Plays with Yarn

Moving day!

2005-05-19T00:27:00.000-04:00

Yep, I like the new blog software enough to start using it. My new URL is http://homepage.mac.com/allenjl/thingamablog/ ... you Blogliners can subscribe from that URL. LJers, add playswithyarn2 to your friends list...unfortunately, once you create a syndication feed, you can't change it, so I had to just create a new one.

Still working out some design bits, but nothing that'll affect the functionality, so come on over! I've even got content...I imported the most recent posts from my Blogger feed so it wouldn't look all empty.

FYI

2005-05-18T17:56:00.000-04:00

I'm in the process of trying out some new blog software (something I can use my .Mac webspace for, and something with categories, yay!), so if all goes well I'm going to have a new URL for my blog. I'll keep everyone posted.

Seaming is not the devil.

2005-05-18T10:39:00.000-04:00

That doesn't mean I have to like it though.

As soon as I get home today, I'm going to play a little game of "what a difference a year makes." I was seaming Bistro yesterday (yes, that means FO pics!) and realized that I could barely see the seam. A nice contrast from Shapely last year where the seam was so ugly that I never wanted to lift my arms. Here's hoping I can get the macro mode on my camera to work adequately.

So here's Bistro, modeled by a very sexy coat hanger:

Pattern: Bistro Top by Oat Couture
Yarn: Plymouth Fantasy Naturale
Needles: Denise interchangeable sz 8 and 9

(Sharp eyes will notice the unblocked-ness.) Modeled shots will happen on another day. The sleeves hang a bit wonky on me, so I think I need to try to do something about that. If it's even possible. Maybe once I wash it it'll soften up.

Next FO is seen here on a tall skinny floor lamp:

Pattern: none
Yarn: Plymouth Eros (less than half a ball, by my estimate)
Needles: Denise interchangeable sz 10.5

Again, no modeled shots. Kelly tried it on yesterday 3 different ways (belt, headband, and scarf) and they all looked cute.

I need to start something on bigger needles. All of my current WIPs are in fingering weight yarn (yes, even the tank top that appeared on the sidebar last night). If I don't start something else using bigger needles, my hands will go on strike.

grumble

2005-05-17T21:09:00.000-04:00

I just cast on 250 of 270 stitches and have 3 inches of tail left. GRRR. One of these days I'll pull out enough yarn.

A real entry later after I cast on these stitches...because I have even more FO action for you.

EDIT: Later == tomorrow, because my eyes are crossing after all that casting-on.

Waxing melodic about the long-tail cast-on...

2005-05-16T09:36:00.000-04:00

When I first learned to knit back in the day, I could not get the hang of the long-tail cast-on. Granted I was 7 or 8 or some single-digit age like that, but I just couldn't do it. I'd come up with a stringy mess.

When I relearned to knit last year, I still couldn't get the hang of the long-tail cast on. I looked in every single book that I had and tried to follow the pictures, but my hands wouldn't do what they were supposed to do.

A few months ago, I managed to figure it out two-hand style. It was tedious, it was slow, and no matter what I did, it always turned out way too tight. So all these sock sites that said long-tail is one of the stretchiest cast-ons and recommended it OHSOHIGHLY for socks? Laughed in their non-existent faces, did my knitted cast-on, and resigned myself to all my edges looking a little sloppy and loose.

A few days ago, I DVR'ed this episode of Knitty Gritty, because, dude, illusion knitting. I came out of it still not understanding how to make an illusion chart of my own, but there was a bit where Shetha (the guest on the show) demonstrated a long-tail one-handed. I watched it, rewound and watched again, and thought, hmm, that looks fairly easy. Then it all exited my head.

A couple days ago, I needed to cast on for a new pair of socks, as I'd finished the ones I was working on (see last entry...by the way, the pattern for them can be found here), and found myself working a long-tail cast-on one-handed. Somehow...it made sense. It was slow going at first, after all it was something I'd never done before...but as I kept going it got easier. I even managed to have a conversation while doing it (yes, I did lose count a few times, but I didn't have to concentrate on the actual motions). Of course I started knitting on the "wrong side" of the CO, but after I knit a few rounds I realized that the long-tail cast-on when done correctly does indeed S-T-R-E-T-C-H!!!

I consider myself an intermediate knitter. I love cables and texture and don't shy away from a pattern because it seems complicated...I welcome the complicatedness! So how in the world am I JUST NOW discovering long-tail? *grin*

By the way, Bistro is still not completed. I still have to make myself sit down and do those seams. Perhaps tonight.

Amazing...

2005-05-13T18:22:00.000-04:00

I might have 2 FOs in one day! This morning on my dentist trip (my dentist is so far away on the bus route that it took the entire morning for a 1-hour visit) I finished the Fixation socks:

I definitely have to show you detail of the heel flap:

(The color is way more accurate in this one. Damn flash washing out colors.)

AAAAAAND I've almost finished the knitting part of the Bistro Top. I have to bind off the shoulders together, knit the collar, and seam the sides. Easily accomplished before the Boy arrives, provided I just suck it up and deal with the seaming. I dislike seaming OMGSOMUCH. Should have done it in the round.

And here's some BONUS FO ACTION!!!!

Yeah, I'm still here....

2005-05-09T08:22:00.000-04:00

I've just been knitting too much to blog about it!

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, last week was finals week too, so I was trying to wrap some stuff up in the lab (which is where I usually post from, when I'm taking a break from reading/coding/whatever) and finish up a paper for one of my classes, so the last thing I wanted to do was be on the computer any more than I had to be. But that does mean that when I wasn't doing work I was knitting.

So, the FO Recap!

Bistro Top? I'm up to the sleeve increases on the front, which means I'm almost to where I separate the right shoulder from the left, and it seems to me that it's going to go faster than the back did. Two sets of y rows over x stitches always seems quicker to me than one set of y rows over 2x stitches. (Knitting algebra! Though I suppose we should really write it as 2*t(y,x) < t(y,2x) if we're being all algebraic. Okay, I think that settles it. I'm officially geekier than I ever imagined.)

Samantha's Fixation Socks? Completed one sock yesterday, and am about an inch into the cuff of sock #2. I never seem to have a problem with SSS (Second Sock Syndrome, for those non-knitters I keep around), but that could be that I haven't knit a sock pattern yet that bores me. Give it time, I'm sure I'll find one. I printed out a whole bunch of sock patterns recently, so I'm overwhelmed by my choices for the next pair.

Cinco De Mayo Pi Shawl? This was not named because of the colors (far from it, I'm using Magic Stripes in Purple Pattern, rather blah), but because I started it while I was enjoying a frosty cold Mexican-inspired beverage with Kelly on the 5th of May, which of course is Cinco De Mayo. I've gotten through most of the increase rows, but the rows keep getting longer...and longer... *pant* As long as I remember to click my row counter, it's perfect brainless knitting. (Hence why I started it while enjoying a frosty cold beverage.)

Right. That's all of them. Don't I usually have more going at a time than this? I'm having the new project itch now.

To frog or not to frog....

2005-05-04T09:39:00.000-04:00

...that is the question. Though, given the project in question, there won't be frogging as much as there will be...um, cutting the current work off the unknit yarn.

Yeah, I'm thinking about giving up the beaded scarf. For a couple reasons:

Seriously, can anyone see me wearing ANYTHING beaded?
If it's languished unworked-on for a year, is it truly likely that I'll pick it back up?
Orange Branching Out scarf. Nuff said.

I'll try actually frogging it, but if it makes me cry (it *is* mohair after all) I'll just cut my losses and cut. Or maybe I'll just finish off the last repeat of what I've done and turn it into a...I dunno, something decorative.

Finished the Helen Keller scarf yesterday, will post pictures soon. I need to wash it first to see if it softens up a bit. It's of Schaefer Elaine, which is wonderfully springy and squooshy (yes, that's the technical term), but being mostly merino wool, I expected it to be softer. Must be the binding thread that's interfering with that, but it's worth a wash anyway.

Secret Pal 4 reveal

2005-05-03T11:28:00.000-04:00

I haven't sent out her last package yet, but I e-mailed my SP4 recipient to reveal myself, so I can do it here now too. I've been sending packages to Jaime. She just got engaged, so everyone go to her blog to say congratulations! I've been receiving from...well, I don't know that yet. I'll let you know when I find out though!

Edit: So I discovered a comment on that last post that was dated BEFORE I posted this originally, but for some reason Haloscan is only telling me there's one comment on the post when there are actually 2. Haloscan's been weird lately. I should just break down and get a paid account, then I'd get the e-mail notification. ANYWAY....Kristi has been the one sending to me. She had snow last week...man, I thought we had it bad here in Maine. At least all we've had lately is rain. (Now that I've said that, I'm expecting a blizzard.)

April progress and May goals

2005-05-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

Confidential to Greta: I got my TIGER this morning, but unfortunately he has to remain in the box until I get home from work today.

Edit: Before you get excited, I'm talking about this and not this.

So here are the goals I had for April and how I did on them:

1) Finish Afghan of DOOM. Should be doable as long as I don't try to do it all at once like I did this month. DID IT! (Granted, it's still sitting on my shelf waiting to go out.)
2) Finish all current WIPs. Everything but the Bistro Top. I was having ambivalence issues (see 2 entries ago) but now I have 2 rows to go until the back is finished. I'll be able to finish it this month.
3) Find my poor lost pearl beaded scarf and work on it. It was found, but no work was done on it. It is now officially a YEAR-OLD UFO.
4) Continue the destash project. Oh yeah, this has been fun. I've sold more yarn, done some stash shopping for my SP, and knitting stuff up. Yay!
5) Find a pattern for my laceweight linen. Found a beaded scarf pattern at Elann. Might have to halve the beads, since I don't think I have quite as many as called for, but it'll still be pretty.
6) Finish up SP4 with a bang for my recipient *ponders Knitpicks yarns* I still have one more package to send out...as usual, I'm late with the Big Reveal. *sigh*

May goals:
1) Finish current WIPs. (Typical goal.)
2) Continue destash project. (Again, typical.)
3) Start a project for someone other than myself. (I have a couple lined up.)
4) Mail Michael's afghan.

Bistro has survived

2005-04-29T09:34:00.000-04:00

I decided not to frog my poor Bistro Top. Four reasons:

Kelly gently reminded me of seam allowance last night when I was looking at it
I looked at the pattern last night, and it's designed with quite a bit of ease
If it's a little big, no big deal, I'll probably wear it through the summer then either give it away or frog it, one or the other
I'm still on gauge, believe it or not

Surprisingly, the colors are coming together nicely. No pooling or striping, it just looks like what variegated yarn should look like. I'm almost through the sleeve increases on the back (it's a cap sleeve top, so it looks sort of like this:


     -------
     \     /
      |   |
      |   |
      -----

Add a collar and a V-neck to that horrid line drawing, and you pretty much have it. The comfort of sleeveless, with the shoulder-sunburn-protection of sleeves.

Dilemma

2005-04-28T10:33:00.000-04:00

So those of you who actually come to my blog to read my entries (rather than Bloglines or my LJ feed) might have noticed a new button on my sidebar reading "a different kind of yarn diet." It was Sharon's idea to combine a yarn diet with a, well, diet-diet. That's not my dilemma. Since the yarn store moved to someplace completely inconvenient for me, I haven't had the urge to buy yarn, at least not a very strong urge. (Though I suddenly want to go to Joann's and buy every last skein of Cotton-Ease they have...I've never even used Cotton-Ease, but attach the word "discontinued" to anything and suddenly I WANT...they could discontinue raisins and I'd go buy all I could find.) So not buying yarn until I lose weight...doable.

The problem is using the yarn I have while I'm losing weight. AKA, I want to knit a couple of sweaters before the fall. (Yeah, I'm ambitious, maybe just one sweater.) If I knit it in my current size, it'll be way too big. (I'm optimistic.) If I knit it in any other size, it won't fit in some way when the weather is appropriate for it. It'll be too big, too small, or something. But the Silk Garden and the Lamb's Pride are quite loud in their desire to be knit up. What do I do? (Besides frog the current Bistro Top. Somehow even though my gauge is on, it's looking way wider than the size I'm knitting. I really should frog it and start over.)

(Non-knitting note: I'm starting to think I should go on a parentheses diet as well.)

I need ideas

2005-04-25T11:12:00.000-04:00

Okay, folks. I have a challenge for you. I have 16 skeins of Silk Garden in color #84 that were earmarked for Rosedale, but lately that pattern isn't inspiring me. So....my question to you is, what should I do with it? I'd prefer a cardigan, but I'll consider a pullover. I'm also rather..uh, "generous" for lack of a better word, so I might need resizing help. (I hate math. How did I get into computer science?)

