I know that people who, as my husband says, "work in industry" will not feel the least bit sorry for me. Neither will people who report dutifully to their posts year round, work their shifts like the respectable paycheck earners that they are, and then go home to pursue their hobbies in their free time. Nor will academics/teachers for whom knitting is a pleasant side activity. They most likely accord to it a measured and healthy amount of weekly time and manage to balance their knitting with work. But if there are those out there like me for whom The Knitting Lifestyle has surpassed the bounds of decency and have spent their summer knitting fiddling while Rome burns, I know you are feeling the depths of despair with me right now. WOW am I hurting. Knitting seems to have permanently damaged my work habits as I have become accustomed to hours and hours of swatching, Ravelry-ing and just general yarn induced lollygagging. So yeah, it's back to school for this Knitting Knucklehead and it's not pretty. Luckily one of my fave LYSs is right on the route home from work, so I deadened the pain with some yarn. Hey, that's what it's there for, right? Stitch Your Art Out is a fantastic store for many reasons, the main one being that Kim and Cynthia are always keeping it fresh. Every time you go there, it's a new store because of the constant stream of new inventory. HELL to the YEAH. So I got some Cherry Tree Hill Sockitome in Potluck Jewels and Potluck Blues/Greens. You know, just to be nice and all. I am progressing nicely on the Wollmeise RPM socks. There is a lot of hyperbole being thrown around these days in Claudia's direction, and let me just that it is all quite deserved. The colors are out of this world, and this yarn is like velvet...so if you can get your hands on some, I say DO IT NOW because the Yarn Harlot recently blogged about it and you know what that means, folks: scarcity city.
I know I spent the last post turning up my nose at Angel motifs, but just look what the Darling Resident Marxist Wallpaper Scraper uncovered in our daughter's room underneath five layers of hideous wallpaper: These must be from the 1920's at least. Since both our dads were born in 1927, we both imagined what our fathers lives had been like back then, and how much things have changed throughout their lifetimes. It was a pleasant surprise to find these little treasures, but sadly they are going the way of all the other paper to make way for the decidedly more modern Martha Stewart treatment. Although come to think of it, I'm sure Martha would be amused in her own Martha way by such a retro design find.
When it comes to sock patterns, I think I might have finally found the area in which I am profoundly vanilla. Don't get me wrong, my freak flag is out there and flying high in so many regards, but not when it comes to freak-kay patterns. I have been forced to come to grips with my own limitations after receiving the latest Socks That Rock sock club shipment and feeling yet again completely underwhelmed. Without a doubt the yarn is gorgeous and lovely and amazing in every way, it's just that once again the pattern seems over the top and too busy for my tastes. In fact, ALL of the patterns have been too much for me. When I see a variegated skein of STR like June's Firebird or this month's Flower Power, the first pattern I think of is something simple and uncomplicated with maybe a few ribs, or a basic stitch pattern similar to the one featured in the Jaywalkers. But the lace anklet/crazy cable/wacky stitch thing is just a little too much for me. I can't deal with the frou-frouness of it all. Hopefully I'll find another pattern for this yarn, one that will let me butch it up a little! Speaking of butch, today is the DRMC's birthday and along with a new hub cap for his car and the recent Beastie Boys album, he is getting the above pictured fantastic loot. Yes, I am thoroughly on board with the Cobblestone and can't wait to get started after seeing this one and this one. Wasn't that so thoughtful of me to give him yarn for a sweater? Actually I happened to have this in my stash and am doubly excited to be able to use it for such a tantalizing project by the mighty Brooklyntweed, who I think we are all a little gaga for at this point...
Some are fond of flowers, there are those that love to adorn anything and everything with hearts, and others still find magic in Angels (not me, even writing that line gives me the creeps). Me? I am a major fan of the simple leaf motif as evidenced by the various leaf-inspired designs in our house: Adding to my leaf collection is a finished pair of Embossed Leaves, a.k.a. The Most Magnificent Socks in the History of the World. Seriously--if you are in a sock lull, why not give these little darlings a whirl? This pattern is a major winner and I am gaga over the Fleece Artist Merino sock yarn. The color way is ‘moss’, an apt and fitting name as the yarn has all the subtle change in hue and variation that makes real moss so textured and appealing. The pattern was so easy to memorize, was such a pleasure to knit, and the end result is a pair of socks that are comfy and comely--and feature my favorite possible motif ever! The Specs: Pattern: Embossed Leaves from Favorite Socks Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino Sock yarn in Moss Needles: size 2 Magic Loop Notes: No modifications necessary, why would there be? I know I hinted that I was on the verge of sock saturation, but I do believe I have a few pairs left in me. Next up: the RPM socks in Rhabarber Wollmeise. How can I resist the lure of rhubarb and its last gasp before the autumn leaves must turn?
