Wednesday, October 6, 2010

That's the wrap, here's the turn

I don't know why I space on how to do wrap and turn heels, but I do. When I do it from memory, one side I get correct, the other side is not. So every time I want to do a wrap and turn heel or toe correctly, I did out this video by Cat Bordhi. Hooray for the internets and free flow of information!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

a post without pictures

I am not sure why I am so busy these days. I thought that a full time job would be less work that my college classes, but somehow it seems like I never have time for knitting or otherwise. I'm running behind on some obligations and barely keeping up with the day-to-day ones. My to-do list hadn't gotten much shorter, even though I've been so busy and had so much....life in the past few months that my brain is going round in circles like a small child on a merry-go-round that's gleefully gone round so fast and so many times he's sick to his stomach, but he doesn't quite see a way to hop off onto the solid ground and make the dizziness and retching stop.

Maybe I don't have time because I'm always going cool places and doing cool things with the Pirate before his schedule fills up with plundering the textbooks for knowledge. Maybe it's because I have no air conditioning and the summer heat has the tendency to suck out the will to live through my pores. Maybe it's because my job takes more energy that I am used to giving, or it is really a 50 to 60 hour a week job cleverly disguised as 40 hours. Maybe it's because I'm in a holding pattern, waiting somehow for real life to begin (hint: it already has). Maybe I'm just procratinating. Maybe it's because I've had intermittant internet and computer problems. Maybe I'm just being a worrywort. Maybe I've lost my zen and need to meditate more. Maybe this IS the zen and I should just accept that.

But all that I know is that right now I'm guilty of being behind on 2 art projects for people that needed them ASAP, and here I am sitting in a hotel at a work conference in my down time with no headspace or supplies to work on them. I've re-knit this one comission shawl, my big summer project, about 4 times (but it's gonna be AWESOME when I get done with it) and I'm hoping I finally have the pattern in my head so I can work on it without mistakes in the wee-hours at the airport tomorrow and have it done for the lovely lady so she may take it and do great things.

In summary: I want someone to clear my head and warp the space-time continuum so I may do everything I want to on my to-do list. I have the sneaking suspicion the person who does this will have to be me.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happiness is...





Sometimes happiness is stash busting by knitting socks for people with small feet.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Happiness is...


Sometimes happiness is knowing you'll have freshly laundered hand-knit socks to wear for the upcoming week.

Friday, April 23, 2010

How to Knit A Chrismas Hat

How To Knit a Christmas Hat

1. Choose pattern
2. Have recipient pick out yarn
3. Become obsessed with knitting it so that all homework grinds to a screeching halt and finish it in two days

4. Turn inside out to admire the strands of yarn

5. Put on glass head to admire decreases

6. While on glass head, take picture for blog/Ravelry/posterity

7. Block

9. Infuse with Christmas spirit


10. Blog about it months later

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Happiness is...


Sometimes happiness is handknit washclothes that arrive in the mail and are sprayed with something that smells so good you hate to get them wet because it will wash the smell off.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Happiness is....


Sometimes happiness is taking a break from studying to pet yarn.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Happiness is....

Sometimes happiness is matching socks to your outfit...


And then discovering how to use the timer on the camera so you can take pictures of the combination.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Happiness is....

Sometimes happiness is taking your knitting out for day trips.







Sunday, March 14, 2010

Happiness is...

Sometimes happiness is the imprint of your FO in the snow.



Monday, March 8, 2010

Impending DOOM

Last year, the delightful Bethany graduated from college. She walked across the stage in an absolutely stunning version of Laminaria. I think a graduation shawl is a fabulous idea, so I have started knitting one of my own. It is a simple pattern from Victorian Lace Today in some squooshy merino lace yarn.






Right now it is half-finished and looks like pink, scrunchy chaos, but posesses hints of a pattern that will hopefully be beautiful when finished. It's a pretty good metaphor for my life right now as I try to frantically knit the future together so my life after college is a sucessful endevour I can be proud to show off and not a hopless knotted mess full of curses and woe.


k1 breath in p1 breath out k1 breath in p1 breath out

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Knitting Olympics

Though I was on the fence about participating in Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics because of my tight schedule, at the last minute I decided to go for it. I didn't pick out a new project, but decided to buckle down and finish up projects on my needles that were for other people so I could cast on new things. Despite my insanely busy school schedule, I finished on time! The goods:


Dead or Alive? seen here in the massive snow drifts that have taken up residence outside my house.
Alternating skeins of Noro Silk Garden with Cascade 220 accent.
Seanners is in charge of the eyes.






Socks for Seanners' birthday, which is actually near St. Patty's day so the color scheme is totally wrong. Leftovers from my superwash patriotic socks so now we have matching socks.



Another pair of socks for Betsy, my weaving teacher. 1.5 skeins of Universal Yarn, Ditto.


Hooray!







Next Knitting Olympics, I hope I am in a position where I can take on a crazy project like an entire sweater. For now, I am pleased to be passing these projects on to their intended owners and casting on new hats and shawls and socks and scarves and mitts....

