Promises Promises

I've got to make this quick as I've only 13 minutes of internet left tonight (my computer internet connection drops at 9:30 to keep me from staying up waaay too late every night!). I finished a scarf and I'll post pictures tomorrow! I know, I keep saying I'll post more pictures. This time, I really mean it. And I'll call you too.

Anyway, this was an easy and quick knit. I took the Noro Silk Garden 241 that wasn't working in my stripes scarf and started a scarf with it. I took a chance and ordered two more balls from Webs, and it turned out to be the same dye lot (which doesn't actually apparently mean the colors will be the same). I used the Gentle Stripes scarf (ravelry pattern here), though I cast on 28 instead of 24 stitches. I just did the pattern for a long time (just about 3 balls worth, minus the stuff I had to pull out to make the color joins work). The scarf is long enough and wide enough (oh damn, now I have to go find my tape measure, hold on). It's about 6.5" wide, which I like since it's cold where I live and I really need a WARM scarf, and it's about 60" long. Knit on size 7 Takumi bamboo straights, if you can believe that. I got to the end and bound off in pattern just to see what it looked like. I didn't do my usual slipped stitch edge that I like to do on scarves, but I like it, it contributes to a real rustic look on this scarf, which works well with the yarn, I think. It's supposed to be wicked cold (that's Massachusetts speak for "really" cold) tomorrow, so I'm excited to have a nice warm and pretty scarf. I'm going to do a hat to match, probably this one (ravelry link).

I wouldn't say I adore NSG. It's more that I *want* to adore it...this colorway doesn't do it for me 100%, and it's very different in real life than the web pictures suggest, so I really will post pictures soon. Tomorrow. But I've only got four more minutes online, so I'm going to hit post.

FO: Baby Hat

I actually got this finished a few days ago! This is actually a different hat from the one I cast on but for some reason I was so bummed out about it, I had to frog it and restart. The fact that I'm getting NO SLEEP is perhaps contributing to the funk I've been in. I'm working on pulling out of it, it's all okay, it's just the winter, the fact that we're all sick, and that my lovely daughter has been up screaming in the middle of the night every night for the last...well, really long time. NO GOOD, as my younger son would say. Anyway, on to the hat!

As usual, I winged it, and when it looked like it was going to be big enough, I decided that it was going to be a gift to some friends who are leaving on 2/4 for China to adopt their daughter. She's older than my daughter but about the same size, so I'm hoping it'll fit her!

You may recognize the yarn, this was the last of it. Um, I'm not sure how much I had left, okay just weighed the hat and it's 39 g, and I think I had about 10 g left over. I knit this on size 7s - the original size 7 circs that I bought to knit fruit hats on when I (re)started knitting over 4 years ago. Aww, nostalgia! Anyway, most of the hat was done on those and switched to KP Options to Magic Loop the decreases as apparently I don't even own size 7 DPKs, which I was going to use! Yes, I *can* knit in the round on DPKs, I don't prefer to. I think I cast on 72 stitches, and knit it for a while until I was worried that I was going to run out of yarn, and then I decreased down to 8? stitches (good lord, I really used to have a better memory than this), knit about 30 rows, pulled the yarn through the stitches and tied a knot with it. You know, just a basic little roll-brimmed hat. (The reason I have no brain cells left is the model above. Thanks, sweetie!) It could probably stand to be a bit longer, but it's not really a hat for warmth, just for cuteness and head protection. This is the first girl after three boys for this family, and I think it's really cute. The baby shower is tomorrow, so I'm going to wrap it up with an iTunes gift card and call it a present.

So, you know you're a knitter when you say to your husband "I'm just going to step into the closet and weigh this hat" and he barely looks up from the computer and just says "uh huh." Or when he comes into the kitchen to find you measuring one of your mixing bowls and trying it on your head to see if it'll work as a hat blocker so you don't have to spend the $36 for one of these (even though these are really cool).

In other news...scarves are plugging along, maybe I'll take some pictures tomorrow. I'm cold, so I really want at least one of these done. I've got a couple of hats to do as well, and then I think I need to focus on SOCKS SOCKS SOCKS!

I also think 2009 is the year of the sweater! I want to knit myself a sweater. Something warm and yet flattering...Some of my friends have made 241, which looks pretty...Or this one...Or Vivian (except I'm not sure I have the figure for it)....Or the Central Park Hoodie...

So yeah, a sweater. MAYBE.

Perhaps I was too ambitious.

So, when I had my grand idea for my service knitting, I totally forgot that we had one of THOSE days planned. We had a play date this morning here, so I had to do some cleaning...we went straight from the play date to the "big gym" (as my kids call my gym) where I had one of those runs that just feels like you're running through molasses. Then we hit the grocery store (still on my "nothing but perishables" kick), and then we had the "Big Show" at the kids' gym. The boys are taking a sports class and today was the last day for the semester, so they put on a demo. It was terribly cute! But no knitting happened. We got home, and I had the kids while DH did some work upstairs, then clean up.

So, I cast on the thing, I knit about three rows and then my lurking headache blossomed, and I was reminded about how I got no sleep last night, what with two sick boys, a teething daughter, and the final straw, a barfing cat.

I feel lame. My new goal is that I won't knit anything else until I get this done (and it will be done by the end of the month). Now I'm taking my sleepy, achy, lame-o self to bed.

Happy MLK/National Service Day

As we prepare for the change that is coming tomorrow (and excuse me while I squeal like a little girl), I'm thinking about Obama's call to service. I started this blog in the spirit of service, and it's still important to me, I've just yet to figure out how to fit it in right now. I decided to join in with Mommy + Knitter's goal of one baby hat a month, so my plan is to cast one on today and try and get that done. I'm also wanting to do somethings for Project Linus. I think I need to scale back my plans, as an actual blanket with a simple edging is preferable to that gorgeous blanket with the complicated edging that I don't actually finish. I keep thinking about how I want my kids to act, and reminding myself that I must lead by example.

So, I'll check back in tonight with the results!

Would It Be Wrong?

To start YET ANOTHER scarf, that is? I'm nearing the finish line with Just Enough Ruffles, but I'm about halfway through my last purl row, meaning I've got another 300 stitches to purl. And it's a purl-bind-off. Why is purling more awkward than knitting? The scarf is all scrunched up on the needle, but I think it's going to be really pretty.

I just would love to start the striping scarf to see how it's going to look. I decided on which yarn to get. I have to say, the yarn looks quite different in person than on the screen. I'm not loving the colors, but maybe it'll be a gift. Ha ha, start my Christmas knitting NOW, right?

That would mean FOUR scarves on the needles at one time, that's a lot. Maybe I should finish the Ruffles.

Knitting and the Internet

I don't have much knitting content today. I knit a few rows on the Just Enough Ruffles scarf, which isn't really that interesting to blog about. I knit a bunch of stitches. I purled a bunch of stitches. I wrapped a few here and there (thankfully I reread the pattern before this, because I almost did it completely wrong). Lots of knitting and purling, not much progress, when you've got 200 stitches in a row. And that's *before* the ruffle. :)

My on-line life has always been a really big part of my actual life, since college. This is sort of cool because I actually went to college in the dark ages before there was the Web. Yeah. We wrote papers on rocks with ashes from the fires that heated our tents. My first computer was an up-to-the-minute fancy-schmancy Mac Plus. I had ONE MEG of Ram. I had an EXTERNAL DISK DRIVE to run big programs. I did write a paper here and there on it, I mean, I got my degree so I must have, right? Mainly I played hours of Tetris and engaged in the precursor to chat rooms. Some of my very best friends, over 20 years later, came from that thing. So, I've always had a fondness for internet communities. I was on usenet starting in about 1995, and have a group of friends that have migrated from usenet to a Yahoo group to a private group, as well as LiveJournal and Facebook. Today I also got sucked into Twitter and Plurk. Like I need another time sink? All this to say, the internet, and social networking are a large part of my life, and have been for a really long time.

It's amusing to me at times how big a part the interent plays in my knitting as well. It's different from the other sorts of stuff I do. I'm on Ravelry, of course, though nowhere near as much as I could be. I'm in a bunch of groups, but don't participate all that much. I read some knitting blogs (and can always use suggestions for more!). Mainly the internet provides me with inspiration for yarn, projects, and tools. I love cruising around Ravelry looking at people's projects, and it's amazing to me how much time and effort people take to share their creativity with total strangers. What an amazing gift. It's so incredible to see what people are doing, both the kinds of projects that I long to do myself, as well as the stuff where I think "man, I'd never knit that but WOW."