If there is one thing I love, it's getting parcels in the mail. You can keep your supermarket fliers, your credit card offers and your 'have you seen me?' mailings that come at an ever increasing clip. When I get to that mailbox, nothing gives me a greater frisson than a package. I am certain this is why in college I began a love affair with catalogs, and then later with Internet shopping. I believe it was all a big ruse for me to rustle up some special delivery joy for myself. Lately I haven't had to create any scams or confabulations to receive happiness in the mail, it's just happened.
Jenny from the Lone Knitter sent me this fantastic Lane Borgosesia yarn as a prize from her cancer drive on her blog: Our group knit a bunch of squares and received this as a prize donated by Knit-a-bit in Westfield, NJ. Although the selfish little bugger in me would love to scream "Mine all MINE-mwahahahaha", the polite Episcopalian in me will be dutifully turning it back over to our church knitting group so we can make some other charity project with this lovely pink yarn. Thanks for a great project, Jen!
Speaking of Jens, Miss Knitting Sutra sent me a skein of Scheepjes that I have yet to show you. My love of all things Dutch is well documented, so receiving this creamsicle-colored sock yarn made my heart skip a beat:
Thanks to both of you!
I am in the process of finishing my Embossed Leaves socks which are turning out to be one of my favorite patterns ever, and when I do, I believe that I will be all socked-out. Is this is indeed possible? In anticipation of this state of sock fatigue, I have picked up a long haul wip that was on the verge of moving into permanent hibernation. The Katharine Hepburn Cardigan from Lace Style--a gorgeous piece of artistry but WOW is it taking forever. I am almost at the arm hole decreases and this feels like a major victory. Wasn't this going to be such a cute early summer affair? Look for this to possibly be done by next Easter...
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know how utterly thrilled I am to be writing the following words: I have finished the Jaywalkers. This project had been on my needles for over 14 months and taunted me at every turn. But now I have subdued them into submission, and I owe it all to my trusty Hitachi Magic Wand Magic Loop method! You see, I started these socks in the B.M.L.* era and made scant progress on them. Indeed I spent many hours toiling away on these. After what would seem like an eternity, I'd look up from my work, which was starting to feel like a sort of knitting chain gang, only to discover that I had knit an inch at the most. Enter the size 1 Addi Turbo (40 inches--because I am a size queen). Hello sailor! Yes, this past weekend my Magic Loop and I were able to make mincemeat of the Jaywalkers . And I am delighted. The Specs Pattern: The Jaywalkers Yarn: Opal Hand painted. I began this project so long ago that the person who hand painted the skein is most likely pushing up daisies. But I think the color is #20. Needles: First they were on size 1 dpns. Two of them broke, and the manufacturer replaced them. Then I wised up and broke out the Loop. Nirvana ensued. Notes: The socks are tight as hell, so they are destined for a friend with a dainty foot. If there is ever a next time, I'll definitely use a softer yarn like maybe Sundara or Brooklyn Handspun. The Opal Hand painted was too twine-like for my tastes.
*Before Magic Loop era. A time when knitting was dominated by frustration, sluggishness and a general lack of progress. Also referred to as the Dark Ages and the Sad period.
I am sure many of you remember my super pal Kenric. You know, the guy who knit a purse in a day after about 4 minutes of knitting instruction? Well, he's become very active in The Lifestyle. He has knit about 3 more purses. He has joined a Men's Knitting Group in San Jose. He has made friends with other local knitters and is making plans for an LYS yarn crawl. He is on Ravelry--check him out! He is making a cabled sweater. Yeah, his first sweater has cables. Alice Starmore you better watch out, sister, because I'm sure he'll be doing stranding before Labor Day.
