HO. HO. HO.

Santa has brought the photos!

This is the stuff I've made for my family, aka the stuff with the Good Yarn.
The Shedir hat and the Lake Park gloves for my mom:

Socks for my dad (I love the way the Wildfoote feels when it's knit up, but it's pretty splitty and a bit of a pain in the tushie to work with. Still, the loveliness of the finished product totally wins,) and two pair of fingerless gloves for the brothers. The black ones are Lanett, and I love them and wanted to keep them. So I threw them in a box and mailed them before I got too attached. They're really gorgeous. Hard to believe that plain black mostly stockinette could be that gorgeous, but they are. Somehow the yarn manages to make this simple pattern extremely elegant. And now I don't have any more Lanett to make out with, and I am sad.

I still have one more set of gloves to make, for the third brother, but I don't like the way the green Opal is knitting up, so I have to make a new plan. But since I'm going home two weeks after Christmas, my mom has decreed that we'll just do Christmas then, so I've got plenty more knitting time. I have enough time to knit pants if I wanted to. Which I don't. Knit pants are so last year.

grrr.

Dear Jo-Ann's:

Why don't you carry 16-inch size 8 circulars? It's pissing me off.

Love, Me.

ps: Screw you, Jo-Ann's.

discoveries

Hey! Sorry about the lack of posting, if anyone reads this here blog. Between my show and the Christmas knitting, and a parental visit--which really cut into the knitting time--I've been swamped.

Anyway, today I have discovered two things:

1. You can't make a whole pair of men's gloves out of one ball of Lanett. The yarn's magical, but not that magical. Dammit. Oh well--I've got enough for fingerless gloves, and they're very elegant.

2. It's not so easy to count rows while you're listening to The Twelve Days of Christmas. Stop it with the numbers! You're confusing me!

Photos of my nearly-finished holiday knitting to come! Really! I made my mom a pair of Lake Park Gloves out of the Colinette Jitterbug I mentioned ages ago, and they're pretty awesome. Awesome to the point that I want to keep them for myself. So much better than the Autumn Mess version.

proof of blanket

Behold the new psychedelic blanket:
This first picture's a bit busted, because I re-sized it for another website, but you get the idea. I wish it was in a multiple of three, but sometimes you take what you can get. It's not like I'm an expert psychedelic-blanket designer, but I might be eventually.

Close-up of the edge, which is my favorite part. Look at the fun candy-cane striping. And, believe it or not, though I had to attach a new skein for about the last four inches of applied I-cord, it went ahead and matched up really well. Christmas miracle, y'all.

So yay! Now on to smaller things. My dad's socks will be finished today. On to gloves next, and possibly gloves made with Lanett, so I will be in what is known as heaven.

ouch.

You know you're way too into knitting when the first thing you think, when you cut your finger and it's bleeding all over the sink, is: "Oh good, it's my left pointer finger. I can totally still knit."

Oy.

But hey, I sent the blanket! Now I don't have to think about it anymore! On to socks. I can't quite decide if brother #3 should get gloves or socks. The yarn I have picked out for him is a little crazy. I have this problem where (if you couldn't tell from the rainbow blankets) I really, really like color. And sometimes when I'm in the yarn store, no matter how I try to restrain myself, I can't quite remember that other people might not like insane green socks as much as I would. Or insane green gloves. Don't they sound fun? I would wear insane green gloves. There's something so Batman villain about the concept.

THE WINNER!

The blanket is finished. On time. And it's pretty goddamn cute. The border--oh, the border. You know when variegated yarn sometimes does something awesome? Well, it did. I took pictures, but I'm in no mood to fight with iPhoto right now, so, as usual, you'll have to wait. But damn. Finished on time.

I feel like such a winner right now. And I cast on for my dad's second sock, and I really feel ahead of (or at least even with) the game right now.

And then I can knit stuff for myself. Today in Target I found myself inspecting a sweater in the kids' department that was precisely what I want to knit out of some burnt orange impulse-purchase wool. I want one of those round-yoked, swingy cardigans with big buttons. In burnt orange. Can you picture the awesome? I can.

progress!

The Squares of Satan are done! Better yet, I've sewn in the ends of two and a half of them. Ha! All I need is some good tv and I'll be sewing that mess together this afternoon.

Yesterday's Knitting Movie Count involved:

1. The end of Batman Begins
2. About a minute of Rise of the Silver Surfer (God, it was horrible)
3. V For Vendetta (Natalie Portman should not get to make movies anymore)
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas (yay!)
5. The Holiday (Surprisingly cute. Kate Winslet should be in everything, really.)

God knows what we'll watch today. I'm running out of options.

better now

After a day without very much knitting, my hand feels a whole lot better. But can you believe (you probably can) that I only managed to sew in the ends on one square? Urgh, three more to go. This is mostly because sewing in ends bores the crap out of me, and unless there's something good on the teevee I sort of can't do it. And since the internet isn't working at the theater I don't bother to lug my laptop over there these days. So with no video pictures to keep me company between shows, I read a book instead. Shadow in the North, which stresses me out. If you were wondering.

And today I haven't done a damn thing on that blanket. I need to get cracking. Yeah, it's my day off, which means I have to run errands and stuff, but seriously, me? If you want to mail the blanket on the 6th, you need to haul some ass. I mean, the as-yet-hypothetical border is getting smaller and smaller every second I procrastinate.

Oy. Better run to the post office, then. Oooh, and I can get a box to mail the blanket. That'll almost be like working on it, right?

dammit

My right hand has had enough.

It really, really, really doesn't want to knit anything right now.

Silly right hand. We have a baby blanket to finish in four days! Which is totally doable--or would be if all hands were in good working condition. We could conceivably finish the last square today, and then get on with the putting-together.

Maybe I'll sew in ends today. I loathe sewing in ends, but at least it'll be a different repetitive motion. Hmm. Good plan, me! Let's do that. Thanks for helping me figure it out, blog!

maybe just a touch of panic

Haven't been blogging (clearly) but have been knitting. For the last three or so days I've been slogging away at the blanket, and am now well into the last square. This means almost nothing, as the last few edges of each square take me forever. Doom and destruction, my friends. Doom and destruction. I'm still hopeful that I'll get it done by the 6th, but its not going to be pretty (the process, I mean: the blanket'll be ok) and my hands might fall off. And the border might have to be crochet with some applied I-cord to finish, instead of more garter stitch. I don't think my needle is long enough to handle four feet of garter stitch. And crochet will be quicker, though the change in style might put a little crack in my soul.

Anyway. Gotta go knit things. Did I mention that if I get my family presents done by the 16th I can send them home with my parents and save on postage? Or I can put the presents in a box. And put the box in another box, and mail it to myself, and when it arrives, smash it with a hammer.

Nah, I'll just do my best to save on postage.

slightly less panicked!

Why?

Because last night I watched all three Indiana Jones movies, and knit the entire first half of a Man Sock. Awesome. Awesome even though I decided the wee cables might be a bit too girly for my dad and am just doing Basic Ribbed Man Sock. It's ok. I still love making socks, and I am actually to the point where I could make a basic sock without looking at the pattern. Go me! I'm a big kid now.

In other news, cabling without a cable needle really has changed my life.

still knitting . . .

