The Long Wait

Spring in Michigan is not for the faint of heart.  Warming spells are inevitably followed by days of raw damp weather and snow.  I have been able to wear my dansko sandals here and there, but they are always accompanied by jeans and a sweater. (This reminds me of my childhood in Connecticut - every Easter dress I ever wore was accompanied by a white turtleneck.)

Knitting has been in spurts and starts - days of crazy knitting jags, followed by days of listlessness and ennui.  Knitting can be a harsh mistress, and at this time of year any little hiccup in forward progress seems to pull me off the rails completely.

As a little exercise in optimism I decided to knit Bunny by Jess Hutch.  Little pieces, following directions closely, paying attention to row-by-row instructions.  Not exactly my normal knitting modus operandi.  I have named him Warren.

Warren is an organic bunny.

Pattern: Bunny by Jess Hutch, a free pattern.

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic worsted cotton, 1/2 skein.

Needles: US 8

Mods: None that I can really think of.  If I were to knit him again I think I would try to make the head and body as a single piece just to cut down on the sewing.  I made up the carrot as I knit it, but I figured he needed something to nom on. His eyes are 10mm safety eyes available at most craft shops.

Warren is living at Woven Art right now surrounded by Bunny Nuggets and the Heartstrings origami Bunny.

And now there are Hyacinths up and blooming, and the first of my daffs are starting to flower.  There may be hope.  But I am still wearing wool socks for now.

Western love

Last Sunday I cast on for a little lace kerchief.  I have been craving lace. CRAVING it.  Little did I know that this project would only take two days of knitting to finish.  Another day for blocking, and DONE! A perfect little kerchief.

Pattern: Calamity Jane by Kirsten Hipskey (rav link)

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca Sport, 120 yards, 50 grams. Brown. 1 ball

Needles: US 6 addi lace

Mods: None.  I used blocking wires to get a really nice even block on the kerchief.  If you are interested in using the same yarn - after weaving in and blocking I literally had 4 inches of yarn left.  This is not hyperbole.  

I truly LOVED the knitting lace cast off, even though it took FOR-EV-ER.  For every two stitches you are actually binding off you knit 4 rows.  But still, I would do it all again in a heartbeat to get that beautiful serrated lace edge.  

This wasn't an intuitive lace project - there is no rhythm to the lace and memorization is all but impossible.  But it is such a little project the inconvenience of it is so worth it.  Now I want Frye boots, really tight denim, and a 1970 SS El Camino to blare Heart's Barracuda.  Yes, I am totally fantasizing about New Mexico, what of it?

Koi Koi Kai-Mei Handknit Socks

Sock yarn has been an addiction of mine from the moment I started knitting socks.  Back in my "corporate" days (ha! I worked for an art gallery in New York and a non-profit arts organization in Albuquerque, not exactly 'corporate' by most people's standards) I often travelled for work. P and I also travelled a lot, sometime for his work, but often just because we could.  And everywhere I went I would hunt down the local yarn shop(s) and get a skein of sock yarn.  This led to an enormous collection of sock yarn.

It is a little embarrassing that I stopped counting my sock yarn once I knew I had enough yarn for 60 pairs. Erhh-hem.  Yeah.  Hence the sock yarn embargo I have been on for... eight months? Perhaps longer.  The embargo will continue until Rhinebeck 2011 or the end of the year, depending upon how many skeins I use up.  And then it will be a controlled purchase.  (And then the embargo will be active again.)

So it looks like 2011 will be the year to use up fingering weight yarn. (My regular fingering weight yarn is not pictured above. Seriously)

My newest finished project?

Pattern: Kai-Mei by Cookie A.
Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in the colorway Koi Koi
Needles: US 1.5
Mods: Other than knitting on two circs, none. I really wanted to give this pattern an honest knit through without messing with it. I prefer to knit my socks toe-up, but the butterfly details extending from the gusset would have presented a fairly difficult change.  Almost every pair of socks that I have knit cuff down have been Cookie A. patterns by-the-way. I guess I feel they are the only ones worth the anxiety of possibly running out of yarn before the toes are finished.

Photo shoots are few and far between around here due to some serious lack of daylight these days in Michigan.  Even the brighter days barely produce the diffuse daylight a decent photo requires.  And there can be other challenges too.

Like a corgi who wants to know why I am hanging upside down to take a photo of my feet!

FO: Lacy Rib Socks

These socks were started in July, finished a few weeks ago, and have been hanging out in my gym bag, for some reason.  A few days ago we got a little bit of sunlight, and I quickly took some photos.

Pattern: Lacy Ribs Socks by Wendy Johnson, from Knitting from the Toe Up
Yarn: Knit Picks Imagination, in a forgotten colorway. 60% merino 30% alpaca 10% nylon.
Needles: US 1.5 (two circs)
Mods: purely length.  The stitch pattern was easy to memorize.

The color disparity between these two balls is a little hard to see in this photo, but the sock on the right is much duller than that on the left.  Plus, I have also recently discovered that this yarn USED to be designated a machine washable yarn, and has now been re-classified as a handwash yarn only. Bummer.  I would have made a hat out of this had I known.  These socks were going to be a gift, but not anymore! They will have to live with me.

