Fiber Festival Finds

What now feels like ages ago, I finally made it to my first fiber festival. It’s really only been a few weeks, but with the way that this summer (now fall, ugh!) is going, it could have been a different year for all I know.

I took an embarrassingly small number of pictures, and completely missed the sheep I almost put to sleep – turns out sheep really like getting their chins scratched! Who knew?

However, I did capture these a super cute dragon

and the awesome wizard hats of this booth (The name of which I also forgot to write down. “I’ll take: Distracted by All the Pretty Fibers for $800, Alex.”)

The rabbits were amazing puffs of fluff (and this was by no means the fluffiest):

except for this poor guy.

There is absolutely no dignity in being a rabbit sometimes – although I’m sure he was a lot cooler after his haircut.

For being my first fiber festival experience, I held to a very strict buying budget. I had to get some Socks That Rock, though narrowing down to one colorway was very difficult (which I think is Princess Plummy, from the Watercolor Wave grouping; lightweight sock yarn. Lenore was a close second.)

Also, since I was gifted with a spindle from a wonderful friend, I wanted to pick up some beginner fiber. From the woman who gave me a quick demonstration on her spindle and then handed said spindle over to me to keep going for a few more inches, 4oz of Shetland/Angora mix:


From a few stalls over, in another building, 4oz of this lovely merino:

I’ve finished and/or made great progress on a few things from my last post, most notably the lace shawl. I may actually get it done for the last of this month’s weddings! (It’s been a beautiful but busy time – weddings on 9/18, 10/1, and 10/9.) A few cute and quick projects also leaped into my lap and got made, and I’ll tell more about those in the next entry.

For now, though, I leave you with a very dangerous new website to peruse. The Fiber Cooperative is exactly what they say – an indie, online fiber festival. I’m especially in love with a Knits in Class sock yarn called Eat Your Veggies. That might have to be a post-wedding-traveling gift to myself. For such a long time I resisted wearing a lot of green, and thus avoiding (what I thought was a stereotype) of a redhead wearing green. Shoot, I wasn’t just resisting, I was refusing. Blue was always my first choice, and still tends to be in my top 3 go-to colors. With mostly blue eyes, that made sense. But now I can’t get enough green, and this sock yarn hits a bull’s-eye in my need for green.

It’s raining yarn!

Well, that’s what it feels like lately in what has been a massive bit of productivity. So without further ado, the beginning of the FOs:

Slip Stitch Heel Basic Socks by Wendy Johnson, aka the Rainbow Socks. (NB - it is really not easy to take pictures of your own feet!)

Yarn: Regia Hand-dye Effect, in what I think is the Sodalith colorway (ball band has vanished on me)

Needles: US 1 – 2.25mm; 40” fixed circular from Knit Picks. Socks were done two at a time, and this length needle is really pushing that with my big feet. I’d recommend the 47”, and think I’ll switch to that for my next socks.

Bind off: Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off (which is delightfully true to its name).

Alterations to the pattern: None really. Wendy's book, Socks from the Toe Up, taught me how to properly measure my feet and then pick the right size pattern/pattern adjustments to make socks fit. A wonderful book that I'll definitely be using again.

Although these socks took me almost 8 months to do, they were so worth the wait. I love the finished product.

I hadn’t intended to reverse the color pattern on these socks – I had tried my best to make twins, but started from the wrong end of one ball of yarn. However, it’s a happy accident because I really like how the color patterning turned out. The best part of these socks? They fit perfectly. For my size 11 feet, that is amazing and one reason why I wanted to start making socks, and really clothing in general.

Yoda hat!

Yarn: Galway

Needles: US 11 Susan Bates 36” circular (I love me some magic loop)

This was my first experience purposely felting something. We shall not speak of the lovely Irish merino wool sweater that is in the back of my closet (darn Irish combo washer/dryers!). I’m happy that more of my friends are starting to have children, because it gives me the perfect excuse to play around making fun things for them. This hat was a breeze to knit, and I finished the basic three parts on about the first day of a short vacation. I also got to do i cord for the first time, and that was a lot more fun and easy than I had expected.

The felting process was a bit more nerve-wracking, and I enlisted my mom’s support (and washing machine). The hat ended up going through a regular wash and dry cycle (while inside a zipped-up pillowcase), and then an additional gentle wash cycle. Then after a bit of air-drying, it was done!

Next, although it’s not a FO, it’s a decision about a project. I decided on a pattern for my fall weddings shawl: Halsduk med estniska spetsmönster (Ravelry link), aka Estonian Lace Scarf. Although the pattern doesn’t call for beads, I’m adding them anyway. During my lunch break one day I sat down with a printout of the pattern block near the edge of the shawl, and I laid out beads in what I hope is going to be a manageable pattern.

Then I transferred that info to the actual pattern and I’m seeing how it goes. So far, about 5 rows in, I think it’s going okay. The yarn is a little thinner than I had imagined, but that’s mostly because this is my first laceweight project.

In the queue of being almost done:

Mystery project, by Jane Doe.

Yarn: Tatamy Tweed, worsted weight

Needles: US 4 Boye DPNs

I’m having a lot of fun with this one, and I wish I could post a picture of the various odd looking parts.