Here's a swatch to show you the color:

And a question since I'm at work and can't just swatch it myself right now: cables in Lamb's Pride Worsted--good idea or no?

I almost wish I liked sewing.

2005-04-22T10:20:00.000-04:00

http://www.rjconklin.com/Fabric.htm

Words and stuff

2005-04-21T08:42:00.000-04:00

Mostly responses to comments from the last couple of posts.

Okay, for the record, that afghan is not nearly as big as it looks in the picture. That's a 3.5x5 foot rug it's sitting on.

Suz, I swear the scarf was coming to life as I was knitting it! I wouldn't be surprised to get home one day to find it lounging in my papasan chair knitting its own scarf. (And you're not dumb. Especially if you get my posts through Bloglines. It's not like it pops up with all related posts when a new post comes up *grin*)

The Pez dispensers came from Beth at Big Geek. She posted a picture on her blog one day and I commented and begged her to send me some. I don't even particularly like Pez, but as you know, I'm obsessed with Hello Kitty. One's just plain HK, one's an Easter bunny HK.

The afghan is remaining the Afghan of DOOM. The only change in the name is the "neverending" part has been removed since, well, it finally ended.

Gina, unless you have a high threshold for boredom, don't knit an afghan unless you knit it in squares! (I'm considering the Great American Aran Afghan at some point if I ever find the book...I'm sort of halfheartedly not looking for it yet.)

The socks are the Peaks and Valleys pattern from the book Knit Socks (y'know, the cute one that's shaped like a sock!) The yarn is Plymouth Sockotta. I realized that the socks are a WEE bit too short for my monster feet, but since I (1) didn't swatch *hangs head* and thus (2) didn't have a swatch to test-wash, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they bloom a little bit. (Incidentally, the only thing I ever swatch for is sweaters and I don't think I swatched for my chickami. I figure socks are small enough that if the gauge is way off, I won't mind ripping them.)

I tried Magic Looping the other day, and though it takes a little getting used to, it's not bad. It took me a while to get the hang of positioning the working yarn when I ended a needle so it didn't create a little extra loop over the needles, but after that it was smooth.

I'm going through dishcloths quite quickly. They're turning into my small traveling project, because I figure since I'm not going to wear socks again until October if I can help it (yes, it is once again sandal weather in Maine!), I can take my time on making more socks. Though I'd really like to get through my supply of sock yarn so I can start buying more. Maybe I will start another pair of socks tonight. (Found some good patterns written for Fixation, and I have 3 pairs worth of that.)

Okay, I've rambled enough.

Because I can't resist a knitting quiz :-)

2005-04-20T18:55:00.000-04:00

You appear to be a Knitting Goddess.
You are constantly giving and are unconcerned with
reward, you simply want others to love knitting
as much as you do. If someone wants to knit
miles of novelty yarns, you are there for them.
If someone wants to learn short row shaping,
you can help. There are no taboos in knitting,
only opportunities to grow. Everyone should
have friend like you around if they want to
learn to knit, and there's a good chance that
your passion has rubbed off on a few others.
http://marniemaclean.com

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

forgot one

2005-04-19T08:51:00.000-04:00

Pics!

2005-04-18T21:06:00.000-04:00

I don't feel like typing anything else, so I'll actually talk about stuff later.

(in case you can't tell from the picture, which I'm sure you can't, those are Hello Kitty Pez dispensers!)

linky!

2005-04-15T12:05:00.000-04:00

So very, very true.

I'm going to edit this entry later with actual pictures.

2005-04-14T08:40:00.000-04:00

But, you know, I have to tease and tantalize you with thoughts of what's to come.

From the Afghan of DOOM, to the clown barf scarf, to the contents of a little package I got from Beth that made me squee (thanks so much, Beth!), to the unblocked Airy Scarf and a random little one-skein scarf I made out of Artful Yarns Celebrity...ooh, it's gonna be great!

Have I mentioned that I really can't wait for the new IK? The preview looks wonderful.

How can I design...

2005-04-12T20:21:00.000-04:00

...when I can't draw?

I have all these ideas for things to knit, but I can't even draw them out to have an idea of what they should look like!

So frustrating.

Guess I have to just pick up the needles and go!

Lord, Blogger is slow from campus

2005-04-07T10:47:00.000-04:00

I FINISHED THE AFGHAN OF DOOM!!!!!!!!

Okay, I'm done yelling and screaming and dancing around the room.

No, not really.

I took a picture this morning just before leaving for work. (Will post it later.) It looks a little odd..I think I knit it a bit looser than I should, because it acts more like an amorphous blob than a rectangle. (Is that a characteristic of knitting diagonally?) That's okay, it's still cozy and warm. I ended up just doing a single crochet edging...I looked at the applied icord edging again and realized that I really don't like picking up stitches all that much. The crochet edging took maybe half an hour, if that, and the last part went slowly because I was on the phone while doing it. But now I have almost 4 skeins (maybe 3 and 2/3) of Homespun left and absolutely hate hate HATE working with Homespun. Anyone want it? Please? Bueller?

Then, around 11:30 or so last night, since of course after the time change I'm having insomnia worse than ever, I had a random novelty yarn craving. I know, I know, totally not me. So I pulled out a hank of On Line Plush from the cedar chest and went to town. I wound it by hand and really should have taken a picture of the ball. It was about candlepin-bowling-ball sized and very fuzzy. I started knitting and immediately christened what I was working on as the Clown Barf Scarf. (The Roomie suggested that it looked like what would happen if you threw up after eating a bowl of Trix, but I like the rhyme of my title.) Two hours later, I had a long skinny fuzzy scarf. The colors pooled really randomly...this picture will come later too.

I got the new Knitpicks catalog today, with the knittable samples everyone's going crazy about! I haven't knit any of them up yet, but I'm already in love AND lust with the Andean Silk. SO SOFT! I must have a sweater out of that. (Must knit from stash for a while first.) Hopefully next month they'll send knittable samples of the sock yarn and the laceweights. It's a really good marketing technique I think...it's not like anyone can go to the store and fondle a ball of Knitpicks Merino Style before buying it. Without the samples it's sight-unseen, feel-unfelt, which of course was making me a little wary of buying some myself. I know people are posting reviews of it, but that doesn't really substitute well for first-hand experience. However, that won't stop me from posting reviews myself once I knit the samples.

*tries not to order entire line of KP yarn*

brilliant thought

2005-04-05T23:30:00.000-04:00

Applied icord edging. Can't be that hard to do on a diagonally knit piece, but I suppose I should swatch just to be safe.

I also want to say how disappointed I am that two of the three Knitpicks sock yarns (and of course the ones with the colors I love the most) are NOT superwash. I am SO not going to handwash socks.

just an update

2005-04-05T12:17:00.000-04:00

I'm wearing a pair of handknit socks today, the second pair I knit, as a matter of fact, and I'm realizing that I knit them at way too loose of a gauge. All I can feel when I walk are thousands of little purl bumps pressing into my feet, rather than a solid, cohesive fabric. Fortunately, the socks I'm working on now are at a much finer gauge (I measured them at 8.5 spi) and hopefully I will not have this problem with them. Oh well.

The knitting part of the Afghan of DOOM is done! I just need to crochet an edging (something simple, but not too simple (single crochet, bah), and manly, any suggestions?) and weave in some ends. Then I'm not sure if I'm going to send it out or hang on to it in the hopes that Boy and I head out there this summer. I should just send it to him, since it's been so long.

Another interview...

2005-04-04T12:16:00.000-04:00

...this one from Alice.

1. you have an adagio link on your main page so i'm going to go out on a limb and assume you like tea... what's your favorite variety/flavor?
Depends on my mood. I haven't actually tried the tea I got from Adagio for putting the link up yet *blush*, but I'm mostly a green tea kind of girl.

2. what's the next project on your to-do list that you could actually see yourself wearing, not just knitting for the process?
Most likely Rosedale. I'm a sucker for cardigans. Actually, any of the sweaters I have up there. I love sweaters. I live in Maine, I have to love sweaters :-)

3. how did you learn to knit? have you always had an interest in crafty stuff?
I think originally my grandmother tried to teach me, but I didn't have that kind of patience back then. Somehow it stuck though, so I spent afternoons as I got older knitting innumerable squares with this horrible aqua colored Red Heart my mom gave me. My knitterly side disappeared when I hit high school except for an ill-conceived plan to knit my then-boyfriend a sweater. (I actually gave up on the sweater before giving up on the boyfriend.) Then it disappeared again until I was in grad school and needed something to destress. When I was younger, I also cross-stitched, but knitting appeals more to my need to be useful even when I'm doing something I enjoy.

4. how in the WORLD did you end up in a field such as yours? what lead you to that specific focus?
Funny you should ask! My undergrad degree was in English, but I decided during my last semester that it wasn't what I wanted to do. I puttered for a couple years in retail and took up computer-geekdom to keep my brain from petrifying. Then I decided to go back to school for computer science...ended up in natural language processing when my advisor, upon learning of my English background, said what amounted to "you're mine!" So, here I am :-)

5. money's not an object, space is not an object. what yarn do you IMMEDIATLY stock up on, just incase there's a sudden halt on production?
Hoo boy. Hardest. Question. Ever. Do I go for the basic I reach for time and time again, or do I go for a yarn that I would love to roll naked in, provided I had enough of it? Worsted, DK, fingering? Tough call. I'm going to have to say Koigu, because unless money is no object, I can't really afford it on a grad student's stipend! I've only worked with it once, making the ubiquitous Charlotte's Web, but watching the colors unfold was an experience to remember.

March recap and April goals

2005-03-31T09:58:00.000-05:00

Here are the goals I had for March, now to let you know how I did on them

1) FINISH Michael's blanket and get it sent off. He graduated 9 months ago, lord I'm slow. Would have happened if not for the tendinitis. I'm starting to feel better enough that I could try picking it up again for short periods at a time, but I'm probably not going to have it done for another couple weeks.
2) Finish all current WIPs. Everything I'd started before the beginning of the month is finished, except for that damn Afghan of DOOM.
3) Continue stash pruning. (HINT *grin*--I'm actually taking a bunch to Goodwill, stuff that was given to me that I will probably not use) Going well. Posted some more yarn yesterday, but should start putting some on eBay and going through my current stash AGAIN.
4) Spoil the hell out of my poor Secret Pal, who, due to an Amazon issue, hasn't actually gotten anything from me yet. (Mailing a really good package tomorrow though.) Yep. Got another package-worth of stuff to send out soon, but I'm still trying to find just that perfect accent for it.
5) At least start a spring sweater of some sort, possibly Oat Couture's Bistro Top. Yep. Did that, that exact sweater as a matter of fact.
6) Figure out what I'm going to do with all the random FOs I have that I knit because I wanted to knit them and not because I actually wanted to *have* them. (Yep, I'm definitely a process knitter.) Yep. Ended up donating a lot of them to charity.

So, not bad. I'm happy with this. Now for the April goals:
1) Finish Afghan of DOOM. Should be doable as long as I don't try to do it all at once like I did this month.
2) Finish all current WIPs.
3) Find my poor lost pearl beaded scarf and work on it.
4) Continue the destash project.
5) Find a pattern for my laceweight linen.
6) Finish up SP4 with a bang for my recipient *ponders Knitpicks yarns*

2005-03-30T21:58:00.000-05:00

Pictures! Just what you've been waiting for! (All, what, 4 of you, including the people I know? *grin*)

So like I said, I got a package from my secret pal! I opened the package to find...

Which was filled with...

Which revealed...

Clockwise from bottom right:
Hello Kitty notecards
Luv 2 blog post-it notes
Plastic measuring tape
Louet laceweight linen with matching beads
Altoids tangerine
Magnetic photo frame
(There was a cat toy shaped like a fortune cookie as well, but that was long gone by the time this picture was taken. At least I hope it was a cat toy, because my cat and my roommates' cat certainly thought it was and went to great lengths to find it and play with it.)

Thank you Secret Pal!

And one more picture:

After felting. On the same laptop it was photographed on before felting, for size comparison.

Another interview

2005-03-28T12:01:00.000-05:00

I know I already did this interview thing, but when Lauren offered to interview people, I had to jump on!

1 What are you studying in graduate school? what are you researching?

Short answer: Computer science. Long geeky answer: I'm getting my masters degree (possibly going to switch into the PhD program, still contemplating) in computer science, with an emphasis in artificial intelligence/natural language processing. My research is in problem solving dialogues, specifically in deciding what information to volunteer and what questions to ask during a problem solving dialogue.

2 What is the most challenging thing that you have ever knitted?

Honestly, nothing I've knit is all that challenging. Probably the most challenging would be the sweater I knit for Kelly, Pinup Queen from Stitch N Bitch, simply due to the seaming. I've never been good at sewing in any way, shape, or form. I need a challenge soon, anyone have any thoughts?

