Every knitter knows that the single most important decision to be made when faced with a trip to another continent is not window or aisle, has nothing to do with whether to make your Duty Free lipstick choices on the way there or coming back, and doesn't involve stressing about the grim exchange rate. No, the most important decision has everything to do with which in-flight knitting projects will win the lottery and accompany you on your journey.
Luckily this question has been resolved for me by my copycat ways. Last week I saw Janet's most recent acquisition of the Colinette Jitterbug color that is taking the nation by storm: 'Vincent's Apron' (right) and so naturally I had to order it right away. Wouldn't going to the South of France and not taking 'Vincent's Apron' seem like a missed opportunity for something really great? And why get only one skein of yarn if you're paying shipping? So 'Wasabi Squeeze' (left) is coming along for the ride as well.
Project-wise I'm keeping-it-simple-stupid and planning on two not-too-complicated sock patterns. I was thinking about only bringing the Chevron scarf and only working on that for an entire week, but then I reconsidered when I realized that I actually want to enjoy my trip...Both these skeins are the most exciting shades of Megan's beloved yellow imaginable, and I hope upon my return I have some very exciting socks to show for all my worrying and careful planning.
Those of you that have been patiently ticking off days on the calendar waiting when you could get your hands on Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together by Larissa Brown and Martin Brown, your long wait is over. Sound the trumpets!
Most of you know Larissa from her blog, Stitch Marker, and for the hat that changed the world--the Meathead. And you are no doubt well acquainted with her many clever scarf patterns, like the Mabel scarf, the Cream of Spinach scarf, and of course, the Pop scarf. Well now you can add one more scarf to the Pantheon of Fabulous Scarves chez Stitch Marker: the Traveling scarf !
Back in January, Larissa offered me the chance to organize a knitalong for the Traveling scarf pattern. Because the scarf is made of Koigu (sock yarn for non-sock purposes? Hell to the YES) and knit in panels by multiple knitters (totally down with the daisy chain thing), I was thrilled at the opportunity.
So Mike Wade (he of Y Knit fame), Babs (aka Purlfriend, my best pal ever and reason for not blowing my brains out in this town of ours), Mike's friend (never met him but thanks for the pinch hit knitting!) and I sent this baby back and forth between California and Pennsylvania until we had an 8 foot long scarf. Yowzers!
The Specs
Pattern: The Traveling Scarf : The California-Pennsy Version!
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM (8 different colors: 803, 531, 111, 433, 216, 318, 213, 419)
Needles: Size 7
Mods: None.
Originally our pal Kenric (who you might recall picked up knitting less than a year ago and is now doing entrelac. Entrelac!) was going to do this with us, but he had a terrible family loss and understandably couldn't participate. So we are sending this to you, Kenric, and hope that it keeps you warm and reminds you how much your friends love you.
It's funny how a complete stranger pming you on Ravelry can actually have an effect on your knitting decisions. Earlier this month a random knitter sent me a message exhorting me to "...finish these socks! OMG the color is amazing!". I have to say that the message gave me a bit of a start and caused me to look over my shoulder, "Wha? You talkin' to me?" I felt like replying. But this Raveler was right! WTF? I only had about 70% of a sock to go before completion, so why not?
The Specs
Pattern: Ann Budd Basic Pattern for Socks
Yarn: Regia Uni Nation 4-fädig color #5399 , 2 skeins
Needles: 48 sts on size 2 HiyaHiya circ (Magic Loop)
I am somewhat torn about the yarn--I love the tripped out 70s color scheme but found it to be somewhat stiff and even brittle if that makes sense. But the recipient is happy and noted that "the fit is particularly good", which is a relief given the rather long hiatus taken between them (see below).
These socks are serving several purposes at once. As I have said before (you know, a YEAR AGO when I finished the first sock), I am fond of the color way as it invokes at once Doug Henning and Queer Pride, two things which on second thought might not be that unrelated. And the fun color scheme really helped me finish these, so they represent a return to sock knitting for me, because before these I hadn't finished a pair of socks since *gasp*JULY, so I was due. *Now if I could just finish that Irish Hiking Scarf from March 2006...
