Wow. I'm on the last few rows of the back of the Berocco tank. I've made a list of the next WIP's to start, and preparation for the next few things I'm allowing myself to start...

WIP's to Work on:
matt's socks
jenn's second sock
cropped tweedy pullover
purple felted bag

projects to start
purple tartelette shawl for me
wedding shawl

yarn to wind
cotton twist for the rest of the tank (by hand)
tartelette for shawl (by hand)
wool for wedding shawl (ball winder)

next to pick up
matt's socks

next to cast on
tartelette shawl

You know, as much as I hate my job, I try to be happy about the fact that I can spend a lot of my day knitting. The reason I can do that is that if you train a monkey to speak, he could do 80% of my job...(can't get online? shut down computer. unscrew cable from back of modem, unplug power. if you have a router, unplug it. let it sit for 60 to 90 seconds. put cable and power back into modem. when green lights are on solid, start up router/computer)...which is depressing for a Gemini like me. We like change, us Geminis. But that gives me time to knit...as long as it's mindless. Stockinette in the round was made for tech support calls.

links gleaned from blogs:
*Cinnamon's Dyepotfrom Glampyre
*little turtle knits from Cyborgoddess's Slip Stitch Pass

holy stream of consciousness, Batman!

right now i'm resisting the urge to buy some white cotton twist yarn from KnitPicks. I haven't even finished one Cotton Twist tank and I'm dreaming of the next one...in stripes, even. Hot pink, hot pink/orange variagated, and white. But I'm on a yarn diet! I'm also considering ordering lots of Dover for the sweater I'm going to knit for Kris. Maybe I should order that, too...and Lara is on sale, I remember that vest made out of Lara in Knitty...that takes 9 balls...Portrait Circle Shawl Pattern...and the Regia Clear Boots are down to $21.99!

grrrr. dratted knitpicks. i'm closing the page. won't look at it any more.

Thinking about joining the Knit Bloggers Reading Group...

making my way through tank top. am surprised by my own willingness to focus on one project. must be the added bonus of getting to wear it myself when i'm finished. want to post, too tired....bleh.

don't know if I've posted this before, wrote it about a year ago:

My knitting history

lame semi-update:

Surprisingly little knitting done this weekend. Though, after all that whining about the tank top, I realized I was further along than I thought. Whoopee.

link
* Lamb's Ear Yarn and Roxi's Blog

quiz


You may not be a granny, but you've got the
mentality. Hard work and artistic vision lead
to your beautiful knitted results.


Are you a knitter?
brought to you by Quizilla

Tank top is a little slow. I hate purling. It's not that it bothers me, I'm just so slow at it. I want to wear this before summer is done, dammit!

Update:

Finished:
Tartelette Scarf #1
Pink Baby Sock #1

Phew. Busy, busy, busy. I think I'll take the tank top (attempt #4) to work to make progress on. It will be time to cast on for Fixation Sock #2, and finish that up, shortly. I'm on a finishing streak!

Finished:
Slytherin Scarf
Mexico Socks
Pink Baby Hat

Almost Finished:
Tartelette Scarf #1
Pink Baby Sock #1

Made Serious Progress:
Matt's Sock #1 - turned the heel!

Pictures to come...I hope.

Happy Harry Potter Day!

WIP recap:

1. Finished weaving in the ends of the Slytherin Scarf. Tomorrow - the fringe. Matt figured out that there are 58,422 stitches in the Slytherin Scarf. It's humbling.

2. I'm past the 1/2 way point on the Tartelette shawlette. A few observations - I prefer to put Tartelette into balls by hand, center wound balls twist too much. Also, the Denise needles tend to snag the yarn, so for the big one, I think I'll have to steam out the crimps in my size 15 bamboo circular needle.

3. Gotta do something about the tank I'm working on, maybe separate back and front. I'm just not getting anything done keeping it in the round.

4. Pink baby hat is only about 1/3 of the way done. Can't wait to get to little pink baby socks.

5. Yarn for the Highland Triangle Shawl came. Too bad I sent the ball-winder home with Amber. Actually, that's probably for the best. I can't afford to start that quite yet. I think I'm going to try and keep the end of June and all of July for finishing various started projects. If I could just wind up some of these small projects (socks everywhere!) and a couple big ones, I can really start to devote time to the 2 shawls by the end of the summer.

So much knitty-ness, so little time. Love my new Denise needles, finished baby sock #2, 10 rows and finishing left on Slytherin scarf. Too much yarn that I will never use. If anyone really wants loads of baby yarn (all acrylic), mostly in white, let me know. Seriously. I'd love a swap, but at this point it's free to a good home. Email me at emily_ghost@NOSPAMyahoo.com. Just take out the NOSPAM, of course.

I had a crappy day Friday, so I comforted myself with some retail therapy - new gel pens and 4 skeins of tartelette in this purple/green/pink combo. I've decided that the tartelette shawlette thing-y in Pink Grapefruit will probably be a gift to someone, and the bright purple one will be for me. Maybe I'll even wear it to my friend Jenn's wedding. Fall, evening wedding - dark colors are permissible and welcome.

Then on Saturday we had a bunch of people over gaming, including Amber's boy Aaron, so Amber came over. She used my ball-winder to wind her huge hank of gorgeous hand-painted yarn, and I started my de-stashifying by giving her some yarn that I'd never use, and that I'm sure she'll think of something cool for.

Monday, today, my friend Kris (the one I'm making the Slytherin scarf for) gave me the present that she's been slaving on for me - a handmade knitting bag! It's purple with stars, deep, and full of pockets. I adore it. I will post pictures soon.

Off to work out with the boyf - I mean fiancee (wicked grin) - before heading home.

So yesterday was a good knitting day.

Got the yarn from Bonne Marie, got my requisite 8 rows done on the S.Scarf of Doom, and also got to the gusset decreases on baby sock numero dos. Oh, and I got my order from Elann. 3 skeins of deep purple tecno fur (slated for another Rockstar. Gonna make two, then decide which one to keep.), and lots and lots of swallow casein needles. Okay, well, 2 sets of single points and 2 sets of dpns. But it seems like a lot piled on my desk. And one size 8 24-inch bamboo circ for the Highland Triangle Shawl. Just waiting on the yarn from Patternworks for that. Knowing Patternworks these days, I'm scared that a) it'll be a long wait, or b) it was backordered and they have no intention of telling me. They have a few more days before I panic and send them an email.

Now, however, I cannot sleep. My darling is a little under the weather, and I'm having a hard time falling asleep knowing he's in the bathroom (don't drink whiskey on an empty stomach if you haven't imbibed spirits in ages) and not in bed. Plus, I'm supposed to be somewhere relatively early in the morning, and I always agonize that I'm going to wake up late.

Too tired to knit, though. I might botch something up when I'm like this. So it's best to hop around the blogs and get this post up. I'm too tired to try working on the template, too, don't want to screw that up either. Ripping code can be as exhasuting as ripping mohair - or tecno fur.

Phew. Finished Baby Sock #1, good head start on Baby Sock #2, and now I'm on the second to last stripe on the Slytherin scarf. Yarn swap w/ Bonne Marie was a success! I'm going to ball up some more cascade today and knit up some swatches to see which carry-along felts best for my Fiber Trends Tote.

Stupid free blog system. Didn't update my template, and duplicated a post a couple days back. Sigh. Now I have to go fix stuff.

3/4 of the way done with baby sock #1. 60 more rows to go on the Slytherin scarf. Then it will be time for end weaving and fringing. Other projects are on hold while I finish scarf and baby projects.

P.S. - I am very very disappointed that the template changes didn't save. I had updated all the blogs I try to read on a daily basis, and was looking forward to getting there from here. grrrrr.

Last night I finished Fixation sock for my friend Jenn (as opposed to me Jenn), and today I cast on the first baby sock for my cousin Vanessa's upcoming boy baby. Other than that, not much knitting news. I updated this template a tiny bit, and have been wondering why my comments are acting up again. Eagerly awaiting several knitting orders (only a little yarn! Wedding yarn!) and a yarn swap!

Okay, I guess I was fated to order those Denise interchangeable needles. Anyone see the new article about them in Knitty?

I actually was a teeny bit disappointed in Knitty this time. There didn't seem to be a huge size range for a lot of the projects. I am kinda burning to knit a skirt, and there were two of those, so that was kinda cool. If I can find a good deal on some of those denim yarns that are out now, and if I do some math, maybe I can make the eyelet
skirt. Bonne Marie's article on short-rows was just what the doctor ordered, however. I'm creeping up from the bottom of the Berocco tank, and suspect that I will need to add some
short rows to the top to get the desired drape.

