It’s Furious Balancing

The more time I spend surfing Ravelry, the more I come to realize that knitters — even though we share an obsession — are as varied and different as.. as..  Well, I don’t know what, but we sure are different from one another, especially when it comes down to What We Like to Knit or, more importantly, What We Would Never Knit. 

I admit to being anti-shawl.  Yes, they’re lovely and lacy and elaborate and challenging; I know all that.  I just see no sense in knitting one because (1) I wouldn’t wear it, and (2) “shawl” makes me think of peasant women sweeping the dirt floor of the family hovel.  Shawls are just not my cup of tea, and I can get my “lace knitting” fix by working up a scarf.  So there.

But I digress.  There’ are plenty of patterns I see in knitting books or on Ravelry that give me the Why Would I Bother? reaction; but I occasionally run across the I Must Make That Immediately pattern.

This is what I’m leading up to.  I have been knitting fruit:

Ball Knitted Like an Orange

All of that preamble was to brace you.  I can hear you now: “Laiane, why did you knit an orange?”

Because I can.  Because it was there.  Because I saw this pattern in the winter edition of Knitty and thought it was the sweetest and cutest little thing I had seen in a long time and that it would amuse me no end to knit one. Because it was a vintage pattern.  Because it was wintertime and I thought some vibrant yarn might be in order.

Pattern: Ball Knitted Like an Orange, translated by Franklin Habit from the original pattern in Wheldon’s Practical Needlework, Volume One (circa 1880).

Yarn: ShibuiKnits Sock in Lily and Berroco Comfort DK in Lovage.

Photo with flash to better show detail and color.

Needles: US Size 1.5 (2.5 mm), Hiya Hiya bamboo DPN’s

Mods: The original pattern calls for six leaves, which I thought were too many for my ideal orange.  I used an old (clean) pair of kneehighs as a liner so that the stuffing wouldn’t poke out.  The pattern suggested whipstitching the holes/seams, but I didn’t trust my whipstitching skills.  That, and since I knit this at a fairly loose gauge, there would be stuffing coming out everywhere, not just the seams.  Since I used the liner and stuffed this sucker within an inch of its life, I couldn’t do the detail work on the bottom of the orange with the green tail from the stem; the needle wouldn’t pass through.  Ah, well.

I think it’s charming and twee, and I’m just smitten with it.  I don’t believe I could say the same of a shawl.

Another Finished Object for 2009, my second ever pair of socks!

Tonks’ Socks

Pattern: Inspired by Charlene Schurch’s Sensational Knitted Socks.  I used the stitch counts for the six-stitch patterns, but I substituted a knit 5, purl 1 rib.  Since I was using a wildly-colored, self-striping yarn, I wanted to highlight the yarn –  not a complicated stitch pattern.

Yarn: Limited edition Harry Potter Sock Yarn by Opal, “Tonks” colorway.  I love the mix of bright and tepid colors; the self-striping bit makes me look like an amazingly clever knitter.

Size: Ladies small.  I wear a US size 6.5B, even though I have the Monster German Potato Farmer Calves from Hell.

Needles: US size 1 (2.25 mm), Lantern Moon Rosewood DPN’s

Shoes by Dr. Martens

Mods: I’m working on tweaking the “top-down with a  heel flap” type of sock to fit my feet.  In this pair, I shortened the heel flap by about 15%.  That did eliminate some of the bagginess around the ankle, but not entirely.  For my next top-down pair, I want to experiment by working in some extra decreases just prior to the the heel flap, as well as going down a needle size for the last inch of leg, the heel flap, and a portion of the gusset.

Yes, I am well aware that they don’t match perfectly, and that they’re fraternal twins instead of identical twins.  I had no intention of trying to get them to match.  If you’ve read the Harry Potter books, you know that Nymphadora Tonks is hardly the kind of girl who’s going to worry about such an anal-retentive concept as perfectly matched socks.

And I bet she wears Doc Martens, too.

I sorta/kinda vowed to make 2009 the Year of Shopping from the Yarn Stash.  Forgive me, for I have sinned.