3 Do you like any other crafts besides knitting?

I haven't found anything else I'm really into. Probably the closest I get is trying to make my own beaded stitch markers, but I may start making jewelry too if I decide I like that.

4 Where is your dream vacation destination?

I could cop out and say an around the world cruise...but nah. I'd love to go to Stitches (East or West, doesn't matter!) but I'd never find anyone to go with me (I'm the only obsessive knitter that I know). Barring that, somewhere warm and sunny, somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico maybe?

5 What is your favorite TV show?

Current or past? Past I'd have to say the Muppet Show and Sex and the City. Dawson's Creek is becoming an addiction as well. Currently, I tend to watch "domestical TV"...stuff on HGTV and TLC like Clean Sweep and Design on a Dime, and Food Network shows like Good Eats and Emeril. I'm also being sucked into Nashville Star.

quick post

2005-03-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter, y'all!

I got a gift from my SP4 on Friday, thank you! Took pictures and will post them soon.

Wrist is okay. I've been able to do some knitting on small things with the wrist brace.

Heading to Boy's parents' for dinner, see you soon.

sigh

2005-03-23T11:58:00.000-05:00

Blogging's going to be sporadic for the next week or so....because knitting's going to be sporadic to nonexistent for the next week or so. Yep, I marathon-knitted myself into a case of tendinitis in my thumb/wrist area. Granted, the doctor said I could knit for short periods of time if I could do it with the wrist brace on, but I can barely hold my hand in the proper position for typing with this thing, so it's doubtful. I'll just have to occupy my time by posting more yarn and all that, and possibly attempting to work on a nice light sock, rather than the big heavy Afghan of DOOM. (Does anyone else name their projects like this? I tend to name only the ones that irritate me, otherwise I just call it the name of the pattern, or maybe add on the recipient's name to that if it's not for me.) It may be on a circular, but it's still bloody heavy.

Any suggestions on what I do while watching TV without my needles?

Crap.

2005-03-21T21:15:00.000-05:00

There's good news and there's bad news.

Good news: Only 95 rows left on the Afghan of DOOM...watched a lot of TV and sat through a lot of code compiling between last entry and this one.

Bad news: My left hand is NOT happy with me right now.

Ok, you'd think that because I'm right handed, because I knit English style, because my right hand does all the moving, that maybe my right hand would freak out? Nope, apparently the way I hold my knitting with my left hand is the problem. Taking a break for the rest of the night, which is SO ANNOYING because I want this afghan done, and hopefully it'll be better by tomorrow. Should stay away from the computer too, I suppose.

The end is in sight....

2005-03-20T23:10:00.000-05:00

I did some math tonight, and I have 140 rows left on the Afghan Of DOOM. Yes, sounds like a lot, but I'm in the decrease section, so these 140 rows will keep getting smaller and smaller....now, what to do for the edging? I'll most likely just single-crochet around it (ugh) unless I can come up with something better. Which most likely won't happen, as I hate both seaming and picking up stitches. Crochet just seems like a better idea. Remember, it's for a teenage boy, so simple is better.

I'm going to have probably 4 skeins of Homespun left. Might be good for charity scarves and hats and such.

Speaking of charity, I think that's what I'm going to do with a number of my hats and things that I've made that I don't particularly like. I've been told that homeless people need warm clothing even when it gets warmer, so off they go. They'll be more useful there than in a plastic drawer under my bed.

Back to the never ending afghan...

Friday, Friday! (rambling)

2005-03-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

The Celebrity Scarf has been frogged and sent back to sit in the stash due to its extreme ugliness. I intend to regroup and start again soon.

I've realized that I'm insane. It's taken me 3 months to halfway finish Michael's blanket, and I want to have it done in less than two weeks???!!! What is wrong with me? In a perfect world, I'd finish the Bistro Top by Easter because the colors are perfect to wear that day. Yeah. Right.

Secret Pal? Are you out there anywhere?

I've got to go to the LYS and pick up some more stuff for my Secret Pal. Let's see if I can talk Boy into it tomorrow. Otherwise, I suppose I could stash shop, it's not like I don't have anything nice.

If you're a geek and you know it, clap your hands!

2005-03-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

*clap, clap*

This destashing thing is working out quite well. Honestly, having grown up in the days of suspicion about doing ANYTHING online (meeting people, buying stuff, whatever), I'm surprised at how much interest I get. Thanks, everyone!

Before I forget, Kris, I did receive the CD, but I've been so freaked out by life and school that I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. Thank you!

Anyway, on to the geeky part. Natalie was kind enough to send me the spreadsheet she uses for her yarn inventory for me to use as an example, and I spent some insomniac time last night beginning to catalog what I have (only what I'm going to keep, however, I'll make a separate sheet for the destash pile). Kelly said that if I have to catalog my yarn, I must have too much. Nah, I just like to geekify everything I do. (Though I've got so many rows in the sheet already, and I'm not even halfway done with my cedar chest, maybe she's right. Nah.) With any luck I'll be able to finish that tomorrow. Then I'll reward myself by working on Michael's blanket during the hockey game tomorrow night. (Woo. The reward will be getting that damn thing done.)

Started a new summer scarf today. I get sick of seeing single balls of yarn sitting around, so I figured I'd knit it up so I didn't have to look at it in skein form anymore.

Madalyn's interview

2005-03-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

Here you go, Madalyn!

1) What is your favorite completed project so far?
2) Imagine money is no object, but you can only knit with one type of wool and one type of cotton for the rest of your life. What would you pick?
3) What technique do you plan to learn next?
4) Do you ever multitask while knitting? If so, what else do you do?
5) What do you think I should knit next?

Interview time!

2005-03-11T11:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Natalie!

1. Leave me a comment saying “interview me.”

2. I will respond by asking you five questions here. They will be different questions than the ones below.

3. You will update YOUR blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1. Did you ever figure out what to do with the odd balls of Cascade Fixation? How many do you have and in what colors?
Sort of. I had someone e-mail me with possible interest in them, and I told her when I dig them out I’d let her know exactly what colors I have. (I ordered a couple of grab bags from One Fine Yarn, and once I got them and realized I need just OVER one ball for a pair of socks, decided I couldn’t think of anything to do with them.) Of course, now is a good time to dig them out...and rather than listing them out, it’s easier to just post a picture.

The single ball on the right is actually the Elann.com version.

2. Which of my projects (finished or unfinished) is your favorite & why?
It’s a tie between the Microspun sweater you made for Em and the first Booga bag you made for Katie. I love bright stripes.

3. What’s your favorite carbonated beverage?
C2. I drink entirely too much of it. In fact, I’m drinking a can now.

4. Will you ever finish the Kidsilk Haze beaded scarf you started in April 2004?
I’d like to say yes, but in my organizing/cleaning craze, I seem to have misplaced it! I suppose when and if I find it, I’ll definitely finish it.

5. Which knitting blog is your absolute favorite (Never miss reading it every day, checking frequently to see if it’s been updated, etc.)?
I don’t really have a single favorite...my favorite knitting blogs tend to be either (1) ones where I feel a connection with the blogger and e-mail or IM back and forth with her (or him, I’m not picky) or (2) ones where the blogger has a lot in common with me (i.e. students or other younger knitters). If I had to pick a single favorite, I think I’d go with Margene’s blog. I love her peaceful outlook, the projects she works on, and of course the beautiful Rocky Mountain pictures.

Post without an interesting title

2005-03-10T20:04:00.000-05:00

This blanket is never going to end. I'm at least at the point where I'm knitting even rather than increasing every row. But *yawn* so boring.

And so this post isn't boring, here are some pictures:

The dishcloths I made on my trip to San Francisco. Whee.

Multidirectional scarf in Plymouth Encore Colorspun. It's darker than the picture came out.

Cabled newsboy hat from SnBN, rose Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I could not get a good picture of this hat on my head for anything. This is the best there is.

Still need to felt the marsupial tote. Maybe I'll throw it in with my laundry tomorrow.

March goals...

2005-03-01T19:09:00.000-05:00

Following the example set by Kris...

Goals for March:
1) FINISH Michael's blanket and get it sent off. He graduated 9 months ago, lord I'm slow.
2) Finish all current WIPs.
3) Continue stash pruning. (HINT *grin*--I'm actually taking a bunch to Goodwill, stuff that was given to me that I will probably not use)
4) Spoil the hell out of my poor Secret Pal, who, due to an Amazon issue, hasn't actually gotten anything from me yet. (Mailing a really good package tomorrow though.)
5) At least start a spring sweater of some sort, possibly Oat Couture's Bistro Top.
6) Figure out what I'm going to do with all the random FOs I have that I knit because I wanted to knit them and not because I actually wanted to *have* them. (Yep, I'm definitely a process knitter.)

Artfibers was terrific. Overwhelming actually, like Atropos said. I bought two spools of Sherlock, which is a wool/silk blend knitted ribbon yarn. Between a DK and a worsted weight (I swatched it there...I love that they provide the yarn for you to do that before you buy). Everything felt wonderful.

I knit a bunch of dishcloths on the plane. Needed something small yet relatively mindless, and socks just held too much potential for needle loss. Besides, we needed dishcloths. Pictures later, if I make my overhead light work (the switch sticks). Also finished the multi-directional scarf the night before I left.

And I'm off!

2005-02-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

Headed off to San Francisco for the weekend. I might have to break my Yarn Diet, because my hotel is only a BLOCK from Artfibers!!! Natalie says it's fate. No damn way I'll be able to walk into that store and NOT buy anything.

There will be pictures of the loot when I get back, unless of course I buy so much I have to send it home via UPS or something (I'm only taking a carry-on).

Pic-a-tures!

2005-02-21T16:44:00.000-05:00

No clever intro, just FOs! (No pic of Clapotis yet, still needs blocking.)

First the felted marsupial tote in its unfelted state. (It's still not felted.) I used less than half of the yarn that was called for in the pattern. Granted, I didn't make the little inside pouch, but that can't make that much difference. (It's on top of a 17" Powerbook for scale.)

Again, I hired my trusty teddy bear to model for me. Super Mittens from Weekend Knitting combined with a simple stockinette hat, both in Jiffy T&Q. I didn't notice the way the variegation striped on the hat until I took the picture.

The Crenellated Toe-Up socks from Cool Socks, Warm Feet. Notice the non-crenellation, which I think is a little picot edging thingy on the cast off. Tried that. Didn't like it. Not a big fan of how this yarn stripes. I still have another ball of it too in light gray, which I might try to get rid of. They look funny laid out, because the heel is across 60% of the stitches, but they're pretty comfortable.

And a basic openwork scarf in what I call "Easter Egg Eros." I might actually wear it on Easter, who knows?

AAAAHHHH!!!

2005-02-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

I'm actually making progress on my whatever-number-of-projects I need to complete before buying new yarn. I've completed 4 (yes, pictures will be forthcoming eventually, I'm only home at night lately and the light in the apartment is crappy for pictures), and have 3 more on the needles. Funny thing though, I haven't really found myself wanting to buy all that much yarn. (Of course, I haven't been to the yarn store lately either, so I don't have that much exposure.) I think my next purchase, when the time comes, will be some of the laceweight from Knitpicks. I really want to make another shawl. (Hmm, I have Rowan 34...Birch?)

Right now I'm working on a multidirectional scarf in plum/burgundy/tan Encore, the Newsboy Cap from SnBN in Cashmerino Aran (so unbelievably soft, though I can see that it would pill in a more friction-y environment than a hat, it fuzzes up a bit between my fingers sometimes), and the Mermaid socks from the Lucy Neatby book in a bright Regia. For some reason, the heel placement is confusing me a bit, because of the spiral nature of the rib. I'll figure it out. I'm hoping they bloom a bit, because I cast on the proper number of stitches given my gauge, but they still look small. Gah.

Thought: sock blockers. Anyone got a couple wire hangers?

Non-knitting related PSA

2005-02-15T19:55:00.000-05:00

Everyone, when you read this, *please* go check the batteries in your smoke alarms and make sure they work. Had a scare today in our apartment building, and in the middle I realized I hadn't checked my batteries in a while and thus it was a damn good thing I woke up when I did. I don't want to go into details, but just check the batteries. Please.

Knitting content will return soon. Possibly tomorrow if I get a chance to take pictures tonight.

Today I:

2005-02-09T22:34:00.001-05:00

--cleaned out my closet and made room in front of my Yarn Wall.
--ordered a present for my Secret Pal receiver.
--received a Chinese New Year e-card from my Secret Pal giver.
--almost finished the toe-up socks (at least the tube part...have heels left to put on them).
--will finish the marsupial bag, except for felting, and I'm not making the pouch and the i-cord.
--sorted out some yarn to send as presents to a couple LJ-er/blogger pals.
--realized I still have way too much yarn in the stash.
--successfully avoided buying more yarn.
--wondered where the heck I'm going to get rid of several, single, uncoordinating balls of Cascade Fixation.
--listened to a LOT of bad music, and loved every minute of it.
--looked at my TKGA Level 1 yarn, considered it, and put it aside again.

