Cyknithia

As promised, 2 months later....

2009-07-22T17:33:00.002-05:00

SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS! SOCKS!

Mingus Socks by Cookie A
Dream in Color Smooshy in Don't Be Blue

Poppy Socks by Cookie A from Knit1
Koigu KPPM

Lacy Ribs Socks by Wendy Johnson form Socks from the Toe Up
Colinette Jitterbug in Marble with Socks that Rock Lightweight in Lenore for the trim

Glynis Socks by Cookie A from Sock Innovation
Numma Numma Toasty (!I love all sock yarn, but I LOVE this yarn)

Kiila by Yarnissima (the May Mystery sock pattern for the SKA group on Ravelry)
Socks that Rock lightweight in Blue Moonstone

Magic Mirror Socks by Jeanie Cartmel
Noro Kureyon Sock

Leyburn Socks by Minty
Socks that Rock Lightweight in Banded Agate

Phew! This will teach me to wait 8 months before my first sock post! Part of my sock obsession is all of the KALs going on in Ravelry. I have 3 pairs on the needles right now that hopefully will get done by the end of this month!

A post

2009-05-31T09:47:00.007-05:00

Its very appropriate that my last post was titled hibernation ... I really didn't mean for it to go on as long as it has. I am going to blame it on my evening Spanish class that I took last semester: 2 hours 2 nights a week really cut into my free time!

There has been knitting, so if anyone is still out there here is what I have been up to fiber-wise:

Striped Illusion Scarf, Raveled
Manos Silk Blend in red and red-orange (hard to photograph)

From Knitting New Scarves by Lynne Barr. There are some amazing patterns in here, but this one jumped out at me and I love these colors together. I probably should have knit it a little longer, but there was a huge yardage difference between the 2 skeins, and I didn't complain back to the LYS. Because of the length and that its a little stiff because of the garter stitch, I haven't quite figured out the best way to wear it, but its really cool looking!

Estes Vest from the Interweave Knits, Fall 2008, Raveled
Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in bing cherry
US 10 1/2 and 9 needles

The cabling on this is beautiful, and there is an I-cord trim which looks really nice, but was a pain to knit (literally, my hands hurt after!). This vest is warm. I made the pockets larger, because as written they would barely accommodate my fingers.

Habitat by Jared Flood, Raveled
Malabrigo Worsted
US 8 needles

Great cabled hat, fun to knit.

Vanilla Twist from Knit Circus, Raveled

Malabrigo Worsted
US 8 needles

This hat is for my mother. She is very picky with hats, they have to be tight fitting and not "scratchy." She has rejected a number of hats because of looseness. This one works! I has a brim, which keeps it snug, and Malabrigo is soft. I am going to add a pom for her someday, but I really like this hat and may make one for myself next year (its good for leftover yarn too if you use different colors).

Just Enough Ruffles by Laura Chau, Raveled
Rowan Kid Classic, 2 skeins
US 9 needles

I totally did not read the pattern, and I omitted the garter edge. As a result, there is a lot of rolling, but I like the way that looks with the ruffles. I made this for a friend who was getting married on Valentine

Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery in Knitty, Raveled
Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock mediumweight in pond scum, 1 skein
US 4 needles

I made one of these about a year ago, and it was promptly stolen by my sister (she does wear it a lot, so I have to take that as a complement). But I really liked it! So, while I have a hard time knitting the same pattern twice (because there are so many patterns that I want to knit), this one I had to. I'm very happy with the results. It looked a little short with one skein, but after a good blocking its fine.

Finally,

Anthropologie Inspired Capelet by Peony Knits, Raveled
Dream in Color Fatty in black parade, 1 skein!
US 11 needles

Nice, simple, quick pattern. I found a vintage pin from my great aunt that looks great with this. I think this will be a nice sweater for summer (I love the sleeveless tops, but I tend to get cold), or in the winter over a long sleeve shirt.

No Socks? Oh no, I have knit a few socks, but I'll save them for the next post. Thanks for reading!

Hibernation

2009-01-26T18:38:00.004-05:00

Its been cold here and I've been in hibernation mode, which isn't so bad for a knitter. Although cold, there has barely been any snow in Indianapolis, which is a little disorientating coming from Cleveland and seeing that it is January (don't worry, I got my dose of winter weather and snow in my <48 hr trip to Cleveland in December). Anyway, I've been holed up at home, knitting warm things for when I have to venture out. Here are three winter staples:

An Unoriginal Hat by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Being that its unoriginal in the first place I used the recommended yarn:
Blue Moon Fiber Arts Leticia in Space Dust ... The entire skein
US 11 needles

I love this hat. Its quite warm, but I find myself wearing it inside (while holed up) all of the time because its so soft! And its an easy, satisfying, fast pattern.

Holidazed Socks by Anne Hanson (the last 2008 Sock Club shipment)
US 1.5 needles

I think that these would be amazing in a solid colored yarn. For me, a big part of staying warm is wearing my handknit socks.

Fiddlehead Mittens! by Adrian Bizilla
A mix of Rowan aran and DK tweed yarns with bright orange mohair held double for the lining

I finished the bodies of these last winter, but finally did the linings. They are super warm and I have been getting a bunch of compliments. From looking at the Ravelry projects, it looks like its hard to go wrong with this one. I like the solid ones a lot!

What has everyone else been doing to stay warm?

2008

2008-12-31T11:21:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year - I hope that 2009 is a healthy and happy new year for everyone!

It was a good year for me - I moved to a new city, began a fellowship, and had 2 wonderful vacations with my sister to Israel and Turkey. I got a new car and camera. Maybe its the new setting, or just time, but I feel good - like I am finally coming out of a fog that I have been under for a few years. There are a lot of people who have not been as fortunate this year, and I hope that events in the Middle East do not escalate anymore than they already have, but I am optimistic that come January 20th things will start to get better for everyone.

Knitting-wise, I had a lot of time to knit this year (so, it was a productive year) and ventured into lace knitting. My favorite projects are the Juno Regalia shawl, Gumdrop Socks (they just feel so good on!), and the Montreal socks (I have a suspicion that the next time I come across this yarn I will just buy it and cast on for another pair before I know what happened...). On the needles now are 2 single socks, a vest that needs finishing, the beginnings of a sweater, and the linings of my Fiddlehead mittens. So, those should be the priorities for the start of 2009, but there are a few patterns that I am just smitten with.

(R-L 1. Clapotis 2. Jaywalker Socks 3. Montreal Socks 4. Montego Bay Scarf 5. Serendipity Socks 6. Jules Socks 7. Sock Keychain 8. Blackberry Cover 9. IPod Cover 10. Lace Ribbon Scarf 11. Potamus Socks 12. Hourglass Sweater 13. Leafling Socks 14. Marigold Socks 15. Adamas Shawl 16. Jess's Shawl 17. Koolhaas #2 17. Noro Knee-highs 18. Gloria Cowl 19. Juno Regalia 20. Gumdrop Socks 21. Chevron Scarf 22. Twisted Flower Socks 23. Amanda Hat 24. Evangeline Mitts for Judi 25. Salish Sea Socks 26. Iceland Sweater 27. Uptown Boot Socks 28. Cabled Hat 29. Lenore Socks 30. Soltice Slip Socks 31. Picot Monkey Socks)

There are a few projects up there that I just finished, and will blog about soon. Happy New Year!

Vacation Pictures

2008-12-18T19:41:00.004-05:00

I just got back from a wonderful holiday with my sister to Turkey (while vacation is probably a more American term, this was a big and wonderful trip and holiday seems more appropriate). I am way behind on the gift knitting, but in case you need a break too, here are some pictures:

Istanbul

Turkish delight!

The art and history there was amazing

Pamukkale

The tile was one of my favorite things there

Aphrodisias

Cappadocia

I highly recommend a trip to Turkey if you get the chance, we had a wonderful time. Now, back to work, I think that I need to have one FO a day to get everything done that I want to ....

If I am going to put so much work into a pair of socks, I better make sure that people notice them!

2008-11-29T13:24:00.006-05:00

Hey, those look like interesting socks!

Introducing ... Bright Socks - from a very intricate (but fun) pattern:

Twisted Flower Socks by Cookie A.
Cherry Hill Tree Supersock in Yellow
US 1.5 needles

I enjoyed making these, but they did take a while (I never managed to get the pattern memorized). The pattern is great, and makes some beautiful socks, but they are complicated, even down to the heel!

Cabling/lace on the heel!

I know that the color is really bright, maybe even a bit too so, but I'm happy with it and this pattern for a few reasons: a. flowers! (they can be bright yellow) b. its a solid yarn (necessary for this pattern so as not to obscure anything) and c. its a beautiful pattern, and I guess that I do want people to notice!

I love knitting socks: they are great portable projects, usually fairly quick to knit, handknit socks feel so good on ... but, for me, a large component to it is sock yarn. I love sock yarn. I have a hard time getting solid colorways because the multi-colored skeins are so enticing to me, but the color (although just one) to this yarn caught my eye. Its very bright, but I couldn't resist! I know there are only certain things that I can wear them with, but I think it will be fun when I do!

Chevron Scarf

2008-11-20T21:50:00.004-05:00

This took forever! But, the results were worth it:

Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Started 1/2008 - Finished 11/4/2008
Less than one skein of Socks that Rock Mediumweight Lucy and Banded Agate
US 5 needles

It ended up about 90 inches long ... It was longer initially, too long, I had wanted to use all of the yarn. So, after casting off, I ripped back. 90 inches is long enough, I think.

I also made myself a camera strap with some Ikea fabric:

I'm still learning how to use the camera...

Good FOs

2008-11-13T19:41:00.002-05:00

I have 2 new FOs to share, both of which I just love.

First, the surprise (for me):

Goody Goody!

These are the 3rd shipment of the Rockin Sock Club and I really did not like the yarn or pattern when I got it. I've been really happy with all of the other packages, and I haven't started a few really beautiful ones, so.. why did I even start these? I'm not really sure, I just felt like I should plow through them, then start on the more exciting ones. And I am so happy with them! They are the most comfortable socks I have knit, I love wearing them! (Pattern: Gumdrop Socks, Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight - Goody Goody, US 1 needles)

Second: Remember this? Juno Regina!

So, pretty!

Pattern: Juno Regina by Miriam Felton
Yarn: Dream in Color Baby in visual purple
Needles: US 5

I posted about this a while ago, and its been done for a while too, but it took me a while to block it, and then longer to take pictures (well, pictures that did it justice)

I love this. More than the socks. The yarn is beautiful ... there is the smallest amount of variation in color that makes the purple really pop. I only used 1 skein, and its still pretty big. Its really soft, perfect to wear as a scarf (how I'll probably wear it most), although it would make a nice stole for the winter as well.

I love the way it looks with my go-to coat

One more piece of excitement:

New Camera!

Happy (very)

2008-11-08T14:52:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to share my happiness

Hot off the needles!

1. I finally finished my Chevron Scarf from LMKG. For those familiar with the book, this definitely took more than 8 hours. Its in need of a good blocking, but its turned out beautifully and I'll post more pictures soon.

