Being an account of how I was intentionally being artistic, and not just pants at using the digital camera, and also joined another knit-a-long

*shifty look*

Be it known that the pictures of my newest sock in progress are in black & white through a misguided attempt at being "artistic". The fact that I am helpless at using Rhiannon's camera is in no way related, and I'm ashamed of you for even thinking it.

So.

I've joined another knit-a-long.

Shut up.

Yes, I know I haven't yet finished the April 2006 sock project from the 6 Sock Knit-a-long. Although in my defense, I'm turning the heel in the second sock practically as we speak, and really, if you're going to be so critical, you can just stop reading now.

Yahoogroups is a dangerous place, and persons with low thresholds of will power against Join-a-long-itis ought to be warned to stay away. Consider this a public service announcement.

The new sock in question is Canada from Nancy Bush’s Knitting on the Road. I’m enjoying it immensely, and am privately calling it Mt. Everest because I’m knitting it for the same reason that one might conceivably climb the aforementioned mountain. Because Its There.

Clearly, the only logical explanation.

Something of an Update

My eldest child ran off with her camera, so I come to you once again without pictures. Although, truth to tell, I don't have a lot to take pictures of anyway.

I've hit something of a knitting slump. Everything I'm knitting is boring, and I'm leary of starting new projects, because I don't want another go with the UFO pile from hell. That said, I have started a few new things. Bardic Olympics for our Ostara Gathering was weekend before last, so I quickly put together a cute little pink lace hat. It's got a spring skater-punk vibe going on.

My very astute 5 year old little man observed that "Pink is a very strong color" and "Pink is not just for girls." The hat, of course, looked absolutely adorable on him. I've decided to make him a green one, as I admire his enlightened attitude, but I fear me that his fellow kindergarteners do not share it. As these things have a way of doing, the project came full circle. My eldest child won a prize at Bardic Olympics (if you just have to know what I'm talking about, drop a comment and I'll explain). Anyway, when you win, you get the option of choosing a hand-crafted item from the prize table, and my Rhi picked the hat I'd knit. Nothing like getting public approval for you hand-knits from a 13 year old.

In other news, she — the 13 year old — conned me into making her a "Kitty" hat from Stitch N' Bitch. Its all done but for one ear flap and the kitty ears. I should work on that today between bouts of housework.

I haven't even picked up the purple cabled sleeve of death in a month. The gauge isn't right, and I don't think I have enough yarn. A wise woman would stop now, before a serious gauge accident occurred. And yes, I know the sweater is meant for a 6 year old, but I just can't do it. I can't knit an entire Alice Starmore (even a child's size) in acrylic. I can't. I'll get some superwash wool and use the acrylic for something else.

Dang, I am a fiber snob, aren't I?

New Template

I've been feeling some spring fever lately, and decided that my blog needed a cleaner look. I'm still not convinced I'm satisfied, so I'll probably continue to tweak it.

I noticed that the pictures in my last post are completely squonked. If the formatting stays an issue, I may be changing right the heck back.

I have done some knitting, and when my daughter and her camera are available to me, I'll show you!

Promised Pictures

I don't have any new content, but this new post will have what the last two did not... pictures!

Seems like I promised pictures of my Toe-Up Dancing socks. For some reason (change in gauge? tension? star charts?) the two socks turned out to be more... fraternal twins. You can tell that they share some basic genetic material, but they aren't whatchacall identical.

I like 'em though.

I had to have the obligatory "sock self portrait yoga" pose. And of course, an "action shot."

And because my husband fancies himself a humorist, a "before" shot.





The end is nigh for the Glad Raggs socks. I think that they are going to be some of the nicest (certainly most complima-cated) socks I've ever knit. As I've mentioned before, I altered the original pattern (which is sadly, no longer available. For reasons of her own, the designer had the file removed from the 6-Sock Knitalong site. I dunno why, I didn't ask.)

And last, but not least, a very purple sleeve. More pictures as the project progresses. (And other words beginning with "P")

Remote Blogging!

Okay, not really remote per se -- I'm actually in my bedroom. IN BED. BLOGGING.

BLOGGING IN BED.

How decadent is that?

The husband got a new laptop earlier this week, and so wireless routers were procured and voila!

Well.

