I should be ashamed. But I’m not sure if I am or not. Anyway I vote that the money I’ve saved in detailing should go directly into the Rhinebeck fund.

Cat Show

2010-08-06T12:07:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we took Arya (Are U A lil’ Isitt), Bella, Wilbur-ness and Cinders to their first cat show. (left to right in the picture)

They are Isitt Rose’s two girls and Nessa Rose’s boy and girl. Wilbur was the clear winner for the day but Arya held her own. It is clear that all the wonderful qualities Nessa had to give went to that little boy and being bright white instead of black smoke like his mother, those qualities can easily be seen in any light. Bella and Cinders spent a good part of the day acting like monkeys hanging off the show cages and playing with the ribbons as the judges hung them, mostly dropping them on the floor much to the crowd’s amusement. Wilbur stoically sat observing. And Arya was dishing out the love to everyone and anyone who came near her. This is an encouraging happening since Isitt’s show career was cut short by her total distaste for the show ring.

Their next show is a big one in a month from now. They’ll be suitcases to pack and decisions to be made. Taking four kittens to compete against one another isn’t necessarily the wisest investment but Devons are always a crowd pleaser and getting them in front of that many judges helps us decide who will carry forward the Curlfect Devon program.

Painting

2010-08-03T19:10:00.005-04:00

There are painters at my house. Well not right now, but this week in general. We’re having all of the wood trim, baseboard heating registers, and doors painted white. We’ve been in the condo for 5 years this fall and have done virtually nothing by way of home improvements. The painters are also changing the neon terracotta entry way that I loved so much when we first moved in, to a pale beige color.

Here are a few photos from before and a few taken this evening after the first coat has been applied.

Wolves of the Calla and Venus Shawl

2010-07-30T12:52:00.001-04:00

The past couple of weeks I’ve been listening to The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I’m on the Wolves of the Calla now. That’s book 5 of the 7 book series. Every fall for at least 4 years I listened to the first book followed by the next book I was up to. First year book one. Second year books one and two. And so on until I lost interest. I’m not really sure what prompted me to pick it up again, but this summer I restarted and quickly listened through books one, two, and three. And again four slowed me down. I think Mr. King wrote villains that were so despicable I didn’t want to spend time with them. But with a little encouragement from MMH I made it through and am onto book five which just so happens to be the thrilling page turner I’ve come to expect. It’s like spending time with old friends. The Dark Tower is by far my favorite book/series. The only books I’ve read more than twice.

And while I’m listening to this excellent story, I’ve been working on this shawl. It’s slow work but I’m enjoying finishing up some skeins and trying out new ones. It uses 7grams per square so I’ve allowed myself use some fresh skeins since the loss of 7grams wont effect my ability to craft a full pair with the remaining skein. It’s been funny to hear me after completing each square proclaim that this is my new favorite yarn and I want to cast on a pair of socks with it right now. If I had, I’d be up to 10 new works in progress right now. Luckily I’ve had a bit of self control and instead the shawl slowly grows. I’m heading toward a total of 66 squares.

July 52PPIV Progress Update

2010-07-27T01:46:00.001-04:00

This is the progress update after the second month of the 52 Pair Plunge IV. I’m going to evaluate myself according to the 4 goals I’d set for myself at the start.

1. Finish the 3 WIPs and 8 pairs of hibernating socks I currently have on the needles. One of those pairs is from April 2009. Really it’s time to finish it.

This month there were 5 Works In Progress (WIPs) on the needles. I finished two of them, The Opal of My Eye socks, a 4x2 rib using Opal self stripping yarn. And the second pair was torturous. The Angle Socks knit with the most hideous yarn ever. I enjoyed the alternate construction of the pattern and would definitely do them again with another less obnoxious color. I’ll be carrying 3 WIPs into August.

I’ve finished two hibernating sock… The Canute Take 2 Socks and The Lion In Winter Socks. I also frogged The Bernstein socks made with Mountain Colors Barefoot. The pattern was too intricate for the dark variegated yarn. Nothing showed so it wasn’t worth the effort to finish them. And luckily I have not added any additional socks to the Hibernating list, leaving me with a solid 5 pairs of hibernating socks. Oh and I did find the missing yarn behind the TV so one of those pairs that went into hibernation due MIA-Y should be finished sometime soon.

2. I currently have give-or- take 90 skeins worth of sock yarn. Enough to make 90 pairs of socks with lots of remnants. I will not stop buying new sock yarn but what if I can only knit the new after I’ve completed a pair with the stash sock yarn. Imagine if I cut the stash down by 26 skeins? That’d be a good part of a yarn bin free.

I’ve started and finished two pairs of socks from stash yarn, the Opal of My Eye and The Angle Socks. I’ve started a third, forth, and fifth pair from stash yarn, but not yet finished them. I think that’s an excellent push towards utilizing some of my stash yarn. And two of those skeins really did irritate me so I’m glad to see them gone. I did however buy some “new” sock yarn. Try not to be disappointed. I basically replaced the two completed socks with two new skeins. The Opal I showed you earlier this month and a skein of Berroco Sox that is a lavender-fuchsia self stripping delight. I couldn’t resist it. Plus a girl needs to have self stripping yarn for those mindless socks. So no more purchases until I’ve finished these 3 WIPs from stash. Hold me to that!

The only DK weight knitting I’ve done lately is shawl knitting. No socks to report on. But I still see some great Christmas Gift Opportunity here.

Definitely not keeping up this end of the deal. I can’t help it. I don’t like knitting baby socks. So far this month I’ve knit 3 pairs of socks, added to the 5 from last month and I’m on track to achieve the 52 Pair Plunge. I refuse to stress over not knitting baby socks. I’d much rather stress over where to store the new socks I knit for myself. It’s funny, The Boyfriend and I had to pack up our closets so that the painters can paint the trim white to match the rest of our condo. As I was packing I found that I had more socks (on the shelves not hanging, that’d be crazy if they were hanging.) More socks than all my other under garments combined. That’s a lot of socks! Goodwill did get several pairs of store bought socks that I haven’t worn in years but still, more socks than bras, underwear, slips, undershirts, camisoles, and nylons combined. Soon I’ll have to face the grim reality that those first dozen or so pairs that I knit while I was learning construction and proper fit really need to go. I pass over them time and time again in favor of my newest favorite pair. Poor unloved pink Governess socks, faded Dorchester Farms, and STR rainbow monstrosities. I promise to find you loving homes.

Sorry for that tangent. Back to the point. I’ve done fairly well this month achieving my goals. Ok I’d give myself a 50%, but hey that’s not all bad when you consider the fact that I haven't felt like knitting socks for a good two weeks but I’m still on track to hit the 52 pairs in 52 weeks.

Anti-Sock Sentiments in Magical Vermont

2010-07-18T19:28:00.003-04:00

I really wasn’t kidding about the anti-sock sentiments. Yesterday when we headed off to Magical Vermont I brought along 3 socks in progress and the Baby Surprise Jacket. I did about an inch on a sock and then worked on the BSJ the rest of the day and today. And I now have a finished BSJ to show. Well almost finished. I still need to sew up the shoulders and add buttons but otherwise it’s good. I used Lorna’s Laces Sheppard Worsted along with some Knit Picks Swish for the navy parts. I love the way it came out.

After that was finished I still wasn’t in a sock mood so I cast on the Conifer Shawl from Knitscene Spring 2010. I’m using some soft brown ultra alpaca that makes me think of baby dears…fawns if you will…

Being that the shawl isn’t really lunchtime knitting I’m sure a pair of socks will find my way into my purse in the morning as I’m heading off to work. I’m certain this hiatus won’t last for long as my fingers tend to miss the tiny stitches.

