Knitgirl's Stash

Apparently, posting once a month is my new thing...

... because I just looked at the blog and realized that as of midnight it will have been exactly one month since I last blogged. *sigh* Well, the last week or so I've had the ultimate excuse - I've been moving! I just set up the computer in the apartment tonight and along with having a late night IM session with Dani (I missed those when I had no computer... for those three days. LOL), I finally uploaded pictures from my camera - and there are actual knitting pictures on there!

With all the moving stuff going on, I haven't been really motivated to work on anything I already have on the needles, but I haven't felt motivated to start brand new projects, either... until Steph brought in her almost completed Kelly Cardigan from the Classic Knits book by Erica Knight. I noticed that we didn't have a swatch of the CrackSilk KidCrack KidSilk Haze at the shop, so I quite generously volunteered to knit one. :) Which sent me on a swatch frenzy... However, upon washing and blocking said swatch for the shop... I discovered that I am NOT KNITTING TO GAUGE. I AM TOO LOOSE. This just does not happen for me. *sigh* While I could just knit a size smaller and be done with it, I decided to use some of the crack yarn I have at home to swatch on a smaller needle. Well, I hadn't gotten a chance to knit until the Comcast guy came to install my cable and cable internet... and then... well, just take a look.

The Comcast guy found it interesting that I knit and I'm sure he thought I was crazy when I pulled out my camera and took a picture of the swatch. I explained to him about the blog, which led us to talk about how big the whole crafting industry has become.

Anyhoo, yes, yes, there has been knitting at Chez Stash... at both the old and new places now! In the past few weeks I've been focused on a lot of the smaller projects that have been languishing in my knitting bag(s). I haven't really finished any, but there has been progress made. Which is something, right?

Please to ignore the really bad picture of me. If I remember correctly, this was taken at 1am and was the 4th or 5th shot. LOL.

Pattern: Calorimetry from Knitty Winter 2006
Yarn: Maybe half a skein of this gorgeous handspun cashmere, gifted to me by Ken of Jade Sapphire.
Needles: US8 24" Addi Turbos
Cast On/Off: One Wednesday evening in early February. I started it at Late Night and finished it at home.
Mods: None really. But lots needed to be made...
Fun Factor: Once I figured out how she was constructing her short-rows, it was a breeze!
Thoughts: I loved this yarn. I want more of it. However, my Calorimetry is WAY too big and loose for me. I don't have a tiny head, but I can almost stretch it 1.5 times around. I didn't do a gauge swatch, so that was a big issue with it. (I know, BAD Knitgirl!) The yarn is probably a Light Worsted to DK weight yarn... however, the pattern would still be too big. I actually made another with some Jade Sapphire 8 ply cashmere I had in stash... I went down to US7s and cast on 80 or so stitches. Much better fit. I even used just under a half a skein.

Pattern: My own - it's a garter rib
Yarn: 2 balls Rowan Plaid
Needles: US10.5 24" Addi Turbos
Cast On/Off: I cast on for this sometime around Superbowl Sunday - I was working on this at the fiesta... I cast off a couple weeks later.
Mods: Well, I originally planned on doing a modified scarf pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but couldn't remember if you needed to knit or purl across the second row, so I made a decision and it became my own!
Fun Factor: Well, I wouldn't call it fun... but it was a great mindless knit!
Thoughts: While I'm not a fan of knitting scarves, I love wearing them! This is WARM and I *heart* it.

Oh, the STR Pebble Beach socks... the first one is finally done! I finished it on a visit to my gynecologist. (TMI, I'm sure.) While sitting in the waiting room forever and sitting in her office forever I managed to finish them. I was binding off as she walked in. Come to think of it, the last STR pair I worked on I finished the first sock in her office too... hmmm... maybe I need to go to see her more often. NOT. (Actually, she's quite fabulous and she's the only doctor I don't mind waiting for. And that's saying something.) Unlike the last pair, I didn't cast on for the the second sock that same day. Bad blogger. I still haven't cast on for it. But the yarn goes everywhere with me in my knitting bag or in the passenger seat of my car - just in case.