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Needle Sizes

Over the past summer, I finally found some yarn for a fangirl Harry Potter Gryffindor scarf.




Berroco Cuzco, 50% Alpaca and 50% Peruvian Wool



I was very excited! After ditching my Red Heart version knit in my early days, I have been on the lookout for a soft yarn in the right colors.





I am practicing altering the color of my imges in Photoshop and I rather like how this one turned out.



I was also excited because I could use my very first knitting needles ever, 8mm bamboo straights. I have many fond memories of those needles and they have served me well. Having spent so many hours with them in my early days, I was surprised at how long it took me to readjust to them. It felt like I was knitting with awkward, stubby tree trunks. It didn't hit me fully until I compared them to the needles I usually knit with these days (2.25 mm sock needles).







Though not represented in this picture, I have retained a preference for bamboo.



WOW, that explains it. Then for fun I compared the fabrics from each needle:



Sorry about all the stripes and colors going on here...it was an experiment in knit photography.


The one awesome thing about knitting with big needles I had forgotten was how fast the project zips along. I totally got this project done in about 8 hours (two art classes+ cast on at home+ knit group).

Hooray for quick knits that are 8+ feet long and keep your neck warm while showing my shamless HP love!

Happiness is...

Sometimes happiness be when I ask The Pirate "Yaarr me hearty, this here dead fish hat from Knitty is the funniest thing this side o' the poop deck. Would ye perch one atop yer head? What say ye?" And he says "Aye, me wench, tis indeed a grand hat! Not only would I don one for meself to keep me ears from the cold gales, but I would don matchin' rottin' fish if ye made one for yerself too!'




The first of a pair, washed ashore several months ago with a festive pumpkin.


And then we wear them around campus even if we do look a bit squiffy. Yaaar!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Happiness is...

Sometimes happiness is good yarn, good needles, and a good skyline.





NYC, 2.5 mm needles and hand dyed ingido yarn!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Monstrosities

I knit socks for myself so I can replace the odd ill fitting monstrosity (pictured below) with peices of knitted art in cool colors.





Oh my goodness, I'm not even sure where these originally came from. Aren't they awful? I am glad they are no longer in rotation!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Happiness is....

Sometimes happiness is knitted street art.






Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Happiness is....

Somtimes happiness is taking pictures of newly acquired yarn against a backdrop of public art







Koigu (scored it on sale!) from Sophie's Yarns in Phidelphia

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Adoption

In my January wanderings and rummagings, I found something wonderful.

I found a pair of thick, hand-knit wool socks, and I adopted them for a quarter.

Boy, was I glad I had a quarter on me that day because my wallet was very empty otherwise.
I have no idea who knit them, but I was so excited to add them to my collection where they will be loved, worn, and washed in a way that will not felt them further (I can tell they've seen some love already). I doubt I will ever know who knit them, and that makes me sad. I want the knitter to know they have found a good sock drawer. They are a bit big for me in the toe, but otherwise they fit perfectly. They have already served me faithfully as I trekked through the 1+ foot of snow that fell to ring in the New Year.
pricetag
Part of me was astonished I got them for so cheap. A quarter! The price of a gumball. Less than the cost of a stamp. All the money for yarn and all that time to knit them given away for chump change. Part of me really isn't surprised at all, because I wouldn't expect anybody other than a knitter (or someone who knows a knitter who gives them lots of hand-knit socks) to recognize the telltale signs of the hand-knit technique and what that means. It makes me feel like I belong to a secret society or something.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Bottletoe

I love handknit socks. Sometimes I knit them exclusively of everything else. They are portable, provide hours of knitting time, come in endless patterns, and are delightfully functional. But I'll be darned if the kitchner stitch doesn't slow me down something awful.



Swamp socks, Tofutsies in Gentleman's socks from Nancy Bush's Vintage Socks


I think it's because so much of my sock knitting happens while I am doing other things--sitting in class, socializing, thinking about life. I mean, I'll even finish entire pair of socks and it will take me as long to get around to the kitchner stitch as it took to knit the socks in the first place!



Pictures taken back when the grass was green. Takes me even longer to blog about how long it takes me to kitchner my toes.


Kitchner stitch takes my full attention, and since I don't have it memorized I have to remember to carry around instructions. Before I got my handy dandy dog tag with the steps, I was carrying around Ann Budd's hardcover Getting Started Knitting Socks every time I had to kitchner.


Patrotic sock in a superwash yarn I cannot recall


Since I've done so many kitchners and some serious grafting on a pair of handwarmers, I'm starting to get the hang of it and have achieved a level of proficiancy where I can talk to other people while executing the stitch, but I am not yet instruction free (and therefore grateful for the dogtag that weighs so. much. less. than the book).


Until that day, my undone toes will continue to accumulate in my knitting basket and stare me down.


Can't you feel the thousand little eyes and hear the haunting cry of "Kitchner meeeeee"? No? Then nothing to see here...

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Happiness is...

Sometimes happiness comes from joining a movement (even when it's joining late...)



Must Have Cardigan in Strawberry Fields