Guilt and Knitting (or lack thereof).

I have to keep reminding myself...the thing about hobbies is, they're for FUN. I don't get paid to knit, just the opposite really, so it's okay to take time "off" for having fun. I have the sort of personality that is way too loyal, so when I commit to something, I do it FULLY. Knitting is just not high on my list right now! It's been a busy busy month, and things aren't looking to calm down any time soon! All this is to say, really, I'm not knitting much at all. I did several more rows on my Mini Mochi sock, and that's about it. I don't know, some folks knit all year round, but I do find my knitting tapers off a LOT in the summer.

We've had a couple of major milestones. DS2 turned FOUR last week. We had an in-school celebration on the day of his birthday (along with a field trip to the Butterfly Place), and we're having the kid party tomorrow. Thankfully, we decided to outsource, so we're going to a party place. It's cheesy, yeah, but hey, I don't have to clean up my house or figure out what to do with 19 guests!! I just can't forget to make the cake. And my daughter. I can't believe she's one. Having a third was such a leap of faith (well, having kids at all is a leap, isn't it?). I am so, so glad we did it. We were so lucky - blessed - to have her, and she's just a joy to me, every day. Not every single moment is, of course, but we get way more moments than most, I think. I was such an anxious first-time mom, and when my second came, not only was I completely sleep-deprived, I had a couple of major losses (my uncle dying, some friendships changing) that first year, and was just really sad for a long time. With her, we'd moved out of the city and I've been really happy here, I've got amazing friends in my life (both old and new), and I think, since I know she's my last, I'm just savoring it as much as I can. And, she's such a delightful baby. Not easy, exactly, she's very very active (just like her brothers), into everything and a bit of a handful, but she's such a sunny baby, I'm just so lucky.

Whoa, where have I been?

Busy, but in a really good way! Last week, I got an email letting me know that I had made it off the wait list to a conference that I really wanted to go to. The course was on Meditation and Psychotherapy, and the main speaker on Friday was the Dalai Lama. Of course, I went. The entire conference was amazing, and I'm trying to figure out how to make some changes in my priorities. Doing is hard than thinking about doing, for me at least.

One part of the conference that was wonderful was that I got to go with one of my best friends, a fellow mom from the old 'hood, and I ran into another mom friend there, as well as a friend from my postdoc. So wonderful. I've been feeling really really blessed lately. I feel like my life is flowing over with friendship, family, and love. Not to mention so many material blessings.

Even with all of this, I've been doing some knitting, but, sadly, I think it may be translating out to negative knitting! I'm working on one project where I started it, and didn't get gauge. Started again, got gauge, but dropped a stitch. Started again, got some rows done and realized something looked weird, only to discover that there were 4 more rows of the pattern on the next page. *sigh* I gave up at that point, and tried again a few days later. I knit some, dropped a stitch and ripped it again.

I had the issue of the monkey that had to be ripped back and redone and I haven't had the heart to start it again, because somehow when I started it again, I started at the wrong side, so I'm half a row off and honestly I am not sure what to do about it.

THEN. I started the mini mochi vanilla socks again, this time on 2.5 mms, and I'm definitely liking the fabric much better. However, I noticed that I'd dropped a stitch, something like 15 rows down and just hadn't, you know, noticed. Okay, I had noticed but I didn't really see that it was a dropped stitch. I don't know what is going on with me and dropping stitches these days, it's not something that I do usually that often, but it's an epidemic right now! I'm actually really proud of myself - I got a very very small crochet hook and managed to manually knit the stitch up to the needle and it looks just fine!

So, I think maybe I'm just too tired to be knitting. I think the fact that I am finally getting some decent sleep (for the most part, not including the night my oldest was up from 2:00 am to 4:30 am with nightmares, except how can you be having nightmares if you WILL NOT GO BACK TO BED??) means my body is kicking and saying "Oh yeah, SLEEP! That's what I've been missing for the last year! Gimme more of that!!"

I feel like there are all kinds of wonderful things coming up, and all kinds of things that I'm super-excited to be doing...I'm working out to train for my part of my team's triathalon, I've got a wonderful new bookclub with some amazing women, I've got my group of friends in "the City" that we try to get together with regularly...my second son turns FOUR on Thursday, my daughter turns ONE a week after that...wow, life is just so full.

Monkey Update

• Ripping done. I *think* I managed to rip back to Row 1, so I'll start Row 2.
• Stitches reacquired - thank goodness for very small crochet hooks. It was done with more force than finesse, but it is done. Now I just need to reknit and see how it goes. Luckily, it's really clear where the heel stitches are, so I'm quite confident that I'm at the beginning of the round so the pattern *should* work.

Uffda.

