Interesting

I bought the current issue of Vogue because of the pattern above. I fully realize that it will take me several weeks to knit and that I may not finish it in time to wear this winter. But this is the sort of classic styling that transcends fashion.

I knew that I would choose a different yarn. So I was surprise to find that the designer conceived the pattern in a yarn other than the one chosen by Vogue. Link Gosh, I like the stitch definition and fabric created by the Cascade Superwash Bulky 128 so much better than the yarn chosen by Vogue.

Though I should by now be "over it", I remain constantly amazed at how the Internet makes it possible for a resource like Ravelry to exist bringing designers and knitters together. It's not just the plethora of patterns now available, but even more valuable is the expanded universe of experience and information about patterns and yarns, not to mention the thousands of tutorial videos on You Tube and other websites. I can remember whilst knitting my first top in the 80's making weekly trips to my lys with my project, pattern, and questions.

Even better is that each knitter on Ravelry has the opportunity to contribute to the universe of information by posting comments about their experience with an individual pattern or yarn. I have been saved more times than I can count from the comments and photos about a pattern I have seen in a magazine or on a website. And I have fully taken advantage of the access to designers to query them about sizing or other issues.

Staycation, Hats, and Holey Socks

My staycation began on December 14 and ends January 4. There are been a few frantic incursions from work this week. Hopefully, these will diminish as the holidays approach.

I've been able to watch about 80% of the Kagyu Monlam and the teachings that preceeded it--which is the primary reason for taking off work (besides avoiding use or lose in 2011).

The opening ceremony was visually stunning. The teachings are stronger and deeper--or maybe it's my understanding that is better--than last year's Monlam. Also, I'm not doing the chat this year, which while exciting and enthusiastic, I now see was distracting. There is simultaneous translation of both the prayers and the teachings this year (which the chat last year did facilitate). All in all, I've learned a lot the past several days; and, as always, have a lot more to study.

I am doing a tidy and clear out. Not so exciting while it's happening, but quite satisfying once I've finished an area and the trash bags are out the door. I'm spending down my FSA on OTC items that will be disqualified with out scripts next year; and when I'm not clearing or knitting, taking long naps with puss, whom I fear will be quite spoiled by the constant companionship when I return to work.

Am resisting the temptation to veg out on movies but did see a good comedy, The Infidel.

I am attacking the stash.

Avocado Knit Picks Special Knit Picks Palette in Forest Heather

Yarn

Both hats are from the same pattern: The Purl Beret from the Purl Bee. Just realized this morning that I have knit two green hats in a row. The photo doesn't show the nice avocado colour of first hat pictured. I made a mistake in the first row of decreases which gives the avocado hat a more ruched look. The avocado hat is sport weight; the forest green hat is fingering. I like this pattern for beret knitting. I'm not into spokes; K2 every X number of row is so much more relaxing the SSK.

I have to work on my photo taking. I keep getting fuzzy photos and not capturing the colour of the yarn. The Forest Heather is absolutely lovely. Here's the description: Forest is a medium misty yellow green color whose overall shade is lighter and includes more yellow than Ivy. Like the many shades of green found in the forest, it combines strands of yellow and a variety of greens for its beautiful heathered look. The entire time I was knitting the hat, I kept thinking cables and twisted stitches. Yesterday, Knitting Daily had a lovely cable with a stockingnette background which I think I will use in a scarf with this yarn. I can't decide if I want the cable on the edge, or if I want to stagger the cables throughout the scarf. I just don't like cables on reverse stockingnette. Watch this space....

One cool tip I learned from the Wendy Knits blog: threading in my tail ends as I work. What a difference it made on the next round. The first join stitch was just as taut as the preceding and following stitch--no fiddling with the tail end to tightened the stitch. I'm a convert. At the end of the avocado hat, I only had the tail end from the cast on and the top knot to do.

I missed the sale on Knit Picks dpns earlier this year. And I've been yearning for the darning egg. The whimpering noise you hear outside my apartment door is from the socks with holes dreading their turn on the egg. I'll post piccys of the egg in action with my next post.

My big goal: knit a pair of socks before 2011. I keep trying and failing. It's the heel thing. This time I will start with worsted weight socks. I need them anyway because my floors are so cold. I'm also going to knit a pair of laceweight legwarmers using alpaca yarn and more gloves (fingered and fingerless with tops) and I need a scarf or gaiter or two to go with all these bloody hats I've knit. Ambitious, aren't I?

