m i m s y

And here's to you, Mrs. Marigold (she's no longer a liberated woman)

2006-08-30T17:30:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. What manner of madness is this that has me posting two days in a row? It's nothing short of miraculous.

I prefer not to think of this photo as fuzzy, but rather, as helping to create a mood or affect. It's the FO-photo equivalent of a Monet.

Pattern: Ms. Marigold
Yarn: Well, I "misplaced" the ball band, but it was a 50/50 wool-cotton blend from Anny Blatt. I have a feeling this yarn might not exist anymore? It's very much like the Rowan variety, though. Really spectacular to knit with (my stitches could do no wrong in this yarn). I used 3 of the teal, 1 of the purple (I picked these up for $2 a pop at a monster sale last year. I'm glad I was finally able to use them), and about half a ball of Rowan Calmer (also gotten at said sale) for the ribbing and ruffles since I completely ran out of the Anny Blatt stuff. Which is great because, even though the purples don't quite match, it means I was quite successful in using up stash.
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) Addi turbos
Notes: I pretty much knit this puppy as is. I crocheted two fewer rows on the ruffles, because they were flamboyant enough. I also added 2-2.5 inches to the length. Other than that, nada.

Hmmm.

2006-08-29T12:52:00.000-04:00

Brief updates first: Ms. Marigold has been finished for a little while, but I haven't gotten around to the photo documentation. Jess is awaiting buttons, although I'm lagging on that one because I am not at all pleased with the neckline (too wide) and collar (too short). Also, months and months ago, I surreptitiously knit the Counterpane Carpet bag from Handknit Holidays. Two nights ago I finally seamed it and pinned the lining in place. At this rate, the poor lining won't be sewn in until Thanksgiving. I've started Rusted Root out of some Butterfly mercerized cotton in a lovely eggplant color that has been languishing in my stash for almost as long as the stash has existed. I love the way it is knitting up (I'll admit it--I'm such a sucker for a good cotton yarn. Even though I love merino, it's usually too hot for me to wear).

Meanwhile, I have tens of projects scrambling for a prime spot at the top of my fall to-knit last. I have some cherry red Cascade 220 for Forecast, the chocolate Cotton Glace forAgnes, and quite a bit of old, new, and blue (seriously, I have non-purposefully accumulated mostly lace yarns in the blue family) laceweight for IK's Swallowtail Shawl and Trellis scarf, and the Lotus Blossom Shawl, among other possibilities.

However, the yarn that is currently foremost in my brain is this lovely stuff that I bought last year at Rheinbeck:

It's from Ellen's Half-Pint Farm, and it's soft and cozy and in a different kind of palette than I normally choose. I also am not usually a fan of variegated sweaters, but something about this yarn makes me eschew that habitual stance. I'm thinking something simple with few frills, easy and relaxed, so that the yarn can be the main design element. The yarn and an asymmetrical shape. I think I've narrowed it down to two patterns. This one from Berroco, possibly with a different stitch pattern at the collar:

or, the Ram's Horn Jacket from Knitting Nature:

There are obvious similarities between them, but at this point I'm leaning toward the second--I prefer the knitted hems to the ribbed bands, I like that the asymmetry extends to the collar shape, and in general, I feel like the Knitting Nature design is a bit funkier and more unusual.

What do you think?

*Edited to add: So the hank of yarn I have is pretty huge, but I stupidly lost the band for it and didn't know the yardage. Until I did a little research and found out that I don't think I have enough for the Ram's Hown Jacket (like, I'm several hundred yards short). Especially since I would have to add some serious length to the sleeves and body, since it seems to be kind of a short-girl sweater. This is very sad. Perhaps I will think of something else.

Anyone know of any similar patterns? For a floppy, cozy little asymmetrical cardigan?

A hint no longer

2006-07-17T01:04:00.000-04:00

Remember this?

One of my stashbusting efforts (modeled in the freezer aisle):

Pattern: Everyone knows it. Everyone loves it. It's the Minisweater
from Glampyre.You've probably made one. Heck, I've even made one. (The inexperienced knitter in me didn't stop to calculate that cropped, short-sleeve sweater + 100% wool would not equal weatherappropriate fun in that first attempt. See previous post for my rant about project-fiber compatibility.)
Yarn: The sadly discontinued Lion Brand Cotton Ease, about 1.75 skeins. I think the color is called Blue Popscicle, or something like that. It is definitely a color that will stain your tongue.
Needles: Addi Turbo 5.0 mm (US 8)
Modifications: A few. I made up a little stitch pattern--basically stockinette with staggered purls; I say I made it up only because I figured it out on my own, but I'm sure it exists elsewhere in patterns and/or stitch dictionaries. It's kind of a no-brainer in terms of stitches, but it created exactly the kind of dotted texture I was going for. It reminds me of swiss-dot fabric, which is a special love of mine. I used seed-stitch instead of garter for the edging, because I thought it matched the purl dots better. I also made the sleeves more cap-like by knitting fewer rows after separating the sleeve stitches from the body. Finally, and obviously, I made it a wrap-around sweater instead of closing it with a button. I simply crocheted two long chains with yarn doubled and sewed them to each of the fronts. (I wanted the ties to be long enough to wrap around and tie in the front).

Et voila. Easy-peasy knitting that took me less than a week.

For now

2006-07-13T00:19:00.000-04:00

Even though I've had what could be described as, at the most generous, inconsistent energy for knitting (and at the least generous, "what's with all the yarn and needles around here?"), I have managed to complete several little things, and I am well on my way to completing a third. And since I'm an incorrigible tease, they won't have their internet debut just yet. (In truth, they haven't been photographed yet. It's been all temper tantrums and pouting over here, and we certainly do not reward that kind of behavior with fashion shoots.)

However, I will reveal some of my in-the-works projects, first hinted at in my last post. That lovely cotton glace (purchased from the always-reliable Jannette), which, however it may look in photos, is in reality the most delicious shade of chocolate brown, is the last yarn I will be purchasing for a while. Although my stash is rather modest, and I'm sure it is a mere molehill when compared to the mountain that constitutes the stashes of others, I've decided I need to use what I have instead of purchasing blindly and then putting away indefinitely, or worse, forgetting about it completely. Anyway, I've had my eye on this pattern for a while (this pattern being Agnes from Rowan 35). Or, to be more forthcoming, I've been lusting after this sweater for months and months. I can't wait to get started.

Then there's these. I know I keep threatening to start knitting socks, but I'm really going to do it. Soon. Seriously. I just have to decide on patterns. Baudelaire? Hedera? Pomatomus? Jaywalkers? (Yes, I know I'm late to that party, but wouldn't they be perfect in the self-striping stuff in the lower left-hand corner?) These embossed leaf socks from IK? Something else entirely?

Finally, we have these two works in progress:

On the left is Ms. Marigold, though clearly mine will be more like Ms. Stripey-Plum-and-Teal. Or perhaps, Little Miss Stripey-Plum-and-Teal, ala this charming childhood throwback. This is another stashbuster for me; I'm using Anny Blatt wool/cotton (seems to be exactly like the Rowan version) that I picked up last year on the super cheap. I really love the way it is knitting up (both the yarn and the pattern) and I think this fiber will be much better for me than the alpaca called that's called for. (As a sidenote, what is UP with designers using yarn for garments that seem wholly seasonally inappropriate? I don't know about you, but I don't want to wear a wool or alpaca tank top. I think half the designs in the Summer IK were guilty of this.) Anyway, I am about to join the neck and begin knitting in the round. I'm crossing my fingers that I won't run out of yarn.

That itty bit o' knitting on the right will be Cherry. (Have you seen this gorgeous version by Carolyn?) I'm using the called-for yarn, Jo Sharp Soho Summer, which I am also thoroughly enjoying. This sweater is just so perfectly my cup of tea, it's as if Anna was poking around in the recesses of my brain for inspiration.

Pictures worth at least 100 words

2006-06-30T12:06:00.000-04:00

Hot off the needles:

*this* close to being done:

In the works:

Coming attractions:

Schemes for different needles:

New diversion:

In lieu of

2006-04-10T12:01:00.000-04:00

First, thanks so much for all the lovely comments about my Somewhat Cowl. It makes a gal blush in places that are shown off to their best advantage in her new sweater. I guess there's nothing like a finished project to bring the lurkers out of hiding, huh?

Anyway, I've been uncharacteristically indecisive about new projects to take on. (It's too bad sarcasm is poorly conveyed in writing. If only there were a way to illustrate sarcasm dripping off of the words of that sentence. I am known among my friends for avoiding definitive decision-making.) In life, whenever I get stuck about a particular choice, or I don't really know how to start something, I almost always fall back on the same old trick: organization. Can't move forward? That's ok; you can tidy things up as long as you're stuck here.

I know that the Stash-flashing happened all across the internet last week, but I've always done things at my own pace. Besides, I don't think of this so much as flashing as I do spring cleaning. In a fit of organization-fever, I dumped all of my yarns and needles and assorted knitting accoutrements on the floor of my living room. It was a yarn-splosion. It's really a good thing my husband is such a patient man. I got rid of the stuff I'll never use. That's right, got rid; perhaps I should have issued a warning for the faint of heart. But you know how you buy a bunch of single skeins of crappy stuff when you first start knitting? Because you don't know any better? I'm past the point of pretending I'll ever find a use for them. I also inventoried everything in a pretty little notebook, and included all the yarn details and project possibilities. Really, this was kind of an excuse to use a pretty little notebook. I'm an absolute sucker for them. Then I packed everything away as neatly as possible. There's another big basketful that's not captured in photos, but you get the idea.

And what's that in my newly Spartan project basket? I'm glad you asked.

This is just a little spring cardigan I'm working on. The yarn is Berroco Softwist, which is pretty nice. I like the sheen and I love the color. It's my own design: just a top-down raglan, with puffy sleeves, deep ribbing, a little ruffle detail, and perhaps a tie at the waist. Dripping with, in this case, sugar, not sarcasm. But not so much sugar that you'll get a cavity. Just enough to sate your sweet tooth.

* * * * * *
So, new Knitty, eh? I can't say I'm especially thrilled with the projects in this issue. I'm not sure how I feel about Mesilla; I really like the shape of it, with the square neckline and the darts. I even kind of like the embroidered circles. I think it's the colors. They are obviously very influenced by the Southwest, and I've never EVER enjoyed Southwestern-style design. Nautie is adorable, and Hedera is a lovely pattern. It's only edging me ever closer to that fateful and inevitable day when I throw caution to the wind and give sock-knitting the old college try. Other than that, though, I'm feeling pretty feh about most of the patterns. Oh well. They can't all be for everyone, right?

Happy Blogday

2006-03-28T15:05:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. This little blog is one year old today. And look how far we've come. We're not just celebrating first steps and the wide world of solid foods here at mimsy. No, we are going all out with an FO. Say hello to my somewhat Somewhat Cowl.

(Sorry, she's a bit of a ham.)