These socks also represent the last skein of what I am politely calling 'industrial yarn' in my stash. You know, the scratchy stuff. While I used to be attracted to the self-patterning action and the unique color combos of your Opals, your Trekkings, and your Regias, I feel like I've gotten burned on more than one occasion with bad dye jobs, knots and weird transitions in the yarn, so I am just not feeling them at the moment. From this point on I am totally industrial-free, and I am loving it. It's nothing but indie/hand painted/hand dyed from here on out for me!
These are also for the Darling Marxist Resident Curmudgeon, whose interpretive apparatus is going into OVERDRIVE with the bad economic news these days. Sometimes I wonder if he weren't wishing that we would be flung into a full blown 1930's style depression just so his darkest fantasies about our society could come true. "You know, there will come a point where we will look back and wonder how we ever afforded expensive marmalade...".
Well these are for him. And I owe him one. Because I am going to the South of France in less than a week for work (dirty job, etc. har har) to visit a study abroad program that our university sponsors, and he will be alone with the junior units and their musical instruments that they don't practice, their specialty sports beverages that he doesn't condone, and their Hannah Montana that makes him recite his rosary of Adorno until he's blue in the face. He's quite a guy!
Lord knows I have been burned on many occasions by inattention to gauge. Several horrendous blunders come to mind, with perhaps the Thorpe hat that turned into something resembling a giant placenta being the most recent. Not swatching was the problem there, it was an easy enough mistake to identify. And I am trying to learn from my mistakes.
When Larissa Brown, i.e. author of the most heavily anticipated knitting book of 2008, (Knitalong! Watch this space for exciting details!) put out a call for dish cloths for an upcoming art project, I knew I had to participate, because I'm sure she's putting together something really smart and intriguing. Her only specification was that the dishcloth had to be a 6 inch square.
Easy, right?
This sent me on a quest for the Perfect Dishcloth. Unfortunately my go-to pattern doesn't have the right dimensions, and since I was a French major, let's just say that the math skillz aren't where they need to be for a redesign. (This is a common leitmotiv for me and my knitting). Luckily there are whole dish cloth websites out there, sort of like Drops, but just with dish cloth patterns. I had no idea! Apparently there is a whole underground community of dish cloth knitters out there. I'm sort of fascinated.
After way too much travail, a lot of trial and error, and a ridiculous amount of swatching (Really? For a dish cloth?!) it started to dawn on me that at a certain point I had swatched more for this dish cloth than for the Klaralund, Cobblestone and Drive-Thru COMBINED. So I decided to break out and go free style. Yes, it's my first pattern. Later, Brompton. Step off, Marigold Socks. Bainbridge? Please. There's a new kid in town. I'm calling it 'The Perfect Dishcloth™
'. This very intricate pattern will one day be hailed as the greatest dish cloth in the history of the world. Now before you all crash the server trying to download the pattern à la the Fiddlehead Mitten incident, I forgot to write down the pattern before mailing it off, so you're on your own.
The dish cloth escapade also earned me accolades from the Phrugal Physicist, who when told that I was knitting a dish cloth exclaimed just a little too enthusiastically "Gee, that's so useful!". "Excuse me???" "Oh, I mean everything you knit is useful err umm for you but, you know what I mean." As Kelly's Aunt Susan said , "No I don't, why don't you extrapolate...".
The absolute highlight of my recent work jaunt to Seattle was the evening I spent with Wendee, the color maven/yarn genius extraordinaire behind Hazelknits. She was kind enough to pick me up and off we went, first to the Ballard neighborhood for delectable Thai food at Thaiku. After great conversation and a fantastic meal, she took me to see her yarn empire. One word: WOWZA!!
It was so exciting to see her layout and the way that she creates her fabulous yarn. You know the fumes that hit you when you open a bag of fresh yarn? That was was what greeted us upon entry--I love that smell! She showed me step by step how she does what she does and was very patient with the many questions I had. So many questions...I learned so much about both the creative and the business side of her craft and feel so lucky that she was willing to share what she does with me. Her new colors are 'gorge' as a certain someone would say, and you can find them at Woolgirl as well as at her Etsy shop. Rumor has it that there will be a big update on Sat. 3/15. ;)
As if the generosity and kindness described above weren't enough, Wendee also surprised me with a very unexpected parcel in the mail today, can you take a guess what was in it?
