Oh, Fer...
Has it really been TWO MONTHS since I last posted? Well. On the upside, that means not much is happening in my life, so it's—well, just to be on the safe side, we won't say the Q word.
I've taken two out of three art classes at the Museum so far. The first was Graphite Drawing. I found out I'm "meh" about graphite. The second was Colored Pencil Drawing. I am WOW! COOL!! FUN!!! about colored pencils.
Now I'm in oil painting. I LOVE OIL PAINTING. Oil painting and I had a torrid love affair in college, but it's been 15 years since I dusted off the brushes. Surprise—most of my paint tubes are still good! Why did I ever stop?
Oh. That's right. I lived with a mother who painted in Watercolor and was very... well, it was easier not to compete. So I didn't.
In the good news zone: I found a much better place for my Insulin-Resistant horse to live. As the Universe is wont to do, it arose out of an "Oh no, now what am I gonna do" situation. The "oh no" part was finding out the barefoot hoof trimmer I've been with for two years, who'd drive an hour and a half to trim my horses, was happily pregnant with her first child and could no longer bend over to do hooves. For some odd reason, there is a dearth of barefoot trimmers in the NW Ohio area. Had I completed the program myself, I'd have a monopoly.
By fate, coincidence, or really good law of attraction methods, I was connected with a gal who follows the same methods of hoof trimming AND horsemanship that I do, is in the human medical field (so she understands the lingo), has an IR horse herself (so she understands the condition) AND lives 20 miles from the barn.
My horses loved her. I have never been able to sit down and drape Cheerios' lead rope over my lap while he got trimmed—until she came along.
Turns out, she had room at her barn, and offered to take in Shaveya as a case study.
How many birds did I take out with that stone? *grin*
I've been on Cheerios bareback, but I haven't officially rode yet. This week is shaping into perfect spring weather, so I'll change that soon.
Other than that, the phone interview job pops up sporadically, and I'm still buying MegaMillions tickets.
Happy [insert all the holidays I've missed so far]!
Oh. There has been baby knitting. I know lots of procreators lately. One of them had twins last week.
Labels: horses, Law of Attraction, positive thinking, WIP
It Might Be Winter
Which explains the lack of posts. There isn't a lot happening around these parts, except for snow, snow, and did I mention snow?
So let's see...
Cats: improving/same. All urinary issues cleared up; Tyler, to my surprise, fell in love with the dog crate I bought (on clearance!) for his containment during his incontinent moments. He sat in it at will with the door wide open. Odd.
Zander is now on thyroid meds. Does not appear to be having any effect whatsoever.
Horses: fine, as far as I know. This is why we board.
Driveway: impassable (again).
Shoulder: unusable due to strained muscle from Monday's removal of Friday's snowfall in preparation for Tuesday's obliteration.
Sleep: interrupted (see "shoulder" above).
Reading: caught up on. Most recently read the entire series to date of Maggie Sefton's
Knitting Mysteries (they get better with each book); "
Madness" by Marya Hornbacher, a memoir about her life with bipolar disorder which was absolutely riveting; and am currently reading "Death By Darjeeling" by
Laura Childs (first mystery from a series set in a tea shop in South Carolina—it fascinates me that she can describe a setting with such exquisite detail that within two sentences
you are THERE).
There is knitting. It is baby-oriented. The barn manager is having twins in April, one of each. So I am knitting sweaters and crocheting bibs like mad.
TV: whatever is on. Project Runway. Hoarders. Paranormal State. DH, Grey's, Being Erica. So thankful for the movie package: on Sunday I watched "Coraline" (which, IMHO is NSFKids!!! Good grief!) followed by "Temple Grandin" (about
the autistic woman who became a leading animal behavior researcher and autism advocate). Excellent movies, both.
Well, shoulder=sore and stomach=hungry, so... see you in the spring. Stay warm
Labels: breaking news, cats, WIP
I Done Voted!
I guess I can consider myself lucky. I wasn't sure if I was registered in my current precinct or my old one. Thank God it was current--the alternative meant a half hour trip and very long lines in a city!
In my current precinct, voting takes place at a church around the corner. There were two whole people in line ahead of me. Gotta love the burbs of small college towns. I read my ballot three times carefully to make sure it said BARACK. (You know? I just came out as a Democrat.)
I'll admit some disappointment. No Proposition 8 on my ballot. Is that only California or something? Bummer. I was all set to vote whichever way meant I approve of letting everyone marry. Because I think everyone SHOULD have that right, regardless of whatever. Oh well. I'll keep my fingers crossed for those of you affected by its outcome.
After voting, I celebrated by buying yarn. Nothing fancy. ACKrylic. Yes. Please don't hurt me. I couldn't help myself. I saw
Damknit's hexagonal lapghan on her blog the other day and had to make it. (Erin, aka Damknit, refers to it as "ugly", but I think it's pretty because the black border gives it the appearance of stained glass).
And get this—
it's crocheted! Yes, the blog is becoming Crochety Banter for a little while. I emailed her for the pattern notes (which she kindly provided), and have been brainstorming color schemes ever since. Remember the
baby sweater experience? And I still haven't hardly gotten anywhere with that. The grand-nieces will be all grown up by the time I finish. Oh, well. They'll just have to be GREAT grand-niece sweaters. But I digress.
