knitabit

A New LYS

Yes, we finally have a yarn store in my town! Woo-hoo! (For those wanting to know: 11th & Francis; west side; next to the Bernina's store.) I popped in for just a moment today. They're still unpacking but I love her taste in yarn and it looks like it's going to be excellent. Finally...I can stop daydreaming about opening a shop myself (which, truth be told, would be a disaster.)

I have finished the heel and gusset on the second sock of the pair for my oldest son. He wears size 10 1/2, so these are BIG socks. I also finished the back of the Everyday Cardigan, and am ready to do the neckline and shoulder shaping on the first front piece.

Longtime readers will recall that I cleaned one shelf of my closet a while back, and devoted it to knitting supplies. Well, today I cleaned out the rest of that closet. Oh my goodness. I had three large trash bags full of stuff that I declared to be JUNK.

One item was an afghan that my grandma crocheted for me. As I hear you all gasping in horror, please let me explain: (1) It was made from acrylic yarn and was extremely pill-y. (2) It was made ca. 1979 in those garish 70's colors. (3) The cats I had 20 years ago had chewed holes all along one edge. (4) I called my mom for reassurance, and she said that if I wasn't feeling nostalgic about it, no one else would either. So away it went! I'm still feeling that twinge of guilt, but it was only going to continue to live in a closet for the rest of its life anyway. And I have many other more special things from Grandma that are near and dear to my heart.

As I was putting the closet back together after taking everything out, I noted that I have extreme stash satisfaction at the moment. I have three sweater projects waiting in there, enough sock yarn to last a year, some baby yarn and a pillow project (it came with my Rowan subscription.) Thus I was able to walk into the new LYS without any spending urges.

Serious Progress on all Fronts

Yes, I had a most productive weekend. I got all of our tax information pulled together on Saturday. This was an all-day undertaking. Most of it was spent doing my books for all of the consulting work I've done the past year. It was interesting to notice how all of my routines and bookkeeping practices disappeared after I contracted whooping cough last May. I am still suffering from the after-effects of that whole episode. That was quite a chore, to go back and input seven months worth of financial activity. Our personal stuff was in much better shape, thankfully. Anyway, I'm off to the accountant's tomorrow morning. A huge weight has been lifted!

Friday afternoon I got a box of Cascade in the mail for my Rogue sweater. (And that reminds me, I need to scoot on over toe www.girlfromauntie.com to order the pattern for Rogue.) Here's one of the hanks of Cascade, plus my progress on the Everyday Cardigan (EC). The photo does a halfway decent job of showing the little color flecks in the Peace Fleece "Grass Roots" yarn, but it still looks better in person.

The back is supposed to be 21" long, I think, so I've got less than 2" to go. The EC is fun to knit. As I mentioned in a previous post, it's so nice to be using worsted for a change and see such rapid progress in my knitting. Also, this yarn seems to have quite a bit of lanolin in it, something I've not ever experienced before. It is noticeable on my hands after only a couple of rows of knitting, and I feel like I need to wash up everytime I get up from my knitting. (But I'm also getting a beauty treatment every time I knit - with our dry climate, my hands can use the extra moisture!) The lanolin isn't at all unpleasant - just something I'm not used to. However, I'm wondering if I will want the stuff in the finished sweater. Does anyone have any experience with this, and with Peace Fleece yarn in particular? Will it come out when I wash it?

Mail Call!

TWO knitting deliveries in one day yesterday! Woo-hoo!

First to arrive was this gift from a good friend:

The box contained: some circular bamboo knitting needles (size 6); some Koigu KPPPM (wow, check out those fabulous colors); and a ball of Sockotta in a spring-fresh fun colorway. Thanks again, Lisa - you're a peach!

Second to arrive was the order from Peace Fleece:

It's the Everyday Cardigan Kit in Grass Roots. (I'll post a close-up of the yarn soon - this photo doesn't begin to do it justice.) I just had to get going on it right away. I swatched for gauge and it was spot-on. Then I got out those new size 6 circ's to start the ribbing on the back. I had to switch to the Denise's size 8's once I got beyond the ribbing. I think the Denise's system might work better with the size 8's as opposed to the smaller needles in the system - we'll see...