Oh and yes, Vermont continues to be magical. We hit Kaleidoscope Yarns where I picked up a skein of Opal yarn that I’ve been eyeing for 9 months or so. None of the local yarn shops carry it but I keep running into it when I’m visiting distant yarn shops. We had a great bistro boxed lunch and then hit the Harpoon Brewery tour where I found two more Hefeweizen to love besides the Raspberry UFO. Live music in the pub afterwards followed by a very loud and rowdy car ride home as I played DJ mixing late 90s rap and classic 80s hair band rock. The Boyfriend thought he’d died and gone to musical heaven where “Juke Box Hero”, “The Next Episode” , and “Discotheque” are playing non-stop.

BSJ

2010-07-16T22:29:00.000-04:00

Is it possible? I think it is. I’m actually getting tired of knitting socks. I’m head of schedule right now. And really I want to knit something else. What, I don’t know but something. I cast on a Baby Surprise Jacket last night. I’m through the decreases about to start increases but straight garter isn’t really speaking to me.

From Isitt

2010-07-15T17:41:00.003-04:00

. . . . . . I wish humans would accept my station as Princess of the Pillows and accord me the rights and honors that accompany that status . . . like letting leaving my pillows flat so that I may be comfortable resting on them.

Make Mine Gray

2010-07-15T17:18:00.006-04:00

I designed this hat with my brother in law in mind. He is a big man with a large head and neck. He wanted a hat that went beyond the standard beanie length. Something to keep him warm during our New England Winters.

Materials
* Set of US size 6 (4mm) 16” circular needle
* Set of US size 6(4mm) double pointed needles, or size required to get gauge
* Valley Yarns Valley Superwash DK (100% superwash extrafine merino, 137 yds {125m} per 50g) shown in colors 02, 03, & 18.
* Tapestry needle
* Stitch Marker

Size

Adults Large 24” head circumference, stretched 28”. 9” in Length

Gauge

6 sts & 7 rows in St st equals 1 inches

Pattern Notes:

With main color (02 gray) and circular needle, cast on 114 sts. Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist and marking the beginning of the round with a stitch marker.

Rnds 1-3: (K1, P1) around.

Rnd 4: continue working 1x1 rib pattern increasing 1 sts every 19sts (120sts).

Rnd 5: (K4, P4) around. Continue working 4x4 pattern until piece measures 2”.

Change to contrast color (03 Black).

Rnd 1: Knit

Rnd 2: Purl

Rep these two rounds until piece measures 4”. Each color should measure 2”. Change to contrast color (18 Navy).

Rnd 1: (K2, P2) around.

Rep this round until piece measures 6”. Change to main color (02 gray) Begin crown decreases.

Rnd 1: (K10, K2tog) around

Rnd 2 and all even rounds: Knit

Rnd 3: (K9, K2tog) around

Rnd 5: (K8, K2tog) around

Rnd 7: (K7, K2togh) around

Continue in this manner until 20 sts remain.

K2tog around (10sts). K2tog around (5sts).

Thread tail through remaining stitches and fasten off. Weave in ends and block to prevent the navy ribbing from synching in.

You’ll definitely have enough leftover to make a 2 other hats. Try mixing up the color sequence or mix in different stitch patterns.

Happy Boyfriend Birthday

2010-07-08T23:07:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was The Boyfriend’s birthday. He’s so low key about it. I think it might be the result of sharing his birthday with his Dad. Although, he never goes crazy at Christmas either. I think he’s just not much for material gifts or being the center of attention. I on the other hand…well you know I’m just a big kid.

It was another swelteringly hot day, temps in the 90s with a healthy doss of humidity. We went to the park by the water for a reprieve. He did some reading while I knit and listened to The Knitting Show podcast. It must have been 20 degrees cooler by the water and in the shade. By the time we left I had cooled down nicely and had goose bumps.

And The Knitting Show is a great podcast by a brother and sister. I think there are a dozen kids in the family and she’s the oldest while he’s somewhere in the middle. They have a great banter between them and it’s just fun to listen to them wax about what they want to knit. Oh and he’s a color blind knitter which makes for some funny stories.

While we were there I finished another pair of socks for the 52 pair plunge. I do have to tell you that I’m getting a bit tired of sock knitting. I may need to cast on the Tapen Zee Sweater from Knitty. It’s a sleeveless single button cardigan. Just my style! We’ll see. I don’t want to loose my sock knitting motivation by being distracted by a sweater but I also don’t want to knit socks exclusively which is what I’ve been doing because I’m so worried to fall behind in the plunge.

Canute Take Two

2010-07-04T12:48:00.001-04:00

I’ve discovered the secret to knitting a pair of socks super fast. Really, I’ve discovered the greatest secret known to knitter. I bet you’re dying to know. I would be. Ready?
Pull a sock and a half-a-sock out of hibernation and quickly whip out the leg that’s been lingering. Viola! A finished pair of socks. Amazing!

These are my Canute socks Take 2. I designed this pattern during the spring of 2009 and knit them super fast for The Boyfriend. I used a stripy gold-brown color which detracted from the X Cable patterns. I wasn’t thrilled with the result of my first attempt so last June I cast on another pair in this great semi-solid rust color. I got as far as the second heel and lost interest. So this week when I didn’t feel like knitting any of my current socks, I dug around a bit in the UFO pile and found these. I have been in love with this color since the moment I first saw it.

I absolutely cannot wait to wear these. Maybe I’ll even wear them by the campfire tonight. Although that could be dangerous given my penchant to poke the fire and be as near as possible.

52PPIV Progress Update

2010-06-30T11:19:00.015-04:00

This is the progress update after the first month of the 52 Pair Plunge IV. I’m going to evaluate myself according to the 4 goals I’d set for myself at the start.

1. Finish the 3 WIPs and 8 pairs of hibernating socks I currently have on the needles. One of those pairs is from April 2009. Really it’s time to finish it.

I’ve finished 2 Hibernating socks…The Power’s Out at Work & Dad’s Fathers Day Thaja socks. Which leaves me with 6 more pairs of hibernating socks. Of the 3 pairs that were WIPs (works-in-progress) at the time I began The Plunge, 2 have gone into hibernation (one because I lost the second skein of yarn so I’m sort of stuck, and the other because I lost interest). The third is the Norwegian Rose colorwork sock I finished yesterday. I can't believe I actually finished these.

I’ve started and finished a pair of socks from stash yarn, the Missed in History Socks. I’ve started a second and third pair from stash yarn, but not yet finished them. I have not knit with any “new” yarn, which I consider a success. So far the only “new” yarn is the String Theory yarn I bought a couple weeks ago and that’s displayed too nicely to knit with it.

3. Knit more with DK weight yarn. I’ve never knit a DK weight sock but it couldn’t hurt to make a pair of house socks for The DH, Mum, Dad, & Myself. Those will be quicker than regular socks.

I’ve knit a pair of DK weight child socks, The Etta Mae Baby Socks. They were a quick afternoon knit. Nothing to report on adult socks in DK weight.

4. For every full size pair I knit, knit a pair of kids socks. Not baby socks. Those are so small they’re useless. Kids socks that I can give to Sophie or Simon or put away for some future child.