In the spirit of frugality, I ransacked my yarn closet because I knew I had a bunch of close-out Caron Simply Soft in a bunch of purples and raspberries that I bought about 10 years ago. I thought would work, if I had enough. I did. And the colors are glorious. Except. I got three hexes whipped up before I discovered that while the two purples and the light grey I'd chosen were worsted, the pinks were
sport. Didn't crochet to the same size and though I could adjust for gauge, I'm all about consistency.
Suckage.
Well, I'm not really that big on the scheme, anyway. Pink and purple. I think I wanted my bedroom painted those colors. In like 1970. Maybe I'll save it for the grand-nieces because they're more likely to see a finished product before they're in junior high.
I set off to the local El Cheapo Yarn Outlet to scour the racks for a reasonable worsted match for the pinks. I found it. But.
I also found THESE colors (in Red Heart Super Saver).
Which lead to my coming up with THIS schematic.
You can't tell from the swatch, but the Fall Ombre contains all of these colors plus a rich deep green. I was smitten. In the layout above, the weird radial gradient hexes will be the ombre. I have no idea how it will turn out, but since hexes are crocheted "in the round", it should be pretty cool. I'll post pix of the progress.
Thank you, Erin, for the inspiration and pattern help! :-)
That's enough blogging for one day. Now to sit back and crochet hexes and watch election results. Popcorn, anyone?
Labels: Caitlin, Hex_Afghan, WIP
Give ME the Time of Day, Willya!
But of course I am. LOL! Ironically, 3:15 PM is about the time I really feel motivated to start my day. Granted, I go to bed around 5:00 AM and wake around noon, so for me, this is the equivalent of rising at 6:00 AM to be functional by 9:00 AM.
Musician's hours.
I've been in situations where I had to adjust (when employed 9-5 or in school), but left to my own devices, this is the schedule to which I default. My Mother once told me, however, that as a baby, I was an extreme early riser, that she and Dad had to condition me to sleep in to a "reasonable" time. These were folks who got up willingly by 7:00 AM. And I was waking THEM up. But Mother thought they'd maybe been a bit too effective at retraining me, because ever after I was impossible to get to bed, thinking I'd miss something if I didn't get to stay up til 11:00 PM. As a four year old.
So there it is. Am I a night-owl because I was trained to be? OR because it truly is my nature? No matter, it's who I am NOW.
And for the most part, I love it. Except during winter, when daylight is a high-dollar premium because contrary to common (vampire) belief, I actually LIKE sunshine. I once thought moving to California would mean more sun. Until I realized that the days grow shorter in Cali just as they do in Ohio. But I'm not ready to pack for Alaska or Greenland, thankyouverymuch.
So it was 50 degrees and sunny/melty today, and just now it started pouring. Ohio. Love ya.
Anything good on TV tonight? Something I can knit through? I FINALLY restarted the CPH in different yarn. If you remember, the initial plan was to knit it with this:
And I got as far as this on the back before realizing the striping/pooling would not match on the fronts unless I tricked it out:
So I put it in hibernation while trying to determine whether to knit it all at once on circulars, maybe steek it, two balls at once, egads....
Then I ran across nine skeins of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in Old Sage that I'd bought in the mid-90s for a sweater that I'd started. I found the first 8 inches of the sweater, too. As a new knitter doing her first proper garment, I was advised to choose an "easy" pattern. I was counseled strongly against the charted design I'd chosen but I bought it anyway.
No, it wasn't too complex for a beginner. The opposite. IT WAS TOO BORING. All it consisted of was rows of ridges formed by purling. So it was knit a bunch, purl a bunch, knit a bunch... they step as they go up but GAWD. After a few inches I'd gotten the hang of it, and I could not fathom continuing another 18 inches, then repeating for the front, then sleeves... so I stopped.
With me, they should have realized that MY first sweater should have been a fisherman's cabled monstrosity to keep my ADHD brain occupied and interested.
I thought perhaps this yarn (Lamb's Pride) would serve the CPH well—and save me having to buy an entire sweater's worth of new yarn (the Di Ve Autunno will eventually find its way to a different garment). The CPH is a nice knit—the cables break up the monotony, the pattern is easy to commit to memory (esp with stitch markers) so it's a good "public" knit, and it's still "mindless" enough that it can be done in front of the TV. So I cast on. Two repeats in and I frogged it because though my swatch said
OMG if I make the largest size it'll be like a tent on me, the next size down in actual stitchiness was absolutely undeniably too small.
OK, I'll admit I didn't wash or block the swatch.
I knit another swatch because, *ahem*, I, uh, wanted to conserve yarn so I, uh, *blush* frogged the first one. This time I swatched with the cable motif, AND I washed it AND I blocked it. I've already cast on the stitches for the back for the next size up, but only knit one row of ribbing. I'm about to pull the swatch from the blocking board and give it a measure.
Stay tuned...
Oh, PS: Happy to report that Tyler not only is no longer puffy-looking, but is back to his obnoxious, overly-excited happy little self thanks to FUS (Feline Urinary Supplement). He's a big pile of happycat now, and he comes running for his FUS "treat" when I shake the bottle.
Labels: CPH, nothing important, WIP
Knitting? What Knitting?
Fine. OK.
Knitting ContentI finished the fourth dishcloth. You didn't even know I was knitting dishcloths, didja? Well, I am. I got hooked on the Ballband pattern—oh wait, that makes five, sorry, Xmas gifted—then the Mason Dixon ones, the mitered and the ninepatch (too tired to link, just google it) and it was a great excuse to learn a new technique, do some "mindless" knitting (sorta but not really) and use up all that Peaches & Cream. Where on EARTH—no, HOW on Earth—did I come to have so much of that stuff?
