Winning Them Over...One Dishcloth at a Time!

I have a co-worker, Candid, whom I adore, who can be...well...a wee bit snarky...which might be why I enjoy her so much. She says what she thinks, bluntly and honestly...if you ask her opinion, you have to be sure you want it because there will be no sugar coating.

She has been quite honest with me about my knitting. She thinks it is perfectly ridiculous for someone young, such as myself, to sit at home knitting and watching movies. She is not exactly a knitting nay-sayer, because she thinks it is fine that I know how to knit, and has even admired things that I have made...she mostly just objects to the frequency of my knitting.

Candid once commented that she didn't understand my dishcloths. She is a sponge sort of gal. She thought they were too pretty to use, and frankly a waste of time. I assured her they were quite utilitarian, more sanitary than a sponge, and completely washable. Then I asked her what color her kitchen things were.

I made her a quick dishcloth out of tan cotton in the Movie Theater I pattern. She took it home, washed some dishes, came back, and agreed that it did work...but that she was reserving judgment until she had washed it.

Now she can't stop RAVING about how wonderful it is. Not only does it wash, it actually works better now that it has been washed a time or two. She can't imagine why she ever used a sponge.

Another knitting nay-sayer won over! (2.3 billion left to go!)

Port Townsend...finally

I finally buckled down and felted the Port Townsend Purse. Its only been completely knit for what? A year now? (And the award for best display of procrastination goes to...)

The purse is called the Port Townsend because I bought the yarn when I went with Sister to Port Townsend for Memorial Day 2008. (Fun day. Lovely yarn shop. Also, the first time I ever parallel parked...proud moment.)



The yarn is 100% alpaca...which is my favorite fiber, but not one I had ever felted before. (I just like to pet it. A lot.) I think it felted rather well! It is Misti Alpaca worsted in peacock melange and chartreuse melange.

The pattern is original. I like it, but it didn't come out quite the way I envisioned. I ran out of the green yarn before I had the purse body the length I wanted. Port Townsend was too far away to go for more, and the likelihood of finding the same dye lot was slim anyway. As a result, it is longer and skinnier than I had anticipated. I think I will try the pattern again with some greys that I have in the stash. Make a larger, less clutchy purse.

Testing the Appliances

I have, in the past week, knit 4 coffee cup cozies.

I know.

I'm crazy.

Or at least, I have way too much free time on my hands.

Personally, I blame the knee injury. I have no choice but to sit on my couch and knit while Fred and Ginger dance across my television screen.

Still, I figured that this was a good opportunity to test out the felting abilities of my new apartment's washer and dryer.

And the gift stash rejoices!

Harry Potter

I am going to go see Harry Potter tonight with Blondie. I am very excited since I am the only person in my family/circle of friends who has not seen it. (My work schedule and gimp-status kept me from going sooner.)

I am racking my brain to figure out what knitting should accompany me.

Should I take a project that I have been working on for eons, a project that has a deadline (quickly approaching), or a new project altogether?

I feel like I ought to work on something out of my Harry Potter knitting book, but none of those patterns are really of the brain-free nature that a Potter movie requires...and I don't have yarn on hand, so would have to go shopping...which isn't necessarily a bad thing...

I could always work on a coffee cup cozy for the gift stash, since they are the definition of brain-free...only I would finish the cozy before the movie ended.

Dishcloths are another option...but how boring is that? And I am a wee bit dishclothed out.

ARGH!!!

I don't know.

I'll figure it out.

It is so difficult being me sometimes!

Addendum to the Conclusion

I gave JoNo the hat.

He loved it.

But asked if I could add the strings to the earflaps.

I said sure, and took the hat back after photographing him in it.

Then he asked if the strings could be neon green.

Boys are weird.

Conclusion of the Matter

I took a poll.

Apparently I am the only human being alive that can tell the difference between the two yarns in JoNo's hat...and admittedly even I can only do it in certain lights and possibly because I know where I joined the new ball in.

I am heeding the advice (*cough* commands *cough*) of my friends and giving JoNo the original hat as is.

I am letting go and moving on.

