Babies, Babies

There's been a lot of pregnancy going on. Not close to home, but in the family and friends arena. Let's recap my failure to actually complete a baby project... but first a review of the more successful baby gift ventures.

First up, the ginormous lavendar baby blanket. I prefer not to think how much time I spent on this. It was definitely over a year- maybe 18 months? Cry. It hasn't found a home yet. I should get a better detail picture- but imagine, if you will, lots of cables and lace in that purple blob.


Next, a blanket for my boss from last year. Cute! Aran! I love this pattern wholeheartedly.


And then a crocheted blanket for a coworker and his lovely wife- that was recent, it's in the archives.

Another blanket made a brief appearance. I love the yarn and like the patterns, but I think I'm afraid of the edging. It has been sitting lonely for quite some time now- I'm somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 done with the squares now, and just need to get my butt in gear to finish it.


Meanwhile, I decided to make a bunch of other baby things. First up is another version of the Aran blanket. Well, after repeat 3 of this one I discovered I had been completely destroying one of the cable patterns. Let me say this again. I knit an entire afghan in this pattern. And 3 more repeats of another one. And only THEN do I realize that I was reading it incorrectly! Lucky for me, this yarn is so sparkly and funky that nobody except a fellow knitter would ever be able to tell. Mwahaha. Here's the latest project pic, more than 4 repeats in (thanks to my progress at SSK yesterday):


I also started a bunch of baby sweaters. First up (and finally photographed!) is the coral cabled sweater:

I finished the majority of the body, up to where one joins the sleeves. And somehow I cannot knit the sleeves. Here's an example of wacky laddering and icky shaping:

So I frogged the sleeve, and am back to just the body of the sweater. Two years later. But look, pretty cables!


Then there's the blue sweater. I started this for Scott's baby, and sadly I realized after knitting the two fronts that I had made them for a girl. This yarn screams baby boy. Oops! Here it lies yesterday evening, photographed for the first time- back done, two fronts done, one sleeve done, and one sleeve on the needles:

And after the frog pond, here's the current state of affairs:

But look! Cables!


There's also the Baby Owl sweater- I have completed the back (and only the back):

Progress?

I need to locate my camera, post-wedding, and get some pictures up. I never posted the blue sweater- probably just as well, since I need to rip out both (completed) fronts. Sigh. Frog pond, here I come!

I have completed three repeats of the pastel baby blanket, as originally seen here- so for now, imagine a little bit more than three of these:


On vacation I ended up not knitting as much as I anticipated. I still am on Chart 3 (for the second time) for my symmetrical stole. But that's progress, right?

My Autumn Rose sweater kit has not yet appeared in the mail- insane demand has apparently lead to the shop running out of yarn. No word on if it has been shipped yet- so I'll just wait patiently. And play with the baby blanket, which is like pastel crack.

In the absence of real knitting news, here are a few clips to amuse:
Avenue Jew
GMail on the move

Notes to self

I really want to knit the Autumn Rose with the knitalong I joined. And I will! But not yet. My budget has tanked. I think I should practice a little bit of fair isle first, anyways. Since I already have the yarn, I'm thinking baby sweater: you can see it on this page, it's the little fair isle cardigan with peach trim near the bottom of the page (shown with peach pantaloons). I'm actually almost done with the cabled sweater next to it, in a darker shade of peach, but for some reason I can't get the sleeves to work for me. Every time I try to knit them, I screw up the cables. For someone who loves cable barf (the more cables the better!) that is more than a little disheartening!

I have a new technique I want to investigate. I want to learn to double knit. Not in the sense of knitting really thick scarves (I can already do that!), but in the sense of knitting two things at the same time. Like two socks... at once. I am talking about extreme knitting here. Kory Stamper has an excellent article about it from Knitty, Fall 2006- I really have to try it with some self-striping yarn. I want to try plain stockinette socks, so this would be a great time to use some Opal I have in stash, like this

or this

I don't just dream in color, I dream in fair isle. Don't you?

Oh, what an exciting Monday. I am not sure I can make this coherent, because it is all just too exciting.

First, I get quoted on DCist for my review of Firefly- the DC restaurant, not the TV series... though I do love both wholeheartedly. I love DCist because it tells me when and where to go, what I need to know about my fair city, etc. Also it hooks me up with events like seeing Jasper Fforde in person (so funny!) and on Friday, William frikkin Gibson! Cyberpunk FTW! That's assuming I don't check out one of the restaurants that has extended Restaurant Week, or head over to CityZen with a coworker for their astonishingly almost-inexpensive 3-course tasting meal- there are so many choices. I love DC!

I also love DCist because it brings random people to my blog, who are then exposed to knitting content. Hello, random people...

Right. That was a good start to a Monday. But then it got even better- some local knit ladies have started a knitalong for Eunny Jang's gorgeous sweater, Autumn Rose. It is a stunning fair isle sweater that, frankly, I have coveted since I first saw it on her blog. It isn't just fair isle. It's fair isle for a modern figure. It scoops, it flatters, it curves, it would look just as good on a busty thing like me as on a little waify girl... what I'm saying is that it is HOT. You can check out some photos in the Simply Shetland 4 book, at Simply Shetland. I really have to knit this sweater; it's just the perfect fair isle. So let's forget about that Philosopher's Wool beauty I have sitting balled up and ready to go. And that baby sweater that was going to be my first fair isle project. And the trillion projects I have going right now. I simply *must* knit and wear that sweater this winter.

