Look!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a UFO!


Poor Mr. Square. Begun when? last winter? Dunno, but he's lived in my yarn closet for a good long while. And all because of my aversion to dpns. I whipped up his body, stalled on his arms and legs (eek! the dpns!), and then, fickle Jezebel that I am, moved my affections elsewhere.

But he's haunted me. Every time I open the yarn closet door, I hear his voice saying, Hey, Ms. Love 'Em and Leave 'Em, remember me? Why should I have to suffer because of your avoidance issues? When are you gonna suck it up and commit? Usually I just act like the cool kid in high school and ignore him, because I really am all thumbs when it comes to dpns. I never know how to hold them, and they're always falling out and rolling under the couch. And then there's that whole laddering issue, which makes me death grip half the stitches. Using them is like when I flunked football in eighth grade gym class; it's probably hilarious to watch, but absolutely mortifying when you're the gal who has no idea what a tight end does.

A couple of weeks ago I was rooting around in the stash for the yarn I'm using for my Flower Basket shawl. And, sure enough, once again Mr. Square started in with the psychobabble. But this time I surprised both of us when I conceded he has a point. He's this close to being finished. And he's cute - in a bad boy kinda way - with those black and white stripes. Maybe it was time to move our relationship to the next level.

So, I bought these nifty wee 5" needles (each appendage is only 14 stitches around), and pulled Mr. Square out of the closet. Cue the Barry White, because tonight's the night we're dpn-ing. Will love triumph over my fears and wayward ways? Or will there be tears and recriminations and drunken singing along with Patsy Cline? Stay tuned to find out....

Three Fs

1. Fuzzy

Thanks, everyone, for the get well wishes. You're so kind. I've spent most of the week dazed and achy, but am mending. Finishing sentences was a challenge for a few days, but I think nouns, verbs and adjectives are once again my friends. Maybe even adverbs, too. We'll see how this post goes, though, because I've already said "achy." Which brings to mind the horror of Billy Rae Cyrus. So, see, I've still got some Jack Kerouac stream of consciousness rambling going on, but I'll try to keep it under control.

2. Frankensocks


Like Shelley's doomed monster, my first pair of socks is a failed experiment. After six months of working on the darn things, I finally cast them off on Tuesday. And I must have missed a vital step after I turned the heels, because the leg parts are so tight they don't even fit over my feet. I admit to giving a Gallic shrug (isn't it hilarious that you can find this on the web?) upon discovering this. The painkillers definitely had something to do with it, but really, it's time to move on. To my second pair. And this time, I will own my knitting. I will do my homework, watch my Lucy Neatby DVD and read my Sensational Knitted Socks. I will make a basic sock using dpns so I can figure out how they're constructed, and then reattempt what Mary so patiently tried to teach me - the toe up short row heel two socks on two circs. I will triumph.

Because, well, I have a lot of sock yarn hitting my doorstep in the coming months. I've signed up for Mama E's Project Spectrum Sock Club. I've forked over the dough for the Blue Moon's Rockin' Sock Club. And yesterday I signed up for the Loopy Ewe's Seasonal Sock Club. So, yep, time to get serious with the sock making.

3. Flower Basket


Blissed out heaven is what this knit is. I finished the fifth repeat last night, and am loving every stitch.

And now, my couch awaits. Time for a nap. Happy weekend!

Time Out

I didn't even want to mention it here, but I had surgery on Monday. It went well, and I'm fine, just recuperating slower than I'd hoped. Sleeping lots from the meds, yadda yadda. I hope to be back up to full knitting and blogging speed soon.

In the meantime, you might find it funny to know that as I was coming out of the general anaesthesia I was dreaming that I was in the biggest, best yarn store in the universe. There was lots of cashmere. It was great.

Happy knitting, everyone. Talk to you soon.

Pants on Fire

One of the great things about this blog is that it keeps me motivated on a project. If I'm working on something I like, writing about it here provides impetus, focus and joy. And a kind of Zen kick in the pants sometimes.

Like the kind that happened over the past 48 hours. Check it out. The finished Superchunk.