Oh the pretty Schaefer Miss Priss yarn! When we got it into the shop, I immediately cast on for a Le Slouch... and after 3.5 inches of seed stitch, I set it aside. It also travels in the knitting bag, just waiting for me to pick it up. Unfortunately, unlike Aimee and Michelle, I do not have the love of kintting the seed stitch. I do, however, have the love of wearing the seed stitch...

Then I decided that I needed to try the entrelac socks in the recent IK... I *heart* Eunny. I want to knit like Eunny when I grow up. When we got the Claudia's sock yarn in the shop, I immediately started to choose colors that would go together... Unfortunately, the Butter Pecan and the Honey colors go together a little too well for entrelac. *sigh* Oh well, I'll frog these and make a pair of knee highs with them a la Cara, I think. So I decided to buy some more yarn... this time more contrasty:

Rowan 4ply Soft in Clover and Sandalwood. So pretty. (Yes, you do see double points in those socks. No, your eyes aren't fooling you. Don't ask.)

And in Frog Pond News

I knit this at the beginning of last year for Michael's book. It was the sweater that eventually ended up on the cover, worn backwards. I had a few issues with the publishers (again, don't ask...) so it wasn't the happiest knit, despite the beautiful yarn... (Mountain Colors Weavers Quarters... so nice.) Michael (as his wonderful self) made sure I got the sweater back last week. I knew that I would never wear the sweater as it was, so I decided to frog it and make it into something that had less angst knit into it. So around 5.30 this evening, it became this:

Yup, 4 largish balls and 2 teeny balls, with only a yard or so sacrificed to my perfectionist finishing. (Note to self: If you start to rip out a sweater, find ALL the seams and woven in ends and unweave them BEFORE you start to rip it on the ball winder.) And I still have an entire ball of it left in my stash... somewhere.

So that's the latest. Blogging will still be intermittent while I get the new place straightened up - who knew I had so much crap?? I'm heading to NYC on Sunday to catch a couple shows, so there will be some fab knitting time to be had on the train! Now the question is: what to take?

In which I discuss the last FO's of 2006

While the end of 2006 has royally sucked for me, it's made for some great knitting time! I've managed to get a few things done - of course they were almost all things that distracted me from the items listed on my sidebar, but whatever. A FO is a FO.

Yes, that would be the completed Endpaper Mitts! I love these things - even if they are tight. Actually, that was a good thing today: I somehow twisted my wrist in my sleep (don't ask, I have no clue how those things happen) and couldn't find a brace for it. So I pulled on a mitt and discovered that it gives the right amount of support to allow me to knit without discomfort. Maybe Eunny should put that on her blog as an alternate use! LOL!

Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Koigu KPM (the semi-solids) - just one hank of each color and loads left over!
Cast On: Friday, 17 November (immediately after this post)
Cast Off: Friday, 29 December at about 1.30 in the morning. :)
Needles: Clover US0 & US2 DPNs for part of the first mitt and 2 24" Addi Turbos in US0 & US2 for the rest
Mods: Instead of the Italian Tubular Cast-On recommended, I used a regular Tubular Cast-On on the second mitt. I really needed to see where the waste yarn was to pull it out.
Fun Factor: Oh.My.Gawd.Fun. If I hadn't had to stop in the middle of them to knit some holiday things, I would have had them done in a matter of days, that's how much I loved working on them. Even if mitt #2 misbehaved a bit. And even if mitt #1 has a bit of a mistake in it. Now I want to do more fair isle! Damn that Eunny for getting me hooked on this! ;)

Pattern: Moss Stitch Beanie by Debbie Bliss (in her Pure Cashmere book)
Yarn: 2 hanks of Jade Sapphire 4-ply Cashmere, held doubled
Needles: 24" US7 Addi Turbos
Cast On/Off: Saturday, 23 December
Mods: Well, the yarn was a big one!
Fun Factor: While I wouldn't term it as "fun," it is a quick, easy pattern that requires almost no thought to it. Which is good for a last minute gift for your best friend. I'm just sayin'.

