Earlier today Don went to hang a coat in our mudroom and came back into our bedroom to hang it in the closet because the mudroom hooks were filled "beyond capacity." Hmmm, I thought, that is a good phrase to describe a lot of my life lately. My house is too full of stuff. My list of things I want to knit, sew, weave, make, or read is longer than I can possibly accomplish. My calendar is full of activities -- especially as it is the downhill slope of the school year. I'm physically tired from travel for work and family (I chaperoned the high school art student field trip to Boston and visited 6 museums in 2 days -- fun, but tiring). Life is simply too full.
I continue, however, to not feel that old friend depression hanging around my heart, which is the bright side in all of this. So, maybe I'm "at capacity" rather than "beyond."
WHAT I'M KNITTING
I finally am knitting a pi shawl! I'm knitting Meg Swanson's Shetland Tea Shawl in a mossy heather green Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks. I'm currently struggling a bit with the Diamond Madeira section of the lace -- it will be a tough 36 rows, I think. Then I'll knit the border on sideways, which will be an interesting challenge too. I have two friends knitting lace shawls at the moment too -- we all decided independently to do it.
I'm still working on the yoga mat bag, even though I haven't been to yoga in several weeks. I've been away on Tuesdays and then last week it was our first warm day and I couldn't resist the chance to get outside in the sunshine.
I've put the Bird-in-hand mittens aside for a later time. It is definitely not mitten season anymore (even though there is still snow behind in a few places in the shady part of our yard behind the house. I grilled salmon outside tonight!
The prayer shawl I'm working on is nearly done. I put the fringe on the beginning end and have the fringe pieces cut for the finishing end. We have 8 or 9 teenagers at our parish who will be graduating from high school this spring, and we have 9 people knitting shawls (which could also be used as scarves). This is one of them. We're making them out of a Cherry Tree Hill yarn that is a mixture of wool and silk and came in enough colors that every one of the shawl/scarves is a different variegated color. It is soft and beautiful to work with.
WHAT I'M READING
I finally subscribed to Audible.com and am "reading" Eat, Pray, Love. A friend commented that the author is incredibly self-indulgent. Ah, to have the chance to be young and self-indulgent again! It just makes me want to travel. So far, I'm enjoying having the book read to me, though. Now to decide what to get next month! Do you think I'm being rather self-indulgent?
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Unravelings
I've been sleeping pretty well lately, but the other night I woke up chewing on something that I was upset about and ended up coming downstairs for about an hour. I picked up the Pi Shawl I'd started the day before, found a mistake, and ended up unraveling the whole thing (I hadn't gotten very far anyway). It almost seemed that the act of unraveling that piece of knitting helped me unravel the problem I was having. I re-started the shawl and got myself back to the place where I had been, but with no mistakes just as I got completely over my upset and found myself ready to go back to sleep. As usual, as I unraveled the problem, I realized that there were other issues that were also bothering me, causing me to blow the issue I'd been chewing on in my semi-sleep out of proportion. As I unraveled the knitting, I also realized that I hadn't been happy with my original cast-on, and ended up being glad for the excuse to start over. Funny how often knitting mirrors my thought process.
Anyway, an hour with my knitting and the girls (our cats, Lydia and Pandora)gave me back my peace of mind and my sleep. My husband solved the presenting problem for me the next day and life goes on.
When I teach knitting, students are often horrified when they have to "frog" their knitting (for my non-knitting readers, that is the sound when you have to "rip-it, rip-it, rip-it" -- knitting joke). One of the local teachers is fondly known as Roberta the Ripper! I, however, rarely have an issue with frogging. I don't love it, but it does allow you to wipe out a mistake as if it never existed and replace it with something better (or at least more acceptable). Sometimes I do get mad at my knitting and have to put it away for a while before I can face frogging, but sometimes that act is just as healthy for my mental health as any new knitting can be.
OFF MY NEEDLES
I finished my snail mittens. Even though the first day of spring passed this week, it is still cold outside and I'm enjoying the mittens. The blue and yellow doesn't go with all of my jackets, so I may have to make another pair.