Four lovely skeins of Dream in Color Groovy arrived the other day, but I have rationalizations at the ready.  I needed this yarn.  Really.  It’s for the current Service Knitting project for the Knitters for Obama group.

We’re making items for the Mattaponi Indian tribe in Virginia, and they requested items made from machine-washable yarn  in bright colors or earth tones.  Having no machine-washable wool in my Yarn Stash — except for sock yarn — I just had to do some shopping.

This is luscious stuff.  I don’t use crap yarn for my Service Knitting projects; I wouldn’t want to give anyone an item made from yarn that I wouldn’t wear myself.  So you see — I had to buy this yarn.  Good cause and all that.

This yarn is talking to me.  I don’t know how much longer I can hold out before I cast on a new WIP, but I’m attempting to discipline myself by finishing the first (boring, dark taupe, never-ending ribbing, worsted weight) hat I’ve started for this project.

We all know how well I do with the self discipline…

1.  From Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address

[W]e reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

2.  From Artyarn, Silk Rhapsody, in a color I can only describe as Quicksilver:

I’m fighting off a cold, so that’s as in-depth as my blog posting is going to get for today.

Sleep well, cats and kittens.  Tomorrow is a brand new world.

I’m currently sitting in one of the common areas of the HI Chicago Hostel, pounding on the laptop. Yeah, I know I haven’t talked about either my Chicago trip or my shiny new Dell (running Ubuntu).  I’ve been remiss.  Bear with me.

This is the Knitters for Obama Inauguration Weekend.  Right after the election, we started chatting in the Ravelry forum about a meet up in Chicago.  About 2 to 3 dozen of us are coming into town, some for just the weekend (me) and some for all four days – culminating in watching the festivities on Tuesday morning.

This is the online crowd I’ve been hangin’ with since the primaries, watching the debates on one screen and typing in chat on another.  A very good bunch indeed.

I rolled into town around noon, checked into the hostel, and spent most of the afternoon at Loopy Yarns sitting in their classroom area with other KFO-ers, knitting, buying yarn, chitchatting, and putting tags on the charity knitting hats we’re donating to the University of Chicago Medical Center’s cancer care unit.

Blackbunny (Carol of Black Bunny Fibers) was there signing copies of her new book, Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn.  Franklin was there, too!  I’m hoping some of his pictures make it up on his blog, since I didn’t take very many myself. 

Yes, I did buy yarn, but it’s SOCK yarn, and I have it on good authority that sock yarn doesn’t count as stash.  There was a very expensive skein of a silk-mohair blend — which is NOT sock yarn — but  I can’t recall the name of it now (and it’s in my room).  It was silver.  And very pretty.  And up by the cash register.  I blame the yarn fumes.  The place was heady with them.

Tomorrow we’re getting together for some sight-seeing, locations to be determined when we get an idea of how many of us are venturing forth.

Further bulletins as events warrant.

–Laiane

I finished the second Pagoda Sock, thereby avoiding the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome.  I was pretty motivated to finish them; I’d discovered I’m a Sock Knitting Addict and needed to start another pair within minutes of finishing my first pair.  I don’t think medication will help this.

So, without further ado, here are my First Ever Completed Pair of Socks That are Actually Wearable.

Pagoda Socks

I posted most of the project information in this post, so I won’t repeat it here.  The only mod to the pattern was my downsizing the needle from the heel flap downwards on the second sock.  I went down from a US size 2 to a US size 1.5  This was to tighten up some bagginess around the ankle and foot, and it did the trick.  So, yes, the socks are slightly different in size.   There are also some tiny gaps where I picked up stitches on the gusset.   I don’t care.  They’re finished.  They fit.  They’re the most comfortable socks I’ve ever worn.

I’ve already begun my second pair of “top-down with a heel flap” socks in some lovely self-striping yarn from Opal.  I’m not sure the stitch pattern I’ve chosen will work with the stripes, so pictures will be appearing another day.  Heck, I might even just knit them in plain vanilla stockinette and let the yarn do all the work.

