A day of knitting adventures, and a bit more family fun

Today was an overall great knitting sort of day. I didn't knit on the metro, since it was standing room only, but I did get to read more Anne of Windy Poplars for the Anne-a-long. I emailed the local lunch knitters at l'Enfant Plaza, only to hear they were going on a field trip to a local yarn shop and a craft store by Eastern Market instead of knitting in their office. I can make up an hour of time at work, I thought to myself, and I joined them! We checked out Ipso Crafto first, which has the makings of a really cute craft shop. I loved their little fabric selection (at prices half of what I'm used to seeing at G Street... and tons of PINKS). I also checked out a cross stitch book which may get me back into that craft, and may have to go back for it, since I can't locate it online. We then went to Stitch DC- a location I haven't been to, yet. And I've been having this hankering for black kidsilk haze, to knit a shawl for my holiday party. As surely I've said before. Let's ignore the fact that I just bought something for this purpose yesterday- it might not be as nice as the Rowan! And anyways, 4 balls of black laceyweight mohair is surely better than two. I can make two of them! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This evening I went to SSK after work, which is a pleasant metro ride up to Silver Spring. After my usual cabernet burger (delish) but no wine, which is less usual, I hunkered down for some serious chatting and knitting. I worked on Hanami and definitely got caught up on local knitting gossip. I also met a girl who I had already corresponded with on Ravelry, so that was overall delightful.

I got home after eleven, which is a bit absurd, and decided to finally just choose a shawl to wear to this party. I selected Wisp, in the end. It just looked so simple, so fast- and I really want to knit River, as well, but maybe I'll make that with the other two skeins of black mohair... AFTER the holiday party. This is one beautiful version of River, for reference.

Having finally selected a pattern, days after starting to think about it, I figured I'd cast on. And then I thought it would be silly to stop without knitting the garter ridges. And then the first lace row. And then the first five rows of the pattern, just to get to the eyelet row. And boy oh boy am I hooked. 40 minutes of knitting or so, and I have over two solid inches of knitting. This is what I'm talking about! I should have this finished in no time, and be able to get right back to Hanami and all my other pretties.

I think this has definitely been my year of lace. Although there were bobbles and cables, too, they have been supplanted in the apple of my eye by yarn overs. What can I say, I like a bit of variety in my obsessive knitting.

I do more than just knit. Want to see one of my biiiiirdies?


This was not a simple project. I do not think I'd recommend it for a beginning sewer, due to the relative difficulty of the curved seams and getting the bits to fit well. Mom's experience making bears, and her bear stuffing tools, cannot be underestimated! Mom and I sewed quite a bit while I was in Raleigh, though I freely admit I spent a good bit of time hunkered over Hanami. Especially after midnight, with the gentle accompaniment of a podcast and the otherwise still and quiet house. I love visiting my parents, in large part because my mom is a night owl most of the time, but I can usually sneak a few hours of solitude into every day. And that's the best kind of vacation- the kind that allows lots of fun and family and a bit of reflection.

I also really want to take photos of the tablecloth and napkins I made, but they are not yet trimmed and edged and therefore are far from done. I also need to get cracking on a waistcoat for the boy. And yet, somehow, all I see in my immediate future is Kidsilk Haze, in the Wicked colorway, which just makes it all the more delicious. Switching from metal needles to my Denise needles made all the difference, by the way- it's so easy to see the black fuzzy yarn on gray needles!

One other vacation photo for the road. This shows certain things, such as my Air Force nurse sister looks nothing like me (we are opposites in every way). Also that I may need to invest in larger sweater sizes if I don't get down to business with some exercise soon. Thank goodness I don't knit sweaters quite this unflattering- and now I know not to wear it for family photos again!


I look more like my grandmother every day- though I hope I'm not yet desirous of a girdle. She lived a long and happy life, and was a force to be reckoned with. She also was a completely obsessed knitter, who could polish off a baby sweater between naps on the couch and Hershey Kisses in a day or two. I will always regret not taking up my needles before her death- but I hope she somehow knows that I finally shaped up and took up a useful craft. I came to it a bit late- but I'm making up for lost time!

Vaca

Does not mean cow in my household. It means "vacation" and "joy" and "not work"- all wonderful things, of course.

On this vaca I have been pretty productive. Mom and I made little bird ornaments from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts- and they are fiddly but adorable. It took us 3 or 4 hours to make three birds, but it was definitely entertaining.

I also finished two more repeats of the basketweave section of Hanami- only four more to go!

I gave my father the Manly socks, which he appreciated, and hopefully he'll find a use for them in his new home here in Raleigh. It's a bit toasty here compared to DC, but everyone can use a pair of wool socks sometime. I hope.

I still have a bit of work to do for our corporate office- hopefully only an hour or two, while my mother and sister are off seeing a movie, and then I can get back to Hanami.

In the meantime, have you seen the new Knitty? It's lovely! And most lovely of all is Jeanie. It's like Clapotis, all growed up. I do not mean that it is derivative- in fact, it's wholly unique. But I loved Clapotis. I still wear my hot pink Clapotis just about every day, from September to April. But I've been thinking it is time for a change- a new look. And possibly something a bit warmer than my cotton and silk blend. And here comes Jeanie- pretty and lovely and drop stitch-y and perfect for wearing with my new much more mature black wool coat. So of course I chose bright red- it's a step away from pink at least- and the yarn is already ordered.

I also need to work up a quick something to go with an outfit for my work holiday party. The outfit is slightly more casual than my usual choice for a fancy-shmancy holiday party. The top is a strapless raspberry silk, over pants that look vaguely tuxedo-like. They're shiny enough to be formal, but admittedly... pants. They are perfect for me and my recent foot problems, though, since I can wear flats I already own and be just fine. In order to pull the outfit together, however, I really need something over the top.

It could be Wisp, a little lacy buttoned capelet.
Or maybe Shimmer, a lace-backed shrug,
Or Jellyfish, another shrug in Kidsilk Haze perhaps.
Oooor... I could just get some fuzzy black yarn and knit a very open shawl with huge needles. What do you think?

And two manly socks

Sometimes my FOs really just nag at me. They drive me crazy. They haunt me. The manly socks certainly fit this description. I started them in May, hoping to finish them quickly since they are mainly plain old stockinette. And now it's December, but they are complete! Right in time, since they are part of a holiday-time gift. Want to see?



