Nose to the Grindstone

I find myself mentally blogging as I go throughout my day, updating my own synapses on my progress on various projects. Surprising, then, to see that it has been a month since my last post. In that time, both Tiennie and Katherine have told me that I "make their day"! Aw, thanks, pals! You know they both do the same for me.

I still haven't blogged my finished Excellent Jacket or Tilted Duster, but have worn them both a couple of times. There doesn't seem to be time -- or daylight! -- to take pictures this winter. I'm off work this week, though, furiously pecking away at the keyboard in an effort to complete my NB portfolio, to be postmarked by the end of March. Perhaps I'll find a little pocket of sunshine in which to photograph myself in my new jackets?

I went to Madrona Fiber Festival this weekend with Jenna and Melissa. It was my first fiber festival and I was really excited to go; I'm glad that it was much smaller than I imagined it would be. I was afraid that I'd be too overwhelmed to buy anything at all, but I did manage to buy a couple of things... a lovely hank of turquoisey Handmaiden Swiss Mountain Cashmere and Silk... I actually talked to The Handmaiden herself about the little skein of heaven, ooh la la! I also bought a couple of skeins of Shibui sock with plans of making my first pair of colorwork mitts... Endpaper Mitts, perhaps? We had lunch at the obligatory Mexican restaurant nearby and then explored the Tacoma Art Museum, luckily on the last day of a local quilting exhibit.

Naturally much of my energy is focused on my dear Peanut, who is beginning to incorporate sentences between all the gobbledygook... "I want some" is a favorite, lately followed by "Where did my clothes go?" I kid you not. This girl is destined to be a shoe 'ho. At my school's Lunar New Year celebration, she tried to engage an older girl in a barter, Peanut's wilting carnation bud for a pair of fabulous silver glittery shoes. No luck, but it was fun to watch!

She'd better get a hands-free set for her cell phone, soon, though! She's gonna get a ticket!

Hello!

November is always a busy bee time for me. But inbetween the parent conferences and holiday prep I have found little bits of time to knit.

I went to Portland with my girlfriends and had so much fun. It was my first time away from the peanut and the timing was perfect. I went to Close Knit and bought the Peruvia for my Tilted Duster. Sally, the owner of the shop, is wonderful. I had such a good experience there. Another woman who worked there offered to wind up my yarn for me, without my asking. I told her one skein would be plenty for me to start swatching with but she insisted on winding at least two. I've never experienced that at a yarn shop before.



I finally got to meet Blue Garter Sarah that same day. Sarah is just as intelligent, graceful, witty, and fun as you think she is. She has such an interesting story to tell and I loved having some time to chat together at dinner.

My Peruvia swatch is lovely. I'm trying out the recommended size US10 needles and they feel like big Lincoln Logs in my hands compared to the very reasonably sized US4s I'm using for the Tangled Yoke. But the camera has a really hard time capturing the nuances of this color: Aquamarina 7143. It's a rich, deep teal color which, at first glance appears to be solid, yet a good bit of sunlight reveals the subtle blues and greens. In this photo, the color appears much brighter than it should, but you can see those color variations better.

I'm coming along with my Tangled Yoke Cardi, as well. The yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Graphite, reclaimed from the Not So Shrunken Cardi that never was. This yarn is lovely to knit with. I made The World's Biggest Swatch because I wanted to try it out on four different needle sizes and I enjoyed each of the different fabrics that resulted. At first, the garter rib was a pain because all the action happens on the wrong side where you can't see if you're lining up your knits and purls properly. But it didn't take long to fall into the rhythm of the pattern and start to admire the way the waist decreases disappeared into the faux side seam. I'm just now finishing up the ribbing at the hem and beginning the miles and miles of stockinette stitch for the body. Should be just the thing to knit during the new episodes of Project Runway!

Also, I've finished the Excellent Jacket but need to block it and figure out how to close it. Hopefully I'll be sharing that soon, too!

Here's a bit of a puzzle for you... you know my issues/lack of confidence with choosing the right size pattern for myself... my brother gave me this cute cardi for my birthday, which measures 36" at the bust. It's a great fit, there's no button band gaping. Most of my sweaters and cardis have negative ease. I am a 34 F, so I have a smallish torso in relation to my cup size, and a 39-40" bust measurement. Help! I'm waffling about the Tilted Duster. Since it's a bulkier yarn and an outer layer garment, I'm leaning toward the 40.5" size. Plus, the versions I've seen around Ravelry where the front points don't match up well or the size seems too small are very off-putting to me. However, I don't want to swim in the thing! Norah Gaughan recommended a little ease, maybe an inch or so, so again, the 40.5 seems right. Any advice?

Oh yes, I did mention my birthday. It was on 11/14... and I got myself the best birthday present of all: meet my lovely little MacBook! So helpful for working on National Board Certification wherever I happen to be. Nice to have my online and electronic knitting patterns, etc., right at my fingertips when I'm lounging in the living room. And thank you to the people in my neighborhood who, even though I do pay for DSL, have an unlocked wireless network that helps me zip about the 'nets as fast as you please. (Is that wrong?)