Viking Hat

For the same youngin’ who will be getting the yoda hat. I’m having annoying ladder problems with this hat, and it’s made me set the project aside until I figure out what’s going on. If I hate anything about knitting, it’s ladders. They are why I avoided using DPNs for so long.

In the queue of waiting to be started:

DNA scarf, for my scientist friend. Hopefully it’ll keep her warm in lab.

Vinnland socks.

This is already getting a bit long, so I’ll save the fun of the Fiber Festival - and the things that followed me home - for later.

I want!

It's dangerous to be on WEBS's mailing list, because now I want all of this (Madelinetosh Prairie) yarn. Actually, anything in the Madelinetosh line, and any of the colors. I would knit happily for the rest of my life.

Experimentation

How often is crafting an experiment? Often you don’t know quite how a project will turn out, because it’s always a new combination of variables. If it’s something you’re knitting/crocheting, there’s always a unique combination of needle/hook, yarn, and pattern. Even if those three are constants from another project, there’s always the intangible amount of tension – how is the humidity affecting the movement of yarn through your fingers? How is the rough day at work making you knit tighter than before? Or the really good day making the yarn loose and quick around the needles? It’s always an adventure, and hopefully a fun one.

Then you get into the completely new projects, and it all becomes an experiment. My task this time, if I chose to accept it, was to turn these perfectly lovely but very purple sandals (worn for the wedding in Texas, and quite spotted by the rain we had) into perfectly lovely black sandals.

Anyone who’s had to get dyeable shoes knows they’re crazy expensive for what you’re getting - often oddly stiff, uncomfortable, one-time wear shoes. In order to beat the system I wanted to make these a bit more color friendly, so I could use them again for another wedding and possibly more regularly after that. So the next challenge – how to make them black.

Helpful fact – fabric covers all parts of these sandals but the soles. Any kind of fabric dye, or something that permanently stains fabric should work. I contemplated using Rit dye and some sort of applicator – a small brush, cotton ball, something like that. Problems? Messy, and no great way to set the dye. Next thought, at the suggestion of my mom, was shoe polish. She had some liquid shoe polish, in a bottle with a dauber-like applicator, which just might do the trick. And did it ever.

The dauber helped control the mess, although I still wish I had a glove for the hand holding the shoe. Wrapping my hand in a plastic bag just wasn’t quite as easy.

I still had to keep paper towels handy to wipe off the inner soles of the sandals, and the inside of the straps. A couple of q-tips helped get the inside of the bows, and around the fiddly bits of the straps. I can still tell where there are purple spots peeking through the black (which, pre-second coat still looks a bit on the navy side).

Overall, though, a success! Even my supervisor approves . . .

Yarn yearning

Yarn yearning – I’ve got a bad case of it. I ended up taking a bit of a break with knitting, right around the time it started getting hot. Yet now that we’ve been in the 90s for what seems like way too long, all of a sudden I just want to do nothing more than play with yarn.

Projects on the needles right now:
Rainbow socks – about 85% done. I pretty much just need to figure out how tall they need to be, do the cuff, and these puppies are done. I cannot wait to wear them.
Wrap sweater – about 25% done (I think). This is almost to the armpits, and I got stalled out. Too hot, the concept of an adult-sized sweater is still a bit daunting, and other projects distracted me.Like this finished project! Turkish bed socks (Sorry, this post is Ravelry-link heavy, and picture light). Yarn: Mini Solid from Crystal Palace Yarns in a brilliant, bright purple. Needle size: 3. Alterations to pattern: Added an extra 5 rows on the foot (so had 29 instead of 24, and in the end I think I could have added at least 3 more) to account for my big, size 11 feet.

Other than a big problem with this yarn laddering (I had problems adjusting my tension properly to avoid that), I love these and think they will come in very handy this fall. I think I’ve even got a solution to the laddering, but it needs a bit of testing – I’m going to try and weave through a contrasting color of yarn to add a bit of a stripe. We’ll see how it goes. Plus, I have quite a bit of yarn left, which I know just what to do with . . . that’ll be some future post.

Projects I want to do:
Yoda hat
Viking baby hat
Mug jacket
and one (or more) of these stoles:
Tudor stole
Autumn Arbor
Juno Regina
Tibetan Clouds

Whichever stole wins out – and each has parts that I like and other parts that I don’t – I’d like to try to mix in a bit of beading. Coming up this fall I’ll have three weddings to attend in four weeks, and I’ll be a bridesmaid in one of those. So I’m looking for something that can be a bit dressier, but can also go with a variety of dresses/outfits. Color will probably be something in the cream/oatmeal/brown range, with maybe a bit of metallic, depending on what yarn grabs my attention.

I see a happy, fibery future in store!

Books Make a Difference

If you're like me, books are your friends. The sight of a familiar spine sends an entire storyline straight to your brain. You can flip through a few pages and remember everything in a rush. This year I'm challenging myself to keep track of what I read, and to read what's ready and waiting for me on my giant to-be-read pile (now approaching its own bookcase). So far I'm at 42 books, or 12,095 pages. The last two months have been slow, if you can believe it - I can only imagine what the summer will bring.