Not a multi-tasker

As in, apparently I cannot knit and hold a conversation at the same time...at least, not knit something that requires me to think. I had knitting with the library ladies last night, and took Monkey to get some work done, and I have somehow managed to drop two stitches without actually changing my stitch count (really, what the heck??), so I need to actually frog about 1 lace repeat. We'll see how it goes. This is where I have much less confidence in my skills.

*deep breath* Off to rip. Will post an update.

Has anyone seen it?

My motivation, that is.

I just don't feel like knitting, how weird is that? Well, I do feel like starting a new sock, but I really shouldn't - too much on needles. The weather is finally getting nicer (it was GORGEOUS today, 70 degrees!), so we've been spending more time outside. I've got some weird virus that's making me feel like CRAP in the evenings (horrible sore throat, runny nose, earaches etc.), so my energy when I have time to knit is low. And I'm just not...excited by anything I'm doing right now. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have some new things DONE (oh darn, just realized that I forgot to give my mom the scarf I made for her when she was here!), but apparently I don't want it enough to, you know, FINISH things. This happens to me, I know it'll come back...

So, since I don't have any knitting content, I give you a cute baby picture:

We went to the beach today to play (I still can't quite believe that I now live WALKING distance to a beach! Pinch me, someone!) and DD had a lovely time in the swing!

Knitting 1: KWAP 0

Actually it sort of feels more like Knitting 1,000,000: KWAP 0.

I did manage to finish the gusset decreases of the Monkey I am doing (which I shouldn't even BE doing). I'm working on something else that requires gauge and I finally got it, only to screw up somewhere and now I'm three stitches short.

I give up. I'm having a cookie and going to bed.

Non-Knitting Life

I don't think I've knit a stitch all week. It's been one of those weeks, we've been crazy-busy with school, life, playing with friends, enjoying the beginning of spring weather. We had a picnic on the back deck yesterday! I'm also struggling with some bad news on the kitty front.

We have two elderly kitties, one (A) I've had since she was about 5 weeks old, and she'll be 16 this year, and the other (L) came to me through my horrible ex-BF, so I've known her for 14 years, and she's been mine for 12. we think she's at least a year older than A, maybe more. L is just wasting away. She's now down to 4.9 pounds (and this was a cat who got very plump after she was spayed, over 12 pounds). She's got bowel disease, we believe. There's not much we can do, but keep her comfortable. She's still HER, still marching around demanding petting and love, but I don't think we've got long with her. Even the vet, when looking at L, said "I think we're coming to the end." and "I think if she goes below 4 pounds, we should consider euthanizing her." A is now manifesting kidney disease and is also losing weight. We need to figure out how aggressively we want to treat it. It's going to be really hard for A when L goes too.

It's so hard to think of losing them, to know it's coming. They've been part of my life for a long time, much longer than my husband and kids. We've been through some really hard times together. I'm working on not pre-suffering too much, but it's a delicate balance, to live in the moment with them while keeping a strict eye on not letting things go too far.

I also struggle with the guilt of knowing how far down the list they've moved in terms of how much time and attention is alloted to them. Since having children, I haven't had anywhere near as much available for the "girls" (as we call them). Now I'm just feeling sad. DH would like to have more cats, and part of me would like that too. The other part of me is just feeling like I've been sucked a bit dry by all the need around me and perhaps it would be good to renew a bit before jumping back in.

The huge thing, of course, is how much the boys love L and A, and how we're going to explain it to them.

Just in case you were wondering...

Sitting on the computer reading all sorts of blogs about knitting, surfing yarn store sites, and especially spending time pattern-surfing on ravelry? None of these activities actually help you get real knitting done.

Gah.

I just frogged the Mini Mochi sock. It's always a bit heartbreaking, how quickly one can rip out hours of work. I'd only invested...maybe 3ish hours in it? Something like that. There were enough errors that I knew it was going to make me crazy, and if I'm going to put that much work into something, I want it to be right.

Issues:

1. Needle size. I really wanted to try the KP harmony fixed circs, but apparently I bought them in 2.25 mm...well, no apparently about it, I *did* buy them in 2.25, and I seem to prefer 2.5s for most sock yarns. The needles themselves are really pretty but I kept worrying that I was going to snap one. They are nice and pointy though. The fabric they were making was just a bit tighter than I was liking.

2. Yarn issues. Now, this yarn is so pretty. SO SO PRETTY. But, it's not tightly plied at all, and seemed almost unplied at points. I kept snagging so that somehow I had several loops sticking out, which aren't pretty. Now, I could probably have just pulled them through with a little crochet hook, but there were enough that I knew it would bug me, and there was one big error. I don't even know what happened, it looked almost like I dropped a stitch, or perhaps I dropped most of a stitch.