That is perhaps a bit dramatic. But it would definitely give me more street cred in the office as an accomplished knitter! It's not just that the sweater is amazing- but I get to be part of this In Love With Autumn Rose knitalong! Since I should have my MS3 done very shortly, I'm feeling ready to get the yarn for this sucker and cast on, leaving my holiday gift knitting plans in its wake.

Now, we all know it won't happen that way. I'll manage to create a bunch of gifts. I will probably even compete in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) again this November. But somehow, I will manage to do this knitalong, and I will hopefully end up with a gorgeous Autumn Rose of my very own. I'm giving myself two weeks to finish MS3 and at least one gift, before I can buy the yarn. But then it will be September- what an excellent birthday gift for myself! Mm, yarn. Mm, sexy fair isle. This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Oh, did I mention that I saw Casablanca on the National Mall tonight? A perfect evening, perfect weather, and a perfect movie, marred only by not knitting (I didn't want to fade the yarn in the sunlight). Let me say it again- I love DC.

On why I knit

First, MS3 Clue 1 is complete (again). Before I get back to the Empire Cardigan or do some real work, I had a few thoughts this weekend on why I knit.

I like what I do for work, but it is essentially a means to support my life. I happen to have a job I enjoy doing 40 hours a week, but I'd have to do something to pay rent whether or not I liked it. So work is a necessity.

Outside of work, a lot of my life is based on other people. Not in the altruistic sense so much as in the realistic sense- I choose activities that will allow me to spend time with my friends, which means I often choose to do things that I enjoy well enough, but may not be my favorite activity. In college that meant watching a lot of Grand Theft Auto at my friends' suite in the dorms. In grad school it was a mix of necessity (grading, writing, reading) and activities I could do with friends (going out for drinks, getting together at Barnes and Noble to grade, late night runs to Steak 'n Shake). Now that I am all grown up, or closer to it, I still end up choosing to do things quite a bit of the time based on other people's interests, and joining them in what they enjoy doing. I get sucked into video games because my friends play, or pick up my guitar again because I hang out with friends who play more consistently. I read more when I hang out with readers (not that I ever really stop reading). Their hobbies remind me of my old hobbies, and I pick them up again for a bit.

Knitting isn't like that. Admittedly, I attend a few knitting groups. More of them when I first moved out here and didn't have a large network for companionship, but I still go to them now when I can. But mainly knitting is a personal choice. It's what I do for me- because I love it. I can spend an entire weekend doing nothing but knitting and occasionally surfing the web or cooking dinner. I knitted all through my cruise last December, and all through grad school when I wasn't actually working or hanging out with my pals. And sometimes when I was hanging out with pals. I'm not sure why I keep thinking about this today, but I suppose it's just a realization of how much it means to me to have this hobby. To be in a way connected to a huge collective of knitters worldwide, of all generations and geography and skill levels. And more importantly, to have something for myself that is completely independent of other people, of responsibilities. I choose to knit for others because I hope that something I knit will make someone else happy. But mostly I knit, whether for myself or for gifts, because I would do it anyways. The act of wrapping string around two needles and creating fabric is mesmerizing and beautiful and simple and infinitely creative. It makes me calmer, happier, and more at peace with myself.

I do almost everything in my life because of what I must do, or because other people expose me to it- knitting is a personal victory. People can laugh at my yarn stash, or roll their eyes at my handknitted sweaters and socks. I just ignore them- I am warmer and and more human because I am a knitter. I am many things- a girl, a Jew, an American, a francophile, a displaced New Hampshirite, a Marylander, a geek, a reader and writer and lover. How odd that above all these things, I identify by my craft. That a clumsy and wacky person like me can manage to create beautiful things out of simple materials will never cease to astonish me. That is why I knit.

Weekending

Apparently my aunt and uncle have begun reading this blog... hello! Mom said you submitted comments, but I never saw them. FYI! But welcome! For my other blog readers, I feel obligated to tell you that my Mom and her sister are possibly the greatest living crafters I know. I am awed and humbled by their speed and finesse, at everything from sewing to quilting to knitting and bear-making- and probably every other craft under the sun. I'm hoping I'll catch up to their skill level in a few decades!

It's been a pretty solid week for knitting. I'm just inches away from finishing the back of my Empire Cardigan, which I hope to complete this weekend. And I finally decided what to do with MS3. I just can't imagine myself ever wearing it with a wing- though that is sure to be interesting, it's simply not me. No worries! I cut the yarn at the appropriate point in Clue 4 (the mandatory lifeline), and started the whole thing over again tonight. I'll work the same charts, Clue 1 through Clue 4 at the lifeline, and graft the two ends together. Voila, symmetrical and beautiful shawl. I'm happy with this decision. The "secret" part of the pattern that will come out in the finished for-purchase pattern is a stole with two wings- now *that* I could consider making. I am certainly buying the pattern anyways, in support of Melanie, so I will probably work on that sometime next year.

