knittybean

Is wine good for migraines?

2009-02-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

No, wine is not good for headaches. But that doesn't mean I'll deny myself a glass of red-- this is day 6 of migraine hell and I'm so pumped full of ibuprofen and tylenol that I figure a glass of wine can't hurt.

Don't feel too sorry for me, though. I've been a migraineur for most of my life, though I didn't admit they were migraines until I was about seventeen or eighteen. Either way, I've had years of tuning out the pain. So even though I took all my druuuuuugs and a long, hot shower, I'm still being productive. Or productiveish.

I started the Karate Sweater a month or so ago, and the body knitted up so quickly. I've been putting off finishing it--just the sleeves and collar are left-- because the giant needles are so unpleasant to knit with. 70% of the time I spend on each row is wasted trying to shove my stitches back onto the large needles from the small cable connecting them.

Other than making my arm (soon to be armSSSSS) look kind of hulk-like, I like it. It'll be long, oversized, and bizarre. If I can just keep with these needles I'll have it done in a day or two.

Russian Fever

2009-01-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

Somehow, over the years, my attitude toward yarn has slowly morphed from proudly indifferent to just this side of obsessive. I suppose working in a yarn store doesn't help, but in reality I was well on my way to fiber crazy before I even stepped foot in the store. Years of of knitting have taught me that my old attitude, a saucy one that rolled its eyes at fiber snobs and people who skipped lunch in order to get that special hank into their stash, was ridiculous. Now, seasoned with dozens of projects and years of experience. . . I finally understand. Today, for possibly the first time in my life, I was truly, fully, yarn crazy.

What finally got me? This fantastic red angora. I haven't bought any angora in years, nor have I really lusted after any. But man, something about this yarn-- the color, the fuzz-- called out to me. This yarn absolutely must become a fantastic red, fuzzy, Russian-looking toque. And god knows after my recent hat misfire (ahem, Koigu) I need a little something jazzy and red to fix my knitting juju.

Speaking of that hat misfire, I've decided to open up the fate of my beret to opinion. Your opinion!
Here are some photos of the hat. It's definitely bigger than I had envisioned, but not nearly as bad as I thought the first time I put it on. The thing is, I'm just not sure if it's bad enough to rip. Just so everyone knows what went into the hat: 6 months of on/off knitting (charted every other row...), size 3 and 1 needles, and thirty bucks worth of Koigu. Oh, and I can't forget the allergic reaction to the needles. I don't hate the result, I guess I'm just having a hard time imagining if I can live with it, and maybe even someday love it.

So, what's the verdict?

While I've been gone, I've been knitting.

2009-01-23T21:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I haven't actually been gone. I just haven't been writing in here. Admittedly the writing hiatus has been partially due to my uncertain feelings about blogs. Blogs are so narcissistic , which is what turns me off about them, but now that I don't have any papers to write for school I really do enjoy having an opportunity to write little essays. And afterall, knitting is my favorite subject.

And boy, apparently not writing has given me some time to get some knitting projects under way/done. So to get us back into the swing of things, here is what I've been knitting.

1. I FINISHED the Springtime in Philadelphia beret. You know, the fabulous semi-lace Koigu one I've been working on for what seems like forever. Overall this was a somewhat time consuming knit, but didn't take me anywhere near the actual six months it was on the needles. I don't think I ever worked on this project at home-- almost all knitting was done completely on public transit (mainly while job searching) or in waiting rooms. I also stopped working on it for a month or so in the middle, because I discovered that I was having an allergic reaction to my Susan Bates needles (which were the only 3s I had). I resurrected it recently and was able to finish it within a few days. No post-blocking (or finished) photos yet, but they'll come soon.

Project Specs:
Pattern- Springtime in Philadelphia Beret by Kate Gagnon
Yarn- Koigu KPPM, color P118C (I think, it's speckled pinks). 1.5 skeins.
Needles- Susan Bates US 3, random metal DPNs size US 1 for ribbing
Cast on/off- August 10, 2008-Jan 20, 2009
Comments- What the hell, this is HUGE. There is nothing more disheartening than finishing a sock weight lace beret you've been working on for six months only to realize it makes you look like you're wearing a very fashionable and expensive hairnet. I'm considering my options with this one: ripping it out and reknitting it seems like an unattractive option, while shrinking it seems scary but promising. I've heard awful rumors Koigu doesn't shrink... so we'll see what I do with this hat. Whatever I do, though, I'll do something. I should note that I think the pattern is very well written, fun to knit, and just challenging enough. Not sure if it's the pattern or me that made it huge, but I'm thinking it's the latter.

2. My first socks! I avoided socks for years because I was terrified that I'd uncover a new obsession... and now that I've entered into sock territory I'm finding all my fears were well placed. I must. knit. more. socks.

Project Specs:
Pattern- Ann Norling Adult Socks II
Yarn- Nashua Grand Opera, black. 2 skeins.
Needles- Brittany Birch DPNs, size US 4
Cast on/off- Dec 12, 2008-Jan 10 2009
Comments- Very straightforward, and a great first sock pattern/experience. Using a DK weight yarn for my first pair was essential-- I couldn't have chugged through a fingering weight pair my first time around. The Grand Opera is kind of splitty, but I mean it's a sparkle yarn... what did I expect.

3. Large Cable Scarf for my Mom

Project Specs:
Pattern- none, improvised.
Yarn- Malabrigo Chunky, color Indigo. 2 skeins.
Needles- Harmonies, size US 11.
Cast on/off- Dec 23-Dec 26 2008
Comments- A large cable scarf, knitted as a last minute Christmas gift for my mom. Malabrigo is fantastic to work with, as always, and the color is great. So soft knitted up, too! This was a simple pattern, and I'll write it up for those of you who want it for free.

4. Rachael Neckwarmer out of Iro

Project Specs:
Pattern- Rachael Neckwarmer
Yarn- Noro Iro, don't remember the color name anymore. I skein.
Needles- Harmonies, size US 11.
Cast on/off- Nov 17 2008-Jan 10 2009
Comments- Well written pattern, and my first time doing short rows. I loved them, and I'm so pleased I now understand how they affect the shape of fabric. I'm also very pleased to finally be done with this yarn. I knitted this into a highly unsuccessful scarf months ago, painfully frogged it a couple of times, and then let the yarn languish for several months. The Iro is interesting... very plant-matterey. Hard to rip out. Not that soft... but boy are the colors pretty. Let's just say the Iro isn't my thing, but my mom sure does like it.

There are many more projects to blog about, but I've gotta run. More later!

Susan Bates, why have you forsaken me?

2008-11-23T00:16:00.001-08:00

A lot of people are allergic to wool, and a very unlucky few are even allergic to alpaca. Me, I haven't got any fiber allergies that I know of... but I do have a bitchin' metal allergy.

It's strange, because I wasn't always allergic to certain metals. As a kid I bought and wore just as much cheap, mystery-metal plated jewelry as the next little girl. But as I got older my reaction to jewelry got stronger. First it was an aversion to earrings-- a life-long avoidance I only recently realized was due to discomfort. This mild pain shifted more recently into a fierce reaction: big, red, swollen, infected earlobes. Gross.

About a year after realizing that I could only wear gold in my ears (only solid gold, how convenient...) I developed a strange rash on my chest. After a few weeks of, "Gee, what could this possibly be?" a fateful moment in the mirror revealed the cause of my small rash. Leaning forward, open-mouthedly applying mascara in my bathroom mirror, my eye caught the little harp pendant around my neck. The charm hung exactly where the rash was, and when I turned the charm over I saw little glimpses of silvery metal peeking through the gold plating. I decommissioned the charm and within days my rash was gone.

Even though I'd known for years about the earring thing, the necklace bit caught me off guard. I was amazed that I was that sensitive to metals. It was an "Aha!" moment, much like the moment I had today on BART. While knitting the last few rows of the Springtime in Philadelphia beret I began to feel soreness in my thumbs and index fingers. I glanced down and saw that, by pushing the stitches up off my needles (I knit English), I was rubbing my fingers over and over against my needles.

I got rid of all Addi Turbos long ago, understanding that the nickel content was to blame for my unpleasant knitting experience with said needles. After getting my set of Harmony wood needles this year I nearly forgot about any metal needle problems. It was only for this pattern, which calls for needles smaller than those I have in my Harmony set, that I branched out into different needle types.

I've liked Susan Bates needles for years. I like the light-grey coated ones, not too slippery, not too grabby. But after today, and considering my soresoresore fingers, I'll have to veto the Susan Bates, too. Perhaps the most devastating about the whole situation? I can't finish this beret until I get replacement needles!

I GOT THE JOB!

2008-11-19T18:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right-- you're looking at a proud new member of the Imagiknit staff!

First day's tomorrow. Oh my god!

Let's just sharpen some tree branches and knit with those.

2008-11-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

Lately audio books are my thing. I like to listen to them while I knit, while I'm on public transit, or more frequently while waiting for public transit to arrive.

I'm lucky, because the city library here is fantastic. I'm a bit spoiled, having just graduated from being able to access one of the most extensive libraries in the nation, but the city library does not disappoint. In fact, I find way more cool stuff there than in my alma mater's stuffy library (stuffy, but gorgeous). I managed to check out almost every David Sedaris audio book, two Barbara Walker Stitch Dictionaries, and a bunch of knitting pattern books. The problem with the library, though, is you have to return things.

I got my free yarn in the mail day before yesterday. What a fantastic gal Tamara is for sending me that yarn, now I get to knit a FREE sweater. Well, almost free. Still gotta go buy these ginormous needles called for in the pattern. All the yarn shops near my house laughed when I called asking for size 35 circular needles. I caved and tried Joann's and Michael's, and after about thirty minutes on hold was amazed to find that Michael's did in fact have size 35, 29" circular needles. Armed with my iPod and a newly uploaded recording of Sedaris' "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim," I rode two busses through the ghetto to get to Michael's. Wouldn't you know, they didn't actually have size 35 circulars. Ugh.

So, in order to keep myself from going nuts, I bought some yarn. I had a weird flashback to buying my first yarn, a decade ago, at a Michael's in Southern California. How funny, even then--before I knew that lovely LYSes existed-- I got the feeling that this was not how one should buy yarn. Sure, they've got a ton of acrylic and cheap scratchy wool, but is the knowledgeable, knitting-crazy staff? Knitting is such a calming, beautiful, and skilled activity... it just seems that the fluorescent-lit aisle of a super store is not the place to begin your knitting experience.

That being said, I DID buy yarn there. But only because it was cheap, and because I needed to make Sam another hat. Well, Sam needs another hat like he needs a hole in the head, but I need to make him one. I got a skein of what I think is Wool Ease Thick & Quick, but it had the Homespun label on it. I didn't realize this until I was out of the store, thinking to myself, "Gee, that yarn sure was cheap...". Turns out someone had put the wrong label back on an unlabeled skein, and I ended up with a skein of forest green Wool Ease for two bucks! Score.

So I'll churn out a quick beanie today. I need to complete something, and keep myself busy while I wait for the mailman to deliver my size giant needles.

Strangest, most wonderful day.

2008-11-13T14:38:00.001-08:00

Today has been, by far, the most surprising and fantastic day I've had in a long time.

First, the day started with a job interview at my all time favorite yarn shop. I don't want to say which shop because I don't want to jinx it, but I can tell you that the selection, staff, and owner are all top notch. It's the kind of small business I'd like to run someday.

After my fantastic interview (I'm still waiting to hear if I'll be offered a job or not, so good thoughts my way, people) I decided to stay where I was (boy, being this vague is hard) and knit at a beautiful, sunny park. I figured I was already most of the way there, and I did have that cowl to finish up.

Little did I know that apparently knitting in public translates to "Please bug me and tell me your life story". First, at the park, some mid-thirties guy sitting next to me on a bench went on at length about his troubled relationship with his girlfriend and his role as absentee father to his 19-month-old daughter. The weirdest part is he was totally unprovoked-- it's like my knitting subliminally broadcast a message that I was a good listener, and that he should go ahead and entertain me while I did whatever boring, methodical, old-ladyish activity it was I was engaging in (he went so far as to tell me he would never imagine me as a knitter. Ouch.).

After about fifteen minutes, and in mid bind-off no less, I made an excuse that I had to catch a bus and hurried off. I remembered that I was just a couple of blocks away from a very famous bakery/cafe, and headed there. I figured I could have a nice cup of tea, sit at a sidewalk table, observe life, and finish the cowl. Unfortunately, this time my knitting invited the attention of a middle aged physician turned glass blower. He figured we had the arts in common, and so he talked and talked about his existential mid-life crisis and how he blows mainly, but still "does some physician stuff occasionally". This is still confusing to me; does that mean he's like, an on call physician? Does he go to the hospital in between glass blowing sessions and do a couple of exams?

Anyway, the guy was nice, but he crossed the line when he offered to take photos of me wearing the finished cowl. I guess I started it (before he began talking to me) by taking a couple of photos of the cowl laying on the table. He saw my camera on the table, and after about ten minutes of chit chat offered to take a picture of me wearing it. He wouldn't let me protest (having my picture taken by strangers is up there on my list of uncomfortable moments) and took my camera, stood up, and then began to tell me how to model. I was expecting a quick "point, click", but instead the guy kept saying stuff like "Now look up like there's a bird in the sky, a very interesting, mysterious bird..." or "Look coy, like you're shooting someone an evil glare". All of this resulted in my nervous laughter, and a few comments like "No, seriously, I don't do that face."

Shortly after the world's most uncomfortable impromptu photo shoot I made yet another empty excuse, downed my remaining tea, and left with one of his business cards, "In case you ever need any blown glass." The thing is, as weird as those guys were today, they meant well and were actually pretty nice.

Speaking of niceness, the cap on my lovely day (which, if I haven't made it clear, has been lovely because the cowl is beautiful and the job interview was great) is FREE YARN. Remember how a few weeks ago I became smitten with Twinkle's Big City Knits? Well, I finally decided which piece to make: The Karate Sweater. I figure big holes and slouchy styling are a good way to avoid looking like a stuffed sausage in a bulky knit. Anyway, I had been looking for some Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick (cheap, yes. In my book bulky doesn't deserve a big investment.) in a particularly hard-to-find color. I found some in a Raveler's stash, and to my surprise she offered to GIVE me the yarn. How unexpected! Thank you, Tamara! What a great gal, and a CAL alum, too! Any idea what little item I should knit her as a thank-you?

So here I am, on the other side of my job funk (for now), with a beautiful finished object, some free yarn, and a potential new Ravelry buddy. What a great day. And for fun, here's a relatively good photo that came out of the world's weirdest photo shoot. I think he caught me by surprise in this one, because in every other one I look kind of wild-eyed and uncomfortable. Cowl needs a button, I think, and once that's done I'll get the pattern compiled.

Knitting helps.

2008-11-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday as I walked back to the BART from yet another failed job interview, fighting back a lump in my throat, I thought to myself, "I wish there was a damn yarn shop around here to distract me from myself." But of course there aren't any yarn shops to stumble upon in the financial district of San Francisco, so I settled for french fries instead.
Thank god I uploaded a new David Sedaris audiobook onto my iPod. I zoned out to his lispy, girlish voice and by the time I got home had almost completely rid myself of the sinking feeling in my stomach. Any bad feelings totally vanished when I found this fantastic package from my Mom and Dad, complete with Spam Museum trink and some cotton on the hoof, waiting for me on my doorstep.

