minnamade minutes

Pacing Yourself Through the Olympics

2008-08-13T18:09:00.001-07:00

Taking a break from the Gossamer Lace Project of Malcontent (a/k/a "The GuLPoM"), I thought I'd show you my first Olympian FO:

Armwarmers are almost as hard as socks to self-model.

It's all about pacing your approach. Don't forget the stretch breaks!

And of course the presentation. She loved them!

Always Behind the Wave

2008-08-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hare comes trouble.

I managed to knock out a couple opera-length arm warmers for a co-worker this weekend - cast on during the Opening Ceremonies (which, despite all the emerging controversy, were still amazing to me. I even cried a couple times because when I'm not being a twelve year old boy, I'm being a hormone-imbued softie.) tucked in the last loose bits in time for the birthday cookout Sunday afternoon. I'll post pics of them later. They aren't all that impressive - just tubes with... thumb tubes - but they are always a big hit at my office, where the climate control is set at arctic no matter the weather outside.

Since then I've been having several false starts with Eunny's Print o' the Wave Stole. I'm knitting it with Habu Textile's superfine merino in a green that is much darker than the grass green I'm finding on one of my LYS's website.

The figure 8 style invisible cast on gave me problems (I kept getting too much slack in the figure-8-ified working yarn) but I just sort of fudged it (by undoing the original slip knot and retying it to take up the slack).

For some reason, I started on size 2 needles with this probably-about-gossamer-weight yarn, which looked awful. So I picked up a set of Addi lace needles in 00 and everything is flowing much more smoothly... only...

Watching women's gymnastics and knitting on size 00 needles with gossamer weight yarn might not be the most complementary activities. I managed to drop a stitch in the last three rows of my second pattern repeat and will need to rip back and/or fake the missing stitch to get back on track.

Other than these false starts... it's been an interesting knit. I have been sticking to easy knits all summer and it feels good to be challenging myself again. I will have to remind myself of these warm-fuzzy feelings when I start to cuss my itty bitty superfine knitting later in the week.

Olympian To Do's

2008-08-09T07:59:00.000-07:00

Overduecraftron 2000

I am not a joiner*, I will not be officially participating in any of the Knitting Olympics events happening out in the wired world - nor will I be joining any of the local activities.

However, since I am even more of a procrastinator than I am not a joiner I have decided to use my time gawping at the teevee to catch up on my backlog of gifts that I owe various people for various reasons (more on my Great List of To Do in future posts). None of them are particularly ambitious, but together they have over the last year turned into a looming Voltron of crafty intimidation. Time to face the monster and get this log jam out of the way.

* I just happen to often end up doing what everyone else seems to be doing. I'm going to call it zeitgeist 'cause that sounds fancy-pants.

Pushing the Reset Button

2008-07-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Y'all. It's been almost two years since I posted on my knittin' blog!! When I put myself on notice, I go all out, don't I?

So.

Yeah.

How have y'all been? Since I was last 'round these parts there's been abortive attempts at Ravelry (I think I might be forumed out) as well at etsy (I have a store. But it's empty. But it's there!). Heck I even re-named this here blog in a slouchy, inexorable move toward etsyfication.

Then I just sort of let life take over.

There's been work stuff, there's been illness, there's been family visits... the usual.

Oh! But the Big News is that The Mister quit his job during the winter of ought seven and has since been training up to become a licensed massage therapist.

!!!

I know! Huge, huge change. I am ridiculously proud of him for making this tremendous leap of faith. I'm also perhaps a wee bit terrified about all the Unknowns. We've been a one to one point five income household for over a year and a half now. We've managed, but it has taken some major changes to get here.

We're still in our little pink doll house (which we love).

We have a third cat now! She's still a kitten and the grown-ups are Not Happy about it. At All.

As part of the New Income Adjustment (and also Prong One of my Three Pronged Plan to get rid of Cracker Factory weight/maintain my cheese eating habit and keep my current wardrobe) I've been biking to work. It's been almost entirely great (with a sprinkling of YIKES) and has been a wonderful way to rediscover this fantastic city.

As for the knitting? It's been in fits and spurts. But I'm determined to get the creative juices flowing again. Thus the re-resurrection of this blog. Even if no one else reads this ever again, I plan on using this as a way to keep track of my crafty endeavors.

So yeah. Hi! It's good to be back. What's been going on with you?

On (the) Board

2006-08-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

I know I know... long time no... sigh. Yeah. No excuses. Life, blah blah blah. Etc. I've put myself on notice.

I've knit a grand total of one pair of socks so far this summer. Hopefully I'll get my gumption up again soon... I've got some baby toys in the works (the knit-thulu, a few Nauties from Knitty, plus something less Lovecraftian for my new third niece).

We had a health scare with The Mister about a month ago (he collapsed at work, but is OK now) so we're re-evaluating our careers over here. With the house things get a little more complicated, but we'll manage.

It's been good to catch up with y'all this summer while we're sorting all this stuff out, but I know this blogging thing isn't a one way street. Hopefully as the weather cools (and my mind becomes less Monkeyish) I'll be able to devote more time to knitting and blogging about it.

'Til then, yeah. I'm On Notice.

Bad Snarky! No donut!

2006-04-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Jeez Louise, y'all. You need to tell me when I leave cliffhangers like that. Sheesh! :slaps own wrist:

The secondary mammogram (which hurt infinitely MORE than the first) resulted in two ultrasounds and a good old fashioned grope by the radiologist.

Turns out my left, um, "kitten" is smaller than my right and asymmetrical to boot. Who knew? I most certainly did not, and they're right under my nose. Literally!

Happily, my left breast, along with being small and misshapen, is also perfectly healthy. I'm not scheduled for another mammogram until I'm 35 (or if I/we find a lump). Yay for asymmetrical, healthy b00bs!