2. I just had a wonderful bagel that was hand-delivered to me from Cleveland. Can't these come to Indiana, soon?

Oh, yeah, and...

Even Chief knows things are looking up

3. This would be what makes me very happy. And both of my states (Ohio and Indiana) were blue!

Crafty?

2008-10-07T18:22:00.006-05:00

I am very happy with knitting ... I find the process of knitting relaxing (great for when I am watching a good sports game) and fun (watching a pattern emerge, multicolored yarn stripe/pool out...). Knitting , or maybe reading other blogs, has peaked my interest into other crafts. I love my handmade sweaters, hats, mittens ... what if I could sew? And fabric seems to be be just as enticing as yarn.

So, with the new apartment, and a limited budget, I made a small foray into the sewing world:

See the headboard? And the pillow?

I bought some pretty fabric and stapled it to 2 canvases, then hung them behind my bed. Obviously, very influenced by Apartment Therapy. Specifically this, alright not influenced, copied!

What to do with that leftover denim when you get your jeans shortened?

I then made a simple pillow using some more pretty fabric and the bottoms of some jeans that I had shortened a long time ago (and have been holding onto, including going through 2 moves because the jeans were expensive, and I couldn't throw away the scraps!). This was also influenced by the internets, I read Sew, Mama, Sew! sometimes, just wondering what if I had a sewing machine...

Afternoons = nap time, Chief was tres annoyed, but not giving up his turf!

Imperfect, yes. But I am happy. I'd love to learn how to sew. Maybe make some lounge wear pants, a new laundry bag, skirts....Right now, there is no time, but hopefully someday....

Late to the party, but just in time...

2008-10-04T11:12:00.012-05:00

My first cowl:

Gloria Cowl
Misti International hand-painted sock yarn, held double
US 8 needles

It was a little big, I cast on 99 stitches - so, I did a gentle shrinking in the dryer, and its so nice when mistakes work out! The yarn was beautiful to start out with, but the drying process really enhanced the softness and fuzziness of the yarn from its alpaca content (but just a little, we don't want too much fuzz around our necks - itchy!) . Perfect for fall! I've been enjoying the weather, letting my apartment get a little cold and snuggling up with the cowl and a quilt. Now, if only the grocery weren't out of apple cider (how!) ... I guess other people love fall as much as I do.

So, keeping with the fall/october theme ... I have been a little spooked lately. This is a knitting blog, but I am going to go beyond that now, so don't read on if you just want knitting!

8 years ago, I thought, how much damage can one person do, especially if there is relative incompetence, they just won't know how to do things, so, nothing will get done. Well, we saw and will continue to feel where that went. Now, what about the thought of having someone even more so as the vp, with an above average risk of becoming the president, exhaulting and aiming to emulate a person who has done unmeasurable damage to this country's ideology (and democracy itself), whose job she hopes to have - very, very, scary. The top of the ticket doesn't fall too far from the tree either. If you aren't registered to vote, please do, the deadline is just a few days away, don't be late to the party! Wouldn't it be wonderful to have some optimism?

Just a picture post

2008-09-28T20:10:00.003-05:00

Although blurry, Chief hasn't made an appearance on the blog for awhile ...

I am also only working on this project until its finished. This was the status on Saturday afternoon. I'm curious to see how productive I am (in terms of FOs) when I focus. I have 700 yards of yarn I'm hoping to use on this one.

Oh Noro...

2008-09-24T22:31:00.003-05:00

So, I was just stopping into a wonderful LYS, and was completely enamoured by their selection of Noro sock yarns, specifically Noro Silk Garden Sock. The colors were amazing, the texture, and it seemed much softer than their Kureyon sock yarn. I got home and uncharacteristically immediately cast on for some socks. I wanted them to be perfect, basic socks. I wanted the socks to be twins (unlike my previous pair made out of Kureyon). I wanted to use as much of the yarn as possible. Maybe I have a low entertainment threshold and was too entertained by watching the colors change, or that they were knit on US 2 needles, but these flew off the needles and 10 days later (which includes a 4 day weekend in which I did not bring this project), a finished pair:

Noro Knee Highs - Basic toe up socks using this pattern
Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn - s258, and a white sock yarn from the stash held double
US 2 needles

Love them!

As I said above, I loved watching the colors change. I was almost successful with matching the socks, but, Noro, and its knots - sigh. There were 2 knots in my skein - the first came conveniently at the end of the first sock. The second came during the leg of the second (right) sock - it should transition from yellow to purple, but goes from yellow to pink. Its less noticable on the picture, and only threw off the colors a bit, but arg! Oh well.

Will I become a toe up sock knitter? I don't know. I do like the ability to use up all of the yarn without worrying about running out (for socks with yarn that you don't want to waste). And this cast on makes everything a lot less painful (I had been doing a crochet cast on for toe ups). I'm still more comfortable/familiar with the top down, and it seems to go faster (ending with the leg/boring part seems to make the toe up drag on a little more). We'll see! I have some lovely yarn that also will be toe up socks, and after that....

Boo!

2008-09-08T20:25:00.003-05:00

Hi. Still here. Been busy.

Well, not that busy. Getting settled into my new job, home, classes (do I remember how to study, or even learn?), and city has been going well, but its exhausting and the blog has suffered. And then the Olympics and all of the political conventions on top of everything. But with all of that TV time, there has been knitting!

Another Koolhaas Hat, I felted my first one. I'm still upset, I don't want to talk about it.
Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood (have you seen his new hat?)
Dream in Color Classy - Beach Fog (leftover from my Hourglass sweater)
US 8 needles

I've also knit a cowl (my first!) and am getting closer to being done with my Chevron scarf (it is taking FOREVER to knit this!), and started some socks. I'll post again soon with those, promise!

Drama

2008-07-12T08:06:00.003-05:00

My first real lace project:

Adamas Shawl by Miriam Felon
Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb - Color 307 (turquoise)
US 5 Needles
Mods: 1-2 fewer repeats than in the pattern

I know that this was my first lace project (using real lace yarn, blocking...), so there are bound to be mistakes. But, there were real issues with this one. The pattern was well written, fun to knit, and has made a beautiful shawl. The yarn is very soft, very fine (maybe a bit fragile), and I love the color (I picked this color to go with this orange/red dress - my wedding dress this summer).

So, here is what happened:
I cast off the wrong way - I got excited that I was done with the shawl and just cast off instead of checking the pattern. I thought, no big deal... Well, as I was blocking the shawl, I felt a give and looked and saw that something snapped in the middle of the cast off row area and had unraveled a significant amount already. It would not be easy (or probably possible) to fix this area by picking the stitches up again. I sat there, thought about crying (I've been working on this for a month), and just stared at the wall for a while. I thought about just giving up, but then found the broken ends and tried to rip side to side. That didn't go well, it lead to unraveling in other areas. So, I got out the scissors. And cut. Across the shawl, under the affected areas. I then found the first row unaffected and unravelled that, picking up stitch by stich as I did that.

2-3 hours of my life, but I saved the shawl.

I think I lost 2-3 pattern repeats (really, I was panicking a bit when this happened and I wasn't paying attention at first, or when I cut). I knit one more repeat, then cast off the right way, then blocked it.

Fine, all better, right?

Then, as I was taking pictures with the timer, my camera fell off my counter and the lens was visibly displaced and wouldn't extend/retract. I thought, why did I have to fix the shawl, if I hadn't my camera would be ok! I really like my camera, and don't want a new one. Its about 4 years old, and takes great pictures. It was still making the mechanical noises, so I took the little screws out but couldn't get the camera open (I don't really know what I would have done if I accomplished that, but taking the screws out made me feel like I was at least trying to do something). I checked Kodak's website, and found out I would have to send the camera in and pay $150. Not good. So, I sat on the carpet, and made the camera make the mechanical noise, and jammed the lens back into position. And it worked. The camera seems to be fine (the lens cap doesn't stay on, but thats really nothing). And I was very happy to get out of making this shawl in one piece. Should I really wear it to a wedding, is it cursed?

Good excuses

2008-07-07T21:38:00.005-05:00

Yes, its been a while. But, there have been lots of happenings around here! First, this is where I am now:

Indianapolis

So far (one week), so good. Moving is no fun at all but as I get settled in, I feel like I am in a good place now. I and am liking my new job - I can walk (more likely bike) to work and there seems to be excellent knitting stores here... dangerous, I can walk to that last one. I haven't had a chance to explore too much yet, if anyone has any Indianapolis suggestions, please let me know! I moved here for the job, so I am fairly unfamiliar with the city, but its kind of fun and refreshing to start anew.

Its also been fun stalking Apartment Therapy for the past few months getting ideas for my new place. Heres how it looks so far:

(Click to see larger). I know I went a little Ikea overboard, but I like Ikea!)

There also has been knitting, and not without drama. I'll save that for the next post (which should come pretty quickly as I have a FO to report).
Here's a preview:

Summer!

2008-06-09T07:30:00.005-05:00

All of a sudden its full blown summer! While I don't really like the 90 degree heat, summer also means its time to bring out the sandals. I love my sandals, I don't know how I can go the rest of the year all cooped up in shoes and socks (regular socks, not handknit socks!). Anyway, here is a pair of my favorite summer shoes with a new FO:

Marigold Socks by Pamela Wynne (I love reading her blog. Have you seen her new pattern? Just beautiful!)
Koigu KPPM
US 1.5 needles

I started these a while ago (November) and got major second sock sydrome ... I'm not sure exactly why, once you get started on these they really seem to knit up fast (the pattern is interesting, yet there is still a good amount of plain knit rows). Probably, part of it was that these are toe-ups, which I'm not as comfortable with and so have to sit down with resources in order to start. I like the concept of toe-ups, that you can use up all of the yarn (which I did), the way the toe is formed, etc. But they seem to be more of a pain - the cast-on is a bit more tricky (I like this explanation of a provisional cast-on). Plus, I'm just not good with short rows, I can never get them to look neat. Maybe I just need to get more familiar with them.

And, because I am pleased with myself for getting a chunk of these WIPs done before my move later this month (including all of my single socks), I allowed myself to cast on another project:

An Adamas Shawl.

I love this blue; its bright, but its so pretty. And the yarn (Lacey Lamb), its so soft and light and just summery! This is my first major lace project, I've knit simple lace projects before, but never so complex and never with this fine of yarn. I think this will look great with a dress I bought for the summer weddings this year: Its orange and red (across the color wheel from blue!). But that means I need to get it done this summer....

And, thank you all for the nice comments on the Hourglass sweater ... its nice to know that I'm not wearing my knitting goggles (you know, everything you make looks wonderful because you have put so much work into it and subconsciously you can't admit it when things don't work out...)

