Two thousand zero zero party over oops out of time...*

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.

Chevron interlude

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...

Mandatory Malabrigo®

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...

Two thumbs way, way up!

When I heard that Wendy Bernard had a book, Custom Knits, coming out, I knew that it would be a winner. I've made many of her patterns: Sizzle, Drive-Thru and have contemplated starting a Somewhat Cowl on many occasions but then common sense got the better if me and I knew that, through no fault of the designer, I would look like a giant tuberous vegetable in that one. But what a pattern! And how many of you have also wanted to do Something Red as well?

Anypotato, I am here to tell you that the book is a major winner in every way. Right off the bat there are at least 4 patterns that are so right on the money for me. The book offers several versions of many patterns thereby permitting you to play around with different options--and isn't that what it's all about, people?

First on deck for me is Ingenue, a look that at age 42 I can probably work for like 15 more minutes, so I am trying to do this one in a hurry. Amazingly enough (or maybe not. Have you seen my stash recently?) I had enough of the exact yarn for this one on hand, and it's a good thing, because Karabella Marble is discontinued. How bitter are you now about not nabbing it during one of my many feeble attempts to get rid of it on Destash? I know, it hurts.

Most of the patterns in Custom Knits feature a top-down, raglan construction, which I happen to love. I have made great progress working on this during the past couple of days and anticipate finishing soon. Did I just write that?

Something I'm not holding against the book is that much of the clothing in the book is by Jeffery Sibelia, winner of season 3 of Project Runway. You might just know him by the name my brother and I referred to him as, "Neck Tattoo"? Yes Wendy, he is très L.A., but was his inclusion totally necessary? I mean, he made Angela's plus size mom CRY, and so I must show chub solidarity with her.

I am sure that you are like me and have your favorite knitting designers, you know, the patterns you automatically buy whether you really intend to make them or not. All you have to know is that 'Madame X' wrote the pattern, and well, that's all you really need to know. You know you'll want it, even sight unseen. At least that's the view from where I stand. I am curious:

Who are your go-to designers, the patterns do YOU buy sight unseen, and what are you basing your love on?

Noro Face-Off

The jury is in, and things aren't looking so great right now for the Noro Kureyon (pronounced 'crayon'. My rule of thumb is that with Japanese words, just say it really fast and you'll probably get it right). I gave it a shot with my half-hearted attempt at the Ziggy socks, and I have to say that the experience, while it lasted, was not pleasurable. As I have stated before, I truly now know what it feels like to knit with lichen. The yarn is weirdly oily and scratchy at the same time. And splitty. And rough in a way that makes me not care that it will supposedly soften in the wash. Bottom line: the hand is a horror show. But the colors, the colors...sigh.

Enter the new upstart Noro that will definitely soon become the show stealer, Silk Garden Sock Yarn. I must say that for two yarns that should by all rights be so similar, these two siblings are night and day. The Silk Garden feels silky and soft and just somehow less irritating. And while the color choices are nowhere near as numerous, I'll gladly trade the glitzy colors of the Kureyon for the dependability of the Silk Garden.

And if you can believe it, I can back up all my bluster with a FO!

The Specs:

Pattern: Toe-Up Socks by Cynthia Spencer

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn, color #252

Needles: HiyaHiya 1.5 circs

These socks were the perfect back to school mindless knit stress reducers for me. I worked on them off and on during the last few weeks, sneaking in a row here and there and finished them last night watching Obama's speech--Yes, I did.

I realize that my M.O. for the next month or so is going to be finishing projects that were started with so much élan during the spring and summer but somehow ended up in the holding tank. Next up for me will be the Lil Nutkins. This is a fabulous pattern that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a Monkey, Spring Forward type of affair.

Please don't forget about me: the Back to School Edition

As you can see, Clotilde is kind of big deal around these parts...ahem.

Why must the happy days of summer come to an end and be replaced with a feeling of dread?

This fall on those crisp afternoons when you are sipping hot apple cider as you leaf through your latest issue of Interweave Knits and are spending your evenings hobnobbing with the usual suspects on Flickr and your favorite blogs, remember that you used to have a friend, the A.D.D. Knitter, and she used to have all the time in the world for knitting but now forces have conspired against her and she is being ground to a paste to an ivory tower dungeon where evil trolls are bludgeoning the life out of her with academic initiatives and verb conjugations. People this sad ass knitter is about to get kicked six ways to Sunday and it won't be letting up until, say, December 23. Say a novena for me.

Don't you love those people who act as if they are the only busy ones? Yup, that's me. Seriously, if you suddenly notice that my ever-so-meaningful comments such as "Great job!", "I love it!" and "I hate mohair, too!" are missing from your blogs, please know that it's not because I don't adore you all. I'm just trying to keep my job. Which I truly love, incidentally, it's just that like most people with arrested development (toddlers & permanent adolescents), I don't do well with transitions.