Upon further consideration, I'm also kinda interested in the grass
skirt, the tank top, and the socks. But nothing is really leaping out at me. I wondering
if the laddering in the Fixation would be noticeable in ripple socks?

Picture Experiments. In theory, clicking on the pictures will open bigger pictures. If I'm REALLY cool, they'll open in another window.





Madison's baby sweater. I really loved the buttons.








Mom's red socks (which apparently don't fit)









Virgil and the knitalong mouse.









Virgil looking cute.

I'm stuck in this planning project phase. I keep thinking that I'm gonna want a cardigan this fall. I was thinking about the "My First Cardigan" or whatever it's called from the last Knit It!...probably not in Wool-Ease Chunky, though. I actually like Encore better, and I'm wondering if I can get away with substituing Lamb's Pride Bulky since I like working with regular Lamb's Pride so much. But that project is in the far off future. I've also considering doing those Dresser Scarf socks in Fixation, since I have some Navy lying around, and if there is only one seam, up the back, then maybe I can avoid that horrible laddering.

As for wedding shawls, I think I've narrowed it down to 2, and I'm going to order the stuff for 2, so that I can start them, and see which one I could theoretically finish in a year. One is the Legends of the Shetland Sea shawl, and the other is the Highland Triangle Shawl in Folk Shawls. That one uses WoolPak 8 ply, and I think I'll probably do it in natural.

Ooooh, Naked Sheep had Denise Interchangeable Needles...I've always been happy ordering from them before. I may be on a yarn diet, but I never said anything about a needle diet! Oh man, so many online stores are having sales. I must resist! Even though Elann has Tecno Fur on sale, and One Fine Yarn has some interesting grab bags. Please note that I am in no way affiliated with any of these stores - I'm just trying to share my pain.

Soooooooo many started projects. I'm flitting from one to the other, and therefore, making progress on none. And, of course, contemplating adding more. I think I'm going to order the Legends of the Shetland Seas shawl, and yarn for one of the Scotland shawls in Folk Shawls. Since Matt is most likely going to be wearing a kilt for the wedding (and I'm thrilled about that) I figured a Scottish style shawl will keep it within a sort of theme.

I'm also aching for a set of Denise Interchangable needles.

Jeez, there are some crazy yarn sales right now. Naked Sheep and Handworks Gallery just sent me email notices...must resist...no new yarn 'til fall...think of all the half-started projects....

Though, one of the things I was thinking of making for christmas was a scarf or shawl in some crazy novelty yarns for Matt's mom. I'm making myself a tartellete little shawlette-thingy, and if I like it, I was thinking of making one for her.

Oh man, spare me from the startitis.

I'm working on a tank top right now...all the tank girl knit bloggers got me inspired. It's taking forever, because I decided to do it in the round. I keep telling myself I'll be happy when it's done that I don't have to seam, but right now I wonder if it will ever be done.

Nothing too thrilling to say today, but I wanted to say it here anyway. :)

This is kinda cool - counterpane shawl and tank

I just want to say thanks to everyone who posts comments on my blog - I love reading them, and knowing that people are checking this out. Thanks, Gwen, for the congratulations. Thanks (as always) for your comments, Amber. And thanks Alissa and Krista Jo for your shawl suggestions! And Kate, I will be happy to show you Bella - haven't started a ruffle yet, but I can show you how it works.

Plowing through on knitting in the round - a scarf, a tank, and a sock. Sometimes it seems like all I do is knit, knit, knit, and my purling is starting to suffer. I can purl pretty evenly, my tension is okay, but I'm wicked slow. I guess one answer would be to do everything in the round...just kidding!

My mom just emailed me pictures of my cousins last night - both looking pretty pregnant. I think Vanessa is due late this month. I have a hat for her done, and I'm planning on matching booties/socks. Maybe I'll get off my butt and and post pictures tomorrow.

So, over here in lazy no posting land, I have little bits of progress to make. I have been doing the scarf everyday, and it shows. It's seriously enormous. I think that making myself do 8 rows a day was a good idea, and I'm already planning to set myself goals for other languishing projects. The Berocco tank and Matt's socks are the next bring-to-work-and-do-X-rows-a-day projects.

I worked on Bella a bit last night too. Angora fluff everywhere, but it's so soft. And the lace pattern on the sleeves is fantastic. I started a sleeve as my reward for plowing through the back. So far I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the back, and only 1 1/2 pattern repeats done with the sleeve. Its fun, and I can't wait to get to the ruffle!

I definitely want to make myself a shawl for my wedding. Now the question is, do I make one to match my dress (probably ivory or natural colored yarn) or do I make one bright and variagated? Do I try and make something complex, or do I stick to something simple and repetitive? Right now I'm thinking of a few from Folk Shawls (Kimono Lace, the Himalayan Birds' Nest Lace, Scotland Fir Lace, or the Iceland Feather and Fan triangle shawl - all my names for them, I'm not looking at the book), the Peace Shawl, the Shetland Sea Shawl, or the Forest Path Stole, or something else entirely. Help! Maybe I should take a vote. What do you all think?

links

* pacific northwest and seascape shawl kits at Knitwitts

* nice looking yarn/craft store in Great Barrington

Hoo doggies. I meant to be so good about updating, and I just haven't. Sorry. Had a great long weekend. 4 days off of work! Lots of stuff happened, the top 5 which are:

5. I spent my $30 Webs gift certificate - ball of Opal, 2 sets of dpns (including 4's) and a ball of that Berocco sequin stuff.

4. Iturned 24.

3. My sister Nicole came out to visit.

2. I bought a car!

1. I got engaged!!

Matt proposed on my birthday, while I was opening presents. If you're really interested, I did post the whole thing over at my regular livejournal, here, providing that livejournal will actually work and let me post the darn thing. I used to find that of the three free journalling services I use, Blogger, Livejournal and Diaryland, that Livejournal was up the most, at lest for the free accounts. Right now my paid Diaryland account is available the most for posting, and Blogger and Livejournal keep going down. I do have my own webspace, and I could start using moveable type, but my domain hosting isn't all that reliable either.

Anyway, back to knitting. I decided I want to knit myself a shawl for my wedding, or more likely, the reception. I've always wanted a big nice fancy one - what better motivation, eh?

When Nicole came out we picked up some Chinchilla and some size 8 needles. She wants to make a nice square pillow cover. I explained that Chinchilla might be a little tricky to get back in the saddle with, all that fuzz, but she wanted to try. And she was doing great, had 4 inches or so done on the front of the pillow cover when she left on Monday. She said she'll come visit me when it's time to bind off!

Still plugging away on the Slytherin Scarf. I'm 2/3 of the way done - 14/21 stripes. Then all that fringe. Dear God, the fringe!

Cast on for the cropped tweedy pullover in Horstia from IK fall 02. I *heart* this yarn, and the pattern.

Ripped back Mexico #2 to the picked-up gusset stitches. It hurt, but it had to be done. It was just ugly.

Made Virgil one of Wendy's mice - pictures will be forthcoming!

Phew...I think that's it for now!

KnitPicks order came today - wahoo! I also got a gift certificate to Web's from my sister-in-law (almost) and some "mad money" from my Nana in preparation for my birthday. More yarn money! All coming on the heels of the proclaimed yarn diet. I even told Matt I was going on a yarn diet. But I did say that I might get sock yarn. And needles, of course. Can you believe that I don't have any size 4 dpns? How did that happen? I have like, 2 sets of 0-5, but no 4s. Hmmm. Not that I have any patterns suffering from lack of 4s, but you never know.

I'm suffering from startitis - I cast on for the Rockstar scarf today. I cannot believe how soft the Apart is. And I can see why working w/ furry yarn when it's not a carry along (like in my fuzzy feet) is a bitch. The Koigu is working up pinker than I thought, but so far I'm cool with the effect. I also need to remember that I spend a lot of time in flourescent(sp) lighting, so maybe it isn't as pink as I think it is. I also cast on for Rachelle's baby's hat last night, hereafter known as "pink baby hat." The dye work on this is one of the stranger skeins of Koigu I've seen. It's mostly pinky ranging to lavender, with a few random splotches of dark purple that look more like drips then an actual conceived colorway. Luckily the splotches don't look wicked bad on the finished fabric, though that could be a blessing of garter stitch on tiny needles. I've made this hat once before; it's a garter stitch hat done on two needles with a rolled brim (just a few rows of stockinette). When making this hat I had a dilemma - do I cast it on dpns, and try and do a circular garter stitch? Or do I do it flat (like that pattern calls for) and seam up the back? I settled for flat, because I figure at this point my seaming skills may be up to the challenge. We'll see.