My super pal Mike of Socktopus sent me a recording of Elizabeth Zimmermann telling her life story--of growing up in England, studying in Germany, meeting her husband, and coming to America. I played it on a recent car trip and was completely enthralled. When you tell things like this to your non-knitting friends, they think you're barmy. (A fine EZ vocab word). Her delivery is pure magic and she has such a knack for recounting events in a charming and detailed way. Listening to it motivated me to dust off my wayworn copy of Knitter's Almanac and finish a wip that was laying fallow in the bottom of the wip basket of purgatory. You might recall that I had a mini nervous breakdown over running out of yarn. As it turns out Babs had a skein of it to spare, and Bob's-your-uncle I was back in business. Hot damn! The Specs Pattern: February Baby Sweater Yarn: Koigu p403 (2.5 skeins held together) Needles: size 6 Mods: I did the sleeves in the round using 2 circs. I love the pattern but next time will use a solid yarn as the pattern is lost in all of the Koigu variegated madness--two strands held together was just a little too busy. But don't I get style points for using Koigu for a non-sock knit?
A funny thing happens when you work on one project exclusively--you actually finish it! The UFO August drill is proving to be of great use to me, as within the past week I have finished two pain-in-my-ass projects and this weekend should see the completion of the dastardly wip that has been on the needles the longest. Stay Tuned!
Part of my jobs involves overseeing student-created podcasts that are used in a foreign language classroom, so the whole podcasting thing is not foreign to me. I love the concept and think it has a myriad of genius applications. I have listened to a variety of knitting podcasts--some really dry and serious in a sort of formal way, and others raucous, chatty and completely annoying in that 'you had to be there' sort of way. But I have yet to find one that makes me want to put my Morrissey away. I am curious to know which podcasts you enjoy, and why. I am bandwagon-ready, but can't seem to find one that appeals to me.
I am now what my deceased grandmother would refer to as a slothful, slovenly girl. Soon the Darling Resident Marxist Curmudgeon will return home from 5 long weeks away of toiling in an underground nuclear lab only to find that our house has fallen into utter disrepair, with tall weeds coming up through the cracks in the sidewalk and the front garden lousy with Dandelions and Creeping Charlie. He will note with dismay that the recycling bin is full of empty tonic bottles and microwave dinner boxes. Luckily we don't have Tivo™ (we're the type of pathetic pseudo intellectuals that don't actually admit to watching tv), because he'd be treated to a cavalcade of dreck such as Beauty and the Geek, My Super Sweet-16, and several season-long marathons of America's Next Top Model. He'd immediately accuse the kids, but we'd know better. Hopefully he'll appreciate the pile of hand knit socks that will be buried underneath the stacks of unopened mail!
In that pile will be these little wonders, celebrity socks that truly need no introduction: The Specs: Pattern: Cookie A's Monkey socks Yarn: Brooklyn Handspun in Jungle Canopy Needles: HiyaHiya circs size 2, Magic Loop June-August, 2007 These were an enormous pleasure to do as the yarn and pattern were well matched, I just love these HiyaHiya Needles. If you have never knit with Brooklyn Handspun, it is so soft and is pool-proof. I have gotten many compliments on this color way from non-knitters, as this has been a very transportable project and has galavanted quite a bit around town with me.
Completing this project also fulfills another goal: the August UFO challenge. Kirsten (inspired by Beverly) of Through the Loops fame has started a Flickr group for those of that have many unfinished object loose ends to wrap up before hard core fall knitting begins. So if you are in a situation where you need a little motivation to finish up several wips, join us via the Flickr group! My goal is to complete the random socks that have been started and have at some point been inexplicably set down : Retro Rib, Canal du Midi, and Embossed Leaves all come to mind, just off the top of my head. I'm also determined to finish my Shetland Triangle as well, dammit! I feel like if I could just finish the above-mentioned projects, I would somehow be free and clear and a brand-new-shiny- good person, and not a slothful, slovenly girl. Are there any projects that you'll be damned if you don't finish by the end of the summer?
In case you all were thinking that I was becoming a one-trick sock pony, I present to you a FO of another sort: Kipling! Pattern: Kipling, available for free at Yarn Abuse Yarn: Jeannee from Plymouth Yarns, color #7, 1.5 skeins Needles: size 7
This sweater is destined for a first time grad student mother in our department, and I can't wait to give it to her. Can you stand how cute the collar is? Is there anything more fun that knitting for a newborn? Kipling: Highly recommended, a satisfying knit.
