Super Knitter

Cousin Cardigan

2011-03-14T13:00:00.000-05:00

Chloe's Sweater

Bonnet

2011-03-13T16:25:00.000-05:00

Commission baby hat for Childress

Interview Scarf

2011-03-12T16:21:00.000-06:00

Cashmere Cowl

2011-03-11T16:20:00.000-06:00

Single Episode

2011-03-10T16:19:00.000-06:00

Biggest Loser baby hat for Paul

Canada Scarf

2011-03-09T16:19:00.000-06:00

Winder

2011-03-08T22:17:00.000-06:00

Eleanor Completed

2011-03-06T16:13:00.001-06:00

I didn't blog much about this sweater, but then I haven't blogged much lately period. It is made out of a lovely silk and alpaca yarn...Knit Picks Andean Silk in "Merlin". The pattern is called "Aquitaine." It is by Deborah Newton and appeared in the Winter 2009 Interweave Knits issue.

The sweater was a fairly relaxing knit. The lace pattern around the yoke and sleeves was intricate enough to be interesting, but simple enough to not completely stress me out. I like the way that the sweater fits...the measurements in the pattern are dead on, which was a relief. It also didn't take very long, comparatively speaking...and speaking of comparisons, this sweater was an absolute job compared to the Clementine.

Also...this is a very very very very warm sweater. gotta be the alpaca.

Surprise!

2011-03-05T12:45:00.000-06:00

YaYa decided to throw a baby shower for Miss A on the Sunday of New Year's weekend...and asked if there was anyway I could come out for it. I called my parents. I called my not parents. I bought a plane ticket. The plan was for me to cut my trip to WA a few days short and fly down to CA for the last weekend of my vacation.

The shower was being held at the library. It was SO much fun to see everybody again, and Miss A was very very surprised.

I knit a little baby cardigan for Wild Thing, her soon to arrive son. I made it out of navy blue cotton, and added little wooden toggle buttons. (Miss A appreciated the button's Paddington Bear vibe.)

Hopefully the sweater will fit Wild Thing before it gets too hot for him to wear it!

(By the way...that is Candid in the picture with Miss A...)

Demands of My Sister

2011-03-04T16:15:00.000-06:00

My sister gave me a gift card to Debbie Macomber's yarn shop for Christmas. This was delightful because it meant I had to go to the yarn shop before I left town. (Twist my arm...such punishment...)

We went to the shop and I walked around looking at literally every yarn available. I wanted to pick something out that I couldn't easily get online. I also wanted something that would have that festive, Christmas gift feel...so not dishcloth yarn...As I meandered about petting and squishing the pretty skeins, my mom and sister also wandered about.

Eventually Sister came over. Apparently she had found a hat that she HAD to have. Which translates to she found a hat that I was supposed to make for her. This happens fairly regularly when Sister and I go to yarn shops. It isn't that she can't knit. She can. I am pretty sure that we have taught her how. It is more that she doesn't see the point in it when I make her everything her heart desires.

I looked at the pattern and said I would make it if she bought the yarn for it. I would even pay for the pattern. (She seemed shocked that she had to buy the yarn...but that's the way the cookie crumbles.)

She picked out some lovely wool. I made the hat when I got back to TX. I must really love her to make something with stranded color work. I hate color work. It worked out well though, and she was very grateful when it came in the mail...Kentucky has been having LOTS of snow days this winter.

(Oh, and I bought myself some alpaca with the gift card...it is not yet assigned a project...)

Elephant in the Room

2011-03-03T22:00:00.000-06:00

Every year my extended family gets together at Christmas and does a white elephant style gift exchange. We set a $5 limit, and try to actually bring things that people want. (As opposed to weird gag gifts.) Generally speaking people are good about insuring that there are things the littles will like, and the aunts/uncles are always well optioned...but there tends to be little geared toward my older guy cousins. I have taken upon myself to fill this need. One year, for example, I took a huge roll of duct tape.

This year I knit a version of the Knox Beanie in a variegated grey. Technically it was more than the limit...I normally charge about $20 for a beanie. Still, I figured if I didn't charge myself for labor it would be ok. The yarn itself cost right around $5.

I sat by my cousin Reb, who is 20, during the gift exchange. His turn was coming up. Several gifts had been opened: quilt books, bouncing balls, tools... Things were getting sketchy. There wasn't anything really stealable, and the chances of a gift he wanted were dropping...I pointed to the box I had wrapped and said, in a very obviously hinting way, I brought that one.

He ended up picking mine, and opened up the beanie. Which he immediately plopped on his head. Apparently he liked it enough to block anyone from stealing it by wearing it.

I'm glad he liked it!

Handknits to the Rescue

2011-03-02T12:30:00.000-06:00

My mother had a minor procedure done on her head the first week I was home for Christmas break. She was perfectly fine afterward except for the fact that the stitches/recovery stipulated that she could not wash her hair for a few days.

We had church to attend. She couldn't shampoo her hair.

What to do? What to do?

What she decided to do was ask me ahead of time to bring all my berets home with me.

Sunday morning she picked out her outfit, we found an appropriate beret, and styled her up beautifully. No one at church had any idea that the decision was anything but an aesthetic one.

Handknits save the day yet again!

O Canada! I Love to Shop In Thee!

2011-03-01T16:45:00.001-06:00

While we were in Victoria, I forced my ever patient family to walk a good distance to a yarn shop I found in the yellow pages. (It was weird having to resort to analog research techniques...seeing as how I didn't want to pay the international rates to use my cell phone.)

We easily found the Beehive Wool Shop on Douglas Street...I loved that it was a wool shop, instead of a yarn shop. (Does that mean it is an LWS instead of an LYS?) It had a lot of space, great light, and loads of charm. The staff was delightfully helpful as well. AND it has been in business for over a century. AMAZING. Loved it. Highly recommend it. Go to Canada. Go to Victoria. Go to this shop.

I, of course, purchased some yarn. I wanted it to be Canadian yarn, er...wool, so I selected a skein of Tough Love sock yarn from Sweet Georgia Yarns. This yarn company is located in Vancouver, Canada...and the yarn is hand dyed. I dithered back and forth on the colorway before settling on "Violet Hill".

The fun thing was that when we got back to the ferry's customs to cross back into the US, the customs official asked if I had anything to declare. He sure gave me a funny look when I said yarn!

Canadian Silliness

2011-02-28T10:45:00.000-06:00

When I was home for Christmas, Mom and Dad took Sister and I up to Victoria for a brief jaunt. Funny how one forgets that Canada is a foreign country. It was so much like Washington, and yet so completely different. (Funny how you can travel a couple of hours and all of a sudden everyone pronounces their vowels in a quaint and exciting way.)

While there I walked past this amusing hat on sign post. It led me to wonder, was this an act of purposeful urban kniting grafitti...or did someone lose their actual hat and it was placed there for safekeeping?

I'll never know for sure.

And it'll probably bother me.

Forever.

Just Playing Around!

2011-02-27T14:00:00.002-06:00

I love my nephew. He is the best baby ever. Babies need toys.

My mom came across a pattern to knit covers for super balls, and then felt them. The balls still bounce really well, but not as erratically, and are easier for little fingers to grasp.

I had some Noro Kureyon in the stash that was perfect. What I didn't have was a super ball. It turns out that in this modern digital age, super balls are not only incredibly difficult to find...they are also insanely expensive. Still, nothing but the best for Nephew. I finally tracked on down and got to knitting.

The knitting itself was very fast and easy. It only took a couple hours. What was not fast and easy was the felting. I had to run the ball through the wash/dry cycle 10 times before it was properly tight/fuzzy/felty. I sure liked it though.

And I think that Nephew did as well!

He Likes It! from Megan May on Vimeo.

When Birthdays and Christmas Converge

2011-02-26T18:30:00.002-06:00

For my birthday, back in August, Mom gave me The Knitter's Book of Wool. It is a very neat book. It talks about how different sheep create different types of wool, and how various wools are more suited to certain types of projects. (Wonder why Aran sweaters developed where they did? Cause the sheep's wool was perfect for Aran sweaters, thats why!)

The book also had some really nice patterns. Mom particularly liked a certain farrow rib knit in the round cardigan. It was called the Allegin. It was a very pretty sweater, and looked like it was well within my skill set.

Mom's birthday is in December. Christmas is in December. It is always a bit of challenge figuring out what to get her for both, and to properly budget them. Occasionally though I have moments of brilliance. I decided it would be a GREAT idea to knit said sweater for mom for a combination birthday and Christmas present. Mom is a great knitter, but rarely takes the time to knit anything for herself...and I don't know when she last knit a sweater.

With a little help from my dad (who selected the color of the yarn...Knitpicks Shamrock in Kavanagh), I buckled down to knit the sweater. The pattern was extremely well written and easy to follow. I knit the sleeves first, and placed them on waste yarn. Then I knit the body from the bottom up, joined the sleeves, and knit the yoke in one piece. I LOVED that there was no seaming up to do. I hate seaming up.

I actually got the sweater completed and the ends woven in before I got home for Christmas break. I had planned on giving mom as much as was finished for her birthday, since I did not think it at all possible that I would finish it by her birthday. And then I was going to finish the rest before Christmas. Instead, when I gave it to her, all it was missing was the buttons. (I have always found buttons to be a very personal choice. The wrong buttons can completely change the personality and appeal of a sweater.)

Mom was delighted and surprised to get the sweater. Together we went shopping for the pewter buttons. She wore it to the family Christmas gathering at my grandparents, as well as to work.

I think it turned out extremely flattering, and love the way it looks on her. I may just make a version for myself as well.

Falling Off and Getting Back On

2011-02-25T22:45:00.001-06:00

Stopped blogging again.

Rats.

Starting up again.

In order to play catch up, I have done the following: pre-written blog posts covering the knitting I have been doing, uploaded the pictures appropriately, and scheduled them to post DAILY until I am back on track.

Please note...these entries are not necessarily in the correct order of occurrence.

Apologies to my readers.

Hypothetical Knitting

2010-12-17T21:45:00.002-06:00

I have a friend, Printer, who has a screen printing business, and has done a LOT of t-shirts for me and the residence hall this year. I fear he tends to cut me a better deal than he ought to occasionally. So, because we are friends, and because he is so generous...I wanted to give him a Christmas present. The problem is, he is a bit of a tricky fellow to shop for. He doesn't have a television, he makes his own t-shirts, he doesn't collect anything, he doesn't have any real hobbies to speak of...I decided to knit something for him. The problem was determining what to knit that he would actually wear or want. So, we had the following telephone conversation:

Me: So, hypothetically, if someone were to knit something for you, would you wear it?
Him: It depends on what it is.
Me: Lets say it was hypothetically a beanie.
Him: Possibly. Would it look...crafty?
Me: Not necessarily.
Him: Yeah. I would probably wear it.
Me: Hypothetically, what color would it need to be.
Him: Something dark like black or grey.
Me: Ok.

A few nights later, we had another telephone conversation:

Him: What are you up to tonight?
Me: I'm knitting.
Him: Knitting knitting, or hypothetically knitting?
Me: Hypothetically knitting.
Him: How is it coming? Hypothetically.
Me: Hypothetically, I am really liking the pattern design I came up with.
Him: Cool.

I, hypothetically, finished the beanie and mailed it to my sister in Kentucky. (Printer also lives there, too...I put it in the same box as SNCFan's hat and scarf to save on postage.)

She delivered it to Printer before she came up to the parents' house for the holidays. Hypothetically he can wear it frequently this winter as Bowling Green is having an appallingly cold and icy December.

Apparently, he liked it, as in an unprecedented move, he actually took a picture of himself and sent it to me.

He is pondering deep hypotheses.

And it looks much better on him than it did on me.

The pattern was really easy. It is a variation on a standard 2X2 ribbed beanie that ended up in a sort of waffle pattern. It was a little less boring than a standard beanie without being fussy or girly. Heaven forbid we knit anything less than masculine! I will write it up soon and post it.

