Knit 2 Par 3

I've Moved

2009-10-27T23:34:00.002-04:00

Yes, my new blog is up and you can find it here.

Le Fin

2009-09-23T19:03:00.005-04:00

Gentle Reader: farewell for now.

After almost 4 years and almost 400 posts I'm closing the virtual book on Knit 2 Par 3. I think I've said just about everything that can be said about these two things in the same sentence, and I'm ready to move on.

I will be taking a little break, but I'll be back with another blog about knitting and something else.

If you have this site bookmarked, don't delete it and if you have one of those feeds, just leave it where it is. I will post the address of the new site once I get it up and running.

Thank you from the bottom of my stash basket for your readership.

Denise

Sweater Weather

2009-09-20T23:11:00.004-04:00

The fall is my favorite time of year: walking out the door on the way to work and thinking: hmm, I could use a sweater today. Or a pair of woolly socks. Or a decent place to get a cup of coffee by my office, or car service to work every day. But I digress.

There has been a lot of knitting going on here, and a lot of thinking about knitting when I am not actually knitting. Does that surprise you? In just the last week I've finished my Totoro mittens, a Faux Isle hat and cast on this lovely Kernel scarf. I also frogged a Ribbi Shell made with a Rowan Cashmere blend that looked great but raised my body temperature 3 degrees the one time I wore it, as well as undoing an ill-conceived Noro version of Mr. Greenjeans.

I've been thinking about fashion, too. Fall fashion! I saw The September Issue over the weekend, and enjoyed it a lot. Throughout the movie Anna Wintour wore a lot of fur, but I didn't see her wearing any handknits. Why? She was pretty skinny and skinny people are so often cold, I am told. She was drinking a lot of Starbucks coffee probably from a place right near her office, maybe that was keeping her warm. Plus she got driven everywhere, and I bet she had the car service driver put the heat on in the car.

Looking around for some couture handknit inspiration after the movie I came upon this dress. For some reason this dress speaks to me, and it's not saying "Ouch!".

I read something somewhere about fashion being about the ambivalence of urges and taboos, and this dress really underlined that for me. Crochet gives me the heebie jeebies but I just love a crocheted granny square. I think it could use another sleeve, though, and I suspect they may have used a lot of acrylic yarn judging by the colors.

回転日本語

2009-09-13T23:26:00.002-04:00

私はこのパターンでこの映画を、私投げなければならなかった今日そんなに楽しんだ。

すばらしい日を過しなさい

Back to Business

2009-09-08T21:49:00.005-04:00

As far as I am concerned, Labor Day is the end of summer. We got home late last night from a quick trip to Maine and I packed up my white patent leather purse and dug out my most serious back to school shoes. It's over, and while it was fun while it lasted, it's time to move on.

Because, as we knitters know, Fall is our High Holy Season. There is Stitches, which I am thinking about attending. There is this Yarn Crawl thing, which might be fun. There is, of course, Sheep N Wool, the highest holy day of them all.

The dark secret (well, maybe not such a secret) about this season is, of course, that it presents many opportunities for buying more yarn. Yarn that you can't get any other time of the year! Yarn that you can't get enough of in one dye lot for any kind of meaningful project! Yarn that stays with you for the rest of your life like a sad misspelled tattoo.

My plan of action is to whittle down what's already in my yarn-lined Fallout Shelter by knitting my 20 top "wow that looks cute and quick" picks from my Rav queue. I'm already mostly through Project 1: Haruha, using up every inch of some Cascade Heritage sock yarn. Project 2, to be cast on shortly as I catch up on my Mad Men episodes, will be the Scrappy Flap Hat. I think every child I know needs one.

How does golf fit in here? Over the weekend I met a guy who has a problem maintaining employment because working interferes with his golf game. Here was a person who just laid it all out on the line: you can't have everything, so you might as well make a choice. I'm hoping I can get in a game or two in over the next few weeks AND get to work on these projects AND make all those yarn pilgrimages and maybe even stay employed.

August 31st and All Finished Up

2009-08-31T20:38:00.004-04:00

Here we are, back from vacation. Overall it was a great time, a little short on golf and a little long on clam chowder. I played only one game of golf but I ate chowder here, here and here. As someone pointed out to me today, Maine vacations seem to be all about where the next soup is coming from and that is exactly right.

Knitting Friend Jeanne declared August to be a good month for finishing up those unfinished objects and that seemed like a good idea to me. Why should April stand alone as the cruelest month? Self-declaration is good, it gives a person purpose. So I finished up quite a few things:

First, and foremost, I finished up the Poetry Mittens and boy do they look swell. As I was weaving in the many, many ends I realized that I had made some big leaps forward in knitting technique since casting them on which resulted in a much easier, faster knit for the second mitt, including:

Magic Loop replacing 5 dpns
Two handed strand knitting
Turkish cast on
A great big Gin and Tonic to facilitate weaving in loose ends, replacing the traditional red wine in a jelly glass

No picture yet, but as soon as I do I'll post them. Really, you'll swoon.

I do have a picture of this cute Grace Lace Beret that I finished up for Em just before she left for Maine at the beginning of August. I did not love this pattern while I was making it - it was a nice knit, fun and easy, but the colors pooled together in unappetizing clumps and the hat looked small. Once I blocked it, though, I loved it:

I also finished up that Mr. Greenjeans sweater for my sister. In any other month, I would have neglected this once I got to the sleeves, but in the spirit of UFO August, cruel months, etc. I forged on on through. Could not find a suitable button, though, so does this mean it's not an actual finished object?

I self declare it to be finished.

Okay About Those Onions

2009-08-26T20:05:00.005-04:00

I knew I had reached vacation relaxation nirvana (or a serious drop in estrogen) when I saw some onions that were so beautiful they brought tears to my eyes.

A large part of the Maine vacation is the discussion of What To Eat Next. We spent a lot of time these past two weeks exploring the local farmer's markets where I came upon these spectacular onions. So round! So white! So perfectly oniony!

The side-by-side cukes and beans made me want to knit a striped scarf:

Root vegetables were like edible Noro Kuryeon:

I plan to make a hat in the colors of these cabbages, and call it "Cabbage Head":

See what I mean? I was swooning. There was some yarn at the market in Kennebunk, but I passed on it. It was alpaca, and while the colors were lovely and heathery, smelled and felt way too close to the animal for my tastes. And really no more yarn can come into this house until Rhinebeck in October. Really, no more.

None, I swear.

Cowabunga

2009-08-23T20:17:00.004-04:00

I started out to play golf a few times today but something put the kibosh on it every time: I got up too early to play (you don't want to know how early); weather, an urgent need for shoe shopping; a change in the weather; the lure of a big breakfast, and more weather.

We are having a lot of weather here over the past few days. You know what they say about the weather in New England: if you aren't happy with it, wait 15 minutes and it will be something else. I would have played if it had merely been as hot an humid as a Queens bound subway station, but there were little crackles of lightening all day, and no one wants to end the vacation as a science experiment in electricity on the golf course.

In between the running out into the street and staring up at the sky, Emily and I ran over to the beach to play in the unusually rough surf due to offshore hurricanes:

It helps if you click on this link while you look at this picture to really get the full experience.

Vacationland

2009-08-21T14:21:00.003-04:00

We loaded up the car with knitting last week and headed up to Maine and I haven't looked back. Or looked up from my needles until today, the first cloudy day we've had all week.

Normally a sentence with "cloudy day" and "Maine" also includes the words "yet again" or "quick run to the store for wine" or "divorce". The little bit of beach fog means a break from beach knitting and a little bit of blogging.

It hasn't been all knitting and beach and boxes of wine. My sister Mrs. Sacco came up for a few days, her first trip ever to visit us on vacation. Why'd she wait so long? She stayed at this fancy schmancy hotel:

Through all the many years I've been coming here, we never even tried to sneak into the ladies rooms at this hotel. It cost about the same to stay here as it would cost to knit a men's sweater in cashmere, for one thing. I am pretty sure they don't put any paper umbrellas in the G&T's at cocktail hour either. They do have - of all things! - a teeny tiny putting green.

Here I am doing some private putting. Don't my arms look straight? Like a pendulum, no wimpy wrists I assure you:

As I write this I am shocked to realize that this is the only golf I've done so far. It's all about the knitting this vacation. What's on the needles, you may ask? In honor of UFO August, I am finishing up the Poetry Mittens I started a way long time ago on another visit to Maine. They require concentration and really good light and a comfy chair, and the time to ponder the the poem and person for whom they are being knitted. They were started in Maine, and they will be finished up in Maine, I hope.

I also casted on and got most of the way through a Mr. Greenjeans cardigan, for Mrs. Sacco. Not only is she apparently rich, she is the size of a 10 year old, so it's been a very quick knit. I just have one more sleeve to go, then the ribbing, and then a three year search for the one single button I need.

Before I left for Maine, I made a quick trip to Brooklyn General for no reason at all other than to see what they had going on there. I fell in love with 3 ply Morehouse Merino in a beautiful green color. I bought so much of it I got a little sick and sweaty when I saw it at home, but the color is divine and the heart wants what it wants, right? I brought it with me to Maine to see what it will turn into.

Well, sun is out and all the fog has burned away, so I am off to the beach for a bit. I will be back soon to tell you about some beautiful onions.

A Whole Lotta Dreams Come True

2009-08-10T22:05:00.006-04:00

I have a big list of things in my head that I hope will happen someday. Some of them take planning skill and practice and a little bit of luck: I would like to break 100 in golf one day, and I'd like to knit a pair of socks where both socks that are the same size. But I got to cross three things off the list on Saturday, with a Little Luck.

Here they are, not in order of occurrence or importance:

Olive Bobble Love: in the time before Ravelry you really had to work that Internet to find anybody talking about the kind of knitting that I (and I'm presuming you) wanted to do. Mass market yarn manufacturers had free patterns for garter stitch scarves made out of their petroleum products, but I needed something else.

One of the very first knitting/sewing blogs I found was Redlipstick, and the Olive Bobble Hat, which I have made for many folks over the years. I have maybe even made it for you! Here is Emily wearing the last one I made:

Dontcha know on Saturday afternoon I found myself in Brooklyn shaking hands with Stacyjoy, the very designer of this fine pattern? How exciting was that? It was like meeting one of the Founding Mothers of Knit.

Victorian Mourning Jewelry. Although I've read about it in countless novels and history books, never have I had the opportunity to touch actual Victorian mourning jewelry until this weekend. Although it was for sale in a store I really felt like I was at a museum show because I learned a lot about the manufacture and customs around it, and it was just as creepy to handle as I had hoped it would be.

Love on a Stick, Dipped in Chocolate. Anything is improved if you put it on a stick, and dip it in really rich dark chocolate. (Well, maybe not meat). But everything else works, including key lime pie. Because I've never been and have long wanted to go, we went here and got this. You should too, just take my word for it, even if your dreams are made of something else.

