Logan Isaac Ross
Born March 29, 2011 at 3pm
9lbs, 3oz and 21.5 inches of perfection!!!
05 April 2011
The Most Important FO of all...
Logan Isaac Ross
Born March 29, 2011 at 3pm
9lbs, 3oz and 21.5 inches of perfection!!!
15 March 2011
State of the Knitting - FO's Edition, Part II
Okay, seriously, time is passing WAY too fast. I can tell by the way my belly is growing exponentially, leaving many too-small maternity clothes in its wake. My due date is in nine days. That's N-I-N-E, as in two days more than a week. That's just crazy talk! Thanks to some serious swelling of the feet and legs and tons of crazy pain after a full day of work, I've been on bed rest for the past week (in which time my blood pressure has dropped the 20 points it rose in the prior two weeks - something everyone tells me not to worry about, but really how can I not?) I manage to get a little baby prep done each day...I can get about 10 minutes in of folding clothes or finding somewhere to put XYZ baby gear before the back pain begins. Which of course, I then stretch it to about 30 minutes "just finishing up" before I finally head back to the couch to grab the knitting needles and stream another Buffy episode on Netflix and wait for the pain to subside.
I know I promised a State of the Knitting WIP edition in my last post, but I just feel like everything I'm working on is too boring to show in its in-progress state. So you get FO Edition Part II instead! Since having to clear out my much-loved (though increasingly, annoyingly *orange*) Pumpkinarium to make room for Baby, I've been trying to finish up the long-unfinished projects so that they fit neatly into the corner by the side of the couch I've claimed as my new knitting spot. This latest batch of FO's has me much closer...but there's still a sweater and a vest waiting on design decisions and a stretch of time where I can do some detailed, focused knitting as opposed to mindless stockinette or ribbing, a pair of Pinked Socks opposite those I made for my mom awaiting a solution to my running out of black an inch before the toe was due to start, a second Jayne Hat for Adam, a bag full of squares to be somehow joined and made into (half) a blanket, and a special project for Baby to wear home from the hospital.
Without further ado:
The Waltz
Pattern: The Waltz
Yarn: Sweet Nothings by Bittersweet Woolery
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony US3
Modifications: I lengthened the scarf a little by doing 35 repeats instead of 30. I thought about having less stitches between the pattern repeats, or changing the border stitches to be garter for less curling, but ultimately ended up knitting the pattern as written.
This scarf was part of a knit-along and swap I participated in....last year. Technically this is a 2010 FO, finished in November to mail to its rightful owner, Marcy. Blocking in my pregnant state proved to be a very difficult barrier to overcome, however. Adam even went to the welding supply store and bought me some makeshift blocking wires...but I just couldn't get down on the floor to do it. It only brought pain. My friend Dorre came to my rescue in February when she offered to block the scarf for me. I was finally able mail the scarf to Marcy this week...and included some goodies (yarn and sweets) to hopefully make up for the fact that I was four months late!
This yarn was perfect for this project – as if anything from Tina would be anything less! The subtle color variation keeps it interesting, but doesn’t hide the pattern at all. I’m continuously stunned (and more than a little professionally jealous, lol!) of what comes out of her dyepots!
This was my first lace project, and I really enjoyed it! When I can get close enough to my wheel to actually be able to spin again (and when I can sit in a chair for an extended amount of time without my feet and ankles tripling in size), I'll spin up the second half of some BFL for another lace scarf from Victorian Lace Today (this one for me to keep). At some point I would also really like to knit Honey Baby in a special colorway dyed just for Baby.
Lichen Ribbed Sock
Not the best picture, but it looked even more weird when I rotated it, so this is what you get! I'm just thankful my ankles are back to their normal size so I'm not photographing it on sock blockers like the Pinked Socks.
Pattern: Lichen Ribbed Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill (I think), in colorway Butternut Squash
Needle: Knitpicks Nickel Plated DPN's, US 2 (2.75mm)
Modifications: None
I started these socks last year some time...the last of the four pairs of simple ribbed socks from Nancy Bush's "Knitting Vintage Socks". Granted, I actually only have two pairs to actually show for this (one pair felted and the other pair were too small and went to Mom). I wasn't in love with the way the yarn was pooling though (it was *gorgeous* in the skein, all springy and bright), and into hibernation they went for a long, long time. There's a new challenge I'm participating in to finish a pair of socks per month, and I figured that finishing up the second of these socks and starting and finishing the second Entrelac Sock could count as my first pair. (Don't ask about the status of the Entrelac socks, please.)
These basic ribbed socks are knit with a Welsh Heel and a Star Toe of Three Points. I wasn't a huge fan of the heel when knitting - there were YO's involved and it didn't make me too happy. They seem to fit okay though, so I'll give it a pass. The toe was a little strange, too...it's a 3-inch toe, which is awfully long as far as toes go, and even though the rounded toe instead of the usual pointed toe feels a little odd upon first wear, I think it may be the solution to my Pinked Socks problem noted above. As long as the fit is good, why not, right?
I'm still not a fan of the pooling, but when I put them on and lower my pants, I only see the foot, with three inches of non-pooling toe, so it's not quite so bad as looking at the whole sock. I'm considering throwing it into the dyepot with some blue dye, but they may be spared.
T-Rex
Pattern: T-Rex from Patons
Yarn: Leftover unnamed acrylic yarn, worsted weight, in purple, yellow, black, and white
Needle: Knitpicks Nickle Plated Fixed Circular, US3 (3.25mm)
This was a combination of a really fun and really annoying knit, lol! The pattern is beyond cute (and so is the finished dinosaur), but the instructions were very spotty in places, especially when it came to seaming and doing the detailed double-stitching and outlining at the end. I spent about four days finishing this guy. I now know that I hate double-stitching but I give good mattress stitch! (Wait till you see the next FO!)
You start by knitting each leg, including the bottom of the foot, with lots of weird shaping for where the tail gets sewn in. You knit the tail, and then a gusset, which gets attached to the legs before continuing on to the upper body. Seaming the gusset into the legs was *very* confusing for me, and it ended up being about an inch too short, so I had to knit an inch and then finish seaming it up. The upper body was relatively easy, and then two parts of neck. After seaming up the back of the neck, you pick up stitches to knit the head flat, to be seamed under the chin and at the nose.
It was actually kind of fun as I knit the upper body and head, because it looked more like I was knitting a T-Rex Halloween costume for Baby than what would be a stuffed toy...it's *that* big! (As you can see in the picture, it's more than two steps tall.) After the head is done, the seaming begins. And keeps going and going and going. And then comes the double stitching, and the outlining. I had trouble with the eye placement, but I think it came out okay. The teeth were a disaster, and still are despite my best attempt to fix them. And please let's not discuss the awful, lopsided mouth. Then come the arms and the raised spots that go from the bottom of the tail to the top of the head.
But despite all that, he's still way cute! And doesn't look anything like Barney, even though my yarn color choice was questioned many times during this process (he's coming out much more blue in these photos, but he really is bright purple.) But I just sniffed and said, "It's what I had, and Barney has a GREEN stomach, TYVM" and kept knitting away. I get the last laugh, muah-ah-ah!
There's a Stegosaurus that I could knit to go with him, but I'm not quite sure about it yet. I think I have enough of the never-ending worsted weight acrylic yarn to make him, but I'm not quite up for another set of those instructions (or days of more mattress and duplicate stitch) just yet.
And last, but certainly not least, Winter Wonderland Coat
Pattern: Winter Wonderland Coat from "Inspired to Knit" by Michele Rose Arne
Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool in Oatmeal, just over 3 skeins
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony Options, US6
Modifications: None
I found this pattern when flipping through some of my knitting books whilst taking a rest from painting the baby's room. We had pushed my bookshelf and knitting chair to the center of the room while we painted, since they were being re-purposed to stay in the room. Well, on the bookshelf were still all of my knitting books, and I just had to take a peek at some of the ones I hadn't looked at since they'd arrived on my doorstep. I saw this pattern and it was one of those "I must knit this NOW" moments. It was January, and I knew it would be perfect in my last couple months of pregnancy when the weather turned ever-so-slightly warmer and nothing was fitting anymore. Because of the pregnancy weight (which seems to have materialized EVERYWHERE...not just in the belly), there is much less ease than I would normally want, but hopefully it will fit much better after the baby is born and I magically am super-skinny, weighing less than I did even pre-pregnancy. Post-honeymoon weight would be excellent. (That happens, right? Out comes an eight pound baby and off comes 50 pounds? Right? Oh Darn.) I digress.
I decided to use Fishermen's Wool because I'd heard really good things about it, and at $10 for 465 yards, it couldn't be beat for a garment of this size! I love the heathering of the Oatmeal colorway, and the neutrality of the color means I can wear it with anything underneath - you really can't beat that!
The construction of this coat is rather brilliant - you start with the back, then knit each front, and then two guessets that are just the length of the skirt, starting at about six inches wide at the bottom and decreasing to just one stitch at the top, fitting snuggly in between the back and fronts to give the skirt of the coat extra swing.
Surprisingly, this was an extremely quick knit...especially considering it was my first project not only of this scale, but of the complexity of lace and cables. It did help that the worsted weight gauge was much bigger than my usual fingering weight garments. I cast on at the airport before a 6-hour flight to Vancouver for a work retreat (yes, at 31 weeks pregnant!) and worked on little else until I was binding off the collar four weeks later. It did help that I spent most nights with my feet up in front of the tv, forcing myself to rest and relax due to pregnancy aches and pains. Two 6-hour flights and two 5-hour train rides helped a little bit, too.
The lace pattern was extremely challenging for me, which probably helped it to hold my constant attention. I really struggled in the beginning, and if you look closely at the back, you can see my mess-ups. But by the end of the second sleeve, I had mastered reading that pattern and could pick out where my errors were. Bring on the next lace project!
Because of said brilliant construction, I spent days seaming this garment, as well...good practice for the T-Rex though! It didn't help that I could only block two pieces at a time due to lack of space...so I would block then seam, block then seam. Or, rather, Adam would block and then I would seam, since getting down on the floor to block is much too painful, as mentioned above. He's really much too good for me.
