Knitting Recklessly

A piece of NC

2010-04-12T20:47:00.001-04:00

No knitting content. Just some love for spring and the town I live in:

2009-09-01T13:37:00.002-04:00

Well, it's done. I submitted the thesis, submitted a paper, defended the thesis, and was awarded a Ph.D. since my last post.

It's been a busy month.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go back to cuddling my kitten.

Why I've been missing

2009-08-05T19:33:00.002-04:00

REAL TITLE WITHHELD BECAUSE I AM A PANSY

SUPPLEMENTAL FIGURES

Supplemental Figure 1: The thesis work area circa 10:00 am. OK, I admit I did straighten my papers a bit before taking this picture. Fortunately, those empty soda cans are actually from the night before. But as you will see, I did start drinking pretty early today.

Supplemental Figure 2: Characterization of thesis requirements. (A) Caffeine. Lots of it. (B) Fire. Very therapeutic. (C) Dear Mom, I'm sorry I jumped on your laptop's keyboard and screwed up your formatting and made you cry. Have this fluffy ball. Love, Penny.

One is the Grumpiest Number

2008-12-31T13:44:00.003-05:00

If you'll recall from my SAFF post, I acquired some fabulous cashmere from the Sanguine Gryphon, Taiping DK in teal. I was drawn to the yarn because I handled one of her knitted samples of Global Wrist Warmers. It really does feel wonderful!

I finished the first wrist-warmer around Thanksgiving. I love working with the yarn. I was worried that it would be pilly or have a really bad halo after being knit because the yarn feels really delicate. But, it's held up like a champ. It's instantly warm when you put it on, so I'm really excited about finishing the pair.

My gauge is a smidge too big despite going down a needle size - I just don't know how to knit tighter. I really tried to knit tightly with this project. I guess if I haven't figured it out in 4+ years I should just resign myself to being a loose knitter!

Unfortunately, I have yet to cast on for its mate. How does my lonely wristwarmer feel about that? Actually it's been quite clear about its feelings.

Somehow, it reminds me of Oscar the Grouch . . . I think it's the disapproving eyebrows.

Happy Christmas To Me!

2008-12-30T20:51:00.003-05:00

My mum is a professional shopper. Well, she doesn't get paid for it, so I guess I can't really use the term "professional." But she practices bargain finding with a finesse which is rarely seen. Her latest find was this beauty which I found waiting under the Christmas tree.

Hi, I weigh 30 lbs. (Yes, I weighted it. I'm a scientist; it's what I do.)

It's a Nelco SZ-217. It did not come with a manual. And, according to the internet, the manual is no longer in existence. At this point I should admit that I am a complete sewing newbie. I can measure, cut, pin, and iron with the best of them. But I've only sat at a machine twice in my life. I've only threaded one machine needle. I've never changed a bobbin - all I know is you put your GIANT HAND into the wee tiny opening of mystery. Then some magic happens and you have a little bobbin holder in your grasp.

I embarked upon this adventure with my typical disregard of logic and just jumped in. If you don't let things intimidate you, you'll accomplish things you never thought possible. Allow me to give an example:

1. I threaded the needle. Hooray!

2. Apparently I buggered it up because it keeps coming unthreaded.

3. Oh, I missed one of those little curvy thread path thingies - problem solved.

4. About 5 stitches into my test project the needle fell out (in my defense, I didn't put this needle in)

5. Ok, needle back in. Note to self - machines with side-mounted bobbins have the flat side of the needle facing right instead of to the back!

6. Made some practice stitches. Feeling like an engineering superhero!

OK, now for the hard stuff. The pre-loaded bobbin is white, but I want to use black thread.

7. I used the machine to wind a bobbin (admittedly it took me a couple of tries to find which random knob was the bobbin tensioner). Hooray for not having to wind thread by hand! I knew my swift and ballwinder weren't going to help me with this project!

8. I open the little door and stick my hand in the hole of mystery. When my hand emerges it does not just contain the little bobbin holder but the Entire Race Assembly! OK, now I panic. I've got 1 bobbin and 3 pieces of metal in my hand and I have NO IDEA what they're supposed to look like when assembled!

9. Get tired of scraping knuckles on edges of tiny trapdoor only to have everything fall out as soon as I put it in (remember - it's a side-mounted assembly). There must be a better way.

10. My sewing machine has a trap door that leads to a secret compartment! Urr, basically I can unhinge one side of the machine and expose the underbelly. This is probably a standard feature, but I was absolutely overjoyed to discover this. Hooray for having 2 hands and a clear line of vision to work on bobbin assemblies!

11. Cleaned out the underbelly - found lots of safety pins! Buried treasure FTW! Note to self - buy more compressed air and a dust mask (cough).

12. . . . .6+ possible assembly combinations later - I have a working conformation!!! Decide I am definitely an engineering superhero. This is reinforced by the fact that my hands are covered in oil and smell of old pennies.

13. Sit down and sew my first ever independent sewing project in about 30 minutes. After 4+ years of knitting my first thought was "That was so fast - it must be cheating!"

Decide I am definitely not a take-your-own-photo superhero. Hooray for mirrors and cropping tools!

*Unfortunately, the pattern I used is no longer online.

SAFF 2008

2008-10-25T19:09:00.008-04:00

I left for SAFF bright and early this morning with Karen and Gena. OK, it wasn't bright, but it was early. Actually it was rainy and cold and dark. And, in our sleepy haze we actually started off going east instead of west (seriously, we'd gone almost 15 miles before we realized it). Fortunately, (once we turned around) the weather got better and better as we headed west. By the time we arrived in Asheville it was a lovely day!

We had attended the fiber festival last year and all of us were completely overwhelmed. This year we knew what to expect and I can honestly say I enjoyed the experience more knowing what I was getting into. My biggest regret from last year was that I was so afraid of spending too much money that I only bought 1 skein of yarn. There was another skein which I had coveted, but I resisted. For this last year it has been "the one that got away." So, first thing on my agenda was to return to Miss Babs' booth and get a skein of sock yarn in the Saturn colorway! Isn't it gorgeous? I think it looks particularly exciting against my gym towel!

"Yummy" Hand-Painted Sock and Baby Yarn (400 yds, Superwash)
by Miss Babs
Colorway: Saturn

My other goal for the day was to get some fiber. I didn't get any last year because I really didn't know enough to shop smart for fibers. But, I also hesitated to order anything online because I really need to handle a fiber before I can guess whether I'll be able to spin it. I was able to find 2 nice fibers to work with. The first is a solid Bluefaced Leicester Top. Everyone says BFL is a perfect fiber for beginners and it is deliciously soft. Throughout the day I kept reaching into my tote to give it a little squeeze. I was surrounded by petable yarn, but I really wanted to sink my fingers into that BFL.

100% Bluefaced Leicester (3 oz) from River's Edge Weaving Studio
Colorway: Moss (I think)

While green is lovely, I think it'll be nice to spin up some nice variegated yarn, too. So I finally chose one of the many available multi-colored braids.

Merino Top Multicolor (4 oz) from Cloverleaf Farms

Colorway: Cassis

My final purchase of the day was inspired by a shop sample. These mitts were laying out and looking all cozy, so I slipped one on. They were so soft, and instantly warm. It's no wonder - they were made from 100% cashmere. BUT, it's the most affordable cashmere yarn I've come across. I will definitely be making a pair similar to the shop sample I saw.

Taiping DK (100% Cashmere - 220 yds)
by The Sanguine Gryphon
Colorway: Teal

It was really wonderful to spend a whole day with friends basking in tactile delights. I certainly hope I'll be able to return to SAFF after graduation. Finally, I'll leave you with the real star of the fiber festival:

A bebeh goat!
He drew a bigger crowd than even the most crowded vendor stall. It just goes to show that the only thing more loved than fiber is the animal it came from. Thanks for all your extra fluff, guys!

Long Overdue

2008-10-05T18:16:00.004-04:00

Every time I talk to my youngest sister she scolds me for not blogging. It's true - I've been horribly lax in my blogging, though I have continued to knit in the meantime.

Since I last blogged:
1. I had LASIK surgery. My vision went from ~20/400 to 20/20. Of course, I am thrilled.
2. I donated my hair to Locks of Love. I'm proud to say that my ponytail put all the others to shame. Alone it was longer and thicker than the other 5 together. I'm still trying to decide if I'll let it grow out to donate again.
3. I've done a lot of "science," though I still have nothing in the way of publications to show for it.
4. I've made a new friend. I make friends pretty easily, but this stands out as being one of those special friendships that you know is going to last over the years.
5. One of my special friends moved to Ohio. I shall miss our burrito excursions.
6. I converted a yarn doubter into a true knitting addict. She's been knitting for all of ~4 months and she's already designing her own patterns and tackling beaded lace. I couldn't be prouder of her.
7. I've also knit stuff.

My latest project was part of a mini knit-a-long with Gena, Karen, and Melinda. We bought yarn and started knitting the Central Park Hoodie in April, but when the warm weather came around we all lost our love for wool temporarily. But, as the end of summer drew near we all jumped back in full force. All of us finished our sweaters within a couple of weeks of each other.

We debuted all 4 this weekend at a breast cancer seminar. One of the morning sessions was "healing arts" and we held knitting classes for the survivors attending the conference. It was my first time teaching more than 1 person how to knit. It's definitely a lot harder than teaching one-on-one! While the survivors ate lunch we had a short knitted fashion show to demonstrate what they could do with their newly acquired skill. At one point, the four of us all came out wearing our finished Central Park Hoodies.

Gena's hubby isn't comfortable with her face being on her blog, so I figured it'd be rude to have it on mine. Pretend we're basking in her knitterly awesomeness, kay?

It was really great knitting the same pattern. We could all discuss yarn choices, sizing, and pattern modifications on Saturday afternoons over lunch. Plus, working with others kept me inspired to actually finish the project. It's always interesting how four people can use the same pattern and end up with four very different sweaters.

I'm soooo happy with the length!

Pattern: Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Ginger (5 balls)
Needles: US 5 and 7
Modifications: I reduced the length of the sleeves by 1.5 inches, but after a good soak they ended up too long. If I roll the sleeves up the length is perfect, though. I knit a combination of sizes. The back is a 34'' while the fronts and sleeves follow the 36'' instructions. I'm quite happy with the size.

I love Cascade 220. Really, I do. But Cascade really dropped the ball this time. The dye in this yarn wasn't set properly and I washed each piece at least 8 times (the water still didn't run clear at this point - I just gave up). If I'd added vinegar and heat to the results of the first soak I would've had a very potent dye bath. There was actually a difference in the colour of the washed and unwashed pieces, but it's still close enough that I'm happy with the colour. I won't be wearing light shirts under this cardigan for a long time.

I definitely see this becoming a staple in my fall/winter wardrobe. I've been a fan of the CPH for a long time and I'm thrilled that all of us were so successful with our sweaters. We all ended up with exactly what we wanted. And really, isn't that one of the best things about knitting?

WiP Weekend

2008-02-17T16:53:00.004-05:00

It has been a while since I posted any knitting progress , but that doesn't mean I haven't been knitting. Progress has just seemed slow lately, so I never feel like I have anything "blog-able." However, I suppose I really have done a lot since my last post. So here is a bit of an update.

As far as WiPs go, I've been working on Wicked by Zephyr Style. I cast on for this again in early January and have slowly worked away on it. I actually have one sleeve finished, but don't have any updated pictures. I'll post more about modifications and yarn notes when the piece is completed. I'm not happy with the length - while I added a couple of inches to the recommended length my torso is quite long so I'll probably rip back and add another inch or two to the entire length of the sweater. I'm just debating how I want to go about doing that.