Look, I told you all that I had insanely good luck. Still skeptical? Well yesterday I received the Red Rocks yarn pictures below in the mail from the very lovely Courtney over at (prepare yourselves for the best blog name ever) Yarntootin'.
A warning was posted earlier this week on a Ravelry discussion board regarding certain perved out foot fetishists on Flickr who have been, shall we say, enjoying all the lovely pics of the lady feet festooned with socks and sandals. I have to say that it gave me a chuckle. I mean now that I think of it, it seems so obvious--OF COURSE those shots of Jaywalkers-in-wedge-sandals are kinky to the max and worthy of libidinal investment! As it turns out we sock knitters have been unwittingly giving those Flickr foot enthusiasts the time of their lives. And since I subscribe to the 'if you're not hurting anybody/breaking any laws/corrupting minors', well, I guess I don't have a huge problem with it. But then again since I know that my Clydesdalesque clodhoppers aren't personally implicated in this affair, who am I to say? More SocksMy FO of the day is another pair of Thujas. This whole worsted-weight-socks-on-large needles things has been a real gas, but I think I'm putting this pattern away for the time being. I've enjoyed it but it's time to move on.Specs:Pattern: Thuja from Knitty, Winter 05Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino #107 , two skeinsNeedles; size 6 addi turboMods: Picot bind-off that to my mind looks semi-dorkyContest Results:I enjoyed the entries for the contest. Not only did I read some interesting anecdotes about gratitude and luck, I got to find out about several killer blogs that I had never seen before. Thank you all! According to the random number generator, i.e. Peeper-lou picking from a hat, fresh from her vacation in Ireland and Morocco, the winner of the Phildar mags is Teabird and the Bearfoot goes to Rosina! Two new faces round these parts, congrats to you both.
Tour de France roundup:Sadly my project is doa. Let's just say that the Canal du Midi sock project never really got off the ground due to indecision and poor strategy. But this KAL was certainly one of the best ever--thanks Meg and Debby!
Certainly a sign of middle age is developing a strong attachment to music that you have no business (at your age!) to be listening to. The DRMC's age inappropriate love object of choice is Maroon 5. At age 50, their fey pop stylings are an odd choice for him. My age inappropriate musical inspiration? None other than those forceful Teutonic metalmeisters Rammstein. My favorite song? Rosenrot, number 1 with a bullet. So when I logged on to the Wollmeise site, would there really be any doubt in anyone's mind that I would immediately order the sock yarn of that very name? Plus four others? [From left to right you see Rosenrot, Frosch, Rhabarber, Poison #5 & Gewitterhimmel]. Yes, apparently I'm on an 'ordering yarn from Europe' kick (!?). After the brilliant Kauni-from-Denmark acquisition experience, I thought I'd go for broke. Seriously. I'm now broke, but it was so worth it. Isn't that what every fiendish addict secretly feels?
The site is set up in an informal way, your order is placed via an exchange of personal emails with the Wollmeise herself, and the yarn arrives in a lovely parcel. Claudia makes you feel like a friend to whom she just happens to be sending an exquisite gift. When the yarn arrives--a mere several days later, you feel as if you're opening a present of the most extraordinary kind. The utter richness of the colors cannot be overstated. Big, massive thumbs up for this gorgeous yarn and all around experience...if you're thinking of ordering, just do it. Wollmeise ist ausgezeitnicht!! I do have a modest FO to display. I mean, not only do I buy yarn, I actually knit with it:
Pattern: Thuja socks from Knitty Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino, color # 149 Needles: Addi Turbo Size 7, Magic Loop Mods: These were done a size 7 needle as I wanted a loose gauge for my FIL, who has Rheumatoid Arthritis and needs a little extra give in his socks. To accommodate for this I reduced the stitch count by 4. Artyarns Supermerino couldn't be more perfect--completely soft and beautiful in every way. The next pair will be done on size 6 needles, however.
Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful, perspicacious comments on the contest post. I have enjoyed reading every one of them, and promise to post the results this weekend...