Definitely not keeping up this end of the deal. So far this month I’ve knit 4 pairs of socks and 1 pair of baby socks. I just don’t have the patience for it. I think it's a two fold problem, there aren't many toe up patterns, and I'm afraid to knit too small a sock and have it be pointless. About a week ago I tried one of Cat Borhdi's toe up kid socks and loved them, so I'm hopeful that there will be more of the Etta Mae's Baby Bootikins in my future.

Wedding

2010-06-27T13:21:00.000-04:00

The wedding was everything The Bride and Groom wanted it to be. I was flawless and it will be a memory I cherish for many years to come.

Can you feel that?

2010-06-25T11:09:00.000-04:00

Can you feel that? That’s the excitement of a wedding! It is impossible to work knowing that Lauren’s getting married tomorrow. The Boyfriend is with them doing setup and I’m trying not to gush on my coworkers all about this. It’s SO exciting!

Critter Swap

2010-06-18T06:17:00.001-04:00

The Critter swap was a success. Meow Meow Head loved her sheep.

And I got the greatest critter possible. The Crazy Future Librarian knit me a Bender! A Bender! From Futurama. I was completely shocked and amazed. The Boyfriend worked hard to contain his envy. So far Bender has sat on the TV and watched us (a little creepy) and sat on The boyfriend while he played video games, and sat next to Isitt on the couch, and sat on me while I knit. Thank you for my Bender!

Sheep

2010-06-16T21:54:00.002-04:00

I’d like to introduce you to someone. This is…. Well to be honest I don’t know who she is. This is the swap surprise project I’ve been working on for Meow Meow Head. She is the Simply Knitting Sheep designed by Alan Dart for Simply Knitting Magazine. I made a few minor changes, the most major one being that she’s knit almost completely in the round where the pattern suggests knitting each of the 18 pieces flat and seaming as much as possible. I took the complete opposite approach and only knit the dress straps and eyes flat. That saved a lot of sewing time but I still ended up putting in 40+ hours into this little cutie. I had no idea when I cast on how much work this would take. But thank goodness she’s off to such a good home. I think MMH is the only person who could love her more than me. I’ve left it up to MMH to name her.

I am incredibly proud of this finished piece and definitely rate it among my top 5 knitting accomplishments. This is one where no matter how good the knitting is the assembly really makes the finished object look hand crafted with love verses home-made. While I’m a much better knitter than seamstress, I am pleased to report that my sewing skills are finally up to speed enough so that they do not to detract from the quality of the finished object.

If I had it to do again, would I make another knit toy? Certainly not one this complicated. But the effort is worth the result. Ask me again in a couple years when I’ve forgotten how many hours this little sheep took. In the meantime I hope MMH enjoys her company.

Honest Abe

2010-06-14T17:16:00.001-04:00

While noodling around on Audible looking for some sort of Fantasy-Stephen King-Vampire adventure I was distracted by the recommendation for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. I like Historical Fiction and I like Vampires. I downloaded it. Had I read the first sentence of the write up I would not. Had I looked into the author I would not have downloaded. Had I thought beyond the novelty of making Honest Abe into a vampire hunter I would’ve stopped short realizing that I felt somewhat sacrilegious to use the greatest American President as vampire fodder.

After an hour into the book I realized this book was a car wreck that I couldn’t look away from. Not that the story itself was a page turner or that I was captivated by the character of young Lincoln. I was just too intrigued by the notion that the Civil war was backed on both sides by vampires.

After finishing the book it still feels dirty, distasteful, and somewhat trashy. The Lincoln mythology is too heavily ingrained and too difficult to seperate from the man. Had the main character been anyone other than Abraham Lincoln I would’ve really enjoyed the book. And had the main character been anyone other than Abraham Lincoln I wouldn’t have taken a second look at it, let alone read it. I guess you get what you pay for. I need to quickly get this taste out of my mouth. Next up, Gunslinger (The First in the Dark Tower Series which I’ve read 5 or 6 times already) or the next Stephanie Plum book. Ok not a classic but pleasant brain candy.

Doctor Who Isitt presents the Devon 5

2010-06-13T21:10:00.001-04:00

The Who-Monster as we’ve taken to calling Doctor Who Isitt (the white kitten, front left) is the biggest and oldest kitten here. He is a crazy kitten. The other five kittens are sweet little babies compared to him. Arya and Cinders are right next to Who Isitt. Cinder is much younger but just as curious and outgoing as Isitt’s babies. Bella continues to look just like Isitt only a different color. And behind her are Mayberry (the blue eyed cream girl) and Wilberness. Wilburness has the potential to be a mini-Who-Isitt. A smaller younger white male kitten. Only Wilburness is the complete opposite of the confident and spunky Who, he is the sweet shy type. Perfect for kissing and cuddling. And no it’s not your eyes, Devon Rex kittens do in fact have the biggest ears around.

String Theory

2010-06-05T14:07:00.003-04:00

The Boyfriend and I had an adventure this morning. We set the alarm and got up at 6am on a Saturday. By 6:45 we were in the car and I was knitting. The driving rain made it more difficult to hear our words between the bursts of thunder. We were as giddy as two kids who had just snuck out of class. We stopped in Berwick for a Dunkin’ breakfast and headed north. At nine we pulled into the Windsor Fair Grounds and the Maine Fiber Frolic. I pulled on my rain coat and he pulled out the hiking maps to do some research.

I quickly found the String Theory booth and then spent an hour selecting the perfect skeins. Caper sock is a close second favorite yarn (Schaefer Nicole is the first). Caper sock is 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon. I selected a sweaters worth of Tavikki –a deep teal color. Skeins of Fusion, Scarlet, Viola, Didgerdoo, and Bimin found their way into my bag.

I raced back to the waiting Boyfriend. We hit the road again heading back home. Still giddy I alternated between sniffs of the new yarn and squeals of glee. The Boyfriend just laughed. If it was closer to my birthday this would’ve been a perfect birthday gift. I tried to convince him that since his birthday is only a month away it should be his. He wasn’t buying it. At noon we returned home to three happy kitties and a bright sunny day.

Apple Pie for Breakfast

2010-06-04T07:22:00.002-04:00

Admit it, you're jealous. You want apple pie for breakfast too. Yesterday I was listening to the second Stephanie Plum book and she mentioned apple pie. I had to have some. And about four hours later thanks to a Miss Sara Lee I had a slice.

Plan for The 52 Pair Plunge IV

2010-05-30T13:11:00.000-04:00

Last year I went into this without a plan. Just a loose idea that I wanted to work through the Interweave Favorite socks book.

I started off strong with a pair a week and then fell behind. I will still end the 52 Pair Plunge III with 23 completed pairs. Just shy of 52 single socks.

I know I’ll do better going into this year with a plan. So here are the four goals I’m going to knit by.

Finish the 3 WIPs and 8 pairs of hibernating socks I currently have on the needles. One of those pairs is from April 2009. Really it’s time to finish it.

I currently have give or take 90 skeins worth of sock yarn. Enough to make 90 pairs of socks with lots of remnants. I will not stop buying new sock yarn but what if I can only knit the new after I’ve completed a pair with the stash sock yarn. Imagine if I cut the stash down by 26 skeins? That’d be a good part of a yarn bin free.

Knit more with DK weight yarn. I’ve never knit a DK weight sock but it couldn’t hurt to make a pair of house socks for The DH, Mum, Dad, & Myself. Those will be quicker than regular socks.

For every full size pair I knit, knit a pair of kids socks. Not baby socks. Those are so small they’re useless. Kids socks that I can give to Sophie or Simon or put away for some future child.

Boyfriend Free

2010-05-27T12:46:00.000-04:00

First night without The Boyfriend…it’s the annual fishing trip.

