Trish Knits.com

Category: Knitting

Victory!

Can you believe it?? It’s DONE!

Trish with navy blue yarn all balled up

I spent nearly all week working on the first of three balls of navy blue silk yarn, and I finally felt like I hit a breakthrough late last night, so stayed up way too late winding yarn. Then, by this afternoon, with help from the kids (who find my ball winder to be most fascinating) the first ball was done. Then this afternoon my good friend Steve came over and asked me why my ball winder and swift were out, and I showed him the remaining two hanks. Next thing I know, he had the twisted mass of yarn all straightened out and ready to go on my swift, and so the second ball went much quicker!

Trish winding yarn

Once Steve got it all figured out about which end was which, after a few times of untwisting the yarn from around the hank it was actually pretty smooth going. I sometimes wonder if it’s my eyesight and perhaps I can’t see where the yarn is going, so I set it up wrong in the first place? I don’t know… but Steve was able to get it all sorted out, so the rest of the yarn got balled up today! Yay!

Yarn on jumbo ball winder

I actually love my ball winder. It’s the Jumbo Ball Winder by Strauch. I got it last year at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, and I have loved it! It was so worth the money to have something so sturdy. I got it because even though it comes with a clamp to clamp it to a table, it’s not 100% necessary to use the clamp, as long as you don’t wind it at breakneck speed. All of my tables have aprons under the table top so none of the ball winder clamps work on my tables anyway. So this one is good and sturdy and as you can see, it winds HUGE balls!

After I did the second ball, my mom and Tony showed up and prepared dinner, so Steve settled on the floor to tackle the third ball:

Steve winds the yarn

Next thing I know, BoyZilla wanted to take a turn on the ball winder:

BoyZilla and Steve wind the yarn

So, the yarn has been conquered and tamed into balls, and soon it will be on its way to becoming the February Lady Sweater.

This week… I swatch.

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March 15, 2009
It Always Gets Worse…

navy blue silk yarn in a big heap of a mess
I’ve been balling this yarn for three days now, and I have two small balls of yarn to show for my efforts. Sheesh! At this point my February Lady Sweater might never see the light of day. I love this yarn and I so want to begin! But alas, this hank that’s giving me all the trouble? It’s only one THIRD of the total amount of this yarn I have. Hopefully the other hanks won’t be such a disaster. But I have such terrible luck! I must be doing something completely and totally wrong when setting up yarn on my swift.

But that’s not the worst of my problems tonight. I have a hot wire on my chair so it’s out of commission until I can get it fixed. I have a backup chair, but that chair feels so clunky and uncomfortable. Something tells me it’s going to be a long week. Being in the wrong chair makes me grouchy, so if you’re someone who encounters me in the real world, you might want to stay away this week! I have an appointment next Thursday to have my chair worked on.

pinky orange laceweight yarn
Perhaps this will make me feel a little better! I purchased this beauty from New York Yarns on Etsy. I love the pinky-orangey colorway that sort of reminds me of sherbet! It is superfine merino laceweight with silk. Now, if you know me, you know I’m not a lace knitter. But this ball of wonder totally called to me. There’s 1300 yards in here so I think maybe it has to be some sort of wrap for me. Someday.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. After all, it’s only yarn. It shall be a sweater. Someday.

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March 13, 2009
Doing Battle with the Yarn

navy blue silk yarn being balled up from a swift
You’d think I’d learn, but apparently not. Never ever try to ball up a hank of yarn you’ve had in storage for three years unless you have a lot of time on your hands. Or when you’re really too tired to do it. Either of those two factors are a sure bet that the hank will be a twisty, loose mess. In fact, the more rushed and the more tired you are? The worse it will be. Trust me. I know.

The mere mention of the February Lady Sweater last night got my heart all a-flutter. I could not stop thinking about the prospect of starting that project all day. But I know enough about myself to know that I just dread winding yarn. Every time I try, it never cooperates. I even thought maybe I should wait until a weekend when I can have a friend over to help me.

Patience, however, virtue that it is, is something that I lack. Not just lack. Patience? I no haz it. So there was no waiting for the weekend, no pleading with ~~some poor sucker~~ one of my good yarny buddies to help me with the winding. So, start out on my own, I did, and this tiny ball, representing maybe one tenth of the yarn yet to be wound (from this hank; I have two more) is all I have to show for an entire evening’s work. I am not surprised by this, but I am nonetheless disappointed. I wanna knit! And I have miles to wind (literally) before I stitch.

My fingers are blue with navy yarn dye. It is the mark of a battle not yet won. I do so love this yarn, and the color, and the way it feels in my hands. I can’t wait for it to become something more than a pile of stringed frustration. Someday this beautiful yarn will be transformed, and perhaps I will forgive it for the trouble that it gives me now.