Pattern: My own basic toe-up sock pattern. (I hate provisional cast-ons, so I developed this... I'm sure there are tons of the same pattern out there somewhere.)
Yarn: 1 skein Socks That Rock, Farmhouse colorway.
Cast On: Around 8 December or so - the first sock was done on the 11th in the drs office! I immediately cast on for the second one, so I'd have something to knit on when I went to the movies that night.
Cast Off: Around the 18th of December, I think?
Mods: Well, since it was my own pattern, there were none. :)
Fun Factor: Generally, I hate knitting stockinette in the round. However, these socks kept me enthralled. Mostly, it was the colorway - I loved how the orange seemed to migrate on one side and the green on the other. Plus, the socks almost stripe exactly! I didn't even try. I love it when that happens.
Bonus: I had some yarn left over and didn't know what I'd do with it - there wasn't enough to knit a socklette, so I was stumped. My mother decided to help herself to the leftovers and created a pair of these:

A wrister knit completely in sock yarn. Of her own pattern. (My hand is in there since she didn't want to show hers on the internets, lol.) She rocks. Don't ask for the pattern, though. She never writes anything down and won't let me have them for long enough to try and figure it out. If I can find them, I'll figure it out and post it. :D

Now for some fun stuff

Ann brought in some fab sock yarn from Brooks Farm a couple of Wednesdays ago (which just happened to be Aimee's birthday!) and it immediately got passed around from person to person... Elspeth is just giving it the "cuddle test" - it passed and Ann almost didn't get it back!

Speaking of Ann... I absolutely love her. When she and her hubby decided to go to 'Bama to spend time with his family this Christmas, they asked me to housesit. Which I love to do. When I got there the first night, I was greeted with this:

Fab pressies! 2 yards of 3 different fabrics, a journal and notecards with a Parisian theme... Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Not that I had any excuse to not pull out the sewing machine before, but now I really have no excuse! :)

Just in case you missed getting to the shop to see the fab holiday window designed and executed by none other than Kel, here's a look. Click on it to see the detail. It's freakin' fabulous. Sadly, we took it down Saturday night - while the crowds gathered along Washington Street to see the funeral motorcade for President Ford go by. We had the best view of it all, since we were in the window. We didn't put up the new window that night. Kel went in yesterday to create the New Year's window... she wanted to surprise us. So, I'll be sure to take a picture of that to post!

Michelle knows how much I adore gingerbread. I mean, how could she not, knowing that I get Gingerbread Lattes every morning for as long as they're available?! So, she ordered these to be sent to the shop. Oh.My.Gawd. So.good. They didn't last too long.

Of course I had to include a picture of one of my favorite Christmas babies and me celebrating her birthday last Thursday... (The bunny ears are courtesy of Stick, who drove all the way from Georgia for the festivities... and a few others later that weekend.) There are quite a few more and I will eventually upload them to the other blog. Just because not all of the internets need to see them, just a select few. LOL!!

Now, onto the 2007 knitting! If only my other wrist would cooperate now, I'd be happy. I'll just put the other mitt on... and contemplate winding the yarn I have for Eunny's Anemoi Mitten pattern... and maybe print out another copy...

Damnit.

I wasn't casting on for anything new. Really, I wasn't. Well, I wasn't going to cast on for anything new after the sock I cast on for yesterday. (But that was for the shop - someone had to be knitting with our newest sock yarn line... and of course, I had to take one for the team.) Then I check my Bloglines tonight. What did I see?

Damnit. I saw these on Jess's blog and then saw Eunny's update below that. Damnit. I really worship that woman. She even posted the pattern in the post.  (Go ahead, click on the last link. I dare you.) I *heart* Eunny. What did I do? I started rooting around in my sock yarn stash, looking for the perfect combination. Apparently, I have a massive amount of Koigu that works. Damnit.

Yup, those are my color choices. Both are Koigu KPM (the semi-solids) that I purchased in hopes of someday doing solid color socks. (I found some pretty blues in there as well...) I know myself well enough to know that I'm not gonna knit solid socks (of course that silvery-grey would look lovely as the Snicket socks from one of the last issues of Magknits).

Okay, you would think that I'd have enough sense to realize that I don't have all the time in the world to knit! I mean, have we looked at the active projects on the needles these days?

My So-Called Scarf just keeps getting longer and my attention span for it gets shorter and shorter. I know that this will look fab and will feel great when it's done, it's just taking forever and a freakin day to get there. *sigh* I think that a solid movie day (maybe with a pedicure thrown in) will help get this one finished...

