Thursday bullets

• I went to Rhinebeck and I had a really good time and I need to blog about it and download photos from my camera. I also need to take photos of some yarn that I bought there and track some other acquisitions I've made since I moved here.
• There are 2 completed knitting projects I still haven't blogged. Not only that, I've worn both of them. Not only that, but I still haven't woven in the ends on one of them, and they're really obvious. Also, they aren't socks.
  
• I have a new bedroom window so every post from now on out shouldn't be about how cold I am. (To be fair, it was very chilly with the breeze and not turning the heat on.)
• This weekend I'm hoping to do some food shopping and knitting in addition to going in to work. I'm planning on cooking soup and starting up breadmaking again next week. If I'm really motivated, I might watch a movie or read a book.
  
• I'm very tired this week. After coming home from Rhinebeck on Saturday night, I went to bed. Sunday I went grocery shopping, went out to lunch with a friend, went to work, and then cooked soup. Work is very busy right now. (This is good. Really.) On top of that, I'm fighting a cold, and if you know where I live (and that my apartment is located above a bar), you will also understand my stating that it's been a bit loud in the evenings. Particularly so last night.
• I want to knit some mitts and some gloves and some mittens and a sweater and some socks and I don't want to start anything new until I have finished some of the old things that are taking up space in my living room. I'm not very excited about working on most of them. The item I most want to knit is stalled due to a backorder of additional yarn. Hopefully it will arrive soon.
  
• I'm going to try to knit now, maybe with some tea and honey for my sore throat, and possibly with some crappy tv streamed over my computer. So much for my attempts at daily blogging.
  

I need pictures.

Yes, I know. Yet another photo-less post. In my defense, when I got up at 7 this morning, it was grey and rainy. When I walked home from work, via the grocery store, it was cold and grey and rainy. Photos? Hah. I'm concentrating on staying warm.

There's a significant draft in my living room. Specifically, one of the new windows put in the apartment before I moved in is not sealed well, and it leaks when it rains. In the bedroom, there's still a missing window pane. In a word, I'm cold. I'm thinking about buying some caulk to fix the living-room window. As I said, I'm cold, and I'm responsible for the heating bill come winter. It's only fall now. At the same time, 42 and rainy with no heat doesn't feel very warm.

I have a need to knit something, immediately, but I have no idea what. I am in desperate need of mittens. I also could use a warm sweater or three. Instead, I have a shawl, socks, and a scarf on the needles. I'm feeling a need to finish things up, too. I am also afraid that I have lost my sock mojo. I have some great yarn, but I'm just not getting into it. (I just looked down at myself and realized I am a handknit nightmare - over a Land's End sweater and yoga pants, I am wearing my purplish chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, my red and orange Clapotis wrapped around my waist, and blue striped socks. Perhaps there is a reason I am avoiding cameras?)

This weekend I am going up to Rhinebeck. I'm excited, partly because I am meeting 2 blogging friends who I feel like I almost "know" from years of chatting back and forth, and also because it sounds like this festival is a sight to behold. I'm not planning on buying much - but tomorrow may be a time to revisit the Ravelry queue and think about what I might want or need.

Other than a heated mattress pad, that is. I'm thinking of getting one of those on Sunday. Plus a second pad to put over the memory foam cushion that makes up a significant portion of my mattress, as I'm sleeping on a futon.

Day 5, i guess - Interweave Knits Weekend

I'm a sucker for a knitting magazine. I like to look at them, and I frequently find "Special Issues" to be more exciting than the actual magazine. (Actually, Interweave, I'm looking directly at you on that one. Lately I like Knitscene better than IK, for whatever reason.) Anyhow, here's my take.

The bottom line: Do you need this? No, it's not essential, but there are some interesting things in it.

There are a few attractive patterns, but there's nothing that really jumps out at me as an amazing fantastic "wow, I really need to knit that 5 minutes ago," but there are things I would make out of the magazine.

First, an article on novels about knitting.
Next, "Friday." Starts strong, with a pretty Kathy Zimmerman guy sweater, and a cute kid's sweater by Wendy Bernard. Two of my favorites in this issue. Kid pants, and a capelet are next. Then a sweater that is meant to be reversible. My feeling about this is that anyone who has seen me in person will realize that the shape of my chest and my back are rather dissimilar, and this sweater is designed for a much different body type than my own. A blurb about sizing things for kids, and some simple socks. The patterns follow, with commentary. Much more mixed than the current layout of IK.

