Friday, December 28, 2007

Off to Colorado

Well, another post sans pics. But, I did start my black cap as I had promised you, and it fit very well, so I'm excited that I got a recipe that will work. However, I forgot it over Matt's parents' house on Christmas, so it's not being worked on. Also, in that same bag, I had Honey's socks, so those aren't getting any closer to being done either.

But, I'm leaving to Colorado today to spend New Year's w/Matt's brother & his wife (his brother's wife, not Matt's). We'll go snowboarding, and indoor parachuting (I'm very nervous about that one), and taking them to dinner to celebrate various b-days. But, this also means that I MUST HAVE KNITTING to save my sanity on the plane. Therefore, I have packed 3 skeins of Worsted Weight yarn, a skein of sock yarn, some appropriately-sized dpns and 16" circs, so I will cast on another hat. Or a sock, if the mood so strikes me. After all, I imagine it will be very snowy out that-a-way, and you can't have snow without knitting, now can you?

When I post next year, I'll have pics. I promise :-)

Monday, December 24, 2007

Obligatory monthly post

Well, I have no pics for you this month. I am still working on Honey's sock cuffs. I did detour for a day and begin working on an A-line swing coat, but I'm not happy with it thus far, so I need to rip it. But, I did use my Harmony needles on it, and I must say that I LOVE them!

What else? I'm going to start a basic ribbed cap with a pony-tail hole. It's ridiculous that I haven't finished a cap for myself. I've already been snowboarding twice, and had to stoop to borrowing a cap from my Honey, since my store-bought hat has disappeared. But, come on, seriously, it takes like no yarn and very little time to knit a cap!

But, I find myself spending a ridiculous number hours agonizing over the color (pink? white? black? brown? a combo?), the design (cabled? What cables? Fair Isle? What design?), the construction (ribbed completely? ribbed on the bottom & stockinette for the rest?). Then I search for patterns, surfing the web, flipping through magazines, and checking my books. At that point, it's pretty much paralysis through analysis and I give up on the whole idea.

Then, I look in stores like Hollinger where SIMPLE 2x2 rib hats are $25, and my resolve is renewed. $25 for ACRYLIC?!?! And they're always too big for my freaky-small 19" head. And there's no ponytail hole!

So, today, I am casting on 84 sts of some basic Black stash wool yarn and doing 2x2 rib until it's time to insert a largish one-row buttonhole a'la EZ for my ponytail, and I resolve to have it done by Wednesday, which is my next snowboarding trip. I'll let you know how it comes out.

P.S. - Honey's daughter has let the scarf die on her needles, as she had gotten stuck and I wasn't around to help. I'm not pushing the issue, but I'm planning on knitting around her and making really cool hats in the hopes that she'll become inspired once more. We knitters are so devious! :-)

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Propagating

So, I must let you all know that I have been busy hooking a poor, unsuspecting 10-year-old girl into our fibery fun. I taught my boyfriend's daughter how to knit last weekend.

I tried showing her the continental method, which I favor, but she ended up latching on to the English method, which I showed her when she was having issues with the other. She picked it up so quickly and loved it so much ("This is fun!"), that I had to strike while the iron was hot and I promptly took her to the craft store where I bought her a beginner book and the called-for yarn and needles for a garter-stitch scarf. The colors she picked are great, we modified the amount of c/o stitches (see? already letting her know that patterns are merely guides), and away she went. I haven't spoken to her since the weekend, and her dad keeps forgetting to ask her how she's doing with it, but I'm hoping her knitting is continuing apace, and that soon she'll be ready to learn purl. If not, well, at least she tried it.

Speaking of her dad, here is how his socks are coming along:

Yeah, I'm pretty burned out on them, but I'm soooo close to a pair of socks.

But I unearthed some socks in progress I had apparently started in May 2006. And, since these were for ME and were close to being done, I took a break from Matt's socks and actually finished something:



I LOVE my socks! They're comfy and fit me perfectly. Of course, I didn't write down how many stitches these were, but I think it was 56. They're Regia Stretch, and I am exceedingly happy with the yarn, and I'm on a FO high.