My MacBook is accessorized by the cuff of a mitten. Holiday pressies that I will reveal later.

Happy Thanksgiving! May you be surrounded by loved ones and blessings all weekend. I'm bringing the scrumptious Sweet Potato and Sausage Gratin with Thyme to my mom's house today. So yummy. Here's a snap before it's plopped in the oven.

Think I'm In Love But It Makes Me Kinda Nervous To Say So*

Excellent Jacket is finishing up slowly but surely...

I think I'm really going to like this jacket in spite of its bulk. It's nicely fitted without being too snug, bulky without being too chubbo. At least, that's my impression so far...

The I-cord cast-on I decided on turned out a little wonky. See the first set of knit stitches above the I-cord? (They're actually part of the cast on.) They're much taller than normal knit stitches. At first I thought I could live with it or that it kind of worked as a design feature, but as the jacket is coming together it definitely looks wack. So I'm slooooowly picking it out, what a pain. It's taking about ten times longer to pick out than it did to create in the first place. I'll go back and try an I-cord bind-off instead. This way, I can try it on and make sure I'm in love with the length before I bind-off. Yay!

I did it. I signed up for a Flickr account. Just for my Ravelry notebook. Hopefully the transition from photobucket will be an easy one!

*Isn't Beck the coolest cat?

Calendar, Anyone?

Amelie's ear infection didn't clear up all the way, so we just finished Round Two (ding! ding!) of antiobiotics. She's also teething again. Equals not much sleep for mama. On top of that, I'm applying for a scholarship for National Board Certification. Yes, I like being on the brink of insanity, what about it? In knitterly news, I am almost done with the back piece of Wren, and just need to pick up a skein of cheapo wool to seam up Excellent. The bulky yarn it's knit with would make very chubby seams.

Someone donated a bunch of brand new 2007 calendars to our staff and there were a couple of page-a-day knitting calendars left over. Leave a comment if you would like either of these... photos hotlinked to amazon for info/reviews...





Finally, maybe it's the sick baby, but I've been feeling quite domestic lately. I've been baking, cooking more, spring cleaning, etc. when I've had a moment or two. Tonight's dinner included this lovely, simple (thanks to my buddy Cuisinart) Leek and Potato Galette that I've spotted floating around blogland recently. Yum.

Pink Eyes and a Pink Dress

Well. I fell off the blog planet for a couple of weeks after finishing the February Baby Sweater. It's been a busy time, though...

Baby A had her first Easter egg hunt. The other children were running around, loading up their baskets with piles of eggs and we were very excited with the three that we found. The eggs made a noise when we shook them! Yay! So much fun. This egg hunt was on a farm way out in the country and Peanut got to meet her first horse that day, too. Seeing things for the first time all over again is such a gift.

The following week, she had pink eye and an ear infection. So. Miserable. I don't have pictures to show you and you wouldn't want to see them, anyway.

Then came the real Easter day. Church service with grandma and grandpa and a pretty pretty dress. She was feeling much better by then. After Easter, I had spring break. With spring break and a few "sick days" off with the Peanut, I haven't been at work for almost two weeks! Lots of time to knit, right? ... kind of ... I really wanted to knit Wren during spring break but what I have done is come *this* close to finishing the Excellent Jacket.

The sleeves were done first. Since it's such a chunky garment, I decided to knit the body all in one piece to avoid the bulk of side seams. Now I just have to pray that it fits the way I hope it will!

Next up, Wren. Also? I've decided that I have too many stalled projects and I'm going to finish one old project for every new one. So I might actually have something else to show you before Wren gets too far off the starting block.

I-Cord Cast On?

The Koigu socks march on and I hope to have a finished pair and a full report for you very soon, including info about how I made my short row heel without holes.

The socks were purely diversionary, though. I was moving right along on my Excellent Jacket when I had an aha moment that I needed to think about. This chunky jacket is purely stockinette stitch. The hems don't have any other design features that would prevent rolling. The sleeves were already done (I did eliminate the cuff, though) and the back was almost to the armholes. I decided I could live with a roll on the sleeve but not on the hem of the body. So I started thinking about how to modify the design to remedy this problem. Most patterns that utilize a garter or seed stitch edge seem to call for four rows of said stitch pattern. That seems like a lot with this chunky gauge, texturally and visually.

What about i-cord? I could use Annie Modesitt's i-cord edging for the front edges of the jacket. I could also use a matching i-cord cast-on for the hem of the jacket.

Would an i-cord cast-on solve the rolling problem and be stretchy enough for the bottom of a jacket? Any ideas?

An End and a Beginning

As 2006 comes to an end, I have a half full/half empty perspective on the year. I mean, how can you possibly feel grumpy about not getting to your knitting (and home organization goals, etc.) when you have this little face to look at each and every day?

Peanut turned six months old on Christmas Day. She started rolling over about two weeks ago, from her back to her tummy. Today she rolled back all by herself! Yay! She's now eating fruits and veg, too! Peas, pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, yeah baby. And she's clapping her hands! Oh, and she giggles -- no, truly cracks up -- when she sees and tries to interact with our Lennon kitty cat. So if I think of this year in relation to her life, it has been amazingly productive. A year ago, you could barely tell I was pregnant, and now we have this brand new human being with a sparkling personality and a killer smile. What more could you ask for?

