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...

Off to Warmer Climes

Well, I'm headed to Jacksonville to go look at rental houses. Fly tomorrow morning, there until Friday, then after that my parents will be staying with us in Newport for a couple of days.

Why is this relevant to a knitting blog?

Because, if there is actually anybody out there (other than real-life friends of mine that use this to keep up with me) who actually reads on a regular basis, be prepared for no new blog entries for the next week and a half. Sorry. I hope I don't break any hearts.

I will actually have my laptop in Florida with me, so if I have anything especially relevant to blog about, or an emergency blog type situation, you might actually hear from me. But really, I expect to stay pretty busy.

See ya in a week and a half!

BFF Socks

Since I know the recipient (my mom) is currently boarding her plane to come here and therefore posting this won't ruin the surprise, here it is. The latest FO. Finished this morning.

Pattern: Cookie A.'s BFF Socks. Appropriate since my mom pretty much fills that role.

Yarn: J. Knits Superwash Sock yarn in "Columbus" colorway (75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, hand-dyed).

Time Spent: Started last Thursday, finished this morning = approximately a week.

Notes: A very pleasant knitting experience. The pattern was interesting enough that I didn't get bored, but not so complicated as to prohibit multi-tasking. The yarn, while a touch on the expensive side ($22 for a 4 oz skein at my LYS), is gorgeous, machine washable, and pretty friendly to work with - except for the nightmare of a time I had trying to wind it into a ball with no swift or ballwinder. (This is one of the first issues I'll address upon moving.)

Also noteworthy is that this was my first pair of socks worked with the "Magic Loop" method, and I'm loving that.

And I think they turned out pretty well, too.

YarnQuest and Miscellaneous

There's been a lot going on yarn-wise this past week, and since I've been a bit remiss in my blogging, there is plenty to catch up on.

Tuesday, my darling husband was sweet enough to accompany me on "YarnQuest: Rhode Island" - wherein we hit 4 yarn stores in the greater Providence area in about two hours. Well, alright, technically it was only three stores because we couldn't find the fourth. We found where it was supposed to be, and saw the sign for it in front of the shopping center, but we circled and circled and it was just not there. Still, I know I just lauded B a mere week or so ago for being awesome and patient and supportive of my obsession, but... props to him once more. I hope you knitters out in KnitBlogLand have good supportive significant others like I do.

Anyhow, between the trip and the KnitPicks order that arrived the following day, I have lots to keep me busy.



The haul.



Let's see, there's a bunch of manly colored sock yarn, several balls of lavender KnitPicks 100% wool, 2 skeins of Kureyon, a ball of Berroco Pure Merino in black (not pictured: ditto that in red - by the time I got my camera out, it was already being worked into the Ferrari scarf, since, as you remember, that was too short), and assorted needles and blocking pins.

I didn't find "the yarn" for my Central Park hoodie, but I guess I have enough projects to keep myself occupied until the right stuff comes along. The Ferrari scarf is done (again), and one of these days I'll make a matching hat.

Then there's this beast, which may never be done...

Body...

Seam? What seam?

Half a sleeve.

And because, as good as my intentions may be, I just can't seem to focus on one project at a time, there's this:

Artsy shot only, since this is still top-secret.

AND, as if that's not enough, I can't stop thinking about my plans for my bag, even though I know I can't make that much progress on it until we move at the end of the month and I get my sewing machine back. But I'm really looking forward to it. I mean, look at this yarn combo.

Actually, the picture doesn't really do justice to the colors together, so you'll have to trust that it's awesome. Also, there you can kind of see the results of my polymer clay experimentations. There are a few other bits and pieces too, I haven't decided yet what I'm using.

I couldn't resist a bit of swatching.

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!