The only part of the coat I'm not happy with is the collar. The sample garment has a wide, square collar that sits flat but for a slight curl at the edges. This collar is nor does nothing of the sort. I tried tacking it in all sorts of ways, but it just wants to roll up into nothing. I'm hoping my mom in her infinite sewing wisdom will have some ideas when she arrives in a few days for the baby. I thought I had a close-up picture of the collar, but I can't seem to find it.
Oh, the buttons! The buttons are from Sunshine Pottery, sadly website-less. She vended next to me at the Maine Fiber Frolic and she and her husband were so much fun! They were from Tennessee and picked out Adam's accent right away. On Saturday, after a full day of vending, she went home and made a gallon or so of sweet tea for Adam and brought it to him on Sunday. His entire face lit up and I'm fairly certain it made his weekend! I'm so sad to not be vending at Maine this year again...I was very much looking forward to it (I can't even begin to explain how much), but couldn't get Monday off to travel home because of the new job...it's Day 4 of month-end close, for any finance people out there. Somehow I don't think driving eight hours on Friday evening, vending all day Saturday and Sunday, then driving eight hours home after 5pm and going to work on Monday morning...all with a 3 month old baby, crazy puppy, and cranky husband...would be a very good idea. Sigh. I'm currently looking for more finance calendar-friendly fiber festivals to make up for missing Maine. It will take two or three, probably. I digress...again.
For good measure, here's a belly shot at 36 weeks. It's almost three weeks later and I'm exponentially bigger...
I know I promised a State of the Knitting WIP edition in my last post, but I just feel like everything I'm working on is too boring to show in its in-progress state. So you get FO Edition Part II instead! Since having to clear out my much-loved (though increasingly, annoyingly *orange*) Pumpkinarium to make room for Baby, I've been trying to finish up the long-unfinished projects so that they fit neatly into the corner by the side of the couch I've claimed as my new knitting spot. This latest batch of FO's has me much closer...but there's still a sweater and a vest waiting on design decisions and a stretch of time where I can do some detailed, focused knitting as opposed to mindless stockinette or ribbing, a pair of Pinked Socks opposite those I made for my mom awaiting a solution to my running out of black an inch before the toe was due to start, a second Jayne Hat for Adam, a bag full of squares to be somehow joined and made into (half) a blanket, and a special project for Baby to wear home from the hospital.
Without further ado:
The Waltz
Pattern: The Waltz
Yarn: Sweet Nothings by Bittersweet Woolery
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony US3
Modifications: I lengthened the scarf a little by doing 35 repeats instead of 30. I thought about having less stitches between the pattern repeats, or changing the border stitches to be garter for less curling, but ultimately ended up knitting the pattern as written.
This scarf was part of a knit-along and swap I participated in....last year. Technically this is a 2010 FO, finished in November to mail to its rightful owner, Marcy. Blocking in my pregnant state proved to be a very difficult barrier to overcome, however. Adam even went to the welding supply store and bought me some makeshift blocking wires...but I just couldn't get down on the floor to do it. It only brought pain. My friend Dorre came to my rescue in February when she offered to block the scarf for me. I was finally able mail the scarf to Marcy this week...and included some goodies (yarn and sweets) to hopefully make up for the fact that I was four months late!
This yarn was perfect for this project – as if anything from Tina would be anything less! The subtle color variation keeps it interesting, but doesn’t hide the pattern at all. I’m continuously stunned (and more than a little professionally jealous, lol!) of what comes out of her dyepots!
This was my first lace project, and I really enjoyed it! When I can get close enough to my wheel to actually be able to spin again (and when I can sit in a chair for an extended amount of time without my feet and ankles tripling in size), I'll spin up the second half of some BFL for another lace scarf from Victorian Lace Today (this one for me to keep). At some point I would also really like to knit Honey Baby in a special colorway dyed just for Baby.
Lichen Ribbed Sock
Not the best picture, but it looked even more weird when I rotated it, so this is what you get! I'm just thankful my ankles are back to their normal size so I'm not photographing it on sock blockers like the Pinked Socks.
Pattern: Lichen Ribbed Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill (I think), in colorway Butternut Squash
Needle: Knitpicks Nickel Plated DPN's, US 2 (2.75mm)
Modifications: None
I started these socks last year some time...the last of the four pairs of simple ribbed socks from Nancy Bush's "Knitting Vintage Socks". Granted, I actually only have two pairs to actually show for this (one pair felted and the other pair were too small and went to Mom). I wasn't in love with the way the yarn was pooling though (it was *gorgeous* in the skein, all springy and bright), and into hibernation they went for a long, long time. There's a new challenge I'm participating in to finish a pair of socks per month, and I figured that finishing up the second of these socks and starting and finishing the second Entrelac Sock could count as my first pair. (Don't ask about the status of the Entrelac socks, please.)
These basic ribbed socks are knit with a Welsh Heel and a Star Toe of Three Points. I wasn't a huge fan of the heel when knitting - there were YO's involved and it didn't make me too happy. They seem to fit okay though, so I'll give it a pass. The toe was a little strange, too...it's a 3-inch toe, which is awfully long as far as toes go, and even though the rounded toe instead of the usual pointed toe feels a little odd upon first wear, I think it may be the solution to my Pinked Socks problem noted above. As long as the fit is good, why not, right?
I'm still not a fan of the pooling, but when I put them on and lower my pants, I only see the foot, with three inches of non-pooling toe, so it's not quite so bad as looking at the whole sock. I'm considering throwing it into the dyepot with some blue dye, but they may be spared.
T-Rex
Pattern: T-Rex from Patons
Yarn: Leftover unnamed acrylic yarn, worsted weight, in purple, yellow, black, and white
Needle: Knitpicks Nickle Plated Fixed Circular, US3 (3.25mm)
This was a combination of a really fun and really annoying knit, lol! The pattern is beyond cute (and so is the finished dinosaur), but the instructions were very spotty in places, especially when it came to seaming and doing the detailed double-stitching and outlining at the end. I spent about four days finishing this guy. I now know that I hate double-stitching but I give good mattress stitch! (Wait till you see the next FO!)
You start by knitting each leg, including the bottom of the foot, with lots of weird shaping for where the tail gets sewn in. You knit the tail, and then a gusset, which gets attached to the legs before continuing on to the upper body. Seaming the gusset into the legs was *very* confusing for me, and it ended up being about an inch too short, so I had to knit an inch and then finish seaming it up. The upper body was relatively easy, and then two parts of neck. After seaming up the back of the neck, you pick up stitches to knit the head flat, to be seamed under the chin and at the nose.
It was actually kind of fun as I knit the upper body and head, because it looked more like I was knitting a T-Rex Halloween costume for Baby than what would be a stuffed toy...it's *that* big! (As you can see in the picture, it's more than two steps tall.) After the head is done, the seaming begins. And keeps going and going and going. And then comes the double stitching, and the outlining. I had trouble with the eye placement, but I think it came out okay. The teeth were a disaster, and still are despite my best attempt to fix them. And please let's not discuss the awful, lopsided mouth. Then come the arms and the raised spots that go from the bottom of the tail to the top of the head.
But despite all that, he's still way cute! And doesn't look anything like Barney, even though my yarn color choice was questioned many times during this process (he's coming out much more blue in these photos, but he really is bright purple.) But I just sniffed and said, "It's what I had, and Barney has a GREEN stomach, TYVM" and kept knitting away. I get the last laugh, muah-ah-ah!
There's a Stegosaurus that I could knit to go with him, but I'm not quite sure about it yet. I think I have enough of the never-ending worsted weight acrylic yarn to make him, but I'm not quite up for another set of those instructions (or days of more mattress and duplicate stitch) just yet.
And last, but certainly not least, Winter Wonderland Coat
Pattern: Winter Wonderland Coat from "Inspired to Knit" by Michele Rose Arne
Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool in Oatmeal, just over 3 skeins
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony Options, US6
Modifications: None
I found this pattern when flipping through some of my knitting books whilst taking a rest from painting the baby's room. We had pushed my bookshelf and knitting chair to the center of the room while we painted, since they were being re-purposed to stay in the room. Well, on the bookshelf were still all of my knitting books, and I just had to take a peek at some of the ones I hadn't looked at since they'd arrived on my doorstep. I saw this pattern and it was one of those "I must knit this NOW" moments. It was January, and I knew it would be perfect in my last couple months of pregnancy when the weather turned ever-so-slightly warmer and nothing was fitting anymore. Because of the pregnancy weight (which seems to have materialized EVERYWHERE...not just in the belly), there is much less ease than I would normally want, but hopefully it will fit much better after the baby is born and I magically am super-skinny, weighing less than I did even pre-pregnancy. Post-honeymoon weight would be excellent. (That happens, right? Out comes an eight pound baby and off comes 50 pounds? Right? Oh Darn.) I digress.
I decided to use Fishermen's Wool because I'd heard really good things about it, and at $10 for 465 yards, it couldn't be beat for a garment of this size! I love the heathering of the Oatmeal colorway, and the neutrality of the color means I can wear it with anything underneath - you really can't beat that!
The construction of this coat is rather brilliant - you start with the back, then knit each front, and then two guessets that are just the length of the skirt, starting at about six inches wide at the bottom and decreasing to just one stitch at the top, fitting snuggly in between the back and fronts to give the skirt of the coat extra swing.
Surprisingly, this was an extremely quick knit...especially considering it was my first project not only of this scale, but of the complexity of lace and cables. It did help that the worsted weight gauge was much bigger than my usual fingering weight garments. I cast on at the airport before a 6-hour flight to Vancouver for a work retreat (yes, at 31 weeks pregnant!) and worked on little else until I was binding off the collar four weeks later. It did help that I spent most nights with my feet up in front of the tv, forcing myself to rest and relax due to pregnancy aches and pains. Two 6-hour flights and two 5-hour train rides helped a little bit, too.