So, no real point to this post other than to take a moment and feel thankful, both for all the amazing connections and friends I have in my life, and for all the amazing creativity that's out there and inspires me. I'm a lucky woman.

Knitting Annoyances

So my first annoyance is that my awesome Foliage hat has grown as I've worn it (I have been wearing it a lot because it's cold in my house), so it's now too big. I've turned up the ribbed brim so it's no longer in my eyes, but now it's just a tad too short. Grr. I'm not sure what to do about this, if anything.

My second annoyance is with my Noro. Knots. And the big annoyance with Noro knots is that they make zero effort to join two pieces in color sequence, so you either have a huge discrepency in your color, or you have to cut and wind. I chose to do the latter because I knew that it would bug the sh*t out of me to have such an abrupt color change. So much Noro's genius is in how the color shifts happen, so it's frustrating. It also means that I'm down a bunch of yarn, and I've got to hope that what I've ordered from Webs will not be drastically different. The scarf is really pretty, though honestly, I'm not *adoring* this colorway (#241, for one thing, my colors look totally different in real life than what I'm seeing on the screen). It's more muddy and muted than I'm liking. I'll try and do pictures tonight.

Speaking of colors looking different on the screen vs. in-life, after I made my Webs purchase, I checked out Dream in Color Smooshy on Ravelry, and the reviews were mixed. One issue mentioned was this one, that the colors look amazing on the screen but are way more muted in person. I looked for the yarn I bought in people's projects and essentially it's a blue yarn, which is totally different from how it looks on the screen. As gorgeous as the Lunar Zazzle is on-line, if that's not actually how it looks, and if all those Rav projects are a more accurate representation, I knew I'd be wicked disappointed with it, so I called them. They haven't shipped my order yet, so I swapped out the Lunar Zazzle for the Pansy Golightly. Also looking at the Rav projects, the colors look way more muted on there than on the Webs page, but it's much more purple, which is much more a ME colorway than the bright blue. (Okay, it just occurred to me to look around in people's stash, and yeah, I made the right choice. It does look like there's a wide variation of shades in this.) The gentleman I spoke with said they'd be shipping in the next couple of days...now I place my order on the 8th, so not having it even shipped until the 14th seems kind of a long delay. YARN YARN MUST HAVE YARN. *ahem* Man, I wish Webs carried Koigu.

I did a few rows on the Just Enough Ruffles scarf...it's hard to feel motivated when it's not going to be warm enough to wear the coat it goes with for a couple months at least, probably longer.

And, in life outside of knitting (is there such a thing?), dude, I'm tired. My lovely daughter is up way too much at night and my lovely younger son has a croupy cough so he was up a ton too. I'm setting myself a challenge, to purchase only the perishables for the next month, to use up the stuff we've got stockpiled in the pantry and freezer. Tonight, I used up 5 cans from the pantry! I'm making crock pot chicken, so I used 2 cans of corn, 1 can of black beans, 2 cans of Del Monte Zesty Mild Green Chiles (wow, I just noticed how much salt those have in them, hmm), and frozen chicken thighs. About a half hour before serving, I'll add a block of cream cheese. Normally I do this with jarred salsa instead of the canned tomato things, but I had them on hand, and I don't have the salsa I normally use (Trader Joe's Peach salsa). So, we'll see how it turns out. I'm quite sure the kid won't eat it, but they can have the rice. I love the crockpot.

No self-control, no, none at all.

So yesterday afternoon, I bundled the kids up and got us out to the post office to send off some knitted love. Then we had to head out to Harvard to pick up our meat (for real, we belong to a meat CSA, just one of the many awesome things I love about living out here), and I thought, HEY, I'll just, you know, swing by the LYS to see if they have any Noro Silk Garden to go along with what I've got already." With three kids. Yeah, I worry about my sanity too. But I had the baby in my gorgeous new carrier, and there's a tiny little play room that the boys disappeared into, so it was actually not too hard.

Their supplies of Noro were really limited, and the lovely lady working there mentioned that they aren't going to be restocking any time soon, because they're focusing on Spring and Summer yarns. (Hard to believe, with 4-6 inches of snow hitting us tomorrow that Spring *is* coming some day!) I did make it out of there without buying anything (though now I'm wishing I'd gotten another needle gague because I can't find mine). So, last night I did a little shopping...

When I order from Webs, I tend to order big because of the discount, and this was no exception. I bought a bunch of Silk Garden, figuring it'll either work for scarves or felted hats or *something*. I got two different things to try with the yarn I already have, plus yarn for another scarf plus more yarn in the same colorway as the scarf I am currently making (not a stripey scarf). So, um, yeah, a lot of Silk Garden.

Then, some sock yarn just happened to drop into my cart as well! *innocent look* No really, officer, it just happened, no idea how! First this came to me, in Clematis. I'm excited to try a yarn with some Tencel in it. Then, I saw this. I just fell in love with the Lunar Zazzle color. I also totally fell in love with the Pansy Golightly, but I thought I'd try one skein first and see what I think. It gets some mixed reviews, so we'll see. And then I called back and added a couple of skeins of Kureyon too, for an hat. It's fun to spend birthday money!

So, just for my own notes, on needles (and hooks) right now:

1. Lace doily
2. Crochet edging for baby blanket
3. Noro SG Scarf
4. Casting on Just Enough Ruffles tonight
5. Second Sock
6. Big lace project that's sort of stuck at the moment until I get enough brain cells to be able to focus.

I *think* that's it. Once I get the scarf and hat obsession worked through a bit, I need to do some more focusing on socks, as I'm in dire need.

No Noro Love Today

I took the yarn from my failed 1x1 scarf and repurposed it. The green/purple (241) is going to be a scarf for me. I've a small concern that I don't actually have anywhere near enough yarn for a scarf, given that it takes *four* skeins to make the 1x1 ribbed scarf, and I have two, but have I ever let something like common sense stop me? No! So, a scarf it is. We'll see how it all works out, eh?

I took one of the other skeins to my LYS to see if they had anything that would work, and they had one skein of something that would, which, you know, isn't enough. So I didn't get anything and I'm rethinking this. Of course, I didn't write down the number of the colorway I thought would work to order from somewhere else. I think I'm going to order a whole bunch of stuff from Webs and see if I can make something else work. These scarves are so awesome, and fun to knit...I could *even* do some Christmas knitting, right?

I'm going to order a couple other knitting related things. A hat shaper, in the bell cloche style, in a small, for me. A mat for blocking things. And this, which is technically not knitting-related, except that I drink a lot of seltzer, so well, I don't know. It's connected.

Okay, clearly I am too tired to be allowed access to keyboard. (One might wonder why I think access to a keyboard with a credit card on hand is a good idea.)

That second Noro scarf?

Ain't happenin'. I pulled out the yarn to start it today, got going and thought "um, these two colorways don't really work together." I kept going and thought "Ugh, they really don't work." Consulted with DH who agreed. So, I ripped it out. The issue is that 272 (listed as grey and lime) is a very cool grey, and there's a real teal in it too. Haven't found the lime yet. 241, the purple and green, is very warm, and the green is really olivey, so that's not going to work at all. I'll get to the LYS sometime and see if they have anything that might go with either of them. I'd like the 241 to go with something to match my new coat. The other colorway might go well with something really bright, that would really pop with, say, a black wool coat. Which I do happen to own. And since where I live seems to be a snowbelt (just far enough away from Boston), and I'll be here for the foreseeable future, I'm going to need scarves, lots of them.

And hats!!


























Sorry about the craptastic picture, it's from my Facebook page, taken with my phone (neither I nor my house are that yellow in real life).