I'm feeling so good, I've been tempted by the beauteous Autumn Rose fitted Fair Isle 3/4 sleeve sweater designed by Eunny Jang. I would like it to have full sleeves, and I'm seeing that the best deal I can get would bring the price tag of the yarn & book for this pattern to about $96.00. So, I'm passing (for now), and am entertaining ideas of starting the "U-Neck Sweater" I was eyeballing at the end of last year. At least I already have the pattern and yarn for it.

Or, I could start an A-line swing coat in chunky wool which would go pretty quickly. Or, I could do the Aran Coat ala Meg Swansen from "Knitting Around", as I have the yarn, the book, and the video for it.

Or maybe I should force myself to plug along on my poor Honey's socks and let him know the joy that is perfectly-fitting, hand-made, love-induced knitted socks.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Ummmmm..

Okay, okay. Yes, I realize that it's been now four months since my last (lame) post. However, I do have knitting to show you:



Um, now I must explain myself. This is a pair of socks in progress, at the point where the heel has just been completed and I am now sailing up the cuff in 2x2 rib. They seem quite long, do they not? That's because they are for a size 13 foot.

Now, I realize that in my last post, I was thanking my lucky stars that I was not planning on knitting for a size 13 foot. Well, let's just say that now I AM thanking my lucky stars that I am knitting for a size 13 foot. Irony is great.

So, these socks have been my WIP for the past 2 months. I hope to have them done soon. I then plan on making a hat for myself which has a hole in the top for a pony tail for when I go snowboarding. I have issues with goggle placement.

And, this is the only knitting-related purchase I've made in many, many months:



Yes, I succumbed to the new Knit Picks Harmony needle set. I haven't yet knit with them (I'll use 'em on my hat), but they feel very slick and warm and they are just beautiful! I'm so happy with them, even though they only go down to size 4.

OK, so I won't make any promises so that your expectations will remain low, and therefore the chance of disappointment is lessened when I don't post for another few months. But, hopefully, I'll keep my act together, and you'll see a pair of finished socks soon...

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Over 6 months have passed...

Hi there!

My goodness, where has the time gone? I'm so sorry to have been gone for so long, but, you know.

So, hey, since last we spoke, I've completed the dragon scarf, the Fiesta Shawl is in the exact same state it was when you last saw it, and I believe I've only finished knitting a baby hat. So, you see, it was a blessing for you that I did not post to this blog. Otherwise, all you would have heard about was my failed attempt at completing an online MBA course, my crazy-busy job, and my Online Dating escapades.

Alright, in other knitting news, I'm almost done w/the Rick Rack bag I'm making for my friend Deanna. She had seen mine, and was so taken with it, she requested one for herself. So, because I love her, I cast on...even had the colors she wanted in the stash! I've only got the handles left to do, so I'll be sure to do the whole "before" and "after" felting pics.

So, besides the 2 afore-mentioned on-going projects, I'm agitating to make hand-knit fishnet stockings. I've got 2 patterns, and 1 on the way, so once I get a pattern I really like, I'm casting on, baby. I'm going to order that new Knit Picks yarn Risata in Black. Won't that be soooo awesome?! I can't wait!

Alright, so I guess I'm back, baby! Let the knitting begin in earnest!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Online Dating

There will be no pictures in this post, so if you're looking for eye candy and/or inspiration, you would do well to move along at this point. If you're interested in pathetic tales of single-dom, please stay tuned.

First, I did get a chance to spin, and it was wonderful. I felt so guilty for neglecting my lovely Symphony for so long...I had actually forgotten I had bought a Woollee Winder for it. How lame is that? But it was, pardon the cliche, just like riding a bike, and I fell right into making my springy Blackbird yarn for my Rogue cardigan. I think I made about 90 yards, and am almost done with another bobbin of singles, so hopefully I'll have 2 finished skeins to show you next time. Then I have to prepare some more fiber. I'm this close to just using pre-made yarn for this project.

But I have started and made some progress on the Tie-Front Cardigan from the Vogue Holiday 06 issue. I'm making it in black Gloss from KnitPicks. It's a nice silk-merino blend, and I think this coat will be absolutely fantastic once I finish it. I'll show that to you in my next post as well.