This is kinda cheezy, but I'm really excited by all my knitting right now. I've solved a lot of tension and evenness problems, and everything I make just looks so good now. I'm pretty happy. I haven't steered much out for garter, seed stitich, and stockinette, but it all looks professional now, which wasn't the case even a few months ago. And I'm definitely much faster. I was done with my prescribed rows of Slytherin Scarf before my first break at work, and I'm entering into 20 or so rows on the Rockstar scarf. All while reading 83 pages in The Nanny Diaries, and oh, yeah, doing my job, too!

By the way, as a former "caretaker", this book is amusing the hell out of me. I love all my kids, but some of their parents were another story entirely. There was one family...white carpet. White carpet that they didn't want the 8 month old baby with digestive problems spitting up on. When she was downstairs, she could only play on a blanket on the floor, 3 feet square or so. If her mom came in to see her off the blanket, she'd freak out. Oh, and they didn't put any child safety locks on the cabinets in the kitchen - you see, they were real hardwood, and they didn't want to ruin them. They didn't re-arrange their drawers, either. The knives were still within toddler reach. Eventually they put rubber bands on the handles. The baby pulled them off, luckily when I wasn't there. Then they put on locks that went on the handles, not into the actual wood. That took the 15 month old a little longer to figure out, but not by much. These people also never put outlet covers in...they couldn't find the ones that would match their existing outlets. I swear to gawd.

Been knitting like crazy on the Slytherin Scarf. Everything else is taking kind of a back seat while I read A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin. It's amazing, second in a series. I totally love it. But as a paperback on loan from a friend, I'm not able to read and knit at the same time - it doesn't lay flat, and I can't do the damage I'd have to do to it to make it lay flat. Plus, my wrists have been killing me lately, so I've been trying to take it easy.

Current Projects (in case you were wondering)

* the Slytherin Scarf
* felted bag, take 2
* Mexico sock #2
* top-down Aspen sweater
* tartelette scarf

Those are just the main projects. A lot of other ones pop in and out of rotation. Soon to be added: Rockstar scarf, and baby hat for my cousin Rachelle. Hmmm, maybe I can get Matt to wind the yarn for Rockstar tonight...

I'm going to try and update a little more than usual, since so many bloggers are taking a break. I can understand the need for a break; I've been keeping a blog of some sort since October 2000, and sometimes I get tired of trying to think of something to say. So I take a little break, maybe I post in my regular diaryland diary, or write in a paper journal, or something...but I always get back online eventually, and I hope that a lot of the knitting bloggers will too.

This post was supposed to be from yesterday:

Oh dear. In 3 to 5 business days, I'll be in yarn heaven. I just placed a KnitPicks order, and received my threadbearfiberarts order. I had ordered sock yarn for me (LL in Aslan) and some Koigu for Rockstar, and Koigu for some baby stuff for my cousin Rachelle's upcoming girl baby. I LOVE the red/violet colourway I got for Rockstar, and can't wait until the KnitPicks order comes with the Apart so I can start it!

I'm sticking pretty well to the 8 rows a day rule on the Slytherin scarf.

Let's see, what have I been doing that's knit related lately...I've been doing pretty well sticking to my 8 rows of Slytherin Scarf a day. We went to visit Matt's parents and grandparents this weekend for Mother's Day, and Matt's mom was very interested to see what I was working on. She just finished a birthday present for Matt's sister, so she has nothing on the needles right now. On Sunday morning, before church, she did 8 rows for me on the scarf!

I started a top-down raglan sweater from the Aspen I got on sale from KnitPicks. I like the pattern, I can understand how it works, but I'm unhappy with my increases. I've taken it off the needles, and I'm ripping back to the beginning. I found the Interweave Knits from last fall, which has the article about different types of increases. I think I'm going to change my plan of attack on that.

Still plugging away on Mexico #2, and spending lots of time daydreaming about future projects. Right now, foremost in my mind is that turtleneck made out of another KnitPicks sale yarn. I do have a couple yarn purchases in mind, and then I'm going to try to work with what I have until the end of summer. It's a tall order, but it needs to happen. My yarn situation is a little ridiculous at this point.

I'm trying to talk myself out of buying ridiculous amounts yarn. I found two sweaters that I can make from KnitPicks sale yarn....including a really great turtleneck from last fall's IK from the Herstia.

Just say no, Jenn.

Today's big knitting news: getting serious about the Slytherin Scarf. To recap - I'm knitting my friend Kris a "Harry Potter" scarf in Slytherin Scarf colors. Originally, I'd hoped to do this for Christmas, but I was not able to find the perfect yarn - it needed to be close to the colors in the movie, and at least partially wool. I found the yarn in early January, and hoped to get the scarf done by late January, in time for her birthday. All together now, folks - "Yeah, right."

So now the scheduled date of completion is June 21st, the day the next Harry Potter book comes out.

Slytherin Scarf Stats:

7 stripes completed.
14 more to go.
26 rows per stripe.
364 more rows.
47 more days.
8 rows a day, approximately.

(incidentally, there are 100+ stitches for row, but the math for that was too frightening.)

lame lonely link
* source for Henry's Attic yarn

Man, I read about Squib's kayaking adventures, and all I want to do now is go canoeing on some upstate NY quiet little lake. I used to do that all the time, back when I lived in NY, with my mom who had a canoe.

Not much knitting progress to report. I am almost done with fixation sock #1, and it's coming out a little too small. I'm hoping to give them to a friend. I like the fabric this yarn makes, but I'm unimpressed with how much it ladders. I don't have a dramatic laddering problem with anything but fixation. I think it must be the stretchiness.

Well, I can't really say that it was a good knitting weekend, but it was a good finishing weekend. I finally seamed up and added buttons to the now ended neverending baby sweater. I wove in the ends, and decided to tack down the top of the red sock to make picot edging, rather than just leaving it roll top with a row of eyelets (that was my lazy design element). And I did start felted bag #2. I'm going to follow a pattern this time, so hopefully it will turn into a bag, rather than a felted bolster.

I like the new IK. Better than the last one. But then, I always can find a several more projects to make in IK than in anything else. More comprehensive discussion later, when I've finished all the articles.

I kinda want to make a rockstar scarf. KnitPicks has Apart...and ThreadBear has Koigu...get some nice pastell-y koigu for baby booties for cousins...

Startitis strikes again. Seriously.

And in other news...I'm feeling like some site revamps. This blog may be moving in the near future. But then again, maybe not. Anyone know of any good, cheap webhosts? www.yarnporn.com needs a new home.

links:
* cat pillow, thanks to Erica

* my birthday's coming up. I want this kit, badly.

* and this book

Grrr. I'm cranky with knitting vendors right now. I had yet another order from Patternworks delivered where they tell me that they no longer carry an item. Well, if it's discontinued, take it off your webpage! The other order, the one from 4 weeks ago, has STILL NOT SHIPPED. I think I'm cancelling it today. Sigh. Now I need to find 5,6 skeins cotton twist in tie-dye, which Patternworks didn't have, and size 11 16" circ & bee stripe yarn, which I ordered from the annoying vendor. Blech.

As far as actually knitting goes, I've been knitting like crazy! Working on Mexico #2, and Fixation #1, both of Matt's socks, and also the Slytherin scarf. I've been in such a sock mood lately - they really are the perfect project for work, as long as you are on the leg or foot. Nothing makes stockinette whiz by like multi-tasking. I've picked up Bella a few times, but I can't work on it when a) I've just gotten out of the shower, b) when I'm dressed for work, c) when I've got my contacts in. The angora fluff is just too agressive. But I'd like to note that the finished material doesn't seem to shed, it just seems to be that the knitting process loosens up all that fuzz and throws it around.

Still haven't seamed up that baby sweater, but since I just wrote a letter to my step-sister, I might as well finish the sweater and put it in the mail along with the letter. That's my goal for the weekend - seam the sweater!

one lousy link:

* four pairs of ebony circs, a la Martha

Lots to say about knitting, too tired to do it. Almost done w/ Mexico sock #1, picked up some yarn at Webs, and ordered a lot from Patternworks. We'll see how well this order goes. I'm going to be going on a stash diet very soon, because hopefully I'm getting a car! So I ran up one more credit card bill, and now I'm going to see if I can go without shopping for yarn until at least the end of June.
Wish me luck!

(luck on the car, and the stash diet. I am so freaking out about the car thing...)

links:

* BeaEllisKnitwear.com

* www.lisaknit.com/ - buttons

* various knitting hints (got this from one of the knitlists...purls perhaps?)

Last night at work I got 1/2 the shawl fringed. Instead of working on it more, I'm racing through Mexico sock #1. After lunch, though, I think I'll go back to the shawl. It would be so nice to get it done.

Started wonton#2 for my friend Rachel last night. Virgil likes his so much he lost it within 4 hours. That's a good sign that he likes a toy. It means that he's played with it so vigorously that it got stuck under something.

