Yes, I Really Want It

I managed to snap some photos of the Westward hat I made out of Malabrigo Twist today.  It was decided upon completion that the color combination was too feminine for myself or for The Composer, so I handed it off to someone I knew would appreciate it.

What she won't appreciate is that I've posted this picture of her on the internet.  What she will appreciate is that I chose this one and not one of the others...

...because there were others.

I finished up my Blue Whale last week as well and wore it for the first time today.

 

I pinned it out quite quickly, but it's going to be scrunched around a neck when in use anyway, so I wasn't too picky.

I love the colors in this yarn, and the 25% silk gives it a nice sheen and drape.  The nature of the stitches in the scarf also makes it completely reversible, so I don't have to bother checking which side is the right side before putting it on (but I do anyway because I'm like that).

I took several pictures of myself wearing it, but unlike my friend in the Westward, I am able to veto the inclusion of those on my own blog, so the above are all you get.

Moving right along, I decided to do something about my cold hands instead of simply sit on my couch every day wishing that I had a warm pair of fingerless gloves.  Am I the only one who does this?  I think of all the wonderful things that would make my life more comfortable, but I never quite kick my arse into doing them.  Mainly because I don't think of knitting wrist warmers when I have time, I think of doing it when I'm cold and normally I'm cold when I'm studying or climbing into bed or something.  Well, one day I was cold AND had time, so I scrounged around for a bit.

I found several small leftover balls of Noro Kureyon in a drawer and decided the best approach would be to spit join them together and go to town with some striping.  It's times like these that I am glad I'm colorblind.

I don't know why I'm still entertaining the idea that this will become a pair of wrist warmers some day.  The worst of the colors have yet to come and that photo is not playing tricks on your eyes.  That sickly tube of stripes really does get smaller towards the top and no, there's no reason for it.  I think it's Knitting's way of telling me that this project should not continue.  This is a fact that I should have accepted ten inches ago when I tried it on and found it was two inches too big.  I knit on with complete faith that when I'm done it will be the right size.  Oh, and did I tell you my plan?   Here it is: knit one long tube of stripes with ribbing at both ends, then cut it in half, put some more ribbing on the cut ends, then cut holes somewhere for thumbs to be put on.  Knitting two separate wrist warmers would have just been too difficult.  No, this project is doomed to fail.

Besides, I stole the needles to knit something much more wonderful.

I was in desperate need of a visit to the yarn shop.  I took The Composer with me and before we got there I told him that he was not allowed to let me buy anything I didn't really want.  In order for him to know if I really wanted it, he was required to ask me.  It went something like this.

Me:  Ooh!  Look at this yarn!
Him: That's nice.
Me:  It's beautiful!
Him: Peter, you're caressing that yarn a little too excitedly.
Me: I'm going to get it.
Him: Do you really want it?
Me: Of course!

...ten minutes later...

Me: Ooh!  Look at this yarn!
Him: That's nice.
Me: Ooh, and this one, too!  And this one!  I want them all.
Him: Do you really want it?
Me: Yes!   Would you quit asking me that?

...five minutes later...

Me: Hey!  Look at this!
Him: Do you really want it?
Me: YES!  For the last time, yes, I want it.  Why do you keep asking me if I want the yarn?  Can't you tell that I want it?!

I think I should have told him to ask me if I needed the yarn.  Then his questions might have had more influence.  Apologies to The Composer for a brief outburst about his questioning me (I felt like I was under oath or something!).  I blame it on the wool fumes.  You'll understand one day.

I cast on that Alpaca Silk immediately to make Ptarmigan for a friend.

 

There's more of a story behind it, but I can't share it all right now.  Just know that I am responsible and should do better next time.  That's how life works, right?

That's what these are for, too.

 

and I'm knitting socks.  What is this world coming to?

Accessories

I do this weird thing over on Ravelry in which I don't actually call a project "finished" until I've taken pictures of the completed object.  Right now I have 8 projects that are "100% completed", but not "finished" because they haven't been photographed.

I'm trying to fix that.

(and I'm trying to distract you so you won't notice that I haven't woven in the ends on my Autumn Arbor Stole yet...)

I'm not a hat wearer.  I just don't think I look good in hats and I'm not a big fan of hat hair.  But my ears have been cold this winter.  I'm starting to simply accept the functionality of a hat in my battle with winter weather and I've discovered something.

Hats keep you warm.

This hat is Quincy from Jared Flood's Made in Brooklyn booklet.  I knit mine last May using Cascade 220 doubled and it turned out wonderfully.

 

I think the fiddly-est part about this hat was trying to figure out how to wear it!  The only problem with the way I'm wearing it above is that it limits visibility and, well, one of my ears is still cold.  I still wear this hat most frequently, though.

