Knitgirl's Stash

Fair-Isle:1, Knitgirl: 2

So, the Fair-Isle bug bit me... and hard. Yes, for all of you who guessed it was going to be the Ivy League Vest, you know me well. (Or you looked at my Ravelry notebook. Whatev.) I swatched - I even blocked it, for goodness sake - I cast on, and while I found the corrugated ribbing fiddly, it was easy. Not mindless, but still easy. I had it done in 3 nights. I started the chart. Even that was easy-ish. I knew something would have to go wrong and it would be big. I was right.

After my first decrease round, I had to figure out how to take the chart into the new stitch count. Once I confirmed with Elspeth that my hunch was correct, I continued on with the chart... to find out that I ended on a different size. Oops. I counted my stitches and found that my front had significantly less stitches than the back... the side marker was in the wrong place - hence, the side seam was in the wrong place. Grrrr... I tried to do some surgery, but that didn't help. The only option left? Well, look at that picture - the one to the right. Yup, it had to be ripped. Only back to the corrugated ribbing and after it had spent time in The Candy Bowl of Time-Out with one of Steph's projects. Need a close up?

The macro function is kinda cool, isn't it?

After painstakingly picking up all the stitches, my only goal for last night was to knit it back to where it was before the ripping. Last night once I got home from Late Night and fed myself, I finally got back through Row 7. Actually, I continued on to the next decrease row... but stopped myself before attempting it. Something told me that trying to take another decrease into a pattern row at 1 in the morning would not be a good - or smart thing to do. So it's sitting on my computer at home while I attempt to knit other things today - which is not easy. Not at all. Damn Fair-Isle bug. I'll have to knit a Fair-Isle hat now. Just to take the edge off. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

Gratuitous macro shot of the pattern up to the decrease row. Hey, even the colors are pretty accurate!

Well, because I've been tagged for this meme by three people...

Since I've been tagged by Lara, Dani and Chelsea... (if anyone else tagged me, I haven't seen it... sorry!)

Rules:
Once tagged, you must link to the person who tagged you. Then post the rules before your list, and list 8 random things about yourself. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to 8 other people, visit their sites, and leave a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Alright then, LET’S GO!:

1.  When I use a wallet (which means when I clean out my purse) or work with money at the shop it needs to all be face up and in the same direction (Presidents' heads are right side up in a wallet, facing to the left in a till). This is a holdover from when I worked at a bank as a teller. I had a head teller who would throw back brick of ones at our feet when she found a bill facing the wrong way. Plus, more accuracy in counting that way.
2. I LOVE the Giant brand popsicles. No other popsicle will do. Apparently not all Giants carry them either. (The one closest to me doesn't.) I have been known to drive to the one by my parents' house just to get them.
3. I have been engaged twice. At 18 and 25. (I'm not counting the last guy.) I'm still single. You do the math. Breaking up with the first guy on my 20th birthday was the best thing I could have done for myself. He was the ultimate Peter Pan, never wanting to grow up and wanting to live with his grandmother and mother forever. The second guy and I just realized we were much better as friends and would kill each other if we were married. Also smart. He's one of my best friends to this day.
4. I do not blog frequently. Or at all lately. While I think I am creative, I don't think I'm interesting enough to blog frequently.
   
5.  I voted in my first election ever when I was 17. I was a senior in HS during a presidential election year. Unfortunately I couldn't vote in it. However, in the spring, the county I was in had a special election for something and said that all students currently 17 that would be 18 by November could vote. So I did. I have only missed voting in one election since.
6. I frequently attract/am attracted to Republicans. I have no idea why. I am a total Democrat. I have only dated one Democrat - ever - in my whole dating life. However, it makes Presidential election years fun... kind of.
   
7. I learned to knit to distract me from work. I felt that 80 - 90 hour workweeks were beginning to be a bit unhealthy, so I looked for a hobby. Knitting worked. Now I run a knitting shop and have no time to knit. Hmmmmm.
8. I am a bag/purse junkie. I have been known to buy a purse I can't afford and eat ramen noodles for awhile. I may have asked Dani to pick up this absolutely adorable purse I saw in a small shop in London...