When It's Too Hot To Knit My Mind Wanders

2009-08-05T21:45:00.008-04:00

We are going on 77 hours in a row now without rain. It is possibly the longest rain-free stretch we have experienced here in the Mile Square City since maybe April. I honestly cannot remember when it was not raining almost every day. Since it hasn't been raining, it's gone back to being hot and humid. Today it is exactly the same weather conditions and temperature in my neighborhood as in Calcutta, India.

I don't mind the heat. In fact we don't even have an air conditioner in our house, which is only difficult for few days in the summer. It's not feeling hot myself; what bothers me is the reaction of my fellow humans to the heat. First, no one is wearing anything handknitted, not even anything cotton. Also, strangers complain to me about the heat as if I could do something about it. And people act so very peculiar. While I was coming home from work on the subway yesterday I saw a businessman in a suit take off his jacket and tie, and then roll up his pants to the tops of his meaty, hairy thighs in an effort to get cool. Dude! It's just not that hot.

I was lucky enough to need a root canal today and I kept close to home and off the subway, but I could not escape my hot neighbors. I saw no fewer than four men, of a variety of ages, walking around with their shirt bottom rolled up over their substantial midriff.

Like this:

You know, I don't think the belly functions as a swamp cooler. It was suggested that men might do this in an effort to attract women (well, suggested by someone who doesn't date a lot) but I can imagine no situation where this would be attractive. I actually spent some time in the dentist's chair wondering if, say, the two handsomest guys in the world came up to me with their shirts like this on a hot summer day and asked me where I've been all their lives, could I overlook it and run away with them? Answer: I could not. Not even for you, Stanley Tucci.

Male readers of this blog, I know you would never torment your neighbors or your loved ones by sporting this look. (Note to Andy: jury is still out on you). Do your best to prevent it in your brothers and middle aged neighbors. Write and distribute a pamphlet about it near your local supermarket. Make a Facebook group against it.

I am sure that tomorrow will dawn grey, wet and dismal so we can get covered up and back to work.

Knit 2 Par 3: Now With Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

2009-08-02T21:49:00.006-04:00

I only watched about 35 seconds of golf today - which was too bad, because Tiger Woods won, John Daly fell apart, and the sun was shining on a golf course somewhere in this world of endless rain. And the golf was playing on such a big TV I felt like the sun was shining on me! But I could not linger.

I only knit for a few minutes today, casting on the Greenjeans cardigan and the Wanida socks (Rav Link, andsock number six in the Wendy D/Cookie A Toe Up Extravaganza) and blocking the Grace Lace Beret, and undoing the too-tight bindoff on the Monkey socks. I would have liked to spend this lazy rainy day possibly even sorting stash, but again, I could not linger.

And why you may ask? Because I could not tear myself away from... from...from...Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!

A few dozen blog posts ago, I predicted that people (well, mostly male people) would enjoy movie versions of Jane Austen books if they cast characters from Planet of the Apes in the stories. I've read my share of Austen fan fiction but I never imagined what a little zombie mayhem could do to improve the fortunes of the Misses Bennett.

Would Jane read this book? I feel I can comfortably say she sure would, if it was summer and she was spending her 2 week vacation in Bath. I like to think she had a great sense of humor, and as evidenced by her character Lady Catherine de Burgh, a good eye for zombie mayhem.

S.E.X., and (then) the City

2009-07-27T21:53:00.008-04:00

I would have posted last night, as usual, but I had a superbad yarn hangover. It started on Friday night, with a trip to Beans and Noodles to see if the new Interweave Magazine had arrived. There were no new knitting magazines, but that didn't stop me from looking at every pattern in every issue of all the rest of them, again - even the ugly British ones. Saturday found me behind the wheel of my large automobile zooming up 9W looking for a little Stash Enhancement eXcursion. I was totally and completely satisfied with my nooner with Noro at Knitting Nation, although surprisingly I left with a big bag of Malabrigo. It's important to try new things!

When I got home I put a cool cloth on my head, took a little disco nap, and headed out to see what this new High Line Park was all about. It's about this: wow! Wildflowers! Stainless steel and concrete! And you can see my house from there:

In New York, you are either on the ground, or under the ground, or way high up. This High Line Park runs through the city at a height I've never been before while outside and your view of the city is very different. There are no swings or sandboxes, and the noise is chiefly the approving murmurs of handsome european tourists walking hand in hand. There were a lot of Finns there, and I was dying to ask them to translate this pattern, but Carrie Bradshaw wouldn't let me.

Did I say Carrie Bradshaw? I meant Emily, but you decide. Here she is, at the intersection of Ninth Avenue and 1992:

One Two Three: I Love the Monkey Socks

2009-07-20T21:46:00.002-04:00

Which is harder: knitting socks while singing this song, or trying to explain why you are singing this song all alone in your office at work?

10,000 Ravelers are not wrong about this sock. The pattern is easy to memorize. It goes crazy fast. Not only will I knit a second one of these, I am keeping this pair for myself.

Worst Case Scenario Part 2

2009-07-15T19:43:00.004-04:00

What if you spent a lot of time outlining a blog post about the fashions of the British Open, only to have Tiger Woods crash and burn in the second round? (He told the press he felt he was "making mistake after mistake" as he played. I had the same feeling with those Catnip socks last week).

Tiger had his clothes all picked out, but he didn't get a chance to wear the sporty faux-argyle red shirt he picked out for Sunday. John Daly, on the other hand, respectbably finished tied for 27th, which is pretty good considering not everyone can wear that particular shade of yellow.

The guy who came in second after a sudden death playoff was seen sporting an argyle sweater in early rounds. Argyle, sigh. I know golf is argyle, and argyle is knitting, and therefore I should be knitting lots and lots of argylosity but I just haven't been able to get in the spirit of argyle knitting. For one thing, argyle socks have seams. Socks with seams, ick ick ick!

And why would anyone knit socks with seams when they could cast on these lovely Monkey socks? I've moved from the Wendy D column to the Cookie A column, starting with the most popular sock pattern in the universe. And for good reason! I have opted for the No Purl option, and they look great in this Misti Alpaca Handpainted Clown Vomit Yarn I had hidden in the back of the stash cabinet. I think I might even make two of these.

Worst Case Scenario

2009-07-14T22:54:00.003-04:00

We went to Maine for a short little trip over the weekend, and I planned to devote the weekend to completing the second Wendy D sock using the Catnip pattern. I did not bring any other knitting. I felt so free! Just one project in one big ziplock bag.

(First, take a deep breath and concentrate on this picture of the beach to calm your excitement. As you can see, it was a typical summer weekend day there and quite crowded):

Okay feel better from looking at that picture? I know I do. I'd call this sock the Worst Case Scenario sock. It has a lace pattern, a rib pattern, a reinforced heel knitted from the toe up. I used a varigated yarn with a lot of varigation. In a chartreuse colorway. On size zero needles! So much to go wrong.

(Take a minute to look at thie canoe we saw on one of the many bike rides I required John to take so that I could get away from these socks):

Everything went wrong with this sock. The lace pattern was way too busy for the yarn. This is a very common problem, probably worthy of a DSM 4 entry, Plus, the pattern was a multiple of 7 stitches and 7 rows which made it impossible for me to memorize. And size zero needles, 'nuff said.

The heel, though, was a shambles. Reader, there is nothing wrong with the pattern or the way it is written: I blame myself. My W& T skills need a lot of work. I miscounted, I K2TOG for no good reason. The heel came out real bad, almost unrecognizable and with something that looked like a bobble on the side. Could it be saved?

I consulted this book, and found no answers. I thought about ripping it back to the sock gusset, but I just don't love the pattern or the yarn enough to re-knit. I decided to just keep on knitting and not look down there at the heel, not ever again.

If I had been thinking I would have brought along my usual 3 or 4 UFOs and even one new thing to cast on. But I wasn't thinking and I was not prepared and disaster struck my happy home.

Don't let this happen to you! Here is the Knit 2 Par 3 Travel Knitting Worst Case Scenario Survival Guide. Print it out, put it in your stash bin, and learn from me so you don't have to learn the hard way.

1. Never leave for a relaxing weekend vacation without at least 3 unfinished objects.

That's it. A simple solution for a devastating problem.

Cookie A v. Wendy D Summer of Socks Smackdown!

2009-07-05T21:35:00.003-04:00

It's all about socks this summer here in this house, particularly sock patterns by Wendy D and Cookie A. Starting "now", and continuing until "then" I am going to knit pairs of socks but using different patterns in each pair. Some pairs might have two Wendy patterns, some might have two Cookie A patterns and some - some - might have one of both.

I have a head start on the Wendy D's though:

These are the On Hold Socks from Socks from the Toe Up. The partner for this one will be Catnip Socks. The yarn is some hand dyed stuff I got a few years ago from Shannon Okey at a craft fair that had very generous yardage - some of it I used for a small shawl, and even after I finish sock number 2, I think I'll have enough for at least one more pair.

Here's another Wendy D sock giving that sad Brooks Farm yarn one last chance:

I know I've complained about that Brooks Farm a few times in this blog lately, and I was going to use it to tie up plants if these socks didn't work out, but they did. These are Van Dykes. The matching one is the Labryinth sock which is finished but go figure, no picture.

I used this long weekend to finish up a few objects in preparation for the sock smackdown. If you haven't had a chance to knit The Heartbreakingly Cute Pilot Cap (Rav Link) go out and find a hatless baby head right now. It shouldn't be hard to find a baby these days, they seem to be everywhere.

I also finished - hold on to your seats, folks - a sweater vest for my very own husband. You'll have to wait for the fall to get a picture of him wearing it, but here is some of it:

Two things about this: it was a more subdued Noro than I usually work with, and I still found the same beautiful striping and blending while knitting. And this is actually only the second sweater I ever knitted for my husband - the first being one I knitted during our very short courtship twenty years ago.

Hoboken Fourth Of July 2009

2009-07-05T20:43:00.001-04:00

What About NIxon?

2009-07-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

We passed the Bendix Diner on our way up to play golf on Saturday, and I mentioned to Brendan that Richard Nixon was a big, big fan of the pork roll and egg sandwiches at the Bendix Diner, where he would go after he played golf.

Truth be told, not being a New Jersey native I think it was unlikely that Nixon liked the pork roll sandwiches, but he did live in New Jersey and he did sometimes eat at the Bendix Diner. Since Brendan - like Nixon! - is not from New Jersey, he naively wondered why Nixon would spend his last larcenous years in suburban NJ.

Why indeed:

The Sopranos wasn't on TV at that time so you had to get your pork store information first hand and where better to do that than in the Garden State?
Nixon liked the Jersey Shore, and that is only in New Jersey.
He had friends a few exits down on the turnpike from the Mile Square City.
He could take a bus quick to the Port Authority in NYC for Chinese food with his friend Henry the K.