It seems that the only relief I get from the feelings of uncertainty and failure that job searching brings about comes in the form of knitting. Knitting has always had a calming, regulating effect on me--something I seem to need now more than ever. So in the spirit of burying my feelings of rejection and disappointment, I'm off to finish a cowl design I've been knitting up. Who knows, I may even conquer my sewing machine today.

2008-11-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

There are aspects of knitting that seem, to me, to be a little cultish.

Or at least that's what I started thinking today as I was browsing Ravelry project pages. There are people whose project pages are full of washcloths or cowls, or others still whose pages exhibit lace shawls exclusively. Then of course there are Sock Knitters-- reigning queens(or kings) of the cult-ey exclusive knitters.

As hard as I try, I just don't understand the dedication of these monotype knitters. It's hard enough for me to crank out one lace piece, let alone fifty of them. And beleive me, the moment I finish a lace something-or-other I cast on immediately for something gratifyingly solid, brainless, maybe even wholly garter stitch. And the washcloths... I understand that they're a fantastic way to use up extra fiber or even make a biggish swatch worthwhile, but WASHCLOTHS? My brain cringes at the thought of putting anything I hand crafted (and most likely spent a couple of hours on) in a sink full of dirty, scummy dishes. I suppose I'd be a little more okay with knitted washcloths if they were used for shower purposes only, but even then I can't help but think "The only person who will ever see this is me, naked."

But the beauty of art and craft is that it's neither black nor white. Just because I, personally, could never turn myself into a little sock knitting sweatshop doesn't mean that someone who loves knitting socks can't do so exclusively. And who's to say that the little lace forays I make are any less valuable than the impressive, blind-nun-like lace that others dedicate themselves to? We knit what we love, and for that I respect people who have found something they love so much that they knit solely that type of item. Me... I love everything and want to knit everything. Wait, is that why I'm casting on for a pair of sleeping underwear? (Nope, I'm just nuts...)

This subjectivity is one of the reasons I love knitting, and I'm finding that it's one of the reasons I'm beginning to love painting, too. I'd never really seriously painted before, but thanks to a class at my local community college I've been able to dabble lately. I'm really my only critic; one of the things I love most about the class is when a peer comes over to survey my work--work that I feel falls short of my expectations--and looks at it with fresh eyes, seeing my success instead of my mistakes. It's just like me looking at pages and pages of knitted lace and socks and seeing only beautiful objects instead of a slipped stitch here or a missing yarn-over there.

In sum: boy do I love art.

(p.s. painting is still a work in progress)

Today is a beautiful day.

2008-11-05T10:28:00.001-08:00

I don't like to talk about politics. Usually I'm the girl who, at the first mention of George Bush or the war, changes the subject of the conversation to her pet bird's vocabulary or her current knitting obsession (all the while searching for an exit route). It's not that I don't care about the state of the country, it's just that I don't find it particularly enjoyable to share/hear political opinions. If you ask me, politics are pretty personal. So I keep myself out of them, and it seems to work pretty well for me.

But the city I chose to live in doesn't share my low-key political attitude. I mean, this is to be expected for the city that hosted the Free Speech Movement and, more recently, a nearly two year long tree sit. It makes perfect sense, then, that Berkeley would have had an amazing reaction to the election of Barack Obama.

The moment that the news announced Obama had won people mobbed out into the streets. Never one(s) to pass up a party, my roommate and I got carried along with the celebration. Thousands of people gathered at the south end of campus; people climbed street signs, sat on rooftops, hung out of windows. . . all the while chanting "U.S.A!", "OBAMA", and "YES WE CAN". It was a pretty fantastic sight, and it did something strange to me. It replaced my normal feelings of indifference with feelings of pride and a sense of hope.

Now let's not get too carried away with politics. Never far from my life, my knitting was the main reason I wanted to watch the election coverage. Hours of precious knitting time, and I chose to devote them to the Springtime in Philadelphia Beret. I realize I haven't posted any progress shots so far, which is strange because this WIP is by far my favorite thing I've ever knitted. Favorite yarn (koigu...), favorite pattern, favorite needles. I. love. this. hat. I want to have one on the needles at all times, because it really is a perfect portable knitting project.

In fact, its portability is probably the reason I haven't taken any photos of it yet. Most of this hat has been knitted on BART, in buses, or in waiting rooms. I was kind of saving it for those moments, which translated into a pretty slow progression. I've resolved to finish it sooner rather than later, so I'm going out on a limb and knitting it---gasp---while at home. And boy oh boy will I have a lot of time to knit, because all my damn yelling at the rally the other night cost me my voice.

Seaming party at my house!

2008-11-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

I wish I was excited to seam this sweater. Not that seaming is so bad--in fact, I think I dislike it considerably less than most other knitters. No, it's not the act of seaming that's got me down, it's the sweater itself.

The thing is, this sweater isn't bad. It does fit a little more snugly than I had intended, but it's not so tight that it's unattractive. It's a little shorter than I had intended, but again... not too bad there either. The thing is this sweater is just missing something. Pizazz, maybe, because boy oh boy is this sweater boring looking (and boring to knit, to boot).

On the upside, it feels like clouds. My roommate stood there hugging me, repeating, "You feel like snow" (whatever that means). I did love the way it felt while I was wearing it, and perhaps once it gets some sleeves I'll like it better. I still don't

know what kind of sleeves it needs. Short? 3/4? Long? Belle? Fitted? I'd be happy to have some suggestions.

So even though I want to work on any number of other projects, I'm going to TRY to force myself to seam this baby up tonight. That way I can start on the sleeves and just be DONE WITH IT.

I. Must. Finish. This. Sweater.

2008-10-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

So the other day, after drooling over the idea of a chunky, do-it-in-a-day sweater, I couldn't shake the little nagging voice in my head reminding me of that damn can't-even-do-in-six-months Grecian Plait.

It's not the sweater's fault that it's been nearly finished--but nothing more--for so many months. Yeah, the pattern was boring/easy (which should be good right?), and yes it is a kind of drab grey color... but I shouldn't have let that keep me from finishing it. So, in the spirit of wanting to just be DONE with the sucker I decided that I WILL finish this sweater. Knit the second sleeve, seam it, wear it; we're talking finish line in sight, people.

Or so I thought. Unfortunately, when I was about 5 inches in to the second sleeve I realized that it was nearly two inches too wide. The wacky thing is, even though I knit the first sleeve in February, I cast on for the second sleeve with the exact same number of stitches, needle, and yarn as I did for the first sleeve. Did my gauge seriously change that much in a few months?

I decided that knitting myself silly trying to match my gauge to sleeve numero uno didn't sound like much fun. Instead, I think I'll block and seam the body, rip out the sleeve I already knit, and just knit the sleeves by picking up stitches around the armholes. That way they'll be seamless and I can tailor them to fit better.

Just another silly obstacle in me finishing this sweater. I will do it, though. Watch, I bet it won't even fit... (maybe a little insight into the real reason behind my laggy finishing on this one)

Lying to ourselves.

2008-10-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today as I was walking home from the library, clutching two new knitting books, I realized that I sure do lie to myself a lot. The stack of jeans that no longer fit, the numerous books on my shelf that I tell myself I'll read when I get a chance--even though I know I'll never use any of them, I keep telling myself that I will. Keep these things, they will come in handy. What delusions.

As I was leafing through the knitting books, Big City Knits and Knitting Nature, and planning out my next projects I realized that I have a serious problem with lying to myself about my knitting capacity. I want to knitknitknit, but can't seem to find the oomph to get projects done quickly. I see some other knitters churning out sweaters and socks every two weeks and somehow translate that kind of knitting mojo onto myself. Yet, the reality is I've had this damn Grecian Plait sweater on the needles since February, and I just can't seem to finish it (Seriously, I'm half a short sleeve from being done--and have been at this point since July. This is just embarassing).

I do need to take into account, though, that while that sweater has been sitting there, shooting evil glares at me from the work-in-progress pile, I have knitted several other things. Even so, I find myself wanting to knit MORE. Everything, to be honest. I suppose this is the curse of being a knitter; at a certain point we become so blindly enamored with the craft that we loose all sight of our knitting realities.

Perhaps that's why my initial glance at Wenlan Chia's book made my heart skip a beat. I've read all the warnings that the patterns seem... to put it nicely.. to have been written by a non-knitter. I'm fully aware that if I weigh more than 90 lbs (and I do) these designs may make me look like a polish sausage. But still, the designs are damn cute and the prospect of knitting a sweater in a week or two is too good to turn down.

So instead of putting an end to the knitting delusions, I'll just find a way to make the delusions less ridiculous. Cast on for a new sweater with six other things on the needles? Don't mind if I do!

Tha Prince.

2008-10-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

Jeanette is a difficult name to spell. Not for me, mind you, but for most other people. Hostesses at restaurants, receptionists at doctor's offices, hell, sometimes even my own [extended]family members misspell my name. It's either that my name has too many letters (especially those silent, pesky vowels) or too few(I'm talking 'n's here). Most of the time my name ends up being Janet, Janette, Jeannette, or on a rare occasion Jennifer.

The problem with my name is that it does have a bunch of silent letters, and the phonetic spelling is nowhere near how I actually spell my name. Solution? My little cousin Hailey's version of my name. One year, when she was about 3 years old, she made me a birthday/Christmas/holiday card. She had taken it upon herself to write my name, and came up with the brilliant contraction "J'net".

Since then I've used this little abbreviation when too lazy to sign my full name, or when feeling silly. And BOY, how silly did I feel when I wandered into my local record shop (yup, we've still got local record shops in these parts!) and found that I'm not the only J'net. Perhaps I should take on the title of "Ya Royal Freshness"...

In other news, I have Malabrigo Fever. I'd heard so much about this yarn, about how squishy and luxe and buttery it is, but I didn't understand it until I got my little cookie grabbers on some of my own. In the ball and knitted up, this stuff is amazing. Bouncy and soft, and with the subtle color variations that tug at my inner-knitting-soul. Even though I went into the LYS looking for a totally different color, I fell in love with this fantastic rose/burgandy color. As always, photos don't do this stuff justice. And it knits up so fast, on size 8s! (Apparently I've been spending too much time knitting with sock yarn on size 3s).

I bought enough (or just one ball shy of enough, only time will tell) for the perfect sweater I've decided to knit myself. I'm toying around with the idea of making it my first published sweater design... but that's dependent on my comprehension of size-grading. I've already got the design all mapped out in my head, and a name is even on the tip of my tounge. Now to start knitting.

"You mean I can't wear flip flops in the rain?"

2008-10-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

For someone who's unemployed I find myself surprisingly busy. I have no shortage of things slated for the needles--a vest for my dad, a neck warmer for my mom, a cowl type thing for me, a Montego Bay-ish scarf I've been meaning to knit for about a year. . . Oh, and let's not forget about my terminally WIP Grecian Plait and the Springtime in Philadelphia beret I'm half way done with. Yet, even with all that stuff close to being/currently on the needles I find myself coming up with new projects for myself.

I've lived in the Bay Area for over two years now and consider myself a happy (though unlikely) convert. As a kid I sang the praises of my beachy, deserty homeplace, even going so far as to claim that I would never move away. Yet, years later, I find that I've happily adjusted to the absence of L.A. traffic (let's be real, all of Southern California is now plagued by the traffic that used to exist only in Los Angeles), the amazingly tolerant people, and the pedestrian culture up here. One thing I seem to have been ignoring, though, is the weather.

This fact became apparent to me when I was looking through my wardrobe on a cold day earlier this week. Different colored tank tops for every day of the month? Check. Absurd number of lightweight cotton cardigans and jackets? Checkity check check. Luscious warm sweaters? Che--wait a minute... where are all my sweaters?

How embarrassing for a knitter not to own any sweaters. I suppose my brain never snapped out of perma-warm weather mode, and somehow I managed to avoid buying or knitting a single sweater (for what it's worth, I also never got the hang of wearing shoes. Only after slipping on wet concrete did it occur to me that my Rainbow Sandals were perhaps not the most rain-appropriate footwear). Which leads me back to my point about how I can't seem to stop casting on for new stuff. My sweater crisis the other night and the increasingly crisp weather make it clear that I must I must knit myself a sweater for winter pronto. And out of Malabrigo, no less.

So here I am with piles of job applications to fill out and a half-dozen knitting projects to work on, and all I can think about is when I can bike over to the LYS and buy some Malabrigo for my simple, classy, perfect sweater. Something with bell sleeves, and maybe some tiny cables; something the color of the foam on a latte. (Do Lattes even have foam? I'm not a coffee drinker).

Free Pattern: Seeing Double

2008-10-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

It seems like knitting law: every knitter, at some point, must busy themselves with knitting little gifts for friends and family. But just how many hats, scarves, and gloves can you make? Knitted in the round and all in one peice, this quirky little number is the perfect alternative to traditional knitted gifts. It's a quick knit--just one or two hours total--and is the perfect project to use up scraps of aran/worsted and DK yarns. It is sized to fit a 22 oz bottle, but the pattern could easily be adjusted to fit a traditional 12 oz bottle.

Oh, and did I mention it actually keeps beer cold? That's right, it kept my beer cold for 2 hours!So round up some scrap yarn, buy some beer, and suprise someone special with a silly yet useful gift.
(To download, just click on "Seeing Double" at the bottom of the image. From there you should be directed to a full-page view of the document, where you can choose to download it.)

Seeing Double - Upload a Document to Scribd

High Hopes

2008-09-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

Why is it that after several years of knitting (and several successful knits, thankyouverymuch) I am still surprised when something I hand crafted turns out to be a dud? Maybe it's the thought that if you put enough time and good intentions into something, it can't help but turn out fantastic. Or the little voice in your head that says "No, don't swatch! This yarn is fantastic, how bad can it be?"

Don't get me wrong-- 'how bad can it be' is a motto I often live by. Only thing is, it works better when applied to cooking and not so great when applied to knitting. How bad can it be? This failed scarf illustrates this point perfectly: really bad.

My brain was apparently on vacation when I conceived and knit this Noro Iro scarf. Admittedly the scarf doesn't look half bad in this photo, all prettily pinned and blocking. If only the scarf had held that shape-- instead, the moment my mom draped this beauty around her neck it rolled up into a snake. Ugh.

So, after months of procrastinating, that scarf has been frogged. I found a new pattern for the yarn, and I think this one will be a winner. Here's hoping.

In the midst of frogging and rethinking projects gone awry I have found comfort in simple little projects. Best part about these little projects? Hard to screw up. I have a particular favorite WIP that I can't show you all of just yet. . . but here's a teaser. Stay tuned, free pattern available by Wednesday!

Finished, Side-to-Side Garter Stitch Vest!

2008-09-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

Project Specs:
Pattern: Cotton Classic Side-to-Side Garter Stitch Vest, by Irina Poludnenko
Size: 34 (small)
Yarn: Classic Elite Bam Boo, Color Plum. 13 skeins, held doubled.
Needle: US 10 (6 mm), KnitPicks Harmony adjustable circulars.
Made for: my mamma, Margie
Started: July 15 2008
Finished: September 24 2008

Thoughts? I really like how it turned out, and even better, my mom really likes how it turned out. We saw a sample of this garment at ImagiKnit in San Francisco a few months ago, and my mom instantly fell in love with it. I had a bunch of Classic Elite Bam Boo in my stash, and used it held doubled for this project. The yarn itself is gorgeous, it's got fantastic drape and is soft against the hand.