Next, an article on teaching kids to knit. I admit to have not read this yet. "Saturday Morning." A really basic, very wearable women's cardigan. (I would knit this, and actually might.) A cute baby jacket, and a kitchen towel. A very interesting basket out of some ridiculously huge yarn. Probably costs a fortune, but at least it was done to make a sculptural piece instead of clothing. A pillow, with a super simple and elegant design. I really dig it, actually, and am intrigued by the color. Probably a deceptively expensive project. Awesome button. Next an apron and a hat. More pattern information and words.

An article on fiber festivals. More patterns - a guy sweater and a scarf by Ann Budd, and a cardigan by Annie Modesitt. The cardigan is not me, but it's interesting. Next, "Sunday," and a cardigan that is cut in a current style that I personally don't find flattering, and can't pull off, but I like the color a lot and the stitch pattern. Another guy sweater - I get the concept, but I'm not sure I like the placement of the design element. A cute cloche hat, which would either look adorable or horrible on me. A cowl neck sweater. Can't personally wear them, and this particular one would add a good 30 pounds on me. Kid shrug. A lace cardigan in bulky wool - again, not my style or cut. Very current lines, but I'm not shaped right for it.

Simple colorwork hat and mittens. Some designer interviews (They're all very cute, and look happy. I like the photos.) Staff projects - a vest, a scarf, a bag, and a vest. Next page is a dog vest (? Really not for me.) Two plain simple cardigans I like a lot, and would personally wear. The down side to both of them is bunching of fabric around the armhole - oh, and the patterns are online, not in the magazine. An absolutely ridiculous hat - I'm sorry - I get what you're doing, but I'm not that much of an exhibitionist.

Overall, the layout reminds me a lot of the first IK that came out when Eunny Jang first took over. I don't have really strong feelings in favor of or against this issue - and I think it does serve it's purpose of patterns for relaxed, low stress weekend knitting of casual clothing.

Peek for yourself here. Thoughts?

Persisting despite it all.

You know how instructions for circular knitting always say "join, making sure to not twist?"

Yeah. I finally managed to get a twist in my knitting, and I've been persisting, regardless of the mistake. I'm knitting a self-fringing scarf, so it will be cut open at the end anyhow, and I figured, oh, what the heck.

It's a lot easier to knit when it's not twisted, but at this point, I'm Committed.

Speaking of which, I just jumped into another project, thanks to the ladies I met today for a KIP in the park. I may have found a group to hang out with. They're knitting mitered squares for a sock yarn blanket, and swapping yarns. Of course, this sounded like a fantastic idea to me because it's really pretty, on tiny needles, and is going to take up an insane amount of time. And we all know how quickly I knit things these days.

While sitting outside, I worked on my Charade sock. Pretty. See?


One slight problem:

It's too big. So, I'm going to have to think about what I want to do to make these work. The patterned section isn't as stretchy as the rest of the foot. Going down a needle size for the foot isn't going to work, because I don't want to compress this yarn any more. I might just use the gauge for the plain section, rip back to the heel, decrease faster for the gusset and knit the rest of the sock plain. Haven't decided yet.

I'm itching to start new things, but I really want to get some of the old projects to go away. I've now completed 12 pattern repeats of the Trellis scarf, out of a total of 23. Which means I'm now feeling motivated to try to knit one repeat a day, which would get me a pretty lace scarf, and a clear needle in 2 weeks. I have a second sock for my husband - finished decreases, so plain knitting to the toe. That's not more than a week of knitting (I dislike the yarn.) My Badia still needs seaming, as does the Cutaway cardigan. Tangled Yoke is still waiting for the arms to be joined to the body, and I only have a yoke to knit. I'm also about 50% and 75% done with 2 other laceweight scarves, because I'm nuts and seem to not knit with anything thicker than fingering weight right now. I'm craving sweaters and a new shawl, and I have an afghan that requires seaming (but we aren't talking about that today.)

I think it might be fall, finally.

Aw shucks.