The house stuff continues toward closing. Last week's house inspection resulted in a little addendum/counter-offer/counter-counter-offer action at the end of the week, but we're back on track to landed gentrydom.

I'm continuing to knit on the Phoenix DarkityMa Pi Are Square Shawl of DOOM but have plans in the mix to do some gift knitting (gnitting?) before and during The Move, which will probably be spread over the month of May.

I'm gonna close with a little cheesecake pic of one of the neat-o spaces in this here house. It's a little L-shaped room that the previous owners finished in the attic for their dog. There are little arched cutouts (I call them "hobbit holes") in the master bedroom suite to access this room. Can you say reading/knitting/stash nook? (Well, it's a bit cramped and there is a lot of sun on the one end... but there's a lot of stashy places in this house!)

You put your stash in there!

2006-04-07T12:16:00.000-07:00

My new excuse for radio silence is two fold:

One, I had my first mammogram last week. Based on something in that image, they've asked me to come back in again for a re-scan. Their assurances include the fact that I am young (and therefore "dense", and yes this has been the cause for all kinds of jokes) and have hard to read breasts as well as their desire to make as clear a "baseline" image as possible because of my family history with breast cancer.

So. After a good old-fashioned freakout and cry, I'm doing well. I told my parents about it (and that went much better than I expected) and we are hoping for the best while eyeing our bank accounts and preparing for the worst.

I'm scheduled to go in again on Monday, and I'll be meeting with the radiologist this time, so I'll know right away if there is something to be worried about.

Two, we're buying a house! Now, if they do find something Monday, we'll probably see if we can back out of the deal because we need to get our finances figured out. But if it's just dense tah-tahs... and if the home inspection Tuesday goes well, and the paperwork is clean... this will be the new Chez Snark:

There are so many cubbyholes and storage spaces... I've been mentally placing furniture and yarn since they sellers accepted our offer.

We're meeting with the loan lady tomorrow to complete our application, the inspection is Tuesday (as I mentioned above), and if all goes well... closing is scheduled for May 5th.

Cross your needles for us!

In knitting news: yes. I'm still working on the DarkityMa Phoenix Shawl. I'm already thinking about the next project, though... which might have something to do with the bit o' cotton I have in the stash. Someone, please stop me before I do this! I hate cotton! HATE! But... spring... and... lacy tank tops... and... ack. So weak.

(Dark?) Phoenix Knitting

2006-03-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

It's been a tough Winter, but Spring is here! Time to unclog the crafty gutters of my mental house and work through the leftovers of the last year.

I finally freed the DarkityMa Pi Are Square Shawl from my marination cubbyhole last weekend. It is a frilly, lacy, alpaca-y monster to behold. After a few false starts (and broken yarn, the horror!) I've got the (Dark?) Phoenix Shawl off to a good start.

Since I'm lazy and don't want to unravel, wash, and rewind four skeins of lace-weight yarn; I'm just knitting this new shawl straight from the lumpy unravelings of the old one. Thus the whole Phoenix thing.

But why the comic book geeky hint at the Dark Phoenix? Well, there's a lot of bad juju in the old shawl that I'm hoping to exorsize in the reknitting, but who's to know? I mean a friggin train parked on this yarn. It might be Yarn with a Chip on its Shoulder for all I know. Only time will tell.

Wish me luck!

New to Me LYS

2006-02-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of LYS's around here. There's the one in my neighborhood. The one off the trolley line. The snobby one. A bunch I haven't been to yet.

But yesterday, I went to what is probably going to be my favorite: Northwest Wools.

I'm not sure what it is about this place... I know it's not price. With so many LYSes in the area, price is pretty competitive (AKA The Same) across the board. But they also have a room in the back dedicated to spinning! No, I'm not even thinking about spinning yet (though the hand spindley thingies were awfully cute and very affordable... ) But you can get needle felting friendly roving for cheap here. We're talking probably four times cheaper than anywhere else.

It probably boils down to fate. One of the ladies at the store recognized the yarn I had used for my everyday scarf: ArtFiber's Kyoto (silk and mohair, need I say more?). She had also bought exactly the same color and was working on a lace scarf to show off the gorgeousness of the yarn. We both got appropriately gah-gah reminiscing on the Total Yarn P0rn that is the ArtFibers store.

Also, there's a candy store just a block down from it that carries all kinds of nostalgia candy (Nekko wafers, Skybars, Idaho Spuds, Cow Tails!). That's always a bonus.

To finish off my shopping streak, I stepped in to a card/gift/etc. shop and bought myself a Nunzilla. I couldn't help it.

Necessity's Child

2006-02-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

I was going to title this post "What will they think of next" but some copy editor part of me was really bothered with two back to back posts with the same lead word in the title. What the heck?

Anyways. My point. Someone on my perfume forum pointed out an enterprising eBay seller playing to a very niche audience: Knitters Who Like it With the Lights Off. Oh. My. Gawd. If I weren't at work right now I'd be rolling in the aisles. If my apartment had aisles.

Have a good weekend, y'all! Mine is gonna be a l-o-n-g one. Maybe I'll finish up Cute Fuzzy Animal™ #3. Maybe even, I dunno, knit a little? Maybe? It's a mystery!

What Olympics?

2006-02-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

So OK. I didn't join the Knitting Olympics. I just figured we wouldn't be watching it as much as we have. Also, the Knitting Love, she can be fleeting.

So what am I in to now? As per my completely-not-followed-up post from (gah!) over three weeks ago... needle felting! I found an adorable and mostly-understandable booklet in the local Japanese SuperAmazing Bookstore that Mariko of Super Eggplant fame frequents (not a stalker.... yet). I'll have to scan some pictures to post later (I promise... might be in March, but I promise!).