And just to reiterate, because the stripes match EXACTLY on both socks:


Fantastic. I love them. This makes an awful lot of Finished Objects lately- which is good. I was hoping to complete six items in the last six months of the year, and this brings me close to the mark.

I will be finishing up the Super Secret Holiday gift on vacation, and realized that I have another project that has been languishing. Instead of casting on for a new shawl, I found Hanami and decided to work on her again. I made it 25 rows into the first chart before giving it up, I think in part because the lace pattern wasn't obvious to me. Now that I have significantly more experience with lace, I'm finding the chart to be exceedingly simple! It should be a quick and fun knit- this is convenient, because nothing could give me greater pleasure than wearing it to my work holiday party at the beginning of January. It's a perfect excuse to buy a new little black dress- I have one from when I was 14 (it still fits, though I have no idea how or why), and one from college. It is definitely time to find a new one. I guess that's a good idea for shopping in Raleigh?

This is about what she looks like, since I'm sure you've forgotten as much as I had:


I'm away on vacation again Tuesday through Saturday, which feels blissful since I just got back from Thanksgiving. I will visit my sister for New Year's, and then I don't get a vacation again until March. I am going to live up this week in anticipation. I'm bringing the Super Secret Holiday Gift, Hanami, a sweater I need to start (blah stockinette), and some little projects. For variety, I am also packing up some very exciting sewing projects. I have the fabric and the trim, so hopefully they'll be a breeze to assemble in my Mom's fantastic sewing lair. I will remember to take pictures this time, I hope. It should be fun!

The thrills of December

For me it is a holiday season- I'm not Christian so this isn't the "Christmas season" and anyways, I think holiday festivities start with Thanksgiving and finish with New Year's Day. Despite the annual debates at work (Merry Christmas? Happy Holidays? Merry Xmas? Happy Chrismahanukwanzaakah?), I feel like my own personal festivities are well on their way. Thanksgiving was obviously wonderful and productive. And Chanuka starts this coming week! What insanity! I finished all my holiday shopping quite some time ago, and of course there were a few homemade gifts. Not nearly as many as last year. I did a lot of shopping with other crafters, however. I'm working on gifts for two friends, that I aim to finish and send out for Christmas. We don't normally exchange gifts, but these items just seemed so quick and perfect for the intended recipients that I thought it might be fun to send them a bit of handmade warmth. Part of the boy's gift came from a crafter on Etsy. I shipped a box off yesterday containing my handmade knitting as well as locally crafted items for my dearest friend from grad school. Mom's getting another local artisan find from the Sugarloaf craft fair- and although it's technically not a holiday gift, my father will be receiving half-handmade and half store-bought for his birthday gift this year (though of course he doesn't know it yet). Assuming I finish the thing- but I'm quite close now, so I'm not too worried. Even if I am driving down to my parents' home on Tuesday morning. And then technically I haven't finished a gift for the roommate, though I have a bit of time before that needs to be wrapped up and under the tree. Maybe I should get back to my knitting, nonetheless?

The purpose of this post was to signal something larger than just my own holiday gifting. I regret that I am not more charity-minded in general. I donate a small amount to my alma mater, since I am forever in debt to UMBC for a solid undergraduate education and being part of a special scholarship group. I join in a few crafting for charity efforts, and hope to do more of that in the coming year. I will also be participating in larger volunteering efforts over the next few months. That all still combines to a pretty pitiable showing, though. One opportunity has presented itself in the form of my Crafts Cluster, through GesherCity. Some members (with or without prodding) have agreed that we should make donating our crafts a priority, and we have already held a few "openly charity-minded" events with more to follow. One is tomorrow, in fact. We hope to make afghan squares and hats, scarves for Food and Friends' scarf drive, and little beaded animals as comfort for kids. The Celtic Knot up in Ellicott City also is instrumental in helping SOS with hand-knitted pink scarves. There are plenty of opportunities; it's just a matter of making them a priority.

I have also volunteered to knit for those in need in a slightly different manner. When I was a kid, I remember very vividly going to the local living history museums- places where the past was vibrantly alive (and reenacted). In Massachusetts I visited Old Sturbridge Village and Plimouth Plantation, and of course Canterbury Shaker Village in my home state of New Hampshire. I loved it- in fact, for years I assumed I would take my love of acting and history and become a reenactor at one of those sites or possibly at Williamsburg. Alas, I moved on to dreaming of becoming an English professor, and then falling into my current world of technical writing and software development business analysis... a bit of a jump from the 1620s environment I'd dreamed of as an ideal workplace. Being deathly allergic to horses probably wouldn't have helped. Frankly, I had rather forgotten my childhood career goal until recently, when I found the historical knitting groups on Ravelry. I already had a significant interest in historical knitting myself. Victorian lace has an obvious appeal for a former Victorianist, and the idea of knitting myself vintage stockings and vintage sweaters from original patterns is very enticing. My very first sweater was from a vintage-inspired pattern. To find a group of similarly history-entranced knittings on Rav was one thing, but then a woman posted about her job at Plimouth Plantation, which included needing to knit period stockings for every single reenactor in the encampment.

Hello, fortuitous aligning of the stars and heavens! I immediately requested a volunteer kit, and will be knitting some plain stockings as soon as I complete my last holiday knitting projects. I chose to do the basic pattern to start with, but they need a great deal of volunteer help, so I'd imagine I'll contribute more than just the one pair. My historic pattern and pretty wool have already arrived!


It may not be charity in the traditional sense, but I am so happy I can help. If you are interested in joining the effort, more information is available on their blog. They need stockings and gloves for lots of arms and legs, so I'm sure any knitter who can help would be welcome!

Crochet and I, not the best of buddies

I neglected to include one key photo in my recap of Thanksgiving knitting. Because it's embarrassing.

I know crochet isn't really any easier or harder than knitting. They are different. They are essentially dissimilar, though of course the general stick/string commonality makes me forget this. I know certain truths about both- knitting is my preferred obsession, but I like to crochet with thread and I love making fast afghans with crochet. I like to make baby blankets with crochet, since they use more yarn but generally I'm using cheaper yarn so I don't care! I know, call me a knitting yarn snob. I've knit my fair share of acrylic, and surely will again. Hello kitty hats.

That is neither here nor there. LOOK what I did. Oh the sighing.



