It's The Thought That Counts

....Right?

This is a tale about how my plans for Mother's Day socks went awry, with a cautionary note about a yarn shop I won't be patronizing any more.

At the beginning of April I decided to do a little online yarn shopping. Socks are quickly becoming a regular gift from me, and Mother's Day was far enough away that it was absolutely doable. Earlier this year I had purchased some yarn from kpixie.com, and they give out a coupon code when you register a new account that you get to use on your second purchase, so, that's where I decided to shop. They have a pretty well-designed website, and what appears at first glance to be a great selection of less standard sock yarns. But appearances can be deceiving.

I picked out a great yarn. It was called Mama Llama, which I've never used or even seen in person before, but it was for my mama, she loves llamas, so.. yeah. Plus it was washable and came in a really neat colorway. So I added the Panama Purple to my shopping cart. Then, well, if I'm going to pay for shipping I might as well order yarn for a few projects, right? So I picked out some nice manly yarn - Madeline Tosh Somewhat Solid (which I have used before and LOVE) in Graphite - and some TOFUtsies for a friend. I also added to the cart some size 2 dpns, because I recently broke one of my bamboo ones, and kpixie had the Swallow casein ones and I think I'd be much less likely to break one of those. I entered my coupon code and placed my order. It was April 8th.

The next day I got an email saying that they did not have 2 skeins left of the Madeline Tosh Graphite, just one. One skein of this yarn is enough for a pair of socks, but I know more than one man and I had been intending to make two pairs of socks. But I could still get a whole project out of the one skein, so I said fine, refund me for the other and send the order.

Then I waited. And waited. And checked my order status on their webpage obsessively. On April 21 it still said "Processing," so I found the email I had gotten from the girl at kpixie, and sent a query to that address trying to figure out what was going on. Another week went by with no response, so I went to their homepage and filled out a "Contact Us" form. The tone was slightly more heated, I confess, than the email had been. May 1st I got a response. It said:

"We dropped the ball with your order."

They had not shipped it yet. AND, they did not have ANY of the Mama Llama in stock. (I feel that there was probably plenty on April 8th.) They said they would refund me for that yarn as well as my shipping charge and would send the rest of the order that day, and they gave me another coupon code for my next order.

So, no Mama Llama for Mother's Day. And sure, everybody makes mistakes, sometimes orders get overlooked, and I know yarn shops are often run by creatively disorganized people. But only one of the three yarns I ordered were they able to provide in the full quantity. Plus, I mentioned I had shopped with them earlier this year - well, half of that order wound up being backordered, and I only found that out after the money had come out of my account.

I wrote them an email expressing my dissatisfaction with their shop. I felt it was not an overreaction. I was not terribly heated in my verbiage, but did suggest that they make a stronger attempt to keep their stock updated on their website, etc. I also mentioned that my gift intentions had been spoiled by their mistake. The response I got back was a brief apology and:

"We ship almost all orders in less than 24 hours. It is very rare for us to have a customer who is not pleased."

WHO CARES? *I* was not pleased.

I'm not saying that no one should shop at this store. You may do as you like. But do so with this word of caution - try not to have deadlines dependent on their timeliness.

Oh, and my order came yesterday. At least, what was left of it. And casein needles smell funny.


As for Mother's Day, my mom is actually going to be in town this weekend. I'll figure something out.

ShibuiKnits Midnight

Isn't this a gorgeous color??

Just wanted to share. (I bought it here.)

My Present

Lookit what my husband made for me!! He's got his crafty streak too.

Here it is folded flat for easy storage... Did you guess what it is?

A hand-made swift! Hooray! It's pretty fantastic. My husband must love me. I think he may be worth keeping around.

(Now if I only had a ball winder...)

By the way, curious about that skein being wound? I just got it. It's....


ShibuiKnits Sock in "Sand."

Now... I ordered this and received it about a week before reading this recent article at Knitters Review. I was a little surprised to read that ShibuiKnits is "just making its debut" and their yarns "will be making their way to a yarn store near you in the not-too-distant future" - since I already had 2 skeins of it in my hands. Then I discovered (in the same article) that the Knit Purl yarn shop, where I happened to have purchased the yarn online, was operated by the people behind this yarn. Who knew? I was just online buying sock yarn at a website where I have previously bought other sock yarn, and thought this ShibuiKnits looked pretty yummy. I hadn't heard of it before, but didn't realize it was 'exclusive.'

I do have to say, they have a lot more colorways listed this week than they had up 2 weeks ago...

New Friends

In the past two days I have had to good fortune to attend two separate social knitting functions. The first was a "knit-in" at the LYS, on Friday night, and the second was a Jaxknits meeting, yesterday afternoon. When I was in Jacksonville house hunting, I went to the same knit-in, but yesterday was my first opportunity to go to a stitch-n-bitch type function since moving here, and I really had a lot of fun - even if the cafe at Borders was currently closed and we had to swipe chairs and congregate in the middle of the self help section. Met some awesome and talented ladies (who had some very nice things to say about my hoodie-in-progress) and made some good headway on my project.

The Jaxknits ladies are contributing socks to the Socks for Children in Common charity project, making socks for kids living in orphanages in eastern Europe. The pattern can be found here, if anyone out there would like to participate!

My Two Cents On "The Sweater Curse"

Alternate Title:
I Married An Ape-Man!

What else am I supposed to think when the first completed Leo sleeve measures a solid 28 inches from end to end?? He's got to be at least one-eighth orangutan.