A good knitting week

2008-06-03T19:46:00.004-05:00

As pleased as I was with my Pomatamus Socks, I am even happier with this:

(I'm attempting to pose like the model in the book here)

Hourglass Sweater by Joelle Hoversonin Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Dream in Color Classy, Beach Fog - About 3 1/2 skeins (probably less)
US 8 Needles

(I went to a park to take these pictures, and got a little bashful after about 2 mintues of taking pictures of myself with the timer, so wimped out and just took pictures of it on the grass)

The Dream in Color Classy was wonderful to work with. I did this as part of The Loopy Ewe's Dream in Color Sweater Knit-a-long, and before the KAL there were only a few sweaters in this yarn (look now), which surprises me just a bit. It seems like a very good sweater yarn, soft but sturdy, not with a huge fuzz potential, and the colors ... I had a hard time deciding, but blue is my favorite color so it was mainly between the different shades of blue (there are at least 3 different ones, I think). I'm planning my next project in this yarn already, I think a Tree Jacket in Strange Harvest.

I did 3 extra yoke decreases to not have as much of a boat neck, and I added contrasting yarn for the hems (they were a lot of work, so I had to show them off!). I used Malabrigo worsted Frosted Grapes leftovers - Its so nice to have that lovely Malabrigo softness along my neck and wrists! I only cast on 54 stitches for the sleeves, and decreased once to 52 stitches, so the arms don't flare as much as the pattern. I alternated skeins every other row to avoid pooling. Where the yarns switch there is a bit of pull on the stitch (I don't know if this is avoidable or not), but I ran these joins down the insides of the sleeves and along one side (the sweater is knitted in the round, so if anything it just looks like a really neat seam). My favorite thing is definitely the finishing on this, the hems were a pain but there really are what makes this sweater perfect. And I'm really happy with the fit and style (I'm always drawn to the J Crew plain crewneck sweaters, every year I am tempted to buy one, but now I can make a better one!)

I've never done a knit-a-long before, it was a good experience (well, any experience with The Loopy Ewe is, the customer service there is amazing - Sheri really does an unbelievable job leaving little notes with the orders, getting the orders out very quickly, giving free samples of things or a little gift in each order). I don't think I would be done with this sweater now had it not been for the deadline (June 1, I cast off May 31st). I had swatched as soon as I got the yarn in early March, but didn't really get working on it until earlier this month (it was a quick knit, luckily). Of course, now its in the sweater box for the summer, its going to be great to pull it out in the fall (its hard to believe its summer already!).

Pomatamus Socks

2008-05-31T19:17:00.004-05:00

I love these:

Pomatamus Socks by Cookie A. in Knitty
Koigu KPPM - 10 years old!

US 1.5 needles

Its no wonder its such a popular pattern, its just beautiful. I know that the yarn is colorful, and that its a complex pattern which usually doesn't go with busy yarn, but I love the combination. I have been saving this yarn for the perfect project - I bought it over 10 years ago when I wasn't really a knitter but was taking a knitting class in college (we had something called alternative college, which were practical or fun classes like knitting, homebrewing, car repair - just for fun, no credit for those). At the time I thought I would make socks with it, but sitting down and having the confidence to knit a sock at that time was a different story (although, now I know, socks aren't bad at all!). So, since I had been holding onto this for so long, I had high expecations for it. I'm happy with the results.

These socks will only been worn with open heeled shoes! Even the soles are perfect!

Also, something else is done that I am quite happy with. Its blocking now, but I had to try it on and snap a picture (or 3), here is sneak peek:

I'll be back soon with more on this.

Are we there yet?

2008-05-29T16:38:00.005-05:00

That is totally how my Hourglass Sweater is making me feel! I just finished the arms, and looking at the picture feel a little bit better, but each arm seemed to take forever (thus, the need to take a picture). Now that I am at a more exciting part (the yoke), its time to go to work.

Dream in Color Classy, Beach Fog - still no pooling!

Luckily, I can usually knit a little at work, although when I plan to knit at work it tends to jinx things so that there is no time for knitting. I usually just throw a sock project into my bag, that keeps the superstitious side of me happy.

I've also made some progress on my Pomatomus Socks:

Koigu KPPM

I am very worried that I am going to run out of yarn. I just made it for the first sock with the first skein, there were (maybe) a few yards left over. This yarn is very old, I bought it in college before I even knew what stash was! I'll keep my fingers crossed, but the second sock may have to have a different colored toe.

Pretty

2008-05-19T14:38:00.002-05:00

Nothing too interesting in this post - I'm in the middle of seemingly endless stockinette and I just love the way it is looking. So, I thought I would share:

Dream In Color Classy - Beach Fog
US 7 needles

Alright, I am also gloating just a bit that its not pooling (I'm alternating skeins every other row).

Progress, kind of...

2008-05-15T20:22:00.005-05:00

I am a bit closer to my move ultimatum:

Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery in the spring, 2008 Knitty
Shibui Sock Yarn - Wasabi, 2 skeins
US 3 needles

(I'm not trying to be overly provocative here, I made this scarf specifically to go with this dress in the summer, and its been so rainy and gray out ... its nice to pretend - I love the green-navy combo)

This took longer than I anticipated (a little over a month), but its a beautiful pattern and not too difficult. A great alternative use for sock yarn too, always a bonus! The Shibui is nice, I like the color a lot but ...

...boy, is it pooley for a solid-looking yarn. Its OK though, you really can't notice it (except in this picture), and the color variation makes very appealing row to row stitch definition in some areas (you can really see this in the first picture, isn't it nice?). I like the row to row effect so much more than I dislike the pooling, overall making it OK.

I haven't been completely on track, I did a few other very small projects:

I am very happy with the Blackberry cozy in particular, I used the Jaywalker Sock stitch pattern, and love the way the reverse side looks. They are small, right? I needed something to keep busy during the NBA playoff games...

And, I made some necessary modifications to my Central Park Hoodie:

New buttons that don't pull as much and I did a crochet chain across the neck to prevent hood sagging (idea from here). Its much better now.

Next up, a Chevron scarf, hopefully!

Wow, May

2008-05-07T22:28:00.007-05:00

The spring is flying by, isn't it? I guess that I have had big projects to help pass the time ... I'm going to be moving to a new city in a few months, so have been spending waaay too much time online looking for apartments and reading about the city (because I don't know much about this city, but am getting excited).

I also just made a major purchase:

Keychain Sock Blocker Sock by Debbie Jennings, purchased at The Loopy Ewe
Koigu KPPM
US 1 needles
(the car is cute too, isn't it?)

But, there has been knitting as well ...

Jules Socks by Kate Blackburn, in The Inside Loop (a new online knitting magazine!)
Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight - Rose Quartz
US 1.5 needles

I knit the first sock in Israel, of course using up precious packing space to bring yarn for another project just in the case that I finished the pair ...well, it was not completely for waste because my next sock project was to be Snicket Socks from the suddenly (at the beginning of April) non-existent Magknits. Yes, the pattern is on Ravelry now, but it took about a week for it to appear there and I was very proud of myself for having the pattern printed out already during that time!

(The precious pattern and Claudia Handpainted sock yarn in Honey)

I've also been chugging along on two scarves, both of which seem to be taking longer to knit that I expected. Hopefully I'll have finished pictures soon, my goal is to get as many UFOs (2 sweaters, 2 scarves, 3 single socks, and 1 pair of mittens) done before I move as possible, and to try to not cast on for any more projects either until they are all done .... delusional, I know ...

Back home!

2008-04-09T09:20:00.004-05:00

I had been meaning to post before I left on my trip, but this wasn't done until the night before (really, but I did meet a deadline!)

Montego Bay Scarf by Amy Singer from Interweave Knits, summer 2007
Handmaiden Sea Silk - Wildflower. Excatly one skein.
US 8 needles

A better picture of the fringe

Great pattern. Easy, well written, and I thought it knit up pretty fast. Definitely do the fringe - it was a pain (taking longer than I thought it would and the braiding hurt my hands after a while), but it really makes the scarf. I love Sea Silk! Unlike other silk yarns, it doesn't fuzz and has held up really well. And I wore this A LOT. It was perfect for Israel (where we went). It was pretty hot there (40 C one day in Tel Aviv!), and you just feel ick after a while travelling so it was great to just be able to throw on this and voila! feel a little nicer and semi-fashionable! And it helped with the packing: I was gone for over 2 weeks all together, so the packing definitely could get out of control. But have you heard this tip? Only pack 2-3 colors. So, according to the scarf, it was pinks, blues, browns. I only took one, really stuffed, backpack.

We had a great time. I went with my sister and we stayed with old friends so it was nice to catch up. Neither of us had been there before, so there was a lot to see and I think that we made a dent. And we really enjoyed eating there: all of the fresh fruits and salads, the emphasis on breakfast, hafuch (cappuccino, one of 2 Hebrew words I learned), and falafel and hummus galore!

How random! A restaurant called Cynthia and Me in the Old City!

And on any vacation, especially one with over 24 hours of flying all together, there must be vacation knitting:

Jules Socks by Kate Blackburn from the Inside Loop (a new online knitting magazine!) in STR

I did cast on the second sock on the trip ... but just the cuff because between the touring, hanging out with old friends, and sleeping (it was vacation!) there just wasn't a lot of knitting time. Of course, in my overstuffed bag, there was yarn for a second sock project, just in case...

Noro Socks

2008-03-12T19:15:00.002-05:00

I made some socks that I just love (I know these pictures are similar, I couldn't decide which one I liked best!):

Montreal Socks (because I started them in Montreal)

Noro Kureyon Sock, alternating from each end of a center pull ball every other row
Basic Sock Recipe from Knitting Rules
US 1.5 Needles

I was quite excited when I first found out there was a Noro sock yarn, and I thought a lot about which sock pattern to use. Inspired by the Noro Scarf, I first knit these alternating colors every 4th row. Looked OK, but the stripes were striping a bit and it just didn't look as sharp. The drawback with changing colors every other row is that that is a bit of a jog, so I ran it down the medial side/inside of each sock:

I manipulated the colors to get solid areas on the cuffs, heels, and toes. I decided not to match the socks, mainly because of the yarn. It tangled easily, and pulling from both ends of the ball was a hassle enough (I probably should have wound it into 2 balls, but didn't). The yarn felt scratchy when knitting, but the finished sock isn't scratchy or uncomfortable to wear. I only had one knot in the ball.

I love the color combinations in the stripes. I had a hard time putting these down because of those stripes: what would the next combination be? This led to late nights. And then got me thinking about color, and what colors to use for these mittens (which I have been admiring for sometime now and the pattern just became available), and my LYS was having a sale on the recommended yarn (Harris Tweed), and ... another project I can't put down:

Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilla!

You'll see, the colors are going to be similar to the socks. This knitting is wrecking havoc on my life: My apartment is a mess, I am not getting ready for the big trip I am taking next week, the plants need watering...help!

