07.14.08
Posted in Brooklyn, Fibers, Knitting, Lace Knitting, Scarf, Sweater(s), Yarn at 11:41 am by delipics
I think I have actually used up all the memory in my iBook G-4! I’m having troubles - I can’t download photographs and I keep getting this message about not enough space on my start-up disk. Didn’t know I might actually come to this - I bet this computer is full of too many blog photos and free knitting patterns! Now this barely-able-techy girl is going to have to deal with these techy problems, grrr.
I actually had photos to show on my Cozy v-neck. I finished the body and started the sleeves, after running to Brooklyn General for DP #10. I’m knitting the sleeves in the round. Just as I am raring to finish this sweater, grr again - my 16″ number 9 circulars are too long for me to comfortably knit the ribbing section of the sleeve. It’s Monday so BkynGen is closed so I’m going to try and find time to run into the city and stop by The Point.
While also at BkynGen, I bought yarn and needles for my stayacation project because as of Saturday, I am officially on staycation for this week! No big plans - just knitting, puttering around the house and then a long weekend trip to the Boston area. What I really should do is organize drawers and take clothes to Salvation Army - but procrastination has a hold on me. I did accomplish one thing - I packed up yarn that I am planning to donate in two boxes. I did some research on the web and I think I found a place - it’s a women’s correctional facility in need of yarn for their recreation department. I feel good about doing this.
Oh, so back to my project, I’m knitting the Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty’s Spring 2008. The yarn I am using is Canopy from The Fibre Company. This is the same company whose yarn I bought in MDSW and I’m using their yarn for the Cozy v-neck. Canopy is a sport weight yarn of 50% baby alpaca, 30% merino and 20% bamboo. So soft on the hands and easy to knit up. I’m knitting the scarf on #3 bamboo circs. While at BkynGen, I looked at the other yarns from The Fibre Company that they had there, and I love them all. This may be my new favorite yarn company - there is something about the quality of the line they have created and the colors too that I am responding too. Grr, I wish I could show you photos of how it looks - this yarn is gorgeous stuff. I chose a similar color that is used in the photos of the Lace Ribbon Scarf - a beautiful dusky blue grey that makes me think of a fall sky. I hope to have this done in time to casually drape around my neck during my actual go-away-on-a-trip vacation in August.
Keep your fingers crossed on my tech/computer/memory problem.
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06.17.08
Posted in Socks, Sweater(s), Yarn at 5:46 pm by delipics
Prettyposies did my free Wordpress upgrade so writing this post right now is a whole new experience. I like the new Wordpress look. Oh, and if you left me a post, I may have accidentally deleted it, so please write back.
After a two week hiatus, A&D Sweater Support is meeting Thursday night. A very good thing because I have done nothing with my Cozy V-neck. I know I am going to have to tink and I’m dreading it. This is going to be one of those times when I will need hand-holding, sympathy and cake - lots and lots of cake.
I knew tinking was in my future when I pulled out a sweater to compare sizing to the Cozy V-neck. The final tink confirmation came when I did a search on Ravelry to see how other knitters did their versions of the sweater. (The one good thing I got from scanning Ravelry is now I know where I will start the ribbing.) Everyone else’s sweater was very fitted (hence the titled of Fitted Knits, duh!). I think the problem is one I face frequently as a petite person - it’s the armhole and body ratio thingamabobber. How to describe? Well, a regular size 2 is completely different from a petite size 2 - it’s all about proportion. Surprisingly, Wikipedia has good summary on petite sizing. A quick search on Google on “altering knitting patterns petite size” has not revealed too much. I’ll have to do more internet research. Any suggestions out there? Where are my petite-sized knitters?
In a weak attempt to distract myself from the calamity of the Cozy v-neck, I decided I had to go knitting book shopping. I bought Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks. Alex has this book and she made me the Fancy Silk Socks for Christmas? Birthday? I can’t remember, she’s made me so many wonderful things. Anywho, my plan was to use my Socks That Rock yarn that I bought at MDSW to one of the gentleman’s sock patterns, only to find out I don’t have enough yardage for a man’s size 9 (the man being Darren, of course). Grrr - much frustration. I possibly could get away with knitting the Gentleman’s Plain Winter Sock. This pattern calls for 394 yards and the STR is approximately 380 yards, but I think this is taking a chance. Then I thought, I need a toe-up sock pattern! I saw on Knitting Daily the On-Your-Toes Sock pattern, but for a size 9 foot it calls for two skeins of 292 yards - still no go. There’s no way around this - if I’m going to knit socks for Darren, I am going to have to buy more yarn. But I have to (whiny voice)!