Back in August when I moved to Pittsburgh, I was in a strange place with my knitting.  I wasn't blogging, I didn't want to document projects on Ravelry, and I didn't want to use patterns.  I wanted to knit from my stash and create practical items that still maintained a bit of personality.  You know, like back when knitting wasn't just a hobby.

I made another hat, again using Cascade 220 (the main color is the same yarn I used for Quincy).

(As an aside, that apartment building behind me is where Mr. Rogers lived.  Yes, THE Mr. Rogers.  I'm totally in his neighborhood...)

I threw in some 2-color horizontal braids I borrowed from Folk Knitting in Estonia and the stranded pattern came from the cuff of a mitten in Sata Kansanomaista Kuviokudinmallia.  (Nope, no idea what that means).  I chose that design because it reminded me of a lot of motifs I saw in Bali.

The hat is lined up to the second braid with the main color, which makes it extra thick and warm.  I added a tassel because I thought it needed one.  I even slipped a little piece of fabric between the lining and the outside before closing it up so that in 100 years when the lining wears out and someone is studying this hat, they'll know that I made it in Pittsburgh in August of 2010 at the age of 22.

Because my knitting will be studied in 100 years.

::rolls eyes::

Then I decided that I needed a pair of mittens to match my coat.  This was the plan:  Knit an outer shell out of Cascade 220 (notice a trend?) on tiny needles (I don't know what size because I was still on my "no documentation" kick) to make them tough as iron.  Then I would line the mittens with alpaca to make them super soft and warm.

Well, I knit the shells over the summer and lined half of one of the mittens.  The lining was too big, it made the thumb too constricted, and the alpaca wasn't as soft as I had hoped.

I finally ripped out that lining, picked up the stitches from the provisional cast-ons, bound them off, and called the mittens done.

They match my coat, however they don't actually keep my hands very warm.  A worsted spun yarn knit at a dense gauge does create a pretty solid fabric, but the fabric itself doesn't really hold much warmth because the worsted spinning and tight knitting sort of squeezes any air out of the yarn that would otherwise be warm and insulating.  That's my theory, anyway.  My other theory is that because my hands are always freezing, there's no warmth to trap inside the mitten to begin with.

I was clearly still into making sure that future generations will know exactly who wore these mittens, and when.  They need to be lined though.  Against my hopes, they're just not warm enough without it.  I have some light blue malabrigo lace that I just remembered about last night that I could use held doubled for the hand and single for the thumb (so it doesn't become too tight).  That might work.

...if I ever get around to it.

Blue And Green - No Surprise

A very strange thing happened to me the other day.

I sat down in my floral couch (it's no secret anymore.  I can't even pretend it's anything but floral) and when I looked in my knitting basket, my Autumn Arbor Stole wasn't there.

For the past 19 months, that shawl has kept my knitting basket company.  But you guys, it's done.  I don't think my size 6 needles have ever been so relieved, but I was sort of at a loss about what to do.

 

I'll do a proper post once I take more pictures, but it does feel good to have that piece finished.

Now, I felt the need to start another lace project immediately, because it's not right to not have one of those on the needles at all times, right?

I have the yarn to start one of the patterns from Knitted Lace of Estonia, but I didn't feel like committing myself to such a long-term project.  I have that MadTosh lace that I posted about a couple posts back, but I'm still debating which pattern to use it for.

I was reading on one of Tina's blogs* about a designer I hadn't heard of before, and I loved some of her designs.  I even have some nice fingering-weight yarn that would work.

But then late one night I needed to start something immediately.  Do you ever get that way?  I just wanted to wind some yarn and cast on so badly.  I searched my apartment for the perfect indulgence and found myself happily knitting none of the above.

It's not even lace!  But it's just what I needed.  This is Stephen West's Blue Whale pattern, available only through A Verb For Keeping Warm's Pro-Verbial Club (or through a knitting sister in the club willing to part with the yarn and pattern) using their Luster yarn - 75% BFL, 25% silk.

Ooh, Ravelry tells me that the yarn what created especially for the club as well.

It does have a nice shine to it, and I'm excited to get further along in this pattern.

 

I finished my Westward hat about two weeks ago now, but I forgot to take a picture before giving it away.  The teal and black together looked too feminine - you'll see if I ever remember to snap a picture.

*On an unrelated note, I just wanted to put the word out that Tina is currently trying to raise some funds for a friend in need.  You can stop by her other blog to read about what's going on and if you feel compelled to donate, I know she would be incredibly grateful.

The Birth of a Knitter

This past week I had the honor of introducing a muggle to the magical world of Knitting.  And not just any muggle, but my boyfriend the muggle (henceforth referred to as "The Composer").