In the meantime, I've been thinking gifts, especially holiday gifts. As soon as I finish the back of the cardigan, I am going to cast on for a few of them. I don't want to spoil any surprises, but thus far the list includes some socks, some hobo glove/mittens, a baby hat, etcetc. All the yarn is ready to go, I just need to get knitting!

I also really need to try quilting again. I don't mind it- and I loved doing the piecing. But so far I am definitely not in the groove of hand quilting, so everytime I think "hmm, I should finish that wedding gift..." I pull out some yarn. C'est la vie.

I thought about going to see my friends' band Fools & Horses tonight, but the lure of knitting was too strong. Also, I don't like driving all the way to Annapolis by myself. Nevertheless, my room is clean, I have a few more Buffy episodes to watch, and I aim to finish Clue 1 (the second time) tonight. I'd best get back to my "exciting weekend" so I can do a few hours for work tomorrow in between projects. Hopefully we'll get some good in-progress or even Finished Object pictures by mid-week next week!

Fun with Flickr

Blogger needs to save faster. I hate losing entries. Cry!

I left work early today so I could pick up my bridesmaid dress- hurrah. I also wanted to head to WoolWinders to get more details on the class I'll be teaching this fall- Absolute Beginners. I'm so excited to teach in a more formal setting! I hope it goes really well- surely it will.

While I was up at WoolWinders, I managed to get a bit of knitting done. Evidence! Ignore that it looks completely gray- I swear it's a green sweater:


I also picked up a few skeins of yarn for gifts. I have most everything I need for holiday gift materials, but I was missing a few key things. This is it, so far:



And a little gift for someone special- it's a tape measure! Did you know I grew up on Ladybug Lane?


Pretty productive day. I can't believe Sharyn's wedding is so soon! For that matter, I can't believe I'll be on vacation the week after next. I think that I will need to bring a very large suitcase- just for the yarn.

I also had a bit of fun with Flickr today, investigating the contents of my purse. Maybe that's not exciting to everyone, but I found it a bit enlightening. You surely can tell a lot about a person by what they tote around with them day in, day out. I suspect most people don't have this variety- but then, I spend at least an hour and a half commuting by metro every day. That's a lot of knitting and reading time!

Toe Ups

I've been feeling less bloggy lately (ooh, yet another bad use of the word blog). This is mainly because I have been sucked into the world of Ravelry. I'm loving the community aspects already, and of course nothing is cuter than seeing loads of photos of your projects, stash, everything- all neatly organized.

My stash doesn't seem so daunting compared to some I've seen on there- though I must note that so far only my sock yarns and laceweight yarns have been fully documented. Looking at those, even as a fraction of my total yarn, has very much inspired me to GET RID OF IT. And by get rid of, I mean knit things. Not give away, that's cheating.

Currently, I'm completely obsessed with the Empire Cardigan from Debbie Bliss. No recent pictures, so no visual representation here. Let's just say I'm already past the armholes on the back, with a nice straight easy section ahead of me. I hope to complete the back this week. The only difficulty with that is that I'm also still on Clue 4 for MS3- which makes me a week behind!

Ah, MS3. The theme has been revealed- as Swan Lake. Frankly, that's what I figured from the beginning. I'm less than keen about the idea of knitting a wing, however. The last time I wore wings, they were part of my cosplay costume and I was accosted in Baltimore by someone who decided they would like the pretty wings and tried to forcibly remove them from my body. Not the greatest experience. I realize this is altogether different- one wing, and more an impression of a wing to boot. But I'm feeling that if I just knit the symmetrical stole, it would be something I'd be much more likely to wear. To bring to work, and throw around my shoulders, and wear with pretty garments and even in Bloomington for the rehearsal dinner, etc, since I could probably finish it by then. This is still a choice- I'm only just up to the lifeline point, and therefore can decide either way without ripping back any rows. There is a part of me, however, that wants to do this mystery thing right and actually do what it says. A knitted wing- why not? It would be pretty stellar to wear at a certain holiday party for knitters later this year. But I have to think about this some more.

Anyways, once I get over the stellar excitement of knitting the gray-green lace and cable alpaca silk blob (mm alpaca SHEDS, and yet I love it extremely)... I am ready for something new and exciting. I want some toe-up socks. I haven't knit a pair of toe-ups yet, though I believe someone in the Sock It To Me group in Bloomington showed me how to cast on using the figure-8 magic loop cast-on. Then Wendy pointed out this nifty site, and I decided it's worth a try: Judy's Magic Cast On. See, I have this leftover yarn, Schaefer Anne, in a random and impossible colorway that looks like Flames:

And I suspect that although it may not be enough for two full socks, I could at the minimum get ankle socks out of it. So how would one go about that- knitting socks without dangerously running out of yarn, since it's stash yarn leftover from a pair of men's mittens and there is no more to be found... oh yes!
Toe up socks. Both knit at once. Using the magic loop method, with this Magic cast on. Voila- a star is born. I think I'm going to make up the pattern, too. Can our intrepid knitter actually manage this? Will the socks ever be completed? We'll see... I'm envisioning wearing them with my clogs all fall...

