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Gray Monday Afternoon Ramblings at the Kitchen Table

Interweave Knits Weekend, Special Edition
I finally scored a copy of Interweave Knits Weekend. Wasn’t it supposed to be coming out on September 15? I had pretty much assumed that it must have come and gone from my local bookstores, as I had been diligently scouring the bookstores in town for weeks. Then yesterday I pop into Barnes&Noble on a whim, and there it is.

It’s full of casual, relaxed clothing that is comfortable and wearable. And not only that, most of the projects are the sort of knits that have just enough challenge to keep your interest, but not so much that your brain explodes. (This is a major plus in my book.)

My favorite pattern is the Autumn Vines Cardigan (here’s a Ravelry link for you.) It’s a sweater with sort of loose, billowy fronts, with cables. Also I love the Provence cloche. Unfortunately, it’s probably not a good style for my bowling-ball head so I’ll have to find someone skinny to knit it for.

Knitting has been slow around here. I haven’t really touched my elephant project except for a few more rows on the trunk. It’s about done now, I think—only one more row, then it will be time to pick up stitches on the body. For some reason I’m stalled at this point. I’m starting to wonder if I have a subconscious fear of this next step. I’m not aware that I’m afraid, and yet, I haven’t done it yet.

I’ve done a few more rows on my Lifestyle Top Down Hat, and have begun what will be a fairly large ribbed section. Then that one will be finally done. Then I have Jennifer’s pink scarf to get done .The weather must be getting chilly in Michigan by now .I should hurry up and finish it! Then I need to hurry up and get going on some boot toppers for me .It’s fall now and I haven’t made any for myself yet. I do have a bunch of different shades of Cascade 220 yarn just for this purpose, plus a super-cute pair of Dr. Marten’s ankle boots. Now I just need to find myself the perfect Aran sweater to go with my fantasy fall ensemble. (Sigh… I don’t think traditional cabled knits are “in” this year. I’ve been looking, and they’re hard to find. Especially in my size. Maybe I should get the hint?)

Fall is definitely in the air here now. It’s gray and chilly outside, and today was truly the first day that I didn’t feel too hot for wearing a sweatshirt. I had not intended to cook dinner tonight and instead opt for something along the “eat leftovers or make yourself a sandwich” genre, but then the urge hit me for spaghetti sauce. A nice, steamy pot in the house on a gray, chilly fall day. Ahhh… that’s good..

October 12, 2009
It Just Keeps Following Me Home!

Stuff from Knit Picks, that is. I’m becoming a slut for Knit Picks Kits. It’s true. Why, yesterday, these three babies found their way to my door:

Three Knit Picks Kits

They are the Maeve Hat and Mittens Kit, The Knitter’s Tool Bag Kit (in purple, of course!), and the Line By Line Mittens to Gloves Kit. I can hardly decide which to knit first! This is the year I am going to master the mitten. These patterns, I hope, will get me well on my way. The Knitter’s tote kit, by the way? It comes with the fabric to line the bag with. Way cool.

I don’t have an extra Rubbermaid tub yet but I do have an empty DVD bin on my side of the entertainment center, so all my kits are going in there. Wait! What’s this?

Cat in bin

For some reason, my cat loves to lick plastic bags, and there’s no shortage of plastic containing the knit kits in this drawer. I caught her in there the other day and so snapped this picture. My cat doesn’t love my yarn, she only cares about the bags it comes in.

So all week I’ve been working on this:

Noro Kureyon hat in progress

It’s a simple top-down hat made out of Noro Kureyon yarn, and I think I’m going to love it! I finally increased it to the size I want at the top and will knit for a couple of inches before decreasing to the size of my actual head. The end result, I hope, will be something sort of beret-shaped. Stay tuned on that!

Oh, and I wound yarn for a new project tonight. But it’s late, so I’ll have to talk about that tomorrow.

OMG Have You SEEN This Kid?

