OH! Decr 1 st at EACH end?

Why did the voice in my head that I hear when I read, say: "THE end of the next five rows", when the pattern clearly, clearly, clearly says "Each end of the next five rows"?

Should I feel guilty about this?

Ms. thing, my ten year old daughter:
1. Lost her T-shirt for the Choir performance.
2. Did not wake up in time for her donut breakfast in celebration of the Choir performance, and probably did not get a donut.

The baby boy has been staying up late, and I barely awoke at 7, which was essentially too late to get her up. I could have put her T-shirt away for her, in a place that, four months later, she could find it and have no problems.

I'm trying to teach her consequences, which, honestly, is easy on my energy, but proving difficult for my conscience.

Would you feel guilty about this?

Knitting from a Library Book

I had to return my knitting book Classic Knits today. Bummers.
The rule is that the book has to be back at the Library for one night and then you can check it out again.

I'm going to do that. Or maybe I should order the thing. Nope, too cheap.

Tina Dina gets Swatched

You can't imagine how nice it felt to finally get some time to knit and take pictures. Please remember the part about me being a beginning knitter, and well, a not so talented photographer either. I am pretty good at drinking wine though. Although, I don't drink it on a Saturday morning very often. Swatching for a sweater caused this to happen.

Tina Dina has been swatched.



Four times.

Sizes 5, 4, 3 and 2.

Now, you know how it goes that the place you find a lost thing is always the last place you look?

Size 2. The book suggests size 5, and size 3 for the ribbing. This was caused, I think, by a slight difference in yarn size that the LYS told me would result in a more dense fabric. The guage required is 22 stitches per 4". The yarn says 5 sts/in. on size 6. Because of this, LYS said to make sure and swatch.

Yeah. I see why now.
In four inches:
Size 5 was 18 sts. 4 was 20 sts. 3 was 19.5 (Yeah, what the heck, right?) and 2 was 23. I'm somewhat smaller than the size I'm knitting, so I'm really hoping here.

Guess what though. I have two size 2 circs. So I can knit the front and the back at the same time, and every couple of inches, seam them and if it doesn't fit around, I can start again.

Sally Melville said to always wash my swatches. And I already told you about my rule following problem. So I did the first last night and patiently waited for it to dry overnight. Life is short, so my hairdryer and a glass of wine helped me throught the three swatches I did this morning.


That is Moto being neglected while eating his cheerios. He hates it when I knit.

The Moto-photo (ha!) has the truest color (on my monitor) of this fabulous purple cotton fleece. (Brown Sheep calls it "Berry" but it wouldn't be a very good tribute to my girlhood if I called it anything but Purple.) This is why I posted such a blurry photo, for the color of it. Because it would be too good a life to get good color and non-blurriness, or I guess, clarity would be a better word, in the same photograph.


And the winner! It is much smaller because, well, it is the freaking fourth swatch.

I liked this so I included it. Have a great weekend!

purple cotton fleece

I ordered enough purple cotton fleece to knit the deep v-neck sweater in the book "Classic Knits". If you asked me when I was three, what was my favorite color, I would say very confidently, "Purple!" (How could there possibly be any other answer?) After my divorce, the color I was drawn to was red. All tones of red, cool and warm. Who knows why? By the time my new husband and I started dating, with several years of roller coasters under my belt, my wardrobe barely had any color in it but red.

This is my first sweater, and since I only knit to satisfy my inner child, purple it is. Yes, a photo would be quite suitable here. But I haven't posted for a week, and I don't know how seriously "Knitting Blogs" takes that once per week rule, so just to be sure, I'm posting sans photo, as the cotton fleece isn't in yet, and I am a rule follower to a fault. Shall I name my sweater Tina Dina after my childhood imaginary friend? (As opposed to my adult imaginary friend, Rico Suave :) Yes, I shall.

Shakujii-Koen

That is where I am. Out of the bazillions of times Michael has come here to visit family, starting when he was two years old, he has never ever been here in the spring to see the Sakura in full blossom. How lucky am I to experience this with him?



It is hard to describe this place in terms of U.S. neighborhood definitions. I grew up in a planned community, built in the 70's, in a small town of 130,000. Most of my adult life, I have lived in the Bovine Metropolis of Denver, CO. My architect friends tell me Denver is not the kind of city you have to be afraid of in terms of crime, etc. but it still feels like a city to me, I lived in the heart of downtown, near the art museum and the botanic gardens.

Anyway, Tokyo has these very interesting communities, which are regular houses next to pretty parks and lakes. But it is truly city - everywhere. And the real kind of city. Crime is low, but you know what I mean, C-I-T-Y. People crowded on trains, bicycles parked everywhere, all imaginable types of outfits, shapes, hurry-scurry, CITY! I read that if you put LA and NY together, Tokyo would still be a bit bigger people-wise. A few blocks away from Obaachan's house (that means grandma:) is one of the main train stations, but two blocks in the other direction there is a huge, beautiful lake filled with Sakura.



I only have a couple of more days here, and it is questionable whether I will ever get to come back, as family is a fragile age here. How can I open my eyes wider and let my soul soak in a bit more? Is that possible?

Auntie Bubbo Pants

If you are not on Ravelry this is not going to make any sense.

If you are on Ravelry, and don't know who Auntie Bubbo pants is, to a 'clown pants' search, and you will not be sorry.

Auntie Bubbo gives out awards for completing tasks, and the awards take the form of clown pants. One must earn the right to wear these virtural clown pants, and from only having read the first 333 posts of almost 1500, from what I can tell, if she is very pleased with your effort, you can have extra sparkles on your clown pants.

I want some pants.

Here is my task. I don't think I'm allowed to have help, but encouragement is fine, I think:

Auntie Bubbo wrote:
You walk down the street and find a bucket of snails, a case of beer, 2 geckos, my underpants and a skein of yarn that you cannot afford to purchase. What do you do? You are judged on creativity and you get extra points for pictures.

Sally Melville

I spent 12 hours with Sally this weekend in class. She may or may not remember my name, but I will tell you that she remembers that I mastered garter stitch grafting. And the three different buttonholes and the two different techniques for bobbles, one for which you do not have to turn the work at all (and it is prettier than the traditional bobble.) I learned that e-wrap cast on is the bomb. I had been using cable for absolutely everything. I learned how to turn any sweater pattern into a saddle shoulder. I learned that sometimes when you put yourself out into the world, the world will apply its own filters, and that the S.M. color book does not represent Sally as a designer, even though every piece of knitting is her design.

Aside from all of the new knitting techniques and strategies I learned, though, I learned some really basic things about life. I learned that getting 9 hours of sleep is ideal for adult humans. Getting 7 is minimal, getting 8 is only 'good'. Most of our real problem solving and healing happens in our sleep. Most dreams occur after 6 hours, and dreaming is necessary for our mental health.

I learned there is an incubation period to the creativity process. We humans HAVE to let an idea bake, and so it is better to take a walk when we feel the urge to pull away from the creative process, than to sit and be frustrated.

I learned that doing anything that is mentally untaxing and physically repetitive will take us to our creative centers of our brains. Knitting is perfect. That's why when you ask most knitters why they knit, they don't say it is because they want pretty sweaters, or pretty yarn, necessarily, we just like where our mind goes.

If Sally comes to your town to teach, you should definitely buy a ticket for that ride. What fun!

Birthdays

I expect this to be long and inarticulate. I'm 37. I can tell myself it is my 10th annual 27th birthday celebration, and that was fun for, like, 9 years, but it sounds rather pathetic at this point, I think. So 37 it is.

I can't help but fear 40. I admit it. I don't know why this is. I know nothing horrible is going to happen to me just because I'm 40 "someday" (a la Harry met Sally).

30 - Divorce and Church.
31 - Church.
32 - Dating.
33 - Rode a LOT of roller coasters.
34 - More roller coasters.
35 - Marriage.
36 - Baby. Knitting.
37 - I suppose we will see! Hopefully more knitting. Why the heck did I stop riding roller coasters? Pregnancy? I HAVE to put that back on this year's list!!!


I'd like to say this is the year that I will wake up and take better care of myself. Exercise. Shower. (Ha. Just kidding.)

I'm excited about my class today. I haven't spontaneously combusted yet, and I've been 37 for like six hours, so I think things will be OK. Yeah.


I guess not so long, but plenty inarticulate.

Castle Rock

We are taking a short car ride to Castle Rock today. There is some good shopping and good hot chile at Brewery Bar III. The Brewery Bar local chain is where one must visit to get good hot green chile in the Denver area, in my opinion. Just so you know.

I bought some lovely gray Takhi cotton yesterday and started a "waterfall" head scarf.

repeat of 6+3:
1. (ws) k3, *p3,k3*
2. p3,*k3,yo,p3*
3. k3,*p4,k3*
4.p3*k1,k2tog,yo,k1,p3*
5.k3*p2,p2tog,k3*
6.p3,*k1,yo,k2tog,p3*

It is lovely. I'm long overdue a photoshoot with some yarn and some knitting but anticipate I will not get that done before we leave for Tokyo.

I'm going to meet Sally Melville tomorrow!

Yay!

Reclaiming our Daughters

I am loving this book.

Also, I learned that Frogging is called such because you "Rip It, Rip It, Rip It." I read that in the "Knitting Answer Book". I think that is what it is called. Anyone agree with this explanation? Disagree?

I have 22 books out from the Library, most of them, knitting books. I had 'enough' of them prior to yesterday, when I picked up 5 more. Joy is her class rep for the Boulder Water Festival, and her meeting was at the Library, and who can resist bringing free knitting books home, even if for a short stay?

I also flipped through back issues of Knitter's Magazine, and didn't find much that grabbed me. Oh well, now I know.

On the other hand, I want to knit every single item in this book.

Sushi and Comedy

Since I filled my real birthday weekend (next weekend) with knitting classes (Sally Melville!) Michael felt he had to take me out tonight instead. Nothing to do with the fact that Chris Rock was in town tonight. And Chris Rock is his all time favorite. OK. I laughed too. We also had sushi at Sushi Den. Um, the one in Denver, not the one in Fukuoka-City.

That reminds me....only a week and a half until we leave for Tokyo! (And Okinawa!) Maybe I should start packing my yarn and needles. (I suppose I will need clothes as well.)

Knitting Books: KWT and The Purl Stitch

My brain is in a whirl, I've been reading two knitting books I have checked out from the Library. One is EZ's Knitting Without Tears. I read the Almanac from cover to cover, and her tangents are hilarious. I love the one about going to watch a ski competition, and how to pack a proper car picnic, and then she eventually gets back to knitting. In KWT, she talks about how using rubberbands to make a 'stopper' for your dpn (not her wording but I've forgotten her term) is better than buying those made for the job gadgets because they can never be found and rubber bands can be. And some people have gotten smart and tied the two gadgets together, so they can both be lost at the same time!

Whatever sense of humor she has, I have it exactly. I know I'm not alone, because she has a sort of cult following. I haven't knitted anything by her yet, but am eyeing the tomten jacket in this book for baby Moto. Another hilarious EZ reading moment from KWT: She is on the subject of the long tail cast on vs. the knitted cast on, and going on and on about how the knitted cast on is soooooooooo much better, and concludes: "The answer as to why I still insist on using the long tail cast on is : I don't know. "

The other book I'm reading is the Purl Stitch by Sally Melville because I'm going to take two of her classes next weekend. I'm on the section that covers reverse shaping. "For reverse shaping on a bind off edge, where one piece is decreased on a right side row, the decreasing on the reverse shaped piece should be done on a wrong side row." etc., etc. She does a much better job with the wording, but the biggest lesson I have learned so far is that I have tons and tons to learn! I am going to order this book.

I am a total cheapo when it comes to knitting books, but having spent some time with this one, I know I'll refer to it. Plust my birthday is coming up. My tenth annual 27th birthday. I can't believe it!

Yuck.

Too much silver 'fiber'

Hey there. I had to frog a hat today. Is frog the same thing as rip? I had to rip out five inches, leaving the small amount of ribbing and maybe an inch of stockinette. It is made of panda wool, a bamboo/merino mix, and it is really really nice fingering weight joy. I simply made the hat too shallow, and since I was already frogging, I went ahead and ripped to a small mistake I had made. I'm making this hat because I'm seeing more silver 'fiber' growing out of my head than I can yank these days, and I have a devious plan to knit up tons of pretty little skull caps so that I don't have to deal with it. Yeah, that'll work.

Goodnight. It is late.

Eva's cashmere ball has been eaten.

Eva's scarf is done. I thought it was done back in January. But adding another ball to it was exactly what was required. It was too short. I had envisioned it as a little bit of cashmere to just spoil her neck. But she really deserves a full out scarf, so now all that business is done.

I have cast on the silk, and I'm thinking the tube scarf idea is going to work. I still want a springy forecast sweater, though.

1000 yards of silk

OK, I decided to let the silk just do its thing. I have searched high and low for a stitch pattern or garment pattern that would suit me, and suit the silk and have not found one. I decided I want to go with minimalist modern, which to me means; stockinette tube scarf. I'm going to make one end more like a cowl neck and then increase gradually to make a poncho (a wide tube scarf:) until I run out of yarn. I think the silk will just be beautiful silk, draping nicely, dawning its plain stitches, saying, "look at me! I'm silk! If you have somehow found this page and are reading it, I'll let you imagine what 1000 yards of white worsted silk looks like for a few days, and then check back for a photo! (Has nothing to do with my to-do list being crazy until the weekend. Nothing at all to-do with that :)

I wish I were a better knitter.

I am really inspired by the theme of the latest post from Vickilicious. It is comforting to know a better knitter out there has re-thought several of her pattern choices, and remapped yarn she already has. I can do that! (I think.)


I'm a bit more scattered, though. For instance, I have five balls of a lovely rust/teal mix merino and have started no fewer than three different projects. Liesel was the latest. The yarn is too dark for that stitch pattern, though. Having worked about five inches, I have to squint to see the leaves, and so it just isn't right.


I love that many Jeanie knitters have chosen dark colors like charcoal, with beautiful results. So no problem, right? Jeanie it is. The pattern is a bit of a stretch technically. I've never done dropped stitches, and I've done cables, once. I have Jillie's Post to refer to for encouragement. Here is the paralyzing question: Do I really want a shawl of any type right now? And rust? Rust is better for Autumn knitting.

What do I really want to make?

The answer is: A springtime cardigan. I have 1000 yards of pure natural worsted white silk from Sarah's Yarns.

Why do I have this silk? Because I wanted to make Forecast. Except, using a springtime fiber. Well, after playing with the yarn a bit, I realized that silk doesn't exactly behave the same way wool does. If I were a better knitter, I would have known this and, say, ordered the cashmere/silk blend for about the same price. LYS lady said that I could get another yarn (wool) to carry with it. But...buy another 1000 yards of yarn? Will it even work?

This is why I have been knitting little flowers out of scrap yarn for the past week. And envelopes. And starting blogs and posting to Rants about meatloaf (sort of) on Ravelry instead of knitting.

At least I know what I will do someday with my rust merino, though. (I think.)

Saltwater Purls: Technique Tuesday

Planning to come and try this sock methodology out. This is at the top of my knitting To-Do list. (After I knit up Eva's ball.)


Didn't want to lose the link, so here it is, nice and obvious.

Saltwater Purls: Technique Tuesday

Eva's Ball

Does Eva's Ball look cold to you?







Me too.

Envelopes?

Um. There is no 'inside' in which to write the task. Just a front and a back. Maybe I should knit envelopes. Or learn how to double-knit, and leave an opening?

I'll make another flower while I think about it. (Meanwhile....Michael pays Jamie's bills because she 'forgot' to-do it.) Wink.