I totally am not going to tag anyone for this since I think everyone's already been tagged. If you haven't, consider yourself tagged. :) Maybe one day I'll return to blogging on either of my blogs... hopefully.

Overheard at the Back Table...

Aimee: "I'm all about a good muff. But that isn't it." Jon: (raising hand) "I'm not about a good muff."


** get your minds out of the gutter (although we all know that mine lives there)... we were talking about this pattern from the new Knitty! ;) I'll be posting my own observations on it later...**

I'm a Godmother!

Before I forget... I'm a godmother! My BFF had her baby boy and immediately sent me pics of him - of course this one is my favorite. :) Why? Well, he's wearing his hat that his Godmother knit him, of course! Isn't he a handsome guy? Luke is very serious looking all the time - almost like a little adult. His momma's in the pic as well, but I think that she'd shoot me if I hadn't cropped the pic down. Hee!

Pervy phone calls = lots of suggestions

So, on Saturday, I'm working at the shop and right around closing we get a phone call. I always check the Caller ID - it's habit - and it says "Unknown Call, Unknown Number" or some such nonsense. I pick up and say in my cheeriest, frog-like voice*:

Me: Good afternoon, KH.
PPG (Pervy Phone Guy): Ummmm, hi, I'm knitting and I'd like a pattern for a dicksock.
Me: Excuse me?
PPG: You know, a dicksock, to go over...
Me: Yes, I understand.
PPG: See, it's my wife's birthday (or anniversary, I can't remember) in a few days and I wanted to surprise her.
Me: Ummmmhmmmm.
PPG: Do you have anything for that?
Me: You mean, a pattern? Well, have you tried looking it up online?
PPG: Well, do you have anything?
Me: I think that your best bet is to look it up online.
PPG: But... I think...
Me: Thanks for calling. Have a good day.

So, I guess the look on my face spoke volumes... I am most definitely NOT a prude (just ask anyone who knows me), however, this call still managed to throw me. At home, I would have probably released a string of obscenities at him and told him where he could go (unless he was Jeff Halpern or Jake Gyllenhaal - but that's another story)... while informing him that the correct term for what he's asking about is a "Willy Warmer". But I was at work and still needed to maintain a level of professionalism. I'm actually surprised that we haven't gotten any before this. LOL. So, I share the phone call with the irregulars that are there and suggestions started coming up... "I would have told him that he should have come on down here - he wouldn't have expected that!" "Has he ever heard of the term 'willy warmer'?" "All he needed to do was look it up online. He was just hoping to shock some little old lady." "Hey, we should have suggested he use Kidsilk Haze!" "No, Lorna's Laces Grace!" "How about some Manos?" "What about a striped one? Some Silk Garden?" And on and on... then we started talking about patterns... We are broken. Very broken. Luckily, no customers were in the shop to hear any of this. ;) I think that the general consensus is that none of us would seriously look at a man who came near us with one of those on - we'd be out of the mood so quickly, it'd make his head spin while we laugh our asses off!

On a knitting note (yes, there's still knitting around here!): One of the projects of which-I-can't-speak-or-show is finally done! Woo-freakin-hoo! Of course, I still have two more to complete before I can go back to my own knitting again... but I'm closer! That's something.

* About the frog-like voice: After I got home from LA, I immediately got sick. While I never completely lost my voice, it hit sexy for a couple of hours, then immediately went to frog. When talking to Kristine the other day, she commented on the voice by calling me Froggy. LMAO! Maybe the voice will come back sometime this century... maybe. :)

It's a bird, it's a plane... no, it's a meme!