And in completely random news - I, rather Matt, found the pair of red wool-ease socks that I knit for my mom. They have been missing for 8 months. They were stuck in one of the blankets we have lying around. Matt was picking up blankets to put away for the spring, and he found them stuck in one of them when he was refolding it. Now I just need to weave in some ends and send them to Mom. I had seriously given up on ever finding them.

Ooh, reading Ann's blog about using Labrador...reminds me of this yarn I got on sale, a thick and thin online yarn, the # of which I can't remember. I got 2 balls, which turned out to be not enough for anything. I'm thinking that with a ball of Labrador, I can make this scarf, and stripe it. We shall see. Hmmm...maybe limeade stripes...something about purple and green is very appealing.

links

* Swedish knitting site - in English!. I love this sweater.

* Bair Isle

I've never quilted before, but I need to make this T-shirt quilt. I have too many t-shirts that are just not wearable anymore, but too many memories to throw them out. I remember when I was little, my sister and I would wear our parents t-shirts as nightdresses during the summer time. I remember wearing my dad's Boston Celtics shirt, and my mom's crew shirt, and field hockey, and lots of other extra-curricular Wellesley shirts. I would ask her what each one meant, and she'd say, "Oh, this was from when I was on Intramural Crew...crew is when you are in a long thin boat and you all row at the same time. Like in the movies, when they say, 'stroke! stroke!' We used to do crew on the Charles River in Boston."

This entry makes me miss my mom. I saw her on Saturday, and showed her all my knitting projects. She didn't seem tooo interested (my sister can't wait for me to teach her again), but then she sent me an email today saying that she was impressed by the sock - she wanted to know if it was hard using such tiny needles.

I've been busy trying to make up a birthday list, and I've decided - I need a swift, too. It would make winding that huge nasty hank of ebay yarn into balls SOOO much easier.

Finished the homespun shawl...well, almost. It desperately needs fringe. I don't think that often, but it does. Trust me on this. Last night I finished a wonton for Virgil. Pics of that when it's daylight.

I'm considering making the Baby Norgi in an attempt to a) use up some stash and b) learn some new techniques. I wonder how well steeking works with acrylic yarn? It isn't quite as "sticky" as wool. Practice for Matt's Dale of Norway project in the far future.

I bought some more yarn for Kool-Aid dyeing today. I don't know what I'm going to do with all this bits of yarn. I think some more socks, of my own design even? Who knows. But it will be full of eye-popping kool-aid color. I've got grape and orange from my local 7-11. I also bought even MORE buttons for the baby sweater. I think I'm going to sew on the pretty ceramic ones, and send the plastic as "just in case" with some extra yarn. I'll try to knit a hat and socks to go with it, but mail those separately.

You will never, ever guess what I did last night.

I finished the never ending baby sweater.

Of course, by finish I mean that I bound off and just need to block, seam, and attach buttons, but seriously, I can do that all tomorrow. I am SO thrilled that I got this done.

To celebrate, I immediately cast on for a tank top in cotton twist - I'm not adding those shiny silver things, though. I'm trying to modify the pattern to do it in the round, as I hate purling cotton. By the way, I cast on 276 stitches at 2:45 a.m. That's how excited I was to be done with the baby sweater!

whoa. I WANT this set. Looks like it would take forever to knit, though. I also desperately want to make janda. I need some pullover sweaters to get me through the damp Massachusetts spring. If only my needles that I ordered two weeks ago would get here. Then I could start that top-down Aspen raglan I have planned...

Last night I cast on for another pair of socks. I won't even tell you how many pairs I have started right now (okay, I will, 3 pairs and 2 singletons), but somehow those new Swallow dpn's were screaming for some socks. And since I did have some needle-less self-patterning yarn around (Mexico, maybe? something Fortissima and rainbow-y) I decided to cast on. And I'm really enjoying it for some reason.

I feel like my startitis is disgusting at this point - I need to finish SOMETHING but I have so many long term projects going that it's hard to feel motivated. Really the only thing that has a deadline is Kris's Slytherin Scarf, and the deadline for that is June 21st, when the next Harry Potter comes out. I guess I can say that I'd like to finish Bella by my birthday (late May) and the tabby socks by Matt's birthday (late June). And I need to finish that stinking baby sweater.

[Rant on] Grumpy about a recent yarn order. I ordered from one online vendor, whose site did not have any notices about being behind, or anything. The email from my order said that I would be notified by email when my order shipped. After 2 weeks, I had still not received an email saying that my order shipped, so I emailed back customer service and asked (very politely) if they knew when it might ship. I got a reply stating that all my components were in stock, but that they haven't shipped yet. What irked me most was this quote:

"We are very behind. The entire industry is swamped...retailers and wholesalers alike."

Well, maybe other retailers are behind. But no one I ordered from. I placed 4 orders recently, and 3 of them I received within 5 to 7 business days. The other one still hasn't shipped in over 2 weeks. This does not sound like the entire industry to me. I think that one line made me mad. "We are very behind" is well and good. "We have doubled the size of our shipping group" is even better. Putting in that one line about the whole industry being swamped sounds too much like an excuse, rather than a real apology.

Okay, [rant off].

no knitting related links today. Instead, I will tempt you with a link to two of my obessions in one - a bag with office supplies in it.

I desperately need this bag.

These are beautiful, but I can't begin to comprehend doing intarsia in cotton. I feel I would need something sticky. Thanks to Michelle for putting this link in her post today.


I got my order from Elann.com today. My word, but they are fast! Nothing big, just the pattern for the landscape shawl (been dying to make one forever) and some swallow dpn's. I think that the 9" length may be a *bit* much, but I was thinking about making that roll-brim sock yarn hat - if only I could remember where I saw it! Does anyone remember where that free pattern is? It shows a roll brim hat, with an inch or so of ribbing, made out of self-patterning sock yarn. I've googled the hell out of it, and I must not be entering the magic words.

links:
* Cascade sock link

* cute baby set from sock yarn, at the bottom

* sock kits

* little turtle knits

Well, I didn't finish the baby sweater. I didn't even knit all that much.

Friday was spent (9 am to 5:30 pm) picking up components for the new bed, and then putting it together. We had to go down to Connecticutt to pick up the mattress from the manufacturer, and then bring it home, then go back to CT to get the bed frame, and bring it home. We then had to take apart the bed that was in the bedroom, move it to the computer room, put it together again, and then put together the NEW bed. In between, we ate lunch, and did several loads of laundry - bed linens, mostly. Then off to dinner and hanging out with friends.

If you want to see what it's like, this is the new bed.

Friday night I watched Real Genius in the computer room while Matt geeked out on his computer. I got two pattern repeats done on the Conwy sock. I really love the Lorna's Laces yarn. It's soooo soft.

Saturday I read, cleaned, and did laundry. I did wind up a ball of Tartellette, and made a huge mess doing it, too. Luckily, not much yardage means there is a limit to must how big of a mess one skein can make, and I did get it finished, no thanks to the cat. Then off to dinner with other friends. Indian food, ice cream, and beer at The Tunnel Bar. Home in time for Trading Spaces and The King of Iron Chefs.

I have made a ton of progress on the homespun shawl, almost done w/ one skein of yarn. And it's homespun, so it's kind of a lot. I did pick up Bella last night, and had a very very very scary moment. There was a bug on one of the balls of Lush. It looked like an inchworm, but orange, not green. I'm kinda freaked out. I have just enough wool to be alarmed at any bug infestation. Most of it is in either Tupperware or a cabinet, but I might need to get some more cedar blocks, just in case.

links from the lists:

* www.awesomeewe.com
* www.becreativebooks.com
* The Spring Garden Maze Shawl
* http://www.strickwear.com
* http://www.maggiesrags.com
* Boxy Silk Window Purse Kit
* toe possibilities

Note: This entry should have been posted last Thursday, the 10th, but I got too busy.

Brought the homespun shawl into work today. Usually I work on either the Slytherin Scarf or Matt's tabby socks, but I decided I need something with bigger needles. Plus, the shawl keeps my lap warm. I'm really looking forward to finishing this. It'll probably stay at work - my office has HORRIBLE climate control.

This weekend I'm looking for some good knitting time - Matt has his 1st edition D&D game with the guys on Saturday, which means I have the day to watch movies he wouldn't like and knit! I have a few movies from netflix that I need to watch and return - Velvet Goldmine and The Pillow Book. I've seen The Pillow Book before, and I loved it. I've been meaning to see Velvet Goldmine forever. So I can have a mini-Ewan
party. I can always round it out with Moulin Rouge.

I should probably use this chunk of time to finish and seam the neverending baby sweater. I am sooooo close to being finished. But I am sooooo tired of it.

P.S. for Amber - Hope you and A. had good birthdays this past weekend!