Pattern: Somewhat Cowl by Knit and Tonic Wendy
Yarn: Louet Gems Opal, superwash merino, about 4.5 skeins (I actually have 1.5 leftover--perhaps for socks?) I am in serious love with this yarn.
Needles: This project was an orgy of needles (hmmm, wonder what type of Google hits that might inspire). Let's see, for the body I used US 5s, both custom-sharpened Clovers and Susan Bates Silvalumes. The bottom ribbing was done with US 4 Susan Bates Quicksilvers. The sleeves were magic-looped on US 5 Inoxes, and US 4 Addis. And the neck ribbing was done on US 2 Quicksilvers. This, however, was not on purpose. Even though I thought to myself, gee these needles seem small for 4s, I never bothered to check them out because it didn't even occur to me that the 2s might have snuck into my knitting basket in the first place. There's nothing like making that 6 inches of 2x2 ribbing last as long as humanly possible, I guess.

Pattern Notes: I did fewer armhole increases than indicated to prevent baggy-gappiness. That, and eliminating the cast-on stitches when I joined under the arms really helped. Also, I worked a series of paired decreases on both sides so that the sweater would taper in at the waist, aiding in the illusion of that perfect, sweater-girl silhouette. You can see the mock seam that they created in the last picture above. I didn't bother doing an matching increases below the waist, and I like the way it looks. I increased the body length by about three inches and the sleeves by 1.5.

The biggest alteration was to the cowl itself, and the reason I call this the somewhat-Somewhat Cowl. (Actually, I suppose my modifications make it more of a "Closer-to-Cowl-than-Somewhat.") As you can see, my neckline is folded outwards, as opposed to Wendy's, which is tacked down on the inside. Once I had finished all the knitting, I played around with several collar options. I had a weird bulge along the neckline on one side, either because I screwed up the increases at the very beginning or I was clumsy in the picking up of stitches. Either way, I wasn't sure that blocking alone would cure it. Folding the collar out, however, at least hid it. So that's what I did. I stitched it down in the front, but mostly it stays put because I pinned it in place while steam-blocking (my first steam-blocking experience, by the way. It may be my new favorite way to block.)

I adore this sweater. As soon as I weaved in the last end on Friday evening, I threw her on and jaunted off for pizza and beer. And, I wore her again today. I simply can't get enough.

See?

Absence makes the heart...do something...

2006-03-27T11:16:00.000-05:00

Yes, I've been a bad, bad blogger. It's because I've been knitting, right? Instead of blogging I've been knitting and knitting? Right? Um...

Writing a dissertation (or, at least, trying to) can really suck your soul away.

Anyway, here's the deal (wait for it...) There is an FO. She is awaiting her close-up, Mr. DeVille. And in honor of my first blogiversary (which is tomorrow--does that mean cake?), she will be unveiled.

Meanwhile, my next project is actually giving me pause. Can you believe it? (This is not to say that I don't have ideas, or even that I don't currently have projects on the needles, but just that I can't make up my damn mind.) All I know is that I have a couple of precious hours most nights to squeeze in a bit o' knitting (while watching our new favorite, 24--I know, I'm late to the party there), and I have nothing to do with my hands except clutch the edge of my seat.

(That last picture is my own little design. I've been wanting to unleash my inner Marc Jacobs for some time now, but I haven't had the cojones to do it, yet.)

See what I mean? Too many options, too many options. Including socks, which may not come as a surpise to those sock-crazed knitters among us ("Of course she wants to make socks. Who doesn't want to make socks? Everyone must make socks. Resistance is futile."), but I have, until recently, staunchly professed my utter lack of desire to knit socks. (Well, staunchly professed in secret. Sock knitters can be scary.) Recently, though, I've been getting the itch. It all started with those Embossed Leaves Socks from the Winter IK. They sent my heart a-flutter. At any rate, I think I actually have yarn for all of these projects (some of them *cough, Apricot Jacket* I've even, maybe, started). What's a girl to do, except perhaps vacillate some more?

Surprise!

2006-02-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love surprises? This is the coolest sweater. It reminds me of a sweater I had in high school and college. I got it for something like $2 at the thrift store, and I called it, variously, my "Ugly Sweater" or my "Librarian Sweater." Because, well, it was kind of ugly and looked like something a librarian from the 70s would have worn with her dismal, tweed skirt, sensible shoes, face-pulling bun, and sour expression. But it was ugly in that cool way, you know, by which I mean the way in which kids who try to be different and unique because they are a little bit out there (or think they are) think that ugly is the new cool? I think this is a phenomenon that spans space and time. Anyway, that sweater was super cozy, if an aesthetic eyesore. And this sweater reminds me of it, except 10 times better.

As if I need more projects, part II

2006-02-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

But, you see, I had all this lovely yarn. Just sitting around my house. Stacked and lonely. (Not stacked, like, you know, in need of a bra or anything but just, well, look at the picture.) Anyway, this delicious Hand Dyed "Pot Luck" Yarn from Persimmon Tree Farm was another of my Rheinbeck spoils. For some reason, I decided I needed to knit a shawl. You know, the impulse came over me hard and fast that one week in October, and so I came home from Fiberdise with, among other things, a whole mess of this gorgeous wool/mohair blend. With which to make a shawl. Because I need one, or something.

As with most of my compulsive knitting brainstorms, this one was quickly placed on the backburner. Halfheartedly and intermittently, I tried to find an appropriate pattern. Until about a week ago, when suddenly the impulse was back and rarin'. Thanks to this. And thus, a shawl was born.

With the help of a luscious hank of rosy Malabrigo and my brand new Needlemasters (which, incidentally, are fantastic*) I cast on. It has become my A.D.D. corrective. I work on it a little when another project is getting me down. Or boring me momentarily. You know, like say, hypothetically, my Somewhat Cowl.

Speaking of the devil...

So I managed to forge ahead, thanks in part to Wendy's encouragement. I got to the end of the sleeve seam. I joined under the arms. I got to the bottom of the neck and joined in the round. (Yay!) Everything was going smoothly, I was knitting and getting into the groove. And then I decided to try her on.

Wowch. Excuse me, huge, baggy gappiness? Um, I don't remember inviting you. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're not on the list.

I have to say, I don't really get it. My gauge is spot-on. I followed the pattern pretty precisely, even erring on the side of doing fewer increases and cutting back on the neck length slightly. And, when I did the math, based on my stitch count and gauge, my bust circumference should have meant that I was knitting with negative ease. So where is all this extra fabric coming from? I have read on other blogs that, for those of us with curvier figures, a bit of waist-shaping might be in order. That's an understatement. In the end, I decided to rip back to the end of the sleeve-seam rows, and start fitting in some decreases sooner, so that by the time we, um, get past the hump (Apologies, all around, for that one), I still look like I'm wearing a fitted sweater and not a potato sack. (Not that potato sacks don't have the potential to be totally hot.)

*"Oh pointy needles
Oh pointy, pointy
Annoint my head
Annointy, 'nointy."

If you can name the quote, get yourself a cookie.

As if I need more project ideas

2006-02-15T12:19:00.000-05:00

I am in love.

I am in love with this sweater like I've rarely been in love with an item of knitwear before. OK, so while that may not be technically true, this particular sweater carries with it an extra punch, an eleventh-hour, Hail-Mary that is fairly unique in the history of my knitting project-lust.

Vignette: When I first started knitting, I remember an afternoon spent curled up in the corner of a bookstore, paging through every knitting book on their shelves. I drank it all up thirstily: the techniques, the patterns, the stitches. I was amazed and giddy at this whole world of wardrobe possibility that had opened up before me. (Because, and I feel a little bit like I'm divulging a dirty little secret, when all is said and done, I'm in this knitting thing for the clothes. It's not that I don't love the process, or that I don't get that little thrill when I'm working on particularly clever patterns, or that indescribable satisfaction that comes from mastering new and difficult techniques. I do. But it's the fashion that really makes my heart stop most often. I'm a clothes horse.) And as I sat there, cross-legged on the bookshop floor, the vision of a sweater floated into my imagination, a sweater the texture, details, and shape of which I would one day be good enough to design and knit.

A sweater that looked almost exactly like this little Bobble Blue number from Interweave.

What is it, exactly, about this sweater? I think it's that it combines two of my favorite sartorial themes. It packs a lovely and subtly sexy vintage silhouette with a whole French gamine-sort of feel. It's a sweater that I could totally picture Amelie Poulain wearing as she traipsed through the hidden, cobblestoned byways of Paris. In my mind, there is no sweater better suited to sitting at a little wrought-iron table outside a cafe, sipping a melange. (And in my mind, there are few better ways to pass the time than sitting outside a cafe, sipping a melange. A clothes-horse of simple pleasures.)

While we're on the subject:

I think I will also make this scarf. Unlike the sweater, I couldn't say why this ethereal bit of lace struck a chord with me. Undoubtedly, it's gorgeous, but whisper-weight lace has never really been my thing. (As a sidenote, I think it's so interesting to try to dissect the appeal of knitting projects. Some are no-brainers, while others draw you in and you're not sure why. Some strike you immediately as horrible and then, a week later, you find yourself wanting to knit them. Others have that whole choir of angels, backlit glow going on when you first stumble across them, but then, in a month, you can't really remember what was so great about that project in the first place.)

Anyway, I actually have some Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in my stash, and out of the blue I'm jonesin' to try my hand at lace. Real lace, you know, with fine yarn and tiny needles, not just a couple of yarnovers and fancy decreases in worsted weight. Something worthy of blocking wires.

The land of sloooooow stockinette

2006-02-08T16:28:00.000-05:00

Q: What's more boring than an uneventful progress shot?
A: The experience of progressing on my Somewhat Cowl.

So, Somehwat Cowl. You are a wily one. So fetching, so fascinating, so alluring, with your promises of hourglass figures and stunning decolletage. (Oh, was that just me? Sometimes I really live in a dreamworld of knitted garments, where they have magical powers to make me thinner, more beautiful, more confident, and all-around more fun to be with.) Boy, I cannot wait to wear this sweater (Who could, with all of the surefire hope-dashers I'm imputing to it. It's just a sweater, I must repeat to myself. But it's so much more than a mere sweater, my self contradicts.)

As you can see, however, it is a long, long road to the magical burb of "Wearing This Sweater." Ville. (Mayor: me). I love the yarn (Gems Opal Merino in Fern): it's very soft and the color is wonderfully saturated, exactly the spunky, grassy green I had in mind. (It's great, too, because it's very different from my usual purple/pink/teal color preferences.) And when the sweater is done, I can experience unlimited fabulousness in it, because I can throw the thing in the washer and wear it again and again. (You know, I have heard about this handwashing thing, but I have also been known to let handwash-only items languish in corners for months while they await their gentle bath.)

I also love the pattern, which is well-written and straightforward. It's a good TV knit. But I can't stand the back and forth and back and forth and back and forth of these never-ending stockinette stitch rows. At 24 sts per inch. I thought that in my year and a half of knitting I had worked myself up to a respectable clip, but this project makes me feel like the world's slowest knitter. (Although, after googling that particular phrase, I realize I am not so special.) Actually, it's the "forth" part of the equation that really gets me down; my purls are the tortoise of this story. Part of the problem is that I've been playing around with my method of tensioning the yarn (I knit continental), but I can't seem to settle on something that really works for me.

What's even more tragic is that I'm so close to joining under the sleeves that I can almost taste it. You see, I had actually been chuggin' along on this sweater, in that I worked on it for a little bit every evening consistently (an hour of TV would get my about four or five rows). And then it was every other evening. Then every three evenings. And now, I haven't touched it for a week. I got really bummed out when I thought I was to the fabled end of seam and then measured and realized I still had at least an inch and a half to go. It killed my spirit.