Airport Eyre

2010-12-15T12:45:00.003-06:00

I am flying back to Washington today for the holidays. (Actually...I am bouncing all over for the holidays...Canada, Oregon, etc.) This means I need airport knitting. And, I actually need more airport knitting than normal.

I plan on arriving at the airport at least an hour before my flight, then there is the nearly 2 hour flight to Vegas, then the 3 hour layover in Vegas, then the additional 2 hour flight to SeaTac, then the nearly 2 hour drive from the airport to my parents' house...which comes to roughly 10 hours of knitting...and that is just on the way there!

After much thought and deliberation, I decided my best bet was the Eyre Wrap. It requires no pattern looking, and there is no way on earth that I will finish it and need to start another project.

The Eyre Wrap is my own adaptation of the Bridesmaid Wrap in Suss Cousins' book Wedding Knits. The pattern called for a very thin yarn to be knit on very large needles. I tried it. I tried it 4 times over the past 3 years or so with different yarns. I really did not enjoy trying to knit lace on size 11 needles. What should have been a fairly brain-free knitting project (1x1 rib for forever and a day) was horrid...also, the pattern called for the sleeves to be knit flat and seamed in. As anyone who knows me may remember, I hate seaming things up! The pattern kept going back in the queue and the yarns were repurposed.

Sister gave me a craft store gift for my birthday (thank you), and I found some Caron Simply Soft in Pagoda. It was the exact color I was looking for to make a drapey wrappy cardigany thing. Since I was gonna make it up as I went, I didn't want to spend a ton on yarn...so was willing to go with an acrylic. (I have used this yarn before for experiment projects...reasonably priced and nice to work with.) When I was drawing up the design, I kept coming back to a version of the Bridesmaid Wrap. The yarn's gauge was the same as the patterns, only the yarn was thicker so it wouldn't be a pain like the lace. This wrap should look similar to the original pattern, just less airy and lacy. (And I was actually wanting a cozier wrap anyway.)

But what about the piecing? Well, thanks to Wendy Barnard and her book/blog/patterns, I am confident in my ability to pick up the sleeves from the armscye and knit them down in the round...so we will see how that goes.

Raiding the Gift Stash

2010-12-13T16:30:00.000-06:00

On Halloween, some of my staff members decided to dress up as lumberjacks. They had boots, they had plaid shirts, they had 5 o clock shadows...they even had elastic to make fake suspenders. What did they still need? The iconic lumberjack beanie! What did I have lots of in my gift stash? The iconic lumberjack beanie!

(That battle axe that Arty AD is holding was found in the residence hall's magic closet, dubbed Narnia. Seriously...it is like Mary Poppins' carpet bag...whenever we need something, anything, we go look in Narnia...and it is ALWAYS there! Now if I could only convince Narnia to function like a yarn shop...)

Commissions and Crunches

2010-12-11T16:28:00.004-06:00

In addition to knitting projects for my own enjoyment, I completed several commission projects this semester as well.

HeeBee Beret:
One of my Resident Assistants, HeeBee, really liked the berets that I had made for myself. She asked if I could make her one in purples and greys. Berets being nearly as fast as beanies, I agreed. I made it out of KnitPicks Imagination in Arabian Nights. She really liked it, and received a ton of compliments!

Flame Beret {Photo Pending}:
One of the people who really liked HeeBee's beret was her really good friend Flame. Flame asked if I would make her a beret as well. She picked a yarn that I had in the stash. It was a jewel tone variegated Hacho from Mirasol Peru. (The yarn has been discontinued...so I bought scads of it in various colors on clearance at Knit This Purl That...LOVE THIS YARN!!!) Flame is classically beautiful in an old Hollywood sort of way. She looked great in the beret.

Dr. and Mrs. Boss Socks:
As previously blogged, Dr. Boss commissioned a couple of pairs of socks. Things got a little hairy with both pairs because I was using a self striping yarn. I am a little uptight, and had determined that the stripes on both pairs had to match perfectly. It was a bit of a headache, but worth it in the end. Overall Mrs. Dr. Boss's socks were a breeze. Lovely football knitting. Lovely airplane knitting as well. Dr. Boss's socks, on the other hand, not as joyous.(Note to self: Man Socks take FOREVER. I thought I would never finish those boogers.) I was very concerned that I was going to run out of yarn. In the end both pairs turned out beautifully, and were appreciated by their recipients.

A Capella Beanie and Scarf {Photo Pending}:
Sister has a really good friend that I met when I was visiting out there. SNC was heading up to Chicago for a Straight No Chaser concert...I think it is about the 1000th she has gone to. Chicago = Cold. SNC knew I knit (how could she not, I was doing it constantly while I was there) and asked if I could make her a plum hat and scarf. I took a pattern that I have been developing (The Hypothetical Beanie) and converted it into a scarf pattern, and made the matching beanie. I really liked the way they turned out. Hopefully SNC did as well.

A Couple of the projects I made for others can only be called Crunches! They were last minute, looming deadline, oh no I totally need to get these done NOW!!!

Wedding Knitting {No Photo, Cause They Are Gifts}:
BFF's younger sister is getting married this next week. I had asked her months ago what her kitchen colors were so that I could knit her dishcloths. But...then I kept postponing making them. Fast forward to last week. One of my residents goes to church with BFF's parents in Houston, and had agreed to act as my own personal UPS truck. She was going to take BFF's Christmas presents home with her at the end of the semester...WHOOPS! I had less than a week to get the wedding dishcloths done! Ack! Luckily they are quick knits...I made up 2 Movie Theater Dishcloths I...finishing them the night before they had to leave town! That was cutting it a wee bit close. I hope she likes them!

Argyle Beanie:
Argyle, one of my fellow RDs, is spending part of the winter break in Washington, D.C. It gets quite cold there, and Argyle does NOT like being cold. We were standing in the main office discussing holiday plans, when he turned to me and asked me if I had any spare beanies in my gift stash, and if so how much they cost. I told him that I certainly did, and quoted him a price. He pulled out the cash and said he wanted a grey or black one. I took the cash and went back to my apartment, where to my horror I realized that the grey beanie I thought was in the stash had actually been used as an emergency birthday gift a month or so earlier. OH NO! I took money under false pretenses! Luckily for me, I had dark grey yarn languishing in my stash. I cast on a version of the Knox beanie on a Thursday afternoon, and finished it before bed that night. It was a close call though...

Completions

2010-12-09T21:30:00.004-06:00

I have been VERY productive this semester, as mentioned previously. Here are a few of the things I have finished. (This is not a complete rundown, since some of the projects were commissions, which I will talk about tomorrow, or are Christmas gifts, which I will show you after the holiday!)

Three Towers:
A few months ago I was ordering yarn from KnitPicks and needed to spend another $3 in order to get free shipping...so I ordered a ball of Swish DK Yarn in Merriwether...a color they don't seem to have anymore. When it arrived, I realized that it was almost the same color as Sister's eyes, and decided use it to make a beret for her. I had come across a stitch pattern that looked like the Eiffel Tower. Since Sister and I visited Paris together, I thought it would be fun to try and incorporate that into my standard beret. The result? The Three Towers.

Grimm Scarf:
I had initially hoped to submit the pattern for my blood and shadows scarf to KnitPicks. Who knows? I still might. In order to do so, I needed to knit a version of it out of one of their yarns. I bought a skein of the Imagination Hand Painted Sock Yarn in Wicked Witch. I also decided that the scarf pattern needed a new name. Since the original scarf was made as an homage to vampire literature, I knew I wanted a name that was dark. At the same time, I wanted to tie the name into the fantasy nature of the yarn colourways. How handy that some of the best fairy tales were written by the Brothers Grimm. I finished the scarf while I was in Kentucky a few weeks ago.

Shrug:
I made myself a shrug out of KnitPicks Shamrock yarn in Campbell. I LOVED working with this yarn. The color changes in it kept the knitting interesting, even though the pattern was the single most brainless project I think I have ever done! The pattern was the free Lion Brand Stockinette Shrug. I've linked to it, but it may require a membership to view. It is a REALLY easy pattern. You knit a really long rectangle with ribbing at each end, and then seam up the sides. It is crazy. And I think it is very flattering. (Also, it is very warm...being Shetland wool and all...)

Clementine Cardi:
I sort of almost finished this one. But I am still mad at it. No pictures until I get to Washington.

Colton Scarf:
After I finished the Baby^3 Blanket, I had odd amounts of the various yarns left over. What to do? What to do? And then it hit me...make a version of the scarf that goes with everything! I did a 2x2 ribbed scarf, changing yarns at random points throughout. It came out beautifully. I'm giving it to BFF for Christmas so that she can match the baby! (I'm pretty sure she doesn't read the blog, so I feel perfectly safe posting it here...)I think that this is a really great way to use up the stash as well. I have lots of little teeny tiny scrap balls that are just begging to be scarfed up!

On Becoming a Sports Fan

2010-12-07T16:22:00.003-06:00

I can honestly say that I have attended more sporting events this semester than the rest of my life combined. And I have definitely watched more football! (I actually understand the game now!) The advantage to having so much school spirit...aside from getting paid to...was that it offered numerous opportunities to knit.

I knit at intramural games...in the stands, and on the sidelines.

I knit at ACU football games.

I knit at volleyball games.

I knit at soccer games.

After the first game or so, people stopped staring. They simply didn't notice that I was doing anything out of the ordinary. Instead, on the rare occasion I wasn't knitting, they would notice I was idle and ask where my knitting was!

So, what was the most exciting thing that happened during this strange journey into jock-dom? I got a concussion. I got a concussion without even participating

I was sitting on the bleachers at a McKinzie Skull Caps intramural football game (they are our brother hall). I saw the McKinzie RD had arrived, and decided to go say hello. I stepped sideways off the bleacher. I thought the footrest extended out a bit past the seat. I was wrong. I missed the step, landed on the side of my foot and went over backwards...hitting the back of my head (hard) on the ground. The residents I had been talking to were worried. They helped me up and asked if I was ok. Then one of their boyfriends started laughing. They stared at him, since that was not an appropriate response...till he explained, and we all started laughing. See, I had been knitting a sock. The ball of yarn was in the pocket of my hoodie, and I had the circulars in my hand. When I fell over backwards, I had instinctively lifted my hands to keep my yarn from getting dirty, and somehow managed the whole thing without even dropping a stitch. He couldn't believe that I had tried to save the knitting rather than myself. (Clearly! I mean, a gal has to have priorities. My head would heal...the sock may not have!)

I am already looking forward to next season...knitting and sports! Who would have thought they were so compatible?

Gardner Hall Intramural Knitting Team

2010-12-05T16:24:00.003-06:00

When I came back to ACU, I decided to resurrect an old program that I had done when I was an RA here. I used to have a community service group called Team Tabitha. I taught the girls on Team Tabitha traditional domestic skills, with their first project being a service project. (We did baking, and took cookies to the firefighters in town. We did flower arrangements, and took them to nursing homes. I taught knitting, and they donated their scarves to the homeless.)

This year, I revamped the program. We created the Gardner Hall Intramural Knitting Team. I ordered team tshirts. The girls started calling our get togethers "meets". We met once a week. I taught them simple knitting, and offered them service hours if they donated their scarves to homeless ministries.

45 girls came to the first "meet". Attendance varied after that...anywhere from 3-30 residents in any given week. I started seeing girls knitting in the lobby, at football games, in the campus center. It is epic. And really, that may have been an underlying motive in starting the team. See, I don't look as strange or odd when I am constantly knitting at events around campus anymore because there are a lot of people randomly knitting. Instead of trying to blend in with the "normals"...I have proselytized...creating more "quirks".

Once the tshirts came in, guys wanted in on it. Officially I have 7 guys on the knitting team...in that they ordered shirts. I have only seen 3 actually pick up needles.

I have had residents come knock on my door at 10 o'clock at night...holding their needles and yarn tentatively in front of them, with huge eyes..."I did something wrong! Can you fix it?" I have fixed more dropped stitches and knots this semester than the previous several years combined. (The really exciting oopses happen when my lefties come to have me fix stuff.)