Bamboo is not a lightweight fiber, though, and the garment is pretty heavy-- 1.4 pounds, to be exact. Though it sounds like it weighs a lot, the weight of the garment actually makes it feel really nice on the body. Kind of cozy and comforting, like being hugged by. . . a bamboo tree.

This garment was my no-brainer knit; I knit it mostly in between complicated projects or on the bus or subway. This type of knitting, unfortunately, does not lend itself to speedy project completion. In all actuality, the garment probably took a week and a half of casual knitting--I just managed to spread it out over a few months.

There were a couple of errors in the pattern, which I have posted to the pattern's Ravelry page in the comments section. Also, the pattern didn't really specify what increases/decreases to use. . . so I had to do a little ad-libbing on the second sleeve to make it match the first. It still doesn't match perfectly, but it's close enough.

Overall, pretty good pattern and cute result!

Someone remind me. Also, kick me in the ass.

2008-09-03T21:58:00.001-07:00

I've gotten so into knitting these past few years-- into the process, the theory of pattern design, fiber lust-- that I forgot why I took it back up again. Only lately, shoulders heavy with the terrifying burden of entering the real world, have I been reminded that knitting calms me down.

I think a lot of knitters fall prey to a trap similar to the one I found myself in. I got into the groove of life for a while, got much more knitting skill, and left those mindless, therapeutic beanie projects in the dust in favor of anything with a complicated motif or skill. Those intricate projects are a nice bit of work, but I forgot how soothing it is to just sit down and knit. No shaping, no cables, no row counter.

I've been keeping my brain so occupied lately that I haven't had any time to just sit and think. I've had plenty of time to sit and think about jobs or my life, but no time to just let my brain wander. Unfortunately I'm smart enough to realize I've intentionally kept my brain busy-- even down to the projects I choose to knit. Last night, after I spent a solid couple of hours unraveling a skein that has been tangled up for more than 5 years, I swatched with the all-but-forgotten yarn. As I got into the rhytym of automatic, shapeless, plain knitting I realized how much I missed plain knitting.

When I came to college I had known how to knit for quite some time, but my skills were beginner at best and I didn't have much interest in it. Berkeley changed my attitude toward knitting. I picked it up again because I needed something to do that didn't sap anymore energy from my already fried brain. My knitting skill increased rapidly, and so did my fascination with the craft. One thing led to another and I ended up designing things in my head while on the bus, wondering which lace motif will work best to stretch my fiber yardage.

I wouldn't trade my new attitude toward knitting for anything, but it is nice to occasionally remind myself that a little methodical knitting mellows me out. Now all I want to do is knit beanies--truckloads of plain, mindless beanies. And hell, if I knit a beanie every time I feel weird about jobs or my future I could coif all the cold little kids in Russia.

Knitting progress. There's a lot of it. Unfortunately I'm not near my camera right now, but I'll post photos tomorrow. For now here's the run down:

-Garter Stitch Vest is NEARLY complete. So close to being done it hurts. Stitch count is slightly off on the right sleeve portion, so I have to rip back a bit and fix that. Mere hours 'til this one is complete
-Grecian Plait... I'm still working on that!? Almost done, too! I've got about an inch of the back and one (short) sleeve left to do. Then seam it and see if it fits.
-Springtime in Philly beret is an absolute JOY to knit. For any knitters out there who want an easy, beautiful lace pattern knit this hat. The pattern is so well written, easy to follow, easy to memorize, yet it's just challenging enough. Perfect to bring with me when I'm out, so this one is getting a fair amount of public transit knitting time. I'm almost done with the first chart, so that's about halfway!

Photos of progress tomorrow. Off to bash my head into a wall/look for more jobs. :)

Oh, I've got plans for you.

2008-08-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

Somehow I found a way to make a cheapcheapcheap sweater into a not- so- cheapcheapcheap sweater.

I had plans for that maroon Columbia Minerva-- plans to turn the 3 hanks I got for $1 into a little cropped sweater. Today I realized trying to squeeze a cropped sweater out of 450 yards of fingering/sport weight yarn was nuts. So I did what all self respecting knitters do in times of fiber stress. . . I bought more yarn.

I biked to K2Tog and Stash today in hopes of finding some Susan Bates size 3 circulars (so I can start my Springtime in Philadelphia!). Stash was a bust for the needles, but I found this lovely Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, color Envy. It's approximately the same gauge as the Minerva (the Minerva is so old it's got neither gauge nor yardage on it) and similar ply/fiber content. I love the colors together, the different colors of green combined with the deep maroon feels so organic and flowery. So my $1 sweater is now a $21 dollar sweater. . . but I think the finished product will be worth it. Now all I've got to do is get an idea about how I want to combine these colors and work on a sweater design.

Garter Vest is nearing completion, and I think I'll cast on for the Springtime in Philadelphia Beret today. . . finally! Just in time for the Olympics, too.

A vacation, and I didn't even have to leave home.

2008-08-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Even though it's sad to pack up your suitcase and leave some fabulous vacation destination behind, getting back home from a vacation is always pleasant. Lovely even. There's something comforting about the smell of your own home, the feel of your bed and sheets, and the familiarity of your little nook in the world.
I had the pleasure of having one of my good friends and her boyfriend up to Berkeley this weekend. They came up to celebrate my 21st birthday, and let me tell you-- I could not have asked for a better gift. We had a fabulous weekend, and because they were on vacation it seemed like I was, too. I went to my first bars in San Francisco, went sake tasting (!), and got to take my friends to all my favorite local haunts. Boy is Berkeley nice when you're on vacation.

Today was an awful jolt back to reality. My friends headed off to drive back down the coast and I was left without any of the good parts of ending a vacation. Snapping out of vacation mode means I have to clean up all the messes we made while on "vacation" and do all the work I was ignoring. Oh, and return phone calls, too.

And most importantly, I want to catch up on knitting! I finally got this vintage yarn in the mail a few days ago. It's all vintage sport weight wool, and I found it at a thrift shop in Southern California on my last trip home. The whole lot was like four bucks! I seem to have decent yardage of some, so I'm thinking about designing a little cropped short sleeve sweater using my new Barbara Walker Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Got the book at Imagiknit along with the Terra Pattern and the Koigu. Speaking of the Koigu, I need to go get the right size needles so I can start that beret!

The garter vest is coming along well, I'm about 50%done. Oh, and my wrist is giving me problems again. :(

Forgotten FOs

2008-07-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

I knit these things forever ago, but for some reason they escaped Finished Object documentation.

First, Kittyville Hat (number 2) from Stitch 'n' Bitch. Knit with beautiful Angora wool, this hat was a gift for Sam that I knitted in late 2006/early 2007.

Second, a hat knit around the same time for Oscar. No pattern, just improvised. Oscar's not a real colorful guy, so he requested his hat be black. As a compromise (because let's be fair, who likes to knit with black yarn? BOOORIIING) I knit it in slate grey with subtle forest green stripes. Don't remember the yarn, but it's the same stuff I used for my Loopy Velez Cowl.

I need to knit more hats, I forgot how satisfying they are.

You don't have to put out the red light.

2008-07-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Well, after a couple of years of knitting only one thing at a time, I've now become a knitting slut. At the moment I have THREE working garments on the needles, and a fourth is soon to join. For the longest time I thought that by keeping myself focused on one project at a time I was increasing my knitting efficiency/speed. Yet, after a week of whoring it up between a couple of different projects, I find that having varied projects to chose from is actually the way to go. Annoyed at a stitch pattern? Indulge in some mindless garter stitch!

Speaking of garter stitch, I recently started a new project that's changing the way I feel about garter stitch. Up until recently whenever I saw garter stitch all I could think about was that first horrible, sparkly, acrylic scarf I knit. Perhaps that association has something to do with how tacky I always felt garter stitch was; if you could compare knitting to desserts, garter stitch would be a Twinkie.

The Side-to-Side Garter Stitch Vest turned my feelings about boring ol' garter stitch upside down. Something about a simple pattern, gorgeous yarn, and big gauge makes me appreciate the low-key beauty of a vest knit almost entirely in garter stitch. Though I'm no longer apppalled by garter stitch, perhaps my previous confectionery parallel was dead on. Garter, like a twinkie, is quick, easy, and satisfying. Only difference? Garter is fulfilling and guilt free.

I got the pattern (published in the Tahki Yarns Terra Summer Collection pamplet) on a recent trip to Imagiknit in San Francisco. What an amazing yarn shop! The owner and staff are so friendly, the selection is unbelievable, and Tartine, arguably the best bakery in San Francisco, is two blocks away! It's hard to find a yarn shop that you feel at home at immediately, but this shop is everthing I've been looking for. I left with a big goofy smile on my face (perhaps because I left with way more stuff than I intended on getting?), and I will be going out of my way to go there for any of my knitting needs from now on. If you're in the Bay area, go check out Imagiknit.

Speaking of buying way too much yarn, my trip to Imagiknit was originally to get some beautiful Koigu KPPM for the Springtime in Philadelphia beret I referenced a few posts down. I swatched with the yarn last night and I am just in love with the yarn and color. The feel of the yarn is incredible, and the speckled pink color I chose is the perfect type of variegated color yarn. The speckles are so small that there's no chance of striping, instead the knitted fabric is a beautiful mosaic of complementary colors. A complete about face from my previous gush about garter and big needles-- stockinette and small (2s and 3s, yikes!) needles with this yarn makes me really appreciate how versatile skinny yarn and small needles can be. I want nothing more than to knit a whole sweater out of KPPM!

But I don't need to add a FIFTH work in progress to my list, so for now I'll stick to the projects at hand and put my dreams of a Koigu sweater on hold.

PS. I'm 75% done with the Grecian Plait and about 35% done with the Side-to-Side Garter Stitch Vest. I hope to have both done within a few weeks, and maybe the beret too!

My birthday is in a week and a half. . .

2008-07-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

Found a book I want today.

Beyond Craft: The Art Fabric
by Mildred Constantine

So, just in case any of my loved ones are looking for present ideas. :)

The three(ish) year itch.

2008-07-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight while reading one of my favorite knitting blogs, Knit and Tonic, I got to thinking about how I began knitting.

I remember when I asked my grandma Marian if she could teach me how to knit. I'm not sure now why I asked, I don't remember ever seeing her knit and I didn't really have any other exposure to the craft. I was 11 at the time, and even though she was ill my grandma sat me down on her bed with some red acrylic yarn and began teaching me how to knit.

Equally strong willed, my grandmother and I butted heads as I struggled to make my clumsy hands do what hers so expertly did. That day I managed to make just one hideous garter stitch granny square. Even though I went home silently fuming and defeated by the difficult task, I somehow managed to knit a few more (progressively less hideous) granny squares in the next week. I don't remember if I got to show these to my grandma.

Maybe because of her departure, or maybe because of my hard-headed irritation with how awful I was at knitting, I stopped knitting. I didn't knit again until I was 14. Same results as before: frustration that I was awful and no drive to practice until I improved. I knit half a scarf and gave up. I did manage to learn stockinette this time around, though.

At 18 I picked up the needles again. Off to college, I packed up some of my grandmother's old knitting things and brought them with me. Turns out knitting was a great escape from my new stressful academic career, and instead of running screaming in the other direction (as I had in the past) I buckled down and started mastering knitting. A beanie here, a cable there. . . I proved to myself that I could figure this craft out.

It's hard not to notice that I seem to give up knitting every three years or so. I'm nearing my 21st birthday, it's comforting to know that this time I reversed things: before I had three year no-knitting gaps in between tiny fits of knitting, now I have three years of knitting under my belt! With some new yarn and plenty of patterns in the wings, I don't anticipate any quitting this time.

It's funny how those few hours with Marian seem to blur out a decade of memories. Trips to the Living Desert, shopping for party dresses, swimming in the pools in their houses in Palos Verdes and Palm Springs. . . these memories still exist, but they're eclipsed by that one day of knitting. I think of her now as I knit, and every swatch I make that looks like one of those garter-stitch squares reinforces how much I want to continue knitting. She did a beautiful thing teaching me to knit, and I would love to be able to show my grandma some of the stuff I'm making now.

I caught the bug.

2008-07-10T15:35:00.001-07:00

I believe I've said this before, but I have always prided myself on being immune to the crazy-yarn-acquiring disease many knitters seem to fall prey to. Though a beautiful skien is always able to catch my attention, if I don't have a purpose in mind for it I won't generally buy yarn. Let's be serious, I just don't have enough cash or space to develop a yarn buying problem. My apartment doesn't even have closets!A while ago I gave in to the disease a tiny tiny bit when I purchased this beautiful skien of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi for no reason. I justified the purchase by telling myself I'd knit my roommate some gloves out of it and, since the yardage is pretty great, maybe even something small for myself. That was over six months ago and the yarn is still sitting, unwound, in my yarn basket. I decided that it needed to be a lacy scarf for me (selfish, so shoot me), but kept putting off starting anything until I finished my other projects. I'm now thinking that I want to start the scarf anyway; if I don't start something now I'll never do anything with that yarn. And the more I stare at that skein the more I realize that I have the beginnings of yarnitis.

I fell in love with some MORE yarn I don't need today, but I also fell in love with a pattern that goes with it. So that means my conscience says it's okay to get some! The pattern is Springtime in Philadelphia by Kate Gagnon, and it's available for FREE! The yarn she used, Koigu Mori, has unbeleivable colors. I'm really not usually a fan of variegated color yarns (in fact, I mostly hate them) but I absolutely love the subtleness of these colors and the way the yarn looks in this lace pattern. I'm thinking I may use Koigu KPPM instead of the Mori, simply because the Mori is 25 bucks a skein and the KPPM is only $13.50. Any thoughts from other knitters?

Oh, and I'm getting my sewing machine today! Now I can try to fight off a fabric-buying disease, too.

Must knitknitknitknitknit

2008-07-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Good news-- my wrist is feeling a little better today. Better news? I think my forced ban on knitting has rejuvenated my zest for the craft. Maybe it's because I know even if I really wanted to I couldn't work on anything, but all of a sudden every pattern I look at is just calling to be knit or redesigned immediately.

I want to finish both Grecian Plait and the Printed Silk Cardigan, but even more I want to start the Slyph Cardigan! And I want to knit myself a shoulder bag for biking. That's actually a goal I've had for quite a while, and at least I can say that that's something I'm driven to design out of pure necessity. Purses don't really cut it when riding a road bike, and my North Face backpack isn't exactly fashion forward. Since I bike everywhere I really want to have something that has the cuteness of a purse and the functionality of a backpack. That way I can carry my stuff in style, and not look like a goof when I get off my bike in a cute outfit and an ugly backpack!

I'm thinking about possible designs now. Stitch patterns, yarn, colors. . . fiber content. Oooohh! I'm going to yarn shop now!

Oh, and as if I need to add more distractions to my life, my mom and dad are delivering a sewing machine to me tomorrow. I'm very excited about it; I sewed a bit when I was a kid but always ended up stalled by our crappy machine. This machine is a great one, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to take sewing in the same direction as my knitting.

Thumbs down.

2008-07-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

Yup, that's my right hand in a big, immobilizing wrist brace. . . giving a big thumbs down to my knitting-preventing injury. As I'm right handed I can't seem to do much of anything. Brushing my hair, riding my bike, cutting vegetables, writing--all pretty much out of the question. And my plan to have a finished garment within the week? Totally out of the question.

