rekal type stuff

i cut up a plastic bag to begin stashing for a knitted purse project. i think i'll do annie modesit's aline bag again, possibly omitting the lace, as i think it would get lost in the various colors of the recyled plastic bags anyway.


i started on cindy, using a front piece to reswatch. i always swatch and get guage, then pull out the needles to work on something else, no notes, no nothing, i forget what i used to get guage. so then, i have to swatch all over again when i'm really ready to start.

swatcheroo

here is my recycled yarn swatch, form of a sweater sleeve. after some debate on blocked vs. unblocked, i think i'm happy with guage and have gone ahead with this first sleeve of te rosada from the winter 04 ik issue.


just a couple of setbacks including several cast ons because i couldn't figure out at first how to purl directly after my yarn over without losing that yarn over in that next stitch. and i purled a rs row that i didn't notice until a few rows later. i panicked a little here as i worried about ripping back and picking up a lace pattern. but the pattern is simple enough that it turned out fine. i am now to the sleeve increases. i'll tack the shot of it here on the end so i can see it near the cami/cowl swatch of the previous post.

for color
for texture

splish swatch

i've been swatching with my recycled sweater yarn. while the stitch is super neat and the guage is right on, the result is not terribly lacy and since that is the whole point of the cowl and cami pattern, i need to find a better match. of course, all of this caused me to fall in love with the cowl and cami pattern and i must add the mohair/silk yarn to my shopping list. kidsilk haze or douceur et soie seem to be the yarns of choice for this project.

the search continues for a good recycled yarn pattern. perhaps this one from interweave knits, winter 2004.

the other foot(s)

oh yeah, a few days ago i finished a project. i present to you wendy's toe up socks in [in]action. they were so damn big to knit. endless it seemed. as it turns out i could have shaved a few stitches off for a snugger fit. overall, gratifying results for a first set.

click for closeup and focus but lesser color

now that i've knit one pair, i feel the need to have socks on the needles at all times. here is edition 2. after studying the picture of the almost argyle sock on i'm knitting as fast as i can, i made up a little chart to try with what else? -the toe up pattern (it's the only one i have at the moment). i will endeavor to find a pattern for and try the thing where you add on the heel at the end. i think annie modesit has something like that for purchase (sidebar link).

sock 1 and provisional cast on for sock 2

so much quicker than the last; smaller socks, fatter guage, pattern to keep me going. i'm going to try the negative texture on the instep of the next sock to see if i like how it lays better. one of 'em's gonna get ripped depending on which i like more. these are coming out of the ecco zitron merino yarn, gifted to me by mom at christmas time.

in case you other knitters of ugg were wondering how they would fare; these have been washed several times over (cold, low heat tumble). i don't always adhere to washing instructions, as you may have surmised by the felting incident.

and since we're on feet. i thought i would finally get around to photographing the ugg booties i made for bea ages ago. i started these when snb was still taking up outside seating at the newington starbucks. bea has outgrown them now and i think i'll toss them in an envelope for the girl cousin back west that is even tinier than she is.

i am so sick....

of all this snow!

it's coming down again. maybe i should change the window decor to coax spring along. click for a closeup. visit karen for more pics.

but it's been a good week anyway. snb was fantastic. wich is of course fantastic...but not. karen and myself were there and chris brought along a guest of honor, one of her spinning wheels. you see the first time i tried spinning it was tricky and humbling and i could tell myself that this was something i wouldn't be into. but now this week of the march 9 snb, i am finally succumbing to the charm of the craft.

karen sat down for a spell at the wheel after chris got it all set. being a kind sort, karen asked me if i'd a like a turn -repeatedly. i was resisting for a good part of the evening, frogging away on my lion brand hoodie, sticky green acrylic piling up beside me. but, karen took to the wheel so naturally, only her second time. she was enjoying herself so much, positively gleeful i'd say. turning that light as air fluff into a wonderful thick and thin, and it was getting close to 8:30.

i thought i was safe. i couldn't possibly enjoy the success karen was having. i'd fumble and frustrate and the wheel envy that grew in my heart by the second would subside. so, as karen tied her boots back on, cuddly mini merino skein in hand, i sat. drat that chris for becoming such a good teacher! she honed her instruction strategies with karen and ensnared me with her step by step approach. it was. so. fun.

you spin me right round baby.

a post in honor of dad's birthday

Bon anniversaire papet!

on aimerait bien etre avec toi, papa. tout pleins de gros bisous de ta fille et de tes petits enfants qui t'aiment.

i would have liked one picture of us together, but this is the best i could find. it had to be the boat, why? because, of course, that is where dad and i have had our best times. from olympia, we sailed around puget sound, visiting all the different islands; sometimes taking road trips instead of boat trips. highlights were fresh oyster dinners cooked in the galley, or sausage barbecue, jaunts in 'noisette' the fatty knees (the last picture was cropped specifically to keep the sight of the dinghy bobbing behind us in the shot).

here dad shows how cool he is by jamming out to a mixed tape of the cure (in case the walkman wasn't enough to date the pictures for you.)