Like I've said before, I have an error threshold, and I passed it. I'm going to try again with nickel-plated 2.5s and see how it goes. But not right away. I need some time to get off my ass and finish some other projects nurse my wounded heart.

Knitting, it's not for the faint of heart.

FO: Another Noro Scarf

I finished another Noro scarf! Nothing really much to be said about it, actually. Details are the same as for the Trinnit scarf. Except for colors of course! I can't find the ball bands for this, but I *think* the colors are 274 and maybe 270? I don't know. I'm not sure who this is going to be for, actually. It's definitely not for me, it's not really my colors overall (which are, of course, green and purple). I think this is pretty, but I don't really love it. It was still a very fun knit, nice and easy with no thinking really involved. I'm glad it's done so I can move on to something else!

I did start a plain vanilla toe-up stock with the Mini Mochi in the Violets Rainbow (see what I mean, green and purple!). I cast on 24 and increased to 64 stitches which look like they it should fit. I'mgoing to do an afterthough heel to preserve the striping. I just needed a super-low-brain-intensity project. Since getting back from the hospital, poor DD is sleeping like CRAPOLA which means I am too, and I am just So. Tired.

And I have the new Monkies that are going well (heel is turned, finishing the gusset rounds). The KP Imagination Wicked Witch is quite possibly the prettiest yarn I've ever seen, really. I am wondering if I'd wear socks made out of it in a different pattern. Because of the alpaca (I think), it's a bit fuzzier than I normally like, but it's so gorgeous!

I am also just OBSESSED with learning to spin. OBSESSED. I think that hobby is 1-2 years off for me, just for time and space issues, but I really want to.

Oh the week that was.

So, after that ER visit, baby girl wasn't doing so well, so on Tuesday we were admitted to the big local hospital, where we ended up staying until 9:00 pm Friday night, to get her vomiting etc. and dehydration under control. Not a fun week. Not fun at all, seeing your baby on an IV. I had time between the doctor's visit that ended with "she needs to be admitted" and actually going to the hospital to pack a few things, so of course, I tossed in some knitting.

Did I toss in any one of my current projects? Nope. I started another sock. I am a bit worried that they're going to be a skosh too small - I got the leg of one done, and I'm in the midst of turning the heel. I'm doing another pair of Monkeys in KP Imagination, the Wicked Witch colorway. SO PRETTY.

Like I said, we got home Friday night, and the weekend has been spent recovering. The boys are up and down. Thankfully the baby is just so delighted to be out of that room that she's in a great mood.

Too tired to knit.

There has been a vast amount of barfing in our household over the last few days, including more laundry than is good for our septic and six hours in the ER to rehydrate the baby girl, and a current looming threat of hospitalization for said baby, should she not pee enough tonight, so my knitting has been pretty much abandoned for the moment. The logistics of cleaning barf off of a WIP are beyond me, so better not to risk it, right?

That being said, I did get in a lace repeat on Falling Leaves when barfing baby kept me from going to a baby shower, but the boys (DH and the little boys) went to a birthday party and the girl napped.

I somehow snagged a hole in the bottom of my heavy winter socks...I think these were the first socks I made, and they're so awesomely warm, semi-felted and just lovely. I don't think I ever blogged them, I think I finished them before I had this blog...I can probably darn them, but I'm bummed. They're so warm and lovely.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled knitting for...

A FO! This is a baby hat for a shower I'm going to on Saturday for one of the neighborhood ladies who happens to be a knitting lady too (there are several knitting ladies in my neighborhood, which is awesome). I know I'm on a yarn diet (I KNOW, ADRIENNE!!), but I didn't have exactly what I wanted for this so I did buy yarn for it. Does it count if it's for a gift? The pattern is my own, and I'm going to write it up and put it on Ravelry, I think. It's terribly cute! Now I want to make one for my own little girl.

Moving Along, Now.

Mainly for my own records because really, I think reading about someone else's knitting progress without pictures is just pretty boring. But it amuses me, so there you go. I am actually getting something done, though now that the weather seems finally to be cooperating a bit, that may stop. I did spend the afternoon outside running around with my kids, riding bikes, and playing catch and baseball with the neighbor kids. Suburban paradise, I think.

So, I got re-enchanted with the Double Gradient Noro Scarf. Honestly, I don't love the colors in this one (and I won't mention the fact that I caved on my yarn diet and bought some more pretty pretty NSG to make ANOTHER one of these, no, I won't mention that AT ALL) but it's so fun to knit and so interesting to see what the yarn does! So that's out of hibernation. I've got more of the super-secret project to do, with the gague issues that are making me crazy. I've got Falling Leaves still in process, and a couple of crochet things. I just remembered that Branching Out is still in process, and I started a big lace project. Lace? It's hard. Mainly I'm having trouble adjusting to the lace-weight yarn. I fear I've got ladders at my joins in my Magic Loop because I don't want to yank it too hard. I can't redo though, I had so much trouble getting started. I don't know, we'll see. But yeah, it's hard. Anything else? I'm going to a baby shower for one of my library knitting ladies next Saturday, so I've got to whip something up for that.