Now that I have that out of my system I can talk about knitting (DUDE. I can totally read FANFICTION in BED!) *ahem* Sorry.

In other news, I've begun knitting Alice Starmore's Galway for Morgan. Aparrently, no one in all the blogosphere has ever knit this before. Else my Google-Fu fail me. See, I was gonna be all clever like and check to see if others of my ilk had attempted this sweater before me. But, that was only clever right up until I could find absolutely bupkiss about it. (Okay, I did fine one, entirely useless reference.) Oh intrawebs how you fail me!

I'm about a goodly 2/3 into one sleeve and so far all is well. Its PURPLE. The child wanted a purple sweater. Perhaps tomorrow when I am less remote (like, you know, in my kitchen) I'll have purple sleevish pictures.

Meanwhile, I'm about to turn the heel on my Glad Raggs sock Numero Two-oh. The end is near, and already my eye is glancing longingly at my new book. (Perhaps a review is in the offing?)

February is Finished (but I'm not)

February is for Finishing was, for me at least, a rousing success. I finished a tank top that I started over a year ago. I think I was dragging my heels on it because I basically thought it would suck. I decided to go ahead and finish it because a) I was in blood so far stepped, twould've been as tedious to turn back as to go o'er, and b) I figured it'd be good experience. This was my first adult sized sweater-ish object. Go me.

I've also finished my Toe Up Dancing Socks (pictures will be forthcoming). These had stalled out because I needed to do the short-row heel and I'd never gotten around to fishing out the directions. And speaking of socks, I'm a 1/4 of the way into my next Glad Ragg sock now. These are some pretty lace socks, slightly modified from one of last year's projects in the 6 Sock Knitalong. These were waiting for the needles that were stuck in the Dancing socks. (Ironically I'm now knitting it using two Knitpicks options size 1 circs. Gauge be damned, these are so much nicer to knit with.)

A funktastick faux-mohair acrylic Poncho monstrousity was summarily pitched early on in the month. What the Sam Hill was I thinking? I ask you?!?

So, even though I still technically have 6 UFOs left, I feel ever so much freer. I really feel like I've accomplished something.

I'll be finished with my other Glad Ragg sock any old time now, and plans are already in the works for a new sweater for Morgan. I've ordered some Knitpicks Shine in sport weight, and plan to make a simple little color work cardigan. Morgan helped me pick out the colors, which was fun in and of itself. More details to come!

The Story So Far

Here's my February is for Finishing update. I'm about 1/3 to 2/5 done with the second Dancing Toe Up sock (more on that in another post). I know I said that March was for Making Mates, but I needed a quickie portable project. Hey, they're my arbitrary rules, and I can bust 'em if I wanna.

• Baby Bib for Sprog
• Dancing Toe-up socks <---- 65%
• Glad Raggs socks <---- 50%
• Flamin' Fingerless Gloves <----- 48%
• Eyelet Socks <---- 50%
• Colinette Afgan Kit <---- omgwtf%
• Kerry Shawl <---- ditto%
• Green tank top
• Faux-Mohair Poncho
• Gryffindor Scarf <---- 20%

Triumph!

What a good girl am I.

I started this tank top last spring, and then gave up on it because I didn't think that it would look good, or even okay, when I was done. But my man convinced me that if nothing else it would be good experience for me — and also boost my confidence — if I went ahead and finished it I think that he secretly suspects that I'm a perfectionist with no real grasp on reality. But I digress.

The pattern originally came out of a Knitters mag from the days of yore (by which I mean "before they commenced to sucking"). I tried to be clever and alter it. Please note the use of the word "tried". By the time that all was said and done I unaltered what I had changed. I also repent me the use of acrylic. Lo! Tho I walk through the shadow of the aisle of Hobby Lobby, I will buy no acrylic. Amen.

• Yarn is Red Heart LusterSheen "Tea Leaf" 2.15 skeins (anybody want .85 skeins of LusterSheen?)
• Needles were size 5 addi turbos
• The tank was knit in the round to the armscyes, where it was separated and knit back and forth

Progress!

I finally finished the Toe-Up Dancing sock that has been languishing pre-heel for nearly 6 months. This is my first pair toe-up, and my first time using a short-row toe and heel. I definitely see that this technique has merit, but I'm gonna have to practice, cuz my first heel looks like poop on toast.