The lace pattern was extremely challenging for me, which probably helped it to hold my constant attention. I really struggled in the beginning, and if you look closely at the back, you can see my mess-ups. But by the end of the second sleeve, I had mastered reading that pattern and could pick out where my errors were. Bring on the next lace project!
Because of said brilliant construction, I spent days seaming this garment, as well...good practice for the T-Rex though! It didn't help that I could only block two pieces at a time due to lack of space...so I would block then seam, block then seam. Or, rather, Adam would block and then I would seam, since getting down on the floor to block is much too painful, as mentioned above. He's really much too good for me.
The only part of the coat I'm not happy with is the collar. The sample garment has a wide, square collar that sits flat but for a slight curl at the edges. This collar is nor does nothing of the sort. I tried tacking it in all sorts of ways, but it just wants to roll up into nothing. I'm hoping my mom in her infinite sewing wisdom will have some ideas when she arrives in a few days for the baby. I thought I had a close-up picture of the collar, but I can't seem to find it.
Oh, the buttons! The buttons are from Sunshine Pottery, sadly website-less. She vended next to me at the Maine Fiber Frolic and she and her husband were so much fun! They were from Tennessee and picked out Adam's accent right away. On Saturday, after a full day of vending, she went home and made a gallon or so of sweet tea for Adam and brought it to him on Sunday. His entire face lit up and I'm fairly certain it made his weekend! I'm so sad to not be vending at Maine this year again...I was very much looking forward to it (I can't even begin to explain how much), but couldn't get Monday off to travel home because of the new job...it's Day 4 of month-end close, for any finance people out there. Somehow I don't think driving eight hours on Friday evening, vending all day Saturday and Sunday, then driving eight hours home after 5pm and going to work on Monday morning...all with a 3 month old baby, crazy puppy, and cranky husband...would be a very good idea. Sigh. I'm currently looking for more finance calendar-friendly fiber festivals to make up for missing Maine. It will take two or three, probably. I digress...again.
For good measure, here's a belly shot at 36 weeks. It's almost three weeks later and I'm exponentially bigger...
14 February 2011
State of the Knitting - FO's Edition
What was that I said about trying to blog more? Good grief, how is it the middle of February already? Where does the time go?
Believe it or not, there has actually been *tons* of knitting going on! I’m not going to do an individual FO post for each item…I’ve been on a finishing-but-no-blogging-or-pictures kick, so I’m just going to lump them all together. Get ready for a post that’s going to knock your socks off!!!
Jayne Hat
Pattern: Jayne Cobb Hat
Yarn: Various acrylics in worsted weight
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony DPN, US6
Modifications: I changed the earflaps – added a garter stitch border and rounded out the edges. I plan to add tassels, too.
Adam has begged for a Jayne Hat for a couple years now. I think he had given up hope that I would ever knit him one, because at each fiber festival I dragged him to, he was on the prowl for a finished one for-sale. I surprised him with it for Christmas last year. I used acrylic yarn from Michaels (gasp!) – a combination of a couple different brands, but I don’t remember which. Whatever was there in the right colors, honestly. I wanted it to be washable, and didn’t have time to order yarn online or go to the LYS without having to tell Adam what I was up to. I hid the Michaels bag in the back of the car and only brought it out at knit night. I cast on one week and finished the next, then wrapped it up and voila!
Only, not so voila. While Adam completely loved it (and was totally surprised), I wasn’t quite happy with the earflaps. I thought that the hat from Firefly had rounded earflaps, but the best pattern I could find (and believe me, there are a ton of them out there!) had square earflaps. I knew that the stockinette would curl and it would drive me nuts. Adam confirmed that the original Jayne Hat did have rounded earflaps, as well as a long, braided tassel at the ends. I spent another knit night fiddling and finally came away with the finished product.
Adam likes it so much, he asked for a second one, “to keep nice”. After all, why have one hat when you can make two in twice the time? (Bonus points if you can tell me what move that slightly altered quote came from.)
Slytherin Scarf
Pattern: improvised
Yarn: Knitpicks Swish DK
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony DPN’s US3, KP Harmony 12” Fixed Circular US3, KP Nickel-Plated 24” Fixed Circular US3
The first thing I knit when I got back into knitting in 2007 was a Gryffindor scarf for Adam. We were watching Harry Potter and he casually mentioned “You know, if you wanted to knit me a Harry Potter scarf, I would wear it.” I had been watching reruns of Knitty Gritty on HGTV and was just waiting for the right inspiration to strike. Little did Adam know what he was getting himself into, right? The Gryffindor scarf I knit was awful – I used Lion Brand Homespun on US3 needles and did plain stockinette. It rolls like crazy, there’s a place where I (completely obliviously) dropped about 5 stitches at the edge and tried to sew them down to at least keep the scarf from unraveling, it’s pilling (for lack of a better term – I wouldn’t really call it pills in the traditional sense…more like flyaways), I could go on and on. But Adam wears it faithfully and loves it (especially now that it matches his Jayne Hat!)
The other issue is that Adam really isn’t a Gryffindor. He’s really more of a Slytherin (of the non-evil variety.) Now that I know much, much more about knitting, I wanted to knit him a higher-quality scarf.
I basically did this one on the fly…with a few calculations to get me started. I knew I wanted a 6-foot long scarf, and that, according to something I’d read when I knit that first scarf, there should be 13 stripes on an HP scarf from the first two movies to be authentic. I did some division for the length of each stripe, and cast on 100 stitches on DPN’s, estimating that would give me about 12” around based on the recommended gauge of the yarn.
Knitting with DPN’s was completely annoying and unruly (I was using about seven of them), and I hated picking it up. So I ordered a 12” circular and switched to that. The needles were too small for my hands and I hated it worse than the DPN’s. So the scarf hibernated for a while. I had to finish my MIL’s fair isle sweater (they were both supposed to be 2009 Christmas presents) and then because I hated the needle so, I never picked the scarf back up.
It hibernated until August, when the fabulous Tina showed me the basics of magic loop at her annual W.O.O.L. retreat. I modified it slightly to work with the 24” needle I had on hand, and it suddenly became *so* much easier to knit this scarf!
What finally sealed the deal on the finishing of the scarf was a 10-hour (each way) drive to South Bend, IN for Adam to pick up a 1928 Model A car body Thanksgiving weekend. I normally can’t knit in the car because I get sick (especially with Adam’s driving, lol!), but I knew that this easy stockinette in-the-round would work for the trip because I could knit without looking down. I finished all but the last stripe in the car that weekend and slowly finished it over the course of several knit nights. Then I added some fringe (which took another several knit nights because of my OCD), and Adam finally has a new Harry Potter scarf! It looks much, much better than the old one, and even matches the hat he bought at Notre Dame on our trip to South Bend!
Invincibility Star
I originally decided I wasn’t going to do any baby knitting, at least not of the clothes variety. I really had no desire to do anything gender-neutral, and then once we found out we’re having a boy, I looked at my nephew who was wearing 12-month outfits long before his first birthday, and realized I could spend a ton of time knitting really cute baby sweaters Baby would never fit into. Sure, I could knit a couple newborn sized-items, since he’s due in March and that definitely still qualifies as winter in these parts (despite what my aunt says about having a “spring baby.”) But what happens if he’s huge? Ten-pound babies are not unknown on both sides of the aisle here. So should I knit 3-month old size? What happens if he’s little and is swimming in them, but then is far too big for them by the time the weather turns cold again? It was all too much for me to handle.
So I searched like mad for things I could knit without driving myself crazy with the over-analyzing. I settled on a baby blanket pattern that I fell in love with the first time I saw it and planned to dye a special colorway just for Baby. But dyeing became harder and harder the bigger I got, and there’s no way I could do any now. So this will be saved for after Baby is born and I can get around the kitchen/basement work area again. Considering I still have the baby blanket my mom sewed when she was pregnant with me, I’m thinking a blanket isn’t something he’ll outgrow uber-quickly so there’s not really any rush.
Stuffed Toys enter Stage Right. I found all sorts of cool free patterns for stuffed toys! I had a lot of leftover washable worsted weight yarn sitting in my stash from various blanket swap projects that I would never use otherwise, so I went to town. Adam has an affinity for anything NES (the original) related, and I found some really cool Super Mario Brothers patterns.
The first one I tackled was the Invisibility Star. I had the perfect yellow yarn in my stash.
Pattern: Super Mario Invincibility Star
Yarn: random yellow acrylic, worsted weight, plus a little black and white for the eyes.
Needle: Various US3 DPN’s
Modifications: None
This was an easy, easy knit. It was much larger than I anticipated – more of a pillow than a stuffed toy. But I love it! I want to make another for my nephew when I get the chance.
You knit a triangle for each point of the star, and then join them all together at the widest side and start decreasing for the center. I love the spiral pattern it makes – it gives the star a lot of dimension.
Pinked Socks
Pattern: Pinked Socks (IK Winter 2010)
Yarn: Forbidden Woolery Footloose, Winter Dusk, 1 skein (used about half)
Knitpicks Stroll, black, 2 skeins (but didn’t use all of either)
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony DPNs, US1
Modifications: None. I did work them two at a time, on two sets of DPN’s, so I wouldn’t get second sock syndrome. I knit each cuff, then each leg, then each heel/foot, then each toe. It worked out quite well, if I do say so myself!
Last summer when I visited before Comic Con, I gave my mom these socks that ended up being just slightly too small for me. I never imagined she would become crazy for handknit socks! She called me up just before Christmas and let me know that if I wanted to knit her any more, she had pants in grey, black, navy, and brown and wouldn’t mind having socks to match for the three months of the year it’s cold enough to wear handknit socks in southern CA.
I ordered some Knitpicks Stroll sock yarn in black, but just couldn’t make myself knit a pair of solidly black socks. Then came the IK Winter 2010 issue with several pairs of *fabulous* socks in it. I instantly needed to cast on for the Pinked Socks…you know how it is. I paired the black yarn with Forbidden Woolery Footloose in Winter Dusk, a new colorway fresh from the dyepot. I loved the variation the purple/pink undertones gave the gray and thought it would work perfectly for either the mom-requested black *or* gray socks.
