Monday, July 18, 2005
This weekend was a hot and muggy one. I continued knitting Celia, while listening to the Red Sox/Yankee game on the radio, while reading Harry Potter. Two years ago, the doorbell rang at 6:30am in the morning, and a grumpy USPS guy hand handed over Book Five and said, "Here's your book," while his face said, "Goddamn you freaks." Remembering that, this Saturday morning I woke up at 5am and flitted in and out of sleep with my ears half opened, listening for the sound of the delivery truck. It came at 7:15 am and BOING! Duck and I were at the front door half-dressed in a split second.
I am loving this book so far. It's not a surprise, but I think her writing style has changed. It's more sophisticated, the flow reads like watching a movie. And our little wizards are cursing and flipping each other the bird. They're all grows up! I for one am waiting for the Ron/Hermione make-out scene.
This weekend I also tried to play Buckaroo with my cat Veebs. Of course I used yarn: Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran in this VERY DELICIOUS shade of teal. It's destined to become a cable jacket from a Debbie Bliss baby book...I hope...if I don't use it for myself...because I'm selfish.
It was like playing yarn jenga.
Veebs wasn't a very cooperative Buckaroo team player. Kept waking up or breathing too heavily.
Filed Under: Cats | Life
Friday, July 15, 2005
Pattern: Ballet Top from Loop-d-Loop
Yarn: Blue Sky Organic Cotton in sand, 3 skeins (used less than half of the 3rd)
Gauge: 10 sts = 4 in on US15/10mm needles (owww)
 I wore this to work yesterday. After an entire day dealing with the forces of gravity, weight, and general movement, the back scoop of the ballet top had crept like, halfway down my back. This thing stretches like mad, however I'm thinking it's doing it mostly under its own weight. That cotton double stranded is rather heavy. Hopefully a throw in the wash will normalize it, but I'm wondering what a wash will to do this here Blue Sky cotton. It's so soft and really cottony, fibrous cottony like a cotton ball (duh), will a spin in the wash turn it into a mangled fluff? It was pilling before my eyes while I was wearing it.
Onto the technicalities. Knitting with size 15 needles is murder, but then you get a finished piece in a day, wow! So I didn't do this in the round, next time though I will try. It'll go by even more quickly. Let's see, I also only increased after the waist twice instead of 5 times because as you know I fear loose garments like the plague. It still came out slightly bigger than I would prefer but what'reyougonnado.
I also crocheted a flower for this but when I pinned it on, suddenly I was all, "Hi I'm ten, let's play with My Little Pony!" So flower was quickly nixed. That's it. I consider this an easy one-off. Maybe I'll do it again.
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Loop-d-Loop | Ballet Top
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
There's not enough time, not enough hands! So many pieces that I want to make for me, like this cute kimono sweater, and this funky cardigan and of course the hot Alpine vest. So many pieces that I need to knit for all the babies coming at once. And pieces I want to knit for friends, like another Orangina and Apricot Jacket. And at some point I need to make Duck a sweater of his own. That's just the tip of a very large knitting iceberg.
I told myself I could not knit anything for me until I had at least 2 baby pieces done, but then I started the Loop-d-Loop ballet top just to see what would happen and suddenly I had a front.
This pattern (along with every single on in the book) is knit in the round. For some reason I do not like knitting in the round, maybe because I find it difficult to gauge the size of thie piece as you're working it. It gets all bunched up on the needle.
Also this pattern uses GIGANTIC size 15/10mm needles, of which I happen to have a pair. Straight only. I wasn't about to go spend $12 or whatever on a circular pair when I don't intend to make knitting on size 15 needles a regular thing. So I adapted the pattern to knit flat. I'm doing some stash busting too, using 2 strands held together of Blue Sky organic cotton.
My hands HURT, particularly the first joint of my right index finger. But I'll have this piece finished up in record time: started it last night, will finish back piece today, if all goes according to plan.