So here's what I've done so far (sorry for the blurry pics):

Faceless Kitty

Faceless Kitty Face -- Am I weird that I kind of like her this way?

Ack! My eye! Crafty Swap Bunny in Progress

... and finished. Almost... Disneyesque with The Cuteness.

Profile. She had a bit of a lean and a smirk at first. I got most of it worked out.

Full Body Shot

What I've learned so far: stabbing small cute fluffy blobs into small cute fluffy animals with barbed needles is very theraputic. Also, a thick foam base upon which to do said stabbing is not optional for me, it is mandatory... a fact to which my perforated left hand will attest. Yeouch. I got my two extra plush foamy stabbing surfaces and a really generous amount of off-white roving from Gnome Sweet Gnome. Excellent customer service, and very speedy shipping. I'm definitely going to be ordering more roving to fill up my stash.

I've got one more Cute Fuzzy Animal ™ in the works, and then I want to try something bizarre like a funky sculpted hat. All of the other LYS's have told me to go here for all my felty needs. What I can't get from Gnome Sweet Gnome (namely the multi needle felting tool that makes creating large swatches of felted fabric easier and less RSIer), I hope to find here. Two buses stop right in front of it! Kismet!

Gaaak, The Cuteness!

2006-01-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

(I'll have to scan and post this tonight.)

Two words, y'all: felted hedgehog.

I though maybe crochet was going to be what divided my love for knitting. But nooo... it might just be stabbing fluffy blobs with a barbed needle. We shall see.

If only I could read Japanese...

Not a Whipper Snapper Anymore (but I can still dress like one!)

2006-01-15T23:32:00.000-08:00

Hells yeah.

I don't even know who "iowa chicks knitting" is (though I just found out, and I can join! Holy Moly!) but my best friend and her hubby found this for me just in time for my 30th birthday.

Too frickin' awesome. And so very indicative of my level of knit geekdom. Love you guys!

I've been spending the last five days with my family, who traveled from Chicago and San Antonio to spend this lovely January weather with us because they obviously love us beyond all reason. DarkityMa is knock 'em dead adorable in all her chemo caps and wrapped up in the Charlotte's Web Shawl. I just wanna hug her 'til she squeaks.

Knitting to resume once the dust settles in a few more days.

Downhill

2006-01-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

Let the hate flow through you...
(Alternate caption:
I wish I had been the victim of a Jedi Mind Trick)

I got to work late because not only do Lace Patterns Hate Me, but Lace Weight Yarn does as well.

In fact, it hates me so much that it would rather - in a fit of disgust at my prideful, show-offy display of KiPping (Knit in Public) - jump out of my coat pocket as I'm getting on the bus than stay with me like good, obedient yarn. It would rather roll downhill in the wind and drizzle between indifferent commuters' legs all the way down to the Max rails almost fifty yards away.

And of course I wouldn't know about said AWOL fiber until the bus driver brings it to my attention as I am about to sit down in my usual seat. Then I would have to run out of the bus, hands scrambling to gather up the nearly-invisible rouge yarn, wind a sloppy ball as I dart between those stupidhead indifferent (though now chuckling) commuters' legs and wait for the Red Line to MOVE IT ALREADY because the end of my ball is under its metal wheels. And I would have to watch the bus driver give up on me and drive away.

Finally, I would have to dart onto the next available bus to get away from the amused glances of those Witnesses to My Heaping Serving of Humble Pie so that I can sulk in the seclusion of a different stop, bag full of damp, tangled lace weight -- sad and diminished, like my ego.

I strongly suspect that this shawl won't be done in time for tomorrow.

Out with the old... No, seriously!

2006-01-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

First off, I owe Bliss a huge hello! Hi! I had suspicions that you were you, but didn't pursue them. Sorry I haven't written back yet. Life's been crazy, but that's no excuse. I've just been lazy.

Onwards, lest I get kicked out of the ring (if I haven't already... do you know if and when that happens? Or is it a stealth kicking-off?)

I'm.... still working on the DarkityMa Shawl. But! I'm finally to the lace edging. As I was preparing to do this (The Lace Edging of DOOM, that is) I had the unsettling realization that I misread Mme. Zimmermann's instructions and had knit not a half circle + a bit of a shawl, but a full circle + some fiddly bits! Argh! But will I, Ms. Perfectionist (where's the sarcasm smiley when you need it?), go all the way back to the beginning and start over? Oh HECK no. DarkityMa is getting a voluminous Pi Are Square And Then Some Shawl whether she likes it or now.

Only question now is if I'll be able to get it to her by the time the Darkity'Rents get here on Wednesday.

That's right. This Wednesday. I'm going to shed my usual optimistic skin and predict that indeed, NO, she won't. There's no frakking way this lace is getting done by then. Not with my unintentional "enhancement" to the stitch count. Uh uh. But I'll still try. Dangit.

At least I didn't knit the DarkityBro another hat/yarmulke. Us Darkities have Noggins of Unusal Size. We got him a Trader Joe's gift certificate instead. Nothing says "I love you specifically this (insert dollar amount here) much" like a good old fashioned GC. He's also getting a shopping spree at Food Fight. We can't take the family out for dim sum without arming him with at least a few "get-by" vegan goodies, after all.

So... on with the lace! Then after this, it's all new projects for Ought Six!

Slog

2005-12-14T15:27:00.000-08:00

Work has been so deadly dull lately. Unfortunately, it's still considered pretty poor work etiquette to just whip out the knitting even if there is not much else to do. So I'm refraining from continuing my snail's pace work on the DarkityMa Shawl at work.

Other than that, recent knitting news only contains the catnip mouse I just made to finish off a care package, and the afghan squares I have yet to knit for a charity to which I promised to contribute over a month ago.