I've been bogged down by crappy job lately, and not posting much about knitting. I am getting quite a bit done, though.

Bella is temporarily on hold, due to my insane allergies to spring (or should I say winter?). I am already sneezing and snuffling enough, I don't care to throw angora fluff into the mix along with it.

The neverending baby sweater is, well, neverending, as are the neverending slytherin scarf and neverending tabby socks. I am making astonishing progress on all my non-vital, non-gift projects, though. The Kureyon bag is 80% finished, needs one more strap, some seams, and felting. The homespun shawl is coming right along, and I've done enough repeats on the Conwy socks to determine that they are going to look like cute little braids once I've got them going.

At my mom's wedding, I spoke with my uncle and found out one cousin is having a boy, and the other is having a girl. The boy is due in June, I think, and the girl in August. I'm 70% done with a hat for the boy, and would like to at least get 2 pairs of booties/socks done too. As for the girl, I can probably finish the 70% completed sweater and get it to her mom in time for her birth. I do love this baby sweater, and am wondering if I could possibly finish the 9 month size in time for my 8 month old niece to wear it...probably not.

Right now I'm really enjoying my knitting, and the whole lack of posting is more related to a general lack of posting across all my blogs. I think of tons of things to write about in the shower, but sadly, I do not have internet access there.

finally, some links!

* Oh dear god! Did you know that some boys knit? (warning: this article mentions that not only is knitting not just for grandmothers, but it might be the new yoga!)

* San Juan Islanders' Scarves and yarn, from somewhere on the webring

* the butterfly shawl, being discussed on the Ample Knitters list

* free patterns (mostly socks), linked from KnitDad

* more shawls from heartstringfiberarts.com

I cast on for a new project last night. Just a simple homespun triangle shawl. I was able to successfully read and knit at the same time while working on it! Once you get halfway through a hardcover, it will stay open on its own.

I've gotten about 20 rows of the slytherin scarf done this week at work, and I'm mostly done with the soon-to-be-felted Kureyon bag. I'm pretty sure that the fabric will come out fragile, even felted, so I'm begging Matt for some t-shirts to use as linings. Maybe I'll even get around to using that sewing machine of my mom's that I begged her to give me.

This week is kind of crazy because my mom is getting married this weekend. She and Bob have been together for 10 years, and finally moved into the same house this past summer. They never moved in together previous to that because Bob is significantly older than my mother, and felt like since his daughter was grown up, he didn't really want to raise anymore kids. Once the three of us were all off to college (and beyond), he and mom bought a house together. It's a great house, and they seem to be doing well. Bob is very, well, set in his ways, and that's another reason he and Mom didn't really try to live together before. But they are now, and they're getting married, and honestly, I can't wait. It will be weird referring to Bob as my stepfather. He's always just been "Mom's Bob." Anyway, this is so not knitting related. Sorry about that. I guess I just wanted to explain what's on my mind, other than knitting.

And, the wedding means I'll get to see Nana. And show her my projects. The woman who taught me to knit, all those years ago.

Amber pointed out something funny, which I had never realized before. I know I "knit funny." Not really any style, closer to English/American/whatever than Continental, but hardly any style. Amber looked over at me this weekend and said, "You knit like you are crocheting." Which sounds weird, but is exactly true. I guess it's because I crocheted first, or because Nana is a crocheter and a knitter, but whatever it is, that's what it looks like when I'm knitting.

Funny thing is, I don't crochet.

I want to make this shawl. I bet I could, too.

I have more to write, but my "Monday" has been too exhausting.

I read that article*. I got mad, very mad at first. Then, I realized that it was a hideously poorly written article, and instead of working myself into a frenzy, I should feel bad for the author. Just because you are writing an Op-Ed piece doesn't mean you shouldn't try to follow some kind of form. When you are trying to criticize something, you should usually perform some kind of research. There were no comments from knitters, or even knitting experts. Just some meaningless statistics and specious assumptions.

I would wonder about that woman's conception of feminisim, if she felt threatened by women who pursue traditional "crafts." Feminists fought (and continue to fight) for a woman's right to CHOOSE whether she wants to learn to knit, or play basketball, or do both! She obviously didn't take a very good look at the knitblog community. Sure, we have our share of stay at home's, but we've also got a huge amount of technical people, programmers, enginneers, and tech support people like myself. Some of us follow "traditional" female roles, and some of us follow what Tany may consider "traditional" male roles. And as for passively "hiding behind the needles," she certainly hasn't read our blogs! Knitters have opinions on everything and anything, and are at the forefront of a lot of great causes. Check out Theresa's entry a few weeks ago about health insurance for the un-insured. And the Revolutionary Knitting Circle. And for crying out loud, what about Montessori schools? Are we turning those little girls into homemakers? Or teaching children a skill that they can find joy in?

What about the men who knit? From what I hear, that's a growing population, too. What is there excuse? Are they trying to become women? Are they anti-feminist?

I had more to say on this, but I got bored of myself, and Bonne Marie and Erica summed up my thoughts better than I could have.

I'm overdue for a big knitting update, but haven't had the energy lately. Between hating work and feeling anxious about the war situation, I've been feeling a little frivolous writing about my knitting. But then, as someone said on one of the knitting lists, perhaps KnitFlame, this is how I escape from all that.

Last week I taught Nick how to knit...nothing else, just the knit stitch. Then he went away for a week with the homework assignment to make a garter stitch square. I wonder how he's doing. Then, on Friday, I taught my buddy Kris how to knit. Matt thought she'd pick it up easily because she's crafty. She sews, and sews amazingly well (she sewed her own wedding dress) but as anyone can tell you, its apples and oranges. Regardless, she picked up knitting in about 2 seconds. "That's all it is?" she said, incredulous. "When does it get hard?"

"Just wait," I said.

After a little while, about 4 rows worth. I taught her how to purl, did a little bit about the right side and wrong side (which does have an analog in sewing) and whipped out a couple rows of stockinette to show her what knitting and purling does. She then realized, oh, here is where it gets hard. Keeping knit and purl separate and on their own rows gets tricky.

It's weird to be "teaching" people how to knit. My knitting form is horrible, and I've never corrected it. I'm sure that some knitting instructors would be horrible to see what I do. But I've had the motions down since I was about 8 or 9, and even though I didn't knit for years at a time, I never forgot what to do. So to try and show someone who doesn't know how to knit what to do made me re-think what I do. It was...informative.

Sarah and I went to Webs this weekend. She had a gift certificate to use (that we got her for her birthday, actually) and I never turn down a trip to a yarn store! Amber, it would have been a blast if you could have come...and Webs would have been happy, too. :) Sarah was very good, and only went $5 over her gift certificate. I was very bad. I was doing well, I picked up yarn for a current project, and a needle for a current project, and the new FCEK (too much crochet in this issue! my word!) and then...rats. I was looking for the little Vogue Knitting on the Go: Socks book (I have Socks Two and love it) when I spied Folk Shawls. That drove my total from reasonable to indulgent. But I LOVE this book. This book makes me think that I have too much variagated yarn.

Side note: annoyed with Patternworks again. I haven't ordered anything from them for a while, but I was flipping through their catalog, and realized that they are now carrying Pony Pearl circular needles. I'd love to give them a try, so I wandered over to their website, and the new needles aren't listed anywhere that I could find. How disappointing! My most recent experiences with them have been such a let-down that I don't like ordering from them when I can get what I want elsewhere.

Rob, I'm loving the video! I will be getting it back to you very soon. I have to mail a birthday present to my sister, and I'll mail your video on the same day.

Since I brought it up, I got my sister a knitting book for her birthday, as well as some other little crazy school supplies. I had planned on sending her the book and a couple catalogs, and telling her that once she picks out a project, I'll help her with the yarn. I got her Knitting Pretty which I had flipped through at B&N, and liked better than a lot of the other knit-dweeby books out there (i.e. the yarn girls guide to simple knits, and hip to knit). It has a goofy variety of projects that aren't too yarn intensive. However, once the book got to me from Amazon (it was cheaper to order the book and have it shipped than to get it from B&N!), I was very upset. I flipped through it, of course (doesn't everyone pre-read the books they give?), and discovered that some of the projects listed in the book don't have pictures! I understand the lack of schematics in this type of book, but no photographs of finished projects? What on earth is wrong with these people! Thinking maybe I just got a weird copy, I went to B&N and looked at their copy. Same thing. I'm mystified. How can you make a book for beginners without lots of photographs? I'm still going to send it to my sister, because I think she will like some of the projects, and they seem to be pretty simple, but I'm still anoyed.

