I think we all can agree that the Holiday Gifts 2007 Interweave Knits issue will go down in history as one of the legendary, epic events in the world of knitting. Hello--the Koolhaas hat, Socks for Véronik and the Candy Stripes Kerchief, all in the same place? Well I can now add the December Lights Tam to my list of projects that I can mark 'done' from this magazine--not that I keep such a list, but I am now imagining myself doing so and a feeling of calm satisfaction is overtaking me.
This pattern was the whole reason I bought the mag in the first place. And since Babs and I have this thing where we obsess about doing patterns in the yarn for which they are written, I went ahead and ordered the yarn from Nordic Fiber Arts as well. And then a year went by...
A week or so ago I recalled this project and sent Peeper-Lou upstairs to my own person LYS on the third floor so she could fetch it for me. Hip hip hooray--I hadn't sold it in some rash fit of destashing. Score! Personal Yarn Store, I love you, you are my horn of plenty.
The Specs:
Pattern: December Lights Tam by Mary Jane Mucklestone
Yarn: Finullgarn by Rauma, 8 colors (red, fuschia, rose, chartreuse, lime, green, olive, blue)
Needles; size 2 and size 3, addi turbo
Time: about a week
This hat is also fulfilling some ancient desire to wear tams. My great-grandmother's sister Auntie Lumsden used to knit these for me as a child by the dozen--all fair isle, never even so much as glancing at her hands while doing so. Did I appreciate them as a child? I'm sure not. Youth is wasted on the young.
Luckily I have a willing model to sport this tam for a fo photo shoot, despite the fact that she let me know that I smelled like strawberry hand sanitizer (wtf?). She demanded to model the tam as my large head was "taking the poof out of the hat". Umm, aren't you the person wanting me to take you shopping at the outrageously priced Halloween store for a blonde wig? Yeah, time to zip it. Although I can't say that she's entirely wrong--my big Irish head actually gives the impression that I am not wearing a tam but rather a brioche (the bun, not the stitch) loaf on my head, but I'll never give her the satisfaction of knowing this.
I am so crazy for stranding that I have immediately cast on for the Selbu Modern pattern. You must check this out--not only does the pattern come printed in the coolest font ever, but it is considerably easier than most projects of this nature. Perfect for that sock yarn you have in your own Personal Yarn Store!
Thanks to all of you nice blogpals for the very kind well wishes. I wish I could send you all some yarn. Wait, don't look at my Ravelry stash, because technically I could...but I'm on a new 'austerity plan' these days and if I go down financially, it sure as hell isn't going to be on postage. You know I'm probably not taking this new plan very seriously if I already have quotes around it, but supposedly marriage is about compromise and not remaining in a permanent adolescent mode where want and need are collapsed into the same thing. This is what I am told. But you didn't click on this blog to read about all that, now did you?
Peeper-Lou has chosen two winners from the long list of commenters. And she has done so based strictly on geographical location. Being from Alaska has its advantages, and so Alli from Knitosauras is the winner of the Koigu. Check out her blog because she has a pair of Koolhaas hats that are true stunners. The winner of the Lorna's Laces Argyle is Sarah from A Girl's Life, a Minnesota knitblogger and brand new to boot! Show her some love. She was chosen because "she lives near Grandma". Yes, we are parochial around this joint.
Stay tuned for a series of killer FOs, people. If October were sweeps month in blog land, I'd be blowing the lid off the Nielsen ratings! But as "Grandma" says, "...that and a dime will get you a cup of coffee."
It is sock WIPs as far as the eye can see around this joint. From the top, left to right: Monkeys in STR 'Spacedust', Jaywalkers in LL 'Grumperina', Canal du Midi in STR 'Nyame', Blueberry Waffles in STR 'Lagoon', a sock that I can't identify and Nutkins in Jitterbug 'Wasabi Squeeze'. Apparently I am very fond of the casting on part...but you might notice that all of the above socks are in a state of not-finishedness. And guess what? I am tired of pretending to feel bad about it. I've decided that knitting over 40 means doing whatever the hell you want and not deceiving yourself about it--so no more hand wringing for me. I'm leaving that to my better half who is experiencing a kind of dystopian bliss (but mixed with horror,too) at the current state of the economy. His entire world view has been confirmed! Oh shit . . .