To Rowan or not to Rowan....

2005-02-07T23:23:00.000-05:00

...that is the question.

So I've been toying with the idea of a Rowan membership.

Pro: I love Rowan magazine.
Con: It's $44 for an American sub, and it's only two issues.
Pro: And free yarn! I've been seeing the free gift around the blogs, and it's 4 skeins of $11 yarn. Rowan Cork...their chained merino. 120 yards per ball, so a fairly reasonable amount.
Con: Do I *really* need new yarn????
Pro: I love Rowan magazine.
Con: I just checked again...it's still $44 for a sub.
~~Con: And it won't fit in my mailbox.~~ Possibly the stupidest excuse I've ever made.

What to do....?

Started the Marsupial Tote tonight. It's a fairly quick knit, but once I'm done, it will take a bit until I get to a non-coinop washing machine to felt it. And I really think the yarn requirements are overstated, but since I'm only a couple inches up the sides, I could be wrong.

Random Friday stuff

2005-02-04T18:38:00.000-05:00

FYI for those of you who are expecting yarn from me: I didn't make it to the post office today, but I'll get there tomorrow.

Finished a hat tonight that matches the Super Mittens I made last week. The hat could stand to be a round or two deeper, but considering I have a foot of the yarn left, I think I did the best I could with what I had. I also finished Clapotis last night except for the blocking, which it desperately needs. I'm not pleased with the edges, so I'm hoping blocking will help that. Of course, I need to find a new home for my blocking board before I can do that.

What to start next? I was thinking of starting the Marsupial bag from SnB, but the yarn I have for it is the same color scheme as pretty much everything I've made lately (red and black), so I'd like a change. Maybe it's time to pull out the Koigu for the gauntlets.

Suddenly having the urge to pull out the Kool-Aid. This could be dangerous...there's really no room in the kitchen right now.

Anyone have any suggestions for yarn stores in San Francisco that are open before 11am on a Friday?

Music meme

2005-02-03T09:32:00.000-05:00

Obligatory knitting content: I'm almost done with Clapotis...started the decrease section last night. With any luck, I'll finish up tonight. Socks are going well too.

Now, I got tagged for this meme by someone I've never read (but immediately added to my Bloglines)...usually I do stuff like this on my LiveJournal, but what the heck.

1. Total amount of music files on your computer?
This is sad...please don't laugh. iTunes tells me I have 5810 songs, 16.9 days, 30.52 gb. Yep. That's a lot of music. Boy and I own a lot of CDs, and the iTunes Music Store is addictive.

2. The CD you last bought is:
I haven't bought a CD in ever, honestly (see above comment re: iTMS). If we're talking about iTunes, I just bought the complete U2 box set. 446 songs, lord!

3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
It was last night...half of "Staring at the Sun" by U2. I paused it when my phone rang and never unpaused it before falling asleep.

4. Write down 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
-- "Don't Speak" by No Doubt: This song got me through my last painful breakup, and even though I have a wonderful relationship now, it still never fails to take me back to that time and make me cry.

--"Just Wait" by Blues Traveler: Have you ever truly listened to the words to this song? It sounds sad, but it's uplifting at the same time.

--"One Week" by BNL: It's my challenge in life to sing along to this song perfectly without getting tongue-twisted.

--"I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor: Cheesy, I know, but it brings back memories of high school and my friend Amanda's family room and belting it out with her over and over and over until her brother appeared to tell us to shut up :-)

--"Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd: The first Floyd song I ever heard. Boy was smart to expose me to this one first...if we had "A Song", this would be it.

5. Who are you going to pass this stick to? (3 persons) and why?
Well, I'm starting to think the knitblogs are saturated with this meme, so I may have to mix it up a bit:
--Kris, because I've realized that I don't know much about her besides that she knits, cross stitches, and has a very fluffy dog.
--Karrie, because she uses a Mac and needs to post more :-)
--Lara, because I'm seriously having a hard time believing she hasn't been tagged for this yet. And because she uses a Mac.
--(a bonus 4th, non-knitter person)Kelly, because I know how important music is to her.

Finally, knitting again

2005-02-01T09:55:00.000-05:00

Even though things are still a bit chaotic at home, I decided that last night I was going to sit down and knit, and knit I did! I have one more straight repeat on Clapotis (actually, one repeat minus one row, I was going to finish the straight section last night until I seriously almost fell asleep on the knitting), so that's almost done.

Making good progress on the crenellated toe-ups too. Good bus knitting.

Got to look at The Knitted Rug last night. Mom bought it and let me borrow it. I wasn't expecting to be too excited about it, but there's some nice stuff in it. I'll have to make a couple. There's a simple seed stitch mat that would look good in the kitchen, and a spirally short-rowed one that I could put in front of the bed. Mom's liking the mitered square rug that's on the cover.

*considers colors of Sugar and Cream cotton* Yellow and blue for the kitchen, definitely. Bedroom? That's still up for debate.

Still considering what sweater to make next. Despite the voting, I think I'm going to stick with my original thought of Rosedale. I don't need another hoodie at the moment.

Drumroll please!

2005-01-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

The contest is over. And the prize goes to....

*opens envelope*

Kris, with her guess of 26 pairs!

Runner up, since I didn't say "closest without going over," is Gina, guessing a whopping 30 pairs!

(The magic number was 27. The rest of you give me way too much credit for self-control in the face of sock yarn!)

Thanks to all who entered. Kris and Gina, I'll e-mail you for addresses and color preferences.

CONTEST reminder

2005-01-29T10:43:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all! One more reminder that the "how many socks can Jaimi knit" contest ends Monday morning at 9:00 (Eastern time, because, well, that's where I am.) I'm still only at one entry, so someone needs to challenge Natalie for the prize!

My crazy weekend is just beginning, but I'll be back on Monday.

Secret Pal 4 Questionnaire

2005-01-27T13:37:00.000-05:00

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?

I'm mostly a yarn snob. I much prefer natural fibers. I'm not a big fan of most Lion Brand stuff...I don't like Wool-Ease, and the novelty yarns they have I've found are actually more expensive than the yarn store versions, yard-for-yard. I'm a sucker for things that are soft and/or hand-dyed.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I sort of crochet. I'm starting to get the hang of it. I'm considering taking spinning lessons at the LYS, but I'm concerned that it'll turn out to be an addiction and I'll drown in a sea of yarn and fiber *grin*

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)

I'm sensitive to a lot of perfumes and to smoke.

4. How long have you been knitting?

I've known how to knit for most of my life, but I've only been knitting actual stuff for a bit less than a year. Before that it was endless swatches out of Red Heart cotton.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yep, on Amazon, it's under himeykitty@hotmail.com

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Nothing too strong...I like citrusy, fruity stuff (my current shower gel is Body Shop satsuma), and also the sweet vanilla-cookie type stuff.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?

Lord yes. Chocolate is a weakness, the darker the better.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

Everything else takes away from my knitting time ;-) I'm also a graduate student, so I'm lucky that I have time for one hobby.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like pretty much anything that isn't rap, hip-hop, or your typical Top 40 material. Favorites are classic rock, hard rock, country, and trance. I love MP3s. I own an iPod, and am currently attempting to talk myself out of buying a larger one.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?

Yellow! I also like dark reds, any shade of blue, and any color you could describe as a "bright pastel".

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have two roommates and their cat moving in this weekend, and my boyfriend is around on the weekends. I have a spoiled brat of a cat who for the most part, suprisingly enough, ignores my yarn. (Helps that I haven't used straight needles much lately, so the ends of those aren't waving around.)

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)

Graduate (someday) and somehow make a living out of craftiness. I'll start by writing knitting software for Macs :-)

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Anything soft. I like variegated/space-dyed stuff because I enjoy watching how the colors work up. I can't really pick a specific yarn though. Currently I'm lusting after the Knitpicks line.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I'll try anything once, though I'm getting over the novelty yarn craze. There are good acrylics, there are bad wools. Depends on how it's made.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Socks. I have an obscene collection of sock yarn.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Anything that has more variety than miles of stockinette. I tend to enjoy knitting in the round because of my hatred of seaming.

17. What are you knitting right now?

Clapotis, a blanket for my cousin, a pair of mittens, and a pair of socks. I always have socks going...I take public transit, and they're nice and portable and help to pass the time. I'm mulling over the idea of swatching for a sweater soon.

18. What do you think about ponchos?

They look great on tall skinny people. I am most definitely not one of these people.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

After knitting a sweater on straights, I've decided that circs are better for my wrists. That was painful.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Bamboo. Though I'm in lust with my Denise interchangeables. I'd marry them if I could.

21. Are you a sock knitter?

Oh yes. Yes yes yes yes yes.

22. How did you learn to knit?

I *think* my grandmother taught me. It was so long ago, I don't even remember.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

I have a Kidsilk Haze beaded scarf I started in April 2004.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Cats in general, Hello Kitty in specific-ness. I also like Funshine Bear and 80s cartoon kitschiness (think the T-shirts they sell at Hot Topic and Torrid).

25. What is your favorite holiday?

My birthday. No, just kidding. Though I think my birthday is during the SP period (end of March). I'm a big fan of Halloween.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

You mean besides yarn? Hello Kitty stuff, various tote bags (I keep buying different ones to "try out" as knitting bags), and books. That last addiction comes from pretty much being born and raised in a library.

Disappearing again...sorry!

2005-01-26T23:48:00.000-05:00

If anyone has Lucy Neatby's book Cool Socks, Warm Feet, it is my sworn duty to extol the praises of the Modified Conventional Bind-Off she describes. It's nice and stretchy.

And that's the only knitting that's been happening, is the sock. I've had some stuff come up that leaves me no knitting time temporarily (except on the bus, of course), so since knitting will be sporadic, so will the posting. I'll be back to knitting after the weekend. I'm sure I'll post once before Monday to remind everyone about the contest! (I've had one entry so far.)

BTW, Rogue is currently the front-runner with 11 votes. I swatched with Lamb's Pride, and alas, Lara was right, I couldn't get it to the right gauge. I'm not holding out much hope for the Cascade 220 I'd bought specifically for Rogue either, so I might have to spend my yarn store cert on something different. I can't think of the brand of the yarn I'm thinking of...it's relatively cheap, it comes in decent sized hanks, it's not as soft as Cascade or Lamb's Pride, and it's made by a Canadian company. Google says, "Briggs and Little." That's the one! I could have told you where in the yarn shop it was, but that wouldn't have helped anyone else identify it. There was a nice heathery rusty-pinky-red I was eyeing the last time I was in there.

quick contest clarification

2005-01-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

Had a question on what exactly you're supposed to guess. It's how many pairs of socks I could make from my sock yarn stash.

Hope that helps!

A poll and a blog contest!

2005-01-25T10:07:00.000-05:00

First off, the poll. I feel like swatching for a sweater soon, but I'm being indecisive about which one to swatch for. This is where y'all come in!

Next: In an attempt to bring lurkers out of the woodwork, I think I'm going to have a "How Many Pairs of Socks Can Jaimi Make?" contest. All you have to do is e-mail me at himeykitty at hotmail dot com (with a subject sort of resembling "blog contest") with the number of pairs of socks you think I can make from my stash. Assume that 100g of yarn makes a pair of socks (I like short socks, so I can get a pair from less than that, but just to make things easier.) Also include your favorite color in the e-mail. The deadline is next Monday (the 31st) at 9am Eastern time, and I'll announce the winner sometime that day. The prize is...what else? Sock yarn! (Which is why I asked for your favorite color.) If you have a blog, put the address in your e-mail too. I promise not to buy any more sock yarn before the end of the contest.

Housekeeping!

2005-01-24T11:42:00.000-05:00

Suppose I can take down my Christmas countdown. The last gift has been finished and given (only a month late *blush*), though your Blogmistress seems to have forgotten to take a picture of it. (Kelly? Can you help me out with that? *bats eyelashes*) It fit perfectly, everything was long enough, and it looks wonderful on her. She told me how warm it is too, which is great considering it's barely cleared the zero-degree mark here in a week.

I also switched to Bloglines. Only 7 of the blogs I read don't have a viable feed, which is quite possibly amazing. So my blogroll over there ---> is a bit shorter, but that doesn't mean I stopped reading those blogs...I just switched services to add the blogroll to my blog.

