On Trend and Didn’t Even Know It

Don’t you love it when you knit something just because you liked it, then turn around and discover that it’s about to become the latest thing? It’s just happened to me for the first time.

Two weekends ago, I finished making up the Vitamin D Cardigan, a Heidi Kirrmaier design that I fell in love with on Ravelry. The next day I wore it to work. A very fashion-forward coworker complimented me on it, commenting on how popular cropped cardigans are going to be this spring. Who knew? Not me.

My new cardigan in a cheerful, chirpy yellow.

I don’t usually go into a knitting project looking to be on the cutting edge of fashion. I’ll settle for the trailing edge. After all, when I start a project I never know when it will be finished. If my attention span is good and nothing else interferes, I can often turn out projects rapidly. But if life gets in the way, or if I simply get distracted by another pretty yarn, it can be months or years before I finish a project. And by then, if I had really cared about being trendy, I would have completely missed the boat.

My Knitty Godmother must have inspired me to choose this pattern. It’s time to savor this miracle of timing. Who knows when it will happen again?

Related articles

• Currently on the Knitting Needles (seekingjoyfulsimplicity.wordpress.com)
• Sleepless again so hoist ye needles high! (eclectophilia.wordpress.com)

Rhubarb Shawl Part 3: Finished

I finished the rhubarb shawl last night. I accidentally grafted the halves together upside down and debated taking it apart and redoing it. Then I saw how rustic and interesting the seam looked, sort of like a twig among the scattered pink foliage, and I decided to leave it alone.

The shawl, demurely displayed on my dresser, all inviting and warm looking.

It’s not a mistake. It’s a reflection of my personal style.

The finished shawl, glowing in the morning sun.

The guest room is the only room in my house suitable for blocking knitting projects. It has a bed we don’t use, suitable for spreading out my blocking boards. And it has a door that closes: important for keeping the cats at bay. Practically the first thing our long-hair did, when he discovered me up there, pinning away, was to jump onto the bed and run along the length of the shawl to get to the window. And he’s not the problem child. The little one still hasn’t figured out how to put away his claws when he’s not using them. So yeah, I locked that room down after that.

I stuffed the shawl into a padded mailer this morning, after ascertaining that it was dry, and sent it on its way to Wisconsin. I hope my friend will like it.

Related articles

• Yarn frenzy (inquisitivefelinesandfibers.wordpress.com)
• Prayer Shawl Ministry (tlcmsn.org)

Making my fingers AND toes sore this weekend

It occurs to me that, with my two hobbies, ballroom dancing and knitting, I have the potential to make all 20 digits sore in the same weekend. Perhaps even all on the same day.

I have a shawl I’d like to finish and block this weekend, so that will require some serious time investment with my knitting needles this weekend.  And on Saturday night the BF and I will be attending the local USA Dance Valentine’s Dance. I fully intend to dance until my feet go on strike.

Sore tootsies and sore fingers are in my future. And I couldn’t be more delighted at the prospect.

Finished Socks

I finished these socks on Saturday morning. My first pair of socks. I don’t know why I have avoided it all these years. All I needed was a clear pattern. So many sock patterns seem to assume a lot of preexisting knowledge about sock construction.

My first finished pair of socks. Only 11 pairs left to knit for 2012.

These are simple stockinette stitch socks with a 1×1 rib on the top, knit on #2 double-pointed needles.

A wise woman once advised me to begin my socks with a couple of rows knitted straight, before joining them in the round. This helps me to avoid twisting the stitches, which is so easy to do when juggling four or five tiny needles. Just make sure to leave a nice long tail so that you can come back later and graft those rows together. No one will be the wiser.

After I finished grafting the toes closed and popped the socks onto my feet I noticed some slight laddering in the toes along the decreases. I went back in with a darning needle and patched those up. In the future I will need to remind myself to watch my toe decreases so that this does not happen.