Well, anyway. Worked on that at Insanknitty last night. YES I finally made it and glad I did, too, because
Karen,
SarahLou and Becky were there!
OtherKaren was noticeably absent. A good time was had by all, and I pet some of the softest yarn ever (whose name I've purposely blanked out on so as to avoid the temptation).
I've also hesitantly begun on the first
Caitlin, using stash Ack (Caron Simply Soft, yes, I know) and so far so good. The only thing is, it's worsted and the pattern calls for Gems Sport. Then again, perhaps it will save me in the end, because it's likely to come out larger than the size I'm doing, meaning the grandniece can have room to grow into it.
In addition, I've decided that the reason I've put off formally starting my CPH (yes, I am the Admin for the
KAL, why do you ask?) is because I find the yarn I chose to be quite daunting since it is a self-patterning (I think) brown and teal yarn (Di.Ve Autunno):
I want the striping to not be so striped (like on the right) and be more of a graduated tone (like on the left) and couldn't figure out how to do it and match with the fronts...
So I'm putting off doing a sweater in the Di.Ve Autunno for now. Instead, I'm going to do it in the pretty Old Sage Lamb's Pride Single Ply Worsted that has been sitting in my stash for (I shit you not) 15 years (am I
really *that* old?). I'd taken a beginning knitting class, and felt confident enough to try my first sweater. Bought the yarn, pattern, started it, got about six inches into the back... and there it sat.
The problem? The pattern I'd chosen, which looked terrifying to me at first because it involved reading a *gasp* chart, became yawningly boring after the first repeat because it was nothing but knits and purls. It's a nice pattern, really—stockinette background broken up by an all-over texture of a couple rows of maybe 12 purls (garter rows), kind of a waffle effect. I just couldn't stand to knit it. I'm much happier doing finger gymnastics like slip stitches and cables in between miles of stockinette.
But first, I had to make sure I'd have enough yarn. Nine skeins? Not likely. While at Yarn Haven last night, I checked the stash of Lamb's Pride and can you believe it? Not only do they have the color, but there is no need for dyelot because the scrap I brought matched the current Old Sage PERFECTLY. I figure I'll start the sweater, see how far a skein goes, and buy more in a few weeks.
Other StuffToday was taken over by horses—time for their feetie trims. I wish it had been as warm as it was yesterday, but I'm not complaining. It was still much nicer than the typical January trim (usually I freeze to death). The horses look great, all fuzzy and whiskery. It occurred to me that Cheerios is 11 now and Shaveya is 10. I've been a horse owner for seven years come February. Wow.
The best news is, Shaveya is doing so well that she is officially ready to be ridden again. Granted, we'll start off slowly—maybe 10 or 15 minutes at a walk only—but as long as she's fine the next day after that, she's good to go. Of course, I won't be hopping on right away—we need to get our relationship up to par first. I've been concentrating on Cheerios while she healed. Now, I have TWO horses to play with, and they have opposite personalities. This should be a fun year!
In
Manifestation News, I decided to try an experiment. I conjured up the image of something to see how long it takes to manifest into my life. I'm talking something small and simple. I decided I want to manifest (not to have, just to see) a bright pink VW Bug with a yellow 70's daisy (a big honkin' flower) on the "hood" (I know, the trunk is in front in those things). It doesn't have to be an actual automobile. It can be a toy, an image in advertising, on a t-shirt, whatever, even a cartoon, as long as it is a bright pink VW Bug car bearing a big honkin' yellow daisy flower on the, er, hood.
I focused on my image over breakfast.
On the drive to the barn, I passed...
A bright shiny RED VW bug.
On the way in, I passed...
Another bright shiny RED VW bug.
I rounded a corner for home, and passed...
A YELLOW VW bug.
In town running errands, I spied a second yellow bug, but this one had a ragtop.
THEN I saw a SILVER VW bug.
But no bright pink with yellow daisy yet.
YET.
My initial reaction: Dangit! That one's red! It's supposed to be pink! What am I doing wrong?
My second reaction: Well, wait a minute. I
did manifest a VW Bug. And pink is the dilution of red. So at least I'm aligned with VW Bug energy. So... does this mean it's a sign I'm on the right track?
My third reaction: Maybe this is why things don't seem to manifest quite right in my life just yet. Something is blocking me from manifesting it properly. I can manifest "VW Bug", I can even manifest exactly the color of yellow paint the flower should be, and pink is close to red, but... I have yet to manifest "pink" "yellow" "VW Bug" AND "flower" all at once.
Things that make you go Hmmmmmmmm.
I'll let you know when I see my bug.
******UPDATED TO ADD******
Is it cheating that I broke down and searched the Interwebs? Or...
The Daisy People...or, is it a lesson? I put it out there, then sort of sat back and waited for it to appear. Kept my awareness up, but wasn't searching obsessively for pink daisy-covered Bugs. I got Bugs, close, but no cigar.
Then I got impatient, and decided to search. I found several examples close enough to pass for my vision. The toy/bank in the second and third photo is what I envisioned, except swap the colors in the daisy.
What is the lesson? (It's a big one.)
In the first instance, I was
hoping to see one. But not
expecting.
In the second instance, I went out looking for it with great determination, I was Googling/searching, so I
expected to find some results pretty similar to what I was looking for.