We were off to CA for Christmas, and I had hoped to be able to finish the socks before we came home, but no such luck. Despite casting on right away and working on them every evening after work, two at a time, on the plane ride out there, and every spare moment I had in CA (which ended up being much fewer and farther between than I had hoped), the socks came home with me, about 2/3 done. I kept working at it though, and completed they are!
I love them so much I’m planning to make myself a pair, working the colors opposite – grey as the main color and black as the contrast. It will do me double duty – fabulous socks to wear, and a product sample to carry around to fiber festivals this year. Can’t beat that.
In Conclusion
I think that does it as far as FO's are concerned, for now. I have a couple more right around the corner...the most fantabulous coat ever, another stuffed toy, and possibly even another long-hibernating sweater for the Knitpicks IDP program before the month of February is up. Stay tuned for a "State of the Knitting - WIP's Edition" post, coming soon to a blog near you (well, this blog at least). There have also been some stash enhancements, of both the fiber and yarn variety, that should not go unshared. There may have even been a trip to WEBS.
Believe it or not, there has actually been *tons* of knitting going on! I’m not going to do an individual FO post for each item…I’ve been on a finishing-but-no-blogging-or-pictures kick, so I’m just going to lump them all together. Get ready for a post that’s going to knock your socks off!!!
Jayne Hat
Pattern: Jayne Cobb Hat
Yarn: Various acrylics in worsted weight
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony DPN, US6
Modifications: I changed the earflaps – added a garter stitch border and rounded out the edges. I plan to add tassels, too.
Adam has begged for a Jayne Hat for a couple years now. I think he had given up hope that I would ever knit him one, because at each fiber festival I dragged him to, he was on the prowl for a finished one for-sale. I surprised him with it for Christmas last year. I used acrylic yarn from Michaels (gasp!) – a combination of a couple different brands, but I don’t remember which. Whatever was there in the right colors, honestly. I wanted it to be washable, and didn’t have time to order yarn online or go to the LYS without having to tell Adam what I was up to. I hid the Michaels bag in the back of the car and only brought it out at knit night. I cast on one week and finished the next, then wrapped it up and voila!
Only, not so voila. While Adam completely loved it (and was totally surprised), I wasn’t quite happy with the earflaps. I thought that the hat from Firefly had rounded earflaps, but the best pattern I could find (and believe me, there are a ton of them out there!) had square earflaps. I knew that the stockinette would curl and it would drive me nuts. Adam confirmed that the original Jayne Hat did have rounded earflaps, as well as a long, braided tassel at the ends. I spent another knit night fiddling and finally came away with the finished product.
Adam likes it so much, he asked for a second one, “to keep nice”. After all, why have one hat when you can make two in twice the time? (Bonus points if you can tell me what move that slightly altered quote came from.)
Slytherin Scarf
Pattern: improvised
Yarn: Knitpicks Swish DK
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony DPN’s US3, KP Harmony 12” Fixed Circular US3, KP Nickel-Plated 24” Fixed Circular US3
The first thing I knit when I got back into knitting in 2007 was a Gryffindor scarf for Adam. We were watching Harry Potter and he casually mentioned “You know, if you wanted to knit me a Harry Potter scarf, I would wear it.” I had been watching reruns of Knitty Gritty on HGTV and was just waiting for the right inspiration to strike. Little did Adam know what he was getting himself into, right? The Gryffindor scarf I knit was awful – I used Lion Brand Homespun on US3 needles and did plain stockinette. It rolls like crazy, there’s a place where I (completely obliviously) dropped about 5 stitches at the edge and tried to sew them down to at least keep the scarf from unraveling, it’s pilling (for lack of a better term – I wouldn’t really call it pills in the traditional sense…more like flyaways), I could go on and on. But Adam wears it faithfully and loves it (especially now that it matches his Jayne Hat!)
The other issue is that Adam really isn’t a Gryffindor. He’s really more of a Slytherin (of the non-evil variety.) Now that I know much, much more about knitting, I wanted to knit him a higher-quality scarf.
I basically did this one on the fly…with a few calculations to get me started. I knew I wanted a 6-foot long scarf, and that, according to something I’d read when I knit that first scarf, there should be 13 stripes on an HP scarf from the first two movies to be authentic. I did some division for the length of each stripe, and cast on 100 stitches on DPN’s, estimating that would give me about 12” around based on the recommended gauge of the yarn.
Knitting with DPN’s was completely annoying and unruly (I was using about seven of them), and I hated picking it up. So I ordered a 12” circular and switched to that. The needles were too small for my hands and I hated it worse than the DPN’s. So the scarf hibernated for a while. I had to finish my MIL’s fair isle sweater (they were both supposed to be 2009 Christmas presents) and then because I hated the needle so, I never picked the scarf back up.
It hibernated until August, when the fabulous Tina showed me the basics of magic loop at her annual W.O.O.L. retreat. I modified it slightly to work with the 24” needle I had on hand, and it suddenly became *so* much easier to knit this scarf!
What finally sealed the deal on the finishing of the scarf was a 10-hour (each way) drive to South Bend, IN for Adam to pick up a 1928 Model A car body Thanksgiving weekend. I normally can’t knit in the car because I get sick (especially with Adam’s driving, lol!), but I knew that this easy stockinette in-the-round would work for the trip because I could knit without looking down. I finished all but the last stripe in the car that weekend and slowly finished it over the course of several knit nights. Then I added some fringe (which took another several knit nights because of my OCD), and Adam finally has a new Harry Potter scarf! It looks much, much better than the old one, and even matches the hat he bought at Notre Dame on our trip to South Bend!
Invincibility Star
I originally decided I wasn’t going to do any baby knitting, at least not of the clothes variety. I really had no desire to do anything gender-neutral, and then once we found out we’re having a boy, I looked at my nephew who was wearing 12-month outfits long before his first birthday, and realized I could spend a ton of time knitting really cute baby sweaters Baby would never fit into. Sure, I could knit a couple newborn sized-items, since he’s due in March and that definitely still qualifies as winter in these parts (despite what my aunt says about having a “spring baby.”) But what happens if he’s huge? Ten-pound babies are not unknown on both sides of the aisle here. So should I knit 3-month old size? What happens if he’s little and is swimming in them, but then is far too big for them by the time the weather turns cold again? It was all too much for me to handle.
So I searched like mad for things I could knit without driving myself crazy with the over-analyzing. I settled on a baby blanket pattern that I fell in love with the first time I saw it and planned to dye a special colorway just for Baby. But dyeing became harder and harder the bigger I got, and there’s no way I could do any now. So this will be saved for after Baby is born and I can get around the kitchen/basement work area again. Considering I still have the baby blanket my mom sewed when she was pregnant with me, I’m thinking a blanket isn’t something he’ll outgrow uber-quickly so there’s not really any rush.
Stuffed Toys enter Stage Right. I found all sorts of cool free patterns for stuffed toys! I had a lot of leftover washable worsted weight yarn sitting in my stash from various blanket swap projects that I would never use otherwise, so I went to town. Adam has an affinity for anything NES (the original) related, and I found some really cool Super Mario Brothers patterns.
The first one I tackled was the Invisibility Star. I had the perfect yellow yarn in my stash.
Pattern: Super Mario Invincibility Star
Yarn: random yellow acrylic, worsted weight, plus a little black and white for the eyes.
Needle: Various US3 DPN’s
Modifications: None
This was an easy, easy knit. It was much larger than I anticipated – more of a pillow than a stuffed toy. But I love it! I want to make another for my nephew when I get the chance.
You knit a triangle for each point of the star, and then join them all together at the widest side and start decreasing for the center. I love the spiral pattern it makes – it gives the star a lot of dimension.
Pinked Socks
Pattern: Pinked Socks (IK Winter 2010)
Yarn: Forbidden Woolery Footloose, Winter Dusk, 1 skein (used about half)
Knitpicks Stroll, black, 2 skeins (but didn’t use all of either)
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony DPNs, US1
Modifications: None. I did work them two at a time, on two sets of DPN’s, so I wouldn’t get second sock syndrome. I knit each cuff, then each leg, then each heel/foot, then each toe. It worked out quite well, if I do say so myself!
Last summer when I visited before Comic Con, I gave my mom these socks that ended up being just slightly too small for me. I never imagined she would become crazy for handknit socks! She called me up just before Christmas and let me know that if I wanted to knit her any more, she had pants in grey, black, navy, and brown and wouldn’t mind having socks to match for the three months of the year it’s cold enough to wear handknit socks in southern CA.
I ordered some Knitpicks Stroll sock yarn in black, but just couldn’t make myself knit a pair of solidly black socks. Then came the IK Winter 2010 issue with several pairs of *fabulous* socks in it. I instantly needed to cast on for the Pinked Socks…you know how it is. I paired the black yarn with Forbidden Woolery Footloose in Winter Dusk, a new colorway fresh from the dyepot. I loved the variation the purple/pink undertones gave the gray and thought it would work perfectly for either the mom-requested black *or* gray socks.
We were off to CA for Christmas, and I had hoped to be able to finish the socks before we came home, but no such luck. Despite casting on right away and working on them every evening after work, two at a time, on the plane ride out there, and every spare moment I had in CA (which ended up being much fewer and farther between than I had hoped), the socks came home with me, about 2/3 done. I kept working at it though, and completed they are!
I love them so much I’m planning to make myself a pair, working the colors opposite – grey as the main color and black as the contrast. It will do me double duty – fabulous socks to wear, and a product sample to carry around to fiber festivals this year. Can’t beat that.
In Conclusion
I think that does it as far as FO's are concerned, for now. I have a couple more right around the corner...the most fantabulous coat ever, another stuffed toy, and possibly even another long-hibernating sweater for the Knitpicks IDP program before the month of February is up. Stay tuned for a "State of the Knitting - WIP's Edition" post, coming soon to a blog near you (well, this blog at least). There have also been some stash enhancements, of both the fiber and yarn variety, that should not go unshared. There may have even been a trip to WEBS.