My big stumbling block on the squares is a pretty stupid one: I don't have any superwash/acrylic yarn in worsted weight and in the right color!! I've had about two opportunities to purchase said yarn but diverted myself with other crafty plunder.

It's a shameful mix of yarn snobbery/procrastination that seems to have slogged me on this well intentioned project.

So. Not much to report here. The sudden realization that we are flying Back East for the Grande Holiday Tour in less than two weeks has finally sunk in and we're getting panicky. We've promised all the family-types that gifts aren't happening because of various emergency expenditures that have happened to all of us over the last year... but there's still at least three kids to consider (or, as many as seven if we include friends' offspring).

Since when did the Toys 'R Us become such a frightening and confusing place? I know I'm a lot larger than I was when it was a fantasy land of magic and pure happiness; however, the absolute soul draining, cart jamming, parent frazzling experience we had this past weekend trying to find anything that might be deemed "not sucky" by our nieces and our friend's 15-month-old.

After about an hour of wandering around fruitlessly and two voicemail messages to Those in the Know, we left empty handed. We're going back again tonight, armed with new knowledge--like what our eldest niece wants in a Leapfrog setup, and the fact the T'RU is open 'til midnight. Hopefully a late night raid will yield better results.

Never thought I'd ever, ever in a million years say this, but. I hate shopping.

Stalling... productively.

2005-12-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

The shawl, she crawls. In the meantime, more FOs!

Shedir from Knitty's Breast Cancer Awareness issue.

Detail of the top, junky purl panels and all.
DarkityMa has taken to wearing it all the time at home (they sent pics, but I can't seem to pull the photo off of my email) as it is the most snug cap and can stay on her little bald head comfortably. She looks adorable, though a bit thin from what she's been through. She had her last chemo session last week and goes in for a blood test tomorrow to check on her levels. So far this has been the least nauseating session yet. Cross your fingers for her!

Lampades Doll
I also did a little doll for a BPAL monster swap. This one is based on one of the five favorite perfumes of my swapee. I picked "Lampades" which are torch bearing evil nymphs. The pattern is based on the Joan Jett doll in Stitch 'n Bitch Nation with a few modifications in the shoulders and head to make her more creepy.

flame detail and profile

I'm also in the s-l-o-w process of unraveling a funky cashmere sweater I found at the Goodwill. It's a short sleeved, mock-turtle-semi-cowl necked thing that makes absolutely no sense. Wish me luck!

Calmer, Indeed

2005-11-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

I've lurked knitblogs for a while. There's a lot of zeitgeist knitting going on out there. I'm not a non-conformist, but it took me a while to come around on a lot of "trends" (see also: Charlotte's Web Shawl). This was partly because I was trying to get my skills to catch up with y'all, and partly because I'm a cheap bastard and my last few yarn substitution experiments were duds (see also: The Knit Stitch Accidental Einstein "Vest" and "The Kepler that Almost Kould").

Well today, about a year and a half late, I'd like to let you know I'm One Step Closer to Audreyphilia.

I started on DarkityMa's second chemo cap last night. It's the Shedir pattern from the special Breast Cancer Awareness issue of Knitty that Elle (no blog, but she's on blogger, hi!) pointed out to me a while ago. I'm knitting it in a soft pink shade of Rowan's Calmer and OMIGODYES. It is the most lovely yarn evah.

I'm having minor splitting issues, but that's probably because I'm trying to cable without a cable needle and I went down to size 2 Addi Turbos... so I'm poking my stitches this way and that way with little metal spears.

Seriously? When I win the lottery (which follows "when I actually buy a lottery ticket") I'll be splurging on enough Calmer to finally make Audrey so that I can patpatpat my tummy on not-so-good days.

Next up: learning how to TXT MSG people on my cellphone. (Why is everybody hatin' on the vowels?)

I'm present...

2005-11-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

... but not really here.

Y'all have read about my mother and her ongoing struggle with breast cancer. Add on top of that worry the recent MIL house fire. What I didn't mention in my last post is that she (MIL) is an obsessive compulsive hoarder. We felt it necessary to make an emergency trip Back East to help her through all the changes happening in her life.

Long story short: a lot of work got done, a lot more is left to do, but the MIL seems to be handling it all pretty well.

I'm in the interminable part of the PiAreSquare Shawl for my own mother. Currently I'm averaging about 30-45 minutes per row. I'm not freakishly fast with the knitting, but I can usually garter stitch at a pretty good clip, so that's... a ginormous number of stitches on my needles at the moment.

At this current rate, I'm guesstimating I'll be done with the shawl just in time for my parents' visit here in mid-January. Right now I've got about 40-ish garter bumps (or 80 rows) until the shawl body is done, then picking up stitches (how the heck am I gonna do this?) for the edges, and the 16 rows (times a kazillion zillion stitches) of lace to finish it up.

I have a few other side projects in the works, but I really, really want to get through the shawl o doom first.

Having said all that... no update pics to post as it'll just be more o' the same purple/fuscia/greenish blobby what-the-heck-is-that-thing. I'm trying to stay positive about the project. My usual MO is to ultimately curse the snot out of whatever it is on which I am working at the moment, but this is a special project for a special lady, and I don't want her to pick up on the HATE with which I usually imbue my work.

One row forward, two rows back.

2005-11-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

D'Oh!

Picture, if you will, the triumphant smirk I smirked whilst knitting the last row on the main part of my DarkityMa Shawl. It was Billy Idoleque in smirkitude. Downright athletic.

I had my lace pattern all set for contemplation in it's little plastic sleeve.

I was warm and content in my smirking.

Sure, the shawl seemed a little short. I figured the lace edging and aggressive blocking would set it to rights.

Then, just for sh*ts and gr*ns, I read back over my instructions.