"Call me 'Pongo'."
(Sorry, that's a taxonomy joke.)

(So you don't become unduly frightened, I shall clarify that the sleeve is only 20" from wrist to armpit, but the sleeve cap bit is another 8 inches.)

The first of the mega sleeves is, as you can see, finished. I thought perhaps it would never end.

And now I fear the same might be true of the second. After two solid days of working on it, it is approximately 1/3 total length.

So as to this sweater curse business, which I mentioned in a recent post. First of all, my marriage is definitely not in jeopardy, but there is a little latent hostility floating around in regards to this sweater. Particularly, from his side, because it isn't finished yet; from my side, because I have ceased to enjoy working on it - which is why it isn't finished yet. It's a cyclical thing.

I have read many opinions on the sweater curse - whether it exists, is complete BS, what the possible explanations might be, testimonials of its dark power, etc. There is, in fact, a Wikipedia entry on it, which is well worth perusing. My favorite explanation can be found here - about the tendency of a knitter to pester and nag the recipient about the minutiae of sweater-knitting until the recipient realizes that the knitter is, in fact, a CrazyPerson. I had based my sweater-curse belief system around that theory, but now I'm beginning to have ideas of my own swirling around... I'm sure this does not apply in every case, but I believe it may be a viable hypothesis that I have not actually seen proposed before. Here goes.

A sweater is a large, involved, long-term type of project. And many men have - I won't say plain, and certainly not boring - but simple taste in sweaters. Which leads, in many cases, to a large, involved, long-term DULL and REPETITIVE project. For instance, while a very classic and attractive sweater, the Leo is pretty much continuous 5x3 ribbing, knit on size 3 and 4 needles. It gets a bit old.

This leads to a couple of things. First of all, a project like that ceases to be enjoyable around the time the first half of the body is done. The knitter's love for the recipient may carry the knitter through further, but the knitting itself is no longer interesting. After a while, even the color is unattractive. Disdain for the project starts to arise. Then, the knitter becomes tempted by other projects. A new issue of a knitting magazine comes out, and the knitter starts fantasizing about new patterns, with different, interesting features, like cables, or Fair Isle, or - well, not the same old ribbing. A friend's birthday is coming up, and the knitter "cheats" on the sweater to work on a scarf or pair of socks.

Then repercussions are felt in the relationship. The recipient sees the knitter casting on for other projects - possibly even "selfish" ones - while his sweater sits pitifully unfinished, and he is understandably hurt. Often the blame for the sweater-curse-breakup is placed on the recipient, but I believe that the knitter may start to transpose the negative feelings they hold toward the project onto the recipient himself. Likely without realizing they are doing so. The knitter feels oppressed by the project, and the recipient feels neglected when it is not finished in a timely manner. He starts making snide remarks about how it was supposed to be a Christmas present. She starts making excuses. Bitterness emerges. The relationship must be truly strong to survive something like this.

Of course, as far as my circumstances go, this is MASSIVE exaggeration. But I can see where it could happen. There will certainly be a huge wave of relief when it is done, though. Right now:

The rest of that sleeve, seaming the sleeves, and the neck. Ohhhh it sounds like a lot.

So I continue to knit. Leo, and nothing else until Leo is no more.

Grand Intentions

First of all:

I love it when a swatch measures up! Particularly when making yarn substitutions. And I don't think I could be more in love with the texture. Or the little color flecks - not just grey and white, but bright pink and lilac too.

However, there are more important things to be discussed - and goals to be set.

First and foremost:

I will not purchase any more yarn until April.

Not because I have a ridiculous number of UFOs or a years-old stash that needs cleaning out. No, it's because I've been on a yarn shopping spree over the last month or so, and have spend wayyy too much money and purchased for, well, enough projects to last me until the spring.

To keep me on task, I'm even going to set up a tentative timeline.
My dad's socks shall be finished this weekend.
Brendon's Leo shall be finished (and blocked!) by Feb. 9.
My Central Park hoodie shall be finished by Mar. 2. (My birthday. Remember my mom bought me the yarn for a birthday present? I mean to make good on my part of that deal.)
After that's done, the next couple of weeks will be put toward a pair of argyle socks for B, and then, the knitting bag! It would be higher up on the list, but, I want to be able to wear the hoodie a couple of times before it gets scorchingly hot in Florida.

Sounds like April to me. And if not, I also have some cotton for a couple of summertime tops. Perhaps I can even push the no-yarn-buying rule back to May... but I'm not prepared to commit to that.

Also, I resolve that I will not knit another selfish stitch until the Leo is done. It's getting to be a sore subject around my house, that it isn't done yet. (Sweater curse, I believe in your black magic. And I may have a post in store for you.)

I have lots of other things I'll have to tackle in the next couple of months, though, that have nothing to do with knitting. I have the move, a major job hunt, and the task of filling up twice the square footage of my previous home - furniture and decorations will need to be purchased. Also, I've been strongly considering getting an online masters degree in Library & Information Science, so I'll be investigating programs and financial aid opportunities. All of this, and adjusting to a brand new city BY MYSELF. (That's right, pretty much as soon as we show up in Florida, Brendon's going to be gone with his new ship for approximately a month. At least, probably. Still don't know for sure. The Navy likes to keep you guessing like that. I really don't appreciate it.)


Now that I've written all of this down and put it "out there" as it were, I'll have to really commit to it, right? And if you see me straying, mentioning that I'm longing to go hit the LYS (knit-ins don't count, alright?) or starting my sweater before Brendon's is stitched together, I want you to yell at me, okay?? Help me out.


