hmmm....

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 ...

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 ....

(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...

..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!

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!

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!

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....

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!

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!

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!

*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

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

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...

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!

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

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

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

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'

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

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