Kel tagged me for a meme... and since I have no knitting to speak of, I decided to answer it. :) Hey, can you blame me for no knitting? I've had my upcoming trip to see the boy on the brain... I leave you all tomorrow morning and won't come back until late Monday night. So, everyone play nicely now. Don't make me have to come back and start putting people in time out! ;)

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place, then add your blog to the bottom slot:

craptina
mebeth rambles
nakedie knits
y(e)arn
knitgirl's stash

Then add 3 people to tag (you're it... in a very non-pressure kind of way, of course):

Fidget
Black Olive
Purl Side of the Moon

What were you doing 9 years ago?

1997... What the hell was I doing then? I would have been 22... Working at the Gap, occasionally going to college.

What were you doing 6 years ago?

2000... Quitting the Gap, moving to Maine for a few months to train for a new company. Took a cross-country driving trip with my then boyfriend.

What were you doing 1 hour ago?

Watching South Park

Name 3 movies/tv shows you can't turn off if you stumble across them on TV:

VH1's I Love the (insert the decade)
E's The Girls Next Door
Say Anything

Name 3 things you want to improve upon this year:

having a personal life
getting disciplined about things
blogging (of course!)

Name 3 things you can't live without (aside from knitting):

friends/family
books
my camera

Name 3 things you could live without:

some of my "stuff"
stress
most of my shoes (I really only wear 4 or 5 pairs regularly... we won't go into how many I have)

Name 3 things you really like about yourself:

I can make people laugh
I have a ton of trivia stored in my brain
My smile. :)

What were you doing 9 years ago?

1997... What the hell was I doing then? I would have been 22... Working at the Gap, occasionally going to college.

What were you doing 6 years ago?

2000... Quitting the Gap, moving to Maine for a few months to train for a new company. Took a cross-country driving trip with my then boyfriend.

What were you doing 1 hour ago?

Watching South Park

Name 3 movies/tv shows you can't turn off if you stumble across them on TV:

VH1's I Love the (insert the decade)
E's The Girls Next Door
Say Anything

Name 3 things you want to improve upon this year:

having a personal life
getting disciplined about things
blogging (of course!)

Name 3 things you can't live without (aside from knitting):

friends/family
books
my camera

Name 3 things you could live without:

some of my "stuff"
stress
most of my shoes (I really only wear 4 or 5 pairs regularly... we won't go into how many I have)

Name 3 things you really like about yourself:

I can make people laugh
I have a ton of trivia stored in my brain
My smile. :)

I *heart* Phyl-Phyl

You know that person who's always attuned to how you're really feeling and doesn't let you get away with anything? That person who's always your cheering section - and always when you need it most? That's Phyl-Phyl. :) Okay, 'nuff said. Back to your regularly scheduled program of intending to blog. Hee!

(Actually, there is knitting progress to speak of, but no pictures. Ibenholt is coming along quite nicely and I should be switching to all the main body cable patterns tonight... Wish me luck!)

And the first FO's of 2006 are...

Yup, that's right, I said FO's - as in multiple, more than one! I know, where the hell did that come from? Hee! Okay, enough stalling - here we go!

First up, the first official FO of 2006 - the Jaywalker socks!

As always, please to ignore the super-white legs...

Are they not great?? I LOVE these socks! The socks were super-easy to knit and are comfy as hell! They're a bit big at the tops, but I'm okay with that.

Pattern: Jaywalker socks by Grumperina (from Magknits)
Yarn: Tess' Supersock Yarn - a pressie from Ann at Maryland Sheep and Wool
Needles: 2 US2 24" Addi Turbos
Time to complete: I cast on for these about 20 November and worked on them on and off for two months. The last sock was finished on 1 January.
Mods: I knit these on 2 circs instead of DPNs, made them a bit shorter, and added a short row heel instead of doing a heel flap. (I just dislike those heel flaps, lol.)
Fun Factor: Definitely lots of fun! I will most definitely knit these again... maybe just not as many as Cara has... Hee!

Next up, the Koigu-tis is finally done! (Thank heavens!) This made a perfect mindless knit - although it was a bit unwieldy towards the end, this thing was damn long! :) I do love it, though. It's soft, pretty and warm!