I have finished a pair of socks this year. These are just plain stockinette socks made from Miss Babs' Sport weight sock yarn in the colorway Raspberry Cane. The yarn was purchased at SAFF 2007. I really enjoyed working with it, and would love to use her sportweight again in the future. I'm especially fond of Saturn. I carried it around for a long time at SAFF, but decided to get Raspberry Cane instead at the last minute. These were really great for those instances where I didn't have a lot of time to commit to knitting (Seems like there has been a lot of that lately).

These socks are especially cute with my new shoes that I got ultracheap this weekend.

Karen and I met up today so I could get my part of an order we'd placed as a group. Hooray for a sweater's worth of Cascade 220 (more on that later)! We had a delicious Indian lunch and stopped by the tea store next door. Inside I saw the most amazing tea wares. Mom always used to complain that I was hard to shop for because I didn't collect anything. I must say that if I find myself with extra money I will start collecting Franz Porcelain. I am especially fond of the Bamboo Song Bird, Luminescence Peacock, and the new Phonician Flight series. The shapes, colors, and details in these pieces are truly inspirational.

Proud to Announce

2007-12-20T20:58:00.000-05:00

I am proud to announce that all of my Christmas knitting is complete. This includes blocking, but not the wrapping. I'd better get on that! Pictures will come after giftage commences. Hannah says it's pretty. :)

Home for the Holidays

2007-12-17T16:53:00.000-05:00

I'm so glad my gift (2 skeins of Noro Kureyon) was well-received by Gena. I was lucky to get some luxuriously soft Baby Alpaca Grande (distributed by Plymouth) from Karen. I'm planning to make a loose-knit scarf so the yarn will keep it's incredible softness.

I've traveled home for the holiday and got to play with some kittens that my sister is raising. She's trying to decide which of these two she will adopt. You will have to excuse me for posting cute kitten pictures - because I don't normally get to spend time with animals.

Kitten 1 is poofy and clumsy (she is still quite young). She's normally very shy and quiet but she showed some aggression over a favorite toy.

Kitten 2 is the most developed in the litter. She's very intelligent and coordinated (for her age). Here she is snuggling up to the air register to hog all the hot air coming out.

This kitten also curls up in wool sweaters and falls asleep - therefore we had something to bond over.

Isn't it Fun?

2007-12-09T12:03:00.000-05:00

Isn't it fun wrapping presents? Especially when said presents contain goodies for knitters? I'm really looking forward to Knit Picky's holiday party tonight. I hope the recipient of this gift enjoys what I picked! It's so difficult to shop for these things where anyone could end up with your gift.

The Queen of Vague

2007-11-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

First of all, Happy Birthday, Gena.

I left out the details of my calorimetry in my last post. I'd heard from other knitters that it's a challenge to get the sizing right if you don't have the perfect gauge. So, I just started casting on stitches and stretching the cast-on edge as I went to guesstimate the number of stitches needed. I ended up casting on 60 stitches (on a size 9 needle) because I wanted a nice snug fit (no slippage, please) and I didn't know how far 55 meters of yarn was going to go. The fit is good, but I almost wish I'd gone with 64 stitches! Do note that I'm a really loose knitter so anyone using the same yarn/needles will probably need anywhere from 10-20% more stitches.

I gave it a test drive this moring on my walk to work, and I am in love. It still has that heady sheep/acetic acid smell that makes me think of wonderful places (yarn stores, of course). My ears weren't the least bit cold after I got to work and realized I'd left my badge on the coffee table. They were still toastywarm when I got back home to retrieve said badge. And when I finally arrived at work and realized I'd left my lunch at home (when I went to fetch the badge) my ears were still totally cozy. At that point I decided I wasn't walking back home for lunch and just had delicious chilli for dinner instead.

In other news - I have plane tickets to return home for Christmas! I cannot even explain how giddy this makes me!

A day of fiber and friends

2007-11-17T21:09:00.000-05:00

The generous Karen hosted a yarn brunch today where we assembled a team to rip a disasterous sweater (details will be on Karen's blog). It took 4 people and more than an hour, but in the end we had all of that yarn in tidy little cakes.

I made a little progress on the sleeve of the tangled yolk cardigan. I'm not very inspired by it at the moment. Since the sleeve has seemed more like work than enjoyment, I made good progress on the Raspberry Cane sock. It came to work with me a couple of nights where I spiraled away on it while various assays developed. I like the way the burgundy/red pools on one side of the sock. It makes me think of the red tide.

I made a quick trip to a yarn shop that was having a sale (20% off all yarn!). There, I found a yarn which I've never seen in person before - Marisol's Sulka. It's a lovely Wool/Alpaca/Silk blend that is spun in a loose unplied single. I've been drawn to singles yarns since I learned to spin. They're just so soft! I got home and immediately cast on for Calorimetry. Since I wear my hair in a bun on a daily basis it's not terribly conducive to wearing hats. This garment solves the problem of chilly ears on windy mornings without the bun becoming an issue. I finished in 2 hours - exactly as Karen predicted! Any pattern named after such an explosive technique requires a bold color. I think I chose well. Please excuse the odd picture - it's really hard to photograph one's self. Once I finally got most of my head in the shot I no longer cared that I had a strange smirk on my face!

When I was at the LYS I found another singles yarn that caught my eye. It was a visual delight as well as a tactile one.

It's a laceweight - Malabrigo laceweight in the "Continental" colorway, to be exact. It was priced very reasonably - especially considering the yardage. Then, it was an extra 20% off! I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to make with it.

SAFF (boy am I behind)

2007-10-28T12:39:00.001-04:00

Hello Friends,

I know it has been a while since I've posted, but those of you who know me irl probably already know the reason for my blog silence recently. I think the worst of the work will be over Tuesday when the external advisory board comes in for the annual review. Let's just hope things settle down after that. I really wanted to get this post up today before I go into work because one of my readers (who checks the blog obsessively) is celebrating her 14th birthday. Happy Birthday, Li'l Bit! I'm so sorry I can't be there.

Now, let's get into fibery goodness! A few weeks ago I attended SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival) with Melinda (thanks for driving!), Karen, and Gena. All 3 were sporting gorgeous new handknit sweaters. I, however, did not have the blogger instinct to photograph said sweaters. I actually did want to, but when we met up it was still pretty dark outside so I figured we'd wait until later in the day. But once we got to SAFF we were all so overwhelmed that I completely forgot. Trust me, they were lovely. And, it was perfect sweater weather.

It was totally Tocktober in the llama barns. Check out these fluffiest of 'tocks! Llamas are not terribly friendly. One of them even snarled at me - he/she had this great Elvis lip action going on.

The vendor area was completely overwhelming for all of us as this was our first fiber festival. There were so many beautiful sights like this one. We were kinda in yarn overload.

I was so overwhelmed by all the yarn that I forgot my shopping list: FIBER, Shawl pin, Estonian Garden Shawl pattern. I did find a lovely shawl pin from Knitting Notions. I chose African Padauk because the wood matched my swallowtail shawl so well. The ladies working the booth were incredibly nice and they had the most gorgeous shawl samples on display. It inspired Melinda to make the Icarus shawl (here is a lovely example) from a previous issue of Interweave Knits.

I also found the Estonian Garden Shawl pattern at the Kid Hollow Farm booth. I've been wanting to make this shawl for months after seeing Firefly's (ravelry link). I'm so glad to have finally found the pattern - I already have the perfect yarn for it:

Now, recall how the first thing on my list was fiber? There were just so many fibers to chose from that the fiber-picking part of my brain went on vacation. I came home with none. I'm going to practice my spinning a bit more and brace myself for next year. Instead of fiber I came home with a skein of yarn. I'd show you a picture of the hank, but I'd already wound it in the car on the way home. Instead, some knitted up pictures:

The yarn was dyed by the incredibly talented (and friendly) Miss Babs. This colorway is Raspberry Cane - I really wish I'd bought Saturn as well!

After we got our shop on, the four of us migrated to the Ravelry meetup and met lots of knitters we know from blogland. It's been a few weeks so I'm sure I'll forget some people, but here goes! Aimee, TurtleGirl, ZKnits, Mean Girl, and Trillian. Aimee recently participated in a walk to raise money for Lupus research and asked the knitting community to aide her in raising funds. She raised a total of 4.6k! To help raise the money, she had a number of prizes available that would be distributed to donors. Much to my surprise (and delight) I won one of those prizes. Namely, the prize pack from the Zen Yarn Garden. It consisted of a cute lined drawstring project bag (currently housing the Miss Babs socks) and some ultra-squishy sport-weight sock yarn. The yarn is a merino/seacell blend so it has a lovely shimmer to it. The colorway is named Lilacs, and the hank had a whopping 375 yards! Dood, those socks are gonna be a mile tall!

What a day! I can't wait for next year.

Mileage May Vary

2007-10-01T16:15:00.000-04:00

I've been working slowly on the Tangled Yolk Cardigan from Fall 'o7 Interweave Knits. I hadn't blogged about the project yet because the project isn't visually exciting in the beginning. Instead, my joy has been purely tactile. The Silky Wool (by Elsebeth Lavold) I'm using is incredibly soft, and in a DK weight the resulting fabric has a very nice drape without adding bulk. I already anticipate this being a favorite sweater in the coming autumn months. I tend to stop every few rows just to pet this sweater. I've found my progress slowed by the need to stop and remove little snarls of grass from the yarn as I work (nope, I'm not a perfectionist at all!). I have worked with this yarn before so I anticipated the problem. However, you'll notice that I did not find this to be enough of an issue to select a different yarn for the project. One thing I will say for this yarn - it does hold up to my incessant nit picking very well!

Here is the sweater at the end of 2 balls (roughly 400m). It is a mere 2 inches from the underarms. I was absolutely shocked to discover that this yarn went so far. I will probably have a fair amount left over despite lengthening the body.

The astute readers out there will say - "Wait up! The tangled yolk cardigan is a cardigan. What you have there is knit in the round all pulloveresque." Those readers would be correct. I really do try to learn something new with every project. Sometimes just learning the limitations of the yarn is enough for me, but I'd used the Silky Wool before. So this time I'm going to learn the crochet'ed steek. I chose this method because it will retain the stretchiness of the knitted fabric - unlike machine stitching to reinforce the line of cutting. Plus, it leaves tidy edges which appeal to the perfectionist in me. We will see if I'm still so keen on the idea when I am sitting poised with scissors in hand.

Swallowtail Shawl - a picture diary

2007-09-22T16:12:00.000-04:00

I spent my morning with Karen, Gena, and (blogless?) Melinda. We went to an apple festival at Bethabara park. It was tons of fun - complete with colonial costumes and a horse-drawn wagon. There were demonstrations on spinning, weaving, bobbin lace, and a smithy who let kids pump the bellows. I brought the recently completed swallowtail shawl with me for some photographs.

On seeing Minty's finished swallowtail, I decided to perform 5 extra repeats of the budding lace chart. I was using laceweight and I'd heard other knitters complain that it was a rather small shawl so I really wanted to increase the size. The finished wingspan is 64 inches, and it is 31 inches from the center top to the tip. I'm very pleased with the size.

The thing that appealed to me most about this shawl was the nupps in the Lily of the Valley border. Fortunately, I am such a loose knitter that the p5tog stitches didn't even phase me. I know most people slip 2, purl 3 tog, then pass the 2 slipped stitches over. Honestly I found this far more fiddly than just purling the stitches all at once.

I love the drape of the Jaggerspun Zephyr Wool-Silk (purchased from Sarah's Yarns - this shawl only cost $6.00). It was so shocking when I bound off the last stitch and picked up the shawl to flop it out and admire my (sad and puckered) work. It weighed nothing! The weight of the needles had me thinking I had created this substantial thing, but it really does weigh less than 50 grams (less than 1.7 ounces for all you non-scientists out there).