It's so nice to work with worsted for a change. The work progresses so much faster (duh!) and the resulting fabric has a nice heft and substance to it. I'm still waiting for that yarn order for Rogue - it's a worsted/aran weight yarn also, and should be fun to knit up, too.

The poor socks - they might be lost in sock limbo for a while. I'm typically more disciplined about not having so many projects going at once. Check out the sidebar at right - I don't dare add any more until I start crossing some of them off.

Sockmania

Two socks going at once! What has come over me?

Socks in the morning light

On the top we have the first of the Regia pair - ready to start the toe decreases. But I'll want to check for size one last time.

On the bottom, the Broadripple pattern from Knitty. I'm using Interlacements "Little Toes" on size 3 needles. This is the fattest yarn I've ever used for a sock. I had started another sock with this same yarn a few days ago. It had a basketweave pattern to it. But the busy pattern combined with the busy variegation - well, it wasn't pleasing to the eye. Even this Broadripple pattern might be too busy, I don't know. But it's an entertaining diversion, knitting-wise anyway.

I'm anxious to get back to some sweater projects, but I feel compelled to get our income taxes done this week. I've got several things waiting in the wings once taxes are done: a new computer (so I can dedicate this one to kids' use); a high-speed wireless internet connection account; and sweater-knitting - two projects coming via mail, and the Lavold already here and waiting.

Whatever happened, you might ask, to the TKGA certification - you know, the swatches and all? Heck if I know. Been too busy knitting.

I'm still here...

...I just haven't had time to blog. Some recent developments:

- I started on the last of the boys' socks. I'm within about an inch of starting on the toe decreases on the first one. The son that I'm knitting them for has an all-day wrestling tournament on Saturday, so I will get some serious knitting done on the second of the socks, I imagine.

- After careful reflection, I have decided to re-start the Lavold on some bigger needles. Playing games with gauge by switching to a bigger size (garment) was starting to get problematic.

- I have made two impulsive yarn purchases. First, I ordered some pretty Cascade 220 - enough to make Rogue. It should be arriving any day now. Second, I was reading Michelle's blog and just HAD to jump on the bandwagon with the Everyday Cardigan in Peacefleece's Grass Roots.

- I got some Interlacements Yarns "Little Toes" in a fun rainbow variegation to knit up some socks for myself.

I haven't got our taxes done yet, so one of these evenings I'm going to have to abandon knitting in favor of some book keeping. And don't get me started on the clutter level in this house. Oh my.

On Second Thought...

I mentioned on Saturday that I didn't particularly care for the shade of green that Martha Stewart seems to favor. But what color is the header at the top of my blog? Martha Green! Okay, it's nice enough for a blog, I just don't want to paint my walls that color.

Meditating on Martha

I'm a person of strong convictions, and it's been hard for me to restrict this blog to knitting-related stuff. On just about any given day, there's more than one topic in the news that tempts me to get up on my soapbox. Maybe someday I'll start another blog where I can offend my readers with my opinions on a regular basis.

But since Martha Stewart dabbles in the fiber arts from time to time, I thought I'd make an exception today.

Now I'm not that much of a Martha fan. I find the "Martha look" to be a bit predictable and formulaic, and I don't particularly care for the shade of green she seems to favor. Her style of decor is a bit too spare for my taste - and I'm not one to want clutter, collectibles and knick-knacks in my house, either.

But I very much appreciate her approach to the domestic arts. There IS a right way to bake a cake, after all. And baking a cake isn't just another household chore - if we bring the right mind-set to it, it's part skill and part art and it's something that we can practice and learn about and improve on over time. My mother, my grandmothers and even my great-grandmothers (who I never met but heard about) are and were all very proud of their domestic skills. My maternal grandmother used to tell stories about her mother, who was a fabulous cook. This was back in the days before thermostats in your oven - you had to stick your hand in there and judge whether or not it was the right temperature. Can you imagine that?

I have some treasures from these ancestors (ancestresses?) of mine - recipes, a hand-sewn quilt, several doilies, a baptismal gown - that mean more to me than just about anything. And I think Martha has done a great job of advocating for the value of these kinds of things, and for the value of perfecting the skills we need to create them.