Onto my current projects:

1. Making slow row-by-row progress on the Tabby socks for Matt.

2. Inching through the never ending baby sweater. Made it through the second sleeve shaping, and have only got 35 or so more rows to go. Only problem is buttonholes. The buttonholes themselves are fine, but I need to put in more than the 4 they advise, and I need to buy more buttons. I'm strongly considering making my own.

3. I'm about 4 or so inches into the back of Bella. I love, love, love the yarn, Lush. The cat does too. Virgil likes to suck on it, which is gross, I know, but kind of funny.

4. I've started a bag in Noro Kureyon, to be felted. I'm thinking it will probably need a linig of some sort, as the felted Kureyon doesn't seem very strong, but I love the stripes.

5. Slytherin Scarf - making slow progress.

6. In other project news, I love my new ball-winder, and so does Matt. He has wound several skeins into center pull balls, and even asked me, "Don't you have any more?"

Phew. My updates have sucked this week. I'm looking forward to a "weekend" (I have Fridays and Saturdays off) of knitting goodness. Kris (the one I'm making the Slytherin Scarf for) is coming over tomorrow for knitting lessons. She's hoping to pick it up fast enough to work on some dim sum. Saturday I'm going to Web's with Sarah, so she can spend the gift certificate we got for her birthday. While I'm there, I can keep my eyes open for a few things I need...though I am on a pretty strict budget. I know I sound very responsible when you read that sentence. It's good that you can't hear the inner monlogue, which is piping up, "but you have a credit card..."

To look for when shopping:
* Knitter's Magazine Issue 53, 69, 70
* more of that yarn
* addi turbo 2.5 mm 40"

I try to keep this pretty apolitical. This is my knitting blog, and I have others for other purposes. But this quote has helped me express myself through the day, and I've put it everywhere. Thanks to a life uncommon:

"Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events."
Sir Winston Churchill

Just a quick list, in lieu of actual content.

projects to be made from stash:

* get more pink cotton twist, and make a crazy pink tank top! alternatively, get more reasonable colored cotton twist, and make a more subdued tank top.

* find out what that yarn is, find more, and do a striped cardigan.

* finish the two afghans, ripple and basketweave.

* finish the other stash buster baby afghan.

* socks, socks, socks!

Not too much knitting this weekend. I did start on Bella, though (yay!) and I'm 10 rows or so into the back. I love how soft the yarn is, but the fluff that sticks to my clothes is a bit annoying. I certainly hope it loses some fluff in the wash. Virgil loves this yarn, which I can't blame him. Between the wooly smell (which I like) and the rabbit fluff, it's a very lively yarn. Lennie in Of Mice and Men could have used a skein of this stuff.

I have a little more to say, I actually did do one other knitting related thing this weekend, but I'll talk about that tomorrow, when I can post a picture.

Oh, and thanks to those who commented more (Theresa and Hope!) on the knitting for men issue. I really do have an inquiring mind - it's nice to know it's not just Matt who is ultra picky!

Time for me to tackle the topic - knitting for men. Or in this particular case - knitting for Matt. The only other men I've knit for is the 2 yr old nephew (I made him a hat - I know I'm nuts...what toddler likes hats?) and Mom's fiancee Bob. I knit Bob a pair of shamrock-green socks, which I know is one of his favorite colors. He has no less than 3 sweaters in that color already.

But Matt...there's a horse of a different color. I know what to knit for him. Exact copies of the knit garments he already has. He wears the same clothes all the time, and when they wear out, he buys new ones the same as the old. I don't buy clothes for him often, but if I did, I would know better then to buy him anything new. The one pair of socks I am making him now are close replicas of the 8 or 9 pairs of wool-blend hiking socks that he already has. Tweedy, marled yarn, 2 by 2 rib, neutral colors. I showed him one of the "masculine" jaquard self-patterning sock yarn, thinking the colors would be okay, but the pattern just made him cringe.

I told Matt last night about the knitting for men discussion, and asked him how he felt about stripes. He didn't answer that, so I took it as a "uh, no." Trust me, if there's one thing I can do, it's interpret his silences. I asked him about sweaters, if he would consider an Aran. He thought about it, and said probably not. I explained a Guernsey, and showed him a picture in one of the Debbie Bliss books. He said probably not. The color scheme of a Guernsey is more his style, but he's not into textural stitches. He has 2 raglan, rolled hem and neck sweaters, both charcoal gray. He has 1 v-neck sweater, ribbed neck, hem, and cuffs - charcoal gray. If I really wanted to make him happy, I would duplicate one of the 2 raglans he already has, in a more natural yarn (I think one is 50/50 cotton/acrylic, and one is wool/acrylic). I asked him if he could think of a sweater besides those that he would wear. His answer:

"One like the ones we saw in Disney."

Do you know what sweaters we saw in Disney? I'll give you a hint - Epcot, the Norway Section. Yup, that's right. He would love (and wear, he claims) a Dale of Norway sweater. I'm blown away by this, but with his blue eyes, long blond hair, and reddish beard, I bet he'd look awfully Scandinavian. I told him he could have one in about 5 years. I need to get much much better before I can get started.

Note to self - now that Amy mentioned it, look for the new family circle easy knitting.

P.S. - I just remembered something that annoyed me, and I thought I'd share. When I went shopping to pick up yarn for a bunch of Silk Garden hats, I bought 3 different skeins. The lady who was ringing them up looked at me and said, "You do realize that those are all different colors, right?" I may be a little too sensitive, but this irritated the hell out of me.

Still not really doing much, several rows of sock, a few rows of obsolete baby blanket...nothing too exciting. I might cast on some baby booties to rip through this funk.

links

* how did i not know about this?

* another fixation sock pattern

* Kat Coyle's gallery - thanks to staceyjoy

* country turtle blog

Nothing much to report here. Haven't made any significant improvement on the baby sweater or Slytherin scarf - mostly been working on Matt's scarf, and resisting casting on a sweater for me. I now have enough yarn for 3 different sweaters - I really want to start one, but don't know if I should. I think I need more stitch markers before I'm brave enough to start Bella.

links

* the perfect link for right now - top down raglan calculator

* lots of links

* beaverslide dry goods

I have a disease. It's called "impulse and compulsory yarn shopping." I know I have a disease, and somehow all that awareness doesn't keep me from craving new yarn and new projects. I got some Lorna's Laces Sport, in Forest, and now I really, really, really want to do the Friday Harbor socks in Knitting on the Road. However, since I got only one skein (impulse buy!!), I can't start them. And besides, I already have at least 3 prs of socks on the needles. I also found some opal bumblebee, and I want it want it want it! I also want lorna's laces bee stripe, but that's a Hufflepuff thing.

I'm all over the place tonight. I think I'll just stop here.

one lonely link
* http://www.shelridge.com/

This weekend I was kind of lazy. I finished the cottage socks (wearing them right now), worked a little on my two-handed fair isle swatch (will take a picture when it actually looks like something) and spent some time hating the garter stitch baby sweater some more. I debated on whether it actually needs buttonholes. I'm not looking forward to trying to figure out where I want to put them. I've also decided that the buttons I picked, while absolutely adorable, make no sense for this sweater. They are ceramic, big, and heavy, and will drag the sweater down and make it un-machine washable, which was the whole point of doing it in Wool-Ease to begin with. Anyone have button ideas?

I've driven by this store a few times - I wondered if they sold knitting stuff. Looks like they do.

links
* knitwear as art?
* Interlacements, and according to Knitter's Review, where to buy Interlacements yarn

I've been lax in posting to all my diaries, blogs, etc. lately. Not too great with email, either. I'm just too much of a mess. So, in lieu of any real content, here are some pictures:

This is the pair of socks I'm working on for Matt. I'm doing them toe-up, because I'm not quite sure how long one skein of wildfoote a sock is going to last. I've started them both, just because toe increases are deadly boring to me. I'm doing one of them using the Magic Loop technique, and as soon as I get past the increases on the other, I'll switch from dpn's to one circular. I like the Magic Loop.

Here's a shot of the voodoo #1 in progress. They're both done now, and I've been wearing them for a while, but this is one of the best shots of the colors.

Here's Matt modelling the Slytherin scarf-in-progress. I would like to point out that his head chopped off is not due to my photography skillz, but to photoshop. He did not want his picture up. Wuss.

Virgil. I am a doting kitty parent, and I have more pictures of him then you would have thought possible!

I had a crappy day at work...and I'm so not going into it here. Suffice it to say I left early, and now I'm home. Hopefully I'll get some project pictures taken tomorrow, and I'll post them. I'm dying to start a new project, but resisting fiercely. I cast on for Matt's second sock, hoping that would singlehandedly keep both startitis and second sock syndrome at bay. So far it's kind of working. I keep looking at the pattern for Bella and whispering, "soon my lovely, soon." Creepy, eh?