May I just say - this is my favorite project yet. It was my first lace, but I found it really intuitive. I am already thinking about what my next lace project will be. I'm a huge fan of Evelyn A. Clark's patterns, so I'm preferentially eyeing hers. Until then, I will be working on Eunny Jang's Tangled Yolk Cardigan from the latest issue of Interweave knits. I'd show you a progress shot, but 2 inches of ribbing isn't exactly exciting.

Happy Saturday!

Separated at Birth

2007-09-15T23:56:00.000-04:00

I see the likeness - do you?

Sneak Peek

2007-09-14T19:51:00.000-04:00

Knitting lace is plenty exciting if you're the one doing it (especially if you sneeze and drop 8 stitches!), but it's not exactly fascinating to read about. It's all puckered and sad. Actually, it vaguely resembles a manta ray - it even has a little tail! So here's a little preview of what the swallowtail shawl will look like. I'm nearing the end of the budding lace charts. I will easily finish that this weekend, and begin on the border section. I anticipate that this will be blocking next weekend.

Reflections

2007-09-08T20:03:00.000-04:00

Here are the socks that took me ridiculously long to complete. I've been through so much while knitting these that I was almost reluctant to finish them. They were started June 10 (the day after World-wide Knit in Public Day). In the time since casting on I have written and defended my project proposal, come to an understanding with my advisor (and I think he "gets" me now, too), and eaten way more fast food than I'd like to admit. I've changed. I wonder if I'll ever be able to wear these without thinking of the stress I was under when I made them.

Project Details:

Pattern: Waving Lace Socks (Evelyn A. Clark)

Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Pixie (Purchased at The Loopy Ewe)

Needle: 2mm (US 0)

I cannot convey how much I love Fleece Artist. The yarn has sheen and character. It knits up so evenly that I think it's perfect for socks with textured patterns. The gentle color gradations kept things interesting without making the end result cluttered. I will definately be using this yarn again.

Because I know she's watching. . .

2007-09-05T07:43:00.000-04:00

Hi Hannah!!

I had a dream that you guys visited me last night. I was sad to wake up and realize we weren't actually taking silly photos in the arts district. =(

I don't know if Mom told you about it - but I had that presentation last week. I didn't feel particularly good or bad about my performance but the boss was really pleased with it. It was the second time he's given me praise to my face - so I know it must've been a big deal. See, the boss never compliments someone directly. He will tell the whole world how much butt you kick - the whole world except you. If he actually tells you in person it means you really exceeded his expectations.

A 3-month long experiment flopped and I'm working hard to figure out what went wrong with the virus. I'm having to be a "virologist" and that means coming in at all kinds of crazy hours! It's left me rather sleepy and uninspired, so there hasn't been much knitting. I am getting close to finishing the pair of waving lace socks - probably only 3 hours worth of knitting left on those.

My class has started back up and today will be the first formal meeting. I'm still trying to finish the reading for today. The course director picked a really bad paper for the first meeting - it's complex, poorly written, and the figures are hard to decipher. I feel sorry for all the students who are in their first year of the class. They're going to be so overwhelmed. =( Kay, I really need to get back to that paper before people start coming in and try to talk to me!

Talk to you soon, Li'l Bit!

2007-08-19T21:12:00.000-04:00

Gena tagged me for a meme that is based on fours. Personally, I prefer multiples of 3, but I'll be good and follow the rules.

Four jobs I have had:

1. Dog Bather/Groomer/Kennel Person - This was a fun job, though it was a little stinky sometimes.
2. Waitress - The management and coworkers treat you with respect. The customers treat you like trash. I don't miss this job (or 13-hour shifts with no chance to eat) one bit.
3. Laboratory Technician - I miss my old biochemistry labmates. I should email them and let them know I passed my quals!
4. Graduate Student - Amazingly, this is somehow my highest-paying job yet. Despite the fact that it can be a bit. . . traumatic at times I love what I do and I'm really happy I chose this school.

Four places I have lived:

1. Florida - This is where I was born. I don't remember much about it
2. Alaska - My middle sister was born here. I was still very young, so all of my memories of Nome are from our summer visits in later years.
3. Kentucky - My family lived here the longest, and the rest of them remain there today. Strangely enough I really have no opinion about the part of Kentucky my parents live in. I'm just completely neutral.
4. North Carolina - I moved here for graduate school in 2005, and I love it. I live in a city that is big enough to be exciting and have an arts district, but it's still small enough that I can drive "downtown" without freaking out from traffic or feeling unsafe.

Four Favorite Foods:

1. Dark Chocolate - seriously
2. Mushroom Quesadillas - there's a place in Wilson, NC that has the perfect mushroom quesadilla. My aunt and uncle know that we have to go there everytime I visit them. It's always followed with a chaser of #3.
3. Peanut Butter Milkshakes - from Sonic
4. Pasta served with an EVOO-based sauce

Four places I would rather be:

1. In Kentucky - one thing about grad school is you don't get to see the family very often.
2. In Canada - one thing about grad school is you don't get to see the significant other very often. 3. In Texas - because I miss Steve & Julie, and Julie could really use a companion right now.
4. Gathered around a board game with my classmates (we're huge dorks that way).

This is the point where I would normally tag 5 (or maybe it should be 4 to keep with the theme) other bloggers to complete this. However, I never was a fan of spreading viral memes, and since I am supposed to be an immunologist I choose ~~apoptosis~~ not to tag anyone else. Really, all my friends who blog have already been tagged and I'm too shy to tag someone I haven't met in person!

Alaska: The Final Installment

2007-08-18T17:05:00.001-04:00

I will be sharing the last of the Alaskan vacation pictures in this post. Today will be Alaskan wildlife, starting with, um, my sisters. I just love the setting of this picture of my sisters. Most years there are lots of wildlife encounters, we almost always see a herd of reindeer or caribou - this one was mixed.

It's much more rare to see large cats, though. This year they had an opportunity to see a lynx up close! The photo is a bit blurry because the picture is taken through a car window, and since the roads are made of packed dirt there was a lot of dust in the air. I just love the way she's peeking out of the willows to see what the silly humans are doing in her haunt.

Finally, every fiber-enthusist's dream - a musk ox in summer. After seeing the beasts close up you can begin to understand why quivit is so expensive. My family saw 4 herds this year - that's a record. There were no moose or bears to report this year - we ususally do see those pretty frequently.

For those of you who have not already heard - I passed my qualifying exams this week. It still really hasn't sunk in for me yet, so it feels kind of. . . hollow to say it. I must have post-traumatic stress disorder about the whole thing! About 3 months ago, when I was really settling into the writing process, I made a promise to myself that when I finished my candidacy exam I would treat myself to my first big lace project. I ordered the yarn in early August from Sarah's Yarns. It is JaggerSpun's Zephyr Laceweight - a 50/50 wool/silk blend. I like the fact that it's a tussah silk (meaning no silkworms were killed in the making of this shawl). The color I chose is copper, and it does almost have a metallic sheen to it, especially in natural light. The light in my apartment however, is far from natural. All that "shine" you see is from the flash. I promise it's not that gaudy in person. :) The yarn slides against itself really well so I expect it will block beautifully!

The pattern I finally chose was the Swallowtail Lace Shawl from Interweave Knits (Fall 2006). I chose the pattern for several reasons. First, it's pretty. This is the very best reason to knit a shawl. Secondly, it has 3 different stitch motifs to keep me interested and challenged. Finally, it has a low yardage. I didn't want my first lace project to be epic. Honestly, I've been progresssing much more quickly than I anticipated. I've got 1200m of this yarn in sage green for my next lace project. It will be one of the many beautiful large stoles from Victorian Lace Today. I still haven't chosen which.

The lace pattern isn't difficult - there are really only 3 patterned rows. It's actaully quite relaxing to knit. I put in a lifeline just in case, but I probably won't be using them very frequently. I have finished repeat 7/14 of the main body so I still have a long way to go before I hit the acrobatics in the border. I intend to do the nupps because I can't get enough texture in my knitting. I knit pretty loosely so I think I'll be able to manage a p5tog, especially since I'm using nice pointy Knitpicks' Options needles.

Ah, it's good to knit again.

A Summer Landscape

2007-08-14T18:56:00.001-04:00

Alaska is beautiful. This first image really gives a sense of the vastness of it all. Congratulations on capturing such a great shot while moving! I am very impressed.

The Alaskan countryside is not just impressive in size. I love this shot of lichen growing in the rocky soil. It's really moving to see life in an environment which can be so harsh.

The landscape is occasionally marked with structures. This particular one is an abandoned gold dredge (This looks a lot like the one that is just outside of Nome, though I can't be certain). It looks as if all of the dredge buckets have been taken. Aside from that this is an incredibly well-preserved structure. It's crazy how you can be out on the ATVs going along a stream and find these dredges rotting and rusted out. It really gives you a sense of history.

I'm particularly fond of this shot because you can see the clouds reflected in the river here. There are rivers and small pools everywhere in Alaska - I think it has the most inland lakes of any state in the US.

The most impressive thing about the water up north is that it is so free of pollutants (even natural ones). You can see here that the water is so clear you can easily see the bottom of the river bed. I remember stopping at this place on our way to camp before. While it's a challenge to actually guess the depth of water (all that annoying bending of light) I would guess this is at least 8 feet deep at the point between the two rocks. There is a little riffle just upstream (next to Hollie's knee) and despite the churning, the water downstream is still completely free of silt. Gorgeous.

This next photograph also demonstrates how clean it is in Alaska. I can think of few areas within the lower 48 where you could see this far into the distance. The only reason you can't see further is that it is obstructed in clouds.

So, what image made it onto my computer's desktop? This is definately my favorite photograph in the lot (all 3 CDs worth!) I love the composition and use of color. The building is so perfectly weathered in contrast to fresh blooming fireweed. Truly a magnificent photograph.

Thanks for sending all your pics guys.

I decided to one more day of photographs because this post would have run on very long if I'd included wildlife photos. Those will come later this week

You guys are the BEST!

2007-08-13T19:16:00.000-04:00

My family sent me pictures from Alaska! I went through all 3 CDs (it took me over an hour) and selected my favorites. I'm sure you guys will be surprised by some of my picks!

First up is a tender moment shared between my grandparents. I think this photo captures their relationship perfectly. Mom was rarely in photographs, so I don't have any of her to share. Instead, I bring you the beach bums: Hollie (in blue) Hannah (in black) and Dave (boyfriend of Hollie - in shorts). They're on the beach wearing hoodies and eating suckers. Knowing my family those are Tootsie Roll Pops. Are you guys still saving the wrappers with the Native American shooting the star?

Now, on to the images that actually made me laugh! First up we have Hannah demonstrating the mischevious beast known as "The Midnight Sun." Clearly what has happened here is Hannah was suddenly overcome with exhaustion because she didn't realize it was 2am. Sneaky thing, that never-setting sun.

Ah, Patrick F. McManus. I think the F stands for "Fun For the whole Family." I think we've all read his books when we head up north. It's good to see that Dave was indoctrinated. It's great that our family can say things like "Remember the one with the coat?" and we can all just have a little chuckle knowing exactly what story they're referring to. Also, I love the fact that Missy (the poodle) is totally zonked on Dave's arm. She actually ended up in a lot of my favorite pictures! For the fiber fans out there - note Grandma's vintage crocheted afghans. She has won awards for her crochet before! That explains where I inherited the yarn gene.

Finally, my favorite. I call this one the Moose Montague. Click it to get the full effect of the goofy moose faces.

I begged my family to send these pictures hastily so that I could select an image to use as a background for my computer. I have a presentation tomorrow and I wanted to have something interesting up to possibly spark light conversation before everyone arrives. I think I've chosen the shot (and I think you guys will be surprised). Tomorrow will bring big news and my favorite scenery and wildlife shots.

Thanks for sending these so fast guys!!!