You can't tell, really, but this is Malabrigo Chunky in Olive (which works wonderfully with the aforementioned new coat). The pattern is Foliage, and it's an awesome pattern! Super-easy and QUICK. I am a SAHM to three kids, and I did this in ONE day, so maybe 3-4 hours total? The whole pattern in the chunky is something like 42 rows. It also is long enough for me, which isn't always the case when I knit hats to pattern spec. I think it's going to be a nice warm hat too. I did my Stella in the Malabrigo Worsted and I'm unconvinced it's going to be really warm, it just feels so thin. Of course, it sleeted and poured all day today, so I haven't had a chance to test drive it. :)

I pulled out my Branching Out and then got nailed with a migraine and had to lie down in order to avoid vomiting, so I didn't get much done on that. I am obsessed with the Noro Scarf and I'm trying to figure out if I can get to the yarn store TOMORROW to find something that might work with the purple/green. I also bought Just Enough Ruffles, since I need something pretty mindless, and anything that has you start with casting on 200 stitches and doing a few rows of stockinette is about my speed right now. Just have to wind the rest of the Malabrigo Worsted Emerald. (Which doesn't go with my coat.) (Yes, I do like things matchy-matchy, though I've eased way up in the recent years.)

FO: Trinnit Scarf

Recently, one of my internets lost her fiancé to Neurofibromatosis. I felt called to knit her this scarf, and I'm hoping it can be a sort of hug for her. It sounds odd to talk about the joy I felt knitting this, but I did, and I'm hoping some of that energy is transmitted in the scarf, and might give some comfort in this painful time. Godspeed, P.

And on to the knitting. This is the same 1x1 Noro Silk Garden Scarf that is detailed by Brooklyn Tweed, that many folks around the blogosphere have knit. Here's my humble version.

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, 252 (black/blue) and 282 (green/purple).
Needles: KP Options, size 7, short cord.
Pattern: I did the pattern as set out by Jared. I'm not sure I did it the way everyone else did, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out. So, I cast on 39 stitches. I slipped the first stitch purlwise with the yarn held to the back (basically, so I wasn't then bringing the yarn back to start the K stitch between the slipped stitch and the K stitch). I then started with a K stitch, and did the K1 P1 ribbing. When I got to the final two stitches, I did the same stitch twice, so on the "right side" (which starts Sl1, K1), I ended with two K stitches. I then turned the work, Sl1 (with the yarn held towards the front as if to P), P1, rib to the end, and end with two P stitches. To carry the yarn up, I would bring the yarn that I had just knit two rows with to the front, on top (if that makes sense), and sl the first stitch, and then start knitting with the other yarn. I actually would swap the two balls I was using back and forth. Of these two edging pictures, the one on top is the "right side" and the one on the bottom is the "wrong side." (Yes, I'm deliberately using scare quotes because there isn't really a right and wrong side, the right side is just the one where you're starting with the new color.) To finish it, I did the last two rows of the dark and then did the bind-off row.

This was such a fun knit. It was easy enough that I didn't need a pattern, but had enough going on that I had to think a tad, but not so much that I got confused. Yes, my life is such that a 1x1 ribbing scarf really is the right level of complexity for me. I really really hope she likes the colors, as it's so personal, picking out colors for someone, especially when you know them more on-line. I've never understood before what people meant about something just flying off the needles but this did.

I won't mention the fact that I have four more balls in different colors to make one for myself.

Courage

When I think about what knitting teaches me, the word courage keeps coming to my mind. It seems a bit of an odd thing, really. I mean, courage? Why would one need courage for knitting? My need for courage stems in part from my overdeveloped need for control in life. If you've ever heard of the Myers-Briggs, I'm a J. I really like control, I really like knowing how things are going to work, I tend (perhaps) towards anxiety. It all fits. So a craft like knitting can be a tad scary for someone like me.

Seriously, you take some sticks and some string, put in a lot of time and effort, and you might get something amazing, or you might get something that doesn't work at all. Yes, there are things you can do to minimize your chances of failure, but I am not convinced you really have complete control. Well, some knitters might, but I am not that good. For someone like me, a control freak and recovering perfectionist, this might cause some...anxiety.

For me, every new project takes the courage to try something, to put myself out there. You can't hide, you know? You can't say "well, gosh, you know, if it all works out, wouldn't it be great to have some new socks." When I start a new project, I am announcing my intention to the universe around me that, gosh darn it, not only would I like some new socks, but I'm going to make them myself! It might not work out. I might not finish them (this is always a real possibility, especially with a project where you make one, and then you have to make another just like it!). I might finish them but have utterly screwed them up. I might have done them well but just not like the way the yarn pooled. Really, anything can happen when you cast on.

The nice thing is that the stakes aren't really all that high. Suppose I do mess up those socks entirely? What's the loss? Some of my time, maybe some money. I'm sure to have learned something along the way, and hopefully enjoyed the process, even if the product fails. So, knitting gives me a place to practice the courage I need in the rest of my life. It takes courage to live authentically and honestly, to open your heart to love. It takes courage to commit to something or someone, to get married, to have kids. Some days, it takes courage just to leave the house. When you truly and deeply love, you open yourself to hurt. When you truly make yourself known, you face the possibility of rejection. But you also have the potential for something really glorious - the possibility of being truly known and loved, the possibility of truly knowing and loving other people, which is, I believe, pretty much the whole point.

So, when I knit, I am opening myself up to the possibility that I might fail. But I'm also taking the risk that I might not! Sure, I might have to start the same project two three four times. Sure, I might get most of the way into a hat and realize that it's just not going to fit the intended recipient. Sure, trying something new can be hard, it takes time to learn. But in the end, I do learn, I do get better, and sometimes I even get some really beautiful objects. Things I can give away, or wear with joy. And it really doesn't get much better than that.

FOs!

Or perhaps this post would be better titled HATS HATS HATS!! (I gotta make this quick as my poor little boo is sick and just getting up from her nap.) So, I've been making hats. It IS winter, so this isn't too crazy. All of these were knit in the round on my Denise Interchangeables, and then Magic Looped on my Options.

In this picture, the top hat is for my dad. This is knit from the Marsan Watchcap pattern. I really like this pattern, but I'm perplexed by her gauge. I used a bulky wool, (Araucania Azapa), and cast on 88 stitches, and this hat will definitely fit a very large man's head with no trouble. The yarn is just delicious! I love it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I'm clearly in a kettle-dyed place right now. :) I didn't follow her row counts, exactly, because my row gauge was different from hers, but the essentials are the same. This is a clever pattern, where you do the cuff in the twisted rib, and then turn it inside out (and switch your needles, which I didn't realize at first because it wasn't written in the pattern but I figured it out!), and knit the rest of the hat, so your cuff is in pattern with the rest of the hat. I really like the pattern. I am really excited to send this one off to my dad. Oh, I am not sure how much of the skein I used, maybe two-thirds?

The bottom two hats are both from Stella's Hat, and are both in Malabrigo Worsted. I believe that the Blue is Azul Bolita, which will be perfect for my sister. The green is Emerald, and is for me. Each hat took just over 1/2 of the 100g skein. There are two more skeins of that which are destined to become the Just Enough Ruffles scarf. I knit the blue hat first. I made it a bit longer than I should have, so on the top decreases, I took out the four knit-all-around rows, and I think the length should be perfect! On the green one, I made it a bit shorter and put the knit-all-around rows, and I think if I make it again, I'd actually do knit-all-around rows in between all the decrease rows to get the top bigger. It pulls more than I'd like. I think I also knit these on two different needle sizes...I am thinking I knit the blue one on 7s and the green one on 8s, as it feels looser on my head. This is a wonderful hat, the yarn is beyond lovely, and the colors are just gorgeous. I just love how it looks! No, I'm not posting a picture, I need a haircut. My only issue is that I finished this and immediately went out and bought a new winter coat, which is in a completely different green, so I'm going to need another hat. This one will go wonderfully with my black wool coat, and since it's definitely a lighter-weight hat, that's fine, and the scarf will look cute with that coat too. You know, the scarf that I haven't even started yet. Gonna look so cute.

Okay, with this hat below, this was knit for my BIL (my husband's sister's husband). He also has a large noggin, so this took some work. This is also the Marsan watchcap, but the yarn is totally different, it's Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in Ash. This comes in 50g balls, and I used about 1.5 balls. So, the pattern calls for 80 stitches for a smaller hat, and 88 for a men's large. Now, I knit my BIL a hat last year that fit my husband (who also has a huge head, huh, this is a theme amongst the men in my family), but was too small for him, so he's definitely got a HUGE head. I cast on 96 stitches and worked about 4 inches and tried it on my husband and it was just too small. So, I frogged it, and tried again with 108 stitches. Yes, 20 more stitches than the pattern calls for! I was so worried it was also going to be too small, but when I finished it, it fit him perfectly, and goes over his ears, which he wanted! I think this is a really nice hat (err, am I allowed to say that about my own work?!). The yarn is really gorgeous, it's not as soft as the Araucania or the Malabrigo, but it's pretty darn soft, and hopefully, it'll be warm for him. They live in Philly, so it doesn't get as cold as it does here (I think, others can correct me if I'm wrong). The other change I made in this pattern is that I decreased on a 6-count instead of on the 4-count that the pattern calls for.


