Knit and Plenty

Frozen in the beginning of Summer

Ok - I can't seem to move forward on any of the projects I have going. I'm totally frozen. I am working on two summer weight cardigans on size 5 needles that I have convinced myself I will never finish. I have two shawls that I've started out of DK on size 6's that start at the point and continue to the wing-expanse of a large teridactyl. All the projects are simple garter or stockinette stitches in one color because OF COURSE I thought that would make them go fast when it fact - they're all so boring - I can't seem to stick with one without wanting to impale myself on my sticks. So, I'm jumping from one to another so nothing is progressing. And I'm getting more and more frustrated. My sick knitter mind thinks, "Maybe I should start a new, smaller project - like a little neck wrap that I can go to intermittently that will knit quickly and give me finishing satisfaction to give me the will to return to the four big projects." But isn't that just more distraction?

Help? Any words of advice before I have a total meltdown???

Spring knitting? Who 'my knidding?

What could be better than a trip to Web's with my two best gal pals? If you're not familiar with Web's, it's this great store up in North Hampton, MA. If you can't drive there, they have a great website at www.yarn.com and a super catalog.

Believe it or not I escaped with only two skeins and a great new swiff. I did, however, accomplish my mission of finding patterns to go with some of the yarn I had planned to cast on for Spring Projects.

This is a very light open sweater made from Blue Sky Alpaca Silk. Its their pattern. Gosh, it's so much easier to just stick with the recommended yarn, isn't it?

This one is going to take me most the summer because its on size 4 needles. Youch!

And just for something oh so completely different I got another pattern for a cardigan for Debbie Bliss cotton cashmere, knit on size 5 needles. It's going to be a race to the finish. Probably around August.

And rounding out the day, I've got a La Luz shawl on a big old no. 6 with 180 stitches in the round.

Can you believe I actually have 6 to 8 other project bags I could tell you about?

Proposition 19 - Make 4.75 Stitches/Inch Illegal

I am seriously gauge-challenged. I have tried to start this really nice Sarah Dallas sweater 3 times and I just can't get it right. The pattern gauge is 19 stitches which really is a gauge that should be abolished! 19 stitches SUCKS because that means it's 4.75 stitches per inch - and since I can never measure stitches to begin with, trying to count 3/4 of a stitch is really impossible. What's more, the pattern says to cast on 179 stitches, and then in the course of the next 10 rows, there's a funky  (rather complicated) ruffle which twists and tucks and eventually ends up with the number of stitches (89) to get the width of the back of the sweater correct. God help me. I did a gauge with size 6 needles - and it looked good. Not 4. Not 4.5. Not 5. Ok, so I cast on and I did the whole ten rows, and ended up with a sweater that would have been 34 inches wide. So, what do i do, I drop to size 5's and do a gauge. Great. Not 4. Not 4.5. Not 5. Ok, here I go to do the first ten  '179 stitch' rows AGAIN. This time its about 26 inches wide. What the F???

Now, I'm completely lost. And what's more, I've lost all interest in the G-damn project!!

Luckily, I have my trusty Koigu sock project to turn to. Now I can see why everybody loves a sock. You can never go to far wrong with a sock. Tomorrow night I get to learn how to make a heel flap. Gosh, I sound like I'm retarded.

It's a Twister: "Sock are simple," says Central's Sally

Say that three time fast!

How about: The sixth sheep socks show six slipped stitches.

Frankly, that's a lot easier to say then it was for me to figure out how to the knit socks on the Magic Loop. So, I signed up for Sally's class over at Knitting Central - and she's an incredible teacher because, by jove, I think I've got it.  It was a two hour class and the time just flew by. I think I'm going to like this thing called socks.

Now, I guess I have to come clean and tell you that this is my very first foray into sock knitting and judging from the sock frenzy that exists in the knitiverse, I hear I could get hooked. I'm not sure if that's like saying, "I've never tried crack before but some say it's addictive."

Well, knowing the nature of my twisted personality, I can predict with certainty that I will succumb.

It won't be long before I'll be the poster child for sockaholism:

This is your brain. This is your brain on socks.