My contribution to Socktoberfest is not a viral hit sock pattern (I don't have the genius skills for such an endeavor) nor is it some super-impressive output of really hard, Yarnissima socks (I bow to her acumen). No, my contribution is a gimmicky contest in honor of a. my blog anniversary--3 years of hootin' and hollerin'--and b. my love of sock yarn. Of all the yarns it's hands down my favorite to hoard buy. It's relatively inexpensive, comes in enticingly perfect amounts and for these reasons, I have way too much of it. So my over-acquisitiveness is your potential gain. Above you see some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Argyle (left) and Koigu KPPPM (right). Just leave a little comment here and tell me which one you want, and the random number generator Peeper-Lou will choose two winners, probably based on the sound of your name, on Monday.
1. Conversations between judges and entrants that go something like this:
"Look, Choke-berry is a jelly, not a preserve. It's not my fault if you can't tell the difference when you're filling out the forms."
"Are you saying that I don't know an English walnut when I see one?"
"For Angel Food cake to have a shot in hell at this competition it has to be really, really moist. Like almost too moist but not at the same time."
But my favorite is the following: "Corn relish is a separate category. Read the directions."
2. Very detailed displays on things like "Farming in Pennsylvania" and "Pollination: What You Need To Know". The amount of work that went into these is truly astounding. I think the kid who made the display whose house is pictured above was slightly weirded out by my intense fascination.
3. Was this directed at me? That sign is hitting a little too close to home.
4. Heartbreakingly sweet puppets. The elderly woman who makes these told my daughter that she does so for the kids in her neighborhood because she doesn't have any family. I know I'm getting all sappy as I age because this made me want to burst into tears (of joy and sadness) at the same time.
5. Every imaginable honey by-product you could possible imagine. Don't these waxy thingies look strangely delicious?
5. Yes people!! THAT'S what I'm talking about. Peeper-lou made a mad dash for the needlework table, spied that coveted blue ribbon and began shrieking "Mommy you beat everyone!", thereby causing several people to look disapprovingly in my direction. Didn't I read the part in the program that said that the farm show "is people working together, people fraternizing with their neighbors, people ...who take pride in their community and are determined to share that pride with each other"? Oops! Yes, I was a bit chastened at that moment.
My next moment of realization re: my own ass-holitide came when I saw the disappointment of the lady picking up her fun fur scarf (it came in third place). She was showing her son the ribbon and said "oh well, at least I like it." Ok, could I feel like more of a schmuck right now??
At the needlework table I saw two very talented local knitters and chatted with them. When I complimented one of them on her stunning fair isle mittens and and prize-winning Flirty tank, she said that she entered them in the show because she wanted everyone to see what a person could knit, how much the craft could defy expectations and perceptions. Wait, you mean it's not about crushing people? Looks like someone needs to reread the farm show objectives before next year...
My life would be a lot easier if I were a mature person who was able to put something like 'winning a blue ribbon at a farm show' in its proper place. You know, given that it's an election year, our economy is in the toilet, and I have things like my shrinking 401k, paying off student loans and worrying about aging parents to think of. But apparently I'm not, because when I walked in to that Quonset hut to enter my precious Malabrigo Beauty in the 'Garments, knitted hat, adult' category I had one thing on my mind: total annihilation of everyone else in my category.
What's not helping so much right now is that every other garment on the 'needlecraft' table was either a. a crocheted kleenex box cover made to look like a princess doll, b. had a beige pom pom on it in a totally non ironic 'air quotes' way or c. prominently featured 'fun fur' as a primary component. Again, I'm not trying to go negative à la recent despicable political ads, I am merely setting the scene for you and hopefully giving you some context for my anxiety. Yes, I go through life thinking I'm better than everyone as defense mechanism. It's a problem.