Maybe I'll take pictures of all my WIPs and post them. And then feel horrified at all the things I have in flight.

Around the Riverbend

Yes, I am actually following up on a promise to blog about an FO. And I even have pictures. So, here are the Riverbend Socks. The pattern is from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters, the yarn is Regia Cotton Colors (I believe the colorway is 5407, but the ball bands are long gone, so who knows?). I believe I knit these on KP 2.5 mm fixed circs, using Magic Loop (of course). If I ever knit a pair of socks with DPKs, well, I don't know, I think we'll all be a little stunned.

Okay, so the pattern is the issue here, obviously, because this is a plain stockinette sock. On the one hand, I really like the yarn. It's lovely to knit with, has a really nice feel and I like the fabric produced on this size needles. I love the reinforced heel, I've never done one of these before. I really love the Riverbend design. Unfortunately....I do not love the fit. I've worn them a couple of times now, and they're baggy. Not horrendously, not so I can't wear them, but they bag around the ankles. I also think the cotton leads to a fabric that stretches out and doesn't bounce back (I'm not sure if that's the proper term or not, but these stretch as you wear them). Even brand new, they bagged at the ankle. Fit is apparently an issue with these new sockitectures. The thing is, I haven't (so far) really had fit issues in the other socks I've made. People on the Ravelry group talk a lot about how much you have to "tweak" the numbers to get them to work for you. I don't know, I'm just not sure I have that kind of time, you know? I can definitely wear these...perhaps the bagginess would have been alleviated by fewer stitches at the largest part? (Fewer decreases?) I don't know. Maybe I have narrow ankles. :) I just don't have the brainpower right now to do a lot of tweaking of anything.

I'd love to do some more socks from the book, I really do think it's such a neat idea, but I'm thinking now might not be the time for it. So sad, because I love the heel architecture. Maybe I'll do another pair, but not increase as much as she tells you to and see what happens. One thing I love about this particular architecture is that the increases are all on the bottom of the foot (can't take a picture because I've been wearing them all day and they're grubby). This means you could easily adapt any patterns to this architecture. I may try it, I may not. I'm glad I knit a pair (and finished them!), and I do think they're really pretty, I'm just a tad disappointed that I followed the numbers and they don't fit as well as I'd like.

Fo and Gague Issues

I haven't had the energy to take a picture but I finished the Riverbed socks!! I actually finished them on Thursday, but I haven't worn them yet, for shame! And I do need to take pictures...maybe tomorrow. I'm dead today. In the Riverbend sockitecture, the increases are all on the bottom of the foot. I think it makes a nice fitting sock, though there's a tiny bit of puckering around the ankle. I've actually read this as a common complaint for many of Cat Bordhi's sockitectures, which makes me ponder whether they'll be for me. The yarn is really nice, Regia Cotton Color, so pretty! I just did a basic stockinette stitch, simple enough. I will try and do pictures tomorrow, I promise! What's odd is that even though I've finished something, I'm not going to go cast anything else on, I'm just going to go work on some other WIPs.

And now, I'm working on a secret project that I can't blog about yet, but I am having gague frustration. I hit required gague in stockinette perfectly on my first try (yes, I know, *I* swatched! ME!!), and started the pattern. Well, my first round I messed up the pattern (forgetting to add in a P3, which, y0u know, makes a difference). Ripped out, started over. I can't remember what I screwed up the second time, but I did, ripped out, started over. Third time, I realized that I'd been misreading the lace pattern, like, seriously dyslexicly (is that even a word?) misreading. Sigh, rip, start over. Finally nailed the pattern, am sailing along and...it's too big. As in, close to 20% too wide. This is a project where gague really matters. I ripped it, and started again, going down a needle size. Sadly, the only size 8 straights I appear to have are stumpy little bamboo 9-inchers, so they may not work and I may need to head out and get new needles tomorrow too. Just to get it measured, I'm going to have to get it off these needles.

I don't know, sometimes I think I'm a pretty decent knitter, and then sometimes I'm just stunned at my own ineptitude. :)

FOs with pictures...

Okay, so TECHNICALLY these aren't, you know, knitting, but they are things that I did make, so why not share them?