Now...apparently February is Fix-It Month around the blogs. Which leads me to the thought...which of my UFOs will I actually finish, and which should I rip out and save the yarn from? I'm thinking the Turino Silk bag is facing the frog pond...it's hard on my hands, and I don't like the way the colors are melding together. I really would like to finish Ruffles too, but frankly, the knitting is boring me, and I'm not even sure I'd wear it anyway. So maybe that will visit the frog pond as well. I can see that yarn as a mistake rib or thermal knit scarf instead. Is ripping two of the projects out rather than finishing them cheating on my YNBA? You know what, I don't care! I'll just have to finish the beaded scarf instead. I should work on that tonight.

Clapotis is almost done, which is nice because I'm starting to get bored with it too. 10 of 13 of the straight section repeats are done. I started a pair of mittens last night (the Super Mittens from Weekend Knitting) because, like I said before, it's bloody cold here. Finished one of them, which ended up being too big and rather stiff. That's okay, that just means they're layerable. (Magic gloves underneath, anyone?) And I really need to work on Michael's blanket.

All this means I'm itching to start something new. I'm thinking maybe Rosedale. I could always use a new cardigan. Swatching will commence soon.

Time to go clean up the sidebar now.

There are currently no pictures on my blog.

2005-01-20T01:12:00.000-05:00

I need to fix this problem IMMEDIATELY. (These pictures will be broken Saturday night into Sunday morning. My host e-mailed to tell us about maintenance during that period. So if you read this then, just come back after Sunday morning.)

Don't mind the moisturizer holding down the corner. It was the only way to stretch it out so you could see all the pretty ladders. I made my Clapotis slightly narrower (only 4 repeats of increase rows rather than 7), and this is 7 repeats through the even rows. Note to self: Clappy in pure wool was NOT a good idea. Those ladders are hard to coax down.

Just as I thought, I finished them. Here's one of them. (Ignore the hole at the corner of the short row heel. I was too impatient to wear them to fix it....and you'll see why in the next picture. And for the record, my legs are not really gray.)

The first useful object I've crocheted. The yarn is some random old Sirdar something-or-other from one of the boxes my advisor gave me. See the shirt I'm wearing? See how perfectly it matches the Kroy socks? Yeah. Totally by accident. (Kelly joked about buying my clothes to match my yarn.) Oh, and feel free to admire my eyebrows. I had them waxed tonight for the first time ever, and I feel so....kempt. (No, I don't believe the root of "unkempt" is actually a word. That's still the best way to describe how I feel though.) I'm talking to the Boy on the phone in the picture. He says hi.

I still have to take pictures of a few other things. The stress scarf, most notably. I missed a few Christmas presents too, but those are long gone. Presents on the whole were well-received and are being used by the recipients. Go me.

I think I'm going to change the terms of the YNBA

2005-01-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

*sigh* I was going to try to last until February 1, but that's coming up soon and my stash is still huge. Huge huge huge huge huge. So I think I'm going to change it to not buying more yarn until I finish a certain number of projects from my stash.

Of course that leads to questions. Do I count the commuting socks I make as projects? And what about my gift certificates to Joann's and to the yarn store? Can I use those, or do those have to wait as well? (Could buy books with them, I suppose.) And do the UFOs in my sidebar count, or do they have to be new projects from stash? If I learn to spin, does roving count?

You know, if I change the rules, I can make the new rules. So there's no use in agonizing over these questions...it's whatever *I* feel is good.

So...no new yarn until I finish 10 new projects from stash. Significant projects, not stupid little beanies that I make just for the hell of it. (At least one of them will be a sweater, since I have a number of sweater-sized batches.) I think I will allow myself to spend the gift certificates as long as it's on yarn that has a purpose. And I need to finish 2 of the 3 UFOs that I have on the sidebar AND all the current WIPs. (And sew Kelly's sweater together too, which goes without saying.) Also, the more yarn I can unload on eBay or whatever, the better. I've got a bunch sorted out, it's just the actual posting of the auctions. (Anyone who reads this interested in Noro Iro?)

I'm putting this out there for accountability. We'll see how long I can last.

Hmm....

2005-01-18T10:16:00.000-05:00

Maybe this crocheting thing isn't as bad as I thought. I just happened to find another size I hook last night and FINISHED the hat. 4 hours of work (give or take, started it at 6, finished around 12:30, with LOTS of breaks) and I have a CUTE hat. Pictures to come. I'm wearing it right now.

Decided this morning I need some lightweight wristlets. My gloves refuse to stay under my jacket sleeves, and that little strip of wrist skin got really cold today (it was 2 below...and yes, that's Fahrenheit...when I was waiting for the bus). The random khaki Koigu KPPPM I have lying around will be perfect. I'll most likely try to modify the Elegant Gauntlets from Sally Melville's The Purl Stitch a bit. I'd love them as is...if I weren't going to tuck them under a pair of gloves. They won't be able to go as far onto the fingers for this purpose. I'll probably stop maybe half an inch or an inch after the thumb gusset. That'll get them up onto my knuckles.

Almost done with the Kroy socks. Tempted to finish them up today while I'm doing my reading for class. Then I have to come up with a new travel project. Maybe the wristlets. I have an ACM meeting tomorrow afternoon, and I usually knit at these things (provided the secretary shows up, because being vice president, I have to take over for any other absent officer).

Poll: I have a number of projects listed as "on hold" over on the sidebar. If I were to pick one back up, which one do you think it should be? Leave a comment with your answer. (The Master Knitters program doesn't count. I don't feel like knitting swatches right now.)

Grr.

2005-01-17T23:28:00.000-05:00

So I decided to try crocheting for the 190837486th time tonight, and got rolling along on a hat made out of some of the random yarn Elise gave me. I'm 2, maybe 3 rows from finishing and I BREAK my crochet hook. And it's not like I was putting a lot of pressure on it...no more than I had been for the rest of the hatl. Rrrrr. I was on a roll too!

Clapotis is about halfway done. I made it narrower, because I didn't think I could use something that wide. But now I'm getting bored with it, of course.

Picked up this years Knit It. I want every single sweater in there.

Decided to sign up for Secret Pals 4. Maybe I can reduce stash with it.

Thought...

2005-01-11T13:25:00.000-05:00

Clog socks with a DNA cable up the back. IIRC, the cable panel on the scarf I made is 20 stitches, so that should be about right for a pair of socks for me in fingering weight.

How to reinforce the heel flap though....

emerges from the ashes

2005-01-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

Yep, I'm still around. School just started back up, and I'm back from England, so regular posting will start happening again. (Not like I'm not at a computer constantly when I'm in school or anything.)

Yes, my Christmas countdown is still in my sidebar. Haven't finished Kelly's sweater (still!) I have about 1.5 inches to do on the front at the shoulders, then the blocking and the making up begins. I can easily finish the knitting tonight while I'm doing another load of laundry. Other than this, not much knitting is being done. Just socks on my bus ride to school and I worked on Michael's blanket some in England (mostly when we were in the hotel room I was too tired to do anything besides stare at the TV). If only I had been able to knit during the total of 12 hours we were in the air....

But as soon as I finish the sweater I can start a new project for ME! Yay! Not sure if I want to start a sweater or do something smaller. Might be a good time to start Clapotis. I've got options!

By the way, I did break the YNBA while I was in England. 3 balls of Rowan Calmer on sale. I am a bad human being. No, not really. But I can last until February 1 on this side of the pond. (Then I have gift certificates to spend.)

There be sleeves here.

2004-12-20T00:08:00.000-05:00

Yep, just bound off the sleeves for Pinup Queen. Now, to breeze through the front, block, and beg someone at the yarn store to teach me how to put together a sweater (well, um, have someone help me actually).

Stuffed Mr. Turtle without making him take another bath. I also washed and blocked most of the other gifts, and am quite disappointed with how the grandfather gloves turned out. If possible, the palm grew and the fingers shrunk, and no amount of poking and prodding and stretching could do a thing with them. I almost don't want to give them to him, but I seriously don't have the time to make anything else. Once I get the sweater done, it's packing and freaking out about the trip. Once they're on, they aren't bad, but DAMN, do they look funny. *cry* What to do, what to do. Probably I'll suck it up, say, I knit you a pair of gloves but they aren't gift-worthy, here's an IOU for a pair of gloves that actually look normal. Gah gah gah.

quick one

2004-12-16T22:28:00.000-05:00

--I can't decide if Mr. Turtle needs to go for another swim or not. Maybe I can just scrub at the fins for a bit, because the body is pretty much fine.

--Pasha is knitted....now he needs to be sewn up too. I HATE SEAMING. There, that's out.

--I made a stress scarf this week. Yeah, I know I should have been working on the sweater, but the mood I've been in (finals and all), I would have screwed them up with the inability to count to 2. So I made a garter stitch Cotton-Fleece-meets-Fun-Fur long-ass scarf. Will probably wear it tomorrow to the party. Heck, I'll probably just wear it tomorrow altogether. It might bring out the pink in my hair that seems to be fading. (I dyed it just over a week ago, and didn't use nearly enough dye. Need to redo it sometime next week.)

--Three gifts will be delivered tomorrow.

--Will work on sleeves tomorrow. About 2 inches before shaping the caps.

mmm, wet animal

2004-12-13T20:14:00.000-05:00

Ooooh, how I love the smell of wet alpaca. *grimace*

Yes, that was sarcasm. I'm working on the first of two Blocking Parties (the first is for Roy and Elise's scarves, the second is for everything else, since I have to get Roy and Elise their gifts this week).

And I'm also handfelting the turtle. He's swimming around in hot soapy water as I type, and I'm going to go attack him with a potato masher shortly. Go me, or something.

Where am I?

2004-12-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

Blogging is going to be sporadic at best until after finals (which are next week), and then non-existent from Christmas through the first week of January. Just so no one worries :-)

Quick pictureless update:
Scarf swap scarf is done except for the weaving-of-the-rest-of-the-ends. I did 2 1/2 stripe repeats without access to a Chibi needle, so I have all those ends. It's narrow, but it's about 8 1/2 feet long, which makes up for it. I think I want one, possibly different colors since that green makes me look ill, but it's a fun scarf. Have a lot of yarn left though, so I might throw in a hat, if I have time next week.

Russ's dad's hat took less than a day to make. Much quicker than socks.

Started the felted turtle today on the bus. Halfway through the top shell (actually more than halfway, as from here on out there's lots of decreasing). With any sort of luck I can finish knitting it tonight and bat my eyelashes at the boy's mom when we go out there this weekend to borrow their washer so I can felt it.

Kerry's coming over to knit/whatever she's working on tonight. This is why I'm hoping I can finish the turtle tonight, since I'm planning to knit.

It is very important that I post this RIGHT NOW!!!

2004-12-02T02:16:00.000-05:00

I'm finally able to Kitchener stitch without looking at instructions the whole time!

Yes, I needed to post that at 2:16 am. I most likely would have forgotten by the morning.

And since it was so hard to type that first sentence correctly, it is time for bed, provided, of course, that the random plastic trash cans blowing around (loudly) in the street don't keep me awake. Is it really that hard to bring in your trash can after the trash is removed from it? It's been nearly 20 hours since the trash truck came! (This is the sort of thing that doesn't quite belong in a knitting blog. No, I'm not drunk. I'm just extremely punchy due to insomnia. Everything is amusing, or annoying. Either way, it's bedtime.)

Suddenly knitting is manageable again

2004-12-01T22:52:00.000-05:00

BWAHAHA! There is no letting a puny little power outage stop me from knitting! I finished Mom's Present with a flashlight held under my chin illuminating my hands. (Kitty loved the shadows that made, let me tell you--and I decided it was wisest to not attempt the end weaving until the power came back on. It worked much better with real light.)

So that means 3 presents to go. And I just reduced the scope of one...Boy and I decided his father would like a hat more than a pair of socks. Timewise, a hat equals *a* sock, just about (since I was making heavier socks). The turtle won't take long. The sweater's already started. Then I can knit a couple things for myself again before a new round of gifts! (I'm starting my Christmas 2005 gifts on December 26 of this year. I know better now.)

Now, time to pick your brains, gentle readers. Which wool wash would you recommend? I have some Wool Pak (I think?) in the lavender scent, but somehow I don't think the guys on my list will be into that. I have to have a blocking party pretty soon, that's why I ask.

Oh, and I put some yarn on my destash page. Kureyon, Lorna's Laces, and On Line. Good stuff.

November recap

2004-11-30T20:50:00.000-05:00

So how's my November craft list looking?

~~Finish DNA~~

~~Finish Grandfather Gloves~~

Finish those damn sleeves, if not the front too, for Pinup Queen

CLEAN OUT STASH (in progress)

Make/felt Deb's turtle

Roger's socks

~~Start Mom's Secret Present~~

Swatch for/start Rosedale?

~~At least START Michael's afghan~~

Dismal. Good thing I have a week between finals and Christmas.