I have also had crocheters come to me for help, and more than a few hand sewing emergency help requests as well. I am getting quite the reputation for handiness!

So far a lot of my residents have completed their first scarves. Some have gone on to knit more for Christmas presents out of "fancy" yarns. A couple have even learned how to purl, or knit in the round. It has been, by far, the most popular hall program this semester. I can't wait till next semester to see what they come up with!

Clementine Cardigan: The Continuing Saga

2010-12-03T22:30:00.009-06:00

Previously in posts about the Clementine Cardigan: I found a typo in the pattern, after reknitting the collar SEVERAL times. Then, I discovered that the pattern didn't call for enough yarn, and had a mini panic attack before ordering 450 more yards from KnitPicks...

And now, the rest of the story...thus far...

After ordering the supplemental yarn, I set the offending cardigan aside, and worked on something far less frustrating. A week or so later the yarn arrived, but I was still mad at the sweater, so I put the yarn on the shelf and ignored it for a while. (Which was actually kind of sad. It wasn't the sweater's fault, after all. It was the pattern designer's.)

Eventually I did pick it back up. I joined my new yarn on, and finished the body and the button bands. I picked up the stitches for the right sleeve. I knit down the sleeve. I completed the sleeve and looked at the amount of yarn I had left.

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!! I AM NOT GOING TO HAVE ENOUGH YARN TO FINISH THE SECOND SLEEVE!!!! WHAT IS THIS THING? THE BLACK HOLE OF YARN??!!!???

At this point the entire sweater and needles and pattern went flying across the living room, and I burst into tears. I would have cursed at the sweater designer had I not been a good Christian girl. (As it is, I may have wished some horrible yarn tangles on her...)

Once again I called KnitPicks. Once again they shipped me more yarn. (Bless you KnitPicks telephone operators. You are little rays of light in a dark hole of knitting despair!)

I ordered 3 more skeins, since that is how many it would take to finish the second sleeve.

The new yarn came, and the second sleeve was finished. (By the way, please note that the pattern called for 950 yards of yarn. By the time I was finished with it I had ordered a total of 1650 yards of the Shine Worsted...and I have, exactly, 23 yards left over.)

And yet, that is not the last frustration with the sweater from...ahem...well, you know where...

I live in such a podunk little town in West Texas now, that I cannot find a single store that has 12 matching buttons to sew to this stupid thing!

Seriously?

I guess I will go button shopping when I am in WA at Christmas. Until then, I see no earthly reason why I should weave in my ends. The sweater doesn't deserve to have its ends woven in. It can just wear the tails in shame. The stinking ends can stinking wait till I'm stinking home.

I'm not even going to dignify it with a photo at this point.

Feeling Sheepish: A New Start

2010-12-01T21:15:00.001-06:00

I have been absolutely abominable about posting blog entries the past couple of months.

I have fallen off the face of the blogosphere for far too long.

The funny thing is that I have been knitting this fall. I have been knitting oodles. I would even posit that I have knit more in the past two months than I ever have in the past. And, it isn't that I have had boring run of the mill knitting experiences. Several recent knitting incidents have involved yarn and needles being flung across the living room in frustration...

However, my new job here in TX has been slightly more stressful and time consuming than I had anticipated. By the time I finish working for the day, the mere thought of attempting to blog has been exhausting. (Ironically, it is the high stress level that has contributed to my knitting productivity. I have literally been using knitting to maintain my own sanity.)

I'm feeling sheepish about the whole situation. I need to once again make this blog a priority in my life. So today, December 1, marks my return to good behavior. I will blog. I will blog on odd dates. I will once more take up my keyboard and relate my adventures with fiber.

(This next week will be spent primarily catching you up on the past couple of months...which is actually kind of handy since the majority of my current knitting projects are Christmas surprises that I can't blog about anyway...)

Home Sweet Home

2010-09-17T19:00:00.003-05:00

Being in California for the weekend means that I can go to my "happy place"...

Knit This Purl That!

It is so nice to be home!

(Thank you Twilight for taking me, and helping me complete and then redeem my stash card!)

Packing...as usual

2010-09-15T11:15:00.001-05:00

Normally I have a hard time packing for trips.

But for this trip to CA I am keeping it simple:

Commission socks.

That's it.

So proud of me.

Fuzzy Math

2010-09-13T17:45:00.001-05:00

I am working on the Clementine Cardigan.

The pattern calls for 912 yards of yarn.

I purchased 975 yards of yarn.

I ran out before working the button bands OR the sleeves.

What?

I immediately called KnitPicks...

(Well, maybe not immediately. I went over my math again. I threw a couple of throw pillows. I called my mom long distance to vent. THEN I called KnitPicks.)

Luckily they had some of the same dye lot still in stock.

I ordered 6 more skeins.

Which is an additional 450 yards.

I sure hope that's enough!

Commission Socks

2010-09-11T14:15:00.001-05:00

My new boss, Dr. Boss, is a man after my own heart. A man obsessed with socks. Specifically, a man obsessed with crazy, quirky, eccentric socks. His obsession has reached the point that his wife has had to make a rule: for every new pair of socks he acquires, an old pair of socks must be disposed of.

He found out that I knit socks. He heard me wax eloquent on the joys of custom made handknit wool socks. He saw the crazy socks I have made for myself. He decided he needed socks.

Since Abilene has no yarn shop, and since the few craft stores/superstores that carry what passes for yarn do not have sock weight, I emailed him some links to online sock yarn suppliers. I did not realize what an ordeal selecting a yarn color would be for him.

In the end he decided he wanted to go with Berocco Sox, which I was going to order from Jimmy Beans Wool. But even after narrowing it down to a brand, he had a hard time narrowing it down to a color. Back and forth, back and forth...he kept changing his mind. Finally he got it down to two colors: Lancaster and Humberside. He could not decide.

That was when I had my moment of brilliance. I would make two pairs of socks...one in Lancaster for him, and one in Humberside for his wife. That way, maybe, he wouldn't have to get rid of a pair when he got the new pair...after all, she would be getting socks, too!

He went for it, and I ordered the yarn. Unfortunately the Lancaster was back ordered and has not yet arrived...the Humberside is here though, cast on, and started. Maybe I can get the Humbersides done before the Lancaster comes in. Fingers crossed!

Clementine Cardi

2010-09-09T09:45:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I have started work on a version of the Brompton Cardigan out of Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Clementine. (And let me just say, this yarn is a DREAM to work with. It has amazing stitch definition, and is very soft. It doesn't dry my hands out like some yarns have a tendency to do.)

I cast on the cardigan while I was at my grandparents' house last weekend.

I cast it on, and merrily started working on the basketweave collar. I knit about 6 rows. It did not look right. At all.

I figured that I had messed up back towards the beginning. At this point it was going to be faster to rip it all out and start over than to try to frog back 5 rows.

So I ripped it all out.

I started again. This time I paid more attention and realized by the fourth row that it did not look right. At all.

I read the pattern carefully. Hmmm...if the pattern is a multiple of four, then this stitch pattern has an error in it. It appears to be written for knitting in the round, but I am knitting the collar flat. Huh.

I checked the pattern online, looking for links to any errata. Someone else had commented that the basketweave pattern appeared to be mistyped. The designer disagreed, but stated that it was basically a 2x2 rib that alternated every 3 rows.

If that is the case then the pattern WAS written wrong!

I ripped it out again, and this time IGNORED the stitch pattern and knit a 2x2 rib, alternating every 3 rows.

Success!

I don't know which was more frustrating, that the designer wouldn't admit she typed the pattern wrong...or the fact that I knew it was wrong, but kept trying it anyway.

(I have now moved on, and am trucking my way through the raglan shaping and stockinette...with fingers crossed that the remainder of the pattern is written correctly.)

Go Gnomes!

2010-09-07T10:45:00.001-05:00

Last night was the inaugural game for my resident hall's intramural flag football team, the Gardner Gnomes.

I wore my team jersey, and took our mascot, Gnorm, over to the intramural fields. Once there I cheered on the team in my typical fashion...while knitting.

We ended up losing, but only by one touchdown. I was very proud of the team, especially since this was the first time they had ever played together. (Our first game was scheduled before we had a chance to practice, and we were pitted against a veteran team of older girls that played together last year.)

We'll win the next one!

(By the way, I am making my version of the Brompton Cardigan out of Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Clementine.)

Garfunkel in Green

2010-09-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

I just finished a beta-tested Garfunkel scarf.

This time I used Knit One, Crochet Too's Ty-Dy Socks yarn in Panama, which I purchased while visiting Sister. I lengthened the design significantly, and changed the number and width of the ridges.

Actually, I probably made enough changes to warrant it being a new design.

I really like it. I like how the yarn knitted up. I like the ease/portability/brainlessness of the design. I like the color. I like the way it looks with my new haircut...

With the adjustments I made, Garfunkel Green can be worn like an elongated cowl...

Or it can easily be wrapped around the neck for added warmth...

Now I just need to decide if I want to write it up as a free pattern. It isn't really innovative/difficult enough to justify trying to publish it with anyone...but if I'm going to free pattern it, I really need to write up both versions, and that will take time.

If anyone REALLY wants to know the pattern before I get around to typing or formatting, just let me know. I can abbreviate/off-the-cuff it to you in an email.

Roaming

2010-09-04T01:45:00.000-05:00

I am in College Station this weekend visiting my grandparents. (And my aunt, uncle, and cousins who live on the same piece of property...)

I love visiting them.

It is a five hour drive, which sort of stinks. If I am the driver, I can't knit. I can, on the other hand, listen to two audio books I have been wanting to "read".

Being here is GREAT. There are no expectations on me when I am here. I am not responsible for anything or anyone. I can just be. It is a wonderful feeling.

I can sit here and knit without feeling guilty. I am not shirking my duties, because I have none.

Mayhap I will finally finish the second Rivendell sock.

(Also...I heard a fun rumor that there may be a yarn shop in town...)

C is here!

2010-09-01T09:45:00.000-05:00

BFF had her baby! Isn't he adorable?(She did not have him on my birthday like she initially promised...but I suppose that I can forgive her!)

It was an adorable little boy, which they named "C". (If you list all of the family's first initials they are ABCDE. Pretty clever.)

However, since she was so rude as to give birth early, the lovely Baby^3 Blanket that I was making for her wasn't quite finished. I would feel bad, except I feel that it truly wasn't my fault. (Besides, she got it in the mail about a week later.)

I really did love making this blanket. You may remember that it is a very loose interpretation of a Mason-Dixon design. I had a few hiccups...I started one section with the wrong color and didn't realize it till I was halfway through the patch, for example. Luckily it was meant to be freeform, so in the end it all worked out.

I really want to make another one. Maybe a more adult version for me. Or a more planned version. It was great travel knitting. All the yarns fit into one bag, the garter stitch allowed me to look at scenery/chat with people, and it impressed people.

It Fits!!!!

2010-08-29T23:30:00.000-05:00

I finished the German Herringbone skirt from Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits! (I never named this project...strange...it was just the skirt...) The best part is...it fits PERFECTLY!!!!! This is the first full garment (meaning non-accessory item) that actually fits exactly the way I had envisioned in my head! Now I just need to find a cute top to wear with it.

It wasn't a simple project knit, but it wasn't difficult either. The stitch pattern required attention and counting, so I couldn't just brainlessly go at it. But it was very straightforward and well written. I made a few adjustments to the pattern, which just goes to show that I can be taught! Check gauge. Measure often. Try things on. And, despite the fact that I added several repeats of the herringbone to the skirt, I actually ended up with one entire skein of yarn leftover at the end. (Not sure what I'll do with it...I'm sure I'll think of something.)

The only truly disconcerting moment during construction occurred a couple of days ago. I had just finished the reverse stockinette rows, and moved onto the stockinette yoke. I was sitting sideways on my couch. It just so happened that I was wearing shorts, and the skirt was laying over my legs...so I got a pretty good idea of what it was going to look like on. That's when I realized the horrible truth:

The color of the yarn (harbour) was the exact same shade of teal as the veins in my legs! That's right, folks, the skirt brought out the lovely color of my circulatory system running beneath my extremely pale and translucent skin.

