Why I Have A Tub-O-Scarves

Sometimes our house is cold...

It's a big house and it takes a lot of energy to heat it. This is a waste since normally, by midday, it is warm enough outside that the house heats up.

However, mornings and nights it is CHILLY!!!

My tub-o-scarves (and hats), is currently residing in Berkeley's room while we go through the process of room swapping. I went in there the other morning and discovered this:



A very chilly Berkeley bundled up in my seed-stitch gnome hat and neon Shaft scarf. (She wasn't actually dancing around at the time, more hunched over shivering. The dance was for the benefit of the camera.)

Had the tub-o-scarves not been there, I might have instead stumbled upon Berkeley, curled up on the floor, dead from frost-bite or exposure.

Instead, by providing the tub-o-scarves, I have enabled us to be a green, energy-saving, happy, and living family!

...btw I am going to make her her own version of the gnome hat to take to Brazil when she moves there. Since the seasons in South America are backward, it will be useful summer knitting for me and useful winter wearing for her.

I Love To Felt!

Tonight I finally buckled down and made up the two purses I had waiting, and wove the ends into a couple of coffee cup cozies!

That means just one thing...

FELTING TIME!!!

I love doing this!

I Need To Go On A Diet...

...a yarn diet, that is!

UFO Sightings

There seem to be a lot of UnFinished Objects lying around my room of late...

I have so many projects with deadlines that I keep trying to work on all of them at once, rather than finishing one as quickly as possible and then moving on to the next.

If I finish them one at a time, the worst thing that will happen is that the last due one or two won't be finished and I will give an IOU.

However, the way I'm going, they will all be ALMOST done and everybody will have to get an IOU.

I need to get organized!

Gifts Given

Belle's baby shower was today.
(For which I made oodles of petits fours...not knitted, but still crafty!)

I gave her the sweater for Blossom.

She loved it.

I also delivered the first completed set of baby burp rags...for Baby Peaches.

They were appreciated as well.

Knitting Nay-Sayers

It is odd to me when OTHER people have an issue with my constant public displays of knitting.

When I am out with friends at the movies, or a restaurant, or on public transportation...I try to ask them if they mind if I knit. Most of them don't. Some I no longer even need to ask. Still, I recognize that other people have not reached the same comfort threshold for being stared at that I have. (For example, if SoCalGal's husband is out with us...the needles stay in the purse.) This doesn't bother me.

However, when people make fun or mock me at private gatherings in my own home, or the homes of friends or family...I am a wee bit perturbed. If there are no strangers around to pass judgment, why does it matter?

It is that singular group of people who not only don't knit, but that seem averse to my knitting, that really irk me. Especially when that same group of people reads things into my knitting. Examples:

1.I am being anti-social. Nope...I am actually able to fully engage in conversations, movie watching, game playing, and general frivolity while knitting.

2.I am wasting time.Nope...I am actually being productive while doing other generally time-wasting activities. (Such as watching tv.)

3.I am acting old. Nope...the stereotype of old knitters is ridiculous. Yes, your grandmother knit when you were younger. But guess what, she probably knit when she was my age too!

In short: I knit because it calms me, I knit because it helps me focus and retain information, I knit because I have no patience and it gives me something to do with my hands, I knit because it is a way to connect with people, I knit because it is a charitable work that I can do, but mostly...I knit because it's fun.

And what do I do about all those knitting nay-sayers? I make them scarves!
(If you can't convince them with words...win them over with warmth and wool!)

I'm Just A Girl Who Can't Say No!

I have been commissioned by the branch manager at work to make...fanfare please...MORE BABY BURP RAGS!

Apparently the library assistant who was in my position before me just gave birth to twin boys...2 1/2 months early. My manager wanted to get her a Babies 'R Us gift card and some handmade items. I am the only person at the library who makes handmade anything. She asked how long baby blankets would take, and I told her that I honestly didn't know...that I usually make burp rags for people since they are both utilitarian and speedy.

(Thankfully the Miss-A, the children's librarian, reminded my manager that in addition to working full time, I also have personal projects I work on, AND a full graduate course load. Bless her!)

My manager agreed at this point that burp rags would be lovely, was overjoyed to learn that I make them out of cotton instead of acrylic, and requested that I make a couple in blues and white. She said that I would be reimbursed for supplies and time.

So now... in addition to the SEVEN friends/family members who are pregnant and deserving of handknits...I have MORE baby gifts to make for someone I have never even met!

(Bright side: burp rags make good brainless knitting during school lectures, and I don't have to have them till the end of May since the babies are in NICU till then!(not that the babies being in NICU is a bright side, just the far off deadline.))