I tried to conceal it a bit in this photo, but see all the ruched up fabric? The floppiness? The proof that has finally forced me to the inevitable conclusion that I can be a dolt? I evidently can't count. I trusted myself- I said "crochet is easy, look, I can do it without even looking! I can do it in the car! I can do it while playing a cutthroat card game with the tall drink of water and most of his family!" But no. I can't bloody count.

I may have to rip out a whole repeat. The shame. That's what I get for thinking of crochet as the "easier" hobby of mine, and the faster. I've got loads of extra stitches that weren't there when I began that beginning chain, oh so long ago. At least with knitting I'd have figured out my mistake long before now...

Thanksgiving is for Knitting

I had an eventful Thanksgiving vacation. I don't blog much about my personal life here, because I know you just came looking for the knitting pictures. Suffice it to say I got to spend lots of quality time with a few different families, and my own personal tall drink of water. I also heard stories about a spinning wheel in Hawaii, and family tales of knitters past and present. I'm thinking hard about my goal to learn spinning at 30. That is such an arbitrary number, and I picked it mostly so I wouldn't get tons of fiber while I still have so much yarn. If I keep going like I did this week, I might be able to start spinning next year! In between the long car rides and meeting lots of wonderful people and the delicious food and kisses there was also a great deal of XBox-watching and car-sitting knitting time. So much so that I've outdone myself.

First, I finished up the Endpaper Mitts (ignore that I haven't blocked a darn thing since I got home- that's a lot to ask of a girl, I think).


And my semi-artistic shot. Apparently I need to give myself a manicure, too.


After doing that, I figured I should work on a commissioned item. Does knitting for Sharyn, even by request, count as a commission? I would knit the world for her, in vegan yarns. People who like my knitting get showered with it. At any rate, they're very Fetching.


And modeled, by the same recalcitrant badly polished hand:


Lest I spend all my time knitting mitts for ladies, I started on one for a man. The boy tested it out for me, and deemed it man-sized. He's got huge hands though, so we'll see if it fits the intended recipient. I have modified the initial (glove) pattern significantly, to make it more fun and fingerless.


Mitts of all sorts are well enough for hands, but what about other extremities? Check out the Manly Sock! New and improved. I finished the first sock some moons ago, and had done half the ribbing for my second sock. But now I am up to the heel! Watching Halo III and Mass Effect is conducive to stockinette:


Finally, I managed to get a major amount of work done on the Super Secret Holiday Gift, but it's far too soon to show off pretty pictures of that.

Thanksgiving really is for knitting. And mashed potatoes- I'm equal opportunity.

I have already got my family's presents sitting under the Christmas tree in my apartment (which my Christian roommate sweetly put up while I was driving home from vacation). I am ready for an early Chanuka! So ready that I'm going to be spending it in Raleigh with the folks... And vacation with Mom means lots of crafting. Maybe this time I'll learn how to hand-quilt a bit better than last time? She finished hand quilting the wall hanging in LESS than a WEEK. She's a machine. It looks great- I hope to hang it this week, since it is so festively colored.
My Raleigh time will surely include some sewing and some piecework and a lot of knitting. It always does.

A great deal of thanksgiving

I have much to be thankful for. I am healthy, happy, and I can afford my rent. I have a caring family, wonderful friends, and endless optimism for the future.

I have enough of what I need, and more than enough of what I want. I have hobbies that keep my brain and hands busy. I have an apartment that looks out into nature, and I live only minutes from a vibrant city. I see wonderful theatre frequently, and come home to a warm home and a kind roommate. My library card has been worn in this year, and with Netflix I have finally seen some of those fine films I've always meant to see.

I have yarn and fabric, needles and patterns- the supplies for my crafting. I have endless hours to knit, and the calm that it brings me. I have love and laughter and luck, and renewed confidence in myself and my abilities.

Hopefully I will come back from my Thanksgiving break with warm memories and a few finished crafts. With more than 20 hours driving time and two family visits ahead of me, I can't imagine otherwise.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Forgot one thing

Mom came up for a very quick visit the other day. I think she really only drove up for the lamb at Wegman's.

She stayed the night, and was appropriately pleased with my recent projects. However, my (very little) attempted hand-quilting of the wall hanging did not pass muster. I'm not saying I'm a failure at hand quilting, I'm just saying that I suck really badly so far. I'm ok with this. I have a sewing machine. It can quilt for me.

In the meantime, my wall hanging has been whisked off by her accomplished quilting hands, and it's out of my hair. I don't mind this in the slightest- if she quilts it, the darn thing will finally be done. And I don't know who is going to keep it- Mom should, but I might end up with it hanging in my house. We'll see.

She did, however, compliment my general sewing. I think she has more faith in me than I do. Then again, I really did some perfectly lovely stuff when I was a kid- you don't ever really forget how to do neat and tidy seams. I still take suit pants in to be hemmed professionally, but that's because I hate hemming lining as well as the pants themselves. Completely reasonable.

I do wish I lived closer to her- we have so much fun crafting together. And we are very good at different sorts of crafts (she can do everything I can, and I have a lot to learn from her. But I'm by far the more obsessed knitter). How lucky I am to get to see her next week, for an evening, and then again over my vacation in December. Chanuka with the whole family- it should be a blast. And there will be much in the way of crafting. Maybe I'll bring my second wallhanging project with me? That one just begs to be machine quilted, once it is pieced... it's already cut out and ready for piecework, too!

Half done, photo proof

Palm up:


Palm down:


I think I like it just the way it is.

Also, these are the fabrics for some upcoming projects. First, beautiful cottons to make bird Christmas tree ornaments for the Roommie and me (and maybe a few other people):


And blues for a gift project:


It may be cheating to just use lots of fabrics from the same line, but I was too in love with these to care. They are all Asian-inspired, with fish and symbols of joy and happiness, and of course peonies. We all need peonies in our lives. Can't wait to get working on it!

One warm hand

I've had a bit of insomnia these past few nights. Not so good for my sleep schedule (4am to 11am is perfectly normal for a 3-day weekend, isn't it?)... but good for knitting.

There is something to be said for sitting up in bed in the wee hours, propped up on pillows with an iPod playing Librivox recordings and brilliant knitting all around me. Colorwork is ideal for knitting in bed.