Maybe I just need a drink. Though probably not while trying to knit this thing. Nothing would kill this little knitter's spirit faster than having to rip out the loooooong rows due to a tipsy mishap.

Quickies

2006-02-05T13:45:00.000-05:00

One great thing about winter knitting is that it is potentially very quick. Lightning quick. Hats, scarves, mittens...if you're not doing something too fancy or knitting them for your friend who suffers from gigantism (suffer being, of course, a relative term. I can imagine how much more colorful life could be with enormous extremities. I mean, I'm 6'1" and the only real "suffering" I've ever had to put up with involves pants that aren't long enough and schoolyard meanies whose cleverest taunt was "Jolly Green Giant." Ho, ho, ho.), they can be done in a snap.

Exhibit A: a lovely hat that was completed in about one hour. And then completely ripped out because it turned out too big and completed for real in a second hour.

Pattern: this one (the knitted version)
Yarn: Less than one ball of Rowan Big Wool
Needles: I really have to keep better track of these things. US 15s or 17s?
The only pattern notes of note were that I added 2 sts to the cast-on number, and did fewer repeats before the decreases began. I used the flower pattern from that flowered headband in Stitch 'n Bitch Nation.

Exhibit B: These are some simple simple hand warmers from one of those Rowan Classic Books. (Most informative blogger in the world, right here, folks.)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky (I'll have words about this in a moment)
Pattern: As I said...
Needles: Addi US 11; this was my first magic-looping. I figured I'd give it a go. And I love it.
This pattern, as I mentioned, was quite simple. They practically knit themselves. I lengthened the 2x2 rib on the cuff, and I did more 2x2 rib at the top instead of the garter stitch band called for in the pattern.

Now, as for the yarn... (get ready for my stern voice) This yarn, though very soft and cushy, is the most disastrous fiber I've ever worked with. Who are you people who love Cashmerino in its many guises? How can you stand it? What am I missing? It started to pill and look worn and tired before I had even bound off. You can sort of see in the above picture how pathetic and decroded these things look (less than a month old!), but here are some close-ups.
Exhibit B 1.1 (the thumb join):

Exhibit B 1.2:

They're stll comfy and cozy, but I'll only wear them around the house or when I need the perfect accessory to pull together my latest Derelicte wannabe ensemble. And I'm no Derek Zoolander. I don't have the requisite looks to pull off Derelicte.

Exhibit C:
This is the scarf I made for my husband.

Yarn: Morehouse Merino (dreamy to work with)
Pattern: Basically my own, but its just a 5-stitch basketweave.

I think I cast on 3o sts and just knit and knit until it was taller than me (my guy like his scarves like he like his women).
Needles: Addi US 8
Totally quick and totally painless. Again, this scarf practically knit itself. I didn't really need to block it; I just washed it in some Kookaburra (my new favorite wool wash; take that Eucalan), where it did bleed a bit, and then I spread it out flat to dry. Oh, but in between, I did take advantage of my new favorite blocking maneuver:

Yep, I salad-spun it. It's miraculous for wringing out all the excess water.

New inspirations

2006-02-01T09:05:00.000-05:00

As I'm sure you all know, there has recently exploded in knit-blog land a rash of fair-isle knitting fever. Not that I'm accusing any of these lovely knitters of being sheep or anything. Seriously. (Besides, can you really accuse anyone of jumping on a centuries-old bandwagon?) Mostly, I just think it's slightly strange and incredibly cool how a huge network of knitters, many known to each other only through the magic that is the internets, can influence and inspire and encourage and teach each other. But enough on that front. You all don't need any convincing about knit-blogging, I presume...

So anyway, fair-isle. Well, thanks to Eunny's excellent recent series on steeks and fair isle, as well as her pattern-writing genius, I will soon be knitting this:

Or attempting to. Many knitters are scared at the thought of slicing up their knitted works, but I have to admit I find the prospect strangely thrilling. (I always loved making those fold-and-cut snowflakes back in elementary school, too.) Plus, steeking and fair-isling will be a new skill for me (not counting that pitiful little penguin experiment I did once), and I love learning new things about knitting.

Not to mention that this is just one hell of a sexy vest.

Sad tale of sad silk

2006-01-18T15:33:00.000-05:00

From this:

To this:

And back, ultimately, to this:

(What the uninformed reader may not be able to discern is the exquisite artistry of that last photo. Really, Kubrick would be proud.) "Wherein the poor yarn, wound, knitted, ripped, re-wound and, for the moment, cast aside, is sitting on the windowsill, staring sadly into the rain," which is, of course, streaming down the panes of glass like the tears that would be streaming down its fibrous strands, if only it had tear ducts. (If only!)

The yarn was beautiful. Magisterial, even. (It still is.) I don't know of many people who aren't made a little weak in the knees by the sight, hell, the thought even, of pure silk. Our saga began at Rhinebeck. It lured me with its siren song of gorgeous colors, with the way it shone and glistened in the dusty-barn-diffused sunlight. I touched it. I never even had a chance. A tiny, 100-yard hank came home with me. And I fondled it daily while waiting for inspiration to hit.

Then there was this pattern. I thought it would be the perfect thing. It would look fetching and, moreover, it would mean I could neck with that glorious silk whenever I wanted.

But, like many things in life, it was too good to be true. It knitted up quickly, like, in an hour. Blocking it was hardly a chore. And then the fateful moment. I tried it on.

It looked like a clown collar. Or like the perfect accessory for a tribal witch doctor, the thing that not only accentuates her unruly mane and crazy stare but that she could take off in the most dire of cases and hold to the fevered cheek or forehead of some ailing, hallucinating villager as she exhorted the demons to be gone and leave this poor child be.

At the very nicest, it just wasn't me. Not at all. Not even a little.

So it was ripped. And re-wound. And sent back to the holding pen with all the other yarns that are waiting for inspiration to hit.

My silk deserves better.

Shorts in a twist

2006-01-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

I am a mess of indecision. So what if I have several projects on the needles at the moment and further so whats if I don't feel like working on any of them right this moment? Who's going to stop me from my knitting daydreams? The misty thoughts of perfect, beautiful knitted garments, when they aren't keeping me restless and awake at night, lull me gently into slumberland. No project ever looks as wonderful as those projects you're just dying to make.

Am I right?

This is how I felt about Wendy's fabulous Somewhat Cowl. (I still adore this sweater, or perhaps more accurately, the little sexpot I imagine it will make me. But, whoa nelly, that's a talented sweater that can make sexpots of mere mortals, and all the props for that magical feat of designing belong solely to Wendy.) Unfortunately, the progress on this came to a screeching halt during my Christmas vacation, when I heartlessly cast it aside for a more gratifying (read: quicker) scarf for the Mr.

I also expereinced these feelings of devotion with that ever-so-popular Apricot Jacket from Rebecca. The you're-so-f'ing-close-to-the-shoulder-shaping-why-won't-you-just-finish-me-already back of this piece has been languishing in my knitting basket since, oh, October. Christmas knitting took precedence.

And now. Now. Despite the fact that I could be working on either of these projects, or that wonderful Silk Corset by Annie Modesitt for which I have both yarn and pattern, or any of the other projects I have earmarked/considered for any of the other numerous yarns I have, I dream.

I dream of this, and this. And this.
And don't forget this.

Sigh.

What's a girl to do? Certainly not post more frequently...

(Pictures of my WIPs soon. Maybe that'll be enough to guilt me into finishing what I start. Didn't my parents raise me any better? Honestly.)

The thing about Forbes Forest...

2005-12-08T14:38:00.000-05:00

...is that I'm afraid it's going to take for-ever to finish. Well, melodrama aside, I'm afraid it will take me, at least, beyond Christmas. And that simply won't do for a project that I intend to give away as a Christmas gift.

Now, I have knitted past the point shown here, but not much. You know why? Because it takes for-ever. Don't misunderstand; I adore this pattern. It's incredibly satisfying to work on, it is a very valuable lesson in knitting for me, I love the yarn (KnitPicks Merino Style). I could go on. But the sad truth of the matter is that the random snatches of time I have to knit it coupled with its slow, slow growth is causing me a lot of extra holiday stress. And nobody needs extra holiday stress. Malfunctioning strings of lights on your tree and worrying how snow and/or airlines might affect your travel plans (last year, we got snowed in at the airport on Christmas Eve and, on our way home after the holidays, the airline "misplaced" our reservation) and brainstorming present ideas for that one really pesky relative who is only into Star Wars and, thus, has every-Star-Wars-thing-ever-marketed--these types of holiday joys cause enough stress without any help from slow-and-steady-wins-the-race knitting.

[By the way, I'm not a Scrooge. Lest anyone get the wrong impression, let me state for the record that I love Christmas. Everything about it. I love the food, the decorations, the music. Everything.]

Besides, this scarf was a slight deviation from my original plan for my Dad's gift. See, I had wanted to make him a cashmere scarf ('cause, you know, he's my Dad). But forces conspired such that I was never able to find appropriate cashmere, and I settled on this merino concoction instead. But hubby and I are going to New York this weekend, and I'm determined to make it to School House Products (something I am mysteriously never able to do when we visit the Big Apple), and I WILL find cashmere. Then I can knit a much simpler pattern and it WILL be completed much quicker. (And I can finish the FF at a more relaxed, leisurely pace, or make the yarn into something else entirely.) For The Cashmere Scarf of Renewed Hope, I was thinking along the lines of the ever-popular Irish Hiking Scarf (Jess just finished a beautiful one. And in cashmere, too), or Grumperina's Sharfik or even this one. Or maybe I'll just make up my own. And my dear old Dad will love it just as much. Don't you just love Dads?

On the first day of Christmas

2005-12-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

Christmas knitting, that is. And it isn't really the first day at all. See, I was good and planned my Christmas gifts all the way back in November. Gosh, who can even remember November? I'm so on top of things. (HA!) Yes, I made a list. Yes, I checked it twice. And then I tweaked it about forty-seven times. I'm still not convinced it exists in a completed and untweakable state. Here's where the list currently stands:

Clapotis for my mom-in-law: DONE

Backyard Leaves for sis-in-law: DONE (see previous post)
Fiery Bolero for sister #2: DONE (I'll get around to photographing it, but for now it's hanging in the LYS where I work, enticing other customers to buy Cathay and Debbie Bliss patterns)
Cressida from Rowan Classic Woman for sister #1 (I don't actually rank my sisters as one would college football teams or "reaons why you should break up with him" or something. It's just my handy way of referring to where they fall in the birthing order. [It should be noted that I am the eldest.] [Why doesn't anyone say eldest anymore?]): pieces knit, duly blocked into submission

and now merely awaiting seaming and the completion of miles and miles of this obnoxiously dull-to-knit garter-lace trim:

Alpaca Silk scarf for my own mommy dearest (again, see previous post): knit, but awaiting finishing and lining
Forbes Forest for my pop: as the Carpenters would say, it's only just begun. (This is a topic for another post)
And finally, for sister #3, what started as a shrug that should have been finished in two nights, after much ripping and re-knitting and designing on the fly, has morphed into this cropped wrap sweater from hell (only because it was the most devilish little project. Seriously. It was a fierce battle. Either the sweater was out to get me, or I am merely the sad victim of my own indecision and lack of proper planning. Probably it's the latter. But I'm not eliminating the possibility that the sweater was possessed with some sort of impish spirit):

Yarn: It's just Lion Brand Wool-Ease, folks. One and a half skeins. My mother's hatred of hand-washing (I can't blame her, really. Raising six kids gives the woman enough to do. She doesn't really have time to lovingly and delicately bathe hand knits.) compelled me to find something cheap and washable, but still fairly nice. You may disagree with me on this one, but the Wool-Ease isn't so bad. I'm not rushing out to buy a sweater's worth for myself anytime soon, but it does its job.
Pattern: What started as a cheap-and-easy shrug pattern we sell at work turned into essentially my own. (Gotta love top-down raglans)
Needles: I think they were Addis, US 8. Who can remember these things?
Notes: As you can see from the pictures, I did almost all the increasing with yos. I like that little bit of lacey detail it provides.