'Peach Sanguine'--one of her new colors, can you stand it? Is this not the most heavenly color of peach you've ever seen? I had been fiendishly coveting it the entire time of my visit, so receiving it gave me a special jolt. One thing about the Hazelknits solids that I so appreciate is the depth of color to them. I believe I once heard a Stepford Wife cum Make-up Pusher at a Bobbi Brown counter call it 'tone on tone'--an expression that I thought seemed ridiculous at the time but that I now completely get. Peach Sanguine. *sigh*
Seeing all of the Hazelknits yarn has rekindled my interest in knitting a certain garment...you know, the one that is made in pairs on little bamboo skewers?
The sock mojo, she is BACK.
The first thing I did upon return was to wind my skein of 'Sailor's Delight' into a yarn cake and get cracking. I performed a little experiment, one which yielded very useful data.
On the right you see 56 sts on a size 2 needle, and on the left you have 52 sts on a size 1 needle. Isn't the difference striking? I prefer the result on the smaller needle, so I am going with it. Thank you so much Wendee for bringing this sock knitter back from the precipice of sock despair and helping me find my way back to the happy sock knitting place!
If it is possible for a knitter to take Malabrigo March too far, I believe that I am that knitter. Yet if you look at the Ravelry group, you will see that other knitters *cough*Ms. Frick*cough* are also exploring the outer limits of Malabrigo knitting and have turned it into a bit of an extreme sport.
Above you see another completed Better Bucket hat. I just love this pattern! Turning that little brim is a true pleasure and produces such a fine result. This time I decided to use a contrasting edge so that just a hint of the green peeks out. Added bonus: this hat was knit entirely from leftovers. Leftovers!
The Specs:
Pattern: A Better Bucket
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Marron Oscuro & Water Green
Needles: Size 7 addi turbos
Mods: Just the brim in a contrasting color. I stole the idea from this lovely knitter.
Lest you think that I am now suddenly this frugal depression-era knitter who only uses scraps, please behold my next project. It is with yarn that has been shamelessly acquired from Yarnzilla, and more is on the way. So I am two steps forward, three steps back in the yarn thrift department. I am doing the Falling Leaves Shawl in Velvet Grapes:
I now see that all the hype surrounding this color way is justified. It is GORGE! The pattern is fairly straightforward, but alas this one of those projects you need to block some time out for as setting it down and say having cocktails and then picking it back up isn't recommended.
I am going to Seattle today, just for a 48 hour work thing. This means that I needed some mindless airplane knitting, because let's face it, that flight to Seattle is a long ass flight. So I am bringing Scrunchable scarf in Butter and Stella's hat in Geranio. Doesn't Butter actually look like butter? Amazing.
One of the aspects of Malabrigo March that I am most enjoying is discovering how this yarn knits up at different gauges--all of these projects are being done on different needle sizes, and it's been interesting to see the various results. Let's call it an experiment. I am collecting a rateable sample...I include this last observation in case any beleaguered scientists who are related to me might be reading this and need to be able to find at least something in my maniacal ways that they can relate to...
*this is one of my favorite words, and if you are a Strangers with Candy fan, you will recall that this is the word that revealed to the world that Jerri Blank couldn't read!!
I am a 19th century French novel enthusiast. I believe that the novel will never again attain the force that it had at the hands of Stendhal, Zola, Balzac, Flaubert and Hugo. So naturally the pattern being titled Fantine, one of Hugo's most beloved characters, clouded my judgment. I should have remembered, however, that although she started out with so much potential, Fantine died a very 19th century death (you know, unwed mother that becomes a prostitute, sells her front teeth, gets put through the meat grinder of the class system that Hugo so despised and dies alone of tuberculosis). The name should have tipped me off that this Fantine was destined for a similar tragic end...
I should have known. The signs were all there to be read by anyone even vaguely paying attention. Impulse pattern & yarn purchase + title of pattern that you like for irrelevant, non-knitting reasons + not reading between the lines on Ravelry posts=train wreck of a knitting outcome. I have finished Fantine and she is, as our Gallic pals would say, moche**. Even my pathetic attempts at having a lovely French grad student model Fantine for me can't undo the utter Fred-Flintstoneness of this garment. It's just shapeless and matronly, and I'm not really in a place right now where I need those two words attached to me--so I'm giving it to my mom!
