2ktog

Slip-sliding away

I like variegated yarn, but I thought this Fixation was stripey. I turns out it is tri-colored (peas porridge hot!) , about one row per stripe. To take advantage of that, I wanted to find a slip-stitch pattern that would show it off. It's been a long road since those first picots, but here we are. You'll notice I'm now attempting to put some pointy, picot-like bobbles at the bottom of the cuff to recall the cast-on. I'm having fun with these socks, I hope I can get the damn math to work out. (Psst, these are sockapaloooza socks.) I am going to make a new Boston sock map. I had one all done over a week ago and then Photoshop died and I couldn't face it again.

I am slightly obsessed with slip-stitch patterns now. I love the texture and color possibilities. Have you seen Laura's lovely Esther Williams hat?

I have joyous news. No, Omar isn't back from his blogging hiatus. No, he has not finally upgraded our MT so I'm not drowning in SPAM. But we did find Lopi Mouse. He came through the wash, smaller and smelling more of fabric softener than captnip. He is stuffed with roving, so even his guts shrunk a little. I "ripped him a new one" as the old thread was obscured, and filled him with fresh catnip. Oh, it's just like old times. I swear there was shrinkage. Can you tell?

Before:
After:

It's panta-monium! Stop me, I could go on all night. This little hot item was born to the blogging world when some clever chicks on Craftster translated a Finnish pattern. MiMi provided at no extra charge, as she is bound to start her own internet phenomenon, like Limecat. Panta doesn't look like much let, but just you wait. Yes, that's Alpaca Silk, a birthday gift. I love the color, I just want to put a big red flower on it.

"Dead" or "Alive"

This is really a huge tragedy in our house. MiMi has lost Lopi Mouse, or rather Lopi Mouse has deserted his post as friend and companion, right after the photos for the mouse post were taken.
If you see this varmit, tell him Sheriff MiMi has her claws out.

Ferry 'cross the Mersey

The title of this post has nothing to do with socks or blankets but it has been stuck in my head every since I read Bill Bryson's account that they actually play that song on the ferry. This has nothing to do with knitting, either, except that maybe you could knit on the ferry.

As you can see from the amount of yarn re-wound around the tidy Cascade Fixation yarn barrel, I made a sizable swatch with this, testing various stitch patterns. I found one I liked, but nothing can rival my adoration of the picot cast-on.

I'm sure I'm not the first, but I modified what I found to my liking:

Using knitted cast-on, CO 3 stitches.
BO 1 stitch Return bound-off stitch to left needle, Knit
Return bound-off stitch to left needle again.

I added knitting of the bound-off stitch because otherwise I didn't find the picots pointy enough! And picots should be pointy!

Black yarn is not the photographer's friend. Please use your imagination to project how hip and sassy this blanket will be when blocked and not bunched on three (!) circular needles. It's now at over 400 stitches. Pinwheel, pinwheel.

I'm usually not much for WIP pictures, but there you go! Lemonade stand in hell today.

Stitchin' for a Bitchin'

Many of you have read about Sew Fast, Sew Easy's claim that they own the phrase "Stitch 'n Bitch" that forced many local knitting groups, including SNB Boston, to change their name on yahoo groups. This all went down several weeks ago. But look what I saw on yahoo earlier this week!

Now...

File under, WTF? Walk the walk if you talk the talk.

Boston-area Sockapaloooza

If you see yourself on here, leave a comment and I'll add you. The balloons represent zip codes, so there could be more than one person per balloon.
Thanks Alison! :) The Google Earth and Google Map are really cool.

Lists, no eye candy

Well, unless you're like that. I organize my life from the inside out. Our physical space is always cluttered, pets, laundry, art and craft projects, I don't know how to really contain it all. But inwardly I try to keep my goals clear. So it goes with knitting. Think not of the huge chest full of bags of yarn and UFOs. Think not of my knitting bag, which is hard to keep under control. The heart of my knitting is my lists, which are carefully maintained.

Current WIP. OMG. It's under 10!

