Anonyknits

Spotty Blog

2007-10-09T22:29:00.000Z

Not really knitting -- Had a crisis of faith regarding the colour for Baby J's sweater . . .

Then got sucked into my spinning wheel. (I'd've written, but it's just that boring.)

And now I am traveling again -- anyone know a proper yarn shop in Sydney?

Squares Six Through Nine

2007-09-20T14:23:00.000Z

Square Six -- Twisted and Crossed Ribbing:

Seven -- Garter and Rib Pattern:

Eight -- Rose Fabric:

The pattern is a little hard to see, so here's a closer view:

Nine -- Horizontal Chain:

I don't think I like mosaic knitting . . .

Birthdays Coming Soon

2007-09-18T17:16:00.000Z

I think I told you, but maybe I didn't, that a lot of the knitting from last summer went to one Baby J, who was newly minted in early October of last year.

Which means that the one-year babiversary is coming quick, and J's parents have decided to have a celebration. Which means gifts.

Long ago I started a patchworky blanket of cotton garter squares (Rowan handknit cotton dk -- someone was getting rid of their collection on eBay some two years ago) for J.

It is finally done, but I'm ambivalent.

A quarter of the time I think it is really cute. And the rest of the time it seems just *awful.* Too much orange, not enough blue, shouldn't have made multicolor blocks, shouldn't have sewn it up with whipstitch, shouldn't have seamed with contrasting colours, &tc.

But here it is:

Because of the ambivalence, I've started something else for J:

A Dale of Norway cardigan from the No. 8101 reissue "Favorite Baby Designs." (Also including Rutelilje, as seen on the Yarn Harlot!) There are at least three designs I'm itching to make in this booklet. (No, I haven't finished the hoodie yet. I was concentrating on that (one sleeve half done!) before I realized J's day was coming up and the hoodie would be *way* too small in the 9 month size I am making.)

With any luck, it will be done in plenty of time. (Then, need to see about something for Mum -- her day is also rapidly approaching.)

Ever notice how lovely the sunset can be when viewed through fair-isle coloured glasses?

Some Catching Up

2007-09-17T19:53:00.000Z

That "Rosebud" baby hat (from the "itty-bitty hats" book) I started back in January. Never again! Too many ends to deal with!

And a "jacket with seed stitch bands" from Debbie Bliss's "baby knits for beginners":

Perfect buttons!

More later . . .

Square Five

2007-09-13T16:19:00.000Z

Diagonal Ribbing:

Square Four

2007-09-12T16:11:00.000Z

Lattice with Seed Stitch:

Square Three

2007-09-11T15:44:00.000Z

Basketweave:

Square Two

2007-09-10T21:09:00.001Z

Striped Stockinette Stitch:

Square One

2007-09-09T18:28:00.000Z

Literally.

New Project.

(I'll get around to telling you of the old-to-me-but-new-to-you-stuff eventually. This one is a truly new project.)

I've got all these random balls of Baby Cashmerino that I've picked up here and there, starting well over a year ago, with the idea of making a patchworky baby blanket. Originally, I was thinking garter stitch mitres, but since I've already got a decent stack of stockinette mitres (in denim, not cashmerino) . . .

I've also been wanting for over a year to do a sampler afghan -- not because I actually want such an afghan, but because I think that all those different squares would just be really fun. Each is a separate low-pressure little project, a few hours at most, no worries . . .

So.

Baby Cashmerino, the Barbara Walker "Learn to Knit Afghan Book," and we'll see how it goes.

No, still not planning an afghan.

The idea is to make all the squares, but use them for two to four baby blankets instead. (Hence, the baby cashmerino. Sooooo soft. I knew I would need it for something!) As there are 63 squares in the book, this will take a bit of jiggery pokery. 63 squares won't make anything at all except the 7 by 9 full sized afghan. 64 would make 4 tiny blankets (about 30 inches square, plus borders). 60 would make either 3 or 2 larger blankets.

I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Always best to save the underhanded dodges till the end of things, when you know they're really necessary. Probably I won't come to it at all, what with my severe deficiency of stick-to-it-ive-ness. (Where *are* my vitamins?)

Square One: Striped Garter Stitch

Er . . . Hello, Again.

2007-09-07T01:27:00.000Z

I will make no excuses, except to say that in the past I had a job that required me to be in front of a computer for hours on end, and that I have not had that job for some time. (*Good* thing.)

Decided to take some time to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up (though that moment *must* be long since past, mustn't it?), I further decided that for a while I would do nothing that I did not wish to do while I was doing it, but that I would definately make the effort to keep blogging, as I enjoyed it so well.

Well!

During the first week of the new regime, I was so busy with other things, and being not constantly in front of a computer, no blogging.

And somehow, what with this and that . . . the ill-advised purchase of a Playstation 2 (TOOL OF THE DEVIL!), Harry Potter (last opportunity to fully enjoy the first six before embarking on the last), Big Love (who knew?), Jane Austen, traveling, new computer that I *cannot* understand, and who recalls what else . . .

After a while, what can I say, but most times I forgot I had a blog at all.

Well you may wonder.

When I was knitting, I did think about it quite a lot, missed it and you, and as I finished projects and started new ones, I mentally composed many and long blog entries. Which, as you know, were never posted.

EZ insists that one may read and knit at the same time (which may be true if one's book lays flat), but I am near certain that *I* at least cannot simultaneously knit and blog.

&c.

But something happened yesterday that determined me finally to write.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a good photo of the whole of it. Bigger than I expected.

Also in the way of an update, St. Brigid is long since finished:

Not sure I like the collar, but I'll have to wear it a few times to figure that out, and it is far too hot for wool just now.

Oh, and Posy, too, finally:

Definately wearable, although not as I imagined. I should not have cut out all those inches -- she would not have been too short after all. Contemporary pants styles are so low cut! Not that I have a problem baring my midriff in appropriate circumstances, but between the lacey holes and the missing inches, the poor girl is not suited for, er, respectable work. I still like her, though. She's cheeky.

So, so much more, but probably the first entry back should endeavour to not overwhelm either the writer or the reader (assuming any remain!), for fear that there shall never be another.

Cheers!

That Took FOREVER

2007-06-11T23:38:00.000Z

"Two baby sweaters, PRONTO!"

I don't react well to orders.

(Definately not cut out for the military. Unless one can enlist as a High Mucky Muck? I suppose even they have to take orders from the Higher Mucky Mucks . . . .)

About half way through, I stopped enjoying the February Sweater. I'm fairly certain it had to do with the yarn, not the pattern. Louet superwash, in whatever goes for sportweight in that pantheon. It looked all fluffy in the skein, but -- while smooth -- it really didn't like me much. No give at all.

And since I really felt I had to finish it soon . . . well, rather than just knit on something else, I just . . .

STOPPED KNITTING.

(I still can't believe it, even as I write it!)

Stopped.

Knitting.

!!!

???

!!!

But they're done now, buttons and all . . .

. . . and we'll let bygones be bygones, but NO WAY am I tackling the rest of those hats for this year's Dulaan deadline. They'll just have to go next year.

The guilty and possibly ridiculous part of me is all, "But Anonyknits, that's, like, 10 very cold people who won't have their hats this winter."

But the wiser part (which I rarely listen to) says: "People will need hats next year, too. And if you hatted every cold head in Mongolia by yourself, just think of how pissed off all the other knitters would be."

So, I'm doing it -- not doing it, that is -- for YOU, fellow knitters.

I'm generous that way.

Just thought you should know.

Unvention

2007-06-01T15:21:00.000Z

Not much to look at, but here's the start of a February baby sweater from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac.

I fell in love with this sweater the first time I saw it on someone's blog (can't remember whose!), eventually found out where to find the pattern, thought I wanted the book but could never find a hard copy to "test drive" before committing, and finally broke down and ordered it online, sight unseen, because even after all this time (well over a year) I still loved that sweater.

The book is a steal.

It arrived a couple of days ago, and I've raced through it as though it were a trashy adventure novel, flipping back again and again to reread the especially racy bits. Ahem.

The short of it is that, while I'm absolutely positive Cookie is right that another Baby Surprise is just the ticket, I have no enthusiasm to start another one immediately. So we're doing the February sweater. At least for now. Probably when it is finished, I will find that the two things are insufficiently twinny (as in, utterly different sizes), will have gotten over my Surprise aversion, and will end up starting over again for Twin No. 2.

But to the unventing -- I find it a little ironic that I have happened upon my best unventing yet (at least since the time I "discovered" the woven seam) while knitting an E.Z. design. But I suppose that it is only right and proper.

My New Favorite Increase!

I hate the m1, firm backwards loop.

I dislike working it, and I dislike working *into* it.

Working it really breaks up my rhythm. (Maybe this is only a problem for "pickers?" Or maybe it is just me.)

And working *into* it -- well, not sure what the problem is, but I always have a hard time getting my needle into that FIRM backwards loop. (Maybe it is something about the angle?)

So that's two rows of pain and suffering for the stupid one-stitch increase.

Generally, I substitute a different increase -- usually a kfb -- even if the m1 creates the best results under the circumstances.

But for the increases in the February sweater's garter yoke, the kfb wasn't going to work. So I bit the bullet and at least for the first set of increases (one every two stitches!), I used the m1.

And on the slow way back, knitting into those increases, I kept thinking "there's got to be a better way."

Then one of those stupid firm backwards loops hopped off my needle before I could work it, and when putting it back *on* the needle, I realized . . .

Does everyone else already know that you get the same m1 if you just do a "firm" YO on row one, and knit into it "through the back loop" (i.e., twisted) on row 2?

Much better!

I am giddy at the discovery.

Babies Always Win

2007-05-31T15:45:00.000Z

Maybe your theory is that this is because they are so delicious, so adorable.

Personally, I think it is all the crying. (Make it stop! Make it stop! ANYTHING, just make it STOP!)

Either way, I suppose it is the Right Thing To Do.

(That, and, it is probably time to admit that no matter how fast I knitted, I wasn't about to finish St. Brigid before my hats came due . . .)

So:

Most of an Elizabeth Zimmerman "Baby Surprise" jacket, in Rowan's Felted Tweed for Twin No. 1. (Babies who do not see fit to warn me of their arrivals get knitting that requires minimal finishing.)

Not sure what we'll be doing for Twin No. 2. Maybe another "Baby Surprise?" Maybe the February sweater from Knitter's Almanac?

In any event, something without too much seaming . . .

None of which is to say that I've stopped working on Brigid. If I stop, who knows when I'll pick it up again.

So the new plan is -- Hey -- Remember when I said I liked new plans better than old ones? I take it back. I take it back. I take it back. -- The new plan is, although the baby things and the Dulaan hats are the priority, I knit a little on Brigid every day.

At least a row.

At that rate, it could take forever.

But I have a real hard time stopping at just one row. . . .

Sleeve One, Half Done.

Shoot!

2007-05-28T18:42:00.001Z

I *just* got word of new babies.

Babies in the FAMILY.

TWINS.

(Yes, another set.)

And they've already ARRIVED.

I had NO IDEA.

The babies are related enough that they really do deserve a welcome gift.

But apparently not related enough for me to hear of it in advance.

Whatever happened to giving a knitter fair warning?

I never did replenish the Strategic Baby Handknits Reserves. There are bibs and burp cloths, but no tiny sweaters. (That'll learn me.)

If I postpone St. Brigid, I could do something for the babies now and still finish the Dulaan hats on time . . .

If I don't postpone St. Brigid, there's no way I'll have something to send them until they're at least a month (probably two) along . . .

What to do?

What to do?

Phase One Complete

2007-05-28T16:17:00.000Z

Commence Phase Two.

Wheeeeeeee!

2007-05-25T16:54:00.001Z

The start of a St. Brigid (Aran Knitting, A. Starmore), in Cascade 220.

Coincidentally, the VERY SAME COLOUR being used by another member of the Slogalong, Tana P., for the VERY SAME PROJECT. (I *am* a copycat!)

Wanna race?

Hello!

REBOOT

2007-05-24T17:18:00.000Z

Meh.

Haven't finished a hat since that last entry. Probably this is because I realized I actually had *plenty* of time to finish the last 10-ish before this year's Dulaan deadline.

Also, I am a skosh bored with them. (Really? No way!)

I could have pushed through to the end, but really there isn't a big rush, and the knitting is supposed to be about enjoyment (mainly, anyway -- there's also the high drama, adventure and frustration).

So.

When the boredom first crept in, I started knitting 1 mitered square per hat, alternating boring / fun / boring / fun.

And that is what got me through, say, 5 of those last 10 hats.

Then in this last week, I dropped the alternation, just miters, no hats.

And now I'm even a little bored with the miters . . . (How can this be???)

But I'm still not interested in the hats.

So, NEW PLAN! (I love new plans. New plans are so much more exciting than whatever plan I'm executing at the moment.)

As I did with Freya, I am going to concentrate on a new sweater (for me! but not Sadie -- have to work through those color issues first) from start to finish for maybe 10 days (I'm giving myself 2 weekends), see how far I get.

I swatched the night before last, cast on last night.

Pictures once the thing is recognizable. (Yeah, it is one of those "famous" sweaters -- you see it all over the blogosphere. I'd feel like such a copycat, only it is both challenging and super-beautiful, so who gives a flying monkey?)

THEN, finish up the hats quick like a bunny, because by the time I've burned two weekends on this sweater, that shipping deadline will loom.

TTFN

Push! Push!

2007-05-17T18:19:00.000Z

Ten More Hats.

I am nearing the end, but I think there may be Ten More Yet.

I'm sneaking in a miter here and there, but otherwise I've managed to be fairly faithful.

And while part of me thinks I won't know what to do with myself (knitting-wise) once I'm done with the hats, another part of me is very much looking forward to putting the finishing touches on Posy, those Hokusai socks, the garter squares blanket . . . even the Rose Garden hat, with all of its fiddly bits and pieces!

Almost there . . .

Okay, Freaky . . .

2007-05-08T17:03:00.000Z

So, I had these tomatoes.

Been in the kitchen . . . oh . . . a while.

Some were bad, and I tossed them.

But one looked okay.

Albeit a little different than the norm.

It looked like it might have a dark centre -- which you do get in some tomatoes, but I didn't remember these having dark centres when I bought them -- and there were a couple of bumps on the surface -- which I also didn't remember, but I hadn't been paying all that much attention, and they were "organic," so little defects are to be expected.

Still it looked basically fine, nice even, and I decided to use it up last night before it joined its brothers and bit the dust. Waste not, want not, and all.

Surprise!

My first reaction, as these little green things *sprung out* when I cut my poor tomato open, was approximately:

"BUGS! WORMS??? IN MY TOMATO? HOW????"

Only with way more swearing and even a high-pitched girly scream or two.

(Yes. I'm a little "high strung," and am entirely hostage to my imagination. In my defense, the kitchen was not well lit at the time.)

But then the wormy green things stopped writhing, and I decided it was probably safe to approach, no matter how disgusting chopped up green worms might be, and . . .

Not worms.

Sprouts.

The tomato seeds sprouted, in situ:

WTF?

You are too eager, my tomato, my friend!

Harbinger of the apocalypse?

Something to think about.

Also, more hats:

While these may not look any different or more exciting than the last batch, they represent a major milestone: I've fully slogged my way through the multicoloured mohair.

Only the blue remains.

Yee haw.

Smalt Goes Grey

2007-05-08T00:26:00.000Z

Apparently, I'm not the only one with this problem:

Plesters, Joyce

A preliminary note on the incidence of discolouration of smalt in oil media

Studies in conservation (1969) 14 pp 62-74

Although smalt, a glass, might be expected to behave as a stable pigment, discolouration of smalt-containing paint layers has been observed. Early references from the literature are cited which mention the discolouration of smalt in oil media. Originally blue layers on paintings have changed into dull grey or greyish-green. Experiments suggest the following factors for this discolouration: low refractive index of the pigment compared with that of oil media; interaction of alkali content or cobalt content with oil and oleo-resinous media; the possibility of similar reactions with resin-or oil-resin varnishes in certain conditions. Discolouration may also occur if smalt is mixed with other pigments, or added as a drier or as an adulterant. A proper understanding of the mechanism of the deterioration would require further research by more sophisticated methods.