When I first started, I thought that I really didn't like the yarn. It kept twisting up on me, and the fabric felt weird. But when I tried it on, my opinion changed. I think I'm really gonna like these socks. The yarn is Knitpicks Dancing (now discontinued.) The colorway is ... uh ... lemme go look it up ... Square Dance, knit on two circular size 1 inox needles. I have biggly feet, so its a 72 stitch sock, and it fits perfectly. I will be making more toe-up socks in the future. Meanwhile, this sock will be joining Glad Raggs and my Eyelet sock in the back of the queue, waiting for March is for Making Mates. I have second sock syndrome bad, people.

Speaking of toe-up socks, I just finished reading Priscilla Gibson -Roberts' Simple Socks Plain and Fancy. I love this book — it has no patterns atall, its purely a technique book, with the cutest little black and white drawings for illustration. Her short-row technique uses yarn overs. The Dancing socks I'm knitting now use Wendy's wrap technique. I'm interested to try this, on the off-chance that I can execute it with more grace. I make no claims as to the superiority of one technique over the other, I'm just looking for one that I can make not look like a 4 year old knit it. (No offense to knitting 4 year olds intended.) I'll be using Wendy's method again on the second sock of the Dancing pair, and for that matter I had the flu when I knit the first one, so I'll make full comparative report once I have more data.

In other news Sprog's bib is now finished (because February is for Finishing, you know) save for the weaving in of ends and the placement of a button. I'm fairly certain that Sprog's mum doesn't read this blog, but if I'm wrong then... *waves* Hi Erin! Surprise!

I based this off of the bib pattern in Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitter's Guide. For the record, I love that book. The yarn is Sugar n' Cream, size 7 Knitpicks Options needles. (Got the set for Christmas! Whee!)

I used a basket-weave texture stitch on the body of the bib, and did the straps in garter-stitch. Easy-peasy. Here's a close-up of the body.



And, in keeping with the color-scheme — I swear I didn't plan this — I've also finished up a baby blanket for a co-worker who's pregnant. I used Lion Brand Homespun and size 11 Knitpicks options needles. I made the pattern up as I went, and if I were ever inspired to try it again I'd do things a bit differently. I used a simple feather and fan stitch, but I didn't add enough repeats. If I were to do this again, I'd either double-strand the yarn or scale down the needle size, and I'd add at least one more repeat. I added a double crochet edging to the side to widen it a bit (and to disguise where I stranded the yarn along the right hand side. All in all I'm not ashamed to give it away, but it's not the very most awe-inspiring thing I've ever knit.

Next friend who gets pregnant is getting booties.

February is For Finishing -- The Counting

I still have the plague, so pictures will have to wait. But here's my tally of Unfinished Objects.

• Baby Bib for Sprog
• Dancing Toe-up socks
• Glad Raggs socks
• Flamin' Fingerless Gloves
• Eyelet Socks
• Colinette Afgan Kit
• Kerry Shawl
• Green tank top
• Faux-Mohair Poncho
• Gryffindor Scarf

I've already decided that the poncho is outta here. It was one of my uFo's last year, and I just don't like it enough to finish it. Also, gods help me, its made of acrylic. Um....no.

The bib for sprog is just about finished (which is good, because Sprog is also just about finished). I just need to weave in ends and add a button and voila!

The observant among you will note that there are three pairs of socks and one pair of gloves on my list. I'm thinking seriously about finishing the "active" item of the pair and then moving on to the Tank Top and Shawl. I think that perhaps March is for Making Mates....if ya know what I mean.

Poetry for Brigid

You can read about the "Second Annual Brigid in Cyberspace Poetry Reading" here and here.

Of course, I heard about it here.

I Said to Poetry
by Alice Walker

I said to Poetry:"I'm finished
with you."
Having to almost die
before some wierd light
comes creeping through
is no fun.

"No thank you, Creation,
no muse need apply.
I'm out for good times--
at the very least,
some painless convention."

Poetry laid back
and played dead
until this morning.
I wasn't sad or anything,
only restless.

Poetry said: "You remember
the desert, and how glad you were
that you have an eye
to see it with? You remember
that, if ever so slightly?"
I said: "I didn't hear that.
Besides, it's five o'clock in the a.m.
I'm not getting up
in the dark
to talk to you."