**Edited to add - I almost forgot another commitment I need to make. I will be losing 15 lbs or so. I don't actually know how much of the weight I lost last year has been regained since living in RI, because I don't have a scale with me here. But 15 should be plenty for fitting (easily) back into all those new pairs of pants that I got when I'd lost the weight. New England does not promote healthy eating habits, I'm afraid. Florida does, though. Especially since you have to walk around all summer practically naked. I hear it's mandatory there.**

My Very Own

In less than two weeks, I will be living here.

So we may not be homeowners just yet, but we are moving up in the world: renting a real, actual house - no apartment, no townhouse, no condo, no duplex, but a REAL HOUSE, on a real cul-de-sac, with a yard and a deck and a garage and and and -

(And I will be purchasing some exercise equipment. Man, that's an unflattering picture.)

So, yes, the Jacksonville trip's mission was completed successfully. In addition, I made some new friends! Since finding a house went so smoothly, my mom and I had some extra time on our hands, and (since she's a knitter too) we were able to hit up the knit-in at KnitWitz, where I had the pleasure of spending a few hours knitting and chatting with several lovely ladies, including a couple of members of a knitting group that I'll be joining. I'm so excited!

We visited a second LYS as well, plus two bead stores, and then ANOTHER yarn/bead-store-in-one once we got back to RI. Many skeins and beads were purchased between us. Most of my loot was left at the Jax house - a strategic move on my part, to hopefully keep me focused on B's damned Leo sweater for the time being. (The sweater didn't go to FL with me; instead I had a pair of socks for my dad to work on, and they will most certainly be the subject of my next post.) I did bring one single ball of this back with me:

Have I mentioned I'm a sucker for pink? Purple, too. Girly colors, you know. I had picked out a nice neutral shade, a nice rich taupey color, but my mom talked me into the pink. This little guy (and his 11 brothers and sisters who were left in the Sunshine State) will be my new Central Park hoodie. My mom bought the yarn as a "birthday present" for me; my birthday is at the beginning of March, and it's not outside the realm of possibility that the sweater will be finished by then.

If so, I might even be able to wear it once or twice this year. Possibly not though - it hit 80 degrees while we were down there. Sheesh. I can't even imagine what July will be like. And then we came back to Newport and this business:

Seriously. B and I are here for a total of just under 3 months, and the ONE SINGLE morning with snow on the ground has to be the very same morning that B has his final written exam, and I have to drive my parents to the airport 20 miles away (in my truck with it's worn-out tires). Amazingly, no problems, but still - the audacity of the weather. Can you believe it?! Of all the nerve...

Looking Back

Feeling reflective on New Year's Day is probably considered a massive cliche, but really, who can help it? It's practically a cultural obligation.

Not much of the information from my college Classical history classes has really stuck with me, but one fascinating tidbit I remember is this: that the Ancient Greeks' concept of time was remarkably different from the way we think of time these days. We modern folks tend to imagine that we're moving forward through time, facing the future, with the past retreating behind us. Contrarily, in the Greek mind, the future comes from behind us while we stand facing the past. If you can manage to separate yourself from the way you're used to thinking of such things, the Greek idea actually makes a lot of sense. History is visible, the future is unseen.

Either way, time is a human fabrication, subjective and pretty much meaningless on a grand scale. But the Greek view works really well with the reflective mood of the New Year - who can say what '07 is going to bring? All I can do with certainty is to look back over what I've accomplished this year. With that in mind, and Dove's New Year's post as further inspiration, I bring you My 2006 Knitting Sum-Up.

Yarn-wise, well, it's been a pretty good year. Like Dove, and probably a lot of you out there, the year was full of firsts. I started knitting around the late summer of '05 after a couple years of being an occasional crocheter - so there was LOTS to learn in '06. First socks, first sweater, first cables, first intarsia, first trip to a LYS, first discovery of people like Debbie Stoller, Yarn Harlot, and the massive network of KnitBlogLand. Et cetera. Basically, 2006 was a journey from a beginner knitting rectangles back and forth, to an intermediate one not afraid of shaping or pattern jargon or intricate cables or anything else you might throw my way. Also, this year marked the birth of my blog. I'm having kind of a hard time reaching all the way back to my projects last winter, or really before I started tracking them on the blog, but as best I recall here's my big list of the year's completed projects (in no particular order):

• a couple of novelty yarn scarves, because that's how they suck you into learning to knit in the first place
• a handful of slightly more respectable scarves: 2 crocheted lacy ones, a knitted tubular one, and then the Ferrari scarf
• 2 knitted helmet liners for the Marines in Afghanistan
• 2 bags - a felted green monster for my mom and a little crocheted wristlet purse
  
• 5 hats
  
• 3 pairs of Fetching Convertible Mittens
• one amigurumi kitty baby toy
• one squid cat toy
• 3 completed sweaters - Kimono, Jolly Roger, and one beast of a thing that I wore once and likely never again
• one dog sweater
• 3 pairs of socks
• one headband

And I've seamed together the front and back of B's Leo. There are a few other UFO's that I may or may not pick up again. Out of everything, I am proudest of the Kimono Sweater, though each FO is an accomplishment. Looking back on my intended knitting, the list I posted in October, I feel pretty good about what I've done, even if not everything was finished on schedule. I'm a little disappointed not to have Leo finished yet, but... soon. Anything else on that list that remains undone was a conscious decision.