Luckily all my eggs aren't in one basket at the moment as I have a fun pattern that is controlling my mind and making me make it in multiples. I am speaking of Nova's Birthday Cowl, a little gem of a hand knit whose delightful qualities is almost making me forget about the farm show mishegos.
Pattern: Birthday Cowl by Nova
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Vaa
Needles size 8
Mods: None!
Vaa has to be one of the more enigmatic of the Malabrigo colors. Not only is the name a conundrum, but the color changes colors, kind of like a mood ring. At times it is full on pine-y teal with hints of blue and deep green, and then the next instant it goes all turgid and murky. So inscrutable!
I made this pattern for a friend and was so pleased to give it to her this weekend. She was pleased to become an initiate into the cowl fold, and I was happy to find a cowl pattern that is easy yet interesting. A win-win situation--could this been a sign that things might be going my way at a certain ag-fest?
To claim that I am somehow now on a sock knitting roll or in any way imply that I am 'gaga' for socks would be a gross exaggeration. My relationship with the sock seems to follow the same predictable trajectory. It's a story of extremes. I am either heavily, heavily into it and can think of nothing else or have low-grade feelings of resentment and loathing. Weirdly right now I seem to be between these two extremes, and I have Through the Loops' Mystery Sock KAL to thank for that. Somehow spreading the task over an entire month seems entirely doable, so much so that I am doing both at the same time. Jump back!
Normally joining a KAL is the surefire way for me to guarantee that I will not actually finish the intended garment (Mirepoix anyone? Project Spectrum flame-out?), but if I can't finish sport weight socks on a size three needle with a cast on of 58 sts, well it's time to hang it up and delete the blog, right? Part of the reason that I foresee actually finishing is that I am LOVING the yarn--Madeline Tosh Sport Merino in chamomile. This yarn has been in my stash for a while and I am so pleased to have a reason to break it out. The sheer yellowness of it all is making me very, very happy however I am slightly concerned that although the yarn looked identical in the hank and is from the same dye lot, somehow not in its knitted state, one yarn cake is a little more tweety bird than the other. If this is the case, we'll just burn that bridge when we come to it...
I am taking a major risk by posting the word 'tween' on my blog, I know. The last time I tagged something with that word on Flickr, the photo got like 3000 hits (as compared to my usual 19) and attracted the unwanted attention of a shit bag guy, 'IncestPapa' or some such nonsense, who made creepy, scummy comments. Don't make me go all Valerie Solanis on you guys out there.
Please note: if you are married to me, please skip to section b. If you are not married to me, please continue reading at section a.
Section a: No sooner had the family piled into the car and started out on their journey than I began my weekend extravaganza, which included watching trashy tv (that is, if you consider 'Celebrities w/o their Make-up' a trashy show, which I definitely do), having cereal for dinner (great idea, Knithound!) knitting like a mofo 'til 2 a.m. on Friday night, and then hitting the road on Saturday morning for a full day of special LYS funtimes at Knit One and Natural Stitches. I might have also had a high end cupcake or two as well. Once home I slept late, listened to 80s music really loud, and had ice cream for lunch. I also watched a John Cusack movie on Oxygen.
My LYS haul was very controlled (compared to what it could have been) and really I just picked up some odds and ends...you know, just some yarn for this 'n' that. I got three skeins each of Malabrigo Silky Merino in Coral and Smoke for some upcoming shawl projects and then two balls each of some Rowan Felted Tweed and Jo Sharp Tweed for my latest project, Joni. I picked up two skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in 'Damask Rose' and 'Verde Adriana' for a few cowls and nabbed a pattern or two...aww hells bells, who am I kidding? I went a wee bit overboard and have my eye on some Classic Elite Inca Gold for my next trip. Self-control? Not a strong suit.