Not cool.

Definitely not something I ever thought I would need to worry about when selecting yarn colors though. (I think if I wear stockings though, it won't be at all noticeable...or I could just attempt to actually tan...)

Despite the color foible, it is a GREAT skirt. I am THRILLED with it...and will take more photo-shooty pictures once I find an appropriate top.

Life without a LYS

2010-08-23T17:45:00.000-05:00

Abilene, Abilene,prettiest town I've ever seen...

...has NO YARN SHOP!!!!

Now, there are places to buy yarn in town. You can get yarn from Wal-Mart. You can get yarn from one of the two craft stores...Michaels or Hobby Lobby. However selling yarn does not a yarn shop make.

At first this was disconcerting to me. I was going to have to drive at least 2 hours into Dallas to find a "local" yarn shop. (Can one call it local when it is over 100 miles away?)

There were solutions. I adore KnitPicks. Jimmy Beans Wool is also nice. I could order yarn and have it shipped to me. I could make sure and ALWAYS find a local yarn shop to visit when I traveled. But what about when I just wanted to squeeze a skein of cashmere? Yarn shop trips are major stress busters for me!

Then I unpacked.

Hmmm...

I guess I do have a local yarn shop.

My stash!

SuperKnitter Relocated

2010-08-01T11:30:00.000-05:00

I have been on internet silence for about a month now. I do have a good excuse.

I have moved. 2000 some odd miles I've moved!

I was offered my dream job at the university where I earned my undergraduate degree.

So I left California for...TEXAS!!!

I now live in Middle of Nowhere, West Texas...and couldn't be happier!

I should have a lot more time on my hands, since I finally finished graduate school. When I am done with work for the day, I won't have any homework to do...what to do? what to do?

Knit, perchance?

War Games

2010-06-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

Every summer a lot of the kids from church go to the Northern California Florida College Camp for a week.

Every year the camp holds War Games...a version of capture the flag played with flour bombs.

Last year every person on my team, Omega, died...except for Champ. (Champ is Ark, Fish, and Blossom's 14 year old brother.)

Champ lived until the end of every round. It was amazing. He would climb trees, hide behind boulders, and just survive. He also took out more of the opposition than I think the rest of Omega combined. (And that is saying a lot, because we had some extremely athletic senior guy campers on the team.)

A while ago I promised Champ that I would knit him something, since I had knit hats for all the other boys at church. I asked him if he wanted a beanie. After some discussion we settled on something even cooler...

I made him a ski mask to wear to war games.

I think he likes it.

(I did make him promise not to hold up any 7-11's in it though.)

Smart for Once

2010-06-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

I am currently working on the German Herringbone Skirt in Custom Knits.

There have been a few sizing issues with the other projects I have made from this book (MGM, Tilney). Please note: these issues have not in anyway diminished my love for the book!

This time I was smart. I measured it to find out what length I was getting from each repeat of the pattern. Then I multiplied that measurement by the total number of repeats the pattern called for, and added the 4.5" of the yoke. It was going to be SHORTER than I wanted...so I fixed it AHEAD OF TIME!

I know. How unusual for me.

I ended up adding an additional pattern repeat between each of the decreases. This means I SHOULD get an appropriately modest length. I will even try it on before I start the yoke.

Now my only concern is running out of yarn!

Epic Fail

2010-06-21T09:45:00.000-05:00

ARGH!!!!

I have been knitting happily along on the Tilney Sweater...in fact, I am this close to finishing. Or, at least, I was this close to finishing.

I knew going in that I needed to lengthen the sweater(I like my sweaters a little longer than normal), so I bought an extra skein of yarn. Then, just to doubly ensure that I had enough yarn for the length, I went ahead and finished the sleeves and neck ruffle before I did the body's lower hem ribbing. I figured I would try it on before I moved the body back over from the waste yarn, and see how much longer exactly I needed to make it.

I tried it on at Blondie's house the other night. Epic Fail.

The sweater is INCHES bigger around than I need it to be.

I have no idea why this is.

I actually did a gauge swatch this time...and I got gauge.

I even made it a smaller size so that it would have negative ease...just like Wendy Bernard said to do in the lovely, well-written text.

(I have a 39" actual bust measurement...she recommended having 2-3" negative ease...so I made the size for 37"...)

I am flummoxed.

I will clearly need to unravel the majority of the work. I think I will just unravel the WHOLE THING, and reuse the yarn for a sweater vest. The yarn, while the right gauge, is...sturdier?...than I would like. Wendy's version in the book is made from an alpaca/silk blend, and mine was 100% merino. I still really want to make Tilney. I love it. I adore it. It is the reason I bought the book. I just need to find a drapier yarn to make it from.

And clearly, I need to make a MUCH smaller size, and try it on FREQUENTLY.

Twilight Knitting

2010-06-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

I love the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers. They have even inspired me to knit!

My parents live but a few hours from Forks, the town in which the books are set...so as part of my grad school graduation frivolity...on Monday we made a pilgrimage.

I, of course, wore the Twilight/Blood and Shadows scarf that I made.

It was a big hit. Edward liked it.

Alice liked it, too.

I am big nerd.

Beware the Blogging Knitter

2010-06-17T10:45:00.000-05:00

While pursuing yet more fun on my graduation vacation with my parents, I found myself in the small town of La Connor, WA. It is one of those adorable towns that is full of antique shops, bakeries, and artisan galleries.

It also had a yarn shop. The yarn shop was called Jennings Yarn & Needlecraft.

It was, without a doubt, the worst yarn shop experience of my life. (And that includes the shop where staff followed me around because they thought I was going to shop lift.)

Mom, Dad, and I went in there. I was actually initially impressed. It had quite a nice selection of Noro Kureyon (although it was priced quite a bit higher than the going market rate)...not to mention quite a few inspiring luxury fibers. (Angora. I love angora.)

However...the service was abysmal. The owner/employee was standing right there at the counter when we came in. Yet, we spent a good 5-10 minutes in the shop before we were even acknowledged. (The person cannot claim that she didn't see us...I mean, Dad is 6'5"...) Once we were acknowledged, it was with a curt hello. And that only came after Mom POINTEDLY stared at the woman as we walked by the register. Another 5-10 minutes passed, and the lady finally finally left the counter and came back to the back part of the shop.

She asked: "Did you want something?"
I answered: "Nothing specific."

Rather than saying she was available to help if I had any questions, or muttering any other number of polite stock sales phrases, she wheeled on her heel and went back to the register. I was baffled. I even had to stand at the counter a moment or two before she bothered to ask if I was ready to check out.

As we walked out of the shop, Mom marveled at the utter horror that seemed to pass for customer service. I told Mom that we could take comfort in the fact that they didn't know who they were ignoring. I am a blogger. I am a knitting blogger. One should not raise the ire of a literate and proliferate knitting blogger. I would eviscerate them in online literature.

Jennings Yarn & Needlecraft is in a delightful setting, but the staff is definitely below par. The fine fibers can not begin to make up for the shabby treatment. I can find better yarn elsewhere, the same yarn at a better price elsewhere, and anything I want online. I do not have to put up with your snottiness. And no one else should either!

AVOID THIS SHOP!!!

Non-Post

2010-06-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Internet,

I will be away from you today. No real blogging will get done.

Sorry,

Me

Technology Failure

2010-06-13T17:00:00.000-05:00

I didn't want to lug Custom Knits up here to WA with me...but I didn't have a chance to photocopy the pages I needed for the skirt I am working on.

That's fine. I have an iPhone. It has a handy dandy notepad feature. As you may recall from an earlier post, I had previously typed the pertinent parts of the pattern into my phone. And by previously, I mean over a week ago.

Epic fail.

By the time I got past the first notation for decreases, I couldn't remember whether or not the number of completed pattern repeats I had listed were cumulative. The first decrease came after seven repeats. Then I had written 10 repeats, second decrease. Did this mean that I needed to knit 10 more repeats before the decrease, or that I needed to decrease after the 10th from the cast on?

ARGH!!!

Luckily I have a tendency to overpack knitting-wise, and have other projects to work on.

Maybe I will get a chance to glance at a copy of the book at a store today or tomorrow.

If not, I just hauled 7 skeins of yarn across 2 state lines for nothing!

iGraduated

2010-06-11T22:30:00.000-05:00

I graduated from the UW iSchool's Master of Library and Information Science Program!

To celebrate I went to my instructor, Teen Queen's, home today for an afternoon barbecue.

Several of my fellow graduates were also there.

We discussed which lectures we actually listened to, and which ones we...well...skipped, etc.

Song brought up the fact that I used to knit during all of our residencies. I replied that I knit while I was listening to lectures at home as well.

Teen Queen looked shocked!

"Did you knit during my lectures?" she asked.

"Well...yes...but only when you were talking!"

Flight Delays

2010-06-10T01:35:00.000-05:00

I went out of town Sunday-Tuesday. Specifically, I went to Texas. More specifically, I went to Abilene. On my way, due to late arriving planes and subsequent maintenance issues, I got stuck at DFW airport. My total layover was originally scheduled for an hour...this quickly, or actually gradually, extended to over 3 hours.

I was fine. I had knitting.

I am working on the skirt from Custom Knits. It is an easily memorizable stitch pattern, only 13 stitches and 6 rows to keep track of. Rather than take the book in my carry on, I significantly abbreviated the pattern in the notepad function on my iPhone.

As I knit away, around and around, a twenty-something guy across the row from me kept staring. I politely ignored him, and continued people watching. Eventually he caught my eye. I paused my audio book, and pulled out one of my ear buds.

"Sorry to keep staring, but what are you doing?"
"I'm knitting."
"But you aren't looking."
"It is an easy stitch pattern."
"Wow. That's cool, cause it doesn't look easy."

I smiled, and returned to my knitting and watching. A few minutes went by, and he caught my eye again. I again paused my audio book.

"So...is that going to be a sweater or something?"
"No, its a skirt." I held it up.
"I didn't know you could knit skirts."
"You can knit pretty much anything."
"But, what are those hoop things."
"They are stitch markers. They tell me where I am in the pattern. This way I don't have to count higher than 18. And the purple one tells me I am at the beginning of a new row."
"Cool. You don't mind if I keep watching you, do you?"
"Nope, I am pretty much immune to staring."

I went back to my audio book.

As time dragged on, and the delays piled up, I heard another passenger mutter to her husband: "At this rate that girl is going to be able to finish that skirt and wear it to Abilene!"

I didn't quite get it done. But I did do a LOT more than I should have been able to!

Sometimes Life Gets in the Way

2010-06-08T01:00:00.000-05:00

I didn't post on the 5th.

I know. That is HORRIBLE.

But sometimes life happens.

I am graduating on the 12th from my Masters of Library and Information Science program. I had final projects due.

I have had other life things arise suddenly that require time/energy/travel.

I can knit through it all.

I just can't always blog.

Sorry.

FYI

2010-06-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

It takes me approximately 1.5 episodes of NCIS (on DVD/commercial free) to knit a coffee cup cozy.

Expanding Clientele

2010-06-01T19:15:00.000-05:00

Miss-A and I went to Starbucks this afternoon. (I know. What a shocker!)

While we were waiting for our drinks Red, the barista working the beverage line, asked Miss-A if she had made Bubbly's coffee cup cozy. Miss-A, being an honest soul, said it had been me.

Red turned to me, squealed, and started raving about how adorable it was. She said that Bubbly told her I made them for people.

I said I did, but quoted her my price. I was hesitant. It isn't a lot of money, but it isn't exactly cheap either. Would the fact that I charge be a deterrent?

Red said that the cost was not a problem. The cozy was reusable, and totally worth it. Besides, it would inspire jealousy in all who saw it.

I asked her what color she wanted. She thought for a minute, and requested oranges or rusts. She said she didn't mind a variegated cozy, but she really liked orange.

Wow. Orange. THAT is going to be SOOOO hard to find in my stash!