Thanks, everyone, for your kind words about the hat. Seriously - it's puckered in some places, but it blocked out a lot better than I had hoped. I'm very happy with it, and I'm definitely going to be knitting some more 2 color hats in the future, or I might start knitting mittens. I don't see myself knitting many sweaters this way, although I have a copy of Meg Swansen's Knitting, and there are a few things in there that strike my fancy. No promises in any direction.

Anyhow, one of the things I really like about knitting is how everything gets easier with practice. I picked up my Trellis scarf again, for instance, and discovered how much more relaxing knitting it has become. I dropped a stitch and was able to calmly correct my mistake without having to rip back to the beginning. Yeah, I'm still having to tink back a row every so often, but that's not a big surprise when I'm only half paying attention by trying to talk on the phone and knit, or watch TV, or wrangle a small kid. I think I finished another repeat and a half today, so it's gradually getting a little longer, but nothing dramatic as of yet. For me, this one falls under the category of long-term project.

Zarzuela Knits and Crochets posted regarding Summer of Socks 09, and I think I'm going to play along again this year. I love the idea that the theme is "no stress" this year, which will make it much more fun to play. I'm not in the mood for something really competitive, but I'm happy to see socks no matter what. I'm still plugging away at the 3 or so pair that I acknowlege having started. If I can finish those up by September, I'd be pretty excited. I've also had a couple patterns hit my radar lately - Marilinda has definitely captured my interest, and Charade looks like a great way to use some of my variegated yarn in a wearable sock.

Photos this weekend, if there's anything pretty that catches my eye and more importantly, if I remember to get some duct tape for my camera...

Nothing profound here.

I was going to write a serious and thoughtful post, but then being thoughtful started to make me sad, and I need to go to work soon.

So instead you get two quick photos:


I finished this up over the weekend. This started out as a pair of Dashings, but it didn't take. One skein of Cascade 220 makes a short scarf, child-sized. It was a satisfying knit, and I understand why so many people made these. It reminded me that I have a lot of Cascade 220 in the stash, and that at some point, I really do intend to make a cabled sweater, one of the ubiquitous patterns, but one I like a lot.

But I get distracted by shiny things, like this.



This being more Handmaiden Sea Silk, my celebration for finding a new job. I've taken to wearing scarves a lot. I wear a lot of basic things, like plain shirts and black cardigans, and a bright splash of color makes me look less grim and more put-together, while requiring very little effort. This is an important part, because I don't really want to take the time to get dressed up, and don't really see the point if I'm going to get dirty anyhow. (I have darkroom chemical stains all over my best-fitting pair of jeans currently, but that's not stopping me from wearing them.) I know that knitting scarves is passé, but I'm not that stylish anyhow, and this is for a scarf/wrap that I'll probably start in August or so.

I'm trying to finish some things up before I cast on for yet more new. Now 50% done on a lace scarf that's been an albatross for too long, and soon to start either ripping some socks or finishing them off. I'm never good at resisting the call of the new for long (usually those projects hanging around forever are there for a good reason), but I'll be making an effort to clear the deck at least a little bit over the next month or so.

Whims.

I want to cast on for this hat right now.
(Ravelry link, because the 5 of you who read this are on there anyhow.)

Problems with this idea:
1. I counted, and I already have 12 things in progress. Not kidding. I really feel like I should finish some things up before I get drawn in to the allure of the New! and Shiny!
2. I'm at work, and even if my yarn were here, it would not be looked upon positively for me to be knitting at work.

I broke my camera, so photos may be a little sporadic, which goes nicely with the sporadic posts. It's not fatal damage to the camera, as the issue is just that the batteries fall out of the camera now unless I tape the compartment shut. I need better tape.

I am still waiting. I will emerge from my cave once I hear something, but until then, I'm still pretty jittery. Working on that patience thing.

I got the bug!

I don't have a "real" finished shot of this, but I guarantee it looks a lot like it does while blocking. This scarf was pretty while I knit it, but ok - I get it now - blocking really does make the lace. I'm currently blasting through a pair of socks, but I'm plotting my next lace project (ignore the fact that I already have a lace scarf on the needles, it's not what I'm craving to start.) I've wanted to knit Ene's Scarf forever and a day. I've linked it, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows this one already. I finally think I might attack that project, and the Trellis Scarf which I started and frogged (no thanks to probably choosing the wrong needles and failing to use a lifeline - silk and the 7 into 5 stitch is slippery) are next up on the radar.

