Knitter Monkey

On Friday, we went up to stay at a cabin in Blue Ridge, GA for our anniversary - for our honeymoon, we went up to a cabin there that was fantastic and secluded and beautiful, and that was where I really learned how to knit socks, though I'd made Knitty's Fuzzy Feet once before. I thought it only fitting that I tackle something challenging again on this trip, so on Thursday I picked up a copy of FiberTrend's Flower Basket Shawl pattern. Much like the socks, I'd knit lace on one previous occasion (my I Do shrug), but it wasn't really lace lace, and I didn't really understand what I was doing. As an added motivation, we are going to a friend's wedding in Savannah this weekend, and I recently bought some hand-dyed laceweight wool/silk that would make a perfect shawl for my dress.

This is how much shawl I can knit in three and a half days:

I only really messed up once in the middle, where for about four consecutive rows I would mysteriously find my stitch count was off. Since we were at this cabin, I didn't have a needle or thread or even extra yarn, so there was no lifeline, and instead I had to study my knitting, identify where I went wrong, and then slowly, painstakingly pick my stitches back. I'm actually glad I did - I have a much better understanding of how the pattern works now, and the stitches themselves. I'm also only about twenty rows away from having a beautiful shawl to wear this weekend, at which point I will get to experience the magic of blocking.

Posted by Erin at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

During our epic battle against the gods, I decided to cast on for another easy project since I can't really work on Venezia and watch a video game at the same time. I had recently purchased Blue Sky Alpaca's Cropped Cardigan pattern, so I cast on for that Sunday morning.

The pattern says it is a quick knit, and it is maybe the first supposed "quick knit" I've seen that actually is. Before we beat the game last night, I was eight rows away from finishing the body, and in just a few hours tonight I've moved on from that to being almost halfway through with the second sleeve!

This was the best picture I could get unfortunately at this hour (and I don't think my bathroom mirror is actually as dirty as it looks), but I am so pleased with how well it fits and its cuteness!

Posted by Erin at 11:09 PM | Permalink

Even though it didn't officially come out until today, we got our copy of God of War 2 last night, and it is fabulous. I anticipate not a lot of knitting getting done this week - we have been waiting for this to come out for a year and a half, since we beat the original game! It is finally here and it is everything we hoped.

I also watched the most recent episode of Engaged & Underage yesterday, and I'm about to give up on that show. I think it is pretty obvious by both the title and the fact that it is on MTV that this show is supposed to be trashy. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I think trashy TV is pretty funny. My co-workers told me about this show, and it had so much promise, I immediately went home and set up a Season Pass.

Engaged & Underage is not nearly what it could be. First of all, probably due to legal restrictions, the people are really not underage! I mean, yes, they are young, and yes, they are a little immature, but they're all around 20 years old. It is only in my generation that 20 years old wasn't the normal age to get married, and that is because this is the first generation where it has been by and large "okay" for people to have sex and/or live together before marriage. And, no big shock here, these 20 year olds getting married are almost all fairly religious kids who do not believe in either of those two things. It's not trashy or abnormal at all, and when I sit down to watch a show called Engaged & Underage, I'm looking for both! The worst part is that most of the people on the show are just really irritating people, so I'm not entertained and I'm appalled that anyone is willing to live with these people 24 hours a day. The only exception was this past episode, which featured a nineteen year old who was pregnant already. You would think from that description that this could fulfill all my Engaged & Underage dreams, but in fact, they were by far the nicest and most together couple of the entire show and I think they will have a lovely long wonderful marriage.

MTV, you really fell short on this one. Maybe you should stick to Sweet Sixteen and The Hills.

Posted by Erin at 06:37 PM | Permalink

Jiminy Christmas, I actually finished the other sock. Now to get back to chugging away at Venezia.

I work at a very small company, and being small things take on a much more personal nature than they might at a corporation, and I have a lot of hats I wear and responsibility so more often than not, I take my work home with me, at least in my head. The last several months in particular have been a whirlwind of added job responsibilities, culminating last week in my being promoted to head of my department, the first person other than the owner of the company to actually be a "boss" in the truest sense of the word to anyone else at my company. Add to that some really crappy, unlucky circumstances this past year, and I am Stressed Out.