I found out her work schedule, and we arranged a delivery date. She offered to pay in advance, but I said she could pay when I brought it in, just in case she didn't like the color.

See! I knew this would happen! By making Bubbly a cozy, and comping it for her, I received free advertising and a whole new venue/clientele. First the baristas will buy, then maybe eventually the customers! Woo-hoo!

A Few Needles Short of a Commission

2010-05-29T20:30:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night, Perky asked me if I could make her another (Fort) Knox beanie. This time she wanted it in black.

I thought about it, for maybe a millisecond, and agreed. They are fairly quick knits, they make for good movie/social knitting, and I had plenty of good black wool in the stash. In an impetuous moment (so out of character for me...), I told her I would have it Sunday morning.

Then I got home.

I found the yarn.

I could not find the needles.

I went through my entire bag of needles.

Then I saw them. My 16" US size 6 circular needles.

They were attached to half of a rust (Fort) Knox beanie that I had cast on a couple of weeks ago.

I had two options:

1. I could move the rust beanie over to waste yarn and recover the needles.
2. I could finish the rust beanie, and then cast on the black one.

Option 1 was probably the smarter and more practical choice.

So of course I chose option 2! (I knew in my heart of hearts that once that rust beanie was on waste yarn, it would languish in the stash...never to be heard from again.)

Luckily I knit FAST!

I finished the rust beanie Thursday night at Preach and Psych's house.

I cast on the black one Friday night.

I finished the black one Saturday night.

I even wove in the ends!

Be Kind To Your Barista Day

2010-05-27T10:30:00.000-05:00

...actually, I have no idea if there already is such a holiday...but I am proclaiming that yesterday was "International Treat Your Starbucks Barista To A Really Nice Gift Day"!

Every time Miss-A and I walk over to the Starbucks near the library (which would be daily), the baristas comment on our lovely hand knit and felted coffee cup cozies. (You may recall the insane knit-one-for-every-coworker jag I went on last Christmas...that lasted till MLK Jr. Day?)

One barista in particular, Bubbly, has gone beyond commenting to coveting.

So, I asked her what her favorite color was.

She didn't have one, she apparently loves ALL colors.

I asked what type of colors she preferred...jewel tones, brights, rainbows, autumn.

She answered yes.

So, I just found some colorful Noro that was sitting in my coffee cup cozy scrap wool bag and knit her up a cozy.

...she offered to pay for it...but I said this first one was on me...

...she said I made her day.

In the end, isn't that what knitting is all about? Spreading warmth and joy to the masses?

Proud Moment

2010-05-25T19:25:00.000-05:00

One of the retirees from the library branch took my Get Knittin'@ The Library: Felted Purse Edition class. Well, she finished her felted purse, and brought it by the library so that I could see it.

I am so proud. It is beautiful.

Now, in all honesty and fairness, she already knew how to knit...so I can't take a lot of credit for her creation.

However, I do like to think that I inspired and encouraged her to try something new!

I love it when students/class attendees show me what they have made!

Shop by Text

2010-05-23T10:15:00.000-05:00

I had the following text message conversation with Miss-A on Friday:

A:Do u have any wrist or leg warmers made and ready to buy?

M: Teal legwarmers. But I can get either done in a couple days if there is a color you want.

A: How much? We need tomorrow. Just thought of it.

M: [Price]. I'll bring them to work so you can check them out.

A: Perfect. This is easier than internet shopping. Shop by text.

M: :-)

A: :)

(I took them to work. She bought them. Everybody is happy. It was all very convenient!)

Chaperon Knitting

2010-05-21T14:30:00.000-05:00

I host the teen book and movie club at the library. The teens read the monthly scheduled book, then meet at one of the libraries to watch the film version. This provides me with a lot of time to knit "on-the-clock".

The knitting I do during the teen movies has to be even more brainless than what I typically take to the theaters. During the movie my attention is divided between the film and the behavior of dozens of teenagers.

I am shushing.

I am glaring.

I am evicting.

I am shaking my knitting needles threateningly in their general direction. (Which is usually greeted with gales of laughter, thereby defeating the purpose of my waving them in the first place!)

Well, I have finally discovered the best possible project for chaperon knitting: a patchwork baby blanket. It is all garter. All the time. And each section of the blanket is large enough that I can work on a single section for a whole film without having to change colors/pick up stitches.

It is also helping me meet a looming deadline (or birthline, as it were...) BFF is having baby number three, so I am making her/him the "Baby^3". (Get it? The blanket is cubed because it is the third baby, and it is made up of boxes! Oh, the cleverness of me!)

My design is loosely based on the "Moderne Baby Blanket" from Mason Dixon. Only loosely based, since I have changed the number of colors, the yarn gauge/needle size, and the shape/size/direction of every patch. No plan. I'm just winging it

I would show what it looks like, but that would ruin the surprise for BFF...so instead...here is a look at the yummy yarn!

Another Episode of Cuteness!

2010-05-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

I went to Preach and Psych's house for a bible study last Monday.

Before class started, I was sitting on the floor knitting a coffee cup cozy.

Angel walked in, and asked if she could help. She wanted to knit, too.

Angel is only three years old. Barely three, in fact. Three years and 17 days.

Even I think that is a wee bit young to be entrusted with sharp pointy objects.

Still, who was I to crush her little creative instincts?

I invited her to sit in my lap and "help" me.

JoNo was there, and took this video for me, and texted it to my iPhone. I would have posted it sooner, but it took me this long to figure out how to get it off the phone and onto the computer...

The cutest 14 seconds ever! (She actually "helped" for quite a while.)

Scissors of Doom

2010-05-18T01:00:00.000-05:00

This weekend I took a road trip down to SoCal to spend time with some of my old friends.

I did NO knitting. (Knitting while driving is not recommended...)

On Saturday, two guys I went to high school with took me out to a Renaissance Fair in Corona. I had, shockingly, never been to one before!

One of my favorite places was the shop that sold swords. I seriously considered purchasing the hardwood broad sword. It would be so much cooler to attack intruders with a sword than the baseball bat currently residing under my bed. (It would be ideal to never have an intruder to attack in the first place, but it is generally wise to be prepared.)

There also appeared, at first glance, to be a very pretty sheathed dagger lying on the display table next to the swords. It was silver, with red "rubies" on the hilt.

But it wasn't a dagger.

Or, it wasn't only a dagger.

It was, in actuality, a pair of scissors! It has four cutting edges, all of which were very sharp!

I looked at the scissors of doom. I looked at the wooden sword. All of a sudden my baseball bat seemed like sufficient intruder protection.

I bought the scissors. They are now in my knitting bag.

Cutting yarn has never been this cool...or dangerous!

D(one). C(omplete). Socks

2010-05-15T11:45:00.000-05:00

I finished the Gotham socks while I was stuck at home sick on Wednesday...seeing as how I didn't have the right size needle to finish the Tilney sweater.

I think they are great!

I had never used this yarn before (Crystal Palace's Panda Superwash), and it is very cushy. I also used my new knitpicks sock needles, which were a delight as well.

The only slight issue was that the needles are very slick, and the yarn was a bit slippery. If I knit with this yarn again, I will most likely use my Susan Boyle needles which are coated with something. But, the new needles will be amazing with some of my wool sock yarns that tended to stick to the old needles.

Sick Day

2010-05-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

I called in sick to work yesterday. (We are tentatively assigning blame to either the hard boiled egg or the fresh spinach I ate the night before.)

Vodka called to see how I was doing, and asked if she could pick anything up for me.

I thought about it for a minute, but could only think of one thing...

...and somehow I figured that a 16" US size 3 circular needle was NOT what she had in mind...

...so I thanked her for the offer, but said I was ok.

Tilney's neckline and sleeves just had to wait.

Bummer.

Magazine Review: Knit 'N Style

2010-05-11T12:30:00.000-05:00

I looked in my library's catalog to see if any of the branches subscribed to knitting magazines since my branch does not. One branch gets Interweave (yay!), and another gets a title I hadn't heard of, Knit 'N Style.

I placed holds on the two most recent issues that were available for check out. They came yesterday in the shipment.

I quickly realized WHY I hadn't heard of this magazine.No one has informed the editor or the art department that the year is 2010, not 1989.

The layout is sloppy and hard to read. Articles and features are virtually indistinguishable from the advertisements. The photos of yarns being reviewed are muddy and unappealing. Worst of all...the projects are...well...ugly. Most of the looks are dated, and the ones that even flirt with currency are made out of the least attractive yarns possible.

Quotes from myself and others who also looked at the magazine in the break room:

"Well, that is unfortunate."

"It looks like someone vomited yarn on that woman. And ugly yarn at that."

"That poor girl. She is actually a very pretty model."

"No way would a MAN ever in a million years wear that sweater. Seriously? A turtleneck with giant buttons on the side? On a guy? I think not!"

In short: I do not like this magazine. I do not recommend subscribing to it. Not only does it not meet my required 3 patterns to purchase policy*, it doesn't meet a minimal standard of graphic design aesthetics.

As my dear friend would say...it is less than ideal.

*I won't buy a book or magazine unless I can honestly say I'll make at least 3 of the patterns in it.

Innovation on the Fly

2010-05-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

I had some yarn left over from Jester's latest beret. Since it was Cascade 220, and therefore feltable, I thought about using it to crank out a couple of coffee cup cozies.

It was very pretty yarn, with various colored plies twisted together.

I got ready to cast on my coffee cup cozy, and then my mind wandered...

...what would happen if I cast on an oversized coffee cup cozy and made it into a hat?

And thus the Java Beanie was born.

Because the stitch pattern I use on the coffee cup cozies is an offset rib, it made the decreases on this hat, well, a wee bit interesting. I actually did quite a bit of tinking and frogging as I worked on it.

Also, that very pretty yarn didn't exactly show up the actual pattern at all.

Still, it is a nice hat. And it fits well. I may try again with a solid yarn and see if I can refine the decrease process a bit. The other option would be to *gasp* try a top down hat.

Sameness

2010-05-07T18:25:00.000-05:00

I am fairly predictable when it comes to color.

My favorite color is orange.

I knit a lot of oranges/rusts/reds/browns.

When people give me yarn they tend to give me a lot of oranges/rusts/reds/browns.

The other color I knit a lot of is grey. I love grey. It doesn't show dirt like white, and it highlights stitch patterns better than black. It is elegant. It is neutral. It is classy.

I decided a few months ago that I needed to break out of my mold.

I needed to try knitting things not in oranges/rusts/reds/browns and not in grey.

So I ordered a bunch of yarn from KnitPicks. I bought yarn at my yarn shop.

...and everything I bought color coordinates.

It is all turquoise/blue/green/purple.

All of it.

(Proof of this is visible in the picture on my knitpicks package post.)

I guess if I really want to experience knitting hue variety I need to print off a picture of the color wheel and work my way around clockwise from project to project or something...

Predictability. It is a curse.

Sometimes Life Gets In The Way

2010-05-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today I have gotten, and will continue to not get, any knitting done. Not a row. Not a stitch. My projects just sit there staring at me.

Why? Because I have a project due for my algorithmic thinking class tonight by 11:45 pm. It involves writing three different JavaScript programs. Three.

I am not a programmer.

I don't want to ever be a programmer.

But I want to pass this class.

Priorities.

Responsibilities.

Sometimes "Life" gets in the way.

...maybe I can knit tomorrow...

Arrival of a Package

2010-05-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

A package came LAST Monday.

A package from KnitPicks.

It was patiently waiting on my patio when I got home from the airport.

Pretty yarn.

Very pretty yarn.

Very pretty pettable yarn.

I had to ignore the pretty pettable yarn for a week as I rushed to finish my schoolwork and work work.

But now I opened the yarn.

The pretty yarn.

The very pretty yarn.

The very pretty pettable yarn.

Will I be able to stop petting it long enough to pop some of it on the swift and ball it up?

That remains to be seen.

...

...

...still petting.

Birthday for Angel

2010-05-01T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today is Angel's 3rd birthday. (Wow! She sure is growing up!)