Hold up.

A fourth increase row?! Followed by up to forty eight garter bumps (smug brain churns painfully to do the math... That means ~~eighty~~ ninety six rows (see, still can't do the maths)!)?!?!?! And a ka-zillion-zillion stitches?!?!

!!!

Yeah, that smirk dropped right off.

Ah well. This will give me plenty to StupidKnit on the plane back to NC, during any freetime I can snag during the excavation process, and whenever I need to cool down before having a temper 'splosion.*

DarkityMa finally got her purple 'shroom chemo cap ('cause I finally sent it). She looks friggin' adorable in it. Still too thin, though. Hopefully a warmer noggin will give her the strength to eat back up to her pre-chemo weight.

Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to go and reset my progress meter. Dag nabbit.

*-for those not following along in my LiveJournal: the MIL had a small fire in her house. She's OK, but we have been enlisted to help clear out her valuables in preparation of the (re)construction crew. Long story short: she's in a place mentally that will only allow certain people to go through her many, many, many things. We are her only help.

Sweater Weather

2005-11-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

... back at the ranch

When last we left our heroine, she had bravely ripped back four whole stripes to reknit a slightly tighter right hand on the last armwarmer.

Said armwarmer is finally done, and both are currently drying so that they can be sent to MommaSquared.

Also:

So is the brown chocolate flavored?

I knit this candy corn cat toy for a BPAL Halloween package exchange. It took me so long to get my stuff together that I ended up sending a Dia de los Muertos package.

And finally:

Imagine this times, like, a thousand.

The DarkityMa PiAreSquare Shawl. I'm almost done with the main part (I think I'm about eight rows away) but I'm also to the point where I have 400+ stitches on my needles right now.

I'm planning on doing the fancy lace edge from E.Zimmermann's book as well, so that'll probably take another couple weeks. Me+Lace Knitting=true StitchNBitch.

Eureka!

2005-10-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

In what could be called a second a HA moment, but in all actuality is probably closer to a DER moment, I suddenly realized that since it is the wrist and hand shaping that was affected the most by my sudden change in gauge, all I needed to do was rip back four stripes and reknit the offending portion.

I'm already back up to the thumb hole, and in a quick side-by-side comparison, both arm warmers are equally snug. At this rate I'll be done by tomorrow!

I R SMRT!

Post-Mortem

2005-10-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

So here's the dirty details. My not-quite-matched arm warmers. I'm posting these as a record but also MommaSquared will be checking out the damage to let me know how she feels about it. I want these to be perfect for her, so better to fix anything now than later.

Twins. Fraternal twins.

Side by side blurry, dark comparison of the two palms. The difference in gauge can really be felt in the wrist and palm. The arms are pretty much the same. I just ah HAed all over the hands.

Action shot with cat.

A little asymmetry.

The Billy Idol.

So there it is. I'll wear them for a couple hours again tonight and see if I still want to knit a third. Upside is, they're gonna smell nice from all the BPAL I'm testing out right now.

Taking the High Road

2005-10-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Pics tonight. The arm warmers are of a different size. Just slightly, but after wearing them for about an hour last night (while taking weirdly angled pictures) I can definitely tell a difference.

This would not be a problem if they were just for me. But I want them to be (closer to) perfect for MommaSquared. So, perfect they shall be. I'm knitting a third.

Gotta go cry in a corner somewhere for a bit.

But I will not get my hate on for this project (like I usually do, see also "The Bitch" AKA Gigi sweater). This project gets nothing but positive, productive, happy shiny vibes.

I'm not sure if the knitter's psychic state is really all that influential to the end product, but I'm not testing that theory on someone else's armwarmers. Nosiree.

So. Ommmmmm. Ommmm. S'all good.

Evolution

2005-10-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

The Coast, The Wine, The Tension!
I read a coming of age book back in elementary school about a girl who played the violin. She was also named Minna which just struck me as absolute fate at the time, since I was trying to learn the violin as well.

Her big "a HA" moment was when she finally learned how to do vibrato (that sort of waggly thing real string players do with their non-bow hand to make their instruments warble) and as an additional bonus, got the boy (I believe he was a cello player).

I never could master that particular technique, but I do have an enduring swooning fascination with cello playing boys.

I think I hit my a HA moment with my knitting: ever since I re-re-taught myself how to knit with Knitting for Dummies I'd been knitting Continental style by carrying the working yarn in my left hand. It's more comfortable, but also much looser than carrying the working yarn in my right hand. Often I have to go down two or even three needle sizes to get gauge.

While working on the DarkityMa shawl I noticed that my garter stitch suddenly got really tight. Somehow my left hand has finally figured out to provide decent tension on the working yarn.

Only problem is I just finished the second striped arm warmer and, well, it's a different size than the first one.

After I finish weaving in the many, many, many ends I'll check these guys again to see if the difference is just too obvious... best case scenario I'll suggest the loose arm warmer go on the dominant hand. Worst case scenario? Guess I'll be knitting a third arm warmer.

One Down...

2005-10-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday

Sleeves, socks, gloves... why is it that the first of a pair of knitted things goes by lickety-split, but the second one always takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r?

I started working on the MommaSquared Armwarmers Saturday night after spending the day yarn/art supply shopping, and having a good Meet 'n' Sniff with the local BPALers (though my right index finger did smell of Gluttony for the rest of the evening. Bleah.). Granted, I got "into the groove" and probably cranked on this sucker for a couple-three hours, but still, it seems like pretty fast progress.

Sunday

The next day we be-bopped around town for a bit. I got my unfashionable shoes rejected by the local hipster thrift store and we caught MirrorMask at the one place in all of Oregon where it is showing. When we got home I put on my audio CD of Bruce Campbell's Make Love!* (*the Bruce Campbell Way) and cranked up to the thumb hole.