Right. So here we have the third attempt at a Manly Sock for my dad. I think this one is ok. It's mostly plain, with some wee cables (that you can sort of see in the photo) down the sides so I don't die of boredom while knitting. I'm going to poll the three straight men I work with to see if this sock is, indeed, Manly. It damn well better be, because if not I'll have to go with boring-ass ribbing, and I might die.
Next up we have my second Unoriginal Hat. It's got six pattern repeats, and this time I was smart enough to put the extra ribbing at the bottom when I started, not picking up later. Go me! If this works, I shall make approximately two more in the same semi-Unoriginal pattern. There was a sale on Patons' Shetland Chunky, or whatever the heck it's called. It's not bad, for acrylic.

Oh, and my exciting new skill that I'm learning while knitting the Manly Sock is cabling without a cable needle, courtesy of the great Grumperina. Seriously. It's easy and awesome. If I'd bothered to learn this while making Shedir, things would have gone a lot faster, and there would have been less swearing. I think.

And best yet, in random conversation yesterday, a person I have made a purple hat for mentioned that her favorite color is purple. There is no way I could have known this, because she doesn't wear a lot of purple, though she could. Hmm, her phone case is purple, though. Maybe I should have known.

Is it too early to press the Panic Button?

I just made a list of Christmas presents. Not stuff I want, no, that would be Too Easy: stuff I'm giving. And lots of it is knitwear. And do you realize how few knitting days there are left until Christmas?

Of course you do: if you're reading this you're probably a knitter. And you might be panicking too.

On the other hand, with my mom's hat done, my most time-consuming item (besides that damn blanket) is out of the way. Socks for my dad are next, and I'm not sweating the gloves for my brothers too bad because if you really have to, you can make a glove in a day. (This is good, I'm making myself feel much better.) And some of the hats on the list are optional. Funny how a hat makes such a good default gift. Scarves seem so wimpy, even though I love scarves and wear them often.

Ok. Should no doubt stop blogging and get back to the ol' sweatshop. I could finish my second Unoriginal Hat, which is even more original than the previous one, or I could do the blanket, or I could cast on for socks . . . maybe I'll do socks. Haven't done socks in about a day and a half.

(And yes, I've started listening to the Christmas music. Love it. Benjamin Britten, you're next.)

Ow.

My hands hurt.

I knit waaaay too much yesterday. I blame this on watching Transformers, which is the longest movie since King Kong. And since I was watching it on dvd, yep, I was knitting. Through the longest movie ever made about toys. Owwwww.

Got a hell of a lot done on my pastel blanket, though. Am now reasonably optimistic that I'll finish it in time. Or at least close enough to time for it not to be embarassing. The kid will get it before she's two, and I have to keep adding borders because she's gotten bigger. Freakin' kids. That growing thing is madness.

And of course, today is Thanksgiving. If I were home, there would be no knitting, so my hands could rest up, but I am not at home, and will be having dinner with a bunch of people who will probably make me crazy after an hour, so I may have to take something with me to do. I just won't get it near the cranberry sauce. Which I made yesterday and which is delicious.

Progress, my friends!

First off, I made an Unoriginal Hat. Mostly Unoriginal. My gauge was a little tighter--gee, could that be because I don't have 7mm needles? Probably. So I added a repeat of the chart, and about an inch of ribbing on the bottom, and all is well.

It's the first of what I hope will be a pile of hats to give to my friends for Christmas. They're what I knit when I'm tired of little needles and want results now now NOW! (Oh, and the yarn is Moda Dea Tweedle Dee. It was on sale at Michaels'.) And yes, the picture is of the back of my head. I've got no makeup on, have had migraines for two days, and would scare you all away.

Next up: my friends, being Very Considerate People (think extreme sarcasm) have all contrived to have babies in late November/early December. Rude. Rude. Don't they know what this does to the Christmas knitters? Dammit, now I'm not accepting any more friends with May birthdays or babies in the two months before Christmas. This is not negotiable.

What you see here are the first two squares--or almost two squares--of a log cabin blanket for a kid who turns 1 on December 9. Will the Crazy Aunt get the blanket done in time? Possible, but she might also go insane. I've decided to do the damn thing in four blocks, because the thought of a four-foot edge of seven garter rows made me want to die just a little bit.

I'm not wholly sold on the pastel madness, but at this point there's no going back. I think having each block have a different main color will help. Only problem: can't find any more of the light aqua-green stuff anywhere. Shit! This means that tomorrow I have to hit one more craft store, and if they don't have it, I have to pick another color. God knows what. People, this is why planning is a good idea, even if you totally suck at estimating how much yarn you need for a blanket. Now we know we should Buy All The Green.

Oh, and I finished the Shedir hat. It's nice, but it's really big. I don't think it's too big to wear--especially since if I make a hat that fits me, it's too small for my mother, so she's getting this one. There is a chance that, if I get all the other stuff done, I'll rip out the top, take out one repeat of the pattern, and re-do the crown, but that's getting real close to the Land of Crazy, so we'll see. If there's a post in about a month that is nothing but incoherent cursing, that's me dealing with that hat.

Public Service Announcement:

Knitting with only one contact in is harder than knitting drunk.

Don't worry, I"m not doing the Shedir hat. I'm not that crazy. I can barely make that one work when I'm at my peak of sight and sobriety. However, I'm nearly done with it and it looks great. And I'm getting faster. I have four shows this weekend so I probably won't work on it much, but it'll totally be done on Monday, and then I can put two whole Christmas presents into the 'finished' pile.

Oh God do I need to hurry.

Knit, very old one! Knit like the wind!

Shedir Hat!

Behold my attempt at the Shedir hat from the Knitty fall surprise '04. It's a damn fine hat, but the twists are kicking my butt. It takes me forever to get through those rows. Like ten minutes per needle. Mostly because I am too chicken to go without my cable needle, even though I think the yarn is sticky enough that it's not going to unravel on me. (It's Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Fig, by the way. Not really the first color I'd think of for either my mom or this pattern, but I had it, so I'm using it.)
In other news, remember my cable needle drama? Turns out there's a Michael's sort of stealthily placed just past the Wal-Mart. That's right. I only need to go about 100 feet further for an actual craft store. One that does, indeed, have the j-shaped needles. It's the sort of thing that makes a girl want to poke her eye out. Oh well. At least I know it's there if I need it, and they're having a rather good sale on Patons' Classic, so I may have to go back tomorrow and stock up just in case I get all my 'must' knitting done and can then make hats and such for friends.

argh

Wasted. Wine Wednesday has kicked my butt.

Which is too bad as I wanted to knit some more stuff today. I'm getting a tad nervous about my current baby log cabin blanket. The kid's birthday is December 9. I need to haul ass. I've decided (as of today) that I'm going to knit the thing in four two-foot blocks, because the thought of doing a four-foot row of garter stitch makes me want to kill myself. So I'll fake me out by doing smaller blocks, yeah? I'll probably hate them soon. However, I think this means I get to go to the store tomorrow and pick up some more yarn, as all my estimates were off. Oh well. I'm only using Peaches n' Cream and Sugar n' Cream. Don't tell anyone. I'm not being very posh. Makes a cute blanky, though.

Ok. Time for drunken self to go to bed, so can get up in the morning and purchase the yarn.

(It took me four tries to spell 'purchase.' I need sleep. Goodnight.)

progress

I gave in and bought the other style of cable needle. Who knows, maybe it will turn out to be my favorite knitting thing since circular needles. This of course means that I could start my mom's hat, but there's a baby blanket I really need to finish by the end of the month, so that has to be my next mission. Or most of my next mission. It's another garter stitch log cabin thing, and therefore perfect to knit at the show. I'm not sold on the colors: they looked really pretty in the store, but now that I'm knitting them up they're so pastel it makes me a little sick. Oh well. I'll make the kid something more grown-up when she's about twelve, how about that?