I'm also supposed to be quilting. Somehow that project got out of circulation. Here's hoping for a productive week ahead, hmm?

Stash of Doom

I knew my stash was getting out of hand. I could feel it creeping out of its cubby holes and baskets and into the fabric of my life. And not just in the form of UFO's, oh no! So I went on a photo tour today. It was terrifying. I'm starting to put stuff up on Ravelry, but in the meantime, here's a taste of the "before photos" and why I need to seriously finish some things!

First up is the Wall of Stash:

Sure, this may not look so bad. There are books in there! There are cubes of fabric, and even a cube of toiletries chilling out there because there isn't room in the bathroom. But consider the layers of yarn in each cubicle. Consider the massive amounts of it hidden in nooks and crannies. Imagine turning around and seeing a lot more of it.

(it looks innocuous from the bed, until you sneak a peek beneath the quilts and pillows and reveal another huge stash pile!)

For shame, it's taking up random floor space at the foot of my bed (disregard the fact that obviously yarn clutter isn't my only issue right now):


Oops, other side, too (quilting crap AND lots of yarn and random projects, oh boy!):


It's amazing I ever find what I need.

Now imagine taking a tour of the living room, and finding yet another big basket (all fair isle!) and 3 small ones. Oh jeez. I didn't tackle it completely, but I did pull out most of the UFOs that are not currently in my project bag:


Funny thing- that pile of white yarny things is 32 out of 61 hexagons for an afghan I was going to make for charity. I think I used some of the yarn for other things (teaching, most likely), but I should probably finish the thing and give it away. I was working on it in Rockville, and would love to get it out of my life before I move again. Whenever that is. For that matter, I would like to get rid of a good percentage of this yarn before I move again- I may need to destash. More likely, I need to finish projects. Yay.

And I reorganized the baskets. Slightly less gorgeous sock yarn is in a plastic bag in the cubicles, but the pretty stuff and all the lace got basket space:


That's definitely enough for tonight. My goals??
- finish MS3 Clue 4 (probably could do it Wednesday night, in preparation for the clue Friday)
- work on the cardigan (because I know darn well I'm going to whether it's on the list or not- that alpaca silk is like crack!)
- do at least 2 baby blanket squares... and another 2 on Saturday!! Zoom zoom!
- give the crocheted baby blanket away, to get it out of the house. Also because the baby is due soon. Hurray!
- finish the first Pink Broadripple sock- I have visions of wearing them this fall with my clogs and want them DONE.
- clean my room (well, obviously- you've seen the evidence)

Hopefully I'll get to Clue 5 this weekend, but I'm ok if I can't because I'm finishing the back of the sweater. Can I really get that far this weekend?? Anything is possible, I don't have much in the way of plans...

EDIT:: Roommate wants me to note that in fact, there are 3 baskets in the living room. They're inside the coffee table. So mostly hidden in plain sight... I'm all over it, Martha! In fact, Roommate pointed out that I could have had a perfectly lovely Ethan Allen coffee table, with two matching couchside tables, but I turned them down. Because I would have to give up my storage cubbies in the cheap Ikea table. Dumdeedum!

Wacky Week

I have not accomplished much crafting lately. This is for a few reasons- mostly I've been working like crazy, and in the evenings I've been a busy busy bee. Here's a taste:
Saturday night to Sunday afternoon: Harry Potter, of course.
Sunday evening: Cooked dinner for Mom and Roommate.
Monday evening: Finished the crocheted baby blanket (OK, so I did a little crafting).
Tuesday evening: Bethesda Restaurant Week- I went with a group to Rock Creek, which was delicious.
Wednesday evening: Went to a signing by Jasper Fforde, who is amazing and funny and he stamped as well as signed my copy of "Thursday Next, First Among Sequels"
And coming up?
Thursday evening: Transformers with a fellow UMBC alum.
Friday evening: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, at Woolly Mammoth (I couldn't resist the cheap Goldstar tickets).
Saturday evening: Gallathea (really?? Gallathea on-stage? So excited).
If you extend it out a bit further, my Crafts Cluster is meeting Sunday afternoon in Virginia, and I'm going to see a sneak preview of The Ten on Monday night. Whew!

That's a total of two fancy dinners, one book signing, two Fringe Festival plays, and a pop culture movie. Not bad! On the craft front, however, there has been slow progress. I really have been working on the MS3- I am about a quarter of the way through Clue 4 (so halfway through the first chart). That's slow going since I can't knit it on the metro. Then I did finish the crocheted Victory V baby blanket:

The edge, which shows off the Victory V's:

I'd love to say I used a pattern, but it's crochet. Easy peasy. This is TLC Baby, so a sport weight yarn- I crocheted a chain that was something long. And then I did the V stitch. And when it was about square in size (it's actually pretty ginormous, in the end), I did one round of double crochet in blue. I tried single crochet and two rounds of double, and double then single- I liked the cleanness of this version best. I rather miss crocheting- it's so quick, satisfying, and eminently easy. I have to pay attention when I knit. Well, I tend to knit lace and cables and things that require counting. It was a real treat to just zoom through an easy stitch pattern that required no counting and no real effort. It was perfect for watching more interesting TV- Roommate and I are watching Lost, and there's no way I can knit MS3 while watching that!