And if you liked that one, you GOTTA see this!

That’s all for now; I’m off to bed at a decent hour for once this week. What? It’s not a decent hour? Well poop. I’ll try again tomorrow.

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September 24, 2009
Knit Happy!

It’s late, especially today, but I just wanted to share this before bed:

Knit Happy mug

I got this adorable mug from Knitting Today earlier this week. In fact, I got several of them. They come in six colors, and of course I picked purple to show you. I don’t plan on using the mug for tea; I plan on keeping one on my desk at home, one on my desk at work, and giving the other three as gifts. The little sheep is adorable, and I love the saying on the front, “Knit Happy.”

The ironic thing is that I don’t feel like I’ve been knitting happy at all lately. I’m surrounded by yarn and a plethora of patterns and books, and everything is all neat and organized and I can actually see what I’ve got now. Except that now that it’s all neatly put away it’s like I don’t want to touch it. I wish I could just dump all my yarn out all around me and go diving for something fun. While I’m great at making the kind of mess something like that would involve, I’m not so good at putting it all away without help. So in the boxes it stays, and at times I think I forget what I have.

Maybe I should bite the bullet and go to my trusty box of Cascade 220, and ball up some yarn and knit a hat. Hats used to make me knit happy. But you know what? I haven’t made a hat in a looong time. Maybe that’s the cure. The hat I’m dying to make most is Vivian, by Lisa Cruse. The showier, the better. Big hat, huge flowers.

Or, cables? I have a fabulous pattern for a cabled scarf that came with some cashmere I bought at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The cable pattern looks pretty complex, so I told myself I should practice it on something else before tackling the cashmere.

Or, Girasole? I know I mention that project a lot. But one advantage to that one is that the alpaca yarn I have for it is right behind me in my active projects bin, waiting. Maybe I should just cast on for that.

Tomorrow is an interim meeting of my knitting group. Our official meeting isn’t until September 12, but lots of folks have been itching to get together and knit. I’m going, and I guess I better decide by tomorrow what I’m going to knit.

Wish me luck deciding! I’ll check back in tomorrow.

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August 28, 2009
But I Already Know How…

Knit Picks Learn to Knit Kit

Today I received the Learn to Knit Kit from Knit Picks. It is fabulous! If you know someone who wants to learn, do consider getting this as a gift! The kits comes with three hanks of Wool of the Andes Bulky, in coordinating colors, size 10 Harmony straight needles, and the most fabulously complete knitting instructions I have ever seen in any Learn to Knit Kit of its sort.

I thought sure I’d get them with the very first step. No way would they have instructions on how to wind the hanks of yarn into a ball in the booklet. But they did! It really looks like they thought of every detail to get a new knitter on his or her way.

The kit includes instructions for a hat and scarf, including how-to’s for several different techniques, from stitches to decreases to finishing. Maybe even I’ll learn how to do mattress stitch yet! God knows Lea-Ann tried to teach me (over the phone!) years ago, and more recently, my good buddy L. showed me. In person. I’m still pretty bad at it, but I think I get the idea. Having the booklet with the explanations will help.

It also has a section in the booklet on fixing mistakes! How cool is that? Knitting mistakes even happen to experienced knitters, as we know, but it is often those mistakes that will cause the new knitter to throw the needles across the room and give up. The detailed pictures and reassuring writing style throughout this whole kit are about as close to having a real knitting teacher sitting next to you as any booklet could be. Overall I think this kit is exceedingly well done!

But wait! There’s more:

Digital Scale

Last week I complained that I needed to be able to split my yarn hanks into two balls each to work on a shawl project. I had seen this scale for a while on the Knit Picks site . It’s also available on Amazon, in a wider variety of colors. Now I can finally wind the yarn for my purple shawl and get going. Something new to work on… I think I needed this.