Growing up, I was blessed with books. My parents started reading to us immediately, and every night before bed, we were read to or snuck a book under the covers and read to ourselves. I learned to read fairly young and never looked back. Summer reading programs and Book-It lead to thousands of books, and an English degree (and more) later I cannot imagine what my life would have been without libraries and that exposure to books early in life.

Yet many do not have that world available. Cities are shutting down libraries due to budget cuts (Philadelphia, I'm looking at you, and you won't be the last); and families need to buy food and secure housing before such luxuries as books can come into play. So I'm supporting the Books Make a Difference campaign, and by spreading the word I'm donating a book.

Happy reading everyone, and enjoy all of the wonderful worlds available.

Odd reactions to stress

Have you ever been waiting for news about something, and then when you finally hear – hopefully good results – the sense of relief is just exhausting? What usually gets me is that I didn’t realize I was so worried. It’s just boom, the elephant is gone, and I feel like I fizzle out for a bit.

In various points in my life I’ve been tested for skin cancer. Even with pretty much every major risk factor (light hair, eyes, and skin; freckles; a history of bad, i.e., 2nd degree sunburns; and then the whopper – family history), I don’t have a sense of doom. I don’t have a feeling that at some point in my life I’m going to be screwed. It’s just another step I have to take in caring for myself and I’m okay with talking about it, especially in a venue like this, because I think everyone should have that level of self-awareness. You should be comfortable with the health history that you know about, if you’re lucky enough to know the health issues in your family, and then take steps to keep yourself healthy.

So, sunscreen is my best friend, and I use it liberally – even my chapstick and foundation have some level of SPF in them (actually, that’s pretty easy to find now). I take my vitamins, I try to eat right and also exercise regularly, and I just keep an eye on what my body is trying to tell me. Questionable spots get taken out and tested, and I may get to sport stitches for a time. Friday morning I got some stitches taken out and the latest results – clear, again. And then the sense of exhaustion hit – more intense relief than I’ve had for awhile, and I’m not quite sure why it hit me so hard this time.

I’m guessing it’s just the crazy round of things that have been happening lately with my car, the trip to Texas, my tooth (a crazy sequence of redoing a root canal and getting a new crown – I’m at the temp crown stage right now, yippy skippy). For whatever reason, I’m just extra relieved and now very tired. And very happy to have those stitches out! Now I’ve got nifty steri-strips, but I think I’ll be far less likely to bump those on every surface I pass, and they don’t catch on or get tweaked by jeans.

Oh, and fun fact for any other redheads out there – it’s not in your head that your reaction (in pain levels) to some medical/dental procedures is stronger than the rest of the population. We’re genetic mutants :) No, no Wolverines or Jean Greys here (but how cool would that be!), but instead there is a shift in our MC1R receptor. Things affected? When you need to be numbed at the dentist, going under general anesthesia as well as local anesthetics at the doctor’s or a hospital, and everyone’s favorite – pap smears (neither one of these articles mentions that, but the NP who took out my stitches Friday morning did).

At least with all of the crazy stuff going on lately, I really am knitting! With soft, squishy, happy yarn, which will eventually turn into a sweater for me. It's the Emerald pattern (I think) I linked last time. The picture doesn’t give a great sense of the color, unfortunately. It’s a soft, heathery sort of green, with some silver and a bit of brown mixed in. Working with a bulky yarn is great, because it knits up so quickly. This project is taking me a bit longer because I’m tackling an adult sized sweater for the first time, and figuring out how to do the waist and neckline shaping at the same time (even though the pattern lays it out very nicely) is mentally throwing me for a loop right now. Plus, getting to work on it in spurts during lunch is cutting down the productivity. But I'm finally knitting more at home now (got some cleaning and rearranging done) I can’t wait to finish the sweater!

To wrap up, another beautiful view of Spring, which I am absolutely loving!

Crazy train

So, I’ve been productive lately. No, really, I have—just not on here. Last week I got the proverbial kick in the behind, when a not so mini maelstrom of craziness hit my life.

First, my car stalled when I was going 70+ mph down the highway, trying to get home from Easter at my parents’. Somehow I managed to muscle the steering wheel to the right (dead engine means no power steering, yay!) and I coasted to the side of the highway, where my car turned into nothing more than a big hunk of metal. I called my parents, and my dad became the rescuing hero of the day, saying he would come down to help. Although we tried to jump the car and even to replace the battery, the car was toast. Trying to figure out anything else at the side of the highway was dangerous (heck, what we were already doing was dangerous, and not a little scary). So my dad got out his tow rope, hooked my back bumper to his front one, and off we went – going backwards, up an exit ramp, to the parking lot of a gas station. I was in my car attempting to steer and break as needed, and have never been quite so unnerved in my life. My dad tried a few more things as we took a closer look at the engine. Who am I kidding – I know cars run, and the basics of an engine, but beyond that I’m stumped. My dad, too, was bewildered. Once they started putting computers in cars, fixing engines became exponentially more complicated. I know dad gets frustrated not being able to say exactly what the problem may be, since problem A doesn’t necessarily lead to solution A anymore. We called up my brothers for some advice, thinking by now that something was wrong in the fuel system. After the odd suggestion of thumping on the fuel tank came from both of them (thinking I had at some point gotten skunky gas, or there was a buildup of sediment or whatnot on the fuel filter), we tried that . . . and it worked. But I got barely a half mile back down the highway and the car was once again a pretty hunk of ornamental steel. After an expensive tow back to my mechanic, I finally got home to my apartment more than six hours after my car first died. When I finally talked to the mechanic late on Monday, he told me the final verdict: a dead fuel pump and filter . . . and because they were shorthanded that week, I wouldn’t get my car back until Friday.