Ahem. I also cast on for a new sweater. I am knitting it as pictured, right down to the Alpaca Silk DK and the colorway. Because I love it.

A key feature is that you run the empire-waist creating ribbon below the bust, through the eyelets of the lace pattern. This means that I can make an empire waisted top without having to worry about altering, modification, etc. I think it will be quite flattering, and completely appropriate for work. It will also be warm, which is key in my overly-A/Ced environment. Only one small issue- alpaca sheds like crazy. Aaah well.

As if that weren't enough, when you add in slogging on the baby afghan for mid-August, I also have been doing some socks. Here's one, now ready for me to turn the heel on the metro:

The yarn is Cascade Fixation, and I'm knitting the Broadripple Socks again. Note the fantastic Lantern Moon tiny DPNs- they make me much faster. Not as fast as Magic Loop, but sometimes you don't feel like playing with Addis.

Time's fun when you're eating flies

So, this Mystery Stole. I'm getting a bit worried. I finished Clue 3 last night (horror of horrors, it took me more than just the weekend). I blame this on the obsessive kitty hat making, but I did get seven of the little suckers off to Gaia to sell at Otakon. She had three already, so ten total isn't quite such a sad inventory. I need to try selling them on Etsy, but only after my hands recover from all the acrylic.

So I finished the third clue last night, well maybe 12:30 this morning. Tuesday night... that's a new low. Most of the knitting was done at Columbia Mall before the Decemberists show at Merriweather- I scared a few of the kids hanging out by the "water feature" I think. The rest of it was on the couch while watching America's Got Talent. I hate to say it America, but I'm not so sure about that Talent label.

I probably would have completed it faster, except for the baby blankets I'm working on. Funny how I continue along with my knitting life, completely blase, until the moment I realize I have less than a month to finish two blankets that I started ... 3-6 months ago. I anticipate that the crocheted blanket will be 100 (long) rows, and I'm on 64 as of this morning. Amazing how much you can complete while waiting for the cable guy to show up. The knitted baby blanket will probably be 30 squares, and I've completed 10. So that's some progress, at least.

I'm scared about the next clue for the stole. Instead of 50 rows, we have well over 100. Also, Melanie suggests strongly that we use a lifeline in Row 287. I hate lifelines. They offend me. But if the designer is telling us to suck it up and use one, in this particular row, so be it. I have this sinking feeling this is going all multi-directional or something. I have trust in her that it will come out lovely, but I admit that I'm less in love with it after 1/3 of the stole than I was in the first clue. I still love the intricate border, though, so maybe I'll be able to regain my initial admiration somewhere in Clue 4 or 5...

What I did over my summer vacation...

A little trip in pictures. If you will recall, we last left our intrepid knitter just home from Mom and Dad's. Forget R&R, this was a working break! Here's the evidence:

Posing with a work in progress:


Pieced apples:


Messy work in progress (I love my mother's sewing table. Oh yes I do):


Finished but for the quilting:


I also received my snazzy bag from the Craft Exchange right before I left. The outside:


And print interior/alternate exterior:


And not to be biased, but my favorite project of all?? The Mystery Stole 3, Clue 2 completed about a half hour ago:


Hurray for pretty projects. Did I mention the four kitty hats that need ears? And the charity scarf that needs to be completely redone by Saturday? I'm getting there. I would have been significantly more productive if I hadn't had a stomach bug today, but that didn't keep me from knitting this week's MS3 clue. I did have to rip out three rows, however, since I evidently lost my place while losing my cookies. I'm not sure which bothered me more.

Next post: I take on quilting, the actual hand quilting part, and see how many kitty hats I can knock out in short order. Here's my first kitty hat, back in Bloomington, when I decided it was almost as fun to leave the ends out and go Fraggle Rock:
(Care of Yahoo Photos, which has conveniently sent all sorts of old photos I'd forgotten about into my Flickr account!)

Quilting Lessons

I took a very long bridge-the-gap weekend. Wednesday I had off for the fourth, and by taking Th/Fri off I get a 5 day weekend. Nice! I spent the majority of it learning how to quilt and making a wall hanging.

Yes, there will be pictures. But not quite yet.

This weekend I knit 4 kitty hats (rather, four bases, but not the ears yet). Also 6 or 7 rows of the Mystery Stole, which is a piddly number but I have a whole day tomorrow to work on them. I also knit another bit of a square for the baby afghan.

Much more importantly, I finished a wall hanging to give as a wedding present to a very old friend of mine getting married in two weeks. By finished, I mean I completed the piecing, got the backing on, and my mom was sweet enough to baste it and add the binding. All that's left is to quilt the sucker! Mom taught me the basics, and my stitches were looking almost acceptable on our practice placemat after a few hours, so hopefully another couple hours to practice and I'll be able to whip through and mail the finished project off. I also learned some neat tricks for making squares of two fabrics on the diagonal, without cutting triangles. I hate cutting triangles, so that was a godsend. This got put into use for another quilt project, which is super secret for now.