On evenings when I come home and I'm on my last nerve and I'm completely worn out, nothing is as relaxing as picking up something simple - a plain sock, even a plain sweater, and just mindlessly knit, knit, knit. It quiets my brain. Venezia? Is beautiful, and will be something to be proud of, but it doesn't quiet my brain. So I've stalled out a little. I'm about to start the increases at the waist, though.

After Christmas, I went to the LYS and bought a large quantity of Malabrigo, then I went to see my mom and asked her if she wanted to see what $200 of yarn looked like. I guess I started something, because she mentioned something about dog sweaters and the next time I talked to her, she'd bought a pamphlet and some Wool-Ease and was calling me about leg openings. My mother and I are pretty alike in most areas of life, and crafts are no exception - I grew up with my mom's various project beginnings, usually abandoned a third of the way through, because the idea of crafting is great but the actual time involved can get overwhelming. So I really did think that after the leg opening debacle (the pattern was really, really confusing), that would be the last I heard about the knitting.

My mom has a pretty stressful job too, and what's more, she works out of a home office most of the time. And it turns out, knitting those dog sweaters, she had the same reaction I do - knitting is a good way to quiet your brain. And, if you work from home, a good way to leave your work at work. Now she's got the knitting bug too - for her birthday, I gifted her a Fiber Trends felted clogs kit I made up! The last two years have been me carting my knitting around while family members looked on curiously, and now I'm starting some kind of relaxation trend...

Posted by Erin at 10:42 PM | Permalink

I woke up this morning with the yarn-buying urge, my head full of plans for projects of all shapes and sizes. I'm working on the second Father Son Sock, and Venezia is of course coming along slowly, but when that sock is done I'll want another "just for fun" project to take its place - for those nights when seven-color fair isle sweaters are the last thing you want to consider. The project I had in mind was a large felted bag, something sturdy and usable but unmistakably handmade and fabulous. I think felted, I think Cascade, and Knitch has what must be just about every shade in their store, so I talked my husband into a little trip.

I got my Cascade, but my bank account had a small casualty:

ArtYarns Silk Rhapsody Glitter in color 130 - all subtle transitions from light pink to salmon back to light pink to brown, and so unbelievably soft. Also so unbelievably expensive. I bought two skeins; maybe one day it will be a lacy tank top or a pretty shawl, or maybe it will just sit prettily on a tabletop somewhere and I'll be just as happy.

I'm pretty excited about my plans for the bag, too, but it will be a little while before I start. I'm trying very hard to be more thoughtful about my knitting, starting every project with a proper sketch and sizing calculations and a non-half-assed swatch, instead of leaping in excitedly as I'm wont to do. I'm thinking stripes and hearts, but in my experience my initial thoughts usually have little to no bearing on the final project.

Posted by Erin at 04:41 PM | Permalink

Finally, I finished something, and I just have to get right back up and knit another! It's amazing how long it takes to produce any completed object when you are working on three different things at once, all with tiny yarn on tiny needles. Last night though, I finally completed the first Father Son sock of the pair I am knitting for my husband.

Pattern: Father Son Socks from Interweave Knits Fall 06
Needles: Size 1 KnitPicks Options DPNs
Yarn: Opal Uni in grey (even though it doesn't look that way in most of the pictures)

First off, I really love this pattern. It's simple enough that it doesn't look to "feminine" for "manly men," but it's got enough detail that it's, well, a very nice looking sock. And fun to knit. Unless your husband has size 13 feet, in which case may I recommend from personal experience that you grab an extra ball of yarn and settle in for some serious sock knitting time. I actually knit this originally as a Christmas surprise, and messed it all up. The sock was much too wide because I forgot to factor in stretch, and the foot was much too short because in my rush to get it done I impatiently underestimated the true length of a size 13 foot. It was also much too long up the calf, because I had gotten the impression from Dan's frequent rants about how short my socks are, combined with the fact that he buys practically knee-length socks at the store, were an indication that he wanted a long legged sock. Apparently, this was not the case, so on this version I modified it to only do one full pattern repeat before I began the heel - he says it is perfect now.

The only other modification I made was to the toe, following the reverse formula I posted here a few months back that I have been using with a lot of success to make a round toe. The pattern said to end with 16 stitches, so I upped that to 24 stitches, then did double decreases for the last two rounds instead of single decreases for four rounds. And voila, round toe. Now I just have to force myself to cast on for sock #2 tonight or this is destined to become one lonely sock..

Posted by Erin at 08:05 AM | Permalink