Let me tell you, I have some awesome friends and coworkers. The moral support alone was amazing and kept me going through the week. There were also immediate volunteers to take me in to work and back home, and other offers to take me for any needed groceries or other supplies. I only missed two half-days of work, as I was able to work from home part of Monday while I was waiting for news, and then on Friday as I was waiting the “it’s done!” call and a handful of other calls.

Some of those other calls? They had to do with the other madness that was going on that week. This coming weekend, an old friend is getting married in Texas. We haven’t been able to see each other in years, but have been keeping up on Facebook and in a fantasy hockey league and I can’t wait to see her again. Originally, I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to make the wedding. Things worked out to find a flight, though, so the trip seemed meant to be. My friend had asked if I could do a reading during the ceremony, and now I could actually say yes. Finding that flight turned out to be extraordinary good luck because about a month before the wedding one of her bridesmaids had to unfortunately step down, and I was asked if I’d be willing to step in. There was a flurry of details to think about–not the least was trying to find a dress and shoes and see if they could even arrive in time. Luck was with me, and the shoes were a snap. I was able to find a dress immediately and order it, and it was supposed to come in just before Easter. Well, yeah. That didn’t happen. So while I was waiting anxiously for news about my car, I was just as nervous about the dress. The calls about both came within half an hour of each other. So Friday was definitely starting to look up.

A definite bonus was additional good news from on the wedding front. Another good friend had also been trying to get to the wedding, but life and car troubles were fighting her too. Going into Friday, it seemed like something might just work out for her to make it to Texas. Finally on Saturday everything was settled and we found out we would be flying down and back together! I can’t wait for the trip, it will be great to have a mini vacation, and a great reason to celebrate.

Plus? I get to escape any more weird calls about bills. Both Charter and Sprint (who I dropped at the end of last year in favor of Verizon) have had major problems with their computer systems and think I owe them money. With Charter I was immediately able to prove that they screwed up, but they still couldn’t tell me how it happened or promise that it wouldn’t happen again. With Sprint, who had the nerve to send a collection agency after me, the waters are a bit muddier. Somehow, although the agency managed to get my address right the first time, Sprint somehow never got the message that I moved – even though I changed my address with them! Their two reminder notices about my last bill somehow magically got lost in the mail – neither was forwarded to me nor sent back to them as undeliverable. At the very least, at least that’s settled now, although Heaven help Sprint if that affects my credit rating in the future.

To end that long and rambling tale of craziness, some happy crafting news: my rainbow-like socks are almost done! They’ve stalled out for the moment, as I needed some soft and fuzzy yarn last week for anti-stress related fiber therapy. But that means I’m working on my first ever adult-sized sweater! I had been going to try for the Anthropologie knockoff, but that seemed a bit complicated for my first sweater. So I’m trying for the much simpler Emerald Sweater, in a heathery green yarn. It has a bit of detailing, with cables at the shoulder, but it’s still a basic cardigan. Spring time appears to finally be here, so I may have to wait awhile to wear the finished project, but I don’t mind that a bit.

I’ve also been doing some sewing, knocking out a pair of pj pants from my favorite pattern. I have another set all cut out and ready to sew too. In the interest of deconstructing in order to construct something new, I’ve begun to sort out some old t-shirts to make a rag rug or something. Due to the heft of the “yarn” I may crochet this rather than knit, but either way something fun is in store. Depending on the range of colors I end up with, I may make a couple of trips to Goodwill to flesh out certain tones. That, however, is a step for the future.

There’s nothing better to end with than a few shots of a recent beautiful sunset, the cats in a rare moment of cuddling, and Spring!!

Finished projects galore!

Somehow a couple of weeks escaped and we’re in mid-March now. How did that happen?

(Long post alert, I have some serious catching up to do!) The Ravelympics really made February speed by, and I realized I never posted that I finished my shawl! It was just in the nick of time, as I cast off just as the closing ceremonies were starting, but it’s finished!

Last night I finally got brave and blocked the shawl. Although I don’t have any blocking wires yet, I have plenty of knitting needles so I improvised away (while trying to keep the cats safely away from the shawl). Usually they keep away from finished projects, but their curiosity can get the best of them – and sharp front claws can do amazing snagging damage. An intrepid catnip mouse even tried to help as Portia was supervising me.

I’m hoping everything will have made it through the day safely and the shawl will be dry by the time I get home today. I didn’t get time to check it this morning, but the protective sheet cocoon was still in place from the night, so odds are good.