So, now I'm still chugging on the Noro scarf (I'll post a bunch of pictures and tell how I do the edges in a different post). I don't know if I'm doing it "correctly" but it looks good to me. I've also got one skein of Malabrigo Chunky in Olive, which will look awesome with my new coat, but I'm worried it's not enough length. I was thinking of doing a simple ribbed beanie or something, since I don't think I have the length to do anything fancy. I'm pattern-hunting right now. I also got some more Noro Silk Garden to do a scarf for me too. I can totally understand the obsession with this scarf, it's such an awesome knit. Pictures to come.

Then maybe I'll get back to my Falling Leaves and my sock. And all my other projects.

I have a fairly large sum of birthday money, and while it's far more than even I could spend on yarn, I think I'm going to get a blocking mat, and possible a hat shaper, as I'm still dying to do some felted hats. I emailed them and they said these work really well for blocking knit and knit/felted hats. I think I'll get the Bell Cloche. I was lucky enough to receive blocking wires and pins for Christmas, so I'm really set in the gear department! It might be jumping the gun a bit to get some tools for items I haven't made yet...but I do love tools!

Happy New Year (almost!)

I am still "on vacation" with my in-laws. As most parents of young children know, going away with your small kids isn't actually a vacation really, it's more just a change of location. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but it's not sitting on a beach with a margarita either. :)

I've been doing a ton of knitting! I finished BIL's hat and it fit him, and as far as I can tell, he likes it! SIL seems pleased that he has a hat that actually fits him (he does have a fairly large noggin). I then knit a Stella's Hat for myself in some gorgeous Malabrigo, emerald. It's lovely, but then of course, I promptly went out and bought a new coat (yay for sales!) in an entirely different green. It doesn't match AT ALL. So today I also bought some Malabrigo chunky in an olive green that does coordinate with the new coat very nicely. I'm thinking of a really simple winter hat.

I also got some Noro Silk Garden for the ubiquitous 1x1 rib striped scarf that everyone's going. I've been dying to make this, and I got enough for two scarves. The first is for a friend who's fiance just passed away. It's so sad, and she's such an amazing person, and I just want to wrap her up in warmth, you know? So I'm working on that, and really enjoying it.

I did about 3 rows on my second sock-in-progress, before I got distracted. I've totally got my knitter ADD going on right now.

I haven't disappeared. We've been utterly swamped, what with the ice storm and no power for 4 days, and then we got dumped on with about 2 feet of snow, and there was this small holiday we had some work to do for as well. Life, it sure does get in the way of knitting and blogging. :)

You know, I never appreciated how much work went into Christmas until the last couple of years, when my kids have gotten old enough to get it. I think it was really last year (when my oldest was 4), that I really understood that if we want to have family traditions like a Christmas feast, and presents, and a lovely brunch, and stockings and all that stuff, someone has to DO it. So, we did. I often feel like I'm pretending to be a grown up, and this was one of those occasions. It was all lovely, and the kids had a really great time, but dude, I am tired.

Anyway, I'm off to my in-laws for a week tomorrow, hoping to get some fun knitting in. I've got my BIL's hat to finish (I'm scared it's going to be too small AGAIN), and then some fun things for me to knit for ME. I'll get pictures of all the gift hats up when I return. And maybe some WIP pictures too.

Back in Business

Thursday afternoon of last week, it was pouring rain. This turned to a bit of snow, then to ice. We were awakened by a sound at around 2:30 am or so Friday morning. "Was that lightening?" I asked my husband, very confused. No, no, it was the transformer exploding. The power went out. We spent the rest of the night listening to the sound of trees and branches falling (did I mention that we now live right next to conservation woods?), as the house got colder and colder. In the morning, the trees were still coated with ice, and every few seconds another branch would go. I went out on the front porch and witnessed a large branch come down in our driveway, which thankfully missed the car. We ended up spending the next 3 nights a wonderful friend's house in a suburb that wasn't hammered by the ice storm, and just got power back last night. I'm feeling very discombobulated and off my schedule.

When we figured out we were getting power back on Friday, it was late enough that the sun was going down and my husband was encouraging me to leave before the wet roads turned to black ice. I threw some things together and headed off. Thankfully, I already had a knitting bag packed, so I tossed some more projects in (because, you know, when you're hanging out with five kids under the age 5.5, including two infants, you have SO much time for knitting). I did end up getting my dad's hat finished.

I pulled out my sister's cable hat, it just wasn't doing it for me and it was too small. I'm now planning on Stella's Hat. I started it once but didn't trust the pattern, so I cast on 88 stitches, which turned out to be HUGE. So I restated with 80 stitches. I started Magic Loop, but even though I didn't twist my stitches in the join, I somehow kerfuffled my cable so the thing got twisted, so I pulled it out. I did two rows on straight needles then switched to round. It's funny, in doing these hats, I've rediscovered my love of my Denise kit. It had fallen into disfavor when my sexy KnitPick Options set showed up, but I've found the love, since KP doesn't have a 16" cable for the Options set. (At least they didn't the last time I looked.) So, I'm working on this hat too, hoping to get it done soon so I can send these off to Vermont.

I'm planning a couple of felted hats for myself, but have no idea how one would block them. Any suggestions?

So, what does this say about me?

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a lovely day. Filled with both my ADLs ("activities of daily living", in group home speak), and with what felt like an outpouring of happy energy to me, and some wonderful gifts. I am amused that my parents gave me money specifically to spend on yarn. Yes, they know me well...I am also amused that I am thinking about blowing the whole thing at The Loopy Ewe, in sock yarn. Because, you know, I don't have enough??? I just love sock yarn. Especially hand dyed sock yarn. I don't knit enough socks...but they have some brands I want to try!

The Gift of Time and other Thoughts

My darling husband gave me an hour and a half to myself this morning. :) And told me I was absolutely NOT to clean the house (which needs it, especially because we're having 3 families over for dinner tomorrow night!!). I headed off to Starbucks and knit for a while. I did another 2 pattern repeats for Branching Out, and I'm just really liking how it looks. I then did some more work on my sister's cabled hat. I went down a size for needles because she (and I) have small yet long heads. Unfortunately, no gauge was provided with the pattern, so I'm not sure how big it was supposed to be. I'm concerned that it's going to be too small. I'd like to think I should trust my intuition, but honestly, it's not all that good. I almost always have some sort of nagging concerns about my projects, and sometimes they're utterly justified and sometimes they're just completely baseless. I guess it shows me how much I have still to learn about this craft. I'd love to get this thing done soon, but I am not sure how much time I'll have tomorrow to work on it. The color is so pretty and the yarn is SO lovely and soft!

My Fickle, Fickle Heart

So, the problem with the way my life works is that I have all these children, and, well, they take up a lot of my time. So I both don't get to knit as much as I'd like, and I only get to really do my blogging in the evening, at which point I'm dead tired. I'd love to post more pictures, I think knitting blogs without pictures aren't actually all that interesting, but to get the energy to take the pictures (at which I sort of suck, anyway), get them from the camera, cropped and scaled down, and up into a blog post is often beyond me these days. And to get them loaded onto Flickr so I can rav them? Apparently that's just not happening.

But, all that aside. I have a new love, and that love is...Malabrigo. My sister requested a hat, so I thought I'd find something soft. I found a cool pattern that I think will look really pretty. I can't find the ball band, but I think it's closest to the Indigo color, it's a lovely rich blue that will look really nice on her. This yarn is so deliciously soft, I'd love to just roll around in it half-clothed. Of course, I'm so tired that I'd probably end up going to sleep pretty quickly, but I'd enjoy it for about 30 to 47 seconds, I'm sure! SHOCKINGLY, some in the Emerald colorway LEPT into my basket to come home with me (I'll be making this scarf and this hat for myself in it). What can I say? I had a giftcard. It is odd, isn't it, how often I get bombarded with yarn and knitting needles and whatnot when I go into a yarn store. Things just throw themselves at me and insist I bring them home! Strange. Anyway, I've started my sister's hat and it's so soft. I have been doing so much work with cotton, I'd sort of gotten used to how hard cotton is on the hands! This is just lovely.