I never have understood the undercurrent of 'Martha hatred' that so many women seem to have. Many times I've made something I'm proud of only to have someone make the sarcastic and derisive comment "That's so Martha..." And you hear about women that feel intimidated by her books and magazines. Why pick on Martha? Are men similarly intimidated by magazines and books devoted to automotive repair? To home improvements? (Not that these subjects are for men only...)

I'm guessing that Martha's probably guilty of what she's been accused of. I just don't understand why she's been singled out for prosecution for something that I would guess LOTS AND LOTS of executives (men) have done and continue to do every day. I smell a rat. It just goes to show, aggressive and talented men continue to get rewarded in our society, while aggressive and talented women get the 'bitch' label and go to jail.

End of soap box.

The Tordis Model as Brunhilde

The reason I selected 'Tordis' as the sweater I'm going to knit from Elsebeth Lavold's book "Designer's Choice" is that I saw that particular sweater displayed in a yarn shop a couple of months ago. It was absolutely gorgeous.

The picture in the book doesn't do the sweater justice, I don't think. For one thing, it looks like it's too small for the model. I don't care for form-fitting sweaters (mainly because I don't have the 'form' to fit them to.) Also the sleeves look too short for her. I'm going to make the sweater just a tad bit longer so that the bottom of the body and the bottom of the sleeves are a little more in line. Finally, I'm going to go for a crewneck rather than the mock turtle, which I think is too severe-looking.

Speaking of severe, what is up with the cranky expression on the model's face? Being that the designer incorporates Viking design into her patterns, I thought I'd give the model a little bit of a makeover:

Wouldn't it be fun to get ahold of a really good Brunhilde costume for Halloween?

Revelation

One of the skeins on the froo-froo scarf ran out last night, and I was so relieved. I'll pick up another one to get the scarf done, but I have realized that I really don't like knitting with novelty yarns, especially non-natural fibers. I don't think it's because I'm a snob, I just don't like the way they feel in my hands. I think I will limit future knitting with these types of yarns to small projects and little gifts.

With a whole evening of knitting yet before me, I decided to get out the Lavold yarn rather than resume knitting the raglan. I was in desperate need of something new and fun.

After considering many different patterns in the book, I finally settled on Tordis:

I'm going to aim for a garment that's a little looser fitting, and I also plan to make a crew neck instead of the mock turtle neck.

Here's the swatch and the progress so far (and sorry it's blurry):

My gauge was a little bit more dense than what the pattern calls for but I liked the drape and feel anyway. Moving to a bigger needle would have made the gauge too loose, I think. So I'm just following the instructions for a larger size instead.

Just for fun, I added a "Last Movie Watched" entry on the sidebar at right. I'll try to figure out how to maintain a list with only the most recent displayed in the sidebar. Next time I read a book, I might add a "Last Book Read" entry although knitting seems to have usurped the time I used to spend reading.

Starting next week, I have responsibilities for shuttling kids around for after-school activities every day of the week (soccer season is here.) Unfortunately, I can't knit and drive at the same time. I'll also have to get out the crock pot and get more serious about fixing dinner in something other than "last minute" mode.

Oscar Night Glitz

I'm still in the mental recovery mode after last week's busy-ness, so I didn't want to fool around with anything intricate or challenging last night.

I got out the froo-froo (I'm sure you're supposed to spell it 'frou-frou' but I think 'froo-froo' better conveys tackiness) yarn that I bought in Florence a couple of weeks ago and started a scarf. I garter stitch for four rows, then do a row with yarn-overs, then let the yarn-overs drop in the following row to get the long stretched-out rows.

I cast on 25 stitches, using 10 1/2 needles - I'm wanting this scarf to be a little wider than the chenille scarves I made as Christmas gifts. As I hoped, this is easy and mindless knitting, perfect for the mindless Oscar telecast.

I had to use the "IP Banning" feature to take care of some spam problems. So if your legitimate comment is rejected, I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Like anything else in life, a few bad apples spoil the barrel.