Poetry said: "But think about the time
you saw the moon
over that small canyon
that you liked so much better
than the grand one--and how suprised you were
that the moonlight was green
and you still had
one good eye
to see it with

Think of that!"

"I'll join the church!" I said,
huffily, turning my face to the wall.
"I'll learn how to pray again!"

"Let me ask you," said Poetry.
"When you pray, what do you think
you'll see?"

Poetry had me.

"There's no paper
in this room," I said.
"And that new pen I bought
makes a funny noise."

"Bullshit," said Poetry.
"Bullshit," said I.

Gearing Up for February

So, I won't be posting much today — I was planning to post my uFo's, but instead I caught Jess' nasty sneezy/fluey bug. So I'm off to sit on my couch, drink warm liquids and knit. I have to work this afternoon, whether I feel well enough or not (which I don't) so I'm going to be girding my loins and screwing my courage to the sticking point.

And stuff.

I'll be back later -- hopefully with more content.

February is For Finishing (and it doesn't hurt to get a head start)

Those of you named Jess, who were reading my blog last year, will remember February Is For Finishing. The idea here is that we shall make solemn oath to Fearlessly number our uFo's, and upon enumeration we shall Finish, Fling or Frog them. This will thereby allow us to begin the spring months with needles unFettered.

So, here are the rules:

• During the first week of February, catalog and post your uFo's. No Fibbing or cheating here! You have to be Fearless. (On a side note: if you still have uFo's left over from last year's list... you might want to reconsider whether or not you actually want to knit them. I'm just sayin'.)
• Do Not (and this is very important) Do Not cast on any new projects during February. Swatches obviously do not count.
• Finish, Fling or Frog as many uFo's as you can. There may be a prize for the knitter who completes the most projects!

And, because no thing-a-long is complete without one....here is a button:


In the spirit of Finishing, I've already gotten a head start, and finished up a few old projects from last year.

Rowan loves his new Pirate Sweater -- he wouldn't have been more pleased if Cap'n Jack Sparrow himself had handed the sweater to him.

The project is made of Wool-Ease Black and Ivory on size 8 needles. For some strange reason, I have extraordinary luck getting gauge with Wool-Ease. Too bad the stuff wears for crap, idn't it? I believe this will be my last "major" project using Wool-Ease. Too many acryls were harmed in the production of this yarn.

Also, I still hate Intarsia. Forever.


In other news, I've finished the "Super Sekrit Project for Someone Who Doesn't Read This Blog." I'm counting on the fact that she doesn't read it (or won't remember come next December) because its going to be a Yule gift.

The observant among you will recognize Knitty's Branching Out...in a somewhat altered form. See, I was going to use up this one skein I had of Knitpick's Merino Style, but it only netted me half of a scarf. So I got my buddy Jess to order me another ball -- sure the dye lots would be different, but they wouldn't be too different right? Wrong. End result was I still had a skein of Knitpicks Merino Style with nothing to do with it, and half of a scarf. Nice. It was my daughter Rhi that offered me the solution. So here's my merino Scarf-cum-Bag (speaking of things that sound dirty but aren't).

The Final Tally

I've dug around my archives (and my knitting bags) and here are the final results for 2006:

drumroll please

In 2006 I completed a total of 9 projects. Given that I am the UFO Queen Herself, I feel pretty alright about that total. It includes, I would like to add, no less than THREE lace shawls. Yessirree bob. A complete listing can be found here.

Now the bad news. Well maybe not bad, per se. But, okay, less spectacular news. In 2006 I began 13 new projects. Not that 13 new projects is bad in and of itself, but my overall UFO count is not whatchacall "shrinking." The complete list can be found here.

Plans are already being made for "February is For Finishing." Details will be posted soon!

Merry New Year!

I have a bit of a tradition around here of setting myself knitterly goals for the coming year. I have some non-knitting related goals as well, the perrenial "lose weight/become more healthy" of course, as well as the ever-popular "become more financially stable." These were both on my list last year — and I will say that I'm in a better place in both arenas. I've lost approximately 30 lbs. (with minimal fat-recidivism) and we are no longer actively hemorrhaging money. So, more of that please for the coming year.

Now on to the (far more interesting) fiber related goals.