Comments:

Candycorn socks: I just need to get these finished. I'm to the hell of the second one (top-down)
Pinwheel Blanket: Is really trucking along, I will probably finish this within the week.
#4 should read: Rugged Man Fingerless Gloves. I made my dad some fancy fingerless gloves last year out of Baby Ull, and he informed me that what he really wanted was a chunkier pair made out of "rag wool" for fishing. So I need to make these before his fishing trip in June. I am going to use Donegal Tweed left over from Omar's Creel.
One-hour baby booties: have become one-year baby booties, I just have some finishing work to do on them, and then they should go to the next newborn ASAP, because they are so tiny!
I'm sort of in project limbo with the gauntlets and the Farmer's market bag. I'm not sure I will really wear the gauntlets. Maybe, but not for sure. The koigu might be better used in socks. The other two (afghan and stole) I consider way back-burner, work as you feel like it projects.
What's missing? Zaftig. What was I thinking, really? It was sort of fun to knit, but the short rows are a bitch, and I don't think I'd ever, ever use it. I think I have enough of that spray-dyed coral Fixation for knee socks!

Anticipated Knitting

Comments:

Denim sweater: My mother is a denim fiend. She wears it every day. I think she would love a loose-fitting cardigan in mid-blue denim yarn (Nashville?). I'm debating between Elann Den-M-Nit and Rowan. The Elann is certain way more in my price range. I'm also not sure about the pattern, as the Rowan patterns just aren't nearly big enough.
Out of the rest of this stuff, what I'm most interested in making next is the Garter Entrelac Vest in Kureyon 154. I bought a bat when it was on sale at WEBS. Inspired by Omar's garter entrelac scarf. It should be pretty straightforward, nice and stretchy with negative ease. As Kathy and I were discussing yesterday, the only tricky bit will be the armhole shaping.

I am participating in a meme-like project, Mission 101. The object is simply to complete 101 preset tasks in 1001 days. I'm really enjoy this. I have a list in Excel sorted by category. Here is my lengthy art/craft category portion of the list. There is a lot of knitting in there, as well as some crochet and sewing.

Thankfully there is some overlap between the current and future knitting project lists and the overall 101 list. :)
Also, I realized I never posted here about my experience teaching knitting (item 2 on above list!) last week. Today is my second class, so I will plan to post tonight or tomorrow with overall impressions, which are favorable!

Rodents and feet

I'm trying very hard to not turn this into MiMi's blog. Well, you know, once upon a time there was a boy named Omar who blogged here with me, but for now you're going to have to make do with the cat.
This is important, though. I present the most appreciated, loved, item that I have ever knit for anyone, used daily. Lopi Mouse! MiMi adores Lopi Mouse, which was knit from this pattern with some regular (bulky) Lopi left over from a felting project. I made this while we were waiting for MiMi's adoption to process while she was still at the shelter. I remember thinking "I hope she likes it, just a little." Now I regularly think "Get that damn mouse out of my bed/seat/bathrobe!"

Lopi Mouse was knit on size 5s and felted slightly by hand and stuffed with catnip. I sewed up most of his belly with yarn and sewed a small bit with thread in an easy to see color so I can gut him from time to time to replace the catnip, which I placed in a knotted nylon stocking in case of leaks. This pattern is so cute, all one piece, i-cord tail and bobble ears!

Only slightly less loved are Michelle's Knitty Gritty sockette/ Broadripple hybrids. These were a relatively quick, fun knit from Elann fakey-Fixation. I made a garter stitch strap with two button holes for adjustability.

Rodents and feet, these are a few of my favorite things. Again with the blue color palette!

Cool tones for winter blues

Before we ever thought of getting a cat, I started a Kitty Pi for my friend. We set up a trade: cat bed for cloth menstrual pads. How can it get better than that? Of course, life being what it is, we both got busy and probably over a year later, I am finally done with my end of the bargain. This was a quick but painful knit, as I discovered that I am somewhat allergic to Lamb's Pride and it sheds, well, more than my cat (or my rabbits, for that matter). So this cat bed took a long time to be realized, unlike MiMi's moebius bed, which Omar whipped out within a week of her arrival.
Here is the unfelted bed. I knit about 5 extra rounds and didn't do any decreases. To compensate, I bound off tightly with one strand of worsted Lamb's Pride. I'm really happy with the resulting shape. Unfelted, the bed fits eerily well over our Ikea ottoman. I'd love to knit a cover for it, but not in Lamb's Pride! MiMi, however, loves the fuzz.

Inspected by: Mimsy. We couldn't find anything that was big enough to stretch the felted bed across, so we blocked it with a vented pizza pan stacked with books under a towel to soak up any remaining moisture. It worked like a charm! I love the result. After blocking, I turned it so that the "right" side was the inside, the most visible side. I also like how reverse blocking gave it an even more prominent bowl shape.