2007... Dare I attempt to predict the knitting future?

My project list is pretty short at the moment. After Leo's done, I have a handful of socks I've already bought/ordered yarn for, and I still really want to make myself a Central Park hoodie, and then my sari silk and felted wool project bag... That alone should get me pretty close to the spring. After that I foresee a lot of sleeveless tops and cotton yarn in my Floridian future. Next winter, possibly a couple more sweaters. All in all, the upcoming year's project plans are still pretty nebulous, for now.

Goals for '07 include more experimentation in colorwork and fancy cables, perhaps some more involved original pattern-composing, and hopefully delving into lace knitting.

That's it for reflections. Happy New Year to everyone, and good luck in your own knitting goals this year!

True Love

Today has been a lovely knitterly day, and Brendon gets just about all the credit.

I shall preface by saying that my eBay score of Recycled Sari Silk came today. Yay! Look how lovely!


An entire kilogram of the stuff for $30 - that's with shipping included. I definitely couldn't get that price anywhere but eBay. Rock. It is a little smelly... musty, I guess... it kind of reminds me of my grandma's house. B says it smells horrible but I don't really mind it. Particularly since I don't intend to wear the stuff, it's going towards my upcoming dream-bag project. The colors are completely unmatching, but that's to be expected. I haven't gotten my needles into it yet, but that will happen in the very near future, I can promise.

Brendon gets some thanks for this, since he let me buy it with his credit card (since I'm, you know, currently unemployed) and he drove me to the post office to pick it up. But that is only a mere fraction of his spousal selflessness today. You may remember this unfortunate photo:


After finding out that this happened amidst a gift for him, and that it happened because of his unannounced early arrival, he felt bad and decided he was going to replace them as a belated Christmas gift. So after he checked in with his Navy people this morning, he went over to the LYS all by himself to search for a pair. No luck there, but the owner told him where the next closest store was - a bigger store with larger inventory that I had not come across anywhere on the internet. Rather than think, "Hm, that might be dangerous for our household budget if she discovered that store," he came home and told me what he'd found out.

We went out for a late-ish breakfast, and then, since it was so close by the diner, we stopped at Michael's. I'd been thinking of getting some polymer clay to make and bake some buttons for the sari silk bag, so I took the opportunity to pick up a handful of squares of "Sculpey." The B&N is in the same strip as the Michael's and it was time for a new Car magazine, so we popped in. Of course I got distracted in the craft section - I've been wanting to make hubby a pair of argyle socks - and I came out with Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 3: Color Knitting. What a beautiful book. Again, paid for out of B's bank account.

And then, THEN, as if this was not enough, he was kind enough (or bored enough - nothing else planned today, after all) to agree to seek out the new yarn store. Which was easily found, and awesome. A super helpful woman was working there, she had a great selection... I touched and caressed and sniffed many many lovely yarns. I even picked up an angora blend that truly smelled like rabbits. (I had a roommate with bunnies in college, I know what rabbits smell like. Mostly like cedar shavings.)

I got a skein of hand dyed superwash J. Knits sock yarn for a new secret project, AND I got my new rosewoods! Reynolds brand, size 6. LOVE 'em. They are beauties. Here's the sum total of the day's treasures:


You know, B teases me all the time about my hobby/obsession, but in the end he goes far beyond what would be expected of any average man to support my knitting addiction. Not just with his money, or time, or willingness to be embarrassed at being seen in a yarn store - he doesn't just humor me, but actually seems to take interest. He is starting to learn to identify garter vs. stockinette stitch even in storebought items, I believe he knows the difference between Fair Isle and Intarsia, he understands the process behind cables. He recognizes and can translate many of the acronyms. He'll take pictures of me holding or wearing yarn with no questions asked. He likes to go to my blog's counter to see where the hits are coming from. He even knows several of the blogs I read regularly, if not by bloggers' first names, then by a nickname or notable project or featured pet. What more could I ask for?

He does, on occasion, benefit from my knitting, too. It's a reciprocal sort of thing, after all. For instance, this morning I bound off the front section of his Leo sweater.


Front and back are done. As you can see, the ends are still dangling all over the front, but that's next on my to-do list. Maybe by the end of the evening the two will be seamed together. And then, bring on Sleeve Hell. I think I'm ready.

Decidedly UN-Eye Candy Friday

That would be a broken Lantern Moon rosewood needle, US 6/4 mm. A tragedy. Those were my favorites.

I'm not even sure exactly what happened. I feel pretty confident, though, placing blame on my knitting storage situation, which looks like this:

One Rubbermaid tub, jammed full of everything: yarn, needles, tools, books, project bags, etc, etc. I've probably mentioned that most of our stuff is in storage in Florida; what we have in Rhode Island is pretty much confined to tubs like these. So when digging through there to find a specific yarn or stitch marker or whatever, well, you can imagine what might happen if a delicate wooden needle got loose amongst the mess, got one end jammed securely in a corner behind a book, got the other end through a loop of yarn, and was pulled or pushed too hard... Or maybe you don't have to imagine - just refer to the first picture.

When I get to Jacksonville, I will be organized, and things like this should not happen anymore. Then again, I am a gigantic klutz, so in reality these little accidental tragedies will probably continue the rest of my life. Sigh.

Encouraging Words

Hey all you knitters out there: the final countdown to the big X is on. One week to go. And you have to ask yourself... Is your knitting finished yet?