Basically, I started with a certain CO number (54?), placed markers for the sleeve seams, and increased on both sides every time I hit them. After I bound off for the sleeves, I started increasing on each edge (again via yarnovers) to create the wrapover parts. I did a knitted hem on the bottom edge.

See? Basically, I knit the length that I wanted to hem to be, knit a purl row, then knit the hem length on smaller needles. Then, instead of sewing, I wove a needle through the wrong-side row that the hem would attach to when it was turned under (as shown in the first photo below) and did a three-needle bind-off to finish the job.

Now, the only detail that remains is how to secure the sucker. Buttons? Ties?

And if I use buttons, do I put a decorative one in the middle where the wraps cross, then use snaps or hooks-and-eyes to secure the flaps, or should I sew a bigger button on the flap itself? Or maybe weave a ribbon through the bottom row of yarnovers and just use invisible closures?

See what I mean about indecision?

Scarf mania

2005-11-30T13:04:00.000-05:00

As promised, here is a better picture of the Backyard (not Falling, as I mistakenly dubbed it yesterday) Leaves scarf. Notice the adorable, pointy leaf ends, and the sweet, waving edges.

I must have a thing for scarves with waving edges. Witness the Christmas present scarf I recently finished for my mum.

Admittedly, "finished" is a generous description. There are ends to weave in, and I'm going to line the sucker with some beautiful rusty-browny colored velvet. (I know my color description doesn't sound too appealing, but trust me when I say it's gorgeous.)

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (again I am deviant on the color number)
[My mother is such a picky color customer, that I had to send snips of yarn to her so she could pick the color she'd be most likely to wear. She is very particular when it comes to wardrobe colors. I was having nightmares of trying to choose a color on my own and lovingly knitting her a beautiful gift, only to have it languish in the back of her closet because it "washes her out" or "makes her look sick" or some other such nonsense. But she chose this apricot shade, so here's crossing my fingers that she likes it.]
Needles: US 8 Addi Turbos (I think the size 8 needles are perfect for this yarn.)
Pattern: my own, but based on the fairly common candle-flame stitch
Notes: This yarn was lovely to work with, although I'm a little concerned with how well it will hold up. The finished product is wonderfully shiny and drapey, but it seems like it could get old-looking quickly. It is also quite soft, but I'm lining it because I am one of those strange people who finds baby alpaca somewhat itchy against the skin. Sinfully soft to pet, but makes me feel like I'm going to break out in a rash if I have to be on intimate terms with it. Since I know my mom is equally sensitive to itchy things, I decided lining it was the way to go. And it will look pretty cool. And, I think my mother will be pretty impressed. To block it, I just washed it in Eucalan and pinned in place. (It took forEVER to dry.)

In other scarf news (because two scarves does not a mania make), I have just started Forbes Forest, which will be a Christmas gift for my dear Dad. I know it will impress him (although, honestly, I am blessed with one of those fathers who is not at all difficult to impress. Especially when it comes to the talents of his children). I'm using KnitPicks Merino Style, which, so far, I love. I'm also knitting my guy a Christmas scarf. His is not totally a surprise, since he picked out the yarn when we were at Rheinbeck. (I know! Can you believe he went to Rheinbeck with me? And he didn't complain and he was good at pretending he enjoyed it.) I'm debating whether to do a simple cable/rib combo or a basketweave.

I bought three hanks of this luscious Morehouse Merino. What can I say? The boy's got good taste.

Around the world in 80 days

2005-11-29T23:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I haven't been around the world (or even away from my negligible corner of it at all), and it's probably been more than 80 days since anyone has even bothered to give this blog the time of day.

What can I say?, she says, as she shrugs and cocks her head to one side in a way she means to be nonchalant.

Chalant has always been more my bag, anyway.

So, knitting. That's why you all come here, right? I know it's not for the free booze. Heh, "you all," as if my huge fan base has been chomping at the bit for the past few months, waiting in agony for my next post. It seems that the only person who missed my rambles was this lovely lady (seriously, scroll down a bit in the comments and you'll see. You'll all see!) (Whoa, who said that?). And since I aim to please, and since I kind of miss blogging, and since I definitely want to be held accountable for my knitting projects once again (I am suffering major finishing-itis), I will give this blog another go. With a new look and a different name.

Just to prove my worth in the knitting community, here are photos to prove that I have been knitting. [Caution: What you are about to see is an extremely crappy picture of an extremely beautiful knitted item. View at your own risk.] A few months ago I finished the Falling Leaves scarf (from Scarf Style, as if you didn't know), and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I'm debating whether or not I should give it away as a Christmas present.

I know, I know. Blue scarf blocking on a blue couch?! Argh!

Here it is blocking. (I considered writing "in all its blocking glory," but, seriously. Do you realize how many knit bloggers use that particular cutesy phrase? Seriously. A lot. If I had the time or energy, I would have hyperlinked every word of that last sentence to prove my point. Ah well, that's for another post.) And here's some specs.
Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8 in some blue shade
Needles: Susan Bates Quicksilver US 7 circs (these may be my favorite needles of all time) (The quicksilvers, not neccessarily the size 7s. Although I am unusually fond of size 7s.)
Notes: Not much, except that I knit both halves at once, and would highly reccommend this to anyone knitting this scarf. And this was one of the cleverest, most satisfying patterns I've ever knit. The lace pattern wasn't quite memorizable (for me, anyway), but I feel like I progressed by leaps and bounds in the arena of reading my knitting. Not to mention that I became quite skilled at double decreases.

Coming up: better photos and more of my knitting plans...

Who are you calling a copycat?

2005-08-05T18:54:00.000-04:00

WHEW! Remember, a few posts back, when I bragged/lamented the fact that I'm not really a more-than-one-project-at-a-time kinda kid? Well, working at a yarn shop has got me all in a knitting tizzy. One of the greatest perks of my job, as I believe I've mentioned, is that the store gets reimbursed for yarn used to knit store samples. This means that I get free yarn to knit with, and the only caveat is that my finished goods have to hang in the shop for a few months for customers to ogle at. When such a knitting world is opened up before one, what do you think happens? Craziness, my friends. Total chaos.

My first project was the IK Fiery Bolero. You know it, you've seen it, half of you have probably knit it. I'm using the exact red Cathay that the pattern calls for (loving the Cathay, by the way), but I've come to a standstill. Damn you, 200+ picked-up stitches!

So, in lieu of a big glass of wine at work to help me with the tedium of finishing the Bolero of Fire, I started other projects. I made a cute little hat out of Rowan Cotton Rope. And that Loop-d-Loop Little Red Riding Hood capelet out of Rowan Big Wool. And currently, I'm knitting this

out of Rowan All Seasons Cotton. Have you sensed the theme yet? Isn't this pattern great? It's from a circa 1950s knitting magazine, but I think it looks so modern. Fresh, even. Then again, I'm the girl who will fall for anything if someone slaps the "vintage" or "retro" label on it. I just love this model's coy expression, that slightly come-hither look in her eyes that mingles with a "What? Me, alluring?" vibe. And, I'm a sucker for a nipped-in waist. The funny thing about this pattern is that it comes from a booklet featuring "Patterns Using Bulky Yarn." There is no gauge bigger than 5 sts to the inch to be found among its pages. Oh you, knitters of old.

By the way, All Seasons Cotton is my new lover. It is the greatest stuff on earth. It's super soft with great body (kind of like me) (No, I jest) and fantastic drape. For anyone who thinks they hate knitting with cotton, I defy you to find anything wrong with this stuff. Seriously, try. I love it so much that I just acquired another 10 skeins of it from a co-worker who was trying to unload it. (For $30, I might add. I'm sorry, but I can never resist crowing about a killer deal.) It's a lovely charcoal color, and I think I'm going to use it to make this:

Now, I know what you're thinking. Everyone's made this. You've made it, your mother's made it, your fifth grade teacher has probably made it. But in my defense, I've had a secret crush on this jacket ever since I saw it over at Fluffa's. I can't help it that I love this jacket and that so many other people happen to have good taste as well. Why am I getting so defensive? Who knows? It probably has to do with the fierce grip I have on the delusion that I am an individual who does NOT follow the whims of the masses. I've always gotten really annoyed when things that I think are cool just happen to become trendy, in whatever circles. In any event, I'll still be the only person I know with such a perfect specimen of a sweater.

On a related front, I finished my Clapotis. Pictures coming soon.

Red letter day

2005-06-28T16:33:00.000-04:00

Boy, my secret pal is just the greatest secret pal in the world. She clearly puts a lot of effort into finding things she thinks would be perfect for me based on my questionnaire. But, she is clearly also necromantic, or a whiz with a crystal ball, or at least has a really great realtionship with Dionne Warwick via the Psychic Friends Network. Because even when she goes out on a limb and sends something that I didn't specify precisely (I mean, it's hard enough to do this with friends and relatives much of the time, let alone relative strangers), it's always a bullseye. Surely we all remember the first box of wonderment. Well, check out package nummer zwei.

Here's a rundown:

a fantastic card with a New York Times crossword puzzle on the front
a set of three Brittany wooden cable needles; I never mentioned needing or wanting these, but recently I have been longing for them. Seriously. Longing. Cabling with aluminum cable needles is no fun, and wooden ones just look so much prettier and classier.
a bea-u-ti-ful pair of Lantern Moon needles, size 10; I think they might be rosewood? These are my first gorgeous hardwood needles and I adore them. They will make the aesthetic experience of knitting absolutely transcendent.
some lavender flavored Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps; if you've never run across any cleaning products by the ol' Doc, you should really check them out, if for no other reason than the packages are often filled to the brim with hilarious mantras and exclamations.
a lovely pair of handknitted socks because of my fervently professed non-desire to knit socks; as she wrote, "It seemed only natural to knit socks for someone with a thing against knitting socks." These represent the first time in my life anyone has ever knit something just for me. They fit like a glove, too. See?
And I saved the best for last. That gorgeous blue yarn in the box (See it? Do you see it?) is 100% cashmere. 150 yards of it. All I can say is, damn. On my questionnaire, I jokingly responded that my dream yarn is cashmere, but only in my dreams. Well, somebody pinch me. Amanda, you totally win.

10 Reasons Why My New Job Is The Greatest

2005-06-23T09:58:00.000-04:00

Oh, right. Before I go all Letterman on you, I guess I should mention: I'm working in a yarn shop! I'm working in a yarn shop!

Have happier words ever been spoken? Or typed?

And it's just the darling-est little yarn shop, too. See?

