two knits of ivory

So about 10 days ago I wrote a post with the title "I can haz willpower...?" By the time I had a chance to proofread it, things changed. It was no longer a question, but a reality. The theme over the past two weeks has been more like I HAZ willpower! That's knitting willpower, not blogging willpower, silly goose. :-P Things in my life have been all over the place. As an aspy I thrive when my life goes along a highly regimented schedule. Since getting sick two days before my 41st birthday back in December, it's been everything but calm at chez yarn. Last Friday marked the beginning, it seems, of things really feeling on track. Not surprisingly, there's been a lot less yarn acquisition going on. One of my post-holiday goals is to clear out my knitting basket and not cast on anything new until I do. I figured it would take a lot of willpower to do, and as I've kept to my goal, making significant progress, I've decided that this must mean I am a font...

When I take pictures of my knitting, and my yarn, I really take it seriously. I really love looking at pictures of knitted items and yarn. I love seeing the colors and textures and the overall object. The more detailed the picture, the more natural the lighting, the more joy I get in looking at it. Pictures of the tiny little stitches of socks represent my most favorite type of knitting p0rn. I kinda feel weird about this fascination. Among knitters, I surmise, I may be in a minority, but probably not alone. Yet, it is not a topic I have ever seen discussed in the knitosphere. I'm sure, now that I am reflecting on it, there is a group on Ravelry for people like me. If I was more of a social creature, I would have flushed them out by now. In the meanwhile, though, my latest attempt to capture my own piece of pictorial heaven was done in poor light yesterday afternoon. These are a Christmas gift for my niece, Meaghan. Even though these are not my colors, I was still impell...

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 washed and blocked the Wide Leaf Winter Set last weekend and finally have the FOs for show and tell. It was amazing to me how quickly all of these pieces knit up. Aside from the finishing, they were done within a week I think. The scarf and mitts were each done in one day. Working with mostly fingerweight yarns has skewed this knitter's perception on things. It's no wonder I've got the fire in my belly to knit up the other scarf/winter sets I have planned. Wide Leaf Scarf First up is the scarf. I loved the yarn, the colorway, and this fabulous wide leaf stitch. The scarf has a lot of texture, accentuating the muted, but colorful, hues in the yarn. The only misgiving I have with the scarf is it's length; I didn't have the yardage to go the distance. Yarn Maple Creek Farm Merino in the PA Fall colorway. Approximately 325 yards. Love this yarn, love this vendor, I can't wait to get more yarn from her at Rhinebeck. Needles Knitpicks Harmony Options size US 10 1/2...

After the house cleaning my yarn and knitting underwent this weekend, I think I may have summitted the malaise. (Am I tempting fate by even writing this?) One thing is for sure, Nell made a great point in the comments: "Isn't it amazing how knitting can take you from feeling like a genius to an idiot in a few stitches?" I'm used to feeling like an idiot, therefore this aspect of knitting fits like a favorite pair of old boots. Having something in one's life akin to conquering if your own Mt. Everest, your own Mt. Washington, well, that is fascinating and invigorating. So yes, Nell, it is immoderately amazing. As I had hoped for, I finished my Sunshine and Shadows Shawl (not a triangle!) this weekend. Once I had blocked it out I stood back in awe. It was magic, this beautiful garment, magic. Somehow, this frumpy old hag (me) took two sticks and some string and made this: Am I straining under a pile hyperbole? Well, maybe just a smidge. When you feel so dark for so...

My inner voice hasn't been that interested in blogging lately. Part of it is the heat, part of it is that my inner voice has been busy thinking about the types of things that get in the way of knitting and blogging. It's also been wondering if I really feel like sharing myself with the world anymore. Has my exhibitionism run its course? The answer is that I'm not sure since for ten days the answer seemed to be yes. Yet that is obviously contradicted with the most decidedly no of today. Eleven days ago I finished my Apple Lace Scarf. It was the best pick up and go project I think I've had to date. The pattern was easy to remember, so I could take it everywhere and anywhere (including nowhere, AKA my couch) but varying enough to keep me excited about picking it up. Once done I couldn't stop my self from indulging in an little excessiveness; I tried out the blocking pins I purchased a few months ago A steam iron would have been just as effective, but far less fun....