I also received my craft exchange project from Dallas's exchange group- crafted by the ever amazing and talented Dallas herself. Again, I have pictures to post later, but it is the cutest thing ever! Adorable bag, exactly the perfect shape to use as a purse and stick a small knitting project inside. It fits exactly under my arm, so I don't need to worry about things falling out. It has a cute little rosette flower attached (in hot pink, of course). Best of all? The whole thing is reversible!! I can do sophistocated black, or an amazingly cute and bright swirly print, a bit Pucci-esque. I love it! In fact, I'm already using it as my purse. I went with black for my night on the town tonight, but I suspect that print is going to get a fair bit of use this summer.

One more day of freedom. By next weekend I hope to have a bunch of kitty hats done, and to have completed the second MS3 clue. Here's hoping! Otakon is almost here... so I definitely need to get cracking on those hats, if I ever want to make back the yarn costs...

Goals

I've been reading a number of posts about knitting goals lately. I have a few of my own- now that we're entering the second half of the year I should check up on my goals from before and see how I'm doing. And of course, set some new ones!

Here was my post from February (alright a bit belated for resolutions, but it'll do):

FORMER MIKAIYA SELF: I have a few knitting goals for 2007. They're pretty simple, actually. I want to knit myself two sweaters, and at least one pair of socks. Actually, I'd love to knit myself three sweaters and enough socks that I don't need to wear store-bought ones, but I'm sticking to realistic here. In this aim, I have the yarn and patterns for THREE sweaters already... and have cast on for one. Ooh la la. I also have a nearly finished pair of socks which has been languishing for a year or so.

CURRENT MIKAIYA SELF: Wonder of wonders, I finished that almost-finished sock. Finally. It's green! Now I just need to take a picture of it. I also knit two pairs of socks, but gave them away to my mother and my sister. I made one sock for my dad as well, though it's currently suffering from second sock syndrome. I'll get on that, though- as well as the two other socks I have on the needles!

I also finished one of the sweaters already, my Bobble Blue. It was a blast to knit, but it's a bit bulkier than I had hoped for. Maybe I need to re-block it. Either way, I get compliments on it at work and it's perfect for the spring and fall- warm wool counteracts the fact that it is short-sleeved and it's incredibly comfortable on the metro and in the office.


That's two successful bits- looks like I need to hurry up and make myself another sweater and get on those socks. Here's a review of the finished objects from the year so far!


My additional knitting goals? How about a list:
- Mystery Stole 3 (Clue 1 complete!)
- 2 pairs of socks (they're already begun...)
- one more shawl
- something Fair Isle
- another sweater (maybe 2!)
- finish the two baby sweaters that have been languishing in time out.

Mystery Stole 1: some progress!

I managed to take pictures along the way this weekend.

This is Mystery Stole 3 (hereafter MS3) at 3:30am Saturday morning when I completed Chart A (ie, 3 hours after casting on... including the first 15 rows which I had to rip out and redo):


I was already loving the border swirls and points.

I completed the rest of it over the weekend, and this is what it looked like at 8 Sunday evening (2 days for 100 rows! I'll take it):


A detail of the edging (Wow do I love this border):


And the inset at the center (this one actually shows the beads- they're the bright shiny things peeking out at you):


This was really a record knitting weekend. 100 rows of lace, a few inches of the baby owl sweater front, and 3 or 4 squares for my cousin's baby blanket (they're all repeats at this point, so not much point in showing pictures until I get farther along). I also did another few rows of the crocheted baby blanket. I need to be more active tomorrow!

I also picked up my HDTV... finally joined the 21st century. It looks SO GOOD. Best of all, I can move Buffy episodes back up in my Netflix queue! On my old tv, it was virtually impossible to watch- everything looked pitch black. Hurray for contrast and brightness!

This week I'm taking a mini vacation. Two more days of work, then I am heading up to Baltimore for a quilting lesson and fireworks watching with Mom. I'll be home Friday to start working on MS3 Clue 2!

EDIT:: I should note one thing. I had to rip out about half a row twice (in rows 95 and 97 I think) because I wasn't paying attention. It cost me a total of five minutes, I think. Otherwise, this stole has been incredibly easy to work on!! I found Hanami to be much more difficult to follow; this pattern is logical and beautiful to work with. I just thought that I should add that tidbit! I've been thinking I should run a lifeline through- everyone else seems to. Seeing as I haven't had any real issues so far though, I am not terribly worried. I also haven't found it necessary to use stitch markers, but I might later on depending on the pattern.

MS3 begins...

Oh dear is it late. I cast on for Mystery Stole 3 at 11:30 or so this evening and completed a good 15 rows before I realized that I was adding beads in the center of every row by mistake- those blocks weren't "gray bead blocks" but merely "center blocks" which appeared gray. If only I had access to a color printer, I'd have avoided a fair bit of ripping back!