So here's the plan:

I feel like watching a movie tonight, and I bet I can finish Mom's Thing during the watching.

Scarf Swap scarf gets this weekend, I can get a bunch done on the bus to Portland

Two more small gifts: turtle and socks. Those can be worked on the rest of this week and into next week

Finals week into the next week: Kelly's sweater

Finish my socks whenever there's time in between

I'm probably not going to get to the cloche hat I wanted to make myself before my trip. If I do, yay, if not, no big deal.

blink

2004-11-29T16:55:00.000-05:00

Whoa. How could I let my knitting blog stagnate for 11 days? I'm disappointed in myself.

No worries, though, the knitting didn't stagnate. No pics, but progress reports:

Pinup Queen: I got through the sleeve increases, so now it's straight knitting for another 4 inches before the cap shaping. The end is in sight!

Grandfather Gloves: A finger and a half, a thumb, and many ends to go, then I'm done. (And they can be added to the upcoming blocking party, since they're slightly disproportionate.)

Mom's Thing: Going as smoothly as it always has.

Crazy Kroy Toe-Up: The toe is TEH POINTY! Should have figure-8-ed a few more stitches. I've turned the heel (picking up a double-wrapped purl stitch is a pain) and knit a bit of ankle, now for the ribbing and I'll have a pretty pink pointy-toed ankle sock. I like my socks short, what can I say?

Michael's Afghan: FINALLY started it. Found a different pattern, cast onto my Denises, and I've learned that Denises make ANY cheap-ass yarn bearable. Red Heart--smooth as silk. Homespun--no splitting with those needle tips! *worships needles*

So I had a bit of a bout with insomnia last night. Now, take a geek, add yarn and needles, and give her an idea that seems really good at 1 am, and what do you get?

Wool-Ease knit in stockinette on size 4 straight needles (to see how tight the fabric gets) with no purling involved. The knitting backwards thing isn't all that hard. I'm not going to stop purling any time soon, but I get pretty decently tensioned stockinette with this method. Found it was easier to wrap the yarn "backwards" on the backwards rows (easier to pull the yarn through that way) and then knit TBL on the regular knit rows. Sort of a bastard child of combined knitting?

And a new button over there...the Non-Yarn-Buying-Agreement. Saw it referenced on Donna's blog, who had a link to Margene's blog...you know, I think the link chain goes on, but that's where I've seen it. WONDERFUL idea. I've been on a major yarn binge lately, and it needs to stop. In fact, the destashing must continue. So I'm going to post some stuff on eBay tonight as soon as I take some pictures, and probably put some more stuff up on my destashing page. My financial situation needs it. February 1? I can certainly make it until then. *starts shaking from withdrawal* Yeah, ignore that. I can make it until then.

Finally--pictures!

2004-11-18T01:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah, finally found my camera cable. It was on my desk....whodathunk? Since when do I put things somewhere that makes sense?

First, the DNA scarf. As I was taking this picture, it was crying to be blocked. Seriously crying. Can you really blame it? (Pay no attention to the unmade bed. I was cold tonight, so I've been under the covers while I do my homework and knit.)

And here's the fuzzy purple scarf I'm giving to my advisor's daughter for Christmas:

One ball of Sirdar Funky Fur. The first project I've made with my new set of Denises! LURVE the Denise needles. Mmmm.

Anyway. Tonight I caved and started something that ISN'T a present for someone else.

Isn't that the ugliest figure-8 toe you've ever seen? Actually, considering it's my first one EVER, it's pretty damn good. Using my one random set of Crystal Palace bamboo DPNs and quite disliking them, to tell the truth. They just kept sliding out at the beginning. We seem to be coming to terms with each other though, and I'm hoping by the time the socks are done we'll be on good terms, not just terms. Yarn is Kroy Socks in Fancy Free (which translates to Holy Crap Pink, so if they don't come out well I won't be too disappointed.) Wendy's generic toe-up pattern, which means this sock will also involve my first ever short row heel! Whoo...all the new stuff at once...can you handle it?

BTW, bought SnB Nation yesterday, pretty much sight-unseen. The pics are SO MUCH better than the SnB blog makes them out to be, and there are so many things in there that I want to make. For some reason though, I thought the chapter on adapting patterns was supposed to have instructions on how to resize patterns. *shrug* I can figure it out on my own, I suppose. I'm thinking the newsboy hat is in my future.....

It's finished!

2004-11-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

Yep...I finished the DNA scarf. Sadly, I went to bed Sunday night rather than doing that last repeat. Did half of it before class last night, did the other half and *2* of the seed stitch rows after class and before falling asleep, and finished the seed stitch frantically before going to catch the bus to get to work today. Hence, no pics yet, I didn't have time! It still needs to be blocked too...I think I'm going to have to have a blocking party during finals week, because I have 3 gift scarves that need it. But, woo! I finished something!

My next FO will most likely be the Grandfather Gloves. I'm almost to the part where you separate off the thumb gusset on Glove #2, and after that it's easy knitting until the fingers, and then fiddly pain-in-the-ass knitting for the fingers. Maybe someday I'll experiment with using double knitting for the fingers of gloves...but not on a gift. The words "experiment" and "gift" do not belong in the same sentence.

So close, yet so far.....

2004-11-14T23:52:00.000-05:00

It's almost midnight on a school night. I have one--ONE!--more repeat left on the DNA scarf. Part of me is saying, "yo, idiot, 9:00 classes are bad enough without not getting enough sleep." But the other part of me--the Bad Ass Knitter part of me--is telling me what a travesty it is to stop when I'm SO CLOSE to the end. Sort of like stopping at mile 25 of a marathon and saying, "Nope, I'm done, go on without me." What do I do?

Got a FO that didn't even make it on the WIP list, it went so fast. Made a fuzzy scarf for my advisor's 4-year-old daughter out of Sirdar Funky Fur. If I have enough time between everything else I have to do before Christmas, I want to make her a pair of mittens and use the rest of the Funky Fur to trim the wristbands. I know when I was 4 it was all about the matching sets of stuff. (Course, that was 21 years ago...4-year-olds might have changed since then.) Pictures when I find the USB cable for my digital camera. Yay for disorganization!

x-posted to Livejournal's knitting community

2004-11-10T10:26:00.000-05:00

I was updating my sidebar on my blog, and realized that I still have a number of gifts to make for Christmas....has anyone started a Gift-Along? If not, anyone interested?

2004-11-08T10:56:00.000-05:00

So I was waiting to post until I had time to take pictures of STUFF, but alas, I'm away from my camera (well, and my stuff), so you'll have to use your imagination.

First, my SP was none other than the lovely and talented Christina of La Principessa Knits. I got the last package on Thursday. It contained a green and gold-ish zippy case, 2 bags of candy, Chibi needles (I love me some Chibi needles!), and a Schenmayer (holy crap, I mangled the spelling) book of accessory patterns. I'm eyeing the Fair Isle earflap hat (oh, what the heck, Fair Isle might work better with yarn that ISN'T Red Heart--advice: always try new stuff with wool, because it is forgiving). Thank you Christina!

I decided it was cold enough to pull out the scarves, so I'm wearing one of the many eyelash scarves I made over the spring/summer. So soft, but I don't think I can bring myself to knit another one ever again. Endless garter stitch...ugh. Anyone want 3 random balls of Crystal Palace Splash? (I have mink, orangeade, and I think tide pool.) At least they go fast, because I have that yellow ball that I'm hoping will spontaneously become a scarf without me having to actually knit it, but the practical side of me is reminding me that things like that just don't happen.

WIP update:

Pinup Queen: I'm slowly but surely getting through the sleeves. They're supposed to be 18 1/2 inches before starting the caps, and they're at about 11 inches right now. Whoa, that means I'm *over* halfway through this sweater! I brought them with me to work on during my 3 hours on campus after class tonight.

DNA scarf: I've done 1.5/5 remaining repeats. So, 3.5 to go. Maybe this week. Honest! (I know, I know, I say that a lot.)

Grandfather Gloves: Haven't touched them in about a week. The instructions are mostly okay for doing the left glove, but there are points where it says "reverse". Which means I have to read through it very carefully and translate into small, easy words for myself. Those are also in my bag to work on tonight.

Mom's Whatever-It-Is: Such easy, mindless, yet absolutely beautiful knitting. And that's all I have to say about that.

Oooh, maybe I'll get to start a new project this week!

I'm a real knitter now.

2004-11-03T13:15:00.000-05:00

I dreamed of yarn last night.

More specifically, Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk. The dark red color. Made into an insanely long, rather narrow stockinette stitch scarf (the rolling was an actual design feature), with fringe on the ends, and a beret to match. Wonder how many balls of yarn it would take. (If anyone has any insight on this let me know, because I hear WNW has a really good price on it.) *mentally pets yarn* Ooh....

Okay, back to reality.

Nah, right now I like yarnland better. *continues to mentally pet yarn*

If anyone needs me, I'll be dreaming....

The Big Reveal™

2004-11-02T18:01:00.000-05:00

So.....I didn't want to do this until tomorrow, when she's supposed to receive the last package, but since my secret pal is apparently a detective as well as a radio DJ, today is the day. As she already figured out, I gave to Lara aka Vibegrrl. Lara, you were a pleasure to give to and I enjoyed ~~stalking~~ reading your blog :-) Hope you enjoy the last package!

My SP hasn't revealed herself yet, at least not totally. I received an e-mail from her Friday saying she still had one more package to mail (which I should receive today, except I'm fairly sure NO ONE in my building got any mail today, strangely enough) and would reveal herself then. I got a small package from her last....Wednesday I think?....with a grow-your-own-paper-flowers tree thingie and a lip balm decorated with all this Zen/Japanese-type art. I'm waiting to take pictures until I grow the tree, and I haven't had a chance to do that yet. Thank you SP (I at least know her name is Christina)!

Went to the LYS today to avoid any mention of politics in the Outside World and picked up a couple skeins of this new Noro yarn called Kujaku. It's wool wrapped in a polyester thread, and at intervals the thread completely wraps around the wool for about an inch. It's interesting. I experimental-knit some up on the bus on the way home, and I found I like it best in stockinette and in, oddly enough, purse stitch. Next up: I'll see how it felts.

Joining the bandwagon

2004-11-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

Just like Natalie and Kris, I figured I might as well list my November Knitting Goals.

Finish DNA

Finish Grandfather Gloves (These first two, hopefully this week)

Finish those damn sleeves, if not the front too, for Pinup Queen

CLEAN OUT STASH

Make/felt Deb's turtle

Roger's socks

Start Mom's Secret Present

Swatch for/start Rosedale?

At least START Michael's afghan

And for December:

Figure out something for Russ

Make myself some socks

Make sure I didn't forget anyone on my knitting list

Finish Mom's Secret Present

Make cloche hat that matches Windy City Scarf before going to England

Block everything

There, it's all listed out, and I hopefully will get some of this done! It actually looks reasonably manageable....but then I have to add school to the equation. Putting Ruffles on hold for a bit. Christmas is a little more important right now.

2004-10-31T13:26:00.000-05:00

I'm running late (surprise, surprise) on mailing out my last Secret Pal package, so I'm not going to do the Great Reveal until I mail it (most likely the day or two after I mail it, so when she comes here it's easy for her to see the post *grin*)

hyperventilates

2004-10-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

Brief non-knitting content: Hell Hath Frozen Over. I'm surprised New England still exists after last night.

Back to knitting. I even have pictures today, since I bought new batteries for my camera. (Finally switched to rechargeables. Happiness.) Since my Powerbook does so well at modeling (I mean, it *is* dead sexy...well, for a computer anyway), it continues to show off the knitting for me.

First, proof that I've completed half a pair of gloves:

I'm finished with the cuff of glove #2 by now. I wish I could have gotten some detail of the cabling on the back, but with such dark yarn, it doesn't show at all.

Now, a beautiful swath of ribbing:

Need to start the cable section tonight while I do laundry.

And ruffles:

This is my baseball knitting...but baseball's over. So I have to save it for April and the beginning of baseball season again, right? :-)

Have to send out my last Secret Pal package today. I can't believe it's almost November...I'll have to sign up for SP4 in January.

Project update (w/o pictures)

2004-10-25T11:10:00.000-04:00

Here's an update on the projects I have going right now:

Pinup Queen: Still crawling along on the sleeves. Possibly a third of the way there. This will be my priority this week.

DNA Scarf: Finished the ribbing Friday, yay! Time for more cabling, double yay! This week this will be my "I'm sick of 2x2 ribbing" project (in other words, when I get bored of the sweater).

Grandfather Gloves: Cast on for glove #2 on the bus today. Good portable project.

Ruffles: I'm still going. It's about a foot and a half or so now. This is my baseball watching project, because I don't have to look at it much when I'm working on it.