Finally, I have to share the funniest kitten video I have seen in a long time:

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August 27, 2009
Zephyr…or Harmony? Do I Have to Have a Favorite?

closeup of two knitting needles, one wood, one clear acrylic

When Knit Picks introduced their new Zephyr needles recently, well, I had to be the first on my block to get some! They came today, so I haven’t had much time to play with them yet. But here are my first impressions.

They’re pretty. I’m sitting here at my computer desk, which is brightly lit with an LED light strip, but these babies sparkle in the light. Not in a bad way, that causes too much glare. But in a good way. Like, in a do diamonds ever cause too much glare? –sort of way. Haha. Maybe that’s overkill, but the aesthetics do please me.

As promised, they’re extremely lightweight. This is a good thing for those of us who have pain in our hands. Less stressful, for sure. But then again, all of Knit Picks’ needles feel light to me. But, I think these are even a bit lighter than the others.

There is a touch of give. The needles are slightly flexible, which makes it easier to bend and “pick” stitches. I suppose this would be especially good for continental knitters. I throw, but from the left not the right, and even so I found this bit of give feels good.

They’re a bargain. This is really good news for someone who would want a nice needle set for less money. They are the cheapest set in the Picks line, and they sell for less individually as well, especially in larger sizes.

There is a bit of “squeak.” This is the one thing that I’m finding I don’t like. It’s not an annoying audible squeak, but you know that “feeling” you get when something sort of squeaks? That little bit of friction? I definitely felt it. I was using a size 7 needle, and Socks that Rock Mediumweight sock yarn. Perhaps my results will vary with different yarns. We’ll see. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a terrible issue that will keep me from loving these needles. It’s just something I noticed right away.

I haven’t spent enough time with these yet but I wanted to give some first impressions. I think I’m going to love them, especially for certain projects where picking at the stitches could be helpful. Lace? Cables? Probably a good choice.

Knit Picks did a nice job with these. I do like them so far. My Harmony wood needles are probably always going to be my favorite, but these are good. Really good.

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August 4, 2009
Tiny Knitting, HUGE Bag

log cabin square in progress
I’ve been knitting in a small way. A teeny tiny way. See this? It’s a miniature log cabin afghan, just started. In sock yarn. It’s probably going to be no more than 5 inches wide and maybe 6 or so inches tall. The photo is deceiving; it’s probably no bigger than a postage stamp now.

What’s it for? Why knit something so painfully small? Well, that part I can’t say. But I do hope it’s going to be fabulous. I like small knitted things. I’m fascinated by knitted miniatures, and how detailed they can be despite their miniscule size. Have you seen this video on YouTube? It’s miniature knitting as a true art form:

In contrast to the really small, something really big came in the mail today!

Namaste Hermosa Tote

It’s the Namaste Hermosa Tote, in eggplant, of course! OMG is this thing HUGE! It’s not really a purse, like the other bags are. It’s more a giant tote, with a nice firm bottom that stands well on its own. It has an attached “saddlebag” thingy on the outside, great for stashing knitting tools, or purse-y stuff or whatever. There are pockets on the inside and out, and the main compartment is so cavernous that one could easily carry an afghan in progress or a REALLY big sweater to knit group. There’s also a large pocket on the outside perfect for carrying sheet patterns so they don’t get rumpled by being jammed in the bag.

What I don’t know is whether this bag will be an everyday use sort of thing. It’s really so big I wonder if It’ll get in my way more than not. But, I also bought this:

Namaste Small Clutch

Namaste Small Clutch, open
It’s the Namaste Small Clutch, also in eggplant. It’s sort of a wallet, but bigger, and I’m hoping that this in combination with the clutch will make it easy to grab the money and other necessities of life, for those times when I need to just leave the tote and go. I’ll do the ol’ purse switcharoo tomorrow, so I’ll be able to give a review of what I like and don’t like in the coming days. Wish me luck!

I have more to tell but it will have to wait for another day. My pillow beckons. Ciao!

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July 9, 2009