The New Adventures of Queen Victoria

I want to keep my New Year’s Resolutions on the small side this year.  In addition to the flossing, in 2009 I hope to:

2.  Read The New Testament; and

3.  Shop from the yarn stash instead of buying more yarn.

Of those, Item No. 2 is perhaps the easiest.  Item No. 1 — flossing — is easier to blow off than Jesus.  Item No. 3 — cutting down on the Yarn Shopping — will be difficult, especially since I see it as a way to support the flagging economy.  It’s patriotic, dammit!  Buy yarn!  Buy luxury fibers from indie hand-dyers!  Yeah!

Speaking of hand-dyed yarn,  I want to share with you the 50/50 merino-silk blend I found at The Woolen Rabbit.  It’s called Opulence for a reason.

Click here for the extra-huge sooper-size picture.  It’s worth the bandwidth.  I promise.  The depth of color and shading in this yarn is nothing short of phenomenal.  Even my stashed Silky Malabrigo can’t hold a candle to this.  I want to make the Poinsettia cowl from the Winter Knitty with this, but I am dutifully finishing my second Pagoda Sock before I cast on the next project.

/sigh

The point of this, I suppose, is that I should Shop The Stash because I know there’s excellent stuff in there.   Really excellent stuff.  Malabrigo and Rowan and Dream in Color and Handmaiden Sea Silk and and and…

So much potential!  That’s the thing about knitters and stash yarn.  Having the yarn stay in skeins and hanks — instead of, like, actually knitting with it  — is the stuff of dreams.

We’ll see how it goes, I suppose.  I’m telling myself that I’m not forbidding myself from buying more yarn, just that I should pay more attention to what I already have stashed first.  AND, I tell myself, if I make room in the stash, I can acquire more yarn guilt-free!

I finished the first of the Pagoda Socks last night.  I had almost completed it Sunday evening when I was at Weber’s during the power outage.  I got down to the last 16 stitches but I discovered I’d forgotten to bring a tapestry needle with my knitting gear.  This is probably just as well since it was close to midnight at the time and I was a little slap-happy from finishing my first sock.  Kitchener stitch requires a bit more attention than I was up to at the moment, I’m certain.

So, here it is.  A sock.  A feat of knitting engineering.  I made this, I did I did I did.

This fits my chunky calf and teeny foot, but it’s loose around the ankle.  When I knit the second sock, I’ll go down a needle size on the heel flap and gusset (and maybe go down yet another needle size on the foot). I don’t want to start messing around with adding decreases or removing rows from the heel flap until I’ve gotten more experience making socks.

Oh, and I did cast on for the second Pagoda sock this evening.   I will not succumb to Second Sock Syndrome.

The college I attended – Kalamazoo College – was very big on the Foreign Study bit, and I spent six months abroad at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.

While there were times I questioned the wisdom of sending a wet-behind-the-ears 20-something to Nairobi, I have to admit that the experience changed me for the better.  I became less self-centered, more aware of my cultural biases,  more tolerant, less judgmental, etc., etc, — all those good “personal growth” phrases you toss out in those situations. I learned self-reliance, and when not be so self-reliant that I couldn’t ask for help when I needed it.  I learned how obscenely wealthy America is.  I learned patience.  I learned not to be a diva.  I figured that if I could travel to Lake Turkana and stay at a place where the toilet facilities consisted of a hole in the ground with cockroaches crawling out of it, I was up for pretty much anything.

Well, that was twenty years ago, cats and kittens.  I now admit to being a Wimp.  I admit to being very much in touch with this Inner Wimp, who, upon discovering that the electricity went out during the night, packed up a suitcase and high-tailed it to a hotel.  Heat.  Light.  Internet connection.  Room service.  I’m doing much better than I was two hours ago, let me tell you.  I do miss my kittens, but they have a thick layer of fur (I don’t) and can see in the dark (I can’t).  The prospect of sitting in the dark and wearing my winter coat to bed just didn’t appeal to me.

I’ve been lax in my posting, but I’m going to chalk it all up to work stress and knitting obsessions.  I’ve discovered sock knitting, and am well on my way to finishing my first (completed) sock.  My very firstest ever sock only got a little past the heel turn, then I decided my gauge was off and my gusset was full of holes and that it would just be a better idea all together to start afresh.