New Jersey and Nixon: perfect together!

Get Out and Stay Out

2009-06-29T12:45:00.004-04:00

Three days of sunshine in a row! Well, okay, there were two massive thunderstorms, and Emily and narrowly escaped a flash flood on River Road, and it was really muddy everywhere I went still, but yes we were able to sample the Seven Deadly Sins this weekend: golf, knitting, drinking beer outside, talking about Richard Nixon, buying plants, ripping out knitting and ignoring laundry.

Brendan and I played golf on Saturday at a place I kept thinking was called Twin Peaks . It wasn't my best game, but it was pretty thrilling to be out playing golf at all. I had one spectacular shot out of knee high poison ivy on to the fairway, and one heart stoppingly perfect putt on the last hole. Really, all you need in golf is one good shot and if you play like me, that's pretty much all you get.

We also did our Sunday Knitting Night at a Newark Bears Game, which was combined with the outdoor beer drinking. Lynn was there, knitting a throw rug on size 50 needles - the perfect carry along project! Christy was making that ball band tea cosy, which was much cuter in person than in the magazine. I'd knit it. I found myself hitting the wall with my fifth sock from the Wendy D Socks from the Toe Up book. Don't get me wrong: the toe up technique has changed my life, and the Magic Loop is still magical. The particular lace pattern I was working on wasn't as euphonious as some of the others. It just wasn't singing to me, so rip rip rip it went.

Now where does Richard Nixon fit in?

Movies About Knitting: The King of Comedy

2009-06-24T13:46:00.004-04:00

Okay, well it's true, maybe most people don't think of King of Comedy as a knitting movie. I know I never did until last night.

I spent a whole lot of time this morning looking to see what other movie critics have noticed just how much knitting there is in this movie. I am the first!

In the knitting scene - possibly the pivotal part of the movie! - Masha and Rupert have kidnapped Jerry, and Masha has Jerry trying on a red, v-necked stockinette sweater that she knitted for him. And in Sandra Bernhard's character's face you could see the total bliss of knitting: she loves the knitting. She loves the person that's getting the knitting. She loves that the sleeves are the right length without the benefit of measuring. She loves the stockinette stitch. It's the magical moment of knitting.

I loved how the v-neck was so perfect.

And the moral of this story? Inside every fanatic, there is a knitter. And vice-versa.

Rain: Go Away.

2009-06-22T21:19:00.003-04:00

The sun did not shine.
It was too wet to play.
So we sat in the house.
All that cold, cold, wet day.

I think I cannot remember when it was not raining. The little icons on the weather map show day after day after day of little rain clouds, punctuated by little zig zag thunderstorms: Monday: raining. Tuesday: raining. Wednesday and Thursday: raining. Friday, Saturday: rain rain rain; Sunday just more rain. Go ahead, sing along! It will cheer you up.

I am not quite sure what sun worshipping, nature loving things I would have done this weekend if it wasn't raining. If the sun was shining this weekend I would have been occupied with watching golf and knitting - which is what I did anyway. I knitted a great deal, in fact, but have no photos to show because it was too wet to take the knitting outside for pictures.

It can't really rain forever, right?

Knit-In Update

2009-06-20T08:38:00.002-04:00

"When life rains on your knitting, cast on with acrylic" - a famous philosopher

Well, it looks like another sneaker soaking, hair frizzing rainy day. Once I get done with the unexpected and Herculean tasks set before me this Saturday morning, I will be joining the Hoboken knitters either at Pier A park (unlikely) or the local weak coffee/free wifi auditorium. If you're in town, stop by!

Feeling Groovy

2009-06-16T21:49:00.003-04:00

I walked across the Queensboro Bridge today into Manhattan instead of taking the subway on my way home from work.

It was one of those walks that was uphill all the way even though it is only about a quarter mile.

There were a surprising number of pedestrians and bikers going both ways. I even saw two coworkers from my old job, one on a bike and one on foot, crossing into Queens from Manhattan.

And yes, I did sing the song.

Be There Granny Square!

2009-06-15T19:36:00.003-04:00

Hope to see you there! And thanks to our knitty pal Brendan for the poster.

Home Despot

2009-06-14T22:34:00.005-04:00

Forces of nature thwarted me at every turn this weekend, but I did go to the smallest and tidiest garden store ever, on the rooftop parking lot of the Home Depot by the Holland Tunnel:

It was very tidy and maybe the size of my city backyard. I thought the plants were fake at first, since there was no extra dirt anywhere. There were two other customers, a man and a woman couple. The man stopped me and said me he had been there for two hours while his wife shopped for plants. I thought hmm, he'd better not go with me to a yarn store.

Tricoteuse

2009-06-09T21:28:00.006-04:00

As you good Victorian scholars know, Charles Dickens died 138 years ago today. He was 58 when he died of a combination of too many public appearances and parties, stepping out on the mother of his ten children, and writers block. And while I object to Dickens' place in history as the the most important of Victorian novelists for many reasons (all of which I will list for you in great detail if you send me a self addressed stamped envelope) he did create the greatest and most evil knitter of all times, Madame Defarge.

Everybody has heard of Madame Defarge, but did you know what she was knitting? She was knitting the names of her enemies into a hit list, which makes her an artist wayyyyy ahead of her time.

And while the Tale of Two Cities is kind of a hard read, even for me, here is probably the best fiction writing about knitting that I know.

Haiku for A Swell Day

2009-06-06T23:56:00.006-04:00

Sun was shining so we took a trip

heard some music

bought yarn.

Try This At Home!

2009-06-03T22:30:00.005-04:00

I really am a fast knitter, but I astounded myself by completing the toe up socks cast on Sunday afternoon. For sock one, I used the Van Dyke pattern (Rav link) but for sock two, I am going to use the Labyrinth pattern (Rav link). I want to try so many of the patterns in this book but I don't want to wait for a whole other pair of socks for a new pattern. I know the universe craves the symmetry of matching socks, but everyone can benefit from a little asymmetrical chaos in her day.

The reason for this fast finish is a scientific combo of needle style and brand, knitting technique, construction method and fabric, with a healthy dose of perimenopausal insomnia to lube up the process. Here I am, demonstrating the use of the magic loop technique on toe up socks that I cast on using the Turkish method , on HiyaHiya needles:

Knitters! Try this at home! At this rate there will be no cold feet within a 25 mile radius of the Mile Square City and quite possibly I will have used up every inch of my stash sock yarn.

One Last Chance

2009-05-31T22:23:00.004-04:00

Last fall (or maybe the fall before that, or even the one before that) I bought some Brooks Farm yarn that looked brilliant on the skein. I liked it so much I would just look at it from time to time and never even thought of what to knit with it. The colors looked so subtle twisted up in the skein, some blue here, some green there, and oh! would you describe that green as "leaf" or "olive"? And isn't that blue the same color as the ocean in Maine?

A few weeks ago I decided to wind it up on the winder. It looked a little less brilliant. It looked stripey, and dull. I thought it would give it a try on the Swallowtail shawl: not good. I ripped it out and thought I'd give it a try on the Checkerboard scarf: worse. I thought about sending it back to Brooks Farm, with a note that they didn't need to send my money back, because you can put no price on a broken heart. I put it in the back of the yarn closet for a bit.

At the library yesterday, I checked out Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson. Not only did it change my (knitting) life in one afternoon, it saved that Brooks Farm yarn from the swap bin. I've always been a top down, but after trying out a few of the toe cast on techniques in this book, I don't think I can ever go back. Look at that nice, square toe with no pesty Kitchener stitch:

Yes, I am doing them using magic loop, and I am a demon. This is what they looked like at the start of our knitting group tonite; by the time Heidi and Spencer said "I do" this evening, I had turned the heel.

And the Brooks Farm just needed a different gauge. I'm using size 3 needles for these socks and I am getting the nice fabric I had imagined when I was just fondling that skein. The striping in that yarn is also more appropriate for a sock with no unsightly pooling. And the fit! Often I have to block a sock a lot because they are too big, too small, too short; this fits just right.

Once I give my heart to yarn it's usually forever, and I felt bad that after lovin' that Brooks Farm, I couldn't love it any more. All the things I loved about it in the skein are still there (the green! the blue! that little bit of midnight!) but finally I found the right setting for all it's charms.

Poor, But Happy

2009-05-25T23:19:00.004-04:00

The rain in Maine can really be a pain.

We had one nice day out of three on this short weekend visit, and I was able to play my first golf game of the season. Before we talk about the game, though, I do believe this is the first good shot on an actual golf course of the felted golf bag I made two years ago:

The course was pretty crowded today, so I had a lot of time to artfully pose this bag. It's a made up as you go kind of pattern, sort of modeled on a yoga bag. I used Lamb's Pride Bulky in a pretty lavender and sage green, both real Maine colors. It holds the three clubs I use most on this par 3 course, plus some balls. It also has an i-cord strap in the back. It's very cute, if I do say so myself.

I had a lot of good shots today, getting on or near the green in two or three straight shots on most holes. Because I was playing by myself, I got some documentation of a few holes. Notice my pink Barbie ball here, on the third hole which is the hole I dislike above all at this course. I got here in two great big thwaking shots, head down and eyes on the ball:

My putting was dismal, though. I think the bifocals had something to do with it, I just could not figure out how to get the ball in the hole. Overall though, I think I've moved my playing skill up from "What Are You Doing Denise?" to maybe "Poor" and that's a great way to start out the new season.

Yarn? Over.

2009-05-18T22:58:00.005-04:00

I've fallen into a knitting abyss.

I'm a fast knitter, and I knit every day, and I finish up small projects fast and big projects faster than most. I like repetitious patterns in knitting, and I like the routine of knitting every day, so you'd think a pattern with a lot of repetition that I could knit every day would make me the happiest person ever, wouldn't you?

For the second time this year I had to rip out the Swallowtail Lace Shawl right on down to the six stitch anchor because the YO's and the SSK's were wearing me down to a nub. Every row I missed at least one yarn over. I couldn't memorize the pattern, and the yarn striped in an unattractive way, and it just made me unhappy. So rip! It's gone now, just a kinky ball of yarn shoved in the back of the closet.

At least one of you is wondering what this picture of Teching Hsieh has to do with knitting the Swallowtail Lace Shawl. This artist has done a series of year long performance pieces, which I think the Swallowtail Lace Shawl really might be. For this piece he punched a time clock every hour on the hour for one year. I think about this piece sometimes and the repetition and steadfastness of this is inspiring to me. He only missed 131 punches, but descriptions of the piece do not tell you how many yarn overs he missed.

Day of Rest? Getouttahere

2009-05-17T21:23:00.005-04:00

I did a lot for just one day.

I got up very early, dropped off Emily at school for a school thing.

I went to a diner, where the mexican night shift workers from a local factory were watching The Three Stooges on multiple flat screen TVs and not laughing. At all.