Kris

Long Overdue

2007-08-12T09:57:00.001-04:00

With my recent intense focus on schoolwork my household cleaning routine has been rather. . . disrupted. This morning I realized I hadn't vacuumed the livingroom rug in a month! So, I hastily retrieved my vacuum cleaner from the dark & mysterious hall closet. I was unfurling the cord when I realized my vacuum had a resident. A rather bulbous spider with a web full of other spiders! She wasn't particularly large - less than a cm but what impressed me was the gorgeous markings on her abdomen. In this photo you can see two white v's and then the start of a smaller white marking to the rear of her abdomen - it was the shape of a cross. I appologize for the blurry photo - she was tearing out of there!

Yes, that is a bit of wool on the left. I did say I was overdue for a vacuum. ^_~

If she had been a good little spider and stayed in one location I would have let her be - but since she was on the move (and was on the cusp of comfortable spider cohabitation size) I decided a flip-flop was the appropriate fate for her. And guys, her guts were the most lovely shade of lavendar. Everything about this spider was just entrancing.

Do you guys ever take a moment to really look at the spiders in your homes? Also, am I the only person that will let a spider live in her house as long as it is stationary and under a certain size?

Targeted Advertisement

2007-08-07T13:32:00.000-04:00

For all of you who are just here for the fiber, this little blurb isn't for you.

Today I used google to search a phrase that included "DNA," as we molecular biology types are wont to do. When my search results popped up, so did a series of targeted ads. You would think that a search for "DNA" would lead to advertisements for textbooks, journals, or educational sites. Not so much. Every advert. was for paternity/infidelity testing.

Sad.

Escapism

2007-08-05T10:14:00.000-04:00

When life throws a tragedy at me I try to escape in humor. Or, I will knit. Sometimes, I even try both.

Painful as it is, you made the right decision, Judy.

Dear Family,

2007-08-01T23:22:00.000-04:00

Dear Family,

Your cellulars are either not getting service or they are off. I tried calling the land line, but apparently that is now hooked up to a modem. Boy was it a surprise to hear that on the other end of the line! Very loud things, those modems.

Since Lil' Bit left a comment here I am guessing you arrived safely and have internet access. So, here's an update on life here on the ranch!

I turned in my grant proposal yesterday. It was a really traumatic and stressful experience made all the more stressful & traumatic by my boss. I really don't want to go into details because thinking about it just makes me really angry and nervous. The oral defense is the 14th, so you guys will be back in town by then. But, I'll probably be pretty absorbed in my preparations.

Today the boss gave his famous "passion" speech to us again. He asked E & I what our passions were, and we both answered "family." Bossman indicated that this was a passion that needed to be put on the back burner in order to do the "grad school thing". The question I was dieing to ask (but I refrained, so as not to be labeled "cheeky" twice in one day) was "So, when can family be the most important thing again?" Because from where I stand now, it looks like it "can't" be. Even the post-doc in our lab admitted that he's just had to find a balance. I love science and learning, but it makes me sad when the other things I care about have to be forsaken. Last time I was home Dad told me that all I ever talk about is science - I gave that some thought, and it's true. I've become this totally 2-dimensional personality. I need to do something, I'm just not sure what.

So, how's Alaska been so far? Chase any caribou off the roads this year? I admit that I secretly hope you've been stalking some muskoxen for me (from a safe distance, of course). I expect you to upload your photos on some online album type thingy so I can see them all. I'm not going to wait until Christmas!

I miss you guys tons! Give me a call sometime (or just turn on your cell phones!).

Much <3,
Elke/Kris/Big Bit/Sugar Pie/Honey Bunch/The Abominable Snow Midget
We do favor our nicknames, don't we guys?

P.S. I totally wasn't kidding about the photos!

Queso, it are go good with chips.

2007-07-29T19:53:00.000-04:00

L&V listeners will be able to appreciate the title. My brain is broken. I've been working on my grant proposal the entire weekend with the exception of sleep and a trip to the grocery store. I'm so close to being done, but I. Can. Not. Write. Anymore. Graduate school makes you stupid. This is a fact.

So, this post will be short on words.

I started Wicked a while ago, but never blogged about it. I like it. Unfortunately, that's about as eloquent as it gets right now. As you can tell from my blog layout and decor, I am a fan of the color green. So it is no surprise that I am knitting this sweater in the same colorway as the sample. The wool is magical in that it doesn't feel terribly warm when I knit with it, or when it lays in my lap. Yet somehow, when I try this on I get superwarm! It may turn out too hot even for me (the girl who wears sweaters in summer).

To prevent colors from pooling I have been working from different balls on every other row. When I go to carry the yarn from a previous row up to work with it I just give the two strands a little wrap bringing the new yarn underneath the tail from the previous row. You can see the tidy little seam it makes here (it bisects the image diagonally). It's virtually invisible on the right side of the work, so I'm pleased with the result. It's certainly made the project more appealing to the perfectionist in me who likes things to be homogeneous. Using varigated yarns are really a thrill for me because they've got so much character. But, there is that part of me that balks at the idea of an uneven distribution of colors. This is subtle enough that my inner scientist & my inner knitter can be at peace.

I made taco salad for dinner. Yum :)

Current Views

2007-07-15T14:22:00.000-04:00

As I sit here working on my grant proposal (1/2 inch margins make you look like a slacker, btw) I find something within my field of view that is incredibly comforting. It downright makes me happy when being faced by a wall of words that I have written (aside from the fact that I have already written those words, and will only have to re-write SOME of them). No, it isn't the old-school radiator (The radiator is vestigal - the apartment has central heat, now). It's not even the cozy red down blanket. Need a hint?

What's this?!? Why, it's a finished waving lace sock! It only took me a month to complete. I've been wearing this one sock all day. The stitch definition is still crisp and clean without any signs of fuzz despite sticking this sock into almost every shoe that I own. I should write a love haiku for Fleece Artist.

Fleece Artist for socks

Soft, supple, yet tough delight

My feet do rejoice!

It feels great on hardwood flooring, and even better on carpet. I wonder if I'll actually finish the other sock before the oral exam. For those of you I've not spoken to in the last week my oral exam had to be rescheduled. It turns out one of my committee members was going to be on vacation on the day originally planned. So now, my proposal defense will be in mid-August. This gives me more time to prepare, which is good. But it means I definately will not get to go visit Anousone (the significant other) when I finish. I'm trying to keep my spirits up by thinking about a fall visit. Afterall, if we go to Niagara Falls in autumn I'll get to wear Wicked.

Anousone has always had a thing for raglan tees. He loves ringer shirts and always tells me I should wear them more often. I showed him the images of Wicked and he fell in love with it. I wonder if he realizes it is the same style as his beloved ringers?

Finally, the prance! Admittedly, my prance is not as impressive as Gena's Hedera Prance.

Also, I still have not gone to see the new Harry Potter movie. Does anyone feel like going next weekend? I like to go to late morning matinees because I'm cheap like that. :)

Prance Like No One is Watching

2007-07-07T19:35:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know me are aware that I'm a pretty subdued person. My personality is not exhuberant, and I don't make lots of sudden movements. I honestly believe my boss accepted me into the lab because I appeared to be this serious mature young woman who was going to be totally absorbed in her project. What I will share today may surprise you.

I have a confession. I prefer to finish projects at home because I am a FO prancer. When I finish a project I take my time with the seaming and weaving in ends to savor the act of working on it just a little longer. I really am a process knitter. But when that is complete I set aside any sharp objects (such as tapestry needles) and if the project is large enough I kinda gather it up in my arms and hug it to my chest. Sometimes I just smell the wool for a moment.

But my moment of calm always passes, and then. . . Then, the prancing commences. This starts with a squeal which is usually accompanied by the flapping of hands. I then rush to put on my finished project and prance around the house. Sweaters usually require lots of twirling in front of a mirror, whereas socks usually find me on my back with my feet kicking around up in the air where I can admire them. Socks get tested on carpet, hardwood and tile. Much consideration goes into every step to determine the exact smoosh factor of the yarn.

Purses get stuffed with things and swung about to test the strength of handle joins, then hauled off to the closet to chose what outfit I'm going to wear the next day to match it.

I can only imagine my reaction when I get into lacework. I'll probably prance around the piece while it blocks (making sure not to step on any blocking pins). I anticipate much twirling.

When I finally do take the garment off I will pet it longingly, recalling the way it felt on the needles. Never again will I be looking at the piece in quite the same way. It has either lived up to my expectations or fallen short. I can't go back to that baseline anxious hopeful state that I existed in during the creation process. The calm returns and the prance becomes a secret thing that only my finished objects have seen.

I know I can't be the only one.

Prance on, my fellow knitters.

2007-07-06T20:04:00.001-04:00

I've updated my list of friend's blogs. Not that I was suddenly blessed with more friends, I just had some catching up to do. You will notice that Julie's link goes to her blogger profile because she DOES NOT HAVE A BLOG! Julie is the person who introduced me to this fiber addiction and we talked about how much we wanted to start knitting blogs back in 2004-2005. Julie, it is time. I want to see all the wonderful things you're making for Isaac! Blogger makes it possible to have a nice low-maintenence blog, and everything is really intuitive.

Dooo It.

In other news; I got tired of writing the other day and made a wee tiny sock to put on my sock-blocker keychain! I got the keychain at The Loopy Ewe. Ok, so I just checked and Sherri is currently out of the keychains. But start making those annoying little scaps of leftover sock yarn into v. small socks because she usually gets them back in stock pretty quickly!

The yarn is Spritely Goods Sylph in Spring Tulips. That yellow was really hard to photograph, but I finally got it! I was actually doing a little test knit of this yarn. I know working on on full-size socks will make the colors more chaotic, so I'm still pondering pattern usage. I know jaywalkers would look good, but I really want to find another good pattern for varigated yarns. Perhaps broadripples? Maybe I'll have to make it up. Any stitch that is wavey without having a lot of texture would be suitable. It is times like this that I lament not owning a stitch dictionary. They're just so expensive! Does anyone have any recommendations? I don't wanna spend $25+ and be disappointed.

Un-mystery Project

2007-07-05T21:27:00.000-04:00

The purple butterfly project was received in the mail today, so I can now share photos here. The recipient is a dear friend who is expecting her first child this November. The project began as an inspiring "You're gonna be a Mommy!" card and some lovely purple cashmerino baby. We did not know the gender yet, so I was determined to knit something for Momma (the wonderful person who taught me to knit). I wanted the stitches to tell a story. I designed an eyelet butterfly to represent the fragile beautiful unborn child. It is encompassed by paired cables representing the relationship between the parents. They're one of those couples where individually they're incredible people, but together they're an unstoppable force. The garter stitch panel in the back is there because it is the mother's favorite stitch pattern.

I am proud to report that the socks fit Julie perfectly and they arrived at a time when her feet were cold. I hope they'll be a comfort throughout the pregnancy and further.

I am preparing the pattern to share here. I'm currently focusing on writing for work so it will probably be about a month before the pattern finds its way here - the charts are done, though! I'm still debating what to name them. The only thing that has come to mind so far is "Flutter."

Holiday Traditions

2007-07-04T12:00:00.000-04:00

Today I read Gena's post about the 4th of July holiday and it inspired me to write some of my thoughts on holiday traditions. Sadly, there will be no pictures today because all our old holiday pictures were taken on film and live in a box under my baby sister's bed.

As a child, the holidays meant getting to see the extended family. If you grew up far from your aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins you'll know just how exciting it is to see family. From what I understand, families that all grow up in the same town have thier share of drama and squabbles. But if you all live in different states every time the whole family gets together it's just a huge joyous occasion (accompanied by lots of dirty dishes). So, in a sense the holidays are a time to catch up on the lives of my other family members.

These days I'm a young adult living far from her immediate family, so the only holiday that I spend with everyone is Christmas. So, I'm currently trying to come up with my own holiday traditions. I do have a new Thanksgiving tradition that I share with my aunt and uncle who moved to North Carolina just a few months before I did. But Independence Day kinda fell through the cracks.