You will notice that one of those pictures is not of yarn but is instead a little message I created for the miscreant that stole my Obama sign. Please note neighborhood trickster, you're on my list.
I cast on for Joni right when I got home on Saturday evening and by Sunday night had the hat you see here. I noted the pattern on Kirsten's blog when she published it several weeks ago, but it was Pam's version on Flickr that sent me gasping in paroxysms of delight and made doing the hat a foregone conclusion.
Specs:
Pattern: Joni by Kirsten Kapur, Through the Loops
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed, one skein each of #152 and #168.
Needles: Size 4 Addi Turbos, 16"
Time: Finished in less than 24 hours!
As color work/stranding patterns go, this one has 'major winner' written all over it. If you've never tried this type of project before, this would be a great place to start as the fair isle section only lasts for 12 rows which is very doable and not strenuous. The Felted Tweed is a pure delight, very springy and not scratchy, which is interesting because on first glance it looks like it might feel like twine. But it doesn't. Miss Thing even remarked that this hat was 'better than usual'. Katie bar the kitchen door--was that a compliment?
Normally on such a jaunt I would have tried to get in touch with the Pittsburgh peeps and arranged a get together, but I'm fairly certain that Leslie, Keana Lee and SJ would have been otherwise occupied with their families and loved ones. But ladies, take note: I'm coming to getcha, very soon!
Section B: The weekend was drab and uneventful. I emptied the kitten's litter box, did many loads of laundry and finished some leftovers. I spent my free time reading various periodicals about political economy. My mood was sullen and forlorn, yet I was content to limit my activities to what was useful and practical. O how living within the constraints of a budget brings me a sense of quiet satisfaction!
Seriously, you guys are too kind to me. Thanks for all of the nice comments about my Forest Canopy Shawl. If I could, you know I would just crank out shawls non-stop around the clock. But that is simply not possible, dk weight or no dk weight. Now that it's almost the weekend, I am ready to work on my beloved Kiri again. My little side-dish project this past week was a fun little frolic called 'Lina', a pattern that has much to recommend it, despite the throbbing sensation in my wrists from all that 1 x 1 ribbing and tight cabling--apparently I'm not as young as I used to be. Is it a bad sign when knitting becomes strenuous and takes a physical toll?
I was immediately drawn to the pattern for a number of reasons. Mooncalf's version caught my eye as did a number of other ones on Ravelry. I love the lava lamp effect created by the cabling every ten rows, and of course as a native Minnesotan, the fact that pattern is Finnish appeals to my latent desires to belong to the Scandinavian tribe.
The Specs
Pattern: Lina by Joko knits
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino dk, 1.25 skeins. Color #18027
Needles:
Mods: I did one fewer of the repeats since I knew this hat would immediately be snatched up by Peeper-Lou, who is already trying to get her look together for Ski Club 2009®
This weekend the Curmudgeon is visiting his dad in NJ (have fun watching the debate together, honey!) and those girls are going to the city to see their dad, which means that I will be A-L-O-N-E. Heh. Left to my own devises...what do you think is going to happen?
As I have stated before, I am a huge fan of the leaf motif, and by extension, anything within the semantic field conjured up by the word 'tree'. There is little doubt in my mind that I was initially attracted to this pattern because of the name. Who doesn't want to feel under the majestic, sheltering arms of a forest canopy? And now that I think about it, I likely chose the shade of Malabrigo 'acorn' in order to continue with the same theme. That's just how my mind works, and explains why I will never, ever do the Lizard Ridge pattern, because to be on a ridge and confronted by a lizard is possibly one of the most negative scenarios I could possibly imagine. Even linking to it gives me the creeps.
One thing I know about myself and my shawl enthusiasm, is that I am a fan of the shawl provided that it not be done in lace weight yarn. I am a proponent of the sturdy, rugged garment that only dk weight and above can provide. No femme shawls for me, I am all about butching it up a little. And luckily the Malabrigo Silky Merino really delivers in this regard.