I went to the Home Depot to buy some plants, but got there so early I had to wait for them to open up. Why did I used to complain so much about Home Depot?

I got home and took a nap.

I did a lot of laundry.

I finished up a good trashy book in which a favorite character kills someone with knitting needles.

I went in the bedroom and took a nap.

I did more laundry.

I planted the Home Depot plants.

I made dinner for tonite and Tuesday night.

I cleaned the bathroom.

I put my head down on the pillow in the bed for a second and I took a nap.

I watched some golf.

I steamed some broccoli and we all ate dinner.

I put in another load of laundry.

I went to the knitting. I worked on this sweater vest for John, a pattern of my own devising with some cheater cables and ribbing:

Good thing tomorrow is Monday, and back to work, because I am exhausted from all this weekend business.

Transporting Cake Across County Lines

2009-05-11T21:59:00.003-04:00

It was my birthday this weekend and Nancy baked me one fine cake.

But Riddle Me This: What if you had to bake a cake at Point A, drive to Point B for dinner, and then get back in the car and drive again to Point C to eat the cake? What if you had to find a parking space in Hoboken on a Saturday night on top of it all?

Half Full

2009-05-04T22:36:00.006-04:00

I mentioned yesterday that I bought some Noro on sale over the weekend, 20% off. I bought an uncharacteristically subdued batch, as you can see there on the left, since I did want to knit something for John who has been known to refer to most colors as "why is it not not gray or black". There is some gray here, you can see, and a lot of black and a little bit of brown, as well as some funky green that he might not notice if I don't make too much of a big deal out of including a color in there.

Before I went to the yarn store, though, I took a good hard look at all the Noro I already have on hand. All of it is beautiful. It also accounts for the yarn in most of the UFOs in that yarn closet. If you make a sweater with Noro, you'd better make sure it was sleeveless or else, frankly, you look insane. And forget about two socks, I can never figure out which two socks go together when I get them out of the wash.

I knew I wouldn't be able to help myself once I got to the store, because my impulse control is quite poor in these situations and their selection of Noro is mouthwateringly fine. I knew if I could focus on just getting enough for a project without sleeves or a second sock or some such impediment I would have half a chance to get the thing finished.

So I studied and studied the Noro at the shop. I took skeins outside to look at them in the 10 minutes of sunshine alloted to us this weekend. I lined skeins up side by side, and then walked around the table. I figured I needed X xY = Z amount, and bought it, and apologized to no one.

Here is an aside: if there was a gameshow called Guess The Necessary Yardage I'd win the dinette set for sure. I can look at you, your yarn choice and pattern tell you what you need to buy with 25 yards to spare with no calculator, just my bifocaled eyes. But when I got home on Saturday, I realized I had bought only about half of what I needed.

And what do we learn from this? Noro Love is a primitive thing, and even though I need to go back and get more, I should remember that right now my knitting basket is half full.

'One would have to have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without dissolving into tears...of laughter.' (Oscar Wilde).

2009-05-03T23:19:00.007-04:00

I am disappointed, dry-eyed and mirthless as I write this blog post, having just sat through the one episode (one episode!) PBS version of The Old Curiosity Shop. I had laid in a big supply of tissues, and cast on a pretty simple project in anticipation of a big blubber fest at the lingering death of Little Nell. Although Dickens is not my favorite victorian novelist, I think I've read this one a few dozen times and always cried cried cried. But this version left out so much of the story it was like the Twitter version.

Anyway. There was nothing disappointing about all the knitting going on in this house this weekend. I tidied up the living room knitting basket (but not the bedroom knitting basket, or the yarn-lined fall out shelter, or the bag of Work Knitting) and went to the big sale at Knitting Nation and bought - you guessed it: more Noro. I sketched out a recipe for a nice vest for John and got to work on that one. I also cast on a version of the Swallowtail shawl using a worsted weight instead of lace weight, and so far nothing to cry about.

My Girl is Red (Carpet) Hot

2009-04-28T22:23:00.006-04:00

We got invited to the premier of this movie at the Tribeca Film Festival last night and because the temperature was 175 degrees at 10:00 pm, I could persuade none of the family members to wear any of the recently knitted garments as they walked down the red carpet.

I had dreams of one of those fashion pundits stopping Emily and saying: "Is that the Springtime Bandit Scarf that our President so admired?" or perhaps to John: "Those sure are lovely Monkey Socks you are wearing with those sandals, and such a fine gauge too" or even more exciting, a whole load of reporters yelling: "Denise! Denise! What's on the needles now?"

Here's a picture of the Divine Miss Em after her red carpet stroll.

Perfect Weather for Knitting

2009-04-26T22:42:00.003-04:00

Nothing like weird tropical weather to motivate me to get out the wooly stuff for pictures.

We went for a walk down by our urban beach, but I am pretty sure you can get impetigo from the sand, so I just admired the view.

Here are the finished Climbing Lace Socks, all done up in that new Cascade Sock Yarn: they look great with sandals.

And you should never go out in the sun without a hat, especially if it is this nice Springtime In Philadelphia hat:

Needles on Fire

2009-04-23T22:36:00.003-04:00

First, right off: how happy do you think I was to find out that Margaret Hamilton could knit? As if it wasn't enough that she could command winged monkeys, and make great coffee, but here she is, knitting.

I feel sorry, though, that Magic Loop knitting probably wasn't invented then, because her knitting - indeed, her life - would be so much more exciting if she could ditch those straights. Since my big conversion a few weeks ago not only has my ability to work complicated patterns in teeny tiny gauge increased, but I've been churning out projects faster than you can say ssk yo psso.

And where are the pictures? I did finish both socks for the Climbing Lace Socks in one short week, and Emily has already worn them and threw them in the laundry basket, perhaps never to be seen again. I also finished up a chunky version of the beautiful Springtime Bandit using some Noro Taiyo and size 10 needles, which I wrapped up for a present, so you won't get to see that either.

I am halfway done with another Springtime project, this one using double strands of Malabrigo Lace and the HiyaHiya needles I got at Knitty City. This yarn is spectacular in both color and hand, and I wish you could put your face up to the computer because I'd rub it on your cheek. The pattern is so well written it's a fast and fun knit even though it looks fancy.

And if this isn't enough knitting for one post, I've also casted on these socks . I tell you, this magic loop Lights Up My Life.

Proof of Spring

2009-04-20T23:06:00.002-04:00

We went to see the cherry blossoms in Newark on what apparently will be the Single Day of Spring. You could pretend you were in Japan even though you were in Branch Brook Park.

In Honor of the Day

2009-04-15T22:37:00.001-04:00

I'll never be Mrs. Joey Ramone, but guess who I turned out to be?

The Right Tools for the Job

2009-04-13T20:07:00.007-04:00

I took some extra time at lunch on the one sunny day we had last week to pay a visit to Knitty City. Pretty Pretty Knitty City! I think this place is a tie with Knitting Nation for best color sense, but I don't think you can beat the friendly vibe anywhere.

They were so friendly that while I went in with a mind to purchase a pair of needles, I came out with the needles and yarn yarn yarn. Most of it I hid in my yarn-lined fall out shelter but I had them wind up some of that new Cascade Sock yarn and casted on Climbing Lace Socks (Rav Link) right on the traffic median by 72nd and Broadway, a place that is best known as the junkie hangout in the movie Panic in Needle Park:

I was sort of in a panic, being late for a meeting uptown, but there's no stopping the urge to cast on.

I had purchased a pair of Hiya! Hiya! needles because really, who could resist needles with that name? They are a very lightweight aluminum with a good flexible cord and super pointy ends. I'd say they are about half the weight of Addi-Turbos and a good small gauge alternative for Denise Needle fans. Mine cost $8.50, making them about half the price of Addis too. I had long wanted to make those Climbing branch socks but I was undone every time by those size 1 dpns.

On the golf side, I spent a whole lotta time looking for the Hello Kitty putter I saw here. If those Hiyas helped with my socks life, imagine what this could do for my game?

Joey Ramone

2009-04-08T12:02:00.008-04:00

April is the cruelest month, for a lot of reasons: sometimes you get freakish snowstorms; its generally not warm enough to play golf, and even worse, you often get sucked into buying cotton yarn, thinking you will make something to wear for the summer. Finally, it's the cruelest month because April 15th is the 8th year anniversary of Joey Ramone's untimely death.

I'd seen the Ramones a couple of times, but they were on stage and I was in the crowd. Last century, Brendan got them to autograph the nice bowling statue you see on the left. Since he is the only person I know who ever had any kind of interaction with them, I interviewed him for this blog post.

Me: How did you get this thing autographed?

Brendan: The Ramones made an appearance at my local record store and I brought them a

poster, and this trophy, and had them sign it.

Me: Did you talk much with them while they were signing it?

Brendan: They were men of few words.

Me: Did Joey Ramone ask about me?

Brendan: I did not know you then.

Me: Yes, but I'm just asking. Did he say anything about how he felt about me? Did he want to know how to get in touch with me?

Brendan: This is my subway stop. Have a nice day.

Okay, well, in the early 80's I guess Joey Ramone was swept up in the glamour of record store signings and such. Sadly, he never lived to forge a cheesy career singing in lounges in Atlantic City, but at least the trophy remains.

Knitting Liberation

2009-04-06T21:24:00.002-04:00

Over the past year or so, many of the gals in the knitting group have migrated from dpns to The Magic Loop technique for making socks. I was just about ready to give up on any sock project that required smaller than a size 5 needle because I kept poking myself with both ends of the double points when I had to bring the work up real close to my middle aged eyes.

What a drag it is getting old, said a very old man.

I resisted moving to the magic loop mostly because "Magic Loop" sounds like a brand name for an IUD. I imagined myself saying to Alison (highly skilled with magic loopiness) one night at knitting: "So, Alison, for health reasons I think I'd like to try the magic loop, but I am worried that it will kill my sock buzz before I get used to it".

I imagine then that Alison, a practical and direct kind of woman, would say: "It's important to take charge of your knitting health! And in the spirit of knitters doing it for themselves, I can teach you or you can go to this website and learn how."

Since it was later in the evening when I imagined all this, Iwent right to that website and with relatively little effort taught myself magic loop, and I am never going back. If you think you are too much of a spaz for this technique, I urge you to give it a try and you will be delighted and liberated from the tyrany of the little sticks.

Okay about the picture: I was looking for something that might seem like two women talking about the Miracle of the Magic Loop, and I came across this one.

I don't know what the one with the machine in her hand is doing. And I will not find out.

Apocalypse Yarn Store

2009-04-04T09:57:00.003-04:00

I wonder if you know this about me: I really enjoy stories about civilization on Earth after the end of the world. Not the Big Science kind of civilization, but a Jalopy World of reusable parts and clever tinkering.