I have to remind myself of that once in a while when I feel a bit overwhelmed with it all. And when the new knitting magazines come to my mailbox. And when I see all the beautiful things you all are knitting! :)

Jemima is sitting here, ready to be blocked. I did knit the two sleeves for my Excellent jacket during my two weeks off. That's something to be excited about. So 2007 will feature at least those two finished projects! Yay!

Happy New Year, everyone. Try to remind yourselves, once in a while, of what makes your glasses "half full".

Come On, Drink the Kool Aid

I've got two friends who are, separately, getting excited about knitting.

One is the mommy of the twins I made the raglan baby sweaters for recently. She started knitting while on bedrest and wanted to learn more. I went over this weekend and showed her a few things, namely Addi Turbos and knitting socks on two circs. She's hooked! Yay! She called tonight to let me know that she's in love with the Turbos and can't wait to get more pairs/sizes.

The other is a friend who has never knit before. The pal who taught me how to knit a couple of years ago taught her just this week. She called me last night, saying, "Help! I have a knitting question!!" Yay! She's learning the basics and sounds really interested.

I say to them, "Welcome to my obsession. Let me know how I can help you feed the monster." heh.

As for me....

1. Shawl Collar Pullover pieces are finally dry. We'll see how soon I can get 'er seamed up.

2. Jemima is knitting up rather quickly thanks to the LOVELY Cashsoft and the way that it literally flies on Addi Turbos. I think I have a crush on this combination. I'm almost to the raglan shaping of sleeve #1.

3. Excellent yarn arrived today. Love living so close to Elann. Must remember to exercise restraint, though, else I order something new every stinking week. Must order an Addi Turbo US15/10mm. Holy cow. Haven't used such big needles since I was a beginner who knit too tightly and needed fat needles so my first scarf wouldn't be stiff as a board.

Knitting Ups and Downs

Shawl Collared Pullover is happily blocking away with its own little ray of sunshine (they're hard to come by over here) and yes, it's true that wet alpaca really does smell like wet dog. Mmmm. Yummy. I hope it dries soon; I keep laughing when I think of what this sweater's going to look like on my daily-increasing belly. Fortunately, people have good imaginations and will probably be able to imagine what it will look like on me next fall, right? :)

Our trip to Vancouver was lovely and quite uneventful. Perfect. We stayed right downtown and walked all over the place. Ate good food. Saw two good movies (Firewall was intensely suspenseful; Syriana was complex, political, and kept us talking and thinking well after we left the theater). Touched no yarn. I didn't even knit in the car on the way up or down. It seemed important to be more present, enjoying the scenery and conversation with Mr. Goodkarma. It was a good time!

But you know how I am; as soon as Shawl Collar was off the needles and in the bath I was itching to cast on something new. For a minute I considered going to one of my stalled projects but no, I had to start something new. That's a lesson for me; do NOT leave a project unfinished or it may never ever ever see the light of day again.

Elann had this Schoeller Stahl Excellent yarn for a few days. I kept looking at the sample pattern and thinking about how cute it would have looked on me about 5 months ago when I still had a waist. The available colors were selling out quickly; the one I was eyeballing was a darker combination of blues, but I was only able to pick up this lighter combination instead.

While I wait for my Excellent yarn (can't say it without thinking of Bill and Ted), I dove into my Rowan Cashsoft DK for Jemima. This pattern utilizes a tubular cast-on, and this is the first time I've ever used one. I wish I had tried it before! So clever and neat. Totally tubular. (Valley Girl.) I knit the cuff and an inch or two of sleeve before bedtime and then was suddenly struck with a wave of incompetence. Would it look ridiculous on me? Would the color combo look homemade? Wouldn't this absolutely luscious yarn look better in something more pretty and less everyday? Naturally I stayed up way too late searching for ideas for what other knitbloggers had done with Cashsoft. I don't have a lot of it (7 balls of Ballad Blue, 1 ball of Lime). Of course I saw many, many posts about Grumperina's Odessa, but I really want to wear this yarn on my body, not my head! I hit the pillow feeling defeated. Why do I always have to find a solution immediately anyway? Grrr.

I woke up this morning with an image of a sweet, finished Jemima. My imaginary version is a little more fitted than the original oversized one. Mari made a super cute one herself. I think I'll stick with the plan. If you haven't worked with Cashsoft yet, you're in for a treat!

And in the Husbands Are Funny Department: I got a great deal on last year's model of an expensive stroller. When it arrived the other day, I started taking it out of the box. Now, my husband is great, but he hasn't been super excited about anything baby related yet. As soon as parts started coming out of the box, though, he jumped up off the couch and started assembling the thing before I even had a chance to open the directions. I started reading instructions aloud but I might as well have been on another planet; he was so involved in snapping pieces together that he didn't even hear me. "Oooh, it even has shocks." "Nice wheels!" I'll be checking it out soon to make sure all the pieces were used, etc...