Monday, so far, and Yikes!

So far tonight I've finished up the thumb and am faced with this unfortunate mass of dangly bits. The intended arm warmer wearer (MommaSquared) will soon have two inquisitive, grabby infants so I want to make sure that all the ends are neatly worked in and un-pick-out-able. She left the color choices up to me, so I hope she likes it! It has gotten The Mr's stamp of approval, and now that he has stopped wearing dyed jean shorts, I'm more inclined to trust his fashion sense.

Toil for Oil

2005-10-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

I don't obsess about much.

I've got the same dresses I wore in college ten years ago in heavy rotation, my shoes are ridiculously sensible, and I'm lucky if I put on a little lip gloss in the morning. I check graphic novels out at the library and rent movies and we recycle all our magazines eventually (except for the cooking ones). I have very little "appointment television viewing" and hate waiting in lines for movies/concerts/lectures/events.

I guess I'm just not willing to extend myself beyond my basic creature comforts for most things out there.

Of course there's a "but".

I do knit. Like some storybook heroine that might lose her stunning beauty/be tortured/get married to the local land baron's cretinous, drooling first born son/dishonor her family ancestors if she doesn't sweatshop out a hat or two every night. There are stacks of patterns and stash yarn wide and deep enough to keep me busy well into my midlife crisis.

I stare at people on the bus who are wearing scarves. They shift uncomfortably as I try to ascertain the geneses of their accessories. So far I haven't asked if I could touch them too. Yet.

I've re-started the same sweater five times (version three or four was all the way up to armhole shaping when I decided to rip back) because it didn't feel quite right.

Somewhere between year two and year three of my knitting, I made the switch from product oriented knitting to process focused... it's the only way I can explain the near OCD frogging, re-frogging, re-re-frogging of "good enough" work and growing desire to tinker with existing patterns or chuck it all and do it my own gosh darned way.

And now I'm venturing into knitting for (almost) complete strangers. For barter! It's exciting (more knitted things, yay!) and nervewracking (what if I'm not good enogh?).

I'm making a few wintery accessories for fellow BPALers in exchange for more perfume oil blends. I guess that's really just justifying the cultivation of one obsession in order to cultivate another.

I don't obsess about much. But when two of my "worlds" collide like this? Pure heaven. It's taking all I have to keep from diving right in to sketch up patterns and play with colors while I should be doing work things.

Luckily my short list of obsessions does not include "climb the corporate ladder".

Klumsy Kepler Komplete!

2005-10-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

Blocking, Again, Once More

Huzzah! Kepler is finally done. I am, on the whole, very satisfied with this project. My gut was telling me all kinds of nasty, bad things. Normally, it's right, but this came out just good enough that I am NOT ripping it all the frakking way back and starting over. BUT. If I were a komplete perfectionist, I would re-knit Kepler on slightly smaller needles and in the next size up. If.

Things I did differently (besides going with a wonky yarn):
-shortened torso and sleeves to arm hole shaping for my proportions (3/4 sleeves are ok, but I like "Bermuda" length)
-mattress seamed the side seams instead of backstitch. Not sure why I did this as the backstitch would have probably lent more structure to the seams. I think it was vanity. This yarn makes a very pretty swath of stockinette! Luckily I think the pretty pretty seams as they are will be enough "backbone" to keep the sweater from drooping to my knees. Only time will tell.
-final blocking ignored in lieu of impatient photoshoot. I might get around to the final blocking eventually. More likely I'll block the first time I really wash this sucker. I'm a make/buy today, wear the same night kinda gal.

Drum roll please...

Spot the mandatory imbedded cat hair and win a prize!*

It wasn't until I took this picture that I realized I had put the sweater on backwards.

Pose: courtesy of NotHavingaTripod. Expression: courtesy of SpousalGentleMockeryatKnittingObsession

Even with less-than-ideal yarn (which is fabulous, just not perfect for Kepler!), this is a great go-anywhere sweater. I'm definitely making another one.

*Prize=Smug satisfaction at being a neater knitter than I.

Proof of Life

2005-10-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

Giant Fuzzy Mushroom Goodness

Chemo Cap One is completed. I followed the free Berroco pattern (link in sidebar) and used the recommended yarn and needles and everything. It ended up a bit large, but my family tends to be big-headed. That's "big". With a "B", OK? The Mr. likes to call it GiantEggBrain Syndrome. We're like those guys from the first Star Trek episode. But our forehead veins only pulse when we're angry.

I'd like to make her some more, more interesting caps to wear throughout the winter. Any ideas? I'll post links as I find them.

The "C" Word

2005-10-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Plum Blossom

While this is supposed to be just a knitting blog, the Outside World inevitably is gonna seep through that thin virtual membrane.

Cancer is a lurking threat in both my and my husband's families. My mother had breast cancer twenty three years ago. She survived treatment and remained cancer free for eighteen years. Then five years ago small tumors showed up on her annual exam. Those were also removed and she has been on Tamoxifen ever since.

Two months ago, they discovered a new lump. She has since undergone a second mastectomy and has tested clear for any cancer in her lymph nodes. Since this has been determined to be a new cancer that is resistant to her current drug therapy, she started chemotherapy last week.

She will continue treatment through November. So far her appetite has been effected the most. She will lose her hair. I think it is the thought of her losing all that thick, beautiful hair again that has me the most devasted.

They have asked that my brother and I stay away for now as she and Dad work out how to live between treatments. To keep from going insane The Mr. and I have been planning small care packages for her. Things to help encourage her appetite. Things to give her comfort. Things to make us feel like we're doing something for her.