Inishbeg (from the Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed book). Oh my gawd, she's beautiful. I love working on this sweater because it knits up so quickly, however, I can't knit for extended periods of time on this. Why? Well, it's not all the moss stitch (this is really starting to convince me that I love the look of the moss stitch), it's the fact that it feels like I'm knitting on logs! I'm used to working on US1s for socks lately... the US10.5s feel GINORMOUS!

Speaking of socks... these were the ones I cast on for last night. I am using Mama E's C*Eye*Ber Fiber sock yarn in the Ember colorway - the cool thing was that I got to help name it for the shop! (*whisper* I actually got to help name a few of the colorways for the shop. I feel like a rockstar. :D) The pattern? Well, it's an adaptation of a pattern I found in an old Interweave Knits. It's an easy 8 row cable-y pattern, which will make it great for the portability. I mean, would you have been able to resist such a beautiful colorway?

I thought not. Damnit.

Now for the silliness...

Late Night at the shop was full of the usual suspects and we were in rare form... There were a few of us who were completely exhausted from the Great Yarn Move of 2006 we had at the shop, there were a few of us whom life has just kicked in the ass a few times over, and just a few who just needed to knit. :)

Nurse Laura came in and showed off the almost finished Hokie clogs for The Daughter. As they need to be felted, they were HUGE, however, some of us seemed to have come up with a better use for them...

Jasmine decided to show us what the next new trend in hair accessories is:

Well, it's one way to not misplace a DPN... if you use those. Then again, I have been known to wear circular needles around my neck, a la a necklace. Hee.

Before anyone asks, no, I didn't get any pictures of me in Cyd last night. That would have required me to find and pull out the camera before 20 minutes to close. I'll get pictures, I promise! Tequila might be involved to make me comfortable in front of the camera, but I'll get pictures!

Damnit.

I'm a little late to the party...

...but I know y'all will forgive me. :) I finally finished one of the pairs of socks I was determined to finish for Socktoberfest! (Yes, that said "pair" - a finished pair of socks!) Granted it wasn't the guilt of not finishing during October that spurred me to finish the second sock... the knowledge that I was less than 2" from finishing, realizing I had no clean socks with me, and a night of election returns to watch, well, that's what prompted me. :D

Pattern: Nautilus by Anna Bell - available as part of a sockset I purchased from her ages ago
Cast On/Cast Off: I cast on around the beginning of July... I know I blogged about it on 12 July - when I finished Claude. I finished the first sock in a couple of weeks, if I remember correctly. I didn't cast on for the second one until Dani and I got back from Europe. I just couldn't get in the groove of the second sock on this one.
Yarn: Fleece Artist 2/6 Merino in a colorway we named Indian Summer
Needles: 24" US1 Addi Turbos on the first sock and 24" US1 Knitpicks needles on the second. Which did I prefer? The Addi's. While the larger sizes are great in the Knitpicks needles, the smaller sizes are just WAY too freakin sharp.
Mods: None that I can remember. This actually-doing-the-pattern-as-written thing is getting damn old. LOL!
Fun Factor: Definitely fun. The pattern is easy to commit to memory - even after putting it down for months at a time!

Okay, I love this yarn! It is by far my favorite sock yarn to knit with. It's got the sproinginess of Koigu with the weight of Lorna's Laces. I love the short color repeats - they make working with the socks fun b/c every so often a color would shoot through that I wasn't expecting... My one BIG complaint? Well, click on the picture to enlarge it. I'll wait. Can you see it? They look like they were knit from two different skeins - they weren't. I divided the ball of Fleece Artist (which has about 360 yards - info not on the label) into two balls and knit from those... I didn't realize how different they were! I kinda like 'em though. I've never been one for having identically knit socks. The majority of the second sock was knit on the train up to NYC last weekend... I was still about 4-5" from finishing though. (And I was not about to knit while I was up there... I'm just sayin'.)

Speaking of FOs... can anyone tell me what this might be?

It looks familiar? Can't place it yet? Well, how about this?