Do I seem obsessed?

Not Entirely Happy

2007-05-07T16:40:00.000Z

I'm still chugging along on the Dulaan hats. Have a few more finished, but completely forgot to snap a picture. So here is a photo of something else entirely:

(I'm told these are "spotted dead nettles.")

I'm sure you can see them (the hats, not the nettles) clearly in your mind's eye -- They look quite like all the others you've seen around here lately.

I've had this idea that perhaps if I can do one a day, they'll be done right quick.

So I told myself I'd do one a day, before doing any other knitting.

Which is why you haven't seen much else around here in the past few weeks.

Of course, having finally revealed to you my hat completion strategy, it is a near certainty that said strategy will immediately collapse.

Anyhoo.

Another reason the strategy might have collapsed is that the yarn for my new sweater project -- you know, the one that caused the demise of my "no new yarn" resolution -- has arrived.

Ah, yes, you're quick!

I did say "might have."

I'm so disappointed by the colour.

I probably should have seen this coming -- there were hints that I couldn't be completely sure of what I was getting.

On the one hand, the photo of Sadie from last fall's Rowan (No. 40) is clearly blue, blue, blue. (I love this particular shade.)

On the other, Sadie is part of the "Fade to Grey" collection -- "A sophisticated look that blends from the starkness of black to the elegance of pale grey."

Photo says blue; text says grey.

Hrm.

I was a little unsure, and it was impossible to tell what the colour actually was from internet photos.

But then I was convinced!

AS IT TURNS OUT, the name of the colour given in the magazine -- No. 963 "Smart" -- which is a little vague -- must be a typo, because there is no "Smart!"

Colour 963 is "Smalt!" (With an "L.")

And as we all know, "Smalt" is blue, blue, blue.

Except, AS IT TURNS OUT, when it is not.

Sometimes, as I found out three days ago, it is grey.

The sort of grey that could have been "Smart."

But not "Smalt."

(Maybe "Smelt?")

Now, I like grey. I do. I love grey. And I probably need a grey sweater.

So maybe I'll still make Sadie in grey.

But it won't be the sweater I fell in love with.

You see, I have this grey skirt that I *love,* and which I imagined myself wearing with Sadie.

Imagine it with me - me and Sadie and my skirt, doing fabulous things together, in interesting places.

In what you might think would be a brilliant stroke, the "Smalt" yarn is nearly exactly the same grey as the skirt.

But when I imagine me and my skirt and a GREY Sadie doing things together, the things seem just a little less fabulous and the places considerably less interesting.

I think that the problem is too much grey.

Some grey (even quite a deal) is calming and sophistocated.

Unadulterated grey is BLAH.

Which means I must pause to consider.

Do I still make Sadie?

Do I make it in another colour?

"Shipshape," while I know it is also not perfect, is probably closer to what I am looking for. At least it would break up the grey.

Lesson learned for the 452nd time: Seek out a ball of the colour IN PERSON before taking the internet plunge.

Or!

Or!

OR!

(and I have only just thought of this . . . )

Invest in shade cards?

(oooooooo . . . )

Are We There Yet?

2007-05-04T19:21:00.000Z

(No.)

Five more hats . . .

Some of us are getting a little bored with this . . .

Some of us remain enigmatic . . .

And some of us are beginning to feel like that poor Mr. Cubbins.

At least there aren't 500 of them.

More Hats, Plus . . .

2007-04-30T17:40:00.000Z

Six more hats . . . I think that brings us to twenty hats done? So maybe 1/3 of the way? I'm really not sure anymore -- although I once estimated that I had 66-hats-worth of the mohair, I've lost some to waste, fraud, abuse and experimentation.

Individually, these go very quickly. Like a little knitting snack. Maybe two hours per? I think probably less.

But on the whole . . . Well, I'm considering joining the Slogalong. For moral support.

For the green hats, I've used Cascade 220 Superwash. The yellow and red are in Lamb's Pride. I think that the Lamb's Pride will ultimately be warmer, but it has less yardage per skein, so there's always a danger of running out before the second hat is finished.

And here's the plus:

Posy?

Blocking?

Haaaaa! Take THAT, Japanese Lessons!!! (I should probably admit that I made no progress with the Japanese the entire weekend. The Japanese and the fancy knitting really do seem to be mutually exclusive.)

I'm still a little worried that I'll have a Freya Redux.

I'm pretty sure that I knit the right size this time. (Or at least chose the correct size to knit.)

But knitting Posy requires that you have a very special relationship with your tension. She is lace, so it is a little difficult to re-check your tension whilst knitting.

I did do a swatch, all those months ago, which was absolutely perfect.

And Posy's back looks to be just right.

But over time, I must have knit tighter and tighter, because the front is simply not as wide as the back.

Again, Lace. So there's perhaps more forgiveness in it than there otherwise would be.

But still . . .

If it doesn't fit me right, it will probably fit Mom perfectly.

Again.

I suppose blue is her favorite color . . .

Gah!

Hat!

2007-04-27T16:54:00.000Z

I think this is #14?

Hat!

2007-04-26T21:26:00.000Z

Well, That's It, Then

2007-04-25T18:02:00.000Z

The Resolution? Kaplooey!

As you well know, I haven't really been working on those Dulaan hats.

But I keep plodding along with the other knitting. (I think I'm finally down to 10 ongoing projects, although I won't swear to it.)

And I got to thinking, "Gee, whenever I *do* finish Posy, I'll want to start a new sweater for me."

And although I have *plenty* of yarn for about a billion (okay, okay, 30. yes, seriously, 30) sweaters already in the stash . . .

Well, the sweater that I really want for myself right now (and have wanted for a good two months, so I figure the love is real) isn't something for which I have stash. (Probably because the yarn, she is not cheap.)

And I've held off and held off and held off on ordering the yarn, you know, because a.) not cheap, and b.) I'm supposed to finish those Dulaan hats first.

But still I don't knit the hats!

I give up!

I ordered the yarn.

(And then, floodgates open, I ordered other yarn that I've been thinking about forever, too. Kureyon 170 . . . delicious!)

This time around, I just not feeling the resolution. (Probably because I'm working hard on that new "will you just *try* exercising, damn it!" resolution.) So it really is over.

But I'm going to see how much headway I can make on those hats before the new yarn arrives.

Certainly, I won't be done with them.

Unless my bad karma strikes again and the yarn is stolen? (*WHY* did this not occur to me before I ordered it?)

Think I can refrain from casting the new stuff on until the hats are done?

Hrm.

Anyway!

In other news, those Hokusai socks are almost done. I rushed through them because I was afraid I would run out of yarn (same yardage as Socks That Rock), and I wanted to buy that last skein at the LYS if I needed it. But if I didn't need it . . . well, this yarn too is not cheap. So they're all done except for the kitchenering and the ends . . .

And LO! I'm sick of them. Back to the project pile with you!!!

In *other* other news, its probably time for you to meet the cotton garter squares baby blanket.

This is an off-and-on project started last fall during all the crazy. Now it only needs sewing together and borders. And ends woven in. So it might be a while yet.

Guess how many "ongoing projects" I have in the hopper that only need finishing details and their ends woven in?

THREE.

(Unless I've forgotten something, which seems likely.)

Might be a pattern here . . .

2007-04-18T22:05:00.000Z

It seems to be all-socks, all the time around here:

I really like this yarn -- Great Adirondack's Silky Sock in the "Stormcloud" colourway.

I think it might fade a bit, though, because it is turning my needles just a skosh blue. Erk.

And it probably should be handwashed. Double erk.

But I still like it.

Reminds me of Hokusai.

Why so many socks? And why are they so . . . plain?

Well . . .

My brain is gone. (Yes, dears, I had it removed. So refreshing!)

I'm even having trouble with ribbing.

(Took me TWO DAYS to get through that heel you see up there . . .)

Normally I wouldn't bring non-knitting stuff into the knitting blog.

But it is clearly affecting the knitting.

So, here you go.

Apparently, the part of the brain that manages the fancy knitting is the same part of the brain that one uses when learning a new language.

Japanese, this time.

Not that it is going well, but it could be going a lot worse!

We'll see how long this phase lasts . . .

You might never hear about it again, because right now, about all I can do is ask you where the train station is or invite you to have a drink 'at my place.' (Yeah, smarmy.)

On the other hand, maybe someday everything will just click, and I'll be able to translate all those tasty crafting magazines.

But for the time being, I am nearly incapacitated, knitting-wise.

Maybe "they" should do a study? Develop a miracle pharmaceutical? I'd pay good money to get my mojo back . . .

Posy is just sitting there, nearly done. Nearly! But I can't touch it. Because if I can't handle "Knit 3, Purl 1," I definately can't handle Posy.

Argh.

In other news, those clogs took forever to dry . . . but they are really toasty!

You know, you think, oh, these are made of wool, probably they'll be warm . . . .

But you have no idea how warm until you try them on.

Very nice.

And just in time for winter, eh?

Spring Has Sprung

2007-04-11T01:03:00.000Z

And I am back. Mostly, anyway.

There has been knitting. I finished all of the remaining pairs of socks I began last fall:

From left to right: A modified "Gentleman's Fancy Sock" from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks in Trekking 100 (took more than one skein, can you believe it?); Feather 'n' Fan in a Meilenweit cotton blend (can't find the ballband); plain ribbed oversocks in another Trekking Ombre (another missing ballband); and Elfine's Socks in Koigu.

Sadly, not one of these is for me! Two for Mum, one for the Doctor, and one for Someone Else.

These, however, are for me:

(Dry! Dry, Damn YOU, DRY!)

Pattern is Fiber Trends' Felted Clogs; yarn is Lamb's Pride.

Yeah, Okay, So I Just Disappeared

2007-03-20T16:58:00.000Z

For about a month, I'm in this position where blogging is not as easy as it has been -- particularly not the uploading of photos . . .

And only because I know *someone* will ask, please have no worries! I and mine are perfectly well. This reason for the difficulty blogging is (except for the lack of blogging) a good thing -- a great thing!

But it has nothing to do with knitting, so I won't go into it.

As for knitting, Posy is at about 80% completion.

So I do have something to show for the time.

Toldja

2007-03-09T19:27:00.000Z

See?

Just a bunch of garter stitch:

(More Mason-Dixon baby bibs and burp cloths.)

I'm in the mood for some Posy.

I Would Blog . . .

2007-03-07T17:55:00.001Z

. . . but it's just more garter stitch.

Don't Do That

2007-03-05T17:42:00.000Z

Right.

So.

I was trying fidelity.

For one project.

To see how it feels.

Yeah . . .

About that . . .

I don't know if the problem is that I hit some "Noro Wall," or what.

Probably it had something to do with getting cocky on block 15, taking it to game night, and having to rip out over half of it afterwards.

Probably it had even more to do with the fact that I was now "supposed" to be working on Lizard Ridge.

You may have figured out that I don't like doing what I'm told -- even if it is me who is doing the telling.

Whatever the reason, I now know how fidelity feels.

It feels bad.

Really, really bad.

It's like the joke.

A man walks into the doctor's office.

Says to the doctor, "It hurts when I do this."

Doctor says, "Don't do that."

So I cheated all weekend. (Doctor's orders.)

Cheated so much that maybe it isn't really even cheating anymore. (Technically speaking, you can't cheat if you are separated. Right?)

First, I finished up those felted coasters that I started all those months ago. (My second-oldest unfinished object.)

I had put them through the wash many, many times. Some of the coasters were in a pretty nice state, but others were still under fulled, unevenly fulled, etc.

I finished them up by hand in the kitchen sink, which generally is full of dirty (and beyond dirty) dishes, but I had been a very, very good girl. (Except for the cheating.)

They turned out great.

Not that I can understand why anyone would actually want felted coasters, even ones made out of Kureyon.

Shrunk by almost 25%:

It really does look like felt:

!!!

And I am willing to considering making another felted / fulled project, which is more than I could have said a week ago.

After the coasters, I picked up something I started ages ago as a swatch.

It has over time gradually increased in size, but until now has always flown under the project radar. (I work on it so occasionally that I never remember it exists when I enumerate my unfinished projects.)

Lots and lots of garter stitch, in a self-striping fingering weight wool. (Similar to JoJoLand Melody, but by a company called Yarn Treehouse.)

Frankly, I'm not sure what this thing is.

Probably it will be a shawl of some kind.

I suppose it could be a blanket instead.

Ladders Wash Out!

2007-03-02T16:59:00.000Z

Remember THESE?

Yes, they've grown on me.

I think the problem was all a matter of expectations.

I saw bright, saturated, gardeny colours in the skein.

I expected bright, saturated, gardeny colours in the sock.

I didn't get them.

So it took me a while to get used to what I actually had.

Which was, as advertised by the name of the colourway, bloodstone.

You, know, like THIS.

Remarkable similarity.

And now I do like them.

Although still not as much as I would probably have liked the Kryptonite colourway I forwent for those bright, saturated, gardeny colours.

So, although I'm coming at it from a different angle, I completely agree with Erika: A pre-purchase visual of the expected end product would be most helpful to the consumer.

Anyway . . . you may recall that I had heard a rumor that ladders wash out, and that I was going to test that hypothesis with a little experiment.

It's true! It's true!

They do! They do!

Ladders wash out!

Proof:

1.) Test ladder, pre-washing:

Obvious laddering.

2.) Test ladder, after one washing:

Still there (that slight space after the first three *full* stitches), but not at all obvious. Completely wearable.

Please note that most of the difference in colour between the first and other photos is not due to fading. I lost a smidge of colour in the wash, but most of the difference is due to lighting.

3.) Test ladder, after three washings:

Damned if I can see it. Where it used to be is after the first four full stitches.

(You can see that I'm pretty hard on my socks. I put them through the dryer just like anything else. Lecture me as you like, but I wouldn't wear them otherwise.)

Practicing Fidelity

2007-03-01T14:41:00.000Z

On two fronts, even.

First, it occured to me while plodding through the green Weasley and That Scarf that just *maybe* I would be happier if I didn't have have so many large knitting projects weighing down my to-do list.

And maybe the reason I have so many of those is that I keep starting more of them while never really working on the old ones.

(Unless forced to.)

On the one hand, I am addicted to that cast-on rush.

On the other, there are several projects that I really want to have finished.

Moreover, I keep thinking about how enjoyable it would be to work on them.

Yet I don't.

Haven't for months now.

This has got to stop. (Maybe.)

I am not changing my ways!

Not, not, not.

But I am going to *try* out a little project fidelity.

See how it feels.

For one project.

If I don't like it, so be it. I'll go back to being a slut.

But for now, you're going to be getting a whole lot of Lizard Ridge.

Hope it isn't too boring. (For me. I don't care about you!)

Squares 10-13 of 24:

In Kureyon 183, 95, 180 and 153 (clockwise, starting from the upper left).

Second, I got me some over the weekend, and the resolution says I must blog about it, so here are some salacious pics:

Stripey Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock from Purl, and a skein of Cascade 220 -- probably for the edge of Lizard Ridge.

Koigu KPPM from The Yarn Company.

And something called Vignette by Nashua Handknits, also from the Yarn Co.

I am very excited about the Vignette -- it is a chainette superwash wool with relatively long color runs. Here's my thinking: chainette = low pilling; superwash = easy care; wool = warm; long color runs = striping not pooling.

Full of possibilities.

But I've got to think small. (Or maybe I've got to think "swatch.")

I've got just two skeins.

You might think that this is because I am phenonmenally strong-willed, and having already picked up the Koigu, I knew that I was only allowed two more skeins from that store under the Rules of Acquisition.

Ha!

They only had the two skeins. (Yes, I asked.)

Maybe that "higher power" was looking out for me, keeping me on the wagon awhile longer?