I'm not really sure what's wrong with my wrist or how it happened, but it sure is painful. Come to think of it, I have a habit of injuring myself without knowing it. A few years ago I woke up with a torn rotator cuff. The doctor's best guess was that I injured my shoulder while sleeping (leave it to me to get a sports injury while doing the most sedentary activity there is). I'm starting to wonder if maybe I lead a parallel, active life in my sleep. Maybe I sleep walk-- or better, maybe I'm a sleep ninja.

There is always the possibility that knitting had something to do with my injury. In just 2 days I got a significant amount of work done on the back of Grecian Plait, about 6 or 7 inches I think. Maybe all that turbo knitting got my wrist all out of whack, though I doubt it. Or maybe what I mean to say is I'd never be able to own up to injuring myself knitting. . . it's easier for me to swallow REM nun-chucking.

I love this pattern, but the more I knit it the more I get the feeling that I chose the absolute wrong yarn for this pattern. This was the first yarn I bought specifically for a pattern (2ish years ago?) and I had no idea about gauge or texture or content. I decided I wanted it to be a coolish sweater, so I settled on cotton. The salesgirl at the yarn shop plopped a big bag of grey GGH cotton in my hands and told me it would be suitable, and I blindly believed her. Unfortunately, the more I knit with it the more I see that the GGH Tara is pretty bulky-- not at all like the wispy mohair called for in the pattern. And I've heard rumors it's warm as hell. I'm hoping the sweater won't turn out too bulky and hot, but the only way to really know is finish knitting it. I have a feeling that no matter how it turns out I will love it anyway. There's just something about the dove grey dryer-lintesque Tara that tugs at my heartstrings.

The upside to my wrist injury? My good friend Oscar (see photo of us high-fiving a few posts back) and his lovely girlfriend gave me an early 21st birthday present. . . David Sedaris' new book (that I've been lusting after but am too cheap to buy)! When You Are Engulfed In Flames is fantastic so far, and I'm definitely not minding that my previously allotted knitting time is now being spent reading hysterical short stories about tapeworms and crazy hick nannies.

Who am I kidding though, I can't wait 'til I can knit again. (Or for that matter write my name legibly again.)

Tiny stuff.

2008-07-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for tiny stuff.

Sometimes my affinity for the small and cuddly bites me in the ass-- or should I say foot. Earlier this year I impaled myself on some cacti while trying to get a good view of a baby lizard. End result: a one inch long toothpick sized cactus needle stuck in my ankle. All the way in my ankle, too. No pulling that sucker out. I now have a neat little scar to show for the (unsuccessful) surgical search for the needle. The physician told me the needle would dissolve. . . but I'm convinced it's still in there. Maybe I have cactus powers.

Tonight, though, nothing's biting me in any part of my body. I have tiny cuteness all around me. One of my roommates brought home two kittens (her cat had a litter of ~six), one of whom might end up staying. But that's a whole different story. The one who might end up staying was doing a good job being adorable while "helping" me put together a knitting package for a family friend. I'm including a pattern she requested as well as a couple of others that I think she'd like (all from Stitch 'n' Bitch) . . . and a finished version of one of the hats! Nothing makes me feel good like sharing knitting nerdiness with others who appreciate it.

In totally non-knitting but still tiny and cute news, I found a bunch of ferrell plum trees around my house. They produce pretty delicious tiny plums that look more like cherries than plums. For the past few days I've been collecting as many as I can, and the fruit bowl in our living room overruneth. I'm determined to find more wild fruits around my house; it's great to be able to go outside and pick free fruit. Plus the trees are on common property and picking the fruit prevents them from getting squished on the sidewalk.

This entry is the first in a while for a few reasons. Vacation, packing, misplaced computer, job searching. . . but the main reason is I've been avoiding knitting. Writing in the blog would have forced me to think about my lack of knitting, which would have then forced me to think about the currently dreaded Printed Silk Cardigan. I don't even want to talk about it, but something's very wrong with that damn cardigan. And whatever it is, it certainly is not a tiny problem.

My confidence took a real shot from all the problems I've run into with the Printed Silk Cardigan. I'm trying not to get too down on my skills though, and I think that a little project swap will cure me of the Knitting Blues. So I'm going to continue avoiding the Printed Silk and pick up my half finished Grecian Plait. I'm hoping to have it done soon (the half I have done was quick); I'm holding on to the idea that a finished object will boost me up enough to tackle the Printed Silk yet again.

Gotta get my ass in gear.

2008-06-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

I created a Ravelry knitalong for the Printed Silk Cardigan thinking that if I had other peoples' progress to look at it would make me knit this sweater faster.

Wrong.

I see each person's project progressing each week while my progress seems to be halted at the diamond pattern of the back; instead of others' progress inspiring me to get really working on mine it makes me feel like I'd like to hide my project in some dark corner and forget I ever started it.

But I do love the way this sweater looks, and the mental image of me wearing my finished object pushes me to keep working. Luckily I'm at home-- my parents' home in Southern California-- and since I don't have a car there's not much for me to do but knit. I am filled with hope that these next two weeks will see the completion of the back of this sweater and maybe even a front or a sleeve or two. But we all know what happens to the best laid plans. . .

So in another attempt to force myself to get my ass in gear and work on this thing, I'm going to PUBLICLY give myself some goals:

By June 15- I WILL HAVE THE BACK DONE
By June 21- I will have 1 sleeve all/most of the way done
By June 24 (the day I leave to go back to my home in The Bay)- I will be 3/4 done with my sweater!

Now let's see how those goals play out.

Not knitting, adventuring.

2008-06-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm in Nevada City, CA, and though I got a bit of knitting done (well, several inches on that goddamn diamond pattern) I've been doing lots of other more fun stuff.

Sam and I went to the Yuba River yesterday. It's beautiful and the water was lovely, but I found something unexpected while we were hiking.

Check out all those ladybugs! There was a spot on a little stream we crossed that was full of thousands of ladybugs. Cute until you have to walk through it and they get all in your hair. . .

Not very pretty.

2008-06-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, nasty little things emerge from the depths. Most often these little unpleasantries are things like a months-old tupperware full of god knows what (a bitchin' mold garden is what) lurking in the 'fridge behind the brown sugar or even a badbadbad paper that blindsides you when you're innocently trying clean out your bookshelves. But sometimes--and these times are always the worst--that nasty bit is a piece of yourself you forgot was there. I'm not talking about living without a mirror for years and then suddenly rediscovering that you have saddlebags. . . I'm talking about a dormant, not-so-flattering portion of your personality that occasionally rears its head as if to say, "YOU ARE NOT ALL NICE".

I think I made my neighbor cry today. I wasn't trying to make her cry, I wasn't even being mean. I was dealing with a situation and I suppose I forgot that I can be a bit pushy and stern, though if you ask me I'd prefer to call it it 'businesslike'. I've always been businesslike; in fact, my new roommate told me that I am the one person she knows who can reliably get what I want/need. I take that as a compliment, and that facet of my personality comes in especially handy when, say, trying to coerce a landlord into fixing something they really don't want to spend money on. Unfortunately, today I found out that that part of me perhaps isn't the best bit to use when dealing with a really sensitive person (even if that person trying to screw me over).

I dealt with the neighborly parking dispute like a true lawyer; if you went over the transcripts of the conversation it would show that I was unbearably polite yet direct and used unquestionable logic and arguments. I was textbook "Miss Manners". In the end got what I wanted-- no unauthorized vehicles blocking our driveway. Still though, seeing the tears well up in that girls' eyes as our conversation drew to an end took some of the sweetness of my victory from me. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and the thought that though I might be a great lawyer or cutthroat businesswoman, if I ever want to be able to live with myself I better steer clear of those professions.

Though my Printed Silk Cardigan can't quiver its lip and get all glossy eyed on me, it too is bringing up some dark personality traits of mine. I'm a little angry at myself for messing up several inches after I inserted my lifeline. Now not only do I have to *gasp* FROG, I have to frog more than I need to. Grumble grumble. . . there goes a few hours of work. My error and subsequent frogging resulted in my boycotting the project. I'm getting flashbacks to when I was a kid trying to master any of the five or so instruments I cycled through. I can remember sitting at my cello frustrated with myself and it because my tone was not like Pablo Casals'. I reasoned, "I'd practice more if I sounded good". Talk about silly logic; how are you going to get good if you don't practice?

Years (and one respectable degree) later I catch myself using that same logic on my knitting. Only thing is now that I'm older I can see my blame-the-inanimate-object-and-abandon-it cycle and stop it. So, even though I want to banish the Printed Silk Cardigan (and those aspects of my personality I find less than sweet) to some dusty corner or shelf, I understand that I will eventually find it again and, like said unsavory personality traits, it'll assert its presence with a bold, embarrassing HERE I AM smack across the face.

So here's to happy knitting, and hopefully happy neighboring.

"Finished". . . right.

2008-05-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here I am, high-jump fiving my best friend Oscar in celebration of us both being DONE with college. Thing is, there's a good chance that at some point in our lives one (or both) of us will attend graduate school. So, in reality, we're not really done with college altogether. Rather, for now we can concentrate on other things. . . and it's likely that, like many things in life, those things will bring us full circle; in this case, back to school to get a higher degree.

Getting your diploma has a feeling of finality akin to binding off a piece of knitted work. Nothing really jazzes me up like taking that last stitch off the needles and holding my finished something-or-other in its entirety. Yeah, sometimes there's seaming and blocking to be done. . . but the moment the garment is bound off it really takes its place as a finished object.

Or so I thought. A little hat I knitted up for Sam, the Wilderness Beanie, reminded me that no object is ever really finishd. The hat reemerged from the depths of his closet while he was moving this past weekend. I asked him if he'd model it for me since I have yet to get any photos of it for this here blog.

Now I wish I hadn't asked him to put it on.

All I could think was, "Oh, that hat looks wrong somehow". The hat had a few problems to begin with. I didn't do a gauge swatch, and like an idiot just kind of guessed about how many stitches I'd need to begin with. Sam's got a huge noggin so I figured that if it turned out big it would just fit right; all the other hats I've knit him are a tad snug. In all fairness, the size is actually pretty close to being right, but the ribbing isn't doing its job. Result? A hat that sloshes around on the head of the wearer because there's no ribbing to keep it snug.

I decided it needs to be fixed. This yarn was expensive ($22 a skein!) and I had such high hopes for it. . . it deserves to be something perfect. Of course Sam says the hat is fine, but what does he know (joking, joking). I think it needs earflaps. I think the weight of the flaps will hold it on his head better, and I think the rugged, textured look of the hat would be completed by the addition of earflaps.

So I'm off to unfinish a finished object. I can't help but think what implications that has for my education.

I did it!

2008-05-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

I graduated from college!

I've had a whirlwind few days. Friday morning was my graduation and then my sister's graduation (I got my BA, she got her MA) was later that evening. Despite the 90 degree temperatures my family managed to stay pretty calm throughout the hectic day.

It was hard for me to get excited about graduation; even as I put on my robe and silly mortar-board hat I felt like it was just any other day (albeit a day with funnier clothes). It wasn't until I walked into the huge theater with Pomp and Circumstance blaring that I really felt the monumentality of the occasion. I enjoyed every moment of my graduation, and I even felt a lump rise in my throat when my favorite professor handed me my diploma. This is a strange time for me, but an exciting one. I look forward to figuring out what direction my life will go in.

I have more graduation photos, and more photos from my excellent weekend with my family. I'll post those in the next few days. In the meantime, here's a photo of my progress on the Printed Silk Cardigan. Nine inches! I'm having a bit of trouble with my stitch count, but I don't think it'll be something rip-worthy. I'm confident that I will be able to save it-- afterall, I'm only a few stitches off.

See, I'm so happy.

Just deal with it.

2008-05-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

A lot of people get anxiety about their knitting. Uneven stitches, curling hems, difficult stitch patterns. . . all of these things can cause otherwise relaxing knitting to become stressful. But really, are a few wonkey stitches worth stressing out about? Lately I have been embracing the idea that no mistake can be too bad. . . and even if something is a little odd, what's the worst thing that can happen? A little ripping? No big deal!
I think ripping is rather severe, though. I'm one of the few knitters I know that will take pains to avoid frogging-- and that means finding crafty ways to deal with errors. Take the knitted hem for my Printed Silk Cardigan. I somehow picked up a slightly different number of stitches than needed, so when I worked my K2tog row to secure the hem over my hem was a little crooked. For some, this might be a deal-breaking error. For me, it was a lesson learned that can be corrected with some some serious blocking.

I think people often underestimate what a little blocking or finishing-fixing can do. Weird stitches on a shoulder? I bet you could sew it together to hide it. And I know everyone sings its praises, but blocking really can do magic. I sometimes wonder how many mistakes that caused knitters to rip could have been fixed with some tricks or aggressive blocking.

Though I don't mind a bit of blocking and finagling, I really hope the hems on my front two pieces don't turn out like this.

tough knitting.

2008-05-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to come out and say it: knitted hems are a bitch.

I finally cast on for my Printed Silk Cardigan, and decided to work a knitted hem rather than the rolled hem written in the pattern. Knitted hems seem to be one of those things that make a finished hand-knit piece look professional. Boy do they look nice. . . but what a pain in the ass to do.

First of all, I know I didn't make it easy on myself to begin with. I didn't cast on provisionally, rather I decided to just pick up some loops from my cast on edge. Good idea, but those stitches were SO tight and hard to pick up. That alone took 30 minutes; you don't even want to know how long it took me to pick up and k2tog the new stitches and the live ones. My fingers hurt just thinking about it.

And one of the reasons my fingers hurt is my new needles! I got my KnitPicks Harmony interchangeable set a few days ago, but I was so involved with papers that I forgot to mention it. The needles are interesting looking-- the colors are definitely less vibrant than I expected. But the needles themselves are great. They're like the perfect medium between addi turbos (too slick) and bamboos (irritatingly catchy). Knitting with them is SO enjoyable.

Except. . . apparently I was a bit too tough on them. As I was tightening a size 4 needle to a cable, I heard a tiny snap. Broke it in half! I guess maybe the wood join was just weak. Bummer my 4s are out of commission until KnitPicks sends me out a replacement. I've heard very good things about their customer service, so I'm not worried.

Off to knit! (By the way, I'm done with my papers! Yay!)

cast on!

2008-05-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

I finally cast on for Printed Silk Cardigan... and I started a knit-along with some other lovely ladies on Ravelry. It can be found under groups "Summer Printed Silk Cardigan KAL" for those who are interested.

Sending off the orange surprise tomorrow!

Today. . . more papers.

Oh, hello. My name is. . .

2008-04-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

Tiny Sweater.