The Specs
Pattern: Forest Canopy Shawl by Susan Lawrence
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Acorn, 2 skeins exactly! Your mileage may vary, ASHLEY.
Needles: Size 8 addi turbos
Time: about 8 days
If you haven't tried a lace pattern, this might be a good initial foray for you. The instructions are exceedingly clear and the result is a lovely little shoulder shawl that in its pre-blocked state, apparently makes an excellent bed for a naughty kitteh...
One odd outcome of the yarn and pattern combo here is that there was discoloration in the yarn that lasted for about 40 stitches. I am not quite sure why I didn't think to break the yarn at that point (you know, since I'm so totally on the ball normally), but I left it in, and the end result is a yellow strip on the bottom of the shawl. What's weird is that it is placed in a perfect symmetry and looks like I meant to create the letter 'v'. It's kind of like finding Mother Theresa's face in a cinnamon bun, only better. If only I were named Virginia or Valerie, it would be perfect. Maybe the 'v' stands for vendetta, which is what I will be preparing to mount if I have negative results at the farm show...
I never imagined that I would become such a shawl knitting enthusiast, but I must say that I now totally get the appeal. They are tremendously useful garments, and once you get the chart concept down, shawls are quite fun indeed. Of course reading the chart has been aided quite a bit by the use of my Knitpicks magnetic chart holder (one of the only things I've ever liked from that company. Thumbs up for their hardware, bug thumbs down on the yarn). I am in such a shawl frame of mind, that no sooner had I started blocking the Forest Canopy Shawl than I cast on for Kiri with some Llamajama wool/alpaca blend that I bought at Maryland Sheep and Wool, a shawl that might be my favorite pattern yet. Stay tuned...
I am one of those people who just loves the instant gratification of the weekend project. Many of my long haul WIPs know this because they are accustomed to the feeling of being tossed aside for the steamy interlude that the flash-in-the-pan projects (such as the Habitat or the Gloria cowl) seem to offer. But they are learning to deal with the rejection, such is life in my House of Knitting Pain. In any case, I am now adding baby sweater to my list of quickies. This baby was on and off the needles in about the time it took for the stock market to completely bottom out. And since the Curmudgeon's stock is almost exclusively in Merrill-Lynch, nothing says let's party like it's 1999 like a FO photo shoot!
I made this for my hair dresser, as she's having her first baby in early November. I've always wanted to make something for her because a. she never questions my dubious requests and gives me the craven stripper blonde hot ironed straight hair to which I am so pathetically attached, b. knows to not talk to me when I am counting a row and c. always let's me try on the Jessica Simpson hair extensions and fulfill my private drag queen fantasies. She also never tries to shame me into getting a trim. In other words, she's everything you want in a hair stylist and more.
The Specs
Pattern: The Child's Neck Placket Sweater in LMKG
Needles: Size 7 addi turbo
Yarn: Socks the Rock Heavyweight in Jade
Mods: None that were intentional but I think I botched the placement of the neck placket. For this reason I will not be entering this gem into the farm show because I would just be handing my head on a platter to them and asking them to hose me, and I am not going down like this.
This pattern is truly, truly one of the easiest baby sweaters out there. Someone we know even finished one in a day! I am not quite sure what happened to the placement of the placket, but I'm calling it a design feature and moving on. STR Heavyweight was just born to be used in this manner, I strongly recommend making more garments out of it. Someone else we know is planning a FLS in the Heavyweight, and I am sure it's going to be kind of a big deal.
My Malabrigo Mania is still going full bore, so much so that I hope to finish my Forest canopy Shawl in Silky Merino before not too long. Ashley has decided to do one as well, but her knitting skepticism has her rightfully wondering whether or not two skeins will be enough, but I reassured her that two would DEFINITELY be enough.
*gulp*
I really hope it is, because she could totally kick my ass with one arm tied behind her back!