Oh well, at least I have my new fave sock yarn (pictured above) to console me. Have you tried the Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn yet? I'm almost done with my first pair of socks and I am loving it. So sometime in November I'm sure I'll have something to show for myself...

Celebrity Cameo Appearance

Carefree summer days seem to be fading into the background as other concerns like the upcoming semester (ack!), tween back-to-school Abercrombie demands and commuter-related gas pump trauma come to the fore. But happily it's not all long faces around here. How could it be when a. I have this owlish pal to keep me company and b. I met the mighty Ashley for some serious, serious fun in what I am calling "The Mac Daddy of All Knitblogger Meet-ups"™?

Ashley made a celebrity cameo appearance in State College several days ago long enough for us to have a nice meal and some ice cream at the legendary Penn State Creamery. Now I know every Big Ten campus has a creamery and swears it's the best, but the Penn State Creamery is something special. Peachy Paterno cones galore! Utz Carolina-Style BBQ Potato Chips! We had such a great time together. You know those people with whom you are just certain you'd really hit it off with, if only you could meet? That's who Ashley was for me. And look what she made me, a très adorable lil owl named Clotilde. Quite a spunky little gal.

The Curmudgeon has a surprising soft spot for little friends of this nature and already asked if he could take her to work and put her on his desk. Now while I am totally down with a guy who is willing to display stuffed animals in his office and subject himself to the potential scorn and derision of his colleagues and students, the answer was a resounding "NO!". Clotilde stays with me, right where she belongs.

I have managed to whip out a quick project before the onslaught of the semester grinds me into a paste. I saw a prototype for this hat several days ago at the Skein Attraction in NJ while visiting the in-laws. The pattern is based on the Ann Budd pattern and is similar to the Purl Koigu Beret, except this one is knit with the yarn doubled

The Specs
Pattern: Koigu Beret from the Skein Attraction in Teaneck, NJ.
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, color 204, two skeins held together
Needles: size 4 (ribbing), size 6 (hat)

As Kim remarked, the hat has a jaunty little attitude, especially when worn at the rakish angle pictured above. I have never been a beret person as I feel that they make the wearer look like either a euro-wannabe or a frump. But this hat has enough of a crazy-Meathead shape to it that I just might change my opinion.

I've been in such a Socks That Rock/Jitterbug frame of mind lately that I'd forgotten all about the sock yarn that kicked off my love for sock knitting: Koigu. Really, why had I forsaken it? I mean, is there any softer sock yarn out there? Luckily I have more than a few skeins laying around, so don't be surprised if you see it making more than just a celebrity cameo appearance around this joint.

Paris je t'aime...

Don't worry, I swear this is the last post that will have anything to do with my trip. As you can see I am milking it for all it's worth, because after today's FO and the fun pics from Gay Paree I got nuthin'. Nuthin'! (oh, except a supremely awesome mac daddy of all knitblogger meet ups on the horizon) But after that, nuthin'.

Like most knitters going on a transatlantic flight, I had high hopes for all that I would accomplish. Add on to that several train trips and a conference for God's sake, well you can well imagine that I assumed that I would be a one-woman knitting sweatshop. Let's just say that if Nike were relying on me to churn out their goods, well their business would be in the dumper. All I had to do was finish one sock by the last day of my stay in Paris to give to my pal Maxime, and do you think I was able to pull this off? No. The only thing lamer than pathetically presenting a pair of socks to someone is meekly handing over one and a half socks and saying "Ummmm these were supposed to be finished by now....". Tired and sad, that's me. But luckily Maxime is an ultra-cool gent, so he was quite gracious.

While this sock lacked the desirable quality of being done, it more than made up for it with the many little stamps in its passport. Like a good tourist, it went to the Eiffel Tower and marveled at how such an over-exposed structure can still have the power to enthrall and thrill. From so many different angles and distances, it changes and reveals another side of itself. My traveling companion was quite taken with it, so we went back several times, at different times of the day.

We also went on a little jaunt outside Paris to the magisterial chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte. This 17th century chateau had the misfortune of having been confiscated from its owner, Nicolas Fouquet, by Louis XIV as it was just a little too fabulous for non-royalty. Oops! Our visit was timed so that we could stay into the evening, as when night falls, the chateau and gardens are lit up with thousands of flickering candles. I know it might sound tacky and fit for some type of princess /unicorn fantasy tale, but trust me, it was really effing cool.