Why yes, that is a picture of me knitting on the Koigu-tis while wearing it... it was cold in the shop!

Pattern: Clapotis from Knitty Fall 2004
Yarn: 4 balls of Koigu KPPPM, colorway (crap, I can't find the ball band. I'll just have to update it tomorrow.)
Needles: US7 24" Addi Turbo circulars
Time to complete: Cast on - either 3 or 4 November, cast off - 4 January. Keep in mind that I put it down in favor of other projects for almost a month...
Mods: Well, there was the yarn substitution, of course, and the needles - I wasn't sure if the US7s would be too big, but I really like the fabric it creates! I cut out two increase/decrease rows and just knit it really long. (We're talking 24 straight rows... so really double the pattern...) I love it this way. The only problem is that it's going to take a bit of getting used to - I've gotten myself caught on things while trying to take it off. Hee!
Fun Factor: I loved it. While it's never going to win any fun prizes while knitting all those damn straight rows and the fact that the decrease rows seemed to take for-freakin-ever, it was the PERFECT mindless knit. I put this down for almost a month, picked it up and knew where I had left off in a matter of seconds.

So, what did I do after completing those? I cast on for another project, of course! (To borrow a phrase from Carol and Cindy, "hello, have you met me?") I cast on 300+ stitches tonight for my newest project: Ibenholt. No pictures yet, as it's only 3 rows big - this one's gonna take awhile, I can tell. Right now, it's taking me quite a long time to get across just one row. I'm sure it'll get quicker, but I'm damn impatient. :)

I know, I said that I'd have those Jaywalkers done before the New Year rang in, but I had a good excuse, really, I did! I spent my New Year's Eve with some good friends: Chelsea and Amy. Which was a great way to ring in the New Year. Thanks ladies - we will have to do it again soon!

Updates, pictures and other stuff

Okay, so I realize I was outed by Maeve... yes, I have cast on for yet another project. My knitting bag is protesting quite loudly at the prospect of carrying yet another project - and with good reason:

Yup, that's the somewhat current state of the knitting bag, sans three projects. The big green thing in there is an almost finished Penelope - all she needs is for me to complete stitching in the neckband and to knit and sew on the armbands... and seam up the sides. The pink thing you see in there? That would be the cast-on back of Katrine from the RYC Weekend book. Not that I've gotten much further than the cast-on. I immediately realized that I needed the needles to finish up Penelope, so an inch into the back, I put it all on holders. I'll get back to it eventually. (Never mind that I've said that about a few things lately, lol.)

First up, the project I was outed on... Clapotis Redux. I wasn't planning on casting on for another one anytime soon - until a customer walked into the shop last Wednesday night. She was wearing the most gorgeous one made from Koigu KPPPM. A few of us (mainly me) started peppering her with questions: how many? what size needles? how long? Before I realized what happened, I had four hanks in the most "me" colorway sitting on the table in front of me. Then my debit card just happened to fall into the reader... That's my story and I'm sticking to it, damnit. I'm actually much further along than shown in the picture. I'm on my 3rd straight repeat and still not done with the first ball! (I got most of it done during Gilmore Girls tonight... damn, it was a good episode tonight!)

Next up, One Skein Wonder V.2 This time I decided to use some yummy Brooks Farm Duet that I purchased at Maryland Sheep & Wool in May. I've decided to make some mods to the pattern... For instance, I've modified it for a yarn that gets 4.5sts/in and I'm adding long sleeves onto it. I *heart* this yarn. It's so lurrrrvely! A tad fuzzy, but oh-so-soft. The first sleeve is just taking for-freakin-ever because I'm writing it on the fly. Once the first sleeve is done, I'm sure that the rest will take no time. Right? (Just say yes.)