The Specs:
Pattern: French Girls Fantine
Yarn: Rowan Big Wool, #31
Needles: size 17 addis (ouch)
Mods: I made the scoop-neck, cap sleeve version. Should those two design elements every really be combined? No, not really.
Could we just please bracket off this indiscretion and make like it didn't actually occur? You know, like frat guys that get drunk and kiss and then pretend that it never happened? Thanks.
I am pleased to report that I am finally knitting a Chevron scarf that I actually love. Attempt #1 resulted in a less than attractive admixture of colors, #2 was better but I still wasn't feeling the love and working on the project seemed like toil, but #3?
Oh yes, I have finally found the killer combo of Socks that Rock Hollyday (bright and cheery, like retro 1950's Christmas lights) and Lenore (strurm und drang blacks and purples). The result is making me intensely happy and helping me move on from the debacle that was Fantine.
* French for meh!
**ugly, just really ugly, you could even say fugly
I can't fully explain how I did it, and one day anthropologists will study my jiggery-pokery and make fascinating conclusions. My evil powers of manipulation and general skullduggery have somehow allowed me to work my magic and convince the other adult in this household that this summer we will spend 10 days in Paris. Those that know this other adult will immediately comprehend the masterstroke that this event represents, especially given that he spends his waking hours fretting about the imminent financial collapse of our nation and thus reusing kleenexes in order to maximize our chances of not perishing in Thunderdome. To break it down in terms we can all understand, this would be like getting Jared to knit with fun fur, or Pam to suddenly quit sewing and start buying all her clothes from Merry-Go-Round, or Ashley to callously dump her beloved Bailey by the side of the road. You get the picture. This is, as Christian would say, kind of a big deal. So knitting has now taken a back seat to my new best friend, Tripadvisor.com. Have you seen this site? I am an expert because I've spent about 17 of the last 36 hours maniacally reading hotel reviews. It's like Ravelry for travelers...so fyi: I'm going to be insufferable for the next five months. You've been warned. [N.B. the above pic was taken by my brother, who went to Paris with his partner last fall, and since he went, I have to go, because I am locked in a caged death match of one-upmanship for life]. What are your summer travel plans?
But there has been SOME knitting. I have, in fact, completed a hat. I know that I wasn't technically supposed to start this project before the Malabrigo March Madness A Better Bucket kal on Ravelry, but I got a little over zealous.
The Specs:
Pattern: A Better Bucket by Amy Swenson
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted in Azul Lindo
Needles: addi size 7
Mods: none at all
This is the ultimate Malabrigo pattern. The color way azul lindo was just a little too variegated to make it a good choice for a Koolhaas (not that I need to make a fourth one, however it remains my new gold standard), but it is perfect for this pattern. This pattern also allowed me to do my first provisional cast-on ever, and I love it. What took me so long? The brim is folded under and then attached by knitting it together with the working edge, thereby making the brim extra awesome.
To be a good kal participant, I'll be making about fifteen more of these, in the colors below:
The above shot is brought to you by the newest craze sweeping the nation (no, not Pinkberry, but I would murder for one of those, I tell you): the High-End Cupcake ™. The High-End Cupcake™ is the tanning booth of today--if you have some extra cash or a connection to a venture capitalist, I strongly recommend you get in on this business because it's a winner. Babs and I went to Pittsburgh on Thursday and stopped by Dozen, a purveyor of these sweet delights. Of course we each bought a small box-worth, you know, for the kids.
On our trip we also had the enjoyment of bumping into Leslie and Keana at a knit shop--but not until later that evening when I saw Leslie's picture of Keana on Flickr did I realize that we had actually seen them at the shop and spoken to them. Ha! What a small world. Both are even lovelier in person, the baby is adorable, and sort-of meeting them was a pleasure.