I'm totally beside myself about this little sweater. I knit it up on a whim yesterday after several long hours of writing in the library. I needed to get some work done, but I was all papered out. Then it occurred to me that I could merge knitting and finals! I'm taking a deCAL (stands for democratic education at CAL, i.e. student taught class) on sustainability, and one of our options for our final was an art project that says something about sustainability. Enter: Tiny Sweater. I decided to knit up a small representation of a hand-knit garment out of recycled organic cotton. Aside from the obvious points for recycling and using organic materials, I think hand-knits speak volumes about the things our society could be doing to be more sustainable. Knit your own sweaters and socks, make your own lasagna instead of buying it frozen. . . think twice about how much work went into all the processed stuff we've come to rely on. Going to the trouble of making something really makes you think differently about the way you use and consume that stuff. If I spend months knitting a sweater, you bet I'm less likely to throw it out when it's not in vogue anymore. I think America needs a bit of that attitude, and not just toward sweaters.
*Oh, didja notice the tiny cable on the Tiny Sweater? eehee.

resting-points

2008-04-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school our PE classes forced us to run a half a mile every day and a full mile once a week. Boy, how I wish someone made me run that much now. My feelings about exercise were quite different back then, though, and getting through that mile was just about my least favorite thing ever. Not being very athletic didn't help either-- after a couple of laps I was weezing up a storm and usually felt like quitting.

To keep myself from quitting I'd give myself little goals, little resting-points. I'd stare at the drinking fountain 150 feet away and grit my teeth, knowing that once I made it to the fountain I would allow myself to walk for a minute and catch my breath. This technique is not unique or original, I'm sure people everywhere use this kind of logic to get through all sorts of things.

I'm trying to use this logic to get through my finals. I've got four papers and a presentation due ON THE SAME DAY next week. I guess I can't complain too much; this is the only time in my entire college experience that all of my finals have been due on the same day. I'm trying to keep in mind that I need little resting-points while I crank out all these papers, and writing this blog entry is one of those rests.

I have a feeling that little rests won't do much for me, so I'm already thinking about what I'll reward myself with when I finally cross the finish line. I had to cancel a hair cut appointment this morning. I need a haircut desperately, but spending time on myself right now just seems ridiculous. So a haircut is one thing I'll reward myself with, and I'm thinking some shopping might follow. Afterall, I will need to look dashing for my graduation.

I ordered myself a big reward a few days ago. . . a pair of KnitPicks harmony interchangable needles! I think the timing will be perfect-- they won't even get here until I'm done with finals. That way right when I get them I can knit all day every day. That's really the resting-point I'm keeping my eye on; I can't wait to be able to wake up, go to my favorite cafe, and knit for hours straight.

My friends think I'm so weird.

Well, we blew it.

2008-04-27T13:02:00.001-07:00

Apartment hunting in Berkeley is like dating; every moment is a rollercoaster and sometimes you get your heart broken. I'm not even exaggerating-- great apartments are so hard to come by that when you find a really special one you've got to grab on to it like your life depends on it. My roommates and I found one such special apartment this weekend, but I think we blew it. A good intentioned mint-plant-present was accidentally interpreted as bribery. Eesh.

So, other than accidentally bribing people, my weekend has been lovely. It's the last weekend I get to enjoy myself for a while. . . I've got about 40 pages total that need to be inked in the next week or so. The weather here was ubelievably warm and sunny. Just what I'd been waiting for! I've been sitting on unnamed-mystery-FO for about 2 weeks now. I've been itching to photograph it and send it off to its recipient, but the days kept being foggy. I took advantage of the sunny weather and went to a favorite spot of mine for the FO photoshoot. I'm not going to show the FO yet, but here's a glimpse of the area I chose for the photoshoot.

It's one of my favorite places in Berkeley. I also got to visit one of my other favorite places in Berkeley this weekend-- Grizzy Peak. On Saturday afternoon Sam and I drove up the hill (the hill's name is Grizzy Peak) behind our school's big labs (engineering nukes, you know) in search of some big rocks to climb. The bouldering area we found was amazing. . . kind of like a boulder field. But there was too much poison oak everywhere, so we just explored for a bit then got the hell out of there. Before we left I got the chance to take this photo. What a view! Would've been a great place to climb, but even that view isn't worth poison oak.

knit me, knit me!

2008-04-23T13:47:00.001-07:00

I feel so guilty for neglecting my knitting. All that change I spoke of earlier in the week--turning my life around and doing more than just schoolwork--hasn't happened (yet). Day after day I've found myself holed up in my bedroom or the library plugging away at work. Every night before bed I look over at my ever growing pile of yarn and my non-knitting guilt intensifies. I bought all those hanks and skeins with the best of intentions, but somehow I can't seem to make time to knit.

I know I'm a student and this won't last forever. In fact, this will last just about three more weeks. After that I'm free to knit my heart out. I guess the worst part about being totally absorbed in work (schoolwork) is that I'd ALWAYS rather be knitting. I'm sure this is true of all people who have hobbies they love; most sane people would choose to spend their time doing their beloved hobby rather than work.

Knitting mellows me out so much, though, and I think right now I need some of that. Since I don't have any photos of yarn/knitting, I figured I'd share a photo of where I've been for the last week. This is me right now, in the library, where I've been sitting and developing a little hysteria for about five days straight. I call this my studied-out face.

Yesterday I had my first mini-meltdown about all the work ahead of me and the looming thought of graduation. I promptly ditched the library, went home, and started swatching for the IK Spring 2008 Printed Silk Cardigan. I've been talking about this pattern for so long, and I've (embarassingly) had the yarn for a while, too. I'm glad I finally started moving towards starting it, but I have yet another roadblock. I don't own a pair of size 5s. I've got 4s and 6s, so I swatched on the 6s. Too loose for the KnitPicks shine. I guess I'll try 4s next before I cave and buy 5s.

Which reminds me I still need to buy a set of interchangable circulars. I think I've decided on the Harmony set from KnitPicks. But I need to be less of a broke-ass student before I drop 80 bucks on needles.

!

2008-04-19T15:23:00.001-07:00

Finished the orange thing! Can't wait to tell you guys what it is and show you photos!

Procrastination

2008-04-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks I've slipped back into old habits. . . procrastinating habits. As school and thoughts of a possible future "real job" pick up and need more of my time, I find that my capability to multitask is diminishing. I can focus on papers and job thoughts (though actual job hunting is a stretch), but really only at the expense of my knitting and other hobbies. In short-- I've been slacking on knitting and working out.

I'm going start changing things this week though. I'm going to get the flat on my bike fixed and go on some bike rides. I'm going to drag my butt over to my step class and I'm going to do more yoga. Oh, and I might go rock climbing, too. . .

So, that gets my exercise back on track. Now for knitting. That mystery item in the orange/yellow/white yarn is almost 3 weeks overdue. And the worst part is it's been mostly done except for finishing for most of those 3 weeks. I still have a little glimmer of hope to get this pattern published somewhere, and I think that's partially why I'm taking so much time to finish and photograph this little thing perfectly. It really is almost done, though. SOON.

The funny thing is, at my busiest is when I tend to feel the most ambitious in my knitting. I have several things I want to knit, and I want to do them all RIGHT NOW. I know I can only accomplish so much at a time, so I'm going to just pick whichever projects speak to me most and cast on for those. I think I'll keep it to three projects.

So my goal for today? Finish that orange mystery thing and swatch for either the Printed Silk Cardigan or Slyph Cardigan!

deal breakers

2008-04-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

If you want a great knitted item, good design is essential. If you're knitting said item, good pattern writing is also key. Until recently I thought that these two things were all that was needed to ensure that, once finished, the knitter could look at their beautiful, perfect, useful finished object and beam with pride.

But there is more to a successful knit than a good design aesthetic and clear pattern writing. As all knitters know (or find out quickly after knitting a few pieces) yarn choice is as important to the success of a piece as is basic design. Nothing can wipe that big, proud smile off a knitter's face like discovering that, after a good washing, a cotton garment has grown to T-Rex proportions. Even if an object holds its shape through washing, if that garment pills after only a few wearings the knitter is left feeling as if they've wasted months on something that now looks like they spent just minutes picking it out at a thrift store.

Even if you pick your yarn thoughtfully and choose a well written, beautifully designed pattern, if you don't measure the hell out of yourself you're going to end up with a loser. Nothing bothers me more than seeing finished objects that are knitted perfectly--all the stitches are in their places, all cables/lace panels are flawless--that are just proportioned wrong for the wearer. My ultimate pet peeve is an intended empire waist (for example, stitch-pattern change just below the bust or gathering just below the bust) that actually sits at the fullest part of the wearer's bust. Talk about a good way to make your boobs look saggy and your waist look larger. Careful measuring and a little pattern adjusting can fix this and other similar problems so easily. Unfortunately, to many the idea of ad-libbing part of a pattern is terrifying. Take it from me, changing a pattern does not require superior knitting skills nor does it mean that you can't change it if it's wrong. Insert a lifeline (a piece of waste yarn that you thread through a row that you know is correct. That way when you need to frog and tweak your modifications, you can frog instantly [and safely] back to a perfect row)!

Today I add color choice to my list of "things that you must consider to produce a worth-while knitted item". A girl walked into one of my classes this afternoon wearing little cabled leg warmers over her jeans. They're obviously hand knitted--I can tell someone spent a good couple of hours crafting those babies with love. Why, though, if someone loved these enough to take the time to cable them, did they choose to make them light grey? The poor leg warmers were all spattered with stains and assorted street dirt; in this case bad color choice ruined a perfectly good knitted item. Rule of thumb: if you're going to wear something near your feet, better make it dirt colored. Similarly, if you're going to make a camisole with a plunging back (so a bra is not an option), better not do it in white (unless you're into flashing people). While I'm all for knitting in fabulous colors, the color choice must match the pattern. Sometimes a trendy color is not the right choice for a timeless piece. Classic Aran sweater in fuschia? You'd be lucky to get a couple of wears out of it. Funky colors work best in small or very trendy items, more timeless colors are useful for classic pieces that you expect to own for years. Color choice must support the other elements of a garment that I discussed above; if chosen carefully, a color selection can be the cherry on top of a perfect garment.

A vacay, a little breakey-break.

2008-04-07T12:42:00.000-07:00

I think Sally's the only one who'll get the post title. For the rest of you guys, it's a joke-- I don't actually use those phrases in my daily vocabulary.

I've been away from the blog for a while. I didn't realize how long it was until I just looked at the date of my previous post. Yikes, sorry guys. While I was away from the blog I had my spring break, which I went home to Southern California for. Sometimes a little vacation, even if it doesn't include a tropical beach, is just what the doctor ordered. I was able to reset my brain a little. . . and even got a tan while doing so.

I've been back home (the Bay) for about a week, and I'm just getting into the swing of things again. Just as midterms end my final papers start demanding my attention. Boy will I be glad to graduate.

I have exciting knitting progress, but I can't share it with you guys yet. Hopefully in the next few days, or at the very latest by the end of this week, I will be able to post photos and maybe even a pattern. Not sure if I'll post the pattern up here or if I'll try to get it published by Knitty. I still have a hard time convincing myself that I am skilled enough to get a pattern published.

In knitting news I CAN discuss, I started volunteering at an assisted living facility in Berkeley. I help an elder, Barbara, knit. She's a very beginner knitter, so it's kind of a thrill to be able to use some of my skill to teach her about knitting. I've only had one session with her so far, but it went really well and I think it'll be a rewarding experience for both of us. Only thing about helping beginners is you have to help them make sense of what they're doing. Right now Barbara is making a blanket for her granddaughter. Someone gave her some DK weight yarn and some size 11 needles. . . then cast on very different numbers of stitches for all the squares she's knitting. So I'll have a bit of fun trying to put the puzzle together and make the blanket end up fairly square or rectangular. Hopefully a little decorative edging will help. I welcome the challenge that helping a beginner brings, and I look forward to spending time with this lovely lady.

I swear I won't be a stranger like I have been. Next post-- secret FO photos?

eyes open

2008-03-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

To anyone with half a brain/anyone who can read it's been pretty obvious that I've been in a funk lately. Not a real funk, just a temporary bogging down of my spirit.

Thing is, I'm too happy and optimistic to be funky for long. My brain is usually going a mile a minute, and the weirdest part about this funk is that my brain just stopped. Keep in mind I've got my senior midterms right now; stop-brain is not exactly the ideal mental state.

Sometime over the last week or so, while I wasn't looking, something happened. My brain started again. All the things I love that I had been ignoring (knitting, for one) I now have renewed interest in. As soon as I turn in my last paper on Thursday I'm going to pick up the needles and start making that yellow, orange, and white yarn into something special. And I'm going to clean my apartment. . . boy has that suffered this past month.

This morning I'm taking some time out to just be. No studying, no writing, no stress. I'm at my favorite local cafe, which is pictured here in the world's tiniest photo. What that photo doesn't show is how beautiful this mornining is. It's just cool enough to be crisp and the signature Berkeley fog is out in full force. I love this time of day and this weather, something about this weather and being at a cafe reminds me of New York City.

Speaking of places other than here, over the past couple of days I've started to realize that I can go anywhere; I can decide how exciting and exotic my life is. I'm kind of beginning to let the whole graduating college and getting a job thing sink in. Most people I know are expecting me to be terrified of this, but I actually love the idea of being able to decide where I go, what I do, and how I live my life. I'm kind of considering if I might want to go somewhere else, another state maybe, or even another country. I'm young! I'm smart! The options are endless, and right now that's exactly what I need to keep me going.

My love of knitting is making its way into my thoughts about a job. I'd love to find something to do that is related to knitting or textiles, but I just don't know what/where those jobs would be. My mom mentioned something to me a while ago about a music student of hers going to Europe to apprentice in textile design. How cool would something like that be?

As graduation approaches I'll keep thinking about the possibilities for my life. I've decided that I will do something great. . . I'm just not sure what that is yet.

On my list of great things to do is start/join an excellent knitting group. I went to one here (Berkeley) a few weeks ago and it just wasn't a great fit. I'm sure it was partially me--I wasn't exactly in the best state of mind that day. But I think it was also just not a great fit; I need to find some gals I mesh with. So if anyone reads this and lives in the area and wants to start a knitting group with me, lemme know.

midterm hell

2008-03-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

I'm lucky it's my last semester of college, because I don't know how many more semesters of midterms and finals I could take.

This is the first semester that I've had all my tests and papers due in the same week, on consecutive days at that. That being said, I have had zero time to knit. Grecian Plait remains unfinished, and that lovely yellow/orange/white yarn has yet to take shape.

Even though I'm miles away from knitting, my knitting found a way to wiggle its way into my studying. I just caught myself writing "SKP" (for any non-knitters, SKP is a knitting abbreviation meaning slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over) on the article I'm reading. I'm not using it to mean what it does when I read a sweater pattern but instead using it to mean "skip this meaningless paragraph/page".

I wonder what other knitting phrases I can appropriate. . .

hearing things you shouldn't

2008-03-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was walking my bike up the big hill to my house (I occasionally conquer this hill, but most of the time I cave and just walk my bike up it) I couldn't help but listen in on the conversation of the ladies behind me. The women, obviously young mothers, were in full babysitter-gossip mode.

For those of you who don't know me, most of my jobs over the past few years have been babysitting gigs. I consider myself an excellent babysitter. . . maybe that's why I never considered that moms would be so critical of babysitters. After five minutes of listening to these women talk I concluded that they would hate even the Queen of England's nanny. Even though I know I'm a great babysitter, I couldn't help but wonder if anyone had ever gossiped about me like that. For all I know someone somewhere is taking a power walk and gushing to her girlfriend, "God my babysitter is so nice, but when she knits at the playground it makes me nervous that she'll let little Jimmy fall on his face."

(Wasn't knitting popularized largely because it is so conducive to the stop/start nature of motherhood, anyway?)