Not as ambitious, it seems as Toupie, who continues to persist in his literary endeavours:

Autumn

It's been a busy Autumn...far busier than I imagine in September. But, nonetheless, I keep knitting away.

From the Knit Picks special buy wool, I've made a hat and fingerless gloves and the never ending glitter shrug continues to be knit. The total cost for the hat and fingerless gloves is about $4.00. The colourway is Claret Heather. Not sure heathered yarns go well with my complexion but warmth first; fashion statement later. I didn't use a pattern for either of these.

I have to be patient with the glitter shrug. It's one large rectangle with ribbing at the ends that will be folded in half to create sleeves and then the rectangle is opened again for wearing. I like it because it is not a "boob" hugging shrug.

Now the next picture might be a little frightening. This is my first fingered glove. The yarn tails on the fingers need to be woven in and the markers are there so that I can write down the pattern (rows) for the left glove. This glove took a day to complete. It was knit with Knit Picks Andean Silk (23% silk, 55% Superfine Alpaca, 22% Merino Wool in the discontinued Cinnamon colorway, which I bought when the yarn was on sale. The fingers were a bit fiddly and I had to do some darning between two of the fingers where I failed to pick up properly. I am using size 8 needles for the ribbing and hand and size 5 needles for the fingers because my fingers are just so darn thin and I wanted a snug fit. But I think I shall use size 5 or 6 needles with this yarn in future to get a tighter fabric. Nonetheless, I suspect these gloves will be warm!

I will post a piccy of the finished gloves (sans yarn ends) when I finish the left glove.

One of the casualities of my busy schedule was the November Novel Writing Contest. I won't win but with what I was able to write, I have the characters and the plot firmly in my head and can attack the writing during my time off in December.

I've had problems with our local Target since it opened. My main complaint has been the carry out food kiosk. They were always either out of whole wheat hot dog rolls, the hot dogs weren't ready, the popcorn wasn't ready, or there weren't any pretzels. Hence my irritation at not being able to indulge in a guilty pleasure. Until yesterday, I hadn't been in the store in over a year. Much to my surprise, Pizza Hut has taken it over. There were hot dogs, four different kinds of pretzels, and pizza (which I'm never interested in). I treated myself to a salted pretzel. Instead of spraying it with water to make the salt stick they used some sort of oil which I'm sure had it's origins in tiger habitat somewhere in Indonesia.

Having read about Target expanding their grocery options, I didn't expect to be surprised, but man was I ever wrong. There's not a "great" variety (no canned cream corn, for example), but what they carry is nicely priced and packaged and cheaper than the grocery store. The find of the day was a box of no-brandname fabric softner sheets (100 for $1.99) that not only softened my clothes but reduced the wrinkles and clinging cat hairs. Now I wonder if Bounce at $8.99 for 100 sheets would work as well. Somehow I think not.

There is a new IHop in the mall and I am going there with Tim for brunch next Sunday. I love IHop. It's menu so incredibly sinfully full of sugar, carbs and saturated fat. They have a menu for people over 55.

The mall continues to be a disappointment. It sits squarely in an area where there isn't much shopping and yet there are so many retail spaces available. You'd think a population dense area like ours would attract more shops.

Toupie has found a friend. Their only frustration is they can't get to each other. I suspect this new kitty lives in one of the apartments with a patio and wanders in an out. Toupie and the cat meet and see each other through the window. Such meowing, vocalizing, pacing and quick changes in direction, I've never seen. The funny bit is the poor thing is so exhausted after one of these "visits" that he falls dead asleep for hours. No catnapping, puss boy is out for the count.

The leaves are almost all off the trees and yesterday I realized that I could see the bus coming when I looked up the street. It so different seeing trees that were in golden glory a fornight ago now with just limbs and branches reaching to the sky.

Haven't seen many movies; just been too busy. But I can highly recommend Billy Elliot. About a lad in the North of England during the miner's strike who gives up boxing for ballet.

Am looking forward to a quiet December and working on the Kidney Fund Awareness Event in March.

Pineapples

September was a busy month. Hence my neglect of the blog.