It's really a revelation that I can finish a sweater - even a super bulky kid's sweater - in two days. Honestly, given my track record - oh, a mere nine months to finish the last sweater I knit - it wasn't looking good for my niece receiving this garment anytime soon. (Oh, I had high hopes of finishing it in time for Christmas...and we seen what happened to those pie in the sky dreams, don't we?) But then I wrote my last post. And guess what? Those ends? Woven in. That collar? Done.

Those button bands? Done.

These cute buttons? Sewn on. In two days. People, I need to write a poem, this is so epic. Or maybe a koan is more appropriate in this instance?

Pattern: Cardigan on page 74 of The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for Older Kids (size 6-7)
Yarn: Tahki Baby - 5 balls color 48 (hot pink), 2 balls color 20 (red)
Needle: Knit Picks Options US 13 and 15
Mods: None
Rating: Right up there

I'm really pleased with how this one turned out. Good written directions, gauge that was spot on (yes!), fun colored yarn, and buttons that match well - all around a good knittin' experience.

I have other knitting news, too, but it will have to wait for now. Don't want to lose my momentum, so I'm off to give this pink delight its Eucalan bath.

Solidarity Amongst Knitting Friends*

I seamed my niece's sweater today.

I don't know why it takes me ten times as long to finish a sweater as it does for me to knit it, but it does. Does this happen to everyone? You knit it up. Then you have to wash and block it. Then you have to sew it together. Then you have to add button bands, collars, and whatever other doohickies your pattern needs. Then you rewash and reblock it again before you wear it or pass it along to the intended recipient.

Or, if you're me, you knit it up. You sew in the ends. You wash and block it. Then you realize you didn't pin out the sleeves to any sort of measurement at all, and have to reblock them. Then you start to sew it together, but you're using some woolen tapestry thread (a great tip I learned from Patty for making less bulky seams), and you realize that with this uber chunky yarn the thread just pops out between the stitches and looks horrible. So you rip it out and resew the seams with the superchunk. Then you realize that what you really want to be doing is working on the Flower Basket shawl you started last night, and the button bands and collar can wait until tomorrow. And those ends? Next week, probably.

* Mary, I'm right there with you.

Pretty Shell Blanket

Pattern: Pretty Shell taken from a 1987 booklet titled Precious Baby Blankets to Knit and Crochet
Yarn: Katia Mississippi 3 Print in colorway 200
Hook: Addi metal hook 3.5 mm
Mods: Made it smaller - final dimensions roughly 32" x 36"
Rating: A favorite mainstay (I've made five of these over the last few years for friends and family)

The blanket, it is done! A marathon crochet session occurred on Saturday, and by that evening the scalloped edging was on and the ends were sewn in. Now it just needs a wash/dry, and then it'll be off to keep my friend's new baby cozy and warm.

A Wandering Eye

There's been no knitting this week. Instead, I've been furiously crocheting a baby blanket for a little one who was born a few weeks early. I began the blanket back in October, but procrastinated, and now, as the Yarn Harlot says, I'm monogamous for a few more days. To miles and miles of double crochet.

So no knitting. But there has been stash enhancement. And a new tote bag that has released my inner psychobilly.

First up is a skein of Sereknity's superwash sport merino in Mike and Ike. I actually bought this in mid-December, and have been hankering after a skein of her Sweet Tarts colorway ever since. Her etsy shop has lots of fun stuff, including yarn, roving, stitch markers, needles and sock kits that would make a great gift. (The sock kits are sold out right now, but you can see them where the "items sold" are listed.)

Next up is a skein of Yarn Pirate's superwash fingering merino in a one-off color she dyed called Copper. I just love the subtle color shifts - there's even a little pink in there - and hope to use it for a lace scarf.

Part of my Christmas haul was a couple of gift certificates to the Loopy Ewe. Shortly after the first of the year I discovered there was a new shipment of Sweet Georgia in, and I immediately snapped up some of her Superwash Sock in Firefly. I really like this colorway. It's a lot more vivid in person, which is a most excellent surprise. It also completes my Joss Whedon-themed Sweet Georgia sock yarn collection.


Also couldn't pass up this Claudia's Hand Painted in Tropicana.

Once the blanket is finished, and I've begun a new project using some of this great yarn, I'll be carrying it around in my tote from Novelty Creations.