Internet Classics

2008-03-09T17:07:00.008-05:00

Besides the suprised comment: "you knit, really?", one of the things that most surprises people (non-knitters) about knitting today is how online it is. The blogging, the organizational/social wundersite Ravelry, the thriving e commerce, and that there are internet magazines of knitting patterns. Here are two of the most popular patterns from 2 popular internet sites:

Clapotis by Kate Gilbert in Knitty
Sheep Shop #3 - 2 skeins
US 8 needles

This took a while to knit (July-March); dropping the stitches was fun, but when each row is 100+ stitches and its a lot of stockinette ... easy to put down and not pick up again. This is nothing against the pattern - I can see why so many (Ravelry link) have knit this. Its a beautiful shawl, although I will most likely wear it more as a scarf. Despite being quite big (see the armspan?), its really light and not at all bulky to wear. The yarn - perfect for me. I had wanted to knit this for awhile, and was really not sure what yarn to use. I wanted it to be colorful, soft but warm, and without pooling. This yarn is part silk and has short color repeats. But, there was significant skein variation. Drat! But, you really couldn't tell once the stitches were dropped (I can, knowing how bad it was before - you can too, look closely at the armspan picture). I did end up blocking this, but because I totally ran out of yarn - so I ripped back a lot, and ran out again. Well, this time I was closer to the end, so ripped back a bit and then knit 3 together (insted of 2) and made it. And blocking made this unnoticeable as well!

Jaywalker Socks by Grumperina in Magknits
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Poppy Stripe from Purl Soho
US 1.5 needles

Again, no surprise why this is so popular. I thought a lot about what yarn to use for these as well, I really wanted perfect striping. The repeat of this colorway is almost every row, so perfect! I love the way they look with my black sneakers.

Notice the snow in the Jaywalker pictures? And how I am only wearing a light jacket in the Clapotis pictures. Well, March was in like a lamb with temps near 70 this past week but then this past weekend...

...20 inches and a blizzard! I love winter! (Really, I do, I was getting a little sad about it being over - This past winter in Columbus was much milder than my beloved Cleveland winters). Thankfully, I wasn't working, so I was stranded at my parents with the dogs and ample supplies. After 48 hours, I got a little stir crazy (we were completely snowed in). But it stopped, the driveway got plowed, and an hour later I found myself aimlessly wandering around the grocery store getting provisions with which to watch the final episode of The Wire. SUCH A GOOD SHOW, I had heard this for a while too, but it wasn't until the Sopranos was over that I felt the need to fill the void. And its so much better! And I loved the Sopranos! I am excited and sad to see the final episode.

Just one more thing, I am sitting looking out the window at a ton of snow, and watching 60 minutes, and its light out! Anyone else thrown off (more than usual) by daylight savings time this year?

Iceland

2008-02-26T07:37:00.003-05:00

Iceland is done:

Iceland by Stephanie White from Rowan 42
Rowan Cocoon in Scree - between 6-7 skeins
US 10.5 needles

My only modification was to knit the bottom ribbing in the round, sans buttons. The pattern is written out instead of using a chart, which (for me) made it seem more complicated than it really was, but after 1-2 repeat I didn't need the instructions. I blocked the sweater before adding the bottom part, which really gave this sweater its shape and opened up the lace pattern. The pattern is simple, you knit the front and back, then sew them together and add the band on the bottom. I think that I had my hopes up for a bulky pattern, thinking it would take like 2 days to knit (even though it is 800+ yards worth of yarn! What is wrong with me?), and it ended up taking almost 2 months (although, I was doing other knitting in this time - it was a big project, so no that portable on trips/to work). But it was a fun knit, and I enjoyed knitting it. And I love the finished product! I feel like its fashionable and it fits well too. Its warm, but not stiffling because of the open lace pattern and arms. I had been afraid that this would be "weird" and that it would look awkward on, but its not. Its a great sweater, perfect for these cold days, lounging at home or going out! The Coccon yarn was a bit fuzzy and did shed a bit, but its soft works well with this pattern. I had a hard time deciding which color, it comes in beautiful neutral colors. I am trying to decide what hat to make with the leftovers now - I think I have enough for a bulky, fitted hat - maybe this or the Cardor hat also from Rowan 42 (aren't there so many great patterns in this magazine?)

Must blog....

2008-02-22T17:32:00.007-05:00

...I have been thinking that for a while now, but its been a vicious cycle: I don't have enough time, there is too much to blog about ... 1 week ... okay, I still don't have time, and there is more to blog about ... OK! Well, I may be a little rushed to work today (I should leave in about an hour and still have to shower and eat....), but its time!

First off...

Montreal. My sister and I try to take trips on our birthdays every year. This year it was Montreal.

We had a great time, its a beautiful and cool (literally) city and there is something surreal about how different of a feel there is there yet it is only a short plane ride. We just enjoyed the city by walking around, shopping, eating well, watching the Canadiens on TV in French (is it Canada or that is was in French, it seemed so much more a suspenseful game there ... on tv!), and getting cold!

Cold ... but you can walk everywhere underground ... Cool!

Yes, it was my birthday, #31. Kind of a blah year. So, I had to treat myself to spice it up a bit!

A splurge from The Loopy Ewe. I've never bought anything from her before, although I have done a lot of browsing on the site. I felt so special when this arrived today, the cute stickers, how nicely everything was wrapped in tissue paper, the needle inventory....

Of course, it didn't stop there. After buying, I checked out Sheri's blog, and saw this.
I resisted. But then later (that day!) I found myself again on the site, during a Sneak Up and, well, not good (I got some Posh sock yarn and DIC classy in Beach Fog). I consider it birthday aftermath (plus, its soooo cold here, cashmere socks and a new wool sweater are needs now!), so this lapse of impulse control has been reconciled. I am going to finally knit an Hourglass sweater from LMKG with the DIC.

And, a FO:

Uptown Boot Socks from Favorite Socks
Trekking XXL
US 1.5 needles

I love the cables, I think they work nicely with the Trekking ... subtle cables and subtle striping.

Finally, I have finished Iceland and will blog about it when I have more time. But a question, this is what is left:

Is it enough for a hat, specifically, this one? I know the answer, but I need someone to tell me so that I don't learn the hard way.

I'll be back soon with pics of my Iceland sweater, promise!

Two steps forward, one step...

2008-01-28T10:33:00.000-05:00

So, two of my single socks now have mates:

Soltice Slip and Lenore Socks from my sock club
Socks that Rock Lightweight in Firebird and Lenore
US 1 needles

I liked both of these kits. The Lenores are a beautiful black with red, and I like cables so that Soltice Slip socks are very nice (they also have a garter stitch short row heel, similar to a previous kit that I find really pleasing). No real pooling on either. That makes 4/6 sock kits finished for the 2007 Rockin Sock Club, really its 4/5 because I JUST received the final shipment last week (when everyone else was getting the first shipment of 2008, I haven't received it yet of course, here we go again...). My first shipment was lost in the mail, and I had to be patient with all of the problems they had with shipping around Christmas, and then they had to dye more skeins, and I get stuff so slowly through the mail...They really were very nice throughout it all. It must be a nightmare dealing with the post office, I am sure. Anyway, I fully appreciate what a spoiler is now, I am going to be much more aware of that from now on and hopefully not contribute.

So, I had to reward myself, and what better than a nice Malabrigo hat?

A Simple Hat from Cables Untangled by Melissa Leapman
Malabrigo merino worsted in Golden Ochre, less than 1 skein
US 6 needles

I love this hat! I don't know about you, but knitting cables really make me feel like a good knitter, like I really know what I am doing. I love that these are braided, although my hands were a little sore after knitting this. And, MalabrIgo, wonderful as usual. This is hat # 3 for me with it, the colors are beautiful, and it makes a soft, warm, and just slightly fuzzy hat. The golden ochre did threaten to pool at the top of the hat, but I don't think its too bad.

Now, its a beautiful hat that will get used. But, what I should have been doing ... While I do not do well with deadlines, something that I love to do is to knit something for vacation in order to get excited for the trip. Really, this is how I got back into knitting almost 2 years ago: I took a trip across Canada on the train (great trip, my first time in the Canadian Rockies and Vancouver - both beautiful places, and then Toronto is such a cool city), and I was at Borders looking for travel books when I came across a Knit1, their travel issue. I made socks, a passport cover, and a luggage tag, and enjoyed them on the trip, and just kept knitting once I returned! So, I am taking a trip to Montreal with my sister for our birthdays this year in a little over 2 weeks, and I decided that I must knit an Iceland sweater from Rowan 42 for this trip. Montreal, February, cold, Iceland...
Anyway, here is where I am:

1 skein.
But it is a bulky knit on big needles and the first skein is learning the pattern so it takes longer, right? We will see....

Here we go 2008!

2008-01-16T23:43:00.000-05:00

Its my first FO of 2008! My unoriginal (but only 45 yard) hat:

An Unoriginal Hat by the Yarn Harlot
Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky Naturals, ONE SKEIN!!!! (thats 45 yards)
US 15 and 10.5 needles
Blue Sky

Yes, I am very proud that I knit this out of one skein, and a very small skein that has been sitting in my stash forever because I only had one skein of it and didn't know what to make! The original unoriginal hat (see above) was made out of variegated yarn and very nice, but I am really happy with the plain yarn: I love the stitch definition, and the cables really stand out this way.

So, the modifications: I only cast on 42 stitches (1 less pattern repeat around) and used size 15 (US) needles. I planned to use 15s the whole way, but ran out at the decreases. So, I ripped back, and did the decreases on 10.5 needles, skipping the non-decrease row in the decreases. And it fits! I like a hat that sits over my ears, and this does, but barely. I may try to block it to make it longer, but I wore it out tonight (and it was cold out there) and I think it will work as is.

Now, I have to work on some of my single socks. They are starting to get out of control and unfortunately I added one this week:

Its a Pomatomus from Knitty. I am using some old Koigu (also from the stash) and am very happy with these so far: the colors are working perfectly with the pattern (and a little aquatic I think), and the pattern is so cool! In my defense for casting on another pair of socks (I had 6, now 7 socks awaiting mates) these were my vacation socks, for my trip to Florida last week. I saw it as a perfect Florida project because of the pattern (water-themed) and colors (teal, purples, oranges). I wanted to pack light but have enough to knit for the 5 days I was there so I had to start a new pair!

End of the year organizing...and blogging...and a new FO!

2008-01-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

This blog is in need of both! Its been a while since I blogged, and a few things on this blog have gotten out of date. Its been driving me a bit crazy, and causing a vicious cycle of not wanting to deal with it so not blogging, things getting even more behind, and so on.

And, as I love the end of the year recaps on the news channels....
...here is my year of knitting (finished projects):

(from L to R, by rows, not all of these were blogged about (I'm not a year yet!), so I put details in where needed)
1. Mitered Mittens (see below), 2. Huckleberry Ascot, 3. Fetching, 4. Koolhaas Hat, 5. Central Park Hoodie, 6. New York Hat (from Magnits, Jan 2007), 7. Eyelet Cardigan, 8. Foilage Hat, 9. Chunky Ribs and Ruffles Scarf (free pattern from Misti Alpaca, here, made with Misti Alpaca Chunky), 10. Grasshopper Socks (Kit #2 from the Sock Club, using Socks that Rock Silkie in Walking on the Wild Tide), 11. Fitted Tank, 12. Cropped Poncho #4 (from Rebecca 32), 13. Fingerless Mitts from Loop, 14. Clementine Shawlette, 15. Calla Tank, 16. Monkey Socks, 17. Inside Out socks, 18. Shedir hat (from Knitty's Fall 2004 Surprise, Rowan Calmer), 19. Calorimetry (from Knitty, Winter 2006, in leftovers from the thrummed mitts) 20. Fleece Artist Thrummed Mittens (from this kit, in Fleece Artist Blue Face Aran and roving).