In honor of our shared love of tu-tus and frou-frous, as well as my known proclivity for book giving, I presented her with a copy of "Tea For Ruby" by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

And, since she is so much fun to knit for...a pink and purple boa scarf as well! Doesn't she make an adorable birthday princess?

Misty Dawn Legwarmers

2010-04-29T21:00:00.000-05:00

This is a pattern for very easy legwarmers. If you are a competent knitter, then they make great brain-free knitting. If you are a beginner, they are an easy way to practice knitting in the round and very simple shaping!

Misty Dawn Legwarmers

Finished Size: 20" long, and approximately 15" unstretched at widest point. (If you need to make them smaller or larger just make sure that your number of stitches cast on is divisible by 4.)

Approximately 350 yards of worsted weight yarn. Vanna's Choice, Lion Brand [100% Acrylic; 170 yd per 3.5 oz skein]; color: sapphire; 2 skeins
1 - 16" US size 8 circular needle

Gauge: 16 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Cast on 48 stitches
Round 1: Place marker and join to work in the round, (K2,P2) to end of round
Round 2-10: (K2, P2) to end of round
Round 11: K to end of round
Round 12: (K1, Kfb, K2) to end of round
Round 13 on: continue working stockinette stitch in the round (knit all stitches) until legwarmer is approximately 18" from cast on edge, or 2" shorter than desired finished length.
Decrease Round 1: (K1, K2tog, K2) to end of round
Round 2: K to end of round
Round 3-13: (K2, P2) to end of round
Cast off.

Weave in ends, block if desired.

Dance like a Maniac, and don't let anyone put you in a corner!

A Scarf That Wants To Stroll

2010-04-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

When Sister and I were in Paris I, like so many before me, was fascinated by the French women's apparent obsession with scarves and shawls. This translated itself into my obsessively collecting pashminas and wearing lots and lots and lots of scarves. (To the point that you may recall I now have a whole TUB-o-scarves.)

Stylistically speaking, I prefer wearing the pashminas to the skinny scarves. Pashminas seem to translate better into the spring and summer. So, I thought to myself, why not knit a pashmina style scarf/shawl? I could knit something out of a lighter weight/breathable yarn, make it wider, and perhaps attempt to make it look woven. (I was even insane enough to momentarily consider using lace-weight yarn...luckily I didn't get on that crazy train!)

I ended up going with a cotton yarn, and spring-like colors. (The whole yarn dye lot debacle has been previously blogged...) I decided to name the scarf after one of my favorite places in Paris...Les Tuileries. I used the linen stitch from my stitch-a-day calender, which gave the woven look I was hoping for. (I also switched skeins every other row so that the dye lots would blend.)

It has taken me a long time to finish this project. Not because it was difficult, but because other things with deadlines got in the way. (Also, this is knit on 16" long needles, and since I was alternating skeins I couldn't very well take it in my purse.)

The scarf ended up a lot shorter than I had originally envisioned, and due to the previously mentioned issues, I was not going to even attempt to get more. When I ran out of yarn, and saw the finished length, I made a spur of the moment adjustment to the pattern. Instead of having a skimpy shorty scarf, I seamed the ends together to have a generous deep cowl. This also gave me an added bonus...if a sudden spring shower should hit, Les Tuileries can double as a stylish hood!

I finished it while visiting Sister this weekend, which was appropriate since the trip I took with her was my inspiration.

Now if we could only get to Paris to show it off...

Review: Crafty Hands Yarn Shop

2010-04-25T18:30:00.000-05:00

Sister had to teach on Friday, so I took her to her school in the morning, and then had the use of her car until lunch time. I decided to treat myself to the local yarn shop here in Bowling Green, Kentucky!

Crafty Hands Yarn Shop is conveniently located across the parking lot from a Starbucks. It is VERY easy to find. It is on the main drag, right off the freeway. (I mean, after all, even I found it...and without resorting to my iphone's GPS.)

I was greeted by a friendly staff person as soon as I walked in the door. She was bubbly and outgoing. She showed me where the Cascade 220 was, and then wound the skein I needed to complete a project I was working on. I was especially grateful for the fact that as she wound the yarn, she left me alone to browse. Nothing irks me more than looming salespeople.

She saw me admiring some koigu, and showed me a cardigan pattern in a book that uses Koigu AND Cascade 220 in a slipstitch pattern. (It was pretty...but was the only pattern in the whole book that I liked. I decided not to buy the book...I am getting it at the library instead.)

I ended up leaving the shop with one skein of Cascade 220, one skein of Koigu, and a skein of Ty-Dy cotton sock yarn.

And then I went across the parking lot to pick up a coffee.

Heaven.

If you happen to be in the Bowling Green area, I highly recommend this shop. Friendly staff...great selection of yarns...well organized and open floor plan.

[The pictures are from the shop's website...I forgot to take my camera in with me.]

Miracles Do Happen

2010-04-24T01:45:00.000-05:00

I went to a minor league baseball game tonight with Sister.

I didn't knit. Not a single stitch.

(And not for lack of knitting...I had a sock in my purse...)

Miraculously, I survived!

But, let's not make a habit out of it...

Saw, Sold, Delivered

2010-04-22T01:45:00.000-05:00

The Client read my blog.

The Client saw the beta version of the Australis scarf. (He owns the original version.)

The Client liked the beta version of the Australis scarf and thought the colors would be great for his sister.

The Client asked if I was planning on selling the scarf.

Since I had planned on listing it online, I said yes, and quoted a price for it.

He agreed.

I took it to Bible Study tonight.

He paid.

He took it home with him.

Saw. Sold. Delivered.

Basketball Games

2010-04-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

I love after church pickup basketball games!

I got a whole half a legwarmer done!
(I also did a lot of cheering...which was welcomed...and commentating...which was not!)

What do you mean she had her baby?

2010-04-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

Approximate Transcript of a Recent Phone Call:

Mom: Well, AVB had her baby this morning. It is a beautiful, as of yet unnamed, little girl.

Me: What? Already? No! I thought she was due the middle of May!

Mom: Nope, she was due the middle of April.

Me: Well, shoot. I thought she was due in May. Guess I'd better get going on her baby gift. Ugh!

I am frustrated with myself for several reasons. First, I purchased the yarn for the little girl burp rags several months ago. AVB loves my burp rags...she is the burp rags biggest fan! I kept thinking to myself, I should go ahead and make those girly burp rags for AVB, but I kept putting it off and doing other things because I thought I had lots of time still. In fact, I had planned on taking them as one of my airplane projects on my trip to visit Sister next week...because I thought she was due in MAY! Had I remembered that she was due in April, I would have had them done and mailed before the baby was born. Now I look like a last minute Johnny Come Lately...when really I was very prepared...just very blonde!

UGH!!!!

The Naming of a Cowl

2010-04-15T22:30:00.000-05:00

I have always been fond of naming things.

Just ask my mother. One of my favorite books to read as a child was a name meaning book called The Name Game.

I named:

All of my dolls (Soup Can Macaroni, Annabelle, Sasha...)

All of my stuffed animals (Coco, Gunther, Sigfried, Melville...)

Plants (Roy, Fairfax, Bertram...)

Imaginary friends (Zonya Pasgetti...which was how I said Lasagne Spaghetti)

Pets (Saxon, Cleopatra, Kanini, Duchess)

EVERYTHING!!!

Yes. I am strange.

So when I knit this cowl, I knew it needed a killer name.

I looked at it. It had ridges.

Ridges was not a great name.

The ridges reminded me of ruts in a road.

Ruts is DEFINITELY not a good name.

The synonyms for ruts included grooves.

Grooves was getting closer.

Grooves morphed into groovy.

Thinking about groovy got the classic rock song "Feelin' Groovy" stuck in my head.

"Feelin' Groovy" is sung by Simon and Garfunkel.

Simon is a boring name for a handknit.

Thus...the cowl is named the Garfunkel.

Tax Returns

2010-04-14T00:45:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Sister, and a timely phone call...I discovered that I was eligible for a tax refund I didn't know about.

This literally added some zeros to the amount I thought I would be getting back from the IRS.

I will be responsible with my windfall.

I will put half in savings as a cushion.

I will use half to pay down my debts.

But...

I will also allow myself a teeny tiny amount of "fun" money with which to purchase the yarn I needed (wanted) for a skirt I am making out of Custom Knits!

Woo-Hoo!

KnitPicks online shopping cart...HERE I COME!!!

Cupertino

2010-04-11T19:00:00.000-05:00

The adult services librarian at the other branch recently accepted a job as a branch manager in another library system.

He is a nice guy, and we will miss him.

So I expressed my good wishes and fond farewell in my usual way...

I knit him a hat.

Since he is a classy/put together/fashion conscious sort of guy, I knew that his hat needed to be more sleek than rugged. So, for the Cupertino, I used a silk/merino blend in a finer gauge, and a wider rib pattern that would have the non-rolling advantage of a rib, but the smoother finish of stockinette.

Since I am planning on being out of town when they are throwing his good bye shindig, I delivered the hat this weekend. (And then made him model it!)

I really like the way the pattern came out...and since I wrote it down, I think I'll do some testing on it to make sure the end result wasn't a fluke.

How to Knit in Theaters

2010-04-09T20:45:00.000-05:00

Twilight and I took Whiz to see the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" this afternoon. (Bonus: since Whiz's uncle works at the theater...our tickets were FREE!!!)

I took knitting. (Big surprise.)

Specifically, I took a pair of wrist warmers that I am making out of the yarn leftovers from the Martinelli sweater. I cast them on before I got to the theater, but only had time to knit one round.

During the previews, I did the rounds for the knuckles, and successfully navigated the button hole for the thumb. (I'm debating whether or not to pick up stitches for an actual thumb later.)

Once the film itself started, I merrily knit my 2x2 rib down the rest of the warmer. I figured I could get the sleeve finished by the end of the film.

Then...

...disaster.

I came to end of a round and realized that I had ended with a P1 instead of a P2. Somewhere I had messed up. But where? How far back? (and frankly...this occurred during an especially poorly lit portion of the film...night time, fog, smoke...so I didn't even have bright light from the screen to help me.)

Aside from the inherent headache of tinking when using 2 circular needles in the round...I was trying to tink in the dark. In a theater. During a movie that I wanted to pay attention to! The whole point of movie theater knitting projects is that they are not supposed to require ATTENTION!!!

I had to make a choice. Enjoy the film and have fidgety fingers, or fix the error and miss some of the movie.

In the end...the movie won. And it was a great film. Absolutely nothing like the book...but great in its own right.

(Incidentally, I fixed the error in the theater hallway while Whiz and I waited for Twilight to use the restroom. The mess up, it turns out, had only occurred 3 ribs back.)

Australis: Beta Tested

2010-04-07T10:45:00.000-05:00

Some of you may recall that the Client commissioned me to make him a scarf.

I made the scarf.

He wore the scarf.

The scarf went to Antarctica.

However...due to the dark and masculine coloring of the yarn, I could not for the life of me get a proper picture of the stitch pattern that actually showed the detailing.

Did I try to find a better camera? No.

Did I try different lighting? No.

Did I ask someone with better photography skills to attempt a picture? No.

I am a knitter.

I knit a whole new scarf.

This one photographs beautifully!

[The yarn was Deborah Norville's 100% micro fiber Serenity Garden in "Earth". It is a self striping yarn which really showed up the pattern. Also, compared to other micro fibers I have used, it had very little splittage!]

An Easter of Conflicted Emotions

2010-04-05T23:56:00.000-05:00

This Easter weekend was a little on the strange side for me. It was full of ups and downs.

The downer was Saturday. I went to Brother's house Friday night, and stayed through Saturday afternoon so that I could say good-bye to my cousin, Medic. He is a Navy Corpsman, and the Marine unit he is assigned to ships out to Afghanistan in less than a month. He stopped at Brother's house on his drive up to WA from SoCal for his last leave. It was great to get to see him, it is always great to see him...but it was very depressing as well. I don't want to think about him over there...