Isn't the fabric rockin'? This etsy seller uses really hip fabrics and transfers - check out the Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat one - and offers two sizes for the totes, medium (13"x13") and large (15"x15"). I bought the medium size, and it is perfect for small to medium sized projects. The bag is really well made, with a nice lining and sturdy handles.

So lots of goodies waiting for me. But now, it's back to the neverending blanket....

Project Spectrum

Blogger has been acting weird for days, but it finally allowed me to rollover to the new version today. Whew. Now I just have to figure out how to upload button images to the sidebar, and everything will be copacetic.

See, a few days ago I signed up for Project Spectrum.

I want to commemorate the event. But while I know the difference between a double and a treble crochet, I'm remedial with computer code stuff. The process is eluding me. Anyone have any pointers? If anyone can tell me how to do it, I'd be grateful indeed. (Hint: I'd send yarn.)

Back to Project Spectrum. I missed out last year - found out about it too late - and am very glad Lolly is hosting round two. And, in some weird synchronous way, I even have the perfect project for the February/March round of colors (blue, white, grey). Weird because I never knit with blue and white. Thinking about it, I realized the only time I've ever knit with these colors has been when I'm using variegated yarns; usually this means I'm knitting a baby gift. Synchronous because right after Christmas I bought a Bea Ellis headband kit in those exact colors. I want to learn how to Fair Isle, and this is the project I'm using to do just that. (Thanks, Sknitty, for the recommendation.)


Pretty darn perfect, eh? I'm taking it as a sign of good things to come with this knit/art-along. Also good is that my buddies Mary, Annette and Laura have joined, too. It'll be fun coloring with them. (Laura is sadly blogless, but may make guest appearances at Knitdevil. She's a righteous artist.) And to sweeten things even more, Mama E has a Project Spectrum Sock Club. Which I joined yesterday. Because, well, what isn't better with yarn?

Cables a la Kermit

I'd been hankering to try Berroco's Ultra Alpaca ever since it came out last year. To that end, last summer I bought two skeins of it in this fab green (color 6275 pea soup mix), which I threw into the stash until I figured out a test run project for it. Inspiration finally struck in late December. I pulled the skeins out, and whipped up two simple cabled scarves. I've yet to wash and block them, but so far this alpaca/wool blend gets a thumbs up.

Double Cable Scarf from One Skein

Karaoke Cable Scarf from kpixie

Ultra Alpaca is a breeze to knit (I used bamboo US 8s and flew along), and its yardage (215 yds per skein) and color selection (50 shades) are user-friendly. The alpaca does bring some fuzziness without obscuring the stitches, which is nifty, but even so this isn't a cushy merino. In the stable of yarns, Ultra Alpaca is definitely a workhorse, and I can totally see hitching my saddle to it for future projects.

P. S. Apologies for the dreadful photos; it was beginning to rain, and I just threw the scarves on the trellis and clicked away. The truest color of the yarn is seen in the third photo.

Revolutions

1. No doubt about it, the French Revolution had it going on. Starving peasants, dead guys in bathtubs, royal dimwits, cute red hats, plus a whole lot of economic and political stuff that's kinda boring - what more could you ask for? And don't forget those bloodthirsty madamoiselles knitting at the guillotine.

2. Dada. Let's hear it for those wacky guys at Cabaret Voltaire. The movement was small in number, but it sure influenced modern art in a big way.

3. Punk rock. Enough with the disco. Let's have a riot of our own.


Happy 2007.

Mambo, Baby, Mambo

The last days of 2006 linger, like a snippet of song heard from the car next to yours, left floating on the breeze as the light changes and the car moves off. The tune stays in your head, though, even as you move forward, delighting in the promise of a new year.

For me, knitting-wise, this year's tune has been a Cal Tjader mambo. Upbeat, lively, its percussion got my fingers moving and its vibes added soul to every stitch I made. Here are the highlights:

1. The Knitting Olympics - What a blast to connect with other knitters around the world and learn a new technique at the same time. Several of the women in my knitting group also participated; three of us learned to knit lace by making knitty's Branching Out scarf.