My family always spent July 4th at the beach with a few other relatives. The morning was always spent doing "Beachy things" like swimming, digging in sand, or sleeping in and reading novels in a rocking chair. In the afternoon the neighborhood had a parade. It wasn't a very large neighborhood, but there were always plenty of people around to be in the parade with lots left over to watch it from beach-house balconies. I recall in the pre-vacation shopping we would plan the perfect red, white, and blue outfits so we could march in the parade. My youngest sister got really excited about it when she was small. I think it was because we handed her one of those little plastic American flags and everyone gave her lots of attention while she marched (was carried by me or Hollie). I recall taking several hits to the face with that flag, but we still had lots of fun.

There was always a cookout in the evenings. I do recall one year that involved pounds of shrimp that had to be cleaned. That year we spent our morning doing the "beachy" activity of shelling 3 lbs of shrimp. The fireworks were never a big deal to me so I don't have much of a memory about that part. The best part about the holiday was getting to see family and laugh and joke around all day.

I still don't have an Independence Day tradition. Instead, I worked until noon and now I'm back home to continue grant writing. However, it has got me thinking about how I'll celebrate holidays when I have a family of my own. What were my favorite elements when I was a child (probably the endless supply of hotdogs), and which things would my future offspring(?) enjoy?

Perhaps I'll grill hotdogs for dinner. :)

An Unofficial Summer of Socks

2007-06-30T09:34:00.000-04:00

As you can see there has not been much knitting progress. I do love the waving lace socks and I often fantasize about knitting them while I am working. They're actually knitting up really quickly, I just can't find a moment to pick them up. I've tried them on and they fit nicely. I can tell that these will be my favorite socks someday. Who am I kidding? They already are. :)

They leyburn socks are on hold for a bit because I misplaced my fifth 2.5mm dpn. This is unfortunate because I'm actually quite close to completing the first sock. This leads me to the problem of not knowing what kind of bind off to use for toe-up socks. I want something nice and stretchy that will still hold its shape. I will probably end up trying the recommended EZ sewn bind off.

Green Gable

2007-06-20T08:37:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Green Gable by Zephyr Style

Yarn: Bonsai Japanese Maple 6.5 skeins

Needle: US 6

Notes: This was a very easy pattern and the result is cute and comfortable. I wouldn't recommend the bamboo yarn for the pattern because it does stretch with wear. I've stitched a ribbon into the back of the neck to keep it from sagging. Still, this is a sweater for short-term wearing. It was lovely to work with and it feels nice, but I think I'll be sticking to wool blends for my future garments. I still have some bonsai left and I'm still trying to decide what I'll do with it.

I didn't make a particular size, I cast on for the smallest size and worked the raglan shaping until it fit me. The end result was probably somewhere between the 32'' and the 36'' sizes. This was a nice instant gratification project, especially since I've been knitting so many socks lately. I would be willing to make the pattern again, but my next zephyr pattern will be Wicked. I've already swatched for it and found a gauge that is suitable for my yarn. I can't wait. :)

In preparation

2007-06-17T18:06:00.000-04:00

Today has been a day of preparations. This morning I went to the lab to prepare reagents for my work week. Then, I came home and predrafted some English wool top. I'm guessing this is about an ounce of fiber (I really need to get a scale). I have 5 ounces of this total, and purchased it to be my practice yarn. Most spinners say it takes about 100-300 meters to find your spinning groove. This cheap feltable fiber should get me through the learning curve, and then I can use it to make a felted bag (or some other felted project where the variable nature of it will not matter). I actually like working with it. It's really grabby with a long staple length, so even as a beginnner I can draft aggressively.

My other preparations were for future projects. I currently have two (mismatched ^_~) socks on the needles right now. Now, stash watchers say sock yarn doesn't count and I've kinda decided that as far as projects go socks don't count either. I'm really enjoying the socks, but I just don't feel like I have a "project" on the needles. So, I picked up my size 7 needles (they feel huge after doing all this sock work) and made a gauge swatch in Artyarns Supermerino for the Wicked sweater. I've learned to wash my swatches, so the swatch in this picture is drippy wet, but it's measuring-tape-sheep-approved! I know it's a small swatch, but I feel like swatching is wasting yarn. I am consumed with guilt everytime I swatch, and feel equally guilty if I don't swatch. I am so proud that I got gauge with the recommended needle size. This sock knitting has helped me to tighten my gauge which means my knitted garments will be more sturdy.

I think I'm going to need to keep at least one sweater-type project on the needles at any time. From now on I think I'll stick to one pair of socks because I get so excited about sock yarns. I don't want to experience sock infidelity because of a particularly tempting new fingering weight. I shall use my willpower to keep myself from second-sock syndrome.

I'm really excited about 2 things right now. 1. Ravelry and 2. Knit Picky's 1st anniversary fiber festival. These are good times for fiber fans. :)

What have I been up to?

2007-06-16T17:40:00.000-04:00

It's a good question, seeing as my updates have been few in number lately. The truth is there has been very little fiber progress. The good news is that I think I'm finding my perfect sock-knitting gauge on the waving lace socks. I am still madly in love with Fleece Artist and definately plan to use it in the future.
I've only completed one pattern repeat, but it's still such a lovely sock:

The other thing taking my time lately has been the staining, finishing, and assembly of this beast. I just put the bobbins on their holders to snap this image. However, my hands (especially thumbs) are so sore from the assembly that typing is rather unpleasant at the moment. I think I'll let them rest a bit before I start spinning.

Doing my part

2007-06-10T20:49:00.000-04:00

I did participate in worldwide knit in public day, though it was not an organized event. Nearly every Saturday is KIP day for me, though! First, I met Karen for lunch at Panera and talked to a woman who thought it was cool that we were knitting together. She was not a knitter, but she still called it cool! I wonder if she'll ever pick up the needles and give them a try. We then scooted over to meet Gena at Angelina's Teas where we were sold $0.25 chocolates by Angelina herself (and sold tea by her mother). I sipped Panda Keemun and brought some Cream Earl Gray home with me.

I shall always have fond memories of Cream Earl Gray. About a month ago I got to go visit my family for Mother's Day weekend. I was excited because I had purchased a sheep teacup, tea infuser, and loose cream earl gray for my mother as her Mother's day gift. She presented my birthday present to me the same night - an infuser teapot. As if that weren't enough of a coincidence, the teapot she chose for me matched the teacup I picked for her. While everyone else was going to bed she and I brewed some of Mom's new tea and sat up sipping and talking. Since I live pretty far from my family she and I don't get moments like that often. Now the smell of Earl Gray reminds me of home.

While we were at the tea shop I took a break to wind my hank of Fleece Artist into a center-pull ball. Now, I've always said that everything looks better in a hank, but as I saw this yarn forming into a ball I fell in love. Fleece Artist does not reskein their yarns so you see large patches of color in the hank. When I wound the ball I could see how long the color runs are, and how they gently run into one another. Looking at the hues all mixed together in the ball enhanced my love of a yarn that I was already dieing to knit with. Balling it when I have another sock on the needles was a mistake. I managed to resist the siren song of Fleece Artist all day Saturday, but today I broke down and had to cast on with it. It's so silky soft, and the colors are <3!!!> Someday this will be waving lace socks, but I suspect I will need to find needles smaller than a 0 to make them work. Does anyone have a cure for knitting dismally loose?

I'm not upset about having cast on a second pair of socks. I had nothing else on the needles because I finished the Green Gable sweater (there is a pic on Gena's blog, I'd take one myself but it's currently very soggy). I like to have 2 projects in rotation. I've found that now that I cast on for waving lace socks I am eager to knit more on my leyburns!

The "neglected" sock actually got a lot of love on Saturday as it toured the town with me. I'm still not loving short row toes and heels, but maybe by the end of the pair I'll be a changed woman. My next toe-up sock will use a figure 8 cast on and a slipped stitch heel flap. I like the feel of a heel flap better, and I don't get the little pointy bits (admittedly the pointy bits are probably just a lack of practice on my part).

I actually have a score to settle with the figure eight cast on. About 3 months into my knitting career I decided I wanted to knit a pair of socks. I selected my yarn (Koigu that remains unknit to this day) and my pattern. The pattern called for this cast on, and I actually figured it out. I was so proud of myself. But, much like kitchener, you're left with loose stitches at the tip of the toe that must be tightened. I went back to tighten these stitches but my beginning knitter's eyes could not trace the stitches well, especially when they were all loose and sloppy. I finally got down to the last 2 stitches and could not find the next stitch to pull. I put the toe down and came back to it later, but after many tries I simply could not figure out how to get rid of the huge awful loop of spare yarn sticking out of my otherwise lovely toe. I finally admitted defeat and ripped my toe back to wind it back into its little ball.

These days I've kitchenered a few toes and I know how to read my knitting and trace the yarn through a row of knitting. I still have that lovely Koigu all ready to go (it is crying for revenge, for no Koigu should go unloved). All I can say to the figure eight is:

Bring. It.

Yarnfix

2007-06-02T18:40:00.000-04:00

Today I finally got my yarn fix. I met Karen for lunch (mushroom and spinach quesadillas!) and some knitting at Knit Picky. I brought along my Miss Bab's Sock and Baby yarn and started Leyburn Socks. I absolutely adore these rich greens. This is my first toe up sock, and I'm excited about the idea of knowing how tall I can make each sock based on reaching the halfway point in the ball. I can't say I'm in love with short-row toes. They look nice when they're done but It wasn't terribly enjoyable knitting the second half and picking up double wraps. Maybe it will get less fussy with practice.

Karen also assisted me in a photo shoot for an upcoming pattern that will be available on the blog. Thanks a bunch, K!

Yarn Therapy

2007-05-31T19:30:00.000-04:00

Crazy Aunt Purl recently blogged about therapy in the form of shopping, and how it is best to do that shopping at a place which has a forgiving return policy. I am going to disagree with her there, theraputic shopping is best achieved at The Loopy Ewe. I had no idea that I was even going to need yarn therapy when I placed this order, but so much has happened in the last couple of days I've been left feeling blind-sided. Plus, I've been too busy with work to make it to knit night 2 weeks in a row! That alone can get a girl in a funk.

For the record, I am not affiliated with the owner, Sheri. That being said, this was easily my best online yarn shopping experience. I placed my order on Sunday, and even though Monday was a holiday it arrived today (Thursday). She mailed the package as soon as my bank cleared the payment. It was carefully packaged. I would have taken a picture, but I was too excited about the contents to think about it before I'd already unwrapped it. Yes, I said unwrap. It was wrapped. Like a wonderful fibery gift, or a yarn burrito. Along with my order were some samples of yarns I had never handled as well as a hand-written note. Now, lots of online yarn retailers will include a quick "Thanks for your order!" on the invoice. Sheri, however, wrote a much more personalized and friendly note. Plus, there was a surprise! I won't say what it is because I don't want to spoil it for anyone else. I will say that it was perfect for me because I love to organize.

Now, the most amazing thing about this experience is that she paid this much attention to my order even though I had ONE skein of yarn. It was such a small order. One skein of yarn, folks! And it qualified for a handwritten note with wishes for happy yarn times!

I originally planned to try purchasing my specialty sock yarns from a variety of vendors so I could see which company deserved to receive my yarn budget. I'm done shopping around. I've found my online yarn store. :)

Oh, and the yarn is lovely, too! I had never seen Fleece Artist in person but I'd heard a lot of people speak favorably about it online. Even though the hank feels very dense it has lots of loft and the colors speak for themselves. They were difficult to capture on film, and even now the purple in that image is a little intense. Colors are accurate at the bottom of the hank, but up top the shadows make it look much darker. Seriously folks, if the Loopy Ewe carries a yarn you've been considering, give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

Many thanks to Lime & Violet for mentioning Sheri's store on thier podcast.