I finally got a chance to take a look at the Montse Stanley book. In it, I saw the knit pineapple purse. I can take or leave pineapple to eat. Actually prefer dried pineapple to fresh. But I love pineapple as a design element. Hence by obsession to find the pattern for the pineapple purse from Jane Gaugain's 1840 book the Lady's Assistant.

The book is in open source and .pdf format on the web and a Raveler has written the pattern in Spanish and English. Here's a piccy from someone who has made the bag.

I spent about a year embroidering this; never finished and the project was lost in one of my moves. I was able to purchase a brand-new kit on e-Bay in 2008 and still have it to do.

The pineapple was a symbol of welcome in the 18th century. It's used extensively as a motif in crochet doilies. The Yarn Council of America has a pineapple afghan pattern on it's website. 2011 could be my Year on the Pineapples.

I continue on the shrug--endless stockingnette and the blue shawl. I just finished the first of my second pair of fingerless gloves. I am making these longer; didn't mess up the K2P2 ribbing this time (woo hoo).

Saw a good film, ABCD, with one of my favorite actresses, Madhur Jaffrey. Liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Have started the Pascoe and Dalziel series of video. It took a couple of episodes for the dramatized Pascoe character to grow on me. Ellie and Dalziel are perfectly cast.

Wonderful Link

I found a wonderful link today. Free vintage knitting patterns. Downloaded several patterns but the real winner is the pattern for a pair of Rifleman Gloves.

I'd love mittens, but when you're constantly whipping out your bus pass or using your smart card, mittens don't give you the dexterity required. The flip gloves are cute and I may still make a pair, but again it's the fiddly bit when it's cold and you have to focus on getting on the bus and doing your thing that makes me bulk.

The Rifleman gloves are a combination of mitten and glove. You knit a thumb and forefinger and the other three fingers are enclosed in a mitten. Volia dexterity and warmth.

I think I've also solved my sock knitting failures on this site as well. Heeless socks...like duh! I've bought commerically made heeless socks before. I wasn't wild about them because I could never tell which side was up, but if I knit them, I can put a design on the upside and knit the downside in either ribbing or stocking knit. Woo Hoo!

Labor Day

The first fingerless are finally finished. And yes, there is a ribbing issue on both mits, but they are my first and they are for me and I'm not bothered. The thumb for the left hand went much easier. I plan to make a few more pairs and to make them longer.










The yarn is 100% Peruvian Highland Wool from Knit Picks. The colourway is Pumpkin. KP received batches that were over-spun meaning the yarn is sport weight instead of worsted and came with a warning that it might knit up with a bias slant. The yarn was sold in lots of bags of 10 at $1 a skein. I had enough wool left over from the skein I used for the gloves to make a sizeable swatch for my next project: Lion Brand Glitter Shrug. So far no biasing issues.

It has taken me all afternoon staring at the picture and the diagram to figure out how the Glitter Shrug will be worn once it's made. It's basically a rectangle folded and seamed leaving armholes. I think I've sorted how the garment is to be worn. My first choice was a shrug from Creative Knitting. I kneel at the altar of Ravelry and prostrate myself in gratitude for its existence. Reading the reviews and the knitting issues the four or five people who tried it had (only one person finished it after emailing the company) saved my buns.

What a difference a year makes. This time last year I spent the entire weekend working 10-14 hours each day arranging a trip for visitors from Bhutan who were arriving on Labor Day. It was in the midst of that marathon that I recognized the years of experience which gave me the ability to move 8 people from city to city with less than six days notice of the details. It's odd how we don't often give ourselves credit for the things we know how to do.

This weekend has, by contrast, been an orgy of knitting, tidying, a few errands and chores (washed the blinds in the living room yesterday--give me strength) playing with Toupie and watching a few films on Netflix. That combined with the gorgeous, humidity-free weather--the only thing missing today was yesterday's breeze--has made yesterday and today so relaxing and tension free.

I saw an add on television for Gummy Vitamins for adults. Like finally!!! Horsepills are for horses. These are great tasting but they are totally bearable and doable. My pill chopper thanks you.

I took these snaps of Toupie, who napped on my unmade bed most of yesterday afternoon.

Is it a Bird, Is it a Plane....

No, it's my first fingerless mitt with a gusset thumb.

Here is a link to some dead cute buttons.

My current bus knit is a shawl:

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