I
knew that there had to be at least one pink VW bug bearing a yellow and white daisy on the "hood" somewhere in this big old world and that someone had to have photographed it and posted it online. Might take some digging, but I knew I'd turn up something eventually IF I searched the right terms. My first search was just for the bug. When I added "image", I narrowed it down and got better results. But mostly...
I realize that MY ATTITUDE was different.
Hoping didn't produce the right results.
Expecting, then going out and consciously and intentionally looking for it, brought me within 99%.
I must go watch Project Runway and dwell on this lesson for a bit because I know that if I can figure out how to translate it into my real life, rather than Google searches, I can start to manifest things more easily.
Labels: horses, Law of Attraction, WIP
Excitement Abounds
The cats—five of them—require supervision to prevent wayward claws from deciding the woodwork makes a fine scratching post, or to dissuade opening the cabinet doors to walk amongst the cooking utensils, or to carefully taste any object not nailed down. Hence they are rarely let loose in the main house.
Today, I allowed them the privilege. After cleaning the catboxes, I needed a shower, so I asked Rocker Boy (who was shackled to his computer) if he'd mind keeping an eye on them for me. He agreed. I showered, then got on the computer briefly to see if my mail had decided to work. I heard him rise, walk to the deck door, open the slider, and close it behind him as he exited for a smoke.
I quickly abandoned my computer a moment later after hitting Send. I knew... can't trust those cats.
Guess what I found?
My Embossed Lace sock and yarn cake splattered all over the floor, one needle hanging on precariously to its stitches, one needle liberated from its moorings nowhere to be found. I shouted. Cats scattered. Rocker Boy re-entered. Saw the carnage. Exclaimed in disbelief, "but... I was only gone for a minute!"
I cast a wise eye on him, raised one eyebrow, and said pointedly, "And you tried to tell me that cats are different from kids?" (They're not.)
The liberated needle was located moments later out in the cat room where it had been abandoned like a ladies' purse after a mugging.
My Addi Lace #1 will never be the same. The culprit was my blue cat, who has a taste for the plastic (he chews and sucks on all manner of baggie, wrapping or tube). There are teeth marks. Prominent ones. There is one particularly dicey area that I fear—no, I
know—will, eventually, under pressure of use, give way and separate the two ends forevermore.
Alas, Yarn Haven closed at 6 PM, five minutes after I found the mess. I'm limping along with my wounded Addi's, having reclaimed the stitches and reworked the short-rows my cat so thoughtfully determined needed redoing, and am past the heel gusset into the footwork.
And I think nothing exciting ever happens around here.
Labels: breaking news, cats, WIP
Hoard Any Good Yarn Lately?
So the stranded colorwork has been laid aside until I forget how upset it made me. In its stead, I finished the Waving Laces, started a pair of Embossed Leaves (same book) with the Araucania #310 (OMG is it pretty, I know, photos soon, it's dark out now), did a couple of rows on the CPH ribbing while debating whether or not to rip it out and reconfigure it for steeks except that requires actually reading Eunny's steeking tutorial, casting on a swatch and practicing first plus the whole frogging thing...
Oh, and I got the doors to the yarn closet to shut.
FINALLY!!! I have made goal.
What I did
not do was pull out all the yarn and photograph the stash. I should have. But as I could not even turn around in there until it was all put away, trying to take pictures was out of the question. Another day.
I also realized I have a serious problem. It's not just the yarn. I already knew I had a yarn problem. But I also have... a fabric problem.
All of my sewing projects are in one bin now. They were at the time of purchase stored with notions and sometimes patterns in individual zippered baggies. The baggies have been put inside a bin.
The bin is a 96-QUART bin. It is about 4 feet long, one foot wide, and a foot deep. Like a mini-coffin.
Full.
Of "future western shirts", "future vests" and "future tunics". Some of the fabric I bought when I was doing alterations.
That was 1997.
Problem.
OK, I admit it!
Hello, my name is Jeanne, and I am a hoarder.
No, not "whore"—HOARder. TWO syllables.I hoard yarn. I hoard fabric. I hoard books. I probably hoard cats, too, but at least they can't stack up like the other stuff does (or can they?).
Let's be honest. When one has every room crammed full of stuff (mine and my parents'), has two sheds and a deck room, and still has to pay for another large room to store stuff in, one has
too much stuff.
I gotta have a yarn sale or something.
Labels: whines and rants, WIP
New Beginning
How painful was it to frog eight inches of carefully-constructed stranded colorwork?
Indescribable. Plus I was mad as hell at myself for doing what I always do—forging on, not really
reading the instructions and advisements to carry the strands
loosely lest the work be too tight nor the admonishments that too-loose stitches can be tightened later.
I ripped back all the way to the ribbing. SAD.
I looked at my needles expecting to see that this here idiot had been knitting on 0's.
What do you MEAN, these are 2's? And it was THAT TIGHT?!? Well, then... Gawdeee, should I be on 4's? Does Addi even make Turbos in 4's? *grumble*
I re-knit the first four rows of colorwork l-o-o-s-e-l-y.
Then I put it down and went to bed.
Then I had nightmares of being strangled by too-tight knitting with visions of vicious Addi's dancing snakelike around me.
Right now I'm contemplating which pattern will be suitable for the Araucania and whether I should set aside the stranded colorwork, cast on the Araucania, work on the CPH for a change, or dig out the Traveler's Socks that got lost in the shuffle. Or fix the horrendous oversight on size on my niece's Christmas Socks (2006—too short for her large feet). Or try to finish last year's Christmas scarves for my nephews-in-law. I procrastinate. Can you tell?