I finished my first Endpaper Mitt last night, and cast on for the second one this morning. I already have decided on a number of changes I would make should I knit these again (which I probably will). First, I think I would do one less repeat of Chart 1. The mitts are VERY long, which is interesting but not as practical as shorter mitts would be. The medium size fits me perfectly side to side, but I think I would also try to figure out a way to shorten them slightly after the increases for the thumb. I might cut out the last repeat of Chart 1 as well- they'd be itty bitty mitts, but I think equally adorable.

I know most of the world is very over pale blue and brown as a color pair, but my love affair with brown only started a year or two ago. So I'm a bit behind the trends- I love brown and hot pink, too! Does that make me so far behind I'm ahead of the crowd?

I should note that it hasn't been all writing for work and knitting this long weekend. I went to see American Gangster, which I highly recommend. Just be prepared for the violence and drugs- I'm never really prepared for that stuff, despite the R-rated warning.

In addition to my knitting activity, I went to G Street to pick up some fabrics. I purchased quilting fabrics for a gift project, and for little bird ornaments for our tree. Having a Christian roommate has its perks! Crazy as it is, I even managed to wash and iron all the fabrics already so I am ready to stitch. I smell next weekend's activities...

You'll never guess what I did this evening...

I cast on for my Philosopher's Wool sweater. Shocking!

It's cute!


But it creates relative carnage in my living space:


The dark basket in the back left of that photo is currently holding the whole work in progress- lots of wound balls and so forth. I like my striping pattern for the sleeves so far, and can't wait to get to the fair isle. I figured I would start with a sleeve, to see how my gauge is. Thus far it seems accurate, for a sweater this enormous. It's meant to be mainly a jacket (and the wool isn't touch-skin soft, so that's fine). I'm thinking it may end up a bit 80s-tastic for my taste, but my Mom would probably love it. Either way, someone will get some serious warmth out of it. It is also my first real project for the Anne Knit-and-Read-Along- so hurrah for getting started. I am on Chapter 13 of Anne of Avonlea, which means I'm already behind on the reading as well. Tut tut.

I also cast on for another fun little project the other day. When I get very cold, I remember to start winter projects. This happened last year with leg warmers (knitted completely within a week, but then I never sewed them up). This year, I need fingerless mitts. I may try and actually finish them, this time.


The tubular cast on is very stretchy- it may even be too stretchy for my taste. But I can say I learned something new, which is good in and of itself.

The real life stuff has been fun- last night I went to see Fools and Horses, which is a band comprised of two brothers I know from high school and two other bandmates. They are, frankly, fantastic- check them out on iTunes if you like the Beatles, rock music in general, and superb guitarists. They played a lot of covers yesterday- the boy and I agreed that perhaps they could have played more of their own music. I understand that it was a college kid crowd, but they have already put out two CDs- and their music is better than most of the cover songs! I ran into another friend from high school while I was there, which was also lovely.

Tomorrow is a visit to my local yarn shop and then a pizza party with my college roommates. We may craft. And Monday, which is a blissful federal holiday, I plan to spend doing work. This rather defeats the purpose of not having to go to work, I realize, but it's time to knock out some writing. I'm hoping to put in a solid number of hours before heading to dinner in Vienna, and starting my workweek off right.

I would very much like to finish the Endpaper Mitts tomorrow. I wonder if it can be done? I'm still very wide awake, so maybe I'll work on the first one a bit more tonight and listen to more Anne of Avonlea from the Librivox recording... I am such a knit nut.

Productivity isn't always measured in FOs

Still zero progress on the sweaters I want to knit. But I've been productive! I'm zooming along on the crocheted baby afghan- first ball of yarn is just about finis, I'll be starting the second ball on the metro this evening. I've also made some progress on the super-secret gift, which is encouraging.

Tonight, my GesherCity Crafts Cluster is getting together with Moishe House Silver Spring to make little beaded "buddies" to give away. Should be a fun time, and I'm excited to check out Moishe House. Hopefully some other Clusterites will show up, but apparently there will be plenty of Jews around even if they don't.

I'm going to help (or at least offer my assistance) at a fair isle mini-class on Sunday. And also I will get further info for teaching my first for-real, paid class starting the weekend after.

Woo!

This weekend I mainly will be working on writing for work- and I'm ushering Saturday night. I'm hoping I can also take a few hours to go through my fabrics and patterns and select something to work on next week, on the sewing side. I already rearranged the clothing closet to be ready for winter, so it would be nice to take a more thorough investigation of my second closet. There's a lot of crafting supplies in there, and of course it serves as my holiday gift storage facility.

People laugh at me for getting serious about gifts in October. Usually I wait until November, but Chanuka starts December 4... I don't like to be caught unprepared! An unprepared Mikaiya leads to really crappy gifts. This year I may have outdone myself on a few counts, due to my careful planning ahead. I feel like I have to put forth effort, to make up for those years when I really didn't plan ahead (still sorry about that book, Mom... I'll never listen to the recommendations at Barnes and Noble again!!)

In related news, I'm trying to destash on Ravelry. Both yarn and books. I'm on a serious kick of getting rid of crap- Roommie and I have a spacious apartment, but I really wish my room looked more like a pleasant abode and less like craft hell. "Oh look, I can see the floor!" should not be monthly refrain. I've been freecycling a lot of clothes and random goodies, and generally preparing for the eventuality of having to move again. I even got rid of another two full boxes of books the other week- I can nearly fit all my books on two bookcases. How I have changed from grad school (I think I had four bookcases? Plus the built-in...) I keep conveniently forgetting that I shouldn't be buying yarn, but in my defense all my recent purchases have been for commissioned items.

I have been instructed not to do ANY commissioned items. A bit late for that. On the plus side, two of the projects will take about two days of knitting each, and they are for people I really want to knit for. The third is going to be a lot more time consuming, however.

Thoughts on relative difficulty and multi-crafting

I have not been working on my fair isle sweaters. Shame on me. Not even a gauge swatch. I've done this, though:



It's really quite large. I've already completed the first "V" section. The pattern is pretty simple, and this is my second time doing it- and my third baby blanket covered in Vs. I just love the "Victory" going through my fingers, I guess- there's something so natural about double crochet, chain, double crochet repeated.

I went to the "Un-Craft Fair" in Bethesda, held by the DC Craft Mafia. That was a blast- I was sad not to pick up a pirate onesie, but my cousin would probably not appreciate the admonition to eat one's "arrr peas and carrots." I did get a cute little pin (boyfriend purchased it for me), and I picked up a bunch of handmade soaps from a local crafter.