memorable times included sitting as still as we could, in the deepening evening, among the pines of one of the islands (dad will remember the name), as deer approached and eventually encircled us, going about their business of nibbling among the shrubs. this happened quite in spite of our taking our shoes off to walk more stealthily. we meant to be quiet, but i doubt the indian braves accomplished that by uttering ouch and ooh on every pebble and sucking wind between their teeth over an encounter with a pinecone.

other lessons learned? don't light fireworks from a floating dock unless you desire to have your eyebrows remodeled by singeing (i think dad stayed on the boat for that little episode as he has some sense). and, no matter how much you want your father to be right, don't let him convince you that there exists such a thing as a sea potato; telling yourself that it must be a species in addition to the sea cucumber, whose existence you are sure about. remember english is a second language and it just might be possible that dear old dad (but not that old dad, don't worry) mixed up his veggies in translation.

happy birthday dad.

stitches, but not knit ones

i spent the rest of saturday making a yarn pail inspired by the bucket i saw on split yarn. i used a pair of corduroys that had been passed on to me. i was a little dismayed at first that a size 10 fit me so well. but that was a couple of months ago and when i wore them recently, they were too large and dumpy and i was afraid 'what not to wear' was out to get me around every corner (i wish).

all of this made me more than happy to recycle these duds in the form of the interior lining to my yarn pail. i had picked out some nice home fabric at the knitter's breakfast but didn't end up purchasing any. still, i couldn't shake the mood to make my crafty carry-yarn. so i ended up scavenging a decorator pillow i had from ikea that spent too much time on the floor next to the bed. i loved the fabric when i saw it and had to take it home, but it never really found a place and it wasn't comfy anyway.
under the scissors it went. the only unfortunate thing is that i ended up with more seams than i care for, and i would have preferred it if the cuts allowed me to have the flowers grow up and down rather than sideways. also i added handles for ease of take along to stitch n' bitch. that makes it kind of a tote/bucket, which isn't as whimsy as the original but i'm pleased with the result anyway (next time i'll try some lower profile handles).

a cheerful bag to be sure. now i can leave my knitting out in the living room and not be grossed out by the ugly crafter's choice bag, or the lot of balls strewn about everywhere. it's big enough and pretty enough to toss everything in and slide toward the corner. ahh... that's better... maybe some actual knitting next post.

browse 'till you're sick of it

saturday morning was spent at the knitter's breakfast in cromwell. it was fun enough. there were a lot of people. the checkout lines stayed lengthy for a very long time. i didn't leave an event that was supposed to wrap at 10 until noon. every time i headed out, i decided i'd rather browse some more than stand in line. kc was of the same mind so we bumped into each other frequently.

you would think that all of the time spent among the isles would make my shopping basket overflow with goods but i was very restrained. i chose very specific items for very specific projects. a little accent yarn for tigger and some aran for miss dashwood. also, some fabric to make a bucket inspired by split yarn. while the browsing did not cause my basket to burst, it did afford me the opportunity to change my mind on said choices several times over. by the time i left i had no idea what i had settled on. and even what i did settle on ended up being edited at the register.



karen joked with the man behind her that the person in front of her always held up the line. and wouldn't you know it, the register gal asked me in the form of a statement "you didn't have them measure this fabric, did you." i got it off the remnant table, i figured they priced the remnant, no i did not have it measured. so, i cut the fabric loose. i decided since i had cycled through so many picks already, i might as well come back another time to change my mind some more...

that didn't keep me from getting real busy when i got home...

drawer

yep, been looking at that sidebar over there, it's not there just to be pretty. so i ditched, swatched and added.

graduating to the swatching phase are cindy and tigger. i swatched the lace camisole too but the yarn was kinky and it was coming out large. so, after i wash that first ball of yarn, i'll try again on smaller needles. i have this to say for now, the lace was fun, even at 10p.



and hoping to make the cut in the future are the following projects: annie modesitt's easy lace toe up sock, knitty's miss dashwood baby hat, ik's cable eights tank, rowan's hike, weekend knitter's fluffy lace camisole and pull-off cowl, a lace scarf or shawl, and the all over rib jacket from this winter's vk.

try another knitalong?

scroll down to store bought sweater paragraph

i have this yarn in the format of most of a sweater and a ripped sleeve. i have this pattern in mind from weekend knits. are they a good match? i think i need to join to find out.

kip recap

snb was a blast as usual. there was a pretty large number of us at starbucks and i gather there was a good group at sugarcube too; it makes me wonder if there was anyone left to go to abc? i hope so because that really is more convenient for me -usually.

anyway, we talked about special edition snbs like knitting with the kids one saturday, taking advantage of the outdoor concert series in the parks this summer (bushnel and elizabeth, even a trip to the shore to harkness), knitters breakfasts, etc. it really is a fun group and i guess we like each other enough that we want to have even more fun together!

knit in public

click pic for companion shot.

we're fortunate enough in these parts to have several groups meeting up. tonight alone, you could clack your sticks at the sugarcube in cromwell, the atlanta bread co. in newington, or the starbucks in avon. so many choices, so few corporeal incarnations. i'll be seeing those who find themselves at starbucks tonight, 7p -ish ;)