In other news, I've finally got a photo of the front of Grecian Plait. There she is up top, pictured with two skeins of yarn that represent a much bigger quantity of KnitPicks yarn that I got in the mail. I actually got this yarn a while ago, but I was too distracted to post photos of it. The blue yarn will be for the IK Spring 2008 Slyph Cardigan, and the reddish yarn will be for the IK Spring 2008 Printed Silk Cardigan.

And the biggest excitement is this here orange, yellow, and white yarn. Can't say what it's for yet, but it'll be something very special. Can't wait to show you the finished product (in about a month. . . but it's worth the wait).

pet peeve:

2008-03-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

I was just talking to a friend and mentioned that I was knitting myself a top. She patronizingly said "Ahahaha. . .you're so cute".

It bothers me so much when people think that knitting is a cute or silly hobby. There is serious skill needed here! I wish people would instead respond, "Wow, you knit and manage to go to school and have a social life? What talent!"

I know that's unrealistic, haha. But I'd like to see some of the people who look down on knitting try to knit a garment that looks halfway decent. See how cute it is then!

late night existential ramblings on melanin

2008-03-10T03:12:00.001-07:00

i laid in the sun and read the past two days in a row. i've always tanned easily, but i'm almost surprised my skin soaked up the sun as much as it did.

tonight as i was reading i noticed my hand contrasting against the page. my hands and arms looked tan, and for the first time in a long time i felt like i was looking at my own arm. the same arm i looked at as a little girl.

it's hard to describe, but it's almost as if lately i've felt totally separate from the jeanette of my childhood. i first had this thought when sam and i were looking at photos of me as a baby over christmas break. i remember looking at those photos as a little girl and recognizing myself in those photos--kind of like looking in a mirror. over christmas, though, i looked at the photos of my pudgy baby self and thought, "wow, that's me. that's the same skin that still covers my body. . .the same eyes, the same hands". it was hard to believe.

tonight my hands are what reminded me of myself again. when i was little i used to concentrate on my hands. always tan, my little hands had the dimples at the knuckles characteristic of all healthy little kids. i remember asking my mom if those dimples would ever go away; i thought they made my hands look fat and wanted desperately to have adult hands.

tonight it shocked me to look at my tan hand. it's like the lack of sun up here and the paler color of my skin had kept me from seeing myself. tonight, thanks to today's sun exposure and the dim lighting in my room, my hand looks like MY hand. my family. my grandpa and dad have the same naturally dark (dark for caucasian people, that is) coloring i always considered myself to have. i guess i never really looked at myself in winter, when i look as white as anyone else.

but this return of melanin in my skin is somehow reminding me that i am still jeanette. the same little jeanette i was as a child. only now i'm an adult. those dimples in my knuckles are gone, and a nice little scar from chico marks my left ring finger knuckle. my fingers are longer and more adult looking, and the veins sticking out on the back of my hand remind me of the veins in women's hands.

in all the heartbreak i've felt lately i've had the wish that i could return to childhood. maybe not return to being a child, but return to the simple happiness of a time when all that mattered was my family. my happiness as a child was not centered at all around romantic pursuits, as i feel adult happiness (not just mine, all) is. as a kid, just being with my mom and dad and sister and my best friend made me feel complete. i miss how simple that was.

i know that i can't step back from being an adult. as much as i might want to rebel against human society and give up the adult need for romantic validation, i know that adult happiness is very different from childhood happiness. still, though, i can try to remember when all i needed to be totally happy and complete was my mom, dad, and sister.

i want to be in the sun more and get a tan. . . i like it when i look like myself. it's easier to look at my tanned hand and remember who i am outside of grief and outside of adult worries. and i like remembering how the color of my skin, or i should say the ability of my skin to take on that color, reflects my grandpa and his beautiful mysteriously always tan skin. it reminds me that my family does still bring me that pure joy. from my grandpa i get my color, and from my grandma i got my knitting.

and being an adult isn't so bad.

**it's 4am, excuse the lack of caps. also, excuse the non-knitting nature of this post.**

I've been a bad blogger. . .

2008-03-10T00:04:00.000-07:00

. . .but that doesn't mean knitting hasn't been on my mind. The last couple of weeks have been really tough, and I've been keeping myself as busy as possible to help me get through them. Some of this busyness is knitting, but a good amount isn't. The non-knitting activities usually take me away from my computer and any blogging thoughts I might have. But, as my sister pointed out, I need (and want) to honor my commitment to the blog.

The good thing about not updating for a while is I have a more impressive amount of work to report on. I'm too lazy/my room is too messy to take a photo of the Grecian Plait in progress. . . but it's really coming along. I'm all the way through the neck hole shaping and I've only got a couple more inches to go on the shoulders. Front's almost done! I've been neglecting this project for days at a time, yet it's still a pretty fast knit. I promise pictures within the next couple of days.

In other knitting-related news, I checked out an interesting book from the library today. It's called "The Knitting Circle" by Ann Hood. It's a fictional book, and from what I've read so far it's about how a woman uses knitting to help her get over her young daughter's death. I'm not dealing with anything quite as heavy as a death, but I am using knitting to get over my own recent rough spot. It's a nice, entertaining, comforting, and somewhat brainless read so far (not a jab at the book, I just appreciate reading something outside of the academic material I normally read).

I've been trying to put things in perspective lately, and even though this is a fictional story it's helping me understand that the problems I have are small compared to some of the problems of others. I'm starting to really embrace the idea that any problems I have are far outweighed by the positive things in my life. These thoughts make me want to be more of an active charity knitter; but I guess as a student I'm stretched so thin already that I can't really expect myself to be Mother Theresa. Still, though, I think it would help me a great deal if I could use my own emotion to create something that might help someone suffering a bigger pain deal with their grief.

so close!

2008-03-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

This needle thing is bugging me so much that I actually DREAMT of where I put it a few weeks ago. I have a hunch that the spot I found it in the dream is pretty accurate to where I might really find it. The problem with dreams, though, is you forget them.

:(

What's a girl without a needle to do?

2008-02-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

Grecian Plait is coming along much more quickly than I anticipated. I finished a modified sleeve maybe two weeks ago, but didn't really touch the project again until a couple of days ago. I started knitting the front, and after only 3 or 4 days of knitting I've got 11.5 inches--the whole grecian stitch portion-- of the top done. I think I'm going to modify the pattern based on my measurements. This could either be very good or very bad; in the event that it is very bad, I'm inserting a "life line" at the top of the grecian stitch portion. That way, if the new shaping looks whacky I can just rip it out and easily modify it.

I want to have this top done soon, especially now that I see how quickly the front is going. Only thing is, I seem to have lost one of my size 7 needles while I was knitting the grecian plait portion (grecian plait stitch uses one small and one big needle). I've searched everywhere for it, but it just doesn't seem to want to be found.

So for now grecian plait is on hold. If my 7 stays lost for long I might just start on the grecian stitch portion of the back.

Daffodils

2008-02-27T23:24:00.001-08:00

When life is as hectic as it is for many of us, it's easy to lose sight of the things and people that make us happy. We sometimes go through each day on autopilot, mindlessly chugging through our tasks without really thinking about the task, or the direction of our day, or even the direction of our lives.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes autopilot is good. It's taken me years of practice to be able to knit well on autopilot. There's nothing better than being able to space out and let your hands lead you through several inches of repetitive stockinette stitch. . . except maybe getting your hands and brain to do that with a more complicated stitch pattern.

When we get so used to being on life-autopilot, we (or at least I) tend to overlook some of the good things that are happening in our lives. This week I've been reminded that sometimes it takes things getting a little rough to make me recognize all the positive things I have around me. In the midst of one of the most trying weeks I've had for a long time, I've seen how much love and support I have from my friends, and gained a new appreciation for my chosen craft. (The craft/art dilemma is a topic for another day. Let's just say that I consider it to be an art, but it is my craft.)

Knitting is always a joy for me, but this week in particular I am reminded of the almost cathartic qualities it has. I am so happy and thankful that I have a craft that excites me and calms me at the same time. When I knit, especially this week, I find the perfect balance between zoning out and thinking about things that might make that particular day or week difficult. It's a beautiful thing to exercise some skill and get meditation AND a sweater out of it.

One can't be alone to think and knit all the time, though, and that's where friends come in. I have been guilty of not appreciating mine as much as I should in the past, but after the past few weeks it would be impossible for me not to sing the praises of the wonderful people I have around me. This difficult week derailed me from my autopilot track, and though my friends can't get me totally back on track (that's something only I can do), the love they have shown me has helped me more than they know.

I guess my point is that we could all benefit from stepping back and appreciating the things that can make us happy even when we're down. We all have different ways of realizing those things--for some it just takes a little thoughtful knitting. And sometimes, if you're lucky like I am, a little gesture from a friend or a roommate who knows you've had a bad day helps to remind us how lucky we are to have such wonderful people around us.

damnit!

2008-02-22T21:52:00.001-08:00

Knitpicks Shine yarn fits the printed silk cardigan project perfectly. Only problem is it doesn't come in black! The yarn is so cheap--$34.86 for the whole project-- and is getting such excellent reviews. . . I might consider doing the cardigan in a different color.

So, guys, go here and click on the color card. What color do you guys think? I think the butter color is pretty, but red is also a tempting idea. . .

that's what I've been thinking!

2008-02-22T20:07:00.001-08:00

For the longest time I've been thinking that needles with interchangeable cords, for circular knitting, would solve all my knitting problems. In fact, part of me (the naive part of me) thought that this idea might make me millions. . .

Looks like I won't become a millionaire, but my knitting life will get a whole lot easier. Look at these! Needle sizes 5-15, can be made any length you need for both STRAIGHT and CIRCULAR knitting!

These babies are going to save me so much money. No more buying 3 sets of size 5 circular needles to have the proper diameter for the body, arms, and edges of a sweater. AND! I'll be able to make any size needle as long as I want for magic loop knitting. That means the possibilities are endless.

I must have these now!

*Oh, PS. . . I went climbing with a new friend today. I rope climbed for the first time ever ( I have only done bouldering before, which is rope-free climbing on walls about 15 feet high) and got ALMOST all the way to the top of a route! We're talking like. . what, 30 or 40 feet up? I have a bad concept for height, but let's just say it was high enough. I'm proud of myself though. :)

trying new things

2008-02-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

Though I've never purposefully sheltered myself or been a wet blanket, I never really considered myself an adventurous person. That's really only in the context of physical adventure, though; I challenge myself mentally all the time.

I've been thinking more lately about my lack of enthusiasm for certain activities that, for me, are pretty adventurous. Hiking, camping, most sports. . . why is it that when I think about doing any of these, my mind automatically goes to five or ten other things I'd rather be doing? You can bet knitting is usually at the top of that list.

I don't have a problem with adventure in those five or ten things, though. Take knitting for example; I purposefully venture outside of my comfort zone all the time. I pick patterns that feature techniques I have never encountered, I read and knit to try to understand the mechanics of good garment design and fit, and if all else fails, I knit and re-knit a problem until I get it right.

Why can't I do that with sports? Why not with camping? It's so strange to me that instead of the aggressive conquering attitude I have toward my studies or hobbies, my attitude toward most physical challenges is to politely decline, then run like hell in the other direction.

I'm tired of that. I want to go camping. . . and even more, I want to like it. I want to try new athletic activities and feel confident that with practice I will get better. So, the other day, I went out on a limb and bought some rock climbing shoes. I've gone with Sam a couple of times and enjoyed it (as much as I really ever enjoy new, foreign athletic activities) and lately have thought that it wouldn't kill me to commit to a new (hell, they're all new to me) sport. It also wouldn't hurt to overcome my minor fear of heights.

So I bought the shoes. I figure now that I have money invested in it I'll have some motivation to go climbing. I really really want to like it, and I want to break out of my comfort bubble. I'm still on the edge about whether or not I'm really passionate about climbing. I just hope that by really committing to this activity I'll give myself the chance to develop the same passion for it that I have for knitting. I mean, I haven't really ever given myself the opportunity to like any of the activities I so quickly dismiss.

On the knitting front, I have a new finished object that was just about the least adventurous thing I could knit-- a scarf! I have this odd aversion to knitting scarves. In fact, I think the only other scarf I've ever knit was a horrible white, sparkly, acrylic number years ago when I was first learning to knit. The simple back and forth knitting (garter stitch, baby!) was great for my first knitting project, but as my technique becomes more advanced the idea of doing something so simple and cliche makes my stomach turn.

That being said, I actually enjoyed knitting this scarf. The yarn, this bulky-ish gauge multi-colored Noro silk my mom and I bought over Christmas break, make the project not only bearable but enjoyable. The colors in this yarn have unbelievable depth, even though it's on the expensive side I highly recommend this yarn. It softens up a lot in blocking, too. I also chose an interesting lace pattern (one repeat of the lace pattern from the Katherine Vest in the Interweave Knits Spring edition) to counteract the boring nature of scarf knitting. Big needles, beautiful yarn, interesting stitch pattern. . . apparently this is the recipie for an enjoyable scarf project!

I have photos of the finished scarf blocking, but I'm withholding them. I want the recipient, my mom, to be surprised when she gets it in the mail. All I can say is that it turned out really lovely. . . and now I kind of want one!

possible candidate for printed silk cardigan...

2008-02-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

Elann.com peruvian baby silk... would be a little over $40 bucks for the whole project. The only thing I'm worried about is the gauge, but I think I could make it work with the right needles. Let's see what the pattern author says about the idea... and maybe I'll ask the LYS what they think, too.

I also love the organic cotton they have on elann.com. I want some to make a little shrug thing out of neutral-colored organic cotton. The idea for the shrug comes from something I saw and wanted; A three-quater sleeve, shrug cropped-bodice, hooded little toss on sweater thingie. One button at the front, or maybe a frog.

Just ideas. More actual posting later.

good days

2008-02-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

When I got home from class a couple of days ago I noticed that I had the most amazing presents waiting for me-- the spring edition of Interweave Knits and a Valentine's day box from my parents! The box was full of goodies like candy, my favorite tea, and the most delicious home-made brownies I've ever tasted.

Turns out the magazine was full of goodies, too. There are so many adorable patterns in this edition of IK, I want to knit all of them! But I know that I have only so much time and yarn money, so I picked one pattern I must knit. I decided I absolutely need to knit the Printed Silk Cardigan, and I think I'll do it in black. The design is timeless and I think that the plainness of a simple black cardigan will be offset nicely by the geometric elements of the stitch pattern. I hope that this will become the perfect black cardigan that I've been searching for. Unfortunately, the yarn the pattern calls for would be around $200 for the whole project. So I've been looking into substitute yarns. I'm thinking I'll go for a silk blend instead of a 100% silk yarn to help cut down on cost. Even silk blends seem expensive, though. I guess I've kind of accepted that if I want this sweater to be perfect and a garment I'll have for years, I might need to bite the bullet and invest more than usual on this project. Here are some of the candidates for sub-yarns:

possible yarns for printed silk cardigan:
-blue sky alpacas alpaca silk
-pima cotton silk by frog tree
-debbie bliss alpaca silk dk yarn ($130)
-debbie bliss pure silk yarn ($163)
-elizabeth lavod silky wool yarn ($54.94)
-sublime yarn cashmere merino silk dk ($107.31)
-valley yarns deerfield

So far the sublime cashmere merino silk is a strong contender, and the Elizabeth Lavold is sure tempting ('cos it's the cheapest of the bunch). Also the alpaca silk could be a good sub; in fact, the author of the pattern originally chose this yarn to do the sweater in. I'm gonna research these yarns a bit more (find out how they wear, if they pill or stretch) and hopefully decide on one soon. I'd like to start work on the cardigan as soon as possible.