Progress!

2007-05-27T15:14:00.000-04:00

While waiting for a coat of stain to dry I picked up my latest surprise knitting project and finished it. I really only had about 15 rows left. I've got to write up an explanation to the recipient before it goes out. I'll post pictures when I know it has arrived. A pattern write-up will follow in the coming weeks.

Lots of work, but no progress

2007-05-27T12:28:00.000-04:00

I've got no knitting progress to share. There are two reasons for this; firstly I have lots of work obligations right now. But on top of that, all my free time has been going towards finishing the spinning wheel. I bought a cheap vinyl shower curtain liner and spread it out in my living room. The staining has kinda taken over. There are 20+ pieces which have now received their second coat of stain (American Cherry - it looks yummy!). The flyer and bobbins are made of a more porous wood so they stained deeper. I doubt they'll get any more attention. I expect I'll be adding a final coat tonight. The description of the stain I chose said it stains AND seals, but I don't feel like it is sealing. I can rub and rub and stain keeps coming off. I don't want all of my yarns to be American Cherry! Therefore, I'll be making another trip to the hardware store for a polyurethane topcoat.

Despite the fact that my home feels rather un-homey in its state of staining splendor I'm really enjoying this process. I've certainly learned a few things about staining such uneven surfaces, though. If anyone out there decides to stain a spinning wheel (or banisters of any sort) let me know and I can give you a few pointers!

Since I am obsessed with socks I am about to cast on for 2 different patterns (Jaywalkers in Koigu KPPM, and Leyburn Socks in Miss Babs' Handpained Sock and Baby). I also decided to place an order at the Loopy Ewe after hearing Lime and Violet rave about it so much. I wanted to try a yarn I've never seen in person, but have still heard positive reviews about. I decided to sample Fleece Artist's basic merino sock yarn in Pixie. I think it's going to be Lombard Street socks since it's a nice simple semi-solid. I think it will compliment the cables and lace well. After I placed the order I continued to poke around on the Loopy Ewe site (potentially dangerous, I know) and found that the owner sends little surprises in your packages! Now I'm really excited - what on earth will it be? Perhaps a darning needle or stitch markers or some other knitting notion that gets eaten by couch cushions (which is why we always need more of them!).

It's Here!

2007-05-21T13:43:00.000-04:00

Now, back to work!

When did this happen?

2007-05-19T09:34:00.000-04:00

This week at Knit Picky I decided to put down the Baby Cashmerino surprise since I'd worked on it so much during my travels last weekend (between plane rides and graduation ceremonies I finished 75% of it). The surprise is coming to the symphony with me tonight. But, I digress. I put down the surprise in favor of a project I've neglected somewhat since ripping it back to resize. I just needed a break from it, but when I picked it up at knit night I was amazed to re-discover how quickly the green gable works up. I can make over an inch of progress in just one episode of Lime & Violet. Truly, it is amazing how much progress I've made on this since I picked it up again on Wednesday. I was just below the separation for the sleeves, but look how much I have now! I've not been counting stitches, but rather trying it on every few inches. Laid out flat it makes it look as if I am very oddly shaped. . .

I'm excited because I'm already in the hip increases (you can't really tell in the photo because they're much more shallow than the bust shaping. My bust shaping was quite radical because in a vertical space of about 3-4 inches I had to decrease the width of the garment by 8 inches!

I love the sleeves, and the drape on my shoulders. I think a lot of that is because I'm using a bamboo yarn.

In addition to knitting, I am eagerly awaiting the delivery of my spinning wheel. It is due to arrive on Monday. I have a committee meeting next week, so I won't really have any time to work on finishing the wheel, but starting Friday night it will be getting a coat daily. I ordered it from Paradise Fibers. Since the cost of new wheels is pretty much fixed across the internet (the only variability I've seen was actually a pricing error), I went with this company because thier website is easy to navigate and they have a wide selection of fibers. If you purchase a wheel from them you're given free shipping AND a $40 fiber credit. I've already made use of my fiber credit and these lovely fibers arrived on my doorstep yesterday complete with a hand-written thank-you note. The wheel is being shipped directly from the supplier. All I can say is I wish the supplier shipped as quickly as Paradise Fibers does!

Mystery Gift Revealed

2007-05-15T22:03:00.000-04:00

Finally, I can reveal what I have done with the Cherry Tree Hill Supersock. I was planning a surprise visit home to attend my sister's college graduation. Boy was she ever surprised. I bought the Sugar Maple colorway since her favorite colors are orange and yellow. Each sock took 3-4 knitting nights to complete.

Details
Pattern: Jaywalker Socks by Grumperina
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Sugar Maple
Needle: US1 (I do adore Brittany's 5'' DPNs)
Modifications: Converted to an ankle sock (only 6 pattern repeats before beginning the heel).
Final thoughts: I adore the jaywalker for yarns with short color runs, so it was perfect for this CTH. I love the way the yellow makes the zigzag pattern stand out. The yarn was great to work with, too. It has a really tight twist so I didn't have to worry about splitting stitches, but the twist doesn't compromise the elasticity. Additionally, the colors are so lovely that every color change brought immense delight. I loved seeing this work up with the pattern.

The socks themselves were a big hit. Hollie loved the exciting colors and the fit. I loved that they actually fit (I was quite nervous about this; thankfully, the knit stitch is quite forgiving). I consider this project a big hit!

After paying my homage to the fibery gods of orange I decided to get back to my roots and indulge in some nice greens. The gray fiber is a sampler of alpaca top, and the silvery green is a merino/tencel blend. The yarn is a gorgeous handpaint by Miss Babs, a fiber artist in Tennessee. The colorway shown here is Forest Afternoon. It really does invoke feelings of strolling in a grove and watching the light shine through the leaves highlighting all the different shades of green. I hope the shop decides to carry more of her colorways (it looks like the sampler set they purchased has sold really well) because this yarn is downright squishable! I am looking for the perfect pattern while I work on my other projects.

Enjoy all the pretties!

Paysage aux Papillon

2007-05-08T21:44:00.000-04:00

Tonight, I had to create a butterfly stitch. It had to be lacy and small. I needed this to be delicate to fit with its meaning in my design. I wasn't terribly impressed with attempt number one. I won't go into details though, because it's rude to talk about a lady's weight. Let us ignore the fact that I named the photo "fatty." Perhaps I should note that among my friends "fatty" is used as a term of endearment. However endearing this butterfly was, she wasn't really getting across the idea of delicate and fragile.

Enter attempt number 2. This time I used a spiffy double decrease that is centered. Don't ask me where I learned it - I was reading lace patterns to study their structure and this stitch technique stuck. Finally, mon petite papillon! She will be entering the design for my next secret project. The yarn is Debbie Bliss's Baby Cashmerino. It's wonderfully soft, but I do prefer a yarn with more twist. I'll have to be attentive, or I'll be splitting stitches everywhere!

2007-05-07T21:59:00.000-04:00

I completed the mystery gift! I'm finished early, too. Pictures will follow next week. I turned my attention back to the green gable top. The sleeves are separated (again) and I'm about 2 inches down from the underarms. It's nice relaxing knitting, but it's made me sleepy. I'd love to go to bed, but I have to wait until 10:30 to run to the lab and change buffers. So, this blog post is really a way for me to kill that last 20 minutes before I run back in to work. I need a vacation. I've finally reached a point where I feel like I'm on top of things at work (for the most part) but maintaining this level of productivity is killing me - a few too many 12-14 hour days lately. I haven't had a day off in. . .3 weeks? It makes my fiber-filled nights all the better.

But let's think about happy yarn. Especially, my discovery of a true gem - the knitting podcast. I can kick back on the couch and stream knitting-themed talkshows from my computer (because I'm not fancy enough to have an iPod). Actually, saying that I've discovered knitting podcasts (plural) is a bit deceiving - I am still going through the archives of the first one I found - Lime & Violet. These ladies host the podcast for the yarn-obsessed masses. Hearing these friends talk about their projects, yarn, dogs, and daily lives makes it clear that they genuinely just have a really great time hanging out with each other. I have fun vicariously through them. It almost makes me a little sad since the only time I listen to it is when I'm alone. I sit there and think to myself: "Where is the Violet to my Lime?!?" I'm tempted to register for their message boards and join in on the discussion, but I am shy (yes, even online). I realize that eventually listening to this show will result in the enlargement of my sock yarn stash, but that's not really something I consider a problem.

So tonight Lime and Violet talked me through about an inch of mindless stockinette. Hey, lookit that - I killed enough time to go to back to work! I'm gonna get on that so I can get to bed as soon as I get home.

By the way, I don't know if I'll be able to make it to knit night this week. It kinda depends on a very. . . spiteful experiment.

A Quarter of a Century

2007-05-06T10:36:00.000-04:00

I had a birthday on Friday, which I shared with 2 other women in the department. It was a day of cake, which brings me up to sampling a total of 5 cakes within 9 days. AND! Three of those were from my favorite bakery ever; Dewey's. I think that's some kind of record. Since my birthday falls in the first week of May, and I've been a student for a lifetime this was my first birthday where I didn't have finals. It was kinda nice for a change.

I recieved so many thoughtful presents, I'd like to share them here. First, from Karen I was given a knitting-themed care package with a tape measure shaped like a sheep (he's actually wooly) and handmade stitch markers! I had to include the card in the picture because it looks exactly like the twist-front top! What a fabulously personalized touch! Thank you so much Karen! I've already used the sheep countless times, and when I pick up the green gable again I'll be incorporating the stitch markers.

My classmates (who are all very dear friends) also had a very thoughtful gift for me - a print I have been admiring for some time now. I went to Michael's with one of my classmates last weekend and decided to buy the print, but to my dismay I could not find it. That was because it was sitting in her living room! Those sly devils. They also gave me a Michael's giftcard which I will definately be able to use. I may buy more of Paton's SWS and make a felted bag for myself. I really did love working with it, and I think it would be fun to have a bag that matches my fantabulous Danica scarf!

I've done a little more spinning with the drop spindle. This time I used a 70:30 Merino:Tencel blend and I really enjoyed working with it. The tencel gave the merino a light sheen (not as much as seen in the image) and made the top less "grabby" so it was easier to draft farther. This was not my most even yarn, but even the slubs are hardly thick. They just look thick compared to the fine nature of the rest of the single. I was overjoyed to discover that Knit Picky is going to start carrying spinning fibers, and the sample picture that Laura posted from Maryland Sheep and Wool looks like it may have some of these similar Merino/Tencel or Merino/Silk blends based on the sheen of the samples. I can't wait to touch it all this week! I've decided that my birthday present to myself will be the spinning wheel I've been admiring since Dec. 2005. I found a shop in Texas that offers it for $135 under retail. I figure that will leave me some money to buy some fibers to play with. I can't order it until the middle of this week, though, because I won't be around to accept the package. I am very excited!

Winston-Salem for the Cure!

2007-05-05T11:57:00.000-04:00

I just got home from the Race for the Cure and I was amazed at the turnout! I snapped a few blurry shots of the event (because if I had stopped I would have been run over!). The first photo was taken right after the start of the race, so everyone is still packed in really tight. I was in the back with the walkers so I got to take some really impressive pictures of the whole crowd. Amazingly, there are still a TON of people behind me at this point. Seriously a LOT of people showed up for this event! The group didn't spread out much for the whole walk so we were actually going at a pretty slow pace. We were walking slowly enough to goof off!

This fellow had the highest number I saw, but there were separate numbering schemes for timed participants, untimed participants, and surviors. The highest timed number I saw was in the 1600s, and my highest survivor sighting was 821. Can you believe it!?! Over 800 breast cancer survivors were there, and the total turnout was over 10,000! Let's just hope that the money raised by this event will help us find better treatments soon!