Yup, Cyd is finally finished! The vest I wanted to knit for the Europe trip is finally done - almost two months after I left. *rolling eyes*

I tried her on immediately after I sewed up the sides and wove in my ends. (Yes, sometimes I'm a good girl...) She fit perfectly - which made me worry about how she'll fit after a bath and block. I'm still a bit worried... Regardless, I'll be wearing her at Late Night on Wednesday - where I might be able to convince a friend of mine to take a flattering pic of me in Cyd! (Who knows, I might even dress like a girl... LOL!) I'll post project info and such when I post the pic of me in it.

So long, October

Really, I don't think that I've ever been happier to see a month end. It seems that October has been a crap month for everyone - not only did I have blogging ennui (which is nothing new, I know), but I had a bad case of knitting ennui. I know I'm not the only one out there who experienced this...

I had joined Socktoberfest in hopes that it would get me off my ass and finish something. Lord knows that the Anna and Nautilus socks have been on the needles for long enough... but no. I did, however, enhance the sock yarn stash during October, does that count? :D

Lest you think the knitting ennui took over completely, I do have some FOs to share. Yes, I know that I told y'all (when, last week? the week before?) that I'd post a picture of a completed Jemima, then life got weird. So, here you go:

Pattern: Jemima by Anna Bell
Cast On: Somewhere around the beginning of July 2006
Cast Off: Monday, 23 October 2006 (although the ends were woven in and pictures taken the next day)
Yarn: I actually used the called for yarn - RYC Cashsoft DK in Bloom (main color) and Lime (contrast)
Needles: US6 & 8 24" Addi Turbos
Mods: I shortened the sleeves by 1" and I actually knit a functioning button placket... that I then sewed shut to make it lie flat. Yes, I'm that stupid. LOL. In doing that, I needed to add a fourth button, which led to the sewing down of the button placket.
Fun Factor: Definitely fun, however, it was a bit boring since it's miles of stockinette. It goes quickly, though and while finishing it, I got really focused! :) I can see myself making another one of these in my future...

I love this sweater. Period. It's gorgeous, comfy, and flattering (just not in that picture). I debuted it at Late Night that week and got quite a few compliments. (I love y'all!) I wore it up to NYC this weekend and it was perfect - the weather was chilly and Jemima was a perfect layer - not too hot, not too cold. Plus, I *heart* Cashsoft. About as much as Cashmerino Aran. I can wear it next to my skin and not be bothered by it. I didn't want to take it off to change and I'm constantly looking for excuses to wear it.

Pattern: Mist from Rowan's A Yorkshire Fable (or is it Tale? I never remember)
Cast On: Saturday, 28 October
Cast Off: Friday, 3 November
Yarn: A collection of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4-ply and Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply
Needles: Knitpicks' 24" US2s and Addi Turbo's 24" US3s
Mods: Really, there were no mods other than changing the colors.
Fun Factor: This was SO much fun! It was my first true fair isle and I found that I could not put it down.

I loved working on this hat. The one thing I'd change? I'd take out one or two of the fair isle repeats and make it smaller. It's just too big for my head. I am surprised that the yarn is so soft once knitted up. I have not tried to wash and block the hat and it could rest against my forehead with no issues. I wouldn't try to seam with it again, but I would most definitely use the yarn again for another one. I even got to improve my Continental knitting skills with the colorwork.

Pattern: Fetching from Knitty Spring 2006
Time to Complete: About 2 days in mid-October
Yarn: 1.5 skeins Jade Sapphire Cashmere
Needles: Clover Bamboo US6 DPNs (I know, I actually used DPNs!)
Mods: I made them a bit longer and used a slightly thicker worsted than called for.
Fun Factor: Very! (Even if I used DPNs)

These are for my mom - they were for Christmas, but she saw them early and insisted on having them now. Damn. :)

What's up next? Well, I may have cast on for a sweater... however, I might be reconsidering the colors. So, I may just take some of that cormo I bought at MDS&W last May and cast on for Maeve's Ireland Cardi... Maybe. Probably. Okay, definitely. Of course, I have none of that wound right now, so that's a project for tonight. Hee!

Because I'm a joiner... and I suck at the posting

Yes, I know, I'm such a joiner. At least with this one I can possibly clear a couple of the Socks WIPs I have on the needles by the end of the month? Maybe? You think?