Picked up Moe’s sub on the way home…Boyfriend doesn’t like them.

Baked No Bake cookies for the first time in my adult life…ate a third of them.

Fell asleep at 8:30 on the couch watching Bones.

Woke up at 4 when Linus had a chirping attack. He frequently has these incidents where he wants to talk and run and talk. He raced from one end of the house to the other making little short chirpy noises until Isitt decided to give chase.

KIDS!!! IT'S HOT!

2010-05-25T18:37:00.007-04:00

Kids it’s hot!

When did this happen? Is this global warming? Should I be concerned?

I am concerned, concerned about how uncomfortable the heat is. I don’t want to do anything except sleep. It’s a humid 89 degrees here today. So glad I was at work. I came home and found The Boyfriend in a puddle on the floor. The heat melted him. Isitt is gulping down water by the gallon. Mac’s normally lustrous coat looks mangy and clumpy. And Linus doesn’t even have the energy to ask me for treats.

I certainly hope the rest of the summer isn’t like this.

This past weekend I was working on the Transverse Cardigan. I split off for the collar and just finished the neck decreases and was about to start the 3” of garter that make up the edging/button band, when I realized I’d been following the wrong size instructions. I’m at the right width now without the additional 3”. And those 3” make the design. I put the sweater in time out, giving myself some time to think of a solution.

I moved on to the X-Files socks. Finished the first sock. Started the second and for the life of me couldn’t remember the pattern. Rather than guessing I put that aside.

Later that day (Sunday wasn’t a great day for knitting for me). I picked up the super ugly socks and finished the first sock. Great those were finished but they are so hard on the eyes I’m not sure I should make the second. Who would wear these?

Moving onto the Norwegian Rose Socks. I was up to turning the heel. I decided to follow the pattern which includes a modified short row heel and mini heel flap. I turned the whole thing and realized thata 46 stitch heel is too big. Rip Rip Rip and then started again. By this time it was 9 and time to go to bed.

Thankfully it’s been a few days. And I haven't had any more "attack knitting". I’ve had time to realize that the Transverse Cardigan neck decreases can be worked at the same time as the garter edging. So I’ll rip that back 3” and try it again. And the Norwegian Rose Socks have one successful heel and a good start on the second sock. So things are looking up. The other two…well they’re still in time out. X-files socks I only knit while watching the show and the ugly ones…it’ll be awhile until I want to look at them again.

Good Morning Allison!

2010-05-20T19:44:00.000-04:00

Bachelorette Party

2010-05-17T19:03:00.002-04:00

The much anticipated Bachelorette party was a blast! I’m so pleased that everything went according to plan and bonus that I had fun too! We all agreed to look once at the pictures and then hide them away. But I think I can share one picture of myself at the pre-party. Rest assured I was not the only one who looked a bit silly. The party served its purpose and totally pumped me up for the wedding. I can’t wait to see all these ladies again and share some more laughs. Good times! Thanks VS & Na-ate for making it honest.

Ugly Socks

2010-05-14T20:21:00.004-04:00

Want to see some ugly socks? Some crazy pooling? And this is after I’ve worked to prevent it. The redeeming grace is that the pattern is fun to knit. This is the second pair of socks I’ve attempted with this yarn. I’ve given up on it. It is what it is and I can’t change it. And this is the Transverse Cardigan. I’m about 9” into the body. Almost time to split off for the collar. So far so good. Although I worked on it for 7 hours in the car and by the end of the trip (a work trip), I was sick of looking at it. I’m thinking it might be a few weeks before I pick it up again.

And in other news, The Boyfriend has officially finished year one of the PhD program. To be honest I was a bit worried he would loose interest but thus far he’s enjoyed himself.

Mac & Linus went crazy last night. They were racing all over the house at 4am jumping among the big paper shopping tote bags I had left in the hall way. I know it’s my own fault, but it was a bit excessive on their part. I got the message after the first ten minutes of bag rustling that they wanted me to put them away. They didn’t need to continue for another hour just to prove their point.

Isitt and the babies are doing very well. They are so cute, and that Who is full of energy.

And I’m ready for the bachelorette party of the century tomorrow night. Bags are packed, games are assembled, decorations gathered, outfits coordinated, and directions programmed into Garmin. I don’t think I’ve been this prepared for an outing in my entire life. I hope the VS enjoys every minute!

You are powerless to resist!

2010-05-12T14:32:00.000-04:00

There was a name change, the little white boy is now Who...

And you must start singing this song...

Sweater Tallie Ho

2010-05-10T14:19:00.002-04:00

I started the Transverse Cardigan a month a ago. I flew through the arm and promptly realized that if I wanted to this sweater to be all that it could be I would need some more yarn. As per usual I would lengthen the body and perhaps the sleeves. I decided this after I cast on because I fell in love with the yarn. I had selected Classic Elite’s Four Season Print as the perfect tweed yarn. Primarily cotton with 30% wool to give the yarn just enough elasticity to be pleasant to work with. Turns out that this yarn has been discontinued, probably because of lack of popularity as only two other people on Ravelry had this color way in their stashes. I contacted them both and after a bit of discussion Kari agreed to part with her six skeins. Giving me a total of 1,600 yards. More than enough to tweek the pattern and have leftovers. Few, crisis averted. The yarn arrived yesterday and although they are different dye lots it matches what I already have.

Now that I can breathe easy and knit without worry, I’ve picked the sweater back up. I have about 3” of the body finished. So far so good. Want to know what I’ve done to alter the pattern? First I lengthened the front and back so they’ll hit a little lower on the hips. Using a Magic Cast On to join the side seams and save myself the hassle of sewing them together when I am finished. I’ll have to use kitchener on the other side since technically there isn’t a seem on the first side.

Wednesday I’m embarking on a ten hour road trip with three coworkers. It’ll be interesting if nothing else. I’m sure I’ll make some serious headway on this and the Soft Linen Sideways Lace Vest which I haven’t touched in just as long.

Garnet Dream

2010-05-09T14:16:00.001-04:00

As you know I went to the Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival last year. The Blue Moon/Socks That Rock booth was mobbed yet again. I love their stuff and I love the mill ends, it just feels like such a deal. Last year Lucy325 was the newbie and could be enticed to jump in an dig while the more experienced members of our group hung back. Digging through bodies and yarn does pay off, she got her hands on some of the lightweight STR (or Rocket Sockets if your MMH) in the color Garnet Dreams. My inner three year old instantly threw a tantrum screaming, “It’s red and black! It must be mine!” But composed Samurai that I am, I smiled, nodded, and said it was nice as my eyes scanned for a second skein. No second skein. And even though we were roommates, I managed to resist the urge to steal it from her bags while she slept before she had the chance to get attached and notice it was gone.

Fast forward six months to spring of this year. Lucy325 is not a stasher. This is not something I understand. She frequently purchases yarn and then later decides she’s not interested in knitting with it. Again, see the inner three year old, “It’s mine. No I’m not going to share. It will stay with me until I can’t stand the sight of it and then it’ll stay a little longer.” So there we were shopping in our local LYS and she mentioned nonchalantly that she didn’t really like the STR she got at Rhinebeck and maybe she’d put it up for trade. I instantly said I’d take it. Perhaps a bit too fast as she gave me a quizzical look that said, what do you know that I don’t? A week later the yarn was resting atop my TV.