Finally, just another shot of the sea of people that participated in this event. Keep in mind that the runners are nowhere in sight in this photo. All of downtown was shut down for this event, and the broadcaster/MC said this was the largest event in Winston Salem. Way to turn out, W-S!

Le sigh

2007-04-30T22:26:00.000-04:00

I am capable of knitting really lovely things. However, no matter how diligent I am, I cannot seem to knit lovely things that fit me. You will notice that the Green Gable progress bar has gone from 50% to 0%. One thing I'll say for me is that I'm dedicated to doing things "right."

In other news, purple is nice.

Fiber For Supper

2007-04-29T14:15:00.000-04:00

I met Karen to knit yesterday, and she had just stopped by Knit Picky on her way over. Much to my surprise she was acting as a courier for the store owner, Jo. After seeing the spinning on my blog, Jo gave me this lovely mohair top (at least it feels like mohair!) for my birthday. I don't have scales at home but I am estimating that it's about 30 grams (We scientists think in grams - instead of those silly ounces). I can't wait to start spinning this, but I know I should work through the rest of my mohair samples so I can be more practiced. If nothing else, my knitting has taught me to be patient so I will be diligent with my practice.

In addition to knitting, I also have a love of pottery - the fiber is being displayed in a bowl from a luncheon I attended this week. The Empty Bowls luncheon is a fundraiser for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC. Attendees are served a tasty lunch and given a memorial bowl - mine was donated by the Sawtooth School for Visual Art. My advisor brought the lunch to our attention, and bought tickets for all of the lab members! I love the fact that I live in a community where the arts are so alive. And, our local artists are constantly donating pieces to be auctioned for charity. Just thinking about it gets me all pumped up about knitting Afghan squares!

I just found a Solution to the problem of my neglect of a certain lovely yarn in my stash. I purchased this at least 2 years ago when I was living in Richmond, KY and shopping at The Stitch Niche in Lexington. I planned to design a shell with it, but at the time I'd not knit a garment before and wasn't really sure about how to construct it. This was my first big yarn purchase (i.e. enough of one thing to make a garment) so I wanted to make sure I'd devised/found the perfect pattern. Now that I've been knitting for more than a few months I actually feel like I can do this lovely yarn some justice. Very exciting.

Sockluv

2007-04-28T21:05:00.000-04:00

I do rather adore knitting socks and I've been admiring patterns and just generally looking at sock related things lately. Here are some super-awesome links I've found. I'm putting them here so I'll always be able to find them as I frequently reformat my hard drive.

Sock Size Analysis - gives average foot measurments for the different US shoe sizes. This is really handy if your recipient is not available for sizing sessions. I've linked to women's sizing, but you'll find links to men's & children's sizes at the bottom of the page.

Don't feel like paying $25 for sock blockers? Here is a simple and cheap alternative.

Awesome Patterns:
Leyburn Socks
Spindle Socks
Snowflake Lace Socks
Hedera

Work has been pretty crazy (but rewarding) lately, so I've not made much progress on the Green Gable. I still photographed it this morning since it was good picture-taking weather (i.e. sunny enough that even my dark apartment had vaguely natural light).

So far the most impressive thing about this sweater is the drape of the bamboo yarn. I had my first bamboo spinning trial this morning and I've decided that it is the most difficult fiber to work with EVER! The fibers have no elasticity, nor do they have any affinity for each other. I'd just be twirling away, minding my own business, and my unworked fiber would just keep sliding until it broke under its own weight. Once I finished I realized that my black shirt was absolutely covered in little white bamboo hairs. It looked like I live with a very stressed out cat. I'll be content to purchase bamboo yarns rather than make my own. Totally not worth the trouble or the pethair rollers.

I also finally got around to photographing the incredibly thoughtful birthday gift Laurie gave me Wednesday night. The yarn is a superwash jacquard from a German company, ON LINE Yarns. They show all the colorways on the ballband, and Laurie totally picked the same one I would have - because she's awesome like that! She also included little goodies like foot soak tablets and cuticle balm (this will be especially handy in winter when my fingers are so dry that they snag the yarn as I knit). The little circles I've attached to the ball band are actually magnets designed to keep your knitting in place when you set your project aside. Now I can toss my WIPs (That's Works In Progress for those of you back at home ^_~) into my bag with impunity! Thanks so much, Laurie!

The Fiber-a-Night Club

2007-04-23T20:42:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Fiber-a-Night Club. I am the founding (and only) member. I'm working through the fiber goodie bag from the spinning class I took this weekend. We were given 2-4g samples of almost every fiber imaginable, and I'm trying a different one each night. I'm going to savor it, because I really don't know where I'll get fiber once I run out. Tonight I tried roving (from an unknown beastie). I'm getting the hang of this and created my most lovely singles yet! It was just so lovely I had to photograph it before plying.
Note the even-ness. Note the thin-ness. Note the exceptional left-handed photography!

I did ply it, and it is my first yarn that resembles real yarn. It's so even! I'm in love. I took my other 3 yarns to work with me today and showed everyone (totally not kidding). This beauty will definately be coming tomorrow so I can demonstrate my slub-free prowess!

Note the lack of slubs!!! I can't believe that this is only the 4th sample I've spun. Your fingers just learn so quickly. I really want to switch to a wheel eventually, though. On a spindle I can't really keep the spin and draft well at the same time. My spindle spinning method is not at all correct, but it works for me. I want to switch to a wheel to free up both hands for quicker spinning.

I will spend tomorrow daydreaming about which fiber to try tomorrow night. I really want to do another tonight, but I must make these samples last! Hopefully Jan will attend open knit night on Wednesday so I can ask her where she gets her fibers. I've been eyeing some blends at Paradise Fibers, but I don't know how much to get as a beginner!

Happiness is a Brown Alpaca

2007-04-22T23:10:00.000-04:00

Wow, alpaca is soooo nice to work with. The fibers are longer than merino so it's easier to predraft the fiber for spinning. Plus, I'm getting much more even. My slubs are rapidly receeding. I can see marked improvement with each yarn I spin. I expect that by the time I get through this goodie bag I'll be hooked!

2007-04-22T14:02:00.000-04:00

I've separated the arms on the green gable and I'll be starting some waist shaping soon. This fabric has such a lovely drape - just perfect for summer. I plan to wear this top on my birthday - leaving 11 days to finish. I can totally do that. According to yarn consumption I've got 2/3 left to knit.

I have a theory that every knit blogger eventually trys spinning yarn. I took a spinning class down at Knit Picky on Saturday and created my first 2 yarns. The first is from combed merino, and the second is a dyed soysilk blend. The class was very informative and you could tell that Jan (the instructor) was someone who was passionate about her craft and loved to share it with others. She gave us samples of almost every kind of fiber available so we could play around and see what we like most. We even got to try our hand at a spinning wheel. She got so genuinely excited about our yarns - the whole experience was really encouraging and thrilling. Thank you Jan & Helper (whose name I have forgotten - I met a lot of new people that afternoon)!!

When I started I was a little frustrated with my corkscrews and slubs, but by the end of the 2 hours I was free of the corkscrews and I'd learned to love my slubs. Someday I'll spin an even yarn, but until then I'll pet the slubs because really they're much softer than the rest of the yarn. It just brings you back to the fiber used to spin it.

My favorite part is plying to create a balanced yarn (one that won't unspin). You take this wirey beast of a single, twist the ends in the opposite direction and suddenly it's yarn. Truly a magical moment.

I am so proud of them! Tonight I will be trying another fiber type and really working on spinning a thin single. I know spinning evenly comes with practice, my biggest questions now are more technical. For example - how does one create a 3-ply? Do you have to keep the third strand separate? And how would one ply on a spinning wheel? I expect I'll be purchasing one by the end of the year!

I'm such a Dork!

2007-04-20T09:33:00.000-04:00

I've spent a lot of time working on the green gable the last 2 evenings. It's been a while since I've done stockinette in the round so I was really in my groove and making great progress. It felt like I was just flying along. Then I woke up this morning and realized my throwing arm is a bit sore. I must be really out of shape to have muscle aches from knitting! Perhaps I should learn continental, it has less shoulder motion.

2007-04-18T20:27:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Adrienne Vittadini's Allegra Twist-Front Top (Spring '05)

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine (worsted) in Green Apple (this was pretty heavy for a worsted weight yarn)

Needles: US 6

Modifications: I performed the mitered decreases in the front at a steeper angle

I finally got some pictures of the completed twist-front top. It just keeps growing! I'm going to remove the side seams and take out some of the extra ease. I definately recommend knitting one size down from your actual measurements, but unfortunately that wasn't an option for me. If I do this again I'll probably try it in a DK or sport weight yarn. The finished product is very lovely and I am proud of it, I'm just going to be modifying it to get the fit I want.

Tonight at Knit Picky's open knit night I cast on for Zephyr Style's Green Gable using Bonsai (a bamboo tape yarn by berroco). It's going really quickly - I'm already 2 inches into it even though I was distracted by conversation and cookies! I can tell it's going to be a quick knit which means I'll get to wear it lots this spring and summer! Hooray. The bonsai is so shiny and has a wonderful drape. Just look at that shimmer!

The project I'm really looking forward to is another Zephyr Style pattern; Wicked. I ordered the yarn from the ladies at kpixie (the bundle is on sale!) and it arrived today (Superfast shipping!). This is the closest representation of the color I could get. I'm really excited about this yarn. It's just too reflective to photograph well. No wonder the pictures on the 'net are so varied! Believe it or not, this is the same colorway shown in the pattern photos!

Well, I'm going to knit a few more rounds on the green gable before bed. Goodnight, and happy knitting!

Ah, the Possibilities

2007-04-15T20:09:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to share some photographs of yarn to be used in upcoming projects.

First up is the Koigu KPPM I mentioned earlier. I finally got a shot that captured the true nature of this glorious colorway (P141). I've had this yarn in the stash for about 2 years, but was not confident enough for socks. Now, I am a new, empowered, knitter and will be making a pair for myself out of this gorgeous yarn.

Next there is some lovely Bonsai. I have 8 balls of this and I believe it will become the Green Gable from Zephyr Style. The yarn is so cool and shiny and slick. Actually, it may be too slick. I was having wee yarn explosions when I tried to wind it into balls by hand. I'll probably take it up to Knit Picky this week and ask to borrow their swift and ball winder to make the process a little less slippery.

Finished Photos

2007-04-15T13:26:00.000-04:00

1. Pattern: Crusoe
Yarn: Cascade Fixation 1 ball (color 9816)
Needles: US 1
Modifications: Converted to an anklet with a 2x2 ribbing instead of a rolled cuff.

Thoughts on the project: These were my first socks! I did attempt this pattern once with the recommended Koigu but found that the yarn just didn't have enough stretch for the stranded stitch pattern. So, I opted for an elastic yarn. They knit up pretty quickly, and I'm glad that I did finish the second sock despite not being in love with the colorway. I don't want to start single sock syndrome with my first pair of socks! Hopefully I will continue to be diligent with my knitting of the second sock. See that little ball between my feet? That's what was left from the ball when I finished. I'm so excited that I got 2 socks out of a single ball! I expect that un-used Koigu will become a pair of Jaywalkers.

2. Pattern: Danica
Yarn: Paton's SWS in Natural Earth (3.5 balls)
Needles: US 8

Thoughts on the Project: I admit I was being a sheep with this pattern. I saw some absolutely gorgeous Danicas on Craftster using SWS (particularly those by fragolina_piccolina and tragicheroine) and had to make one of my own. But wow, this scarf is gorgeous! I was actually in a self-forced knitting lull thinking I needed to focus on graduate school rather than my hobbies. But when I saw all those gorgeous scarves. . .my inner wooly knittingbeast broke free and I picked up my needles for the first time in a year. Thanks to all you wonderful knitters on Craftster for bringing me back. For a while I debated about blocking the scarf, and finally decided that I love the texture of entrelac and that I would proudly wear it bumpy! Fortunately, shortly after finishing the scarf our weather took a nosedive and I actually got to wear it! This will be a special scarf for me becuase it reminded me how happy I am to knit.