I'll leave you with a cake I made for Valentine's day. Valentine's day isn't really a huge deal, but it sure is a nice excuse to eat candy and bake sweets.

Jeanette's Pumpkin "Cheese"cake
2 tubs tofutti cream cheese (soy cream cheese, it makes no difference taste wise)
2 large spoonfuls pumpkin (from a can)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning, adjust to taste (Some might like it more pumpkiney. The amount given is for a pretty minimally pumpkiney flavor)
3/4 to 1 cup sugar, also adjust to taste
1 tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
Graham cracker crust, homemade or store bought

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients, and beat in a mixer until smooth. This recipe is really hard to mess up, but it relies a lot on tasting as you go (oh darn! gotta lick the beaters!). The exact measurements of sugar and pumpkin pie seasoning are by no means fixed; I always go by taste and adjust accordingly. When the mixture tastes right, pour it into your graham cracker crust. Don't forget to blind bake your crust if you made it by hand. Put the pie into the 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Let cool in the refigerator for at least 3 hours, or until the cake seems set (it should be firm like a real cheesecake). If you want to do what I did above, buy some berries--whatever's in season--and decorate the top with them.

Delicious!

a very minty cuddly blankie

2008-02-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

Encore! (yok yok yok) The Encore "8-Hr" baby blanket is finally done. In truth the blanket probably took me close to the promised 8 hours, but I somehow managed to drag the project out to nearly a month. The no-brainer construction of the blanket that allowed me to complete the first half of the blanket in just hours was also the reason the second half of the blanket took me five weeks. After a while it seemed like the blanket would never end; it was hard to make myself sit down and knit something so painfully brainless. Never thought I'd say it, but gimme some complicated lace patterns or involved shaping work!

Mind-numbing repetition aside, the final product is a beautiful, squishy, minty, almost-error free baby blanket! And with a wash and dry it got amazingly soft; it felt more like cotton than acrylic.
I think I was a little too proud of myself for getting most of the way through it with no errors. . . so karma leveled my ego by making me (it's easier if I blame karma) knit the last 6 or so rows opposite of what they should be. Blake's a baby though, he won't notice. Hopefully I'll have photos of the painfully adorable recipient modeling his hat and blankie to show you all soon!

baby hat is done!

2008-02-04T18:42:00.001-08:00

this yarn is magic

2008-02-04T16:26:00.001-08:00

What do you do with a bitterly cold, misty/rainy, windy Sunday afternoon? Why, you take a bus that only runs once an hour a few miles to a new yarn shop to buy EVEN MORE yarn! Or at least that's what I did yesterday.

It's been so rainy and cold up here (keep in mind I was raised in Southern California, so after about a week of rain I've reached my wetness threshold) that everyones' been keeping their activities limited in favor of staying warm and dry. Since it looks like the rain isn't going to let up--one girl recently told me we'd get rain at least two times a week until mid April--I decided I had to suck it up and continue to have a life. . . even if it means getting soaked on the way to the yarn shop.

It's a good thing I decided to venture out yesterday, too, because I found the most amazing yarn AND yarn shop! I went to Stash (on Solano Ave in Berkeley) and found the staff to be more than helpful and attentive and the selection of yarns to be great. Plus they've got a nice little area of couches in the back where you can hangout and knit whenever you feel like it. Only bummer about the shop is the knit-together night they have is the same day of the week and time that I have my evening class. Bummer.

I didn't really need anything at the yarn shop, but all the cold weather recently made me realize I've never knit myself a straight-forward warmwarmwarm beanie. Sure, I've made a few cute hats. . . but I'll admit, I didn't have gusty winds and driving rain in mind when I designed them.

I so enjoyed knitting with larger yarn on the Wilderness Beanie that I decided to get some chunky wool yarn for my warm beanie. I ended up with Lorna's Shepherd Bulky, Color 403 "Tuscany". I'm always a little wary of variegated/hand dyed yarns; I really dislike that typical super stripey look you get with them. But this Lorna's didn't stripe at all, it actually created this amazing kind of lightning-bolt color arrangement.

This yarn is something magic, I tell you. It feels so lush to knit with, not to mention the finished hat feels squishy and lush and warm. I couldn't take my eyes off this yarn while knitting it. This hat, a simple 1x1 rib beanie, is by far my favorite hat I've ever made. It is beautiful and fits perfectly. Photos of the hat are above. Please excuse the bags under my eyes and my wan complexion (I came down with the flu last night) and also the awful mirror shot. I need to con Sam into taking finished object photos of me so I don't have to resort to using the bathroom mirror.

And! I had about a third of the ball left over after I made my hat. So I cast on for a hat for my favorite little baby. Hopefully I'll have it done by later this afternoon; the adult hat I knit only took about 3 hours and so far I've got 3/4 of the baby hat done in about an hour of knitting (and some odd stitches snuck in during lecture. . .). Here's a photo of the work-in-progress baby hat:

If anyone wants I can post pattern details for each. Both are fairly easy, beginner-level beanies.

Finished Knits 2006

2008-02-04T16:04:00.000-08:00

Blueberry Beret- my own design

I knit this hat for my mom for Christmas '06, but it gave me so much trouble that it almost wasn't ready for Christmas day. I knit this hat flat and seamed it, which was my biggest mistake. Also, I don't think I swatched for gauge at all. Ah, the early years of knitting. . . Needless to say, as I started seaming it a few days before Christmas I realized I had actually knit a hat to fit a T-Rex. Frantically I searched San Francisco for a sewing shop that was open on December 24th. Luckily I found one and spent the latter portion of the evening (we're talking until the wee hours of the morning) carefully hand-sewing in casing for elastic around the brim.The hat ended up turning out beautifully and more stylish than I'd originally had in mind.

Kittyville Hat- Stitch 'n' Bitch

This simple hat is the first thing I ever knit in the round. A great project for beginners. I opted to leave the kitty ears off of mine. I knit this one up in some cheap acrylic stuff so that if I messed it up I wouldn't have much to lose. Good strategy, but it made for a pretty un-wearable hat. I later knit this for Sam with a wool/angora blend in orange and brown. His hat turned out beautifully, but I have yet to get a photo of him wearing it.

Oscar's Beanie- my own design*

I can't really take credit for "designing" this hat. I used the formula for the Kittyville hat (above) and just knit it to the specifications I wanted. I used the same cashmere/silk stuff I used for the Loopy Velez Cowl (2007 FOs). It's hard to see here, but it's charcoal grey with a couple of forest green stripes. The wearer, my good friend Oscar, is an understated kinda guy, hence the subtleness of this hat.

Finished Knits 2007

2008-02-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

Loopy Velez Cowl - Stitch 'n' Bitch

This is a simple but necessary and handy piece of knitwear. The loops are kind of tedious, but the finished object came out adorable. And from the photos above you can tell that this cowl has come in handy for many uses. It was a convenient way for me to humiliate my brother-in-law (bottom photo) and came in handy as a hat for Sam (middle photo). Disregard the bowtie Sam is sporting--we were at a reggae festival in San Francisco and the bowtie and improv cowl-hat were by far the most normal apparel anyone was wearing.

Single Cable Slouchy Beret - my own design
This beret was inspired by the Blueberry Beret I made my mom for Christmas '06. This color is one that continues to grab me-- I wish I could knit everything in this deep sea aqua color. I don't remember which yarn I used for this, but I know it was an alpaca/cashmere blend. I decided to make my version of this slouchy beret with a cable; this was the first cable I ever knit. This hat is one of my favorites but falls off my head a bit. I've been meaning to sew in some elastic around the brim for about six months now. . .

half a day makes a hat

2008-01-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

(the best photo I could get of stitch detail)

Yesterday the Lumpy Bumpy yarn finally took shape. All it took was half a day (actually about 4 hours), two thirds of a ball of Lumpy Bumpy yarn in color Olive, a pair of 10.5 circular needles, and some decisiveness on my part regarding the stitch pattern to be used.

I decided on a rather deep 2x2 rib for the brim. For the body of the hat I used 3 alternating vertical panels of stockinette stitch and a slightly modified mesh stitch. This deep brim allows for a felt/fleece liner to be sewn in around the brim to keep ears warm while the more open stitch of the body portion of the hat allows the top of the head to breathe.

(good picture of color)

I didn't exactly keep great pattern notes, but I wrote down enough of the details to be able to give you readers (if I have any readers... ) who have some knitting skill a run-down of the pattern. It might require a little measuring and adjusting to make the hat fit your needs.

Wilderness Beanie
materials:
-one skein Farmhouse Yarns Lumpy Bumpy (I used color Olive, but there are tons of other great colors)
-one US size 10.5 (or size to obtain gauge) circular needle or dpns; I used a 24" circular and used the magic loop method. You could certainly use a shorter circular for traditional circular knitting. In that case I would recommend a 16" circular needle and a set of dpns for crown shaping.
-stitch markers, row counter, tapestry needle, measuring tape, scissors

gauge:
20 sts = 6" in stockinette stitch
6 sts = 2" in mesh pattern

mesh stitch pattern: multiple of 2
row 1: *yo, k2tog; rep from * to end
rows 2 & 4: knit
row 3: *yo, skp; rep from * to end

finished measurements:
10" from crown to brim
23" circumference unstretched; 25" stretched

*This hat was designed for a male with a largeish head (25" circumf.). If you have a smaller head you can:

1. Make the hat to the specified measurements for a loose, lazy, comfy fitting beanie with a good amount of ease. In this case I would suggest going down a needle size for the ribbing and shortening the brim-crown distance by an inch or so. You may still need to add some elastic to the brim after you finish it.

2. Make the width of the hat smaller by decreasing the number of stockinette stitches between mesh panels. This can easily be done by measuring the circumference of your head (say 20") and multiplying it by your stitch-per-inch gauge (say 3 sts to the inch).

A. 20x3= CO 60 sts

The mesh panels should be worked as usual, 3 of them with 6 sts each, totaling 18 stitches. To calculate how many stitches should be in your smaller stockinette panels, subtract 18 (the total the number of mesh stitches) from your answer A. Divide the remaining number by 3, and that is how many stockinette stitches should be between the mesh panels. If you get an uneven number you can round up or down as necessary to make the number of stitches in each stockinette panel equal or pretty close to equal.

*WHEN CHANGING ST. #- it is important to remember that the number of stitches for the brim must be divisible by 4 (because it's a 2x2 rib).

garment instructions:
1. Cast on 76 stitches, mark beginning of round with a stitch marker
2. Join in the round. Work in 2x2 rib until piece measures 2", stop at beginning of next round.
3. Place stitch markers so that the following numbers of stitches are sectioned off:

19-6-19-6-20-6

4. Work the panels of 19 and the one of 20 in stockinette stitch, knitting every row (because it's knit in the round, knitting every row creates st. stitch). Work the 6-stitch panels in mesh stitch. Use your row counter to keep track of these rows. Work the first 8 rows with no decreases.
5. On row 9 begin doing a single decrease in each stockinette panel on each row. That means that 3 stitches will be decreased from each row.
6. Now this is where my written instructions kind of fall apart, so for the most part calculating the rate at which you decrease is up to you. In general I worked 1 decrease in each stockinette panel on 2 out of every 3 rows. Just keep in mind how long you want to brim-crown distance to be. If you want it to be longer, stagger decreases to every other row. If you want it to be shorter, maybe work double decreases in each st. panel of every row. Try the hat on as you go and use how it feels and how much more crown-brim length you need to knit as gauges of how many stitches to decrease and how often. By no means do your decreases need to be precise and perfect, this yarn in LUMPY BUMPY so it's forgiving.

Important Notes on Decreasing

*Make sure you decrease the same number of stitches from each stockinette panel on each decrease row. This ensures that the stockinette panels will decrease vertically at the same rate and look uniform.

Mesh Decreases
A.Work decreases only on stockinette panels until your piece measures 7 or 8 inches (or 2 or 3 inches less than your desired crown-brim measurement). On the next Row 1 you knit you will work decreases in each mesh panel as follows:

in Row 1: yo, k3tog ---There should be 4 stitches left in mesh panel

B. Continue on as before, decreasing only in stockinette panels.
C. Once piece is 1 inch from your desired crown-brim length, decrease in each mesh panel as follows:

in Row 2 or 4: k2tog, k2tog ---There should be 2 stitches left in mesh panel

7. As you get closer to the crown and have fewer stitches on the needles you may, as I did, catch yourself working more than 3 decreases per row. It worked well for me to decrease every third stitch one row, then every second stitch the next couple of rows, then every stitch the last 1 or 2 rows.
8. When you have only a few stitches left on the needle, cut off your yarn with a 12" tail. Using your tapestry needle, draw the attached tail through the remaining stitches and secure it with a couple of knots on the inside of the crown of the hat. Weave in ends.
9. ****Note on blocking**** I wet blocked the hat and it grew at least 3 inches in width. I just put it in the dryer for 10 minutes or so and it shrunk back down. However, I wouldn't suggest blocking your hat. The mesh panels didn't really open up much after blocking and the yarn is already soft enough to wear fresh-from-the-needles. If you must block, I'd suggest not using a total wet-block method.

I hope that wasn't too hard to understand. I'll look this over later when I'm not in lecture trying to multitask. . . and not get caught goofing off!

it's all gravy

2008-01-23T12:37:00.001-08:00

I'm in a really good place mentally right now. I'm two days into my last semester (sort of, I'll explain that some other time) of college and feeling really good about the whole college experience. Surprisingly I haven't started freaking out about graduating yet. All I'm really focusing on is how much I love where I live (geographically) and how much I appreciate the opportunities my education has afforded me. Not just the opportunity to get a good salary or an impressive internship, but the privilege to engage directly with really diverse, mentally stimulating and personally enriching information.

In all of my getting ready for the new semester business my knitting has suffered a little. Luckily I've been lagging at posting for kind of a while, so all of the 2 and 3 week-old works in progress I've got going will seem new to you.

A couple of weeks ago I started some fingerless gloves. Actually, I finished one of them already; it only took me a day and a half! I was inspired by the Rowan Tapestry yarn... the color transitions in this yarn are unbelievably subtle and the colors in one ball are beautifully complimentary. I found one lone ball of this stuff at the worst LYS in Dana Point (while still at home for Xmas). Even though the shop was lame, the yarn was on sale for just $4.99. So if I ever get around to finishing glove number 2 I'll have a cheap, custom fitted, warm, gorgeous pair of mitts!

Around the same time I started the gloves--actually maybe 1 day before--I started a blankie for the most precious baby on the planet, Blake. Because Blake and his momma and pappa live in Tennessee now Christmas break was the first time I got to meet him. I'm totally enamored with him now, and I have a feeling this blanket is just the first of many knitted items Blake will get from Auntie Netty. No photo of the half-done blanket just yet, but here's a picture of the recipient fresh from a nap. Look at those eyes!

Other than the blankie and gloves, I've got some other small projects that will get cast on for in the next week. My mom and I picked out some really saturated variegated-color Noro yarn for a scarfish thing for her. I have yet to decide on a stitch pattern for it, but I do know whatever it is it'll be kinda lacy and on big needles. Gotta squeeze a scarf out of one skein!