31 December 2010
Last Post of the Year...
This year has been rather tumultuous, which has definitely shown itself in the sporadic way I've treated this blog.
There are too many things to count that went unblogged - from FO's to fiber festivals to any number of other things. I hope to at least show off the FO's in the coming months. There's a handspun Tangled Yoke Cardigan and a couple of designs that have been under wraps for far too long.
2011 promises to be an amazing year...whether it will be a positive or negative "amazing" is yet to be determined.
I would love to set some knitting/spinning goals, but with a baby appearing somewhere around March, I'm going to be realistic and determine now that there's no way I can estimate how much knitting time I'll have.
I would even love to show you how I fared against the goals I set at the beginning of 2010. But knowing how few of my projects I actually blogged about, I'm not going to attempt that, either.
The one goal I will set, however, is to blog more frequently. I do miss it so. There's a certain sense of pride one feels when blogging their triumphs of the knitting world.
I hope to have the Forbidden Woolery website completely up and running in January. Knitty has officially rejected the latest pattern I sent them, Caroline, (two days before Christmas, no less!) but the overwhelming response I've gotten from the knitters who have seen it has convinced me that I must offer it for sale. I have some other freebies I have created along the way to share, as well. I coerced Risa into fixing whatever is wrong with my shopping cart function in exchange for yarn and fiber, so hopefully all will be on track soon!
Ideas are constantly swirling around my head, begging to be designed and knit. Right now I'm enjoying a small break, knitting stuffed toys in anticipation of Baby's arrival, and I also have plans to start in on a Honey Baby in a special colorway dyed just for Baby.
Let's not even talk about the constant prep for 2011 Fiber Festivals. I hope to have a busy and productive year on the Fiber Festival scene, from Clermont in April to New England in November. Heaven knows my dyepots have been busy for the past couple months, and there is much much more planned in order to be ready for Clermont before Baby arrives. Somehow I just don't think I will have time/stamina for dyeing with a newborn in the house!
So, I will leave you with my (somewhat scattered) dreams for 2011. Happy New Year!!!
There are too many things to count that went unblogged - from FO's to fiber festivals to any number of other things. I hope to at least show off the FO's in the coming months. There's a handspun Tangled Yoke Cardigan and a couple of designs that have been under wraps for far too long.
2011 promises to be an amazing year...whether it will be a positive or negative "amazing" is yet to be determined.
I would love to set some knitting/spinning goals, but with a baby appearing somewhere around March, I'm going to be realistic and determine now that there's no way I can estimate how much knitting time I'll have.
I would even love to show you how I fared against the goals I set at the beginning of 2010. But knowing how few of my projects I actually blogged about, I'm not going to attempt that, either.
The one goal I will set, however, is to blog more frequently. I do miss it so. There's a certain sense of pride one feels when blogging their triumphs of the knitting world.
I hope to have the Forbidden Woolery website completely up and running in January. Knitty has officially rejected the latest pattern I sent them, Caroline, (two days before Christmas, no less!) but the overwhelming response I've gotten from the knitters who have seen it has convinced me that I must offer it for sale. I have some other freebies I have created along the way to share, as well. I coerced Risa into fixing whatever is wrong with my shopping cart function in exchange for yarn and fiber, so hopefully all will be on track soon!
Ideas are constantly swirling around my head, begging to be designed and knit. Right now I'm enjoying a small break, knitting stuffed toys in anticipation of Baby's arrival, and I also have plans to start in on a Honey Baby in a special colorway dyed just for Baby.
Let's not even talk about the constant prep for 2011 Fiber Festivals. I hope to have a busy and productive year on the Fiber Festival scene, from Clermont in April to New England in November. Heaven knows my dyepots have been busy for the past couple months, and there is much much more planned in order to be ready for Clermont before Baby arrives. Somehow I just don't think I will have time/stamina for dyeing with a newborn in the house!
So, I will leave you with my (somewhat scattered) dreams for 2011. Happy New Year!!!
10 December 2010
The Shetland Trader
I just ordered Gudren Johnston’s new book – The Shetland Trader – Book One. I first saw mention of it on Brooklyn Tweed, as Jared Flood is responsible for the stunning photography. I won’t post any pictures here, for fear of stepping on someone’s toes, but you have to check them out!
Before I get into the patterns, I wanted to detail exactly why I am now a huge fan of Gudren, aside from her amazing designs. On her website, the only link to purchase is through Ravelry. I emailed her, asking if there was another way to purchase her book, as I prefer not to support them. She responded rather promptly, but only to say she was afraid not. I was bummed, but understood. However, she wrote back a couple hours later and said I could purchase a single copy directly from her wholesaler, Deep South Fibers. So I did.
But, having a brand new Nook Color I have taken to carrying with me everywhere (which is another story altogether), I kinda wanted the e-book version they were offering free if you purchase through Rav. So I thanked her profusely, let her know I had ordered a copy of her book, and asked about the e-book offer. She said my order from the wholesaler would not include the e-book, but that she would gift it to me via email. And she did.
Good customer service is enough to make me a loyal fan for life. But Gudren went above and beyond “good” customer service. I am so touched by the extra mile she went for a single customer she’d never heard of before, just so I could knit her fantabulous designs!
And truly fantabulous they are. All the designs incorporate an aspect of traditional Shetland lace knitting, as that is where Gudren is from and what inspires her knitting. However, her ability to modernize the traditional patterns is what makes her work truly stunning. And, especially important to me, most of the designs in the book are knit with fingering or laceweight yarn. As I become a more experienced knitter, I truly gravitate towards garments made in lightweight yarn as opposed to worsted weight as the majority of them seem to be.
The first design that caught my eye and caused me to want to purchase the book is Laar. It’s a beautiful cardigan knit in lace yarn on US3 needles. Which you know means it has amazing drape, even without the 50/50 merino/silk yarn it’s knit in. I just stocked the shop with a crazy-soft lace yarn that’s 70% alpaca, 20% silk, and 10% cashmere. Originally, I purchased the base yarn so I could design a pair of gloves that have been swimming in my head since Thanksgiving in my new Winter Dusk colorway. Now I’m thinking that the Peter Rabbit colorway would make a mighty fine Laar. What say you?
But one design does not warrant a $23 purchase…at least not for me. So then there is Norie, a very cute, slouchy beanie-hat combining lace stripes with garter stitch accents. I think I can dig up some DK weight yarn from the stash for this. If not, I’m sure I could refigure for some Indulge Sport .
And then I saw that Plivver uses fingering weight yarn, as well. At this point, I thought, “Are you kidding me?” This book is perfect for me! I could probably knit just about every garment in here! Granted, Plivver won’t fit me until next fall brings handknit weather again, but I just made up a queue yesterday of everything I want to knit, not including baby knits, and I have more than enough to keep me busy until this would fit me again! The lace body combined with the ribbed cowl neck is striking, and I think that drapey Twinkle or super soft Lush would be the perfect yarn to pair with this design!
I could truly gush forever. But you just have to check it out for yourself.
Before I get into the patterns, I wanted to detail exactly why I am now a huge fan of Gudren, aside from her amazing designs. On her website, the only link to purchase is through Ravelry. I emailed her, asking if there was another way to purchase her book, as I prefer not to support them. She responded rather promptly, but only to say she was afraid not. I was bummed, but understood. However, she wrote back a couple hours later and said I could purchase a single copy directly from her wholesaler, Deep South Fibers. So I did.
But, having a brand new Nook Color I have taken to carrying with me everywhere (which is another story altogether), I kinda wanted the e-book version they were offering free if you purchase through Rav. So I thanked her profusely, let her know I had ordered a copy of her book, and asked about the e-book offer. She said my order from the wholesaler would not include the e-book, but that she would gift it to me via email. And she did.
Good customer service is enough to make me a loyal fan for life. But Gudren went above and beyond “good” customer service. I am so touched by the extra mile she went for a single customer she’d never heard of before, just so I could knit her fantabulous designs!
And truly fantabulous they are. All the designs incorporate an aspect of traditional Shetland lace knitting, as that is where Gudren is from and what inspires her knitting. However, her ability to modernize the traditional patterns is what makes her work truly stunning. And, especially important to me, most of the designs in the book are knit with fingering or laceweight yarn. As I become a more experienced knitter, I truly gravitate towards garments made in lightweight yarn as opposed to worsted weight as the majority of them seem to be.
The first design that caught my eye and caused me to want to purchase the book is Laar. It’s a beautiful cardigan knit in lace yarn on US3 needles. Which you know means it has amazing drape, even without the 50/50 merino/silk yarn it’s knit in. I just stocked the shop with a crazy-soft lace yarn that’s 70% alpaca, 20% silk, and 10% cashmere. Originally, I purchased the base yarn so I could design a pair of gloves that have been swimming in my head since Thanksgiving in my new Winter Dusk colorway. Now I’m thinking that the Peter Rabbit colorway would make a mighty fine Laar. What say you?
But one design does not warrant a $23 purchase…at least not for me. So then there is Norie, a very cute, slouchy beanie-hat combining lace stripes with garter stitch accents. I think I can dig up some DK weight yarn from the stash for this. If not, I’m sure I could refigure for some Indulge Sport .
And then I saw that Plivver uses fingering weight yarn, as well. At this point, I thought, “Are you kidding me?” This book is perfect for me! I could probably knit just about every garment in here! Granted, Plivver won’t fit me until next fall brings handknit weather again, but I just made up a queue yesterday of everything I want to knit, not including baby knits, and I have more than enough to keep me busy until this would fit me again! The lace body combined with the ribbed cowl neck is striking, and I think that drapey Twinkle or super soft Lush would be the perfect yarn to pair with this design!
I could truly gush forever. But you just have to check it out for yourself.
08 December 2010
State of the Knitting
The problem with knitting monogamously is that there is little to no blog fodder for weeks on end! I’ve been trying to finish up one project at a time to make it through my crazy stack of WIPs to (a) help clean out my office to convert it to the nursery and (b) make room for a whole stack of new projects – baby projects!!!