To celebrate Socktoberfest, I'll answer the questionnaire Lolly posted on her blog:

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I started knitting socks about 2 years ago, I think. It was definitely not long after I started knitting. I mostly taught myself - I actually started knitting socks because a friend (who has been an incredible mentor and someone I admire) convinced me that I could - and as I've said before, she's not someone who will just blow sunshine up your ass. I'm just sayin'.

What was your first pair?  How have they "held up" over time?

My first completed pair was from the Cat Bordhi book Socks Soar on Two Circulars. They were a simple 2x2 rib done in Regia Jubilee (India colorway). While I hated the pattern, I love these socks - I still wear them when it gets cold. They did not stripe or knit up in the space dyed pattern, but that doesn't matter b/c I hated that pattern, lol. They have definitely fuzzed up over time, but I still wear them proudly!

What would you have done differently? 

I would have knit these at a tighter gauge. I think that the pattern called for US3s, which was just not working for the socks. I also wouldn't have followed the pattern's convoluted heel instructions... I came up with my own shortly thereafter.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Fleece Artist, Mama E's C*Eye*Ber Fiber, Koigu, Lorna's Laces...

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I knit my socks exclusively on 2 circs. I've tried DPNs and Magic Loop and they just aren't for me, even though I can knit those ways as well. (As demonstrated by a previous post, I generally end up hurting myself when I knit with DPNs, lol.) I completely suck at crochet, so I definitely don't crochet my socks.

Which kind of heel do you prefer?  (flap? or short-row?)

I prefer a short row heel simply because I find it less fussy than a heel flap and I like the look better. Nine times out of ten, I'll change a pattern to a short-row heel.
 
How many pairs have you made?

How lame is it that I have no earthly clue? Yes, I could go back in my archives and add them up, but that would require energy, lol. If I had to guess, I'd say about ten or so.

Knitting Updates? What are those?

I don't really have any knitting updates - I didn't get a lot of knitting done this weekend - I got a few rounds done on Anna, but that's about it. I had a good excuse, though!

I had to celebrate a first birthday with this cutie-pie! :) I'll get back to the knitting soon, I promise!

Anna and her European tour!

I've avoided blogging since I've gotten back for a couple of reasons: 1) my time just hasn't been my own since I've been back and I've been so busy that there's been no time to blog and 2) Dani's been doing one hell of a job in the recapping that I haven't felt it necessary to do so just yet. However, I thought I'd put up a quick post featuring Anna's trip to London and Paris...

Me sitting at the gate at Dulles... While it might look like I was knitting, I wasn't. The yarn for Anna decided to become one big glob of yarn barf while sitting in my carry-on, so I spent the time waiting to board rewinding it, to the surprise of some women who couldn't stop staring at Dani and I doing knitterly things and having a good time. (Jeez, do people really have to be so darn grumpy and serious when flying??)

Anna on the plane... as it was an overnight flight, I was able to catch a bit of a nap, so there wasn't a hell of a lot done on her. :)

Okay, so this might not be one of Anna, but it is of the Knitting Mecca Of London - Liberty!! (I actually got no yarn while I was there, I got fabric... but I was so excited to be there!)

I hadn't thought about taking Anna along on our excursions until I saw this blogger. Well, I assume she was a blogger. She kept photographing that pink item against different backdrops in Trafalgar Square. Of course, I took a picture of the blogger. :) There were two young guys who seemed very confused as to what she was doing, but I didn't think I could muster up enough Spanish to explain, lol.

Anna in front of Buckingham Palace. The Queen wasn't in, so the State Rooms were open and Dani and I decided to stop in and visit. However, there was a bit of a wait, so I pulled Anna out to work on her while we waited.

Okay, this one you're gonna have to enlarge to see where we were. (Just click on the picture.) Yup, that's Anna outside of Accident & Emergency at St Mary's Hospital. If you haven't read Dani's post on her accident, go and read it. As you might be able to tell, I managed to get a lot done on Anna while I was waiting.

Anna and I on the bus tour outside the Louvre. Dani and I worked on our respective socks while we were on the bus, listening to the tour. We got all sorts of weird looks for our KIPing, but we really didn't give a crap.