2. Intarsia - Another new technique learned by joining the Wobbly Circles Tote KAL in the spring. The KAL itself was lackluster, but the framework it provided kept me motivated to finish this behemoth of a felted bag. (Seriously, the thing turned out huge.) It also made me realize that I can spend the rest of my knitting life not doing another intarsia project and that will be just fine.

3. Lace - After finishing my Branching Out scarf, I discovered I was addicted to lace. Casting around this summer, I found Sivia Harding's Yahoo group, joined up and participated in their ongoing Diamond Fantasy Shawl KAL. Sivia actively participates on the list, and responds to almost every post. The other knitters share wonderful tips, there are great FAQs pages for newbie lacers like moi, and Sivia's patterns are well written and easy to do. A fantastic experience all around.

This fall I also joined the Lacevember KAL, which was also a great KAL. Already I'm looking forward to next year.

4. Knitdevil - After six months (!) of hemming and hawing, I finally began blogging in September. Now I can't believe I didn't do it earlier, as it's become such a big part of my knitting world. And friends - thanks for reading, leaving comments, and enriching my life. It's good to know ya.

5. Pasadena Daytimers SnB - While our knitting group disbanded this fall, it was great fun while it lasted. I learned a lot and laughed even more. Thanks, knitsisters.


A few other musical notes - I finished my first adult sweater, and am tickled that it fits me. I'm learning how to make socks. I'm over my Kid Silk Haze crush. I knit a bunch of stuff for my sister and a poncho for my niece. I learned how to dye with Kool Aid. I tallied up my stash, and realized I have way too much Jo Sharp Kid Comfort but not nearly enough worsted weight wool. I bought a spinning wheel. My one UFO from this year is a Jess Hutch toy; all it needs is its arms and legs. I fell in love with handdyed sock yarn. I swatched for five sweaters, and none of them worked out well enough for me to start knitting them. Felting is comforting. I crocheted a baby blanket.

And now, time to move on. Happy 2007! May the music it brings be your favorite song.

So, What Did Santa Leave You?

Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday, and you're settling back into regular life with a rosy glow of contentment. Me, I'm just glad I survived the wackiest Christmas I've ever had. (Some kindly advice gleaned from this weekend: Never allow a childhood friend of your husband's - whom your husband hasn't really spent any time with in twenty years - who is going through a dreadful divorce, talks non-stop about himself, and 1) doesn't pay for anything or 2) bring one measly Christmas present to spend the holidays with you. It can really tax a person's holiday cheer.)

But, after the houseguest from hell left bright and early yesterday morning, and the strains of his truck stereo blaring the Eagles at ear splitting volume faded into the distance, Tom and I heaved a sigh of relief and settled down to our Christmas proper. We called family, prepared a righteous prime rib (Tom's favorite special meal), drank wassail (one of his family traditions that I enjoy, too), admired our presents, relaxed and watched a movie after dinner. Lovely.

Again, no knitting content, as I haven't had any time to pick up my needles this past week. But my head is chockablock full of ideas for the coming year. A good few involve my conquering the sock, and I have a feeling Lucy and I will be getting to know each other pretty well.

I'll also be knitting some cables, learning how to Fair Isle, and making one of these. Can't wait!

Twinkle, Twinkle

Today is the winter solstice, and, on this shortest day of the year, I offer bright blessings to you and your families. May you all be surrounded by light and joy, now and in the coming year.

Here at Casa Knitdevil, holiday preparation superceded everything else this past week. We got a late start this year, but things are in hand - the tree up and decorated; the outside lights up; the cards written and sent; the gifts bought, wrapped and sent/placed under the tree. Cookie baking commenced yesterday, and will continue through the weekend. I was just beginning to relax a bit, when we got a phone call from a childhood friend of Tom's. He's going through a rough spot, and will be joining us for Christmas. Tom is excited he's coming, and I see it as a chance to get lots of knitting done while they're out and about. (I'm also supposed to be getting a Webs gift certificate to help diffuse the stress of having a guest whom I don't really know in the house over the holiday. Yes, I'm bribable.)

On the knitting front there's very little to report, due to the aforementioned holiday blitzkrieg. One lone FO.