Or maybe I should take up stunt flying or some other hobby with less risk involved.
Labels: sockaholism, things that piss me off, whines and rants, WIP
Too Good To Be True
I knew it was too good to be true.
Eight inches into the Blue Herrings. Everything was going beautifully. Neat stitches, neat flipside, humming along.
Then I decided to try it on.
And the danged thing would not go over my heel.
AUUUGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!rippit rippit rippit rippit...
Labels: breaking news, sockaholism, WIP
You Asked for Photos
And here they are.
First up: Swatch for the CPH. In the back of Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar book, she provides instructions on how to swatch for three needle sizes at once. It seemed like a great way to swatch, especially since I plan to knit the CPH on circulars as all one piece. Maybe even—*gasp*—steek it. (Next up—Jeanne practices steeking on a swatch)
I quickly ascertained that it is better to cast on for the swatch on the largest needle size rather than the middle size (derrr) and that it is better to transfer the first set of stitches to the smallest size and the second set of stitches to the middle size. She advises casting on 63 stitches, dividing into groups of 21, and purling the 21st stitch to show the size division.
It works pretty well, except blocking is tricky. (I blocked the sock swatches not shown on Gatorade bottles and turned a bowl upside down for the CPH swatch, which may explain the somewhat triangular appearance).
Next up: a lovely photo of the almost-finished Waving Lace Socks. I LOVE this pattern. It's fun to knit. It's so pretty. Next time I'll try it with solid yarn and see how I like them. There are a couple of mistakes but oh well. The first mistake was that I knit an extra set of rows in the scalloped edging on the first one (and didn't replicate it on the second one). The second mistake is on the heel. I did it right the second time. I did it wrong the first time. The pattern for the RS heel reads
*sl 1 as if to purl, k1; repeat from * to end
The first time round, I sl 1'd, then knit all the way across (because in the next row, only the first st is slipped, then you purl). The second time round, I read it correctly.
Third mistake: I just realized I forgot to incorporate heel (and toe) reinforcement thread. Oh, well. Too late now... they're special occasion socks, anyway. I don't foresee wearing the heels out.
Lastly, the piece de triumphe (forgive my spelling): the Blue Herrings!
Closeup of the herringbone pattern:
Closeup of the inside—can you believe it's this neat on my first try?
I'm itching to cast on for the CPH, but it's been so long since I rewrote the pattern in the round that I'm scared I made errors. If I can get a moment's peace around here, I'll take a second look. It's my modus operandi to get in the mood to knit it in the evenings—you know, cozy up on the couch and knit a sweater—but my brain is better suited to the figuring process in daylight. (Oddly enough, I also prefer to clean in daylight so I can see the corners and shadows, yet I am awake during twice the amount of dark hours... hmm.)
OK. Roomie is off to WalMart. Maybe now's a good time to tackle the CPH pattern, examine my four inches of ribbing (on size 8s that should have been done on size 6s) and try to remember how I was doing that thing with two balls of yarn at once.
Labels: colorwork, sockaholism, WIP
Stranded Can Be Fun!
Oooh! I'm about four repeats into the Blue Herrings and I LOVE STRANDED COLORWORK! It's so cool! It took me a minute or so to grasp the concept of switching the colors. I'm going on instinct so if it's incorrect to hold one color in one hand and the other in the other, then tell me, but that's what I'm doing, throwing MC with my right and CC with my left, and it's coming out all nice and neat.
Totally loving it.
The casting-on of the CPH was postponed due to infatuation with stranding.
Labels: breaking news, colorwork, sockaholism, WIP
Almost An FO
My Waving Laces are nearly finished. I'm past the heel on Sock #2 and nearing the finish line. I really love this pattern. Once you've knit through the repeats enough times, it is easy to memorize. They will definitely be knit again.
Next in line are Cookie A.'s Red Herrings. Mine, however, are the Blue Herrings because I'm using Sandnes Garn Lanett in a teal blue and beige rather than brown and red. I got gauge on 0's, wouldn't ya know it. They're singing on my Addi's.
For my third sockaholism enabling, I also have Nancy Bush's Traveler's Socks OTN. I was going to knit them in Schaeffer Anne but since the I Love Ganseys got frogged and I love the Wildfoote yarn, I'm knitting them from that.
In addition, now that I found the Knitscene mag with the pattern in it (it was lost), I got gauge on the CPH and... drum roll... will be casting on either tonight or tomorrow.
Do I have a problem with monogamy? Only in regards to knitting, thank you!
Labels: ravelry, sockaholism, WIP
Swatcha Dooin'?
Swatches, that's what I'm dooin'.
Call me crazy, but I'm gonna go through with it. I'm swatching for my next five projects, then washing and blocking them, then making notes so that when I get the urge to cast-on, all I'll need to do is CO and go. (CO&GO... COGO? New word.)
It's the cold medicine. Just ignore my weirdness. Damn that Sudafed. It makes me tired but wired. I'm wide awake and sleepy all at once. Ick. At least the headache subsided.
Anyway, these here are being swatched:
Central Park Hoodie*
Socks:
Scala
Caspian Sea
Red Herring
Winter Garden
*About the CPH:
Hey, aren't you the one running the CPH KAL?Why yes, yes I am.
Hey, aren't you already four inches into the ribbing? Why yes, yes I am.
Then why the heck are you bothering to swatch now? Isn't it a bit late? Why yes, yes it is. But this is my first sweater. And after the sock nightmare, I'm rethinking my wing-it-and-go theory.