We had the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time for the last stage of the Tour de France and were able to experience the excitement of seeing the grand arrival on the Champs Elysées. This more than made up for the fact the my project for the accompanying tdf kal is once again, dead in the water. When will I learn that signing up for knitalongs is a death knell for any project I hope to accomplish?

One of our last stops was at one of my favorite spots in Paris: the courtyard of the Paris Mosque. It is as lovely and serene as any riad in Marrakech, indeed you feel transported as you sip glasses of mint tea and enjoy the lush greenery that surrounds you. I strongly recommend visiting this spot, and then taking a stroll in the Jardin des Plantes afterwards.

Alas my sock was not finished until last night, so I will be sending on to my friend when he returns to New York. Perhaps not accomplishing a lot of knitting during a vacation is actually the hallmark of a good trip as it means that I actually got off my duff and did something. Or I'm just a really slow knitter.

The Specs:
Pattern: Yarrow Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush
Yarn: STR Lightweight in 'In the Navy'. I have to say that I'm not a fan of the Lightweight, the Mediumweight is so more my style. These felt like they took forever!
Needles: Size 1 Addi Turbo Magic Loop

The pattern was somewhat of a downer by the time the second sock rolled around, i.e. didn't really hold my attention. But the heel is charming and the 'cat butt' toe is cute, but any further attempts will definitely be on larger needles with a heavier yarn. Next up for me is a delightful little project whose raw materials are pictured below, can you guess what it is? I ordered it as a kit from Eat.Sleep.Knit, who has lightening speed shipping. It arrived this morning just in time for the Ravelympics. Oh wait...

Paris: It's all about la bouffe*

In recapping our recent trip to Paris, where better to start than with the stomach? Because let's face it, this traveler is all about her next meal. And one of the great things I discovered on this trip was that the my traveling companion, i.e. the person who makes pasta by breaking up spaghetti and putting it into a small sauce pan of not-yet-boiling water and turns it on medium and stirs it a little bit and then refuses to admit the fundamental error of his ways when chided by telling me that I "...don't understand the physics of cooking", the person who had to be restrained from picking a hunk of tunafish off the sidewalk from a sandwich he'd been eating while walking at the Baltimore Inner Harbor, that person is now all about la bonne chère, or the joy of mealtime in France.

Although I am truly a croissant hag and will go to the ends of the earth for a good one, my first love in the French breakfast pastry department is the pain au raisin. Something about the fact that you can pull it apart in order to reveal its inner raisin and sugar goo really sends me. My traveling companion, being a virtuous Protestant that would not be out of place in Calvin's Geneva, "doesn't like sweets" and prefers protein for breakfast. Whatevah Mr. Principles, more for me, please!

Is there anything more pleasing than buying fruit at a fruitstand? Short of picking it yourself, there is no greater delight for this traveler. Let's just say that one day I maxed out so seriously on strawberries, as in a eating whole kilo of them by myself maxed out, that I woke up with a rash on my leg, thereby sending me to my truly favorite place to shop, la French pharmacie!


As a true slacker in every sense of the word, I must say that I was made for the café lifestyle. We spent a lot of time in cafés and I do believe that the DRMC now finally gets it as well. One of the first things he noticed was how rare it is to see people walking around with to-go cups of coffee. I explained to him that although evil corporate burnt coffee that we've been hoodwinked into believing is good Starbucks do seem to be popping up everywhere in sight, there's nothing like spending a few moments in a café. We did this often.

I am a complete and total sucker for any retro-esque, hand-painted sign. If you hang one outside your establishment, no matter how sucky it might be, the likelihood of me entering it is very, very high.


No discussion of French food would be complete without a mention of the crowning glory of every good meal, the cheese plate. Mr. "I don't eat sweets" was blown away by the cheese course and did himself in with superlatives each time we were served a plateau de fromages. If you ever saw "What About Bob?", just think of the scene where Bob is eating Faye's fried chicken ("mmmmmm......aaahhhhh....ooooooohhh") and you get the picture. Sure I love the cheese too, but if it's a choice between crème brûlée and cheese, well...

Someone in this household has been bit by the traveling bug. I do believe that this person has fallen hard--he already had a love for Sartre (old skool, y'all), Foucault's panopticon, Rodin and Messiaen, but when I explained to him that the separation of church and state is one of the founding principles of the French Republic, well that just sealed the deal. We have a bona fide francophile on our hands now. And it will likely play in to my hands for a return visit. Air France is also helping out with this, as due to an airline error, my husband got bumped from his non-direct flight to JFK, and was not only put on a direct flight but was given a 300 euro voucher to fly on Air France again. Isn't that worth like $11,000 at this point? He claims that next time (next time!) he'd like to visit different regions of France and see the rest of the country. *le sigh*

Next post: a finished object!


*food, chow, grub, vittles, tender morsels