Related articles

• More Socks (susyranner.wordpress.com)
• My First Sock (candjhomemade.wordpress.com)
• Work in Progress Wednesday #15: A Recap and More Sock (expetesso.com)

Rhubarb Shawl Part 2

I completed the first half of the rhubarb shawl last night. This shawl is worked so that the leaves “fall” down your shoulders in the same direction on both sides. It’s a gorgeous effect.  I completed this half in just under one week, so hopefully I can finish the next half just as quickly. If I can, then I think I can have it in my friend’s hands before the cold weather ends.

I really love the way this tweedy yarn is looking with this pattern. I forgive the yarn for feeling a little funny in my hands.

The large leaves on the bottom of the shawl. I love the simple beauty of this design . Good job, Mr. Flood.

The Rhubarb Tweed Shawl, Part 1

I began the dark pink shawl for my new-mom friend last night. I love knitting gifts. As I knit, I spend a lot of time thinking warm fuzzy thoughts about my intended recipient. It’s like one very long  prayer. A prayer made much longer if I get too distracted by Barney’s antics on How I Met Your Mother, my current watch-while-I’m-knitting addiction. I’m all out of Downton Abbey. My friend also loves HIMYM so, if there are any mistakes in the lace, I can tell her which episode I was watching at the time and she’ll get a good laugh out of it.

I’m using Blackstone Tweed in rhubarb. The stitch definition is lovely and I can see why the original pattern called for tweed as well (albeit a slightly more expensive tweed). This Blackstone Tweed feels very strange in my hands. It claims to be a blend of wool, mohair and angora. It feels very plush and almost acrylic-y. Decidedly odd. Looks nice, though.

Related articles

• “Knit on…”: Bressay Hap Shawl (christinelaennec.co.uk)
• Black and bling (bellsknits.com)
• Fabulous Fine Tweed (fibreandclay.wordpress.com)

Confession Time

I was talking to mom on the phone this weekend, telling her all about my next knitting project. I’m going to make a copy of Jared Flood’s Autumn Leaves Stole for a friend of mine who just had a baby. She’s struggling to juggle baby, baby bag, purse and winter coat. “I wish I had something I could just throw on,” she said. How could I resist that?

The only problem was that I did not have any appropriate yarn in my stash to make the shawl. So I purchased some. It’s a lovely rhubarb colored tweed that I know she’ll love.

It only took me about a week to violate my solemn vow to abstain from purchasing any more yarn until Yarnover. And Mom called me on it. Good for her. I need someone to keep me honest. Plus, now I know that she’s been reading my blog.

In my defense, the shawl is for a new mom. That’s a lot like doing something to help a pregnant lady. And everybody knows that all the rules go by the wayside when helping a pregnant lady.

So you see, my excuse holds up. Right?

Right?

Related articles

• No More Yarn Until Yarnover (25dancer.wordpress.com)
• Progress of a Shawl (cubbyholes.wordpress.com)
• Clicking my needles… (inquisitivefelinesandfibers.wordpress.com)

Lunch Time Socks

I’ve been bringing my socks to work on at lunchtime this week. My goal is to have two pairs to bring to my knitting lesson on Saturday. Or at least one of each. I’m hoping that if I can go over my gusseting technique with the teacher 2-4 times, I should be able to suss it out. More socks means more repetition, thus reducing the likelihood that I will forget the content of my lesson on the drive home.

Sock number 2.

This sock yarn is definitely prettier as a skein than as a sock. Oh well. Sock number 1 is much prettier. I’ll get a photo of that one posted after I finish it.

The reactions I get from my coworkers as I knit during my lunch period are very entertaining.

• Many people avoid eye contact. My theory is that they think that if they notice my knitting openly in any way, they will be forced to find a way to comment on it. They are not prepared to do this, so they turn on the just-getting-my-coffee-here blinders. Now, I know that some of these folks may actually not notice me, but you can always tell when someone is pulling the not-noticing-you-on-purpose trick. I wonder why knitting in public makes some people uncomfortable. Is knitting a self-indulgent activity I should I save for the privacy of my home, like cookie dough eating or making love?