On the plus side I finally got a good system going for working in the beads without frizzing the yarn loops. So that's positive. And I have now completed Chart A. Chart B will take a lot longer (4 stitch row is a lot less than constantly working towards 99!), but I imagine I can knock that out before the next clue, if not within the weekend.

I feel awful. I haven't stayed up this late knitting in some time. Reading, talking to friends.. sure. But I can't believe I was knitting lace after 2:30! I did start making a mistake in the very last row of the chart (49), but immediately realized the error. Evidently working on the Adamas shawls and the Hanami were good preparation.

On that note, tomorrow I will post pretty pictures. I'm really enjoying the knitting- nothing makes me happier than little bitty cables or intricate lace. The pattern thus far is quite intricate, and therefore very pleasing! The KnitPicks Bare is a bit rough on my hands, but I've been working with CashSoft for days and there is simply no comparison between laceweight merino and a cashmere blend. I also am trying out the Addi Turbo Lace needles (like half the world it seems). Here's my thoughts:

OH YES.

They are grippy but smooth. The cord is perfect. They can't loosen up on me and drop my stitches. After the first 4 rows, I never had a problem with the stitches falling off unintentionally. They are pretty, and nice and pointy for pulling in the lace, and I am absolutely in love. I have heard in a couple reviews that the metal is an alloy that can be affected by skin pH, which worries me- there is a reason I can't wear earrings or most rings and necklaces! But maybe I'll be lucky and won't react too badly to them (and conversely, I hope I don't wear away the finish!).

Bedtime for bonzos. But I finished Chart A!! And it was easy peasy! I never got lost reading the chart because of the nifty KnitPicks chart holder (sadly too small for the next charts, I fear. And it was even fun to do the beads! So far it's just ducky.

Fascinating Japanese Knitting

Here's an interesting one for you. I still get emails from Threadbear Fiber Arts- the neatest yarn shop owned by two of the neatest guy knitters ever. I used to shop with them when they were in Indiana- it was a pretty solid drive to get out there, but the shop was worth it. Now they have relocated to Lansing, Michigan and I'm back in Maryland, but they still send really interesting emails. They offer great (and cheap!) classes, and I am particularly intrigued by a new line they are carrying: Habu from Japan. I decided to check out their site to see if anyone local carries their stuff, since it sounds interesting. I also had heard that Japanese patterns are interesting to knit. Well it sure seems so. This is their main website and if you go through they have a diagram which explains (sort of) how to knit to Japanese directions. See for yourself. Threadbear is doing a class with their local rep, but I figure it might be fun to try and do it on my own... the instructions mostly make sense. I think. Apparently WoolWorks in Baltimore carries their yarns. So does Stitch DC right here in town! So I think I may take a field trip soon. Here are some of their yarns available online, if you are so inclined to view them- I want to touch them before ordering. Pretty Yarns

But I am not allowed to do anything until I get my Mystery Stole 3 underway. Also, here's a picture of the other shawl I cast on for- I hate it. I hate that I have to knit the collar part first. I will get over my antipathy at some point, because the finished product is so beautiful- but maybe I'll work on it this fall: I'm even working it in this colorway.

Craft project complete and some other fun

Instead of reading a silly book for my book discussion group on Wednesday, I have had a fruitful evening. I picked up my dry cleaning, went to the library, went to the fabric store, got groceries, and even cooked dinner. Soon I get to have angel food cake with whipped cream, strawberries and raspberries. All in all, a success. Except for the 340 pages left to read, I suppose.

The craft store had exactly the ribbon I was looking for to complete my craft project for the exchange! It's so pretty, but I dare not post the picture until after my recipient gets it in the mail. Check my Flickr, if you're a Flickr contact of mine, for a sneak peek.

This seems to be a pretty typical bed-full of things to play with:

Note the annoying book front and center, and a hidden Eoin Colfer book hiding in there as well. I've been reading loads of comic books and children's books lately, which may account for my rebellion against biography. Even good biography.

I have also been working quite a bit on a baby blanket gift. I need to work faster; there are three babies due starting in August. Yikes! Here's one:

They will hopefully block out to the same size- I have faith. Each square gets a crochet border before they are crocheted together. If I have enough yarn, I will do a lace border as well.

I began the June sock club kit from the Celtic Knot Yarn Shop, one of my favorite local spots. It's a nifty little ankle sock, and I am adoring the Ultramerino. I am not really enjoying the pattern, however, as it seems rife with mistakes. I may rip back to the picked-up stitches again to fix an error I made in the pattern. The plus side of making an ankle sock? It took me less than an evening to start the sock and turn the heel!


Finally for today, we have the pink yarn barf

Which now looks something like this:


I wish I had a significantly better camera. I've been doing some soul searching about money lately, however, and decided that I will not go on the Stitch 'n Beach cruise this upcoming February (because it's a bit of an extravagent expense, considering my travel plans for the next year). On the other hand, after trying to watch the first disc of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season One, I have determined I can't wait any longer for a television. The color is so far gone, and the brightness so completely shot, that I actually couldn't see most of the show! Horrors! I guess it's not that surprising that my old trusty television has given up the ghost- I bought it pretty early on in college. After 8 years it is time for something I can carry (no big tube tvs!). And something that is bright enough so I can play video games again. In case I decide to. If I can ever break away from my knitting long enough to play Zelda.