This pair of socks doesn't count towards my Sock stash knitdown participation, but I am glad to have gotten them done anyway.  One less project on the needles.

I have already cast on for another pair of socks, and as an added bonus the yarn was purchased at Rhinebeck in 2009 when I went with my mom, my aunt, and my sister.  If I do go to Rhinebeck again this year I want to be able to buy some yarn without thinking of the stockpile of yarn from Rhinebecks past.  So I need to knock out several pairs of socks with Rhinebeck yarn, and a few hats as well, to be honest.  But, to be completely honest, I have yarn from the Fiber Fiesta in Albuquerque (2003 or 2004), and the Taos Sheep & Wool Festival (2005).  Ouch.

Yeah. Better get on that.

A little foot Obsession

I can't wait for the snow and ice to clear a bit so I can wear my new oxblood colored heeled loafers. ($2.99 at World Mission Thrift) They look well matched with my other heeled loafers, don't they?

And while I am no longer on track to be a librarian, I think the 'Librarian Chic' label will always stick with me.  I wish I fit into my vintage wool skirts (some even have kick-pleats!) but they will have to wait out another year.

I still haven't found a replacement for my grey cardigan. I am living in, at the most, 20 pieces of clothing right now and I feel like I am clinging onto the desperate edge.  I need to find some warm clothes soon!

1.1.11

The year has started out fairly productively.  Since P is on call this weekend I have to provide my own entertainment today.  So far I have cleaned the kitchen thoroughly, made lentil soup, done a few loads of laundry, converted my hanging files from 2010 to 2011 and weeded through my cookbooks.

Odd years seem to be kinder to me than even ones, and I am hoping that '11 will be MY year.  You hear that World? IT IS MY TURN.  MINE. And I don't care if I sound like a three year old.  The world likes balance, and I am due.  And while you are at it World?  Don't forget my friend, F. She is more than due.

That is 400 yards of warp.

This year is going to be about Less.

* less me
* less mess
* less stash
* less stuff
* less waste
* less procrastination
* less advice**

I am taking on several Less challenges this year:

* Sock Stash Knitdown - I will be using 12 skeins of sock yarn this year, either knit as socks, or other projects.  I also bought an Xmas gift for myself - a 25" Schacht Rigid Heddle Loom.  Great way to use up sock stash!

* Cold Sheeping - Gah, the last few months have been difficult, but I am back on the wagon.  I am not buying yarn until April 2011, and then I will re-evaluate my stash and probably re-up.

* Project 333 - Living in a reduced wardrobe of 33 items.  I participated this past fall, and while I had to make some adjustments as the seasons changed (hello! cropped leather jacket does not cut it when the windchill is 5 F outside.), I enjoyed the simplicity of it.  I have a major piece to replace in the next week - a simple grey cardigan. My last one got a hole in it within 2 weeks of the beginning of Project 333 round 1.  I continued to wear it.  Then my nephew spit up all over the shoulder. And the baby spit won't come out. I am calling this lightweight grey cardigan officially DEAD, and so I am on the hunt.


** I am always happy to read about "self-improvement" but after a while all this advice just WEARS on me.  So I am going to follow my own common sense and stop relying on the ideas of others.

Organic Kanoko Pants

My dear sweet Jenny (her blog has been on hiatus for a while) had her baby girl last month, and once she got within two weeks of her due date I started knitting in earnest.  I guess I am still superstitious about waiting to knit for specific babies until they are almost here.  Plus, since Jenny and Mr. C decided to not find out the sex of their little baby, I decided to knit something gender neutral, then add a little embellishment.  My pattern of choice: the Kanoko Pants.

Back story: Some time ago, while still living in Albuquerque (both of us, actually), Jenny and I decided to place a big order with Elann for some Pakucho worsted weight organic cotton.  I can't remember what Jenny was going to make with her yarn (was it a Green Gables?) but I made mine into a Cable Eight tank, that was a disaster. Worsted weight yarn held doubled then cabled? And for a busty girl? Eeek.  I had some yarn leftover, then somehow I also ended up with a sizable amount of Jenny's yarn.

So, with that kind of history I thought it would be fun to pass it to the next generation.

I swatched, took measurements, washed and dried the swatch, retook measurements, and calculated I would need an extra 10% for shrinkage since I wanted the care instructions to be kind to a new mother.

And soon, I had a pair of pants perfect for an Austin, Texas winter.

Kanoko Pants

Pattern: Kanoko Pants by Yumiko Sakurai

Yarn: Pakucho organic cotton, worsted weight, approximately 3 skeins

Needles: Size 6

Size: smallest, but adapted, see below.

Mods: I added 10% in length to both the upper area, and the legs to allow for shrinkage since I wanted these pants to go through the washer and dryer.  I added a little bit of running stitch and a daisy stitch to the top of the pants as well.

The pants have arrived in Austin, and look like a perfect fit.  These are the first pair of baby pants I have made, but I don't think they will be the last. So cute!

Now to go find that doomed tank.  I think I need to harvest the yarn.