• My personal acquaintances, almost invariably,  express amazement at: a) my skill or b) my quirky desire to knit what they think of as disposable accessories. I smile and chat and knit without looking at my needles. They goggle. I love that parlor trick.

• One male coworker had a paranoid macho turnaround crisis right in front of me. He approached and expressed intense interest in the knitting, but then (paranoid turnaround) retreated, claiming that he could never knit because he’s too much of  guy and didn’t have the patience for it. Or the skill. After all it takes a long time to learn how to knit that well.  How do you do that bit again? That’s really interesting. You’re making socks, huh? (Paranoid turnaround) Which I could never do, I’d end up with one this big (hand make shape the size of a clementine) and one this big (hands make shape the size of a bowling ball).  What would you say if you saw me knitting in here, huh? Nervous laugh.

Related articles

• I Managed to Knit on the Sly (majorknitter.typepad.com)
• More Socks (susyranner.wordpress.com)
• Socks (susyranner.wordpress.com)
• Sock momentum (crazyknittinglady.wordpress.com)

No More Yarn Until Yarnover

I’ve had a bit of a yarn-acquiring binge this week. Several skeins of Berocco Lustra for a lovely brown cardigan I saw in Knit Circus (on the cover).

I also recently joined the 12 socks in 2012 group on Ravelry in the hopes that joining the group would motivate me to:

- Learn how to knit socks, once and for all. I’ve tried and given up at least twice when I got to the gusset.

- Complete at least one pair of socks in 2012, if not the full dozen

Joining this group, of course, inspired me to buy enough yarn for at least 3 pairs of socks. And while I was at it, I picked up some lovely kidsilk mohair. And this doesn’t count the Swan’s Island fingering weight yarn I picked up a couple of weeks ago to make a lovely shawl for work. Nor does it mention the green yarn I picked up to make this lovely dragon scale scarf for the BF, to match his new hat.

So, you see, I have plenty of  yarn. Too much yarn. The stash is growing. I see it happening.

I begin to understand some of those hoarders you hear about on tv: the ones who keep huge stashes of plastic bottles or periodicals. They have plans for those items. Dreams. Someday that plastic bottle will be used to demonstrate the Diet Coke and Mentos phenomenon to their shrieking grandchildren. Someday that large pile of newspaper clippings will find its way into a truly impressive scrapbook that will be treasured by future generations. Some day that pile of brown yarn will become a gorgeous hand-knitted gift for my mother, demonstrating my love.

I refuse to become a yarn hoarder, but I can see how it could happen. Very easily.

So I am abstaining from any more yarn purchases until the Yarnover convention at the end of April. There will be scads of exciting vendors there, more than worth the wait. And if I can make it through a good portion of my stash in the mean time…or at least manage to make a couple of pairs of socks…I will have earned the opportunity to pick up a few treats.

No more yarn until Yarnover.

Related articles

• Why We Love Yarn, Pt. I (cloudknitting.com)
• Some sock stuff and slow progress (midlifemusings.com)
• FO Friday: Yoga Monkey Socks (remilyknits.wordpress.com)

Knitting Leaves a Mark

The way I live my life is stamped on my body. In the thick calluses from ill-fitting running shoes (although, to be fair, this is the best fit I’ve ever found. My feet are just oddly shaped). In the slight hunch of my desk-job shoulders (I’m working on it). And lately, I’ve been noticing something new.

Knitting calluses. I’ve got a good one forming on my left index finger: the one I often use to nudge the tip of my needle after I’ve looped the yarn. Other knitters must get these too. Is this the sign of a bad habit? I’ve never made a study of proper needle use.

My left index finger with developing knitter's callus. The photo is a bit fuzzy, but you can almost see it. Do you have one?

Does knitting leave a mark on your body?

Related articles

• Viral Knitting (knittingskeet.wordpress.com)
• Vogue Knitting Live! (cloudknitting.com)
• How Tuesday – Widdershins (biggerinreallife.com)