He had previously accompanied me to a yarn shop and experienced first-hand the wonders of an LYS.  Hearing exclamations such as, "I just want to knit SO BADLY!" and listening to an entire store full of customers putting in their two cents about the February Lady Sweater in the commemorative edition of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac (I was explaining to him the importance of Elizabeth Zimmermann in our world), he seemed entirely enthralled.  There was also the wonder and awe that only a ball winder can bring to a muggle.  (What is it about guys and their fascination with those?  It must just be a gadget thing.)

He then asked me to teach him how to knit.  (!!!!!!!!!!)

I even let him use my ball winder.

 

The picture is blurry because he was having too much fun.

I taught him how to cast on and how to do the knit stitch.

I knew that he was hooked, but I don't think he realized it yet.

 

And yes, I do have a floral couch decorated with knitted and crocheted blankets.  You all knew I was an old lady at 23, right?

And look, progress!  I should tell you - that night he stayed up until 2am knitting on that swatch and I very distinctly heard him say "Just one more row..." several times.  We all know what that means, right?

The next day, I found this sitting on the table at school:

Yep, he already brings his knitting with him everywhere and takes great pride in showing it to everyone who happens to walk by.  He's doing a good job, isn't he?!  He (well, I) bound off that swatch and called it a potholder only to cast on for his first scarf during class this past Tuesday.

Yep, knitting in class.  He's hooked.

And that's how yet another cute male knitter was born.

Minor Stash Enhancement

Thank you everyone for such a warm welcome back to the blogging world!  I've really missed being here and I'm going to try to keep it up as much as I can now that a new semester is about to start.

Before driving back to Pittsburgh I had to stop one last time at The Yarnery, one of Minnesota's finest yarn shops.  (That's not an opinion, it's a fact).

I was a bit frantic when I arrived and started simply pulling skeins off the shelves left and right.  I walked in the door, grabbed the latest Vogue Knitting (I really like the Men's Fair Isle Cardigan as part of the "Chalet Chic" collection) and then continued to snatch things up that I had no use for.

Normally I buy yarn strictly on an "as needed" basis and was therefore quite appalled by my behavior.  I believe the fact that I was drawn to buy yarn simply because I wanted it means that the knitting bug has come back at full force.  I managed to resist most of the yarn piling up in my arms in the end, but I did go home with two skeins.

 

The first was a skein of Malabrigo Twist in the 'Teal Feather' colorway.  I have absolutely no idea why I bought it.  Heck, I'm still not convinced that "teal" is even a color!  But when I saw this yarn, there was no hesitation.

When I got home I remembered that I have a skein of Twist in black that I bought many moons ago and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they would be very happy together.

My plan is to knit them up into Stephen West's Westward Hat from Westknits Book 1.  Ooh, you know what'd be sweet?  It would be awesome if I could get two hats out of these skeins and reverse the colors.  I'll have to see once the first hat is finished.

The second skein I bought was Madelinetosh Tosh Lace.

The 'Tart' colorway jumped out at me as soon as I walked in the door.  I've never knit with Madtosh before and although the color is gorgeous, the yarn definitely has that superwash-y feel to it.  With only 950 yards, I haven't picked a pattern yet.  Any suggestions?  I'm thinking I may even try to design my own, but that could end in disaster and I don't have much time these days to sit around and sketch things out.

It's very pretty though, no?

Past, Present, and Future

For three months this blog has gone untouched.  I had all but removed myself from the knitting community altogether for a while, but the other day I decided that it might be time to return.  I may not knit much anymore, but I miss the blog and the enjoyment I used to get from it.

I haven't been documenting my projects on Ravelry, either.  Hats, scarves, legwarmers, socks... they've come and gone without notice.  I actually felt a bit liberated that way - no pressure to record, to document, to display anything I was doing.  It became my own personal pastime, but now I think I'm ready to return.  I'm just going to cut my losses and start from where I am right now.

From the past we have some lace:

 

Yes, that's right, I'm still working on my Autumn Arbor Stole.  It's almost done, though.  Just a couple more repeats of the pattern and I can call it quits.

It'll block out beautifully, I can tell.  It's interesting to see where my tension has changed as I've knit on this piece.  I know my tension has changed because after months of not working on it, the colors started to pool differently.  I wonder how it'll look once it's finished.

I also finally got around to blocking my Aeolian Shawl.

 

I do believe it blocked out amazingly and knit in cashmere it is the most decadent thing I have ever made.  The yarn, Handmaiden Cashmere 2-ply (or something like that), was a gift from Joan and I can't thank her enough.

 

The tonal variations in the yarn are subtle, but beautiful.  Now I just need to figure out what to do with this shawl.  It seems a shame to keep it folded up in my closet.

 

Presently I am working on a scarf all for me.  For my birthday my mother sent me some of Brooklyn Tweed's greatly coveted Shelter yarn in the Button Jar colorway along with the pattern for Dryad.  A more perfect pair couldn't have been made.