Observations? My favorite finished knit is the Misti Scarf, its soft and long and keeps me warm but I like the way it looks worn loosely draped inside as well. I probably wear the Shedir hat the most, its cotton so not the warmest, but I love the fit and cables. My most significant project was the Central Park Hoodie, and I am starting to wear it more as it gets cold. I have a pitiful showing for the Rockin Sock Club, just 2/6 socks finished (although, pout, I haven't recieved the Dec shipment yet, they shipped it 2 weeks ago but I guess with the holidays there have been problems and I have to sit tight for now. I have one sock done on another shipment, and a start on another shipment, I am going to make something else with the Summer of Love shipment - at least all of the yarn is accounted for!)

And, since I haven't blogged for over a month, I have a FO to report:

Mitered Mittens from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitters Almanac, May Pattern
Yarn: Noro Kureyon color 154, 2 skeins, but only because I wanted to match the colors - I made these with long cuffs, you could make shorter ones and definitely use just one skein)
Neeldes: US 8 DPNs

I love the color for the winter:

I like to wear black coats, and its dreary enough in the winter (those Cleveland winters were worse for the lack of sunlight than the cold and snow) so these brighten up the outfit. Its an afterthought thumb (scary!), so I used the part of the skein that would come next after the mitten tip and I got happy orange thumbs! It also shows how different these mitts could have looked if I started at a different part in the skein.

This was an easy pattern, of course well written, quick, and I didn't make any modifications except to make an extra long cuff. And, as you can see, its finally cold here! (I love winter) and I just love wearing these!

Thanks for reading, and I wish you all a happy New Year!

An Ascot

2007-12-03T21:55:00.000-05:00

I finished an ascot! (I wasn't really sure what one was prior to knitting this and reading about it)

Huckleberry Ascot by Kat Coyle
Interweave Knits Holiday 2007
Fleece Artist Kid Silk 3 ply rose, 1 skein
US 7 needles

Not to whine, but I really didn't enjoy knitting the bobbles, at all. I seriously thought about just making a ruffle like in this scarf, but then I already knit that and what fun would that be? They do look nice now that I am done with them. This really is a last minute pattern for those of you making holiday gifts - I pretty much knit it in an afternoon (I am not this year, after the disasterous NaKniSweMo, I just didn't have the confidence to take on multiple projects with a deadline). I love the way it looks with my dressy black coat, but it also looks quite good with just a t-shirt. My second winner from this magazine too (heres the first)! And there is more I want to knit too...

Defeat

2007-11-30T17:27:00.001-05:00

Well, I have finally admitted to myself, NaKniSweMo is not going to happen for me. Except for the completely impulsive lone Marigold sock, I have a bit of knitting blah right now, and just haven't been knitting much the past few weeks. I don't know why at all, you would think now that winter is upon us, I would want to knit sweaters, other warm things. But I guess more than anything, I've just been feeling lazy, maybe because I am spending too much time at home with Chief:

My cat, Chief. Very lazy.

Even yesterday, I said to myself, there is still time for Marseilles (my November sweater) (!!!It only took me 3 hours to knit the first cable repeat!) Marseilles is going to be a project. I found it requires A LOT of concentration, frequent use of the crochet hook for fixing mistakes, and I guess I am just slowing down as winter comes on (less sunlight, less time outside=overall less activity) so this isn't the right project for me right now. Its funny, I picked that pattern because I wanted a challenge, but the challenging part of it was what kept me from picking it up. Its going to sit in the basket for a while now, maybe I will do a repeat here and there, but now I really want to crack into my latest Rowan ... lots of bulky yarn projects!! (Right now I am between (warning, Ravelry links): Petersburg, Iceland, and the Alpine Shrug - any opinions out there?)

Procrastination

2007-11-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

I have a pitiful start on my Nokniswemo, (Marseilles, if you are curious here it is on my Flickr). Why? I really don't know why I decided to cast on for another pair of socks.

I became involved with these:

Marigold Socks by Pamela Wynne

This is a really fun pattern to knit, part of why it wasn't painful to rip back 3 times! First, I tried to reincarnate my Chevron Scarf, but switching colors every 8th row (the pattern repeat) didn't look right. Then, I tried repeating the colors every other row, but I didn't like this either. Then I tried with a more colorful Koigu (here), but it just looked a little crazy with all of those colors and the ridges of the purl rows in the pattern. So, I re-cast on with the current yarn (Koigu KPPM color P812) and finally I am happy (very happy - these are great socks, I highly recommend impulsively casting on like I did).

Have a nice weekend - I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week already! (It is a week early this year I guess)

November is for sweaters

2007-11-04T22:42:00.001-05:00

NaKniSweMo - How fun! And I needed an excuse to cast on for this: Marseilles! OK, I said it, I'm committed now, it has to be done by the end of this month! All of a sudden this seems like a big task for one month. This pattern jumped out at me the first time I flipped through the magazine - early in my knitting adventures. I loved it, but didn't think there was any chance that I could knit it. That was over a year ago, isn't it nice to see yourself getting better at something? There are beautiful FOs on Ravelry. I am so excited to cast on.
I am using Patons Classic Merino in "bright red." It really is, I hope not too much so. I had originally bought it awhile ago for Cheesylove which has fallen out of favor with me, I don't know why.

Speaking of stash ... look what I made from leftovers from my Foilage and Koolhaas hats:

Fetching from Knitty, Summer 2006 in Malabrigro Frosted Grapes and ?Blue Worsted.
I had a hard time getting good pictures of these, and I'm still not happy with the pics. I love these colors together. Maybe the stripes take away from the cables a bit, but in person its not as bad as in the pictures. And so soft. Its a really cute pattern too that can be knit quickly. I didn't make any modifications to the pattern, just alternating colors every other row. I really like these.

I'd better start working on my sweater!

Mmmmm.....Grapes

2007-11-02T08:51:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist....

Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood in Interweave Knits Holiday 2007
Less than one skein of Malabrigo Worsted Frosted Grapes
US 6 (ribbing) and 8 needles

I've never been a part of Fiberlicious before, but I just had to become a member after knitting this. The yarn is so beautiful - the colors really are that of frosted grapes, don't you think? I was a little worried that this was going to pool, or take away from the pattern but I think that it works. Great pattern too. Of course, cabled without a cable needle. (I hated cabling before learning how to do this). I have about 1/3 of a skein left, and I also have about the same left over from my Foilage Hat - This hat is a present for my mom and I was thinking of making some coordinating mitts with the two, maybe these? I'm not sure if I have enough yarn. I could definitely make some fingerless-type mitts.

I also got the new Interweave Knits in the mail ... I'm not so sure about this one. The models are kindof freaking me out a bit ... I was reading the Interweave forum at Ravelry and I guess I am not the only one. There are a few projects that I like, but there aren't as many in previous magazines, I feel like the style of the patterns is much different in this issue. Or maybe I have just really liked the previous magazines (thats definitely true), so this is just a relative let down. Also doesn't look like there is a November Magknits, is there any pattern of which months will have one? I always look forward to checking for one at the beginning of each month.

Happy November!

Its still too hot!

2007-10-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

I really had wanted this to be done earlier, so that I could enjoy the cool fall weather in it, but I was sweating taking pictures of this ... and its almost NOVEMBER!

At least the leaves are still pretty. And I'm not complaining about the weather, it was beautiful today, but I love the cool cripsness of fall and it just hasn't really happened yet!

(Ilse and I seriously thinking about jumping in to cool off)
OK, the sweater, here are the details:
Pattern: Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky, in the Fall, 2006 Knitscene magazine
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, a green-blue gray, about 4.5 skeins
Needles: US 8s

Verdict:

hmmm...I guess I look a little stern there, not as happy as I should be looking because I really like the finished sweater and I really enjoyed this knitting. I pretty much followed the pattern exactly, and it worked out just fine, but if I were to do it again I would probably knit it in the round (body and arms). There was a lot of seaming, which I didn't enjoy (mainly, because I suck at it!). Luckily, I got some help from the Ravelry Central Park Hoodie KAL. Darn, I don't mean to be negative - I liked this project! It was fun to knit, went fairly quickly, and the pattern was well written. I love the components: the cables, the hood, that its a cardigan. And it fits (the ultimate sign of a good pattern)! Well, a modification, it fits now - it was a little snug right off the needles, so I soaked it in some soak (I'm a fan of Aquae), then pinned it to the floor (I have carpet now, making blocking much easier!) (and with a clean garbage bag underneath to prevent mildewey eueew) according to the measurements in the pattern and voila:

Now it fits!

Modifications:

The main/only modification was that I didn't seam the hood, I grafted (My favorite Kitchner Stitch link) it. I'm not great at grafting either, as you can tell, but I am getting better! And, this definitely looks neater than a big seam, right?

OK, now confession. I can't pay attention. I had issues with one of the arms and had to rip it out because I wasn't following the increases. And the cables. Remember my back cable mistake early in the project? Well, I didn't fix it and it ended up OK because the hood covered up the nastiness nicely:

But, then I went and did it again, in a noticeable area: the arm. Yes, the same arm that I had already ripped out once. And I was about 20 rows up by the time I noticed this:

Of course, this had to be fixed ... but ripping?
Nope. Someone linked me to this tip from the Yarn Harlot, and I think that the quick and dirty worked out pretty well:

You can tell, but this became less noticeable after washing. And its not a mis-crossed cable now. But I can see how this could bother a person. It just didn't bother me enough to justify ripping out the arm a second time.

One more thing, because buttons really are hard to find and it took me a bit to find these:

Buttons from JoAnn's. Blah, I know, but I got lucky and they were 40% off, randomly, so it was $5.35 for 6 buttons and peanut M+Ms (I don't do that often, I had missed lunch due to all of that seaming!). And, I liked these.

I can't wait to wear this ... I think its going to be in the LOWER 60s later this week, maybe it will be overcast t00 and I really will need a warm sweater! If not, I am sure winter is coming soon enough, I just hope that there is a little bit of autumn in the meantime.

Phew - I hope that you made it to here, and that all of the pictures loaded OK. Thanks for reading!

A real post

2007-10-22T18:13:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since I had a real post. The last 2 were quick-fluffy-"I'm still here" posts. Well, if only it was just that: I feel incredibly guilty about the most recent post in which I gloated about the Indians (who have now been eliminated). Did you even notice the socks in that post? I'm a bad, bad person. What is it about sports, they turn you into a crazy person! In the past, I've forgone watching games, knowing that I was so powerful that me watching the event (I've done this in multiple sports) would cause my team to lose! Not rational. It is fun to really cheer, scream, and analyze the games ... its just losing ... but I guess the highs of watching sports means that there must be lows as well.