Hey, does this mean you may be frogging?Umm...
Labels: ravelry, WIP
Relocation Complete
OK, this part is for anyone who is interested in continuing to read about my personal dramas. If so, please email me at jrberry63 AT woh DOT rr DOT com to receive URL and password info.
The rest of you, keep watching for knitting content. I promise there will be some. In fact, I'm happy to report that there was plenty of knitting this weekend. I worked on the 2006 Christmas Scarves (yes, that's not a typo), the Nancy Bush Traveller's Socks, and the Waving Lace Socks.
I finished Sock #1 of Waving Lace. Ends woven in, toe kitchenered. All I gots ta do is wash and block. Oh, and knit Sock #2.
As for the Travellers, I noticed a big gauge discrepancy between them and the Waving Laces. The Wavings were knit on size #1 Crystal Palace DPNs. The Travellers were cast on to size #0 Addis. The Travellers were at least 2 inches wider than the Wavings, which actually fit.
I decided to swatch (OMG, stop the presses) AND (sit down) wash/block the swatches.
It appears that I need to do these on size #000. Or whatever those teensy tiny blue Susan Bates hypodermic needle-type DPNs are that I scavenged from my needle stash.
Good grief.
In other news, Friday afternoon was lovely, and I finally spent some time playing with my horse. I even rode around bareback for awhile. It was good.
Labels: breaking news, FOs, the big secret, WIP, Xmas
Horses, Not Knitting
Let's see...
HORSESWent to the barn for a trail ride with a new riding buddy tonight but wound up working on our horsemanship due to Extreme Skeeters. It is May, people. The skeeters should NOT be out in full force like this yet. It was a massive cloud of them. Now, we'd prepared well, we thought. Marinated the horses in fly spray. Applied copious amounts of Deep Woods Off to ourselves--despite a warning label that says, I shit you not, "
hazardous to humans". This stuff claims to ward off West Nile Virus.
And yet, we were lunch. We left the property, took five steps into the woods and WHAMMO! It was the $3.99 All-You-Can-Suck Buffet at the Golden Corral. My poor horse. He pitched a fit. He made it perfectly clear that he was completely and utterly miserable, would not STAND for being attacked by miniature flying vampires and told me in no uncertain terms that if I insisted on continuing, I'd be doing it on my own because he had no intention of going anywhere but home.
Normally, I'd have a conversation with him and re-establish my leadership and invite him to consider that my plan is to hit the trail. But all four of us (horses and people) were too preoccupied slapping ourselves silly. I apologized profusely to my horse and we headed back down the lane.
Actually that was probably a good thing. I wasn't too upset about it because I can handle one or two bites, but not being divebombed like that. I itch just remembering it. The ride would have been miserable for all of us. And my new riding buddy had a horse who was nervous about the trail. Her horse needed to do some confidence-building exercises, and mine needed practice in listening to me rather than Hoovering the grass, so we rode up and down the lane. The bugs weren't with us.
My new friend's horse benefitted greatly from the experience. She (the horse) went back to the barn calmer and left-brained, and they ended on a good note. The horse will be better next time for it. Honestly, I'd rather work on my horsemanship than trail ride, anyway. I realize that's not the way most of the boarders at the barn are, and it took some convincing before M conceded that it really did NOT bother me at all that we didn't hit the trail. So many are so focused on one thing: it's a goal. They go out to ride, and dammit, they'll ride, no matter the weather, no matter how their horse is that day, because it's all about the ride. They pay good money to board so they can ride, and they WILL achieve their goal even to the detriment of the relationship with their horse.
I'm the complete opposite. I'll abort a planned ride if my horse got up on the wrong side of the corral. If I'm on the trail and we have an issue, I'll stop and do whatever it takes to work it out, even if it means getting off and walking my horse for a bit, or backing up, whatever. If I have to take my horse back home because he's having a bad day, I'd rather go fix the issue and have a better ride next time than try to fight my way through it like so many others. My attitude drives most of the "ride or die" boarders crazy ("just get on and MAKE him do what you want"), which is why the longer I've been doing
Parelli the less people I have to ride with.
But that's OK. Because my relationship with my horse is far better than theirs is, and it shows. They all think it's because he's older now (he's 10; M's horse is 18 aka "should know better" according to their beliefs), or he's "learned", but the real reason is,
I've learned. He's been ridden by people who let him get away with stuff that he doesn't do around me because he knows who the leader in our herd of two is. I never have to "catch" my horse (or have trouble with it)--he comes galloping to me when I call. He'll follow me around of his own volition, because he
wants to be with me.
That's magic.
KNITTINGThere are approximately four socks in progress and on the needles at the moment. One is the second sock from last year's Christmas Knitting Fiasco (can I just say I think it'll be a hand
woven holiday this year?); one is for mememememe; and two are being done for someone else (test knitting). I hope it won't scare the person for whom I'm doing the test knitting (if this blog is in their blogroll) when I admit that this was my first experience using the Two Circular Needle method. I thought I'd hate it.
I don't.
I love it.
That really surprised me. I love knitting on DPNs but 2Circs seems to go so much faster! It helped to have
Cat Bordhi's book on hand. (For some reason I thought this was the Magic Loop method, but a bit of research on the Internets cleared that up. How many ways CAN one knit a sock? One needle, two, three, four, five...)