And yes, I cast on for a new pair of socks. On a whim, I started knitting the Mockery Socks on Saturday night. I spent the better part of yesterday with needles in my hands, and have zipped through the gusset and am working my way down the foot already.

Today is a day off of work for me. I should be doing other things, but I'm taking advantage of the time off to rest, knit, and regroup. Thanks to some really impressive insomnia and the discovery of Ballykissangel, I've found myself doing a lot of knitting lately. Yesterday was the 5 month anniversary of my dad's death. His birthday, and my former mentor's birthday, were both in the first week of February. Although they're had milestones, I am starting to feel like my old self again. Still, I'm grateful to Netflix and their "watch immediately" feature. Especially when so many BBC programs I missed are available at the click of a button.

Well how about that.

I just finished knitting the neck band on my Orange Crush. It needs a bath, and I have buttons to sew on, but it's done. I'm curious what another good wash will do to the sweater, but overall, I'm really pleased with it.

You might ask why I want such a heavy sweater in SC, and I don't have a good answer, other than that I do get cold, and it would work as outerwear. The color is fantastic. The drop sleeve? Not very flattering, and it fits a little oddly. But I will wear it, because, as I mentioned - I love the color, and sometimes you just need a snuggly sweater.

My choices now are a) to seam up the Cutaway Cardigan I started ages ago, which is probably a good plan, b) to finish up the Cable Yoke sweater that's been marinating beside the couch, or c) to start Mr. Greenjeans. Now, I have to admit, seaming isn't that bad. It's just not as enjoyable to me as knitting, so choice a isn' t the most appealing. However, the sweater is really cute, and it's cool enough to wear it right now. Choice b requires working on another sleeve, which I don't find incredibly motivating, however, there's not that much finishing to the sweater, so I could potentially have another wearable sweater in a relatively short time. Choice c is in some ways the most appealing, because I like novelty. However, it means confronting my confusion as to what flipping size I should knit for myself. I'm guessing the medium, as it gives some ease at the bust, but I'm not sure if the ribbing is really going to take care of the 7 inches of ease that I'll have at the ribcage. Yes, short rows are an option, if I knit a smaller size, but I suspect swatching some more may provide the answers I'm looking for. I get the impression that the sweater model in the photo may be a curvier gal than some of the people on Ravelry who knit the sweater and were complaining about how much the garment pulls in at the waist. For my short-waisted self, this is a good thing.

Photos soon.

Decisions, decisions.

Despite the simple sock and the blanket that are already on the needles (things I can't pick up as I was knitting them while my father was dying), despite the vest that's ALMOST done, despite the cardigan that needs sleeves and a yoke, despite the cardigan that just needs to be seamed...

I'm thinking about starting another sweater. Yup, really. I started swatching for Mr. Greenjeans last night. I've been obsessing about what size to knit, but I think I've accepted that I'm knitting the medium. I think the critical decision with this sweater for me will be where I start the ribbing section - and yes, I'm going to decrease a needle size for the cable and ribbing section as otherwise, the sweater won't have enough shaping on me, and it's a pretty boxy fit. I still need to wash my swatch. I get stitch but not row gauge with one needle, and row but not stitch gauge with the larger needle. I prefer the fabric on the smaller needle, go figure. The yarn's a screaming electric blue color, (Louet Riverstone, color Royal if you're wondering) and I'm not entirely certain about it, but it was a good deal at Webs.

Anyhow. Pretty clearly I haven't been doing a lot of knitting. I haven't been sleeping a lot either. Much of my time I've spent playing with this:

I sometimes impulse shop when I'm anxious (usually for yarn or electronics.) So I have a new iPod nano, in shiny shiny green. And I got a Nike + sport kit, a cool little gadget that allows me to obsessively track my runs using a chip in the shoe and a receiver that plugs into the iPod. Now I like running even more because I make graphs! Yes, I really am that much of a geek, but data is good. There is an annoying flaw in the system and I've lost information for about 3 of my runs so far, but theoretically a fix is in the works.