The upper was the rest of Saturday and Easter, which I got to spend with the best baby ever...NEPHEW!!! While "baby-sitting" on Saturday, I discovered that he really enjoys the Disney sing-a-long version of Flying Purple People Eater. On Sunday, I got to watch him spin around on my living room floor in order to get a better view of the television. (Apparently he is a fan of medieval costume dramas...just like his Auntie!) Any time with Nephew is time well spent.

On the knitting scene (since this is a knitting blog)...I borrowed Matador's head after evening worship on Sunday...I needed a man model for the fatigue (Fort) Knox beanie. Also: the heel got turned on the second Gotham sock, Tilney's sleeves were placed on waste yarn and I have started down the body, I designed/finished a beanie as a going away present for a coworker, and the beta testing was completed on the Australis scarf pattern.

Cable Car

2010-04-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was Furlough Fun Day! (All the county libraries were closed due to budgeting...) And so, as usual, my friends and I celebrated our lack of being paid by spending money.

We met at the San Francisco Public Library to get library cards, walked over to the Asian Art Museum and its Shanghai exhibit, and then ate lunch at Francis Ford Coppolla's Cafe Zoetrope. (Which is, by the way, the COOLEST restaurant ever!)

It was still chilly and blustery in the Bay Area...but I was prepared!

I wore my new Cable Car hat!

The yarn is a DK Merino from KnitPicks, and the color is called "fog"...which I thought was perfect for a San Francisco inspired hat!

The pattern is a SuperKnits original...and is being submitted to KnitPicks for inclusion in their Independent Designer Pattern program. We'll see how that goes!

Free Pattern: (Fort) Knox Beanie

2010-04-01T17:59:00.001-05:00

The (Fort) Knox Beanie was designed on the fly for a good friend to wear on her morning walks. The color she requested, combined with the faux cables, reminded me of gold bullion…hence the pattern name. The pattern is simple, versatile, and suitable for both men and women.

(Fort) Knox Beanie

Finished Size: approx. 22” circumference (one size fits most adult heads)

Approximately110 yds of worsted weight yarn [I used Cascade Yarns 220; 100% wool; Color 7828 for Perky, Color 9459 for Fatigue. 1 skein yields 2 beanies]
1 - US size 6 circular needle, 16” long
1 – additional US size 6 circular needle, 16” long or set of US size 6 double pointed needles

Gauge: 22 stitches = 4 inches in garter stitch

Special Abbreviation:
C2- Cross two (this is achieved by knitting into the second stitch on the left hand needle, then the first, and sliding both stitches off together.)

Cast on 96 stitches
Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist cast on stitches. Place a marker for the start of round.

Round 1-6: (K2, P2) repeat to end of round
Round 7: (C2, P2, K2, P2) repeat to end of round
Round 8-10: (K2, P2) repeat to end of round
Round 11: (K2, P2, C2, P2) repeat to end of round
Round 12-14: (K2, P2) repeat to end of round
Repeat Rounds 7-14 until beanie measures approx. 7” from cast on. End with a Round 8.

Decrease as Follows, switching to two circulars or double points when necessary:
Round 1: (K2, P2, K2, P2tog) repeat to end of round
Round 2: (K2, P2, K2, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 3: (K2, P2, K2tog, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 4: (K2, P2, K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 5: (K2, P2tog, K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 6: (K2, P1, K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 7: (K2tog, P1, K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 8: (K1, P1) repeat to end of round
Round 9: (K2tog, P2 tog) repeat to end of round
Repeat decrease rounds 8 and 9 until there are 6 stitches left on the needles.
Cut yarn, leaving a 6” tail. Thread tail through the live stitches and pull tight.

Weave in ends, wear with pride.

Sweater Girls

2010-03-31T11:30:00.000-05:00

It was a misty, moisty morning yesterday.

I decided it called for a handknit sweater.

Apparently, Miss-A thought it did as well!

I am in Martinelli, and she is in February Lady.

Spoken For

2010-03-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

I was working at an after hours event at the library Friday night. Ya-Ya, Boss Lady, and I found ourselves with some down time. We were all sitting in the back taking our breaks and eating. Naturally, I pulled out some knitting. I happened to have the fatigue (Fort)Knox beanie in my purse.

Ya-Ya, my enthusiastic co-worker, has been on a roll since the Get Knittin' program she came to. She has made several afghans, more purses, and recently started in-the-round hat projects. She was intrigued by the crossed stitches/faux cables I was doing. I demonstrated how to do them, and told her I would write up the pattern for her. (I have...I will post it on Wednesday or Thursday...)

While we were engrossed in our knit-chit-chat, Boss Lady looked over. She really liked the color of the (Fort) Knox beanie. I pulled out my i-phone and showed her the blog entry with Perky's picture so she could see what the finished product would look like. Then I went back to my knitting, and she went back to her cheeseburger. A few minutes passed. Boss Lady commented again on how much she liked the beanie. I laughed and said I had been planning on selling it on my Etsy Site (coming soon...I promise!). I told her what I had charged Perky for her version, and said if she wanted it she could have it.

The break ended. We went back to work. I didn't think anymore about it.

I went in to work at the Other Branch this morning. It was Boss Lady's day up there as well. I popped my head into her office to say hello, and let her know I was there to cover lapsit storytime. She asked if I had finished the beanie yet. I said, yes. She said, great. Bring it to work tomorrow, and I will bring you the money.

Go Figure! I guess she was serious about buying it.

So there goes another one of my meant-to-be-etsy items...

...but never fear, I cast on a replacement on my lunch break!

What do Berets and Breasts Have in Common?

2010-03-27T23:45:00.000-05:00

I finished the Avignon beret last night...sort of.

I was watching Project Runway again last week, and inspiration hit. So rather than work on the plethora of started or planned projects I have piling up, I decided to freelance through my stash!

Unfortunately, once I had cast off, I noticed that the beret had developed a bit of...well...a nipple. Where the ribbing joined in the decreases, a lovely little peak had formed. Not exactly an attractive feature in a hat.

Frustrated, I set it aside. I have often found it helpful to sleep on this sort of problem rather than immediately starting to freak out. (Freaking out seems to be my first and natural inclination! Dreaming Me came up with two solutions:

frog it back to where the bulge begins and tinker with the decreases
try to block it out

Blocking wins. Blocking is, ostensibly, an easier solution. I tried to use a dinner plate...but that wasn't working, so I switched the beret over to an upside down mixing bowl. Now I am waiting for it to dry. If this doesn't work, we'll move on to the more work intensive and obnoxious solution of frogging. Ugh.

(On the plus side, I used up the rest of the yarn from Twilight's birthday beret. I feel a little twinge of satisfaction every time I use stash yarn instead of making a purchase. Its like my own personal Knitters' DARE program...just say no to non-essential yarn shopping!)

A Veritable Factory

2010-03-25T20:45:00.000-05:00

I am on a roll!

I would say I wam becoming a veritable handknit factory...except for the fact that I am the machine...so maybe a handknit sweat shop is actually more accurate...

On my day off yesterday I completed:

Cable Car Beret
2 Coffee Cup Cozies

And cast on/started designing:

Avignon Beret

I also made significant progress on:

Fatigue Green Knox Beanie
Les Tuileries
Gotham Socks
Tilney Sweater

(Pictures to follow as they are taken...it was my day off...no makeup...hair in a pony...I was not going to model anything...)

Bad Guesstimator

2010-03-23T10:45:00.000-05:00

Apparently I am VERY bad about guesstimating head sizes.

I took the on-the-fly Nordic style beanie to Brother's house with me. The one I was sure would be way too big for Nephew...and while it is a little roomy, it actually fit him!

So, guess who has yet another hat from his Auntie?

Homeless No More

2010-03-21T18:30:00.000-05:00

You may recall that I knit myself a lovely sweater last spring using the February Lady pattern.

I loved it.

I loved the color.

I loved the buttons.

I loved the stitch pattern.

...I did not love the fit.

The transition between the garter stitch yoke and the gull lace peplum skirt hit me in exactly the wrong place. I tried to ignore it. I tried to wear it anyway. I loved it so.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

I tried to give the sweater to Mom when she visited me a month or so ago. It fit her better than it fit me, but wasn't exactly her style aesthetic. She was honest. Said it was lovely. But she probably wouldn't wear it.

I sent it to WA with her for Aunt #2 to try, since she wore that style of sweater. She had the same fit problem I had, so Mom brought it back down last week.

I was determined that the sweater should find a home.

Enter Miss-A. Miss-A has a couple of sweaters that are similar in style to the February Lady. She looks lovely in lilacs and lavenders. She appreciates the effort and time involved in hand knitting. AND, we are built differently. It was the ideal solution. I would give the sweater to Miss-A!

There was only one tiny problem. I knit the February Lady out of Cascade 220 wool. Miss-A is allergic to wool.

I bemoaned the fact that she had such an unfortunate allergy. She asked which sweater I was referring to. I told her. She said she could make it work. (Since it is a cardigan with a scoop neck, she can wear it over another top and prevent any itchy/rashy reactions!)

I brought it into work. IT FIT HER!!!!!

I think she looks divine!

And the sweater now has a happy and appreciative home!

Knox

2010-03-19T09:45:00.000-05:00

There is a very nice lady at my church, Perky, who likes to walk in the mornings.

When she walks her ears get cold.

A properly knit cap could solve this issue, so she commissioned me to make one. She wanted, in her words, a "sunshine yellow" toque. (She is married to a Canadian. She says toque, I say beanie...to-may-to, to-mah-to.)

The dilemma here was in the definition of "sunshine yellow". Yellows cover a broad range...so, I asked her to go through her son's crayon box, find a crayon that was the yellow she wanted, and tell me the color name. (I have a gazillion crayola crayons...out of childhood habit, I buy a new box of 64 or 96 every fall...) However, it seems her son's crayons were not Crayolas. She solved this by sending the actual crayon to bible study, care of her husband, the Canadian.

I took the crayon to the yarn shop, and literally passed it in front of every Cascade 220 yellow till I found a perfect match. (It was a good thing I had the crayon, because the color was a little greenier than I had imagined.)

The beanie itself is being called the (Fort) Knox, as in Fort Knox where all the gold is kept. (Partially because the color reminded me of gold bullion...partially because I was serendipitously watching Goldfinger while I knit it.) I carried the "bullion" theme into the stitch pattern by working elongated cables into the ribbing, like little bricks! I am actually very pleased with the design, and think that I will write it up...I can see it looking very manly in a fatigue green...

I delivered the beanie on Sunday. Perky was astonished that I got the beanie finished as quickly as I did. She gladly plopped it on her head, despite having Sunday morning pretty hair, and posed for a picture.

Now when she walks in the morning, people will definitely see her coming! And hopefully her ears will be warm.

Brother Birthday Blarney

2010-03-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

An Entry In Three Parts:

I. Today is Brother's birthday. He is THIRTY!!! So, in honor of his aged-ness, I took the day off and drove up to see him, Sis-In-Law, Nephew, and my parents. One interesting thing about Brother's birthday being St. Patrick's Day is that the photos we take always turn out so beautifully...the whole color-coordinated greens thing...

Brother has always been very supportive of, though sometimes bewildered by, my knitting proclivity. He has made some of the more clever comments about the process in general. Also, as an artist, he makes interesting observations about finished projects. He notices things that others don't.

And, no. I did not knit anything for Brother for his birthday. Not that he wouldn't have appreciated something, he will just appreciate what I did get him more.

II. In other birthday news, Gino's birthday was on Monday. Facebook didn't alert me to the fact that his birthday was on Monday until Saturday morning. (Shame on you, Facebook!) This put me in a bit of a bind time-wise. Gino definitely deserved a handknit, yet I had my Master's Portfolio and finals to finish over the weekend. Still...I muscled through...with some frantic morning break knitting, and lunch break ends weaving...and was able to complete an Oakland A's fan color beanie for him. (I was trying to name it, but the only player I know is Jose Canseco...who, as an Angel's fan, I have always referred to as Jose Can-stink-O...) I sent the beanie, his birthday card, and my camera to the other library with Ya-Ya. She delivered the goods and snagged a photo. When I called to sing to him, he seemed very pleased. (...I hope to see him WEARING it at games once the season starts...assuming I get invited after my Can-Stink-O comment!)