I also got a random skein of light green yarn with which to make my son's stuffed tiger, named Cracker, a hat, mittens, and a scarf. My son has also requested that I make Cracker a sweater, a snow suit and some snow boots, but I think I've convinced him that tigers have fur and the boots, at least, are overkill. I may do the sweater, just because I think it would be really cute! I suggested putting slits for Cracker's ears in the hat, and my son just gave me a look as if I were insane, and said "No, his EAR will get cold! NO SLITS!" *sigh* Okay. So now I have to design the perfect tiger sweater. DS insisted that he wanted the LIGHT green. The woman at the store thought this was hysterical and said "You can tell he's the child of a fiber enthusiast!"

I have major startitis right now...all I want to do is start new projects, but I know that leads to not finishing them. I also owe my BIL a hat from last Christmas (the one I made was too small for his enormous head), so I need to find some yarn for that. Maybe more Malabrigo?!? I should definitely get the Christmas knitting done before anything else.

I'm really liking the Branching Out in the STR Lightweight. I think the colors work, I don't think it obscures the lace pattern too badly. I don't know how warm it'll be but it sure is pretty!

So, that's about it! Oh, one small frustration...I've attempted several times now to post comments of the Yarn Harlot's blog, and for some reason her blog doesn't like me. My comments get "held for the moderator" and never show up. It doesn't seem like others have that problem, so I should probably take it personally, right? Ah well, I guess I won't be able to tell her how much her work inspires me!

Surfacing

It doesn't *feel* like it's been almost a week since posting. The long weekend has thrown me off, I think. Not to mention that my daughter is sleeping like C.R.A.P. and I am exhausted. She's got a terrible cold, and she's teething and having all these developmental leaps (sitting, crawling, waving). Hopefully she'll settle down soon. It's a good thing she's cute.

I've been working away on a few different projects. I just picked up the baby blanket for a friend, I really do want to get this done and sent off. I love the fleece, it's really cute! I hope the edging works. I'm working my way through Riverbend sock #2. (Hah, I just typed sock #3 by accident, my god, imagine if you had three feet, I would *never* get socks done...though if I had three feet, I'd wear different socks on each of them and only ever have to knit one sock of any pattern...) Anyway. Yes, Riverbend 2 is chugging along. I've got the plain part of the foot done, and I'm almost to the point of starting the increases. I would love to get this done this week, so I could have a new pair of socks to wear. Then, I SWEAR, I am starting Falling Leaves #2. Promise. I'm also working on Branching Out. I'm doing it in this, and the colors are quite different than they appear on my monitor, they're much darker (and the green is muddier). All of my yarn, in fact, is much darker than on my monitor. It's all good, just different than what I thought I was getting. Anyway, the Grandma's Flower Garden doesn't look at all spring-like to me, in fact, it seems much more like Autumn colors. I think it works in the lace. I'll post some pictures one of these days. I'm hoping I have enough leftover to do a hat. I'll use much smaller needles to get a denser fabric, but I think a simple cap would be really pretty too. I think that's about it for the moment.

Knitter, Know Thyself

[Okay, I was just totally distracted by the sight of my older son running by in an orange pajama shirt and pants with fire trucks on them. Daddy dressed him for bed tonight.]

Anyway. What was I saying? Oh yes. So, I've heard it said that there are two kinds of knitters: those who stash, and those who plan projects. I am totally in the latter camp. Not to say I don't have a stash, I certainly do. It's not really huge, but I wouldn't call it, you know, tiny.

But, I buy yarn for specific projects, and because I am compulsively rigid consistent, I don't usually deviate from my plan. Yeah, I do love me a good plan. So, anyway, I bought this STR and had the bright idea to take a skein and knit something other than socks. I tried that drop stitch pattern, didn't work. I got about 40 rows into the Alix shawl and thought "You know, this pattern just isn't doing it for me." Nothing against the pattern, at all, it's just not my style! So I frogged it.

I am now doing Branching Out. I am not convinced the yarn is right for this pattern either, but I want to do a bit more and see. I'm doing it on fairly big needles, 8s, to get a more lacy effect. The yarn is so gorgeous and smooshy and sproingy, maybe I should just do socks with it. I've done 1.5 pattern repeats, but because it's going to need blocking, it's hard to tell if it really works. This is where I just don't have the confidence as a knitter, that I can make a good call for swapping a very different yarn into a pattern. And because the yarn is so pricey, I really would hate to make something that I won't enjoy and wear, you know?

I know, fascinating, isn't it? ;)

One down...

One to go. I finished the first of the Riverbend socks today. It fits very well in the foot, it's a tad baggy around the ankle, but all in all, I'm quite pleased with it. Not pleased enough to start the next one, I think I need a small break. If I were a good and diligent knitter, I would also start my 2nd Falling Leaves sock. These are so pretty, and they've been languishing! No, I didn't do that either. I did start an enormously hard complicated project that scares the hell out of me, more on that when I get enough done to think that I'll be able to actually complete it (it's probably not really all that hard, but it's complex).

So, now my thoughts are turning to....SOCKS THAT ROCK! I actually want to turn one of the skeins into a scarf, because I need a scarf and it's getting damn chilly around these parts. Especially inside my house because heating is expensive. I was thinking about doing a small Alix's Prayer Shawl, but I'm not sure I *love* the pattern, and I'm not sure how a small one would look, or how one might wear it. Maybe this pattern (ravelry link)?

Okay, since writing that, I tried the drop stitch pattern and I'm not sure if the yarn was not right or the needles were too small but I didn't love it (I wonder if that would work for that Berroco BoHo that's been nagging me for a long time now?). So I started the Alix Prayer shawl, and it'll be a small shoulder shawl. I'll do something else for a scarf...

And this is why I love Magic Loop for socks.

Because you can try on your socks as you make them!!

Yarn: Regia Cotton Color
Needles: KP Fixed Circs, 32" length, 2.5 mm
Pattern: Riverbend Master pattern from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways...

It fits very well - very fitted. So far, I'm diggin' it! I had some confusion at the heel, but it turns out I was just misreading her diagrams, not that I'd made a mistake. I did what I thought was right, even though it didn't fit with what I *thought* the pattern was saying, but it turns out it *was* what the pattern was saying so I was right even thought I thought I was wrong. Or something.

I am desparate need of socks, and one pair of handmades is wearing out! The Yarn Harlot has the perspective that sock knitters are the ultimate optimists because you make something you pretty much guarantee is going to wear out, if you use it as intended. So, basically it means I can knit as many pairs of socks as I can stand (and dude, I can stand A LOT OF SOCK KNITTING), and they'll all be used!

In other knitting news, I got the preschool basket off today, hooray! When this sock is done, I've got a couple more crochet projects to finish and then I think I'm going to do a sock blitz.

That Past and The Future

aka FOs plus pictures and stash acquisition!

So, I finished the things I'm making for the auction for the boys' preschool. Which is good, because the auction is SATURDAY NIGHT! I just have to make the basket all pretty now and we'll see what it goes for!

Item #1 is another Starghan. :) You make recognize the color scheme. I had lots of the yarn (Bernat Cottontots) left over, so it went to this! I did 20 rounds of light pink, 1 round of the variegated, 10 rounds of purple, 1 round of variegated, and then 5 rounds of pink. It's all double crochet, and then I finsihed it with 1 more round of pink, single crochet. It's not huge, but I'm envisioning it as a "tuck around the newborn in her baby bucket carseat" kind of blanket, so I really didn't want it to be huge. I used a large hook, H maybe? It went quite quickly. I think it's pretty cute! It does buckle a bit. I did a sort-of steam blocking, which helped somewhat. I figure it's going to be getting tossed into the wash, so I'm not too worried about it. I used Beth's pattern, and she was gracious enough to give me permission to donate it for the auction.

The second item for the auction is this hat. This is another item which did, I believe, make me squeal like a bit of a girly girl. It's delicious, it looks like a cupcake and as soon as I get more yarn, I'm making one for my girl (in the bigger size as this is too small for her). This is a Debby Ware pattern, and she also very graciously gave me permission to donate it to be auctioned off. This was made in my perennial favorite, Takhi Cotton Classic, using my KnitPicks Options set, size 4 needle.