I also finally got the Farmhouse Yarns Lumpy Bumpy I ordered for the hat I wanna make Sam. The color isn't exactly what I thought it would be, but it's still pretty. I just had in mind that it would look like the photo of the "Olive" color... very deep aquas and copper and some deep green hues. What it ended up looking like is kind of forest greens and olively blues with a few lighter colored bits here and there. Still pretty, and probably suited better to the intended wearer anyway. He's really more of a muted colors kinda guy.

I've got a nail in my bike tire, so I'm off to get that fixed and return some overdue DVDs of The Office to the video store. If I have time before my evening class (Environmental sustainability, cool right? Maybe I should only knit with bamboo yarn from now on. . . ) I might bike down to a yarn shop I've never been to. And that only means one thing. . . more yarn.

overdue finished garment photos!

2008-01-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

I know it's kind of knitter-lingo... but the phrase "FO (finished object)" just bugs me. Anyway, here are some overdue photos of the finished Orangina. My sister Sally, the recipient, models it so nicely!

Project Details:
Pattern: Glampyre's (Stephanie Japel) Orangina
Yarn: GGH Safari in black
Started: Nov 28 2007
Finished: Jan 5 2007
Balls of Yarn: almost 4

I think it turned out well. :) And I've got 6 balls of black Safari left from the huge bag I snagged at a sale a while back... I'm thinking I might make a slightly-altered Orangina for myself. That won't happen for a while though; I gotta give my brain a rest on that pattern.

finally, Orangina becomes a finished object

2008-01-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

Orangina is done! Not sure if I'll try to take photos of it on me (I'm a little differently sized/shaped than my sister) or wait until I can get a photo of Sally in it. I think it'll look fabulous on her.

Anyway, big sigh of releif over here. Orangina is done, looks good, and I FINALLY have my size 4 bamboo circulars free! Gloves can start!

Christmas is Good.

2007-12-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

Lots of great presents. Lots of great food. And nothing makes Christmas better than seeing an (almost) finished garment on the intended recipient.

Both front and back lace portions of Sally's Orangina are finished and blocked. I pinned them together to simulate seaming. She tried it on this morning and it looked so cute! I'm now working on the bottom ribbing portion, which I think will go quickly.

When I'm done with the Orangina I'll start on some fingerless gloves for myself with some gorgeous fingering weight Rowan felted tweed I got at a LYS in Laguna. The swatch I did was adorable... size 4 needles make such cute tiny stockinette stitches! Gotta decide if I'll do it with simple ribbing and stockinette or if I'll do a cuter stitch pattern for the body of the gloves.

And! Got a skein of some pretty lumpy purple yarn (acrylic, but I don't mind) from my aunt. Stuffed in each end were $20 dollar bills! My mom said the money's for yarn I actually want. Gotta think of something to knit with the purple acrylic; I don't wanna just waste it, it's actually very pretty and soft. I think the $60 I found in the skein will go toward yarn for Camellia.

I love Christmas!

STAG BEETLE: LOVE IT

2007-12-16T21:41:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago I was cruising around Berkeley, getting some inspiration for Christmas presents, when I stumbled upon some of my sister and my favorite asian candy--for cheap! Every year, for several years now, she and I buy small trinkets for each other to supplement whatever Santa leaves us in our stockings. I snatched up some of the candy for my sister and brother-in-law's stockings, and since the price was so right treated myself to one, too.

Last night as I was enjoying my Yan-Yan biscuits dipped in strawberry goo, I realized there were funny messages written on the biscuits. I'm used to finding weird phrases on asian candy; a few years ago I got a bag of some Asian candy that said "It's so wonderful candy!" on the bag. No matter how many funnily named candies I buy (Frogstyle Biscuits, anyone?) the novelty of the comical, poorly translated phrases never wears off.

Enter: Yan Yan. Can you spot the phrase in here that's particularly blogworthy?
SHEEP: WOOL SWEATERS! :) Glad to see knitting is represented well in the Japanese candy market. Look at some of the other ones, though. Some make sense. . . but what about that stag beetle one? Stag beetle: love it? So confused. I almost like it as well as the Fox: beware of lies one. I only wonder what the ones that I ate before I realized they had messages said. Heh. Japanese candy always brightens my day.

Speaking of sheep: wool sweaters. . . I've made so much progress on the x-mas Orangina! As of two days ago the back is completely done. I cast on for the front last night and I only managed to knit a measley two inches. But I've got this lace pattern engraved on the back of my skull by now, so this should be a lot quicker than the back was. I started using a safety line on the back, a technique I will definitely use on the front. I may have flubbed over a few errors on the back, but the front must be flawless. I will rip back to my safety line whenever anything looks or feels wrong. I have a feeling I won't make many (never say never[or none]) errors in the front. I've got this down!

I'm feeling particularly upbeat about the project tonight because the future wearer was here and I got to pin it to her. I made her close her eyes, of course. Draping it on her really gave me renewed hope that it will be a beautiful, nicely fitting garment when done. Cannot wait 'til I'm done! I want to knit other things!

avoiding kiddie germs, caught by the yarn bug.

2007-12-14T13:15:00.000-08:00

I've got the Elmo's World song stuck in my head. My four-year-old charge chose to watch his Elmo DVD(for the second time today...) as part of his reward for participating in ballet class today. At the moment, Elmo is yodeling about bath time.

While I have Jacob zoned out in the other room for a few minutes I get an opportunity to write about how I finally got the yarn bug. The I-must-have-it-even-though-one-skein-is-20+ -dollars. The I-must-find-a-use-for-this-fabulous-and-completely-unneeded- yarn. I've got it bad!

I never really understood other knitters' fiber obsessions. I mean, yarn can be really lovely--especially a really soft, beautifully colored skein--but I just never got really excited about yarn before. I really didn't understand how some people could buy yarn without a project in mind, simply to HAVE the yarn. And I certainly didn't understand why anyone would want to knit with veregaited-color yarn. I usually think those yarns look pretty in the hank, and ugly in the garment.

Then, as I was procrastinating about writing one of my finals (papers are done, by the way!), I stumbled upon a picture of the most fabulous yarn I have ever seen. That yarn is pictured above. It's Farmhouse Yarns "Lumpy Bumpy" in color "Wildflowers".

The same lumpy bumpy yarn comes in so many gorgeous colors. I want all of them! But, even though I have come around and understand getting really excited about yarn, I still cannot bring myself to drop big bucks (or small bucks) on yarn I don't have a use for. The problem with this yarn? It's chunky. I have zero experience knitting things with huge needles and huge yarn. I don't think I could knit a garment with this; I'm afraid the bulky yarn would end up bulkifying my body. I could use a skein for a hat, but really. . . how many hats do I need (or wear)? Maybe I'll buy one skein and see how it knits up. I can start with a hat, maybe for my mom (there's one color that I think would be perfect for her). After I see what kind of fabric it produces, I can decide what else I can knit with this yarn. Here are some photos of the colors I like best. Still deciding which I would choose.

Above: Color Rhapsody

Above: Color Sedona

Above: Color Taos

Above: Color Olive
Above Color: Grapes on the Vine (Mom, for some reason this one reminds me of you)

Above Color: Clay

Above Color: Autumn

So. . . any ideas what projects might be calling for some of this yarn?

extra stitches--conquered!

2007-12-05T15:44:00.000-08:00

There may be a little flub in the pattern on the edge of the right shoulder, but Orangina's extra stitches have been removed. A few lace repeats after the error and the lace pattern is back to normal. Doesn't look so bad, it's just an inch that's a little more solid than the normal holey pattern. And maybe it'll be hidden by seaming, or maybe I can kind of fix it with blocking. . . I hope 10 inches in I don't regret going on and leaving the mistake. But seriously, my heart couldn't take ripping this thing one more time. I needed this victory, and I needed to move on.

Sally isn't a knitter anyway, she won't notice.

Shouldn't the holidays bring out the nicer side of people?

2007-12-03T14:51:00.001-08:00

Living in a city where corporate shops are practically (sometimes literally) chased out of town by angry, hemp-wearing, patchouli-smelling hippies, cheery Christmas window displays are few and far between. It was pretty easy for me to (almost) forget it is the holiday season. Not to mention I'm a member of a student population for whom shopping ranks on their list of Important Things To Do just above shaving their armpits. And if you've seen any of the girls around here, you'd understand that's a pretty low-priority activity.

Unlike my hirsute peers, shopping (and shaving, for that matter) ranks pretty high on my list of Important Things To Do. Especially Christmas shopping. Since there is almost no shopping to speak of on this side of the Bay (thanks, hippies), my sister and I ventured to the Big City for a weekend shopping adventure.

It's a good thing I'm an intrinsically positive person, because otherwise the holiday spirit might have gotten sucked right out of me by all the genuinely impolite and irritated people we encountered. Working retail during the holiday rush is trying--I know, I had a mall job once. But it's really not that hard to be nice, and if that's too much work it's certainly not that hard to be benign. And doesn't it seem like it would be more work to be angry and unpleasant than base-line benign?

Load up the Botox--after all the frowns I saw I have a feeling the salespeople at Macy's are gonna need a lot of it. BART attendants, too. (Though maybe we can give them something else. Maybe a something that increases [or creates] helpfulness. Or a shot of intelligence. . .)

Nasty people aside, the City, all lit up for Christmas, was absolutely beautiful and made the shopping trip completely worth it. I forget that I live just a few miles from one of my favorite cities. I kind of forget how city it is, too. Big throngs of people milled around brightly-lit downtown, exhaling clouds of warm breath into the crisp (and boy do I mean crisp) air. It was more New York (or Big City) than it has ever seemed to me. Maybe it was being bundled up in the cold, or maybe it was the beautiful Christmas tree all lit up, but something about being there really put me in the Christmas mood. It was just what Sally and I needed.

And what I need now is time to make progress on Orangina. I'm counting down the days until December 10th, the day my last final paper is due. Of course I've got one final after that, but it's no biggie. According to just about every blogger ever, this is a super quick knit. But with all the trouble I've been having with just the first few inches, I'm worried. All I can say is come Monday, I'm gonna be hustling. I just hope the rest of it goes better than the first few rows.

garble garble lace problems.

2007-11-29T12:14:00.001-08:00

Well. . . I've now cast on and ripped orangina three whole times. Ugh.

Maybe my "how hard can it be" idea wasn't so great. My first problem was that I spazzed and forgot to repeat only what's in the parentheses. The result was a pretty pattern. . . just not the right one. Ooops. Then my yarn overs kept ending up in the wrong places. Finally, the third time around, I've made peace with the pattern--almost.

Last night, as I was knitting away, I had a funny feeling that I should count the number of stitches on the needles. I cast on 103 stitces for the extra small. . . 3 lace repeats in, I had110 stitches! Wrong! Where did those 7 stitches come from?

So I'm now trying to figure out if it was just a few missed k2togs, or if I am unable to actually follow this pattern properly. What if this is a mistake that can't be fixed with a few extra decreases? What if this turns into the ever-widening top? It's going to be so beautiful when I'm done, I just know it. I just have to figure out how to get there.

While this project slowly sucks the life from me, the other exciting projects I have waiting in the wings are calling out to me, "Knit us!". After the orangina (which I WILL finish.), I want to knit Grecian Plait and Fad Classic. Ooh--and the Rebecca Lace Top!

But Grecian Plait will be first, because I have wanted to knit that one for a while. I couldn't understand my intense attraction to it--that is, until my mom saw a photo of it. She told me it reminded her of a tan crocheted top my grandma Roxie had once made for her. The tan top, though it wasn't exactly knitted, had the same feel as this top- plain stitch through the chest, empire waist with a tie, cute lacey pattern on the flowing lower half. I don't know that I've ever seen my mom wear the top, but it was always one of her articles of clothing that I took out to play dress up with. I don't remember what, but there's something about the top. . .maybe poofy sleeves. . .that kept it from being cute on my adult self. So, Grecian Plait will be my cute, Jeanettey answer to Roxie's original.

These are photos of my swatches for the Grecian Plait. It's in the ggh cotton I showed photos of in the last post. The grecian stitch is actually really beautiful and subtle in this cotton. . .I even like it better than the swatch I did of it in mohair (which is the suggested yarn).

my sit bones hurt.

2007-11-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Since the recent demise of my troublesome VW Beetle, I've been biking everywhere. Luckily the Bay Area is much more bike friendly than my native Southern California. For the most part, my vintage road bike, which was custom built for my mom (who has short legs like me!) in the late '70s or early '80s, has been more reliable than my car ever was. Though the frame and mechanical stuff is all in great working condition, the seat was starting to show some serious wear. After a few rainy weeks the thirty-year-old leather began flaking off like crazy, not to mention pulling away from the foam underneath. And it's not like the seat was really comfortable in the first place either; ideas of ergonomics and comfort have come a long way since that seat was designed.

A few especially uncomfortable rides over the past couple of weeks led me to finally bite the bullet and get a new seat from the LCS (local cycling shop, like local yarn shop, eh eh...). The cute salesguy fed me some shpiel about how it's specially designed for female anatomy, with a little cutout down the middle of the seat to direct all your weight to your sit bones and protect your. . . "soft tissues". My ass (literally).

Let's just say the seat might take some getting used to. As of now, my sit bones kinda hurt from the new seat and my soft tissues certainly didn't feel too terribly protected. I'm just going to keep telling myself that a new bike seat just takes some getting used to, because the thought that my anatomy doesn't suit a $60 bike seat is too depressing.

In spite of a sore tail bone, or pelvis or whatever those bones really are, I couldn't resist biking the 7 miles (round trip) to the local yarn haunt to pick up some yarn for upcoming projects. Boy, I must really love knitting; my sore tailbone has now been joined by his friends, sore calves and sore glutes. It's all worth it though, because the yarn I got is beautiful.

I got some black ggh Safari (linen) to knit up Glampyre's Orangina as a Christmas present for my sister (I'm aiming for something like this Orangina in Black). Truth be told, I've never knit any sort of lace before. More truth--I've never really followed a pattern before. Well, I guess I've followed a few hat patterns, but I hardly count those. I think this one should be successful in spite of my inexperience with patterns and lace: the pattern is just two simple rectangles joined in the round at the ribbing... how hard can it be? And stitch patterns aren't that difficult. . . I've done a few in my day.

I also got some gorgeous Classic Elite bamboo yarn in plum to knit up Wendy from Knit & Tonic's "Fad Classic". My fad part is the vibrant purple color of the yarn I chose. Just loud enough to be eye catching, but subtle enough that I think I'll actually wear it. Bamboo is surprisingly soft, and kinda shiny.

And the best part is both yarns were on sale! Got bags of ten balls each, discounted at 45% off. I love being someone who dislikes knitting warm stuff. . . means that when everyone else is hoarding wool and cashmere and alpaca, I get to reap the benefits of the "summer" yarns in the sale pile!

Here are photos of all my gorgeous new yarn. Not just the two listed above, but also this pretty overcast-cloud-color cotton stuff I got last week (ggh Tara, in light grey). The swatch I knit feels like clouds, or dryer lint. Yessssss. Thinking of knitting the Grecian Plait with it. Seems a fittingly simple pattern for a simple yarn.

Off to channel my writing energy into a paper. Would rather be knitting...