After that, I must finish Celia (back piece is done for that) and then it's baby stuff all the time.
Filed Under: Loop-d-Loop | Ballet Top
Monday, July 11, 2005
I never meant to like it but somehow I did. There's something about the models in the book that are unsettling enough to divert attention away from the knits, at first. They look haunted, anemic, in need of a trip to the Caribbean (me too though, me too). And some of their hair styles...woof! So my first impression was NO THANKS, GET AWAY. These people and therefore these knits are FREAKISH.
But I kept picking it up everytime I'd happen on it at the bookstore or yarn store, and now I think most of the pieces in there are very very cool. Some are still wacked out, as are the models, but overall there are plenty of pieces I would make.
I still hate this guy though.
Filed Under: General Knitting
Sunday, July 10, 2005
CORRECTION to my previous post about silk. I learned this while reading through the chapter in Vogue Knitting about all the different kinds of yarn materials. I seemed to have skipped that part when first receiving it because I have a habit with all my books of reading the end first, then parts of the middle and then the beginning. Yes, ass backwards!
So speaking of ass, the silk does not exit through the silkworm's bottom as one might assume, but through its head. Wow, isn't that interesting? Does it make it any more appealing whatsoever that silk comes out of a bug's FACE rather than his rear? No.
You know what else is not so appealing is knitting for babies. I know! I must be hollow inside! Both my BIL and my cousin, who are due around the same time, are having boys (Nephew W and Little Cousin O respectively) and I'm having trouble figuring out what to make for them...I'm afraid they won't like it, I'm afraid it's not practical, I'm afraid the baby will choke on the ill-sewn buttons...all very bad things in of themselves but so much worse when you've put hours and hours into making something they might pack away in the attic forever. I'm willing to pay someone to knit a baby item for me. Got anything laying around you want to sell?
But is it practical?
I have however started this super-cute kimono for Nephew W, using some KFI Cashmereno (soooooo soft) I've got laying around. But, does this sound right to you?
- The gauge is 25 sts = 4 inches. Check.
- For the 12 month-old size, cast on 90 sts for the back. Check.
- The width the back should thus be 15 inches. Check....
- The chest is about 30 inches. OK what.
Hey do one year-olds have 30 inch busts? I know it's not supposed to be FORM FITTING but, damn. I could wear this! Babies are gigantic!
After leafing through a whole mess of baby knit books, I suddenly had a great idea last night for a sweater for Cousin O. It will involve INTARSIA! I looked around online for some animal charts or something cute for kids, and I found this:
Is it: a) roadkill b) a moldy chicken
c) not a frog d) all of the above
It's supposed to be a frog. WTF. I didn't find anything cute at all, only that and ugly Pokeman charts and one of a howling wolf, so I'm charting my own. It'll have something to do with the Red Sox, because my cousin is a huge Sox fan, and no doubt his son will be too.
Like all average Americans in average American households,
Veebs enjoys watching his favorite shows while naked in bed.
Filed Under: Cats | General Knitting
Friday, July 08, 2005
...Carolyn who sent over 6 skeins of Rowan linen drape for free. Free! Thank you Carolyn! This is what one skein has produced so far:
Another from Adrienne V. Spring 05, this one I call 'Celia,' the name of the original yarn to use. It is 100% silk. I dislike silk. It gives off that tell-tale stink, is expensive, doesn't drape well on sticks like me, and comes out of a bug's anus. I had been thinking of using Cotton Fleece again for this and then Linen Drape came along, et voila.
...Allegra, for abandoning you yet again.
...Jeannine, an old buddy from college whom I haven't seen since graduation day. Actually I think the last place we saw each other was at the ice cream shop on Hope St (?) the day before graduation and you said very sternly to me, "Shh! Say no goodbyes!" and well, we didn't. Now Jeannine is in Amsterdam and I am in Boston. We email occassionally and tried to meet up when I was in the area last November (unsuccessful). Long gap of silence until yesterday when I get an email saying she found this site while surfing other knitting blogs, hee hee. So hello Jeannine, I miss you, send brownies.