I know, I know, I'm fairly boring today. Happy Monday to me. I'll post pictures later today most likely.

Still trying to find a pattern for the *censored* for Mom. I might just have to design it myself. I've still got a couple of months....crap! Christmas is exactly two months from today! *gets cracking* Mom, have you told Debbie about this blog? Basically, can I talk about her Christmas present here or no? Because that's the next one on my list.

GO SOX!

2004-10-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, Sox != knitting. I just had to get that out. I'm a rabid Red Sox fan, and just so excited that they're going to the World Series for the first time since I was 7. My grandfather must be thrilled. (And the fact that they beat the Yankees to do it....*blissful sigh*)

Anyway. Back to yarn-al pursuits. First off, the gift my Secret Pal sent me:

Mmm, Sockotta. And isn't that little sheepie the cutest?

I've actually been trying to teach myself how to crochet lately, and here is one of the fruits of that:

My very first granny square, made out of freaky colored Red Heart! (How the heck do you weave ends into crochet?) Go me! I totally want a granny square scarf.

My Powerbook continued to model for me, and here is my progress on DNA:

Alpaca is so very very soft. I did about half an inch on the ribbing last night, but I plan to get some good work on it in today

Since this picture, the glove has gained a thumb. Now to avoid SGS (Second Glove Syndrome):

I need a picture of Ruffles. It looks kind of cool in the variegated yarn.

I've been teaching my friend Amanda how to knit, and she's been doing so well! Her first practice swatch turned into a scarf of alternating bands of stockinette and reverse stockinette. She was wearing it last night, and I wanted to get a picture, but I was too distracted by the baseball game. She's working on ribbing now, and getting a little frustrated. Took me a while to get the hang of ribbing though too. She does really well at remembering to bring the yarn between the needles rather than over them, but she tends to lose count and doesn't really have the hang of recognizing her stitches. (Doesn't help that she's trying to use dark colored yarn...I might have to bring her something different.) It's so cute though...she's working on it every chance she gets. *squee*

Feel my pain :-(

2004-10-18T20:14:00.000-04:00

X-posted to the LJ knitting community.

I'm KIPing on campus while waiting for a friend to get out of class...I'm working on a glove (my first ever, but I digress). I only brought the skein of yarn with me that was attached to the glove, as I didn't think I'd get much time to work on it today.

Lo and behold, I have only the thumb left, which is a good thing, right? Except....

I have 4 feet of yarn left. No way will that make a thumb...will it?

And the fact that I can ALMOST get a glove out of a single skein of this yarn....doubly annoying.

I wanted to post some pictures....

2004-10-18T14:04:00.000-04:00

But of course I left my camera home. Bah. All I really had was a progress pic of the Grandfather Gloves. The cable doesn't come out on the pictures, since the yarn I'm using is charcoal gray.

Eyeleen: I'm using Silk Garden #84. It's the red/pink/orangey one. Don't expect pictures of Rosedale for a long while...there are way too many things ahead of it on the queue! :-) I'm thinking that I might have enough left to make matching gloves or a headband. Yay for sets!

Frogged the experimental Splash scarf. It wasn't coming out right. I'm actually tiring of Splash a bit. It feels nice knit up, and I did just find the yellow variegated at the LYS, but garter stitch is TEH BORING. After I knit up the yellow, I might put the other balls I have on eBay. Novelty yarn in general is just....eh.....to me right now. I suppose that's a sign that my knitting sensibilities are growing up. (Despite the yellow Fun Fur I bought at Walmart yesterday. Anyone seeing a trend in my color choice? I like yellow, and it gets so gray here in the winter that bright accessories are good for cheering myself up.) So instead I started another experimental scarf, totally not expecting to like it at all, but I do. I was looking through Scarf Style (wonderful book, BTW) and saw the ruffle scarf. I don't like ruffles. I'm not a girly girl, but I was reading through the instructions and they were just not making sense in my head. So I started it. And it's some nice easy knitting, but not boring like garter. The short rows give me just enough difference to make me not want to stick the needles in my eyes from sheer boredom. But I don't have to look at it...heck, I did about a foot during Saturday's dismal Red Sox game. I don't know if I'm going to keep it or find someone to gift it to. But it's soothing.

Worked on the gloves and the Endless Sleeves last night. I know, I know, it was smart to do both sleeves at once, but lord, it seems like they aren't getting any bigger! I'm almost done with the middle finger on the first glove too.

Gonna put some stuff on eBay tonight when I get home. Or maybe this afternoon...since the pics are on the computer. Christmas is coming up....need gift money.

Only another knitter would understand.

2004-10-12T16:59:00.000-04:00

I have a bunch of Silk Garden from eBay a few months back that I have reserved for making Rosedale whenever I have the time. I decided to order a few more skeins (also off eBay) in case I wanted to make the next size up...I figured I could use them for half of the corrugated ribbing or the intarsia or whatever. I was putting them away today (finally taking them out of the Priority Mail envelope!) and decided to hold one up against the original set to see how different they were. They were remarkably similar, so for the hell of it I checked dye lots, even though there was no WAY they'd be the same, right?

THEY TOTALLY WERE!!!! *squee*

I know...the strangest things make me happy.

Pictureless post

2004-10-12T16:35:00.000-04:00

I found two more UFO's. One is an experimental Splash scarf...I'm knitting it up in purse stitch to see what it ends up doing. The other is a simple garter stitch bag made from Plymouth Turino Silk. They were lurking in the bottom of my project bag. Silly them.

Got a package from my secret pal today. It contained a drawstring bag made by Amy of Boogie Knits with a sheep on it and a ball of blue and teal Sockotta. I love me some Sockotta. Enough cotton to be cool, enough wool to be resilient. Now I really have to get with the making of the socks. Thank you secret pal!

I ended up frogging the ribbing of the DNA scarf and starting over. Sarah had some excellent advice in her latest entry about different styles of knitting when knitting ribbing, and I tried them all out...the Reverse Combined Knitting (as I call it...wrapping your knits backwards and purling TBL) was slightly neater, but not enough to really make a huge difference. Now I'm just really watching the tension and knitting tighter than usual, and it looks like any weirdness using this method will block out fairly easily.

Making some progress on the Grandfather Gloves. I'm done with the ribbing, and I'm setting up the cable and increasing for the thumb gusset now. There's a chance I'll get all my Christmas knitting done before Thanksgiving! (This statement is going to come back and haunt me later, right?)

Need to experiment with the Cousin Afghan. The pattern I chose uses two different colors, and I want to see if the dark gray Homespun I already have works with the Mission before I go out and find a different accent color for it. I really need to get this afghan done and sent out...it's a graduation present from this past summer! *blush*

One FO and one half-FO

2004-10-11T16:39:00.000-04:00

First off, a message: Secret Pal, you still out there? I haven't heard from you for almost a month and just wanted to make sure you're okay.

Now for the FO:

Yes, the socks are both the same size, just one seems to be folded over on itself. They're from just under one skein of Colorado Yarns Knitaly (100% superwash wool), on sz 6 needles.

And this picture is already out of date:

Since I took it, I've finished the first cabled end and gotten about a third of the way into the ribbing. Which I might have to frog...my ribbing looks like ASS. My transitions between knit and purl are horribly sloppy and loose. Anyone got any solutions to that?

And one more thing.....

2004-10-07T13:05:00.000-04:00

I NEED yellow Fun Fur. (2 different links....2 different shades of yellow.) Must. Have.

I'll most likely pick some up while out with Kelly tomorrow. I saw it at Walmart a bit ago....

Well, damn.

2004-10-07T09:52:00.000-04:00

Amazing what I can do when I put my mind to it. I told myself that I was going to do another repeat of the DNA scarf last night, so I could be on track to start the ribbing this weekend...by the time I put it down, I'd done over a repeat and a half and only stopped so I could go eat omelets with friends. That's 3 1/2 done. I'm hoping to finish the cabling tonight and start the ribbing. I'm into the second ball of yarn now, and I actually spliced the ends together to join the new ball. Yay, no end weaving! Question though...is there a secure way to splice cotton yarn? This is alpaca, and the splice felted together slightly, which is the only reason I trust it to stay secure.

Almost done with Ernest's socks too. Yay! They're getting boring...yep, more stockinette in the round. I have maybe an inch to go before starting the toe. That should be finishable on the bus today (especially if I go to the yarn store like I'm considering...no, I don't need yarn, but I like to pet things and say hi to the ladies who work there).

Got a package from Herrschner's yesterday, containing yarn for my cousin's afghan (8 skeins of Homespun in Mission....I know, I know, I'm going to be swearing in such a way that a sailor will be impressed by the time I'm done), some Crystalites crochet hooks, and some Patons Divine for a sweater I've been drooling over in Hip Knits. So very fuzzy. It's...pink. Yes, I seem to like pink all of a sudden. Someone tell me what's going on in my head!

Oy. Oy indeed.

2004-10-06T10:37:00.000-04:00

Ugh, apparently now that school has started I only end up blogging once a week. Not exactly what I had in mind for this thing. I've been knitting a little bit, I suppose not enough to blog about.

I'm up to 2 repeats on the DNA scarf:

With any luck I can get 3 more repeats done by the weekend, so I can work on the ribbing while SnB'ing with Meaghan and Shana.

I have 2 more inches of Ernest's Sock #2 before starting the toe (no picture here). I've decided that Roger's socks will involve 1) a short row heel, 2) different ribbing on the leg, and 3) a less pointy toe. I may just have to design them myself. Maybe a mini-twist rib. Something a little more exciting than 2x2.

And I worked on sleeves for Kelly's sweater. I'm going to get through them soon. WIthin the next week or two. The thing I'm worried about with this sweater is finishing. I'm horrible at mattress stitch, and I hate sewing, so I hurry through it. Hopefully there's someone local-ish who can help me.

Next projects on my plate:
Gloves for my grandfather
*censored* for my mom (that's right Mom, you're not going to get a hint from my knitblog about what you're getting for Christmas!)

Those two projects won't take long. Though I'm tempted to make half of the pair of gloves I plan to make myself, just so a gift glove isn't the very first one I make. (How's that for rationalizing knitting for myself?)

Taught a friend to knit over the weekend, which makes me incredibly happy. It's a friend who I never guessed would ever want to learn, but it's because one of her classes is doing a service project that involves charity knitting. Found out the other day that another friend is toying with the idea of learning as well. Oh-so-very happy.

gasp She's alive!

2004-09-29T10:42:00.000-04:00

School + sick = no knitblogging. But at least I have another FO to report!

Meet the sunshine Chickami! She's made from some random acrylic that I bought at the BLYS (Boy-Local Yarn Store) ages ago. The pattern for the size I made called for 925 yards (since I made the wide straps, much as it may not look like it, since they roll), and I used *maybe* 650. Gotta love yarn over-estimation. Now I have almost 2 balls (since I actually bought for the size up from mine, 4 balls/320yds each) of this yarn. What to make, what to make? Sorry for the lack of action shot...it honestly looks kind of weird on, since the straps are rather closely set. Shows my bra straps too. It's a bit itchy, which is disappointing since the yarn felt okay in the ball. Like I said, fabric softener.

And as if that isn't enough, I finally cast on for the actual DNA scarf! I tried to get through a cable repeat last night before going to bed, but I sadly gave up with 4 rows to go. This is at about row 20 or so:

It's going much more quickly than the swatch did...the practice with the chart helped a lot.

I also finished sock #1 of the pair for Ernest. (In case anyone's wondering, that's the Boy's brother-in-law.) Cast on for the second this morning. I might just get my Christmas list done in plenty of time!

I've got startitis again now that I'm done with the Chickami. I saw while blogsurfing that Annie finished her Rogue, and it looks outstanding. Which of course makes me want to cast on for mine, and I like the look of hers so much, I want to use a different yarn for mine. I have some teal heather Cascade 220 which is just about the same color as my eyes, but I'm liking the slightly variegated look of hers. I'll have to check prices on the Nature Wool she used...they have it at the LYS and I drool over it every time I go there. Such gorgeous colors. I'm also slightly obsessed with Clapotis, just like every other blogger out there *grin* I know just the yarn for it too....there's a hand-dyed line that's produced locally (Tess's Designer Yarns) and they have a nice soft superwash merino that I adore. Expensive, but plenty of yardage...I think I could get one out of a single hank if I made it a little narrower. (The hanks are about 550 yards apiece.)

But....I told Kelly this and gave her full permission to make fun of me if I go back on it: no more knitting for myself until the Christmas presents are done. So the next thing I'll most likely start is a pair of gloves for my grandfather. (Mom, you can keep a secret, right?) Charcoal gray alpaca. I wanted to use this cashmere at the LYS, but one skein is just short of glove amount, and 2 skeins would make it too expensive. The alpaca is plenty soft anyway.