I am sure you all had a great private chortle at my expense when I blithely claimed several months ago that I would be setting up my very own Chevron assembly line and pumping these babies out. Is she crazy? Has she actually done this pattern before? Thank you for not calling me on my bullsh*t, it's one of the reasons I love you all.
Yeah, well after number two, I have decided that this is not the type of project that one cranks out. As you might recall, I stated before that the Chevron is not a main course project, but rather a side dish affair. You work on here and there, like during long spells in the car ride while your husband is lecturing the family about how stopping for soft drinks during a car trip is a sign of weakness and ultimately a question of morality, or when watching an ANTM marathon, terrified that at any moment someone you know will walk by your house and see you not only watching tv but *gasp* that dreck. You know what I'm talking about--t.v. shame, we all have it. In any case, I see very clearly the role of the chevron: it's just there, you knit on it sometimes, and then one day you can't handle it any longer, cast off, and it's done. Voilà.
The Specs:
Pattern: Chevron Scarf, LMKG. I truly love this pattern as it is fun watching the colors change, kind of like playing with a Litebrite.
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight 'Hollyday' and 'Lenore'
Needles: Size 5 Addi Turbos
Dates: March-September 2008
Mods: I cast off when I couldn't take it any longer but have about half the yarn left.
Once you come to accept the parameters of this project, it is really a lot of fun. It gets the 'sock yarn for non sock purposes' stamp of approval, for sure. And the psychological relief at finishing it suddenly frees you up to think about tackling other projects, like maybe the Feb. Lady Sweater in the yarn pictured below...
There are certain things I have no business doing. Many of these things involve donuts and drive-thrus, but one of these things involves casting on new projects when I basically have a six month back log of garments that are patiently waiting in the FO basket, to say nothing of the convenient 'zzzzz' category on Ravelry that has allowed me to relegate the dud WIPs to the bottom of the screen and therefore make them no longer exist. Are you with me?
But there is a chill in the air and really that can only mean one thing: that we have entered Mandatory Malabrigo® season , a time when having a little Malabrigo somethin' on the needles isn't just a good idea, it's required.
My first project, Habitat, is courtesy of Kim, one of my fave blog chicks around. Since I copy everything she does, doing this hat was also mandatory. See how fun life is when you live by a set of categorical imperatives? 
Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood
Size: Large, for my big Irish head
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Apricot, .75 of a skein
Needles: Size 7 and Size 8 addi turbos
Mods: None needed, although all of that 'move stitch marker' action can make you doubt your sanity.
This is a great pattern that results in a fantastic garment. I cast on for it Friday afternoon and finished early yesterday. Cabling without a cable needle is a must, and after several rows I broke out the colored pencils and color coded the chart, which made time really fly. I recommend this hat as a fun weekend project.
I am on such a roll with the Malabrigo Mania® that I immediately cast on for the Forest Canopy Shawl in Malabrigo Silky Merino 'Acorn'. Doesn't this yarn seem so seasonally appropriate? And the pattern is beyond easy--it makes the Shetland Triangle seem complicated, so if you are afraid of this lace, this might have your name written all over it.
My final Mandatory Malabrigo® moment will be courtesy of LB, the indomitable Larissa Brown, someone for whom I am now on the record as being her number one fan. The record in question is the Y Knit podcast--Hizknits and Wondermike (who is totally coming here next year for Md Sheep and Wool with me and Peeper-Lou, if she gives her final guest list approval, which she most likely will because he can teach her to spin) just released their latest podcast and it features Miss Thing and all her Knitalong glory. It is one of their best ones yet, you really get such a complete sense of what it's like to put together a project such as her book. I have picked up my Mabel's scarf again and am almost done with it. This one is in Bergamota, clearly I am on an orange-fruit roll. Thanks LB!
I am debating about entering these projects into our local farm show, a venue that in the recent past has been one of shame and aggrievance for me. What if the judge sullies my perfect Malabrigo creations with another damning-with-faint-praise third place ribbon? I don't know if I can withstand the disappointment and bad karma that my reaction will likely set into motion...