And now here we are. This turned out to be the yarn I needed to get me knitting socks again. I spent an afternoon searching for a simple pattern that wouldn’t get lost in the red, purple, blue, beige color shifts of the yarn. Wendy Knit’s Diagonal Lace Socks seemed like a good choice. Knowing that Wendy’s lace patterns tend to make looser fitting socks than I like, I dropped down to 51 sts (a typical sock is 64sts for me). Having learned not to trust 100% merino sock yarns I used beige reinforcing thread around the ball of the foot. And to prevent the inevitable spiral effect that accompanies every skein of STR that I’ve knit with, I’m alternating knitting from both ends of the skein. Knit on size 1s they are dense close fitting socks. I absolutely love them. And I’m so happy Lucy325 brought this yarn back from Rhinebeck! Inner 3 year old “No I’m not going to knit these socks for her! They will be mine! Mine Mine Mine.”

Mum's Baudelaire's

2010-05-08T07:20:00.005-04:00

They are finished! In February I started knitting Mum a pair of socks for Mother’s Day. I had just finished knitting a pair of Baudelaire’s for MeowMeowHead’s birthday and I loved the pattern so much I wanted to knit another pair. Perfect. I started and soon found that three socks in one pattern is a lot. I lost interest and the socks got put aside until a week before Mother’s Day when I began to panic. I had to act fast.

It worked out well that I wasn’t feeling too good on Monday. I had a cold but with the right combination of medicines I could stay awake and knit for a couple of hours. I worked about 12” of that second sock getting well past the heel. Tuesday came and went without any knitting. Wednesday saw knitting group and managed to only complete three rows. Which left me with Thursday night to finish them because I was seeing Mum after work on Friday and giving them to her then. I stayed up knitting way too late for a “school night”. I got up early to bind off, soak and block them. Then I headed to work with wet socks on the blockers in my car hoping they’d dry by the end of the day so I could wrap them up. This is by far the closest I’ve ever cut gift knitting. She’ll never know what a race it was but will cherish them the same as the other pairs I’ve knit. And when I see her wearing them I wonder if my heart will skip a beat as I remember that last minute anxiety to finish finish finish!

They're done!

2010-05-07T07:17:00.000-04:00

Summer 2010 Interweave -Samurai's take

2010-05-04T18:10:00.009-04:00

What's not to love in the new Summer 2010 Interweave Knits?

Seriously, I'm ready to cast on for all of these!

Jail Cardigan by Pam Powers...love the drape around the collar. If not this sweater, then definitely taking that collar design for something else.

Persephone Shell by Lien Ngo…this is love at first sight. Give me that outfit immediately! Of course I’m much bustier than the model but the two tone sleeveless blows me away. Great way to use up relatively small amounts of yarn. If I knit it, will they send me a cute plaid top for layering?

Empyrean Tunic By Anne Kuo Lukito is another one that gets me with the ensemble. I’m not big on dresses but this looks stunning together. If I only had 2,000 yards of lace weight laying around. Alas, I don’t own any lace weight and don’t intend to. I bet this knits up quick on size 8s.

Gamine Tank by Cathy Carron…yay...umh...pst...between you and me....you’ll be seeing this on the needles by this weekend. Of course the fine print states that she is a 33” bust wearing the 38” which means were talking 5” of positive ease to keep those ribs from pulling in too tight. Oh but it’s lovely. And that big full collar! Mine Mine Mine!!!

Beach House Pullover by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark…can you say cozy? This sweater exemplifies what I think of as cozy. At first glance I thought it was a mohair blend but it’s alpaca giving it that soft halo. Fairy Godmother, if you’re listening…would you please knit this for me? Someone please show me something shinny to distract me and keep me from launching into five new sweaters, for the love of Pete! It's the only humane thing to do.

I’d give this issue two big thumbs up, and it’s a SUMMER ISSUE! Go Interweave!!!

Isitt's Kittens again

2010-04-25T08:43:00.005-04:00

You seemed to enjoy the baby pictures so here are a few more from abouta week later.

We're thinking they'll be Bella, Job, and Arya (left to right). It's funny that those names all have resonance with my pop culture in take over the past few months but that's not the reason for the names (New Moon, Arrested Development, and Game of Thrones). The names just sort of happened. And they do tie together although it's not a clear tie like Berrie Bear's kittens who were all named "something" bear.

Of course The Boss can and probably will veto them but for now that's how I'm thinking of them.

The Boyfriend met them and worked hard not to show that he liked them. I think he is afraid we'll have three new cats for Linus to deal with if he's not careful. I'd be happy with just Arya.... no no no more kittens for us.

Perhaps less with the blocking?

2010-04-20T08:08:00.004-04:00

I’m just saying, perhaps I over blocked the lace!

When I finished I had sleeves an acceptable length and the body was just hitting at my natural waist. About 4” shorter than I wanted. Please excuse the crazy weekend hair.

After blocking it hard I now have a sweater below my bum with interesting side seams that are so stiff they stand up on their own.

I think I’ll need to block this again before I wear it. At least the 4” or so along the hem. Next up, ribbon and buttons!

FLS day 14 Part 2

2010-04-18T21:52:00.000-04:00

Finished the sleeves and woven in the edges.

Knitting is done!

Hurrah!

In just two weeks.

Now onto blocking and then sewing ribbon edging and buttons.

I love this sweater and my **THREE QUARTER LENGTH SLEEVES**

FLS day 14

2010-04-18T06:51:00.005-04:00

FLS day 14, Ravelry tells me so. I have a completed body and thanks to Margot’s help I have procured some beautiful buttons. Overall the sweater is about 3” shorter than I intended but I believe this lace would benefit immensely from some blocking. The more that I look at the sweater in the pattern it’s clear that the lace has been blocked. Currently the sweater hits me at my natural waist. Not my preferred location, but respectable if it doesn’t stretch with the blocking.

I have 90grams about 200 yards left for the sleeves. I am confident that this will be enough to get me to elbow length sleeves, if not three quarter length.

I too have been Persuaded. I have about two hours to go on Jane Austen’s Persuasion. I am surprised to say that I do love this story! I shouldn’t be since it falls squarely in the classification of early 19^th century literature which The Boyfriend would be the first to tell you is my favorite. Usually I think of Sci-Fi Fantasy as my favorite but I don’t get the same rich over indulgent feeling I do from Dickens, Bronte, Wilde, Stoker, Shelley, or Austen. Although the plot of Persuasion is predictable, Austen draws out the inevitable conclusion and expertly builds the anticipation. Small wonder this book is a book club favorite. Picture is from the 1995 version staring Amanda Root & Cianran Hinds (Cesar in the HBO series Rome, which you know I adore).

I hope that by the time I finish the story and my coffee I’ll have finished a sleeve. The Boyfriend and I will be running off to B&N to pick up a new knitting magazine that Lucy taunted me with on Friday night. Something German and full of sweaters I must have. Don’t be surprised if I fall victim to my Sunday addiction again this week. I’m sure it’s fine, as long as I continue to finish what I start! And I won’t hear otherwise!

Isitt's Kittens

2010-04-17T13:10:00.006-04:00

They’ve arrived. Isitt has three adorable kittens. A chubby white kitten who reminds me of a snowman with his big round belly. A Lavender girl who is as sweet as Isitt. And a Tortie girl who has her mother’s silent meow. So Cute!

Isitt is a wonderful mother and playground. Look at those cuties! What an adorable pair of ladies.

February Lady Sweater angst

2010-04-16T11:32:00.001-04:00

It must be day 12 or 13 on the February Lady Sweater (FLS). I have officially finished the third skein of yarn. 10” of lace on the body have been completed and I want another 4” (only 16 more rows). Followed by 16 rows of garter edging. Each row takes an obscene amount of yarn. Are you as nervous about finishing the body and two sleeves?