But anyway, I recently subscribed to match.com, and let me tell you, it's an interesting world out there. I haven't dated at all anyway (I met my soon-to-be-ex when I was 18, and he was my first boyfriend), so it's all new to me. It's actually very overwhelming. I'm not putting too much hope into it, but it's kind of making me feel better because it's something I can actually "do" to help alleviate my feelings of being such a man-less loser. I might un-subscribe, but I'll be going out with a friend of mine tomorrow who has been on match.com for quite some time, so I'm going to pick her brain on how to navigate this stuff. Perhaps she'll renew my enthusiasm.

I'll keep you all posted....

Friday, January 12, 2007

Here there be dragons

Well, an eye-less dragon, but a dragon none-the-less...


I really enjoyed this pattern, and it was pretty quick to make. As I had mentioned in a previous post, the yarn from Morehouse Merino is absoulutely sinfully soft, and was nice to knit up.

I just need to block this bad boy, sew on the eyes, and tassel in the puffs of smoke in its nostrils. Because I'm sketchy on finishing, I probably won't actually have this done for a while, but I'm excited about it, so here it is.

In non-fibery news, I'm now 2-weeks post-op. The nurse has told me that I'm healing up very well, and a lot of my friends are surprised that I already came back to work this week, so I guess I'm doing well. I attended hula class last night, but only sat and did the hand movements half-heartedly. But even that little bit of activity left me sore, so I'm really impatient with this whole recovery process. My tummy is also still a little swollen, and the swelling gets worse as the day wears on, so that's really ticking me off, too. I just need to be patient, but that's never been one of my strong suits.

Anyway, this will be my child-less weekend, and I'm planning on doing some spinning. It's been so long, I hope I remember how to do it :-)

Friday, January 05, 2007

Post-Op

Well, I did the deed. The surgery went very well (i.e. I survived) and recovery continues apace.

My new rack is the perfect size...just a bit larger than they've been with my push-up padded bras, so there isn't a very obvious difference. Of course there is to me. The bummer is that for the next 3 weeks I've got to wear a tight strap across my chest which squeezes them together and pushes them down to help them drop into place. This means I'll have projectile boobies and no pretty bras till that's done. I have a feeling I might cheat and go strap-less a bit. I did some preliminary measurements, and it looks like I'm a 32 C. Woohoo!

The tummy tuck is another matter altogether. I look like Frankenstein down there, and the belly button is decidedly unsavory. But the tummy is AMAZING! I have a killer waist and I'm as flat as a board! 26 inches, baby! Of course, my scar is absolutely crazy-looking, but I'm applying some expensive scar cream in the hopes that it will eventually become less horrifying. For those of you who aren't squeamish, click here to see it 4 days post-op.

Anyway, I'm a lot more ambulatory, but I did get some knitting time in.

Here's that Fiesta Shawl I've been wanting to make for 6 years....Well, Blogger is up to its usual tricks, and it won't let me post pics. So, let's try this:


Alright, here she is. Isn't she lovely? This is the first time I've knit with rayon ribbon and mohair, and they are both tricky in their own little ways. Suffice it to say that winding ribbon is not my idea of a fun time. Right now, the thing causing me concern is the fact that I've already run out of 1 skein of Gelato. It seems that the shawl isn't even half done, and I still have fringe to do. Of course, the shawl is getting smaller, but I'm not sure it's getting smaller fast enough. Well, time will tell. Till then, I need to sew the beginning of the next ball to the end of this ball, but I've been too lazy to get out my needle & thread.

So, instead, I started this...

Look, I'm knitting a dragon tail! This is the Dragon Scarf Kit from Morehouse Merino. It was outrageously expensive for a scarf kit, I thought, but I LOVE dragons, and wouldn't this just be the coolest thing to wear while snowboarding?! But the yarn is fantastically soft and lofty and it'll be such a treat to have this soft dragon snuggling warmly against my neck. The pattern is fun and it really does look like a dragon, no? You gotta love knitting!