We're at that point where the winter stuff is pretty much all gone from the stores, but we've got at least another month, probably more like 6 weeks, of hat weather. Somehow all of my older son's hats have disappeared. I think I might have left one in VT, I'm not sure. So, sure, I could go buy him yet another hat, but instead I decided to make them! I didn't have a pattern, I pretty much just winged it, and there's definitely changes I would make. So, we're at the stage where it's hard to get a good picture of the boys, but here they are.

Both hats were done the same way, and both have things that make them not perfect, but they're wearable. I did the littler guy's hat first. It's hard to tell, but this was the splurge fleece, it's John Deere. He likes tractors, that kid. Since I am from VT, that seems most appropriate to me. I measured his head at about 19" (I had to use a piece of string, because all of my measuring tapes have disappeared. I used Malabrigo at first but it's too stretchy to get an accurate length). I used about 1.5" of ease, but in retrospect, I should have used more like 3". It fits him, but it's snug. And this was after I cut a piece that was too small! Third time's the charm? I made a rectangle of 14" x 20.5". I put the right sides together and sewed a tube and closed off one end. First I just rolled the brim, but I didn't like having the raw seam showing, so I turned under a deep hem (for that one, maybe about 3.5" or so, I think a bit deeper is better), and then folded that back. Done. I think it's really quite cute, actually! You could also do pom-poms on the points, but honestly, I just don't have that kind of energy right now.

I did the same thing for my older son's hat - this fleece is super-cute, it's dogs and fire hydrants (I'd say he's just on the borderline of being too old for it, it's probably more appropriate for a toddler than a kid his age but he liked it). I made this one a bit taller, 15", I think, and used about 3" of ease for his head. On this one, I did a much deeper hem (5"), which makes the hat a tad shorter. In fact, I think it's almost too short. If you pull the brim down more, you can see the seam where I sewed it. I'm sure there's a more clever way to do the brim than this, but I couldn't think of it.

For the last hat, I really wanted to do more of a stocking hat. I folded the fleece in half and cut down the whole yard of fabric, I think I did a width of about 12.5" (so the whole piece would be 25" wide). This did result in a hat that's a bit loose on him. It's sort of hard to describe how I did the cut. I cut the fabric on the diagonal, but not corner to corner. I hit about 4" up on the long side on each side, and cut diagonally that way. I screwed up the top = I wanted to leave two short pieces hanging to tie fringe with, but I sewed them on the wrong side. Ooops. Oh well. Then I just seamed up the side, and did the same hem thing. Right now this cap ends flat, rather than to a point, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. DS says he likes it the way it is, but I think it looks a bit...well, different from my vision.

Overall, though, I'm really pleased. These are quick and easy projects, and now they have hats! DS2 wants a bug stocking cap too, so I think I'll try to put fringe on his (and make it a bit smaller too).

The top hats are so easy, literally it's two seams and you're done. These would be fantastic and easy hats to make for donation, and you could get about 6 hats out of 1 yard of fleece.

Drive By Post

Just a quick one since I've got to get the kids out the door...

It's a sad sad day here at KWAP. One of my first pairs of socks has developed holes in the heels. So sad! I love the Yarn Harlot's idea that sock knitters are the ultimate optimists because they spend a long time (and, comparatively speaking, a lot of money) on something that you KNOW isn't going to last! I actually have some ideas about how this makes the product all the more dear, and yet, the pressure isn't so great, but like I said, I don't actually have time this morning.

I need to finish some things and then I was pondering setting myself a personal sock challenge. Say...a sock a week, for 10 weeks? Something like that. Details when I actually get there!

A bit of the blahs...

I'm not sure where my awesome knitting mojo went, but it's trickled away. I had the day "off" yesterday - in the morning I went and did some studying and then did a yoga class. The yoga classes offered at my gym aren't really the style of yoga I love, but it was really nice, and it was an actual class I could actually go to, as opposed to those amazing hypothetical classes that don't work in my schedule. I dashed home, nursed DD and shoveled some lunch into myself, and headed off to the movies. YAY! I love going to the movies, and actually love going alone. It was the first matinee of the day, and I think there was one other woman in the theater to me. I chose to go light, I saw He's Just Not That Into You.

Now, I am someone who truly enjoys being entertained and doesn't need everything I watch to be High Art, or even really all that good. So perhaps my expectations were low, but I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I laughed, I teared up (yes, I am hormotional, whatever), and I actually found it quite thought provoking. I could relate to the dilemmas of the women, in some way, and wondered why it took me so long to learn in my own life that men who treat you like dirt and play games just aren't worth it. I also thought it was interesting that while these women were all portrayed as being desperate to find THE ONE and get married, most of the actual marriages were portrayed very negatively. Anyway, after that I had the option to go knit, but I realized that I so rarely get to shop for ME without kids in tow, so I went and got some new yoga wear.