We'll see how that goes...

Decorative AND Useful

When I was working on the wedding present for Starlet, I intended on making a set of dishcloths AND a dish towel. I completed the dishcloths, purchased dish soap and rubber gloves, but didn't get the dish towel finished.

So, I took it to camp, where I diligently worked on it every chance I got. While working on it , I was repeatedly asked what it was. When I answered a dish towel, I was met with surprise. One person even went so far as to say it was too pretty to be a dish towel. (This made me momentarily consider lengthening it into a wrap and keeping it for myself. However, I muscled past my selfish tendencies, and continued working it as planned.)

Unfortunately it was not done in time for the wedding, and since Starlet didn't know that she was supposed to get a dish towel too, I left it out of the gift bag.

It is now finished, and truly is almost Too Pretty. So I am calling it the Too Pretty Dish Towel. The pattern is from Mason-Dixon's first book, with the only alteration being that I made it solid instead of striped. The yarn is Grace by Patons in "Amethyst"...a 100% mercerized cotton. It is silky soft, and will hopefully wash well.

It should be both decorative AND useful in Starlet's new kitchen...once I stop petting it long enough to actually give it to her!

No Dye Lot Yarn

JoNo requested that I make him a beanie as his graduation present. Since he has been so sweet lately, I went so far as to agree to make ear flaps.

He wanted it to be dark blue...which was perfect since I had a goodly amount of dark blue acrylic left over from an earlier project (I believe it was a scarf I made as an undergrad for one of the Oblivious Twins...the one who still actually keeps in contact, not the other one).

I merrily began knitting.
First one ear flap.
Then the other.
Then connected them and knit the 1x1 ribbed band.
Then knit the main body of the hat in a 3x1 rib.
Simple mostly brainless knitting that allowed me to enjoy both Funny Girl and Funny Lady.

But then when it came time to start the decreases, I looked down and realized that I did not have enough yarn left to finish the beanie.

No sweat! It was, according to the ball band that had miraculously survived sitting in the stash for at least 5 years: Caron Simply Soft NO DYE LOT YARN.

What a bogus bunch of hogwash. I had Blondie drive me to the store to get some more.
Under the craft store's cheap fluorescent lights, the yarns appeared to match.
Under my less than ideal lighting at home, while I knit it, it appeared to match.
But, now that the beanie is completed and I have examined it in the lovely natural sunlight streaming in through the living room window, it clearly DOES NOT MATCH!!!!

I have two options:

1. Give it to JoNo and hope he doesn't care, since it really is only a wee bit on the crown and not MILES off in color.

2. Knit a whole new beanie with the new yarn, and unwind the old beanie and reknit it as a child's size or without earflaps.

ARGH!

Camp: A Photo

The photo from camp...as promised:



I took more pictures, just not many knitting related ones.

Also, I torqued my right knee pretty badly...hence why it is wrapped in the picture. I actually have to go see the doctor about it tomorrow. Being forced to sit around with it elevated and iced has advantages though, since my activities are pretty much limited to watching movies, reading, and/or knitting!

Supersonic Superknitter!

Today was the last day of camp. Which was kind of sad. I had a great, albeit exhausting, time.

However...camp ending doesn't mean that counselors can just skedaddle. No! We have end of camp duties, like cabin checks, and camper checks, etc. Which would be fine if that was all I had to do today.

But it wasn't.

Immediately following camp, I had to (without breaking the law) speed home, shower (cause I was dirty having spent a week at camp), and then continue down the freeway to a wedding. (It was a nice wedding too, not one of those backyard flip flop affairs...I had to put some effort into my appearance!)

I made it though, and the wedding was lovely. The bride was beautiful.

But, you may be wondering, what does all this have to do with knitting? Isn't this a knitting blog?

Well, of course it is. The bride, Starlet, and groom are now the proud owners of a set of 4 dishcloths. (Along with coordinating fancy schmancy dish soap and a pair of rubber gloves...I am all about coordinating gifts!)

(To further complain...I went straight from the wedding to Brother and Sis-In-Law's house. Any excuse to get out of doing camp laundry!)