ON MY NEEDLES
I'm through the first skein of two for a prayer shawl I'm knitting for church. It is good easy knitting -- very calming.
I'm knitting a Japanese Vines scarf, from a pattern I found online and had to buy. I may have to make a few of these for gifts -- they are fun to knit and easy to carry along. Check out http://mimoknits.typepad.com/knitting/2007/09/japanese-vines.html
I'm also trying to knit the Bird in Hand mittens from Kate Gilbert, but the Cascade 220 yarn seems to be too big. I'd like to try some DK weight yarn, but may just put them aside for a while. A member of our knitting lunch group is trying to make them also and says they are way too much work for a pair of mittens. I think they'll be fine, but as the weather warms up, I'm not inspired to get serious about them.
What I am getting serious about is a lace shawl! I've been wanting to do one since starting to listen to the Knit Picks podcasts last summer. I used ILL to borrow Meg Swanson's A Gathering of Lace book and am working on the Shetland Tea Shawl in a mossy green Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks. The shawl is based on EZ's Pi Shawl instructions (Meg is EZ's daughter). I'm working on the first lace pattern section right now, getting ready for the next increase row which will take me from 150 stitches to 290 stitches. The next lace section is 48 rows,and then the number of stitches will double again as it just keeps getting bigger.
WHAT I'M READING
I've borrowed from the library A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt. It was a bit hard to get through at first, but I'm now finding it fascinating. Essentially, knitting is very old (older than crochet), but so little knitted fabric has survived, it is quite hard to really get a grip on how it came to be and when. Socks were probably the earliest items anyone knit.
Anyway, an hour with my knitting and the girls (our cats, Lydia and Pandora)gave me back my peace of mind and my sleep. My husband solved the presenting problem for me the next day and life goes on.
When I teach knitting, students are often horrified when they have to "frog" their knitting (for my non-knitting readers, that is the sound when you have to "rip-it, rip-it, rip-it" -- knitting joke). One of the local teachers is fondly known as Roberta the Ripper! I, however, rarely have an issue with frogging. I don't love it, but it does allow you to wipe out a mistake as if it never existed and replace it with something better (or at least more acceptable). Sometimes I do get mad at my knitting and have to put it away for a while before I can face frogging, but sometimes that act is just as healthy for my mental health as any new knitting can be.
OFF MY NEEDLES
I finished my snail mittens. Even though the first day of spring passed this week, it is still cold outside and I'm enjoying the mittens. The blue and yellow doesn't go with all of my jackets, so I may have to make another pair.
ON MY NEEDLES
I'm through the first skein of two for a prayer shawl I'm knitting for church. It is good easy knitting -- very calming.
I'm knitting a Japanese Vines scarf, from a pattern I found online and had to buy. I may have to make a few of these for gifts -- they are fun to knit and easy to carry along. Check out http://mimoknits.typepad.com/knitting/2007/09/japanese-vines.html
I'm also trying to knit the Bird in Hand mittens from Kate Gilbert, but the Cascade 220 yarn seems to be too big. I'd like to try some DK weight yarn, but may just put them aside for a while. A member of our knitting lunch group is trying to make them also and says they are way too much work for a pair of mittens. I think they'll be fine, but as the weather warms up, I'm not inspired to get serious about them.
What I am getting serious about is a lace shawl! I've been wanting to do one since starting to listen to the Knit Picks podcasts last summer. I used ILL to borrow Meg Swanson's A Gathering of Lace book and am working on the Shetland Tea Shawl in a mossy green Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks. The shawl is based on EZ's Pi Shawl instructions (Meg is EZ's daughter). I'm working on the first lace pattern section right now, getting ready for the next increase row which will take me from 150 stitches to 290 stitches. The next lace section is 48 rows,and then the number of stitches will double again as it just keeps getting bigger.