I've also got a pair of socks going (have I mentioned them? probably.) of the rest of the white and grey yarn I used for the fingerless gloves. They were going to be anklets for me, but they're a little small, so I think I'll give them to my yoga teacher. She has tiny feet. I wanted to make her something more colorful, but I don't know a lot of people with feet smaller than mine, and I like the way the swirlies are knitting up in this size of sock, so I'm leaving it.

And, of course, there will be pictures someday.

i should really stop slacking.

Because there's that big, gift-ridden holiday coming up in two months. Which means I should stop knitting random things like just-cause-I-wanna socks and actually choose a sock pattern for my dad. Argh.

Well, my show has opened, which means I will now have more free time than you can possibly imagine, so I should be able to get this stuff done, even though the show itself contains less knitting time than I thought it would. Let's just say I wasn't expecting to have to change my costume for every entrance, and every costume has a zillion accessories--oh, so difficult playing a rich, glamorous woman--so it takes me a while to undo myself and then put things back together.

And I'm thinking I really do need a trip to a yarn store so I can find stuff to make those squirrel mittens. I must know someone who needs squirrel mittens. Or who would find squirrel mittens extremely entertaining. I'm all for entertaining people with my knitting.

grrrrrrr.

What does a girl have to do to find a cable needle these days? Does no one in Arizona do cables? (Or maybe they all do cables, and that's why the stores are out.) I just want a plain, boring ol' J-shaped cable needle. That's all.

I'm an idiot and didn't bring mine and of course the hat I want to do for my mother for Christmas has a plethora of cables. The hat I planned to do before I left, so you'd think that bringing the cable needle would have been high on the list of Stuff To Pack. But no.

Then again, I probably figured that JoAnn's would have one. They're stocking one kind of cable needle, and it's not the one I want.

Grrr. Cranky.

*gasp* more than one thing!

I've got another exciting piece of news for folks who don't knit: yes, I frequently work on more than one thing at a time. It depends on how much concentration the thing takes, or how boring the thing is, or if I'm just plain tired of blue yarn. Or big needles. Or cotton yarn. Believe me, I have lots of needles. I can do lots of things at once.

One of the things I'm making is this scarf. It's for mindless backstage knitting and will probably end up as a present. It's some Lion Brand Micro-Spun. Found two skeins of red for a dollar each. Perfect for random actor Christmas gifts.

And I finished these for a Christmas present for one of my brothers. (I'm pretty sure they haven't found this blog. They'd better not. I'd feel like a total idiot if my brothers knew I blogged about knitting.) Anyway these are the Trigger Gloves from a 1940 Knit-For-The-Troops pattern. (Am still too lazy to link. Sorry. Tech rehearsals do that to you.) These were super easy to knit, but slightly dull. I think gloves need some sort of stitch pattern to keep me interested. Still, quick. And left enough yarn over for a pair of short socks, so yay. Mostly I am hoping that the yarn is manly enough for a dude.
And the seed stitch poncho continues, but you can just look at the last picture of it, because it still pretty much looks like that.

Festival of Seed Stitch

Yesterday I knit 12 1/4 inches by 19 1/2 inches of mostly seed stitch. It's got three inches of garter stitch on each edge for a border, but that's not enough to detract from the immense quantity of seed stitch I'm doing these days.

And yes, in true Me Form, I decided that the part of the poncho I had knit was not wide enough, so there will be much Starting Again. However, given yesterday's stats, even if I only work on it at rehearsal, if I stick to it, I should have it done by Thursday.

I probably won't stick to it. I like to knit little bitty Christmas things in between. (Like yesterday I also put the thumb on the second of my Fingerless Man-Gloves. All I have to do is sew in the ends and I will have a Finished Christmas Present! I'm like a department store with the early Christmas action.)

Ok. Seed stitch today. Tomorrow the world!

And there's a chance that I'm going to JoAnn's today to look for brown yarn to go with the Autumn Mess yarn so I can make a hat to so-called match my gloves. More 'go with' than match.

quick update

Almost too busy to blog these days . . . but here's a peek at the Super 60's Poncho. The only reason you're getting a photo of this is because I took it about a week ago and never got around to blogging about it.
I love how this is knitting up, but I think it may not be wide enough. So I have to decide if I want to chance it, or rip it all out and add another inch or two. The problem is that it really is a 60's pattern (and if I wasn't tired, lazy, and cranky, I'd get the link for you) and therefore the sizing is nothing like what we're dealing with today. I think the largest size printed is a 16, and it's definitely too small for me. And I'm not very large. Making it bigger is not the real issue, but figuring out how it's supposed to fit so I can make it the right size to look like the supercool picture is.

Anyway. For now we shall just enjoy the Cascade 220 in Lapis, shall we? (And yes, now that I've used this yarn I know why everyone likes it so much. It's just . . . nice. I'm trying to come up with an appropriate simile but am tired, lazy, and cranky. Goodnight.)

the knitter's eternal lament.

I've just started a new show, and of course I sit around knitting in rehearsal. Duh. Keeps me out of trouble. However, if one more person asks me to knit something for them I will not be held responsible for my actions.

First of all, it takes a long time.
Second, nice yarn tends to be pricey, and I would really rather not work with acrylic.
Third, I have plenty of stuff already lined up to knit, stuff I want to work on.
Fourth, if I'm going to court carpal tunnel, it's going to be for my own reasons.
Fifth, if people were to actually pay what my time and fingers are worth, they'd be forking over something like $50 for a scarf or hat.
Sixth, no one ever offers to barter me awesome stuff in exchange. Learn to make shoes or something, people.

I do, occasionally, make stuff for people. As, you know, gifts. Because I like them. Or because they're awesome at their job. (Or because I made something just to try it, or something for myself that doesn't work on me but might be ok on this other person.) I am not, however, your knitting monkey. Learn to do it yourself. It's really not that hard. If I can do it, so can you.

warning:

If you are cruising the internet for glove patterns and you are just a bit tipsy, there is a strong chance that, when you stumble across the squirrel mitten patterns, you'll get way too excited and think they are the best things EVER.

Knit, very old one! Knit like the wind!

So after making out with my Lanett this afternoon, I really want to cast on some new stuff. So I made a deal with myself that I can cast on something new once I finish my Lake Park gloves. This led to some mad knitting, and now I've only got the thumb left. Yay!

I've also noticed a rather awkward Second Item Syndrome: quite often my second item is knit much more tightly than the first. In the case of the Lake Park gloves, the second one fits much better than the first one does. Maybe I'll just tell people that my left hand is more muscular than my right, and therefore fills the glove out better.

Oy. Can't do that with the Christmas gloves . . . or socks . . . or sleeves in general. Must keep an eye on self.

yarny goodness (sans Rhinebeck)

Mmmm. Yarn.
I've been pawing through my so-called stash recently, looking for stuff that can be turned into Christmas presents. Here's some fun not-so-new stuff, most of which will not be mine much longer. Awww. But then I can buy more . . . .

We have, from left to right:

1. Colinette JitterBug, in Kingfisher (it does a kind of spiral stripe. I loves it.)
   
2. Berroco Ultra Alpaca, in Fig (I've had this forever, methinks it will be a hat soon)
3. SandnesGarn Lanett in black. Favorite. Yarn. Ever. We may get married.
   