I also have spent a lot of time thinking about sewing. This is, in part, because I picked up a book at Border's after my knitting group last week and fell in love. It's this: Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. Most of the projects are very simple, but completely elegant. Some look insanely easy, and some make me cringe at the thought of all that hand-quilting (this is the girl who STILL has not really begun quilting the wall hanging I made this summer, on vacation with my mom). And the more I think about these projects, and the ones I would really like to make, the more I think I'm going about certain things the wrong way.

I tend to buy pretty patterns, the more complicated the better, because they work with how I envision the end product looking. Which is fine, but realistically? I am a relative sewing novice. I may scoff at the super-simple projects I see on occasion, but the people who are making those very same simple projects are actually MAKING them. I have nifty patterns, some cool fabrics- even some of them cut and ready to sew- and yet I don't. I'm not saying I'm incapable of doing them- my RenFest skirt (two years in the making) is surely not difficult. It's a matter of setting the sewing as a priority, and knowing I can do it and do it quickly. I need some confidence builder projects, to remind me that I do know my way around a sewing machine, and the basic tips and tricks of the trade. My mother has probably been saying this to me all along- I surprised her by being pretty good at piecework right off, but she was right in general about me being too ambitious with my projects and my time tables. So here's the new goals. I'm talking sewing here, but they really apply to knitting, too.

1- Set reasonable time limits- or better yet, set none at all. Does it really matter whether I get that wallhanging to my friend this winter, or next fall? I may feel a bit sheepish about it, but frankly he doesn't know it's coming anyways. No harm done. Holiday gifts don't need to be done for this holiday season- there's always next year. This year? Just buy them a book or a cute handmade thing on Etsy. Who cares?

1a- The corollary to Rule 1 is, not to promise things unless they're actually finished. Seriously.

2- Pick the simple project, and only ONE simple project at a time, and it should be SMALL. That means I may actually get to it, make it a priority, and finish it.

3- Nice fabric is worth it. Again, something I learned on the wall hanging. The border green fabric was cheap- it felt cheap, it didn't hold its shape well, and it was very difficult to piece nicely. If you're doing the simple and small project, the fabric cost really won't be an issue. You can make an ornament out of a quarter yard of fabric- in fact, a flock of them. So 8 bucks a yard for decent fabric isn't really that big an issue- that comes down to less than two dollars, even if you only make one!

4- Be inspired. Read Dallas's blog for project ideas (after all, Dallas- you are probably my inspiration for getting back to sewing at all). Read LOTS of blogs for project ideas. If I can look at hundreds of knitting blog posts, surely a few quality sewing blogs wouldn't go amiss.

5- Don't get too tempted by quilting. Some projects that would be really great to do? A simple skirt. An apron. They don't require any hand quilting, and would be functional. Wouldn't it be nice to wear a hand-knitted sweater and handmade skirt to work next spring?

6- Explore color. Lately, oranges and turquoise have been really jumping out at me. Why not play with them? There's nothing wrong with pink and blue and black, but that's hardly the full spectrum.

In other crafting news, my boyfriend is a crafty dude himself. Check out his new toy:

You can read a bit more about it from him here: Electrographic Beacon Projector

Don't get whiplash

I just can't do it. I knew this might happen, and it seems to be happening.

I wrote almost 2000 words already. And then I just... cracked. I can't write a novel this month. I have work commitments that need to be completed (in fact, that's what I'll be doing quite a bit of Saturday, I suspect). I hadn't realized the full extent of my commitments to GesherCity this month. We're talking 2-3 events each week.

And I got more than a little bit of a guilt trip from certain friends of a significant nature.

But don't think I'm stepping away from the challenge completely. I still may try to sneak it into my schedule. But darnit, I'm going to go to my knitting group tonight. And afterwards (or maybe there) I'm going to swatch Autumn Rose if it kills me.

You, you sweater you... you WILL be done in November. Cue the evil laughter.

I think my sudden change of heart may have been spurred by realizing I already hate my protagonist. I don't want to get to know her better. Why not quit while I'm ahead?

Oh, and here's my pretty little washcloth! Do I smell holiday gifts? Please disregard my apparent inability to weave in ends. This took longer than it should have- I watched an episode of House, two episodes of Rome, and the season finale of Battlestar Gallactica, season one. But I suspect the next one would be much faster. It would also be helpful if I could locate which project is using my size 7 KnitPicks Options needles, since I was required to do the whole thing on DPNs yesterday. It worked, but it was a bit tangly.

Giving in to the urge

Call me crazy, but I just can't avoid the lure of NaNoWriMo. I wasn't going to do it. I was going to knit fair isle! TWO sweaters (or at least parts thereof).

And then on the metro I had this crazy idea. And all of a sudden, I got that old familiar itch. Not just to write- nosiree, that would be easy.

This is the itch to spend every waking moment when I am not PHYSICALLY at work writing. To forsake sleep. To bid a fond farewell to my boyfriend, and tell him to get his fill of WoW raiding because my schedule just went kaplooey.

I have events scheduled for my crafts cluster- and I'm going to make them. But I'll write before and after. I have work that I need to be doing on weekends... and I will somehow have to fit it in. Crap, I'm even teaching two knitting classes (my first ever)... but no matter. I'll write in the coffee shop near the yarn store, all afternoon. Classes end at 11, I fail to see the issue.

So here I go. I'm obviously starting tonight, in two minutes. I'm firing up the laptop on the metro tomorrow. I am giving up my knitting and reading and Netflix (essentially) and focusing, as I am wont to do for one twelfth of the year, on just being a crazy writer chick.

Unless I realize it's Thanksgiving, I am so sleep deprived I fall asleep at my desk, and generally I cannot live without knitting. But I'm hoping I can hold out for at least that long. And maybe, if I get my typing speed up to par again, I'll be done by then anyways.

Ha.

Wish me luck. 50,000 words or bust!

Oh- I did finish the chullo except for the braids. And tonight I knit a washcloth. So hopefully that'll get me through a few days sans knitting! Pictures to come.

Shawl fantastico

I have a Seraphim. I am in love with her. In fact, I am wearing her to work, and enjoying every moment of her blissful warmth. She is made of Schaefer Anne, and the yarn is just perfect. It's variegated, but subtly enough for even the lacy bits of the pattern. And the colors are just perfect- I feel like I'm swimming in a cool pond!