So after all this, I still have knitted nada but I am thinking of knitting, which at times is just as pleasurable as the actual action.
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06.04.08
Posted in Knitting, Photos, Scarf, Yarn at 4:43 pm by delipics
Here she is, the lovely Raquel modeling her new scarf!
Isn’t she great? It was fun knitting this for her. The last two scarves I have made for friends I put a lot of thought into - from the color, the yarn choice, and to most importantly, a design that truly reflects the wearer. Raquel already knew she wanted an orange scarf, and this label-less yarn (donated by another friend) reflects Raquel’s personality. It’s a yarn with sparkles and unexpected changes. The open-work of the stitch pattern is also very Raquel-like and the fringe too. I added the fringe at the last minute and I kept it long in case she wants to trim it to her liking. All right, scarf-desiring friends - who’s next?
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05.07.08
Posted in Fibers, Photos, Spinning, Travel, Yarn, cooking/food, shopping at 5:17 pm by delipics
Happiness is attending a fiber festival –
See more festival photos here.
What an experience! I went with Maria and Jocelyn, two experienced MDSW festival attenders who showed me, the newbie, the ropes. We did so much!
Day 1:
- Wake up at 6:30 a.m., shower, continental breakfast at The Days Inn because not enough time to go to Waffle House.
- Pack bags, load-up the car with spinning wheels, get breakfast / coffee for Maria & Jocelyn.
- Drop off Maria’s and Jocelyn’s spinning wheels.
- Run to The Fold. Stand amazed at the line that is already there. Push way in to look at the yarn. Stand in line and chat with other excited knitters. Spend time going back to look, consult with friends, go back, consult — purchase two skeins.
- Help Maria take her fleece to Zeilinger’s.
- Wander around main exhibition hall. Become very excited by the process of wool rug hooking. Buy a starter kit, marvel at the designs of the rug hookers working at the table. Very nice ladies - they answered all my questions
- Lunch - pit lamb sandwich. Decide still hungry and get a lamb burger.
- Go to Judith MacKenzie McCuin’s talk on Getting Your Fleece Processed.
- Maria & Jocelyn go to their spinning class.
- Find a grassy, shaded area and nap for an hour. Wake up and work on Raquel’s scarf.
- Eat vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate. Feel sick.
- Go back to main exhibition area and contemplate which yarn to buy. Decide to put off for tomorrow.
- Meet up with M&J. Share a plate of ribbon potato chips with everything - sour cream, cheese, jalapenos, bacon bits, fake green onion bits. Now truly sick.
- Just as we’re about to make our way to the car, we get distracted by the yarns and rovings at Persimmon Tree Farm. M&J buy more roving.
- Drive to the Ravelry party. Accidentally walk through a wedding reception. Arrive way too early so sit outside of the pool and chat with Michelle from Philadelphia & Kristy from Minneapolis. (Forgot their blogs names!)
- Ravelry party starts. Get nametags. Get drink tickets. Get drinks and munchies. We sit outside but get annoyed by the bugs and retreat to the inside. Get teased for being too New York and not able to handle bugs. Jocelyn’s friend meets up with us.
- Leave Ravelry party to get dinner - Ethiopian food in downtown Fredrick. Jocelyln completely charms the owners because she lived in Ethiopia for two years.
- Back to the Days Inn to pass out.
Day 2
- Wake up at 6:30 a.m. to pack up the car and check out.
- Maria goes to class. Go shopping with Jocelyn.
- Buy yarn from Persimmon Tree Farm in a beautiful orange and brown colorway.
- Buy yarn from The Fibre Company. $4.50 a skein!!! Go with ten of basic black and ten of a gorgeous blue to complement Darren’s eyes.
- Back to main exhibition hall to buy a rug hook and embroidery hoop. Want to start working on my rug hooking kit.