Because everyone knows this is the busiest week of the year for UPS, FedEx, the USPS, and the Honey Baked Ham people. But what non-knitters don't realize is, this is also the most frenzied, hand-cramped, extra-tight-gauged week of the year for knitters, too!

I know you're all out there trying to weave in a thousand ends on Fair Isle mittens for your cousins, and a stockinette stocking for your cat, and a big ol' cable motif sweater for your bestest friend or your dad or your hubby - or, more likely, frantically trying to reach that weaving-in stage, because then you'd be practically finished, when in reality, you still haven't started that first sleeve! And I know that in the next seven days you'll drive yourself loony-tunes, staying up into the wee hours of the morning, cursing your fingers for not moving faster, cursing the yarn for not cooperating, cursing the pattern designers for, well, all the things they do... Just cursing in general, I imagine, because you didn't start early enough, or you're trying to cram too many projects into too little time, or because you forgot about getting a gift for your great aunt Margo until too late so you have to turn to your stash and try to remember what her favorite color is... I believe the illustrious Harlot refers to this Chrismastime knitting madness in The Secret Life of a Knitter as, simply, "It," because it's too terrible to try to name.

Whoa. Okay guys (er, gals), take a minute and step back. Breathe.

Before you give yourself carpal tunnel and use so many under-your-breath obscenities that Santa will no longer be stopping by your house this year, let's try and think for a second just exactly what knitting (or crocheting) Christmas presents is all about. Aren't you doing it out of love? Isn't the point of a hand made gift to show that you care about the recipient so much that you wanted to give not only from your wallet, but from your talent, creativity, time, and heart?

Not to be cliche about it, but every stitch ought to be made with love, not with expletives. Your giftknitting projects shouldn't be marred by frustration and anger, because then that frustration and anger is worked into the object, and in a way stays embedded within it - in the tight stitches, uneven edges, and other symptoms of knitting that was rushed rather than enjoyed - and that would be a tragedy. So stop stressing out about it. Calm down. Take it easy. Relax. Remember why you wanted to make this person something in the first place. I'm sure if you care enough about them to want to hand knit a gift for them, they probably care enough about you that it's no big deal if you aren't done until after New Years.



(At least, this is what I've been trying to tell myself, as I breathe the fragrant odor of orange juice blended with wool - see previous post - and develop a permanent squint.)

Oops

I wasn't going to talk much about my gift knitting until after Xmas, for a couple reasons. First, I don't know if any of the people who I'm knitting for might happen to read my blog, which would then spoil the surprise. By the way, yes my brother's socks are a Xmas present, but he knew about them in advance, hence no qualms about that. Second, though, if I talk about Xmas knitting then I worry friends or family reading the blog might get their hopes up that I'm knitting for them when I'm actually not. I'm really only making a handful of gifts this year, okay? And referring back to issue #1, I think only one of my recipients even possibly reads my blog, and that person not frequently, so odds are high that if you know me and are reading this, I'm not making you anything for Xmas. Sorry. I love you though.

HOWEVER, I feel compelled to write this post about gift knitting where I own up to an Act of Extreme Stupidity.

This morning, I fixed myself breakfast - oatmeal and orange juice. I carried said breakfast into the living room, whereupon I sat down on the couch and placed my bowl and glass on the coffee table, right next to one of my gift projects. Then I picked up my computer, situated it on my lap - and in the midst of checking email, I apparently forgot where I was and I put my feet up on the coffee table. (You may see where this is going.)

That's when I kicked the glass of OJ and sent it gushing all over my knitting. IDIOT! Oh my god. I. Suck. The best, most stupidest part of all, is that when I was rinsing my big ol' orange handled scissors in the sink, I sliced my pinky finger open. I tell ya, I'm feeling like a winner.

The good news is that the OJ was the pulp-free variety, plus the yarn is washable, and it's variegated so even if the orangeness doesn't come out 100% - which it should, it's already most of the way out thanks to my Tide To Go pen, though a little fuzzed up because of it - it shouldn't be noticeable. So a quick spin in the laundry, and the recipient will hopefully never know. Because I won't say which gift it is. Ha.

Just wanted to let everybody in KnitBlogLand know, I am a complete dumbass.

Project Catchup & On the Horizon

Lest readers think that I have been remiss in my knitting as of late... Well, I hadn't been doing quite as much as usual due to the overload of real-world stresses that were going on, I'll admit, but there was SOME knitting happening. And now those stresses are behind me so let the deluge of yarn commence!

First and foremost, proof that I have, in fact, finished Riley's sweater, despite the fact that I keep talking about putting the pattern up and it hasn't happened yet.

That facial expression is what we call "grumpy." But perhaps he will not feel quite so grumpy about wearing the sweater when it's 20 degrees F outside and he has to go tinkle. It kinda makes him look extra fat (or at least emphasizes just how fat he is), so I may decide to break it up with embroidery or a patch of some kind or a pocket... Something. Anyway, there it is, I did make it. It's just that I've been attempting to design diagrams for the pattern, and all I have is Paintbrush, which is extremely frustrating to try to work with. I will be working on the pattern today, but don't expect it to show up here until tomorrow at the earliest.

In the "Current Projects" department, 2 items.

I have actually cast on the front of Brendon's Leo sweater.

Ta da. He griped and griped about how he can't just wear the BACK of a sweater - a sweater that was promised to him back in August - so I finally took some action on it. And remembered why it was such a pain. TEENY NEEDLES - AAAGGHHH. But it will be done. By Christmas. Really.