Camp Knitting Update

I will post camp pictures later...

However, I thought I would update: I LOVE CAMP!!!!!

Also, the number of new people who have learned to knit this week: 5.

So, there you have it.

Posting from my phone is a wee bit of a pain! The typing part isn't, it's that I can't upload pictures. Oh well.

Weirdest Request Ever

I meant to post this eons ago...but I never got the pictures. I am tired of waiting, and at camp, and too tired to write a new post, so here you go:

The Friday before Christmas, at an ornament exchange for church, my friend Psych came up to me and made a request. I had given her an IOU for a handknit on her birthday, and she had finally decided what she wanted. It was the strangest, and most fun-to-execute, request that I have ever received.

It seems that her husband, Preacher, has an insanely disgusting big toe on one foot from years of playing soccer. I have never seen the toe in all its glory, but apparently it can make small children cry. While sitting on the couch together, Preacher jokingly told Psych that he should have me knit him a cozy for his toe. (This makes sense in light of that fact that whenever I am at their house...which is often (Monday night bible studies, Tuesday night American Idol, random game nights, movie nights, holiday parties, etc)...I am knitting something. They both thought this was funny. Psych decided to act on it.

She wondered if I could knit a cozy for his toe in time for her to stick it in his Christmas Stocking. I said sure...how long could it take? I actually got it done in time to slip it to her at church on Sunday. It was actually REALLY easy. I basically just made a teeny tiny elongated hat. I even got fancy and put rugby stripes on it for that manly edge.

Apparently it was a hit! Preacher said I should try marketing them to soccer players, because most of the ones he knows also have nasty toes. (Maybe ballerinas, too.) I could start a whole line of toe cozies that would enable people everywhere to continue to wear flip-flops without the nerdiness or overly-warm nature of a full sock/sandal combo!

First Night At Camp

Camp started today.

I am in my cabin.

I am sitting on my bunk, surrounded by campers.

We are playing the ice breaker games generally required as first night activities.

And I am knitting.

Surprised?

No?

The girls were!

The Camp Dilemma

I am, as of 6:00 pm yesterday, on vacation until 9:00 am on July 16th.

I will spend the majority of this vacation as a counselor at the Northern California Florida College Booster Camp in Felton, CA. I am VERY excited. This is my first time ever being a counselor, and I am also going to be one of four team leaders for sports! (I know, that is totally out of character...athletics are not my strong point...but Director says I only have to cheer/coordinate kids, not actually participate!)

The camp dilemma is...knitting.

The issue isn't whether or not I will knit. I don't think I could actually make it the whole week without knitting. The issues are what I will be knitting and how many projects I should take.

I had planned on taking Blondie's graduation/going away present to work on, but that may get a little large for carting around to sports fields. I also thought I would take a pair of socks, of the plain boring brain-free variety, which would be smaller. Still, neither one is very good for the possibly dirty/dusty conditions. Also, well, I know me. If people see me knitting (which they will), and want to try, I will have to teach. There may be dozens of young folk just begging to be taught. I can't teach them on a sock. I can't let newbies work on Blondie's present. What to do?

I guess I can take several spare sets of size 6 and 7 needles and a bag of dishcloth yarn. It would be cheap, and a dishcloth could feasibly be doable for a kid in a week.

If I take too much yarn I won't have room for clothes. This could be a problem.

(Another problem may be blogging...not sure how that will work out without a computer...although I will have my iphone...maybe we will just have VERY brief entries!)

Ribbit Ribbit

I was working on Les Tuileries Monday night, when I noticed that I had messed the stitch pattern up in the second or third row...which was 8 inches or so ago.

It would have bugged me forever.

So, I frogged. All night. And then rewound the yarn on the skeins.

The biggest headache came from the fact that since I am using a hand dyed cotton, I had been alternating skeins every few rows. Talk about existential yarn boogers as I unraveled it. NIGHTMARE.

At least I got several movies finished while I worked. (I seem to be on a literary/BBC/Jane Austen kick.) And since Tuesday was my late day at work, I was able to sleep in.

So, here I go. Starting fresh.