tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88534854372048109832024-03-19T04:17:59.872-04:00Knit, Lit, and BullshitA personal blog to natter on about knitting and whatever else catches my fancy.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-26120945359982523542010-01-11T15:16:00.002-05:002010-01-11T15:47:13.641-05:00Oooh, Mr. Darcy!Haven't done much knitting in the past week, preferring to spend my time on stupid internet games and putzing around. Let's be clear on that, first off. I don't want anyone feeling cheated because there is no progress report this post. However, since I have made the commitment to blog at least once weekly, I don't want to break the habit, and Tuesday is as good a day as any. (I just realized that it is, in fact, <i>Monday</i>. Um....I plead winter-break-brain.)<br />
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Lately I've been looking at socks. Even though I have knitted a pair and found it sort of boring and tedious, one of my various nebulous goals (don't call it a resolution) this year is to try and enjoy sock knitting. For the sake of pretty socks, which I have always been a fan of. Boyfriend and I went to the Barnes and Noble yesterday and I was checking out a book called <span style="font-style: italic;">Knitting Socks With Handpainted Yarn</span> which had some really neat patterns, my favorite being the Spot Check Sock:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/LuckyinKy/3396556/Spot_Check_Sock_Beth_Parrott_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/LuckyinKy/3396556/Spot_Check_Sock_Beth_Parrott_medium.jpg" width="213" /></a><br />
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Copyright Interweave Knits, etc etc. But isn't that a really cool sock? I mean, the problem is that you need a solid sock yarn in addition to a variegated, but it's still pretty bitchin. Hopefully some day I'll knit a pair. As of right now, I didn't want to buy the book and will, therefore, sigh and just stalk Rav's project pages. I really like the underlying concept though, and I might apply it to something else, who knows? It looks really neat, and it's not like it's hard to see how to do it.<br />
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And oh! Yes! The title of this post, let's talk about that. If you read this blog, you might be aware that I am a big Jane Austen fan. I love her novels (have not read her unfinished works or juvenalia), with <i>Sense and Sensibility </i>being my favorite. And before you ask, no, I have not read <i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> or <i>Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters</i> yet, although I find the ideas charming. But a dear friend of mine has introduced me to the work of Kate Beaton, who does historical cartoons, and some have to do with Austen. I desperately want to share this with you all:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The power of the mystical, magical Mr. Darcy. I love Colin Firth as much as the next woman, but I must admit that I have never found the <i>character</i> terribly alluring, although, as I said, Colin Fitzwilliam Firth Darcy is the sexiest thing this side of Alan Rickman's Colonel Brandon. But yes, I wanted to share that comic. Check out the rest of Beaton's work at <a href="http://www.harkavagrant.com/">Hark! A Vagrant.</a><br />
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Basically, I'm currently killing time until school starts up again. I'm also in the grip of some of the worst premenstrual symptoms ever. I'll spare you the gory details, but I also had a splitting headache last night. I wanted to knit, but I couldn't even if I wanted to. It was awful. Then I managed to knock an entire glass of water directly into my bed at 2AM. While I was in the grip of said headache. But! I am feeling much better today. Hopefully next time I update, I'll have some knitting stuff to update on.<br />
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Today Phat Fiber is <a href="http://phatfiber.blogspot.com/2010/01/blue-mountain-handcrafts-bag-giveaway.html">giving away a bag </a>by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/bluemtnhandcrafts">Blue Mountain Handcrafts</a>, go and check it out!<br />
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Oh, and I have been thinking about sprucing up the place. Maybe. If I feel like HTML-ing it up. consider yourself warned.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-1349727382264950282010-01-05T21:57:00.008-05:002010-01-05T23:05:38.796-05:00Resolution<div class="ds-list"><i><b>1. </b> The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.</i><br /></div><div class="ds-list"><i><b>2. </b> A resolving to do something.</i><br /></div><div class="ds-list"><i><b>3. </b> A course of action determined or decided on.</i><br /></div><div class="ds-list"><br /></div><div class="ds-list">I am so very sorry to any of you guys who regularly read! I disappeared for a month, I know. School got <i>really</i> hectic and the holidays are always more stressful than they need to be. But I have made a resolution (see? I can title things cleverly!) to not do that again. Hopefully I will be able to post at least once a week from now on.<br /></div><div class="ds-list"><br /></div><div class="ds-list">So, as far as school goes (not the focus, I know, but I feel like rambling), I finished last semester with 4As and 2 A minuses. Pretty good, and my GPA is now 3.88. Could be .02 higher (no matter what Boyfriend tells me about how it's 'close enough,' I want that 3.9!), but I am overall pleased about how it shook out, considering I had a very, very stressful semester. I finished scheduling classes for this semester. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will be taking six courses again. It's a large load, but I'm doing it so that I can take less credits next semester when I am doing my observations (go and observe/talk to a teacher in an actual school environment), to give myself more time to soak in the experience. Anywho, I'll be taking (as I know you are so interested): Survey of English Literature I, Beg-1660, Survey of English Literature II, 1660-1900 (yes, concurrently, I am an English BAMF), Intro to Inclusive Education, Mosaic II (a general Humanities course), The Universe as We Know It (fills my science requirement) and Myth and Symbol. My schedule is sort of full, but not unmanageable. And better than last semester, when I caught the train at 7 AM and got home at 9 PM on Mondays. My longest day is Thursday, where I'll be taking the 1 o clock train and getting home around 9 PM. And I don't have to get up at 6 AM at any time this semester! Wooo! The earliest class I have is one at 10 AM.<br /></div><div class="ds-list"><br /></div><div class="ds-list">Xmas went alright. I spent Christmas Eve with my family and brought Boyfriend along. First, every year, we go to my grandmother's house. She passed years ago, but two of my dad's brothers still live there. We played pool and horsed around. My uncle Calvin gave me a really neat wicker box that stores my sock yarn and half-balls and bits and bobs admirably. Then we went to my aunt (mother's sister)'s house, where I hid and pretended I wasn't related to these people. Christmas I spent with Boyfriend's family. Boyfriend's cousin (my friend, my ex, yadda yadda)'s mother got me a piggybank shaped like balls of yarn that says "Knitting Money" on it. It combines my love of knitting, money, and really kitschy shit, so it was a great success. On Boxing Day Uncle Calvin, Boyfriend and I went to go see the Nutcracker (ballet). It was a fun day. If it hadn't been raining, we might have paid Loop a visit, but alas, it was not to be.<br /></div><div class="ds-list"><br /></div><div class="ds-list">Knitting! That is what this blog is about, isn't it? You wouldn't know by my rambling thus far, I suppose. I have not finished a project since I saw you all last. <img alt="confused smileys" src="http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/ashamed/ashamed0005.gif" border="0" /> Shameful, I know! I've started a few, though!<br /><br />First is my first garment. I decided on <a href="http://www.metapostmodernknitting.com/MetaPatterns/StJames/tabid/86/Default.aspx">St. James</a> and set to work, my heart ablaze with zeal and expectation. I was knitting a sweater! I was doing it! On I knitted, through not one, but two versions of Jane Eyre, watched in the wee hours of the morning. On I knitted, through Pan's Labyrinth. I tried it on, I made adjustments (one more waist decrease, for example), and hoped that everything would work right. It didn't. When the actual body knitting was do<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5XeTdlY3QTDVROnez9yAUXLWuLFCNAmqs4aX-mUw-VsUXKiyZzdWrtFf4MEqKWC2oae0cdgyD7_1U4H3ETrvYLtR8mOVEI4SCQ2kGVAj5n90dI-sZ7WSH3O9AK537vylLR6CthPyGN0e/s1600-h/IMG_0999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img style="width: 231px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ5XeTdlY3QTDVROnez9yAUXLWuLFCNAmqs4aX-mUw-VsUXKiyZzdWrtFf4MEqKWC2oae0cdgyD7_1U4H3ETrvYLtR8mOVEI4SCQ2kGVAj5n90dI-sZ7WSH3O9AK537vylLR6CthPyGN0e/s320/IMG_0999.JPG" border="0" /></a>ne, there was far too much fabric in between the neckline and boobs. While I was able to add a decrease in the waist and shorten the waist-hips section, I somehow did not realize that the area from neck-topofboobs was petite as well. Enter crushing disappointment. Enter asking for Rav help. Enter <i>snipping </i>a stitch in my sweater. On Christmas Eve, no less. That was a horrible idea. The idea was to ravel upwards and re-knit the top from the top down again. I could <b>not</b> get it to unravel right. As hard as I tried. Eventually I got it unravelled, but as great yarn expense. Also, I was lazy and didn't want to graft stitches all around a sweater, so I just started from my live stitches and knit <i>up</i>. Since it was just seed stitch, I reasoned, it wouldn't show. Stop and think about it. I knit a <span style="font-weight: bold;">top down</span> raglan upwards. Instead of increasing, I decreased. Of course, decreasing is enough of a pain in the arse in seed stitch without the added "must get this the right length" bits. I had to decrease more quickly, and to be honest, my sweater looks a little messy as a result. I half-assed it and it shows. I don't have a good picture, hard to do without natural light, but you can sort of see it in the one I chose. However, I have decided that it is good enough. Most people aren't knitters, and will just be impressed I knit it myself. I think I can camouflage the goofs well enough. I've decided to do elbow length sleeves and have about a sleeve and a half to go. I just ran out of steam on this one.<br /><br />After that debacle, I wanted something easy and fluffy. So I cast on a hat in Mal in Azul Bolita. I chose the <a href="http://www.bluegarter.org/2008/12/columbia-beret/">Columbia Beret</a> because it is simple enough to let the yarn shine but has a little bit of detail to it. I'm leaving <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQqh3sYhidWZAA9OPZUElftqM0A9DOmh5vVCYaH50KL5mEH-YUC34rCSvI9Vtw8CETkrFpLL1fMvqAtchoKnGsQ1TAeBaa2t5XcHUGR-OP2UyAhOoZR4jRhb2wiTkjFkSS8KRVW1MQb9V/s1600-h/IMG_1034.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQqh3sYhidWZAA9OPZUElftqM0A9DOmh5vVCYaH50KL5mEH-YUC34rCSvI9Vtw8CETkrFpLL1fMvqAtchoKnGsQ1TAeBaa2t5XcHUGR-OP2UyAhOoZR4jRhb2wiTkjFkSS8KRVW1MQb9V/s320/IMG_1034.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423467859096158706" border="0" /></a>off the top doohickey. Haven't finished that yet. But look at the gorgeous color of the Malabrigo. Had a little project photoshoot today with a mirror, and I'm fond of the way that that one came out. Capturing the color of the yarn is very difficult, since I wasn't working with natural light. This came the closest. The color is about that saturated, but a little more purple and a little more dark. I'm working on it, but put it down for a bit because I have knitting ADD lately, it seems.<br /><br /><br />My last real current project is a felted bag, using the <a href="http://thislovergirl.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/grandmas-carpet-bag.pdf">Not Your Grandma's Carpet Bag</a> pattern. I'm knitting it in that green/navy yarn last seen in little brother's garish earflap hat. I'm<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-4SVfW51TSkI-uxd_B-sHPQo-Ud1LsOkjcrYTnDI0JiUXaZLfvK-X11xbS8BEf86hsYP4WeZVLDJU4sB9-GBG5XTsv7alxW905EVJKsBVQcRVVC4viu9WCkNQRsTwPBKb9b_q0jHFAT8/s1600-h/IMG_1013.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-4SVfW51TSkI-uxd_B-sHPQo-Ud1LsOkjcrYTnDI0JiUXaZLfvK-X11xbS8BEf86hsYP4WeZVLDJU4sB9-GBG5XTsv7alxW905EVJKsBVQcRVVC4viu9WCkNQRsTwPBKb9b_q0jHFAT8/s320/IMG_1013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423469549717482498" border="0" /></a> hoping that felting will make the colors more palatable. If this works, it will be my first felted project. I haven't picked up any handles yet, but I hope to soon. I'm hoping to find some at Michael's or AC Moore. Sort of ugly, isn't it? I sort of love ugly things, though, as the size ten lime green zebra striped pumps in my closet can attest to. ...I wear a size 7.5.<br /><br /><br />Besides all of that, I've taught myself the Norwegian purl, which is awesome and really interesting, and cast on a pair of socks using my 9 inch size 0 Hiya Hiyas. I'm finding them difficult to use, but I think I'll acclimate. I pretty much picked them up for shits and giggles anyway. I also have some more yarn giveaways to share. At <a href="http://alaskanpurl.blogspot.com/">Alaskan Purl</a>, Allison is giving away a skein of Kangaroo Dyer's Merino/Alpaca/Silk yarn in the Caliph's Sunset colorway. This DK weight yarn looks gorgeous! Thanks Allison! Jeff at <a href="http://yarnstasher.com/">Yarnstasher</a> is also starting off the New Year on the right foot with a <a href="http://yarnstasher.com/?p=150">massive giveaway</a>. Check it out; you won't regret it, I promise. Thanks, Jeff! Finally, again, sorry for simply disappearing, but here's to a more productive and bloggy 2010!<br /></div>Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-32767955186151301982009-12-06T16:59:00.001-05:002009-12-06T17:05:23.193-05:00A Boyfriend's HatHi everyone!<br />