All this is a long-winded way of saying that I haven't been knitting much. DH and I watched a movie on Friday night and I did some rounds on one of my socks, but that's about it. I'm at that point where I'm just BORED with everything I'm doing, or it takes more brain power than I have available. All I want to do is cast on tons of new projects, mostly socks, but I'm exercising restraint and not doing it because I really want to finish.

Also, I went through this phase where I was knitting a ton and I wasn't reading much. Now I am a voracious reader, and I always have at least one book going, usually more. I actually, for perhaps the first time, didn't have a book I was reading! While I was away last week, I got rehooked into reading. I read...5 books while I was there (about a book a day), and now all I want to do is curl up and read. Most of what I read was the emotional equivalent of comfort food, but I did read this, and thought it was absolutely FANTASTIC. (I'm not sure why Amazon thinks it hasn't been released yet...my sister used to work for a bookstore, maybe she got an advance copy? It wasn't a reader. Oh wait, it's book two that's coming out in April. Squee!). Anyway, if you're a Fantasy Fiction reader (which I am) and if you're a writing snob (err, which I am, a bit - I know, it seems in contrast to my statement above, but honestly, so much that's published is just crappy writing), you will appreciate this book.

What else...school vacation is over, THANK GOD. That's how I know I have truly become an adult. It's not that I don't enjoy my kids, I do. But, I'm lucky enough to be a stay-at-home-mom, which means that I'm with them all the time. School gives us all a bit of a break from each other, which is a good thing. My oldest is...intense, and having some time away from him helps me be more present and available when I am with him. I actually hit a point yesterday where I was trying to get something done in the kitchen and both my sons were coming at me. I was backed up against the cabinets, whimpering, and saying "SPACE! I NEED SPACE!! NOBODY TOUCH ME!!" So yeah, school=good. I'll try and get some knitting done tomorrow...

And now I should post this rambling, non-knitting entry before my internet turns off.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

I am back from my trip. Overall it was really nice, it was great to spend time with my family, though I did miss my DH. The kids all decided to have massive sleep upheavals which really was not fun, but we got through it. All of them were driving me crazy at different times, but then they all managed to enchant me as well, which is pretty cool, actually. My daughter is just about to learn to crawl up stairs, oh joy.

I have some yarn feedback to report.

1. This, the Mermaid is much more teal/aqua than I expected it would be. I was picturing softer blues, somehow. Softer colors all around. It's nice, I suppose, but I'm not sure it's really *my* colors. Of course, venturing outside of my narrow palette of purple and green might be good for my soul or something. Maybe? You think? Of course, I also bought the Wicked Witch colorway, which is very pretty, though a bit darker than I expected. Still, lovely.

2. The Cadena is just the wrong shade of green. I knew it was a risk - greens are hard to coordinate, but I thought there was a chance. Their picture is pretty good actually, and mine sort of sucks, but it's too much of a blue-green (it's not a blue-green, but it's a green that's a bit more to the blue side), and I need a green that's a bit more to the yellow/olive side. It's very pretty and I'm sure I can find something lovely to do with it, but it won't be the replacement for my Foliage that I had hoped.

That's okay though, because I happened to stop into a yarn store in my home town...*innocent look* and found a lovely yarn that will work with my coat! The green is in the right family of olives. It's obviously not a bulky, but I think it should work for the worsted weight version of Foliage. We'll see. I also gave into the Noro sock yarn. We'll see how it turns out.

And with these purchases, I am now officially putting myself on a YARN DIET. I really need to just start a knitting marathon and get some stuff done!

The amusing part of all this yarn purchasing is that I did start something new...well, not new exactly. FALLING LEAF #2! I did about 2 rows on my other sock and just wasn't into it, so I pulled out the Tofutsies and cast it on. I managed to get the toe and one whole lace repeat done as well. (Apparently I finished the first one in October of 2007.)

So, yarn diet. We'll see how that goes. Knit a whole lot. We'll see how that goes. Do these count as New Year's Resolutions, if it's already more than halfway through February?

Packing

It's school vacation week here in MA, and since our little co-op nursery school follows the school calendar, we're off for the week. So I'm doing what any sane woman (with an awesome mom) does, and fleeing the state to go visit my family. DH isn't coming with, he's got work and since things have been tough for him lately, I'm hoping a break will help restore him a bit. At least maybe he'll get some sleep.

It turns out that having a baby who wakes up and screams for an hour to an hour and a half in the middle of the night isn't really all that much fun! I know, I'm shocked too. The brochure made it sound so appealing.