But it’s a long way before I’m there. For tonight, UGH!

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March 11, 2009
Little Knitterly Things

stitch markers, double-ended crochet hooks, and colorful wooden buttons
I know I’ve said it before, that little things make me happy? Well, this week’s parcel post was no exception! Knit Picks has recently introduced their own line of knitting do-dads, and I happen to have the philosophy that one can never have too many knitting tools!

Most exciting for me is this little collection of double-ended crochet hooks. These little babies will be perfect for picking up all those dropped stitches. (Who, me? Drop a stitch? Pshaw, those things will never see the light of day! Uh-huh.) As sentimental as I am about my trusty red crochet hook, these will be handy to have with all the sizes I would need in half as many hooks. Not a bad deal!

The stitch markers are my favorite style, the rubberized kind. I find that these leap away from me a little less often than some of the other types, and I use them for almost all of my knitting projects. They also have locking stitch markers, split ring markers, and jump rings. Each of these is good for its own purpose and I am sure that eventually they all will find their way into my knitting bag.

The buttons are made from the same wood as the Harmony Needles. Oh my, they are pretty pretty! My heart goes all a-flutter at the very sight of these. I bought 8 each of the two styles shown here. I’m pretty sure I’m going to put the toggle-style buttons on a future February Lady Sweater. In fact, I love these buttons so much that I want to cast on for it like, NOW. But alas, I shall wait for the weekend. I have lots of yarn to ball up for it first.

Knit Picks has introduced lots of other tools at great prices, including a ball winder, blocking tiles, blocking wires, and lots of other stuff. And all at great prices, per the Knit Picks tradition. Oh, and have you seen their gorgeous new yarn? I’m surprised none of it has followed me home yet.

There’s plenty of time for that…

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March 10, 2009
Lonely… and Totally Square

Noro Kureyon squares in progress
I’ve got the blues. The “when the hell’s this winter gonna be over?” blues. And, the “I really wish I didn’t have to work ever again and could just sit and knit all day” blues. Sigh.

Good thing I’m into color, because this blanket in all its weirdness is the bright spot in my days lately. I’m loving the simplicty of the garter stitch and the constant surprises as the colors unfold. Each time I start a new square I have to contain myself from squealing with glee, practically, even though most of the time, no one is listening.

The cool thing about Noro Kureyon is that the color runs are so long that I can switch off from one end of the ball to the other, thereby doubling my color choices. It’s like a wonderful game for the easily entertained. And that, my friends, would be me.

But I must stop. I have about three more hours of work to do before bed, thanks to a tragic brain fart I had while saving an HTML document preparing an HTML e-mail newsletter. I’ve got lots of code to strip before bed and I hate that I haven’t been able to face it all evening, so I’ll be up late again. Ah well, at least I can knit again before breakfast, which will be sometime after the customary three-hour’s nap that I’ve been calling an excuse for a night’s sleep lately.

Do I sound grumpy? You Betcha.

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March 5, 2009
Hip to be Squares

third square in progress on the blanket

fourth square done

As you can see, I’ve been busy with the knitting! Over the last several days I’ve completed the third and fourth squares on my Noro Kureyon Babette. I was feeling all accomplished-like, until Her Highness the Tween pointed out to me just how many squares I have left to do! I think, though, in a similar way that people say entrelac is never boring, neither will these squares be, despite the miles and miles of garter stitch. Watching the strips of knitting magically become squares as the center double decreases are made, is just enough entertainment for a simple girl like me. I can’t wait to be showing this project off as it grows and grows.

I Bought a Skein of WHAT?

vitreous humor eyeball yarn
So, do you think I’m crazy that I actually WANTED this yarn? Would you believe me if I told you I’ve been wanting and waiting for it for TWO years? (The waiting was some small amount of self control on my part.) Yes, I’ve always loved things that would make people look twice, and the first time I saw this yarn I knew that one day it would be mine. Of course, the classic line I’m telling people is that it’s perfect for my standard witchy Halloween costume, but the truth is, I don’t think I’ll need to wait for Halloween to wear something made from this baby!

For those of you who haven’t seen this yarn before, it is Vitreous Humor, by Insubordinknit, a.k.a., the wonderful Jacey Boggs. Grossness aside, this is a lovely work of artistic handspun. It is beautiful and soft, and the felted eyeballs? Well they do give the yarn that certain something! The whole thing is a work of art. It is all at once beautiful, and a pile of sadistic muppet roadkill. That makes me love it all the more! Perhaps I will knit it up in time to wear it to Maryland Sheep and Wool. That is, if my friend Steve will be seen with me while I am wearing bloody eyeballs around my neck.

We’ll see.

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March 3, 2009