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Lessee, since my last post I have actually gotten some knitting done! I finished my green beret/slouchy hat, and I <i>love</i> it. I was unsure if I could pull off the slouchy style, but it seems like I can. With great gusto. I like it because it keeps my hair in check (the wind whips it around something fierce) and my head warm. I didn't expect it to be a particularly <i>warm</i> hat, but it is! My guess is that the extra space in the hat traps heat from my head and makes a little warm pocket. Whatever the case, I hope that the slouchy hat trend is here to stay for a while. It's flattering, warm, and exceedingly fun to knit and block.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And a silly one. I was playing around with photoshop (Paint.net, actually) and this happened:<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjqxUVExYIDBpZm_45UVcHyv0YEW4lMDN3VncYedjdN0zPEcY7Fqu4LS2zyCDNrP0xjGqTneewge38ezEME5_LBDl-B0AoBgf9T19W9FijzCh9Ie7uOyXae4Izck-O5FrCSEyWmPoRvwj/s1600-h/Silly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjqxUVExYIDBpZm_45UVcHyv0YEW4lMDN3VncYedjdN0zPEcY7Fqu4LS2zyCDNrP0xjGqTneewge38ezEME5_LBDl-B0AoBgf9T19W9FijzCh9Ie7uOyXae4Izck-O5FrCSEyWmPoRvwj/s320/Silly.jpg" /></a><br />
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<b>Pattern</b>: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/meret-mystery-beret">Meret</a> by Woolly Wormhead.<br />
<b>Gauge</b>: About 5 spi<br />
<b>Yarn</b>: Ella Rae Classic Superwash, colorway 21<br />
<b>Needle size</b>: 7<br />
<b>Notes</b>: Cast on the large size to compensate for tighter gauge. The ribbing could have been tighter, so I'd probably use a smaller needle for it next time. For the slouchy part, followed the instructions for the medium size with one extra repeat for slouch, not two extra repeats for extra slouch. Fantastic pattern, I loved it.<br />
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I also started and finished a hat for the ever-knitworthy Boyfriend. Actually, while we're on the subject, quick aside to say that on the 3rd, we celebrated two years together! We didn't do anything because we're both dead tired and swamped with work during the week more often than not. That and broke. So, anyway, bless him for gracefully handling my transition from normal person to crazy knitting lady. He deserves all the handknit hats in the world! (Not a sweater, because we know how <i>that</i> always ends.) More after the jump:<br />
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I finally got him to break out of the world of plain beanies in dark neutrals by offering up a hat with a simple colorwork band. He decided that he wanted the secondary color to be tan, so we wandered around Loop for a long time looking for the perfect main color. I chose Malabrigo because the other hat I made him out of Paton's Classic itches him. If Malabrigo itches, well, then there's probably no hope for you wearing wool. Also, selfishly, I love love <i>love</i> knitting with it. I sound like a commercial, but it really makes every stitch a pleasure to knit. So have a gander at my handsome man:<br />
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</div><b>Pattern</b>: <a href="http://boiknit.blogspot.com/2008/03/davids-hat-revision-2.html">David's Hat</a> by Kenny Chua<br />
<b>Gauge</b>: Didn't think to check. Naughty, I know.<br />
<b>Yarn</b>: Malabrigo yarn Merino Worsted, colorway Burgundy, Ella Rae Classic Superwash, colorway 13<br />
<b>Needle size</b>: 7<br />
<b>Notes</b>: Cast on 100 because 110 seemed absurdly big. Forgot that there's a liner knit on 5's on the inside, so the hat was tight at first. However, it grew with blocking and fits well now. Chart was lovely and the pattern was nicely written. My first time doing a provisional cast-on; hate it. Accidentally knit 1.25 inches after colorwork band instead of 1 inch, so halved the amount of knit rows during decreases. Grafted the top; got the idea from the ever inventive <a href="http://techknitting.blogspot.com/">Techknitter</a>.<br />
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I really, really like this hat. The construction is really interesting. You knit 3 inches on fives or sixes, do a purl row, then knit another 3 inches on your normal needle size. Then you undo your provisional cast on, fold the hat in half horizontally along the purl bumps, and k2tog all around. It was an interesting technique and it certainly worked well.I have a feeling it would have worked better if this wasn't my first go at a provisional cast-on, but any ugliness is hidden on the inside, luckily for me! I like the way the purl bumps look as the bottom edge of the hat; I might have to adapt this technique to some other hats. It takes longer, but it makes a warm, wind resistant hat with a nice and neat edge.<br />
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Boyfriend adores the hat. Straight up adores it. When I pulled the WIP out of my bag to show him how it was coming, he went "wow." It's difficult to capture the richness of the dye of the Malabrigo in photo, but it is a gorgeous color, the two colors go fantastically together, and the colorwork pattern compliments them tremendously. It's one of those projects where it all goes right. It blocked out beautifully, too. I'm a big propponent of blocking hats on the head they're meant to fit, and have put various recipients through the "wear this damp hat on your head, no, really, it helps, just do it, damnit" rigmarole, and it works every time. Boyfriend didn't mind at all, even though the hat was still sheepy smelling on his head. In fact, he started baa-ing here and there and was talking about his sheepy head; it was pretty hilarious, actually.<br />
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I have a few things floating around in my head at the moment re: what to knit next. I promised my little brother a pair of gloves, as well as Boyfriend, but I'm thinking of doing another quick hat for me first. Hats really are my favorite thing to knit, I think. I have this idea floating around for a hat in the Orchid Malabrigo with some colorworky bits in the leftover burgundy. It's a gothic wrought iron sort of design in my head. I think that pink-purple and brown can go two ways: preppy chic or fading wallpaper Victorian. Or something like that. Point is, I want to avoid preppy this time, with these exact colors, and go the other way. I haven't found a pattern to my liking, so I might hybridize some. I also want to try something in argyle, and have found a hat pattern that seems uitable. I think that St. James is going to be semester break knitting.<br />
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I have no yarn giveaways to share, but I did want to share a recent post by <a href="http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2009/11/two-bits-of-knitting-theory-work-to.html">Techknitter</a>. She artculates part of what I love about knitting. An excerpt:<br />
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<i>Further, the knitter also remembers where the sock was knit--sitting on the sofa at home, perhaps, or on a splendid vacation, or maybe at the sick-bed of a beloved relative. Each stitch captures the tick of the clock while the curtains stirred the breeze, the vista of mountains unscrolling through the train window, the love and concern for the person in the bed. Process and product combine again: the knitted object as connection to personal history.</i><br />
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It's so true, isn't it? Go and read the whole post: you won't regret it.<i> </i>Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-17041123521158843182009-11-29T19:35:00.006-05:002009-11-29T19:42:27.188-05:00Procrastination StationI don't want to do my work at the moment. It's the last day of Thanksgiving break and I am not looking forward to going back and doing that extremely stressful <i>school</i> thing. I have homework, but let us focus on more pleasant things.<br />
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Like yarn. Guess whose uncle took her to Loop yesterday? This lady, right here. He said that it was a "special birthday" and told me to go wild. Now, I find that sort of impossible to do (because if we're being honest here, I do have a bit of a guilt issue with spending lots of money, especially if it is other people's), but I think I got a good haul. Let's check it out!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635698/IMG_0810_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635698/IMG_0810_medium.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2817935926_142f16b67b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2817935926_142f16b67b.jpg" style="height: 220px; width: 163px;" /></a><br />
</div>Item #1: 4 skeins of Berrocco Vintage, which is 50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon. It's destined to become my first knitted garment (that is, not a hat, scarf, or socks). I was thinking about doing St. James, which is the garment pictured on the right (photo from the project page on Ravelry, copyright belongs to Raveller thshizknit). I like the idea of this shirt because it's got good waist shaping, and if I don't have waist shaping I look like a giant blob in between my boobs and my hips. Trying to clothes shop can be a nightmare, because things have to have room for my rack and also be small enough to fit. I am not a tiny human, but small enough that finding clothing in the Women's section is a trial. And of course, junior's doesn't have ample boob n' hip room. Besides being bespangled with sparkly shit. No, I don't want pants that say "Princess" on the ass in rhinestones. Thanks. Well, to recover from my tangent, I'm not sure if I'd do the tie, although it is cute. I'm just not sure if it's <span style="font-style: italic;">me</span>. One option might be to do it after the shirt is done and keep it detachable.<br />
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Second up is a skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635732/IMG_0848_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635732/IMG_0848_medium.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My dear uncle who took me liked it and so asked me to get a skein to knit him a hat. I prefer to knit in wool, but uncle is vegan and eschews animal products when possible. He also liked that it's an organic cotton. He wasn't feeling acrylic, so this is it. It's really soft, though.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next, we have two skeins of Ella Rae Classic Superwash:<br />
</div><a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635779/IMG_0818_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635779/IMG_0818_medium.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635858/IMG_0817_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635858/IMG_0817_medium.JPG" width="320" /></a>The one here is tan, and not so yellowy as the photo makes it seem. It's for a colorwork portion of a hat I intend to knit for Boyfriend. The color was his choice. He wanted a tan color for some reason or another.<br />
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The other is a bright teal that Little Brother picked out. Yes, his color taste is not the most sophisticated (if you'll remember, he's the same one who wanted the orange hat with red snowflakes. I couldn't get him to agree to at least try and match this color to that monstrosity.) but hey, I like the color in a vaccuum, even if it is a bit "minty fresh." He wants gloves. The yarn is good for this because it's superwash and no 16 year old boy wants to handwash his gloves. The yarn is ok, although it's a tad rough on my tensioning finger. It's the same stuff I'm knitting my Meret in right now.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next up is a skein of Madeline Tosh tosh worsted. It's a bit spendy, but the color! I die!<br />
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<a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635898/IMG_0821_medium.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17635898/IMG_0821_medium.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 263px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 351px;" /></a>Now you look at that and tell me that you wouldn't have done the same thing. The colorway is "Nikko Blue" aka "Freaking Gorgeous Blue." I'm thinking a cowl, hat, or something else worn close to the face. That blue will not be ignored.<br />
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Next (why yes, there is even more!) is three skeins of Malabrigo. I wanted one or two going in, but threw on a third on a whim.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNzp4DIYoJjNmcv8Eug9mVaSmzTvcPCAL8Mo_fVoAqIJHe4aI9dA7y6aV848VLkpwackseLpcxFltMHdUPXnMYNeKI0dFa8n8CMso4vVfhG3OZQTly4BTMvmzBkYDRmRTr4AnWa2sVtPw/s1600/Mal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNzp4DIYoJjNmcv8Eug9mVaSmzTvcPCAL8Mo_fVoAqIJHe4aI9dA7y6aV848VLkpwackseLpcxFltMHdUPXnMYNeKI0dFa8n8CMso4vVfhG3OZQTly4BTMvmzBkYDRmRTr4AnWa2sVtPw/s400/Mal.jpg" /> </a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The colors got a little wonked out between shopping this up and uploading it, but it's a decent approximation. From left to right we have Azul Bolita, Burgundy, and Orchid. Burgundy is for Boyfriend's hat (along with the tan from earlier), while Azul Bolita and Orchid are ALL MINE! MWAHAHAHA.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or not. I mean, they are for me, but I don't know if you could do many nefarious things with Malabrigo. I'm thinking another hat for the Azul, maybe mixed in with some Orchid. Can you guess which one was thrown in on a whim? If you guessed Orchid, you'd be correct. It's so pretty.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also got a set of size seven DPNs (Crystal Palace, bamboo), a 26 inch size eight circ (also Crystal Palace, also bamboo) and a 26 inch size 10.5 circ (ditto). I got a 9 inch Hiya Hiya size zero, too, for shits and giggles. I thought this might be the time to try it out. And that's a lot of bamboo, but it was that or plastic, if I didn't want to spend a billion dollars on needles. The rest are rosewood and Addis (which, speaking frankly, I think are a rip-off. <i>No way</i> are they worth that much. It's ridiculous), which are not what I want. I successfully resisted some gorgeous Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted. It was is the Winona colorway, and it looked like a sunrise. I also resisted Mal Sock, because I don't even like knitting socks that much. It was beautiful, but impractical. I have plenty of sock yarn for the time being. So it was a good day.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll leave you with a bonus photo of the Kypria that Lina from photo.knit.dog sent me:<br />
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</div>Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-86098544888592159732009-11-27T16:42:00.001-05:002009-11-29T19:43:45.568-05:00Happy Thanksgiving!Hi everyone! I hope all you Americans out there had a fantastic Thanksgiving!<br />