4. Fortissima Socka (mit Bambou!) in the cleverly named colorway 0008.
   
5. Brown Sheep Wildfoote in Peasant Blue. I wish I'd bought more of this in other colors.
   

A closeup of my fave Lanett, hanging out with his good buddy Fig. They've been together for a while. They'll miss each other.

I really need to find somewhere other than Knitty City that sells Lanett. The love truly cannot be expressed, even though I try. This is not the first post where I've rhapsodised about this yarn. Again, I wish I'd bought it in more colors. Then I could frolic in it.

Was that too much information?

when yarn attacks.

Everyone made fun of me for having so much luggage. I couldn't bring myself to tell them that one bag was pretty much only yarn and shoes.

I think I'm going to start the Super 60's Poncho today. It's a bunch of seed stitch, which will be the perfect mindless thing to knit while I learn my lines. I was too tired to think of it yesterday.

And speaking of the Super 60's--though actually speaking of 1972, to be exact--I found the most fantastic pattern booklet at my library booksale. Brunswick's "Mostly Male." Yes, the title makes you think it's some gay publication, but no. It's got the most hilarious models and menswear I've ever seen. One of them is totally trying to be Roger Moore. And there's this orange pantsuit. (The shaping of the pants is actually really nice. I may make them for myself. don't tell anyone.) You wouldn't think a quarter could buy you that much comedy, but it can. Oh, it can. If I ever find my camera, I'll snap a photo or two.

Oh, and the blue sleeves look awesome on my green Noro sweater. I may have made the body too tight: I'm thinking I'll leave it for a couple of weeks and see if working on this show makes me any skinnier. Because it's only barely too tight. But the sleeves . . . oh, the sleeves fit gorgeously. And I'm thinking there's enough yarn to do full-on long sleeves. Which is pretty sweet.

the end of pocket money

Yeah. Just bought some yarn for Christmas presents. (And the Super 60's Poncho, but shh, don't tell abou that.) Dropped a huge chunk of change at the yarn store. On colors that I can only hope people will like.

Doesn't everyone like to dress like a rainbow just exploded? I was thinking about this the other day, about Color In General, and realized that there's not really a color I don't like/won't wear. Ok, possibly mustard yellow, but that's gross for almost everyone. There was a long time when I owned no green, but I got over that last year. I'll wear yellow, and if I'm not careful, everything I own will be orange. Blue, red, purple, pink--I'm in. Neutrals, I love you.

Ok, now I'm not sure where the color rant came from, but possibly because my Super 60's Poncho is going to be made from Cascade 220 in Lapis, which is a badass bluey-purpley-greeney-pinkey heather. (It's kind of bruise-colored, but in a good way.) And the thing is, when I was looking at the Cascade online, I kept reminding myself that I wanted something that would look nice with jeans. Something not too close to jeans-color, you know? I reminded myself of this in the store. And then I picked up Captain Lapis, which will look ok with most of the jeans I have, but I'll sort of be all in the same tonal palette, which I'm not keen on.

We all know what this means: I'm going to have to buy a pair of dark jeans.

huh.

Hey, so I got invited to Ravelry today! Perfect timing, because a new time-suck is just what a person needs when she's packing for a ten-week excursion. Believe me, I wasted a good chunk of time trying to think of a screen name (I always feel like such a loser about screen names) and finally came up with the scintillating KateBee. The 'Bee' part is because I happened to glance at my Burt's Bees lip balm right when I'd decided to type in the next thing I thought of. It was either that or something inspired by the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack, because that's what's playing, but 'Maxwell Demon' made me feel self-conscious, and 'Personality Crisis' too contrived, and 'Needle in the Camel's Eye,' while almost appropriate, was just too long.

Anyway. I have a feeling Ravelry will make me feel more like a hack than ever, but I think the whole catalog o' projects aspect will be v. useful. Since we all know I can never afford the recommended yarn.

In other news, has anyone seen the Vogue Knitting holiday issue? There are some terrifying things inside. Be very afraid.

picture pages

Behold, one of the glorious posts where we get to catch up on all projects at once, because I am clearly too lazy to take pictures off my camera as often as I should. Hell, these are only going up today because I am procrastinating like it's my job.

Anyway.

To start:

Here is my Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet. Possibly the easiest thing I've ever knit. I would make it for friends, it's that easy and uses that little yarn. Now I need to invest in a long-sleeved t-shirt that goes with it.

Next up: the second incarnation of the Noro Cash Iroha. This owes much to the Anti-Craft's Painted Lady, which I love madly, but as I'm not sure I'd wear it as is, I'm putting a body on mine. And probably three-quarter sleeves, because I don't think I have enough blue for full-length sleeves, let alone the mitts. Which I would totally do if I had enough yarn.
Oh, and it's not really that color. It's more a dark emerald, not lame-o washed-out teal.

And speaking of hand-coverings, here is my first Autumn Mess (aka Lake Park) glove.
It is actually the right color.
And no, you're not freaking out: I was too lazy to rotate the photo right side up.
I am totally making these again someday in a yarn that shows off the pattern better.

And now I have to stop procrastinating and throw some stuff in a suitcase.
ARGH.

be careful.

If you love your keyboard, don't drink anything when you click on this. You may spit your beverage.

possible . . .

Not to jinx it or anything, but the green Noro seems to like being a raglan sweater. It's knit from the top down, and it's going to have blue sleeves. And it seems like it might be happy. And *I* am happy, because after spending last night wondering if I would have enough green to do the body of the sweater, I woke up this morning nose-to-nose with an escaped half-ball of the green.

I really hope my bed keeps producing yarn. That would be SWEET.

le sigh

I frogged a lot of stuff yesterday.

I also started on the second of my Autumn Mess Gloves (known as Lake Park Gloves when they're done in better yarn) and tried to convince myself to pack.

Now I'm re-knitting my green Noro into something else--more info if it doesn't suck--and trying to convince myself to pack. And trying to decide if I should mail my knitting needles or put them in the suitcase. And should I bring my wee sheep, for company? I should really name my sheep.

Ok, so I'm a little out of control with the posting.

But the shrug is done, so I think I can be forgiven. Yay! Not the biggest yay in the world, though: though it had a good deal of shaping on the sleeves, I would have liked them to be narrower to begin with. The back fits ok, though. I think I would also have used a thinner yarn, though I did get spot-on gauge. For once in my life! Go me!

Anyway, I'll probably wear it--I don't want to take it apart, because the yarn tends to go fuzzy and break if you're not careful. And since it's getting cold, I can always use another shoulder-blanket, right? And there's nothing like having a shrug out of posh yarn that you wear every day.

Wow, once I finish my gloves I'm gonna have to come up with another project . . . perhaps how to afford yarn to make the amazing Super 60's Poncho Thingie that I have fallen madly in love with? And what the hell color does one make an Amazing Super 60's Poncho Thingie, anyhow?

Shrug Update!

Whew.

I have finished the knitting part of the shrug. There was a bit of a fight at the end, with me trying to decide how to match my bind-off to my cast-on, since the shrug is knit side-to-side. Call me an old fogey, but I generally like cuffs to match. More or less.

So now I have to do my verimost favorite part of knitting: sewing in and sewing up. Blargh.

I really should take a finishing class. Everything else I'm pretty good at figuring out, but my finishing is sometimes not the best. This may be from lack of practice, because I'm from the The Less Seams The Better school of thought. Gimme something top-down and/or in the round any day.

yay

The Polychrome Baby Rainbow Barf Blanket is finally done! All ends are sewn in and little trailing bits cut off. I think I want to give it a wash before I give it away, but that's easily done.