Sort of like on that episode of Wonderfalls.

You haven't seen Wonderfalls?

Who *are* you?

Okay, okay, so no one but me saw Wonderfalls.

Probably why they cancelled it.

Tragic.

That was some fine T.V.

(Available on DVD!)

Recipe for a Short-Row Scarf of Diamonds, a la Avery

2007-02-27T12:00:00.000Z

(A sort of companion for Véronik Avery's Short-Row Hat.)

Please note that this is not a complete pattern in itself. It is a (long) series of modifications to Avery's Short-Row Hat pattern that result in a scarf rather than a hat. NONE of the below will make much sense on its own; you need the original (FREE!) pattern to even begin. Also note that the techniques and abbreviations not explained here are quite well-explained in the original pattern.

Why only modifications and not a full pattern? Two reasons.

A.) I am way lazy, and this is way easier.

B.) I am way not sure where the fair use / copyright infringement line is, but I intend to stay way the heck away from it. Not only out of respect for Ms. Avery and professional knitting designers the world over, but also because, you know, uh, the law? I'm fairly sure I would be within my rights to publish a complete scarf pattern to the blog, row by tedious row. But I'm not *completely* sure, so why do it, particularly given A.) (lazy)?

With that said . . .

To Make This Scarf You Will Need:

1.) Véronik Avery's Short-Row Hat pattern. Available HERE. When I say "as original" below, I mean as described in Avery's pattern.

2.) 4.5 mm needles (US 7), or size needed to obtain whatever gauge you like. (Scarf, people!) If you are also knitting the hat, I suggest you start with that and continue with the needles you use there. Because gauge does matter A LOT in Avery's pattern.

Note that when I knit the hat, I *totally* did not get the right row gauge with the Noro Kureyon on the 4.5 mm needles. But I liked the cloth I was knitting. So I continued with the "wrong" gauge and did a little extry knitting to make up for it. Details HERE, in case you run into similar issues. Anyway, if you are getting the same gauge as in the original hat, you may find you need fewer pattern repeats than I did to get the length of scarf you want.

3.) Maybe 6 skeins of Noro Kureyon -- I think I could have done it with 5 skeins, but I sacrificed parts of each skein because I wanted only full color repeats. You'll need more if you want a very long scarf. (I ended up with a scarf around 6 feet long, 8 inches across -- AFTER BLOCKING.) Or you could use other variegated yarn with long color runs and gradual color changes (the Ami-Ami Faith yarn used in Ms. Avery's original hat is probably an option, but as I have never actually seen it, I can't really say). Or you could use a selection of different colors of a non-variegated yarn (the idea being that you would switch colors "manually" whenever you liked).

Techniques, Notes:

1.) All the wacky short-row stuff is described in the original pattern.

2.) Split splicing is your new best friend, particularly if you're using the Kureyon.

3.) Blocking is still your old best friend. The scarf's garter edges have a different row gauge than the mostly-stockinette interior. Without blocking, the scarf looks like complete and total crap. I wet-blocked, which stretched out the garter edges beautifully. You might be able to get away with a thorough steam blocking.

Closer Views of Stitch Pattern:

Front:

Back:

Even closer view of back:

Pattern (i.e., Modifications):

Cast on 45 stitches. I used the long-tail cast-on method, but I don't think it matters much.

Knit garter stitch (i.e., knit every stitch) until you have 8 (or more, if you prefer) garter ridges on the right side of your work, ending with a WS row.

Work Set up section A, as original.

Work Set up section B, EXCEPT for last row (Row 12), which is worked as follows:

Row 12 (modified): Yo, k1, [k2tog] 6 times, knit to end (16 more stitches), turn.

Work one additional Set up section -- let's call this section "E", since Avery uses "C" and "D" later in her pattern.

Set up section E:

Row 1: (WS) K10, p6, turn.
Row 2 and following RS rows: Yo, knit to end, turn.
Row 3: K10, p5, turn.
Rows 4-12: Continue as established, working 1 less purl stitch on every row -- 1 purl stitch remains on Row 11.
Row 13: K10, p1, [SSP] 6 times, turn.

Work a Modified Section 2 -- Let's call this Section "2M". (Yes, we skipped "Section 1." This is deliberate. We're not using Avery's Section 1 at all, since that is the section that shapes the crown of the hat, and what proper scarf has a crown?)

Section 2M is worked as the original Section 2, EXCEPT for the last row (Row 22), which is worked as follows:

Row 22: Yo, p1, [SSP] 12 times, turn.

Work another Section 2, but this time entirely as the original. Let's continue to call this Section "2."

Work Section 3, as original.

Work a modified Section 4 -- we'll call this Section "4M." This is worked as the original, except for the last row (Row 22), which is worked as follows:

Row 22: Yo, k1, [k2tog] 12 times, knit to end, turn.

Do not work the two "Transition" Rows that follow Section 4 in the original pattern.

Work Section 5 as follows:

Row 1: (WS) K10, p1, turn.
Row 2 and all RS rows: Yo, knit to end, turn.
Row 3: K10, p1, SSP, turn.
Row 5: K10, p2, SSP, turn.
Rows 7-12: Continue in this manner, working 1 more purl stitch every wrong side row, with 15 stitches (10 knit and 5 purl) worked before closing the gap on Row 11.
Row 13: K10, p5, turn.
Row 15: K10, p4, turn.
Rows 17-22: Continue in this manner, working 1 less purl stitch every wrong side row. One purl stitch remains before the garter stitch band on Row 21.
Row 23: K10, p1, [SSP] 6 times, turn.

Repeat Sections [2M, 2, 3, 4M, and 5] 19 times (or as many times as needed to reach desired length), then work Sections 2M and 2 once more.

Work End Section C, as original.

Work a modified End Section D, as follows:

Rows 1-9: Work as original.
Row 10: Yo, K9, k2tog, k1, [k2tog] 6 times, knit to end, turn.
Row 11: DO NOT WORK.

Work a new End Section F, as follows:

Rows 1-10: Repeat Rows 1-10 of Section 5 -- 14 stitches before closing gap on Row 9.
Row 11: (WS) K10, p5, SSP, p11, SSP, p7, k10, turn.

Finish scarf by working 8 (or more) ridges of garter stitch. Cast off.

Block.

N.B. -- I have test-knit this, but frankly that's sort of like proofreading one's own writing. There are almost certain to be errors. If you find one, let me know and I'll correct it.

Miss Me?

2007-02-26T18:12:00.000Z

I'm done!

Green Superwash Weasley:

I used THIS to get an idea of what I was doing, but made lots of modifications to account for the yarn I was using (Valley Superwash, from Webs). As I said before, the yarn is quite nice -- a little denser than your Cascade 220 Superwash, maybe also a little softer. I put the sweater (or most of it, anyway) through the wash before blocking, and it held up very well.

I like this pattern a lot. And I think what I may like about it the very most is that it is a kids' sweater that can potentially be used for several years. It is quite baggy, giving plenty of room to grow in width.

So the part of the sweater where a kid's rapidly increasing size would really become an issue is the sleeves, maybe the body length. But the sleeves are baggy too, and are knit from the top-down. (I did a rolled bottom sleeve rather than the ribbing that the pattern called for.) All of which means that Mother-of-Y can send the sweater back to me when the sleeves get too short, I can easily add some more length (maybe even that ribbing in a contrasting color), and they get at least another year out of it. Neat.

Scarf for V:

I used THIS to get an idea of what I was doing, but made lots of modifications to account for the fact that I wanted a scarf rather than a hat. (I'll post those mods in a day or so, for those who are interested.) This yarn was great, too -- but it is hard to not like Kureyon. (Although, these colors are also not my favorites! Ever seen Kureyon 170? Now *that* is to die for.)

Now, I have to ask.

Kureyon.

I heard just the other day something that made me think it isn't supposed to be pronounced Cure-E-On.

Which is the only way I've heard it said.

Not that I have heard that many people say, "Kureyon" at all.

Mostly I just see it written.

But really, if you sound it out, using Japanese pronunciation, it is clearly Koo-Ray-On.

Which is the closest the Japanese language can get to the English word "Crayon."

WHICH, AS IT TURNS OUT, IS WHAT KUREYON MEANS.

So my question is, am I the only Noro fan on the block who did not know this?

Hi

2007-02-20T17:54:00.000Z

Er, yes, I'm still here.

It is just that I'm spending all of what would be my blogging time knitting instead.

The green Weasley needs some seams. (It is looking much better than I thought it would. Now I'm just worried that it is *gargantuan.*)

And the scarf for V needs an hour or two . . . and some serious blocking.

I think I can have it all done in time.

My much-delayed Winter Gift Exchange 2006 is nigh.

What I'm much more excited about, of course, is getting these two projects off my back.

Perverse?

Maybe.

I really don't care.

Angela Asks . . .

2007-02-13T17:33:00.000Z

What do I call the cat?

Haha!

A round-about attempt to get at my secret identity!

I'm not telling.

Their names are very distinctive.

And while I'm fairly sure that they haven't made an appearance on the internet under their own names . . .

Well, one really never knows what a cat is up to out on MySpace.

I'm willing to reveal that they're both female, rescue kitties, relatively young adults and from the same litter.

(Gratuitous baby photo.)

I have occasionally thought that they should have blog nicknames. They keep popping up around here (they are obsessed with the knitting), and everyone else who does that has a blogname.

Most of their real-life nicknames seem inadequate for the purpose -- "cat," "the girls," "sweetie pie," "kiddo," "bullet" . . .

How do you all feel about "Bard" (black) and "Tollers" (siamese)?

You'll have to take my word that these codenames are entirely appropriate.

Unless one is going to be fussy about gender.

Discipline, Anonyknits! Discipline!

2007-02-13T01:26:00.000Z

No Filatura Di Crosa Porto Cervo Long Print for you!

No.

No!

NO!

There, now, isn't that better?

Doesn't blogging about it make you feel better?

(No.)

What I Ought

2007-02-12T17:29:00.000Z

This is a beginning-of-the-weekend photo. The "Y" -- in fact, the entire front -- is now done.

I'm worried that the whole thing feels drab.

The yarn (Valley Superwash, from Webs) is quite nice, texture-wise. And there haven't been too many knots, etc. Not sure how well it will hold up, of course.

What is really bugging me is the color. (And my messy intarsia, but I'm going to stitch around the edge of the Y, so most of the blechiness will be well hidden.)

As I'm knitting, the color sings to me.

"Blah, blah, blah. I'm so blah. Blah, blah, blah."

It bugs.

Did the Doctor choose the wrong color?

It feels like the wrong color.

But what were the other options?

Though they were cheerier, they were also not right at all. Way too bright.

Also, my own wardrobe features at least one sweater in a similar color.

So either they're both pretty bad, or neither is.

And I just can't tell anymore. (The singing is really distracting.)

The fundamental problem, I think, is that this project really calls for a tweed. A nice mixture of blah and bright. Not too bright. Not too blah. (I love tweed. Can't go wrong with tweed.)

But who makes tweed superwash?

And superwash is key to this sweater being used (or used more than once, anyway) by its intended.

So my plan is to ignore the singing with some "La La LA, I can't hear you!" tunes of my own.

And to finish it as quickly as possible.

I am also concerned that the front might be a scootch longer than the back.

It is extremely hard to measure them -- ALL of the edges curl up something fierce.

They'll calm down well enough after blocking and seaming.

But those things are supposed to happen *after* one knits to approximately the right measurements . . .

So, here's what I'm doing: I'm calling both the front and back "good enough" for now. If, after blocking, the front turns out to be too long, I'll just rip back a few rows.

Simple enough.

Except that the pattern calls for sewing the shoulder seams, and picking up stitches to do the sleeves.

That won't really work here.

Unless I block the front and back before dealing with the seams at all.

But that's not really my style.

So I'm doing the sleeves as separate pieces and will sew them in later.

Sure, that's more seaming than may be strictly necessary.

But seaming is better than heartbreak.

Seaming is better than heartbreak.

Seaming is better than heartbreak.

Seaming is better than heartbreak

And that's my St. Valentine's message to you.

Susannah Asks . . .

2007-02-07T18:31:00.000Z

How is it that I knit so quickly?

I haven't thought about this too deeply, so probably I can't give a proper answer.

And it isn't as though I hang out with many knitters in the physical world, so I don't really have the opportunity to compare my pace to the pace of others.

Not that I would.

(Or not that I would admit, anyway. I'm getting pretty good at pretending to myself that I'm not competitive in every freaking aspect of my life.)

But I do have three thoughts on the matter.

The first is that, pace aside and speaking only of productivity, I spend quite a lot of time knitting.

Everyone makes time to do the things they really enjoy doing. Some people spend time gardening, some people cook dinner for their family every night, some people sleep in on the weekends, some people go to temple every day, some people socialize, some people spend whatever time they need to look exquisite every day, some people exercize . . .

Most of those things, I just don't do them.

Or not very much.

I like knitting better.

Knitting is my default activity. If I'm watching the good box, I'm knitting. If I'm avoiding housework, I'm knitting. You get the picture.

If you are knitting all the time, it is hard to avoid being productive.

The second is practice. If you knit as much and as often as I do, you gain speed. It just sort of happens naturally.

The third, which I am less certain of as a contributing factor, is technique.

I knit funny.

I learned the basics of knitting years and years ago, watching my Mum. She was busy knitting something to an imminent deadline, and I wouldn't stop bugging her about teaching me to knit.

(I was wee, and what I wanted, I NEEDED. NOW. She must have been awfully frustrated!)

My recollection (which may or may not be accurate) is that she made a deal with me.

She would teach me how to cast on, and after that I could watch her and copy what she was doing as much as I liked, but she wouldn't help me any more than that until she finished her project. No help. No questions. SHUSH and let Mommy knit!

So she taught me the backwards loop cast on, and I guess from watching her and fiddling around a bit, I taught myself some semblance of knit and purl.

Until just two years ago, I thought no one else knitted like me. (Mum might have, but she stopped knitting for a good long while and doesn't really remember how she used to do it.)

I found patterns very confusing.

And I found it impossible to talk to others about knitting -- it was like I was speaking some other language.

I could see no difference between k2tog and SSK. I got the same result either way. I could not comprehend what was meant by "knitting through the back loop." How was that any different from normal knitting?

Now, thanks to knitting resources on the web, I know what I am about.

And I know that I am not alone.

How I knit is not particularly common, but it is common enough to have been given a name: Combined or Combination Knitting.

Knits are done in the same way as in Continental style (working yarn held in the left hand and "picked" through the previous stitch by the right needle).

Purls, though, are accomplished slightly differently. They are also "picked," as in Continental, but the working yarn is wrapped around the right needle in the alternate direction. This requires fewer and smaller moves, and so purls go much faster and more evenly. A drawback (and the source of almost all my knitting confusion) is that the resulting stitch is seated differently on the needle (some would say "twisted"), and this needs to be taken into account when working the next row.

For most applications, and particularly for plain stockinette and for flat ribbing, the combined knitting technique is the most efficient sequence of moves to get the job done.

It is not suited for all purposes, though. I have a hard time with it when working a purl stitch into a previous purl stitch -- e.g., when ribbing in the round or working seed stitch.

But now I know enough about which version of purl is likely to work best in which application (at least for me), and I switch it up accordingly.

Also, cabling without a needle is very helpful.

Yours,
A.K.

What I Have Been Doing Instead of What I Ought

2007-02-05T21:15:00.000Z

It turns out that trying to mail that many packages, "all in one go," was a stupid and naive plan.

I've sent about half of them.

Hopefully the rest will trickle out over the next few days.

I so enjoyed all the lovely emails (most of which I have not yet answered -- bad me!), that I am sending something to everyone. (At least to those of you who sent me addresses. If you forgot, please still email me your address. If I had an email from you earlier, I figure you're in the que.) Hopefully you will like what you get. If you don't, foist it off on some other poor soul -- no white elephants is my motto. (One of them, anyway. There's also, "Aaawwwwww, do I hafta?")