All in all, I’m really happy with how the shawl turned out. It was the first lace project I’ve ever done, and I really didn’t know what to expect. The sock yarn was a good choice - it helped with speed, and was wonderfully soft. The pattern was easy, coming both as a chart and written out directions, and memorization came pretty early in the project. Although I got a bit bored towards the end, it was still a fun knit. Plus, I learned a new way to cast on and bind off, which will be handy for future projects.

Now I’m finally getting back to my rainbow socks and thinking about a new first-time project, a sweater for me. The pattern I’d like to tackle is Star Cross’d Love, but with some pretty heavy alterations for sizing and fit. For anyone on Ravelry, the original is here, but I’m going more for a look like this. The first hurdle is figuring out how much yarn I’ll need, for which I’ll have to do some initial math on the pattern upsizing. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, I may do a bit more sewing. For Christmas, as a combination birthday and Christmas gift from my parents, I got a sewing machine. The story of why I don’t have my grandmother’s machine is a long and complicated tale. For now this new machine will do wonderfully well, and I'm excited to get to know it better. It’s nothing exotic or complex, just a simple Brother ES-2000. It does all I need, covering the full range of basic stitches and buttonholes, and has a nifty needle threader to boot. The first thing I used it for was to finally hem some curtains and do a bit of decorative stitching on the bedroom curtains (I'll try to post pictures of that soon). Then I tackled two very different projects: a DPN case and a sewing machine cover. The sewing machine cover is a necessity with two so very curious cats (both to project paws and the machine, and to cut down on the buildup of dust and/or cat hair); and the DPN case was becoming a necessity with my rapidly growing collection of DPNs and the about three different places I was stashing them. I could never remember what I had or where it was, but now everything is wonderfully together.

First up: the sewing machine cover. About two months ago I went to the fabric store with some friends, and they helped me pick out two fabrics. I had found this pattern (a PDF of the pattern is in the left sidebar of that page), and wanted two complementary fabrics so I could alternate them in the different panels. I didn’t want to mess with any quilting or piping or anything complicated, so I got some double-sided, iron on interfacing so I could layer the fabrics. Then the cover would be stiff enough to sit over the machine instead of draping over it, and would theoretically be a bit more doable.

Before I go any further – I would never, ever do this the same way again. Nice idea, the pattern itself is wonderful and looks great done, but it was a real PITA to do. The first step, ironing the layers together, went beautifully. I had to do some careful cutting and positioning of the interfacing, because I got two yards of it – which came in a two yarn long strip, and my fabrics were each a yard square. I also had to do some repositioning and removing of a cat or two doing the process, and that slowed things up a bit. Melted whiskers (and Portia’s a pro at that, as all lit candles, hot tea, etc., must be investigated closely) are not a fun thing to smell or deal with.

Cutting the pieces out was a snap. I made some templates from newspaper, used an old soap sliver to do a quick outline, and presto – five double sided pieces ready for sewing. Then, oh then, came the sewing. I should have stopped immediately when I read the giant warning on the interfacing that said this shouldn’t be used with fabrics that will be sewn. I should have stopped again when the machine started groaning at the first few stitches as it realized that it could go through all those layers, but it really, totally didn’t want to. Then I really should have stopped when the thread broke about three times before I had the first two pieces sewn together. But I don’t have German blood for nothing. That sucker got sewn together. The seams got ironed so it would actually sit square, and thank goodness, it actually fit the machine perfectly. (Yes, I measured first, but with my luck that day it would have ended up barely big enough to cover the toaster.) I do have to say that I really like the finished cover, and eventually I may get some bias tape to finish off the bottom edge, but only if I find my fabric glue first.

The problems during sewing had mainly to do with the thickness of the interfacing. It was thick and sticky and there was a constant buildup of gunk on the needle, which then caught at the thread but wouldn’t let it feed easily from the bobbin or spool, so the thread kept breaking. Plus, I was going through six layers – two layers of interfacing and four of cotton. The combination caused a consistent use of, shall we saw, power words, along with grim determination and rapidly thinning patience. Isn’t sewing supposed to be a soothing experience?

This post is getting a little ridiculously long, so the DPN case will have to wait until next time! (And thankfully it was a much easier project, which wouldn't have taken much!)

Knitting fiend

I’ve been a knitting fiend lately. Every spare minute after work has been taken up by yarn. I need to keep knitting, as fast as possible, because I have 5 days left to finish this current project. Why 5? Because I need to finish before the end of the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

When I started following the Yarn Harlot and read a bit about the Knitting Olympics, I was inspired (as I frequently am after reading her posts). After joining Ravelry, that event continued to be in the back of my mind. I wasn’t sure if the Knitting Olympics would be a go again for Vancouver, but I knew that the Ravelympics were in the planning stages. Here was the perfect opportunity to take a break and knit something for myself while also challenging me a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I love making things for other people, but being a bit selfish once in awhile is okay too!