I sorted through and prioritized the tranny mess that is my WIP situation (can you tell I'm a Christian of Project Runway fan?) and decided that finishing Juliet was the right thing to do. I appreciate all of you who suggested that I keep the sweater for myself and really teach the little miss a lesson. However I must politely refuse this suggestion, not out of a moral or ethical obligation, mind you, but rather because this garment is being knit in the x-small size and yours truly hasn't managed to swing that since maybe 1982 for about 10 minutes. Yeah--I'm a husky jeans gal...(Note cupcakes above. You know, for the kids).
The clouds parted long enough for Tween Thing to be nice to me again to make working on Juliet seem possible. The pattern is genius and once you get the lace repeat down it's smooth sailing. I'm not sure how long last the entente with its recipient will last, but I'm going with it for the moment.
The Specs
Pattern: Juliet
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky in Ocean Waves, 3.75 skeins
Size: XS
Now we have a dilemma on our hands because Peeper-Lou is adamant that she be next in line for the Juliet treatment--I even bought her the Cascade 109 pictured below for that purpose. But Tween Thing received Juliet as compensation for her sister's Drive -Thru, so making another Juliet would create an imbalance. Gah! Stop the world, I want to get off...
I would like to give a mega shout-out to my boy Wondermike and his pal Hizknits who are creative duo behind the new knitting podcast Y Knit. If you haven't heard it yet, I strongly urge you to give it a listen. It is smart, intelligent and funny--and I am someone who HATES knitting podcasts. This is the first one I've ever listened to that didn't annoy the hell out of me with stupid banter, dopey inside jokes and irritating 'you had to be there' laughter. Yes I have strong feelings on the matter. Just check them out, they don't suck.
There is a bit of a lull in the FO assembly line chez A.D.D.--WIPS are all I got right now as responsibilities such as work/kids/marriage/ are seriously cutting into my all-about-me knitting time. Botheration! However all my WIPS are in the rather odd position of presenting at once compelling reasons to work on them and justifications for never looking at them again. Let's look at the evidence...
1. Monkey socks: You all were so nice, so kind to patiently suggest sock patterns to get me back in the saddle. The Monkey pattern was the overall winner, so I bit the bullet and cast on. I am doing them in STR Sunstone, a color that is making me insanely happy. Pros: Socks are portable, I can work on them when my students are taking tests--you know, just to rub it in that even though they have shiny hair and taut waistlines, I never have to take another test again in my entire life--mwaahahahahhah! Cons: They're socks and as such are still feeling...pointless. But I will soldier on, I promise. The love is most likely right around the corner, right?
2. Juliet: Those Zephyr gals have yet to put out a pattern that doesn't inspire. Juliet is no an exception, there are so many on Ravelry that prove the versatility of the pattern. Tween Thing chose the pattern and the yarn--Brown Sheep Bulky, a yarn that doesn't annoy me. Pros: It's almost done! I only have about three more lace repeats to finish, but feel the need to put it down every time the recipient and I have a squabble...segue to the Cons: As parents I know we're supposed to be more mature blah blah blah, but are we contractually obligated to continue knitting for the kid when said kid proclaims that you are 'the worst mother ever'? Please advise.
3. Falling Leaves Shawl: This project falls under the 'tout beau tout nouveau' category as I just began it this morning for My Favorite Hat Model's (tm) 40th birthday. Pros: Valley Yarns Lenox is a dream team combo of alpaca, merino and cashmere and is so, so soft. And cheap. For the record I feel that all Valley Yarns blow doors off of Knitpicks. Yeah, I went there. The pattern is beyond easy, and size 9 needles? I am so there. Cons: It's red, and red is hard to photograph for the ol' blog. But letting blog issues effect your knitting choices just seems semi-lame to me.
4. BSJ: I have been wanting to this EZ pattern for a while now, and the planets have converged in such a way as to make it seem possible right now. Pros: Rowan Felted Tweed is a yarn I have wanted to use forever, and I have the perfect unisex color combo right now in my stash. Cons: I am not so good at the 'just press on and trust me' part of the directions. And does knitting a baby sweater in scratchy tweed seem like a passive aggressive thing of me to do? Be truthful.
So there you have it. Hormones dictate so much around this joint. Maybe Tween Thing's lovely attitude will abate and there will be a window of opportunity to finish Juliet while it will still fit her. In the mean time the only other thing I got is a link to the most exciting single I have heard in a very long time...