Right.

So, all those packages were stressing me out (just kidding -- there was/is some other stuff bugging me that I won't go into), so instead of dealing with any of the mess head-on, of course I spent my valuable problem-solving time and energy knitting instead.

You might recognize this as the Mason-Dixon Flying Geese pattern, only this is in Rowan's Felted Tweed rather than the Harris Tweed the pattern calls for. I like it better.

No, no! I'm not actually making this blanket.

This is only a swatch.

That's my story.

And I'm sticking to it.

A swatch, people.

Just a rather large swatch.

Move along.

Nothing to see here.

Little Did I Know

2007-02-02T22:13:00.000Z

I've been tagged for the "Five Little Known Things" meme.

(Girl, when you tag someone, I think you're actually supposed to, you know, tag them. Not that I don't read your blog, so I guess it is all one, but still.)

This meme is actually pretty difficult.

For example, little known by whom?

By you all? Ya'll actually don't know a whole lot about me. So I could write almost anything, and it would have been previously little known to you.

To people who know me in the offline world? There, I'm pretty much an open book. (Empty. But open.)

Probably the only "little known" facts about me in "real life" deal with my knitting and this blog.

So, one of my five "little known facts" could be that I have an anonymous knitting blog. (Yes, the blog is not only anonymous, but also fairly secret.)

Another could be that I have a massive stash of yarn squirreled away in sundry boxes, bags, and closets.

Another could be that I regularly knit dishrags, of all things.

Each of those facts are pretty widely "little-known."

Not the sort of things that come up in everyday conversation. (At least not the boring sorts of conversations I generally participate in.)

But I don't think those tidbits are at all what you people are looking for.

You see where I am going with this.

Anyway.

Here's some stuff for you that maybe you know, maybe you don't, and maybe you "little know":

1.) I don't meme. I make an exception here because I memed once before, back when I was feeling weird, and I had the bad graces to tag Elaine. Turnabout is fair play. But I'm not tagging anyone else. (Stop the insanity!) I would meme, I suppose, if I weren't worried about letting slip my secret identity. Do you know how many times I have typed my actual, real name while "signing" emails from Anonyknits? I think I've caught them all before hitting "send," but can't be sure. Which brings us to

2.) I find maintaining my anonymity to be a very difficult proposition. I have my reasons for wanting to be anonymous. Not that they are all that. For example, this is not Julia Roberts' secret knitting blog. (Or is it?) But it is really difficult to not join in this or not do that because of the anonymity, or to have to make the decision in advance that I'm doing "x" as myself but "y" as Anonyknits. Someday the jig will be up, and I can't say I'm dreading it.

3.) This is the eleventy-first entry in this blog.

4.) I have an epileptic cat.

5.) Sometimes I think that maybe I knit too much.

That's all, folks!

Matchy-Matchy

2007-02-02T17:26:00.000Z

Ever so important in knitted items that are destined to be covered in food and spit-up.

Done and done:

Probably you all know this, but just in case, these are Mason-Dixon style bibs and burp cloths out of Rowan Handknit Cotton dk. Color is not true -- the green is about right, but the purple is warmer.

Done, done and done:

You're seen the salmon bib before -- but now it has a button that matches the new burp cloth. (Principle of the thing. You understand.)

Hello!:

If you're wondering why you get so many more pictures of this one than the other one, it is only because this one remains curious about the camera.

And new yarn. (No picture -- couldn't get a good one.) 5 skeins Rowan handknit cotton dk, three skeins "fonty Velourine," and two skeins "Merlin Avalon."

And no, I didn't break the resolution to get them. They came from two separate bricks-and-mortar shops, neither of which I have shopped at yet this quarter, so good for me!

But I am getting a little worried that I'm running out of LYSs. There aren't too many more within reasonable distance. What if I've already hit them all by the end of February, and then in March I start jonesin' real bad? (Road trip!!!)

WIP List Update

2007-02-01T23:01:00.000Z

[Quick note re the yarn giveaway -- I'm still accepting emails and will continue to do so for about another 24 hours. The clear favorites are the JoJoLand and the Anne, so whoever ends up with those will need to have been pretty lucky. I plan to send everything out this weekend.]

Well, things have improved markedly since the last go-round of the WIP List.

Last time, I counted 22 projects.

To be sure, that was a bit padded with things that turned out to not really be projects.

But still, twenty-two. That's not a number to scoff at.

That was three months ago.

Now, I'm down to 16 projects. (Still not a number to scoff at, but I am getting closer!)

Again, in rough chronological order, starting with the OLD:

1.) Posy. No progress. Still only half-done. Started 8/06.

2.) Felted Coasters. Nearly done. I have put these through the wash many, many times. Some of them are about right. But others don't seem to be shrinking enough. Maybe I should try to do the last bit by hand? Or maybe I should give up and call them done? This project has taught me that "felting" is really not my thing. (Too bad! I sort of wanted to make a Noni bag.) Started 9/06. Update: Done!

3.) Dale of Norway Zippered Hoodie. Now maybe 1/3 done (hard to tell, because I don't have a good sense of how long the hood will take), but I still need to track down the right zipper. (Baby is due very soon!) Started 9/06.

4.) Lizard Ridge. No progress. Still 1/3 done. I miss this guy, but other projects have priority. I'm trying to be strong. Started 9/06.

5.) Crocheted Rug for the Cats. No progress. Started 10/06. UPDATE: Determined to be Not a Project.

6.) V's Scarf. Anyone remember that plan to do a pattern repeat a day? I don't! (Ha!) This remains about 1/5 done. I always forget that scarves bore me. And, yes, this is/was for Winter Gift Exchange 2006. (Which, luckily for me was postponed all the way through January and into late February.) Idea and swatching started 10/06; not actually cast on until 12/06. Update: Done!

7.) Cotton Garter Squares Blanket, probably for the Strategic Baby Handknits Reserves. (Which are nearly depleted.) Some progress. Started 10/06.

8.) Sock Yarn Leftovers Blanket. This one is never-ending, but I do consider it a real project. Maybe 1/999999999 done? Started 10/06.

9.) Elfine's Socks. 1/3 done. These got stalled because I needed Mum to try them on. Then she did. But I was already on to other things. Started 10/06. UPDATE: DONE!

And the NEW (started since the last WIP inventory list):

10.) Pink Feather and Fan Socks. 1/3 done. I was so very ashamed of starting yet another pair of socks that I didn't even show them to you at the time. Also for Mum. (Myself, I can't wear feather 'n' fan. Allergies.) Started 11/06. UPDATE: DONE!

11.) The Doctor's New Socks in Trekking. Just over 1/2 done. Started 11/06. UPDATE: DONE!

12.) Gentleman's Fancy Trekking Socks. Precisely 3/4 done. I decided that these are not for me, so of course they're getting knitted a lot slower now! Started 11/06. UPDATE: DONE!

13.) Green Superwash Weasley. 1/4 done. Started 12/06. Update: Done!

14.) 66 Dulaan Cloud Hats. 1/6 done. Started 1/07. (Yes, I realize these were started much longer ago. But the resolution to actually finish all of them is recent.)

15.) Rose Garden Hat for the Strategic Baby Handknits Reserves. Nearly done. Only have about a million ends to weave in. (Stupid flowers! Stupid leaves!) Started 1/07.

16.) Some Mason-Dixon Bibs & Burps, also for the Strategic Baby Handknits Reserves. All done except for the ends and the buttons. Started 1/07. Update: Done!

My goals for February are to finish #6, #13, #15 and #16 and to make some more progress on #14.

Of these goals, the only really important ones are #6 and #13.

If I can finish those, I'm going to reward myself by working on absolutely anything I feel like for a while. As long as it a.) doesn't require buying yarn in violation of the resolution and b.) doesn't increase the number of projects on the WIP List beyond the current 16.

* * *

Ah.

Life.

How would we live without it?

Some "Not Pink"

2007-01-31T23:13:00.000Z

But first, some Pink:

Yes, finally wove in the rest of those ends. The morning of the baby shower, would you believe it? (Of course you would.)

Decided to go with a crochet edging (simple) and no lining on the back (even simpler).

So, that (along with the other stuff I've shown you before) was the pink.

I said before that the big non-pink thing was just not going to be ready.

The universe confirmed that it wasn't "just me" and my slow knitting pace -- I was also unable to (quickly) find the right zipper.

So that whole thing might be on hold for a while again.

"Plan B" was shoes and a hat. That went really quickly, despite the small gauge I ultimately settled on. Yeah, yeah, I know I said I wasn't going to do anything with a small gauge, but that Rowan 4-ply cotton was right there. Took far less than one ball of each shade.

Shoes are "Stripey Shoes" from 50 Baby Booties to Knit.

Let me tell you that people are way more impressed by knitted baby shoes than you'd think, given the amount of time it takes to make them.

The only part that took much more than an instant was the bit in the middle -- you know, the really important part of any knitting project (absolutely can't be skipped!) when you refuse to weave in the ends and sew the seams.

That part took me days.

(I feel it is very important to not skimp on this step. Never skimp on procrastination or on frosting.)

The hat was just made up: Cast-on some stitches, went round and round, decreased at what seemed like an appropriate time, ended with an I-cord. Knotted the I-cord. Decided it needed something more, so added a do-hickey from Knitted Flowers. (If it is important to anyone, I can probably scare up the wherewithal to actually write "how to make this hat" out in pattern form.)

Never did I-cord before.

I like it.

Slip Up? Make Up! (Yarn Giveaway)

2007-01-26T17:40:00.000Z

So, if there were any bets out there regarding when I would slip up on that yarn resolution, whoever picked yesterday would be our winner.

Webs got me again, with an evil sale on Tahki Cotton Classic. I even recalled my resolution before I ordered it, but I could not be stopped. (I'm invincible!)

Do I even need any more Cotton Classic?

No.

I just wanted it. (I still want it.)

And I am finding it hard to regret my order of 30 skeins. (Though evil, it is a great sale.)

Because, you know, someday I might actually want to make a Psychedelic Squares Afghan.

And as we all know, when that time comes, there will be no yarn left for purchase (not for blood or money) anywhere on the planet.

(You see how I got into this mess with the stash. I can justify any and all yarn purchases with that old "I'll need it during the post-apocalypse" line.)

Anyway, generally when I break a resolution (like that one about eating healthier, or the really short-lived one about never again imbibing alcohol, the one about meditating every day . . . ), I pretty quickly come to one of two conclusions:

a.) that the resolution was a mistake, that I was trying to be someone other than who I am, and that I should just stop that because it will never make me happy, or

b.) that the resolution was not a mistake, and that I should keep the goal in my mind (which, of course, I ultimately do not) but that probably "never" or "every day" is a *bit* excessive, and I should just chill!

Either way, I forgive myself, move on, and ultimately just forget about the whole thing.

It is interesting to me that this time -- while I cannot regret the purchase of the Cotton Classic (yet) -- I'm having a hard time "forgetting about the whole thing."

Maybe because the resolution involved doing something for others rather than just for myself?

Seems a little unlikely, because I am just not that nice.

Anyway, so I want to keep on keeping on with this resolution.

It is oddly important to me.

To keep doing this thing, I need to move on from this lapse.

And to do that, I need to do something to make up for it.

The easy way to make up for it would be to give up the Cotton Classic.

(That's not happening.)

Alternatively, I could make up for it by giving up other yarn -- in the amount of the Cotton Classic times four.

That I can do.

(I do have, er, quite a lot of yarn, much of it acquired in the same manner as the Cotton Classic: Online / Great Sale / Intense Greed / Vague notion that I'll *need* it someday.)

Ergo, YARN GIVEAWAY.

If you want some, drop me a line (anonyknitsATyahooDOTcom).

Let me know if you have a preference (or, for that matter, if there is yarn you just do not want), and give me your name / address.

I apologize for asking for this in advance (I promise not to use your contact information for anything other than sending you yarn), but I want to be able to do all the shipping in one go, without waiting for all the "winners" to get back to me re their direction.

I'll ship it to you gratis, to anywhere in the world. (All part of the penance.)

I'll keep this offer open for a week(ish). If there are more takers than yarn, I will pick by some random means to whom the yarn should go. If there is more yarn than takers, then I'll send the remainders to a local charity thrift organization.

Also, recall that I have cats. (They're not allowed in the yarn, but you know how that goes.) So if you have allergies, etc., fair warning.

The yarns:

Elann.com Sonata, 4 separate lots.100% cotton.

LOT A.15 skeins grey/gold/brown variegated (colour #9789), plus 2 skeins dark grey (colour #8972, not shown).

LOT B.15 skeins blues/tans variegated (colour # 9747), plus 2 skeins blue (colour #2499, not shown).

LOT C.15 skeins (less the yardage for a small swatch) rose/brown/greenishbrown/cream variegated (colour #9776), plus 2 skeins greenishbrown (colour #5310, not shown).

LOT D.15 skeins lavender/brown variegated (colour #9712).

Schachenmayer Crazy Cotton, 2 separate lots.100% cotton, self-striping. 50 g. 26 sts / 10 cm.

LOT E.10 skeins green/tan/cream (colour #80).

LOT F.10 skeins (less the amount for a large swatch) rainbowy colours (colour #89).

Lot G. Elann.com Canapone, Green, 5 skeins less the yarn used in one swatch. 100% Hemp. 50 g / 156 m / 180 y. 24 st / 10 cm.

Lot H. Elann.com Canapone, Orangey-Red, 7 skeins.

Lot I. Elann.com Canapone, sort of a dark Rose, 7 skeins.

Lot J. JoJoland Melody, Mostly Pink / Light Red, 10 skeins.100% wool, ombre/self-striping. 7-8 sts / inch.

Lot K. Schaefer Anne, 1 skein. Handpainted Merino/Mohair/Nylon blend. 4 oz / 560 yards. 7-8 sts / inch.

Lot L. Opal, 1 skein.Rodeo, colour #1151.

Lot M. Meilienweit Cotton Spirit, 1 skein.Self-striping, browns.

Lot N. Meilienweit Megaboots Stretch, 1 skein.Variegated, reds.

If I have the maths right, that's 119 skeins, less some yardage for swatches.

So to top it off (30 times 4 = 120), Dishrag Cotton, not shown. I have way too much, even for me. If you'd like some, let me know.

No Way, No How

2007-01-22T21:57:00.000Z

The Dale Hoodie is not going to be ready by Sunday.

I am just very slow with the stranded knitting. Everytime I try to speed up, my gauge tightens up horribly. So it is slow, slow, slow going. (The US 1.5 needles aren't helping me set any speed records, either.)

I'm fairly certain I could have knit 3 "Baby Surprise" jackets by now.

It goes so slowly that it is more than a little mind-numbing, to tell you the truth. (I think I've figured out why I stopped working on this in the first place.)

Probably I could still make it if I was going to knit all day and night.

But, a.) gotta earn a living. (Darn!)

And, b.) sleep. (Which I rather like.)

So, I have implemented Plan B: Shoes and Hat.

Even if this "Plan B" were at 20 st / 10 cm (which, I say, it is NOT), it would still go faster than the Dale.

Race Against Time / Pink Rant / New Mantra

2007-01-17T21:55:00.000Z

This entry is a bit of a mish-mash, but it really is all connected (sort of), even if not by a single, unifying theme.

So.

You may recall (although why would you) that months and months ago, I started THIS. (Zippered hoodie from Dale of Norway baby book #162.)

I was really excited about it, but I had plenty of time (Baby X was barely conceived), and then other awesome things distracted me, and with this and that and all the rest, hey, what do you know, Mommy X's baby-shower-party-whatever-thing is ON THE FRICKING 28th OF JANUARY????

Baby isn't actually due 'til sometime in early March.

And the jacket is the 9 month size, on the theory that it will start to fit sometime next winter when a baby might actually want a wool jacket w/ hood.

So if I don't have it ready in time for the shower, it isn't like the whole thing becomes a lost cause.

And I have other things already done (or just about done), so I do have a shower gift.