Anyway, in no particular order, here are the ten greatest things about peddling yarn:
1. Obviously, I get to be surrounded by all manner of beautiful yarn for hours at a time.
2. And I get to pet and fondle said yarn for hours at a time.
3. I could even lick it if I wanted. (Although, I'd have to wait until all the customers were gone.)
4. I get paid for petting/fondling/licking/mentally undressing all the gorgeous yarns surrounding me.
5. I get to meet and socialize with other knitters. I've never had any knitting friends.
6. I get a discount on everything in the store. EVERYTHING.
7. Yarn shop work never gets boring or tedious like office temp work. Or degrading and tiring like food-sevice work. Or smelly like circus work.
8. I get to teach and help other knitters when their knitting goes awry. (Short anecdote: Yesterday, which was my first day, I was starting to learn the ropes with another employee. A woman came in with poncho troubles, apart from the fact that she was knitting a poncho, but we'll talk about that another day. Since my co-worker was already busy unravelling another customer's knitting, I offered to help this lady. And I was actually able to diagnose and solve her problem and she was so friendly and grateful. I had worried that I wouldn't be a good enough knitter to help anyone, so it really felt wonderful to be able fix this chic's mishap. If not her fashion sense.)
9. I get to spend my downtime in the store knitting.
10. I get to spend my downtime in the store knitting projects to be displayed in the store with FREE yarn from the store. (And that, my friends, is truly the greatest benefit. Who's gonna argue with free yarn?)

Strapless and hapless

2005-06-16T10:36:00.000-04:00

It's like those puzzles you used to see when you were a kid. Maybe on Sesame Street or some other PBS show. Is anyone with me here? You'd be shown an extreme close-up of something to see if you could identify the "real object"? The point was seemingly to illustrate how zany it is that something resembling the surface of a distant planet could actually be some guy's arm. The supreme disjuncton between the parts and the whole, or the alienness of things we believe are so familiar as to take for granted. Or something like that. Anyway, that's sort of what I feel like I'm doing here. How many of you astute knitting readers can identify the FO from this close-up stitch shot?

If you guessed Lelah, you win a cookie. (So go get yourself a cookie. I reccomend something by Pepperidge Farms.)
Here are some specs on the finished garment.
Pattern: Lelah, by the talented Christine at Knitting for Boozehags
Yarn: exactly 2 skeins of Lion Brand Cotton Ease, color Blueberry #109
Needles: for lace - Addi turbo circulars, size 9; for stockinette section - Susan Bates aluminum circs, size 7
Pattern Notes: This was an easy and fun knit. I made the large size, although I adjusted for my own measurements in the top part. I did an extra repeat of the lace pattern at the bottom, because I traditionally have a problem with tops not being long enough on my tall frame. I wanted this one to be flowy and flattering below its empire waistline, rather than revealing the fact that I could stand to do some crunches. I had to resort to doing some randomly placed decreases near the top, to make sure things would fit snugly over the girls. I would also reccommend using a sewing machine for the band at the top. Much, much faster than hand sewing.

And now I'll work it for the camera:

Here you can see how nicely it fits at the top, and how pasty and pale I look wearing it. (You're absolutely right. That's not at all the fault of the top. Lest anyone think that this top makes its wearer look like a zombie and Christine sues me for defamation of character. A little lip gloss might have gone a long way for me in that first photo.) You can see, also, how sassy and, at the same time, pensive it makes me feel. (Oh, for the day when I can model my finished knitwear without looking like a dope.)

Aack, what am I thinking?

2005-06-10T12:51:00.000-04:00

There are benefits and drawbacks to being flaky. One drawback is that one doesn't post on one's blog for an unforgivable amount of time, thus losing the mainly pitying interest of one's one "fan."

Another drawback is that one gets books from a certain popular crafting book club that one did not intend to order.

However, sometimes said book, and I will now be enumerating a benefit, is a book that one has yearned for ever since it first came out. And when one accidentally gets an unintended purchase in the mail and accidentally drools all over it, thus making it unfit for return, one can't help but to thank one's lucky stars for that temporary moment of flakiness.

Yesterday, Loop-d-Loop landed on my doorstep. It was love at first sight.

I'm just going to come right out and say this. Teva Durham is a genius. She is the most creative, brilliant, outside-the-box designer I have ever come across. I can even appreciate the brilliance of those few of her designs that are, dare I say, a little too out there for my tastes. (And I consider myself one of pretty out-there tastes.) Not to mention that the book itself is luxe and glossy and beautiful to behold.

Things I can't wait to make:

That paisley purse is simply to die for, and so completely my style it's like TD climbed inside my brain for inspiration. The puffy-sleeved bolero is similarly death-inducing, and I can't wait to make it, even though I haven't the faintest idea how it stays up (seemingly by the sheer will power of that model's bosom). That cabled coat...no words. It's gorgeous. And anyone who could make me want to knit a fetching poncholette (OK, so she calls it a capelet, but I think we can all recognize it for what it really is. Let's call a spade a spade, here) has got to be a magician or something, since that's one of those items I swore I'd never make. But this little hooded number, well, it just makes me want to skip around in a forest, swinging a basket joyfully, and fleeing from wolves and woodsmen.

* * * * *

I'm about two seconds away from having finished knitwear to display here. Lelah has been finished for days now, but she is awaiting elastic. She looks quite lovely, if I do say so myself. I also knit my first Hurry Up Spring Armwarmer, despite the fact that spring passed GO without collecting any money and we've hurtled straight into sticky, balmy, humid nastiness. The second armwarmer may just have to wait until fall.

However, it's good that I finished one of them, because I'll be able to show the LYS owners that I know a thing or two about cabling and working on DPNs. When I go in TOMORROW for an INTERVIEW. That's right. They want me to bring in some of my work and chat with them in what I'm sure will be a completely casual, non-threatening atmosphere. Now that it's come down to it, I feel a little silly about bringing in my skillz sampler (see previous post), but I guess I'll just suck it up and do it. Especially since I don't really have any huge projects to showcase. No full-sized sweaters. No set-in sleeves. No fancy construction. Few things bigger than a breadbox.

Cross your fingers that I charm the pants off them, anyway.

Still life with candle, clock, and yarn

2005-05-27T10:38:00.000-04:00

Boy, I'll tell you what. Nothing makes you wish for a ball winder and swift more than hand-winding a ball of yarn this size. I included the scenery thinking that it would accurately convey the size of the finished ball of yarn, but then I remembered that you have no idea how big or small my knick-knacks are. So I measured the thing. Five inches tall and almost seventeen inches in diameter.

All. Hand. Wound.

Anyway, once I get myself the proper needles I will get down to transforming this hunka-hunka burning yarn into a beautiful Clap-o-tee. I know, I know. I'm trendy. I've succumbed to the dark side. Maybe you'll say, "But Cara. Weren't you recently working on a shrug? How is that not trendy?" To which I would respond, "What are you, an elephant? Nobody's memory is that good."

So, on the subject of that shrug, let's just say that things did not turn out as planned. For starters, the yarn was bulky enough that it made the ruffles look limp and droopy instead of cute and coquettish. And, despite my best efforts to lengthen the sleeves so that the ruffles would fall to that perfect spot just below the elbow, they still managed to be too short. And the whole thing cut off my armpit circulation. Damn my monkey arms. Anyway, since the wedding was this past weekend, I had to resort to wearing a *shhh* store-bought cardigan. Don't tell the knitting police. But the shrug is not lost. I think I will simply gift it to one of my shorter, thinner sisters.

In other knitting news, I am looking for a summer job. (Hold tight. It'll get knitty in a second.) And I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be great to work at my LYS instead of doing some poor-fool food service gig?" (Not to offend any of the saintly folk who work in food service. I myself spent most of high school waitressing/working drive-thru at a little chili joint in my hometown, and most of college perfecting my behind-the-counter-charms while working as a barista). Anyway, myself answered with a resounding yes. So I screwed up the courage to email said LYS and ask if they are, by any chance, hiring in the near future. They are. They're looking for someone who is willing to work on weekends (check), who can be flexible about scheduling (check) and who posseses "expert knitting skills" (D'oh!). So I'm wondering how I can go about fooling them into thinking me an expert. I've been knitting for less than a year, and no matter how you spin it, that doesn't scream expert. What I do consider myself is a really fast learner, a person who picks things up very quickly and easily. Not to brag, or anything, but this is, in fact, how I've obtained all of my knitting skills. In an attempt to prove to them that I have some idea of what I'm doing, I worked up this little knitting-skillz (yup, that's skillz with a z) sampler.

It's got some mad increasing and decreasing, a cable (which you can't really see), some simple intarsia, and some fair-isle penguins. And they were my first ever cable (without a cable needle, I might add), intarsia, and fair-isle.

I know, it's not that impressive. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

sputter

2005-05-17T12:15:00.000-04:00

No words.

I have no words to express the amazement and excitement and utter gratification my SP has caused.

No words.

I knew to expect a package sometime this week, so when the doorbell rang at noon-time (otherwise known as mail-time) today, I sprinted down the stairs, threw open the door, and had to stop myself from squealing when I saw a big box on the doorstep.

Exhibit A:

(If you look really closely, you can probably discern a hint of my impending amazement.)

Then I opened the box.

*gasp*

I have the most generous, fantastic, clairvoyant, incredible. . . seriously, not enough words in the English language to express how great my SP is. I'm not usually so gush-y but, well, if you had received a parcel like I got today, you'd be a puddle of goop, too.

Here are all the sordid details:
* a beautiful postcard of her homeland (can I come visit you someday? All this scenery you keep sending me is stunning.)
* a cute little pot of herbes de provence--I can't wait to cook something with them
* an adorable little bar of French Verbena and Lemon bath soap, which made all the parcel's contents smell fresh and lovely
* chocolate fondue lip gloss which smells divine; I'm afraid my husband will never stop kissing me, now. Even worse, I'm afraid that, by the end of the week, I may be discovered huddled in a corner, shivering, trying to suck out the last drops of lip gloss.
* Sarah Dallas' Vintage Knits, which I adore and which I have longingly skimmed many times at the bookstore
* 2 skeins of Knitpicks Andean Treasure in Embers, a beautiful brick red. 100% baby alpaca. That's what I'm talking about. How did my SP know that I've been dreaming about baby alpaca lately?
* and, perhaps the best (I know...there's more?!), 5 balls of Peruvian Collection Baby Cashmere in the most gorgeous deep purple color. Does my SP have a camera set up in my house? Did she know that just this morning I was petting my computer screen and resigning myself to the fact that this very yarn would simply have to remain a pipe dream for me right now? *Is she psychic?*

Thank you so much, Amanda (yes, I know my SP's name, but that's all I know). Speechless. You have left me speechless. It's a good thing that fondling yarn does not require any linguistic prowess.

It's not even subtle

2005-05-14T10:27:00.000-04:00

What this is, is blatant yarn porn. I discovered yesterday, at the last second, that a yarn shop, a yarn shop I've never seen or heard of before, but a yarn shop that is only about a twenty minute drive away, was having a major sale in their outlet (I mean, outlet mall shopping is temptation enough. Now I have to ward off the temptation of outlet LYS shopping?) this weekend. I headed there immediately. I mean, let's face it. Who wants to wade through yarn dregs on sale-day-three looking for something you would be willing to take home? My sweet, sweet husband was even sweet enough to come along. I caught him trading sidelong glances with another unlucky spouse at one point, but I can't really blame him. He's actually a bad influence--if he hadn't been there, I probably wouldn't have been nearly as spendy.