WHAT I'M READING
I've borrowed from the library A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt. It was a bit hard to get through at first, but I'm now finding it fascinating. Essentially, knitting is very old (older than crochet), but so little knitted fabric has survived, it is quite hard to really get a grip on how it came to be and when. Socks were probably the earliest items anyone knit.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
February Knitting
I'm on vacation! Despite officially taking this whole week off from work, today I finally feel like I'm on vacation. I worked on Saturday (a big alumni-student event I've been planning and managing for what seems like months finally came off without a hitch on Saturday -- woohoo!), spent Sunday traveling to and from Massachusetts to see one son's All-Star Cheering team compete, Monday at my other son's (last) State Swim Meet (so happy to see him have a great meet!), and yesterday at the girls' State Swim Meet. Tumbled into bed at midnight last night and realized, I'm on vacation!
Today Don and I are heading to Boston where we have the use of a condo (courtesy of his Dad) for two nights. We're going down on our own today and the boys are going to join us on Thursday for the second night. A real mini-family vacation. Of course, leading up to this family quality time, one son is going through a rough patch, so hopefully he won't be sullen and hard to be with the whole time. They are just both so ready to fly the nest, but are stuck with us for 6 more months.
I can relate to son #2's situation. Son #1 (birth order) applied to college early decision and got in (phew!). He's been SOOOOOO much easier to live with since then. Son #2 has yet to get his applications completed, though, after a big argument a few days ago with his parents, he has made some progress. He's in a foul mood that only knowing where he will be next year will soothe, but that soothing ain't goin' to arrive for some time. Mom & Dad are expecting him to cope, or at least act like he is coping. Growing up is such a pain in the neck!
OFF MY NEEDLES
I finally finished my "Fetching" fingerless gloves. I didn't like the way the cast off top curled up when I cast off loosely, so went back and re-did the cast off on the first one and then quickly finished the second to match.
ON MY NEEDLES
I've been working on the Norwegian Snail mittens for a few weeks. I finished one last week and then made quite a bit of progress on the second one sitting at cheering and swim meets the past few days. It shouldn't take me long to finish them.
I picked up the Braids Cardigan again that I put down in the fall to work on Christmas knitting. The body is now done and the button band is next. Then you pick up and knit the sleeves from the top down. The Webs Colrain yarn I'm using is so lovely to touch -- I'd like to get some of their lace weight version of it sometime!
I'm stalled on socks. I'd like to use the Smooshie yarn Don gave me for Christmas, but can't decide what pattern to use. I'd also like to spend some time on the socks in the Cat Bordhi book he got me, but that takes way too much concentration and I just don't have the time or energy for it. A knitting friend is going to town on that book lately and I'm envious. Maybe over the summer. In the meantime, I'd really like to find a sock pattern that I'd like to do. Maybe when I get back from my vacation.
Oh, and I fell head over heels for Nora Gaughan's Heartfelt pattern (see "before" and "after"). I bought one skein of Peruvia in red and have made three so far (the pattern says you can get about 15 out of one skein. It has me starting to think about my plan to have a table at the high school craft fair next December. I'd like to sell baskets and knitted Christmas ornaments: mini-socks, mini-mittens, mini-hats, mini-sweaters (I've been collecting patterns from various sources), and now mini-felted hearts.
WHAT I'M READING
Not much. The February Living Magazine, daily devotions in Foreward Movement, oh, and the book Introvert Advantage. The latter was recommended by an introvert friend to share with my husband. Interesting stuff.
Today Don and I are heading to Boston where we have the use of a condo (courtesy of his Dad) for two nights. We're going down on our own today and the boys are going to join us on Thursday for the second night. A real mini-family vacation. Of course, leading up to this family quality time, one son is going through a rough patch, so hopefully he won't be sullen and hard to be with the whole time. They are just both so ready to fly the nest, but are stuck with us for 6 more months.
I can relate to son #2's situation. Son #1 (birth order) applied to college early decision and got in (phew!). He's been SOOOOOO much easier to live with since then. Son #2 has yet to get his applications completed, though, after a big argument a few days ago with his parents, he has made some progress. He's in a foul mood that only knowing where he will be next year will soothe, but that soothing ain't goin' to arrive for some time. Mom & Dad are expecting him to cope, or at least act like he is coping. Growing up is such a pain in the neck!