But I really don't want anyone to explode from an excess of pink. (Both of those projects are also for Baby X.)

How did this kid end up with so much pink (*extremely* pink) knitting?

It isn't as though I really like pink for babies that much.

Probably this has nothing to do with the color itself, but with the funny idea out there that only girls should wear it.

You know the one.

That choke-hold notion that now-a-days baby girls can and should wear anything (including the old "no-nos" of blue, trucks, footballs, etc.), but that boys absolutely must not (particularly not hearts, flowers, or -- and especially -- PINK).

As if not being allowed to wear blue would stunt our little girls, but that dressing our boys in pink would -- I don't know -- turn them gay or something. (Heavens forfend!)

Anyway, so the whole pink thing pisses me off mightily, and as one really shouldn't make baby clothes when angry (bad vibes, doncha know), I generally avoid the pink, pretending to myself and the world that I "really don't like pink for babies that much."

Most of the to-be-parents around me seem to have the same thing going on in their heads.

Because almost everyone I've knitted for (whether it is for a boy or a girl) says "Oh, that's so great! But NO PINK," or "we don't like pink," or "NOT pink," or "anything but pink," "gender-neutral, please," "blue is nice," blah, blah, blah.

Often this is accompanied by a defensive explanation as to why "no pink."

Sometimes it is because "we don't and won't gender discriminate in any other way, but pink for boys is just a little too much." Often it is "we won't gender discriminate at all, and since we wouldn't dress a boy in pink, we won't dress our daughter in it either." I've also heard "*we* don't gender discriminate, but other people do, and someone might mistake the child for a girl."

And it isn't as though some of these things aren't in my head, too.

I guess that what it comes down to is that pink, unlike any other color in the rainbow, stirs up all sorts of uncomfortable feelings for so many people (different uncomfortable feelings for different people).

And the bottom line is that many of the kids around here (not that there are that many) just don't wear pink. Not the boys; not the girls.

And, you know, really, why make trouble? The gift of hand knitted baby clothes is meant to be many things, but hardly ever is it meant as a critique on the gender politics of the parents. Because that would be a criticism, not a gift.

So generally, with all that, I don't knit the pink for the kids.

But over time, I think this must have lead to a very serious pink deficiency.

Because, I swear, as soon as I heard "we don't mind pink," I just to went to town.

And because I really didn't think about it too deeply, now I've got almost nothing but pink for this kid, which wasn't my intention.

So all this comes down to the simple principle that I think it would be nice to include the single "not pink" thing I'm working on for this kid in the shower gift.

But that is a lot of work between now and then:

What, maybe 1/3 done?

I'm fairly certain I can manage to finish the knitting.

And probably even the steeks and seams.

But that darn zipper.

Even assuming I can find the right one without doing a special order, I have never done a zipper before and I FEAR IT.

Instinct says to finish the knitting and steeks, then cower for another six months before tackling that last bit.

Not really a good choice.

So, new mantra: "Fear is the mind killer."

They Rock, Barely

2007-01-16T20:28:00.001Z

Having finished the Handspun Socks and Prime Rib Scarf, I allowed myself to cast on some of my new Socks that Rock.

As you can see, I did a bit more than just casting on.

Colour = Bloodstone. Loved it in the skein. Not sure about in yet in sock form. In hindsight, I probably would have been happier with Kryptonite.

Ah, well.

At least I know that if I decide I don't want them, someone in my, er, household does. (They're too big for Mum.)

"Mine! All mine!"

Was doing plain ol' stockinette, so I thought I'd mix it up a little with a new-to-me cast-on.

Tubular cast-on, using no-waste method.

Also, what I think is an Eye of Partridge heel, but I'm really not too sure about that.

My favorite bit of the sock.

Finally, I heard some rumor that ladders wash out. Ladders wash out???!!! Usually I knit an extra stitch on each needle to avoid ladders. But, hey, if there's a chance that I don't have to bother with that . . . that deserves a test.

So, test ladders.

Verdict: Sock that Rock is really, really nice.

But beware!

If you are knitting for big feet -- and I don't consider mine all that huge, but I do have giganto heels -- do yourself a favor and get two skeins, okay? (Yeah, I know, expensive.) Or plan as a contingency contrasting ribbing, or heels, or toes.

I almost didn't make it. Literally had inches to spare.

I had, in fact, to dig through the trash and find that (still clean!) foot-long "scrap" leftover from the "tail" end of my cast-on. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had enough length to graft the toe.

Don't believe me?

Not even enough left over to do one of those eeeentsy mitered squares for my sock-yarn-leftovers masterpiece.

Which was just about enough to convince me to do contrasting toes, just so I could have the leftovers.

Because I had this fantasy that the blanket would reflect ALL of my post-"pre-blog" socks.

But on balance I think that ruining perfectly good toes (I don't have a proper contrasting yarn) just so I can have a perfect blanket is probably a bit too off, even for me.

Yet another fantasy bites the dust.

duck . . . duck . . .

2007-01-13T06:07:00.000Z

duck . . .

duck . . .

duck . . .

duck . . .

GOOSE!

So that's 12 of 66 hats for Dulaan done, except for the washing, which I plan to do way later, en masse. Still unknown whether the scarf is for Dulaan or for the Doctor.

Yet Another Silly Question

2007-01-11T22:36:00.000Z

So, I've been thinking.

Is there a catalogue or index or whatever out there listing examples of hand-knitted (or crocheted, for that matter) objects in, er, "genre" fiction?

This is for a fermenting idea that may never happen and certainly isn't going to happen any time soon because it would require the purchase of a significant number of skeins of new yarn.

Anyway, I've looked. (Admittedly not too hard.) Didn't find one.

All I've come up with on my own are:

1.) Jayne's Hat
2.) The Doctor's Scarf*
3.) All that Harry Potter Knitting

[UPDATE: Hey, I think Thneeds also count, don't you?]

There has got to be more, but it really isn't coming to mind.

Completely unrelated, the Prime Rib scarf is just about done.

Only now I'm working on hats for Dulaan.

I find my lack of faith disturbing.

______________________________

*Probably this should go without saying, but for the sake of absolute clarity, here I refer to the real Doctor. Not the pretend one I hang out with.

Oldest WIP No Longer

2007-01-10T21:10:00.000Z

These were cast on nearly a year ago -- sometime last February, I think. (Pre-blog, in any event.)

Maybe I should have a goal of finishing (or acknowledging the abandonment of) all knitting projects within a year of casting on?

Now my oldest WIP is Posy. I'm terrified that she'll have the same problem as Freya. I'm too scared (or lazy?) to pick her up and just measure.

Anyway, handspun socks for Dulaan:

Was so busy trying to avoid holes at the join of the second heel (these were knit flat, then seamed, then the toes and heels added) that I forgot to check what sort of heel I did on the first one.

So, totally different heels!

But I like them.

My desperate urge to cast on some Socks that Rock carried me through these, and most of the way through the grey and red "prime rib" scarf I haven't yet shown you -- also for Dulaan, unless the Doctor snags it.

Now that urge is passed.

Now I only have the urge to finish the prime rib scarf.

Rather, that is, than working on the knitting I *really* should be doing -- i.e., the things that actually have deadlines: V's scarf, the green Weasley, the Dale zippered hoodie.

Ah, well. Go with the flow.

Catch Up

2007-01-09T21:27:00.000Z

Hey, how ya doing? Long time no blog.

Have answered the question of "Y." ("Because!"):

The increasing and decreasing method blocked out very nicely, but in the end wasn't really what I was looking for. Backstitching looks particularly crappy. But a chain stitch 'round the edge looks real nice.

Have figured out Great-Grand-Mum's afghan:

It was, indeed, double-crochet between the stitches in the row below. No chain stitches between.

Fetching!:

There's another one of these around here somewhere . . . probably holding the camera. I have to say, I never really liked this pattern. Still don't love it. But WOW I was SO COLD! And Fetching is very, very fast.

And finally, yarn!:

Socks that Rock from Churchmouse, out on Bainbridge Island. Fantastic shop.

You have *no* idea how difficult it was to keep it under the resolved five skeins. I haven't ever seen Socks that Rock, at least not physically, in person. There was this one called "Kryptonite" that I just *had* to have. Only I had to have it slightly less than these other five. Five? Why did I choose five? So hard. But I did it. Nine days in, and I haven't broken the resolution yet.

And when am I ever going to get to knit these? NOW NOW NOW! No. (I am such trouble.) I'm telling myself that if I can finish those handspun socks (my oldest UFO) for Dulaan and one other project (knitter's choice), then I can cast on another pair of socks. Maybe by then, the urge will have passed?

In other news, Aran Knitting hasn't magically showed up. Working on the insurance angle now, although it isn't entirely clear that "theft off the porch, post-delivery" is covered. Am considering buying another copy, but maybe I should make some of those Dulaan Hats first, as a sort of a down-payment on the karma problem . . .

Karma

2007-01-02T19:18:00.000Z

Something is seriously wrong with mine, and I don't know what to do to fix it.

My holiday-gift-to-me, a copy of "Aran Knitting," was apparently stolen right off my front porch, close-to-immediately after our postman left it. (I am told it was insured, but I find it hard to care about that at the moment.)

This is the third package that's gone missing in a month.

Others in the neighborhood have also been victims. (Someone lost a laptop and their Christmas gifts, taken right out of their car as they were unpacking upon their return from visiting family.)

We've put a hold on our mail.

But I still feel so helpless.

I suppose I would feel worse if we had been burgled.

But it is hard to imagine.

Why couldn't they have taken another yarn shipment???

That, at least, could have been easily replaced.

Probably what upsets me most is that whoever took it will have absolutely no appreciation for what they have.

It will probably end up in some dumpster somewhere.

A copy of "Aran Knitting" rotting in some dumpster.

Lost to the world.

I could just cry.

hangover

2007-01-01T22:50:00.000Z

bah!

parties.

it all started with a martini.

in it was one olive, one onion, and one maraschino cherry.

and everything followed from that.

held a baby. (didn't drop it!)

tossed pizza dough. (didn't drop it!)

there were some remote-contol airplanes in there somewhere, too.

but no knitting.

parties.

never any fun at all.

Y, O Y?

2006-12-31T15:56:00.000Z

Hi.

With the Doctor's help, I selected the right green for the superwash Weasley. It is somewhere between Pine and Frog or Moss, and was deemed by the Doctor to be the most "Harry Pottery" of the available greens.

Have now finished the back, so it is about time I got around to swatching. (Haha!)

Seriously, though, I really do need to swatch now.

Because I haven't got a chart for the letter. (We're doing a "Y" rather than an "H.")

Yes, haven't got a chart. All I've got is this:

Print out of a super-large letter "Y" in some font or other that looked about right.

The main trouble is this: The letter "H" looks fairly good knitted -- even in the Harry Potter font, it is mainly straight lines, vertical and horizontal. So it works with the boxy grid of stitches you get in stockinette. The lines of the letter are all smooth.

The "Y," though, presents issues: two diagonal lines. So, if you do normal intarsia or duplicate stitch (we're aiming for intarsia over here), you get what we'd call in another context visible pixelation. In other words, those diagonal lines are jagged.

If working in a smaller gauge or fuzzier yarn (even a slightly smaller gauge and slightly fuzzier yarn, like I would be if using that dratted not-really-machine-washable Felted Tweed), probably this would be not-too-noticeable. And I could backstitch around the letter's edges to smooth it all out at the end, if necessary.

But superwash is unforgiving in this vein. The gauge is fairly large, the stitches are very defined (who ever imagines that will be a problem?), and I'm not sure but I think that backstitching would add an awful lot of bulk.

So, I'm swatching to find the best solution.

Here's my first shot, made from the other shades of green the Doctor rejected:

Lumpy!

In this attempt, I've tried decreasing and increasing in the background color, adjacent to the lines of the letter, to form the diagonals. Tried many different styles of increasing and decreasing. It does block out better than it looks here, it does get me straight-edged diagonals, and it does have a certain "Mrs. Weasley" charm to it.

But I think it can be improved.

I'm going to try one more version in this style, then probably try the "normal" intarsia with backstitching. The increasing and decreasing produces distortions in the shape of the fabric, so I figure I ought to at least *try* the "obvious" solution.

TTFN

Rules of Acquisition

2006-12-29T00:22:00.000Z

So . . .

I have been carefully considering this "Knit From Your Stash 2007" thing.

And it just won't work for me.

Not their way, anyway.

Nine months is such an arbitrary measure (unless you are planning some Fibre Festival reward at the end of it, which I'm not) that there's no way I could hold to it.

But there are very good reasons why I should try to do something like this.

There is the major problem of inadequate storage space for the growing stash monster, of course. My home is not going to get any larger, and somehow it seems just plain wrong to rent storage space to house the stash. I suppose I could rent storage space to hold the furniture instead? Getting rid of the bed would create a lot more room for yarn.

There is the even larger problem of inadequate time. I do very much want to make several projects for which I already have the yarn. But newer yarn purchases keep distracting me from them. (Yes, yes, everyone should have such problems . . .) Some of them I am sure will naturally fall by the wayside, but others I think I will actually regret if I don't get around to them.

But 9 months is just too arbitrary.

But there's another measure that I think could work for me: No new yarn purchases (outside of the exceptions below) until I finish the rest of those 66 (approx.) Cloud Hats for the Dulaan Project.

I really want to knit those hats.

But I keep getting distracted.

And while it is possible I could decide to knit them to the exclusion of everything else, completing them in the space of, say, three months . . . Well, that is unlikely. More likely, it will take me those nine months or longer. Because I just won't be able to help working through other categories of lovely, lovely stash -- e.g., all that Noro Kureyon slated for Lizard Ridge. (But if I do finish them in just three months, so be it.)

So I'm gonna try this.

No new yarn until I finish the Dulaan hats. (No new yarn, that is, for at least a month, which is generally how far out my New Year resolutions take me.)

So, here are the rules, my way:

No new yarn purchases outside the exceptions outlined below until the Dulaan Cloud Hats are finished. "Finished" includes all ends woven in and hats washed. (Some of that yarn, I don't know where it's been.)

Gifts of yarn are of course okay. (I really don't think that's going to be a "real" problem.)

Exceptions:

Purchases of yarn required to finish projects already being knitted. (E.g., I know I don't have the right yarn to edge Lizard Ridge. When the time comes, I'm allowed to buy that.)

Purchases of yarn required to make specific, requested gifts that I will start to knit *immediately.*

Purchases of single skeins or sock kits in bricks-and-mortar shops and fibre festivals only (my main weakness is that I regularly buy sweater-quantities of yarn from eBay, Webs, elann.com and their ilk), and no more than 5 skeins from any single shop per season. ALL such purchases must be blogged. (That could keep me somewhat in check.)

If I make it to Knitting Camp, I can buy whatever yarn I want in whatever quantity the budget will bear. Same rule re blogging as above.

Wish me luck!

Anonymom Wants To Know

2006-12-28T00:20:00.000Z

Crocheted afghans, made by my great-grandmother (Mom's Dad's Mom):

I am trying to figure out the pattern for Mum, but I think I'm missing something. (I know a bit about crochet, but not a whole lot.) She's interested in learning to make some herself -- they're the "only kind of afghan she likes." (I think that may be a slight exaggeration. I think what she means by this is that she doesn't like granny squares.)

Anyway, when I looked at them, I was confident that they were panels of double-crochet, chain one, repeated, with the double crochet done not in the top of the stitch below but in the hole (eyelet?) formed by the chain stitch in the previous row.

But I've swatched that, and the holes (eyelets?) just seem way too big. Could it just be that the gauge of yarn is too small? I think the yarn in the original is something between sock yarn and worsted (probably sport, but I guess it could be dk). I did the swatch in sock yarn, because that's what I had to hand.

I'm wondering whether instead of a double-crochet / chain stitch pattern, maybe this is just double-crochets, with the stitch worked in between two previous stitches? In my swatch, that seemed closer to the original, but now the holes were too small.