Goal the First: May I finish more things than I start*

Goal the Second: To finish or make significant progress towards finishing either Morgan or Rowan's Big Bed Quilt.

Goal the Third: To continue to stretch my skill set — to accomplish more fiddly feats of lace knitting, to begin designing patterns, and:

Goal the Fourth: In keeping with Goal the Third, to learn to spin.















Last year I kept a "started in 2006" and "finished in 2006" running tally. It may come as no surprise to those of you that know me, but that list isn't completely updated. In the next week or so I'll be posting the final tally from 2006. I plan to do the same thing for 2007, but I've decided to include quilting and sewing projects. After all, while this was initially fashioned as a Knitting blog, I do have other crafts, and by golly I'm giving myself credit wherever the heck I can.


*Stolen verbatim from Jess, if you were wondering.

Knitters Without Borders

No time for a proper update — your irregularly scheduled blogging will be back after Christmas.

But for right now, go read this. Now go make a donation. Even if all you can afford is $5 (two cups of bad coffee at a gas station), then give that much. Stephanie makes her case eloquently so I'll say no more here. Go now!

And Happy Christmas.

Flowers For Nanny

Happy Thanksgiving!


Once I actually sat down and worked on Rhiannon's Flower Basket Shawl, it went together very quickly. I really love this pattern, and as this is the second of the three I'll be making, I guess that's just as well. This took longer than the one I made back in January (9 days, people), but I don't have nearly as much dedicated knitting time now as I did back then — so what're ya gonna do? It was still faster than the Ragnarok Shawl.


There is something so very cool about blocking a shawl. Others have written about this marvelous phenomena, so I'm repeating old news here, but blocking lace is just groovy. Steph has likened pre-blocked lace to Ramen noodles — and she does have a point.

I do think that I'll be adding blocking wires to my Christmas wish list this year. I never seem to be able to put quite enough pins across the top of a shawl to make it as straight as my little anal-retentive heart desires.

Project Specs:

• Pattern: Flowerbasket Shawl by Evelyn Clark
• Needles: Size 7 addi turbos
• Yarn: Knitpicks' Palette in Fog

Under Construction

Please pardon my mess -- my blog Template is under construction. I'm in the process of re-vamping my sidebar.

Wish me luck.

The Death of a Dear Companion

I've no pictures of completed works to show you, but I have been a busy girl the past two weeks or so. My beloved and trusty Singer machine, my fiber-companion of some 18 years passed into the veil two weeks ago. By which I mean, in my overly dramatic way, the tension is frelled beyond all hope of my repairing it. I borrowed my bestest Gretta's machine to finish the Halloween costumes. (Y'all did catch that it decided to bite the big one a week before Halloween, right?) Her machine is a simple two stitch machine (it does straight and zig-zag) and yet it ran so much more smoothly and efficiently than mine. I believe that my poor old machine had been ailing for some long time, but I had acclimated myself to its ways, and did not see.

This is the part where I explain that my husband is the most marvelous creature in all this Middle.... Tennessee. (Sorry, I've been having my annual re-watching of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It makes me talk funny.) Anyway, point being, that when my sewing machine died, my old-man first spent several hours trying to make it be go. He doesn't know from sewing (in fact he's nervous of the whole concept of making things with string) but he does know machines. When that failed utterly, and I was sort of staring blankly in shock and horror at the carcass of my beloved (and filthy! How come I never noticed it was so dirty?) machine, he says to me, he says, "Baby, you've got to have your tools."

I love that man.

I spent the next several days researching my options, and am now the proud and ecstatic owner of a new Brother 6000. I'm a fickle creature I am, as I'm already so enamored of my new machine that I'm like "Singer? Singer who?" Frailty, thy name is seamstress.

Dude. It has 60 stitches.

I'm a happy woman.

Ragnarok

Okay, here are the promised pictures of my Ragnarok shawl. I know this is totally old news, but hey, the pictures are pretty, and I did say that I'd post them.





In other news, I'm on the edging of the Pallette Flower Basket Shawl for Rhi. I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of the weekend. Its a quick knit, and I hope that I'm not too sick of it before I finish the one I'm promised to make for my friend Alisha. Next in queue, however, before I make FBS #3, is the Swallowtail Shawl (also designed by Evelyn Clark).

When I grow up, I'm so totally designing lace shawls and stoles.