I have no pictures to show, unfortunately. I've been waiting to post the following post for about 3 weeks until I had pictures...but I'm just not getting there!
First up was the Waltz scarf for Marcy. I mostly finished this up in the two weeks I had off before I started my new job. I finally bound off a couple weeks ago, but couldn't seem to get the blocking done, despite the makeshift blocking wires Adam bought me at the welding supply store. I blame Baby, because it's convenient. But, finally, it’s happily blocking so I can send it off to its eager recipient, more than a few weeks late. I’ll wait for her to get it and take some modeled shots before doing an official FO post. I have to say the best part about this KAL and swap was getting to see all the Facebook status updates of “I’m going to waltz a little before bedtime” and all the confused replies from friends. Always put a smile on my face!
Adam’s Slytherin Scarf has been coming with me to knit night for many weeks, but progress was slow. Even though it’s just plain stockinette in the round with only 100 stitches per round, I can never seem to get more than half a stripe done each week. I don’t know what the deal is! Then we took a little road trip to South Bend, Indiana so Adam could pick up a 1928 Model A car body and various other car parts for his new car build. The scarf was more than half done when we left, and 10 hours each way helped me make some serious progress! I have 11.5 out of 13 stripes done! I’m hoping it will be finished before it’s time for him to start shoveling snow. Since I get to sit this year out while growing the baby, at least he’ll be nice and warm in this double layer scarf. Maybe the neighbors will take pity on him and help out with one of their snowblowers. Any time I go out to shovel without Adam, they always end up finishing for me. For as much as I diss on New Jersey, our neighbors truly are the best. I've had to take a minor detour along the way to finish up another project at knit night. I'm hoping to finish that project this week, and then the scarf will be back at center focus!
In the spirit of the release of the first half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I dug out my other HP WIP – my Ravenclaw Entrelac Socks v.2. The first sock is officially done, minus the tassels, and it fits perfectly! I think I even remember all my modifications so I can repeat it in the second sock...or third sock, as the case may be. Aside from wanting to finally wear these amazing socks, I really want to set it out as a finished sample in my booth at fiber festivals next year. I have a whole line of Harry Potter house colors in this base – Twisted Sock –and would love to show off what you can do with them! The best part is that if you’re not a Harry Potter fan, there are also some pretty popular sports teams with the same colors, or you can mix and match.
Knitting has begun on Secret Project #2. I finally was able to get all the details nailed down in my head over the weekend, put pencil to paper, did some math, and cast on! And, like with any new project, I don't want to stop knitting on it! I'm trying to maintain my monogamous focus on finishing WIPs, but this has definitely taken center stage for nighttime knitting. I'm really stretching the boundaries with this piece, and I couldn't be more excited. There are lots of exquisite details, like applied i-cord "piping", hemmed edges, a beautiful, natural color palette, and some of the softest alpaca yarn I have ever worked with. I might not be able to keep it a secret for long!
That’s about it on the knitting front. Good night and good luck.
I have no pictures to show, unfortunately. I've been waiting to post the following post for about 3 weeks until I had pictures...but I'm just not getting there!
First up was the Waltz scarf for Marcy. I mostly finished this up in the two weeks I had off before I started my new job. I finally bound off a couple weeks ago, but couldn't seem to get the blocking done, despite the makeshift blocking wires Adam bought me at the welding supply store. I blame Baby, because it's convenient. But, finally, it’s happily blocking so I can send it off to its eager recipient, more than a few weeks late. I’ll wait for her to get it and take some modeled shots before doing an official FO post. I have to say the best part about this KAL and swap was getting to see all the Facebook status updates of “I’m going to waltz a little before bedtime” and all the confused replies from friends. Always put a smile on my face!
Adam’s Slytherin Scarf has been coming with me to knit night for many weeks, but progress was slow. Even though it’s just plain stockinette in the round with only 100 stitches per round, I can never seem to get more than half a stripe done each week. I don’t know what the deal is! Then we took a little road trip to South Bend, Indiana so Adam could pick up a 1928 Model A car body and various other car parts for his new car build. The scarf was more than half done when we left, and 10 hours each way helped me make some serious progress! I have 11.5 out of 13 stripes done! I’m hoping it will be finished before it’s time for him to start shoveling snow. Since I get to sit this year out while growing the baby, at least he’ll be nice and warm in this double layer scarf. Maybe the neighbors will take pity on him and help out with one of their snowblowers. Any time I go out to shovel without Adam, they always end up finishing for me. For as much as I diss on New Jersey, our neighbors truly are the best. I've had to take a minor detour along the way to finish up another project at knit night. I'm hoping to finish that project this week, and then the scarf will be back at center focus!
In the spirit of the release of the first half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I dug out my other HP WIP – my Ravenclaw Entrelac Socks v.2. The first sock is officially done, minus the tassels, and it fits perfectly! I think I even remember all my modifications so I can repeat it in the second sock...or third sock, as the case may be. Aside from wanting to finally wear these amazing socks, I really want to set it out as a finished sample in my booth at fiber festivals next year. I have a whole line of Harry Potter house colors in this base – Twisted Sock –and would love to show off what you can do with them! The best part is that if you’re not a Harry Potter fan, there are also some pretty popular sports teams with the same colors, or you can mix and match.
Knitting has begun on Secret Project #2. I finally was able to get all the details nailed down in my head over the weekend, put pencil to paper, did some math, and cast on! And, like with any new project, I don't want to stop knitting on it! I'm trying to maintain my monogamous focus on finishing WIPs, but this has definitely taken center stage for nighttime knitting. I'm really stretching the boundaries with this piece, and I couldn't be more excited. There are lots of exquisite details, like applied i-cord "piping", hemmed edges, a beautiful, natural color palette, and some of the softest alpaca yarn I have ever worked with. I might not be able to keep it a secret for long!
That’s about it on the knitting front. Good night and good luck.
23 October 2010
Thank You Mood!!!
The design I have in mind for the yummy alpaca yarn I bought at Rhinebeck (aka Secret Project #2) requires a belt buckle. The stitch pattern and shape are all set...all that's missing now is a zipper. Have I piqued your interest yet?
I looked online at what seemed to be a million belt buckle places, but all I seemed to be able to find were themed belt buckles that were meant to be put on a belt purchased at a store...nothing fit to attach to a knitted belt. So where's a knitter to go?
Mood!!!
Oh my belt buckle! And the buttons! After eight seasons of Project Runway, I knew Mood would be Heaven on Earth, but I really had no idea. There were walls and walls of buttons...it was impossible to look at them all. Especially after visiting the belt buckle corner and being completely laden down by boxes due to my (a) inability to choose and (b) Adam's theory that they weren't very expensive (most were $4 each) and I should just buy a bunch while I was there and come up with something to do with them later. He's *such* the enabler.
There were wood buckles in all shades and sizes...
And all kinds of metal, but I fell for the pewter. Unfortunately there was just this one size in stock, at least that was round...
Ones that looked like leather, but weren't...
And ones that are simply too stunning for words, pure pieces of art...
What, you didn't think I left buttonless, did you?
Aside from the current design, to which one of those wood buckles is promised, I have no idea what I'll do with any of them. But the fabulous metal buckle is sure to inspire something simple and beautiful where it can be center stage, and the buttons, on closeout with only five remaining, are yearning to be attached to something springy and feminine.
After collecting the buckles and buttons, we wandered through aisle upon aisle of every fabric type imaginable - from fake fur and alpaca, to wool suiting and even vinyl. The only thing that would have made the trip more complete would've been a sighting of Swatch, their awesome doggie!
And, of course, what do we say?
Thank you, Mood!!!
(Adam would only take a picture wearing the t-shirt he so desperately wanted in front of his "manly" car.)
I looked online at what seemed to be a million belt buckle places, but all I seemed to be able to find were themed belt buckles that were meant to be put on a belt purchased at a store...nothing fit to attach to a knitted belt. So where's a knitter to go?
Mood!!!
Oh my belt buckle! And the buttons! After eight seasons of Project Runway, I knew Mood would be Heaven on Earth, but I really had no idea. There were walls and walls of buttons...it was impossible to look at them all. Especially after visiting the belt buckle corner and being completely laden down by boxes due to my (a) inability to choose and (b) Adam's theory that they weren't very expensive (most were $4 each) and I should just buy a bunch while I was there and come up with something to do with them later. He's *such* the enabler.
There were wood buckles in all shades and sizes...
And all kinds of metal, but I fell for the pewter. Unfortunately there was just this one size in stock, at least that was round...
Ones that looked like leather, but weren't...
And ones that are simply too stunning for words, pure pieces of art...
What, you didn't think I left buttonless, did you?
Aside from the current design, to which one of those wood buckles is promised, I have no idea what I'll do with any of them. But the fabulous metal buckle is sure to inspire something simple and beautiful where it can be center stage, and the buttons, on closeout with only five remaining, are yearning to be attached to something springy and feminine.
After collecting the buckles and buttons, we wandered through aisle upon aisle of every fabric type imaginable - from fake fur and alpaca, to wool suiting and even vinyl. The only thing that would have made the trip more complete would've been a sighting of Swatch, their awesome doggie!
And, of course, what do we say?
Thank you, Mood!!!
(Adam would only take a picture wearing the t-shirt he so desperately wanted in front of his "manly" car.)
16 October 2010
Greetings from Rhinebeck!
This is just begging me for colorwork! My sole purchase at Rhinebeck this year. I went with an idea firmly planted in my head and I knew exactly the booth I wanted to hit up. But when I got to the barn where said booth was supposed to be, it wasn't there! I ended up at the "A Touch of Twist" booth, petting their natural-colored alpaca sport yarns. The colors were drool-worthy and exactly what I had in mind, with the added bonus of being crazy soft. The stitch pattern I have in mind creates a firm, non-curling fabric, so I'm hoping the softness of the alpaca will balance it out. If not, I have another stitch pattern in mind for just the darker color, hence the three skeins of dark versus two each of the others, and I'm sure it won't be too taxing to find something else to do with the lovely camel and creme yarns!