In other news, I watched the Philosopher's Wool video today (thanks again, Rob!) and was thrilled to discover the techinique I worked out on my own for my practice swatch was right on for weaving in as you go! I feel soooooo cool that I figured it out on my own, and watching the video made it so much clearer. I watched it all the way through once, and I'm going to cast on with my Kool-Aid yarn to practice it later. I do love seeing all those sweaters, too. Some day I'll make one. Oh yes, some day.

Well, that's about all I can bear to post for today. I'm exhausted and anxious, so I'm going to go have some sock therapy.

I'm going to bring the slytherin scarf home this weekend for some end weaving and a photo. Kathy asked to see it, and I have been longing to post its progress. Maybe then I can get moving a little faster on it! Though, I did get 12+ rows done at work. I was walking a customer through his email set up in Outlook Express when he said, "How many times a day do you do this?"

"Honestly, sir, I don't even know. Some days at least 10 or 15 times."

"Sounds mind-numbingly boring."

"Well," I said as I finished the last green row in a slytherin stripe, "you get used to it."

Oh! And I almost forgot! There was a package outside my door when I went to work today! I put it in my apartment, and didn't open it yet, but I think it's my ball winder! I wonder if I can talk matt into being a swift for a night?


current lust:
* Dawn Brocco socks and tunic
* In the Mood


wishful thinking:
* Shetland Sea Shawl
* Diamond Eyes Shawl - in Navajo, I think

on the needles
* cottage socks (50% done)
* endless garter baby sweater for Madison (68% done)
* toe-up sock for Matt (10% done)
* the Slytherin Scarf (20% done)

on deck
* Bella
* lots more socks
* Homespun Shawl - either the pattern that is in the newest Lion Brand catalog, or one of these: 1 2

Link
* interesting book reviews, and tons of other links

* Dawn Brocco's Links

* Pointed out on the knitflame list...can you spot the typo/Freudian slip on this page?

Last night I finished one Cottage Sock, made from Wool-Ease Thick and Quick, charcoal grey. Matt was mocking me - saying it was Sasquatch sized, but it came out perfect. And warm and soft. Now I just need to make the second. This was my break from little needle knitting, and I got the first sock done in about a week. I only knit it after work, before bed, for just a little bit. I hope to get the other one finished this week.

Got one more stripe done on the Slytherin Scarf, for a total of 5 (out of 26). Also finished the right front on the never-ending baby sweater. Movies definitely help with garter stitch. I watched most of Carmen: A Hip Hopera today. Took a break to make lunch, and go to work.

A word about Carmen...I love cover songs, and movie remakes. I love comparing them to the original. I've never seen Carmen performed, but like a lot of people, I'm familiar with the famous arias, and the basic plotline. In high school, my spanish class watched a remake of Carmen, which was very convoluted - it was a movie about a play, which was of the opera Carmen. Interpreted through flamenco. I can't find a link to it online, but here's a page that described it. This movie changed the way I thought about movie remakes, and movies in general. It was wonderful. So, I thought I'd watch the Hip Hopera...and I am enjoying it. I loved the bit with Li'l Bow Wow rapping about how Hill and Carmen are like "Tony and Maria." A nod to a remake, by a remake. Beautiful.

later

found a link to the version of Carmen I love...Carmen(1983)


Links

* make it w/ wool contest from Kippers for Breakfast

* beehive wool

* revolutionary knitting circle - not to be confused with Knitting for Anarchists


* virtual museum

I just got an email that the new knitty is out.
I haven't gone and looked at it yet.
I'm savoring the moment.

Silly knit moment of the week: I knit at a party. But I was a chicken. I didn't get out my knitting until Amber got out hers.

One Measly Link
* Free Debbie Bliss Pattern

Nothing much to post today. Made a lot of knitting related purchases today - I'm destined to blow my March yarn budget before it's even March! I am holding some $$ in reserve to order a few more things, but since I wanted to order my sister a book, I figured I may as well pick up some things for myself. And I really do need a ball winder to work on Bella, since all I have are all those skeins lying around. And I've always wanted to try Lorna's Laces...and so on, and so on. I'm sure we're all familiar with the rationalizations. :)

Last night I also started a new project - toe-up socks for the very patient boyfriend. I was nervous about knitting him something, not because of the Boyfriend Sweater Curse, but because he's so particular about things, and his mom is a practically-perfect knitter (who knows better than to knit things for him). When I was babbling about my projects last week, he said to me, "Weren't you going to make me some socks?" I was surprised he mentioned it, and I'm only too happy to start another project. So I'm doing a pair of toe-up socks in Wilde Foot, Tabby. I am noticing a splitting issue, but then, I could split floss with these size 1 Brittany DPNs.

No links today, but I wanted to update anyway. There always seems to be a lull in posts during the middle of the week, so I thought I'd put something new up, as trifling as it may be.

Yawn. I am sooooo tired today. It's astonishing what happens when my only caffeine intake all day is one 20 oz. diet coke. I finished a silver stripe on the Slytherin scarf. Yay! 4 down, 17 to go.

I think I'm going to get my sister some knit related gifts for her birthday on March 11th. She learned to knit from our Nana when she was little, too. She was the recipient of my first project when I re-entered the knitting world in the fall of 2001. It took me about 4 months, but I made her a HUGE garter stitch chenille scarf, striped blue-flecked and burgundy. I don't even know if I have a picture anywhere, but it was wonderful to make it for her. She loved the stuff I made for our stepsister's daughter, and was considering jumping into the knitting world again. When she moved into her tiny studio apartment, she found some aluminum needles and bits of acrylic yarn. She still hasn't picked them up, but is thinking about it. I thought I'd start her off with some bamboo needles and nice yarn, but I can't think of a project to get her started on. There is the ubiquitous scarf, but she's already got one *grin*. I'll think more on this later. Right now, I need to post this entry before I lose steam and put it off again.

Links

* Fuzzy Galore's Peace Chart

* another blog

* shopping for nicole - Amazon, KnitPicks, Patternworks

Yesterday's Entry:

I soooooo want to start Bella. Like, really, really badly. But I need to finish the garter stitch baby sweater, and start socks for the boyfriend. I got a lot done on the baby sweater watching Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - which sucked horrendously, by the way.

After wearing them for a day, the Voodoo Wrist Warmers have loosened up around the thumb, which is great. Might be bad news for buttons, but good for my chubby thumbs.

current knitting wish list:

* ball winder

links list

* Tongue River Farm from Theresa - I want the sock yarn.

* toe up sock pattern linked from crafty bitch...I like the heel, and will probably try it on the boyfriend's socks.

This was yesterday's entry...couldn't post it because blogger was down for maintenance:

Just finished Voodoo Wrist Warmer #2. Now the question remains...can I type in them? The answer is a resoundign "yes!" I can knit in then too! The buttonhole on #2 is gorgeous, but tight, and that might be the only thing standing in my way. My apartment is very hot right now, so I'll probably leave these at my work desk. We have radiator heating at home, and no thermostat, so we have to turn each radiator on or off. It's too cold to have them all off all the time, so usually we leave one or two on until we're sweating, then turn them off. We've been sitting around the apartment in shorts and t-shirts for the last 4 days.

Now that the Voodoos and the Feets are done for me, I feel like I can get back into my current projects. I can work on the Slytherin scarf at work, and the baby sweater at home. Once the baby sweater is done, it's time to cast on for Matt's socks. I think I've made the poor boy wait long enough. After that, I really need to start on the layettes for the two summer babies.

links

* knit lingerie from White Lies Designs

* a free knit skirt pattern, also from White Lies Designs

* the new VK - it's on my list. That and the last Knitter's, the infamous "scarf" issue. Oh, and the Cast On w/ the SP column.

* Black Water Abbey Yarns..can't remember where I found this link

* Yarn Over - exhaustive list of lace links. I know I got this link from someone's blog, but I do not remember who.

Sock idea:

Double strand Koigu, rib on #5 (2 X 1?) foot on #4
4 sk of this would make some nice comfy boy socks...and maybe some of this for me...

The notes above came from thinking in notepad.exe at work. That's where most of my entries come from...when I get in to work, I open notepad, and keep a running list of all the links I've found that I'd like to go back to, funny quotes, knitting progress, etc. At the end of my shift, I neaten things up and plop them in the appropriate blogger/diaryland accounts.