Yay! Happy.

Am now trying to convince myself not to knit a turtle to go with the blanket. I will have plenty of opportunities to send this kid a random turtle present. Why go crazy when the kid's not even around to drool on things yet?

(And anyway, if I'm not making a turtle, I can carry on with my shrug. Which is almost done. And will hopefully be as gorgeous as it seems. And then I can wear it to the baby shower.)

Well, shit.

How the hell do I manage to lose my tape measure every five minutes?

I literally just had it.

Now I have that feeling that I just went slightly insane. I wonder if I could somehow have the tape measure attached to the inside of my wrist, so I could shoot it out in a Spiderman style when I need it?

This is ridiculous.

Is it time for Heroes yet? Can I please evolve a tape-measure attachment?

irked.

One of the things that bugs me most in my knitting life is discovering that your skein of yarn is not one continuous piece, but two pieces knotted together. That pisses me off like no other.

In other news, the shrug is over half done. It had better be more fun to wear than it is to knit, because though I do like the way it looks, knitting it is boring as fuck. I'm not keen on large needles, either. Pretty much anything larger than a 7 makes me break out in a rash, but what the yarn wants the yarn must have . . .

Maybe I'll put a finger on a glove or something. For a break.

Shrug Saga

Yep, you're gonna get a blow-by-blow of my Adventures In Shrugland. Today's installment begins with good news: after much slogging through the perils of this series of tubes we call the internets, our hero has Found A Pattern! Yay! It even uses size 10 needles, which was a necessary part of the Quest, due to things like What Gauge The Yarn Looks Nice At.

The Pattern also calls for some 9's, but our hero also has a pair of those. Or does she? A quick search through Our Hero's Mug o' Needles (please ignore the chopsticks and powder brush) reveals only one elderly plastic 9:

(elderly plastic 9 seen second from left.)

Our Hero knows she has another EP9: she used them to knit her First Ever Scarf, but that was two years ago, and she's really not sure where it may have gone since.

Crap.

See, Our Hero may be going to the opera on Tuesday, and it's always cold in the opera, and it would be nice to have a badass shrug. Since the 9's are only needed for a small part of the Pattern, Our Hero may just work the cuffs on 8's and hope for the best. Unless Our Hero has a set of double-pointed 9's that she's forgotten about, but she's pretty sure she doesn't.

Sigh.

It was all so close to perfect.

Just so we all know:

Figuring out how to knit glove fingers is exhausting. I need a nap, and I've only got the pinky done.

There is a chance, however, that I will get to like this process. I'm pretty sure that the first time I tried to turn a heel I felt pretty chewed up and spit out. Ohh, how my brain hurts. And how I cursed at those twelve little stitches.

Why do hands have so damn many fingers?

(I am actually really enjoying making the gloves, even if I'd been jonesing for sock yarn to make socks, and it is Socktoberfest, and then I finally get sock yarn and I make gloves. Oy. Well, there's probably a 'Glovember' out there, and I can just say I've gotten a head start.)

(And will someone remind me that, though I do like variegated yarns and self-stripers, that I really loathe the ones that have a black yarn twisted the whole way through? I think this may be the stuff they call 'marled' yarn, though I'm not v. good at classifications yet. Anyhow, this stuff I've got would be a lot prettier if it didn't have the black making it messy. I need to remember this so I don't buy anything of the sort Ever Again. It makes me angry.)

about damn time.

It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh, y'all.

Perhaps I should knit myself some Penguins gear.

two things:

1. Why can't you find a decent pattern for a shrug when you want one? For that matter, why, when for once in your life you want to knit something on size 10 needles, is everything you find for 7's?

2. Oh crap, I forget what #2 was supposed to be. Oh well. Later.

I had a plan and a list. I really did.

I did. I really did. Plan and List. There they were, written down on a post-it, stuck on the inside of my wallet. I even got it out and stuck it to my hand when I went into the store. It was all stuff I wanted for potential Christmas presents.

But then the store didn't have any of what I wanted (well, ok, Random Sock Yarn was on the list, just so I wouldn't feel like a complete failure) and I ended up buying six skeins of gorgeous emerald green (with some wee lurking blue) Noro CashIroha. In my defense, it was on sale for 40% off. (Also in my defense, it was my birthday money I was spending. Happy Birthday To Me, dammit!) I keep petting it. I think it's going to grow up to be a shrug of some sort. For me. And then I can wear it all day and pet it.

The Random Sock Yarn was also acquired, but I think it might end up as gloves instead of socks, just for the hell of it. It's a random not-very-posh brand, but the colors are all orange and brown and fun--although there's a chance that the only reason I bought it is because it matched the shirt I was wearing. And really, if it's not my darling Lanett, I don't really care what the hell it is. To tell truth, the store, which mostly has quite nice yarn, is a bust on the sock front. Even the solid colors weren't nice. I was hoping for decent solid colors, since my big bro has moved to chilly climes and will clearly need more than the one pair of wool socks that I've made him.

I need to get me to the super-nice yarn store, but it's more of a pain in the butt public transportation-wise. Then again, you'd think that nothing would be too far for decent sock yarn, wouldn't you?

Wonder if I should visit some friends in New York just to go Lanett-shopping. Hmm.

rummaging

My mother is a big fan of the garage sale, and while she does not knit, she sews and is a fan of all things fiber. So I was digging through some random knitting stuff today, and as a result I now have:

• One elderly white plastic US 2 (3mm) dpn. I'm hoping to find its friends eventually, as I have none that size.
  
• A zillion (ok, six) size US 4 aluminum straight needles, in various colors.
• One extremely heavy steel crochet hook, size I. (At least I think that's the size. It could just be a random I. Crochet hook sizing freaks me out with those letters.)

My cable needle also came out of my mom's random craft stuff, but I found that about a year ago.

And yes, I have been knitting stuff. Most of it I've ripped out, but one of it has led to the discovery that the tiered skirt pattern from Vogue Knitting's summer issue a couple of years ago is Really Cute. So now I have to buy some slightly more appropriate yarn and make a real one.

sorry, can't think of anything witty

It's too early in the morning for wit. Ooog.

However, it's not too early in the morning for a knitting update! I really have been knitting stuff:

Last night I put about four miles of i-cord on the Polychrome Barf Blanket. (It just took me five tries to spell 'polychrome.' It's apparently too early to spell.) Ok, so it wasn't miles, but it was long enough for me to get bored enough to do math (and that's long) and discover that I was doing 144 inches worth of i-cord. Argh. But it looks really nice, and I watched a combination of Psycho and So You Think You Can Dance while doing it, so I wasn't all that bored.

I have not, however, finished sewing in all of those cursed ends.

Other than that I have been having fun with the top-down raglan. I made one shrug-like item, which I think I mentioned before--but it's too early to deal with iPhoto, so no pictures today. I've also started a sweater, which, like most things I do with stripes and colors, will either be gorgeous or butt-ugly. I was firmly convinced of gorgeous for a while, but the purple is browner than it looked in the ball, and now that it's in the sweater I'm not entirely sure. Ah well. It'll be warm. And stripey. And I think it's going to fit! Whee!

I'm also trying to decide what to make people for Christmas. Should I make my parents a blanket? What to make the brothers? I set the bar far too high for my brothers: the first year I was knitting presents, I made one of them these awesome Batman wristwarmer thingies, and really, where can you go after Batman?

Sigh.

gaaaaah.