Argh! And An Ugly Picture!

I finished my beautiful sweater...as rhapsodized about in the previous post.

I went to the Great Mall to find a dress to wear with it on Easter.

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

Actually, the style and cut of the sweater was unflattering with the style and cut of dress I had envisioned (sheath or tailored). I ended up looking like a bunch of little boxes stacked on top of each other. I think that perhaps a more flowing dress would work. The problem is finding a dress that looks right on the bottom, but also has a neckline that works.

I ended up wearing the sweater to work on Saturday and wearing something else on Easter. I did get lots of compliments on the sweater, though. It looks stunning with slacks. The children's librarian wears a lot of sweaters in a similar style, and asked how much it would cost for me to make her one. (Actually, not that much materials-wise since she would want acrylic due to her wool allergy.)

I DO NOT LIKE THIS PICTURE OF ME THAT WAS TAKEN AT WORK. BAD ANGLE. END OF DAY WEARINESS CLEARLY SHOWING. YET I AM PUTTING IT UP ANYWAY.



I promise that a more attractive photo shoot will soon take place and be posted.

Isn't She Lovely

My February Lady sweater is lovely. (I type with all humility.)

I love her.

And I finished her on time as well!

She isn't the first sweater I have made, but she is the first that is actually flattering. My last couple were all made from bulky yarns which, according to What Not To Wear, are not ideal for my body type. February Lady's worsted weight Cascade 220 is much better. Also, the fact that she was knit top-down in-the-round meant that I could make sure she was a flattering length. (An earlier sweater was woefully cropped, and knit in pieces so that the high-water nature was not apparent until I made it up.) She was divine to work with, and I know will be divine to wear.

In fact, I am headed out tomorrow to find appropriate matching garments with which to partner her for Easter on Sunday!

And It's About Time, Too!

THE BABY SWEATER OF DOOM IS FINALLY FINISHED!!!!

It only took me, what, two years to do?

I think it is adorable.

Now I just need to decide which baby this one goes to.

Unlike past years, everyone this year appears to be having a girl.

I am pretty sure it will end up going to Blossom since I used Ark and Fish for motivation.

Once I got past the mental block about this sweater, it actually was quite simple to knit. Also, fairly fast and appropriate for television knitting. The biggest hurdle was actually finding ribbon to use as ties. The color is too peach for most pinks, and too pink for most peaches. I ended up waiting to do the making up till I was home for grad school last weekend. (I had exhausted all ribbon resources in my area, so decided to try the ones in WA. Funny...I ended up knitting ties in the end anyway!)

I already have yarn in stash to make a couple more. But I will be smart, and make sure I can find ribbon for them BEFORE casting on.

Why I Love Grad School Residencies

1. I get a plane ride, plus all the lovely airport waiting time, in which to knit.


2. I get to visit new and exciting yarn shops that have opened since the last time I was home.


3. I get to buy stuff.


4. I get to knit DURING classes, and all the lovely breaks in between.


5. I get to visit yarn shops I have missed.


6. I get to buy stuff.


7. I get to spend time with former knitting pupils...


8. ...while knitting.


9. I get yarn as Easter presents.


10. I get to go to baseball tournaments, during which I can knit.


11. I get another plane ride back home, and all the lovely airport waiting time, in which to knit.


12. And I make a lot of progress!

Debbie Macomber's Shop

Not everyone may be aware of the fact that knitting books exist. (And by this I refer to novels about knitters, not instructional texts.)

People who are aware of their existence may not be familiar with the Debbie Macomber series about the "Shop on Blossom Street". I believe there are now 5 of them.

People who are familiar with the series might not know that Debbie Macomber is from Port Orchard, WA and recently opened a yarn shop there of her own called A Good Yarn.

I was aware, familiar, and knew. (Or at least, I knew once Mom told me.)

Since I am up in WA this weekend for grad school residency, Mom and I made the not-at-all-out-of-the-way trip to visit said yarn shop.

It was delightful.

I bought stuff.

Am I that obvious?

I received some lovely Christmas gifts from a friend.

They included sock yarn. Orange sock yarn. Self striping orange sock yarn.

Said friend and I had met via email through a mutual friend.

Apparently I talk about knitting often enough, and my love of all things orange, that he knew just what to get me. (Not just everyone would appreciate a gift that requires effort on their part. No-siree-bob!)

Here is the first finished sock:

Just my regular old plain jane sock pattern. 2x2 rib with a flap heel. Nothing super exciting since I didn't want to detract at all from the yarn's coloration.

I already cast on the second in an effort to stave off Second Sock Syndrome, and will take it on my trip this weekend...it will make a good purse project.