Also, notice the sunburst shape the stitches made in the "bullseye." I like that too. Wow, I like this project infinitely better finished than I did as a UFO.

Also recently completed, a simple Seaman's Cap for my mom in an old color of Malabrigo that I ordered online before they made it big. Oh yes, I have my finger on the pulse of the knitting world.

My mom has the other two skeins of this gorgeous stuff, ostensibly to make herself a scarf. She hasn't progress much beyond the initial 6", but hopefully this will spur her on. A bonus shot: decreases. There's something perfect about the decreases of a hat that reminds me of just-opened peanut butter, or the curl of undisturbed butter in a tub.
I've been on a finishing kick, there's one more FO to show (also in blues), but the recipient has not delivered her promised photos, ahem!

Magical !

Today's post is all about magic. The magic of mobius. The magic of bunnies.
Remember how long ago I started a Cat Bordhi felted mobius basket? Well, because I expect this year to be magical, it is my first FO of 2006.
Yes, we're going to become one of those blogs. MiMi has decided she has to be in every picture. I'm just too lazy to shoo her away.

I love this! (Not to mention it was felted in our own building, in our free washer that finally works!) It's going to be a gift for family friends that are going through some bad health. The lady has expressed an interest in felting, which she calls "boiled wool." What is the difference, if any? Is this just the antiquated term? Anyway, I'm sure I will make many more of these in the future. Thanks to Grumperina for the book, which was an engagement present, and the needles, too! I love the way the bottom looks, although the color doesn't show so well in the light I used.

This is what happens when you try to take a photograph on a shelf by the window and open the shade for natural light:

Last but not least, what might I be doing making a heartstrings fiber arts bunny out of a garter stitch square? Aren't I a little past that?

I'm so excited! I'm going to be teaching knitting in an after school program in the town where I live. The students are from a fairly underprivileged population, and they are kids who have had trouble passing state standardized tests. There is no budget for supplies, so I'm trying to gather some. The program has some yarn, but there are three(!) knitting clubs running this semester, with about 10-12 4-6th graders each. I need yarn, needles, crochet hooks, and yarn needles. Please e-mail me at arcadiawilde@yahoo.com if you'd like to make a donation, or send money through Paypal below.

Crotchety crochet 2005

As I'm waiting for Omar to finish some work so we can begin our New Year's Northern Exposure Season 3 marathon, I figured I should post the holiday FOs. Guess what? They are all crochet! I wrote some IOUs for knitted gifts, but here's what got completed.

Amigurumi style versions of our friends Devin and Diane. They were so, so happy with them and gave me lots of hugs and said they were the best gifts ever and that they were going to have to put up a special shelf for them in their apartment. That kind of reception makes all the lukewarm ones worth it. .

Here's a panty close-up of lil' Diane's little felt knickers. You know what single crochet six into one stitch looks like? It's downright dirty.

This hasn't been sent yet, but I am making snowpeople for my grandparents. MiMi loves this one! I'm hoping that snowpeople are general wintery enough that getting one in January won't seem lame and outmoded. Notice how much whiter Mimsy is than the snowlady. Does anyone know of a good pure white wool?

I found this scarf at a thrift store. I pulled out some nasty felted (acrylic can felt?) fringe and added a Noro Kureyon 102 ruffle. I have to fix some of the intarsia (I'm just doing it with sewing thread) and then I'm going to sew lots of sparkly beads on it and pretend that I live in a Lisa Frank world of rainbows and unicorns.

While I am bombarding you with pictures, how about some gift shots? The best gift came from my future sibs-in-law, engineered I'm sure by my future SIL, who is a fabulous knitter. She got me the pattern and yarn for the Modular Shell Backpack, which was designed by her friend. I saw hers last year in shades of blue and green and was entranced! However, look how perfect the colors are for me:

I think the real brilliance of the color choices is the dark color, which is a lovely chocolate brown. Most people would automatically pick black with all the brights, but this is so much richer.

Omar can't come to the phone at the moment. He doesn't have any new FOs to show, but how about the garter stitch entrelac scarf he is making with the Silk Garden I got him for our anniversary? Here's a peek:

Look for more Noro, entrelac, amigurumi, kitten photos and love in 2006 on 2ktog!

Orange sky

Originally uploaded by Hobo pd.

Entrelac Neckwarmer

I cannot for the life of me remember this shade of Silk Garden (Michelle?) but it is gorgeous, I love the jewel tones. They are not quite what I would normally pick for myself, but what a pleasant surprise!
I adapted the Lady Eleanor entrelac instructions from Scarf Style to make this piece. It used about 1 and 1/3 skeins of Silk Garden, which is 90 M/skein. The new skein was joined right below the button (those two green diamonds).