Guess what I'm still doing.

Gaaaaah.

Here, let me see if I can find a picture of something to break up the text monotony.

Ok, here I am snuggling up to George Washington:

"Hey, Georgie, do you like knitwear?"


And here's George with a Native American ally:

"Dude, really, the Steelers are the only team worth rooting for."

For the love of God

I'm still sewing in ends. I am stuck in some sort of hellish Star Trek: TNG loop of end-sewing-in, without even Jonathan Frakes to keep me amused. Or Worf. Yum. Worf.

Is my geek showing?

Anyway. I don't know what my next large project will be, but I do know it's going to have as little end-sewing as possible. If I show any signs of wanting to do fair isle anything, someone please kill me. Send me to one of those tar-pit sort of planets or something.

progress?

Sadness is sewing in four gazillion ends, and still having approximately five gazillion to go.

My God, do I need a What Not To Wear marathon. Even Without A Trace would do today.

Either that or I need to actually go buy the external cd drive for my computer (now that I've decided that that's the best plan) so I can get me some audiobooks from my friend the library. And then we can start a Five Really Good Audiobooks sidebar thingie.

Anyway. Back to sewing, dammit.

two things.

1. I absolutely adore my Garter Crack Squares Blanket.

2. Sewing in four gazillion ends (no exaggeration) makes me want to poke my eye out.

progress!

I have finished the main part of the Rainbow Chunks Blanket! Yay! Now I have to sew in four zillion ends (no exaggeration) and do some i-cording, and then all that's left is to sit comfortably and wait for my invitation to the baby shower.

One of my other projects for today, now that it has finally gotten coolish, is to package up the Rainbow Baby Socks (remember those? Do I have a Rainbow Theme? Possibly. I like to sing about them, too.) and send them to another baby I know. I hope they fit her. I feel vaguely weird about asking the kid's mom to measure her feet.

In other news, I gave myself a mega allergy attack yesterday while reclaiming yarn from a scarf someone bought me last year. I've never worn the thing, and I thought well, I can have fun with variegated pink chenille, right? Yeah, right after I can breathe again. I'm always far too optimistic that this time, the dust won't kick my ass quite as bad. And then my nose goes stuffy and my throat closes up, and I start wondering why people can't breathe out of their ears, because my two intake valves are clearly fucked up. It was a little bit scary, I'll admit it. And now I'm realizing that I should probably put that yarn in the freezer before I try to make anything out of it. It would be so humiliating to be slain by pink chenille.

oh CRAP.

I am once again having the mad urge to embroider.

Help!

I don't think I can support two craft addictions at once!

I'll never get anything done.

omigod.

Um. I had a birthday this week. And someone unexpectedly gave me a check. A nice check. A totally unexpected very nice--overly nice--check that I may have to blow on yarn.

Well, ok, maybe just half on yarn, because I could really use a new pair of jeans. And a pair of black boots for fall, since mine died this year. Oh, hell, I just need new clothes. But I want yarn. Does it count that I would be buying the yarn to make clothes?

Crap. If I think about this too much, I'm totally going to guilt myself away from the yarn store. And I can't decide if that's good or bad.

Polychrome's Blanket (still in progress)

Forgive the dangly ends, ok? They'll get sewn in sometime this week, and I'm sure there will be much whining and swearing about it. Anyway, here's the blankie-in-progress:

Crazy angle:

My favorite set of stripes:

I'm really almost done: I just have to finish up one stripe of purple, and then put cream stripes around all four sides, and then I think I'll finish up with a nifty I-cord border, and then I will have learned two new things on this blanket: how to log-cabin and how to I-cord border. Woo! Yay for learning. I've also learned that I really like pink and brown together, which means I may have to go shopping for some brown yarn to go with my many-times unraveled pink yarn. I'm thinking it may turn into a pink raglan sweater with brown sleeves. I think I would wear that a lot, if I could figure out how to make the damn thing fit.
Too bad I'm crap at measuring. Stupid math.

just so we know

In case any of the 1 1/2 people who read this were wondering, yes, I am still alive, and yes, I am still knitting stuff. The I-Threw-Up-A-Rainbow Blanket is nearly done, though progress has been stalled since I've run out of tv shows to watch, and 120-stitch garter rows are not to be thought of without outside entertainment. I still can't decide if the ITUARB is cool or ugly, and really, I should probably look into how big baby blankets usually are. Still, it's not made in China, so it should be ok for my friend's baby to lick.

And then I was looking through my meager stash (it really doesn't deserve to be called a 'stash') yesterday and discovered some decent old yarn that my mom found at an estate sale a while ago. There's not a lot of it and it's not my personal favorite colors--there's some camel and some eggplant--but it just might make a really cute shrug. We shall see. I suppose I can always give it to someone if I decide the camel is too close to the color of my skin.

Pictures eventually, my friends. I've been totally slacking on the photo front.

cramping my style.

Now, I didn't realize that knitting in public was any sort of odd (such that it would need its own acronym) before I started reading the blogs. I've been knitting in public places for most of my short knitting career. I see it as another way to pass the time, just like a book or playing random games on my iPod.

But oddly enough, I don't like knitting in front of my family. I don't know why I'm weird about it. Maybe because if they ask questions--and they will ask questions--I can't tell them to fuck off? Maybe because they're artistic and I think they're judging my color choices? Or maybe because I'm pathologically private and don't like having anything I'm doing commented on.

Whatever it is, I'm at home with the family, and am missing out on hours of tv-and-knitting bliss, all because I'm too squeamish to take my I-Threw-Up-A-Rainbow Log Cabin Blankie downstairs.

Le sigh. Such a waste.

le sigh

I spent last night dismantling Mr Pink Leafy. I'm too broke to let yarn sit around in a sweater that doesn't fit: it makes me feel guilty. So now, in a week or two--or maybe sooner--I'll knit that damn pink yarn up into something else. Before I do, I'm going to do lots and lots of research into the art of waist-shaping, because that's where the leafy pattern really fell on its face.

Argh.

dammit.

The Pink Leafy Sweater fits my chest but the rest is baggy. Son of a bitch. This is another reason why I like making top-down sweaters best: I could rip out the bottom, throw in some extra decreases, and make the damn thing fit. And here I was so worried about it being too tight on my hips. I clearly have no sense at all of how big my hips are.

Gah.

Well, maybe I can pretend that baggy is stylish? I'll try it on again in a bit and see. After all, the babydoll shirt/dress is in these days, and I made it longish. I might be able to get away with it.

As for how I feel about this pattern--which, officially, is the Leaf-Paneled Sweater from Runway Knits by Berta Karapetyan--well. First off, it needs more decreases for the waist. Second, though I really do like the general look of it, I'm not sure the leaf panels on the side are a good idea for most figures. They're a bit bulky--though again, this would perhaps look better if it wasn't so baggy. The other thing I'm not keen on is how wide the mock turtleneck is. I took out a few extra stitches--there weren't many I could remove and still keep the lace pattern all pretty--and it helped a little, but not much.

Oh, and the decreases for the top bit for sizes small and extra-small appear to be wrong. As far as I can figure, you can't really repeat five rows when you're knitting, not if you expect everything to look the same on each side.

Mostly I am bummed that it needs more shaping, and thus I don't look as cute in it as the model in the book. Cause if it fit, I totally would.

terrible twos!