Please don't think that based on the title of this post there is any Harry Potter content to be had on this blog. My use of the adjective charmed instead refers to the fact that in the last 72 hours I have won TWO contests! Both have provided me with luscious skeins of sock yarn from two lovely knitters. For giving a summer reading recommendation (Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You), Laura sent me my choice of Cider Moon Glacier. I chose 'Peas and Carrots', because it reminded me of a favorite saying at dinner time from my household c. 1974, "eat every carrot and pee/pea on your plate!":
For sharing a traumatic travel story (mine involved a giant pot of honey dripping on hysterical passengers on a bus in Morocco.), Becky sent me two skeins of Koigu: Before you make any hilarious 'coals to Newcastle remarks', please know that they are two skeins that I actually have never seen, do not own, and adore. Read all of the entries, they are hilarious. Faith should have won in my book, but I'm not complaining!
Speaking of contests, Jen has a fabulous one on her blog and let me just say right now that I am hoping that the third time will be a charm for me, because the prize is unbelievable...greed is so unattractive, isn't it?
In other contest related news, my brother was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics!!! He wrote a song for MadTv called 'Merry Ex-mas', sung by the très gyno composite Tori McLaughlin. We are all very excited for him, despite the fact that he is threatening to permanently change his name to Emmy® Nominated Bruce McCoy™...
Tell me how you are living a charmed (not necessarily knitting) life. How have you been lucky? What recent (not necessarily knitting) decisions have you made that you are happy about?
There will be two prizes for the randomly number generated winners, one will be two French Phildar knitting and crochet mags, the other will be a skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot. If you're on Ravelry, I'll even let you choose it from my stash. Post your answers here on or before Thursday, and good luck!
I have a friend who is legendary for calling up her other friends with 'major realizations' that are in fact nothing of the sort. They are usually so painfully obvious that they don't even qualify as ideas that are vaguely new or interesting. "Guess what, I realize that if I eat less junk food, I feel better". "Major realization: guys don't like it if you try to control them" and my personal favorite, "If I spent less money, I'd have more in my bank account at the end of the month". Well my days of bemused superiority are over, because I have my own major realization:
The more you work on multiple projects at once, the less you actually accomplish.
Yes, my non-stop knitting wonderland has come to a grinding halt due to lack of real progress on anything. Flitting from project to project may have its advantages in the natural world, but it spells nothing but disaster for a crafter. I thought project promiscuity was the way to go, but as it turns out, monogamy has its advantages. So yesterday I buckled down (to resurrect a parent/teacher conference golden chestnut) and completed something. I forced myself to finish the Elann Toe-Up Chevron Socks and experienced a rush of adrenaline-induced satisfaction whilst moving these socks from the wip to finished category on Ravelry--don't tell me that that moment hasn't been a beacon for many of you while imagining actually finishing something!
This was an enjoyable, easy-to-memorize pattern that I highly recommend. The Smooshy is a soft yarn that comes in a myriad of fantastic color ways, see 'Lipstick Lava' and 'Beach Fog' below. The yardage is truly impressive--450 yards, enough that I can now make Tween Thing a pair of socks from it. This was my first opportunity to use my new Chinese HiyaHiya needles. They are amazing. The cable is ultra-flexible and the joins rival those of Addi Turbos and Knitpicks. Check them out and they have the nice made in China price of $7.50. Yes, just one more way the Red Giant is kicking our flabby American asses, people.
Speaking of Ravelry, (don't worry, I'm not going to drone on about how amazing it is because I could never do justice to how completely life-altering it is proving to be) my friend Dinty Moore--that is actually his name--sent me a link to a Techcrunch article about Ravelry. You have to read the piece as well as the reactions to believe it. The article talks about the popularity of the site in a 'knitting, who knew?' sort of way. The gearheads post many 'knitters use computers?' type of comments. These statements are not new to anyone here, but Casey aka Awesome Whiz behind Ravelry posts a great comment that gently puts the nerds in their place. Check it out!