Before this last election, I used to spend a lot of lunch hours talking with a man who worked down the hall from me about what kind of work we would do once Sarah Palin was president and the apocalypse came for real. He had run an organic farm in the 70's, and he was stockpiling seeds in his Manhattan apartment for the day he had to turn Central Park into a giant cooperative farm. I, of course, was packing in a heady yarn stash worthy of the end of the world. I imagined loading it all up into our Dodge Vegomatic and heading to Maine, where I would barter clothing made from stash and scraps while John tinkered with dozens of ancient PCs to keep The Google alive.

So I was pretty thrilled to watch City of Ember last night. Not only did it have an entire civilization tinkering as fast as they could on the brink of disaster but it featured a yarn store. And you could really tell it was the end of the world, looking in that yarn store: stash unraveled everywhere and yarn hanging from the rafters. The scenes in the yarn store are brief, but harrowing, including a closet stuffed with UFOs ("unfinished objects" for you golfers) and a baby stuffing what looks like half a skein of acrylic yarn into her mouth.

On the other hand, everyone in the place is wearing handknits with great steampunk styling. There are several beautiful scrap yarn quilts like the one I finished up for Emily this year:

I'd add this to the list of good knitting movies, even though nobody actually knits during it. It is suitable for excitement loving seven year olds and even teenagers almost comatose with ennui. And knitters.

Bandit Up Close and Personal

2009-04-01T16:09:00.003-04:00

A little lacey eye-candy for you Brooks Farm lovin' knitters.

I'm Dreaming

2009-03-30T09:39:00.004-04:00

I had a dream last night that Barak Obama called me to say how awsome my Bandidt looked, and that he has had so much to do over the past few months he has made hardly any progress on his Pomotomus sock that he cast on while on the campaign trail. Here he is, left, holding up that Pomotomus and showing some knitter how good it looked.

Mr President! I totally understand. Sometimes we have such difficult decisions to make. For example: this weekend I had to decide between watching Tiger Woods win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the low talking mumbling version of Little Dorrit on PBS, or the first episode of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I picked the Dickens, taped the other and peeked at the leaderboard from time to time.

We can do it all, but not at the same time.

And thanks for the call: yes, the Bandit is awesome, worthy of a Presidential shout out. I will post pix this week.

Falling Hard for the Bandit

2009-03-26T19:47:00.006-04:00

Everything has fallen to pieces here because I've spent every waking hour this week with this Bandit shawl, left (thank you to Rav'er Illanna for the picture of her Bandit, I am too wrapped up in knitting to get my own pictures done).

No laundry has been laundered; peanut butter sandwiches have been offered in lieu of meals; a large stack of hard-core vampire books go unread, LPGA unwatched - all because of my devotion to this project.

There is no accounting for what I will hard fall for, and I try hard to stick to the least damaging of the available distractions. But my heart wants what my heart wants, and mysteriously it seems to want a great big lace shawl with 3 two-part patterns. This is a lot of knitting for a what really is a large scarf, although pretty easy to memorize. I'm using size 8 needles, and some other Brooks Farm that I bought a long time ago and was "saving". Saving for what?

For a pattern to come and sweep me off my feet.

The Adventures of Three Girls and One Boy

2009-03-22T22:18:00.006-04:00

Lynn and I loaded up the kids in the car and headed out for an adventure on Saturday, enough of an adventure to fill a slim volume.

Chapter 1: Return of the Death Row Handknits

With the fear of another freak spring snow storm on our minds this Saturday morning, we headed out to a surprisingly fruitful estate sale. I scored a much needed enamel compost pail, with a lid no less, for $2. Upstairs, though, we found Victim 2 in the Death Row Handknits series:

The soft focus treatment Lynn gives it here might lead you to believe this piece could be salvaged, but don't be fooled. I'd place this knitting at about 1975, made with a startling tangerine colored acrylic. It was hard to walk away from the nice garter stitch pattern but Emily's screams of horror could be heard throughout the neighborhood so I just left it up there.

Chapter 2: Google Directions: Just a Pack of Lies

After putting more junk in our trunk yet spending less than $13, and armed with our Google Map print outs, we headed over several rivers to the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City. Those of you familiar with this blog might wonder if I had a choice between sticking a pin in my eye or going to LIC on the weekend, but I assure you there was a knitting related purpose.

Things went pretty smoothly until we got to the part of the directions that said: "Make a left at 11th Street, then a right on to 53rd Avenue, which veers slightly and turns into Vernon Avenue". Truth be told, you do that and you will veer right into the Newtown Creek. And even if you go back to 11th Street and follow those directions three, four or even five times, and even if you wish hard, and drive on some sidewalks by accident, you end up in the Newtown Creek.

Luckily, Emily secretely texted an SOS to her father from the back seat and he used a real map to get us there in time to photograph this lovely shrug made from only two skeins of Noro.

I used this pattern as a starting point, but also used two different Noro color groups as you would for this scarf. As always, the knitting looked at home surrounded by all that japanese-osity.

One note on the Google: don't believe everything you print out. Huh.

Chapter 3: $7 Bar of Migraine

All that getting lost required some expensive hand made chocolate and we found just the ticket at Mast Brothers chocolate. The youthful yet bewhiskered brothers were happy to show our little party where they roasted the cacao beans and slapped on the pretty labels right there in the store. I was able to purchase and mostly consume a tasty tidbit with most of my migraine triggers built right in: nuts and chocolate, sprinkled with salt. All I needed was a piece of hard cheese and I'dve been knocked out cold for a week.

Sometimes I Feel I've Got To

2009-03-16T20:12:00.006-04:00

do other things besides knit and watch golf on TV.

Last night, for example, I made my debut as a back up singer for Trouble's performance at the WFMU fundraiser finale at Maxwells.

Here we are, wo-wo-wo'ing along to Tainted Love by Soft Cell.

And yes, those are our own, everyday clothes.

Death Row Handknits

2009-03-14T21:57:00.003-04:00

My sister, Mrs. Sacco, does a lot of volunteer work looking for homes for shelter dogs that are scheduled for euthanasia because of their behavior problems or because they have only three legs or one eye or some such tragic thing. I admire this, as most of these dogs would bite you as hard as they could if they got a chance. She is concerned about the misfit unloved, and does something about it.

I was thinking about her today in the Salivation Army when I came upon this handmade vest in the Yellow section, which comes after Pink but is before Blue:

The workmanship on this was pretty good, considering it was made out of a 100% petroleum product yarn , among the squeakiest and unpleasant I've ever touched. And yes, it was crocheted but you could see it was done with skill and care. It looked like a thousand yellow eyes but they were all uniform with nice seaming and no loose ends. Somebody cared to make it, but then somebody gave it away.

It was on the final sale rack which meant that after the markdowns, it would have cost me about $1.50 to take it home. But I took a picture instead, and left it hanging there, and I have been feeling bad about it all day. Where will it end up?

I should have gotten it and given it to Mrs. Sacco. She would understand.

Where is the Love?

2009-03-11T17:55:00.004-04:00

My goodness where has the time gone? Sometimes the days just fly by.

I have been in need of a little knitsperation lately, so we took a road trip in our new car to the George Nakashima studio on Saturday. I had finished the Secret Garden sweater for Lou Lou's birthday in record time and to tell you the truth, I loved knitting it so much I considered never knitting anything else but that again. Even with a Rav queue of 415 projects I couldn't get anything going knit wise.

Before we left I went to the stash cabinet and picked out a few skeins to take with me. I was hoping that a change of venue would help me figure out what to knit next.

This is some beautiful Brooks Farm I got at Rhinebeck, sitting pretty on a stone table off the main showroom.

What's nice about this yarn is that it's not so tightly spun as other Brooks Farm yarn, and there is a lot of it. What might be not so nice about it is that it looks like it pools unless you knit it from both sides.

And it wouldn't be right to go to the studio of a Japanese artist without - you guessed it!

The other visitors to the studio did not seem alarmed at a woman beholding skeins of yarn on various pieces of furniture, or the floor, and then stuffing them back in her purse. This went on for a long time too.

Still, though, I am in the dumps about what to knit next. I think part of it has to do with trying to slog my way through the stash before buying too much new yarn and finding it very uninspiring. I have half-heartedly cast on a pair of socks, and a modified version of the Aleita shell (Rav link) but I am not feeling the love. Not even Noro love.

Ah well. Soon it will be spring, and maybe you little birdies can tell me what to cast on.

When it's Thursday, It's Trouble

2009-03-03T22:32:00.009-05:00

Our dear knitting friend DJ Trouble (pictured left) writes:

"It is that time of year when WFMU opens its phones to receive all the well wishes of commercial free love that only you can give. We are looking for more donations this year from more people, which hopefully will equal out to more money to run our bastion of freedom and excellent radio. You get where you fit in here, don't you? We are a most wonderful explosion of artistic endeavor, with no corporate relationship, never has, never will! Be part of the magic! Yours sincerely, DJ Trouble."

In between knitting and golfing and reading Jane Austen novels I always find time on Thursday morning to listen to Trouble on freeform WFMU, where she is often talking about knitting and Jane Austen novels but alas, never golfing. And why is that, Trouble?

Please show your support for our freeform friend on Thursday, March 5th from 9am to 12 pm by calling 1-800-989-9368 to pledge. I know she would be glad to hear from you! Especially if you ask her some golf questions! If you are shy, or if don't like to talk on the phone, you can pledge on line at https://www.wfmu.org/marathon/pledge.php

First in My Lifetime

2009-03-02T10:46:00.004-05:00

And you may find your child behind the wheel of a large automobile.

And you may ask yourself: my god, what have I done?

This Sort of Worked For Me - It Could Sort of Work For You!

2009-02-26T21:46:00.009-05:00

On my way home from a pretty crappy day at work, I decided to think about something good at each train stop and maybe by the time I got home I'd be a relatively good mood. It sort of worked, hence the ringing endorsement there in the title.

There are six stops so think of this as a kind of commuter Stations of the Cross, suitable for any season of penance.

33rd Street: The 44th President of the United States is a superhero.

23rd Street: Tiger Woods is back to work, sort of.

14th Street: It's really okay to just buy Noro yarn and not knit anything with it.

9th Street: I may never want to knit anything else but Alice Starmore patterns.

Christopher Street: a good remix of Love Hangover can take you all the way under the river and remind you of your misspent dancing youth.

Try it! I was still cranky when I got home, though, but nothing that a pork roll sandwich couldn't cure.

And the Oscar Goes to ...

2009-02-23T12:51:00.005-05:00

Riddle me this: why isn't anyone wearing hand knits at the Oscars? Someone pointed out that the Oscars are usually held in the winter, the perfect season for handknits, but yet, there wasn't even a lacey stole covering Sarah Jessica Parker's...shoulders. And that Jessica Biel dress could have only been improved by a fair isle cardigan of some sort.