First I found the yarn – Malabrigo sock yarn in the Solis colorway, a great mix of blues, greens, and teal. Then came the project, or at the least an idea for one. I wanted to do some kind of wrap – maybe lace, maybe not – in the form of something shawl-like. Triangular shawls don’t really appeal to me, for whatever reason, so that took a lot of patterns out of the running. Originally I was going to try for the Candle Flame Shawl. The idea of doing a flame pattern in a blue-green yarn just really appealed to me. But a free copy of the pattern was elusive and in the end I would have to alter too much (the edging, style of ends, etc) to suit me, especially considering this would be my first lace-style pattern. I knew I had to do something that didn’t specifically need lace-weight yarn, both because I had already picked up the Malabrigo, and because I wanted something with a bit more heft than normal lace.

Finally I found the Leaf Lace Scarf pattern and I was hooked. I made a minor alteration, repeating the pattern five times so I would get a wider, wrap-sized piece. Needle size I kept the same – 4 – because after a quick swatch (training for my event!) that seemed to be giving me the size I was looking for. Gauge really isn’t an issue; I just wanted to be sure I was getting the right width with five repeats.

So now, here I am, a member of Team Tardis and entered in the Short Track Shawl event for the Ravelympics. Right now I’m just over 60% done and hoping that I’ll finish just in time – it’s going to be a close one. The catch? I want to watch as much Olympic coverage as possible. The winter games are my favorite, and I’ll watch pretty much anything from curling to skiing to, of course, hockey. Although I can’t technically do both at once – I have never mastered the ability to knit without watching what I’m doing – I’m very used to listening really well and looking up at the important parts of TV shows, movies, and now Olympic events. I love watching athletes come out of nowhere and win medals, sometimes the first for their countries; or athletes who have no real chance of winning – but compete with such hope and joy that you’d never know it. I’ve been cheering for Georgians, Latvians, Slovenians, and Jamaicans right along with the Americans. My heart breaks for the Dutch speedskater who listened to his coach and was DQed from a gold medal, and for the Canadian figure skater who just lost her mother. I’m a sucker for the stories and for the competition.

But for now, before coverage starts again tonight? Must keep knitting . . .

Old t-shirts, your days are numbered!

I tend to be a keeper. As a part-time historian (I say that because my interests in lit and history are usually 50/50), I keep anything that has a memory attached to it - because stuff has a history behind it and I honor that history.

But this backfires, frequently. I have stashes of pictures and postcards, touristy type guidebooks and drink coasters from several different countries, t-shirts from trips taken and groups I've been in and - almost a category of its own - things from my undergrad university. All this stuff is mixed in with the plethora of things and hand-me-down furniture from my family, mementos from childhood, stashes of crafting materials . . . I could go on and on. Over the past couple of years, closely tied in with a couple of moves, I've truly tried to pare things down. As I was talking with a friend the other night, however, somethings will be with me until I die. Mostly this has to do with books - favorite books and series are like old friends. Unless my apartment complex burns down, these are going nowhere. There are certain small things from relatives, particularly from my mom's side of the family, that may be all I ever have to remember them by. Those mementos, too, are with me for the long haul.

Then I come to things like t-shirts. There are so many old groups, vacation spots, friends, etc., that I have t-shirts from. The shirts don't fit anymore, are dingy from repeated trips through the wash, and now languish in the bottom of my dresser and an old steamer trunk. What is the purpose of that? Keeping them in that state doesn't help preserve the original memories associated with each shirt. I have pictures and old journals for that. I've seen patterns for t-shirt quilts, but I have enough blankets and quilts to last me a long time. Today, stumbling across this site - a rag knitting tutorial from cocoknits - I finally have a good solution. Old t-shirts - your days are officially numbered. One more item on a long list of stuff is taken care of, and another cluttered corner is cleaned up.

Happy and colorful feet are in my future

I went to the yarn store yesterday at lunch, and a couple of things just happened to follow me out and come home with me:
While my wallet is a bit lighter, they are so worth it. The green, or Zauberball from Schoppel Wolle in colorway 1966 ombre, first caught my eye in a yarn shop across the state. I had investigated Ravelry to see if anyone was swapping or selling some of these magic balls (the translation from German), but then I stumbled across some in the yarn store here and snagged one right away. The picture is a bit dark - the green is pretty lively, with variations from light to dark - and I can't wait to play it up with a fun sock pattern. There was another ball in slate blue that might also sneak into my stash once I see how this knits up.

The blue makes my heart sing (cheesy, but true). It caught my eye from the bottom of a pile of sock yarns, and the skein just jumped up and stuck to my hand like glue. I had to play a bit with the color tones in this picture, in order to really show what a vibrant cobalt this yarn is; this is I think the closest I'll get. It's Cascade Yarns Heritage Sock Yarn, in color 5636, and will also need a fun pattern.

First on the needles though is this:

Here, because the colors vary so much I'm sticking to a plain and simple pattern - Wendy Johnson's Slip Stitch Heel Basic Sock (Ravelry link here). I just got Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up and this is my first attempt at socks that are both toe-up and being knit two-at-a-time. The two at a time is a bit of a challenge and I had a few false starts casting on; but I'm used to the magic loop method and this is basically taking that one giant step up (I hope - this is optimistic, pre-heel talk). So far so good though, and I'm hoping to be mostly done in time for the Ravelympics cast on. I can't wait for all of these colorful socks!