Before going over to the dark side of 'round the clock knitting (watch for a cavalcade of FOs later this week), my husband and I spent an all too short week in Minneapolis visiting my parents. I was supposed to have an awesome knit blogger meet-up with Ali of Skeins her Way, but Northworst Airlines had other ideas. Next time! Once we finally arrived, I went to what might be the most amazing (in terms of sock yarn) LYS ever--Borealis Yarns in St. Paul. Wow. This place blows doors off the competition in terms of the shear amount of sock yarn they have, indeed they have an entire room devoted only to that. And the employees are the embodiment of Minnesota Nice. I picked up several skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy and am loving it. Pictured below is 'Cool Fire':
While away we also visited my very close friends Phil and Randy at their farm in southwest Wisconsin. My mother recently said that "...every bit of trouble Heather ever got into was with Phil". Yes, that's true, but we're all grown up now. He is one of the head honchos at Star Valley Flowers, a huge flower farm that specializes in flowering branches. If you watch Martha Stewart, he has been on several times (most recently in Feb.) forcing branches. He and his partner are getting an entire flock of sheep as well as a ram and, if you can believe it, a llama. This ornery bugger keeps a watch over the flock and will supposedly stomp any coyotes or wolves that try to make of with a ewe. Good luck guys!
Besides visiting the farm and shopping, we did things that we can't do here in Pennsyltucky, like visit coffee shops with wi-fi. Note the Darling Resident Marxist Curmudgeon's unstoppable technique for reading in public--yes, he's wearing ear plugs. Could he be any more charming?
I do have one FO to show you, it's the Green Gable from several months ago. I decided to give it to my mom as the color was less than flattering on me. She's looking very regal for someone who has a Willy Warmer in her desk drawer, wouldn't you agree?
For anyone that was wondering what would happen to me while those kiddie winkies were half a world away and the D.R.M.C. was in Durham, N.C. at the lab doing his proton routine, well, that mystery has been solved. Clearly when left to my own devices I cannot be trusted to keep the knitting within the boundaries of reason. No sooner had he turned the key in the ignition than I transformed our sweet little home into something entirely other: a Den of Knitting Iniquity.
Behold the dining room table:
The window sill:
The kitchen table:
People, none of these are even sanctioned craft areas. That's what the entire third floor is for! In the few short days that I have been alone my house has become a topographical representation of a twisted mind that thinks only of its one pleasure: Knitting. Yes Dark Master, I serve thee.
Of course part of being in maniacal knitting mode comes the inability to focus on one project at a time (hence the title of this blog). Foreseeing the potential problem that hours and hours of unstructured knitting could present, I have set forth a rigid schedule for myself as I know the importance of discipline:
The A.D.D. Knitter Schedule for July, 2007: 6:30-8:30am: Embossed Leaves socks. SUCH an amazingly fun pattern and the Fleece Artistmerino sock yarn is maddeningly gorgeous. I need to limit my time with this project as if I had my druthers I'd only ever work on this, and that would be very undisciplined.
8:30-9:45am: Coffee, newspaper, shower (on an as needed basis).
9:45-noon: Canal du Midi socks, my Tour de France kal project. This is some high cognitive load knitting, so I must approach it during the late morning when I am in a state of peak mental alertness. I am very glad that I have until July 29th to finish these...I am doing these in Mountain Colors Bearfoot and am wishing that I would've opted for some Louet Gems, just something with a little more stitch definition. But I am only in the beginning stages of this project, so I will refrain from judgment.
noon-1:30pm: Lunch, errands, bloglines.
1:30-3:30pm: I do actual work for my day job!
3:30-5:00pm: Free knitting project time. This unscheduled time is an open period when I am free to work on an unspecified knitting project that might require extra attention.
5:00-6:00pm: Cocktail of choice (yes I drink alone, do you have a problem with that?) on front porch, savory snacks like Doodads™ or Triscuits™. Greet neighbors and people who are coming home from their strenuous work days.
6:00pm: Dinner. Alone.
6:15-8:00pm: Unspecified Internet time.
8:00-11:00pm: Work on Kauni sweater while I watch movie of my own choosing. When the DRMC is away, I am free to watch vapid Jennifer Aniston movies, y'all, and no one can criticize me for being hoodwinked by the culture industry. While the girls are away I am not required to watch anything with Corbin Bleu--even though he is a major doll with that impossibly adorable hair.
11:00pm: Lights out! I have a busy day ahead of me...
So there you have my strenuous drill. Lather, rinse, repeat!
