Wait, is that rain I see?

It’s another rainy day here in Seattle…oh wait no I live in New England but man it sure feels like Seattle. In the past 6 weeks (42 days) I would be willing to bet a sizable amount of money, that it has been sunny no more than 5 days. That’s 12%. That’s ridiculous for late spring in NE. Besides rain, what’s been happening?


Well I finished the iTardis: Ipod cozy. I’m now in the habit of picking up my ipod and whishing it around the house informing anyone that’ll listen that the Ipod like the Tardis is indeed larger on the inside than the outside. That’s the end of my father inspired knitting for this month. The helmet earwarmers are a great idea but not with this yarn. I’ll be ripping them and re-knitting them for Christmas I think.


Next month’s Socks From The Toe Up Knit Along will see me knitting these lovely socks. I’m using the Caper yarn from String Theory that I got at the Maine Fiber Frolic a few weeks back. It had been resting a top the TV (really more of a decoration than an appliance since we canceled cable), along with several other remarkable skeins of sock yarn.

But yesterday I became overwhelmed and skeined for a couple hours, skeined until almost all the sock yarn that wasn’t caked before became a nice compact cake of yarny deliciousness. The Communicator did voice some concern that that much skeining may cause Skeiner’s Elbow and I should be careful. Luckily no damage.

I’ve been listening to the book Bloodsucking Fiend by Christopher Moore. It’s hilarious. Another great recommendation from Meow Meow Head. She's like my own personal NY Times best sellers list.



Since the contest seems to have stumpped you, I'll give you a hint. Elijah Wood.

iTardis

The Father inspired knitting has been going well. At first I cast on for a pair of biking helmet ear warmers. Unfortunately I’m about 2/3^rd of the way through the first side and I’ve used half of my yarn. I have other possible yarns but knitting ear warmers isn’t that exciting so I’m thinking I’ll let that go.

Dad helped by requesting fingerless mitts. I finished them yesterday. I did more frogging on that project than I’ve done in a while. I think that happens when you

a) Have become a bit of a perfectionist about your knitting

b) Try knitting new items that you have no experience with

c) Really need to pay attention to the shaping in the pattern but are too busy watching Law & Order SVU to read the pattern.

But it’s all good now and actually I’m knitting myself a pair now. I wonder if that counts as father inspired since knitting a pair for him made me want a pair for me.

And last but not least. Can you say Tardis? I found a pattern for an Ipod cozy that looks like a Tardis. Of course I’m knitting this for me. I had thought to make us each one since our Ipods are the same size and we both love Dr. Who but after doing one I’m less enamored with the thought.

As it nears the end of this challenge I’m starting to consider next month’s. Any ideas on what I should shoot for? Last week it was discovered that I have enough sock yarn to knit 61 pairs of socks, not counting the leftover bits and bobs from all my completed socks. Perhaps I’ll challenge myself with something sock related, cuff down, stranding, only gift socks, something like that.

Hey Teach, I'm finished!

Today I finally finished sewing up my Hey Teach. The sweater that took a just under two weeks to knit and just over three weeks to sew up. What can I say, I’m a knitter not a sewer. Yes that’s right, I said sewer, one who sews, passing needle through fabric to form a seam. Not to be confused with a sew-er, one of those things that your toilet empties into.
According to dictionary.com there are 3 definitions for the word sewer…

· Pronounced [soo-er], an artificial conduit, usually underground, for carrying off waste water and refuse, as in a town or city.
· Pronounced [soh-er], a person or thing that sews
· Prononuced [soo-er], a former household officer or head servant in charge of the service of the table.
So if you read previous post and thought of the first soo-er, all I can say is, get your head out of the toilet!

But I digress, the Hey Teach is finished. It looks smashing and feels wonderful. I can’t wait to wear it. The yarn is wonderful and I’d definitely use it again, Crème Brule from Decadent Fibers. The pattern is a breeze. I’m considering knitting another with a different lace pattern on the top half. Hey did you see cute the back of my hair looks? I never see the back so I’m not used to seeing it. Just thought I’d point that out for you.

I also finished my KAL socks last week. I had about 2 yards of the fuchsia color left when I cast off the second sock. I was glad to use up the yarn and more glad to be done with that pattern. After The Communicator helped me memorize the pattern I was so resentful at all the difficulties, i.e. ripping, I had to do before hand that I never liked the pattern. I wouldn’t be opposed to knitting this again but with size 2 needles instead of 0s and a bulkier yarn.