Pattern: Felted Striped Tote from One Skein
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Avocado, Carrot, Chestnut, Evergreen and Fern
Needles: Options US 10 1/2
Mods: Made the handles more substantial by doubling the number of rows
Rating: Yep, I'd make it again


I'm calling this bag my leftovers bag, since 1) the yarn is from this, and 2) the yarn colors are named after food. Well, except for evergreen. But, I've heard you can eat fiddlehead fern buds in the springtime, so the fern qualifies. And lots of veggies are dark (ever)green, like chard and spinach. Anyway, enough with the digression. I like how the stripes look, but what's with that wonky right corner? In retrospect, the bottom seam looks off kilter, but whatever. I'll load this puppy up with all my purse stuff, and you won't be able to tell a thing. And this is a great pattern for using up those feltable odds and ends in your stash.

* * *

Finally, Mehitabel has tagged me to reveal six weird things about myself:

1. I've never seen a reality tv show. (when my knitting group talks about Project Runway, I daydream about him)
2. I can't say the alphabet backwards.
3. When doing laundry, I have to fold our t-shirts a specific way. Tom folds them the opposite way, and it drives me so crazy I always have to refold the ones he folds. This folding mania applies only to t-shirts; with the rest of the laundry I'm totally laissez faire, and however it gets in the drawers is fine.
4. I love the smell of wet wool.
5. I have a calaveras folk art collection and tattoo.
6. My sense of humor is unusual and, well, dark. For example, I'm one of probably two people out there (the other being Tom - thank goodness we found each other) who really likes the movie Death to Smoochy.

Happy holidays!

Where's My Aluminum Foil Hat?

Crafting Morrighana has a contest running right now, and last week I decided I'd participate. Easy, I thought. All you have to do is count how many balls of yarn you have. That won't take any time at all. It's not like I have a lot or anything.

Cue to this afternoon. I dragged out my tubs o' yarn and began tallying.

After 2 hours it became clear that reality is a little different than my understanding of it. How? Well, after counting, and counting, and counting, and then rechecking my numbers twice, I learned that I have 600 skeins/balls/hanks of yarn. Six hundred. Most of which were purchased over the last three years. Kinda mindblowing.

It must be aliens. They're totally messing with me. There's been no bright lights, or time standing still, or any of the other, er, less pleasant side effects linked with alien visitation, but how else to explain that huge number?

Yep, aliens. With some sort of mind control device, that clicks on whenever I visit a yarn store. That must be what's going on. Now, please excuse me while I go check for data chip implants.

What I'm Doing Today

Thank you, Mehitabel.

Jayne Hat

To round off and finish up the Buffy/Angel/Firefly jag I've been on, I tracked down a photo of my good buddy DD (fellow Buffy fan and co-owner of the infamous Wax Trax Records - if you're ever in Denver go check 'em out) trying on (see the gift tag still attached?) the Jayne hat I made him last winter. Cunning, eh?

Pattern: Jayne hat from the television series Firefly, episode The Message; available as a kit here or a pattern here, here
Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky in Autumn Harvest, Sunburst Gold and Rust
Needles: US 10 1/2 16" circs (Addis) and dpns
Mods: For the earflap decreases I subbed ssk's on one side. Also changed something else about how I did the earflaps - maybe how I picked up stitches? - but don't really remember now
Rating: 5 by 5

Call me a total dork, but this project was fun. I was so lazy I just bought the kit from Heather - I think the deciding factor was she even makes the pompom for you - and whipped it up in an evening. This is the first - and probably? hopefully? the last - time I've ever knit clothing from a tv series. Kinda surreal, especially after I googled and saw how many Jayne hats are out there. But fun. See? Dork.

Dish

One of the things I love most about Los Angeles is its modern architecture. From the deco sweep of City Hall to the fresh crispness of Neutra's Silverlake homes, from the whimsical googie shapes of Pann's coffee shops to the weightiness of Frank Lloyd Wright's Mayan-inspired concrete block mansions, LA has some great design going on.

This exuberant design aesthetic can be found inside buildings, too, and one of the most ubiquitous examples of this is California Pottery. From the late 1880s to the 1960s, ceramics companies flourished in California, and one of the grand dames of that time was the J.A. Bauer Pottery Company. (Bauer: Classic American Pottery by Mitch Tuchman and California Pottery: From Missions to Modernism by Bill Stern are good places to read more; also, any of Jack Chipman's books) Bauer's dishes - glazed turqoise, cobalt, yellow and orange in the 1930s - are a little slice of the sunny California Dream. Once everyday crockery selling for pennies, these dishes now collect high prices on ebay.

