31 January 2006

Who knits these things?

OK, I know that many of you out there are serious sock-a-holics so maybe you can explain to me the attraction. I have never knit socks and really have no desire to do so. However, I like the whole wrist-warmer/fingerless gloves/gauntlet trend. I figure that small circumference knitting is the same no matter what the finished product is, right? I started out making the Voodoo warmers in the Lion Brand Magic Stripes yarn (Bright Spring). (I know its not the right gauge--I figured its a simple rib pattern so I can make the adjustments.) I started on dpns but I didn't have the right size so the ribbing looked all weird and it didnt' have the right elasticity. Since my handy-dandy Addis came in the mail on Sat., I figured I would try the magic loop technique since I had those in a smaller needle size. Unfortunately, I get this awful stretch in the yarn where the join is. I have tried tightening the stitch but that didn't really help. So I tried the two circ method (the second circ is not as long and not as snazzy as the Addis but I figured that was not the point). Now I have crazy stretching in two places. Argh. I don't know how you sock knitters do it. I finally had to put the whole project away before I hurt someone.

On to happier things, here is the main part of the snowdrop shawl:
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Close-up of snowdrop detail Posted by Picasa

I haven't started picking up the stitches for the edging. I will need to schedule a time where no one will bother me for at least a couple of hours. I'm also wondering if the edging will look crappy with the variegated yarn since it won't match the color changes in the main body. I guess I will just have to try it and see.

Since I'm not doing well with the wristwarmers, I guess I should go back to working on hubby's sweater. We won't talk about how long its been in the works....not to mention I have to go back and swatch it because its not looking like its the correct length. oof.

26 January 2006

Knitting Toys

My ball winder arrived today. Woo-hoo! I got it at 50% off. Of course, after P&H it wasn't as great a deal but in total it was still less than the original price. Now I just have to keep checking back for a similar sale on a swift...its hard to make full use of the ball winder without the swift.

OK, so I've been looking over my stash. No doubt its not on par with others' but its still substantial for me. Not to mention, I have projects in mind for pretty much all of it. Now that I'm back to knitting (just have to watch that I don't tense up my back), I have enough projects to last me through at least the next six months. Sooo, I'm going to join many others in starting my yarn diet. That is to say that I will resist all the soft, fluffy, yummy yarns out there for at least the next six months. ugh. The only exceptions (there have to be exeptions) are: Interlacement's Carolina yarn from my yarn co-op, a swift (ok, so its not yarn but I'm trying to be thorough), yarn for gifts (not really the huge loop-hole it sounds like since I tend to mostly knit for just me), and any yarn that is at least 50% off (c'mon, how can anyone resist a sale price like that!).

Let's see if I can actually stick to that....

Next time, I should have a pic of the snowdrop shawl-I'm up to the last 20 rows or so of the main part. I'll need to take a break and enjoy it before I get frustrated with the edging. I've never picked up stitches so I'm hoping it goes smoothly. (Famous last words...)

24 January 2006

Because I can't resist...

The dog looking on as I take the pictures of all the yarn
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Oohh Aahh

As promised, here are some lovely pics of yarn. Mmmm..

Here is the yarn for my future Tubey:















Yarn for my future felted bag (its not really this bright in real life):















Yarn for my two nieces' bags:















The CTH possum lace that may have a future as a Faroese shawl of some type:

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23 January 2006

Yarn sales are my weakness

OK, so I had purchased two bags of the Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed (one in rust and the other in brown) at a major sale (50% off) at Stitch DC this past summer. However, I didn't know what I was going to do with them. They don't really go together so I wouldn't mix them for one project. I wanted to make a sweater for hubby with the brown only to realize that it wasn't enough yarn. DOH! By the time I called back, they didn't have any more in stock. I tried ebay, and looking at other online stores but the few people who still had it in stock were selling for full price. Now, it seems to me that the point of getting a great deal is not paying full price (plus shipping) so buying another 10 skeins to make the sweater at almost $8/sk is too much for me. I had almost given up when I realized that I could make a Picovoli tee from the rust color for me. (I might need to make some adjustments for the difference in yarn but it should work.) That still left the brown color for hubby. On a whim, I looked online again and found it on sale at Angelika's Yarn Store for a mere $5/sk. I'm hoping to make the Leo sweater for hubby. Woo-hoo!

The only potential glitch in all of this is that I seem to have given myself some sort of repetitive stress injury from all the knitting I've been doing on my Snowdrop Shawl (using Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in Flames). At first it was just my right wrist (I'm a thrower), so I stopped for a few days and I started maneuvering the mouse with my left hand. That helped, so I went back to my knitting. Now, my right lat muscle (just under the shoulder blade) hurts and occasionally spasms after knitting for a while. How lame am I? I'm taking another few days off from knitting in the hopes of making this better. I'm thinking that after I finish the shawl, I will have to work on either learning to knit Continental or how to "pick" the yarn with my finger so I'm not moving my whole arm each time. (I wouldn't want to change now so that the tension in the shawl doesn't get all wonky.)

I'm slowly coming to terms with the madness that is the Blogger editor so I should be posting with more frequency in the future. Next time there will be pictures.

21 January 2006

I've been tagged

OK, this is my first meme courtesy of Katydid:

4 jobs you've had:

1. hostess at Pizzeria Uno's (their brownie dessert is still one of my faves)
2, office organizer for the then only female, non-Middle Eastern antique Oriental rug dealer in NYC
3. secretary for an acupuncturist
4. interviewer for a project in the Great Plains (much funnier when you know that I'm from NYC and had never been near farm animals in my life until then)

4 movies you can watch over and over:
1. Overboard
2. Room with a View
3. A&E's miniseries of Pride and Prejudice
4. Sabrina (remake with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond)

4 TV shows you love to watch:
1. Gilmore Girls
2. Related
3. One Tree Hill
4. Wildfire
hmmm...I apparently have the taste of a teenaged girl...

4 places you have been on vacation:
1. New Smyrna, FL
2. Turkey (loved it but the flight was looong)
3. Myrtle Beach, SC
4. Antigua and Guatemala City, Guatemala

4 websites you visit daily:
1. Yarn Harlot
2. Knitty message board
3. Katydid Knits
4. Knotty Gnome

4 of your favorite foods:
1. chocolate
2. cheese
3. baked goods (cake, cookies, muffins, bread...you get the picture)
4. grape fruit bars

4 places you would rather be right now:
(actually, I'm a homebody so I am quite happy to be home but if I had to be somewhere else...)
1. black sand beach somewhere in the caribbean
2. sipping a cappucino in Little Italy, NYC
3. traipsing around London, people-watching
4. sitting in one of my favorite art museums

4 places you've lived:
1. New York City (grew up there)
2. Durham, NC
3. Austin, TX
4. Washington, DC

Not sure what these things say about me other than I have lots of weirdness.

Not everyone gets into these, so if you want to participate, feel free and let me know.