Then there are the unpictured projects: the Gryffindor scarf and the Slayer socks. For those that remember how I spent the evening of July 14/15, you may remember how long the Gryffindor scarf was... no, it hasn't grown any. In fact, it's much smaller. I sent it to the frog pond. I couldn't stand how bad the color joins were in the round. I'm sure that there was a better way to do them than I did, but I wasn't going to try to repair it all. So I ripped. Eventually it got recast-on. It's not very big - and definitely won't be ready in time for Friday's release, however, I think I'll like it much better. I've modified the pattern to a modified rib, so it should work MUCH better this time. Only time will tell.

The Slayer socks? The name comes from the yarn... Felicia from sweet georgia dyed this gorgeous yarn for socks and called them Slayer (after Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course). I'm not a huge Buffy fan, but I immediately had to have it. It didn't matter that I work in a yarn shop with fabulous sock yarn. It didn't matter that I have a HUGE sock yarn stash. I had to have that gorgeous yarn. So out came the credit card and a visit to Felicia's shop site... and a few days later I got this:

I do love getting snail mail... at least mail that doesn't consist of a bill. LOL. (If you click on the second picture, you'll see what she wrote on the envelope... Yup, it says "Holly - the Vampire Slayer -" I LOVE IT.) Oh, you want to see what the yarn looks like?

Gorgeous. I *heart* Felicia. *sigh* I wish I were so talented.

A few weeks ago, Rossana (being the absolute sweet angel she is) surprised me with a small pressie:

Stitch markers SHE MADE HER-VERY-OWN-SELF. I am touched. They are so pretty and girly!

I'm sure there was other stuff I meant to update on, but it'll wait. For now, I'm tired and must get some sleep... Hey, if any of y'all remember what else I was going to post about, let me know, okay? Hee!

What?? It's an update??

Why, yes... yes it is an update! I know, will wonders never cease? ;) Thanks everyone for being so patient with me lately - and definitely for showing how much you care. Not only did I receive comments, I got a couple emails and visits from a few of you asking me what was wrong and if there was anything you could do to help. So thank you. It has really meant a lot for me. To make a long story very short, after 2.5 years, my bf and I are no longer together. I'm doing fine. Really, I am. I have a great support system of friends who have made it a point to be there for me. I've ridden the emotional rollercoaster for a few weeks now and am finally ready to get off.

Now, onto what this blog is all about: the knitting! Why yes, I have been knitting. I even have a FO to show for it all!

Is that... could it be? YES! Finished Sockapal2za socks! My sock pal mentioned that she loved the blues and greens in the Koigu color palette - so I decided she should have some Koigu socks! I have loved getting to know her through her blog. (I'm not saying who she is until she's received the package, lol.) In the finishing of the socks, I started looking for a suitable prezzie to add in the package... and these two skeins of Lorna's Laces in the Seaside colorway just jumped out at me. I'm just really hoping she likes it all. Hopefully the package will go out in the mail tomorrow or Thursday - so hopefully, she'll receive it by the end of the week. :)

I've also been working on a baby sweater. My next-door neighbor's kid just had a baby... and what a cutie she is! I was volunteered to knit a sweater - and in many discussions with the person who volunteered me, we decided on the Lottie sweater from the Rowan Juniors book. The big problem? The sweater is in 4-ply. Luckily, I love working in 4-ply... and it gives me a chance to work with the lurrrvely Rowan Cashsoft 4-ply. It's a relatively quick knit.

I took the picture this past weekend - all this came from one ball! I bought 3 balls, but am seriously thinking that I won't have to break into the 3rd ball. Since this picture was taken, I've finished all the pieces for the sweater and just have to finish blocking the sleeve and other front before seaming and knitting the button bands.

While I was on my short hiatus, I even helped teach my best friend how to knit! She is taking lunchtime classes from someone she works with, but has come to me for extra help. Am I ever glad to help out! I don't think I've ever been more proud of her - she struggled to understand the motions and the look on her face when it all became clear was definitely worth it! Tonight I got together with her at the local Starbucks to teach her how to purl - by the time we left, she was purling like a pro! (Is it a bad thing that I admited to one of the Baristas that I am a Starbucks Junkie? LOL!)