Also, this little crochet bag.

This purse, which may look like it's all-but-finished, is actually less than halfway done. That's because it is intended to be a versatile purse/mesh market bag engineering phenomenon.
How will it all work together? You'll have to wait and see. The part you see here was done on the plane home from California, I just hadn't gotten around to taking pictures of it until now. And I actually have begun the mesh bag part, but currently it looks like a doily, and I can't have the world thinking I'm sitting here crocheting doilies, so - no pictures of that.

Upcoming projects: there are also two of those.

My brother's big fuzzy snowboard socks.

This yarn is very soft. And there's barely a word of English on the labels.

Also, B's Ferrari scarf.

There will also be black in there, but I had a helluva time finding this stuff in black - I went to FOUR LYS's without success and finally ordered it on eBay. I found a chart of the Ferrari prancing pony, and... well, he has a thing for Ferrari. What can I say.

By the way, this blanket may creep into some of these or future pictures, and I thought I would give it a formal introduction.

This was among my earliest crochet projects, and it is a HOSS. The weight is spectacular. I made it for B long long ago (like 2 and 1/2 years!), and it has been living on the ship making his icky ship bed feel a little more like home - but now he has no ship, therefore no ship bed, so for the time being it's on our couch and I get to enjoy it too. I don't even remember what I made it out of, something I bought at A.C. Moore, but it's rather soft.

Hopefully there will be a dog sweater pattern in the next post. Wish me luck.

Knitting Blues

But that's not a bad thing!

I'm feeling a tad famous after finding out that I helped in some way to inspire a whole KAL. That has definitely never happened to me before. I didn't even realize anybody read my blog. It's a warm fuzzy feeling, and to a yarn addict, warm fuzzy feelings are extra special.

So everybody should go visit it, the KAL for Knitting Democrats, Knit Blue. Hooray.


Item #2: What's going on in the real world.

By the way, I'm home from California. Here's one last vacation picture, to demonstrate what happens when wineries have unlimited budgets. (B, parents, and I spent a couple days in Sonoma and Napa, where we all got somewhat tipsy before noon and then kept right on drinking - excuse me, it's not drinking, it's tasting.)

We're "home" for another couple days, that is. The packing crew comes tomorrow morning, and the movers on Wednesday. B and I have been scrambling the last couple days to get everything organized, separate things out to take to Newport, canceling utilities and assorted memberships, changing addresses. It's been chaotic. The cable gets cut off tomorrow, so this is my last post from VA. We will be at the mother-in-law's Thursday through Sunday, so I may get to post then, and after that... I'm not sure exactly what the internet situation will be. I'll get it worked out eventually.


Item #3: On the yarn front.

So here's the finished surprise gift project:

An Amigurumi kitty doll! Based on this pattern. It's for my friend Rachel, who's due to have her first baby next summer. She's convinced it's twins, in which case I may have to make a second toy. I owe this guy his own finished objects post, which I will attempt to do while in NC this week. I just don't have the time at this second.

On the plane ride home I began working on another crochet project, the mesh shopping bag. I don't have pictures because my situation is just too chaotic and, well, I'm not exactly sure where the project is at the moment among the bins, boxes, suitcases, bags... It will make it with me to RI though, where I will finish it, experimental engineering and all.

The Riley sweater is also still in the works. I am happy to report that even though I worked through almost the entire back section with the dog on the extreme opposite sides of the country, my measurements worked out to be pretty accurate and it looks like it will fit just like I wanted. Again, I don't have new pictures, (I'm SUCH a bad blogger!) but I am going to try to finish the thing while in NC, and then there shall be pictures galore, of the sweater and my dog looking miserable in it.


Well, I suppose this is goodbye for now. So long Chesapeake, VA. It's been.. Well, not all that interesting, to tell you the truth. Here's to the future - cheers!

Life After the Sweater's Completion

The Kimono Sweater is done, and yet the knitting goes on without missing a beat.


But before I even get started talking about new projects, I'd like to dive off into tangent-ness for a moment to talk about wearing hand-made items. I wore the new sweater to my gallery's opening Friday night. I always feel especially self-aware when I'm wearing things I've made, and particularly so when wearing them for the first time. I have a bunch of jewelry and a scarf or two, maybe a hat, etc, that I made so long ago that these things are now very much ingrained into my rotation of accessories, and these I wear now without a second thought (at least until somebody comments on them), but recently finished projects... I look down at the sleeve and relive every stitch; there's novelty in how the item drapes and feels and smells; I worry about what will happen if I get caught wearing it in the rain.


Only one person (my boss Nicole, who knows I knit) commented on the sweater Friday night to ask if I had made it myself, but I take that as a compliment - it looked nice enough to pass as storebought.


Anyhow, the world turns and I must move on into new endeavors. So... what's that brown lump over there? Hm?


Why, it's a Fetching fingerless glove, turned into a convertible mitten!!


Here's the top-up shot.






















And here's the top down - back:

...and front.

These are for my mom, and hopefully they'll be done by the time I fly out to see her on Tuesday. Shouldn't be a problem, the first is finished and I'm making headway on the second. See? A whole cuff already.

They'll need buttons sewn on so that they hold closed a bit better, but I'll let her pick those out and I'll sew them on while I'm visiting.