Great. I have 4,000 sets of DPNs that I got specifically for my sock-knitting endeavors. Now I have to go out and buy 8,000 pairs of circulars because of course I must have every size and they must be
Crystal Palace--although I'm currently using
*gasp* Susan Bates aluminums
*cough*cheap*cough* because I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to multiple CPs if I didn't want to use this method past these test socks.
Will this be the moment I cave and forego CPs for Addi's? Time will tell.
Labels: Christmas knitting, horses, WIP
S'sn & B'n
Yeah, that title is clear.
My friend and I had dinner then sat at our local coffee shop and did some S'sn (hemming) and B'n (whining). You know. Purl & Hurl. _titch and _itch. The two words we aren't allowed to print for fear of being accused of copyright infringement. Ess Enn Bee.
Yeah.
She worked on a needlepoint project while I was in sockland. I pity my friend. There was more bee-ing than ess-ing on her part because she's been fretting over this thing forever. She started it years ago with high hopes, then became bored with it about halfway through. It would be big enough for a throw pillow (if she ever finishes it). She keeps talking about the project in the wings that she can't wait to get to, yet she will not allow herself to toss the current one into either the frog pile (is there such a thing for needlepoint?) or in with the UFOs so she can work on the new one.
I see no point to this. I'm quite happy to abandon a project for a few days or decades (remember
the Phoenix I just finished?) if I lose interest. Yes, I love to start projects. But I don't consider myself to have startitis. Rather, I enjoy having a lot of projects on the docket at once so I can jump around when the mood strikes me. I
do finish them—eventually. But if I grow weary, I can stop myself and move on. One day I'll run across it and wonder why I ever put it down. That's the time to pick it up again and finish it.
Do you suffer from either Random Project Hopscotch like I do, or One At A Time Even If It Kills Me like my friend? Any advice for my friend? I told her tonight, either you hurry up and finish that so you can move onto something you actually enjoy, or I'll finish it FOR you, darn it! It stresses me—yes, actually causes me pain—to see her grumbling over this piece. Poor thing, she sits at the table rummaging through her pockets, anything to avoid picking up the project.
As for me, I discovered that socks and TV do not mix (at certain points), nor do socks and conversation (at certain points). When one is working the seven inches of "cuff", or the part between the heel and toe, TV or conversation is fine. But TV and chatter should be avoided at all costs when one is calculating the heel flap, the gusset, or doing three-needle bind off on the toe. I wish I had photos, but I didn't have the camera with me and I fixed my errors already. So you'll have to settle for description and imagination.
Sock #1: Fascine Braid Sock, in Mountain Colors "Crazy Woman" First of the pair intended for the niece who did not make it to Xmas this year. I'd finished the toe while watching TV a week or so ago and woven in my ends. It looked a little funny; the seam kind of puckered but I assumed it would even out after blocking. It came with me tonight to serve as a reference if I started its mate, and to show off to my friend. Tonight it still looked funny. Suddenly I figured out why.
The toe seam was running perpendicular to the toeline. Ooops.
Frog, frog, frog.
The seam is running in the proper direction now, but it still looks a little wonky to me. Hopefully blocking will fix it. If not, well, it'll be inside a shoe.
Sock #2: Leslie's Double Eyelet Socks in Mountain Colors "Wildflower" Yes, I'm still working on these. At the rate I'm going, I'll be 50 before I can wear them (it's a ways off yet). Another first of a pair. I successfully did the heel flap and turned the heel. Then I began the gusset. Then I got hopelessly lost because the pattern said to
knit to within 3 stitches of the end of needle #1, K2 tog K1, knit in eyelet pattern across needle #2, then K1 SSK knit to the end of needle #3— and somehow, I had five needles in use.
Erm...
You do realize I've done socks before and know what I'm supposed to be doing here. For some reason, conversation must throw me completely off. I sorted it out eventually but I kept dropping stitches, having my needles slide out of the row, miscounting... eeesh. All I got done on this sock in three hours' time was the last inch of heel flap, turning the heel, picking up the gusset, and about an inch of actual foot.
I started Sock #2 in early October. It's now February and that is as far as I've gotten. Oh, the shame.
It didn't help that we were trying not to laugh at the real-life
Beavis and Butthead sitting at the next table. Heh-heh. Heh-heh. FIRE! FIRE! Heh-heh.
The saddest thing of all is what I think they did. I could be wrong, but instinct says otherwise. The boys sat there for a good hour or so, chatting. They didn't purchase any food or coffee. They weren't reading. They came in with nothing. They didn't peruse the shelves for anything to read. There is nothing inherently wrong with this.
However.
It was 15 minutes before closing. The place had gradually emptied out until it was down to them and us and the two workers (one is the owner). One worker was cleaning up the service area. The owner was vaccuuming and straightening. The owner disappeared into the office. The two boys suddenly got up from their table and headed over to the comics section. My Spidey-sense woke up and I tried to knit while watching from my peripheral vision.
They huddled around the comics section for a couple of moments then turned and walked casually—sort of—towards the door. One of the boys had the distinctly stiff posture of someone who had something stuffed down the front of his shirt and was trying to keep there while walking pseudo-nonchalantly out the door. The shop is quite long and I didn't actually see him take anything—it was just an instinct based on my observation and their timing.
It seemed as if they had been lying in wait for the perfect moment. I asked my friend if she thought they might have taken something. She said their timing did seem a little odd.
Perhaps we should we have alerted the counter clerk. We didn't. I'm not sure why. Maybe because we had no verifiable proof that they'd taken anything. Maybe because we didn't want to cause a scene. It concerns me that we didn't say something. It concerns me that these boys would shoplift (if they did).