I've started on a chemo cap (Berroco's free pattern) and will be knitting E. Zimmerman's Pi shawl once I get my hands on the pattern. I'm not exactly sure when she'll start losing her hair, but I want her to be able to surround herself with warm woolie things from me since I can't be there. It is starting to get cooler now, even in Texas.

I don't think I was really totally aware of what was happening to my mother, to my father, to our extended family twenty three years ago (heck, I was seven). The stone-cold reality of it all is still only now starting to sink in. My mother is a strong woman, and I know that Dad will take good care of her during this tenuous time. Still, she will probably have to be the rock to which the rest of us cling. I just wish I could do more than fret and knit and make lists.

Interim Hat

2005-09-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Kepler Kontinues, slowly.

In the meantime, I whipped up a quick Lil' Devil Baby Hat (from Kittyville) for a friend's child (BabyB turns one this Sunday). Not sure if this is a one year old sized hat, but she'll grow into it if not. Also both her parents have ginormous heads.

I don't have a baby head shaped sphere upon which to model the hat, so I propped it up on the desk lamp. This happens to be Junebug's favorite FreakOutCat spot. So she, you guessed it, freaked out. This picture was taken right before she went all badda-bidda-badda-bidda on the lampshade.

Murphy's Law

2005-09-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

Paragraph Four, Line 5 clearly states:

"Whinging about package delivery times will immediately evoke aforementioned tardy package, thus depositing metaphorical egg on face".

Witness:

Shimmer in Stained Glass and Alpaca Cloud in Midnight

detail of midnight

Oh. Sooo. Soooooft. I can almost forgive the waiting. Hold on (pet pet pet). Yeah. All is forgiven.

The Hardest Part

2005-09-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Rock Chick says it more succintly, but Great Golly O'Molly! It takes a wee bit longer than the prophesized "3-5 days" for a KnitPicks delivery to make it here. I've heard wonderful things about the alpaca/silk blend "store brand" yarn of theirs... here's hoping it's worth it.

On the upside, I'm still waiting for the E. Zimmerman book (Knitting Around? Something like that.) so I'd still be spinning my wheels even if the yarn had arrived in a timely fashion.

I know, I know, "you get what you paid for" and "beggars can't be choosers". But if someone says "3-5 days". Well. Who would have thought that I still had such an optomistic streak in my crusty ol' body.

I could be working on Kepler, I know. But. Well. I'm just having lots of second thoughts about the drapeyness of the yarn I'm using. I've learned enough about myself to know that if I'm having these kinds of second thoughts not even halfway through the project, the end result is most likely going to be hanks of kinky, freshly frogged yarn being jammed hastily into the back of a yarn bin.

Harumph.

Yes, I'm one of those kind of knitters.

2005-09-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

Like frat houses and backwards baseball caps, patchouli and VW buses, or flip flops and anyone in Portland, there seems to be a direct correlation between knitters and cats.

I'm no exception.

So as I continue to toil away on Kepler v 1.5 (I've finished the back and am staring with purpose/anguish at the sleeve cable bands) here's a brief introduction to the hairier members of my little family:

Xena, warrior princess
Xena was found on the side of the road five years ago. The Mr.'s co-worker brought her in after not being able to find anyone to claim her in his neighborhood. She was a month old white fluff ball and neither of us could turn her away. I don't know what happened during her month on the streets, but she's the shy, skittish, stranger-averse one of our two "kids". She gets the name more for her beautiful blue eyes than any ululating chutzpah.

Junebug, the dogcat
Junebug came into our home as a companion for Xena. We'd go to work and Xena would be huddled on the back of the couch facing the front door with her huge eyes ("as big as bells" as Mr. Eitzel would say) and we'd come home to find her in exactly the same spot, as if she was afraid we weren't coming back.

Our local free paper has a "free pets" section. We got in touch with a couple that lived out in the sticks in a trailer with the mama cat, her adolescent daughter from a previous litter, her current litter of five kittens, a wolf-looking dog, and a guinea pig. The lastest litter were delivered in one of the women's dresser drawer, and Junebug was the calmest of the bunch. She also apparently had a fetish for sleeping in the women's hair. Cute when she was a kitten. Maybe not so much now that she's a twelve pounder. We call it the "where's the nipple?" game.

Due to her instant socialization with all the menagerie in that trailer, Junebug is fearless, inquisitive, and downright agressive when it comes to getting fed. She used to play fetch until she realized it was unbecoming.

She and Xena were our first pets ever, so they trained us more than we trained them. Thus my knitting must be carefully monitored and stored for fear of meeing up with Mr. Klaw:

Oh no you DI-INT come at me with one of them clipper thingies!

Survey says...

2005-09-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

AAAAAARGN

A little visual proof that at one point there were sleeves... lopsided monkey-a** looking cable bands and all... but there they were. I usually am not so meticulous as to block as I go along Pausing to do this let my misgivings catch up with me, which I guess will be a good thing. Given time and distance. I can't call all of my projects "little bitch", right?

So it's gone save for the cable bands and about 75% of the front body. Right now the knitting is marinating in it's itty bitty plastic bin of Time Out while I finish reading Foucault's Pendulum.

Because I'd rather try to translate Latin/Italian/German/Hebrew/academic ululations than face my Kepler at the moment.

She's just gotta be free!

2005-08-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

Cast off the shackles of domestic bondage!
Join in the feline nudist revolution!

In preparing our cats, Xena and Junebug, for the cross-country flight, we outfitted them with collars. Yes, we're bad CatParents, we let our kids grow up as nudists. They're indoor only cats, so we just kept their vaccination tags on file. There was a brief period of time in which collars were used, but they quickly trained us against them.

So, I think it probably took a little wrangling around an empty house to get 1)the collars on and 2)cats into their carriers (I can't recall completely as my mind has blissfully blacked out the gorier details, though there are scars... ) but they were collared and carriered, and made it after 20 hours (!) of travelling to Portland.