Lace details:


All bundled up:


And here is the Woven Gems Prime Alpaca I purchased at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Fest- I keep petting it, because it feels like heaven.


I also promised photos of the Chullo hat I'm knitting to give away shortly. This photo is from early in the evening yesterday, before I finished knitting the earflaps. All that's left is to do the last round around with green, and weave in the excessive amount of ends. It's a little deceptive in the photo- most of the top actually sits above the head, and flops back. It's a really cute pattern. I may not have enough teal for the braid up top and the ties, but I did at least have enough for the hat itself.


I ordered some magnificent yarn off Ravelry- not only was in insanely cheap (less than half price?), it is quite possibly my favorite yarn ever. Besides Schaefer Anne. It's the perfect dusty rose, and I think Cashsoft DK may be the nicest fiber I've touched. I'm using it for that baby sampler afghan- I stopped working on it only because I'm lazy, though the yarn is perfect!


Speaking of babies, my cousin is going to be induced tomorrow. How wonderful! If it's a girl, I know what I'm sending to her... if it's a boy, I'll have to be more creative. Either way, there's also another project in my queue, though it's not a knitting project.


I am going to be one half of a very creative team- making one spiffy neo-Victorian steampunk suit. I think I'm going to start out by sewing up the shirt, since that should be relatively straight-forward while I learn how to use my new (to me) sewing machine. Once I have my stitching back in order, I will take on the tailoring required for the vest, and finally the frock coat.

I have a significant number of knitting UFOs, and two fair isle sweaters I want to start. Somehow, I'm not ready to knit on any of them. I think I need to dig into my knitting bag tonight after SSK, to determine what I should be working on. Or I could give in and swatch Autumn Rose. I think I say that twice a day, every day... In the meantime, I have the Super Secret Holiday gift in my bag, half completed, and I think that should take me through the next few days.

Block Party

This was a very good crafting weekend. Saturday was a work training session and a lot of Wii playing, so that doesn't count. I made up for the day off on Sunday!

First, I knitted in the car and played lots of fun tunes on the way to the Shenandoah Vally Fiber Fest. It was a very cute little festival- three buildings, a few barns, and lots of friendly and helpful people. I was able to purchase what I really went for- 16 ounces of gorgeous charcoal alpaca from Woven Gems. The yarn is destined to become an incredibly warm and comfy work sweater- I just need to find an appropriately simple pattern.

This is the same company that hand-dyed my crazy fire-inspired Bombyx Silk. Remember?


Knitted more on the way home, and I finished Seraphim before dinner. She's blocking in the living room as I type! Hurrah!

In the spirit of finished things, I cast on for a new project. Conveniently, this one is a hat- I already have it more than half-done. This is good, because it's for a dear friend who has moved to a very chilly clime- I think she could do with her gift sooner than later. I may not have enough yarn for the main color, but only one way to find out!

Photos of both projects to come shortly. I'm hoping to finish the hat tonight (if I do in fact have enough yarn), and then figure out what's next in the priorities list. Swatching for Autumn Rose, mayhaps?

Best laid plans...

Reviewing my UFOs yesterday didn't help as much as I thought it would. For one thing, I realized that I'm in an awful lot of knit-alongs right now. And I want to do them! I'm beginning to wonder if I can really do NaNoWriMo this year or not.

Here's my rationale for the moment, until I switch back to wanting to write. If I don't write after all, I could do some marvelous stuff. For example, I could swatch and start knitting Autumn Rose. Which I very much want to do.

And I am also in the Anne Knit-and-Read-Along. Someone on Ravelry noted that they're going to do a Philosopher's Wool sweater for the knitalong. Weeeeell. Philosopher's Wool is Canadian. Anne is Canadian. The pattern is traditional fair isle. 1907 is traditional (err, old). I have the kit for their Garden Patch sweater, and in fact I bought it at Sheep and Wool. Not last year... the year before. Oops.

So maybe I will have to reconsider my goals for November. Is it better to write a bad shoddy novel that will never be published anyways... or to knit two beautiful fair isle sweaters that I will be able to wear and enjoy for decades to come?

I swear, if these are the difficult decisions of my adult life I am a charmed woman. Good thing I have a few more weeks to decide one way or the other. I guess if I choose to knit, I could sign up for NaSweKniMo instead...but could I realistically knit an entire fair isle sweater in the month of November? I guess if the goal is 50,000 stitches, I could distribute that over both sweaters. Ponderponder.

Don't both of them beg to be knitted?

UFO Brigade

I am zooming along on Seraphim. According to the triangle shawl calculator, I am 64% complete, with only a chart and a half to go. I'll take that progress, and I foresee quite a bit of shawl knitting in my immediate future, since it's still a nice portable knit.

I was taking a tour through my Projects stash on Ravelry (username is Mikaiya, of course, feel free to friend me!). And I realized that the UFO count is really very scary. I don't even have everything IN Ravelry to count!

But here's the current sad state of affairs, and my goals for the month, before November hits and I rush off with my laptop for some mad writing time.

UFOs of Doom
- Pink Fuzz. It did not work as a length-wise scarf! Maybe I'll have more success the next time around. I'm going to knock this sucker out this weekend, or cry in the trying.


- Seraphim. She is not languishing, true, but I started this shawl in September! I aim to complete it and wear it by November 1. That means blocking. Darnit.


- MS3. This one is definitely in time out. Am I scared of doing the center pattern? Why have I not at least completed Clue 4 on the second half of the symmetrical shawl? I need to wake up on this one. My goal is to do Clue 4 by November 1.


- Trellis. I tried again to get going on this, but it was NOT an airplane project. I need room, and the fact that I'm working it on size 8 metal needles isn't just unusual. It's loud. I think this is not a difficult project at all, but I need to just start the fronts fresh (and the second sleeve, too). I'm thinking this will be a good project for immediately after Seraphim- knock it out and be done!

- Super Secret Project - over half done already. Eeeeh, I don't know on this one. I think I'll try and work on it the last few days of the month. Shouldn't take too long!

- Hanami stole. It's so purty, so very very purty. And I just couldn't get into it. I'm not frogging, oh no, but this is going on hold until post-holidays.


- Empire Line Cardigan. I finished the back, cast on for one front... and just can't make the effort. I loved knitting the back! It was easy and fun! I think this one is waiting until January.