I have the afternoon off today and intend to make a dent in those 16 rows if not finish them. So all my worrying about having enough yarn may be a moot point by tomorrow.

Never-the-less, I couldn’t help worrying about it at five this morning. So I did some searching for advice on Ravelry.com and found that as a general rule, the front takes a third, the back take another third and long sleeves take the final third of the yarn required for a sweater. I only want elbow length sleeves so perhaps it’s closer to a quarter of the yarn for the sleeves, definitely not the full third.

I weighed what I’ve used and what I have left. Thus far, the sweater has used 715 yards. I had 1,100 yards to begin with. Already I’ve used 2/3rds of the yarn. Long sleeves are clearly not an option when the body needs another 4” of lace and then 2” of garter. The guess of a quarter of the yarn for elbow length would leave 110 yards to finish the body, exactly a half skein. I doubt that will be enough but it is lacey so perhaps. It’s so close I want to close my eyes and look away until the scary part is over. Who knows I could have cap sleeves!!!

But at least I will have used every ounce of this yarn up. Remnants make me sad. They make me think of students who are held back in school. That yarn wasn’t quiet up to par and didn’t make it into the finished object. Poor little remnants.

Later:

On the way home I stopped to pickup some ribbon to line the neck and button band with. It took entirely too long and I wasn't happy with the ribbon from either place I stopped. I settled on this one which matches pretty well and is contrasting which is what I had in mind. Now if only I could find buttons...

Traversing a weird tulip

2010-04-11T19:06:00.006-04:00

Another Sunday afternoon, another new sweater. I remember the day I bought this yarn; it can hardly have been 2 years ago! But I found the receipt in with the yarn. Classic Elite Four Seasons Cotton Print in a sale basket outside of Northampton Wool in late September. I found enough of the natural with brown flecked colorway for a sweater. At $4 a skein it was a steal even though I had no idea what to do with it.

This morning I was reading the Spring Interweave Knits while I worked on the FLS (to the left, look at all that progress and it's only day 8!). While reading I saw the Transverse Cardigan. It looks like a perfect summer sweater. I'll be knitting the sleeves in the round (making it a tube and thus making it more like a sock!). Not certain how the "print" will look but it is stockinett so nothing to detract from. The yarn is 70% cotton and 30% wool but not bad on the hands. I’m intrigued by the side to side construction. So far so good.

And here are our Wedding Daffodils on year three. They’re multiplying each year and looks like a breath of fresh air every spring. And this is our first Tulip. I’m hoping the chipmunks didn’t eat them all this winter.

FLS day 7

2010-04-10T10:15:00.002-04:00

After a sip of coffee I began working on the February Lady Sweater again. I Split off the arms and worked two rows, there stable. I ran to the bathroom to try it on. Mac & Linus insisted that they must have treats first. I can see what is shaping up to be a great sweater. I’m so excited to try it when there is more lace and I can really see how it will look since the lace is ¾ of the sweater. Plus it'll be much less daunting to complete a 211st row vs a 339st row. Next the pattern says “Knit to 2” less than the desired length” But what IS 2" less than my desired length? As I said I'm sort on yarn so the question is; is it more important to have long enough sleeves or body? I'm think body since neither short sleeves nor 3/4 length sleeves jump out as something I 'have' to have. The Placed Aran Sweater was 16” from hem to armholes and I like the length of it. I guess I’m going knitting Gull Lace for 14”. That’ll make for great car knitting as VS and I go wedding shoe shopping! And then watching wedding themed movies while we address invitations and construct some ribbon flower decorations.

FLS day 6

2010-04-09T00:06:00.000-04:00

The February Lady Sweater continues to fly along. Yes I am addicted but I’ve been knitting the Sideways Lace at work during lunch so no worries that I might have forgotten it. I’m about 3” into the back panel. I'm making progress there as well.

But the real evidence of progress is the FLS.

Instead of Yarn Overs I did Knit F&B. I left the increases off the sleeves. The first round of Gull lace was atrocious. I had to rip it back twice because my ending stitch count was off. The third time I wised up and placed preemptive stitch markers. You heard me, PRE-Emptive Stitch Markers similar to a Preemptive strike. Yes it is somewhat like an attack when you've already ripped back 700 stitches and your fed up with mistakes that end up on the front panels. I used the locking kind so I could sneak them in between the stitches of the last row already knit and back on the needle. I made certain both front panels would be perfect. I discovered that 339 is not divisible by 7 (the stitch repeat). There were 3 extra sititches, no wonder this wasn’t working. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was 11pm and I was knitting the setup round for a lace sweater. I took care of the extra stitches at the back armhole (Knit a half a repeat so it's still balanced) and placed them where they would not be seen, almost in the armpit of the sweater. Good enough.

The Newest New Sweater

2010-04-08T20:04:00.001-04:00

Finished the first skein in the February Lady Sweater while visiting with Mum, Dad, Gerri & Claudia. Can’t believe I forgot to bring more yarn with me!

Sunny Sweater Sunday

2010-04-05T21:45:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a marvelous sunny day here. A typically summer day lodged in early spring and it goes from typical to remarkable. Put a pair of them together and it makes for a heavenly weekend in New England. I puttered around, gardening, reading, knitting, and cooking. I made spanakopita for the first time on Saturday. It was for a dinner party that night with The Boyfriend’s BU & BC counterparts. Here’s a hint, spanakopita sans onion and garlic is not to good. Also I wonder if it’s usually made with frozen rather than fresh spinach. Regardless, the combination of a sunny day and spanakopita made me anxious for the Greek festivals to start. Last year was the first year in decade that I miss the Greek Festival in my parent’s town. I just love the food and the music.

But Greek Festivals are not what I sat down to tell you about. Sunny Sunday, the second in a row. I spent the better part of 4 days this week working on the Sideways Lace Vest. I’ve finished a front panel, an armhole, and about an inch of the back panel. That’s about 30% of the garment in a week which means a lot of monogamous knitting. By Sunday I needed a break. I’m still feeling rebellious against socks. The color work was more of a commitment than I wanted to take out to the sunlit patio.

So I spent an hour searching and landed on using the Cascade 220 Superwash that I over-dyed last summer. I have 1,100 yards of it which means it needed to be a short sleeve sweater. By 2pm I was casting on a February Lady Sweater. I never thought I’d knit one of these since everyone else already did but it just looks too perfect for me. Button closure at the chest, large open lace work (makes the yardage go farther), a swing bottom, three-quarter length sleeves and a good chuck of garter stitch.

I stayed up entirely too late last night watching Arrested Development so I could knit just one more row on this. I found myself walking the corridors at work today dreaming of an evening with The Boyfriend and the needles flying on this sweater. I’m 6” along and can’t wait to get to the point where the armholes split off. I hope the lace is as much fun to knit as the first part. The teal color is a bit bright to wear as a garment but it’s a beautiful color. I’m thinking I’ll wear it a few times as is, and if I feel like it’s still too bright I’ll over-dye it again with navy. Now back to knitting!!!

Oh and AP you should check out the Persuasion link on the side. Jane Austin book podcast that’s very interesting. You might enjoy it.

Granite State of Mind

2010-04-02T16:55:00.001-04:00

Crazy in Aqua & Sideways Lace Vest

2010-03-28T17:04:00.006-04:00

This weekend I jumped in head first.