Elsewhere at Rhinebeck, this felted wall-hanging blew me away:
Can you believe that this is felted??? Look at that shading on the dragon wings and underneath the rocks! The amount of talent I saw all over the place astounded me. I only snapped a picture of this, though, otherwise I'd be posting pictures all night!
In other Rhinebeck news...I entered the fair isle sweater I knit for my mother-in-law, but didn't place. (The shawl is not mine.)
Apparently I had tension and blocking issues. I understand where the blocking comment comes from, because I did a rush-block job back in June, leaving the little indentations from where I pinned it out, never dreaming that I would enter it for competition. But the ladies at the WOOL retreat this year convinced me to enter, and I completely forgot about it! I'm really not sure where the tension comment came from - I thought my tension was pretty darn even!
I did, however, have major buttonhole issues, but more about that at another time when I can share more FO pictures. (Then again, knowing me, said FO blog post will never get done. So, as a teaser, let's just say that EZ's afterthought buttonholes DO NOT work for stranded knitting!!! You should know that BEFORE you cut.)
Even though I didn't win anything, the amount of ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the sweater when I dropped it off for judging, combined with the fact that someone asked to take my picture with it this morning (making me feel like a rock star), and, most importantly, that my mother-in-law is positively over the moon about it, make it a Best-In-Show winner to me!
Heading back to the festival tomorrow to peek at the Sheep-to-Shawl competition in which some friends are competing and then driving back home in the afternoon. I start my new job on Monday, so wish me luck!!!
27 September 2010
State of the Knitting
It’s time to confess as to what, exactly, I’ve been up to since I’ve been away. Be forewarned: it’s not going to be pretty. Facing the impossible number of WIP’s may send me spiraling back to the land of the knitting mojo-less. But I will try to fight it…if only to better clean out my office/knitting room to make way for The Progeny.
Beware the deluge of poorly-lit photos to follow.
Lichen Ribbed Socks – This is the last in the series of four basic ribbed socks from Knitting Vintage Socks. I received the yarn, Cherry Tree Hill, colorway Butternut Squash, in a swap and absolutely loved it skeined up. Unfortunately, the knitted product isn't quite so pleasing to the eye. The pooling is such that all the yellows and oranges gather and the purple, green, and brown colors gather. I'm planning to finish the socks, but have a feeling they will be relegated to boot socks. That means that just one of the four were successful. I plan to re-knit the other three, as I really wanted to end up with four pairs of ribbed socks at the end of this!
Nederland Vest - I only ever knit about three rows past the cast-on for this vest, and then it went to UFO land. I really do love the colors I picked as well as the pattern, and am excited to work with Hempathy. I decided, however, that I wanted some extra ease in the vest that I hadn't wanted went I originally cast on. I frogged the little bit of work I had done, and it lays in a WIP bag with all the rest.
Entrelac Socks - I finished one of these socks last summer, but couldn't get it on very well - it was way too tight in the ankle. So a-frogging I went, as much as it pained me. I have since knit about half of the first sock again, and it fits much better than the first. I just hope I kept good notes for when I finally start the second (or third, as the case may be) sock. I'd love to have these done for the Harry Potter 7 premiere in November, but I doubt I can work that fast!
Argyle Hearts Sweater v.2 - I loved Version 1 of this sweater so very much, but it was one of the first sweaters I knit, and I wrote the pattern as I went. Now that I know more about shaping and fit, I thought I'd give it a second go around. I'm using KnitPicks Palette this time, a wonderfully wooly fingering weight yarn. The hope is that the argyle pattern will be less blocky than in the DK-weight version. So far, I'm loving the fingering weight version in this sturdy yarn, though the many bobbins for the argyle hearts pattern are giving me a little trouble. It takes more concentration than I have at certain times, so it's something I must sit down and tackle with no distractions to ensure I get the quality I strive to achieve. I plan to write the pattern up and submit to KnitPicks Independent Designer Program. Wish me luck!
Slytherin Scarf - this was supposed to be a Christmas present for Adam last year, but his mom's fair isle cardigan took precedence. Not to mention that knitting 100 stitches in the round on DPN's was too unruly, and the 12" circular needle I bought was awkward, as the needles were too small for my hands. I learned how to Magic Loop at W.O.O.L. (Weekend Out On the Lake) this year, and have been doing a modified technique to accommodate the shorter cable, rather than buy a longer needle. It's going infinitely faster now, and is a good project to bring to Thursday night knitting at Panera with my new (to me) knitting group. I'm almost halfway done now and am hoping it will be done for Christmas this year. With our desire to move, I was worried that I would finish just in time to move to California, out of scarf weather. But it looks like we will be in New Jersey for a while longer, and Adam will get plenty of use out of it shoveling snow this winter! (He's happy about the scarf, but not the shoveling part. Especially since I will be largely pregnant by the time the serious snow rolls around and unable to help. I'm happy about this part, teehee!)
The Waltz - this scarf is for a knit-along and swap. We are knitting the scarves together, but for someone else in the group. We will swap the finished product. The yarn is from the fantabulous Tina of Bittersweet Woolery and even though I have only managed to get through two repeats, I am already loving the yarn, the pattern, and the finished product. I will be very sad to give this up, but know it is going to a good home!
Fair Isle Cardigan - just when I thought I was done with this sweater, I realized that I forgot buttonholes!!! Elizabeth Zimmerman to the rescue! I will be using her Afterthought Buttonhole technique from Knitting Without Tears to put in the buttonholes. I let the ladies at W.O.O.L. convince me to enter it into the fair isle category at Rhinebeck, so I will be bringing it up there in a couple weeks for judging, and then off it will go to my mother-in-law just in time for winter. I brought it down for her to see finished when we visited in August and she loves it even more than I hoped she would. It's such a pleasure to knit for people who truly understand the love that goes into a handknit sweater. I know she will treasure it always, and that makes my heart happy.
Ron's Blanket - I've participated in three rounds of this swap now, and a fourth is underway (but have I actually started knitting? Of course not!) here is a bag full of squares just waiting to be joined. Truthfully, I'm waiting for a little more variation of color before beginning to join them together - while the purpose of the blanket is to be odds and ends (cut from old sweaters, probably), I would still like the pleasantness that comes from a well-balanced color palette. Each time I go buy yarn for a swap round, I lay out my squares and decide where the holes are. It seems to be working!
Secret Project #1 - I furiously knit on this throughout most of July. It is a sweater that I designed based off a summer top I saw in the cafeteria at work one day. I'm so excited about the way it turned out, and the reception it has gotten from the knitters who have seen it so far. The pattern is written up, and after taking a few pictures of a sample I worked up to show the technique for a certain piece of the sweater, off to Knitty the pattern goes! The deadline is this Friday, and I'm just waiting for good picture-taking light to take the sample photos and hit send!
Secret Project #2 - I got the idea for this project from one of my tv shows that I watch over and over on DVD while I knit. I believe I was actually watching this one while knitting on Secret Project #1! I'm not very far along on this one, but have printed out some interesting stitch patterns and drawn up sketches for the design. I went searching for Mood Fabrics while in NYC last week, but alas, couldn't find it. Apparently I didn't look up in the right spot, as it's on the 3rd floor. I was going to peruse their buckles for said secret project. Are you intrigued yet? I plan to buy the yarn at Rhinebeck...I know exactly the booth I'm making a beeline for to hit up first!
Phew! Can you see why I've been avoiding blogging? It hurts to fess up to so many WIP's! Must keep knitting...must keep knitting...must keep knitting...
19 September 2010
I'm alive...
and have a picture from the Garden State Sheep Breeder's Festival to prove it...
I'll write more about that later. And about the crazy number of WIP's I found whilst cleaning out my office that need to be finished. Which is probably why I didn't get around to blogging again weeks ago...I don't want to fess up to how many projects I've started and not finished over the past six months or so.
In the meantime, I'm not the only thing alive these days....
I'll write more about that later. And about the crazy number of WIP's I found whilst cleaning out my office that need to be finished. Which is probably why I didn't get around to blogging again weeks ago...I don't want to fess up to how many projects I've started and not finished over the past six months or so.
In the meantime, I'm not the only thing alive these days....
17 May 2010
All in a Day's Work
From left to right: Great Pumpkin; Professor Plum; Irish Sea; Poppies, Poppies; Sugar Plums; Root Beer Float; Forever in Blue Jeans; and Gummy Beary Juice.
This is the first batch of dyeing for the Maine Fiber Frolic next month, all in my bamboo fiber blend. I should be finished next weekend, and then two weeks to label, fuss, and put everything together and head up north!
I have four FO's to share - two knitting and two spinning. Just need to find the motivation to take pictures! These were easy - I braided them up down in the basement where they were finishing drying (after an afternoon in the sun yesterday) and threw them over the dye rack under the new daylight bulbs and voila! FO's are a whole other story...
03 May 2010
Still Alive...
Just a little picture to show that I'm still alive. This beauty came out of the dyepot while preparing for the Chancellor's Sheep & Wool Show I vended at two weekends ago. This colorway is Lake District, reminiscent of our trip to England last fall. Check out how many different shades of blue there are - it makes me so happy! If I weren't still too timid to attempt lace, I would be stashing it away for my own use. For those of you who are braver than I, it's up in the shop just waiting for a home!
Last weekend was Maryland Sheep & Wool, where my partners and I were finally able to reveal our super-secret project to a small group of knitters - Nimblestix, the next generation in fiber arts communities. There isn't much to share with you at this point, but I will definitely be sharing more as I can. This has been our brain-child for the past year, and it's so exciting to finally be able to share. There is much hard work and oodles of passion going into this, let me just say!
I find out about the job-front on Wednesday. It could honestly go either way at this point. Emotionally, I just want it to be over but the realist in me says, "what are a few panic attacks for a couple more paychecks?" We'll see how it goes.