Maybe they left with what they came in with and my suspicions were unfounded.
But of course, we'll never know.
Labels: Christmas knitting, WIP
The Doctor Has Ordered Less Fiber in My Diet
This evening, I finally got around to opening up the mail that has accumulated this month (read: bills I was trying to avoid) and found out
(1 loom + 3 trips to the LYS later) that I *oops* went a little crazy with the check-writing this month. After transferring some dough and praying that there are no other "yarn crazies" I've forgotten to log in my check register
(I swear, it's like I turn into some sort of psychotic KnitMonster at the scent of yarn and suffer yarnmnesia), I decided I must commit.
Knit From Your Stash 2007: Guidelines for Jeanne B. (edited from
Wendy's Rules)
- The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.
- I will refrain from buying yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
- Sock yarn does not count.
- Yarn designated for a gift can be bought only after a thorough search of my stash turns up nothing in the right color, fiber content, or amount. Intent is important, though. I cannot intend to knit socks, then change my mind midstream and buy 20 balls of Rowan for a sweater even though I know I won't finish it in time and will wind up having to make socks anyway.
- If I am knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.
- I get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card—I am allowed to fall off the wagon one time.
- I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn. (In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send yarn.)
- Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt. This is my year to blow the dust off the wheel.
- Yarn for weaving is exempt. Hey, I just bought a loom, and I'm registered for a weaving course at my local college which I'm sure will have yarn requirements for projects. Though I do have a small (read: one enormous overflowing box full) stash of cones I could peruse...
- Yarn of a neutral color purchased solely for Kool-Aid Dyeing experiments is exempt.
- All UFOs must become FOs before beginning a similar project. Example: finish the Central Park Hoodie before beginning Trendsetter's Waterlily Cabled Sweater. Finish the Mountain Colors Double Eyelet Socks before beginning the Traveller's Socks. This includes projects more than 10 years old, even if it means frogging and reclaiming in order to declare it finished.
- Non-yarn items are exempt.
- All knitting must be done while wearing pants. ;-)
OK. Maybe I need to just say:
I will make a concerted effort to plumb the depths of my stash this year BEFORE automatically pulling out the plastic. Cuz there's no way I'm going to make it with all these exemptions. After all,
- I love to knit socks.
- My stash grew exponentially in the last month because of gift knitting. I started with my existing stash. But the colors were wrong for the recipients. So I went to my LYS and bought a selection of nice sock wools. Then I found out half the recipients don't like/can't wear/are allergic to wool. Back to the LYS to buy cotton/non-wool yarn. Did I return the wool? HELL no! I kept them for myself. *ahem*
- Oft times I begin a project, but put it away for awhile. Say, 12 years or so. Like the green sweater I started when I first learned to knit. Gorgeous Brown Sheep wool. Got about 8 inches of the back done before I got bored with K a whole bunch, P a few, K a whole bunch more, repeat... Of course, the dye lot for that is long gone as is the smaller waist I had back then. Undoubtedly, I'll need more yarn to make a current sweater. This is a Caution: yarn will be discontinued by the time I get A Round Tuit. Go ahead and splurge on the extra few balls to ensure I'll have enough of it.
- What constitutes "falling off the wagon"? Is it when you have so much yarn in the car that when you open the door you are pushed onto the roadway by the sheer force of yarn expansion?
- Ah, yes. The Gift of Yarn. Always the right size (until swatched, washed and blocked)... not always the right color (or fiber content). But those who might actually give the gift of fresh skeins are the ones who go to Your Local Craft Store and blanch at the thought of paying *gasp* *shock* $5.99 for a ball of wool!!! What will they do when they take my Wish List to my LYS and discover the true price of Mountain Colors Bearfoot? "What?!? For a pair of socks?" followed by admonitions about starving babies in Uganda and heating bills etc (with a nod to the Harlot, unfortunately my friends and family do not subscribe to the "yarn as home insulation" argument).
- Spinning takes too long. I want to knit THIS year, not wait until 2010 (which is how long it may take me to learn to spin a proper yarn).
- Weaving is wonderful but it isn't knitting. I've yet to discover how to weave a sock. Hmm. Perhaps that is my calling. Sockweaving.
- The Kool-Aid can take the blame for a LOT of stash enhancement if I play my cards right.
- (Do the pants really need an explanation?)
It looks like I'll be buying yarn in 2007 anyway, despite the complaints coming from my debit card.
In the spirit of creativity, I whipped up a few of my own KFYS2007 buttons. Feel free to borrow them for your blog; but do me a favor and store it on your own server.
Labels: knit from your stash 2007, WIP, yarn diet
Happy Solstice
December 21st! It is Winter Solstice. Autumn is but a memory, we are now officially into Winter. Christmas/Giftmas/Xmas/etc is a mere four days away.
FOUR DAYS AWAY.Are you ready?
Have you finished your knitting?
Unless a miracle occurs in the next three days, I am giving the gift of sock. As in, singular. A sock and a promise. I think I can finish the Besotted scarves in time. At least my sock recipients will know what the finished product will look like.
I could just say, "Here is this year's sock. You will get the mate to it next Christmas."
Would that be too rude? ;-)
Forgot to mention that I've moved to the New Beta Blogger now. Whoo hoo. I can't tell the difference yet, except that Bloglines shows that freaky little red-exclamation-point-in-brackets
[!] next to my blog's name now. So, upgrade your Blogrolls, I guess.
Labels: Christmas knitting, WIP