The ‘need’ to cast on a new sweater has been eating away at me. Sunday morning was that day. I cast on for a sleeve of the Bias Fair Isle Pullover. Using size 7 needles and substituting Cascade 220 superwash for the worsted yarn in the pattern. After reviewing the colors again I decided that the order I originally intended wouldn’t work. After about 4” I measured, not on gauge. So I switched to size 8s and kept going. I seem to recall EZ using sleeves as swatching platforms. I wasn’t too far off to begin with so it wasn’t a surprise that I got gauge with the 8s. It’s hard to imagine how the colors will play out until a 28 row repeat is completed. I decided that the blue velvet should be substituted for the Lichen and the Lichen should be substituted for the army green. So that’s how I’ll do the next repeat.

I’m just going to go with it and continue to use this sleeve as a swatch. I’ll make the second sleeve match and perhaps the body. Instead of a 28 row repeat it’ll be a 56 row repeat. I’m fine with that. In fact I’m rather pleased with my ability to be flexible. I think it stems from remembering that charts and

Fair Isle aren’t the most fun I’ve ever had. I just happen to appreciate the finished results.

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By Sunday afternoon I was tired of color work. And ready to move on to the new yarn I’d just picked up at the Spinning Yarns sale. Ok it wasn’t on sale but I was there for the sale and I fell in love with the pattern, so pattern and yarn came home. At least I didn’t buy the exact color of the pattern, although that went well with my coloring.

Knitting the Soft Linen Sideways Lace Vest was a welcome change in pace. It reminds me of knitting lace socks, or a shawl even. The pattern is simple enough and easily remembered and read in the knitting. So it’s virtually mindless. Purling back across the rows (it’s knit vertically instead of horizontally like most sweaters) is a bit time consuming.

After about 4” I’m picking up speed and finding it less daunting. You see I’ve purled incorrectly for 7 years. I wrap the yarn under the needle not over which makes twisted stitches. When you knit in the round or do ribbing this doesn’t matter. Which is part of the reason why it took me so long to figure out what I was doing and find the desire to correct it. I am trying and am wrapping correctly 85% of the time or catching myself before I finish an entire row of twisted stitches.

Overall this is a great pattern. I’ve already lengthened it by 1 repeat (20sts), 4” which I’ll add below the armholes to make sure it hits at my hips and not my natural waist. And the right front panel is supposed to be 13 repeats wide for 23”. I’ll do 14 to make it 24” ie a 48” bust. I bought an extra skein and I’m thinking that should be close enough to cover those additional stitches. Although, I am about 5” in and about half way through my first ball. If it keeps up like this I’ll have 3 skeins extra. I’ll keep you posted. Oh and the color, is so spring! It’s called Lupine.

WOW...

2010-03-28T17:03:00.001-04:00

Friday Again

2010-03-26T12:47:00.001-04:00

Here it is Friday again. Did I tell you that the yarn I ordered on Friday morning arrived Monday night? Shipping was free and the turn around time was amazing! Thank you Webs!

The colors look good. Well the Navy looks good (not so much the royal blue) and 3 out of 4 of the greens look good. I bought extra green colors and an extra navy just to be sure I would have enough choice once I saw the yarn in person so I should be ok. I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to sit down and do a swatch to see how the colors work together. I’m thinking I should just jump in and start with the sleeves so I don’t feel like I’m knitting for no reason.

I wore my favorite sweater yesterday. It’s an angora wool blend in creamy grey. It is a cropped swing coat styling with three quart length sleeves. The closure is two buttons on a stiff turtleneck style collar. Oh and the detail that makes it special are the pleats around the collar at the chest. It’s lovely and it’s warm and I feel sophisticated when I wear it. Can you guess where I’m going? I’m going to measure out the back panel and see if there is any shaping. I think the neck pleats do the majority of the work, in which case it would be just 3 rectangles and sleeves. And I could knit the body in the round and steek it to make it even more mindless knitting. Hello, dark purple heather Ultra Alpaca yarn, yes you are now on deck.

And lastly, there was a hair change this week. I’m thrilled with it. And I definitely have short hair now. No doubt about it!

Placed Cable Aran pictures

2010-03-25T06:32:00.003-04:00

Better to come, I promise!

4/2/10 ETA: Photos from a photo session with Mum...

Placed Cable Aran Sweater Review

2010-03-24T12:44:00.000-04:00

Sunday I finished my Placed Cable Aran Sweater. I love it. I fits and it’s well constructed. It’s the first sweater I’ve finished that I am truly proud of.

Even though this is the closest to perfection I’ve come with a garment there are still a few areas I’d like to improve next time.

While the pullover was a great time saver as it was knit in the round, making it fast social knitting, it also means there is a field of stockinette. A field of stockinette over my belly. I choose this pattern thinking that the detail on the chest and the cowl would draw your eye toward my face and detract from my belly. That is solid logic but it results in the afore mentioned block of solid color which makes bellies appear larger then they are. In my everyday life I do not wear pullovers for precisely that reason, I don’t want to look like a big ole square of color on the top. Conclusion: next time, follow the same logic of detail on the top but make it a cardigan so that the it breaks up the space. And if I want to knit in the round, steeks aren’t that scary.
I knit the sleeves in the round and loved it. I was worried however that they wouldn’t be long enough. I lengthened them 2”. And then when I tried them on they weren’t hitting my shoulder joint so I lengthened them another 1”. I like super long sleeves so it wont be a problem. After sewing the sleeves to the body and blocking the sweater I saw that the shoulder seam falls about 2” below my shoulder joint. Honestly the sleeves are about 2” too long. Conclusion: Look closely at the photos. If I had I would’ve realized it was a dropped shoulder design.
Knitting sleeves in the round is great. I did all my increases along 2 ‘center stitches’ which makes a clean seam and a spot where the piece will naturally fold. Great. When sewing the sleeves to the body I made a point of pinning them along the armhole opening, which was a circle because I knit the sweater in the round as well. I pinned at 4 points, which included aligning the faux seam of the sleeve with the faux side seam of the body. I didn’t begin sewing at the top, but about 2” lower on one side and then moving along over the top. Mattress stitch is the bomb! And the seams came out perfectly. On the first sleeve I did end up shifting as a went along. Although I didn’t have any bunching. I did end up with faux seam shifted forward on the first sleeve. On the second sleeve I watched very closely and made sure that the seam used up all the fabric between the pins on both pieces. Conclusion: pin seams, and then double check to make sure things are properly aligned then follow the spacing of the pins. Sort of like carpenters that measure twice and cut once.
The purl stitches on the cables are looser than I would like. This is the first time I purposely purled the correct way (normally I twist my stitches, wrapping the yarn under and over instead of over and under). On the stockinette portions the stitches look fine, the tension is good. But for some reason the stitches around the cables that were purled look sloppy. Loose. Conclusion: pay extra attention to tension in cables, don’t be blinded by the excitement of twisting stitches and forget to pull tight on the yarn.
When I pulled on the sweater for work yesterday I realized that I do love this color. It’s a wonderful warm orange. But when did I make the decision that I needed an orange sweater? I don’t own any orange sweaters. In fact I only own, brown, blue, black, grey, white, and purple. Conclusion: Next time I purchase a sweaters worth of yarn, double check that it’s a color I currently have in my clothing closet. And not a T-shirt color.

So there you have the things I would change. And now the things I like… the drape of the Ultra Alpaca is great. It’s wonderful to work with and super warm to wear. Knitting with size 8s is like speed walking, just like regular knitting only faster. Lengthening the body by 2” and knitting the right bust size (my bra measurement plus 7”) makes a fit I like. It hits me right at the hips and it’s loose enough that I’m comfortable in it. Really long 4x4 rib cuffs rock. Big floppy cowl is cozy. And Orange looks awesome with dark blue jeans.