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I did. I ate with Boyfriend's aunt and uncle, and his aunt's family. Boyfriend's aunt and I go way back, though. I dated his cousin before I dated him, so I've known Boyfriend's aunt for a longer time than I've known Boyfriend. (Calm down! There was a year between the dating of Boyfriend's Cousin and the dating of Boyfriend. Also, Boyfriend's Cousin and I are still good friends.) She is a fabulous lady, the one who gave me her mother's needles when I was a fledgling knitter. The food and company could not have been better. Also, Boyfriend's Cousin's birthday is tomorrow, so we sang Happy Birthday. But after they sang happy birthday to him, they took the 1 from the 21 off the cake, replaced it with a 0 and sang to me! It was very sweet and unexpected. And yes, I am the big 2-0 today. I don't feel much different. But hey, I'm not a teen anymore! I've been waiting for this since I turned 13.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7z5YtmDwUU8to04_fQsKLsJz-VBg5gOM7I54QvTYrwiL0k57PD_hwai9Ii03Q6fX46iUghvzwwMpgDc31Vr3HchS87j7xz-UwJvR1JJ8DIE4r56ZN8NqgrUsgglEkqbHVWcfWlN8BBp2e/s1600/IMG_0803.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7z5YtmDwUU8to04_fQsKLsJz-VBg5gOM7I54QvTYrwiL0k57PD_hwai9Ii03Q6fX46iUghvzwwMpgDc31Vr3HchS87j7xz-UwJvR1JJ8DIE4r56ZN8NqgrUsgglEkqbHVWcfWlN8BBp2e/s200/IMG_0803.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>Knitting wise, there is not much of interest to be said. I took a break from Boyfriend's socks to knit a little extra something for a Secret Santa and am now working on a beret. <a href="http://www.woollywormhead.com/free-patterns/">Meret</a>, to be exact. I was going to do it in Noro, but decided that it would be too hippie-ish. I don't have a problem with hippies, but I don't want to look like I reek of patchouli and am following the Dead around the country, you know? So I'm doing it in Ella Rae Classic Superwash in a dark green. A little too dark, if we're going to be honest, but I like it. I didn't realize that the lace pattern was the same as my Crofter's Cowl until I had already started, but that's ok. As usual I get a crappy photo with indoor lighting, but I'll subject you to it anyway. It's a darker green than that, but whatever. At least this photo had some visual interest. I'll post a better one when it's finished. I'm still looking for a good hat for my Noro skein.<br />
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And hopefully I shall be gracing the halls of Loop again soon. My uncle figured that that would be a good place to go for a birthday treat. I'm not about to argue. I love Loop, and I'll be picking up some Malabrigo, at least. Enough for hats for Boyfriend and I. I'd like a bright blue (Azul Profundo or Azul Bolita maybe?) and he is all about neutrals, frustratingly enough. He would look so nice in a red, but no. It's all dark blues and greens. Men, am I right? <br />
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Oh, and I send my thanks out to Lina at <a href="http://photoknitdog.wordpress.com/">Photo. Knit. Dog.</a> for her generous giveaway. I won 8th place, and so am getting a skein of Kypria sock yarn. It's 70% merino, 20% bamboo, 10% nylon and 100% smooshy if Ravelry is to be believed. Go and check it out at the <a href="http://www.sanguinegryphon.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=18_59">Sanguine Gryphon.</a> Thanks again, Lina!Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-83862291049791873832009-11-22T16:45:00.000-05:002009-11-22T16:45:15.886-05:00Oh CrapYep, another nice ten day stretch of nothingness between posts. Go me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/size:large/view:main/163425-18-forgive-me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/size:large/view:main/163425-18-forgive-me.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">See, I'm the red bird, looking all adorable and goofy in an attempt to distract you from the fact that I haven't posted in over a week.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But nothing terribly interesting has been going on, knitting wise. I'm working on knitted tops for my Converse, firstly. My chucks are torn up beyond recognition, so I'm thinking this could be a neat way to put them back into action. The pattern tells you to sew the new tops onto a strip of fabric left on the bottom for that purpose. Here, let me scrounge up a visual...*shuffles papers*<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpwnHiaAokFHPiaxGBlnR69EN4TmEfdKqZJNgxEUDiEafEyPda8SQdOTajKqvOYKTZ0cYOM7aFZEJnMJTDvsV0cTtntb4SWMR1hIV-YqP7Dy-nzCAB-qc6ELUVl4TUGr941p_w1GDTL0I/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUpwnHiaAokFHPiaxGBlnR69EN4TmEfdKqZJNgxEUDiEafEyPda8SQdOTajKqvOYKTZ0cYOM7aFZEJnMJTDvsV0cTtntb4SWMR1hIV-YqP7Dy-nzCAB-qc6ELUVl4TUGr941p_w1GDTL0I/s200/Untitled.jpg" /></a><br />
See the red line? You're supposed to cut the canvas there and leave a little bit of canvas to sew the knitted top on to. This is all well and good, unless you're actually trying to refurbish a pair of beat-up Chucks. The most common ripping is the canvas from the sole on the outside of the shoe. Of course, since they're now "fashionable" you hardly see an old beat up Chuck anywhere. Which is sad. But anyway, I have no canvas to stitch the knit top to. Thus, I am punching a needle through the rubber sole. Unpleasant work, that. I have one done, but they're on the backburner at the moment. Because...<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm knitting another pair of socks! I have knit one pair before, but I got the yen to do another, for some reason. They're not for me, they're for Boyfriend. But I think they're going decently. I finished the first one and now have to fight the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome and cast on for #2. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate casting on? I hate doing the first bit of a project for some reason. Bores the everloving crap out of me. Anywho, I do have a photo of the first sock. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17327256/IMG_0797_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/17327256/IMG_0797_medium.JPG" width="200" /></a>Look to the right, there. I think it's going pretty well, but like I said, let's see if I can avoid the dreaded SSS. This is prior to blocking, by the by. My stitches look straight-up nasty. Crooked and all that. Which is strange, considering the one thing I can usually get right is even gauge. Tight gauge'll do that to ya. The yarn is Lion Brand Wool-Ease (he wanted something machine washable) in ranch red and black. This is the first time I've done a sock in more than one color, and it looks alright, although I think my method could use some work. In addition, I bungled the toe decreases somehow and the grafting is a fucking mess. Never again shall I attempt to graft a toe without the instructions right in front of me. Boyfriend likes it, though, and that's all that really matters. The pattern is <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTthuja.html">Thuja</a> from Knitty Winter 05. I like it; it's easy enough to do in class but interesting enough to keep me from falling asleep. And yes, that is my foot, not Boyfriend's. His foot is much bigger than that.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've also been poking around for a hat pattern to knit with my skein of Noro. I have recently decided that I can pull off a slouchy hat, so I'm looking.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So that's all that's really going on. No new giveaways to report, really. Yeah, it's been pretty boring around here.<br />
</div>Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-8298343805825752322009-11-12T19:57:00.002-05:002009-11-12T19:59:54.253-05:00Bad Blogger, Bad!Sorry... no one. Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis. All three of you.<br />
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School's been hectic and most of my knitting has been sort of put by the wayside. I started a pair of gloves (<a href="http://www.laris-designs.com/?page_id=14">Knotty Gloves</a>), but I had to rip back. It was my first time reading a cable chart and I buggered it up big time. So I have to rip back about 5-6 rows to the ribbing. It always takes me forever to put something I've ripped back on the needles, though. It's so tedious. Boring, boring, boring.<br />
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My main project at the moment is one that I just cast off yesterday: another cowl for me. The first time I just cast off the normal way, and it was too tight to fit over a human head. Well, I could get it on, but let's just say you haven't felt forehead pain until you've tried to shimmy a too-small cowl off of your head. Ouch. Or more appropriately, a quiet ow ow ow ow, trying not to alert anyone to your dumbassery. So, I undid it (teeeeeedious, so tedious) and re-bound off with <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/FEATjssbo.php">Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.</a> That worked fairly well, although I do need to block. Oh, and the pattern and the yarn and zee photos, of course! Please excuse the horrible quality, Myspace-y look, and end hanging out (klassy):<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/16831401/img_0745_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/16831401/img_0745_medium.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/16831445/img_0755_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/16831445/img_0755_medium.jpg" width="200" /></a>I know that I take an awful photo, no need to remind me. And that I look like some sort of misguided yarn gangsta on the right. But a friend of mine said it showed the knitting better, so you all get to see my mug not once, but twice. Take it in, because I am usually fairly reticent to post my photo online. I don't photograph well, no matter how nice I may look in real life. Also, by the time I get home, it's dark, so I'm working by myself by the light of one dim lamp. A sad portrait of our stalwart blogger, huh?<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The yarn is Malabrigo Worsted in Stone Blue (photo left is a better representation of the color) and the pattern is Crofter's Cowl by Gudrun Johnston. It is available on her blog, here: <a href="http://shetlandtrader.blogspot.com/">http://shetlandtrader.blogspot.com/</a>. Look in the right column, you'll find it. The pattern is originally supposed to be done in two parts and grafted together to create a mirror image. Always the lazy knitter, I just did five or six repeats and called it a day. The lace pattern ended up moving around for no reason a few times. I think I missed yo's or did a single decrease instead of a double or something. It's certainly not the pattern's fault. But I wore it today (miserable weather here in Philly, just awful. Rain and wind and cold and sadness) and it was so warm and soft that I forgive it any mistakes. My neck was thanking me the whole day.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My other main project is for a Secret Santa, so I can't post about it here. Shh!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And contests. There is one for one of eight skeins of yarn over at <a href="http://photoknitdog.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/happy-early-blogiversary-photo-knit-dog/">Photo. Knit. Dog</a>. Last day to enter is today, so hurry up! <a href="http://knittinbritinwi.blogspot.com/2009/11/wollmeise-pay-it-forward.html">Knittin Brit in WI</a> is having a very generous giveaway as well. I won't ruin the surprise for you. Last day is Saturday for that one. Darcy's Knotty Knitter is having a <a href="http://darcyknottyknitter.blogspot.com/2009/11/darn-good-yarn-giveaway.html">Sari Silk giveaway</a>, which expires tomorrow at midnight. As always, thanks for your generosity, giveaway people! It is always much apreciated.<br />
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</div>Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-48320468604526689032009-11-01T19:03:00.002-05:002009-11-01T19:06:49.113-05:00Hats! Hats! Hats!Hello everybody! (Hello Dr. Nick!) How is everyone lately?<br />
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I have finished my hat trio. Mom decided she didn't want one after all (and good bloody riddance, I say; she's always finding some snide comment or other to make), so the Norwegian Star Hat odyssey is complete. The pattern is very, very well written and easy as cake to follow. I have two gripes about it, though. One, it is too big. Too deep, I mean. I had to mod the decreases on each of the three hats, and if I hadn't, they'd all be covering our noses. Second, I prefer it when sizing is done by different stitch counts as opposed to gauge. I have one, count it, one 16 inch circ, so I couldn't exactly go to my needle closet and hand select the one that would give me *angelic choir* Perfect Gauge. But that's a personal thing, not the designer's fault at all. But the pattern is fabulous, mostly, and I would suggest it to anyone who wants to learn colorwork or just wants a nice hat. Hell, the fact that it appealed not only to me, a 19 year old woman, but also to my 17 and 16 year old little brothers (a hard crowd to please, am I right?) says something about the design. I'm very pleased with the finished products I got, although the colors that Kevin and Chris chose are not really to my... taste. *ahem ahem* Well, I think I'll wrap this little trio up with some photos and facts.<br />
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Hat #1:<br />
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<b>Recipient</b>: Me<br />
<b>Recipient's Head Size</b>: 21.5 inches around<br />
<b>Gauge</b>: 5.5 spi<br />
<b>Yarn</b>: Malabrigo Merino Worsted (purple) and Universal Deluxe Yarn Worsted Tones (blue)<br />
<b>Needle Size</b>: 7 (4.5 mm)<br />
<b>Comments</b>: Fits well, modded the top decreases as detailed in an earlier post.<br />
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Hat #2:<br />
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</div><b>Recipient</b>: Kevin<br />
<b>Recipient's Head Size</b>: 22.5 inches around<br />
<b>Gauge</b>: 6 spi<br />
<b>Yarn</b>: Universal Deluxe Yarn Worsted Tones (blue), Bare Sheep Yarn Company Abby (green&blue) and Caron Dazzle Sport (pink)<br />
<b>Needle Size</b>: 7 (4.5 mm)<br />
<b>Comments</b>: Added a repeat to make up for tighter gauge/room for Frampton-esque hair. Turned out too big but recipient liked it. That flippy brim bit is his doing; probably did it during blocking. Top decreases modded in the same way as Hat #1.<br />
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Hat #3:<br />
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</div><b>Recipient</b>: Christopher<br />
<b>Recipient's Head Size</b>: 21.75 inches around<br />