So, moving on, I had a lovely dinner tonight that involved therapeutic chopping with my wonderful knife (really, its good). And, since this is moving on, there had to be some excellent beer to help dull the nerves a bit.

Zucchini Pasta from Mark Bittman's Column in the Wednesday New York Times. I used basil instead of thyme (because, I had basil, not thyme).
I actually, was more drawn to the chickpea pasta in this article, but it seemed like more of an autumn recipe. (Internal conversation: But its late October! But its still consistently in the 70s, even 80s last weekend - It feels like summer!) So, I made the Zucchini version. It was quite good, btw. I'll wait until it cools down a bit to make the Chickpea one ... maybe this weekend?

And, since this is a knitting post, this is not second sock syndrome, its a complimentary pair, right?

Jaywalker #1 from Magknits using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock from here and US 1 needles and Roza's Sock #1 from Interweave Knits using US ZERO needles and Cider Moon Icicle, Hocus Crocus.
Really - Look at the neat stripes of both toes, the vertical ribbing stripes in each pattern, and the pink/blue/yellow/white pastel matching colors! Poor Roza #1 has been done for a while now, and #2 has even been cast on, but she is knit on 0s, and the Jaywalker knits on larger needles and has a more flowing pattern, so it will likely still get done first. Does anyone know if Cider Moon is coming back? Its been some time since they posted this on their website. I really like the yarn. Luckily, I have another skein stashed (Glacier - Ravelry link - which will become a pair of Campfire socks - another Ravelry link- this winter, hopefully), but I hope thats not it for my Cider Moon yarn, I love the colors.

p.s. Like the banner? It was pretty easy on blogger (Unlike trying to get this font to be the stated size after making the small font comments under the pictures*), but there was this tutorial that helped with my confidence to even try (I am not a very high tech person!)

*see how the font gets smaller after the first picture? I have spent *forever* trying to get this right, to no avail!

Happy!

2007-10-16T22:39:00.000-05:00

The test is over, the Indians are winning, and I have a finished sock! Good reasons, right?

I've had a hard time knitting during the playoffs so far - I've been too tense with all of the good games! It just felt better to sit curled up in a ball rocking during some of the games, even the ones that didn't look as close or were done in a mere 3 hours (Game 2 against Boston went 5+ hrs!), Boston is a good team and very capable! But I'm happy now - we are up 3 games to 1.
Go Tribe!

eek!

2007-10-07T21:05:00.000-05:00

Its one week until the boards (that test I have been studying/should have been stuyding for). And as if I'm not distractable enough in the first place ... the Indians are in the playoffs!

So, I'm sorry knitting, you are going to have to suffer. Depending on how bad the post-test convalescence period is, it may be a bit before I get back here again.

Wish me luck!

As I said...

2007-09-27T22:42:00.000-05:00

...it wouldn't be long until the Eyelet Cardigan is done, and it is!

Eyelet Cardigan by Allison Williams (Blue Sky Alpaca Pattern)
Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton - Tomato, about 3 1/2 skeins
US 7 Needles
Buttons - plain light wood from AC Moore
No pattern modifications!

Happy! It was fun to knit and well written overall. It was a fairly quick knit - there were 5 pieces (the back, 2 arms, front panels) and, maybe not the back, but all of the other pieces could each be knit in an evening (uninterrupted). And it fits, buttoned and unbuttoned, nicely! I like cropped tops, but I am always a bit weary - you know how they hang off of the curve of your back, making you look much more osteoporotic than you really are? Not this one, the ribbing keeps it snug (not too snug though!). The buttons are a bit plain, but I think that they work. This was my first button project, and is it really hard to find nice buttons? I ended up getting these at a big box store, not excting, they had a pretty meager selection. I looked at 2 yarn stores, and they had a lot of kiddie-swirly-colorful glass buttons - not my style and not for this project, I just wanted a plain, nice, wooden button. Any suggestions for the future?

Now, onto the Central Park Hoodie, thats coming along quickly too!

Drumroll....

2007-09-26T10:11:00.001-05:00

... I've purchased the extra yarn and it won't be long now before the eyelet cardigan is done!

(Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton - Tomato)
And, this weather? I think its going to cooperate for this sweater: I saw this as a perfect cool summer evening sweater, well ... technically, its fall but I am at the shore now and its been in the 80s (upper 80s) all week! I went to the beach yesterday! (Don't be too angry - I had my boards books with me, no leisurely flipping through magazines)

Of course, I didn't work on my WIPs during this yarn procurement time, but it has been premier week on TV so I had to be working on
something...

...the Foilage hat from the current Knitty (in Malabrigo worsted weight, US 7 needles). I love this hat, and the yarn - it is a bit fuzzy, but its so soft and I love the blues - see the white stripes at the bottom of hat/ribbing? I love that too! There is a bit of pooling at the top, but who will see that? The pattern isn't great for mindless knitting, it requires some concentration at the beginning until you get to the body and repeat sections (I had to rip back a few times, premier week=new TV shows and too much paying attention to the TV).

This = weakness - I had seen this pattern when the new knitty came out, but I became compelled after seeing examples of it on ravelry. Thats one of my favorite things about ravelry: you can see examples of everything, and so quickly after its published. I used to google image all the patterns, but that was a bit of a pain (how many pictures of leaves would this have elicited?).

OK, now I am going to focus on CPH while working on the Clap-o-tee during periods requiring concentration, alternating with the Jaywalkers and Soltice slip socks, and of course getting Roza #2 done in the meantime! How does that sound?

I did knit from the stash though!

No one will ever see....

2007-09-18T15:30:00.000-05:00

I love fall! Its my favorite season, pumpkin spice latte, the leaves changing colors, the cool weather (I am NOT a heat person). Its the time of year to get the sweaters back out for those cool (not cold enough for a coat yet) evenings, and look what has come out of summer hibernation (who wants to knit with tweedy wool when its 90 out?)

Central Park Hoodie (Back) from KnitScene
Cascade 220 Heathers
US 8 needles
In addition to the lovely weather change, I was inspired by this - and its a first sweater too! Just one thing, see what the needle is pointing at? I think that the hood will cover it up, right? No one will ever see....

Wahhhhhhhh!

2007-09-07T14:16:00.001-05:00

Exactly 3 skeins of yarn (the recommended amount - yes, I got gauge first) and....

...THIS! Out of Yarn. Wah! I am decreasing for the shoulder of the second arm of the eyelet cardigan, and then just have the finishing/trim to do. If only I had knit on 6s instead of 7s, or not made the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater 4 1 /2" as recommended (3 or even 4 inches would have been fine, really).
And my car needed all sorts of repairs out of the blue when all that I took it in for was an oil change and its still not done 24 hours later, and its still 90 degrees out, and... WAAAHHHHHH!

Oh well, I guess I will have to go online and order up some more, and I might as well get yarn for the blue version of the Tartan Scarf from Rowan 42, and then I can get buttons, and .... (what else!)

OK. Back on task. Reality - I have too many projects that I am working on now. Here's whats cooking:

Stiches are being dropped on the Clapotis - very exciting!

Salina has been cast on (Chief approves) - its just too hot to knit with felted tweed now

The Jaywalker heel has been turned (Sock #1)

and the Central Park Hoodie has gone past the swatch, finally - I have about 2 inches of ribbing.

and I have a still lonely Roza's Sock #1 (its knit on 0s, so it takes a lot of motivation for me) and a start on the Soltice Slips from last month's Rockin Sock Club.

I guess I'll have to work on one of these in the meantime...I was just so close to being done!

bad blogger

2007-09-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

Maybe I can redeem myself with a pretty picture from what was keeping me from blogging?

This is the NJ shore, it was beautiful weather last week and I had a nice time there. Oh, and I'm done with residency! I probably would have had a nice time anywhere knowing that, but it was nice to be at the shore relaxing, watching the US Open ...

...and knitting! Sun and sand (the beach) aren't conducive to knitting with wool, but I'm not much for sitting in the sun, roasting (I burn and get headaches anyway - wah!), so I had some good porch time enjoying the breezes (aren't ocean breezes the best?). I'll post again soon, there will be knitting pics (all sorts of exciting things have happened: I am almost done with the cardigan, I started dropping Clapotis stiches, and I turned heel #1 on my first Jaywalkers).

Barriers

2007-08-23T15:01:00.000-05:00

OMG!

Rowan 42
I know I say this whenever I get a magazine, but really, this one stands out. There is SOOOO much I want to knit (including absolutely non-delusional, doable projects). I just want to cast on!

But then....

Jaywalkers, Sock Club #3s, and Roza's Socks ... and I have 2 sweaters, a third that is swatched for and ....

....oh, darn! Reality:

A major test looming that I really should start studying for, the knitting urges are going to have to suffer a little.

I guess I have something to daydream about now while I am trying to study.

I do have a few projects that I've made progress on while watching my new favorite show, the Shield (note to self again - need to start studying), on Netflix ... I'll post pics soon.

Partial non-knitting post ....

2007-08-13T08:54:00.000-05:00

...since my 2 regular readers/commenters are not knitters, and like to cook (hey! Judi - you just got a new stove, and Karen - whats with going to Sur La Table "for fun" and impulse buying a trivet if you don't like to cook!): I cooked the other night: Ricotta Gnocci from the most recent issue of Cooks Illustrated. Karen, for extra enticement: This recipe required using the food processor THREE times (but, I didn't clean it in between because its all going into the same dish anyhoots, right?)?

In knitting news, I finally finished my grasshopper socks and while I don't think that I will knit a second pair ever (the YO P2tog pattern wasn't the most fun for me), I like them. So, now I have to knit a fun pattern: Jaywalkers! This is a great pattern, and I love watching the stripes emerge (I'm using Lornas Laces from here); these are going fast, so there probably will be pics soon.

Summer

2007-08-07T20:25:00.000-05:00

Yes! I finished something in the appropriate season!

Blue Sky Fitted Tank by Allison Williams
Blue Skies Dyed Cotton, 3 skeins
US 9 needles

I am very happy with this...now that its finished. There was some strife with the pattern and the newly finished product. I still haven't learned to read the entire pattern BEFORE knitting. For me, there is something semi-exciting about moving to the next part of the pattern (ex. increase rows to arm hole shaping), and I don't want to ruin the surprise by reading ahead. Well, I drove myself nuts with the first neck (its knit in 2 pieces, then sewed at the end) - I couldn't get it to be neat! Then, I figured out to read ahead a bit and, aha!, at the end you pick up stitches along the edge then bind off for a neat border.