There is plenty of good knitting the movies, though, so I had my own little ceremony while I ate my lunch at my desk.

Best Actress: Greer Garson in Mrs. Miniver

Best Actor: Cary Grant learning how to knit in Mr. Lucky

Lifetime Achievement Award: Gromit, for knitting in every movie, even though he seems to only know garter stitich.

I am sure I could add more, but I had to eat fast and go to a meeting.

Two Tall Heroines

2009-02-17T22:46:00.004-05:00

This weekend told the tale of two tall girls, on either side of the U.S. of A, who's heroic efforts in the face of great odds accomplished great deeds.

Six foot tall golfer girl Michelle Wie played great golf on Saturday, coming in second in a close match in Hawaii against Angela Stanford in the SBS Open. Although she had been ranked in the low 200's due to a wrist injury similar to the kind that has sidelined Embloggery - and coming in second is nothing to shake yourputter at - she's a hero because she's playing as part of the LPGA tour: maybe she's realized that there is a lot more to her craft than trying to beat a boy.

In local news, tallish Lynn scored me a copy of The Knitter. At last! Lynn, who is taller than me, found a stash of this magazine at our local chain bookstore, on the top row of the crafts section in the magazines behind the quilt magazines. She brought one right on over to me, even though it was Valentines Day and she was on a romantic date.

My heros.

Kniting + Golf = 4 Eva!

2009-02-14T15:10:00.004-05:00

Here's to the perfect couple on Valentines Day.

What Jane Austen Didn't Do

2009-02-10T10:25:00.006-05:00

No sooner did I find myself recovering from the vampire fiction obsession, when I fell into the Jane Austen fan fiction/sequel/prequel hole.

There are more people writing this stuff than, well, publishing amiguri patterns on Ravelry. For the record, I have visited the Jane Austen Theme Park and wouldn't be too ashamed to go to this place if I get a chance either. And even though this blog is no longer being updated, it's an excellent time waster when you are in between library books. And, as a plus, you can even get your Jane Austen Valentine Cards if you are the kind of person who sends valentines (which I don't think Jane was).

Those Mason Dixon wimmin did a nice little Jane Austen pattern, and I while I am considering making a few for the little girls in my life, I decided that this particular pattern fit the whole Regency vibe better. Here is a picture of the lacy bottom, up close and personal:

It's a surprisingly easy going with all the fol-de-rol and hoo-ha trim on it. And isn't that just how you'd describe any Jane Austen book?

Trouble Points the Way

2009-02-05T20:53:00.003-05:00

Thank you to Trouble who located how to get your paws on that The Knitter Magazine. You can pay in British pounds, which always makes me feel like I'm getting something better than if I paid for it with American Money.

A Picture and A Thousand Words

2009-02-04T22:41:00.003-05:00

A camera is a good thing to keep in your traveling knit bag. I had both knitting and a camera with me on Tuesday when it snowed, and took this picture out of my office window.

It's the kind of neighborhood where the best you can say is that it has drawbacks. That projectile thing is the dirt mover of which you've heard tell; it moves dirt from one side of the street to those piles on my side of the street. The snow made the whole scene look very steampunk, and not quite as unlovely as on a sunny day. But still. Can you spot the neighborhood Starbucks in this picture? Hint: there isn't one.

A camera is also a good thing to have when you are out looking in every bookstore in Manhattan for that magazine The Knitter. Readers, have any of you seen this for sale in this country? Today I got a visa to visit civilization and a ventured into a big box bookstore that was purported to stock it, and they were sold out. When I went downstairs to the knitting books section to console myself, this is was the state of the craft books section:

Silent, But Deadly, Fun

2009-02-02T21:46:00.005-05:00

I can't get behind the hoopla about a rodent predicting the weather, but I did remember that today was Silent Poetry Day. I entertained myself on the trip home from work by thinking this bit of favorite poem in my head, and I can't guarantee that my lips weren't moving a little as I thunk it: (From The Hunting of The Snark by Lewis Carroll)

"There was one who was famed for the number of things
He forgot when he entered the ship:
His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings,
And the clothes he had bought for the trip.

He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,
With his name painted clearly on each:
But, since he omitted to mention the fact,
They were all left behind on the beach.

The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because
He had seven coats on when he came,
With three pairs of boots--but the worst of it was,
He had wholly forgotten his name.

He would answer to "Hi!" or to any loud cry,
Such as "Fry me!" or "Fritter my wig!"
To "What-you-may-call-um!" or "What-was-his-name!"
But especially "Thing-um-a-jig!"

While, for those who preferred a more forcible word,
He had different names from these:
His intimate friends called him "Candle-ends,"
And his enemies "Toasted-cheese."

"His form in ungainly--his intellect small--"
(So the Bellman would often remark)
"But his courage is perfect! And that, after all,
Is the thing that one needs with a Snark."'

Jane Austen or the Superbowl: No Contest

2009-02-01T22:24:00.004-05:00

Since when is Superbowl a holiday? I foolishly attempted to purchase guacamole today and could find none on the shelves at several stores. When I inquired about it, I was told: hey lady, it's Superbowl Sunday!

Here are all the facts you needed to know about the Superbowl: a) one of the teams was from Arizonia; b) the Patron Saint of New Jersey was playing at halftime and c) Masterpiece Theater was re-running some of the Jane Austen series from this past spring. Now what would you choose?

I chose none of the above because I was consumed with a completely engrossing and thoroughly satisfying monster of a project, which I cast on earlier this weekend in the few minutes I wasn't reading Inside the Victorian Home. I don't have any pictures of it yet, because digital cameras weren't invented in in Victorian times,but here are someone else's pictures.

I did happen to turn on the TV at the exact moment when Springstein was swinging his guitar in the air, and I thought that was a pretty good trick for a old guy. My delight in it was tamed by my concern that his lead guitarist was now the old Italian widow from around the corner.

The Yarn Store Employee Made Me Do It

2009-01-27T11:23:00.006-05:00

Does this woman work at your Local Yarn Store?

She works at all of mine and was working full time this weekend when Lynn and I "took a quick ride over" to one of our regular knitter bordellos to "browse" at the "little sale" to maybe "find that Knitter magazine".

Everything was suspiciously easy on the trip. All the laundry was done, folded and put away so there was nothing to keep me home. We got a parking space right in front of the yarn store, and there was a lot of time left on the meter.

And when we got to the store, everything was on sale - not just a sad bin of of pilled-out turnip colored cashmerino orphans.

Everything. Even. Noro.

Now I swore that I would not buy any Noro for a while. I do love Noro for the colors, but I have to face it: it's very limited for actual garment construction. Socks made from the sock yarn feel like the paper slippers you get at the gynecologist. The silk blends have no body and are good only for scarves, and while Kuryeon is pretty spectacular, my horizontal stripe days are long past.

I was standing there, in front of the Noro, telling myself all these reasons and struggling with the thought of 20% off when the Devil came up to ask, in a seductive voice, if she could be of any help. I started stammering about stripes and cold feet and fifteen foot scarves and this is what followed:

Me (quietly, fearfully, to no one in particular): I think I will hold out on the Noro until I can justify buying enough Kuryeon for the Lizard Ridge Blanket.

Satan (cheerfully, brightly, directly into my ear): WELL! You know, with that particular pattern, you can just buy two or three skeins every time you go to a yarn store and in a couple of years, you'll have that Lizard Ridge done.

And there I was, undone. Reader, I bought two skeins. But they were on sale.

I fared better than Lynn, last seen running down the street with a garbage bag full of Malabrigo Gruesa and Ozark Handspun .

Say Cheesy

2009-01-21T22:39:00.003-05:00

I am a little tired from dancing the night away at the Inaugural Balls, so when I got home from work I put my feet up on the coffee table, turned on the Bob Hope Classic and cast on quite a few new projects too.

This year, I solemnly swear to bust down that stash and try not to buy too much new yarn, with the exception of this very nice Rowan Cocoon I bought over the weekend. It was an emergency buy because like the shoemaker's child, I don't have even one pair of warm handknitted mittens and it is cold cold cold. I was undecided about the pattern, I am going to use something like this one for the left hand and something like this one for the right hand.

I also sketched out a plan of attack for this sweater, using up some Cascade Superwash I bought quite a long time ago. I haven't knit a sweater for my husband since President #41.

And the final thing I cast on was this nice scarf with the not so nice Noro Silk Garden Sock yarn. Hopefully this year I can break my dependence on foreign yarn, particularly the sock yarn line from Noro, which dissapointed me at every step last year.

For you knitters, the Bob Hope Classic is a match that has professional golfers and amateur golfers playing together in teams, and I was hoping to catch golfer Alice Cooper playing tonite. I didn't have any luck with that, and I might not even be able to watch tomorrow or possibly ever again: this tournament includes a beauty pagent where three "Classic Girls" are selected for some cheesecake picture honor. Is this necessary?

Of course, knitters have their own cheesecake pictures:

I Thought It Would Never End

2009-01-19T14:47:00.002-05:00

To celebrate the end of the Reign of Terror I ended the Never Ending Story Blanket. Most of the scrap ends of yarn in this blanket were knitted over the last 8 years. Lots of babies were born in our family requiring many woolly garments; very, very dear friends were acquired who gladly dressed up their whole families in stuff made out of yarn. Looking at the blanket while John was taking pictures of it yesterday I remembered how all that knitting made me feel happy in a world that seemed anything but.

Here I am, letting my freak flag fly:

Tomorrow is a new day so I started a new scrap blanket. I hope this one takes me 8 years to complete too.

Are They Made Out of Money?

2009-01-13T22:32:00.004-05:00

Yes! That is what those Madoff mittens were made from. Money. So I decided to make a pair for myself.

It took a few tries, and a few bucks, to figure out how one actually knits with money. As a fiber, money is essentially a carry-along to another yarn. I used cashmere for my base yarn, though: it only seemed right.

As much as I love my Denise Interchangeable Needles, the tool you need for this project is a finger-amputatingly sharp X-acto knife. You can use your needle gauge as a straight edge to cut one-eighth inch strips of money. But please make sure you do this in the privacy of your own home, with the shades down, and the children out of the house. The penalty for defacing money is severe, and you don't want to take a family member down with you.

Because no one wants to waste cashmere, I recommend swatching first. My gauge here was 4 stitches and seven rows per inch, on size five needles.

Using my excellent knitter math skills, I figure it takes 64 dollar bills per mitten. That's $128 per pair, plus two skeins of cashmere totalling $72, for a total of $200.

$200 Worth of Mittens

2009-01-11T20:38:00.004-05:00

I polished off the rest of the sangria I made for a little brunch today, looking for those Madoff mittens with no success. I mean: this is the Internet - shouldn't this information be readily available to an eager knitter?

I figured if you made a pair of men's mittens out of double stranded qiviut, with a pair of rosewood double pointed needles you are still only up to about $198 with tax.