 

The stitch definition this yarn offers is spectacular and I can't wait to see how it blooms once I wash the scarf.  I'm giddy with excitement knowing that this scarf is all for me.

 

Sometimes we just have to be selfish.

It appears I'll have a selfish future as well, with projects planned to use up more yarn given as gifts.

For my birthday, Sister No. 4 presented me with a pattern kit from A Verb for Keeping Warm's club.  Beautiful yarn in my favorite colors along with an exclusive Stephen West pattern.  Really, my life couldn't get any better.

Just look at that beautiful yarn!  I can't wait to get this project on my needles.

And last, but definitely not least, I have an armful of Malabrigo from Sister No. 2 with which I intend to make the most perfect sweater ever.

The trouble is, it appears that the pattern for "the most perfect sweater ever" doesn't exist and I fear I will have to attempt to make it on my own.  I'd be planning that all right now, but my stitch dictionaries and such are back in Pittsburgh and I'm here in Minnesota for winter break.

 

But just thinking of the possibilities amuses me to no end.

and with that I bid you all adieu until next time, which I hope will be sooner than three months from now.

Warm wishes and a Happy New Year to you all!

Nightmares

When I was auditioning for grad schools last Spring, sometimes I would have strange nightmares about how they would go or what the results would be.

One dream that occurred more than once showed me being called into the admissions office of a school and being told that I had been accepted, under one condition...

...I had to give up knitting.  NooooooOOOO!!!  Of course, I didn't want to throw a tantrum and run out of the office, so I sucked it up and accepted their offer, enduring two years of knitting-less life to concentrate on the clarinet.

Now, thankfully this dream didn't happen.  However, the result seems to be the same.  I was admitted to grad school and upon arrival it appears that all of a sudden I have given up knitting - not intentionally, not officially, not happily, but somewhere along the line my knitting has stopped dead in its tracks.  What am I to do when I come home to see this sitting by my couch,

knowing that day after day, week after week, it continues to be ignored?  Do you see all those wonderful things in there?

That's a hat that I have nearly finished!  It has a lining and everything and all that is left to do is attach the tassel and close up the top.  I reached that point over 5 weeks ago and still it remains unfinished.

I threw that fingerless glove in the basket because its mate is done and this one needs only 6 rows of ribbing on the thumb and the ends woven in.  And I'll let you in on a secret - on the first one, I just knotted the ends and called it a day.  Really.  I did.  And I don't even feel guilty, except that they're coming undone.  No matter, I knit these two a year apart and they're entirely different sizes anyway, so it's not like someone's going to wear them.

That's a Windschief Cowl finished almost 6 weeks ago, yet I still haven't woven in the two ends...

A wonderful pair of mittens to match my winter coat.  Look, I even started embroidering my name on one of them!  They still need thumbs and linings, but I was so close!

And this next one is the biggest shame.

My Aeolian Shawl.  I finished knitting it in July and still it sits unblocked.  The softest cashmere I've ever felt, sitting crumpled at the bottom of a basket.  It's not right, I tell you.  Can you imagine how beautiful it'll be when it's blocked?  I pick it up from time to time and am ALWAYS surprised by how soft it is.  Unbelievably soft!!!  I neeeeeed to block it, if only for that amazing transformation experience that only lace blocking can bring.  Maybe I'll save it for one of those metaphorical rainy days.

You know what else there is?

The yarn for a long-desired Staccato sweater of my very own.  I had to go to at least 5 different yarn shops in 3 different states just to collect all the colors.  I think I started buying the yarn for this over a year ago and I haven't even swatched for it yet!

Why oh why did I have to give up knitting to go to grad school?

So here's the confession:  I have time to knit.  I do!  I spend my entire day on campus and often I find myself with a 3+ hour break with nothing to do (except practice).  I could be knitting during that time, but I don't bring my knitting to school with me.  For some reason I'm still uncomfortable knitting in public and so it remains home, abandoned, waiting for me to have a day off or a weekend free to settle down and complete some of those projects.  And there are more in that basket that I didn't even mention.

It's a sad state that my knitting is in, but I have hope that when the cooler weather begins to settle in I will feel compelled to finish that hat and those mittens, weave in the ends of the cowl, and settle in for a warm, relaxing evening of knitting with a cup of tea and a nice audiobook.

On a somewhat unrelated note: I got an iPhone recently because I dropped my old phone in the toilet and don't have internet at home, so this seemed to fix both problems.  I was hoping I would be able to blog with it and took the above pictures on my phone thinking I would be able to blog much more easily, but it appears I can't post them onto the blog from my phone.  Anyway, posts might continue to be sporadic for a while.  That's just the way life is sometimes.