Anyway, less talk, more rock, right? For those of you who hate posts whose sole purpose is to show off newly purchased goodies, you may stop reading now.

Here are some proud, proud finds from the "$2 each" table. The best table. That's 10 balls of Jo Sharp Desert Garden in Cinnamon. And an unlabeled skein of sock yarn for when I decide to try sock knitting some day. I told hubby that I'd try to make a pair of socks for him, because he has expressed a keen desire for handknit socks in the past. It's the least I can do after making him navigate through/avoid smacking into crazed knitters for forty minutes.

Six hanks of Elspeth Lavold Angora (really, an angora/wool/polyamide blend) in the most beautiful "cherry red." Deliciously soft, this stuff is. Angora is divine. I think I'll try to make myself a 1950s-style short-sleeved pullover. To wear with my poodle skirt. (OK, you got me. I don't have a poodle skirt.)

And now the best, which I saved for last:

This yarn is pinch-you-on-the-rear, drop-dead gorgeous. It's a 50/50 merino/silk blend from Scahefer Yarns. 550 yards worth. The colorway (this is my favorite part) is named "Indira Gandhi." Seriously. It is "one of a series of colors created for Memorable Women." Anyway, I swooned when I saw this stuff. After reviving me with smelling salts, my adorable husband encouraged me to get it. I am going to use it to make that darling of online knitters, the preposterously popular Clapotis. I've resisted it's lure for a very long time now. Bandwagon, here I come.

She's Come Undone

2005-05-12T13:25:00.000-04:00

You know how girls can be completely dumb about their own appearance sometimes? Well, I debuted the boobholder last Friday. My band had a gig and I thought it would be appropriately funky. Why would I think that a cropped sweater whose sole purpose seems to be to frame the girls would not draw any undue attention to my, ahem, decolletage? As a friend of mine said, after I responded with surprise to his comment, "Bust-tacular," "Girls are dumb." We sure can be.

Over the weekend, I made my first foray into the wonderful world of yarn recycling, thanks in large part to the inspiration of Ashley's recycled yarn tutorial. For $8, I got two sweaters:
1) a %100 lambswool sweater from American Eagle -- I've already unraveled this one, actually, and it yielded almost 1200 yards. And it's a very boring cream color, making it perfect for my first attempt at Kool-aid dyeing. Whee.
2) a black, silk-blend sweater, women's L, that is soft, soft, soft. I can't wait to find something to re-knit it into.

So, speaking of re-knit, or rather re: knit, let's talk current projects. You know, I'm jealous of knitters who have multiple projects going at once. I wish I could, but I have some sort of irrational objection to working on more than one item at a time. Trust me, I've tried. I'm just not very good at it. This is not to say that I don't have multiple knitting ideas spinning around in my head at all times, however. For example, I've had the yarn for the SnBN armwarmers for months now. And if I don't get crackin', it will soon be far too warm for them to be useful, let alone for me to want to work on them. I can't make up my mind what yarn to use for Lelah; it changes almost weekly. Now, I've decided to use some "Is-it-being-discontinued-or-isn't-it?" Cotton Ease in the prettiest, deepest blue. I figured something a little stretchy would be better than some mercerized cotton that isn't. Hopefully, this will be the last word on yarn choice, in which case I will cast on today. In which case, it will be my second project on the needles (Ok, my third if you count the half-finished vest that I've lost interest in at the moment). The current project is my IK shrug. It is a sinfully easy knit, despite the tedium of 40 inches worth of 1x1 rib, but getting gauge was like trying to get loyal KGB operatives to divulge state secrets. The pattern calls for 10.5 needles, and after much finagling and ripping-out and swearing, I managed to get it right with size 6 neeedles!?! I blame the yarn. This cotton angora is slippery and slidy. Slippery and slidy away.

(As a footnote, I discovered amidst my failed attempts to get gauge that I have no size 7 needles anywhere in my house. How did that travesty happen?)

But the thing that's been spinning around in my head, the thing I've been dying to knit almost since I started knitting, is this:

from the always brilliant White Lies Designs.

For your viewing/oohing pleasure...

2005-05-06T13:13:00.000-04:00

...I proudly present real-live, finished, knitted objects. In their natural habitat. (I suppose if you're feeling cranky or disgruntled, it would be for your eww-ing pleasure. Or your boo-ing pleasure. Or if you are a cow, for your moo-ing pleasure. Seriously, I could come up with a million of these...)

OK, enough play-on-wordsplays (even though I love it. It's kind of sick. If you are Hansel and/or Gretel, for your strewing pleasure. See, I can't quit...). Let's get to the objets d'art du jour.

This bizzaro neck-warmer thingy started life as a self-designed stole (I think?) for my Momma for M-Day, but things weren't working out. I abondoned the plan, but liked the variety of stitches I had created, and thought they would look cute propping up my head and juxtaposed against pearly buttons. Plus, you can wear it from two (count em') different angles. Wacky.

Oh, in case you were wondering about the specs on the above project, it's made with about half a skein of Classic Elite Miracle, which is sinfully soft but kind of sheddy.

(...If you're throwing a party in the 70s, for your fondue-ing pleasure. If you're making another unneccessary trip to the LYS, for your stash accruing pleasure....)

The second item is much closer to my heart. Literally. It actually covers my heart instead of hovering above it like weirdo collar. It's my boobholder, and it holds my boobs quite professionally. You'll hear no complaints from me.

(...If you're pouting in a corner, for your stewing pleasure...)

I swear I don't usually look so crazed and/or caught in the headlights. The minisweater must be going to my head. I made this baby with Patons Classic Worsted in Royal Purple and Burgundy. I'm quite fond of the button. And the buttonhole. It was the first time I've ever made a buttonhole. I tell you, the things that float my boat. (...If you're washing your hair, for your shampooing pleasure...) Inexplicably the sleeves turned out streamlined despite the fact that I actually wanted the puffy sleeved version. I didn't attempt to squash the poor sleeves as others have done. And yet, they don't look that puffy. Curious.

(...If you regret ever having checked out my blog, for your rueing pleasure...)

The shrug saga continues

2005-04-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

Cotton angora...

...meet your destiny.

As every knitter knows, there are roughly a jillion shrug patterns out there. Shrug patterns that suit every imaginable taste. If you're looking for a shrug, my guess is that somewhere, there is one with your name on it. Short-sleeved, long-sleeved, poofy, streamlined, lacy, minimalistic. They're all out there, just waiting to suck you in with their trendy and trend-setting allure. And, being the fickle knitter I am, how can I ever be sure that this shrug is the one with my name written on it? I'll tell you how. By knowing how to read the signs. That's right. The fact is that this shrug pattern calls for the exact yardage that I already have. Now, I'm not a superstitious person, nor do I get caught up in mystical hullabaloo, but how else could I interpret this except for that the gods of knitting, knowing how difficult this decision would be for me ("But, ooh, that shrug looks pretty too..."), have smiled upon me. And I will accept this sign. I will accept it and believe that this shrug and I were meant for each other. I promise, little shrug, to never sneak around behind your abbreviated back, looking at other shrug patterns that might be even better, second-guessing that you are the one.

Sometimes, my creative neuroses find a satisfying outlet in sewing. Last week, I made a purse with an upolstery sample square that I got for $1 at a local craft joint. Yes, I had to dive to the bottom of the bin of upholstery samples to find this one, but it was worth it. After all, there was a hand-written sign posted above the bin--"Only $1! What can you make?"--and I've never been one to take poster taunting lightly. Anyway,

I made it following, approximately, this tutorial for a clutch, although clearly I made some customizations and alterations. If I were to do it over again, I would definitely interface the crap out of those brown border pieces, which are a little too crinkly for my taste.

So, I was shopping in my favorite store the other day, new purse in tow, and the sales clerk said, "Oh, I really like your bag." Though my first inclination was to blurt out ostentatiously, "I made it!," I responded simply, "Thanks." I'm wondering how other knitters and sewers out there deal with this. It's wonderful to be proud of one's handicrafting skills, but to my mind, it's just a little bit obnoxious to respond to compliments by loudly proclaiming to everyone that you are, indeed, talented. Maybe it's just me.

In lieu of a snapy conclusion, and because I love photographs of her, I will end thus:

Louise Brooks is the quintessence of fabulous.

Yikes, stripes, or alternately, which shrug?

2005-04-25T20:54:00.000-04:00

There are days when knitting is so incredibly rewarding that you want to puke. I had one of those days yesterday, when I started (finally) on my minisweater. In the beginning, there was trouble (Boobholder: The Beginning, coming soon to a theater near you). Not major trouble, but things were not as smooth as I would have hoped. It was like knitting mohair on bamboo needles, whereas I wanted the experience to be as easy and as liquidy and as glittering as knitting on my shiny new Addis is. Maybe, in fact, the new needles were part of what made the knitting so rewarding (eventually). I suddenly felt like a competent, ept (as opposed to inept) knitter, no longer hiding bashfully behind her amateur status but striding proudly out in front of her newly-discovered skillfullness.

Anyway, to get back to the initial strife-let. Cheerios (which is what my little sister calls my husband, since he has a Cheerios T-shirt he often wears) and I flew to my homeland this past weekend, so, obviously, I used the opportunity to knit (for the first time) on a plane. This did not work out, because I was wedged so tightly into my seat (airplanes are NOT a comfortable place when one is 6'1") that I was worried about the nuisance my undulating elbows might be to my neighbor (who was not my husband but instead one of those people who feels entitled to extend beyond the borders of his own seat with his arms and knees and complimentary beverage). Given this circumstance, an occasional elbow in the neck of Hogs-the-Armrest might have been just the thing, but it was early AM and I was tired and I felt like being the bigger person. So I read over the pattern for a while, making sure I understood everything, and then slept. And then left the pattern in my seat pocket when we de-planed. (Ok, so I admit it. I just wanted to use the word "de-planed.")

Well, not a huge setback, since I could print out another (though my parents' internet connection is as slow as molasses in January). But then I started and, about 20 rows into the thing, I realized I was doing right-slanting increases on both sides of the markers. This would not do. However, as a result of these things, I am now more proficient with increases (though, I'm sure I'll still have to refer here the next time I need to execute one. I always do.). I have successfully frogged back to a specific row in my work instead of just ripping out the whole thing, which has been my former solution. And I am mastering the delicate art of "reading" my knitting. It makes me lightheaded with glee just thinking about it.

Ok, ok, enough of this. Here's the WIP of the hour, poorly lit, but ready to show you a good time. The striping was inspired by Jess. The colors are not very accurate. In real life, it reminds me of raspberries and grapes. And also, the stripes will be even (except for purple border at the top). There, being protective, is the Patons Classic Merino I am using. Also on display, in their knitting premiere, are my homemade stitch markers. See them sparkle?

In other WIP news, I am momentarily setting aside my tank-top-desigining daydreams and doing a bit of re-shuffling of the yarn I have set aside for projects.
Lelah, I will now be making you out of the formerly messy, now quietly subdued, mercerized cotton in a beautiful dusky purple color (previously slated for creative inspiration and, eventually, a new tank).
Lovely blue Cotton Angora, as per Wendy's sage advice, I am no longer enthusiastic about knitting you into something that will have to be pulled over my head, so that you can lodge your fuzzy stowaways between my teeth. You are now destined to become an innocuous shrug to go with my new dress,

which will debut at a friend's wedding in a month (and, hopefully, at number one on the pop charts). Now the only issue left to ponder is, which shrug?