WIP Project:  Pagoda Socks

Pattern: Garter Rib Socks, from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Yarn: ShibuiKnits Sock, 100% superwash merino, Pagoda colorway (S1675)

These are looking on the large-ish side as well, but not as much as my first attempt.  I’m trying this one on as I go, and I can tell that there will be some bagginess at the ankle.  I have very muscular German Potato Farmer calves and tiny, high-arched feet (I wear a ladies’ 6.5 shoe), so the quest for the Perfect Sock Pattern or the Perfect Mods for Existing Sock Patterns will be ongoing.  Considering that I’ve bought enough sock yarn to last me through 2009, I think it’s do-able.

I used Silver’s One Sock on Four Double-Pointed Needles Tutorial for my first sock-making attempt, and I heartily recommend it to other beginners.  Once I had worked my way through the heel turn and the start of the gusset, I was able to approach the instructions in Charlene Schurch’s book with more confidence.

A note to aspiring sock knitters – That heel turn really isn’t as impossible as it seems the first time you read through the instructions.  In fact, after I did my first heel turn, I thought it was absurdly easy. Ridiculously Easy.  Easy to the point where I didn’t want to mention it to other knitters because I was worried they would impale me with their DPN’s.   If you can count and can tell your right from your left (most of the time), you can turn a heel.  It’s more difficult picking up the gusset stitches, to be honest, and that isn’t even that difficult.  I discovered that sitting in front of my computer with the Sock in Progress in hand worked really well.  Just reading the instructions didn’t clarify it for me; to really have it “gel,” I had to Just Do It (or Just Knit It, as the case may be).

I should have a finished sock to show you soon.  /knock wood.  Heck, if the power doesn’t come on at home by this evening, I should have a picture for you in the next day or two.

I spend a lot of time shopping online.  Books, yarn, clothes, cat toys, shoes, household goods, gifts, toiletries, etc.  I buy just about everything online since I hate shopping in stores.  The idea of going to a mall makes me break out in hives.  I’ve been buying books from amazon.com since October 1998 and I’ve had my eBay account since August 1999.

Still, I find items for sale online that surprise me.  Things that make me say — sometimes out loud, hitting notes only cocker spaniels can hear and scaring the cats — Oh. My. GOD!  That’s PERFECT!!

I found this gem on Etsy the other day.  If you’re not a knitter, this may be lost on you.  If you are a knitter (or are shopping for one), I highly recommend visiting 5elementknittr’s shop and buying one — or five — of these:

That is indeed a wee little crochet hook attached (with a lobster clasp) to a keychain ring.  The one I’m holding in the photo is a size US D/3 (3.25 mm) hook.  She has them as small as US C/2 (2.75 mm) going up to US F/5 (3.75 mm).

Don’t overlook the decorative bead! These will vary, so just go on over to her shop and read up on them.  She has much better photos than I do and you can get the whole run down on sizes, colors, etc.  There is also a version customizable with letter beads (up to 6 characters).

To the Non-Knitters out there: Knitters use crochet hooks to pick up dropped stitches or fix mistakes in their knitting.  There are other uses for crochet hooks, but I use them primarily as a “fix it” tool.  You always need one in your knitting project bag (together with several different kinds of stitch markers, a retractable measuring tape, and coilless safety pins).  Sometimes I swear that the likelihood I have a crochet hook in my knitting bag is inversely proportional to extent of the error I need to fix.   These little darlings are convenient, portable, and useful beyond what mere words can say.

Later this weekend — Knitting Notions, Part Two — in which I demonstrate that I have clearly lost my mind;  but now, a handmade LOLCat!

moar funny pictures

FO as in “Finished Object.”  This is one truly finished object.

Way, way back in October, I was contemplating what to knit during the Vice Presidential debate.  A lot of of the Knitters for Obama would watch the debates on streaming online video, knit, and keep a running commentary in a forum thread on Ravelry. Well, I could do two activities at the same time, but not all three.  Multi-tasking is not my forte.