Can any of the crochet goddesses out there identify this stitch pattern for us?

As I Said, Like a Bandit

2006-12-28T00:13:00.000Z

First, though, I have finally started V's scarf! My theory is that if I slog through a pattern repeat a day, it will be done enough in the next week-and-a-half that I'll be able to push through the rest just in time.

Also, I've decided to go with Valley Superwash from Webs for the green Weasley sweater. Valley is a little denser than Cascade 220 SW, a little less yardage per gm, maybe a little more expensive, but extremely soft (merino). Looks like it will hold up to washing as well as the Cascade. I've got a few balls in the right color, but not maybe not quite enough for the sweater. So I've re-ordered a little more for safety's sake. (Here's hoping for the same dye lot -- given the circumstances, I think this is fairly likely.)

Anyway, back to my haul.

I got the first two of the Barbara Walker Treasuries reprints. Not the Third, though, and I've a hunch (formed after some heavy googling) that those circular cables, or the technique for them anyway, might be found in the Third. So I might have to hunt that one down sometime.

And these, both from the same person:

Absolutely the best gift (in the material sense, anyway) I got this season. Not because it is qualitatively or quantitatively better / more / more-on-point than the other gifts I received. But because it is:

a.) two things I wanted very badly*
b.) for which I didn't ask and that I didn't expect**,
c.) given to me by a non-knitting male***.

(A Holiday Miracle!)

The yarn is gorgeous:

And I'm enjoying thinking what to make with it. I want to be sure before I fiddle around with it too much, but I think it might be a fat little bear. Stuffed with honey! (Okay, polyester fiberfill.) It is extremely cuddly.

Speaking of cuddly, the Doctor gave me several calamitous diseases, including:

How did the Black Death get to be so cute?

The rest was all non-knitting / non-crafty stuff, so I won't blog about it. (Knitting blog.)

TTFN

*When I was shopping for my holiday gifts, I kept putting the book into and then taking it out of my various shopping carts (mostly online). "I want it." "No. I'm buying gifts for OTHER people." "I need it." "No. I'm not going to be greedy." ETC. As for the yarn, well, YARN.

**I didn't ask for the book because I found out about it long after my "Wish List" was demanded of me. The yarn I didn't ask for because I figured no one would take that one seriously -- I do have a mountain of it. I have more yarn than I have clothes. (And that one I'm NOT making up, although I do have fewer clothes than you might expect.)

***Yes, I am stereotyping here. (Bad Me!) Apologies to any non-knitting males who are offended. (Although why you'd be reading this blog, I can't imagine.) I do think that, statistically speaking, most non-knitting guys still fear the yarn store. (Idiots.) But this one has now figured out that, aside from the fact that yarn stores are quite nice places on their own, they are also good places to "pick up chicks." Chicks who fall immediately under the impression that one is a "good catch" (buying yarn for an absent knitter apparently earns you points right off the bat), and possibly even a future "good provider of yarn." Anyway, he had a blast at the shop, which brings me hope that there may be additional gifts of yarn in my future, too.

The Thing With the Strategic Baby Handknits Reserves . . .

2006-12-28T00:03:00.000Z

. . . is that it often happens that as soon as you finish (or even almost finish) a handknit planned for the reserves, a baby shows up out of the blue to claim it.

Claimed. (Already!)

We chose the coconut buttons I'd been considering for Freya. Coconut? They look more like chocolate to me. Mmmmmmm. Chocolate. (Does anyone else see it?)

The Last of Freya

2006-12-27T19:36:00.000Z

So much to share!

First, Freya. She probably could have used still more ease (I'm now convinced it couldn't have been just the sports bra -- I think I also seriously underestimated how much ease the design needed), but it looked so good on her as is, Freya went to Mom:

Anonymom.

Together, we chose the greenish buttons:

And a final look at those cables (I just love them):

Why am I not more upset that it doesn't fit me?

Well, partly because this yarn was on a super sale, and when I bought it, I bought so much that there is actually enough left to make another Freya and 1/2. Not that I plan to make another one, at least not immediately.

But mostly because this is par for the course.

I have made four sweaters ever -- not counting kid sweaters, which are pretty much guaranteed to fit at some point -- and none of them has worked out as planned:

1.) A cabled vest thing (out of some truly awful seafoam acrylic yarn -- what was I thinking???), knit before I understood that there was a thing called "tension." It was supposed to be for me, but it could have fit my Dad. Perhaps two of him, which is saying something. I was a teenager, and the older ladies of the lunchtime "Happy Hookers" club (risque, eh?) I occasionally attended were highly amused. This put me off knitting for a while.

2.) The Doctor's Sweater. Also quite a while ago. He chose the yarn. He chose the pattern. What seemed like a few years later, I finished. The neck was too tight and the sleeves were several inches too short. I think I said I would fix it, but he claimed that the yarn was a good deal more scratchy than he thought it would be, so even if I fixed it, he probably wouldn't wear it that much. (!!!) At the time, I was a little . . . uh . . . disappointed. (In him? In the sweater? Who knows.) But now I think he probably realized that it was beyond my powers to fix, and so he'd better get out now and blame it on the yarn. That one is still somewhere in the Doctor's closet, never worn except for the one time the Doctor tried it on. This also put me off knitting for a while.

3.) A top-down raglan, using one of the "Custom Fit Your Raglan" pyramid schemes out there on the web. It fits, in that I can fit into it. It doesn't fit, in that it looks just awful. Baggy in all the wrong places. Too tight in others. (Have no idea how I managed it!) I can't wear it so much in public, but it is good for keeping warm 'round the house. (Wool.) Too bad it is dry-clean only, because that is a lot of trouble and expense for a cr$ppy jumper one only wears at home. Increasingly cr$ppy with each wearing, as it pills. Gobs and gobs of pills already, and the thing was knitted only a year ago. That being said, this one did not put me off knitting. Probably because it was kinda, sorta wearable.

4.) Freya. You know the story there. Totally wearable. Just not by me. I am not put off knitting one jot.

Better luck next time?

I rather thing so. Because if there's any pattern at all to my adventures in knitting bad sweaters, it is that each sweater is a distinct improvement over the last.

Hopefully that is actually the case -- as opposed to a delusion, which is also possible.

You see, I have my eye on a new sweater, and this one I think I would actually be more-than-miffed if I messed it up.

I don't have the pattern yet, but I am given to understand it will be in my super-splurgey holiday gift to myself.

Which hasn't arrived.

But I'll give you a hint.

It begins with "Aran" and ends with "Knitting."

(Gack! I can't believe I bought it either.)

More soon. (I made out like a bandit.)

This Is What Greed Will Get You

2006-12-22T17:51:00.000Z

Freya is definately going to be too small.

Not by much, but by just enough.

I am still in the mode where I'm trying to think up clever ways to increase Freya's size so that I can keep her for ME. (So far, I've had plenty of ideas but none have been particularly clever.)

Probably, though, someone I know is going to get an unexpected extra Winter Gift Exchange 2006 present.

Criminy.

Room Temperature Fire?!?

2006-12-22T02:02:00.000Z

(My GOD, man, what's the POINT?!?)

RULES: "Each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about you." People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog."

1.) I don't meme. No exceptions.

2.) I am disappointed at what I consider to be an extreme lack of weirdness in the confessions of those participating in the "6 weird things about you" meme.

3.) If a qualified professional tells me it's food, I'll eat it.

4.) Sometimes on my blog, I make stuff up. You know, just to be cagey. Keeps me on my toes.

5.) I like my dentist.

6.) Best Pizza Ever: anchovies, pineapple, jalepeno, artichoke hearts, fresh tomato. (Legendary!)

7.) I have made many of the classic beginners' mistakes, but I am proud to say I have never recruited a third gargoyle.

TAGGED: I tried tagging Sara Half-Elven, but her blog is not accepting comments. So: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, and sorry!

I Must Have Been Wearing a Sports Bra

2006-12-20T17:37:00.000Z

Freya is dry! Huzzah!

Only a few snagged stitches (courtesy of the cats*, who several times defeated the shield o' towels), all easily fixed. Huzzah!

I think she can be ready for the party on Saturday! Huzzah!

I'm afraid she may be too small! Baroo?

Ugh.

I won't be completely sure until I'm done with the seaming, button bands, etc.

But at some point between the pre-knitting measuring and now, I seem to have grown significantly in the bust.

What?

I suppose for most ladies this would not be viewed as a problem, but for the greedy-knitter-of-sweaters-for-oneself . . .

Well.

I can't think how this happened. The only thing that comes to mind as a possibility is that perhaps I might have been seriously not thinking when I took my measurements and, as the title says, been wearing a sports bra.

So Freya will definitely have less ease than planned for. (Or, rather, I will have more bust.) Hopefully there will still be enough. (Ease, not bust. I got plenty of bust.) Won't know that until I try it on.

The sunny side of things is that, if it doesn't fit me, I have about a billion female relatives who are -- each and every one of them -- smaller than me.

So if Freya doesn't look fabulous on me, probably it will look fabulous on one of them.

Frankly, even if Freya does look fabulous on me, it will probably look even better on them -- each and every one of them.

They are all -- each and every one of them -- WAY better looking than me.

I must be a changeling.

But enough of that.

Anyway, I'm seeing nearly all of them on Saturday, so one way or another, Freya will have a home.

But what have I been working on in the meantime?

Another Baby Surprise Jacket (surprise!), this one for the Strategic Baby Handknits Reserves.

Rowan Felted Tweed in Pine and Herb. It still needs seams, but I'm going to wait on the buttons, probably until there's a baby for it.

*Now that's karma for you. (Or for me, rather.) Classic example of entirely appropriate cause-and-effect. I neglect to trim their claws because I am "too busy" knitting Freya. Freya gets snagged. I have no one but myself to blame.

While You Were Drying

2006-12-19T23:13:00.000Z

The blocking of Freya continues. She must be somewhat dryer than she started (she must, right???), but it sure doesn't feel that way. I had hoped to wear her to a party this coming Saturday, but that is seeming less and less likely.

Possible.

But not likely.

In the meantime, I am kicking around some ideas for other green washable yarn candidates. I swatched and washed the Rowan Felted Tweed, and found that when they say the "gentle" cycle, they really mean it. Probably the stuff should be called "Rowan Only Partially Felted Tweed." It doesn't shrink dramatically or anything like that (at least not on the "gentle" setting), but it clearly wants to be slightly more felted than it is. Which means that if the sweater accidentally went through the regular cycle with everything else . . . disaster. So. Anyone tried the Valley Superwash from Webs?

On another front, the Doctor asked me for a hat, um, a while ago. (Last January!)

I had cast on for a double-knitted hat like Alison's months ago, but the yarn (127 Print) just wasn't working very well with the double-knitting technique. Or at least not with my double-knitting technique, which admittedly is lacking. 127 Print is a single ply, and I kept snagging just a few fibers every time I slipped a stitch. And there's one slip for every single darn stitch. The hat (all one inch of it) was looking pretty ragged. Also note the yarn is not so nice after frogging.

I was so down about the whole thing that I wasn't even considering it to be a real project.

But here I have some time on my hands. (Not really!) So I picked it up again.

I still wanted the functionality of double-knitting -- although I didn't need the double-knit stripes; my yarn would do that for me. But I wanted the hat to be two layers thick, reversible, and I wanted my cast-on edge to have all the stitches (extra stretchy) rather than later picking up another set of stitches for the inner hat / lining.

I figured I would have just enough time to re-start and finish this in perfect time for Freya to dry.

But I'm already done.

Two hats in one!
The Doctor likes the teal side best, but I'm partial to the black.

And . . . Freya is still quite damp.

But she could be dry any time now. (Really, she could!)

So I really can't start working on anything too big.

I'm actually considering weaving in some of those ends on that pink and green mitered square baby blanket . . .

Anything, really to avoid working on that scarf for V.

(Most of our "Winter Gift Exchange 2006" is actually happening in early 2007, so I've got plenty of quality procrastination ahead.)

Blocking and Buttons

2006-12-18T00:08:00.000Z

Major combat operations are ended:

But the blocking process could very easily devolve into a quagmire.

Conditions on the ground are not conducive to drying:

And I need to up-armor the knitting to prevent damage from insurgent attacks:

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US! (N.B. that this happened in the approximately only 10 seconds I left the knitting to get the shield o' towels.)

I suppose I wouldn't really mind them shedding all over my nice clean sweater. I do have the tools to deal with cat hair on clothing.

But the felines don't know the meaning of the word "gentle":

The shield o' towels, after only a few hours.

So if I want a sweater and not a pile of rags at the end of all this, the towels are probably necessary.

Hopefully Freya won't mildew before it dries!

In the meantime, I'm thinking about buttons:

I was leaning toward the white four-holed ones, but the greenish ones keep catching my eye.

Anyone out there have an opinion?

Oh, Dear

2006-12-15T20:04:00.000Z

You've seen this, right?

Knit only from stash (with some exceptions) for 9 months?

I really don't think I can make that sort of commitment. ("Read my lips -- No New Taxes!")

But there are two probable benefits:

1.) Reclaims storage space.

2.) Builds character.

I don't need more character. ("Not that kind of character, you dork.")

But I could probably use the space.

I did go a little crazy with the yarn purchases in October.

And November.

And December isn't over yet.

"Don't you think you've maybe had a little too much? Here, let me take your keys."

"What is this? An intervention?"

Ummmmm, anyway . . .

I think for me, it would probably end up being nothing more than a huge excuse to buy yarn non-stop for the next two weeks. (At the end of the day, I am way more "Mardi Gras" than "Lent.")

And I am not so good with the resolutions. (Hey, did you know that in 2006, I lost weight? And also exercised? HA!!!!)

But I probably should think about it . . .

Anyone actually, really doing this?

Enough to Cheer Anyone Up

2006-12-14T18:49:00.000Z

So . . . no green yarn. Will have to think about next steps. My snit is over, but I'm still quite frustrated. What I really want to do is go to an LYS and, you know, "get some" (I think you all know what I mean). But I would have done this in the first place if it were an easy option. All my regular haunts don't carry Cascade 220 at all, or don't carry the Superwash. (I guess everyone is into felting these days.)

Poo!

There are three basic choices:

1.) Mail order some more yarn, but from a different vendor.

2.) Search high-and-low. Again.

3.) Give up on the "Superwash," and make it out of Rowan Felted Tweed. That stuff *can* go in the wash (albeit carefully and on the "gentle" setting). But not in the dryer. But nicer yarn. But no dryer. But nicer yarn. But no dryer. (This is the debate that led me to the Cascade 220 Superwash in the first place.)

Will have to think about this for a few days. (Which, conveniently, may just give me enough time to finish up Freya. Wow! I can't believe that, really.)

But here's the good stuff! Remember these?

Check it out:

Still too big. (Or is it that the twins are too wee? Yes, I rather think it is their fault.)

When I made them (the sweaters, not the babies) I was hoping they'd be right for late spring / summer. That timing might work . . . but babies grow fast. (That, too, is their fault, I'm sure.)

Squee!

Bad Mood

2006-12-13T22:29:00.000Z

So the reason my green yarn hasn't arrived is apparently that it has arrived.

Yeah.

According to the giant package-tracking database, it was delivered a week ago.

Only I don't seem to have it.

I am hoping, hoping, hoping that it was delivered and that it was delivered on a bad-weather day.

Because if it was cold, wet and miserable, then the postman might have decided to not leave the package at the front door (which is not sheltered) and instead put it in some other obscure (but dry) place. (He really is a nice guy.)

So there is a possibility that if I get home today before it gets dark, and I hunt around a bit, the yarn might magically appear.

Otherwise, it is just plain lost in the mails. (Or stolen from my front door.)

Of course I called the vendor about it.

They "can't help."

Blah, blah, blah.

The explanation goes something like, "If we replaced every shipment of yarn that got lost in the post . . . ."

You know the song.

So, if the package isn't hidden in some cozy nook somewhere, my only recourse will be to "make a claim" with the postal service.