I always have this fantasy that I'm going to get So Much Knitting Done when I'm at my folks. I do often get stuff done, but not as much as I dream about. And yet, the question remains, what do I pack?

Right now I've got two socks in flight, plus a scarf, plus a crochet project plus another big project. And I have all this lovely new sock yarn, and I really need socks. I think the smartest thing to do would be to bring the scarf and the socks that are in process, and *maybe* yarn to cast-on one more pair, just in case I suddenly, you know, become a really speedy knitter. Because g-d forbid I run out of knitting options.

Have I mentioned that I'm helpless in the face of sock yarn?

Yeah. It's true.

I had a gift certificate to KnitPicks for Christmas, so a few things are coming to live with me...

This, in Mermaid Lagoon and Wicked Witch....
This, in Leaf (hopefully to match my coat for another Foliage, as the Malabrigo Chunky in Olive appears to be sold out everywhere, and yes this isn't sock yarn, I know)
This, in Tyrian Purple (I did some socks in an older colorway and I really like the yarn, it's durable and soft)
This, in Ash (I have a couple possible plans for this yarn)
And then this, just because I need it.

And now, a few skeins of this are coming to live with me, in Intense Rainbow and Violet Rainbow. One possible plan for this is to stripe the intense rainbow with the Ash KP Essential, either in socks or a scarf (a la Noro 1x1 ribbed scarf). I'm not sure about my sanity, that I'm considering knitting a scarf out of SOCK YARN. Clearly some sort of intervention is required. :)

I also think I have more than enough sock yarn in purple/green combos, and I need to start actually, you know, knitting the darn socks.

Time Out

I was on such a knitting streak, getting stuff done and posting about it! That's on hold for the moment. My husband's uncle passed away last week, so DH has been out of town. My mom came down to help me but there's not been much downtime and my heart's not really been in it. I'd like to do some knitting today. My mom left this morning and DH gets home later tonight, so we'll see.

The rest of my yarn shipment from Webs arrived, the last of the Noro Silk Garden...My mom really liked the colors of the scarf I'm doing now, so I'd love to get that done this week for her. Noro is so different in real life than what you see on the page, so I'm not sure I'll order it without being able to see it again. I also now have two skeins in a colorway that I don't like as much in person, not sure what to do with it...and the baby unwound one of them so I don't think I can sell it...maybe I'll list it on Ravelry.

Blah. I'm just feeling blah today.

I did get a larger mat for using the rotary cutter (40% off!), so maybe I'll go cut up fleece for blankies!

FO: Flowers of a Grave

I absolutely love cloche-style hats. I don't have any (until now) but I always try them on and want one! Because my head is a bit smaller than the average bear's, the ones available in stores don't tend to fit me either. It just occurred to me, HEY! I'm a knitter, right? I could make one! I did a bunch of rav-surfing and found this pattern, and decided to try it! I had some Noro Kureyon that happened to come in my latest Webs order, so I cast it on. It's a quick knit, fairly easy. I should have taken pictures of the pre-felted product, it was VERY large.

Since I have a front-loader, I decided to attempt to hand-felt it. This would have been successful if I were willing and able to put the time in, but I just wasn't. (And I started working on my arms at the gym today too.) I ended up running it through the wash 3x before it felted enough and wasn't down around my nose! On the last round, I made sure I was using HOT water and a heavy-duty agitation, and that worked well. I am so pleased with how this came out! I just love the colors, I love how Noro felts, and I am completely amused that it matches the Booga Bag. Sadly, we're getting ANOTHER snow storm today, and this hat doesn't really go, stylistically-speaking, with my heavy winter coat, so I'm going to have to wait until we have slightly warmer weather to wear it with my wool coat, which will work. Fun fun!

Happy February!

Where on earth did the month go? My goodness, time is flying. We had a birthday party for a friend of DS2's today and we're now on vomit-watch 2009, as two kids barfed at the party. GOOD TIMES! DS had a good time. He's a poor second child who has pretty much tended to be friends with his big brother's friends, so having his own school time has been awesome for him this year. One of the moms announced that she was pregnant (her third) and I was so happy for her, and so glad it's not me!

So for knitting...I'm wearing my spiral hat and scarf all the time and loving them. I realized that one of the reasons I'm really focused on knitting for ME right now is that I have so little in my life that really is just for me. I'm too tired (or had too many kids) to have any brain cells left for the big stuff that requires thinking, but knitting is something I can do. Wearing things I've made for myself feels like self-care, which is cool. I've had various helping professionals over the years tell me I needed to learn "self-care" and I never really understood what that meant, but now I'm starting to get it.