This question of “what to knit?” was an important topic.  I knew I would be frothing at the mouth at the insipid and pathetic attempts of That Woman trying to sound even remotely intelligent for one millisecond distracted, so I didn’t want to work on a complicated pattern.  I knew I would be stressed and angry, and didn’t want to channel my bile into a sweet little catnip mouse project — sort of the flip side to the knitted Prayer Shawl concept.  So, I decided to knit a political effigy of Sarah Palin and burn it on Election Night.

Before you all start whining about how evil I am to do this to poor Sarah, I’m going to refer you to the centuries-old tradition of Guy Fawkes Night.  Bonfires.  Effigies of politicians and Popes.  Do some reading, please Sweet Jesus and All That is Holy, DO SOME #*%#&^  READING!

Ahem.

The choice of yarn for this was easy.  I’d inherited a ton of old acrylic yarn from my Gramma Fran’s knitting supplies/stash.  This yarn was at least 15 years old – minimum.  Old scratchy Kmart yarn.  My Gramma, a devout FDR Democrat  who once told me “Democrats care about people; Republicans care about rich people,” would not have been in the least bit offended.

So I cast on at the start of the debate, played Sarah Palin bingo, and made some progress:

This photo was picked up by The Huffington Post in an article showcasing Flickr photos from the campaign.  It’s about 40 pictures into the slideshow if you’re interested.

I worked on the Sarah Palin Political Effigy (SPPE) off and on leading up to the election. I finished her the day before.  Kissy isn’t too interested in her.

Project Notes:  Sarah Palin Political Effigy

Pattern: Bad Juju, by Zabet Stewart; The AntiCraft, Samhain 2005

Size: Bigger than Gov. Palin’s brain, which isn’t saying much.

Yarn: Very, very old 100% Acrylic Yarn of Unknown Origin – Ivory

Needles: U.S. Size 5

Mods/Notes: No mods, but I didn’t do all the embroidery called for in the pattern.  My embroidery skillz are not that great, and this Witch was Made for Burning, after all.

A group of us got together to drink, watch the Electoral College numbers come in and set the SPPE on fire.  I don’t think they use this old grill in their backyard anymore, so it was a perfect place to do the deed.

Photos by HunterXan’s Husband, maker of awesome frozen margaritas and professional journalist.  There’s no way I could take a picture this good.

This was sometime between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., before the election was undisputedly in the bag for Sen. Obama.   Sometime soon afterwards, the neighbors started setting off fireworks, which gave the green light for our Husbands to start setting off fireworks and scare the Tibetan Mastiff under the porch.  In the word’s of HunterXan — “The neighbors totally started it.”

Let’s just say that acrylic yarn and polyester fiberfill burn quickly.  It was like watching the Wicked West of the West melt into a puddle at the end of The Wizard of Oz. Think on this whenever you feel the urge to knit with plastic yarn.

Rock on, cats and kittens.  Inauguaration Day is coming.

Lest you think I’m spending all my time killing giant radioactive cockroaches with a plasma rifle, I thought I should post some pictures from My Other Hobby.  These projects have been completed over the past month or so; I just haven’t gotten around to doing a write-up on each one.

The latest project was a pair of fingerless gloves.  For the record, I don’t care much for fingerless gloves, especially the sort that consist of a knitted tube with a cable slapped on it.  Gloves, in my mind, have fingers, and fingerless gloves should still have five little tubes where your fingers and thumb  go — as opposed to the aforesaid knitted tube with a cable slapped on it.

Despite my rather strident opinion about fingerless gloves, I made a pair anyway.  I wanted some Red Knitted Somethings to wear on my hands to match the Rose Red beret I made earlier this year.  I had some Malabrigo languishing in my yarn stash that was just begging to be used.

Project Notes: Fetch!

Pattern: Fetching, Knitty Summer 2006

Size: Small (See “Mods” below).

Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Torero colorway, approximately 100 yards.