III. Also, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I have decided to only knit in green today! I brought my still unfinished Rivendell sock to Brother's house. I also packed some lovely wool from KnitPicks in a shade called "Pesto" that I plan on using in my next sweater. (I am making "Skinny Empire" out of Custom Knits by the inimitable Wendy Bernard...only my version is called "Tilney." ) And, because you can never have too much knitting, I also packed a green beanie!

Project Knitter

2010-03-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

Confession: I am slightly obsessed with Project Runway.

Aside from some of the whack-a-doo challenges, and the amusing interpersonal drama...I find that the show inspires me to be more creative with my knitting.

Last week, as I was was watching episode 7, I decided to multitask and straighten up my stash. While tidying (petting) I came across the little tiny leftover lumps of yarn from Lovely's wrist warmers.

"This is really nice yarn," I thought to myself. "It is a shame there isn't enough of either color to really do anything with."

And then the power of Project Runway took over. It was as though a light bulb had turned on above my head. (I may have even checked for one floating there like a pentecostal tongue of fire.)I could make something if I used both of them together!

And thus, a Scandanavian-esque hat was born. I didn't use a pattern, and actually improvised the stitch pattern as I went. I also used every last stinking inch of the yarn.

There was only one problem. Since there hadn't been much yarn to begin with, the hat ended up being very small. Clearly, it was a child's hat...but for what size of child? I thought it would be too big for Nephew, and it was too small for Spaz and Whiz. So, I carted it to worship this morning and started plunking it on kids' heads till I found one it fit. And even then, it was a little bit small. (Thank you Ark and Fish for being helpful!) So, I figured the hat fit a toddler...a one or two year old. [Update: I took it to Brother's house, and was pleasantly surprised to find it actually did fit Nephew!]

I really like the design, so I'm going to make an adult out of some periwinkle and white llama I also found in the stash.

(Also, I do realize that I am posting on a Monday about a show that airs on Thursday. This is because I don't have regular television, and so have to wait for the episode to be posted online before I can watch it.)

Jaunty Jester

2010-03-13T09:45:00.000-06:00

Last month when I was in Florida, Jester braved the elements to take me to a yarn shop. In addition to her own display of courage, her Then Boy demonstrated copious amounts of trust by allowing us to borrow his SUV.

I felt a large debt of gratitude to them both...and whenever I feel thankful, I express my thanks through handknits.

While we were in Knit 'n Knibble, Jester saw a beautiful alpaca/llama/silk/every-expensive-fiber-you-can-imagine blend beanie. It was knit in a spiral openwork pattern. She loved it. She wanted it. She couldn't make or afford it.

I looked at the beanie very closely. Imagine my surprise when I realized that it was basically a worsted weight Envy Hat...pretty much identical to the ones I made for friends, coworkers, and cousins. I told her that I would make one for her, and that I probably had stash yarn that would work. Later that day I also told Then Boy I would make him a basic beanie if he just let me know what color he wanted.

Now a month has past, and Jester is home on Spring Break. I had finished Then Boy's beanie last week while watching a movie that required my close attention. Lacking any other brainless projects to work on, I churned out a twin version of Sk8's beanie from the same yarn. Super fast. Super easy. I gave it to Jester Sunday morning at church. I also took a bag full of various burgundy, purple, and magenta yarns to church so that she could pick out what she wanted for her hat. I knit that whole thing up during the Academy Awards. I gave her her Envy Hat this afternoon when she and I took Whiz out for frozen yogurt.

Hats finished! Debt of Gratitude paid in full! On to the next project!

Brulee

2010-03-11T10:45:00.000-06:00

I love creme brulee.

I love that hard burned layer of sugar atop the rich-fattening-no-redeeming-value-weight-watchers-doesn't-make-points-high-enough-for-it custard.

Also, it is French.

So, naturally, when I decided to make myself a properly sized beret out of the 100% sugar cane yarn I purchased in FL, I decided to name it after this paragon of desserts.

This time I stuck to a pattern that I knew worked for my head, my personal fashion outlook, and the gauge of yarn I was using. (My favorite beret pattern is out of the Hollywood Knit Cafe book. It has divine, yet simple, decorative decreases.)

The yarn is "Sugar Rush" by Queensland Connection. It is uber soft, and uber silky. It is similar to a bamboo yarn in texture...which makes sense since I suppose sugar cane and bamboo are fairly similar plants. The one drawback was that the silky softness made for VERY slippery yarn. I switched needles halfway through from my standard metal Susan Boyles to bamboo circulars. The bamboo was able to get a better grip on the yarn, but managed to not snag it in any way.

The beret is beautiful, and I am very excited to have it to wear to the upcoming "Bongos+Beatniks+Berets" open mic poetry night I am hosting at the library.

(BTW...if you are ever in Orange County, CA you should go to Yves' Bistro for the BEST creme brulee you have ever eaten in your entire life. Or, if you don't like creme brulee...in which case you are clearly some sort of alien...at least try the Nouille Roulet entree. It's my favorite.)

Handknits in other Hemispheres

2010-03-09T12:45:00.000-06:00

The Client recently returned from his trip to the Falkland Islands/South America/Antarctica.

He wore the Australis scarf that I made him. He said he really appreciated it in the 20 degree weather! (The picture above was taken in the Gerlache Strait, close to Paradise Bay Antarctica!)

He also was kind enough to bring me back some SWAG!!! He got me a skein of Aran weight wool from the Falkland Islands. The farm that produced it is big into the whole organic/green/undyed thing. I was VERY excited to get the yarn, since I had been looking to buy some that was this exact weight/color. I purchased a cream aran-style beanie for myself almost 10 years ago when I went to Scotland...but over the course of many years, moves, and winters I misplaced it/it was permanently borrowed...I miss it...and now I can replace it with cool Falkland Island Yarn! YAY!!!

And the Oscar GoesTo...

2010-03-07T23:45:00.000-06:00

What did I do during the Academy Awards?

(Besides throw pillows at the television when the program ran longer than the DVR...?)

I knit an entire Envy Beanie for Jester!

Pictures will be posted after I deliver it on Friday.

Martinelli

2010-03-05T23:45:00.000-06:00

I (finally) finished my new sweater: Martinelli!

It is from the book Pints and Purls by Karida Collins, and the original pattern is called "Fizzy"...

Since my favorite fizzy drink is Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cranberry juice, which is similar in color to the yarn I used for the sweater, I have dubbed it the Martinelli.

It is an insanely simple knit, as far as the pattern itself goes. I mostly made it because the construction method intrigued me. Bottom up in the round, with the shoulder straps knit and then grafted on, the sleeves picked up and knit in the round.

Loved it.

However, it was not without its challenges:

1. The needles I used were not all that great for the whole purl a gajillion stitches together for the puff rib pattern. Next time...won't use cheap-o needles.

2. I cheaped out on the yarn again because this was an "experimental" project. I used Caron's "Simply Soft" in autumn red. (It may be acrylic...but it is soft! Hooray for truth in advertising!)The yarn feels nice, but has a tendency to split while you are knitting it, which is frustrating.

3. The sweater itself was not exactly at the "modesty" level that I generally strive for. As previously bemoaned, the neckline was much too revealing. I ended up improvising a garter stitch border at the neckline in order to make it wearable. (It probably would have been fine for most people, I am just very uptight.)

Still, despite the hardships...it is finished, and I am pleased with the end result.

I Need a Big Headed Friend!

2010-03-03T22:45:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to make myself another beret for a while. I made one for just about everyone I knew. I even had the yarn picked out...Misti Alpaca Suri & Silk in coral.

At first I intended to do my standard go-to beret pattern...from Suzan Misher's Knit Cafe book. Then I found a new pattern, a cool pattern, a very very me pattern...

It was free from SockPixie, and was based on the Elizabeth Zimmerman February Sweater...which I had made for myself.

Perfect! I thought. I dubbed it the Beret Pour Moi (beret for ME).I checked my gauge, I cast on, I knit. The beret seemed to be getting a bit big...but I kept double checking my gauge and measurements...they were correct, so surely it would work out. Granted, I had made a change (a ribbed band instead of i-cord), but not one that should have had great grevious impact on the finished product. I just figured that somehow working it on two circulars was making it appear larger than normal...like side mirrors on a car.

I finished it while I was in Florida, but was promptly sidetracked by the Knitting Olympics, and didn't get around to weaving in ends/trying it on till last weekend.

IT IS HUGE!!!

Beautiful, but huge.

I reexamined the pictures on SockPixie's blog. The one pictured is huge, or at least huge for how I wear my berets, but the artsy angle she photographed it at hid this from me.

So, now I either need to find a big headed friend willing to wear a bright orange beret, or resign myself to wearing it as a slightly poufy ski cap.

(BTW, I have cast on a second beret for myself...using my old and normal pattern and the black sugar cane yarn. I may get a wearable beret for myself yet!)

And the Medal Goes To...

2010-03-01T21:45:00.000-06:00

ME!

I finished the shawl...and most importantly I finished it ON TIME!!!

This despite the setbacks of intruding purses and felting, sickness, graduate school, and some semblance of a social life!

Now, back to the regularly scheduled project queue!

Can She Finish?

2010-02-27T09:45:00.000-06:00

I feel like Dory from Finding Nemo...

Just keep knitting. Just keep knitting. Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting.

(Just today and tomorrow left in the Knitting Olympics!)

Felted Purse Session II: Recap

2010-02-25T23:00:00.000-06:00

The second session of Get Knittin'@the Library: Felted Purse was last night. Not everyone from Session I returned, but there were also a couple of newbies. 24 total.

The class was a little more fragmented than I would have liked. The students were all at different stages. My overhead presentation went over how to seam up the purses, but not everyone had completed pieces to seam up. Some of them were still working on their knitting, or needed "triage" done on their pieces. So I put the seamers at tables, and the knitters in chairs. I went through the presentation, gave a felting demo (using a coffee cup cozy), and then showed them samples of customizations for finished purses. Then I just spent a lot of time running around doing various things...I think I got a little scatterbrained. I hope that the students were not overwhelmed, and I especially hope they don't feel I neglected them.

On the positive side, I have heard back from two people who have already felted their purses, and they seem very pleased with the results. I am going to start collecting pictures of the finished products to put up in an album here on the blog.

I didn't finish all of the samples I intended to before the class. I only got 6 done, and I had 8 planned. Here are the six:

A. Felted Bangle Bracelet Bag with Silk Flower Embellishment

B.Purple and Lilac Striped Purse with Flap

C. Rust and Black Purse with Variegated Ribbon Accent

D. Variegated Standard Purse

E. Black and White Two Tone Purse with Button Flap and Scroll Pattern Button

F. Large Mocha Brown Purse with Flap and Stone Button

[By the way...all 6 of these are going to be for sale...if you are interested, please email me.]

PLUS SIDE OF CLASS BEING OVER: IT IS NOTHING BUT MOHAIR CINEMA SHAWL UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT'S CLOSING CEREMONIES!!! I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT TO FINISH THESE KNITTING OLYMPICS!!!!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

2010-02-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

My class is tomorrow...

...it's only a day away!

(Get Knittin' @ the Library: Felted Purse Session II is tomorrow night at 6:30...5 samples done...2, possibly, to go!)

The obnoxious thing is that I made a completely amateur mistake on one of the purses! It is too late to fix it properly, I should have noticed it sooner. I can "fix" it still, but it will involve changing the design a bit. I think I will leave it until after class so that I can use the sample as a sort of warning to my students.

And, after tomorrow night, it is all cinema shawl all the time in the Knitting Olympics!

Why I Love Housesitting

2010-02-21T19:00:00.000-06:00

I have access to a laundry room with a large sink and full size dryer in which I can felt a parade of purses!

...also, I have the constant joy of warmblooded company.

(Sadie tends to ignore the knitting process, but Tara tends to get curious!)