2007-04-08T17:13:00.000-04:00

I spent much of the afternoon Saturday weaving in the ends on the twist-front top and doing the armhole finishing. Today I gave it a bath (it turned the water green). And laid it out to block before seaming. It's pretty wet, but with the cold weather my heat has been running pretty frequently so that should speed up the drying process. Hopefully it will help to humidify my house over the next day! It took surprisingly long to get the top into the desired dimensions - the yarn became super stretchy when wet and the lace just kept getting bigger and bigger. I finally tamed the beast into something manageable, though.

I wish the weather were more pleasant - I'd hoped to wear it to open knitting night on Wednesday, but I don't think it will be warm enough.

In which not much knitting is discussed.

2007-04-05T22:09:00.000-04:00

The body of the twist-front top is finished. Now I've only got blocking and seaming left. I'll save the pictures for when it looks lovely and all the ends are woven in. The actual knitting of the piece took 2.5 weeks. I'm amazed at how quickly it went. I will probably make this pattern again, and recommend it to anyone who considers themselves an advanced beginner or up. Honestly, the pattern isn't difficult. I'm not sure why it was rated "experienced" in the pattern booklet.

I'm glad to have my knitting this weekend. I got a care package from the family today, and in it was a letter reminding me that this weekend is Easter weekend, and that this will be the first time I don't get to see my family around this time of year. I've got my work to keep me preoccupied, and when I'm done with that work on Saturday I'll head down to Knit Picky since all my classmates are visiting their families this weekend. I'm the only one whose home is really too far away for that sort of thing. At least I can be a help to them by pet-sitting (and mouse-sitting in some cases).

I intend to use the weekend to finish some things and start some others. I'll be finishing the twist-front top and the second Crusoe sock. Meanwhile' I'm going to sit down and really start the push to write my candidacy proposal. I've been jotting down experiments and questions for the last couple of months. It is time to make an organized push for this thing to happen. I hope to have my first draft done by the end of May. For right now I'll still try to think of it in segments because an entire grant proposal seems daunting. I've never done anything like this before - this will be a trial to see if I could do this sort of thing for a living. Scary.

I just finished watching the film "Pursuit of Happyness." While everyone I've spoken to thought it was a really heartwarming and wonderful film I can't entirely agree. It is a good movie, but it was painful to watch. It was even more painful knowing it was based on a true story. When the credits rolled I was left with an overwhelming sense of emptiness. It pains me to see such misfortune. The last movie that left me so uneasy was Dancer in the Dark. If it weren't so late I'd watch some uplifting film to get over it.
Be thankful that you know where you will sleep tonight, and that your loved ones love you in return.

I'm sorry I can't be there this year, guys. I'll be thinking about you the whole time (and getting fat from all the dark chocolate you sent!).

What Would Medusa Knit?

2007-04-03T22:27:00.000-04:00

Tonight Karen came over for some TV on DVD and knitting on our respective projects. Her cropped cardi in bonsai looks absolutely lovely, and her modifications resulted in a better fit. Seeing her finished product makes me even more eager to work with Berocco's Bonsai. I just need to pick a pattern!

I worked on the twist-front top again (surprise). Here it is in all its medusa-esque glory. I will spend the better part of an evening weaving in all those ends. This project has not been boring for a moment. The chart is easy enough to memorize, but still keeps you alert while knitting and you constantly mix things up by suddenly knitting in new directions. Such a fun pattern with dynamic construction. Truly, it is quite a wonderful thing.

I have made some minor modifications. The mitering is on a steeper slope, and the decreases along the top edge of the mitered panel are different that written. Much to my chargrin it's worked out so that the lace eyelet part of the pattern lines up between the mitered panel and the yolk. What a lovely surprise! I'd love to say I planned it that way but it was a happy accident.

It's still looking quite rough, but I'll tidy it up for a final photo shoot sometime soon!

Loverly

2007-04-01T18:49:00.000-04:00

Isn't it nice to have a relaxed day? I spent mine knitting while watching Audrey Hepburn films.

There was a setback in the twist-front top. I had nearly completed the mitering on the front, but I realized that I really wasn't happy with the way it was shaping up. So Friday, after much procrastination, I took a deep breath and frogged back to the point where I cast on for the mitered panels. I'm so relieved that I did. I've nearly completed that section now, and I'm really pleased with the results. I could potentially finish this top in a few days if work goes smoothly.

Yesterday, I met Karen for lunch and some knitting in public. She was working on a cropped cardigan in Berocco's Bonsai. That yarn is gorgeous. I'm excited about working with it myself. I have several hanks of it in Red Maple, I'm just trying to decide what I'll be making with it. It could potentially turn into another twist-front top.

Speaking of exciting yarn, I just got some Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in the vibrant sugar maple colorway. I can't wait to experiment with this. It took ages to ball all 420 yards - it made me yearn for a swift! I have plans for it, but it's going to be a gift so I can't reveal any details!

Taking a "Half" Day

2007-03-24T23:53:00.000-04:00

Today was a day of halves. I knitted about half as much as I wanted to (silly housework), watched half of a television series while I knitted, ate half a bag of croutons (I'm still trying to tell myself it was healthy since I ate them with a salad), and completed two half projects.

The first "half" was the back to the twist-front top. I started this last Saturday and was quite happy to reach the halfway point in only a week. I'm sure there are knitters out there who could have done it in 2 days, but I am not one of them. For me, this is awesome. I knit the garment true to the pattern and all I can say is the shoulder shaping is downright Weird (and just a little hideous)! I think I can fix the unsightly jagged places with a little blocking, but when I make the front I'm going to do my own thing with the shaping. Hopefully it will be a bit more aesthetically pleasing. . . Rawr, look at all those loose ends taunting me. I won't darn them in until the front is complete, though. If it turns out to be a different length I'll gladly rip out the back to make it match lengthwise and rework the arm shaping again MY way.

So, half of a tanktop is finished. I've already cast on for the front

The twist-front top is not the only project I have on the needles right now - the other "half" I completed today was my first half of a pair of socks. I made these from Cascade's Fixation which I consider to be the perfect yarn for a first pair of socks. Since it has elastic it's very forgiving. The pattern is Knitty's Crusoe; whose stranded stitch pattern is decidedly un-stretchy in the recommended Koigu. That's okay, my two balls of Koigu look just lovely perched in a basket for decoration. I'll save them for another day. I adapted the pattern for an anklet because it is Spring and I was eager to get to the heel turn to see if I could handle it. Unfortunately, I discovered that when one does the heel turn as written for the smaller size they end up with a heel that is off-center. Sad. So, I altered the pattern and centered the heel. I took great care to write down the changes on my printed copy of the pattern. However, now that I am ready to begin sock #2 I realize that I cannot locate my printed copy of the pattern. Hopefully it's hiding in a folder at work. I really need to get my knitting organized!

Speaking of organizing my knitting - my Knit Picks Options needle set arrived on Friday. I was so happy putting all the needles into the snappy little pouches. Organizing makes me feel so accomplished. I had knit the back of the twist front top on 16'' Addi Turbos which was a bit of a pinch. Short circulars don't jive well with projects that are worked flat. So, once I finished the back, I whipped out the 24'' Knit Picks set and I'm happily knitting along.

More Progress on the Twist-front Top

2007-03-21T20:59:00.000-04:00

I went to Knit Picky tonight for open knit night and took the Adrienne Vittadini tank with me. I'm truly loving everything about this pattern. It's simple (but looks really spiffy), it's green, and it works up surprisingly fast. Despite a heavy work schedule I'm 11 inches into the back! I just finished the second ball (I definately have enough yarn - hooray!). Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if I finish this thing in another 2 weeks.

Last night I settled down with the twist-front top (can we call it the TFT?), a bar of dark chocolate, and A&E's Pride and Prejudice. I got through disc one and plan to watch some more tonight. Yarn is more important than sleep. And, I want this sweater done in time for the first nice tank top weather, which should be soon!

As a side note - my knit picks options needle set should be arriving tomorrow. Let's hope the post is running on schedule!

The excitement of a new project

2007-03-18T13:47:00.000-04:00

I currently have three projects on the needles, but today I will be talking about my most recent. Because, as a general rule, the most recent project is the one you're most excited about.

For the last two years I have been coveting the
Adrienne Vittadini Vol. 25 pattern book. I first saw the lace and ruffle cardigan in an advertisement when the book hit shelves in Spring '05. I was in love. I had only been knitting for about 6 months, so I knew it was far too challenging for me. I tried to make myself forget it. Since I am talking about it now - a full 2 years later - it is clear that I did not forget it. I bought the pattern book and found something in it I'd rather make first. I decided to make the Allegra twist-front top my first project from this book. It's small enough to complete in a timely manner. The lace and cable pattern is interesting enough to keep me entertained, and I love the way the mitered front accents a waistline.

I chose Knit Picks Shine (worsted) for the project because it is affordable and despite my ambition this will be my first sweater. This way I won't be completely heartbroken if I can't complete the project, and I won't be out over $100, either. The yarn has a nice shimmer to it, but I wish it had a little more twist. I'm finding that when I SSK the yarn un-twists. It's unfortunate, but I am remaining hopeful that it can be repaired during blocking. The vibrant green apple color will look fabulous over a white tanktop and conveniently arrived on St. Patrick's Day. I cast on for the back and have knit through 1 ball, which yielded 6 inches.

Apparently I am a very loose knitter. The pattern recommends a size 9 needle to achieve the gauge, but I had to go down to a 6. I'm measuring frantically throughout my progress and so far everything is working out. Despite a few minor mistakes I made early on in the lace (I've decided to leave them, as this is the back and this sweater is my first. I want them to remain so I can litterally see my progress as a knitter in the garment).

I'm feeling very optimistic about this piece, and finished 15% in a single day. Hooray for new projects!

The Obligatory Introduction

2007-03-11T21:07:00.000-04:00

Perhaps it is an obsession.
My couch is currently sporting 2 projects. I've counted 6 knitting magazines, and 4 patterns on the coffee table (not to mention those living by the bed). I have 2 hanks of Koigu in a small basket as a decoration. There are at least 5 pair of scissors in my 1-br apartment, all strategically placed in close proximity to ideal knitting areas.

Yes. It is time for a blog to keep track of my hobby.

Some things about me as a knitter:
1. I love classic, simple (uncluttered) patterns.
2. I prefer a nice textured stitch to colorwork.
3. I adore green.
4. I carry my yarn right-handed, but have been meaning to learn continental.
5. I do not own a knitting bag - instead I carry my projects in plastic grocery sacks to keep the wools from felting from the abrasion of an actual handbag.
6. While I enjoy luxury yarns, my two favorite yarns of all time are supercheap!
7. I have yet to knit a pattern unmodified. Sometimes this works out, and sometimes it does not. Hopefully any reader will learn from my errors.
8. I started knitting in Nov. 2004, so I'm still fairly new to the art.
9. I am returning from a knitting hiatus. I finally decided that I just won't let myself be too busy for my hobby.
10. There is no time more exciting than the time spent between buying new yarn and waiting for it to be delivered by the post.
11. Except when you cast said yarn onto the needles.
12. For me, starting a project is more exciting than finishing one. It's a miracle that I finish anything.
13. I finally went to my first knitting circle and had a lovely time. I was really missing out being a solo knitter!
14. I am slow. Either, posts will be infrequent, or progress pictures won't look like there is much progress at all. We'll see which it turns out to be!

In addition to knitting, my time is occupied by graduate school, my dear friends and classmates, and MMORPGs that I play with my BF.