Okay, if you couldn't tell where that one was taken, you need a lesson in identifing landmarks! :)

While this one had nothing to do with Anna, I thought it was appropriate:

Why is it appropriate? Well, take a closer look at her hands:

She's winding yarn!! I know, I'm such a dork! :)

I took so many pictures while I was in London and Paris. Hopefully, I'll finish getting them uploaded to an album or two and will be able to share them soon. So, on that note, I'll leave you with these shots...

Le Tour Eiffel at night... at the top of every hour the tower is lit up with tons of twinkly lights - absolutely gorgeous! On a side note, that tower is DAMN big! So big that you think that it's a lot closer than it is.... The walk from the Musee Rodin to the Tour Eiffel is DAMN long! So long, that you need to stop for dinner and a bottle of vin! ;) (Okay, maybe not a bottle...)

The intrepid travelers doing the classic "Wish You Were Here!" shot. Really, we're both wishing that we were still there.... LOL!

T-minus 8 hours (or so)

Despite all of my efforts, Cyd won't be coming with me to London and Paris. With one thing after another coming up all weekend, I just couldn't get enough time to sit down and work on her. (Hey, if you had the opportunity to see Snow Patrol's sold out show at the 9:30, you'd have put aside Cyd too!) So, I leave her in this state:

I thought about chucking her in my suitcase, but I know that I'd never actually work on her - she just requires me to lug along so much yarn, which isn't necessarily the best thing I can do for space. So, that required me to rethink what knitting I will take. Last night, I organized some of my WIPs (there was no way I was going to try to find all of them, lol!) and made the final list:

First up, Anna sock number two. I finished the first one the other night and cast on the next day for sock #2. It's already memorized, so that will make great plane knitting... while not completely mindless. Here's Anna #1 to show you how she'll look:

(An aside: Why is it that when you try to take pictures of your own legs, they ALWAYS look really big? My calves are NOT that big! Okay, aside over.) I love this sock! I can't wait to get the other one done so I can actually wear them out and show them off. I am loving the fit now that I changed up my needle size on the lower leg and foot. I've still got the stitch marker in the sock where I changed up needles so I can duplicate that on the other sock.

Next up, Jemima. I started this... oh, I have no clue how long ago. With a back done and the front cast on and worked up a bit, she'll make great mindless knitting. Straight stockinette with a little shaping. This one is just going to require me to find out where I put the rest of the yarn for it.

Finally, I'm bringing along a simple scarf:

It's a My So Called Scarf from Sheep in the City. I have no clue what the yarn is, but it's freakin' soft! The stitch pattern shows off the variegation so well - and the pattern, while fiddly, is easy to remember.

So, that's it for the knitting for now. Hopefully, I'll get a lot of knitting done on all the plane rides: DC to London, London to Paris, Paris to London, and London to DC. I'll be back in about 10 days or so, so everyone: play nice y'all! :) Now, I'm off to upload the pics from the concert into an album and finalize my packing. I'm almost done, I'm just somewhat neurotic about it. LOL!

(If you enlarge the picture - not that anyone would - you might notice that my camera is packed in my bag... How did I get a picture of my camera, you might ask? Well, my debit card just might have had a little accident at Best Buy yesterday, which resulted in my taking home a new camera. I didn't want to, really! Hee!)

And now for the knitting I promised!

Yes, there has been knitting going on around here - just not much was done this past weekend, with the sale at the shop and all, lol. (No, I'm not fully recovered from it - none of us are - however, we're bouncing back slowly and should be fine by the weekend. Hee!) On Saturday night I got home earlier than any other day and I had this urge... I knew that it was a familiar one, but what was it? I looked over at my knitting bag and realized - oh yeah, I want to knit! Despite all the projects currently in the bag, I reached for the intarsia-ed Cyd. Am I crazy? Quite possibly, but I fell in love with the intarsia and quickly became entranced. Three movies later (I was having a Brit/Aussie chick-flick night... which gave me the opportunity to drool over Colin Firth and Hugh Grant... *sigh*), I had completed a quarter of the chart... Yes, I knit intarsia slowly. Of course, I was obsessing over any small holes that appeared. After a couple hours knitting on it Sunday night and tonight, I have this:

Pretty... Unfortunately, my issue with the Felted Tweed continues - my hands started killing me on Sunday so I put it down. Tonight, just after a few rows, I put it down in favor of Anna. Anna, who has been sitting in the knitting bag patiently awaiting me taking her out to work on her. After doing all that ripping out I had to do, I just couldn't stomach looking at her, much less working on her, after I got the stitches back on the needles.