The yarn is Misti Alpaca Sport, 100% baby alpaca, which I bought at Ewe Knits in Virginia Beach. Misti Alpaca's website says it's the "softest yarn ever" and that just may be true. It is not, however, the ideal yarn for this pattern. It's dark and fuzzy so it doesn't show off the cables or ribbing all that well, and it's a sport weight so I had to go and reconfigure the pattern for that, and the mitten is still a little, er, lacier than I wanted. Nonetheless, it is SOOO soft and putting it on my hand is a very pleasant experience. And it's very warm regardless of the slightly open stitches. Besides, my mom picked it out.

After that, I get into this stuff, but I'm not saying what it will be because it's a surprise for a friend.

Every Tree...

...Needs a treesweater.


You just can't look at that and not smile.

Progress Report

The air outside is just crisp enough that I remember why I love October. It makes me feel energized. Time to dig out the cool weather clothes from under the bed, and hurry up with those winter projects.

I've been productive since my last post, both knitting and otherwise.


On the home front:

While it may not appear any 'neater' per se, we actually accomplished a lot yesterday with those boxes. As you can see, they are no longer towering precariously above the room, but instead have taken over all available floorspace so that to get into the office we have to do a bit of leaping and twisting and other assorted dance moves. But the cubby hole in the wall is now completely packed and ready to be taken away, and all the stuff we might want to access (or at least not pack away just yet) that was back there is now elsewhere and, well, accessible. Ditto on the closet, or at least pretty close.

My yarn stash has been divided up into the things I can bear to part with until February (on the right, in the cardboard box), things I'm either working on in the next few weeks or am taking to Rhode Island (on the left, in the Rubbermaid tub), and the cheap, acrylic, horribly peach baby yarn that was passed on to me by somebody else which I am going to take to Goodwill (center, plastic bag). I actually, strangely enough, do not know any babies, or at least not any that I feel compelled to knit/crochet for.

My lovely husband wrote on the cardboard box: "NO MORE YARN." Isn't that cute?

A brief update on my Kimono Sweater progress:

I finished the back, as well as the right front panel, and have in fact connected the two so that it's now a quasi-vest. Furthermore, I have about 6 inches' length on the left front panel, and if we sit down and put on another Netflix movie tonight I should be able to wrap that up, graft it to the back, and weave in all the ends before the day is through. I love how quickly stockinette goes. I admit it gets boring when the whole project is stockinette, but when it's only parts of the project, I find myself looking forward to those parts. Instant gratification.

By the way, I was knitting in the waiting room while getting my truck's oil changed yesterday, and an older lady waiting with me commented how pleased she was that knitting "is not a dying art among today's youth." So I had to politely educate her that it's enjoying a major cultural upswing these days. She seemed impressed.

When I do finish the second half of the front, I will put my sweater on vest-style and take some pictures. Hopefully by tomorrow you can see.

Looking forward:

I have put in an order with KnitPicks for a bunch of Swish Superwash in assorted colors for the dog sweater I'm planning for Riley. I've chosen this yarn because it's a worsted weight, 100% wool, which will be ideal for keeping his old achy bones nice and warm; plus it's superwash, since it's for a dog, and a low-slung dog at that (he has perhaps 2 inches of ground clearance at the bottom of his chest), and therefore it will likely get icky regularly. Plus it's $3.29 per 50 gram ball so how can you argue with that? I don't think Lion Brand is that cheap, at least at the Michael's near my house, and I definitely prefer the Swish. Do you like the color combo? Hopefully they'll turn out pretty close in person to the picture here. I guess I'll find out in 5-14 days. I've picked out a stitch pattern for the sweater, too, that I think will be pretty interesting, but I'm not yet ready to reveal what it is - not until I've started working on it, to make sure it goes like I want it to. (Plus, I don't want anybody to steal my idea before I even get started! I promise when it's done I'll post the pattern, and then you can use it all you want.)

Also, I agreed to make a kitty toy for a friend who's about to move to Japan. And since that is mere days away, it looks like I'm going to have to interrupt the sweater for a quickie project. You know what that means? It means I'll actually post project pictures that are something OTHER than the Kimono Sweater! Crazy. I can't find any patterns I love, so I guess I'll be making one up. I think it's going to be a squid. Crocheted, definitely. Tomorrow/Monday timeframe? Stay tuned...

Rainy Days

It has been cold and drizzling in North Carolina since we got here. And I did not pack very well for our trip. I guess I wasn't expecting such drastic change in season at such short notice. I mean, last week in VA where I live, as well as NC, it was gorgeous outside: 80s during the day, 65 at night. Now, suddenly it's a high of 59 degrees and non-stop mist, only interrupted by the occasional downpour. Ick.

This afternoon I caught up with my best friend from high school. As it turns out, she picked up knitting shortly after I did (completely separately). She and I got lunch, hit Macy's (a Hecht's until about a month ago), and then attempted to go to Greensboro's LYS, which I hadn't ever been to, only to find it closed. Silly South, shutting down on Sundays. Oh well. We stopped back by her house, grabbed her current project - a sweater she started last night for her husband - then spent the afternoon knitting away. She is making it up as she goes along, which I think is admirable, but she insists it's impressive that I can follow a pattern "what with all those abbreviations." Different styles suit different people, I guess.

Only 6 more rows of cables to go. Should be no problem to knock that out tonight. I think the boys are getting together for more video games, and you know what that means!