Winter

Today I’m trapped with a blistering headache that won’t go away and isn’t letting me work (darn weather systems and bad ex-dentists – my ongoing battle with a bad root canal and crown from my old dentist is a snarky post for a different day). So I’m hoping that if I post the partial inspiration that I had yesterday, it may chase some of today’s cobwebs and craziness away and let me get going on what I should be doing.

I used to have a lot of fun writing. Whether that writing turned into short stories or ideas for longer stories or even the odd poem here and there, inspiration used to be bubbling away. Then in college a lot of that energy was used up trying to finish term papers for classes and generally keeping up with studying and life. Creativity took a big hit and got transferred to other things like knitting and armor making (that’s also a story for later). Now that grad school is done and I seem to be finding that elusive fantasy of free time again, I’m exploring all the fun reading I had set aside and also finally recognizing the glimmers of ideas for writing again.

Yesterday morning on my way to work it was snowing, the wind was blowing like crazy, and it seemed like the coldest day yet of winter. I had a line stuck in my head when I sat down at my desk, and I was idly playing around with all the w words that came to mind. From a few lines sprung this quick and still rather awkward poem:

The winter wind is wildly whistling,
it wails and whines while we whimper for warmth.
Woeful we wait when winter is whirling;
whiskey’s not warming and walks only weakening -
willing us weary, the white warden is watching.
Yet suddenly silent, the sun sweeps skyward.
Spring sallies forth! Sweet smells spring anew.
Sweeping and singing, the sunshine she strengthens,
soft shadows swaying - summery solaces swell.
Too soon tides are turning, temperatures tumble;
trees are transforming and tricksters tramp through.
Thanks truly told temper the twilight,
where a winter welcome waits to awaken again.

Can you tell that winter holds court here for a while? I love living in a region that really shows the four seasons, and for the most part I appreciate winters and the crisp cleanness they bring. But some days the wind and the cold get to me and all I want are sunshine and even just the illusion of warmth.

Yet one of the great things about winter is curling up at night under a blanket with a cat or two for company and then either reading or knitting until it’s time for bed. This year one of my goals is to keep track of what I’m reading and how many books I’m making it through – leading up to the goal of finally reading a lot of the books I already own and that so far have only served to take up room on my bookshelves. If I finish the two books I’m in the middle of right now, at the end of January I’ll be at 18 books – far more than I ever thought I’d get through in the first month. Granted, more than half of those are from a series I reread and the list is comprised of a lot of fun fiction, but I was stunned when I added up the page count and it came to just over 5000. I’m looking forward to an interesting year of books!

FO: Evenstar Fingerless Gloves

So, I should be working right now, but it’s almost lunch and it’s Monday and my brain is fried. Last night was a long night of untangling some yarn and some thoughts, and today I’m playing an unfortunate catch-up game with consciousness. So blogging it is =)

One of my last catch-up FOs are these awesome fingerless gloves, made to help a friend stay a bit warmer in her freezing apartment.

Pattern: Evenstar Fingerless Gloves (Ravelry link here – if you haven’t joined, you should!)

Needles: US4 Boye DPNs (pattern calls for 3, but since my friend and I are healthy sized humans, I went up a size)

Yarn: Good old Caron Simply Soft, in Dark Country Blue. I love this yarn because it’s wonderfully soft, easy to work with, and fabulously cheap. I have enough left over after the pair of gloves to make probably another singular glove and still have a bit left over.

This pattern is great, and really clearly written. However, remember me saying that I’m a literal pattern reader? Yup, still had to make some modifications to give my brain an easier time finishing these puppies. I realized when I had to take out the first glove twice that (well, the first time was to realize I needed to go up a needle size, then because of pattern difficulties). The original pattern is written with the main cable pattern written out, and then additional notes on what stitches to add to needle one and then what to distribute among the other two DPNs – which you need to change up a bit as you switch from the initial ribbing to the main cable pattern (MC). This was not working for my brain, and I couldn’t remember which rounds to also remember to cable on the other two needles (small cables also trail up the underside of the arm, until you get to the palm area). So I did a minor modification. I changed the pattern to read what to do for needle one, meaning I added a P2 to each side of each row of the MC instructions; then I starred each main cable row that also had to be cabled on needles 2 & 3. Simple, easy, and helped the gloves just fly by.

This was also my first experience with Elizabeth Zimmerman’s thumb trick, and I think it turned out pretty well. There was plenty of room in the thumb, even for those of us with bigger hands. The only thing I might change is to add maybe one more stitch along the palm side of the thumb. On one glove I ended up with a bit of a hole, because of the yarn being a bit more stretchy there – a lot of tension gets put on one picked up stitch. When I was weaving in yarn ends I went back to that pseudo hole and did a bit of reinforcing, and I’m really glad I did. In the finished glove there’s no sign of a hole, and in the long run the gloves should wear better.

FO: Dotty Dog

I'm a bit behind on updating, and have a stack of finished projects to post. Trying to get more into the fun knitting lingo, the last of the Christmas break FO's was Dotty Dog, another lovely toy from Zoe Mellor's Knitted Toys. Can you tell I like this book?