The vintage button is another gift from my mom, it probably belonged to one of her grandmothers. I adore it!

Here's my sick-girl-in-bathroom-mirror modeling shot.

and as a bonus: an accidental macro of my freckles!

Speaking of skin and yarn, I wasn't sure I would be able to tolerate the Silk Garden right next to my face, but I have grown okay with it. I have Kureyon scarves that I'm okay with (they do soften over time) but the mohair in this seemed almost like too much. But like my mother used to say when she was combing the snarls out of my uberthick hair, "Beauty takes pain."

Space Peep

Originally uploaded by bootsvalentine.

Here is my second finished crochet object ever (barring a few flowers): a space peep based on Roxycraft's rockin' Ramona Peep pattern.
I am loving the 3-D prospects of crochet! I have started doing snowpeeps for my grandparents for the holidays.

Pumpkin Blast!

Over a year ago, I started knitting a sweater using this pattern, Melon Blast from Knitter's Spring 2004. I decided to lengthen the sleeves and leave them as wide straight sleeves, and eliminate the stitch pattern. I finished two sleeves that languished in my UFO bag for 8 months or so.

Then one day a few months ago I realized that finishing this sweater was the closest path I had to having a completed garment. The body of the sweater is knit in one piece, and so it required casting on a bajillion stitches. I first put it onto denise cords, but the yarn, Classic Elite Zelda, had other ideas. This WEBS closeout bargain was wound on cones, and had a fiber content of 70% wool, 30% linen (which accounts for its slight heathered appearance.) It is a vastly thick and thin yarn, ranging from sport weight to bulky within the same yard. On the Denises, the thin sections were slippy and hard to knit, and the linen in the thick sections caught on the joins. So once I got some suitable Addis, I was in business. I called on Kathy and Omar for the math required to make it into a wrap sweater. Thanks guys! A girl couldn't ask for better knitting group cronies. Now I present, Pumpkin Blast! It looks barely recognizable from the Knitter's pattern. Here is a detail of the vintage button my mom sent me, that really makes this sweater! There will be more vintage button goodness very soon.

The modeling shots will have to be posted later (think how look it took me to post a Clapotis modeling shot) because I am still recovering.

Lame excuses

This is one of those posts where I wave away any questioning looks with vague excuses for my lack of blog-presence.
Now, let it be known that Omar is just lazy, he has fine progress on Via Diagonale and moreso on his garter entrelac scarf, and he's an able-bodied young lad who is going to go out soon to get his ailing darling Trader Joe's Hot and Sour Soup and cinnamon pita chips. So remember, he's a good man, just not a good blogger.
The ailing darling feels almost too crappy to be called darling (although my hair is doing very endearing rumpled orphan-waif spikes). I've had a lingering cold that has lately manifested in unstoppable ear aches and canker sores.
But, dear reader, do not that I have forsaken the wonderful world of fiber all together. Nay, I have actually completed my second adult-sized sweater for moi, which I like much, much better than the first (*spit* Kyoto *spit*). Not only that, but my own traditional stockinette entrelac neckwarmer is done, has debuted at knitting group, and both are finished with fetching vintage buttons.
But really, despite my desire to a. Prove that I did entrelac before the hot guy's design on Knitty made entrelac cool and b. photograph my new orange wrap sweater -- I feel like crap. I don't know where our camera is. I don't want to document my chapped lips and sunken eyes.
So you're just going to have to wait. I know this is very hard for all of you, since there are so few knitting blogs to sate your desire for vicarious yarngasms.
December is for Christmas projects. I am going to make my mother a seaman's cap in Malabrigo, and my father some rugged man fingerless gloves out of Omar's leftover Donegal Tweed from the Irish Creel. I will be using the i-cord finger technique to avoid a repeat of last year's hell involving size 2s and Dale Baby Ull in charcoal.
Not only that, but I am very excited to be doing some crochet amigurumi dolls from Roxycraft's brilliant patterns. I am finally starting to "get" crochet and I am glad that I am open to both crafts, as I think they are great compliments to each other. I really like the sculptural effects you can create with crochet. Plus I finally realized that I had been trying to crochet with cotton and acrylic for so long--when I finally used wool I was pleasantly surprised at how much more even and firm my stitches were.