Oh and I ripped back Dad's fingerless mitts to the finger attachment. They were about an inch to big around the hand so I decreased 6 sts and added 10sts of ribbing to the top of hand which creates 3 purl ribs that sort of resemble wolverine's hands. He tried on the mitts this afternoon and bounced his hands around over the table so that the hanging needles would make lots of noise. We all laughed and I'm guessing he'll like them a lot more when they're finished.

Knucks for Dad

This past weekend Dad showed me a ratty pair of dark green fingerless mitts. He said nothing. I picked them up and said

“Dad I’m not a sewer. I can’t fix these holes. They are a lost cause.”

Pause and Dad is smiling at me.

“Wait, why don’t I let you tell me what you want.”

To which Dad says, “Can you make me a pair of these?”

I look more closely at the gloves. They are clearly a wool synthetic blend, machine knit on size 0s or 1s, very dense with two holes/tares but no wear to the yarn itself. The ribbing at the wrist is elasticized and the edges of the fingers are rolled because the fabric is stockinet.

I tell him it is possible and then we begin the color debate. He wants black. I hate black. He wants dark green or navy. I don’t have any of these colors in fingering weight yarn.

I advise him that they wont be as tight on his wrist as the originals, he says he don’t mind. He tells me he wants them for inside his regular gloves when he’s in the woods in the winter. I ask when he needs them, he says November. I am willing to take on the challenge but unsure that my hand knit creation will be as nice as the store bought ones he’s had for many years.

I’ve been dying to knit Knucks from Knitty for a while now and this is the perfect time. I remember a skein of army green superwash wool that could be knit on size 2s and will probably be just the thing. A wool nylon blend may be a better choice in terms of wear but it’s not like he’ll be walking on his hands. I hope the fabric wont get a halo from brushing against the other gloves as he wears them. Then I realize that I have a long list of concerns and if they don’t wear well, or they aren’t exactly what he wants, then I can make another pair. After all I am always looking for things to knit. So stop worrying.

The anxiety that comes with knitting for a request is an interesting thing. You would think the more specific the request the easier it is to craft exactly what the recipient wants, but that’s not the case. The more specific the more opportunity to fall short of their vision. If they were shopping in a store, they would try on the item, weigh its merits and choose to buy it or not. When I present the finished item, there is no return. It’s one shot to get it perfect.

But that’s just the neurotic in me creating a false ideal. It never has to be perfect, if they wanted perfect they would’ve bought it. They came to me because they want something the store can’t provide, something unique and hand made with flaws and love. Hopefully more love than flaws.

May Practice Father

May is over. I completed one of the three non sock, sock yarn projects I was working on at the start of the month. It seems so long ago now.

As you would expect I’ve been knitting. I did take a break long enough yesterday to play some Beer Pong. I guess the technical East Coast term for it is Beirut. Either way, it was a fun evening with friends and surprisingly I was much better at it with my hair clipped back and my glasses on. Imagine!

Today Mum and I were working on updating the Curlfect website. No I didn’t link it since the updates have been published yet. We’re actually doing a massive overhaul to the site, about 60 hours of work spread out over a couple weeks with us working on it as much as we can, as fast as we can. I’m proud of how it looks and will be sure to let you know when it’s finished.

Tomorrow is the start of the Socks from the Toe Up KAL over on Ravelry. The KAL stands for Knit A-Long. There are about 800 of us and we are using Wendy Johnson’s new book Socks from the Toe Up and all knitting the same sock each month. This month is the Lacey Rib Sock. I’m anxious to cast on for that using the Panda Silk yarn I’ve attempted to use for 2 other socks but always found the fabric too drapey. Now that I’m ok with knitting with size 0 needles (no longer shaking my fists up and down proclaiming that “I will never use anything smaller than a 2!!!!”) I should be able to create a semi-dense fabric with this yarn. At least it will be a wearable sock.

Aside from that, the month of June seems pretty vacant in terms of challenges. We’re busy every weekend so I’ll need to make portable projects. Perhaps I should work on some Christmas presents, or go for another mile. Those are goals that have worked the best for me. Although June is father’s day. Perhaps I should knit something for my father. I could be a Christmas gift, not necessarily something for Father’s day itself. I think I like this. How about father inspired knitting? How about things that relate to Camping, Dr. Who, Biking/Cycling, Buddhism, Cheeses, X-men, Wide-Mouthed-Frogs, Reading, or Science Fiction, to name a few topics that make me think of him. Of course, female relatives reading this will have to keep it quiet in case I do in fact knit gifts for him.

Yes, it’s decided… June will be the Father Inspired Knitting Month.