New yarn store in Portland called Knit Wit. I went there Friday night right before they closed and spent most of my time drooling slack-jawedly over the Rowan! And the Colinette! And (my personal favorite) the Schaefer! I left with a hank of Anne, 2 balls of Kidsilk Haze in the celery green, and Rowan 36 (love love LOVE!). Now I'm finding myself trying to figure out what to do with 2 balls of the KSH....besides yet another scarf. The Anne I think will make a nice shawl for someone.

Not a whole heckuvalot

2004-09-21T13:07:00.000-04:00

Not much knitting been going on lately, except in the bus rides and the 10 minutes before class, but I felt compelled to blog anyway. Mostly from boredom with the projects I've got going. Seems like I've been working on all of them for so very long, and I ache for something new. Which means I'll probably get started on some *SHH* Secret Knitting for my Secret Pal tonight after I do all the cleaning I'm setting forth to do.

Now, progress reports.

Pinup Queen: Still on the sleeves. I hate sleeves. Must be why I've never made an entire sweater before. I'll slog through them though (and at least I'm getting them both over with at once), because I have-to-have-to-HAVE-TO finish them before I can do the front, which promises to be the most engaging knitting on this piece. Kelly, you will definitely get a sweater out of the deal!

Chickami: I'm to the knit-even point after all the waist shaping is done. Now I just need to figure out how the rest of the sweater goes together...I'm making the wide-strap version and the pattern isn't especially clear on when to go to those directions. *le sigh* It's pretty, but feels a little scratchier than I thought it would upon feeling the yarn in the ball. Nothing a bit of Snuggle in the washing machine won't fix, hopefully. Holy stockinette, Batman....I'll need to do something complicated soon to shake off the tedium of stockinette-in-the-round. It's nice mindless knitting though. Everything I have on the needles right now is mindless though (until I actually cast on for the DNA scarf, now that swatching is over.)

DNA scarf: Speaking of...the swatch dried and was satisfactory. I just need to cast on for the actual scarf now. I have to really get my hands moisturized first, because the fuzzy yarn keeps getting caught on dry spots around my nails. Not cool.

Work socks: I hate heel flaps. I'm sick of doing heel flaps. I was going to make a pair of socks for Roger (the Boy's dad) out of this same pattern, but if I have to do another heel flap heel, I'll scream. (Too bad I have to do the second sock for this pair still.) And I seem to have lost one of my sz 6 double points. Rwar. I'll have to find a sock pattern that uses worsted-weight and has a short-row heel, because I've been meaning to try me one of them.

So....a whole lotta babbling about a whole lotta nothing. Next time, I'll accompany it with pictures of said whole lotta nothing.

It'll get better, right?

2004-09-16T18:38:00.000-04:00

First off, thanks everyone for your comments on my Charlotte! I think this is the most comments I've gotten on anything!

Now...I finished my DNA swatch today, and was actually pretty disappointed in it, pre-blocking anyway.

See how lumpy and uneven it is? I don't like the gathering at where the cable begins and ends, and the pattern doesn't seem to take that into account. I think there might be a couple errors in the chart I have, but I have to look at it more closely. And the drape of the swatch left a little to be desired. The seed stitch seemed a bit stiff, and the middle around the cable seemed a bit limp. So, I'm not really sure how I feel about the thing right now.

Here it is pinned to my blocking board and spritzed. (For the record, wet alpaca smells foul. I see why wool wash has lavender and other pretty smelling things in it.) It pinned out about 6.5x7 inches. I'm hoping it dries by tomorrow morning (it's pinned to foam core, so who knows?) so I can make a trip to the yarn store after class for new yarn/needles/whatever should the need arise.

I also owe you wonderful blogreaders pictures of Matt's hat and Karen's lace rib scarf. The scarf I want to wash and block first, b/c it doesn't really look like much right now. But the hat....I suppose I could put that on for your viewing pleasure. Keep in mind my head is significantly smaller than Matt's, and ignore the fact that the color makes me look positively ill.

Just a simple 2x2 rib hat I made totally without a pattern. I loved reasoning out the decreases so they'd look best when I got to the crown shaping. That was more fun than it should have been.

It's official....

2004-09-15T21:13:00.000-04:00

Charlotte, she is done!!

This is before I put the crochet edging on. (After I was done with the edging, I was too impatient to get a post done about it *grin*)

A closeup of the stitch pattern (and an excuse to try out the macro mode on my new camera).

And the edging. It's hdc, chain 3, skip one stitch, hdc, chain 3, lather-rinse-repeat. Jennfurr from LJ's idea.

In other news, I wore my knitty.com "yarn ho" t-shirt today :-) Life is good.

Academic knitting.

2004-09-09T11:37:00.000-04:00

Before I get into the entry, I'd like to start off with a message:
Happy Birthday, Mom!!

This is going to make no sense until the end, but stay with me here. Had a meeting with my research advisor today. (For those who don't know, I'm a master's student in computer science, concentrating in artificial intelligence, further concentrating in natural language processing, and even further concentrating (lately) on not being able to concentrate.) This entire meeting was regarding choosing a knowledge domain for our research. To sum up this research, it involves a little conglomerate of clue word use and deciding what information to volunteer in discourse. So we needed a domain to discourse about. (Yes, I know "discourse" is not a verb. My English degree diploma is a license to do strange things to language.) I made a crack about how if I had to read about angina constantly (one of the researchers in the field uses medical stuff for her domain) I'd gouge my eyes out. So she asked me what I like to do.

Does anyone else see where this is going?

So my task for the next week is to do enough preliminary research to see if knitting will be a viable domain to build an expert system around. (Exactly what it sounds like. A program that has a deep and narrow knowledge base around one topic.) Oh darn, using assistantship hours to go to the yarn store. *wipes tear*

Knitting: not much has happened. I'm about 20 rows into the DNA swatch, and I'm still not sure if I like the alpaca I chose. It's Frog Tree sport weight, and it's a lot softer and fuzzier than the Indiecita worsted alpaca I used on Elise's scarf. I'm not sure if the fuzz i will obscure the cable yet or not. I'll do a repeat of the cable, bind off, and actually block the swatch (another thing I'm usually guilty of skipping *blush*) and see what happens. (So I should change the scarf's status from "started" to "swatching" in the sidebar, in the interest of full disclosure.) Gonna cast on Matt's hunting hat today too. Need idiot-knitting for the bus, and it doesn't get much more idiot than 2x2 ribbing in the round. (Okay, maybe stockinette in the round, but I just finished a Harry Potter scarf, so I need a break from that for a while.)

Got VK over the weekend. Just like the fall IK, I give it a big "meh." Some nice scarves, but I have scarf patterns coming out of my ears. Another thing I like about IK: there are separate spring and summer issues. VK: spring/summer, fall, holiday, and winter. I tend to like warm weather patterns a lot, so IK gives me more of them. Yay!

2004-09-07T13:54:00.000-04:00

A Blocking Story (unfinished) <--- There are pictures here.

Started swatching for the DNA scarf this morning waiting for the bus. I've only done 5 rows of the seed stitch, but already I'm not sure how I feel about the yarn I chose. It's awfully fuzzy, and I'm wondering how the cables will end up. Well, I suppose that's why we swatch, right? (Okay, so I've never swatched for a scarf. I wasn't going to for this one, but I decided that I wanted to have an example of "look what I can do" so I decided to do a cable repeat as a swatch for myself.) We'll see.

I need to make socks. Perhaps I'll start on Wendy's toe-up pattern at some point.

Whoa!

2004-09-06T21:18:00.000-04:00

It's the 6th and I haven't started my DNA scarf yet! I might have to rectify this later tonight. I should block Charlotte first though.

Other than that realization, nothing knitterly. I received something today that'll make a difference in the blogging...new digital camera! This one has a closeup mode, which means (duh) better closeups of stitches. Yay!

Hopefully I'll have pictures for you tomorrow. That means that I have to start or work on something worth taking pictures of.

Secrets

2004-09-03T20:13:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm less cranky today. I got a package from my SP this week! I don't have any pictures at the moment, but the package contained 2 Hello Kitty erasers, a Hello Kitty pen, and some wonderful mild citrusy orange-and-green swirl soap. Thank you, SP!

I can't find the secret yarn for my secret knitting, so a package should be going out to my secret pal soon. I'll have to find it and do the knitting later. We've got until the end of October.

Not much knitting to report. Jelly Bean sock: frogged. Pinup Queen: I started the sleeves. Both at the same time. Chickami: It's going. Slowly but surely. (220 stitches per round doesn't knit up too fast.) I think I'm going to forgo the Ponchoalong. I really don't think I'll wear anything I can make, and I have other things that need to be done first. If I want another big project for myself before Christmas, I'll go with a top down raglan from the Lamb's Pride I have. Hmm, yellow or red?

2004-08-31T11:53:00.000-04:00

I think I'm going to frog the Jelly Bean sock. Kind of tragic, considering I'm about 2 inches from starting the toe, but there's good reason. I tried it on last night and the leg fits strangely just above the heel flap. The heel stitch called for in this pattern draws in a lot more than the heel stitch I did on Broadripple, which leaves a bit of a poof on the leg right above where the heel flap starts. (I also should have used size 2 needles rather than size 3, but I was just going to live with that. Could be part of the problem of the poof, but the heel stitches will get smaller too with a smaller needle, so maybe not.) Maybe I'll try a toe-up pattern instead, just to say I've tried it.

Called IK. Apparently their fall issue is running about 2 weeks late. Well, it's been a month since they told me I'd get it. They also said they can't look up my info in the system until tomorrow or Thursday, because they're running some sort of report. Whatever. Also e-mailed VK, again. Why bother subscribing if you won't get your issue until a month after it comes out on the newsstand?

Edit about magazine situation:
IK came in the mail today. VK wrote back and said that my replacement issue was requested 8/9, which means I should be receiving it around 9/15. Maybe I just don't understand the magazine subscription industy, but WTF mate! That doesn't seem reasonable to me at all! *grumble* But at least I got one of them. And after all that waiting I'm....underwhelmed. There are maybe 2 or 3 designs I'd consider making at all. The thing that impresses me about IK is the size range most of the sweaters come in, from super small to fairly ample. It encompasses a lot of people, and I really like that.

Ugh.

2004-08-30T23:22:00.000-04:00

Still can't find the stuff I couldn't find earlier.

I am so sick right now. Don't know if this will result in knitting or not. I honestly don't know if I have the energy. It's just a cold, but the first couple of days typically knock me right out. Maybe when I find the Chickami, it'll be time to work on that. We'll see. Everything from the shoulders up hurts.

And I still haven't seen any sign of my fall IK OR my fall VK!!! I'm NOT a happy camper right now. Calling IK tomorrow, but can't seem to find a phone number for VK. I'm so tempted to just cancel both subscriptions. I e-mailed them both almost a month ago regarding the delay...grr.

Last night's no-knitting

2004-08-30T14:14:00.000-04:00

Last night the Boy and I finished the blocking board, so I decided to block Charlotte.

Can't find my pins.

Then I decided to do some *SHH* Secret Knitting for my Secret Pal.

Apparently the Secret Yarn wants to be so secret that even I can't find it.

Then I was looking for my Chickami (all 2 rows of it) this morning.

Guess what else I couldn't find!

I thought I was getting more organized...apparently I was mistaken.

ROAR!!!!

The say-nothing kind of post

2004-08-25T16:12:00.000-04:00

Not much knitterly to report, alas. I'm in a rut...the I-want-to-start-something-new-but-have-no-idea-what rut. So I started a pair of socks...at least they're something different. I hereby christen them the Jelly Bean Socks (super original, considering the yarn color is called Jelly Bean Stripe...it accurately describes the color though). Now I just need to decide whether I want to make them identical or fraternal. I'm leaning to fraternal...I have too many identical pairs of socks. The joys of self-striping sock yarn :-)

Finished the back of Pinup Queen yesterday. Next I think I'm going to do the sleeves. Both at the same time, just to make my life a little easier.

Only two projects? That's not good enough for me, so I'll start something else later. Either (a) a top down raglan a la Glampyre in Lamb's Pride (prairie fire) (b) Coronet in some blue Cascade 220 or (c) a Chickami in some random yellow variegated acrylic stuff I found in the stash. I'm leaning to the Chickami or the raglan. I have enough hats at the moment. I'd like to do something other than ribbing to edge the cami though...I'm thinking seed stitch, but I get bored with that quickly, so maybe some other sort of ribbing would work.

Time to be boring somewhere else.

What sweater should I make first?
	Rogue
	Rosedale
	Top-down raglan
	Berkshire pullover from Weekend Knitting
	Must-Have Cardigan by Patons

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