Yarn: Tatamy Tweed in Purple, Lime, Burgundy, and Carnation Tweed with a bit of Sea Blue thrown in for good measure. The pattern calls for a main color with five contrasting colors used for the dots and belly stripes. I was trying to use up some odds and ends left over from monkeys and the crocodile, so I ended up working with just four other colors.

Needles: US3, of my Boye needlemaster kit.

It seems that while I'm a literal pattern reader - I usually do exactly what patterns tell me to do - directions like "placing 'dots' randomly" or to work the gusset in stripes "using the 'dot' colours randomly" do not compute. I don't do random easily. So I had to go and make myself a pattern in MS Paint for the gusset, in an attempt to organize the randomness. It worked, and my brain was happy. As to the dots, I skipped knitting them in, not wanting to deal with a ton of bobbins and/or intarsia. So I knit the upper body with the main color and sewed the dots on after. That let me once again sort of organize the randomness and as long as I remembered to sew loosely, everything turned out very well.

The dog was a huge hit with my niece, who snuggled up to it right away. This is one of the few pictures I got of the dog's belly, right before my niece started munching on a front paw. =)


Coming soon, some finished fingerless gloves, a hat in progress, and the products of some fiber therapy this weekend: a sewing machine cover and a DPN holder. Sew delightful!

Snappy Croc and the early demise of the Christmas tree

Christmas project number three was Snappy Crocodile from Zoe Mellor's Knitted Toys. I've used this book several times, making Cheeky Monkeys (three different ones) and a Big-Foot Bunny, and I find Mellor's patterns easy to follow and fun to make. The first monkey I made was my first non-scarf knitting project, and while I had to remind myself how to purl (and that was a process in and of itself), the only part I struggled with was shaping the face. The bunny pattern was even easier, and the croc a step above even that.


To get guage, or really to get close to it (in toys, I don't find gauge a deal-breaker) I used US 2s instead of 3s. The yarn was Tatamy Tweed, in Forrest and Lime, with a dash of Cherry for the mouth. For longevity, I use buttons for eyes instead of felt, although I did use felt for the mouth.

To put in a bit of contrast, I made the lower body a different color. Seaming is one of my least favorite things, and why I'm usually so slow to finish certain projects. However, I switched to using a mattress stitch for all seams - feet, body, mouth - and they flew by. Then it was just a matter of biting the bullet to get the teeth cut out and attached and voila. When my nephew unwrapped this on Christmas morning, he was (for a 14 month old who loves "borrowing" everyone else's toys) pretty happy. Although I think my 33 year old brother was more intrigued, and the croc almost snuck home with him!

The day after Christmas I headed back home, afraid of how many ornaments I might find down, stahsed, or drowned. I had been away since midday Christmas Eve, and Portia knows how to amuse herself quite well. I found the tree, surprisingly, exactly as I had left it. That was not to last. Over the next few days, Portia was mostly good - only an occasional bell or angel went exploring. The Wednesday after Christmas I treated myself to a matinee of Sherlock Holmes (very good, by the way. I'm no Holmes expert at all, and have really only read a bit of the canon, but I think the characters, story, and action of the movie were really well done). I came home to this


The tree had been on that little table, and nicely decorated with lights and ornaments. The snowman (up in the righthand corner) had been sitting on the tree skirt, trying to reduce the amount of table space in which Portia could make a landing. I found the first ornament just inside the door. I followed the trail into the living room. Portia, I think, had jumped onto the table, got caught in a hanging loop of lights, and spooked. Down went the tree. Thankfully, no ornaments were harmed in the escapade and the few bent branches were easily straightened. The tree and ornaments were immediately put away and are resting up for next years' ordeal.

New year, new beginnings

Happy (belated) New Year!

I'm a bit behind in posting about projects - there were two things finished just in time for Christmas, and two more belated Christmas projects that I'm just finishing up now.

But for now, I'm mostly absorbing the difference that this new year brings in comparison to last year. Last year, it was all I could do to make it to January 1, 2009. So many things happened in 2008, both good and bad, that it came down to a question of survival. Each day it was picking out the balance, trying to find meaning in certain things to help me move forward and move on. There were brilliant flashes of light (welcoming a brand new niece and nephew, twins), and heartbreaking losses (the passing away of my grandmother and surrogate grandmother). There was getting over a break-in and theft at my apartment. But also delight in seeing my best friend and two other very close friends married - but then saying goodbye as they all moved away. It was a constant emotional up and down. Getting to the new year was a breath of fresh air and I resolved to try to have less stress and to keep trying to see the balance in everything.

Keeping that optimism wasn't always easy, but the year was so much smoother and better that I still can't believe it's already gone. 2009 was a year of getting to know good friends better, seeing more wonderful people get married and start new lives together and others begin to plan weddings. It was a year of intense crafting and learning about what all I could do with a set of knitting needles and unsuspecting yarn. I found some zen in knitting, peace in my new apartment, and happiness with where I am at in my life right now. I can only hope that 2010 continues that journey.

Coming tomorrow - the early demise of the Christmas tree, and the last projects of 2009 . . .