<b>Gauge</b>: 5 spi <br />
<b>Yarn</b>:Sheep Shop Yarn Company Sheep 1 Yarn (orange) and Lion Brand Wool-Ease (red)<br />
<b>Needle Size</b>: 7 (4.5 mm)<br />
<b>Comments</b>: A little too big, but he prefers it that way. The Sheep Shop yarn is an aran, and there was just a little too much difference in weight between it and the Wool-Ease for me to be entirely comfortable. Also, put too many rows before the start of the colorwork. Should have done less like in the other two. To compensate, decreased faster.<br />
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Overall, I am thrilled with how the hats came out and I'm really glad I did them. The one ply yarns (Mal and Sheep Shop) worked better, I think, than the plied one, but that could be just personal preference. I'd recommend the pattern to anyone looking to try colorwork and is already familiar with circular knitting and making hats. And I know, the little brothers; hide your daughters, right? They've turned into handsome young men while I wasn't looking. I want to get a picture of them together in their matching hats one of these days.<br />
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Next on the docket is glommits for the Boyfriend, he of the long, thin hands. I'm hoping to get gauge with the one set of non-sock DPNs I have, because there's no way I could Magic Loop a whole project. So fiddly. Then, I have to find something to do with the other half skein of Malabrigo I have. I understand that it pills like a sonofabitch when knit into gloves/mittens, so I'm thinking a short cowl or neckwarmer, if I could eke it out of a half a skein.<br />
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Otherwise, I've been watching Heroes, Season one, which is fantastic. I don't plan on watching the other seasons, though, because my understanding it that the show went entirely downhill. I don't think even the utter hotness of Zach Quinto could save me.<br />
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</div>That's panty-melting good, even when he's being evil and is covered in blood. Gay? Not in my world. Nuh uh, not. at. all. Of course, this is the Quinto I fell in love with, much to the dismay and creeped out-ed ness of Boyfriend, the lifelong Trekkie:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...*slumps in a dead faint*<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ahem, so where were we? Right, Heroes. First Season: Awesome.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course, I do realize that I should be talking about books, considering that it's <i>in the name of the blog</i>, but I didn't realize that knitting would preclude reading, so, that's that. It's my blog and I'll talk about what I want. Nyah!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Okay, I'm done talking about what I want. At least for today.<br />
</div>Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-50436593425565892132009-10-28T08:16:00.003-04:002009-10-28T09:29:42.337-04:00More Hats and Not Much ElseHi everyone out there in blog-land!<br /><br />I've temporarily lost an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">internet</span> connection at home, so I'm coming to you from sunny (not so much, really) University campus in Philadelphia! It's been rainy and yucky and all around unpleasant here the past few days. But there is always the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">internet</span>.<br /><br />So, I don't have any new photos, but my current project is a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">doozy</span>. Remember how Little Bro #1 wanted a hat like the one I just finished? And in horribly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">clashy</span> and garish colors? Well, he's got it. I don't have a photo, but suffice it to say that it is this color:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12091606/3314886330_5a54b5c848_medium.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 117px;" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12091606/3314886330_5a54b5c848_medium.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>With this color for the snowflakes:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12090637/018_medium.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 136px;" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12090637/018_medium.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>And will have this color tassels and pompom:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/9765243/000_1882_medium.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 133px;" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/9765243/000_1882_medium.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I almost feel like knitting this hat is an affront to my dignity, not to mention my eyes, but he wanted an ugly hat (his words), so by Jove he's going to get one. If you can't tell, the pink there is sparkly pink acrylic from a friend's grandmother's old stash. I've got nothing against acrylic, but this is 80s acrylic. An entirely different breed.<br /><br />It's been interesting, because my gauge is off. These hats are the first time I've bothered, because the gauge really obviously affects the size of the hat (all the sizing is done by changing gauge). I know gauge affects the size of anything anyway, but this made me actually pay attention. Plus, you can use an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ear flap</span> as a swatch. So I actually went and measured my gauge, and it was 6 stitches to the inch, half a stitch smaller than the gauge for the smallest s<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-FfApyAv246MAIGgND_o5Hg8DbrZTOuB4ntD0ia-7h9viKlz7c7G0MFuJhgZZ6EfPjW9VY0GXMY5sqDkEU2UyvCaQO20ZcApayay4BjLNuKXmjZkxpPi_IOS5lqIcITe6Ahn5hOSfAA/s400/Peter_Frampton_Frampton_Comes_Alive.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-FfApyAv246MAIGgND_o5Hg8DbrZTOuB4ntD0ia-7h9viKlz7c7G0MFuJhgZZ6EfPjW9VY0GXMY5sqDkEU2UyvCaQO20ZcApayay4BjLNuKXmjZkxpPi_IOS5lqIcITe6Ahn5hOSfAA/s400/Peter_Frampton_Frampton_Comes_Alive.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ize</span>, which is 20 and a third inches around. I think the blue yarn (Which is Deluxe Worsted Tones by Universal: <a href="http://www.yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=3971"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Yarndex</span> link</a>) is more of a light worsted. Then again, I do usually have pretty tight gauge. Anyway, I figured that I had to add stitches, because this wasn't going to fit my little brother's 22.5 inch noggin and hair. This kid has got a fro that would make 70s era Peter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Frampton</span> jealous. Kindly look on the right, and imagine it more voluminous. It's like a giant triangle of hair. He gets it from my mom, who has really curly hair. Both of my little brothers got it, but I managed to get the thin, limp head of hair typical of my dad's side. Boo. So anyway, I had to make <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">accommodations</span> for his fro. In addition, I thought the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">earflaps</span> were a titch too narrow on my hat, so I increased until I hit 25 stitches instead of 21. I ended up doing the math (22.5X6 = 135) and then realized that a hat is supposed to be <span style="font-style: italic;">smaller</span> than the head it's for, not the same size. Usually you'd cast on 112 stitches, so I realized that the easiest thing to do would be to add another <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">repeat's</span> worth of stitches, so I ended up with a cast on edge of 128. I tried to keep the front-back proportions the same as the original, but made the back a little longer and the front a little shorter by a stitch or two. I was not, by the way, pleased that I had to do math. As an English major, it affronted my sensibilities. I could write a paper on gauge and knitting, or knitting's history, but math? Pah!<br /><br />The hat seems to fit well so far. I'm almost done the actual <span style="font-style: italic;">knitting</span> knitting bit and after that it's just i-cord, tassels and a pompom in Old Mrs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Proulx's</span> sparkly acrylic.<br /><br />Also, I've been looking at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">colorwork</span> patterns like mad since I found out that yes, I could do it. Mittens, mostly. I lack any <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">DPNs</span> between a size one and a size <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">I'mnotsurereallya</span>5or6, but I'm <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">still</span> looking at some fingering weight ones. I have a size 3 nine inch <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">circ</span> which could be useful for this. I've got my eye on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Endpaper</span> Mitts. A really popular pattern, but so pretty.<br /><br />Also, there's an interesting discussion over on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Rav</span> right now about the pronunciation of skein. I say <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">skayne</span>. It's also got a little bit of hank vs skein vs ball in it. For me, a hank is a twisty thing that you need to wind to use. A skein is an oblong center pull thing, like most big-box put ups, and a ball is usually something I've wound myself (I don't own a swift or ball winder). A cake is something wound by a winder. What do you all out in blog-land call these things?Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-8461819337825460192009-10-25T15:06:00.006-04:002009-10-25T16:16:56.816-04:00Finished! And New Yarn!HI. I'm a little jazzed today because there are some good things going on in my knitterly world.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/15811387/IMG_0638_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/15811387/IMG_0638_medium.JPG" border="0" height="320" width="142" /></a><br /></div>First, I finished my hat! And I absolutely adore it. I've made a lot of things (relatively; 25ish projects in less than a year of knitting) and I don't think I've loved anything quite as much as I love this hat. It's something I will actually wear, and it doesn't look especially homemade, at least I don't think. There's a picture on the right. Sorry about the <i>longness</i>, but I wanted to get the super-awesome tassels in, too. And yeah, there's an un-weaved in end there, but that's been remedied by now. I would get a modelled shot, but the model would have to be camera-shy me. Plus I have a giant zit right now, so it was more work than it was worth. Maybe someday. So, I learned a few things in the course of this project. First, and most obviously, colorwork. Up until this project, I had never done any, not even stripes. So I dived into the pool all at once, so to say. And I am so damn glad I did, because it was fun. Second would be English knitting. I did the two handed method, and my right hand was noticeably better by the end of the chart. Which brings us to: chart reading. This was my first project with a chart. It was a lot easier than the other charts I've seen, mostly because it was colors, I think. There were no weird symbols involved, no slanty lines. I've never been a visual learner, really. I also made tassels for the first time. They aren't perfect, but they're nice enough. It took two times to get these, and I think they're good enough. And last, pompoms! I wasn't sure if I wanted to put one on top (thought it might be too cutesy) but the top was wonky and it would cover the hole that you always get. Plus, a friend of mine said, quote, "That hat is screaming for a pompom." So I decided to stick it on there. I didn't do it the "right" way because I am too lazy to cut out cardboard circles. I wrapped the yarn around 3 fingers and did it that way. Simple. I modded the top decreases: Did two rows of decreases in a row, then a knit row, and on until I hit 28 stitches. Then I k2tog for two rounds. Simply put:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*k14, k2tog* around</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*k13, k2tog* around</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Knit</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*k12, k2tog* around</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*k11, k2tog* around</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Knit</span><br /><br />And so on, until you have 28 stitches left, and then do two rounds of k2tog.<br /><br />My little brother, age 17, pronounced that the pompom made the hat sexy and that he would be a sex machine if he had one like it. He offered to buy it off of me (how strange!) and I told him I'd knit him one. Why he didn't just ask I will never know. So yeah, the hat is done, and I adore it. Both little brothers and my mother want one like it now. Usually I'd refuse, but I really liked knitting it, so I will. I also know that they would all walk around exclaiming about how their sister/daughter knitted it and isn't it cool, so I'll do it, surely. Kevin (little brother numero uno, seventeen years, eighteen in February) wants it in garish and clashing colors and a sparkly pink pompom. Silly boy. Chris (little brother numero dos, sixteen years) wants an orange one with black snowflakes. It's going to be Halloween all year, I guess. Mom hasn't decided on a color, so I'll probably just use some half-skeins I have lying around for her.<br /><br />Okay, so now I've effectively written a damned novel on a hat, we'll move on. Went with the Little Brothers, the Boyfriend and the Uncle to the city yesterday. Uncle Cal and us have a long standing tradition of going to the city or somewhere else and have a little shopping spree. Uncle Cal isn't married, and has no kids, so he likes to spoil us a little sometimes. He is really awesome, both as a uncle and as a person, so we all absolutely adore spending time with him. Anywho, so we were on South Street, as is our wont, and of course I had to stop at a yarn shop. Loop <a href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/15860122/IMG_0643_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/15860122/IMG_0643_medium.JPG" border="0" height="150" width="200" /></a>would have been my preference, but it's very out of the way from the main of South Street, and I wasn't about to have everyone trudge down the street for 30-45 minutes in the rain. So we went to Nangellini. Don't get me wrong, I like Nangellini, I just sort of wanted to get a workhorse yarn, and Loop is better at "normal" yarns in solid colors. But I wasn't about to let that stop me. I got three skeins/hanks/thingies of yarn. First was a skein of Frabjous Fibers recycled sari silk. This is not normally the kind of yarn that I would purchase, but Uncle Cal was very intrigued by both the idea and the execution. He really liked the fact that it was spun by a woman's cooperative. Did I mention that he's a bit of a hippie? So, he heartily approved the splurge it was. The color is just beautiful. I can't really capture it with the camera. It's very saturated and just extremely beautiful. The second was a hank of fingering weight merino. It's from Kraemer yarns, in a 450 yard put up. The label just says "Superwash Merino Wool," so I think it's their Lesley yarn, as opposed to Jeannie. The 450 yard put up seems to be unusual, though. It's fr<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/15860083/IMG_0654_medium.