Checking In From NC

Our long weekend at the MIL's is going pretty well, if uneventful. Yesterday there was a lot of sitting around going on - Brendon watched tv while I knit; he read a new Car magazine while I knit; his mom came home from work and we all visited while I knit; we went over to an old friend's house where the boys played video games until after midnight... while I knit. Needless to say, I've made some fantastic progress with that sweater. (If I had remembered to grab the camera while we were packing, I could show everyone, but we were kind of in a hurry to get on the road.) And whenever my fingers started getting tired, I picked up the copy of the Yarn Harlot - Secret Life of a Knitter that my sweet husband was kind enough to buy me while at B&N getting his new Car mag.

Brendon and I had a long chat in which he expressed quite a bit of surprise at the prevalence of the yarn-obsessed community as I explained it to him. Non-knitters do not understand. But, well, he's trying. I think he was under the impression that I may be going through a phase; now he's beginning to see that I am getting sucked into an entire "underground" culture. We've all heard that in the last 10 years, the number of women under 45 who know how to knit has more than doubled, and that is fantastic. Good for us.

(I've offered to teach DH how to knit and/or crochet on multiple occasions, but he acts like I've insulted his masculinity by even suggesting it. Alas, the stigma is still upon us. One day I will post extensively about this, but that will not be today. I'm not really in the mood for a rant.)

Anyway, if I had brought my camera you could see how much Riley (the dog) is enjoying having a real yard to romp in, instead of our apartment with its orderly sidewalks and zillions of stairs. I promised him in Jacksonville we'll live in a real house with a real yard, too. He's also enjoying making my MIL's two cats cower under the bed all day long, just by his mere doggy presence. He's having a great weekend.

This afternoon, Brendon gets to move furniture for his mom - and I think I'll be skipping that. The yarn beckons...

A Plethora of Projects

I have made myself a knitting schedule. (I'm starting to think I have a problem, for which I should seek professional help.) Projects and intended dates are as follows:

Kimono Styled Sweater: Begun Sept. 30. Everyone already knows this is the current project. I need to have it finished by October 27 for an event - the last opening reception at the gallery where I work before I leave my job for the big move. I hope to have the sweater finished sooner than that. So far I'm only at 5 inches complete, but this weekend I will definitely (craziness?) have the initial cabling done - we're spending the weekend at my MIL's - and after that I should fly through the rest until I get to the neck band. Goal: 9/30-10/20.

Modified Fetching Convertible Mittens: I have previously made these twice, for myself and then my friend Rachel. Then my mom was visiting and I showed mine off, and now I get to make some for her! We stopped by Ewe Knits in Virginia Beach while she was in town, where she picked out some 100% baby alpaca. It's a DK weight instead of a chunky so I'm going to have to further modify my already modified pattern, but it should still go really quickly. I need to have it finished by the beginning of November when DH and I fly out to California to visit M & D. Goal: 10/21-10/24.

Crochet Shopping Bag: For my Newport market shopping. This one is meant to occupy my down time while we're in California on the aforementioned parental visit. Goal: 10/31-11/07.

Corgi Sweater and Matching Booties: Yes, corgis come from Wales, and yes, I believe Wales gets a little chilly. But MY corgi has never been to Wales, and despite his fairly thick coat, he has lived his whole life in the sunny south, in NC and VA. Plus he's got a little bit of arthritis these days. So in order to protect him from the frigid Rhode Island winter, I'll be making (and designing!) him a nice knit sweater plus some little leather-soled boots to keep his feetsies warm in the snow. This will be a superwash wool of some sort. We go to Newport 11/20, so I need to get this done not much after that. Goal: 11/08-11/20ish

Leo Sweater for Brendon: Begun 9/19. Apparently among the most popular of the men's sweater patterns floating around out there. This is a WIP, and will be sort of my background project over the next couple of months. The back is complete, with the ends woven in and everything. I tell you what, working on #3's and 4's is tough on my hands. I was knitting this thing until I couldn't hold the needles any more. Future work on the Leo will happen in between other projects, when I get bored with them or when I finish one early. If it's not done by the time we're in Newport, all my knitting attention goes to it, and ideally it'll be done by December so there will still be lots of good sweater-wearing time this year. I don't like to have UFOs. Drives me kookoo. Goal: 9/19-11/30.

Assorted Holiday Gifts: Actually I don't have plans for these yet. They may not even happen. At first I was optimistic and thought, "Sweaters for everyone!! Mom, Dad, MIL, Brother, DH, maybe even one for me, too, Merry Christmas to me!" But... yeah. Now it's October, and I already have a knitting schedule through the beginning of December, so the sweaters are DEFINITELY not happening. Now it's more like, "Socks all around!" - if that. Even that is a bit ambitious. Still, as to Brendon, if he's willing to forgive a very late Christmas present, I've been eyeing the Durrow sweater at MagKnits lately. That is, should I choose to make him two - scratch that, THREE - sweaters for one winter! (In addition to the Leo I'm working on, I also made him the Jolly Roger out of Debbie Stoller's The Happy Hooker in black with red - it's quite punk and lovely.) Maybe sweater year will be next year. I'll start in June.

INTO 2007: I've been dreaming of afghans, and I think January-February may be dedicated to a really stunning one. What it will look like, I don't yet know, but it should be really nice just sitting under it as it's in progress while in RI. I also have plans for a really gorgeous project bag made with a combination of felted wool and recycled sari silk. I have made some sketches, browsed through handpainted wool, and scouted the best prices on the sari silk already, and I likely won't start it until mid-February at the earliest! After that, it'll be time to think about short sleeves and lightweight fibers, as I head down to Jacksonville and brace myself for the upcoming summer.

And other things are bound to pop up in between. That's just the way it all... unravels.