two knits of ivory

True to form at chez yarn, we are now on day who knows what of ignoring the suffering in Haiti. I am catching glimpses of it when the Hubster puts on the news here and there, catching the cover of a newspaper at the gas station, hearing an interview on NPR. It seems like the world is really coming together to help Haiti and the pessimistic cockles of my heart are warming. What I am left with is my internal struggle. Because, ya know, the Haiti disaster is all about me. You mean you didn't know? It's about how I am incapable of facing it. How I am incapable of being the person I should be/should have been on the one hand, and in the other hand, how the world is inadequate, deserving of my inert, self-righteous scorn. I am as helpless in this as I am in my knitting. A mute passenger on the Morticcia express. Someday maybe I'll learn how to transmogrify my shortcomings into strengths, as I have begun to with my knitting. Ginger Waves Socks I spent a good porti...

My ability to ignore the obvious is monumental sometimes. The irony in my last post about keeping things in moderation, while showcasing two large gift projects cast on in the same week, took days to grasp. Not the brightest bulb on the tree, I am. But moving right along, harnessing the willpower to clean out my knitting basket last month has finally borne its fruit. One of the projects I completed as part of this undertaking is a pair of cable rib socks in one of my most coveted colorways, Lorna Lace's Gold Hill (details ravelled ). Started as an easy Xmas travel project, on December 22, they lingered and lingered and then lingered some more on their needles. Almost two months passed before they were complete and when they were done, I questioned if I hadn't seen the last of any sock knitting for the forseable future. (I was pretty disappointed by this yarn. In more than one location I found what I believe are clumps of white nylon.) The ennui surrounding the project was ...

My mind's been laid up for a few weeks. Two days after my last post I succumbed to a full week with the flu (again!). This time it ended with a nasty mental diversion à la The Yellow Wallpaper . The idea of conversing with the world, even in the one-way medium of a blog, was anathema. Knitting was rare. Yet, my return to knitting was hindered not just by depression, I think, but a lack of motivation. It wasn't until I realized I should get cracking on some baby knits for a little bun in the oven of my husband's best friend's wife, that I was inspired to cast on and cast on with a vengeance. And so the daily knitting routine reasserted itself to much personal glee. In retrospect, my exclamation a few weeks back about streamlining my gift knitting was short-sighted. The bad choices I made in allowing the gift knitting to take over last fall was reinterpreted falsely. I am propelled, as a knitter, by gift knitting. Giving it up dried up my motivation to knit fo...

Last Thursday I finished the Embossed Leaf Socks. This is only the third sock pattern I have knit and I'm glad I did. When it comes to socks and sweaters, I love the comfort of the using the same structure over and again. Unfortunately, you don't learn much taking the same road every day. From the ribbed long tail cast on, to the tulip decreases toe, I thoroughly enjoyed knitting outside of my safe zone and learning some new tricks. I'll probably knit this sock again some day. It was a really quick knit, and even when it was put down for weeks on end, I had no problem picking back it up where I left off. Yarn Cherry Tree Hill Supersock 100% superwash merino fingering weight. Needles Two 16" Knit Picks Harmony Wood circulars sized US1 1/2, 2.5mm. Pattern Embossed Leaves (rav link) by Mona Schmidt from Interweave Press's Favorite Socks . Begun June 28, 2008, finished August 21, 2008.

I've been trying to put my finger on the source of the all-encompassing malaise that settled into my life this past spring. It is like a hundred pound albatross. I'm not depressed or even a tad dysphoric. I'm just tired. In an email exchange with fellow knit blogger, Kristin , a phrase came to mind that encapsulates what I'm feeling: high maintenance. Every single activity I engage in, whether it's as banal as tooth brushing, or as fun as reading, anything other than malingering, just seems to be experienced as high maintenance. Once I could define what I feel, my spirits lifted a bit. Sounds strange, but it's true. Once I understand what I'm up against my natural drive to adapt kicked in and one of the first things I found the energy to tackle was my Sunshine and Shadows Shawl...errrr triangle. A week and a half ago I spent a solid half an hour struggling with the beginning of the final lace pattern, redoing the first 20 stitches or so who knows how many ti...

My Sunday morning waking dream was the design of a sweater using the much neglected Cascade 220 Superwash that's nearing a year in my stash. Ya know, cuz the best time to knit a sweater is the cusp of summer, right? :-/ This lovely yarn has been the subject of several design schemes, none of which came to fruition, including a sweater or two. The heathered tones scream out to become the vining twine leaf pattern I used in Project Stole . I'm thinking of just transposing the stole's motif right onto the front and back of a sweater, paired with a mini cabled rib for the neck, arm, and waistbands. But before I even think of designing something as ambitious as that, I've got to find the end of the Sunshine and Shadow Shawl , which has, by nature of my pattern dyslexia morphed into a leaf and medallion triangle. Who knew that the patterns in a book called "Knitting Lace Triangles " were the size of large hankerchiefs and not adult-bodied-sized shawls. Yes, ...