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 121px;" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/15860083/IMG_0654_medium.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>om their undeyed collection, and I'm looking forward to trying my hand and Kool-Aid dyeing. It's lovely and soft. And last, I picked up some Noro Kureyon. I know it's sort of a yarn <span style="font-style: italic;">du jour</span>, well trodden path, etc. But a lot of times, things are popular for a reason. I know to expect that it's scratchy, but the color is just so lovely. I got colorway 40, "aqua teal." I'm thinking of using it in some colorwork with a solid. It will both look lovely and stretch the one skein farther. It is, in a word, gorgeous. I love the color. Mix it with a white or a black, maybe? It would look lovely against a neutral like that.<br /><br />Oh, and my Aunt Grace gave me some of her old needles. They're all straight needles, and seem to be 14 inchers. 9 pairs of bamboo, different sizes, and two pair of metal ones. They're certainly more than a few years old but should serve me well.<br /><br />*ahem* So, as you can see, there's been a lot of knitterly activity here. Or, maybe not a lot of activity, but there's sure as hell a lot of enthusiasm. I've also been listening to Florence + The Machine on repeat since last night, and am enjoying the crap out of it. If you got this far, congradu-freaking-lations, and thanks. I don't think I would read my own verbal diarrhea if I were someone else. Sometimes I just get a little over enthusiastic.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-9091347973720837992009-10-21T22:37:00.000-04:002009-10-21T22:37:34.772-04:00Colorwork: Or, Look What I Did!Hello, all out there in blog-land!<br />
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So, as you can see by today's title, I have tried something new: colorwork! I got tired of the endless yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog of Wisp, so I decided to start something new for the moment. I want a hat with earflaps. I've wanted one for a while, and the fact that they seem to be in style right now (although fuck me if I really know, because I am the least fashionable person around) was a plus. So, I started browsing Rav for patterns, and I kept coming back to the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/norwegian-star-earflap-hat">Norwegian Star Earflap Hat</a>. I liked the design, but I wondered if I could really do colorwork. I've never done any sort of it before, not even stripes. After some encouragement by a cotillion of internet buddies, I decided to take the plunge. I went with the two handed method (or, as it could be less eloquently described, double-fisting), and it was my first time really using English method. I found it pretty easy, except I couldn't find a comfortable way to wind the yarn around my finger. Also, my right hand is still sort of idiotic when it comes to these things.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmtGWDXJwcS22w3XiSpmiUWUdh_WkKDI6EL7eiWy6Xc8kzHGsNZusw1H8slq9m8kC_FpfOBwWnzn6zYh-tBQmPVjeRstdeSyl0_X2qjki4vqWOK5CH5esmaQXU1cvu1j3elQL6DQRp5HB/s1600-h/IMG_0635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBmtGWDXJwcS22w3XiSpmiUWUdh_WkKDI6EL7eiWy6Xc8kzHGsNZusw1H8slq9m8kC_FpfOBwWnzn6zYh-tBQmPVjeRstdeSyl0_X2qjki4vqWOK5CH5esmaQXU1cvu1j3elQL6DQRp5HB/s200/IMG_0635.JPG" /></a><br />
</div>So, the colorwork turned out pretty darn well for a first try, but I can't get the damned thing to fit properly. First the earflaps were more like neckwarmers, so I frogged back and tried again. Still too long, so I frogged back and tried again. And now... it's too short. Looks like a damned toddler's hat. I should have put in a lifeline last time but didn't, so I'm going to have to painstakingly frog yet again. Do you know how difficult it is to A. Keep track of the beginning of the round B. Get all of the stitches back on the needle and C. Orient them all correctly? It's a giant pain in the ass. Giant pain. I'd give up if this weren't my first colorwork, I swear. As it is, I am quite proud of it, so damn it, it . will. be. perfect.<br />
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And as for the yarn and pattern. The pattern is pretty much impeccably written, but the hat runs a little deep (which is why I unsuccessfully tried to shorten it). I would definitely recommend it. Clear directions, nice chart, and everything is laid out beautifully. The purple yarn is Malabrigo, worsted, and it is a joy to work with. The stitch definition is fantastic! The blue is Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted Tones, which is a decent wool. Seems to have a lot of lanolin, but it's nice enough.<br />
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Wisp is slumbering right now, but it will be finished! I just needed a break. Also, in blog giveaways recently, <a href="http://simplifiedbee.blogspot.com/2009/10/celebrating-100-simplified-bee-posts.html">Simplified Bee</a> is having a $25 gift card giveaway to one of a few craft stores in order to celebrate 100 posts! Congrats! Audrey's Give Aways is having a giveaway of an <a href="http://audreysgiveaways.blogspot.com/2009/10/tyej.html">Atomic Mushroom painting</a>. Normally, I would not mention a non-yarn giveaway, but Boyfriend is quite the amateur mycologist and this would be great for him, as sort of a jokey gift. And finally, <a href="http://sadiekate08.blogspot.com/2009/10/100-pure-wool-review-and-giveaway.html">SadieKate</a> is giving away 3 skeins of yarn from 100 Pure Wool. What pretty yarn! As always, I thank the bloggers and their sponsors for their generosity!Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-74949203046109812322009-10-18T01:16:00.000-04:002009-10-18T01:16:48.098-04:00Conquering WispHi, sorry for the long gap between posts! It's been hectic here, school-wise. A lesson plan intro, two midterms, and a paper. It's that time of the year, you know?<br />
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But, in knitting news, all is going well. Really well, in fact. After two false starts (<a href="http://toknitisdivine.ca/2006/10/travelling-roses-lace-scarf/">A Travelling Roses Scarf</a> and <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html">Branching Out</a>), I finally decided to try <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer07/PATTwisp.html">Wisp</a> again. If any of you have been reading for a bit, you know that I attempted Wisp before, in Louet Kid Mohair. You will also know that it was a Disaster. My gauge was uneven, my stitch count fluctuated wildly, and it was just altogether a Bad Project. I tried to frog it, but even that failed. It's been sitting in the corner mocking me ever since. I wanted to try somet<a href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/15510494/IMG_0631_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/15510494/IMG_0631_medium.JPG" width="150" /></a>hing new for this project, but I am actually really happy I ended up trying again. I don't know if it's because I'm a better knitter or if it's because the yarn is much nicer (I'm using that Kidsilk Spray I won at Lazy Knits and Purls), but it is going 200% better this time. The lace is really simple, but looks impressive, and I'm actually really enjoying the process of knitting it. I personally think it's the yarn; the silk lends the mohair more slip/mobility than the nylon did. I cast on 46, but am forgoing the eyelets/buttonholes because I can't imagine Mrs. F wanting to wear it any way besides a scarf or <i>possibly</i> a skinny shoulder/upper arm wrap. It makes the pattern really, really simple. I'm using size ten needles since I knit tightly and have no size eight or nine needles. It was either size seven or size ten, and knowing my propensity to knit tightly, I opted for ten. It seems to be working well. The yarn is heaven to work with, and while it was slightly difficult to tink (I did make a mistake or two), it wasn't as bad as I expected. When I was on the train Tuesday, a lady asked me what I was knitting and commented that she thought it looked really lovely. She asked if it was angora (which was surprising, considering most people don't know you can knit with anything but wool, seems) and I let her feel up the yarn. It was a thoroughly nice knitting in public experience. First, she knew I was knitting, not crocheting. Second, she complimented it profusely and was really nice about it. Last, she didn't start waxing poetic about gender roles, not knowing how to knit, not having the time to knit, or her dear departed mother who used to knit. (None of these but the final have happened to me, but they all happen. The last is sweet, but it makes for a little awkwardness. What do I have to say about someone's mother, even if she was a fantastic woman?) It was a bit of an ego stroke and was quite nice. I've done about 8 repeats and am just going to go until my ball runs out.<br />
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I've been wearing my cowl around, and have ceased to feel awkward about it. It puts a little color and sunshine into the day, so it makes me happy. The weather has been unseasonably cold and rainy, so any bit of cheer is welcome. Plus, they seem to be quite in fashion right now. I already caught one of the stitches in my glasses, though, and a little bit of yarn got pulled out. You know what I mean? It's not a big deal, but why am I so clumsy?<br />
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Lastly, some blog shout outs, both for contest and personal purposes. <a href="http://www.annettesacre.com/stitchblog/?p=199">Annette's Acre</a> is having a very generous giveaway to celebrate her 6th blogiversary! Congrats Annette, and thanks for being so generous! <a href="http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com/2009/10/playlists-giveaway-with-off-hooks.html">Rikrak Studio</a> is also holding a giveaway for one skein of <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5957749&section_id=5845263">Off The Hooks handspun</a>. Usually I don't care for a handspun look, but Bluebell and Harvest Stripes look absolutely gorgeous, don't they? Thanks to both Rikrak Studio and Ashley from Off The Hooks! And lastly, a group of my very intelligent, very witty, and very awesome friends have started up a blog: <a href="http://ladybusinessblog.wordpress.com/">Lady Business</a>. If you've ever looked for a ladymag with more substance than a Cosmo, this is your chance. They're just starting up, but they're going to have the usual sex fashion, etc. but with a big dose of culture, news, and articles about sexism, racism, etc. It's fun with substance, is what it is. So check it out! I might be guest blogging there occasionally, too.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-47969460742555349112009-10-10T23:59:00.002-04:002009-10-11T13:11:49.131-04:00The Knitting Evangelist and Other TalesHi, all! How are we doing tonight?<br />
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</div>Finished my cowl, which is nice. Problem is, I bound off a little too loosely. The top is floppy, and that makes me sad. It's also not so good at containing my hair when up in wimple form, but it is nice enough. Now only to wear it without feeling self-conscious! I'm working on it. The lace turned out ok. Sorry I don't have any good pictures; I'm a little too self-conscious to take one of myself. I'm currently under a lot of stress, and stress tends to manifest itself in the form of blemishes.<br />
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Otherwise, I've been trying to decide on a pattern to make for Mrs. F's lacy Kidsilk scarf. I wanted to do the <a href="http://toknitisdivine.ca/2006/10/travelling-roses-lace-scarf/">Travelling Roses Scarf</a> which is super lovely, but when I tried to do a K3tog with my size three needles, I realized that it was just not happening. So I've been considering <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html">Branching Out</a>, which I started and then buggered up. I have re-learnt that frogging mohair is categorically Not Pretty, so I want to be sure before I cast on. I like more geometric lace, and a lot seems to be, well, wishy washy to me.<br />
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And! I was a bit of a knitting evangelist this week! I was sitting outside of class knitting, and this girl suddenly says "Oh you know how to knit?!" Turns out she was trying to learn so she could make scarves. I demonstrated the knit stitch for her and recommended knittinghelp.com and of course Ravelry. Hopefully she'll take my advice and they'll be another one in our ranks!<br />
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Finally, Phat Fiber is holding another awesome giveaway that I desperately want to win. <a href="http://phatfiber.blogspot.com/2009/10/silver-sun-alpacas-giveaway.html">Check it.</a> Learn to spin kit? Be still my beating heart!Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-80695526469060695792009-10-06T00:32:00.003-04:002009-10-06T00:35:16.076-04:00Of Cowls, Unravelled Sweaters, and New YarnNot a very catchy title, I know. But it is blogging time! I need to decompress from today. I commute to university, for those of you who don't know, and I was on campus from 7:30 AM to 8 PM. In other words OMGKILLMEPLZ. In my one class, we have to prepare a mini lesson plan? Do you know how hard that is? I'll tell you: very. I have trouble narrowing my focus so much, and also understanding what other people need in terms of background. Reading has always been my thing, and I've never needed the explanations most do. Not to sound like a twat.<br />