These will be packeged in a basket together with a bunch of Burt's Bees baby products.

In other exciting news, my STR arrived!!

Huh.

I appear to have gotten right on the first try.
This doesn't usually happen to me.

Procrastinating...

I need to go cast on 321 stitches for the Gumdrop Hat and I'm not looking forward to it. Casting on isn't my favorite thing to do, and dude? That's a lot of stitches. AND, it's being knit in the round, of course, so there is (especially with that many stitches) a very real likelihood that I'll twist the join, necessitating ripping out and starting over. Not excited about that.

I did finish the Starghan, and many thanks to Beth for giving me permission to make this for my kids' preschool fund raiser. (To anyone in the area, the auction is going to have good stuff...Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics tix, among other things, and for $10, lots of snacks and drinks.) It turned out quite cute (cutely? Is that even a word?), it's very cute, but a bit bumpy. I'm pondering the whole blocking process. It's made from cotton, so I'll probably try to steam block it later. We'll see how that works out for me. I'll take pictures soon.

I am obsessed with all things sock right now, but not actually doing any sock knitting, due to the fact that my fundraiser knitting/crocheting was due, like a week ago.

OH. I also finally called a different Project Linus contact who actually answered her phone (what is the world coming to?!?), and she's sending me info and we had a nice chat and there's a real need for what I want to do, which is edge fleece baby blankets and make little hats. So yay! I can reconnect to the service part of my life.

That's about it. Life is very busy, which seems odd to me. Oh, and it looks like there's a chance I may become a SOCCER MOM this spring. Who woulda thunk it. ME. I really do need to dye my hair green or purple. Purple's in this season, right?

Gotta make this quick...

Because baby girl is waking up from her (far, far too short) morning nap.

My lovely sister has given me a gift certificate to Blue Moon Fiber Arts. !!!!! I have always wanted to try the STR (well, always for as long as I've known about them) because I hear the colors are amazing. I love me some colorful variegated yarn! But, I cannot decided between lightweight and medium weight! Maybe I'll get one of each? I'm also drooling over the Laci yarn, but since I *actually* knit socks and I only dream of knitting lace at the moment (and I have yarn and a lace project all set to go), I think the sock yarn is the way to go. Of course, picking a color or two is going to be challenging too!!

In other news...I'm crocheting up a storm for this auction thing, and need to cast on the baby hat today as well. We've got a lot planned so I'm not sure if it it's all going to get done. Well, actually, I am sure that it's NOT all going to get done by tonight, but it will be done for the auction.

I love tools.

I really do. I'm a gear-head and tool-head, I always have been.

So, I was getting some yarn to make a hat for this gift basket I'm putting together, (this pattern but I don't have the little flowers or buttons for it at the moment), and SOMEHOW a couple of Addi Lace needles just LEAPED into my bag and came home with me. What's that you say? They're inanimate objects and don't leap on their own? Well, you obviously don't know Addi Lace needles, my friend, that's all I can say.

The lace needles are for a lace shawl. I'm hoping there are many lace shawls that call for a size 5 needle. I got the 24" and the 40" - it's a circular shawl, so I'll start with Magic Loop, then move to knitting in the round, and then back onto the 40". If I need it, I can get the 60" later.

I haven't made as much progress on my blankie for the basket as I'd like. I'm pondering turning it into a towel instead, and making some washcloths. I dunno. That would go with the rest of the stuff I'm putting in (Burt's Bees products).

I'll make this quick...

...because I should have been in the shower 10 minutes ago to get out the door on time. Oh well.

I am exhausted today because I stayed up for the election results. It's probably no surprise, but I am *thrilled* with the results. I am hopeful and inspired to do my part for our country, and I haven't felt that way in a long time. We're got a lot of work ahead of us.

Also, I'm a tad...panicked is not quite the right word, but slightly worried because I agreed to donate a baby shower basket (with handmade stuff) for our preschool's auction and it turns out it was due, well, a while ago, and it's not, you know, done. Or started, really.

I am hoping to whip out (HA HA!) a star afghan and this adorable baby hat that I got the pattern for, by Monday. So picture me frantically DC-ing my way through the weekend, huh? Send some completion mojo my way, if you got it.

Pictures to follow.

Brrr!

The weather is moving from those glorious early fall days - the days where you're comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt, maybe with a fleece vest for outside, where the leaves are on fire and the sky is that deep deep blue, the days that make me so thrilled to live in NE (and make me wonder when I turned into a person who gets breathless from the beauty around me) - to the days where it's really COLD. I don't love the cold, I'm not really a winter person, and I can't deny now that winter's coming. *sigh* It also makes me want to cover everyone I love (and perhaps total strangers) in hand knits - hats, mittens, socks, scarves, blankets (well, just the babies, I'm not crazy enough to knit a grown-up size blanket). I wish I had the time.

It's been a crazy busy week. We've been doing some extra free "skills clinics" at the Little Gym in town (which is *awesome*), and with Halloween this week, we've got some extra things as well. DS2 wears his costume to school today, DS1 does tomorrow. We have a Halloween party tomorrow afternoon, and then TRICK OR TREATING, of course. The kids are so excited, it's helping me to enjoy it.

AND I've been able to get some knitting and crocheting in. I started the border for a friend's baby blanket. I also emailed the Project Linus people, but haven't heard back from them. I started a Riverbend sock, from Cat Bordhi's book (hence the swatching, which I totally did in a lame fashion but appears to be on target for spi). I did her standard toe which is different from my version (which, when I come to think of it, I think I made up somewhat), and is a bit pointier, but I think I might like it. We'll see!

I also *tried* to start a very ambitious project but I don't have the right needles for it, and the right needles will cost me about $45 so I'm a bit hesitant to get them. I so wish KP made lace tips for their options set (pointier and a bit grabbier) because I would *totally* get them. Hmm, maybe I'll email them!

So, that's it on the knitting front. All is good. (Could I possibly use more parentheses in this post?)

(I don't think so.)

I can't believe it either!

Guess what I started today. No, go on, guess!!

A gauge swatch.

I *know*, it's so...out of character for me. But remember how I needed to finish all my socks on needles, and then I was going to do socks from the New Pathways book? Okay, so I didn't precisely finish *all* the socks I need to do...in fact, I need to start the second lace sock (it's been so long, I can't even remember which pattern it is...Falling Leaves, maybe?), but I need a vanilla project too, so I'm going to do the Riverbend sockitecture. I have some cute sock yarn (I know, what a surprise) and I'm going to try it. But, you need to know your gauge. So, swatching I am!

Holy Cow, another FO!! AND PICTURES!!

What is the world coming to?
Anyway, hard to believe, but I finished ANOTHER thing!! This is Knitty's BYOB, and I found it a fun knit. I seem to have themes in my knitting sometimes, and lately it's been seed stitch.

I knit this using the recommended needles sizes (of course I didn't swatch, what are you thinking??) with the recommended yarn, which is Lion Pride Cotton-Ease. This yarn is not bad, actually. I'll have to see how it washes and dries, but it's a nice soft yarn and makes a pretty fabric, I think. I used about a quarter of the skein of the rose, about a third of the skein of the blue, and cut it down to the wire with the green - I had 4 grams left at the end. I was a bit nervous I was going to run out and trying think how it would look if I did the bind-off row in blue or pink. Interesting, I am sure. I wasn't about to go out and buy another skein of the green for one row, you know?

I notice that when I am feeling low on yarn, I change how I knit with it. Usually I pull out a good long lead so I am not constantly unwinding from the skein, but when I feel low, I stop that, as if somehow that will mean I use less yarn. The mind, it's powerful. Don't go in it alone.

I didn't make any intentional pattern modifications (that's right! They're not errors, they're modifications!), and I thought the pattern was well-written and easy to follow. I was a bit confused as to how the handles were going to be attach but it was easy to do, and quite clever, I think!

This sucker is BIG. In the loaded up shots below, I've got *four* cereal boxes in there, and there's plenty of room for more stuff. It does stretch a bunch. I'm a bit wary about really loading it up as I'm not sure how much weight the handles can realistically bear - a lot? Not much? Not an experiment I'll run at the grocery store, that's for sure. But I think it's really pretty, and I'm really working on using reusable bags, so this goes in my stash!