Now she seems to be behaving, she's on US1s, so she should fit my calves and heels, and she's even got a heel turned!

Can you see the little pink stitch marker? No? Well, click on the picture to see, I'll wait... That was where I ripped back to. Remember, I had a full-on heel and part of a foot to rip out too. Not a pretty sight. This was what I had to wind:

One thing to remember? I hate heel flaps. It's been so long since I've last knitted one (hey, I was trying to actually knit this to the pattern specs at one point in time), that I screwed this one up a couple of times before it worked. Must remember to not depend on the pattern numbers if you've altered them to fit your heel. Just a friendly reminder. Not that I would know or anything. Me? Never! ;)

The stream-of-consciousness bit:

Before I forget, thank you all for your kind and wise words about my earlier post. I actually never intended to leave it up, but I got distracted putting all the new yarn out and forgot. Which I'm glad about. Your words totally made me feel better  - while I won't stop taking things so personally anytime soon, it's good to know that y'all care - about me and about the shop. :) I do this because I love it. I've tried walking away from retail before and it just never worked... I've always come back b/c I love to make people happy, I love to see the look of delight on a new knitter's face when something becomes crystal-clear... and since I've started blogging (and yes, I totally forgot my 2nd blog-iversary - it was the 15th!) I've loved meeting y'all in the shop, at festivals, and just on the street. Let me just warn you, if you're a knitblogger and I happen to go all "fangirl" on you, don't freak out! Hee!

The exciting bit:

In exactly 2 weeks, the Dani & Hol European Vacay begins! W'hoo! London, here we come! (Can you tell that I might be a bit excited? No? Okay then.) I promise to take lots of pictures... I will be getting another CompactFlash card just for the pictures!

A letter to Rowan and other knitting dilemmas

Dear Rowan,

Is there any way you could possibly create a tweedy-looking yarn in something soft? Like merino? Or cashmere? Hell, I'd buy a ton of a tweedy cashmere! Why am I asking? Well, I've been working with your Felted Tweed. Now, before you jump to any conclusions about how I feel about the Felted Tweed, let me just say I love how it looks. I even love how it feels - when it's knit up. Knitting with it? Not so much. I am almost two balls into a vest on US6s and my hands are KILLING me! This doesn't happen to me with wools - generally. I'm only 30 rows from finishing the back of this vest and I just can't do it. This is definitely going to put a cramp in the hopeful deadline of finishing this for my trip to London. Looking at it, I can understand why so many people love Felted Tweed. Knitting with it, I start cursing and wonder what crack those people are smoking. *sigh* Is there a middle ground?

Also, about your patterns: exactly WHO are these measurements for? Are your models all 8 feet tall, 2 pounds, with chunky calves? Because that's the impression I get from knitting your Anna socks. I love these socks. They will be a fab addition to my wardrobe - once I fix the darn pattern! I'm not a loose knitter - I'm fairly average. I can usually get gauge using the recommended needle size for the recommended yarn. So, can you see what's wrong in this picture?

Can you see the problem? Might you want to see it closer up?

That's right. They're too big and baggy around the base of my calves and in the heel/foot area. The green line in the picture indicates where I will have to frog to so I can change needle sizes. In most 4-ply yarns, I generally have a 56-60 st foot - this is 64 sts. I will have to go down to US1s - and I'm betting it'll still be baggy. *sigh* Rowan, might your designers have any suggestions?

Also, to be a designer for Rowan, is it a requirement for one to be fluent in writing in Ferret? The Anna socks are beautifully written out - a non-Ferret pattern. However, Dew? Have y'all ever heard of selvage sts? Why am I having to rewrite your pattern to include them? Really, if you need a person to help de-Ferret your patterns before publication, call me. I'd be happy to help. I'm pretty fluent in translating it to English now.

Really, any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Me.