I really like having an new sweater. Why don’t I knit more sweaters? I looked back at the last two years worth of projects in Ravelry. In 2009 I knit 2 sweaters. In 2008 I knit 3. I’ve been crazy knitting on this sweater so I could finish and wear it. And before that it was a couple of lace shawls. Both mean I’ve done a lot less sock knitting than usual. And I’m not really in a rush to get back to them. So maybe I will jump right into another sweater right away. Maybe I could even knit 4 this year. I was fairly monogamous with this sweater and it took me 2 months to the day. So four in twelve months doesn’t seem too crazy. I’m sensing another goal…. And we all know how I love a good goal.

Photos to come.

Movie Reviews

2010-03-20T20:04:00.000-04:00

I loved Up In The Air! Thought provoking and acceptable not happy ending. Maybe I felt that way because I've had the experience of being laid off, and of being up in the air. And yes I did think that flying was a clever metaphor. Very unusual for me to get behind a movie like that. Much better than Leatherheads. And could GC be any better looking?

In other news, 2012, not so much. I had heard it would be watchable since the main characters were OK. Not an end of the world movie since people survive. Yeah, no. I have decided I have absolutely no tolerance for death of any sort. Death is unacceptable in something that should entertain me. But really. I'm too sensitive. Absolutely No Death. "I promise I will never die!"

Two points for you if you know what ridiculous movie that quote is from.

SIze 7s!!!

2010-03-19T13:11:00.005-04:00

11:26 pm: Samurai, stop watching The Office, I know you love it but it’s a school night.

12:04 am: Really, dozing? Come on body, help me out. I’ve got to work tomorrow.

4:10 am: Oh I guess I’m awake. But maybe if I lay really still I’ll fall back to sleep.

4:48 am: This has been less than successful. I’ll give it another ten minutes.

5:01 am: That’s it. I give up, I’m up!

And then I spent the next 90 minutes doing the leg work for my next Fair Isle, which has really spent 5 years on the draft table already but this morning was the time to begin. I bought the book Loop D Loop by Teva Durham when I returned to knitting. OK, not when I first returned, but when I began to spend a bit more money on yarn and tools than the items sold in the chain craft stores. From the moment I saw the Bias Fair Isle, in all of it’s red and blue empire waist long sleeve mock turtle neck sweater loveliness, I had to have it. To say I liked it is an understatement. I NEEDED to own it. In early 2005 when I stumbled across the pattern I wasn’t up to color work. I could do it on a small bag but the thought of the entire sweater, with carts and tricky instructions to make the fabric bias (diagonal) was beyond me. I accepted this fact and knit the loopy scarf instead. And then I put the book away, on the shelf in the back of the knitting closet.

Occasionally over the years I’ve pulled it out and flipped through the book. Seeing the sweater and knowing my skills weren’t ready yet. I’d put the book away and pull it out the next time I was looking for knitting inspiration. Eventually I looked at the book less and less frequently, substituting the internet for the shelves of books and magazines, until I all but forgot about the beloved sweater. At long last yesterday morning arrived and I pulled the book off the shelf in my search for books to bring to the book swap at knitting that night. I flipped through quickly double checking that I wasn’t interested in any of it. You know the feeling when you find your favorite pair of socks that have fallen behind the dresser for who knows how long? Well that’s similar to how I felt seeing the sweater. Thankful. Rejoicing. Thrilled to see an old friend.

I kept the book. And went about my day. Enter the night of no sleep and my whirling brain. It landed on the image of the sweater. I had to get up and go read the pattern. I could definitely knit it. Needle size would determine if I would or not. A 48” Fair Isle long sleeve sweater on size 4 needles would not be my idea of fun. I’d made it through the IVL but only by the skin of my teeth, adding the work of sleeves would be a deal breaker at this point and the sweater would have to sit on the shelf for a few more years until I’d developed more patience and perseverance.

5:03 am: Turn on the water for coffee and go find the book.

Size 7s! no wait, I must’ve read that wrong. Check the yarn weight. Worsted! Worsted and SIZE 7s. The angels began to sing. That would fly! I’d have to loose the mock turtle neck and change the color of course, but this could be seriously viable now. And so began my 90 minutes of Ravelry research on yarns and colors and review of other color work patterns for ideas of alternate color schemes. I ended up going with the color theme of IndigoMouse's Aqua Rose (making it color work instead of Fair Isle as these are anything but traditional color choices). And I substituted Cascade 220 Superwash for the yarn in the pattern. I wanted to use something softer than 100% wool but if I’m taking the time to do the color work I want to be sure it will last. Oh and I did end up choosing one color that I already had in my stash which saved me a little.

Now if only I had the yarn here to cast on tonight!

It's coming along...

2010-03-17T18:09:00.001-04:00

And Linus is watching my progress closely. Placed Aran Sweater from Interweave Fall 2007. In Berroco Ultra Alpaca color 6268.

Alice

2010-03-07T19:26:00.000-05:00

Just getting home from Alice and Wonderland and Sushi. The movie was great! I felt like a kid smiling and gasping with excitement as each character appeared on the screen. The Cheshire cat made me giggle every time he was on the screen. We saw it in 3D which was interesting. I’m not sure it’s worth the extra but I did enjoy the giant screen and the closing credits were beautiful. The queens reminded me of Queens Mary and Elizabeth. I wonder if it’s a subconscious link between red queen and Bloody Mary. Of course the off with their heads didn’t hinder the association. And for some reason Johnny has a Scottish accent. Which made me wonder about some sort of Scottish uprising during the transition from Mary to Elizabeth. I’m sure that was not what Tim Burton intended but that’s where my head went.

Side note, the March Hare is completely adorable in a pitiably funny way. And yes I agree with the Times that Alice did looked washed out and tired but I thought the young lady did an excellent job considering who she was acting with. All in all I’d give it two thumbs up. Visually stunning with a simple sweetness.

Aftermath

2010-03-05T06:39:00.008-05:00

Here are some of the trees I had to drive pass last Friday to get to work.

There used to be two almost identical trees marking my way along the road. It had always reminded me of The Argonath in Lord of the Rings. You know the two giant statues of men on each side of the river? I had to look up the name so don’t think I’m that much in the know.

The power came back on Sunday afternoon, although one of my coworkers was without power from Thursday to Thursday.

I’ve been chugging away on my Traveling Woman Shawl. I’m about half way through the final chart. This is my second lace project and it’s going well. I tried to choose more tonal yarn so as not to loose the stitch detail in the colors. It’s definitely better than the first lace attempt but it’s still too loud. And I’m not that wild about lace. So maybe I’ll knit one more, sold, just so see how that looks, but maybe not. Why fight nature? I’m a sock knitter who occasionally knits hats and more occasionally sweaters.

I’d like to knit more sweaters but we’re approaching tank season. I spent an entire evening searching for a nice summer lacey top I could knit with cotton or bamboo or linen. An entire 3 hours and I turned up 1 pattern. Maybe I was being too fussy. I was limiting myself to only stashed yarns so that might have narrowed the scope a bit too much.

And Miss Isitt is doing well, growing considerably. The Boyfriend remarked that she seems to always have her face in the food dish. I’ll have to post pictures of her big round belly. I know it’s not nice to laugh at pregnant people, but pregnant cats must be ok. She’s as wide as she is long and it’s hilarious to watch her waddle down the hall. Poor Is-Biz!