Which will take weeks.

And won't actually result in my getting the yarn.

Which means that in order to make this sweater (assuming the shipment is lost), I need to find appropriate yarn from somewhere else.

You can't blame me for not immediately re-ordering from the same people, right?

All of which is to say . . . bad mood.

EXTREMELY BAD MOOD.

(You probably don't want to talk to me right now.)

Gah!!!

2006-12-13T01:22:00.000Z

Help me, oh, help me!

I have just seen a knitted sweater / jacket / whatever in the elevator . . .

It is circular (sort of like the Sunrise Circle Jacket), but with a ribbed shawl-collar, and the entire back is concentric circles of cables.

Rounds and rounds of them . . .

And at the center was what looked like a circular celtic knot.

KNITTED.

I need it!!!! (Or the pattern. Or a good look at the thing so that I can unvent it.)

I was so busy freaking out about how great it was (internally, that is; in "real life" I am a little too boring and shy to "freak out" in a public elevator) that I couldn't even open my darn mouth to ask the person who was wearing it ANYTHING about it!

Ackkkkkk.

Gahhhh!

Anyone have a clue???

(I'm thinking Starmore's Aran Knitting, maybe? Maybe the secret is short-rows? This is going to distract me for sure . . . )

Beyond All Expectation

2006-12-11T21:29:00.000Z

Can you believe it?

I have plowed through both sleeves of Freya and have started the left front:

Bad lighting -- this really is yellow.

Nothing can distract me. (Ha! You might have guessed that the green yarn I'm waiting for still hasn't arrived.) And a closer look at that cable:

Both easier and harder than it appears.

My row tension is still a wee bit off, and I'd like the sweater to be the slightest bit shorter than designed, so I've made some minor modifications. Hopefully they will work out. If not, there will be an awful lot of frogging in my future.

Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool (what I'm using) is really nice. Very soft, a little nubby, nice sheen. And on sale (All hail the mighty Webs!), which makes it all even better.

Here's a proper picture of the color:

The Wages of Impatience

2006-12-07T17:38:00.000Z

I am awaiting a delivery of several skeins of green Cascade 220 Superwash for a sweater. Not this one, as you might imagine. Something more like this. (No, sadly, not for me. It will be much too small.)

But I am impatient, and I don't want to work on that scarf, or [insert any one of the shameful number of other ongoing projects here], etc. I want to work on a sweater. One for me, frankly. That would be ideal. But Posy just won't cut it, since there's no way that I'm wearing that for months (cotton lace, in winter?). And what I like best about this sweater idea is the fantasy of wearing the thing very, very soon. (I say "fantasy," because when have I ever finished any new project "very, very soon?")

So . . . I've started Elsebeth Lavold's Freya. (Or Freja, depending on where you're from.) Pattern is in Viking Patterns for Knitting. There aren't a whole lot of examples of this one in the blogosphere, but here's one over at Fiber Dreams, if you're curious about what it's supposed to look like. (Mine, of course, will be yellow.)

I've sped through the back already. Just started a sleeve. My working theory is that if I finish the not-so-interesting pieces first (the back and sleeves are almost entirely stockinette), then I won't drop the project for months and months once I'm done with the extremely interesting fronts. We'll see how that goes.

I guess I'll worry later about what to do when that green yarn arrives.

Super-Quick!

2006-12-04T21:50:00.000Z

Super-quick, that is, if you don't wait a full two months before sewing up the two (2) very short seams, weaving in the two (2) ends, and affixing the five (5) buttons . . .

Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman in mystery fiber (eBay strikes again!).

My copy of the pattern is from The Opinionated Knitter, but it is available on its own for an exceedingly reasonably price ($3, US) from Schoolhouse Press.

Modified Short-Row Hat

2006-12-02T22:08:00.000Z

So . . . I think I mentioned, oh, a few years ago, that I was trying to make this hat by Véronik Avery for one "V" out of Noro Kureyon.

And I think I mentioned that I was having a leeeeetle trouble with the gauge.

Ya see, the fit of this hat depends on both the stitch and the row tension being just right.

Somehow, simultaneously, my stitch gauge was too loose and my row gauge too tight. (Ugh.)

Which meant I was going to end up with a hat that was too tight around and whose brim was too long.

In other words, a hat for a Conehead toddler.

V is neither that young nor a Conehead.

What to do, what to do?

Stubbornly didn't want to change needles. (And, really, in which direction would I go? My tension was both too loose AND too tight. Holy Headache, Batman!)

The compressed row gauge probably isn't too much trouble, really. To fix that, I suppose, I could just add one additional repeat. (Or possibly two . . .)

But the pattern is not easily modified to be shortened, lengthwise.

Only thing for it is to continue to deny the problem and "Knit On!" (I don't think that's quite what E.Z. meant . . . )

Good thing, too, because upon finishing the knitting . . . bolt of lightening.

FLIP UP THE STUPID BRIM, GIRL!

So, we have:

I have my fingers crossed that this will fit V, because I really don't see any way to make further modifications. It fits me perfectly, and my head is sized in the norm. (Physically, at least.) So there is some hope.

Yeah, yeah, I hear you, I hear you: "Okay, yeah, that side looks okay, but what about that seam issue?"

So here's the flip side:

Yeah, but where's the seam?

Right here:

WHERE?

HERE:

Required scissors. And possibly too much hubris.

In the original pattern, there are "set up" and "end" sections. They are what make the half-diamonds, etc., at the beginning and ending of the knitting. This makes seaming easy, because you can just use a straight three-needle bindoff. But if the colours of those half-diamonds don't match up perfectly, it looks a little wonky.

My colours definately did not line up. (Who has that kind of luck, I ask you?)

So . . .

I skipped the "end sections" when I got to them. And then I SLASHED OUT the "set up" sections. (Tried unraveling, but you really can't unravel this from the bottom . . . probably a good thing, really, given how much trouble I had picking up stitches on this new edge.) Picked up what I hoped were the right number of stitches from where the "set up" sections used to be. THEN I did the seam, zig-zagging back and forth along the diamond edges.

The garter stitch part of the seam doesn't match exactly (the three-needle bindoff adds a row of knitting). And I wasn't able to perfectly fit the diamonds into eachother. But all in all, I think it is better than the alternative.

If I were to do this hat again (and I rather think I won't), I would skip the "set up" sections entirely. Maybe this would require fewer or additional stitches cast on, but since it is a provisional cast on, I think that it is probably possible to cast on way more stitches than one actually needs and just not use the extras.

Adherence to the Repeated Meme

2006-11-30T22:43:00.000Z

I won't elaborate, because you *must* have read it elsewhere already. But:

1.) Read THIS.

2.) Link to THIS.

3.) PING.

Do it, people, in the name of SCIENCE!

Frog Proof

2006-11-30T21:51:00.000Z

Claudia Handpainted is frog proof.

You see, before these were plain 'ol ordinary stockinette socks with a plain 'ol ordinary gusset heel . . .

Hello, cankles! And hello, stash! (There, in the background, you can see what you might call the tip of the iceberg.)

. . . before that (a year ago), they were Jaywalkers that were too big . . .

. . . then Jaywalkers that were too small . . .

. . . then (again) Jaywalkers that were too big . . .

. . . then picot-edged socks that had *no* stretch because I was knitting too tightly . . .

. . . and then once I finished the first plain ol' ordinary sock, I promptly cast on four too few stitches for the second, getting all the way through the heel flap before realizing it (Doh!) . . .

. . . but still, after all that, the yarn is beautiful.

In a related story, I have jumped on the insane-making-a-blanket-out-of-leftover-sock-yarn bandwagon:

From left to right, leftovers from the Doctor's First Oversocks (Regia Strato); Mum's Birthday Socks (Plymouth Sockotta); My Greece Socks (Lorna's Laces); My Striped Tweedy Socks (Meilenweit Colortweed); and My Plain Claudia Socks (Claudia Handpainted, probably in Carousel). Gee, three pairs for me since the blog started . . . now that's what I call GREED. Tasty!

Other knitters who are (or were) on this bandwagon include:

Shelly at The Heathen Housewife (Trendsetter! With the KAL and everything . . . )
Gail at Gail's Good Yarn
Gwen at Shoes and Yarn
Noricum at Soapbox
and at least one super-extremely-famous knitter, Wendy at Wendy Knits

Anyone else out there in Crazy Land?

I Might Be Broken

2006-11-22T17:40:00.000Z

Still not working on what I should be working on.

Can't seem to knit anything but socks!

So here's a new one (The Elfine's Socks have hit the point where they really need to be tried on by zee Mama before I go any further; the Doctor's New Socks are in a similar state):

This is a version of the "Gentlemen's Fancy Sock" from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. The yarn is Trekking XXL 100, which I have been craving for near on six months now.

I love the stitch pattern:

Closer, you say?

Stupid, stupid, stupid I didn't read the detailed pattern description before casting on the first time. Although it is titled as a sock for the gentlemen (as the pattern was its original publication), Ms. Bush explains in the somewhat finer print that she has resized the sock for the ladies with the 7 1/2 inch circumference feet. WHO HAS FEET THIS SMALL?

In any event, I started with the 80 stitch cast-on called for in the pattern, and what with the 2 mm needles, etc. . . . Way too tight, plus I think the pattern looks best when it isn't fully stretched out.

Here, just slightly stretched out:

I could have cast on a few extry stitches and moved up a needle size, but what do you know? All my other sock needles are occupied. (Wonder how that happened . . . ) So I stuck with the smaller needles, went with the intuition, and went for a whopping 100 stitches.

And so this is taking a while!

(But I really, really like it.)

My favorite bit is where the ribbing meets the road:

(Don't you think that a fitted, long sleeve sweater in lozenges like this, but of varied lengths, would be awesome?)

I think these will fit me very comfortably.

And I am very much looking forward to wearing my new socks.

But.

They could probably also very comfortably fit someone else (a particular someone else) who might be interested in some extremely colourful, randomly striped woolen socks. (He's even wackier than me . . . .)

On some days it is way more difficult to be generous than on others.

Funny, That

2006-11-14T21:14:00.000Z

So now that I have more time to knit, I find I'm doing less knitting. Whaaa?

But I have finished those socks in Lana Grossa Meilenweit Colortweed (no pattern):

They might look a little skinny when off the foot (that's the magic of 2x2 ribbing), but I assure you they fit perfectly:

I'll Bet You Were Beginning To Think . . .

2006-11-08T17:45:00.000Z

. . . that I would never again finish a project! (I was beginning to think it.)

And although weaving in four ends barely counts, it does count. (Barely.)

Another Cloud Hat (A.K.A. Dulaan 2007 Item #9):

all the leaves are brown,
and the sky is grey . . .

V. V. Bad

2006-11-06T18:36:00.000Z

Remember all that tough talk about concentrating on finishing up a few things this weekend? You know, the low hanging fruit? A few ends here, a few buttons there, and voila, five finished projects!

Well.

You see, first there was this laceweight that just appeared in the post. Totally unexpected! (eBay, super-cheap, unknown quality.) So then there was some spontaneous experimenting with the 2 mm circulars. . . . (V. Bad.)

Then I felt bad about spending all that time on something that I won't call a new project. But I still didn't feel like facing ends or buttons. So I fiddled around more than a bit with the Doctor's boring socks. But still too small!

Couldn't quite yet face re-frogging the Regia Strato, but didn't want to give up on socks for the Doctor. So (even worse!), out came another ball of sock yarn:

A rebellious cast on of 80 stitches, and upping the needle size to 2.75 mm, and the cuff was finally pronounced "not too small." (I rather think it is now "too big," even for "oversocks," but I don't suppose the Doctor was willing to tell me so in that moment . . . )

So still not sure about the size.

But can I just say that knitting goes a lot faster on 2.75 mm needles than on 2.25 mm needles?

And can I also just say that the Trekking Ombres (even the ones that look a little dull in the skein) are gorgeous?

I thought this yarn was a sort of a muddy, dark maroon. (And in the photo, I guess that's still what it looks like.) But in the light, and in sock form, it is really more of a black pearl color. But not, you know, in a girly way. In a respectable, gentlemanly way. (In a respectable, gentlemanly way that would look even better on the ladies than on the gentlemen. Why did I tell the Doctor this yarn was for him?)

And can I also just say that I remember the bus being a lot more comfortable than it actually is? Just sayin'.

(Is it me or is it the bus?)

Inventory & Plan of Attack

2006-11-01T20:59:00.000Z

This full accounting is less for readers of this blog than it is for me, first to remind myself to not start anything new for a while, and second to help me decide in what order to tackle things.

Anonyknits' Works-In-Progress (ordered chronologically by approximate cast-on date):

1.) Handspun socks (for Dulaan) -- nearly done. UPDATE: DONE! (1/07)

2.) Demin mitered squares blanket (for the Strategic Baby Handknits Reserves) -- stalled. When I switched from regular miters to no-sewing miters, my gauge totally changed! So either I'm making *two* demin blankets (unlikely), or I have some serious thinking to do. Maybe this project is not actually a blanket. Maybe it is something else entirely.UPDATE: I no longer consider this a "real" project.(1/07)

3.) Posy (for me!) -- half done.

4.) Claudia Handpainted socks (for me!) -- half done, but stalled due to frustration with my own stupid overconfidence. (There's a story there, which I will probably own up to later.) -- UPDATE: DONE! (11/06)

5.) Dale of Norway Zippered Hoodie (for Baby X) -- Hard to say, maybe 1/5 done?

6.) Lizard Ridge (for ?) -- 1/3 done, not including seams and border.

7.) Katia Jamaica Mitered Squares Blanket (probably for Baby X) -- only need to weave in the ends. UPDATE: DONE! (1/07)

8.) Noro Tidori Swatches-That-Might-Turn-Into-Something-Someday(Maybe-a-Blanket) (for who knows who) -- who knows how far along this project is? I don't even know what it is. UPDATE: Not a "real" project.(1/07)

9.) Striped Cloudesque Seamless Raglan, a la Elizabeth Zimmerman (hereinafter, "EZ") (for Dulaan) -- One-third done. Started the sleeves, but then set it aside when they looked too narrow in the cuff.UPDATE: Frogged in favor of Cloud Hats.(1/07)

10.) Nth Cloud Hat (for Dulaan) -- only need to weave in the ends. -- UPDATE: DONE! (11/06)

11.) Felted Coasters (for ?) -- Need to felt.

12.) Pink Baby Surpise Jacket (probably for Baby X) -- Nearly done -- just needs shoulder seams, buttons, and ends woven in. -- UPDATE: DONE! (12/06)

13.) Red and Grey Prime Rib Scarf (for Dulaan, unless the Doctor claims it) -- 1/4 done. UPDATE: DONE! (1/07)

14.) A Rug (for the cats) -- 1/6 done. But this is crochet -- maybe it doesn't belong on the list?

15.) Avery's Short-Row Hat in Noro Kureyon (for V) -- Nearly done, if only I can figure out how I want to deal with that darned seam. -- UPDATE: DONE! (12/06)

16.) Scarf to go with Short-Row Hat (also for V) -- Barely started.

17.) Cotton Garter Squares Blanket (probably for Baby J, who was supposed to get the pseudo-Prairie Blanket) -- Maybe 1/3 done? Hard to tell, since I don't know how big it will be.

18.) Cloudesque Child-sized "Adult Surprise Jacket," a la EZ (for Dulaan) -- maybe one-third done? (I've started the body increases.)UPDATE: Frogged in favor of Cloud Hats. (It was just too ugly.)(1/07)

19.) Striped Socks in Regia Strato (for the Doctor) -- was half-way done with the first sock, but it was too small. Frogged, cast-on again, now have about 2 inches of cuff done. -- UPDATE: FROGGED (11/06)

20.) Sock Yarn Leftovers (for the heck of it) -- Unlikely this one will ever be done. Will tell you all about it later.

21.) Elfine's Socks in Koigu (told myself they were for me, but I think they're actually for my Mama) -- barely started.