I have no project fidelity

My Schaeffer yarn came in. OH YES. For a shawl. OH YES. Funny thing is, that I'm about to start the Mystery Stole project... will I be able to do both?

I've nearly finished the craft project, so I'm timely with that. And I finished 3 squares of my cousin's baby afghan, plus another couple rows of crochet for my coworker's baby afghan. Surely I can start the lace shawl today?? Hmm.

Too many projects. Too little fidelity. But I think it's time to head up to Rockville and pick up that gorgeous yarn right now. And cast on. What better things do I have to do??

I've been alternating projects- one repeat of lace, one row of crochet, one repeat of a baby afghan square, one repeat of Brian's sweater. It's fun, but I may never get everything done this way...

Here's a tease of what's on the needles:

The baby owl sweater (back is done, I started knitting the two fronts at the same time. Haven't worked on this in a day or two, though, since I can't knit from two balls simultaneously on the metro.


And the beginnings of something new, though a bit blurred:


I absolutely adore the KnitPicks Options set. In fact, I am currently using 3 of the 4 cords. (again, no project fidelity). Note also the awesome chart keeper- this is so amazingly useful! And I love that it can stand on its own.

My very first knit-along

You may be aware that I'm knitting the Hanami shawl. I even have managed to post pictures of that work in progress- pretty pink! What you may not know is that Pink Lemon Twist, the designer of said shawl, has done two Mystery Stole knitalongs in the past. And I got notification that round 3 is about to begin. Having never joined a real knitalong before, and of course never a mystery knitalong, I was excited to sign up and check out this new and exciting thing. Here's the link to the group, in case you are interested in signing up: Yahoo Group for MS3. Essentially, she will send out clues, in PDF format, which include tips/charts/etc to creating an entirely new lace pattern. There is no way to know ahead of time how it will look- you just knit along for the ride! This sounds perfect to me. I should be able to keep up with the group, since it's only ever a few rows at a time and you have a week to complete them. Of course, if I don't keep up, nobody is going to knock down my door in disgust. Thus far, we have been told that the theme would work best with white or black laceweight yarn, and we can elect to use beads. I have a trillion beads left over from Hanami, so I plan to use those (clear with silver lining) and the Knit Picks Bare (Color Your Own) laceweight yarn. It's a completely natural color, and I already had one skein in my stash. I ordered another, assuming an undyed yarn should be approximately the same "dye lot" even after some time, and that brings the total cost of new yarn for this project to... 4 bucks. That's within my yarn diet rules! I also ordered a chart keeper from KnitPicks, because I have a hard time keeping track of the rows with my bad eyesight.

Yesterday I also picked up the new sock kit from the Sock Knitting Club at The Celtic Knot Yarn Shop in Ellicott City. This month's theme seems to be beachy- the yarn is a beautiful blue, and I got a nifty blue stitch marker. The sock pattern for this month is a little ankle sock, which should be a fun and fast knit. While I was there, Carole (the lovely shop owner) also sent me home with some donated fabulous pink ribbon yarn so I can knit a scarf for the SOS project. It's a great reason to knit, and of course I would not ever normally choose this yarn, or certainly wear it... so this way I get to knit with it, and pass it on. Not bad!

In other knitting related acquisitions, I ordered a few travel-sized vacuum bags. The kind that you can roll all the air out, making the contents into a tiny little package. I've decided that using these will help with stash management, and alleviate my fear of bugs getting into my wool. I also got a few Large size ZipLocks (they're huge! 3 gallon!) which I've already started using. I can fit two sweater projects in one bag- which is awesome and amazing.

Stay tuned- I've been working on a crocheted baby blanket, Brian's sweater (the back is DONE!), and the Manly Socks (one sock is DONE!). Piccies to come! For now, I'm off to WoolWinders, my other favorite LYS, to work on a baby owl sweater. Did I mention I have a really hard time with the yarn diet? At least this is a gift.

Slow progress

Usually I post finished objects. Pretty things, all done up and tied with a bow. I've been reading a great deal the past few weeks however, and despite getting some good knitting time in, nothing is anywhere near done. Here's some progress!

Brian's sweater is moving along. I might even finish the back someday. 30 inches of back, people! The pattern is there for size.


Also, I'm moving slowly along on the manly socks. Plodding, really. I suspect there is no way to make my target date... but it's summer now. Who would really want to wear wool socks in the summer?? They lose a bit of their manliness on my new blanket, I think. My mother bought new blankets for my sister and me, of the same amazing fuzzy yumminess as her current blanket-of-choice. They're machine washable, and mine is pink! Mom knows me so well.


Finally, I cast on for the Hanami shawl. It is amazingly beautiful. The cast on, however, took ages. The longest part? Getting to a bead store to buy the right dewdrop-looking beads. And then locating a crochet hook tiny enough to spear them. With the aid of my roommate, it is cast on and zooming along- nearly one repeat of the basketweave pattern complete. A full view:


And something of a detail: