Three hats, two photos, one year nearly over

Finished the last two of the hats for my actors. Had a lot of Thanksgiving weekend hospital time to knit. One zipped away pre-photo.




Traveled for a family funeral and decided not to risk trying to finish that one on the plane (inox coated metal needles), so took this wool along. It was enough for a hat on nice pencilly bamboo needles.



Fall of 2009 has been hard work. Hasn't been well-suited to living aloud online. The year is nearly over. There are sunny mornings ahead.

AFK

Back in awhile.

Two more hats to go

I don't know when it was that I moved from figuring out that I would be the only one making these seven hats to the place where I decided I WOULD be the one to knit seven hats.





The stuff of stubbornness.

In memory of a good friend and colleague

Remember
by Christina Rosetti


Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Because they shaved their heads

I'm making 7 camo hats.
Missed a photo of the 1st.
Took a photo of the next two.
These colors aren't perfectly true, as I had the desk lamp on in a fluorescent light filled room. Blech.

Keeping up

Things I can't keep up drift away. Things I won't keep up are sometimes lifestyle and sometimes casualties. Things I should keep up? Oy.

Mostly, I'm not keeping up.

Keeping up appearances --
I don't, much. Could improve, but the reasons would not be for sake of appearance.

Keeping up with work demands --
Sometimes I wonder who does, really. You get some things done, and you make progress on others. I got a couple things done today. That list should be longer.

Keeping up the home --
Yurgh. In one weekend, a weekend in which I was at work twice, I managed three loads of laundry, some desk and table clutter clearing, and a little food-prep for a week of packing along all my meals to work. Gah. Bah.

Keeping up with the Joneses --
More distant than the appearance issue, mostly.

Keep your chin up --
Trying to support others who are trying, trying to model the tactic myself.
Having a hard time.

I'm certainly not keeping up with the blogging. I manage only to peer at blogs and knitty and ravelry. I'm knitting a second of the pile of hats I really wanted to crank out.

And I'm not ready for my evening of work. I'm going to do that now. I just wanted to feel like I could use a few minutes of the week to keep up something purely for myself.

Someone else would probably opt for the pedicure.

Koi-nomah; or, Babbling about an Orange Scarf

Koi-nomah
Goofy name, but the name of the pattern (Multnomah) was a story that wasn't mine....


...and the yarn (Alchemy Bamboo, YES on clearance sale) colorway was named Kai's Goldfish ....


...and I kept wanting to call it Koi, not Kai, since, you know, well, goldfish and all...


...and you know, since I am clearly on a feather and fan knitting jag, this yarn looked appropriately very fish scaley in that pattern....


...so I give you Koi-nomah, but really, I just think of it as Julia's orange scarf...


because Julia hurt her foot, Julia likes orange, and I just thought she ought to have it.

Camera Stops on a Grey Day

Thank you for the kind comments about the Buenos Aires sweater.

I think it will be okay. I think it will be wearable. I worried my mother may have thought it a bit short, but she was pleased the jacket sleeves aren't too big and baggy - she'd seen some of my early work, wherein I despaired of that very thing.

The afternoon was too far gone when I tried these pictures. Turned lights on and off, changed exposure on the camera, light quality, etc.

The first pictures are closest in color. Some of the rest look like I've had a bad day photoshopping. Seriously, though. Only added and subtracted camera bits and wall switches. Bah.






Yarn: Manos del Uraguay in Starry Night and in Coffee. The pattern, Buenos Aires, is from a Manos pattern booklet.

Size large, the cropped variation. Used most of seven skeins in Starry Night and into the third on the coffee.

F. O.

I'm working on a project that lands a lot of F bombs.

Thought I'd use the other one.

Finished Object, or at least a Photo finish.

Details tomorrow.

Two Starts and a Finish

Gift neckkerchief in Alchemy Bamboo (sale) in Koi, a perfect name match. Don't know if the pattern used will be Mara or Multnomah, but I've started with Multnomah:


Diagonal Rib Sock from IWK Favorite Socks book in CTH Supersock Solid:


Finished: Checkerboard Lace scarf (pattern from Purl Soho) in Farmhouse Yarns Bonnie's Bamboo; color is Indigo

Sewing and Other Things

So many things going on just now, all mostly centered on work. Colleague illness has meant organizing all kinds of team approaches in taking care of the work load here, while the colleague's cancer team centers attention on the personal needs. (I know that's all vague. Don't want the specificity of someone else's private concerns placed here.)

Can't knit. I think I managed a few rows of a sock and then made a wreck of the same few rows.

Sewing is a huge part of my load right now as well. I have to get back to that. I WILL tackle and learn the blind hem feature on the new machine today. The hems of more than a dozen voluminous skirts make that a very appealing prospect.

Be well.

This is not what is meant by "costume parade".

As a break from knitting scarves, I knit a hasty shawl for a costume project.

It's not much to speak of: durable acrylic donated to the shop, most of one super saver skein on US13 needles, with basic recipe prompts from the Fan and Feather Triangle Shawl pattern in Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls. Really kind of a shawlette, this project of a long weekend is only a nod to the fanciness and fine knitting in Ms. Oberle's original.







I don't know that I'll ask the cat for an opinion, but I'm sure it will pass muster as a costume.

Isn't she done with scarves yet?

Nope.

This is the last scarf. Found I did take a picture that looked like the yarn on the Old Shale Soxie Scarf.


This is the next gift scarf. Started it between dining moments at knitting camp.
Bonnie's Bamboo from Farmhouse Yarns. Purl Soho's Checkerboard Lace scarf pattern.


This is the most recently finished gift scarf.
Misti Alpaca Pima Silk handpaint.


Mason-Dixon gals posted a lacey rib scarf recipe of four rows. I'll link when I can get back to the blog, although it is Raveled.





Nope. Not done. Packing little lacy quicky scarf knitting for my week of travel. Including the bamboo above, that's one, two, three more.

Old Shale Soxie Scarf

Another graduation scarf:









Yarn: Soxie from Great Adirondack in Nantucket
Needles: 8
Pattern stitch - Anna Bell's Old Shale Baby Blanket
42 stitches - a couple garter along the sides
Knit until there was not much yarn left.

Dark, shiny yarn

Can't decide which photo captures the yarn better, as neither captures the whole quite well. One catches the highlights, thanks to the shiny quality of the silk. The other catches the dark, saturated tones in the yarn.




Either way, this was fancypants yarn - Handmaiden Silk Rumple.
It's a gift. The pattern was the recipe for the Bias Shawl distributed by the Handmaiden folk. I made it a little skinnier - 41 stitches.

Pretty. Just the right colors for the recipient.

Check lists

Annual knitting tally done? CHECK!

Long absence from blog? Yep!

Road trip to see friends & family? Three thousand miles of done!

A week of vacation time with nephew? CHECK!

Successful week with said 13 year old? PHEW! and CHECK!

Read, one frivolous summer novel? Harrypotter#4becauseIamthatbehindCHECK!

Work on old WIP? CHECKcheckcheckcheckCHECK!
(Pictures on that as soon as I've stitched up the seams and found buttons.)

Old picture in the can? Found picture of long-ago finished socks?

CHECK!
Yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Nantucket Red.
Pattern is Kristen Kapur's October Mystery sock.
I finished them in December, for the record, but I misplaced that memory card.

Summer to Summer Knitting Count, June 2009

Summer to Summer Knitting Count

Four pairs of socks
* Aunt Blue Socks
* Mystery Socks
* Spring Striped Socks
* Pomatomus

Two afghans
* One baby blanket
* Grandmother's afghan ( a crocheting project)

Seven scarves of varying sizes and shapes
* Juno Regina, scarf size
* crest of the wave scarf
* Clapotis
* Montego Bay Scarf
* Baktus
* Wisp
* Karius

Two types of fingerless gloves
* Fingerless Gloves
* Broadstreet Mittens

One sweater
* Greenjeans

Five hats, with / without extensions
* Turn a Square hats, 2
* Little cousin balaclavas, 2
* Thorpe

Four tubes, leg warmers and neckwarmers
* Neckwarmers, 2: another Dolores Park and 1Morningside
* Simple leg warmers

One bag
* Hemp Market Bag

One creature
* Norbert the Somewhat Inaccurate Dinosaur

Four dishcloths as gifts

(I haven't finished linking back to each of the projects, but I may just carry on later.)

Half a year in, and this is the first pair of socks ?!?

Done. Socks for a second aunt who very gracefully asked if I might have time Some Time to knit her a pair of socks.


Not a problem.

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Multi - Blue Jeans
Size 2

A Delayed Montego Bay Posting

Montego Bay scarf is Amy Singer's pattern, published in Interweave Knits.


Handmaiden Sea Silk was a gift from adriennec.


I really enjoyed this knitting experience. Good yarn.





Braided fringe is far too time consuming. I know, the knitting takes longer, but then the knitting is much more enjoyable.


Blocking is a lovely thing.


I'm giving this as a gift to a recent grad who does a lot of costume work. She about drooled on the knitting when she saw the work in progress. Purple is one of her signature colors. She'll be tickled.

This is not re-gifting. This is gifting it forward.

Fail better

Some long time ago glittrgirl or skitten posted a favored and favorite quote from Samuel Beckett, playwright and novelist. As I am an avowed Beckett fanatic, I cheered the exellent blog post and promptly turned the quote into a document to tape on the door.

Given my last two posts, I thought you should see what I see today and everyday.

Ever tried. Ever failed.

No matter. Try again.

Fail again. Fail better.

-- Samuel Beckett
Worstward Ho.

Lessons From Failure

1. If you really think you might not have enough yarn, you might be right.

2. If you swatch, you can risk believing your swatch.

3. Save the swatch to check later.

3. Wash the swatch so you won't be tempted simply to anticipate possible changes.

4. Note: If it fits the dress form that's much smaller than you, heed the message.

5. Move the yarn to other purposes.

6. Think about Not Knitting for a little bit.

7. Do something else.


=========================

I'm going to frog this. I already gave away a sweater that didn't fit. I'll repurpose some of the yarn.

Marcy, would you like three skeins of the light grey?

Not Afraid to Fail

I've cast on twice for Brigitta. I'm using some indulgent yarn from The Fibre Company - Pemaquid - I picked up from a sale basket. No surprise it's from Maine. Sounds very Maine. Since there hadn't been enough of the black heather (Starry Night, the name of the colorway)in the sale bin, I picked up what was on had of the lighter grey heather (Granite, that one).

So I'm launching into a very fast knit of a sweater. It may be abominable. Or I may not have enough yarn. But I've been agonizing for a few days here about what to knit. It's not matching all the other agonizing (what work projects for next year, blah blah), so I needed to step out and just DO.

As I said, I've cast on twice. I made a hasty swatch, figured out a hasty gauge, ripped it out and cast on. The garment would be the real swatch. After about 4 inches up from the hem of the garment (front and back in one), I realized my gauge expectations were flawed. I've started over. This is the type of yarn that blooms and grows at blocking.

I know I'd much rather have had this sweater all in one color, but I haven't minded the idea of the monochromatic contrast, so here goes.



As a bonus challenge, the front bands are meant to be knit as the garment is knit. The "intarsia? not after that last ill-fated attempt" challenge is at least a mild one.

You know, it's just a sweater. I bought the yarn because I liked it - a blend of alpaca, merino, and soy, of all things. I wear black all the time. The contrast may be be a good thing. It'll leave fuzz, but I always have fuzz or lint or cat hair. It's the nature of my job, my surroundings, and my housekeeping.

It'll work or it won't, but I'm going to give it a go. Hopefully there's enough to eke out a sweater.

Done. Now what?

Baby Blanket - Anna Bell's Old Shale Baby Blanket
(An old standard, but she wrote up the proportions so I didn't have to think too hard.)


The needles: 7 US / 4.5 mm
The yarn: mercerized cotton, 4 skeins
The length: 63 cycles of the 4 row repeat
The leftovers:


I'm pleased.





It's been washed and is on the last bit of drying. Packaging and shipping are all that's left.

Continuing with the aunt socks, as I don't have a lot of time this week to figure out what to cast on. I keep THINKING about what to knit next. (Frankly, that's what kept me going during the last stretch of baby blanket.) Can't decide, though, much less swatch and feel like I'm thinking clearly. I have so much other stuff going right now, though, that swatching feels like a crazy indulgent lawbreaking activity. (I need less stress and more knitting.)