Almost immediately after being set free in our new apartment, Xena shed herself of her annoying collar. For whatever reason Junebug didn't seem to mind too terribly much. So she's kept it on for the last two months or so.

Until this morning.

Her collar is in such a state of disrepair (though in a certain light, and a certain angle, it does look a little Fun Furish) we were concerned she'd start getting snagged on things. So I freed her. No more warning jingle before being attacked in the middle of the night by Kneady McBladderstomper. No more aural clues that she Might Be Up to Something. We'll just have to rough it.

And I'm following suit. My Kepler is turning out... not quite right. The cable bands have a thicker "bead" of slipped stitches on one side than the other. While Logic would dictate that the thicker band be used at the terminal end of the sleeves and body, my backwards wired brain thought "You know, this yarn is a wee bit too thin for the pattern, maybe I should pick up stitches from the thicker side to hide the weird little gaps in the first few rows of stockinette" because I'M STUPID. So. Two sleeves and half of the front later, I'm frogging back to the cable bands.

Because it ain't a SnarkySweater unless I've knit it at least three times.

Gah!

Until I can muster up enough courage (and vino) to do the ripping, I remain nude and free. It's only natural, baby.

Ketchup

2005-08-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

In the interest of avoiding tear-induced boredom while I am vacationing on Sleeve Island, here's an update of my (paltry) summer knits. Like a lot of you out there, I was hit hard by the Summer Knitting Blahs, so my FO list for 2005 is a short one.

The Bitch

Pattern: Bonne Marie's Gigi
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, MC=Candied Apple, CC=Caramel (I couldn't resist!)

Technically, this is a Fall/Winter Ought Four project. Technically, it was also an easy project. But in My Little Knitting Universe, cotton just happens to be my Kryptonite. Even a lovely blend like Cotton Fleece had me crying for my mamma. Add to my ongoing gauge woes (resulting in me knitting right handed rather than my usual leftie stylee) my sudden need to make tubular cast ons and cast offs in 1x1 ribbing and size 2 and 3 (!) needles... and Gigi quickly became known as "The Bitch".

I knit this sweater five times before getting it right.

Bitch.

But now I love her.

It's always the quiet ones, I tell ya!

Tubular cast on hem in 1x1 ribbing

Tubular bound off edge in 1x1 ribbing

The I'm Moving to Portland! Shawl,
Take Two

Pattern: Charlotte's Web Shawl, Koigu
Yarn: Koigu's Premium Painter's Pallette Merino (KPPPM) in various purty colorways.

Both pattern and yarn purchased at my old LYS Yarn Paradise

This was my second take on the shawl. The first one went to my friend/real estate guru SuperAwesomeNatureLady AKA "C". She helped me to sell our house back in Asheville FSBO, and AS IS. AS fracking IS. So I knit her a "Thank you, you kick ass!" shawl and included little silver letter block beads in the crochet border that spelled, you guessed it: "A-S I-S" etc. etc.

I loved hers so much I knit one for myself. This is a great pattern for keeping you occupied enough to not worry (too much) about selling a house, moving across country, and finding a job, while being easy enough to also allow you to watch things like "Queens of Comedy" uncut at one o'clock in the morning (while sitting on an old futon in an abandoned house with nothing but a teeny tiny TV and a box of Special K Red Berries).

Take Two lounging after over an hour of futzing

The Glamorous I-Can't-See-Any-Details-You-Twit Shot

That's more like it...

The Manos of Fate

Pattern: Glampyre's One Skein Wonder.
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay kettled dyed heavy worsted weight yarngasm in reds/purples/blues, purchased at my other LYS Earth Guild.

I bought the yarn on a whim February of Ought Three (I think, it was snowing) because... well it's Manos. For the next two years I'd take out the skein, rub it against my body in suggestive ways, and put it back in my yarn cabinet. I didn't want to make another scarf or hat or something out of this, I wanted to make something special. Then Glampyre came up with this super fantastic pattern and you could almost hear the stars clicking into place.

Eet ees to swoooon...

So that's it. It seems the more experienced I become at this craft, the s-l-o-w-e-r it's getting. The result is fewer projects, but I think I love them a little more as well.

Eh?

2005-08-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Made my first post on the Kepler-a-long blog (link in sidebar). Der. I'm a dork. I dork that cannot write. There's a fine line that is struck between being friendly and helpful and being just plain creepy when you're dealing with complete strangers... and I'm a weak ankled trapeze-trainee windmilling for my frilly pink umbrella all over the subtle difference.

Or, conversely, maybe not.

After more than two years of lurking all over the web, zipping form knit blog to KAL to Knitty.com to whatever else would feed my new knitting need, I'm finally trying to give back to the community that has inspired me so much and I find myself... at a loss for words. Or at least the appropriate ones.

Sigh.

It's a lot harder than it looks.

In the meantime, whilst I endeavor to "find my voice", I'm slowly reacquainting myself with all things webby. I'll be updating my links in the sidebar to other people who knit and write so much better than I. They are the ones that inspired me to do this. So, in effect, you can blame them. But they're all way too cute and witty and talented for scorn. Darn it.

A Brand New Ewe

2005-08-22T17:58:00.000-07:00

Oh dear. Bad punnage. This must mean seven more years of dropped stitches or something.

OK. Hello! Darkitysnark of LJ infamy. This is going to be my official kntting blog since the LJ blog is more a "keeping up with the Snarks" kind of deal.

I'm actually starting this sucker so that I can legitimately hitch onto the Kepler-a-Long that's getting started.

I've gotten the first hip band and sleeve band (the hip band was a sleeve band with an aversion to ending promptly) done and I think this is gonna be niiice. Off to re-tweak the new blog!