- Sampler baby afghan. This is not hard. It's fun to knit. It's cute and portable. And I just started to hate it! Most of the hate seems to be because I didn't check sizes while knitting (I'm knitting with a different gauge yarn than is called for, but that's no excuse for having two identical squares be different lengths). It's not going to the baby it was meant for. I'm going to suck it up and finish it, someday. I promise, on my honor I will try, to pick it up the next time I hear someone is pregnant. But not before.

- Broadripple socks. Cute, just haven't felt like sock knitting.

- Manly socks. Endless miles of simple stockinette. One's already done! One to go. This is a priority for November, since it's simple and I can knit it on the metro when I'm not TYPING.

- Purple lace scarf. I was going to give this as a holiday gift this year. I still might- it's to be worked on in December.


- Sand baby sweater. Just needs to be finished! Someday.


- Molly Ringwald. Almost half done. I'd like it finished by May.

- Pastel baby blanket. This one can languish for all I care. It's fun and easy, but too big for the metro. Even if I did start it last November.

- Peach cable baby sweater. Eeeh, next spring.

- Baby Owl sweater. Another sad little one. I forgot which needles I used for the back, which makes it a bit tricky to knit the fronts and sleeves! I may (gasp) frog the whole thing and try again. Don't tell anyone.

So in order of approximate priority:

By November 1-
Re-do the Pink Fuzz.
Knit, bind off, and block Seraphim.
Finish Clue 4 (again) on MS3.
Finish re-knitting Trellis.
Finish Super Secret Project (I'm ok with this one falling off the radar until December- but it IS part of Socktoberfest).

By December 1-
Finish the Pink Broadripple Socks!
Knit the second Manly Sock.

By December 25-
Knit the purple lace scarf.
Finish the Super Secret Project.
Also, knit a Chullo and Convertible Mittens. Woo!

I have ink!!!

Really. Four cartridges worth.

Sometimes it's the really small things that matter most. Off to knit holes in Seraphim, after a brief glance into the current state of things:

Seraphim herself:


A glimpse of the super-secret project:


Autumn Rose in all its kitted glory:


And a taste of vacation.
Epcot:


And my fantastic parents at a very autumnal Magic Kingdom:

A very knitty October, before a very wordy November

I have sold a whole bunch of skeins of yarn since Ravelry came out. This makes me happy. Sometimes I just get very freaked out by clutter and messiness. Looking at old pictures of my old apartments reminded me of how very much I need to get back to taking care of my things, and thus taking care of myself. It really is all connected- I need to move my body, eat a bit more worshipfully, tidy my living quarters, and shape up my reading and knitting queues. There are so many partially finished projects that it has begun giving me heartburn! Well, maybe.

My biggest heartburn, or at least heartache, is that I CANNOT knit Seraphim anymore. All the color printers are on the blink at work, and I am out of color ink at home (as I have been for months now)... which means I have no way of printing the charts. I finished the stockinette section this evening, and was raring to go when I realized that I can't read charts via computer screen. Apparently our intrepid heroine will be trekking to Best Buy in Tenleytown tomorrow- my favorite last-minute stop for necessities such as iPods (mine was broken!), headphones, and of course color ink. It's a PSC 1510xi All-in-One. That's my gentle reminder for tomorrow.

Besides continuing my love affair for Schaefer Anne and the Seraphim, which will be perfect metro knitting should I ever manage to print the pattern, I realized I have very little in the way of convenient portable knitting. I try to keep a few relatively simple projects on hand at all times for the metro- simple baby blanket squares, patterns with easy repeats, scarves and such. But right now, apparently everything on the needles is just too complicated. The super-secret holiday project is fairly portable, and the aran baby blanket would be fine if it weren't already a pretty hefty project. Maybe I should start a sock pattern? Unfortunately, all the socks I want to knit right now involve plain-colored Opal yarn in fantastically intricate cables. That defeats the purpose of portable!

What's a girl to do. Besides obsessively read Anne of Green Gables. I had forgotten how much I adore this book. I had forgotten how it made me laugh aloud, and weep copiously when I first read it in third grade. I thought maybe that was because I was a high-strung child. I know I've become more calm and rational in the intervening decade since I last read the books. But within a page I was laughing and tearing up. Oh, LM Montgomery, what a mighty tale you weave. My mother insists I was Anne-like from the beginning, so I didn't simply model my curiosity and wordiness and obsession with beauty on her alone. If I did not consciously mimic her, then we must simply be perfect kindred spirits. She was the first memorable heroine in my world, literary or real, and it is such a pleasure to revisit her now. I want to scream and shout at her that it will all turn out fine, that her optimism is anything but misplaced, that her imagination is natural and to be celebrated. Rereading Anne of Green Gables puts me in the mood to write, fast and furious, and peck out a real story of my own. I'd best get knitting, since it looks like I will be spending November in its accustomed novel-writing haze. Not much time for any other craft once I take up the quill, or in this case my baby laptop, and start on my goal of 2000 words a day. Maybe this year the tale will even be a bit more publishable. To my mother's eternal dismay I did not turn my young love for fantasy and dragons into becoming a JK Rowling, and I don't even write romance novels. I haven't written a memoir of my time in France, even if she did help me with a title. And explaining my job title to the non-computer set poses a bit of difficulty. I am thus somewhat of a failure of a writer daughter. Last November I attempted to rectify this- I ended up writing a lot of tripe, but it was enough to win NaNoWriMo by meeting the 50,000 word goal. Anyone with me for this year? Can we set down our pointy sticks long enough to create fiction? It's not too late to sign up...

Home sweet home

I went away for vacation, and all I got was a stinking cold. Or sinus infection. We'll see.

Buuut it was otherwise great fun. I'll surely update my Flickr soon with my (hundreds) of photos of fun with the parental unit. In knitting news, I completed over half of a super-secret holiday knitting project (so secret that you can't have a progress photo). But it's cute.

I cannot print out the lace charts for Seraphim until I buy color ink or go to work and print it there. So that didn't get to go with me on vacation. And I realized all my other projects weren't portable. C'est la vie!

My Autumn Rose yarn and book arrived while I was away. They are sitting on the floor in the living room, waiting for me to swatch. For the safety of all concerned, I'm waiting on that until my nasal passages clear up a bit- way too many nose bleeds for comfort in knitting! Nevermind that I probably can't handle fair isle with this cold...