So, I finished the knitting of Flowers on a Grave today, and attempted to felt it by hand. After 20 minutes I decided I was tired (and need to lift more weights), so I sent it through the washer. Now, I do have a front-loader which is supposed to be not-as-good for felting, but it felted my Foliage just fine (insert eye roll here), so I thought I'd see what happened. It's a quick knit, so if it fails utterly, well, that's okay. After one trip through, it was still reaching down to my nose. After two trips through, it was reaching down over my eyebrows. We'll see what the third trip does!

I was knitting along, and it was time to go to the above-mentioned birthday party, so I pulled out my Booga Bag (total side note, going out with a kid where I brought NOTHING kid-related with me=awesome!), and realized that I knit the hat in the same colorway as the booga bag, though the stripes are a bit different. I am amused.

My husband was laughing at me because I was saying to him "I seem to be obsessed with hats and scarves right now, but once I'm done with that, I'm going to be obsessed with socks." He said "You're planning your obsessions?" Um, doesn't everyone?

I'm plugging away on my Noro stripe scarf...it's funny, I know it's not going to be for me, but I don't know who it is going to be for!

Details on the Hat and Scarf

So, the hat is the Noro One-Skein Spiral hat. It is knit in Noro Silk Garden, colorway 241. I knit this on my 16" size 7 circs, and finished with the Magic Loop, using my KP Options. I cast-on 88 stitches, and did around 6 or 7 rows of a 2x2 ribbing, which I actually like for this hat. It's definitely a fitted hat, and I have a smaller head, so if your head is normal sized, either go up a couple of sizes on needles or cast on more stitches. The first attempt I made, I had to frog because my eyelits were stacking instead of spiraling. Turns out that I was misreading the pattern. When you actually follow the pattern, it works! I knit it to about 5 3/4" deep, and then did the decreases. I *love* the top, and it's exceedingly clever in how it's done! This is a cute hate and I'm really enjoying it! In the picture, it's sitting on my medium-sized mixing bowl which seems to be a good fit for blocking hats...I'm not sure how it'll work to block a hat with more of a brim (I'm doing a felted cloche next), but we'll see.

The scarf is from the Gentle Stripes pattern. I cast-on 28 instead of whatever she suggests (20? 24?), because I like a wider scarf for warmth. I think this pattern works really well with the color gradations of Noro. And I love the fact that the ends somehow came out almost matching! It's a warm and cozy scarf, and I've been wearing it almost non-stop.

So, still on needles we have...

1. Another Noro Stripe Scarf
2. Branching Out
3. My Cat Bordhi sock (can't remember which one it is)

And to be cast-on, my poor neglected Falling Leaves sock.

Once I get these things done, I need to focus on socks for a while. I really need more socks and winter is showing no signs of ever letting up, so warm socks are a must! I find that when I wear my commercial socks now, my feet are just cold! No good.

Oh, and my younger son has taken the felted Foliage for his own, which makes me really happy. He loves green. I can't find Malabrigo Chunky in Olive in-stock anywhere, but perhaps that's for the best.

See, I am that into you!

You thought I was like that guy who took your number and never called or answered your texts or anything, but it's not true! I really like you, and here's the proof! Pictures! TWO FOs!!

Details to follow tomorrow because I have no time at the moment, but I was so excited to get this done! The scarf is all crumply because I've been wearing it a lot. I needed a scarf. I think the colors are much truer in the first hat picture than in the hat and scarf picture (which is too bad because I like those colors better).

Bummer, and yet, personal growth.

So, in my attempt to felt my foliage hat, I ruined it. It felted some, but not prettily, and it was too short. It did block nicely, but it looked like crap. *sigh* Oh well. I can make another easily enough, once I acquire some more malabrigo chunky. I am an idiot though because it didn't even occur to me until late last night (well after felting fiasco) that I could have just unraveled and reknit it!!!!

The personal growth piece is that I managed not to get upset or angry at myself for it. I was a bit bummed, sure, but I've got another hat I'm working on so I'll have a warm winter hat, and I can really just get more yarn and reknit it. It's not that big a deal. Sure, I'm out a few bucks and a few hours, but that's not so bad. And it's really got nothing to do with my worth and value as a human being.

And now off to order some more Malabrigo. :) Anyone ever ordered from eat.sleep.knit?

The Current Experiment

(I know, I know, no pictures of the scarf! It is warm though! I'll do some when I get back from today's preschool drop-off.)

My Foliage hat is currently in the washing machine. It's just too big. I have a front-loader, and I put some wool socks through to see what would happen and they felted just a bit, so I'm hoping that's what will happen to the hat. Worst case scenario, I'm out the yarn and the time, and I'll get some more and make a new one. (Wow, I can't believe I just said that!) I'll report back as to what happens. I'm also going to experiment with using my mixing bowl to block/dry the thing. It's a day of experiments!

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!