...London. Love you, London. Hate you, Bush. At the end of the day I blame everything on him.
Filed Under: Adrienne V | Celia | Life
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
We had a torrential downpour today. When it rains, the city and everything in it malfunctions. Here's a chronological list of things that broke down today:
My hair
The Orange line train going inbound
The straps on my right sandal
My umbrella
My mood
The Orange line train going outbound
The bell on the bus
The bus
Another thing that's broken is this site syndication. Bloglines isn't picking up anything new from this month, I don't think. Whatever. If there are any subscribers out there could you tell me what you see as the latest entry? Not that I can fix it but, I'm curious.
Filed Under: Life
Monday, July 04, 2005
I. Love. This. Piece.
Pattern: Orangina by Stefanie J.
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa "Mirto" in white, cotton/linen/rayon blend; just over 3 balls (like 3 balls plus 1 yard of the 4th, grrr)
Gauge: approx 26 sts = 4in on US3/3.25 mm needles
After the sides were all seamed in, the loose ends woven in and I tried Orangina on for the first time, I thought to myself in a very giddy voice, I am so so so so so so so so so (ad nauseum) glad I learned how to knit. Dude this is my favorite pattern of all time. It is beautiful in its simplicity. Zero waist shaping, zero arm shaping, zero neck shaping. If you want to make it smaller just remove 9 stitches from the pattern. Vice-versa to make it larger. The border for the pattern scallops naturally, so is used as the neckline...man it's so brilliant I wish I came up with it. It's no wonder that the entire planet has knitted or wants to knit this piece. So easy, but looks anything but.
Happy 4th!
FdiC Mirto was a very nice choice of yarn. It's oh so clean and crisp and nice for summer picnics, but if I had spilled ketchup on the front I would have murdered the person sitting closest to me. You've never seen someone eat so carefully as if she were having high tea and finger sandwiches at the Ritz instead of beer and Italian sausages at a 4th of July barbeque.
The lace pattern was really easy to remember, even though I found myself routinely meandering out of pattern. Do not watch Alias dvds while knitting Orangina. Or, count while you do it. I found that counting while knitting really helped: 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9, 1..2...3...OK I think you all know how to count to 9. You get the drift.
Orangina did turn out pretty snug. Like I've mentioned, I went 27 sts less than the smallest size indicated the pattern. This means the width for each piece is about 12 inches. This means the total bust size is 24 inches. :/ This means I am sans chest. But to my credit, it is 24 inches UNBLOCKED and UNSTRETCHED. I just re-measured now after having worn it for a day and it's now 30 inches around. That's right. I'm still bigger than either of the Olsen twins combined times 4, alright? I could have gone down 18 sts and been ok. However, a lot of people who posted in this craftster forum have mentioned that it knits up loose with a lot of ease. I didn't want another version of flappy gappy Dianne, so to play it safe I sized it way way down. The side seams at the underarms I noticed were stretched to the max, like all eeeee! and quivering to keep it together.
And instead of seaming 2 inches for the shoulders, I seamed one scallop'd width, which was just over 1 inch.
I just love love love this piece.
P.S. While we were out in western Mass this weekend we stopped at Colourful Stitches, my favorite yarn store ever. They have everything, stocked in a beautiful, lofty space. Anyway I bought nothing, but I spotted a woman there who I know works at Wild & Wooly in Lexington. I had seen her before shopping in other yarn stores around Boston, I thought maybe to do competitive research for W&W, except that each time at these different stores she was known by name. Traitor! And it was so odd that I would keep running into her at all these yarn shops. Then to see her all the way out in western Mass, again shopping for yarn and knowing the owner by name...what's the deal?
Filed Under: Completed Projects | Orangina
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