Needles:  U.S. size 6

Mods: I cast on 40 stitches instead of 45.  That’s not a huge difference — the elimination of one cable repeat — but if you have small hands I strongly suggest it.  I also did a regular bind off instead of a picot bind off.  The word “picot” makes me itch; too girly-girl.

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Next up — Charity Knitting.  I’ve discovered I really enjoy knitting hats, so I’ve finished one bulky wool hat for the local homeless shelter and three cotton or cotton-bamboo bebeh hats for Save the Children’s Knit One, Save One project.

Project Notes:  Brother’s Keeper Hat

Pattern: Helping Hat, by CanKNITian

Size: Men’s Large

Yarn: Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds, Dark Grey Welsh, approx. 100 yards. This is seriously sturdy, rustic yarn; it still contains the natural lanolin and some guard hairs.  It’s not the softest yarn in the world, but it will keep the recipient toasty warm (which is quite important for a charity knitting hat).

Needles: U.S. Size 10

Mods: None.

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Project Notes:  Knit One, Save One Bebeh Hats

Pattern: Intermediate Pattern for Knitters, Sport Weight Cap.  The patterns and information about the project can be downloaded here.  Registration required.

Yarn: KnitPicks Crayon (orange), Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton (light blue), and Crystal Palace Yarns Bamboozle (red cinnamon), approx. 50-70 yards each.

SIze: Extra-small (approx. 10″ diameter)

Needles: U.S. Size 5

Mods: None.  The patterns are really “guidelines” and you can get quite creative with your hats, or not.   My preference is for “simple and functional.”

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There are more FO’s to come.  I’m just too tired to finish writing them up today.  I’m fighting off a cold and a sore throat and feel like sitting on the couch with a kitten, a cup of tea, a blanket, and some yarn.  Except for the cold and sore throat bit, that’s pretty close to bliss as far as I’m concerned.

The Knitters for Obama group on Ravelry was a bright spot in all the pre-election craziness of 2008.  I found the group in March, long before the Democratic Party’s nomination of Obama, and I spent hours there hoping, commiserating, dreaming, bitching, watching the debates, planning, and, from time to time, actually knitting.

The official scoreboard for the KFO fundraiser came in at $32,717 with contributions coming in from over 600 donors.  Not bad for a bunch of little old ladies with pointy sticks, eh?

I did win a prize in the last and biggest raffle – the Knitters for Obama lap quilt.  MaryAlice, a KFO member in Birmingham, Alabama, made the prize I won in the second raffle — the Obama knitting bag.  I was so impressed by her handiwork that I put the lion’s share of my virtual raffle tickets on the quilt.

In any event, here are pictures of the quilt.  I have a set of them over on my Flickr photostream if you want a closer look.

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The quilt will be an heirloom of my house.  I intend to pass it on to my niece, Frances, when I’m older (i.e., older in this instance meaning dead).

Mary Alice shared the following with me:

The airport post office is no longer open on Sundays so I sent the quilt today, via Express Mail.  The clerk assured me it would be at your office by noon tomorrow.  She had to take a peek and then had to take it to the back to show her friends.

She always takes my packages when I send something to the grandbabies.  She and I are about the same age and were both around during the Civil Rights movement here in Birmingham 45 or so years ago.  She’s black and I’m white. We were both in tears today when we finished the transaction, just thinking and talking about how excited we both are to be voting for Barack tomorrow.

I’m honored that you’ll pass the quilt on to your niece. Please make a note to tell her how much making the quilt meant to me as a white Southerner who has lived thru this momentous change. I’ve always been a Democrat and I’m especially proud to be one now.

I’m especially proud to be a Democrat right now, too,

Some time ago, I posted photos of baby hats that included the ones I made for a highly-regarded co-worker (and first-time Mom).  These were my first-ever handknit  baby hats.  I now offer proof that my gauge wasn’t complete wonky and that they actually fit the recipient.

This is Josh.  His Mama emailed me today with some photos.  If these were taken recently, Josh is 4 to 5 months old in the pictures.

I love his facial expressions, especially this one of Grave Concern:

This next one is particularly fitting for today.  Happy Samhain, everyone.

“Someone told me there was going to be chocolate.”