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<a href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14822440/IMG_0550_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14822440/IMG_0550_medium.JPG" width="200" /></a>Anyway, this blog isn't about my personal life, it's about my craft! I'm still chugging away on my cowl/wimple. It's still going well, and I love working with the yarn. I've messed up a few times, but I'm too lazy to rip back, so the mistakes stay. Sometimes I end up with one less stitch than I should. My solution? Just make a new one! I know it's not kosher and the knitting goddesses are probably pissed at me, but whatevs. Boyfriend has graciously loaned me his camera, so there's an artsy fartsy shot on the side. I figure, it's an unblocked WIP, so there's no use in trying to show off the lace just yet. And yes, that is an Elvis Costello album hanging on my wall. <i>Live at the El Mocambo.</i> I am a giant, giant fan of his. I got to see him in concert once; one of the best days of my life, truly. Anywho, the cowl/wimple, as I said, is going fantastically. I'm done 2 repeats and have about 16/56 rounds left to go on repeat 3. Then there's another half repeat, 6 rows of garter, and I'm done! I'm really excited to be finishing up this project, not because I haven't enjoyed knitting it, but because I want to wear it! I'm wondering about the bind-off, though. You're supposed to bind off very loosely, and, well, I suck at that. I'm pondering if I should use<a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/FEATjssbo.php"> Jeny's Suprisingly Stretchy Bind Off</a> to do the job. It would be stretchy, but maybe too much so? I don't know. It's something to think about.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14843280/IMG_0564_medium.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14843280/IMG_0564_medium.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
</div>My other project has been finishing unraveling that wool and angora sweater I <a href="http://knitlitandbullshit.blogspot.com/2009/08/thrift-store-finds.html">blogged about a while back</a>. It's all done now, and most of the yarn is back in hanks (which, to me, are the twisty things), although two skeins are still drying. I'm ambivalent about the yarn itself now that I've gotten a good look at it, but it was still a worthwhile experience. I'm not sure if it looks too worn or not. But hey, I got about 1300 yards of it! Maybe it'll look better knitted up. The plies are really loose, and I'm sure that contributes to the look of it. If nothing else, I could probably make some bitchin socks. There's a crappy photo for your perusal on the left. The yarn isn't that kinky anymore after it's been washed; I didn't weight it too much, but the washing process itself does a lot of the de-kinking for you. It smells like shampoo. Lovely!<br />
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</div>And a third fibery thing. Last post I was all excited about the Rowan Kidsilk Spray that I had won in Sara (at <a href="http://www.lazyknitsandpurls.com/">Lazy Knits and Purls</a>)'s giveaway? Well, it arrived today! It's devilishly soft and really sinfully indulgent. Beautiful yarn all around. Since I seem to be on a picture spree, go ahead and take a look off to your right. I'll wait. ...Okay, you done drooling? You see that? That's Kidsilk Spray. That shit looks at Malabrigo and says "That's all you got"? It laughs in the face of mere nylon blends, touting its silky softness in the face of any opposition. It blows raspberries at other mohair. Okay, enough silliness. Really, though, it's gorgeous yarn and oh-so-soft. They really need to invent a Feel-O-Screen. I'm going to make a friend's mother something out of at least one skein. She gave me her mother's knitting needles and is all around an awesome lady. Now that I have some really, really nice yarn that is deserving of her, I'll happily use it on someone else. Now, just to pick a pattern. Aka the funnest part, amirite, amirite?<br />
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And lastly, I see that I have a follower! Hi! *waves* I'm very flattered that of all the knitting blogs in all the corners of the Internet, you walk into mine. Grab a chair, get cozy!Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-56172993660596418652009-10-01T18:08:00.005-04:002009-10-01T18:58:20.387-04:00My Week Has Gotten SO Much Better!Although anyone reading this blog doesn't know what a pisser of a week I've had, you'll have to trust me on this one. It was a doozy. Nothing happened, it just sucked. Until today.<br /><br />So, as anyone reading this blog <span style="font-style: italic;">does</span> know (considering my two, count em two! comments have come from people holding giveaways I entered), I love yarn giveaways. I love em a lot. I'm broke, and they offer me a chance to get awesome yarn at no cost. Which is important when you've got Malabrigo taste on a Red Heart budget. I don't consider myself a yarn snob at all, but I do prefer to work with nice yarns when I can. So, anyway, these <del>enablers</del> bloggers really do have very generous giveaways. It's heartwarming, really, and I appreciate them. (Hear that guys? You're awesome.) So, I check to see the results of Sara's contest over at<a href="http://www.lazyknitsandpurls.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Lazy Knits and Purls</a>, and see that I have won! Now, Sara may be lazy, but she sure isn't stingy. The prize was 5, count em, 5 skeins of <a href="http://www.yarndex.com/yarn.cfm?yarn_id=2691">Rowan Kidsilk Spray</a>! ...have you recovered from your faint yet? I know! How freaking generous is that? I'm doubly pleased about my luck because of a second factor as well. I came across this blog while actively looking for interesting yarn giveaways on the interbutz. (Oh no, my secret is out now! ;)) The contest took into account all comments in the month of September. Since I was not a reader of the blog (although I probably am now; she writes delightfully), I couldn't, in good conscience, start leaving a lot of comments in hopes of winning. It just isn't right. So, I left one comment, and on that comment, I won! I'm very glad I didn't give in to the temptation to be a dick. Which isn't a giant accomplishment or anything, just basic human decency, but I can feel good about this yarn now.<br /><br />Also in yarny contest goodness now, <a href="http://www.knitpurlgurl.com/">KnitPurlGurl</a> has a<a href="http://www.knitpurlgurl.com/2009/09/webs-giveaway-bamboo-interchangeable.html"> set of WEBS interchangeable needles to give away</a>! I don't particularly want to send more people over there, but it really is a great contest. It's running until October 13th, so be sure to enter! (You know, or not, rendering me a better chance... =)) And yes, the blogging does give me extra entries, why do you ask? In addition, I won that recycled Jags yarn, although I was mistaken about the fiber content. It is still lovely, though, and quite varied. My favorite is a 50/50 cotton/acrylic she calls "rainy day." It's super soft.<br /><br />Okay, so onto actual knitting news, you know. Still working on my cowl/wimple, which I have redubbed the M class cowl because of the amount of Trek I've been watching while knitting it. The colors remind me of the usual features of an M class planet: vegetation, water, etc. It's so pretty! I'll have to borrow the Boyfriend's camera so I can start featuring photos again. Sorry about that. The bamboo needles are going about one thousand times better now that I've waxed them. I also think that my hand oils might be playing a part. Maybe I'm knitting looser. Well, for whatever reason, using them has ceased to suck, and is actually quite pleasant. I'm liking this project.<br /><br />The conductor on the train today told me that I reminded him of his mother, who always knit. I find these sentiments sweet, but I have no clue what to respond with. As it is, I smiled, nodded, said "that's nice" and listened to him. But I think I made him feel like an ass, which was far from my intention. Any ideas?<br /><br />So, in conclusion, a shitty week has been made better by yarn. I mean, yarn makes everything better, right?Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-39002697257859044772009-09-26T13:31:00.004-04:002009-10-01T18:53:34.635-04:00In Which I Hate Bamboo NeedlesSo, I finished my Dummy Clap, which I have christened The Herp. It looks better now that the stitches have been dropped, but I haven't blocked it yet. My mom would be like "Lol what are you doing and that it ugly" and I don't feel like explaining to her. On the other hand, she excitedly related something she saw on TV the other day. Apparently, she was watching the View or something and they were talking about knitting. They then started talking about felting and Mom was all "I KNOW WHAT THAT IS." Anyway, back to the scarf, the colors look nicer now that the stitches have been dropped, but it's still slightly sickly looking. No photos, because my camera seems determined to stay lost. If I find it, I'll update with some. I don't know if I'll wear it or not. I still need to figure out what to do with the leftover Abby (over a whole freakin skein <a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/roll%20eyes%20emoticon/Hihey9989/rolleyes.gif?o=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/Hihey9989/rolleyes.gif" border="0" /></a>) I have left. I'm thinking maybe a felted something or other.<br /><br />I have (duh-duhduh-duuuuuuuuh) started a new project. In my current vein of selfish knitting, I am making a wimple/cowl for myself. The pattern is called <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wavy Feathers Wimple,</span> which, let's face it, isn't too catchy. But the pattern itself looks lovely. The designer is Caryll (Carol?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/2118613295_7475debbbc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 96px; height: 128px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/2118613295_7475debbbc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> Is that you?) McConnell, who seems to be a mostly hat and scarf designer who has her own website but doesn't charge for the patterns. The lace pattern is an old one that Barbara Walker calls Japanese Feathers. It does look rather pretty, doesn't it? A little "in zee old country, we did not haff potatoes" but since I'll only be wearing it that way when it's freezing, I doubt I'll care too much. Already, I'm running into difficulty. It's not the pattern's fault, though, not at all. It recommends size six 16" circs, and I'm using size 7s since that's the only 16 incher I've got. Herein lies the problem: these needles are bamboo. I got them on my first trip to Loop, but really shouldn't have. I wanted to try a different needle material, since I was (and am) a pretty new knitter, so I suppose it was a good <span style="font-style: italic;">idea</span>. Problem is, I knit tight. Tight enough that using bamboo is an annoyance. Plus, the stitches, while fitting around the loop, are so<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12091120/008_medium.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 98px;" src="http://images4-cache.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12091120/008_medium.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>rt of strained. So, this is how my knitting is going: knit knit knit knit, stop, tug too-tight stitches up the goddamned sticky bamboo, tug stitches from the cord to the needle because they've been pulled tiny on the cord, knit knit. It's frustrating. What I would give for a 12 inch shiny metal circ right now. It seems like the material du jour these days is bamboo, though. Booo. I might get some Options when I do my grand birthday knitting order from Knitpicks. I have heard good things. Anywho, the yarn I'm using is Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in the Franklin's Panopticon colorway. It's so pretty; reminds me of a lake.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-26717663563894269832009-09-20T20:46:00.003-04:002009-09-20T22:50:13.939-04:00Yarn TrekSo, I took Boyfriend on a yarn store excursion yesterday, and it was so much fun! I imagine that most of you know that I live in Philadelphia (close enough), so this was a Philly-fied yarning day.<br /><br />First, we stopped at Reading Terminal Market. Anyone who has been there knows how awesome it is. Full of all different food stands and yummy treats. This was me basically throwing a bone to Boyfriend. He loves to cook and learn about food, and going to the Market was a nice thank you for coming with me to the yarn stores.<br /><br />So, after chowing down on some General Tso's chicken and wonton soup, we set a trail for <a href="http://www.nangellini.com/">Nangellini</a>. This was my first time in the store, and it was a pleasant one. It specializes in novelty yarns, but there were some more conventional ones too. They also have paintings and finished knit or crocheted objects to buy. They seem to really be the epitome of the "new vanguard" of fiber art: young, hip, and alternative. The owner has some awesome crazy colored hair, and the entire shop seemed very young, if you catch my meaning. The sales people were helpful but not overbearing, and the atmosphere, all in all, was welcoming and slightly kooky. As for the yarns, there were a lot of yarns where I just looked and said "wtf?" But that's the point of novelty yarn, isn't it? They also had more traditional wools and Noro, some mohair and silk (Debbie Bliss, I think, wonderfully soft stuff). But what they pride themselves on, as far as I can tell, is their recycled silk. Basically, from what I understand, it is taken from sari mill ends in India, where women spin it into yarn. It's irregular and sort of fuzzy, but the colors were <span style="font-style: italic;">breathtaking</span>. Such vibrancy! Lemme see if I can find a photo...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nangellini.com/images/yarn/sarisilksolids.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 150px;" src="http://www.nangellini.com/images/yarn/sarisilksolids.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14202287/Yarn_007_medium.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 115px;" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14202287/Yarn_007_medium.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>There we are. Although I can't say that the photo does justice to the color. It's gorge. It's about $14 for a 100 gm, 100 yard skein, which didn't seem too bad. Since I'm a wimp, I picked up a conventional yarn, Elizabeth Austen Andes. The color was Boyfriend's choice. Although it's not the most exciting yarn, the color is pretty and the price was right. It was in the half-off bin, so it cost me about $5. Not sure what I'll do with it, though. I was thinking maybe a pair of hobo style mittens for the Boyfriend, since he loved the color so much.