Not much knitting news today - got another 10 or so rows done on Voodoo Wrist Warmer #2 while waiting for customers' computers to reboot. If anyone ever wonders what I do, I do internet technical support, cable modem and dial-up, for a regional ISP on the east coast. It's interesting work, but exhausting. And, no offense to any novices out there, but it is a lot of the same easy stuff, day after day. I don't mind the novices, though. It's the folks who are network admins that drive me batty. Strangely enough, my real lust in life is psychology. Mmmmm...neuroses. And child development, creative writing, philosophy, cognitive psychology, comparitive literature, education theory - the list is huge. I have taken classes on all those things in my 2 1/2 or so years in higher education. Please note that the one thing I never studied is what I do all day!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get in some good knitting. I think Matt is going to busy for some of the day, so if I get my taxes done early, I can work on his scarf. If not that, then the VWW#2, or the baby sweater. I've got to start finishing things!

Soooo close to being done with Voodoo Wrist Warmer #1. I did the tricky buttonhole which looks great, but does have a huge hole - and I don't mean the buttonhole, I mean next to it. It is very like the hole you get when you pick up gusset stitches. I think I know why it happened, and I'll be able to avoid it for #2, but I do NOT feel like ripping back. Nope. So I'll probably tie a very tiny series of knots w/ extra yarn to close it.

Took some pictures this morning of the cat and VWW#1 in progress, I'll try to post them later. I'm working on finding a way to do photo albums that I like. I found a simple template here, and put up some pictures of Virgil using it. Any feedback would be great; do you think this photo album style would work for knitting projects? Oh, and while it looks like there are several of the same picture of Virgil on the ugly tan couch, they are all different pictures, mostly different days. That's one of the few places that he holds still long enough to capture his picture in natural light!

note: as of 5:00 PM eastern time, hippygoth.com was down...should be up soon, i hope, or i'll need to email my host!

Links

* Rocket Science - knitting blog I found, thanks to a comment left about my cute kitty.

*later that same day*

Finished Voodoo Wrist Warmer #1. I love it. Adjustments I should have made...my thumbs are a little too fat, but if the buttonhole was even one stitch bigger, it would probably be too loose. I should probably have also either extended the top past the buttonhole at little longer, but I was too impatient. I really think these are going to work! I'm so psyched. Thanks, Bonne Marie!

Oh, and this is my new blogchalk:
United States, Massachusetts, Holyoke, Highland, English, jenn, Female, 21-25, knitting, dreaming. :)

Yesterday, just for fun, I searched for some charts online to practice some 2 color knitting. I just did a tiny swatch, and boy, was it fun, intense, and scary. I have never done anything but stripes, and textural stitches, so I didn't even know what to do w/ the yarn I wasn't using. I kind of wrapped it around the stitches I was making, making sure that it didn't peek through. I'm not sure if that's what's supposed to happen or not, but I dearly long to learn how to do more advanced color knitting. To that end, my new most longed-for item is this video - The Original Philosopher's Two-handed Fair Isle and Other Stories. I wouldn't turn down the book, Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified, either.

Ooh, discovered this list on Amazon...

Thanks to the snow day yesterday, I powered through my slump on the Baby Sweater Take Two. I now am 1/3 the way through the left front. Since the sleeves are knit at the same time as body, that means once I finish the left front, I only have the right front, then I'm DONE!

Amazingly enough, I have no links today.

I'm starting to really love the Voodo Wrist Warmers. I'm making them at work though, so they will probably go really slow. I want to be wearing them right now! I was nervous about holding together 2 strands of varigated yarn, but it's working out unbelievably well. I think since it's koigu, and there are such short color repeats that it works out better than something with longer repeats. And I think they will be really warm, too.

I found some bamboo size 9's last night, so I think the baby sweater take 2 will get moved to that tonight. And I got 12 rows (1 pattern repeat) done on Matt's scarf yesterday. So I'm moving along on that nicely. I'm feeling the urge to work on the Aspen sweater...I must fight it! But I want my own warm sweater so bady.

I feel very reassured from everyone else's FF entries - most people are finding that one felts faster than the other. I really hope mine will finally be dried out enough to wear tonight!

As for current vegan/knitting topics - no one is going to convert. Just drop it. With that said...I am so thoroughly resisting posting that it is painful. I hate it when I feel like I can't get involved in the conversation because no one will listen. For the record - I was a vegetarian for almost 4 years, mostly for animal rights reasons. Factory farming in particular. Due to my inability to eat healthily, I went back to eating meat about 4 years ago. However, I am still incredibly aware of what I'm eating and where it comes from. Especially with the dairy industry. There was one point being debated. point 1: I heard that farmers keep milking cows to make them keep producing milk long after they would have stopped. counterpoint 1: At some point that milk does dry up, no matter what. Farmers are not forcing them too much. My point: Cruel artifical insemination practices keep cows producing far more calves then they normally would in a natural lifespan, so as to keep them providing milk.

Phew. I'm searching for new blog templates for this and my links/stream of consciousness blog. Anyone have any suggestions?

Links

* another knitblogger - lisa knits

* courtesy of lisa knits - jbtocker's bookmarks

Okay folks. Here I go. The fuzzy feet are currently in the wash.

I'm a little nervous.

On the other hand, I've totally enjoyed this knit-along. It's kinda nudged my other projects out of the way, but that's almost okay. I was starting to stress about the long term, major project kind of stuff. I'm particularly intimidated by the 6+ more feet I have to go on the Slytherin scarf. Thank goodness I have until June 21st for that.

The other major project is the baby sweater, take 2. The first try was cute, but I think too small, and there was a big gaping (okay, only a quarter of an inch, but noticable to me) hole that I somehow thought was okay to keep going by. Not to mention made out of some truly horrible on my hands acrylic I had in my stash. Sweater #2 is lavendar wool-ease, and I like the way it's coming out, but it's all garter stitch, and I'm up way over a 100 stitches per row. Doesn't help that it's on aluminum needles, which I don't really enjoy knitting with anymore. Not that I ever really did...I always preferred plastic.

Project #3 is the man's scarf from the Vogue Knitting Men's issue that I started for Matt. It's a Kureyon scarf, and I'm mostly through 1 ball of yarn out of 3. I love it, and I love working on it, but I didn't want Matt to see it before I was done, and I just don't have a whole lot of knitting time when he's not around. This is the scarf I call the Groundhog Day scarf because it was supposed to be done by Groundhog Day. Oops.

One F.F. felted faster than the other...my one concern, that I put too much eyelash in (for a full 2 inches or so) to make the cuff felt, seems to be coming true. Oh well, I don't really mind the loose cuff, and I'll know better for next time.

Oh! Oh! We have just had a very exciting experience...foot #1 was out of the washer and drying on a towel. I was waiting for #2 to be done, and I noticed the cat playing with something...oh no. It's a mouse. The first mouse we've seen since moving here in August, and as far as we know, the first mouse Virgil (our cat) has ever seen. There was a very interesting 5 minutes as Matt and I debated what to do. I wanted to catch it and let it go outside. Matt wanted to let Virgil kill it and then flush the remains. Virgil wanted to play with it then eat it. All the while, I was closing doors. I did not want an injured mouse wandering through the apartment, trailing blood and germs. (I am a little prejudiced against mice, though I have had rats as pets.) At the same time, my fuzzy foot #2 was in the washer, agitating furiously.

Decision was made. Matt grabbed the mouse and flushed it. I was a little freaked out, but honestly, there wasn't much else to do. We live in an apartment in a city. The options were: let the cat kill it slowly, put it out to freeze in the street - slowly and injured, or let Matt do what he seemed determined to do.

After the mouse was, er, gone, I rescued fuzzy foot #2, which, with a little bit of coaxing, was just big enough. I was actually tempted to put foot #1 back in for a few minutes, which worked out okay. As for Virgil, he meowed plaintively, running back and forth up and down the hallway, looking for the mouse. He is not happy that it disappeard. I think he takes it as a personal failure, despite Matt thanking him and giving him a treat. He's currently sulking on the computer room floor.

Here's a picture of Virgil in a happier moment. Lots of pictures get taken when he's on the couch, due to natural light, and a snoozy kitty.

Links

* koigu sock pattern

* 3-D pattern

* Smiley's Yarns

I'm sure everyone has an imaginary yarn store in their head. I'm planning a yarn/book store. Oh, and I'll sell Jenn I. and Ann's craft projects, and Kris and I will sell our line of tech-geek makeup. Yup. And it will be called "The Incorrigible Knitter."

That's what I feel like today. Against all my better instincts, I cast on for the Voodoo wrist warmers. I can't help it! The winter is so long and cold! I'm thinking I will leave this project in my work drawer, though. I'm doing it with a double strand of Koigu. I think it's closest to p624,

I'm going over to Jenn I.'s house Saturday (hopefully) and I will bring either my Fuzzy Foot #2 and/or Matt's Groundhog Day scarf (notice that it is past Groundhog Day now - I suck). I really want to get the Fuzzy Feet done, partially for the DONE thing, and partially because I really want to wear them!

I am sooooo not articulate today. I think I'm just gonna quit while I'm ahead.