And the crazy thing is, now I've actually got NOTHING on needles! I have one more lace sock to do, so I'll probably get that cast on, and some more plain vanilla socks, and some other things. I've got a pineapple doily on the hook, which desperately needs the miracle of blocking. Which I don't know how to do. Yay, a new skill to learn!

A Moment To Breathe

(This is a very different post from the kind I usually put here, and it feels a bit scary to make myself this vulnerable, both about loss and about how important knitting really is to me. But you know what? I'm going to see how it goes.)

My wonderful husband is home from his trip. My daughter is sleeping, DH is doing stories with the boys, so I've got a moment here. I've got BYOB sitting here next to me, but I'm in a pondering mode right now. I'll knit in a moment.

I've been reading a bunch of the Yarn Harlot's books. As I wrote, I went to hear her speak. Because I wanted to support the bookstore that brought her to the area, I bought her latest book. Because I have a problem with self-control when it comes to books, I bought a few other books as well, all of which she graciously signed for me (poor thing, she's pretty fried).

I really have enjoyed them - both for the humor and for the philosophy. I was a philosophy major in college, I have a masters in counseling and ph.d. in counseling psychology, and I'm a licensed psychologist, so I think you could say that I appreciate the power of the examined life, eh? Yes. I've been thinking about how much I *love* the craft work that I do, and she helped me articulate part of it.

I've never really considered myself creative, which is sort of funny because I'm one of those singing, acting, violin-playing, photo-taking geeks. I always felt that I was an interpretor, not a creator, because most of what I do is interpretation of someone else's creativity - someone else's words, or music, or pattern. But SPM makes a distinction between creativity and creation, and that just jumped off the page for me. I *love* the act of creation. When I did theater, I loved building sets and costumes, hanging lights, creating a show. I *love* that when I'm doing my knitting or crocheting (or, in the past, counted cross stitch and other needlework which I don't do right now because tiny stabby needles and little kids don't mix all that well), I'm *making* something that wasn't there. I suppose that's true of kids as well. :) I've made three of 'em, so I must enjoy something more than the process of creating them.

This realization moved me, and felt...healing, really. I'm one of those women who's suffered from what I call "fraud symdrome." I'm pretty comfortable with who I am these days, thanks to some really good therapy, but I was someone who really believed that there was this huge discrepency between the person the world saw (and seemed to approve of), and who I really was inside, and that the insides weren't acceptable, on a basic level. I don't feel that way anymore (most of the time), but something about claiming the label of being "creative" jarred some of those old feelings. "You're not really creative" my (not so nice) inner-self would say when someone would compliment me on the thing I'd made, "any trained monkey could do the same." Well, perhaps that's true, though I don't think monkeys generally have access to nice yarn, but it's not really relevant.

What's relevant to me is that the act of creating is CREATIVE. I know, it seems sort of self-evident, but it feels huge to me. The act of doing something, and getting better and better at it, while understanding how much there is to learn is powerful. When I'm wearing socks that I made for myself, I feel not just a sense of competency, but I feel taken care of. When I give someone something I've made, I'm not just giving them the thing, I'm giving my time and my love. The fact that non-crafters don't always really understand that doesn't make it any less true.

My knitting is tied to the friendships I lost some time ago. We knit together. One friend gave me a knitting kit that I still use pretty much every time I knit. I'm often reminded of these women, though now it's more with a sense of wishing them well (because spiritually, it's better for me) than the ache I felt for a long time. I'm glad that I didn't let the pain of thse losses (and the pain those losses caused my son, which was huge, and in some ways more painful to me than my own loss) sour me on the knitting just because it was something that had bound us together. I think losing my love of knitting would cost me more than losing those friendships did. Since then, I've made new friends through knitting (and in other ways too), I've connected strongly with other friends I already had around crafting and the act of creating, and perhaps most importantly, I've committed more strongly to my own identity and self through knitting. I was too dependent on those friends, and I feel like from that loss, I've gained a much stronger core. It's not that I don't have wonderful friends now that I love and care for, and depend on, but I now know I can lose friends and be okay. It wasn't something that had really happened to me before, and it really left me reeling for a while.

Knitting has helped me become stronger, more independent, less perfectionistic, more courageous. I'm learning to be nicer to myself, and more generous and giving to others. It's given me some gorgeous socks, hats, blankets, gifts for others, and perhaps someday, a sweater, if I get that brave. That's a lot to get from some sticks and string.

FO (with pictures) and some musings about Knitting and Life.

• A couple of random thoughts - I usually title my blog post before I write it, because I'm pretty concrete on this blog (and in life), so I know pretty much what I want to write. I'm wondering if I'll have time to get to the musings, as I have preschool pickup pretty soon.
• I am very envious of people's wonderful photography of their FOs. I have taken classes and stuff, but when I'm doing pictures of my things, I just tend to snap and go. Maybe someday I'll work on that.

Okay, and on to the FO, which really counts as TWO because it's a finished sock. Apparently I finished this sock about...14 months ago, though I can't find anything on the blog about it. These are the green stripy sock I have been muttering about for MONTHS!! Done! Details:

Yarn: KnitPicks Felici in Argula (no longer being made)
Needles: KP 32" 2.5 mm (Magic Loop)
Pattern: None. I know! Me! And it actually worked out fairly well. Socks really aren't hard once you've done a pair or two and have a sense of the typical construction. (I know, such an expert, right? I've done...7 or 8 pairs, that's all!) Anyway, I cast on using Judy's Magic Cast-On. I cast on 32 stitches, and then did an increase every other row for 9 knit/increase row pairs. I did the increases at the sides, so knit 1, increase, knit to next to last stitch and increase in that, knit 1, switch to second half and to the same. I did that so I had 68 stitches. I knit for a while and thend decided that this might be too loose, so I decrease down to 64 stitches. I did a double-wrapped short-row heel, which I do like though I think, for self-se triping yarn, I prefer an afterthought heel so you don't mess up the stripe pattern. I knit around for a while and then did 1 inch of 1x1 ribbing and used EZ's sewn bind-off. I wish I had made the whole foot at 64 stitches but it's fine. I wish I'd made the leg longer but I was so bored and sick of it that I didn't. Lesson learned.

I'm still not great at the transition back to the leg or foot once you've done the short-row heel. I didn't pick up any extra stitches this time, but I will next time, as there are small holes. Not a big deal, not even enough to stitch (more of a gap, really) but I think it would look better without it. Also, on this second one, I actually dropped a stitch, not once, but TWICE. Rather than rip back to fix it, I just used a crochet hook. On one of them, I caught it right away so it was super-easy to fix, the other I had missed it for a round or two, so it looks a bit muddled but it's on the back so it's not really visible. I am so over these socks, I wanted them done. I really don't drop stitches regularly at all, so I have no idea what was happening. I think I was going too fast. I am so happy they're done and I'm having a joyful day wearing them!

Okay, no time for musings because my DD is awake and wicked cranky. Poor boo. I've been doing a lot of thinking about why I love knitting/crafting so much, and what role it plays in my life, that I'd like to try and get out, but now is not the moment. This moment is for keeping my beautiful little girl from eating the camera cord.

On My Own

My wonderful husband, who is a true partner in all ways, is off to visit his bestest friend, who lives on the other side of the country. This is wonderful for him, but a bit less wonderful for me. I am on my own with the three kids. Now, I'm with them all day, that's not the issue, it's just that I'd sort of gotten used to having a break in the evening, and well, that's not going to happen. We are going to my ILs for the weekend, which will be awesome, but I'd somehow thought DH was getting back on Monday evening, and he's not, it's Tuesday evening, and his plane doesn't even land until 9:45 pm. In Boston. We live in the Metro West area, so who knows how the hell he's actually going to *get* home. It's an adventure! I know, I know, I'm a total wuss. Single parents do this *all the time*.