<br /><br />Next, it was off to<a href="http://www.sophiesyarns.com/"> Sophie's Yarns</a>. This is easily the most chill yarn shop I have ever visited. They had just gotten a new order in, and the owner (Jennifer?) was sitting on the floor, putting yarn on the shelves. She excused the mess and explained that she had decided to have some pancakes instead of going into work early. Can't fault her for that, I would have done the same thing. The atmosphere was really friendly and chatty. We talked about shawls, Susan Bates sock needles, schools and yarn, among others. At one point, she asked us if we minded if she brought the cat in. Of course we didn't, so we were treated to a friendly, sweet, and exceedingly soft cat. She even allowed us in the back to check out the yarn still in the boxes! The selection was quite nice, being mostly workhorse yarns. There was a big selection of Ella Rae Classic and Happy Feet DK, along with a lot of Plymouth Tweed. A <span style="font-style: italic;">lot</span> of Tweed. There was also a decent amount of Noro. It was all gorgeous. I ended up getting a skein of Araucania Nature Wool Chunky out of the $6 bin:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14202089/Yarn_012_square.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 93px; height: 93px;" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14202089/Yarn_012_square.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Holy crappy picture, Batman! Sorry about that. It's really a lovely olive, almost military green. I'm thinking a hat.<br /><br />Last but not least, we went to <a href="http://www.loopyarn.com/">Loop</a>. From what I understand, this is the most well known and well established yarn store in the area. The atmosphere is more businesslike, although the salespeople were friendly and there was a knitting circle starting. The selection is out of this world, but definitely skews towards higher end yarns. It's organized neatly and nicely, and the shop itself is lovely. I walked away triumphant with what I had come to the city for:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14202210/Yarn_005_medium.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 163px;" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/14202210/Yarn_005_medium.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Malabrigo. Hot damn does this stuff feel soft. If you don't remember, it's for the Pauline I want to make. I think the sophisticated color will offset the possible childishness of a bonnet. I don't usually pay $12 for a skein of yarn, but this stuff is very soft, and I figure it's a learning experience. I mean, there's got to be a reason so many people love this stuff.<br /><br />So, thus ends my mini yarn shop review of Philadelphia. I haven't been to Rosie's Yarn Cellar yet, but I shall make that trip someday. In conclusion, go to Nangellini if you like funky yarns in a funky shop, Sophie's if you like a chill atmosphere and affordable workhorse yarns, and Loop if you're pulling in the expensive yarn big guns. They're all great in their own way, and you really can't lose.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-36962423981439540312009-09-14T22:56:00.003-04:002009-09-14T23:42:01.846-04:00Tentative RejoicingBreathe a sigh of relief: I've started a new project! I've decided to do a <a href="http://knitting-up-a-storm.blogspot.com/2008/10/dummy-clap-shawl-shrug-patterns.html">Dummy Clap</a> with the Abby I talked about last post. The Dummy Clap is pretty much a simpler Clapotis, without all the increasing and decreasing. I'm doing it in a scarf size with a cast on of 28. Wish I had a picture, but my camera has mysteriously disappeared. The yarn is knitting up okay, although there are some splotches and I don't particularly care for the green; looks a little sickly. I'm going to see how it goes. The knitting is super simple, and I can do it in class.<br /><br />In other news, I've discovered the lovely fiber stylings of <a href="http://www.jagsfunkyfibers.com/">Jags</a>. She recycles yarn from sweaters, something any reader of this blog knows I wholeheartedly endorse.There's some lovely stuff there. You might be wondering why I'm mentioning this; to tell you the truth, besides the fact that I'm always happy to support recycled yarn, and I think that Jags' stuff is very pretty, there's a giveaway of some of her cashmere, and this is getting me an extra entry. When the prize is cashmere, a girl can be convinced to do almost anything. ;)Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-21792694334687632992009-09-12T15:58:00.007-04:002009-09-12T16:57:28.444-04:00Another Grovelling Post to the Knitting GodsBlast it, I still haven't got the knitting mojo back. <span style="font-style: italic;">Nothing</span> appeals to me, and if something does, I don't have the yarn for it. Boo. So I haven't been knitting a thing, and it's starting to get to me. I want to do something simple, but everything bores me. The new Knitty was somewhat inspirational, but, as usual, I don't have appropriate yarn for anything.<br /><br />I really want to knit <a href="http://knittingkninja.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/pauline-hat-pattern.pdf">Pauline</a>, but I don't have any suitable yarn. It's really meant for Malabrigo, which I was planning to pick up on a yarn store excursion today. However, the fates <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2917072794_9698d34658.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 116px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2917072794_9698d34658.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>and the weather conspired against me, so it will not be until next weekend at least that I get a suitable yarn for it. I have a single-ply aran weight, but it is bright orange and destined for a hat for Christopher (little brother). The idea of me in a bright orange bonnet is laughable at best. I'm hoping to do it in a teal or steel blue, as was suggested to me by a group of my contemporaries, who are much better at choosing color and gauging fashion than I am. The fact that I'm itching to knit this does give me an excuse to splurge on a nice yarn, though. Malabrigo is really popular, but it ain't cheap, at $11 a skein. I've never seen it in real life, and I really want to see if it's all it's cracked up to be. The pattern, of course, is super cute and impeccably written, as can be expected of this designer. Really, you should go check her out: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/designers/kristen-hanley-cardozo">Kristen Hanley Cardozo</a>. She blogs at<a href="http://knittingkninja.com/"> Knitting Kninja</a>. I knew her from elsewhere on the internet before I realized she was a knit designer, so it was a bit of a shock when I realized this same person that I was seeing was actually the designer of Maude Louise, one of my favorite cardigan patterns. (Please excuse the wonky sentence structure; I don't care to give out the name of the forum, for her privacy and mine, even though it's fairly well-known.) So yeah, if you're reading this (looks out to internet, sees no one, hears crickets), check her patterns out. They're perfectly and meticulously written, and always pretty.<br /><br />My main headache these days is trying to find out what to do with some Bare Sheep Y<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12090664/016_medium.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 106px;" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12090664/016_medium.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>arn Company Abby I have. It's merino worsted, as far as I know, but the colors are giving me trouble. See on the right? The colors aren't blended into one another in any way, and the transition is stark. I think if they were more subtly blended, I wouldn't be writing this paragraph. I'm thinking about doing a scarf, since that's a place where you can wear a bit of a "statement piece," but I haven't found the right pattern yet. It's a balancing act, because these colors can easily go horribly wrong. I'm thinking about doing a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/my-so-called-scarf">So-Called Scarf</a> with it, but I'm not sold. Argh!<br /><br />School is eating up a good chunk of my time, too. I've got no problem with knitting in public, but I prefer to have the resources there in case I run into trouble.<br /><br />In the lit department, I've finished <span style="font-style: italic;">The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.</span> (Spoilers ahead) It was worlds better than <span style="font-style: italic;">Agnes Grey</span>, with lots of action and much more sympathetic characters. It was still a little too religious for me, but really, I expect that from Anne. I was shocked, <span style="font-style: italic;">shocked,</span> I tell you, when Helen went back to Arthur. Of course, it was framed as Christian duty, but I would have let that no good bastard rot in hell. Of course, to have the happy ending, he needed to die. So I suppose this was Anne's way of doing it while preserving the character of Helen. Helen was already a bad wife, so she couldn't be a bad Christian, too. If Mr. Huntingdon had died suddenly, or had she not gone back to him, she would have never forgiven herself, I think, and as such, she would have never married Gilbert. So, it did work out for the best. The ending was of the same happy sort I expect from these books, so I walked away satisfied.<br /><br />So yeah. Knit's going badly, lit's going well, and, well, you can't get away from the bullshit anymore. I'm beseeching the Divine Woolly One to give me my mojo back. Maybe I should burn some baby alpaca as a sumptuous offering. This sucks.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-52768698021773752592009-09-07T00:37:00.004-04:002009-09-07T00:53:08.483-04:00I Know, I Know, SorryI've been neglecting the blog as of late, only, what, a week after I started it? So, here's the deal: I started school again and my knitting sort of fell to the wayside. Every project I picked up went bad and I just couldn't muster up the wherewithal to keep knitting. So, I took a little break. The only contribution I've made to the knitting world lately is a few gifs for the Nerdy Knitters Ravelry group. They have the best Zachary Quinto thread this side of the internet. Truly drool-worthy. Gay? Not in my fantasy world!<br /><br />In other news, I've been reading <span style="font-style: italic;">The Tenant of Wildfell Hall</span> lately and am enjoying it more than I thought I would. I mostly picked it up out of respect, I guess, for Anne. I've read <span style="font-style: italic;">Agnes Grey</span> but I really didn't like it too well (waaay too many religious overtones for me), so I decided I should at least give her another shot. I'm enjoying this one much better, although getting used to a man's point of view is a little jarring. All I read any more are dead white Englishwomen, so I'm used to a woman's POV by now. I've gotten to this beginning of Mrs. Graham's journal, so I do see a shift to the feminine point of view I'm more used to. I'm liking the characters and the plot, much, much better than those of <span style="font-style: italic;">Agnes Grey</span>. Agnes was so... wishy washy. Pale. Meaningless. She had next to no personality. Mrs. Graham, however, is full of that "fiestily independent but still a woman of her time" thing, a la <span style="font-style: italic;">Jane Eyre</span>. So yeah, loving it. After I finish this one, <span style="font-style: italic;">Shirley</span> is next. Why yes, I love the Brontes, why do you ask?<br /><br />I've been watching a lot of Voyager lately, too. Liking the characters still, although Kes annoys the everloving crap out of me. Oh yes, I see, you're so earnest and naive. Puke.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-73557698661651032462009-08-29T13:11:00.003-04:002009-08-29T13:55:34.037-04:00FetchingSo, Flamingo Swing is currently on a bit of a hiatus. I think I needed to make something with good old fashioned worsted weight to get back into the swing of things. I tell you, I don't see how lace knitters use laceweight all the time. It would drive me bonkers. So, I've started a pair of<span style="font-style: italic;"> Fetching</span>. I know, I know, everyone and their cat has knit it, but I finally found a use for fingerless gloves; when I go back to school, (which, when I put it that way, sounds like a long <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/images/fetchingALT.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 193px;" src="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/images/fetchingALT.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>way off, but it's really Monday), I'll be in the computer lab at least some part of the day, taking notes in some part of the day, and fumbling with my iPod the rest of it. All activities that require more dexterity than mittens provide. So, a pair of fingerless mitts it is. Looking through the project pages, most of them looked too chunky, even those knit in a DK weight. Fetching looked appropriately delicate, though. See, I have small hands and skinny wrists. I didn't want something giant and chunky, because that just doesn't work for me. So I decided on Fetching even though I hate to go with what everyone else has knit already. You know, sometimes things are popular for a reason. Also, the cabling should look nice with the Dean Street hat and mittens I've done already.<br /><br />The write up on Knitty made me laugh a little, though. And I quote: "If you have never tried knitting cables before, this would be an excellent project to start with. The cable pattern is simple, and if you make a mistake and end up having to rip out some rows, it shouldn't take you long to catch up." Seems reasonable, until you realize that this pattern is in the round. It's like, hey, if 4 needles aren't enough for you, try 5! It's been a bit of a pisser with all that, but I have found a decent way to do it. See, the Yarnstorming people (a group who send out yarn and whatnot to those who can't really afford it) sent me three DPNs. First, only three. Second, I have no clue what size they are because I don't own a gauge. (Not that I'm not super grateful for their generosity, don't get me wrong.) So, I'm knitting Fetching on three DPNs of unknown size and one size six circular that I'm using as a fourth DPN. Who knows if they'll fit, because as we all know:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nataliedee.com/072909/paid-for-by-the-making-shitty-sweaters-association.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 198px;" src="http://www.nataliedee.com/072909/paid-for-by-the-making-shitty-sweaters-association.