Despair not, however, because a few years ago Bauer was reborn as a new ceramics studio. The folks running it have reintroduced some of the original pieces, concentrating mainly on reproducing designs from the 1930s and 40s. All those collectors out there paying seventeen bajillion dollars for their oilpots may recoil in horror at this "new" Bauer, but I love it. For one, it offers a viable way of owning some of these great ceramic pieces. For another, it perpetuates a part of Los Angeles history. And, to make things even better for thrifty crafty folk like you and me, every December they run a year-end holiday sale where they offer irregulars at dirt cheap prices and regular stock at 10% off. (The sale runs for the next two weekends, so if you need a last minute holiday gift - or just love good dish - you still have time to go.)


It has been several years since Tom and I went to the sale, but yesterday Sknitty, Tom and I popped in first thing. Their warehouse is a funny little building tucked behind some other industrial warehouses at the end of a cul de sac. Inside are shelves bursting with dishes and serious shoppers roaming among them. I only had a few things on my list, and came away with the most important: these adorable food bowls for our kitty Maggie and a 9" yellow nesting bowl to replace the one I've chipped badly.



To recharge the batteries, we then boogied on over to Eat Well and had a full-on breakfast. Once back home, trying to stave off a nap, I wet blocked the pink sweater, worked a couple of rows on Hanging Garden and dug into the felted striped bag from One Skein. What a glorious Sunday.

Slay Me

There hasn't been any stash enhancement around here for a while, so it was lots of fun to receive an order from Connie at Pick Up Sticks today. A couple of weeks ago I was trawling for Sweet Georgia sock yarn, and felt like I'd hit the motherlode when I found Connie's site. Especially since there were colorways listed as Angel...and Firefly...and Willow. Hmm, I thought, I wonder if Sweet Georgia's a Joss Whedon fan. Then I clicked on another page, and there was the Slayer colorway. Yep, she most definitely is.

And so am I. In fact, back when the shows were on, a couple friends and I used to get together on Tuesday nights to knit, crochet and watch the Scooby Gang battle the forces of evil. We called it our Post-Feminist Craft Night aka Buffy Night, and it was good times. With that personal history, I just had to buy these Buffy the Vampire Slayer-themed colorways. So I did.


Slayer (in Speed Demon Sock/superwash merino) is a kick ass blood red with black overtones.


Angel (in Handpainted Sock/100% merino) is a variegated black/grey/red/white. After I placed my order I found Sweet Georgia's blog, and love how she describes this colorway: "Angel: a little bit of bleeding heart, a lot of brooding."


Willow (in Speed Demon Sock/superwash merino) is a pretty light green (almost chartreuse) with brown and white splotches.

And not only did I get my super fun yarn, but Connie also included a great project bag and a "Sell Your Sole" (!) sock pattern which uses the Speed Demon Sock yarn. So if you've a hankering for some sock yarn, I'd recommend Pick Up Sticks. They are based in Ontario, Canada, so delivery time is a little longer than Priority Mail (Connie processed my order immediately, and it took 11 days to arrive), but I expected that with the international mail. I've already got my eye on that Firefly colorway - and check out the Kill Bill - and will definitely be ordering from her again.

Speaking of superheroines, Mary gets a great big thanks for teaching me to turn the heels on my Monster Mash 'practice' socks. (Remember them?) I'm still trying to get my head around sock theory. It's hard. But Mary's been very patient, and has gone over - and over - with me how to do a short row heel. I think it's beginning to stick. Maybe. A little. As proof, here's a shot of the good side of the one heel I've done so far.


The other side (the side where I do the p3tog stitches) is a different story. I dropped a stitch, and was too lazy to rip back and redo things, so that side has two honking huge holes. There are also weird stitches with a bar across them; I don't think I'm doing my purl yarnovers correctly and have to check that. This week's homework is to finish the other heel, so I can finish this practice pair and start a 'real' pair with some of this cool yarn. It might not be as big as saving the world, but conquering the sock shall be sweet indeed.