Tipping Point

2009-01-06T21:11:00.002-05:00

We don't have a Wii, but this is making me think we should hurry up and get one.

Commerce Imitate$$ Art

2009-01-05T20:55:00.007-05:00

Imagine my surprise to see these for sale for $100 by Kate Spade!

It's not like I invented the word "Hi" or anything, but come on! A $100? For mittens? Mine cost about $3 to make. Go make a pair. And send the remaining $97 directly to the "war-torn women" who are alleged to make them for Kate.

Okay, Back to Work Tomorrow

2009-01-04T22:05:00.002-05:00

I crammed in the maximum amount of fun possible here at the end of my vacation. First off, I finished that Uncreative Noro Striped Scarf in the waning minutes of 2008. Then, early in 2009 (like 12:05 am on January 1) I decided it needed to be longer so undid the bind off and and added, oh, 18 more inches. Here it is:

It looked really beautiful in the snow on the day we went camping. No really, it was sort of camping: we visited friends who have a very rustic vacation cabin - no electricity, no water, wood stove for heat and an outhouse.

An outhouse in the snow.

Back in the Big City, I visited this store and picked up my xmas present from John - a copy of Charted Sweaters That Talk Back. This is more of a book about knitting and not a a book of patterns but you sure get some ideas about patterns from reading it.

Reading it in your outhouse in the snow.

What I did on My Winter Vacation

2008-12-31T13:25:00.004-05:00

I had this week off, maybe for the first time ever in my working life. Usually at my job I have about a million things to do to close out the year but this year I left all that to a very competent someone else in the office and I haven't looked back once.

We had a long list of home improvements to accomplish, and we made it through enough of them to warrant me unlocking the door and letting the family out for breath of fresh air.

First we checked on the only really important home improvement project going on in some people's minds, the new Yankee Stadium:

I cannot imagine how this thing will be done in time for opening day, which is a mere 2,268 hours away.

Just down the street from Yankeeville is The Bronx Museum, where we saw a really terrific show called Street Art Street Life. The real excitement in this show are films and other documentation of some performance art pieces, like this one by Tehching Hsieh. The show is open until January 25 and it's free on Fridays, so run don't walk to the D train.

After all that walking around in the sunshine we went to a dark movie theater to see Milk and it was faboo. There was so much weeping and sobbing going on in this theater at certain points you would think we were all there to see Wuthering Heights. The man sitting next to Emily was so vaklempt he thought he was going to have to leave the theater. Spoiler Alert: mysteriously, not one Twinkie in the whole movie.

Well, I realize it is New Year's Eve and I meant to do one of those Year In Review Round Ups so here it is: I had a pretty good year. I finished 19 knitted things. I played a lot of golf. If any of our friends were in town tonight, we'd have a little new year's eve party at our house. But, since you are all away, and we are house sitting for most of you, we may have the little party at YOUR house.

Dissed!

2008-12-27T20:46:00.003-05:00

A woman walks into a yarn store in the Big City on the day after Christmas and picks out four different and shiny new skeins of Noro Kureyon. As she pockets the change for the shekels given to her by her mom for the express purpose of buying more Noro for Christmas, she tells the grim and unfriendly shop keeper that she is going right home to cast on a Noro striped scarf.

Imagine her surprise when the shop keeper laughs in her face and cackles: "You and a million other uncreative people!" And her minion, a wizened toady wearing a fleece jacket in a yarn store, seconded: "that's the dullest pattern ever written!"

I wish I could say that I had the dignity to give back the yarn and ask for my money back but I did not. I really wanted that Noro and didn't have enough time to head uptown to the other unfriendly yarn store that stocks Noro. I'm pretty amazed that they just didn't wish me a Happy New Year and laugh at me when I left the store (like I would have). Because Noro or not, I am not coming back.

Let's Get Real

2008-12-23T20:23:00.002-05:00

I bought this yarn at Sheep 'n Wool this year with the intention of making this, this,, and maybe even this. But really, I bought it because I love the way the colors look together twirled up in the skein and I have no intention of ever knitting anything with it.

So there.

New Snow and Red Yarn

2008-12-21T22:18:00.003-05:00

A messy snowfall this weekend was the perfect reason to forget all the chores and to-do lists and just finish up these Thuja socks:

This is a delightful pattern and very easy to adapt to any size or weight. Extra delightful was the Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted I used - a really vibrant and even dye, and there was plenty of yarn leftover even after making these socks to fit Emily's size 8 feet.

Buttoned Up

2008-12-14T22:39:00.004-05:00

I put my good button hole research to work and finished up this birthday vest for Brendan with enough time to actually wrap it:

As you an see those are some fine looking buttonholes, and so many of them, too! I realize I had purchased extra buttons at Brooklyn General for this project, with the idea of sewing the extras into the bottom band in case one fell off and rolled onto the subway tracks or something. But I got carried away with the buttonhole techniques, using three different kinds in this vest for the heck of it.

What's this pattern? I turned to my favorite Handy Book of Knitting Patterns for the vest. It has a simple K2P2 border, and then I launched into the stitch pattern I'd seen done in Yank (Rav link). This stitch gives all the pleasure of garter stitch with a nice little pattern to keep it from looking too plain.

Here it is up close. Look at those fine buttons all snug in their buttonholes.

Score!

2008-12-13T22:56:00.004-05:00

My neighbors put out a perfectly new copy of Pride and Prejudice in the trash this evening, so now I have one more copy of this perfectly wonderful book.

I wonder why they did this. Do they think Jane Austen isn't relevant in our modern times? She even has her own Facebook page now.

Buttonhole Surfers

2008-12-11T20:45:00.002-05:00

I need to work harder when it comes to making nice buttonholes in a sweater. So many of my projects end up looking like they were buttoned up by a three year old, and it is discouraging. I did a little research and found a lot of useful techniques that won't make your buttonholes look like you poked a pencil in the knitting to fit a button.

This how-to one row buttonhole is from a college in upstate NY, where it snows a lot, so presumably they know a lot about knitting.
This is a simple two row button hole, with pictures, for newish knitters, or golfers
If you'd rather see it done than do it, look here.
Sort of like one row buttonholes, but a little simpler using a crochet hook.
If you need teeny tiny buttonholees, I'd try this.

I also found a number of mentions for steeking buttonholes, but I was afraid to look.

Good Art Right Here

2008-12-08T20:00:00.002-05:00

Have you seen this Embloggery blog?

When we were in Maine in October, we saw a number of samplers at the museum, some of them over 200 years old. Even though samplers of that time had a formula (a little lettering, a little scripture, a picture of a house) they really spoke to me. Just to imagine time it took to complete one, on top of a busy day milking cows and making candles and tending sheep. It might have been a way to teach needlework, but I like to think it was also a way to give a busy woman some concentrated time to make art.

Vampire Weekend

2008-12-07T21:23:00.003-05:00

No, not the musical kind, the small screen kind.

I had planned to use this weekend's blustery weather to hide in the house and "finish up a lot of knitting projects". What I really meant was that I was going to sit around in my pajamas and watch the entire season of True Blood which I TiVo'd over the past few days. Since I only drink wine, I hadn't really heard much about this show at all , but Nancy lent me one of the Charmaine Harris books over Thanksgiving and I really sunk my teeth into the whole story.

I had a hard time knitting while I was watching, because I kept having to push the mute button real quick when I heard neighbor in the hall pause outside my door, listening to all that screaming and heavy breathing from the TV screen. Although I watched quite a few episodes I was surprised to see no one playing golf, or knitting. You'd think if you were going to be around for eternity you would at least cast on the Clapotis scarf, right? You might even have a chance to finish it.

Speaking of, I did finish up a big project and a few small projects and I will post those pictures in the near future, say December 15th.

Back to the Here and Now

2008-12-02T21:24:00.004-05:00

After reviewing all that ancient history this weekend, I needed to knit something to bring me back to the here and now. Something "chill" or "crackin", perhaps. Something "dope" ! Something the young people are wearing.

These fetching things took about 2 hours to make and fit the chill, crackin and dope category. And I am the 8,689th person to knit these this year, according to Ravelry.

I used some leftover Cashmerino but I don't think these took 100 yards. If I were to make them again I'd put in a thumb gusset instead of a simple thumb.

The Way, Way Back Machine

2008-12-01T22:03:00.005-05:00

Not only did I spend a few hours lost in nostalgia for the unremembered 80's this weekend, I took a spin in the Way Back Machine to the 70's - I attended my 30th High School Reunion.

I hadn't attended any of the previous 29 reunions and I wasn't sure what to expect. Would the cheerleaders still be show-offs? (Yes). Would the good looking boys still be good looking? (Time has not been kind to the men). Would the dorky kids still be the most fun? You betcha!

I am curious about people, and I had a lot of opportunity to ask a lot of people a lot of questions while they sucked down martinis. I asked the usual (are you part of a couple? Have kids? Livelihood?) and also what kind of passions and interests they had pursued. When I got a heartfelt answer to the question, I found a woman who had worked in a marketing office by day and was a telephone medical intuitive by night and a man who left his high paying job to become a zydeco clog dancer.

After asking me about my wild youth, people were pretty surprised at how conventional I turned out to be after all, what with the knitting and the golfing and the gray hair and the eyeglasses with the rhinestone sparkles. And I guess I was surprised too.

Down Memory Lane

2008-11-30T16:08:00.006-05:00

I guess it started at Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey tryptophan tends to unleash flashbacks of the leaner times of our youth, and we like to spend an hour or two frightening the teenagers with stories of walk up apartments with no doormen, insolvent and secretive roommates, and food budgets that didn't exceed $7 a week, beer included.

We spent the next meandering through the old neighborhood, which looks nothing at all like the old neighborhood of our memories. There are certainly some improvements: we saw two great shows at The New Museum which was pretty much empty due to the holiday weekend and had a nice lunch here. We considered going to the Tenement Museum, but after taking a look at the admission price, we realized we could see the same thing at home for free by knocking on some of the other apartments in our building.

We also had a good laugh in the John Varvatos store which inhabits the old CBGBs. There are a few artifacts from the club left in the store, albeit covered with glass as if to protect it from people who are spending $375 for an acrylic watch cap. They used part of the wobbly bar for the cash register counter and were selling a used copy of my all time favorite record for $35.

Note: the bathroom was clean, and unremarkable.

Now I Remember

2008-11-25T22:26:00.003-05:00

As I was standing on the PATH platform this morning waiting to squash into the train car, I remembered the name of that pattern: Pleated Scarf.

Amnesia

2008-11-24T21:01:00.003-05:00

Neighbor, has this every happened to you? I found a pattern on Ravelry. I improvised on said pattern. I knitted a garment! I threw out the pattern, because - yes! It's all on Ravelry, no need to keep the piece of paper laying around. Now I cannot remember the name of the pattern, or when it was published, or in fact anything about it.