I don't know my bum from my belbow these days. My mind just wants to zone out; it craves indolence. Life, however, has other plans. It needs constant vigilance. Some casualties of this ennui have been my writing and my photography. No matter what I do I can't seem to muster much cogitation, and so blogging has fallen by the wayside. This lassitude has also spilled over into my work life during my biggest crunch time. I usually relish this time of year, and the work that needs to be done, but not this year. It go so bad I panicked and brought home work last weekend. And for the first time in weeks I had a little fire in my belly. It felt awesome. I took turns knitting and working and wouldn't you know it, I got through the entire Bleak House Masterpiece Theatre program, knit almost an entire sock in a 24 hour period, and accomplished all the goals I set for myself with work. Dad's Midnight Derby Socks are finis! And just in time for our upcoming weekend trip to visit him...

The state of fashion has been on my mind with the finishing of Blueberry Moon . To be honest, I felt a little self-conscious posting that FO because I know it represents a style that is, well, a smidge past it's freshness date. And then there's all that stockinette! Lovely for it's creator to ogle over, but really? lacking in visual interest. For this middle ager, fashion has been speeding by. Knitting Kris hit the nail on the head in the comments section. What the heck are all these people running around in baby doll sweaters and blouses and t-shirts? I always considered myself fashion forward until about five years ago. Then all heck broke loose. The clothing and shoes (especially shoes!) began to incorporate elements which were abhorred when I hit the tenderest age, the age when fashion was everything in life. It is near impossible to fight fashion aversions which have been a part of me for lo on 30 years. And like Lucille Ball at the chocolate factory , I can't see...

We all know there was life before Wii. I have knitted proof. I wore said proof to work on Monday with my Digitessa socks . Woot. The kitties wanted to get in on the photo shoot yesterday, too. Right over that bridge is a pathway into the boggy woods behind my house. I take the dogs there almost every weekday. Over the winter our most scarediest of cats, Hunter (background), started coming with me on my walks. I was amazed, and encouraged him. Hunter was hit by something, most probably a car, when he was one. His leg was shattered in three places requiring an orthopedic surgeon to insert three sets of pins at each break. Three months later he had all but one set of pins removed, the poor guy, and he's never been the same. Who would be? Now he spends most of his time out of doors in the woods, or when he's indoors, under the kitchen sink. For several weeks now, since the weather has been less hostile, Hunter comes with the dogs and I every single day. Grissom joined us two days t...

The La Digitessa pattern by Yarnissima is perfection. My iteration? Not so much. That's not to say I'm not proud of my achievement, it's just that I know I can do better, and I will. I fully intend to make a second pair with a yarn better suited to the intricate pattern. The biggest problem I had was with the gussets. My increases were very holey. My next biggest problem was with the heel K2togs. My purl stitches are very wide and laddery. Yarn Lana Grossa Meilenweit 50 Seta/Cashmere 65% Merino, 15% Silk, 16% Polymid, 4% Cashmere This is a soft yarn with great stitch definition. The fluffy, splitty nature made for a difficult knit on the 2.00 and 2.50mm needles. I hard a much easier time once I transitioned to the 2.75mm. I used about 84 grams out of a total 96 grams, or 396 yards of yarn. Needles I used circulars primarily. I started out with size 2.00mm needles but transitioned to 2.50mm needles mid foot. Somewhere around the heel on both socks I transitione...

It may be Blueberry Moon's week and not La Digitessa's . Facing miles of stockinette just seems more palatable at the moment, and might remain so for the rest of the week. We'll see. I've got my marathon hair appointment this afternoon and I've brought both of these projects, as well as a cake of sock yarn. Here she is with the sleeve I finished Sunday night. I had to frog the cuff last night and add a few rows; it was just a smidgen short. I've never frogged and reknit something that had been in it's knitted form for very long. I've frogged dormant projects, but I either gave away the yarn, or it's still sitting in my stash. It's a leap of faith to look at all that wrinkliness and assume it will look normal after a good wash. Faith is not something of which I'm well endowed. Love of the Big Mac, sadly, yes, but faith? errr, not so much. With this sweater I am 100% a project knitter. I bought enough yarn for a sweater, and a sweater I will h...

My sister received her socks, the Christmas Balls socks , and she wont try them just yet, even though I need her to tell me if they are too tight. She's parsimonious like that. Me, I have to jump right into things immediately, or they lose their charm. Not my sister, she is doomed to save, save, save. Being the opposite, I've always assumed she's missing out by being frugal, hence the "doomed," but maybe she enjoys the savoring, more than the wearing. I can't believe I'm just realizing this possibility now, as in right this minute as I write. The first real socks (real-life, foot-shaped socks in sport weight yarn, as opposed to christmas-stocking size socks, in worsted weight yarn, the likes of which hubby still wears around the house) I ever made were for her. And you know after I sent her the pair I realized she might never wear them. Why? She's a hoarder. It's just her way. So you know what I did? I made a second pair immediately and...