22.) Tweedy Ribbed Socks in Meilenweit Colortweed (definately for me!) -- half done with the first sock. -- UPDATE: DONE! (11/06)

So . . .

I think the thing to do is start with the low hanging fruit. If I just concentrated on it, I could easily finish four, maybe five, of these over the weekend.

Then there is some stuff with deadlines -- the Avery Diamonds hat & scarf, stuff for Babies J and X. Probably I should attack those next, since as the deadlines approach, I will be less and less inclined to work on them.

After that, who knows. Maybe if I finish all that stuff, I'll be back under 10 projects again, which I think is (for me) equilibrium.

In Which I Prove I Can Count

2006-11-01T18:42:00.000Z

All the non-knitting craziness should be over, at least for a while.

So it is time to return to the knitting craziness.

Not that the knitting craziness hasn't been present the entire time.

It is just that I've been studiously ignoring it. Pro-actively not worrying about it.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. ("It's just two months. How bad could things get?")

Now that I am returning to "normal" life -- whatever that is -- I'm realizing that, in retrospect, that seems more than a little stupid.

I'm taking stock of all the knitting projects I've started in the last two months or so, and I have to say that I really had no idea that the situation was quite as dramatic as it is.

I had told myself, quite firmly, that I should spend less time knitting, because I really, really, really needed that time for other things.

Clearly, though, what I heard myself say was something closer to "You can knit as much as you like, as long as you have plausible deniability." That's a policy statement.

In general-but-practical terms, of course, this translated to something like "You can knit as much as you like, as long as you don't appear to be making any progress on any of your projects."

But I'm a nuts-and-bolts person, so probably what I ultimately heard was this: "You can start as many projects as you like, and spend as much time as you like on them, so long as no small project is finished and no large project approaches the half-way point. And don't blog."

Two cases in point:

1.) A small project. I "started" an Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. It almost got away from me, but I was able to stop short of weaving in the two ends and sewing on the buttons. So I argue that it must be said in all fairness -- and particularly since I didn't blog about it -- that I really didn't work on it much at all.

2.) A large project. I "started" a Lizard Ridge afghan. Blogged about it a little, but managed to stop after 9 blocks. Hid them in a box. ("Lizard Ridge? What? What's that? An afghan? You do know that afghans are huge, right? I assure you that if I were working on one, you wouldn't be able to miss it. Do you need to be driven to the doctor?")

Plausible deniability. (Say it with me, everyone!)

And so it went.

For two months . . .

My people, I count twenty ongoing knitting projects.

Not counting the pseudo-praire blanket, which I am determined to frog.

TWENTY.

And not counting that last, final, "just one more," newly cast-on project I allowed myself yesterday as a reward for keeping it together (well, almost) these last two months:

Elfine's Socks by Anna Bell in Koigu.

So that would be TWENTY-ONE. (See, I can count. I just generally choose not to.)

So why do I say that this whole approach to "not knitting" only seems stupid?

You see, the thing is, I know me.

(And I know that I know me.)

Because I know me, I know that I knew all along that this would happen.

Knowing that I knew, all along, that this would happen, the only logical conclusion is that I wanted this to happen.

All along.

And if I wanted it to happen, how bad can it really be?

And if twenty-one projects really isn't that bad, you know, really, logically speaking, what's one more?

Ribbed Socks in Lana Grossa Meilenweit Colortweed, colourway 1004.

Hey, how did that get in there?

TWENTY-TWO . . .

(If you think this is bad, you should see the stash. I'd show it to you, but there are laws against obscenity.)

Not Dead, Not Quite

2006-10-23T18:28:00.000Z

I miss blogging.

But things are more than a little crazy around here.

Which makes me miss blogging even more, because I have so much to blab on about.

But I tell myself that it is better for the blogging to suffer than the sleeping or eating, or heavens forfend, the knitting.

Being under some (extreme) amount of (temporary) stress, I find that I have started about 37 knitting projects since we last spoke (exaggeration, but only a slight one), have finished nary a one, and have possibly purchased enough yarn (still cheaper than therapy, but damn you, Webs, what is it with the neverending closeouts of namebrand yarns???) to reach SABLE status, but de Nile is only a river in Egypt, so who really can ever say about that, particularly given my firm plan to live to 208.

Now.

I am now absolutely confident that the companion piece (confident enough to now publicly admit it is a scarf) to Avery's Short-Row Hat will work out just great.

And I will post the pattern modifications whenever the heck I get around to finishing the scarf. Don't promise to do it soon, only promise to do it before Winter Gift Exchange 2006.

If I were a decent sort, I would post it well in advance of the worst of winter. But as I could count on one hand those who have accused me of decency . . .

In any event, I am absolutely, utterly, fully confident about the scarf.

I am not so confident, however, about the hat.

Am having serious gauge issues. Bad gauge!

And then there is This Little Problem. "Yeah, Noro does that." Indeed. Don't like that seam at all . . . I may be unable to pull this one off sans tantrums, destruction of property, etc.

I may need to sacrifice a skein of Kureyon to the gods. (I'm thinking fire.)

But I will pull it off.

I'm too stubborn not to.

TTFN

Secrets and Socks

2006-10-12T16:52:00.000Z

So the deal is that I'm working on something that is intended to be a gift and that I don't know whether it will turn out at all. You know I have no trouble blogging about things that don't turn out, but with this one, I'm more than a little concerned. If it doesn't work out, I'd like the option of just forgetting about it. And if I blog about it . . . well, it will never go away, then!

What I will say right now is that it is something to go with this (can't leave well enough alone, doncha know), and that I'm using Noro Kureyon. Promise that if it does turn out, I will post all the gory details. (Probably if it doesn't work out I will post the even gorier details.)

In the meantime, I have managed to finish these babies, just in time (okay, way late) for Mom's B-day. After I had them all wrapped up, I realized that the toe on the second sock doesn't match the first. The first had a round toe, decreased to 12 stitches, then kitchenered. The second I decreased to 6 stitches and just pulled them tight. Doh! (If she wants them fixed, I'll happily do it, but they were already wrapped and everything!)

Plymouth Sockotta, colour #617. No pattern per se, but on 72 stitches, with a bit of ribbing, a regular ol' gusset, and round toes.

And now, why I will probably not be doing round toes again:

Two of my Brittany Birches bit the dust on that last toe!

Never before have I snapped a needle. And then TWO of them, gone, within minutes of eachother. (I guess they were trying to tell me I was "going the wrong way" with the toe. Why do I never listen?)

Seaming: Better Than You Remembered

2006-10-02T14:54:00.000Z

So, y'all know I've been on this mission to end all seaming. I had utter faith that my path was the righteous one. (At least until that pseudo-prairie blanket came along. I think I'm gonna frog that . . . )

But in recent times, I've needed some pretty simple knitting. Regular ol' miters, without using any fancy no-sewing techniques, and using the wonder that is self-striping yarn have been just the ticket. No worrying about changing yarns mid-miter, no worrying about getting the joins between squares just right, no worrying about whether the new square looks right against the old square . . .

Perfect!

So relaxing.

Wasn't even going to think about the problem of seaming, at least not until all the miters were done. And since that wasn't ever going to happen . . .

Only it did.

It happened this weekend. (I am astonished.)

With the astronomical number of works-in-progress I've got, I thought I'd better not set this one aside just because I had hit "the wall." So I screwed my courage to the sticking place and girded my loins for a miserable day of seaming.

But frankly, it just wasn't that bad.

Has my entire anti-seaming crusade been that misguided and foolish?

Maybe it was because I had made larger miters -- 75 stitch cast-on. Maybe it was because I ironed all the sass out of the miters before hand. Maybe it was because, after all, I was only dealing with four blocks. (Was thinking I'd do six, but it had become clear that I didn't have enough yarn in the right dye lot.)

In any event, I now have this:

Three and one quarter skeins of Katia Jamaica in colourway 4004. Just under 30 inches square.

Mattress stitch worked great for sewing the miters into blocks. But the mattress stitch seam joining blocks to other blocks seemed much bulkier, and it didn't seem like those seams were ever going to lie flat, even if one invoked the powers of Rowenta (which I do not have).

So I "unvented" and came up with a seam of my own that probably is well known in fashionable knitting circles, but which I have not previously seen described or employed.

It is just like grafting or kitchener, only I'm not dealing with live stitches. (Anyone know what this is really called?)

Needle under the stitch on the left. Pull through, but not too tight.

Repeat on the right.

Blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc.

Front lies flat. Seam is practically invisible, depending of course on color.

Back lies almost flat, too. (Horizontal seam is inter-block mattress. Vertical seam is this intra-block sort-of grafting thing.)

I still need to figure out how I am going to finish the thing. To line or not to line, that is one question. Another is what kind of edge to use. I-cord? Garter stitch? Something else?

In other news, here are two squares for Grandmother Purl:

I'm going to hold off on sending these to Kristy for now . . . I might have another one still in me.

Not Blogging

2006-09-26T14:33:00.000Z

I swear I'm not blogging. NOT BLOGGING.

But I think this is really neat, so I thought I'd give it a link, in case you're interested too. Knit a square for Grandmother Purl, everyone! (I have a sadistic fantasy that we will send in thousands upon thousands of squares, utterly burying Kristi.)

In other news, I have confirmed that the saying is, in fact, "Work hard, work hard."

There has been -- and will be -- NO knitting this week. Oh, the humanity!

Pooh pooh to all of you who insist it is "play" hard . . .

The Face of the Earth

2006-09-25T13:16:00.000Z

(Hi!)

Am dropping off it. But only for a week.

Why?

Work stuff. Crunch time. You know what they say: "Work hard, knit hard."

(It's my new mantra!)

Or they say something like that, anyway. . . . I know it is "Work hard," . . . something else . . . "hard." (It had better not be "Work hard, work hard." Sometimes I wonder.)

Well.

Even if I have not got it exactly right, this is still probably a better motto than the only other one I am seriously contemplating for this week. ("Work hard, drink hard." It does have its own special allure.)

I will return with tales of knitting and ill-advised yarn purchases very, very soon.

Yours,
Anony K.

More Fruit, No Knitting

2006-09-22T13:39:00.000Z

The Tropical Dragon Fruit! (Tastes like chicken!):

(Actually tastes sorta, kinda like kiwi.)

Extremely magenta inside:

(The picture simply doesn't capture it.)

Fresh Figs! (These are good. Dried ones are yucky.):

Cross section!:

Extreme close up!:

(That's sorta gross, actually. Too "Dead Body Poking" for a knitting blog?)

You Think You Have Problems?

2006-09-21T14:11:00.000Z

Nicole comments that having started one blanket, she ought not to start another.

I am here to tell you, girl, that there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting a second blanket.

If there were, would I really have started a fourth, for no good reason?

Katia Jamaica, color # 4004.

(You know to not listen to me, right? I have no idea what I am doing.)

La la la la la la . . .

Smell the roses!

World of Wacky Fruit

2006-09-20T14:28:00.000Z

In the comments, Lainey enquires re the colourway numbers of the Noro used in the Lizard Ridge squares I've posted. Answer: Yes, I am mostly destashing, but I do have the ball bands around somewhere (and I wrote down somewhere else which square was from which skein). . . . When I get my act together, I'll update the blog with this info.

In the meantime, here is some distraction . . .

My local market has started stocking fruits never before seen! (At least not in these parts . . .) Here are some of the more mundane.

The tiniest apples in the world! (Penny for scale):

Raisins, still on the vine! (Unfortunately, these are excellent. This is unfortunate because they are way too expensive for everyday. Won't be putting these in any brown bags unless I win the lottery.):

Fresh Dates! (Who doesn't like their dates to be fresh?):

Bonus cross section:

Have you ever seen the like?

Noro Supplies Critically Low

2006-09-19T14:28:00.000Z

Noro Kureyon #165.

Noro Kureyon #124.

Noro Kureyon #88.

Self Destructive

2006-09-18T14:51:00.000Z

So there was this voice.

And it said, "Initiate Self Destruct Sequence!"

And then this just started happening:

Noro Kureyon # 185.

After judicious application of the iron:

Cute backside, too:

Anyone could tell you this is almost literally the last thing I should be doing.

I say "almost" only because I imagine that I shouldn't be, say, bungee jumping or free basing more than I shouldn't be doing this. (This would be the Doctor's position, but I am sure it is debatable.)
But come to think of it, I shouldn't be starting a nuclear holocaust more than I shouldn't be starting Lizard Ridge. So I suppose "almost literally" is better usage than "literally." Literally.

Anyway, I swear it is not my fault.

My command-and-control center made me do it.

Caught in the Act!

2006-09-14T22:21:00.000Z

Generally this sort of activity occurs when Anonyknits isn't looking . . .

Bad cat!

In broad daylight!

Open and notorious!

"Yeah. I ate your damn needles. So sue me."

Thinking about it, kid. Thinking about it.

Two Birds

2006-09-13T15:16:00.000Z

(the ones we hit with that one stone, not the ones in the bush . . .)

I keep thinking it is time to get back to that goal of demolishing the Mountain O'Mohair and, I guess, start another Cloud Hat. (Then tears threaten.)

Then I think probably it would be better to keep on track with the vague plan to knit all the seamless sweaters in Knitting Without Tears. (Tears recede.)

So I'm gonna keep the tears in check and work on both goals simultaneously:

Start of an EZ seamless raglan, in the Cloud Hat fashion.

This might turn out to suck blue mohair (yuck!), but it will definately be warm.

News Flash

2006-09-12T14:38:00.000Z

The Doctor wears his socks! And they fit!

They fit!

In other news:

New Knitty

2006-09-12T00:08:00.000Z

Oooooooooohhhhhhh!

A Start

2006-09-11T17:20:00.000Z

Baby Norgi (Now with Cat Bonus)

2006-09-08T15:39:00.000Z

Baby Norgi, in the smallest size:

Closer shot (see the puckering?):

Special Cat Bonus:

Warshrag

2006-09-07T15:49:00.000Z

Anonyknits

Spotty Blog

Squares Six Through Nine

Birthdays Coming Soon

Some Catching Up

Square Five

Square Four

Square Three

Square Two

Square One

Er . . . Hello, Again.

That Took FOREVER

Unvention

Babies Always Win

Shoot!

Phase One Complete

Wheeeeeeee!

REBOOT

Push! Push!

Okay, Freaky . . .

Smalt Goes Grey

Not Entirely Happy

Are We There Yet?

More Hats, Plus . . .

Hat!

Hat!

Well, That's It, Then

Might be a pattern here . . .

Spring Has Sprung

Yeah, Okay, So I Just Disappeared

Toldja

I Would Blog . . .

Don't Do That

Ladders Wash Out!

Practicing Fidelity

Recipe for a Short-Row Scarf of Diamonds, a la Avery

Miss Me?

Hi

Angela Asks . . .

Discipline, Anonyknits! Discipline!

What I Ought

Susannah Asks . . .

What I Have Been Doing Instead of What I Ought

Little Did I Know

Matchy-Matchy

WIP List Update

Some "Not Pink"

Slip Up? Make Up! (Yarn Giveaway)

No Way, No How

Race Against Time / Pink Rant / New Mantra

They Rock, Barely

duck . . . duck . . .

Yet Another Silly Question

Oldest WIP No Longer

Catch Up

Karma

hangover

Y, O Y?

Rules of Acquisition

Anonymom Wants To Know

As I Said, Like a Bandit

The Thing With the Strategic Baby Handknits Reserves . . .

The Last of Freya

This Is What Greed Will Get You

Room Temperature Fire?!?

I Must Have Been Wearing a Sports Bra

While You Were Drying

Blocking and Buttons

Oh, Dear

Enough to Cheer *Anyone* Up

Bad Mood

Gah!!!

Beyond All Expectation

The Wages of Impatience

Super-Quick!

Modified Short-Row Hat

Adherence to the Repeated Meme

Frog Proof

I Might Be Broken

Funny, That

Enough to Cheer Anyone Up