Except here it is, done in what was pretty much the last skein of yarn available for purchase at the Briar Rose stall at Sheep 'n Wool.

The original pattern was for size 5 needles and I did this one in 13's. There were eight rows of the pattern but I did three, casted on only 24 stitches and whipped this up real fast. I wish someone would hurry up and invent Feel-o-vision for the internet so you could squeeze it and see how soft it is.

If you have seen this pattern, let me know. I'd like to credit the designer. I'd like to be reassured this happens to everyone. I'd like to think I haven't sunk into some knitting bender where I don't know knit from shinola.

Far Flung Knits

2008-11-23T22:27:00.004-05:00

Happy to report that the Newsboy Cap is back from China and by all accounts had a great time. Here it is sitting on Emily's head in front of that amazing National Stadium Building in Beijing:

My Girl Swirled Around The World

2008-11-22T20:37:00.008-05:00

With Emily gone these last two weeks I decided to do something about all that Noro hiding around the house. These sassy little fingerless gloves use only one skein of Kureyon. While I like these little mitties, my hands get cold so I layer them over the cheap stretchy gloves you can get anywhere.

This super simple project should take you two nights, tops.

My Girl Swirled Around The World

What you need: 1 set size 8 dpn; 1 skein Noro Kureyon. Unlike other patterns in the round, you do not need a marker.

Gauge: about 20 stitches for 4 inches, but this pattern is very stretchy.

Okay let's go: cast on 36 stitches and divide them on 3 needles. Join, being careful not to do anything I wouldn't do.

Then, just jump right into the pattern: Knit 2, YO, Knit 2, Knit 2 together. Just keep going! It's very liberating to get so much pattern for so little counting.

Stop after 4" though, and Knit 6 stitches on waste yarn. Then, go back and knit those six waste yarn stitches again. You can pick up the pattern after knitting the waste stitches.

Continue this for 3 more inches, then bind off. I prefer to use this bind off: K2tog, and put the stitch back on the left needle until one stitch is left, then draw yarn through loop and voila.

For the thumb, undo those waste stitches and pick them up on three dpns. I recommend you pick up a stitch or two in any area that shows a gap in the main mitten; it's the thing I dislike most about this type of thumb. Knit four rounds, then bind off.

Shanghai'd

2008-11-17T19:43:00.004-05:00

I spent the better part of this evening researching yarn stores for Emily to visit in Shanghai tomorrow. Thanks to the miracle of Ravelry, I located about 25 of them which could easily be visited in an afternoon by an energetic teenager. I even got this map of yarn stores to help her out, and I am sure the one marked with the big red star is the best:

I immediately texted her with this important information. She sent this by return text:

:-P

Which I am sure is a typo.

Rated "G" , But Not Why You Would Think

2008-11-16T20:48:00.005-05:00

Emily won't be back for another week and I'm sinking low. Although I outright refused to do so with Emily, I took Lou Lou to see High School Musical 3 because I missed hearing Emily sing along on her Ipod to all the songs all day long. Also, I was curious about the recommendation of a man in my office,who pronounced the movie to be "the gay cinema classic of this decade".

Honey, he was so right. The plot seemed to be a little bit "All About Eve" and a little bit "A Chorus Line". There were so many scenes of sweaty, muscular teen boys frolicking in the locker rooms and on the dance floors I was surprised when they burst into song, because I expected them to burst into porn. And the outfits! One boy seemed to have this Weimar/Golf thing going, with plenty of sweater vests, madras shorts and knee high patten leather riding boots. I couldn't find any pictures of the clothes, but I did discover that some of the clothing was designed by the sadly overlooked Project Runway contestant Elisa Jimenez, go figure.

I'd say it was a minor knitting classic too, since there is a lot of, well, deconstructed argyle going on there. Again, I could not stomach looking at one more Disney website to find pictures of the clothes, but I will tell you there was something that looked like this, and something else that looked like this.

Hitting a Great Wall

2008-11-12T18:18:00.006-05:00

As promised, Emily took a picture of her Newsboy Cap on the Great Wall of China.

Did you know? the Great Wall of China is the only manmade structure visible from space, and therefore, so is the newsboy cap?

Here's a picture of the Great Wall of China from Outer Space. Or, as Emily used to call it, Out of Space:

The hat is either by the red arrow or the yellow arrow, look closely.

Digging to China

2008-11-11T09:10:00.005-05:00

Emily called this early this morning from China to say good night as she was getting ready to go to bed. It was a strange, topsy turvey feeling, imagining me on one side of the world and Emily upside down on the other side of the world.

When we were kids, one of our favorite activities was digging to China in our tiny backyard with teaspoons. My brother Fred still likes to do this when we are on vacation in Maine:

He pretends he's keeping an eye on the children but really, it's China he's after.

Bon Voyage

2008-11-09T20:25:00.004-05:00

I've been busy packing, unpacking and repacking because Emily is leaving for China tomorrow with her high school class. She's going to Beijing, Xian, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. When I was in school, our class trips were here and here. And sometimes we went here.

She will be taking her Newsboy Cap with her and hopefully taking a picture of it when she visits the Great Wall. Honestly, that is the only thing I want her to bring home from this trip. Really, what's the point of being a world traveler if you don't take some handknits along for the ride?

You can depend on Lou Lou to remember every occasion with a card, and she made this one for Emily:

In case you no longer remember how to read First Grade, it says something along the lines of "I Will Miss You When You Go To China".

My sentiments exactly.

American Pie

2008-11-05T20:03:00.004-05:00

A lot of my colleagues at work voted for the first time yesterday, and I want to share this email one of them sent me about her experience.

"I must tell you that for the first time in my life I felt like I actually mattered yesterday. That a decision I make about not only my future but my 10 year old daughter’s future could possibly make something we’ve always been told is impossible become possible. So at 7am with sleep in my eyes I made my way down 4 blocks to my daughter’s school which is my polling site. Holding tight to my voter registration information I printed from the internet the day before I joined the line with people I know and people I don’t know. There we stood united, ready to cast our votes for whomever we choose with hope that it would be the change we so hopefully dreamed of. I felt a sense of empowerment. It was in the air. It seemed to surround all of us. Especially those like me who had never voted before. I felt a little ashamed of that for some time but that all went away once I got on that line. I waited merely an hour before being shuffled up to the booth. I was then greeted by a woman who made sure I was in the right area for my Election District, signed my name to account for my presence and then I was up. My heart pounded in my chest so hard I could literally feel it beat. Ever so gently I said to the woman, “Excuse me, this is the first time in my adult life that I’m voting. Would you be so kind as to show me how”. She stood up, took my hand and led me in. She explained to pull the lever to the right and push the switches for whomever I am choosing to the left. My boyfriend says before the lady stepped away from me I had already pushed the switch for Senator Obama. I made the rest of my selections, checked that I saw all the X’s and just to be sure slide my hand down all of my choices to make sure I didn’t miss one. I pulled the lever back to the left and TADA! I was done. It was one the best days of my life and I will never forget it."

Two Years Ago in Hoboken

2008-11-03T21:55:00.002-05:00

Electile Dysfunction

2008-11-02T17:36:00.003-05:00

Oh, how I wish it was Tuesday already. Mostly I wish I had thunk up the phrase "electile dysfunction" which perfectly describes how restless, worried, anxious and just plain disabled I am waiting for this election to be over, but these guys thought it up first.

I'm even too jittery to knit much, but I finished up a few things and got around to getting some pictures of things I had finished before:

Having almost more Noro than I know what to do with, I've made a few of these Lizard Ridge hats. The bumps are made by short row shaping but it gives a great shibori look. Here it is up close:
The mittens I am wearing are made using the stitch in the Cable Twist Sock pattern by Hello Yarn. Mittens are so soothing to knit, it takes my mind off the possibility of a country run by Caribou Barbie. Here's the mitts:

This pattern also does a lot of work for you if you use varigated or self striping yarn. This here yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted.

Shock Treatment

2008-10-28T22:05:00.004-04:00

News of snow not 50 miles to the west of my fair town has caused me to snap out of the knitting funk. I got crackalackin on some warm mittens using the simple cable in this nice sock pattern.

I need to get the loved ones covered in wool quick.

Seasonal Knitting Disorder

2008-10-27T21:54:00.002-04:00

I find myself suffering that particular kind of ennui that comes from buying too much yarn in too short a time. I call it PREDIKT: Post-Rhinebeck Extreme Disinterest In Knitting Things.

I know it will pass, so in the meantime I will help myself to yet another piece of Nancy's pecan pie and watch The Hills.

A Brush With Fame

2008-10-21T20:48:00.003-04:00

I was not-so-secretly hoping to meet the Mason-Dixon gals at Sheep and Wool and I had prepared oh so many witty things to say to them while traveling to and from work on the subway. Clever things! Deep, thought provoking knitting ideas. Tips! A display of my Mile Square Yarn Splicing technique, even. If they asked.

I was even hoping for an autograph and some of those little stamps of their heads on the title page. But sadly I left their book at home in the bathroom, where it has been on the Best Seller Shelf since it came out, replacing The Bad Popes and occupying a place of honor right next to ancient copy of the Sub-Treasury of American Humor.

When I got to the barn where they were keeping the authors penned up, all that was left of them were their wigs:

P.S., we did come back to see if they were there, and I did get to talk to them, and it was way cool and they were super nice. I have a picture of me talking to them, but I look insane and they look like they are talking to the 1,000th insane knitter of the day at S'nW.

Political Intarsia

2008-10-20T20:46:00.002-04:00

When I finally stopped talking to that guy in the Utilikilt, I saw this great hat. Sorry I did not get the knitters name, though!

So Much More Than Yarn: Rhinebeck 2008

2008-10-19T21:42:00.003-04:00

Let's get it out of the way: Did I buy yarn? Yes. Here I am buying some of the same yarn I bought last year from Twist of Fate Spinnery.

I was hellbent on getting myself a lot of this yarn, but they only had 3 skeins left. So, I got some, not a lot. I also got some nice sock yarn from Brooks Farm, and some beautiful chunky yarn at Briar Rose, here:

And that concludes the yarn portion of our show.

What was new at Rhinebeck? Rug hooking seemed to be the new lace. There were three or four hookers scattered 'round the barns, using both rug wool and wool strip techniques. There were angora rabbits, and romney sheep.

There were Utilikilts! I saw one guy go by and I was amused; I spent some time talking to the second guy I saw (Dave) about his Utilikilt:

It was a pretty well crafted garment, made of a heavy twill. There were two sets of pockets with lots of sewn in sections. There were a lot of deep pleats and it had a nice swing to it. Most importantly, it comes with a little "Modesty Strap" for when, said Dave, you want to get on your motorcycle.

Are you getting the idea I spent a lot of time asking this guy questions? Then you are getting the right idea.