When I was a kid, I sort of learned to knit from Ursula von Wartburg's Workshop Book of Knitting. Which is an excellent book, but all about calculating your own sizes and inventing patterns as you go, which was not overly useful for the kind of brain I have, which doesn't do well with math or precision. I'm much better now, but as a ten-year-old I was doomed. I also for the life of me couldn't figure out how to purl, and didn't know any knitters to ask. And this was well before the internet, so it wasn't like I could find a lovely video to show me how. So I made a couple of horrible garter stitch scarves out of horrible acrylic (this was the 80's, so when I say horrible, I mean it) and moved on with life.

Two years ago this month, I decided to try the knitting again. I needed something with small repetitive squarish things to stop me from playing so much Minesweeper. (Seriously. I get obsessed with small squarish things. At least this way I get clothes and stuff.)

Second time around, I made one garter stitch scarf out of this gorgeous unlabeled blue-possibly-linen-but-maybe-silk yarn that had been picked up at a garage sale and had sat in a bin in my bedroom for at least fifteen years. The yarn is gorgeous enough, all thin-but-nubby, that garter stitch on size nine needles was all that it needed to make a scarf that still gets me compliments. And then I picked up Ursula's book again, and somehow learned to purl.

And then I figured out how to use double-points, and just to see if I could, made in quick succession a hat, a pair of mittens, and a truly horrible pink sock. This was before I knew such a thing as sock yarn existed. The sock was mostly horrible because of the yarn, but it was foot-shaped and very much a sock. I pretty much haven't turned back since. There have been sweaters and lace and cables and non-horrible socks, many hats, and lots of non-horrible, non-acrylic yarns. Oh, and two pairs of pants, because I am a clearly insane person.

Now, if I could just finish Mr Leafy Pink that's staring at me, I'd be good to go.

pictures!

Right, so apparently 'tomorrow' is a flexible concept in my mind. But here they are, way too many of them. I got a little excited.

My two favorite squares of the blanket. I know, you're not supposed to have favorites, but I can't help it.

The whole blanket.
(Wonky angle: welcome to a v. small house.)

Random close-up:
(Of the wrong side. Naturally.)

And then I did some ghetto blocking . . .

Of this.

Now it's sitting there staring at me, wanting its turtleneck put on and its sides seamed together. Trouble is, it's too damn hot to knit anything where you have to think. I was going to motivate myself to put it together by designating it as the outfit for a party I'm going to tomorrow, but I think it may be too damn hot to even contemplate wearing a sweater, no matter how sleeveless and cottony.

Uh-oh, this means I need to find an outfit for that party.
Crap.

i am the champion!

Ooog. Done. Never want to see an unsewn end ever again in my whole life.

But . . . . it's GORGEOUS.

Pictures tomorrow, I promise. It'll be better than Christmas.

aha

Now I get it. Now I know why people like to have nice big spaces that they only use for sewing or knitting or whatever. My room is totally not set up for sewing together a blanket. And it's not even that big a blanket--but that's right, you heard correctly: sewing together a blanket. I crochet-edged until I wanted to kill both myself and whoever invented crochet, and then I sewed together squares like the fate of the world depended on it. Today I laid out the squares in several different orders, including Planned, Random, and Semi-Random. I even enlisted the help of my artist brother. And then I came back to my itty-bitty room, set out another Random-Ish plan, and am going with that.

Pictures when it's done!

Even though I've spent a lot of time wanting to murder this blanket, I've really enjoyed making it. I don't usually play with color. I either use one color, or yarn that's already multicolored, so I don't have to do anything with it. And when I do use color, it's usually three different blues, for example, or a color and a neutral. I don't usually rainbow, but I'm finding I like it. And given my habit of dressing like a rainbow threw up on me, I don't know why I don't bust with the color more when I knit.

Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf. I hope so. I have these bits of pink, green, and blue yarns (all of them neon-ish) that need to become something other than balls of yarn. The addition of the pink may make them too obnoxious for even me to wear, but we shall see.

Ok. Back to my seaming.

Getting There!

Barring undetected size-fuckups, the Crack Squares have all been knit! Now it's just crochet-edging and sewing up--and then deciding if the GCSB needs a border. God, I hope not.

I am going to be so psyched when I'm done with this thing. If I spend today holed up in my room watching Doctor Who and crocheting (it's raining and crappy out, so really, what else do I have to do?) I can get this bad boy done . . . well, maybe not quite today, but tomorrow. Hell yeah!

Then I can decide what to make out of all the bits of cotton yarn that are left over from making something out of all my old cotton yarn. So far am contemplating:

a) smallish log-cabin baby blanket
b) rainbow scarf, possibly with matching hat or handwarmers
c) washcloths
d) bonfire (no, I wouldn't really do that. Or would I? I am a bit chilly.)

Still finishing . . .

I've got slightly over half of the Crack Squares sewn into bigger squares! And I only have to make three and one-third more actual squares. I desperately need more light blue yarn to sew it all together, though. Maybe I'll go Michaels-hopping this weekend, since JoAnn doesn't seem to have it except online.

And Captain Leafy Pink sweater is also progressing nicely, though there's one slightly weird spot in the lace. It's not a mistake, that's what's unfortunate. It's just a slightly manky spot. I'm hoping I can block it out of existence. And then there will be pictures. I promise.

cleaning house

Right. Have been on a mad finishing kick for all of one day. Let's hope it lasts. I've sewn together three complete squares (that's four Garter Crack Squares apiece) of the Garter Crack Blanket, and I think I've got enough blue yarn left to get at least one more done today. This industry is because I've promised myself that if I finish the Crack Blanket, then I can make a Log Cabin blanket. And I think I only have to make between five and seven more whole Crack Squares. I keep messing up on my counts. As we know, I am not a math champion.

And I've done some work on the Leafy Sweater! I'd forgotten how much I like the lace pattern that makes it leafy. I just hope it fits: I think my front has gotten bigger since I started making it. Incentive for this is that I've got some parties I can wear it to in the near future, so it (and I) can be admired by all.

withdrawal

Due to wedding madness, I haven't knit a thing in about two days. And now I can't decide WHAT to knit, though I think, if given a push, I could be convinced to finish up my Pink Leafy Sweater. I do need to get it done before the weather's too cold to wear it. Ooh, and my mom just bought me these pink sandals which would look great with it. So there's incentive, right?

Trouble is, I really kinda want to make another hat. I don't know why I have this hat making fetish. I think it might be because hats are so easy to adapt and mess around with. Maybe I could bust with some fair isle, only I don't think I know anyone who would wear it.

Oh, the trials of being a knitter. Woe is me.

I do wish I had some sock yarn. :(

still alive!

But I've been mostly wrestling with cookies these past few days. Just a word of advice: if anyone asks you to make forty dozen cookies for their wedding, and your house is not air conditioned, say no. Because the weather will be in the 90's the whole week before the wedding, and your cookies will be fucked. Especially the ones that have melted chocolate on them.

This is what I get for baking fancy cookies. If I was just gonna do your basic chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal cookies, I'd be fine, but nooo. I have to be dramatic about it.

Son of a bitch.

As for knitting, I'm knitting a Spawn of Large Blue Stripey hat when I get too pissed off with the cookies, and plotting my next move in the knitting world. Which may involve purchasing. No, wait: I have to figure out what to do with the other half of the Noro. I think it may become part of a hat for my mother. WHAT hat is the question.

picture pages

And here they are! Billions and billions of pictures. Well, ok, five. Aren't you lucky?