I've also been obsessively playing word games on Facebook. I am ashamed, but I have been totally sucked in.

I also restocked on coffee.


This weekend I cleaned my house, which was filthy, and I made cookies. I normally go for things that don't require box mixes, cereals, and that sort of thing, but these taste really good. Plus, they allow me to sneak fiber into my son's diet. Hah.

Tomorrow is Monday. I'm not happy that I have to go back to work. This probably sounds terrible, but I'm really tired of well-meaning people asking me if I'm okay. I'm not, honestly, but my way of coping at the moment is by living in denial. Anyhow. Hope everyone has a good week.

Intrigued

I found this sweater in the J.Jill catalog (link provided so you can go check out the details) and I'm finding myself intrigued by the construction. At first, I thought it was just another raglan sweater, but now I'm not so sure how this was made. In any case, I think the look is sort of cute, and since I'm always cold here, but the weather is hot, I'm actually contemplating knitting something like this.

I'm considering Wren (non Ravelry link here.) I'm trying to actually work through some of my stash, and use up some of the yarns I purchased for other projects that I have since rejected as they aren't really going to work on me.

Of course, it would be nice if I actually finished something for a change. Which I am in the process of doing - I picked up Badia again and should be able to finish it this week, perhaps. I also might actually weave in the ends of the Phiaro scarf and iron it, so I can finally call that done. Someday I'll do some seaming and finish up other things, but it's really hard to find a time and place for that. And of course, I might have started another project and bought yarn for another sweater, but we won't talk about that. At least not today. I will tell you that I'm off socks for a while, and I really don't feel like knitting them right now.

In the meantime, I'm off to make a grocery list. Ground turkey meatballs and spaghetti for dinner tonight, and I have no idea what else for the rest of the week. Suggestions welcome - seriously!

And everyone, please read this. Consider it a very tiny rant on my part.

In search of a knitting renaissance.

I think I've gotten stuck in a knitting rut. I knit socks almost exclusively last year, or at least for several months worth. It got a bit dull. I'm midway through 3 socks right now, and I'm not especially excited about any of them. The one that's getting the most attention is a simple striped sock in Trekking, but only because I knit round and round on it while reading or watching TV.

Exciting, isn't it? I feel the same way. Actually, I like the sock, and I'll happily wear a mismatched stripy pair pretty happily, but it's not mind-altering knitting.

Cat Bordhi's new book is pretty cool though, speaking of mind-altering. I'll go back to her patterns, and I even knit one of the sample socks, but I forgot to take a photo. Plus I want to make a second one, as a baby gift for an unknown recipient. I do think the letter stitchmarkers she suggests are a good idea, as she structures her patterns in kind of a bizarre way.

I've moved on to working on sweaters, primarily cardigans. Here's where things get tricky. I know that a plain sweater is something I'm most likely to wear, and will be the most flattering on me. And I love cardigans, especially in this climate. But I have a tendency to stall out.
See?



All I have to do is knit that last button band, with buttonholes, sew up the underarms, and presto change-o, I'll have a finished sweater. It will need blocking, but that's not an issue. Not even an evening worth of knitting (ok, planning the buttonholes might be a bit of an adventure, but even so... And Tangled Yoke, which last looked like this:


Still essentially looks the same, as long as you imagine a longer plain knit section. At some point I need to start the sleeves, but I can't find my dpns right now. Whoops.

I'm thinking a lace project is in order. I have a giant hank of multi-colored Helen's Lace that's been marinating in stash for a while. Juno Regina looks like a nice project to use it on, even though I know it's going to flash and pool, especially in the straight portion. However, I think I can deal with it, as the final product looks like something I might actually consider wearing over a black shirt with jeans.

In other news, I had a horrible day in the lab today. Anything that might conceivably go wrong went wrong, but on the bright side, I didn't tell anyone off. Small victories.

I'm either going to go knit or wind yarn, I haven't decided which. I ordered some lace Addi's recently, and I'm holding off on starting knitting lace until I get them in. After which, I think it's going to be Juno Regia and then Ene's Scarf, maybe Trellis (attempt number 1000) later. Who knows. Tomorrow is another day. One can only hope it's a better one.