So, in anticipation of 6 days by myself, last night I went out on my own because the beloved Yarn Harlot was speaking in Porter Square. I got the kids and minivan handed off to the husband and headed off. First stop, a bagel from Dunkin' (well, really my first stop was peeing at the grocery store but I thought maybe the internet didn't need to know that, except, of course, now you do). I then walked over to St. James Church. Porter Square Books and The Common Cod Fiber Guild put on the reading. I got there just past 5:30 and there were maybe 20 people waiting. I got in line. They ended up opening the doors early, and I went in and thought, what the hell, and sat in the front row. :) I immediately started chatting with the woman next to me and the woman sitting behind me, and before you know it, we were showing baby pictures, admiring each other's knitting, and dishing on LYSs. It was excellent! Now, those who know me "in real life" know that I'm...how shall we say...friendly. I love to meet people and chat, but often I find that folks aren't always interested in chatting back. Which is cool, of course. But it was so nice to find lots of common ground.

I *loved* hearing SPM speak. She's so funny and wise at the same time, and said much more eloquently and coherently some things I've tried to articulate here. She's so honest and just herself. She had me laughing out loud and also moved me. She gave a long intro and then read an essay from her book that I just may have to make part of my therapy practice, once I have one.

Afterwards, I exchanged Ravelry names with the women I'd been chatting with, and got in line to have my book(s) signed. I ended up talking to the two women behind me. One owns Sit'n'Stitch in Melrose (Janet) and was so nice! Her friend was also with her, who works for the store and when I told them that I had seen a *gorgeous* crocheted blanket displayed there that was the inspiration for my learning to crochet, we figured out that the friend had made it, which made her very happy. It's true though, it totally inspired me.

It didn't take too long to get through the line (of course, I was chatting away) and when I got up, I managed to say something to SPM about how inspiring I find her, her writing and her work. Then we bonded over the world's inexplicable lack of interest in discussing breastfeeding with nursing mothers.

I then headed home. I love that I *know* that area so well and feel so comfortable around there, but I also love that I live out here in the sticks now. I am feeling re-energized about my knitting. I revisited the green stripey sock (remember that poor thing? How long has it been since I worked on it? A year??) and am close to turning the heel. Another pair of socks to knit would be nice. I think once I get all my stuff off needles, I'm going to start a big project. More on that to come!

So, as I was saying...

The purple sweater is done! I am so happy, mainly because I had just hit the wall with it, but also because I actually think it's cute and she'll wear it. Well, of course she'll wear it because I'm going to put her in it as much as possible until she grows out of it! Which will be soon. So, details.

I used Carole Baeryns' Seamless Yoked Sweater Pattern.

Modifications:

• I used a heavier yarn (Bernat Cottontots as opposed to Bernat Softee) and larger needles (I *think* they were 6s).
• I did a seed stitch coller/button band/hem/sleeve hem instead of garter stitch, because I like it better.
• I did a slip stitch edge (slip the first stitch of every row) because I think it makes a neater looking edge.
• I didn't do the slip stitch decorative rows...I'm now sort of wishing I had, because it's awfully plain, but whatever.
• I did three button holes at the top, but not all the way down. I did do the YO buttonholes called for, though I really dislike them. The buttonhole isn't...stable, I guess would be a good word, they don't actually hold the button. There might be a way to stabilize it, I suppose. I also hate sewing on buttons. Next sweater is a pull-over. Also, these are really small buttons, and they may just not hold. I might swap them out, or I might just not care, we'll see. So, I did my buttonholes in Rows 3, 15 and 27.
• I also did a bunch of futzing with the increases because of using a different weight yarn (I know, that whole swatching thing, what a great idea! Maybe next time...) I won't bore anyone with the details of what I did differently, since I really did sort of wing it. I think it came out okay. DD is sleeping so I can't put her in it to take pictures, that'll happen tomorrow (when this post actually goes up, of course).

Okay, this has been sitting up for a couple of days, so I'll just get it posted. I had DD in the sweater yesterday and while it's very cute, I'm not thrilled with how it fits her...it's bigger in the body and the arms are barely long enough. Perhaps my gorgeous girl has very long arms? Perhaps I knit an oddly shaped sweater? All things are possible when I pick up the yarn and needles. :) It is cute, she already urped all over it, so it's going through the wash which will be the true test. Oh, and the super cute little heart buttons are useless so I need to swap them out for something that works. Maybe a larger heart? I don't know. I have to look and see what I have, and figure out if I have the energy to take all three kids to the yarn store to find cute buttons or not. I also wish I had only done two buttons.

Pictures when the thing is out of the wash and DD isn't napping. Poor thing has a cold and thrush, so she's not all that happy. DH is out of town until next week, so I'm on my own. People do this and survive, right? RIGHT?

DONE!!!!!!!

Details to follow because my internet cuts out at 9:30 pm...

FO with PICTURES!!

God, I feel so *together* right now. Kids are all sleeping, dishes are done (note to self, run the dishwasher or there won't be bowls for breakfast tomorrow) and I FINISHED SOMETHING!!! I'm going to go ahead and blog about it as the person it's for just had a baby (I hope! I haven't heard any details yet...) and I sort of doubt she'll be checking in. If she does, well, surprise, honey! :)

This actually was a fairly quick project, as I obviously didn't make the whole thing. This is a fleece baby blanket with a crocheted edging. The blanket is approximately 30" x 36". I then used my slip stitch blade for my rotary cutter and perforated the edges. The edging is done using a C/2 size Boye Aluminum crochet hook, and Coats and Coats crochet thread (100% mrotary cutterercerized cotton) in size 3, probably about 1.3 balls. I used Pattern #3 from Baby's Choice Crochet Edgings for Fleece. It's sort of hard to see the detail of the edging in the black thread, but here's a picture:
I thought the angles of the edging would look sort of funky with the circles of the pattern. It's not your traditional baby blanket, I suppose, but this friend is not your traditional sort of mom. :) I hope she likes it. And if you're wondering why I'm sending a fleece blanket to a baby in Los Angeles, well, I don't want to hear it. I fell in love with the fleece and immediately thought of this friend and wanted to do something for her! My plan is to make a second blanket for Project Linus.

This was definitely an easier project. The one new skill I learned was crocheting through the back loop. I'm not sure of the point of it, but that's what the pattern called for, so that, gosh darn it, is what I did. The whole edging is only 4 rows (including the foundation row), and I'd say the whole thing took....10 hours maybe? Maybe not even that. The two middle rows took the longest, because I did somewhere on the order of 125 single crochets, and about 1000 double crochets.

I think the heavier crochet thread works really well for this edging. I might try a light yarn for the next one (that baby's not born yet, but coming SOON, I hope!), but I do like the thread. And I very much like that too,it's cotton, so no acrylic frying. I won't, however, use an aluminum hook for the next one. They're fine at a heavier weight, but this is a smaller size and I don't think the aluminum could withstand the vigor with which I wielded it, because the thing actually BENT. It's totally still usable but I don't think it's supposed to do that, you know?

I'm excited about this also as a possibility for service work. I love the idea of making one blanket for a friend (there are a gazillion babies being born among my circle of friends this year) and making the other half as a donation. I do think I like the 30x30 blanket size a bit better than this one, but I'm not sure what to do with the extra fleece I cut off. Sew it together into random scarves? Must ponder. I need to send an email to the local Project Linus coordinator and see if they need donations.

Nemesis Thy Name is PURPLE RUFFLY SWEATER

It really is.

So, I finished sleeve #1 last night. I was panicking that I didn't have enough yarn (I've already divided the yarn into balls, one per sleeve), as it looked like it was going to be close. I did that thing where I don't unwind as much yarn as I usually do when knitting, as if that somehow will make the yarn go further or something! It doesn't. Anyway, I did have enough, I managed to make the sleeve the full 5" that I had measured, which was supposed to give me a sleeve long enough for her to have some room to grow. Well, I put the sweater on her today and the sleeve is BARELY long enough. ARRRGH!!!!! I have enough left that I can rip out the bind-off and the seed stitch cuff and add some, but DUDE, come ON. I am so over this sweater, I just want to have it done so she can WEAR it. I have no idea what to do.

Damnit, I'm going to pull it out and make it longer. She keeps growing on me, the minx, so she does need more room, I think. This sweater really isn't going to fit her for very long, is it? If I don't add a few more rows on this sleeve, it'll just annoy me when she's out of it that much more quickly. I have the yarn, I have the time, I'll just do it. *grump*

I'm chugging away on another project, details which must be kept secret for now.

The green stripey socks are calling my name, too. It's serious Autumn here now and my fun socks are making me happy.

The debate is tonight so I should be able to finish SOMETHING today. I can channel my anxiety about this election through crafting.