First we have Spawn of Large Blue Stripey, in two fun arrangements:
These guys went off to the Rebuilding Greensburg project, along with some random hats and such. Even though they're acrylic, I kind of love them, and may use the rest of Large Blue Stripey to make a triangle blanky.
And here we have the beginning of the Posh Hat, posing alluringly on a paper bag:
The Posh Hat, by the way, is actually the La Mancha Watchcap, found in a knitting patterns-a-day calendar thingie, designed by JoLene Treace. Am in a hurry, but will post a link to her page later. I've made this pattern about three times. I love it.
This time I did a much wider garter stitch brim, so as to have more rainbow-y colors. I also take out two repeats of the lace pattern, because otherwise it's WAY too big for my head.
And the aerial view. Must go hang out with tall people so they can enjoy it.

holy crap.

I just made an awesome hat. That's right, the posh Noro hat has turned out quite fierce. I'll have pictures tomorrow when my face is not scary.

And dammit, why did I have to make an awesome wool hat when it's 90+ degrees out? I won't be able to wear it for months.

ha ha!

Nothing like digging through your so-called stash and discovering one of the few balls of really nice yarn that you own. I'm too poor to buy the nice stuff without a plan, or let it sit around unused, but I guess this one just fell by the wayside . . . or maybe it was too splendiferous for Year One Knitter Me to deal with. Anyhow, I think it's Noro (its label has gone bye-byes, natch) and it's all about the rainbow-y goodness. With luck, it's going to be a hat. Well, the brim of a hat. With a teal crown bit. This is my plan, anyway.

And naturally, I took pictures of the gorgeousness but I don't know where the cord is to upload the photos. Curse you, moving. By the time I figure out where everything is, I'll be heading out again, I'm sure.

Ooh, and starting tomorrow I have to get on with the baking of cookies for a friend's wedding, so maybe we'll have food pictures. I'll try to restrain myself, though. There's nothing that makes me crankier than when I'm browsing the blogs enjoying the knitting pictures, and then suddenly it all turns to food. Maybe food pictures are like babies, though: your own are always the cutest.

Crack is Wack.

If I ever knit any more garter stitch or stockinette again ever in my life I'm gonna snap and . . . and . . . I dunno, build a shrine to Dick Cheney? That signifies deep madness, right?

I need a lace pattern and some small needles like woah.

That said, I might be able to convince myself to put sleeves on one last baby sweater because it really is damn cute. Someday my friends' children are going to rise up and smother me in all the knitwear I make them. This is a day far in the future, however, as none of them are older than one yet, so I'm safe for a few years.

the verdict

I'm pretty sure my brother liked the Large Blue Stripey. I'm not entirely sure, because the only comment I can remember was "It's big!" Well, duh. It is a Large Blue Stripey. He did also mention that it'll be useful as he's soon moving to colder climes. Which was the point. If I actually plan, (sorry, fun with italics) maybe he'll get a nice toasty sweater for Christmas.

Let's see . . . once I get the pictures uploaded, you'll get to see Spawn of Large Blue Stripey, as I did indeed purchase way too much yarn. In my defense, I'd intended to put a wider border on the LBS, but ended up liking the way the thinner one looked. Ah well. More random presents for the rest of the world, I guess. I could start on Christmas hats now . . . dunno, did a lot of hats last Christmas. Dammit, why do I know so many boys? And as if it's not bad enough trying to find decent patterns for them, birthday cards are almost as impossible. Graah. Well, I guess there's always the Keanu Reeves Matrix Sweater, though I may have to make one for myself first. The only thing I liked about that movie was the knitwear, and that was before I started knitting. I have a thing for grey sweaters. Have I mentioned that before? The first sweater I made was indeed grey and for me.

Ok. Gonna go request the Keanu Reeves Matrix Sweater Book (otherwise known as one of the multitudinous Hollywood Knits books by Suss Cousins) from my library. And then I have to finish the Pink Leafy Sweater so I won't feel guilty about buying more yarn for a sweater for me.

(I'm gonna talk about not-knitting for a minute.)

Right. Can't help myself. The tv is all freaking out about drunken astronauts, and all I can think is that it's about time someone brought the badass back to our space program. Bring back the days of the hard-living fighter pilot, I say.

In other news, today we'll discover what my brother thinks of the Large Blue Stripey.

Finished Large Blue Stripey!

The Large Blue Stripey! Unfortunately my room is so small there is literally nowhere to spread it out and see it in all its glory, so you get to see it a bit squinched up on some suitcases. It's actually quite nice.


Right! This might mean I get to start a new project soon. Which might be alarming since I am now in a city with Yarn Stores. Oh yeah. Real wool. Bring it on.

yay!

The Blacke Sockes fit! Woo-hoo! My mum was also suitably impressed with the nifty pattern and the awesome yarn. It's so nice to make nice things for other fiber snobs. They get it.

I really haven't been knitting too much lately. I'm almost done with the Large Blue Stripey--I just need to do one more side of edging, which won't even take me that long, but it's been too hot to want to sit with a ginormous blanket on my lap. It's quite a pretty blanket, if I do say so myself. I'd put it in my house. If I had a house.

I want more sock yarn. Actually, I want to make me a sweater out of that Lanett. Because YUM.

Big Blue Stripey!

It's not quite finished, but I'm pretty damn excited that the photo decided to load today. It's manly enough, yes?

what's all that blue stuff?

Right. So I've been trying, for approximately two days, to do a post about the Large Blue Stripey I am making my brother for his birthday. I say 'trying' because I want to put a picture, but my internet is too freakin' slow, and nothing will upload. Gah. So just picture me crocheting away on a Large Blue Stripey backstage in really crappy light, and you'll have a general idea.

Oooh, and though I still have about ten Crack Squares left to make, I may start sewing them together soon. The ones who are definitely going to make larger squares together need to start staying in groups.

What else . . . oh, I have also sent the Blacke Sockes to my mum for her birthday. In about seven days we'll see if they fit.

Ha ha!

Had a moment of semi-evil genius the other night--Fourth of July, actually, when I was still too bummed out about Scooter Libby to party. (And yes, I am PISSED at the Bush Administration for ruining a perfectly good holiday. And it ain't just Scooter they ruined it with.) Anyway, if you aren't going to drink beer and shoot off fireworks (though not at the same time, I like having hands) what's the next obvious option? That's right, fun with Garter Crack. It looked like Tetris on my floor for a good long while, but I now have A Plan. It's amazing how many of my haphazardly-created Crack Squares go together to make larger Themed Squares. So now all I have to do is make up numbers and fill in the missing bits, and I shall have me a blanket.

Oh, but I also have to figure out what color to sew it all up with, and if I want a border or not. Believe me, these are tough questions and I ponder them frequently in my time offstage.

Another day in Opposite Land

Ok, I know this is the Blog Where I Talk About Knitting, but the IdiotPresident has commuted Scooter Libby's sentence and I'm sort of incoherently pissed off. I'm twitching just a little bit. And do you want to know one of the reasons I'm particularly damn pissed? It's because I'm living near a National Guard Armory, and pretty much every time I go into town I see this:

Gah. Somebody make it stop. Somebody celebrate the Fourth by starting impeachment proceedings for Bush and Cheney.

I'm going to go listen to Bob Dylan.

Garter Crack Update!

Le sigh. This isn't even a v. up-to-date Garter Crack Update, because I've made two and a half more squares since I took this picture.

I think we're going to have a color crisis on our hands: too much yellow, not enough blue. But oh well, it's only a blanket for me, right? And I've got more purple at home, though I don't know if that will help. I think the brown one with the pink triangle is my favorite one.