Also, when I first tried it on...DESPITE ACTUALLY SWATCHING AND GETTING GAUGE ...well, it was a little big. A-N-G-E-R!
And, the gauge was a little loose, gaps in between the stiches and all. So, I did a google search and Ravelry search, and couldn't find much about shrinking Blue Sky Cotton. I went with a very conservative approach: I soaked the sweater in warm water, then dried it until it was a little more than damp, then took a deep breath and put it in the drier, on medium heat, and checked, and checked, and checked until it was the right size. And the yarn plumped up nicely as well! Y-A-Y! I am, again, quite happy with the Blue Sky Cotton. I used it on my Licorice Whip sweater as well ... I didn't get gauge on that sweater and its a bit small, I was hoping to stretch it by wear, but I think I am going to have to be a little bit more aggressive. I just haven't gotten around to it and now .... this just arrived in the mail, there are a lot of great projects (deciding to highlight those was hard!). I also need to finish sock club socks #2 and cast on for socks #3 because I think another shipment will be arriving soon. And, I am about to start dropping stitches for thE Clap-O-TEE, and I've purchased yarn for my first pair of Jaywalkers (another web classic)

I guess its time to stop blogging and get knitting!

hmmm....

2007-07-21T21:55:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I feel like I spend so much time here, oohing over everyone else's FOs ... and I will never have a FO! As if I didn't spend enough time with the plain old blogs! Anyone else feel the same?

Here is the Blue Sky Tank ... I had the front done over a week ago, but then have been distracted by the internet...

...I really love Blue Sky Dyed Cotton, its so soft! I really want to get this done soon .... must - resist - Ravelry .....

Settling in ...

2007-07-18T22:12:00.000-05:00

Just some pics I took during a bike ride, I'm really liking my new home so far ...

(Clockwise: American Gothic, Le Veque Tower, North Market, Lily pond at Goodale Park)

I also have a FO

Loop Mitts! (a free pattern from Loop).
This was my first time with Picot - what a bear to cast on with, but I liked casting off with picot, and its so pretty - wearing them makes me feel special. My mom is making a pair as well in complementary colors, she's not done yet but once she is there will be a better picture (hear that mom?)

That little ....

2007-07-12T20:38:00.000-05:00

(expletive here - s-head would be a good suggestion)
I was only gone for a few hours and look what I came home to:

Who me? But I'm a sweeeeeeetheart!

I would never do something counterproductive to your knitting like, say, unravel half of the ball and somehow manage to get 1/3 of the stitches off of the circular needles and unravel a *few* rows. (Note the collar ... not a sweetheart collar)

Well, to look at the glass half full (after ripping back 6 rows), at least I have a picture with which to blog about my new project: the Fitted Tank. I am almost done with the front after casting on 3 days ago, I love the Blue Sky Cotton - its so soft! I feel like a real Blue Sky Alpacas groupie with this right after the Clementine, and because I just purchased this, which I can't wait to cast on for with this in shrimp (not yet purchased, I am set on THIS color, don't ask me why - there are so many beautiful colors in this yarn!). Thats enough thisses!

2 Months...

2007-07-08T21:58:00.000-05:00

..thats not too late, is it??!!?

I'm talking about ...

Clemetine Shawlette from Spring 2007 IK
Blue Sky Alpaca Silk - less than 3 skeins (and this is long too!)
US 5 Straight Needles
...My 2007 Mother's Day present is finished!

I am pretty happy with the shawl. The yarn is very soft and was nice to work with, and I think the color can go with a lot (black, white, pastels...). I don't like grafting, and I was dumb and did it before my AM coffee today:

knit purl, purl knit...
...it seemed to go on forever (probably because my reward was a cup of coffee, again, bad move). I really don't enjoy grafting, its stressful for some reason and I always at some point zone out and slip stitches off the needles I shouldn't, or start perseverating on the knit purl .. purl knit...purl knit, making mistakes. And I'm not good at it. This time, I thought I had it, I was going to graft on the 4th repeat row, the knit row, so that everything would be even ....

...well, its quite obvious. I thought about ripping it out and redoing it ... but my mom liked it as is, and I was afraid of messing up more (lots of yarn overs, passing stitches, and it took so long to graft!). Morale: Coffee is not a reward, its like toothpaste in the AM, its part of getting ready.

Now I can cast on for something new ... Since its summer and hot, I'm leaning towards some cool cotton for the Blue Sky Alpaca fitted tank, another 3 skein project (hopefully this won't take 2+ months), but I just bought this great yarn for a Clapotis

Sheep Shop 3, 2 skeins

I also swatched a bit before for the Central Park Hoodie too .... that Cascade 220 would be really painful in this heat though....Stay tuned!

Phew!

2007-07-03T16:49:00.000-05:00

Sorry about being a bad blogger ... I've been too busy. Some of the busy-ness has been in bad ways (work: 6 weeks of call (working 30 hour shifts) every 4th night and 5 weeks of not having a complete weekend off), and some exciting (I've moved! Well, moving wasn't fun, but setting up/decorating a new apartment was!). I'm also without my precious internet, and I don't know when it is going to be hooked up. Pooooor me!

Hello Columbus!

I now live in Columbus, where I grew up. Its good to be home, the city has changed a lot (in good ways) since the last time I lived here ... eleven years ago! I have an apartment downtown, and it has a washer and dryer in addition to a pool (2 things I didn't have before, I'm getting soft - 4 years ago I didn't even have a garbage disposal in my apartment!). I've been in Cleveland for the past 7 years, and its a great city (lots of culture, character, spirit), but its been a hard 7 years and, so, it feels good to move on. I still have 2 months of residency left, but they are light months so I will be semi-commuting/staying with family in Cleveland and hopefully still make it one Saturday to Phoenix Coffee to knit. I'll miss Cleveland, it will always be a "home" to me.

Anyway, I hope to have a kntting post soon ... I am getting some much deserved relaxation at the New Jersey Shore with family this weekend. Look where I stopped on my way from the airport:
Loop!

(Sheep Shop Yarn 3 - Color G129 - intended for a Clapotis, I haven't made one yet!)
Such a nice store!

Its summer!

2007-06-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

And its been hot for June, so far. So, a perfect time for ....

... Calla!

Calla from MagKnits, April 2006
Debbie Bliss Cotton DK
4.0 mm circulars
Started March 2007 - Finished June 2007

This was supposed to be done in time for my trip to Mexico with my sister ... It was my pre-trip knitting to get excited about the trip (there was something about knitting a tank top while it was 20 degrees out that really made me excited, and made it more real that I was going to go somewhere warm soon). Well, it didn't get done for the trip - I really was pretty close too (the arm holes/decreasing). It sat for a while, but as summer snuck up, and I became infatuated with another tank, I finally finished it!

I'm really happy with it - I was skeptical that it wouldn't fit, being too big in some areas or too small overall. I followed the pattern pretty closely - except I made it on circulars so that I wouldn't have seams on each side (it really wasn't a hard modification to the pattern). I'm happy with the yarn as well - I love blue in general, and the color is going to be great for the 4th of July. Can you believe how close it is?

He's into it!

2007-06-13T20:44:00.000-05:00

Chief is my cat and, unlike my sister, he is interested in my knitting.

This is a more innocent picture, sometimes his interest interferes ... Today, I was working on Calla and engrossed with Law and Order on TV when I felt a tug on the yarn I was holding. Well, the little sweetheart HAD been innocently batting at the yarn ball when something must have triggered him to run with it ... across the room ... around multiple pieces of furniture ... very fast. Normally I find it endearing when he carries his toys in his mouth; I thought that was more of a dog thing, retrieving (he's my first cat, I'm learning). He has batted a yarn ball on the floor around and lead to some unraveling, but the carpet/furniture/walls usually slow/stop the rolling ball so that I can get to it before too much damage is done. Well, this new technique...very efficient at unraveling yarn. Somehow, he even seemed to know where to hold the yarn ball so that he didn't in anyway restrict the flow of yarn, or how fast he ran. Being positive, I guess that was a relatively benign way of him showing his displeasure with me - I was post call today, thus the "Prime Time in the Daytime," and there had been quite a bit of meowing when I got home. Oh well.

Hopefully there will be FOs to talk about soon ... I'm close on a few (Calla and the Clementine Shawlette which really needs to get done as it was this year's Mother's Day present), and have one Roza and one Grasshopper done (I'm trying to decide which to cast on - probably the Grasshopper so that it gets done before the next shipment and I don't fall behind). I also am hoping to cast on for this soon, I think it will be a quick knit which is why I violated my no more yarn until I move rule (which is just until the end of this month) to buy yarn for it (its summer...I've had this pattern for almost a year...I NEED to start it soon so that I can wear it in the appropriate season, I really needed that yarn...right?!)

zzzzzzzzz....

2007-06-06T07:49:00.001-05:00

I'm post call today - and what a great day to be in bed! I don't like working 30 hr shifts, but I do love having the excuse to get into bed in the middle of the day and watch daytime tv! Its gray and cool in the 60's so the windows are open wide and I have piled back the comforter and quilt on my bed. I've procured my favorite pastry from here, a chocolate papillon, and have a latte as well (for caffeine withdrawal symptoms). Chief was behaving, but his favorite "toy" has emerged at the most inopprotune time (a cork from a wine bottle, forget catnip, how did this cat get so high-brow?), hopefully he'll get tired soon.

Now, time to get into bed, play with this (soooo cool!!!!!), and hopefully stay awake for Martha Stewart.....Good night!

Monkeys!

2007-06-04T08:04:00.000-05:00

With the whole "monkey" title, I was really trying to take a creative picture. I tried taking action pictures of them while jumping on my bed -too blurry and, I know, not original - having them surrounded by bananas- this just looked weird - and I even have a friend who's husband is a zookeeper and took us on a behind the scenes tour of the zoo -talk about a fantasy job! ... but the socks weren't quite done by then ... another example of how bad I am with deadlines - I can be optimisitc, maybe my Mom will get it by Fathers Day). I'm still holding out for a photo shoot on a playground with a yellow or orange painted jungle gym. Anyway, I fell hard and just took a picture on a blue pillow that I thought highlighted the yarn well (there is just a wee bit of blue in this colorway, but its my favorite component of the colorway).

Monkey Socks from Knitty
Cherry Hill Tree Supersock - Life's A Beach Colorway
US 2 circulars (Cuffs and 1st 2 pattern repeats), US 1 DPNs (remainder of pattern)
Started April - I bought this specific colorway because it went well with my "spring break" trip to Mexico.
Finished - May
(spring break is in parentheses because there was no Senor Frogs, only one night was spent in Cancun, and my propensity to get hung over now that I'm out of college kept me away from the tequila for the most part (I'm not a big fan for it straight up anyhoots).

I really enjoyed this pattern - the lace was pretty easy and you got rewarded at the end of each repeat by several rows of mindless and fast stockinette. This is my first time knitting with the yarn as well, i wasn't expecting the oranges and yellows to be so prominent and was thinking they were a little crazy, but, hell, they are spring break socks aren't they??!! There is just some very mild/somewhat good pooling on the stockinette section on the sole of the foot. Best of all, that little bit of blue....*makes* me *feel special* when wearing them! Oh, and the yarn was nice to knit with - minimal fuzzing, no splitting, 100% wool! I could see using this yarn again, and this pattern getting knit again (although not with this yarn - I don't knit a lot of socks, so I couldn't make two of the same, and I have my eye on a few patterns from "Favorite Socks" for it). I have this 10% off coupon from here, and I have been especially enamoured by the pastels and overall looks of these plus ...