Coming up in October (oh goodness, it *is* October!) is the Anne Knit-and-Read-Along. So! I need to decide what I'm knitting for that. And start reading the first two books. How exciting! Fall is the very best time of year.

FO!

Guess what I finished last night? Took me another 3 hours of finishing... that's about 6 hours total, just sewing/weaving/collar. Whew.



Now on to other things. Mostly Seraphim. When I was looking for a bag to put the sweater in for transportation, I located two Addi Naturas I didn't even remember buying. How sad is that? They are the needles I've been wanting to knit the baby fair isle sweater- it figures I already bought them. I'll probably work on that a bit this weekend, to ramp up for Autumn Rose.

Knitalong Happy

Seraphim continues apace- I've got 61 stitches in each of the stockinette pattern sections, which means I have only another trillion increase rows to go. Trillion may be putting it strongly. I'm enjoying it quite a bit, for essentially knitting stockinette fabric for most of the shawl.

Brian's sweater is so close to finishing I can taste it- I completed the sleeves, picked up and knit the neck, and sewed the sleeves to the body. I even wove in a bunch of ends. All that's left is to seam up the sleeves and the sides of the sweater, but that is apparently proving to be too much for me. After all, just the two small seams and the collar took me 3.5 hours. Did I mention this is a huge sweater? Maybe I'll go home and finish it tonight.

Or I could go to a new knitting group and work on Seraphim. Hmm!

In other knitty news, I have joined my third knitalong. MS3 is essentially over, though I have 3 more charts to complete before my shawl is actually done. Clue 4 has two charts, and then I have to do the inset piece to bind my two symmetrical sides together. My Autumn Rose fair isle can't get going until the yarn gets off backorder- presumably the 25th, and they will ship it after that. It's quite likely that the yarn will not arrive before I head out on vacation, so I will not be starting that until at least the second week of October. Then yesterday (care of Ravelry), I discovered the Anne of Green Gables Read and Knit Along and I'm in love. I truly adore LM Montgomery. I have all but the most recently printed couple of books- all lined up in a row of my bookshelf. The goal of the knitalong is to read two books a month, October through January. And knit something Anne-related while doing so. I'm suspecting I would like to knit a counterpane or a tablecloth. This is one nice resource for vintage patterns: the Antique Pattern Library. I could also just make some military-issue WWI era socks, but that's not the challenge I'm hoping for. I need to bear in mind that November is inside the KAL months, however, and I might not be knitting or reading a thing that month. If I decide to write another novel. I will probably try to read one of the books for that month in October and December, respectively. No worries.

Seraphim, apparently, is the right choice

OK, I couldn't hold out on the High Holy Day lace project.

First, I had seven dollars in my PayPal from selling some yarn. Seraphim pattern? Six dollars.

Second, I have two skeins of Schaefer Anne. Fingering weight wool blend, gorgeous. I was going to make a circular shawl (from a Schaefer pattern)- I even started it. And I just hated the pattern. It didn't seem clear, and it was bothering me.

Seraphim requires about 8 oz of fingering weight yarn. I have 2 skeins of the Anne- that's 8 ounces. Seraphim is pretty, and will look beautiful in a mildly variegated color scheme (which my Anne is).

Score. I wonder how far into the stockinette I can get, and still finish the second sweater sleeve this weekend? First sleeve? DONE!

I'll post a status photo at the end of today. For now, I think it's time to get some laundry going and cast on for this shawl. I even have the right size Addi Turbo lace needle, right with the yarn. It's bashert.

Sweater of doom

So. Brian is a nice guy. Fine coworker (sort of, we work rather tangentially together). But he's not tiny!



Front and back are complete. I'm just about done with the increases on the first arm. If I never see this denim bulky yarn again- it will be too soon. If I really bust my butt, I should be able to complete the sweater before I leave for Yom Kippur at the parents' place. So much for lace knitting; it's all sweater all the time around here.

My Autumn Rose won't even ship until after the 25th. I will survive, to be sure.

Apparently my sister has some good pictures that I had not yet snagged. First, knitting in action (Bobble Blue, as seen after her pinning ceremony):


My sister is a nurse now- so we have two RNs in the family. Like mother like daughter. I, however, am a knitter first and foremost. Here's proof!


Aren't we a cute little family.

I went to a new (to me) knit store recently- Knit Happens in Alexandria. It might have been on Rosh Hashana. At least I went to services first! I picked up a couple really cute things there, including Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport for the snowflake socks and two skeins of Rowan 4ply Soft for Endpaper Mitts. I think the yarn I was going to use for the socks (Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport) is instead going to become a Seraphim. Eventually.

Also at the store, I had my first Ravelry moment. You know you're overly web-enabled when you meet someone in a store, and only later realize you recognize them because you've been lusting after their FOs. I really need a knitted skirt, apparently!

Post Happy: the other stuff

In addition to the baby stuff going on around here, there has been a small amount of other progress. Not with holiday knitting, though. I am woefully behind, having not yet started.

I picked up the needles again for Brian's Behemoth Sweater. The back has been done for a while, so I'm trudging through the front in the hopes of getting it to him before the weather gets too cold. Here's the progress as of this morning- note the back is too big to fit in-frame, so I draped it over the bed:


It was noted at SSK yesterday that last year The Purloined Letter and I both worked on Adamas during the High Holy Days. Obviously, a new lace project is needed. The High Holy Day tradition must go on! I could finish the Mystery Stole 3 project... which is probably 70 percent complete... but I have to knit it at home, and that's frustrating. I could work on the Hanami shawl, but I just don't have it in me to do the basketweave lace pattern right now. I do have two good options!

First, I could knit the Butterfly dress- I have the book and yarn already. When better to knit it than now, in my (almost late) twenties. It's not the type of garment I envision wearing much past 30 odd. I linked to the KnitPicks page, since I purchased their yarn (in the green colorway, Tide Pool), and I envision doing it without beads. Beads are gorgeous, but I've read in numerous places that they make the project far too much of a hassle. Lace alone will do me!

My second option is to knit the Fiddlesticks Lily of the Valley Stole. Again, I have the pattern. I think it would be scrumptious in this yarn, which really is that bright:


I still have a few days to decide. Or I can chicken out and finish MS3. Or perhaps finish one of my numerous UFOs?!