OFF MY NEEDLES
I finally finished my "Fetching" fingerless gloves. I didn't like the way the cast off top curled up when I cast off loosely, so went back and re-did the cast off on the first one and then quickly finished the second to match.
ON MY NEEDLES
I've been working on the Norwegian Snail mittens for a few weeks. I finished one last week and then made quite a bit of progress on the second one sitting at cheering and swim meets the past few days. It shouldn't take me long to finish them.
I picked up the Braids Cardigan again that I put down in the fall to work on Christmas knitting. The body is now done and the button band is next. Then you pick up and knit the sleeves from the top down. The Webs Colrain yarn I'm using is so lovely to touch -- I'd like to get some of their lace weight version of it sometime!
I'm stalled on socks. I'd like to use the Smooshie yarn Don gave me for Christmas, but can't decide what pattern to use. I'd also like to spend some time on the socks in the Cat Bordhi book he got me, but that takes way too much concentration and I just don't have the time or energy for it. A knitting friend is going to town on that book lately and I'm envious. Maybe over the summer. In the meantime, I'd really like to find a sock pattern that I'd like to do. Maybe when I get back from my vacation.
Oh, and I fell head over heels for Nora Gaughan's Heartfelt pattern (see "before" and "after"). I bought one skein of Peruvia in red and have made three so far (the pattern says you can get about 15 out of one skein. It has me starting to think about my plan to have a table at the high school craft fair next December. I'd like to sell baskets and knitted Christmas ornaments: mini-socks, mini-mittens, mini-hats, mini-sweaters (I've been collecting patterns from various sources), and now mini-felted hearts.
WHAT I'M READING
Not much. The February Living Magazine, daily devotions in Foreward Movement, oh, and the book Introvert Advantage. The latter was recommended by an introvert friend to share with my husband. Interesting stuff.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Knitting Along
Well, best laid plans always go astray (or something like that). Only one student and one staff member showed up for my first knitting class. With a flurry of e-mails, I managed to scratch up 3 students for the second (2 new and the lonely first class student). So, I spent the first and second class teaching the knit stitch. A few days after that we arranged to shop at Yard Goods -- that was really the highlight of the month. They were so much fun to let loose in the yarn store. Two of the three made it to the third class, and we didn't have a fourth class because all three were done with their Jan Plan class and were leaving campus the day of the knitting class. With any luck, the four of us will get together sometime after the semester starts as they all bought yarn to make a hat with and I promised to help get them started on it. So much for my lovely syllabus!
But, it was a good way to get my feet wet again in teaching knitting. The second class definitely went better than the first. To teach something, you have to be able to break it down into small parts and struggling through the first class got me to focus my attention on my own knitting more so that I could see all the parts. How does wrapping the yarn around your finger really control the tension? What role do each of the fingers play in the larger motion that is knitting? Since I'm usually more of a "big picture" person, it was a good reminder to pay attention to the underlying details -- not just in my knitting life.
I have a tendency to just "knit along" through life -- often concentrating on the next line of directions, the next section of the pattern, getting through a part of the project so I can move on to the next part -- and let some of the details slide. When I try to pay attention to the details, I often feel bogged down and distracted. Maybe I'm just trying to look at the details as separate entities and need to try to see the parts they play in the whole.
Speaking of knitting along, I'm doing the Ready, Set, Knit knit along. I discovered their podcasts last summer and have done two of their knit alongs long after everyone else was done with the project -- the Vermont Felted Bag is one and the other is the Tilted Duster which I've started but not made much progress on. This knit along is the Hemlock Ring Throw. Jared, of BrooklynTweed, has taken an old doilie pattern originally intended to be knit of crochet cotton and upsized it to a bulky yarn. I'm right on schedule with the podcast, which means I'm knitting along with lots of kindred spirits whose presence I can only sense, but not see. Kind of fun!