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The neat thing about this arrangement, though, is that I can use the other end of the circular as a cabling needle. It makes things a bit easier, but I still maintain that cabling in the round is a giant pain in the ass and any first time cabler attempting it might be scared off forever.<br /><br />The yarn I'm using is Ella Rae Classic Superwash. It's a nice, moderately soft, moderately plied worsted weight. I've already made a hat and mittens with it, so I suppose everything will coordinate. The important thing here is superwash, though. The minute I proudly don these mitts is also the day I decide to get coffee. And we all know what happens with coffee; it loves to spill. Add this to the fact that I have the dexterity and grace of a drunken toddler, and superwash becomes deathly important.<br /><br />In other news, I've downloaded the first season of <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Trek: Voyager</span>, and watched the first two episodes last night. I missed Trek the first time around, but it ain't gonna happen again! I like the crew of this one, (save that tart, Seven of Nine. Not that it's her fault, you know, being FANSERVICE and all) so it oughta be fun.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-88704200388474991662009-08-27T13:39:00.007-04:002009-08-27T14:50:20.288-04:00Thrift Store FindsSo, I love thrift stores. LOVE them. Where else can you get things so cheap? Plus, so many of them donate proceeds to charity; you can't go wrong!<br /><br />I've been wanting to go thrifting for a while since I got the notion that I can buy things, and then unravel them for the yarn! Not exactly novel, but a bit of an epiphany here. I ended up getting a blanket for $3 and a sweater for $6.<br /><br />Now, the blanket looked to be hand-knitted. I felt sort of bad unravelling another knitter's hard work, but the fact that they will never know comforted me somewhat. Related<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7M14gPXJNaAUeGfc_IPl79c6KgbyXm8pyf9FJ6_403kd1ADZgedF0vcXzbP1Adktuwr_SiSDH3mEsXk-OCefV3br69A0il-rWk_jIrvd5H3I1qSO33Pm2zk26z0M3SAov0p_HNN2u9h-U/s1600-h/017.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7M14gPXJNaAUeGfc_IPl79c6KgbyXm8pyf9FJ6_403kd1ADZgedF0vcXzbP1Adktuwr_SiSDH3mEsXk-OCefV3br69A0il-rWk_jIrvd5H3I1qSO33Pm2zk26z0M3SAov0p_HNN2u9h-U/s320/017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374713396962235170" border="0" /></a>: what kind of asshole throws away a hand-knit baby blanket? I think it was relatively recent, too; the yarn (as per my burn test) was 100% cotton, and had two uneven plies. All signs point to recent. If it were older, I think it would have been acrylic and the plies would not have been so uneven. Uneven ply is more of a modern taste, right? Anyway, I did take a few pictures of it before the unravelling, but they're on Boyfriend's camera, so I can't get to them now. But, I do have some photos of the yarn I got. There's a photo of the whole haul on the right, there. For the sake of brevity, I won't post all the photos I took of the separate colors. I didn't manage to get a good picture of the ply, either, but it looks a lot like photo below:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yarndex.com/images/FiddleDeeDee_Cleckheaton_20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 750px; height: 222px;" src="http://www.yarndex.com/images/FiddleDeeDee_Cleckheaton_20.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The resemblance is so uncanny, even down to color, that I think this might be the yarn itself. It's called "Fiddle De Dee." I'll have to ask a Rav member how fuzzy it is. Might be the last piece of the puzzle. The bigger ply of this stuff is super fuzzy when you take it apart.<br /><br />My other find was a green cardigan for $6. I haven't taken it apart yet, and to tell the truth, I'm sort of afraid to. It's from something called Oui Designer collection, and the yarn is 45% angora, 40% lambswool and 15% nylon/polyamid. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixS8nQIo79giFyg7X5cbFQISRDXNVW0hK1GWyKSHUT_if0sNdsqZOrw5tyOR3UyCbRGFGv77Goq1KviFS_BYbAqMkeY1pjotXkGeuPHUDdYu2UYacytxaeKdBAVSgrXfVKVucdyxA0l879/s1600-h/020.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixS8nQIo79giFyg7X5cbFQISRDXNVW0hK1GWyKSHUT_if0sNdsqZOrw5tyOR3UyCbRGFGv77Goq1KviFS_BYbAqMkeY1pjotXkGeuPHUDdYu2UYacytxaeKdBAVSgrXfVKVucdyxA0l879/s320/020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374717073961090338" border="0" /></a>Pretty nice, huh? A photo of the whole sweater on the right, there. It's fuzzy (as can be expected of angora), but there's still stitch definition and good seams. This will be my first try ripping a sweater when I get the ovaries to do it.<br /><br />I haven't been working on my socks, I lost the yen to, I guess. Also, I'm getting hardcore laddering, which is disturbing. I didn't get them my first time on DPNs and my first socks, so why now? I really should pick a project and just get the mojo back.Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-78064557962590846602009-08-26T12:38:00.006-04:002009-08-26T13:22:34.506-04:00Why Do I Suck So Much?So, the extra bit of stockinette on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Flomit</span> socks was annoying the crap out of me, so I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">frogged</span> them. In other words, both of my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">WIPs</span>, gone. In a day. I've really been batting a thousand lately, haven't I? Well, I wasn't really enamored of the pattern anymore either, so maybe it was for the best.<br /><br />So, I trolled <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ravelry</span> for good sock patterns and decided on the Sunday Swing socks. The only problem is that these are sized socks. So, first, I had to find a photo that demonstrated how far the socks came up, and then measured around that part of the leg. I've always been awful with guessing distance and other spatial trivialities, so this was actually pretty hard for me, not to mention a gigantic pain in the ass. This done, I found that I should be making a large. ...A large? Me? Now, you don't know me, but I've never been a large in anything, ever. Clothes have always been too big on me. (By the way, don't read this as a knock on people larger than me. It's totally not; I'm just trying to better illustrate my absolute confusion. I think <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">sizeism</span> is a big problem in our society.) So, anyway, I start looking at my leg, and realize that my calves are quite plump. Okay, doesn't bother me. The only problem is that I have tiny chicken ankles! So, will they fit? Stay tuned to find out.<br /><br />The Sunday Swing pattern is one made specifically for variegated sock yarns. It was written by Kristel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Nyberg</span> and featured in the Summer 09 issue of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Knitty</span>. By the by, I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">lov</span>e <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Knitty</span>. If you don't know about it, it's a free online pattern mag. Besides the patterns being free, they usually also come in a variety of sizes, which is important, considering women both big and small need stylish clothing and patterns. It warms my cold little heart. Also, the fact that a pattern is even <span style="font-style: italic;">in</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Knitty</span> serves as a sort of quality control. If it's in there, it's probably good and relativ<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/images/sundayBEAUTY.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 152px;" src="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/images/sundayBEAUTY.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ely free of errors. Anyway, here's a photo of the socks from the magazine, on the right:<br />Nice, right? I think they look pretty good, and should look good in the pink. I'm hoping for a pair of socks that look nice with flats. (I hate to not wear socks with flats if I'm in long pants. Chalk it up to a personal neurosis.) The pattern is charted, and this is my first time working from a chart. Let's hope it goes well!<br /><br />In other, not knit related news, today I mourn the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. Of course, I started a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Rav</span> thread when I heard about it, and it's already a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">shitstorm</span> It's got the little "heated discussion" guy at the top. You know, many people make mistakes, grave mistakes, awful mistakes in their lives. I'd wager Ted did much more to atone himself than others. What I find funny about this is that the people badmouthing him <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">benefited</span> from legislation he wrote or pushed for</span>. Like, lady, don't you see what he did for you? It's ridiculous. But, I'll miss Senator Kennedy. Paraphrasing a friend here: He was a man of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">privilege</span> who chose to be a man of the people. And for that, he has my admiration. RIP.<br /><br /><span class="byline"><em></em></span>Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-63309119966360747512009-08-25T18:50:00.008-04:002009-08-25T19:58:03.084-04:00The Mohair Murder MysteryIn other words, kill me please. Between my inexperience knitting with lace, and my inexperience<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJq4-VGajsj6t9jbBiJmcN48dWnpkwWefdiuGLJStHkrF3nMVc7Q7Bkkzjn-G5ctN2oOXAkBpRdYQH46sz3fq6NQsaSltQyDfF-42Pe31Sgml6E_QBwxTKslUDyovpwzmR-qFfcxF9-a_/s1600-h/Angry+goat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJq4-VGajsj6t9jbBiJmcN48dWnpkwWefdiuGLJStHkrF3nMVc7Q7Bkkzjn-G5ctN2oOXAkBpRdYQH46sz3fq6NQsaSltQyDfF-42Pe31Sgml6E_QBwxTKslUDyovpwzmR-qFfcxF9-a_/s320/Angry+goat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374051237883021650" border="0" /></a> knitting with mohair, poor Lucy Snowe had to be ripped. Well, I would say ripped, but the word really doesn't encompass the horror and absolute screaming terror of frogging mohair. I swear I could hear the goat this stuff had been shorn from screaming with rage in the distance, cursing me, and making the yarn stick.<br /><br />The yarn, going slowly, so slowly, and then, at the end of a row, tangling into such an awful mess that cutting the fluff was the only recourse. I tell you, it was like trying to de-tangle a tomboy's nest of hair. If she were also Satan.<br /><br />And then, inexplicably, the yarn broke! This wasn't when I was yanking at it, no, it's at the end of a relatively easy row! What the hell is this shit? The goat, it is laughing at me. IT MOCKS ME! IT MOCKS ME IN MY PAIN!<br /><br />Wisp will be conquered. Wisp will even be conquered in mohair. Just not now.<br /><br />In other news, the Flomit socks offered their own confusion the other day. I ended up ending the rounds at the wrong needle. How badly can things go lately? Really? I fixed it by knitting an extra bit of stockinette on the needle that was "behind," but it's annoying and shows how new I still am at this. If there's something I hate, it's to fail at something. *sigh* I think it's just that school's starting up soon, so my mind's been on that.<br /><br />Very baa-aad luck with knitting lately. *dodges rotten tomatoes*Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8853485437204810983.post-50267594183867643662009-08-24T14:18:00.001-04:002009-08-24T14:51:46.568-04:00Wisp and Sock the Second<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/13044070/003_medium.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 162px;" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/13044070/003_medium.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />So, right now I'm working on my first lace project, a Wisp for my friend's mother, Mrs. F. It's looking alright. A shitty picture for your perusal on the left. Yeah, I'm too lazy to go outside and take a nice one. Probably a bad way to start a blog, right? I'm sure that I'll do better from now on. I've christened this project <span style="font-style: italic;">Lucy Snowe</span> because I've recently finished <span style="font-style: italic;">Villet</span><span style="font-style: italic;">te</span> by Charlotte Brontë and have been thinking it over. What a depressing book, right? After poor Lucy finally finds love, her love SPOILER drowns at sea. I mean, how sad is that? I also loved the book for it's look into a woman's role at the time. It reminded me a little bit of <span style="font-style: italic;">Jane Eyre</span>, understandably, but infinitely more depressing. At least Jane finally marries and finds happiness. Lucy is alone. But, I suppose you could make an argument that she finally discovers her own self worth, which brings its own kind of happiness. For a woman of the time, though, spinsterhood seems like an awful fate. Anyway, the pink of this mohair (why yes, PINK MOHAIR; it's Louet Kid Mohair, a 70% mohair 30% nylon blend) reminds me of Lucy's pink dress that she wears to the theatre. I'm finding the knitting easy, mostly, but also annoying. My needles aren't too pointy and it's a pain in the ass with the laceweight. I'm also ending up with 44 stitches instead of 46, but I'm too lazy to rip back. If it wants to be 44, it'll be 44 then.<br /><br />My second project on the needles is a pair of screaming pink socks, affectionately named the Flomit socks. Flomit=flamingo vomit. My little brother helpfully suggested that a flamingo's vomit would be more of an orange color, but I like my portmanteau too much to change it now. It's hardly sophistictated, but we don't need to be so stately and dignifie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12954804/Rav_011_medium.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 152px;" src="http://images4cf.ravelry.com/uploads/LucyIris/12954804/Rav_011_medium.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>d all the time, do we? Check out this pink action ----------><br />Hot, right? The pattern is Tidepool Socks by Mary-Heather Cogar and the yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the Flamingo colorway. By the way, I adore Lorna's Laces. I knit my only other pair of socks with it, and god it is great. Makes a comfortable sock with beautiful colorways. Some people say it's not stretchy enough, but I learned on cotton dishcloths. Stretchy enough for me!<br /><br />So, that's what's on the needles right now. What are you knitting, reading, eating, verbing at the moment?Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168638886177302741noreply@blogger.com0