I will be vending again at the Maine Fiber Frolic on June 5th & 6th. Come out and see me if you're in the area!
There has been a little bit of knitting, and a lot of spinning. Hopefully I will get to share pictures and FO's with you soon. For now, especially if my job continues for another 30 days, I will pop in with some enticing photos of what's coming out of the dyepot as well as off the needles and wheel.
Stay tuned!
04 April 2010
Change is coming...
Well, it looks like I will have a lot more time for knitting, spinning, dyeing, and yes, even blogging in the near future.
You see, I'm in the process of losing my job. It could be 30 days from now, but maybe 60 or even 90 days. And, by some miracle, I may not lose it at all. But I'm betting on 30 days. All the long hours I've been working for the past 6 months at the expense of nearly everything else just weren't enough for good ole Corporate America.
It's interesting timing, actually. Because I had already made the decision to quit in six months' time. On Monday, we signed papers to put our house on the market on April 30th. On Thursday (April Fools' Day, no less), I learned that I would lose my job. I try not to get religious or political on my knitting blog, but it just goes to show you that the cheesy saying is true, "Man plans and God laughs."
The second change would be that we're moving back to California - the Valley to be precise (that's San Fernando Valley, or northern Los Angeles, for those of you who aren't familiar with California-speak.) I grew up in San Diego and most of my family is in the Inland Empire and friends are in LA or Orange County. So it's basically going home.
Because while my company seems to want to screw me over despite all my hard work, Adam's company actually wants to reward him for all of his. They're looking for a place for us to live (and actually asked, "Is a pool required?" before asking what our budget was) and have left the door wide open as to the terms of Adam's employment. All we have to do is pack and move. It's quite a blessing.
My plan is to help out Adam with his accounting and administrative tasks so he can focus on his projects, hopefully causing a lift in revenue. Given that this is nowhere near a full-time job, I will be able to focus on all things Forbidden - both dyeing and designing. And my super-secret project that won't be a super secret *too* much longer. Despite the crying, worrying, and an extremely bruised ego, I'm starting to get quite excited about the possibilities. Freedom. I named my truck after it, why shouldn't I get some, too?
I've worked in Corporate America for almost 10 years. Not an extremely long time for some, but that's my entire career thus far. The problem lies in that I've hated every single minute of it. Have I liked certain aspects of the different jobs I've held? Absolutely. Did I enjoy the perks? You bet. Free museums, international travel, discounts on Broadway shows, free trips to see family - how could I not? Not having to worry about money? Awesome.
But it all came with a price. I feel as if my life has been on hold for the past ten years, and never more so than the past five. A 40-hour work week is a highly uncommon occurrence, not to mention two or three hours commuting per day. Let's not even talk about three-week business trips with no opportunity to come home (and let's especially not talk about the mere 36 hours I had at home during a Tijuana trip the month leading up to my wedding.)
Does Corporate America work for some? Absolutely. But not for me. And I've been sweeping that little fact under the rug for quite some time. When I was in college, I dreamed of wearing serious suits and being a VIP. But I didn't even get through my first year in Corporate America after college before my dad died. Killed himself, to be exact. And that changed everything.
So I planned, and God laughed. While the timing may not be what I wanted, God is finally giving me the tools to do what I really want in life. To do something creative. To work for myself. To build a home. To start a family.
Am I scared? You betcha. But I'm a fighter. And even ten years in Corporate American hasn't been able to completely destroy the optimist in me. There's always a silver lining. I look forward to exploring the depths of this one.
And lest you think I'm being all evolved about this...some pictures to show my therapeutic pyromania.
You see, I'm in the process of losing my job. It could be 30 days from now, but maybe 60 or even 90 days. And, by some miracle, I may not lose it at all. But I'm betting on 30 days. All the long hours I've been working for the past 6 months at the expense of nearly everything else just weren't enough for good ole Corporate America.
It's interesting timing, actually. Because I had already made the decision to quit in six months' time. On Monday, we signed papers to put our house on the market on April 30th. On Thursday (April Fools' Day, no less), I learned that I would lose my job. I try not to get religious or political on my knitting blog, but it just goes to show you that the cheesy saying is true, "Man plans and God laughs."
The second change would be that we're moving back to California - the Valley to be precise (that's San Fernando Valley, or northern Los Angeles, for those of you who aren't familiar with California-speak.) I grew up in San Diego and most of my family is in the Inland Empire and friends are in LA or Orange County. So it's basically going home.
Because while my company seems to want to screw me over despite all my hard work, Adam's company actually wants to reward him for all of his. They're looking for a place for us to live (and actually asked, "Is a pool required?" before asking what our budget was) and have left the door wide open as to the terms of Adam's employment. All we have to do is pack and move. It's quite a blessing.
My plan is to help out Adam with his accounting and administrative tasks so he can focus on his projects, hopefully causing a lift in revenue. Given that this is nowhere near a full-time job, I will be able to focus on all things Forbidden - both dyeing and designing. And my super-secret project that won't be a super secret *too* much longer. Despite the crying, worrying, and an extremely bruised ego, I'm starting to get quite excited about the possibilities. Freedom. I named my truck after it, why shouldn't I get some, too?
I've worked in Corporate America for almost 10 years. Not an extremely long time for some, but that's my entire career thus far. The problem lies in that I've hated every single minute of it. Have I liked certain aspects of the different jobs I've held? Absolutely. Did I enjoy the perks? You bet. Free museums, international travel, discounts on Broadway shows, free trips to see family - how could I not? Not having to worry about money? Awesome.
But it all came with a price. I feel as if my life has been on hold for the past ten years, and never more so than the past five. A 40-hour work week is a highly uncommon occurrence, not to mention two or three hours commuting per day. Let's not even talk about three-week business trips with no opportunity to come home (and let's especially not talk about the mere 36 hours I had at home during a Tijuana trip the month leading up to my wedding.)
Does Corporate America work for some? Absolutely. But not for me. And I've been sweeping that little fact under the rug for quite some time. When I was in college, I dreamed of wearing serious suits and being a VIP. But I didn't even get through my first year in Corporate America after college before my dad died. Killed himself, to be exact. And that changed everything.
So I planned, and God laughed. While the timing may not be what I wanted, God is finally giving me the tools to do what I really want in life. To do something creative. To work for myself. To build a home. To start a family.
Am I scared? You betcha. But I'm a fighter. And even ten years in Corporate American hasn't been able to completely destroy the optimist in me. There's always a silver lining. I look forward to exploring the depths of this one.
And lest you think I'm being all evolved about this...some pictures to show my therapeutic pyromania.
25 March 2010
A Yarn Story
The following is a story of caution, when one mixes yarn with unplanned impulse. Read with care.
I've spent the last few weeks preparing for the Chancellor's Sheep and Wool Showcase. It will be my first time vending at a fiber festival, and I'm very excited (and also very nervous). Not only have I been dyeing yarn and fiber, but I've also been setting up my new shop, which included having new graphics made by the fabulous Tina, and setting up a fiber/yarn processing and storage shop in the formerly dark and dank basement. Needless to say, it's been a lot of work.
Which is why I should not have listened to the little voice in my head that said, "Hey! You should wind off that ENTIRE cone of DK weight yarn and dye it in one big hank and then split it off into 100g skeins." But listen I did. And this is what I ended up with:
And that, my friends, was after a full evening's worth of winding and untangling.
Two days later, I had this:
The Diet Dr. Pepper can is there for two reasons. Most importantly, for scale. That is a 1 lb ball of painstakingly hand-wound yarn. And it was only through countless cans of my dear friend and constant companion, Diet Dr. Pepper, that I was able to finish with my sanity in tact. Well, at least as in tact as it was before I started. Questionable at best.
And now, finally, I have this:
Three skeins of approximately 250 yards of DK weight yarn in my new "Sherwood Forest" colorway. I was inspired to do this colorway after visiting Nottingham on our English anniversary excursion last October.
We visited Robin Hood,
Took a tour of the castle grounds,
Including the tunnels that go all throughout the mountain under the castle,
Had lunch at a FABULOUS pub at the foot of the castle,
And saw lots and lots of beer (but didn't stay to drink any),
Do you notice how there aren't any pictures of Sherwood Forest there? That's because it's been pushed so far back from the walls of the castle by urban sprawl that I just couldn't bear to take a picture. So I decided to memorialize the famed forest in yarn.
You can find it here.
I've spent the last few weeks preparing for the Chancellor's Sheep and Wool Showcase. It will be my first time vending at a fiber festival, and I'm very excited (and also very nervous). Not only have I been dyeing yarn and fiber, but I've also been setting up my new shop, which included having new graphics made by the fabulous Tina, and setting up a fiber/yarn processing and storage shop in the formerly dark and dank basement. Needless to say, it's been a lot of work.
Which is why I should not have listened to the little voice in my head that said, "Hey! You should wind off that ENTIRE cone of DK weight yarn and dye it in one big hank and then split it off into 100g skeins." But listen I did. And this is what I ended up with:
And that, my friends, was after a full evening's worth of winding and untangling.
Two days later, I had this:
The Diet Dr. Pepper can is there for two reasons. Most importantly, for scale. That is a 1 lb ball of painstakingly hand-wound yarn. And it was only through countless cans of my dear friend and constant companion, Diet Dr. Pepper, that I was able to finish with my sanity in tact. Well, at least as in tact as it was before I started. Questionable at best.
And now, finally, I have this:
Three skeins of approximately 250 yards of DK weight yarn in my new "Sherwood Forest" colorway. I was inspired to do this colorway after visiting Nottingham on our English anniversary excursion last October.
We visited Robin Hood,
Took a tour of the castle grounds,
Including the tunnels that go all throughout the mountain under the castle,
Had lunch at a FABULOUS pub at the foot of the castle,
And saw lots and lots of beer (but didn't stay to drink any),
Do you notice how there aren't any pictures of Sherwood Forest there? That's because it's been pushed so far back from the walls of the castle by urban sprawl that I just couldn't bear to take a picture. So I decided to memorialize the famed forest in yarn.
You can find it here.
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