- Jocelyn convinces me to try out spinning wheels. Meet Jim of the Yarn Barn, bond over the fact that I’m from Lawrence, Kansas too. He teaches me how to spin and try out various wheels - the Lendrum Folding, the Kromski Sonata and the Ashford Traveller. So tempted to purchase one but exert self control . . . for now.
- Lunch - another pit lamb sandwich - this time the platter!
- M&J go to color knitting class.
- Find nap location from previous day. Start working on rug hooking. Take nap.
- Wander from tent to tent in case I missed anything good.
- Go back to the music performance area. Sit under tree and knit on Raquel’s scarf.
- Meet up with M&J, eat, pack and get on the road. There is so much in the car that I can’t see Jocelyn in the back seat. Thankfully we’re all petite women and we can fit amidst all the fiber!
- Arrive home safe, sound and fiber happy!
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03.10.08
Posted in Knitting, Photos, Spinning, Techniques, Textile(s), Yarn at 7:25 pm by delipics
I spied a little skein of hand spun Peruvian wool on my shelf from my lounging position on the couch. Something shifted internally and I could feel my lack of motivation moving gradually about an inch (visualize a large concrete block). I spun this yarn in July 2006 when Caroline still taught spinning at The Yarn Tree. (She’s teaching a class here this May.) I always wondered what this would look like knitted.
Voice in my head,” I’m going to knit this baby up and see what happens.” Voila . . .
It has been a long time since I have knit for knitting’s sake. No planning, no agonizing over a pattern, no swatches, no decisions, just knit. I grabbed the first needles I found, cast on and let myself enjoy the process of knitting - one loop through another loop, sliding the stitch over from one needle to the other needle, finishing the row. Each row, in fact, was a discovery - what it was going to look like as I used up the yarn? I looked at the yarn as it made its way onto the needles - a thick section or a thin section of the yarn could produce such different results.
I took the time to look at my knitting - from the micro - how the stitches and rows were different from each other - to the overall effect of the knitted fabric. I remembered how much I like garter stitch. I think garter stitch gets over looked too often, as if it is too basic. It is one of the building blocks of knitting - yin to purl’s yang. I took my time knitting this yarn; there was not much yarn to begin with and I wanted the experience to last as long as it could.
I felt many things when I was done: proud, pleased, joy, curious, peaceful.
This knitted piece is what it is - the spaces between the stitches, the random slubs, the twist in the knitted fabric that resulted from being over-spun, the wonderfully uneven texture - all from two sticks and some string.
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01.27.08
Posted in CTS/RSI, Knitting, Photos, Scarf, Socks, Techniques, Yarn at 7:13 pm by delipics
Furniture shopping for dining tables
and wardrobes.
Going to The Point with Alex,
Buying yarn,
And eating.
Learning the Fair Isle technique at The Point, also with Alex,
which you can see is just a mess for me!
The good things from that day are: Barbara Kerr is a great teacher (her enthusiasm is contagious!), I learned how to knit on two circular needles and learned handy tips on provisional cast-on and knitting-in-the-round BUT I just couldn’t get the weaving technique. You know how it is - you understand it when you do it with the help of the teacher but the minute she walks away - poof! - the technique is gone from your head. I went home, ripped the whole thing apart and started over. I may take this class again if I can’t get this on my own at home.
I’m also trying to finish up Patty’s Scarf. I ran out of the yarn and it took me a while to buy additional skeins. I’m still working on small projects due to my CTS/RSI. It’s actually only RSI. I started back with physical therapy this month because I had a relapse. Things are on my mend and I will see an occupational therapist next for my thumb/index finger pain - fingers crossed - luckily it doesn’t hurt to do that!
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06.24.07
Posted in CTS/RSI, Photos, Scarf, Travel, Yarn, fashion at 5:05 pm by delipics
Still no knitting but I was busy with this guy -
His name is Soso and this is his friend Vladimir -
and their third companion is Gizmo.
In between keeping these guys happy I went to The Little Knittery and Steinberg & Sons where I bought the requisite cute L.A. summer dress to show off at the reopened Griffith’s Observatory. This is me telling my honey to puhlease take the photo already - note the attractive wrist bands as the hot accessory for the CTS/RSI gal-on-the-go!
And I bought Misti Chunky Alpaca to be made into Patty’s scarf.
This is life without knitting. Pretty damn good but I’ll sure be glad when I can pick up the sticks again.
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