Tell me you'll be there for me when the inevitable happens!

Twisted Facts

Fact: This purse is on sale at Nordstrom's for $178.00.

Fact: I don't want to spend $178.00 for it.

Fact: I want to make it myself.

Fact:  It will end up costing more than $178.00 to make.

Fact: The end product that I make will not look anywhere as good as this one, that is perfectly knit and lined and has a zipper.

Fact: I don't care, I'm going to make it anyway.

Fact: I'll be proud of myself that I didn't buy it.

Fact: I'll probably use it once or twice.

Fact: Knowing that last fact, I shouldn't bother to make it.

Fiction: O.K. I won't.

PS - I tried a little mini sampler from some wool that I bought last year. It came out kind of cute, but it won't work for the bag above. Fact: I'm off to buy the cashmere.

It was a Knitmare!

It was going to be a nice quiet night of knitting.

Then, I don't know what happened. One minute I was looking for a pair of needles I was convinced I had stored in with a project  - and the next minute, I had emptied every yarn basket, box and bag into a giant heap on the floor. What a mess.

Three hours later, I had thwarted it and sorted, winded and yarn- minded it all into yarn baskets, boxes and bags.

I divided it into wool vs cotton vs silk and cashmere.

There's the box of eyelash in every color, a sure sign that I was knitting heavily in 2003.

There's a basket full of what I am calling my "one skein wonders", beautiful balls that I own only one of and therefore, will never do anything with.

There's a big bag of Highland and eco-wools I bought for felting and a mess of roving and batting that I'll surely take to the grave.

I found at least 5 projects that I had forgotten that I had started; a few bags of yarn for projects I will probably never start, and two very painful memories of half-baked garments I know I will never finish. And there's the BIG BLUE BUMBA $80 BALL of 1500 yards of wool that will be a constant reminder of what happens when you don't ask  the price but you're too embarrassed to not buy.

I do have 12 projects on the launching pad that I can't wait to start after I finished the 8 works-in-progress I already have on the needles - which means I am vowing to not buy anything until Stitches East in November.

I feel good that its done - even though I missed ANOTHER night of knitting.

 

It's curtains, I say. Curtains!

My guy, who I will call MG, just finished painting the dining room, which, as you know, means new cushions, new pictures, new linens, probably new china - and yes, a new vase filled with felted flowers to match the new curtains. I bought a whole mess of Cascade 100% wool to make these crazy flowers. I have no clue what I'll do next, but I can't wait to get started. PS. How do you like that view out of my dining room window? [click picture to enlarge.] It's new, too. Courtesy of PhotoShop.

The Holidays are Finally a Wrap

My dad and stepmom, Barbara, came for brunch today. They had been in Thailand during the holidays and this was the first chance we all had, since their return, to exchange gifts.( I guess this means I have to put all the rest of the holiday stuff away.)
Like so many of us, Barb has returned to knitting after a long hiatus. To create her gift, my pal at the Dunkin Donuts was nice enough to give me a giant plastic cup (without having to buy a large frappuccino.) I filled it with two skeins of Lions Brand (hey, she's learning again) and a pair of needles. I made a custom label and it was quite impressive.  In other words, small things come in good packages.
They, in turn, brought me three skeins of handspun silk yarn from Bangkok. I definately got the better end of the exchange. I think there may be about 150 yards of it, but I'm not sure, so I'm thinking I'd make a triangular wrap  where I start with two stitches and just keep going. Any other suggestions?

The Red Bag of Courage

When Jen decided she wanted to knit a giant felted tote, I jumped at the chance to accompany her to one of our favorite LYS (www.knittogether.com) to help her spend HER money. We went with a red theme and picked LOPI Bulky as the main color. Then we went wild, choosing lots of different ride-alongs in NORO, Gedifra and Karabella. Improvising a felting pattern is definately working without a net, but she's getting lots of help from our knitting pals, and I'll let you know how it turns out. It's amazing how we can look to our friends for a little extra courage and support especially when we are scared or not sure how we felt. Thanks, Jen, for being there for me. We know your success is in the bag!