Procrastinator, Alligator

2005-04-15T10:49:00.000-04:00

So, I haven't been the best bloggist of late. But, lest my blog feel sad and unappreciated, I haven't been the best anything of late. Student, teacher, person in the world... (that last one may be a bit harsh, but three is always a nice round number for lists). But, today I have several things to be thrilled about:

1.) I got my SP yesterday, which also means my SP got me, and as much as I'd love to say that I'm looking forward to the Knitty SP4 because I love spoiling other people (which is absolutely true. I adore buying/making gifts for people and putting together cute little packages), it's pretty exciting to know that I will probably be spoiled as well.

2.) I started Lelah the other day, and while it was not necessarily fun casting on 150+ stitches (several times, because I'm lousy at estimating yarn length for cast-ons), I think it will be a quick and easy knit. And it will result in a killer top for me.

3.) My NEW ADDIS arrived! (Remember what I said previously about excalmation points and all-caps.) I now totally get why other knitters are always preparing burnt offerings for the Temple of Addi Skacel.

4.) I can now cast on for my minisweater. (I was merely waiting for the German needles to arrive before beginning my ex-pat-living-in Germany-designed garment.)

5.) Hubs and I are going to NY tomorrow to see Dave Holland. Who is awesome.

6.) I am about two seconds away from being a real PhD candidate. Once my prospectus has been approved, it will be smooooooth sailing. (Although, before that can happen, I have to finish revising the damn thing. Procrastination--it's my forte.)

So, last night my band had a gig, and while I didn't have any smashing new knitted duds to wear, we did perform amidst dinosaur bones (triceratops skulls a-plenty) and full-fledged dinosaur skeletons. Which isn't something one gets to do everyday. (Seriously, I'm not even joking about the dinosaurs...)

Another day, enabled once again

2005-04-10T15:40:00.000-04:00

Recently, I've been overwhelmed by a burning desire to design something. In fact, this was one of the reasons I first took up the needles and taught myself to knit. Now, understand that I don't have the most garment-making experience in the world, let alone garment-design experience. But I figure, how hard can it be? I'll never know unless I try. And once that lure was cast, I just kept biting at the bait.

My first thought was to design a scarf for the Vogue Knitting-sponsered Purling for a Passion scarf design contest. A scarf isn't difficult, right? It's just a rectangular strip of knitting. But it has to be creative...and therein lies the rub. I've been in a frenzy trying to choose just the right stitch pattern from my new books. Here's the yarn I'm using for said scarf (yes, yes, the submission deadline is about five days away, but I'm a habitual procrastinator, and I work best under pressure. I don't think I ever started working on a paper in college more than two days before it was due.)

Isn't it cute how they're snuggled up together in my ugly armchair? (I know you can't see the whole chair, but trust me. It's ugly) The darker pink yarn (Mission Falls 1824 Superwash Merino) is so soft and so cozy that I'm a little jealous that it's necking with the Patons Divine.

Then there's my recent rash of knitting purchases. Multiple consumergasms. I love the color of this cotton but, my God, I wish I had a ball winder. And a swift. Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we endeavor to design ourselves a summery top.

I somehow talked my husband into helping me coax this messy, unholy pile into submission. I might finish untangling it just in time for fall.

Yesterday, I bought this deliciously cuddly yarn for a stole I'm going to make for my Mom for Momma's Day. It's Classic Elite Miracle, and it's heavenly. Oh, and there's a new pair of Brittany birch straights. Not for the stole, but for my own pleasure.

Fashion euphoria, knitting ADD

2005-04-06T11:36:00.000-04:00

So, I'm going to let you all in on my little problem. I love fashion (we haven't reached the problem, yet). I sometimes feel a little ashamed, a little secretive, about this, because fashion is one of those things that intelligent women should be above caring about. I'm sure you know what I mean--fashion is shallow, surface, ultimately meaningless. For me, however, putting together a smashing ensemble, or even topping off a casual outfit with one indescribably hip and unexpected accessory...well, this is one of the things that I live for. Even if that's stating it a little extremely, it's not a stretch to tell you that fashion and self-expression are synonymous for me.

So get to the problem, already.

Well, looking through knitting patterns is like browsing high-end clothing catalogues for me. It's an opportunity to pick out unique items, or not-so unique items, that I can personalize and make my own. Unfortunately, this means that I do a lot more settling on projects than actually finishing them. The other day, my far-from-fashion-conscious husband said to me, "Isn't it overwhleming to have so many things you want to knit? If it were me, I wouldn't even know where to begin." Pshaw, I thought at the time. But he kind of got to me. It IS overwhelming. I do know where to begin, but what I don't know is how to finish. I always get distracted by some other sparkly clothing item, the radar beeps, "Ooh, I must have that," and then the lonely back of a vest just sits next to my armchair for a week as a I dream of summer tops or fuzzy cardigans.

And (*voice drops to a whisper as she looks around furtively*) I hate swatching.

Knitting, like drugs, requires a lot of paraphenalia

2005-04-04T20:57:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, my photo hoster is being difficult and stubborn today. I was going to post some picture of my, to quote Napoleon Dynamite, "flippin' sweet," newly-acquired knitting accoutrements, but I will simply have to detail them in writing. I picked up five skeins of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora for this top. I also got...(drumroll)...MY VERY FIRST PAIR OF ADDIS! I don't think I need to express any further feelings about this purchase that haven't already been effectively conveyed by my use of all capital letters. (I don't whip out the all caps for just anything. Or the exclamation point for that matter).

The rest of my purchases will do a bit better without pictures, since they are all items to enliven my bookshelves. I got:
Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge
Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns
(I'm so completely thrilled with both of these books; I have no idea how I will decide which delicious patterns to try first. The hard decisions a knitter must make, eh?)
Nancie Wiseman's The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques
and, finally, Rebecca #29, which also excites me to no end. Of course, I will have to make the stylish cache-couer that seems to be the current darling of many online knitters, but I'm also stoked to make this (as long as I can find the necessary yarn for it):

(I am referring to the second picture, the deep-V-neck, exactly-the-type-of-cardigan-I've-been-wanting cardigan. The halter top is darling, too, and kind of Roman Holiday-esque, but, unfortunately, I'm afraid one must also have Audrey Hepburn's bust to pull off such a sweater.)

So, on a totally different note, I am taking part in the Knittyboard's SP4, (Secret Pal gift exchange) and because I thought they may be of interest, I've decided to post some of my questionnaire answers here. A little peek into the mind of Cara. By no means should anyone feel compelled to read my ramblings. Call me Blabby Blatherson, but sometimes I cram far more detail into my speech and writing than is normally advisable or acceptable in polite society. All have received warning.

KNITTING & FIBERS:
1. What is your current skill level (beginner/adv. beginner/intermediate etc. etc): Well, I’ve only been knitting since September, but I consider myself a fast learner, who likes to learn new techniques and, if I do so say myself, picks them up pretty quickly and easily. In other words, I wouldn’t really balk at the idea of complicated or “advanced” knitting but rather, would relish the challenge. (On the other hand, my spiderweb capelet would laugh if it ever read this.)
2. What are your favorite fiber colors? I like colors that are deep, bright, and bold, especially purples, greens (and greeny-blues), reds, and pinks. I think I tend to like colors with food names, you know, eggplant, pomegranate, pumpkin, chocolate…or maybe I just like eating.
3. Are there any fiber colors you absolutely do NOT like? If so which? I run screaming from any shade of yellow (just because I look hideous in yellow and tend to knit mainly for myself). Washed-out pastels make me want to sit in a corner, rocking and muttering to myself (muted colors are good; I’m talkin’ baby-type pastels or any colors that suggest a country, cutesy “use me to paint roosters and garlands on a decorative shelf” vibe). And don’t’ get me started on bright florescents.
4. What are your favorite fibers? Mmmm…let’s see. I love natural fibers, the softer, the better (I have a cheek-rubbing test I do for softness). I also like playing around with (natural) textures, so fuzzy, furry, boucle, variegated—all these are good. I’m a little bit of a yarn snob, I guess (though I can’t REALLY afford to be. Details, schmetails), but I certainly don’t hate acrylic or acrylic-blends, as long as they are soft and cuddly. And of course, cashmere, but really, I only know what it’s like to knit with cashmere from my knitting daydreams.
5. Do you have any unwelcome fibers (stuff you just don't need more of or like?) Seeing fun fur causes me to make a sound similar to the sound I think you’d make if you ever tried to swallow fun fur. I also tend to gag involuntarily at the thought of chenille, eyelash, or trellis yarn, and anything plastic-y or scratchy. Yarns that wave their tentacles at you, like scary, alien life forms, kind of frighten me.
6. What is your Dream Yarn? I’m dying to knit something with Rowan, especially the big plushy, cozy ones. I’ve fondled them lovingly at my LYS several times, but have never had any in my hot little hands.
7. How do you feel about novelty fibers (both the yarns and the items made with them)? How do I feel about the plague? How do I feel about eating glass?
8. What is the next thing you want to learn (techniques etc.) on the needles? Gosh, there are so many things I’d love to try. I have my first cabling project waiting in the wings (Hurry Up Spring Armwarmers from SnBN). I’d love to try intarsia. I also want to steek something. Mostly just because I like the word steek.
9. What item(s) do you knit the most? I’m a pretty selfish knitter. I see garments I like and think, “I’d love to have that for myself.” This is not to say that I don’t or wouldn’t make things for other people. I tend to like funky, unique, stylish, and fitted items—no oversized sweaters or shapeless, ugly patterns for me. I like having small items around to keep me busy while working on larger stuff. I’m not a big knitted-purse kinda gal, but I’ll do stuff like scarves, hats, armwarmers, etc.

FAVORITES: Who/What is your favorite...
Chocolate: A better question would be, “Say, Cara, is there any chocolate you don’t like?” To which I would answer, white chocolate, Hershey’s chocolate, or chocolate loaded down with crap (by which I mostly mean dried fruit, which has absolutely no business living in chocolate). Maybe, though, my all-time favorite chocolate thing is chocolate covered cherries. *Salivating*
Muppet: Statler and Waldorf (the guys who sit in the balcony, haranguing everyone)
Flower: Gerbera daisy or tulip
Ice Cream flavor: Again, I can’t pick just one. Ben and Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk and Cherry Garcia. And Mocha Chocolate Chunk (or the nearest approximation of it). My favorite ice creams ever come from a local joint where I grew up (Cincinnati area) called Graeter’s. If you’re not from around there, you probably don’t know about it. Unless you heard Oprah calling it one of the best kinds of ice cream she’d ever tasted. (Yup, that’s true.)
Fragrance: I have this coconut-lime body spray that I really like, but for the most part, I’m not really a fragrance kind of gal.
Shoes to wear: Red (I have a weird thing for red shoes. I have at least six pairs. More accurately, I really just have a thing for shoes. And I would take funky over function any day. Though I do appreciate the comfort of a simple pair of flip flops, you would probably never catch me hoofin’ it in a pair of athletic sneakers. Aesthetic sneakers, maybe.) (Whoa, that was a big parenthetical…)
Type of garden: Herb
Animal: I like giraffes. And ligers.
Beverage: Red wine. Or chocolate milk. (What does that say about me?)