...a moment of silence, the chevron scarf, rip (pped). I was using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, I liked/didn't love the colors, and the weight just was a bit too flimsy for me. I would like this scarf to be more for cool fall days, rainy spring days with my bright green raincoat, or to liven up a white t shirt and jeans in the winter. I *need* BMFA mediumweight STR, and I could use the above coupon for this as well as its good for an ENTIRE ORDER. As for the ripped yarn, I was thinking a chevron-esque pair of socks would be nice, I'm leaning more towards a feather and fan - type pattern over the Jaywalker. We'll see.

yes, yes, YES!

2007-05-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

I had a good day today so I thought I would share ....

(yes)

Its spring - It was beautiful here today, sunny and warm. Just being outside a bit made me happy.

(yes)

Turning the heel. I love the heel of a sock - I like socks because a. they are portable, b. its semi-mindless knitting that you can do without paying total attention (making it conducive to do in transit, during slow times at work, while watching something on tv you are interested in), and of course c. sock yarn! But, because of reason b., they can be a bit boring at times. Sometimes the heel is all the excitement between the cuff and toe decreases, so I look forward to it, and I love the short rows, the gusset and how the heel just "turns." BTW, the above socks are not at all boring, this pattern is a lot of fun and has a nice flow to it. But I still enjoyed the heel, which I knit today.

Finally (YES!!)

Cleveland Cavaliers 91 Detroit Pistons 87
I know, technically this was yesterday - but the series is tied 2-2 now (the Cavs had been down 0-2 games), and (being on the winning side) it was such a fun game to watch, seeing the highlights today made me smile. Plus, there is nothing like a good rivalry - Sorry Detroit fans, but for me, this highlight was almost as good as any from the game (there were just too many good plays for this to win), and really kept me smiling today! (To clarify, my joy lies in seeing Rasheed Wallace get upset, not the poor guy in the background - I know sports fans have a bad rep in Ohio, but I'm not that barbaric!)

Hope everyone else had nice, peaceful days as well!

Kookoo!

2007-05-25T22:34:00.000-05:00

*love*

(Koigu KPPM 196)
I'm such a fan of Koigu - this is such a great idea!

I love seeing the colors, and I'm now really inspired to make stuff (mainly socks) from patterns that I've had my eyes on from seeing beautiful examples of them. Its just that issue of time .... especially seeing that I'm already working on 4 pairs of socks (see my current projects?)! Well, its a long weekend and summer is almost here, I can hope!

p.s. I had bought the above for Knitty's Crusoe Sock, but I've heard they are tight/hard to slip on over the ankles and a bit of a gauge nightmare. I'm also tempted by these, these, or the diagonal cross-rib socks from this which, sadly, I have not knit anything from yet. We'll see!

Pools

2007-05-23T18:40:00.000-05:00

I'm not a very big fan of pooling. I just don't like the way it looks, its not my style I guess. It reminds me of something out of date from the 70s (the disco-esque, brut, tacky 70s). I was born in the 70's, so I don't know if this represents a repressed childhood memory - well, probably not.

Sometimes its fairly subtle, good even:

(Koigu KPPM from my first socks)

Sometimes it makes me twitch, so much that I usually resort to frogging:

(STR medium weight, Monsoon - from Inside Out Socks)
So you know, this occurred on the BACK of the second sock very close to casting off - the first sock and remainder of the second sock were spared ... so it survived. Plus, these had already been ripped out at one point for intolerable foot pooling that occurred on the top of the second sock foot. So, I took a deep breath, ignored, and cast off)

But, sometimes its hard to tell:

(STR Silkie, Walking on the Wild Tide from Grasshoppers, currently still on the needle)
Its not subtle: its pooling. But, if you concentrate on the individual rows, the same color does not repeat itself on bordering rows - maybe every other row, but there are no "blob" type areas of color as you see in example B. I'm conflicted, I really am not a pooling person, but something about this is appealing to me.

I'll probably stick with it, keep knitting - this is on the sole of the sock. We'll see how it turns out, keep your fingers crossed!

Proof

2007-05-22T14:17:00.001-05:00

Its so Airy! :)

I've talked about/alluded to my sister before, and you have probably seen her smart comments on here as she likes to give me a hard time about knitting - but I think she is envious (she always says that she wants to learn) and ?something is just holding her back. FYI - Remember, her yarn (hit the above link): it was bought back in the fall and, still, is just sitting there). Anyway, here is proof that she IS interested in knitting: Karen, here is your scarf - on my blog - as YOU requested! And you could knit this scarf, which you like so much, after learning just a few stitches!

Karen's Interview Scarf/aka Airy Scarf from LMKG
Knit in the fall of 2006 with Colinette Parsienne, Raphael on US 10 needles

This was my first lace project/well, lace project using lacey yarn and I would recommend it as a first lace project. The pattern is easy (just knitting, yarn overs), and fairly quick (although, for me, nothing in that book takes as little time as they claim). The Mohair/Lace weight yarn can be tricky to start out with (use wooden needles - less slippery) - it took me some time to get the hang of it and keep it from becoming a tangled mess. And best of all, it has satisfying results: sometimes the simple patterns are the best ones. (that reminds me ... I have a skein of malabringo in the stash which is perfect for a garter stitch scarf)

Too little time...

2007-05-21T23:05:00.000-05:00

I'm Very Antsy

I've been busy with my non-knitting life, and I have some new additions to my stash for this (Cider Moon Glacier in Istanbul)

and...

...this (220 Cascade Heathers, Color 9450) - I finally found THE Knitscene magazine when home for Mother's Day! Even though its a recent issue, I'd been having a time finding it at the area LYSs.

I am really excited about these projects and can't wait to knit!!! I've been eyeing both projects for some time, and now have the yarn ... but no time!!! As the weather is finally getting nice, and the flowers are blooming, does it make me sound crazy to wish for rain this weekend so I have an excuse to stay inside, curl up with PBS cooking shows or HBO on demand, and knit? I know that I am a "seasons" person (summer all the time would be boring, I don't mind the cold: snow is pretty -as long as I'm not driving, and I love a good storm) ... but I'm wondering how much I like cold/bad weather for the sole reason to have an excuse to take it easy inside (knitting!)

(as you can see, I'm also working on my yarn photography skills, I didn't have a large enough Tupperware to use as a light box, and see that I need to control whats under/lying behind the Tupperware as well)

Hi Mom!

2007-05-13T22:22:00.001-05:00

Sorry that I didn't finish your shawl, but Happy Mother's Day Mom! Thanks for being such a great mom!
Love,
Cindy

P.S. Mother's Day 2007 in 4 pictures, I'm glad you had such a beautiful day!

Good morning

2007-05-10T11:03:00.001-05:00

Its one of those wonderful mornings with the windows open, no urgency to get to work because I am working from home today, and making some progress on the mother's day project. And, its a Thursday, making the morning so much more enjoyable than if it was on a weekend. Lets see if I get my project done by Sunday, in general I am not good with knitting deadlines - I've gotten close though!

Overwhelmed

2007-05-06T13:34:00.000-05:00

I'm having trouble focusing. Things had been OK in terms of keeping track of what I want to knit until I received this in the mail yesterday.

I don't know about you, but I have been really happy with the knitting magazines this spring. I always like them in general for the articles and inspiration/ideas from the patterns, but there is not always a lot that I actually want to knit. Well, look at my sidebar, this is not the case now. And then, there are patterns that I had just liked, but I am now tempted by when seeing stuff like this (from the Rebecca magazine). Must stay focused and realistic about future projects, or at least get out some paper and try to make a knitting schedule!

Status

2007-05-03T12:47:00.000-05:00

Back a *few* months ago, I bought my sister a nice cake of yarn with some cute needles from one of my favorite places to go when I am home. She has always been more "artsy" than me, and while she likes to (omg) give me a hard time about knitting, I think she would enjoy it, and she has expressed some interest in learning to knit. I'm getting ahead of myself, but with the subtle dye varigations, I envision this to someday become a nice skinny garter stitch scarf. Anyway, this is the state of the yarn today. I'll keep you updated.

Rockin'

2007-05-02T20:29:00.000-05:00

My first FO of this blog!

Rockin' Sock Club 2007 - Kit #1: Inside Out
Socks that Rock Mediumweight - Monsoon
Toes/heel/leg knit with US1, foot with US0 DPNs
Started: Early March 2007, Finished: Late April 2007

Well, my first of a few things...

First time knitting with Socks that Rock (they do!)
First toe up socks.

First short row heel. First cabled socks. (to be fair, this is just my second pair of socks)

I love them - I have been intrigued by BMFA STR since I started reading blogs because, well, everyone else is, but I had never managed to get my hands on a skein (thankfully for my budget, I'm not much of an online yarn buyer). So, for a birthday present to myself this year , I joined the Rockin' Sock Club (doesn't it feel good to splurge on yourself?). I really enjoyed the pattern, and I am looking forward to the next installments and trying new sock techniques. While this isn't a color I would have picked, I think these are going to get worn a lot - they match so much and its not that I don't like the colors, I'm just usually drawn to brighter ones. Plus, its so fun to wear one "inside out" - they are reversible! Its also interesting to see how my tension varies with whats going on in my non knitting life - I am a pediatric resident, so, some months are much more demanding than others. For the most part (all of sock #1, and to the leg of sock #2), these were knit on a light rotation, but finished recently during a call month (See the pooling? Call month. Its knit so much tighter! Sleep deprivation = bad).

Best of all, I finished just before receiving this:

the next installment (this one calls for knitting with 2 circulars!)

Hello

2007-04-24T19:31:00.001-05:00

Hello, originally uploaded by Cyknithia.

Hi - I spend enough time reading knitting blogs I figured it was time to join the fun!

I have been knitting off and on since high school - but, I've been more serious about it (knitting more than scarves) for about the past year. Now, I don't think I will knit off and on anymore, I think I'm a knitter. I have a stash, I have minimized what I've spent on yarn,I have a subscription to a knitting magazine, and when I go to other cities I love visiting the LYS. I just got a kitten, Chief, and I have always wanted a way to 'archive' my knitting, and somehow get what I want to knit organized (well, at least in a list that I won't lose) - so, its time for a blog! Maybe this will even help to avoid second sock syndrome, which I have also seemed to catch - I love the way people photograph their finished socks. Hopefully I'll have a pair to blog about soon!

Selected FOs
1. Calorimetry, 2.Norweigan Mittens, 3. Riding on the RTA, 4. First Socks, 5. Me, 6. First Mitts, 7. Chief, 8. Shedir, 9. Best present!, 10.Assymetric Cable Hat, 11. My So Called Scarf, 12. Relax, 13. Lotorp bag, 14.Lady Eleanor, 15. Have Fun!, 16.Thrummed Mitts

Another one please.....

2007-04-20T19:18:00.001-05:00

.....knitting blog that is! Enjoy!

(Monkey socks, on vacation having a Tamirand martini.)