RORSCHACH ETC: [In case the numbering wasn't a give-away, I skipped some.]
19. If you were candy would you be sweet, sour, or cinnamon? Cinnamon. Definitely cinnamon.
20. If you were a fruit which would you be? For some reason, this question is giving me the most trouble. Ok, um…tomato.
21. Are you a Java Junkie? I mean, I like coffee (cream, no sugar please), but I don’t get my coffee intravenously or anything.
22. Your birthday, in case it falls during the swap and your SP wants to send you a card: September 19.
23. Do you have a personal mantra? Not really. And especially not if it’s ever been slapped onto a poster and sold in ‘Successories’ or a little kiosk in the mall.
24. How do you really feel about socks? I like wearing them, especially weird ones and stripey ones, but I’ve never knit one. I’m kind of opposed to the idea of knitting socks, even though I have no basis for it.
25. What is your shoe size? I come in at a 10 or 11.
26. What kind of music (and/or which artists) do you listen to when you are happy? I really like jazz and funk. The Amelie soundtrack is a great mood enhancer—I love love it. Other things I listen to when I’m feeling upbeat: Beck—Midnight Vultures; Nellie McKay—Get Away From Me; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Weezer. My musical tastes are somewhat eclectic.
27. Rate yourself on a girly/fruh fruh factor from 1 - 10: Personality-wise, I’m probably about a 4, although I must admit to having my girly moments. For example, I really love fashion and getting all dolled up for special occasions. And I think my answer to the chocolate question speaks for itself.
28. What languages do you speak (besides English)? I kind of speak German and a little French. I can read German, French and Italian pretty well (as a side effect of my grad work). I also spent a semester in Budapest while in college, so I know how to tell a Hungarian that I’m hungry.
29. If you could have any "super power" which would it be? Maybe the ability to retain everything I’ve ever read, heard, or learned. Like, super-intelligence. Yeah, that’s kind of a nerdy, academic superpower, I know. OK, since we’re dealing in the realm of pure fantasy here, then I choose telekinesis. Or maybe mind control. Or maybe just a killer bod. Literally.
30. You're given $10,000 for travelling. Where do you go and why? Paris. I’ve developed this obsession with my idealized image of Parisian living (which is kind of a conflation of French movies and what I’ve read about the turn of the century in Montmartre). I want to live in a cute little apartment there, with a terrace and vintage décor, learning the language better, traipsing to the market every day for cheese and baguettes that I would carry away in my little basket, enjoying espresso at sidewalk cafes and people-watching, going to museums, and blowing all the rest of my money on weekend train rides to the French seaside for nude sunbathing.

The stash, the stash, I'm going to flash my stash

2005-04-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

(In case it wasn't readily apparent, that should be sung to the tune of "Hi-ho," otherwise known as the song the dwarves sing on their way to work in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.)

Yes, that's right everyone. Today you will behold the questionable glory that is...not really...my stash. Keep in mind that I've only been knitting for about eight months. I wish I could say, "April Fools!"--my stash is bigger than this. But alas.

Here she is (No worries. My floor is clean.):

And now for something completely different. I mean, close-up.

This is my Patons Classic Worsted, all obtained, on sale, from the wonderful A.C. Moore. These are set aside for
a) a sweater
b) various minisweaters.

Some blue/green yarns:

Notice the Crystal Palace "Musique" and "Labrador" and GGH "Relax" that I have no idea what to do with. There's also some Lion Brand Cotton, Moonlight Mohair, some knock-off cashmerino (that feels delicious anyway) and some 100% wool worsted.

Some yarns in the pinky-purply color family:

Again, several yarns that have yet to find a purpose in life. (Not the Noro, though. Those are just dying to become armwarmers. Someday all their dreams will be fulfilled.) Also, more faux-cashmerino, Crystal Palace Merino, Plymouth Divine, Lamb's Pride Bulky, and some unidentified odds and ends.

After viewing other, vastly superior stashes today, I feel compelled to apologize for my somewhat disappointing showing. And even more compelled to take a trip to myLYS.

Groovin' on up

2005-03-31T11:29:00.000-05:00

So, I do not have any exciting or even marginally acceptable knit progress to share, but I do have exciting new plans for future knits. I've decided that I need a boobholder, one of the stunning creations from the clever and vastly stylish design mind of Stefanie Japel. (Please stop me before I begin to sound like a rabid knitwear groupie.) Now, in expressing my love of and sudden desire for a boobholder, I'm being a bit disingenuous. This pattern is actually not something that I have just decided on, but the demands of blogging require that I fudge with some extra bits of narrative pizzazz. You understand.

Anyway, I have actually already purchased the necessary yarn for said boobholder (let's see how many times I can write boobholder in one post...). In fact, I have purchased the necessary yarn for...TWO boobholders (which will thus be capable of holding four boobs). As far as I can tell, the pattern looks relatively simple, and I think it would make for a killer addition to my wardrobe when my band (yes, I am in a band. It's not really a "Gee, let's see if we can strike it rich and be the next Nirvana" kind of band, but rather a bunch of friends who are decent musicians and who wanted some music-y extra-curricular activities to distract from the pressures and tedium of dissertation writing) plays a gig in two weeks. What one wears to a gig is extremely important, especially when one is one of only two chic band members in a cast of nine. That's just the way of the biz. I invest what is probably way too much thought in my ensembles for these performances, and I've decided that a boobholder will top off nicely my black pencil skirt and wife-beater. Feel free to disagree.

Since I feel compelled to post at least one picture, now would be the perfect time to sneak in this shot of a yoga mat bag that I made for my sister for her birthday (the big 21) a couple weeks ago. My camera was on the fritz, so she sent me this action shot (it's a bit dark):

And here's a closeup:

This is the Om Yoga Mat Bag from SnBN. I really liked making it and may make another for myself. Although, if I make it again, I think I will do it on circular needles. 14 inch aluminum needles aren't good for making friends in when used in public places, especially when seated with others in close quarters.

Tune in tomorrow when I will flash my stash. (Although, don't hold your breath for it. It's just a little bit pathetic. I hope it doesn't feel too bad next to all of the bigger, older stashes.)

Malaise

2005-03-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

I realized that that's the word for it. Not only is it slightly more descriptive than "funky" but I think it gets the job done more efficiently. (That is to say, no one will have any confusion about whether I'm feeling somewhat blue or rocking out to Prince.)

However, I'm starting to feel better, and in honor of that I've started to dream. Big dreams. Possibly unattainable dreams. Dreams of this.
Isn't it glorious?

Sigh.

I was reading one of my new favorite blogs (Knit and Tonic) the other day and it featured a rumination on why we knit what we knit. What does our knitting say about us? A very interesting question. What does it say that I can't even finish a pretty simple, funky-preppy vest and yet dream this embroidered confection of a cardigan, imagining that of course mine would turn out as lovely as the one in the pattern? (In a slightly different color scheme, of course.) Am I a ridiculous dreamer? A girl who relishes the thought of complicated patterns and yet can't even finish the simple ones? Who am I kidding? I don't know how to embroider.

Again, sigh. A girl can dream, can't she?

By the way, as for my resolution to make time for the knit, well, let's just say that yesterday, I was able to make time for about four rows of the knit. Pathetic, huh?

Feelin' funky

2005-03-29T12:07:00.000-05:00

And I don't mean the shake-what-your-momma-gave-you, get-up-off-of-that-floor, Stevie-Wonder-in-his-"Superstition"-days kind of funky. I'm talking funk-y, like a girl who is in a funk. Don't you ever just have those days when you wake up feeling mildly perturbed without even knowing why you feel that way? It's a real productivity buster. Knitting is sometimes the kind of thing that helps to bust me out of such funk-y states of being (and if I'm lucky, into an actual state of funk. Maybe I just need to listen to some Bootsy Collins or something..) Anyway, unfortunately for me and my non-desirable funk, knitting is not an option right now. I have far too many other things to do, or at least I tell myself that I do. In fact, I probably don't have all that much to do. Saying that I'm so busy is, I think, a product of our American way of life. Being ridiculously busy is almost a status symbol, a way of showing how important you are without actually saying that you are important. Frankly, I hate it. I hate it and I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to make time for the knit. I'm not going to tell myself I'm sooo busy in order to not feel guilty about not knitting or not working out or not doing anything else that I tell myself I'm too busy to do. Here, here. I am resolved. When I return from class today, I will make time to work on my poor, neglected WIP, the one I started at Christmas, the one I keep setting aside for other, faster projects. And it's a vest, for crying out loud. It's not even a long project. (You know what got me? It was the wide band of 2x2 ribbing at the bottom. That takes forever. In fact, I became a continental knitter solely because of this project. I'm glad I did it, though. I like knitting continental [-ly?]). Anyway, here's what it looks like so far:

It's the U-neck vest from the first issue of Knit.1, a magazine which excited me with its premiere issue and disappointed me vastly with its second. (Does anyone want an unused copy of Knit.1?) But this pattern is cool, and I think it will be a good, pre-first-sweater project. (And yes, I'm using the exact colors called for in the original pattern, which makes me somewhat ashamed, but they were the best colors, in my humble opinion.)

(And yes, I really like parentheticals.)

Here goes nothing

2005-03-28T20:25:00.000-05:00

I like to think of myself as a chic who does her own thing, a girl to be reckoned with, a broad who refuses to do what everyone else is doing simply because, well, everyone else is doing it. To further abuse a familiar cliche, I fancy that I dance through life accompanied by my own drummer. Here, I hope to document my craftiness. Mostly I knit, sometimes I sew, and on occasion, I just like to dig in with my hands and make something unique.

Having said that, take a look at my garter stitch scarf (well, really it's my husband's garter stitch scarf, but since I made it, possessiveness lingers).

This was my very first project, dating all the way back to October 2004. How time flies. I warn you not to look at it too carefully, because it is, without question, the work of a rank amateur. The pattern is from SnB, which was my first knitting teacher. If any of you are familiar with this scarf, you will know that the erratic striping scheme was not the intention of the pattern's author. Thus, perhaps, the truth of my opening statements ring a bit truer. I just liked it better this way. (And for those of you wondering, it's made from Lamb's Pride Bulky and it's HUGE). The first day my husband, the high school teacher, wore it to work, he got tons of compliments from his students. (Wow, you know you've achieved something when you manage to impress high schoolers. And this coming from a girl who was consistently sarcastic and unamused as a high schooler.)

Here are some other things that I've made and would like to show off. (Humor me.) My knitting bag, with which I christened my new sewing machine: (In case it's difficult to see, the picture is Liechtenstein) (This is actually an old project, too, but what the hell? I'm proud of it.)

Some stitch markers I made over the weekend:

And last but not least, the pride of any knitter's collection. The needles. Most of these are Clover bamboo, because they are cheap and easily available, but I'm starting to hate them. Well, that's overly mean to the poor bamboos...we've had good times together. But I'm really jonesin' to try some Addis. Anyway, whether or not the bamboos are always the best tool for the knitting job, they are undoubtedly boring. I mean, the patina is nice, but I longed to have beautiful needles are sold by tiny knitting boutiques. You know, the kind that are topped with beautiful beads or shiny baubles. Well, I decided to rectify that situation the only way I knew how. Voila.

(In case the shelf full of musical scores behind the needle bouquet wasn't a dead giveaway, my husband and I are both musicians and do a lot of music-y things.)

I guess this is the point at which I sit back on my haunches, survey my first blog post, and decide that it is good. Hmm...