I need to be careful that I don't knit along in my usual way and miss out on all of the details of this next few months. I also can't allow myself to get drowned by the details and miss the big view. I need to look at life one motion, one stitch at a time, and savor the experience.
OFF MY NEEDLES
The Shrug is done and delivered! And it fits!
ON MY NEEDLES
I took the bind-off out on the one Fetching fingerless glove I'd finished. The pattern said to bind off loosely, but it was so loose that it just curled down into the palm. Not liking the way a project goes often results in it being put aside. Now that I've made a step toward fixing the problem, I hope to finish them up. I also found a male-appropriate pattern called "Dashing" on Knitty.com and will make a pair for my husband (sometime before next winter).
The Tilted Duster is on hold. I plan to do the fronts simultaneously and know I'll need to concentrate to manage the mirror image increases/decreases so haven't had a chance to work on it.
I've been knitting a few rows at night on my Lacy Yoga Mat bag. I'm about half-way up the body of the bag. I've been taking a yoga class at work every Tuesday this school year and there has just been one added at lunch on Fridays, so I could be going twice a week -- I'll need to get this bag done!
The Hemlock Ring Throw is the Ready, Set, Knit Knit Along project. I'm doing it out of the recommended yarn, Cascade's Eco Wool in a natural medium brown. It is knitting up quite quickly and is a lot of fun after working on other projects with fine yarn.
I also started the Norwegian Snail Mittens from the Knitter's Book of Yarn. I bought the Baby Ull yarn at Sakonnet Purls over Thanksgiving. Instead of kiwi green, I'm using yellow. The welts at the cuff were quite challenging, but now that I'm past them, it is going along nicely. I started out on dpns, but went and bought a 40" size 0 round needle and am loving the magic loop technique!
WHAT I'M READING
I've just gone through a quick "knitting novel" reading phase. I used interlibrary loan to get ahold of Knitting (Anne Bartlett), The Knitting Circle (Ann Hood), and Back on Blossom Street (Macomber). I've got Friday Night Knitting Club (Kate Jacobs) on order. They are all pretty light reading and kind of fun. The knitting store in The Knitting Circle is, I think, modeled on Sakonnet Purls, the shop I visited at Thanksgiving in Tiverton, RI.
But, it was a good way to get my feet wet again in teaching knitting. The second class definitely went better than the first. To teach something, you have to be able to break it down into small parts and struggling through the first class got me to focus my attention on my own knitting more so that I could see all the parts. How does wrapping the yarn around your finger really control the tension? What role do each of the fingers play in the larger motion that is knitting? Since I'm usually more of a "big picture" person, it was a good reminder to pay attention to the underlying details -- not just in my knitting life.
I have a tendency to just "knit along" through life -- often concentrating on the next line of directions, the next section of the pattern, getting through a part of the project so I can move on to the next part -- and let some of the details slide. When I try to pay attention to the details, I often feel bogged down and distracted. Maybe I'm just trying to look at the details as separate entities and need to try to see the parts they play in the whole.
Speaking of knitting along, I'm doing the Ready, Set, Knit knit along. I discovered their podcasts last summer and have done two of their knit alongs long after everyone else was done with the project -- the Vermont Felted Bag is one and the other is the Tilted Duster which I've started but not made much progress on. This knit along is the Hemlock Ring Throw. Jared, of BrooklynTweed, has taken an old doilie pattern originally intended to be knit of crochet cotton and upsized it to a bulky yarn. I'm right on schedule with the podcast, which means I'm knitting along with lots of kindred spirits whose presence I can only sense, but not see. Kind of fun!
I need to be careful that I don't knit along in my usual way and miss out on all of the details of this next few months. I also can't allow myself to get drowned by the details and miss the big view. I need to look at life one motion, one stitch at a time, and savor the experience.
OFF MY NEEDLES
The Shrug is done and delivered! And it fits!
ON MY NEEDLES
I took the bind-off out on the one Fetching fingerless glove I'd finished. The pattern said to bind off loosely, but it was so loose that it just curled down into the palm. Not liking the way a project goes often results in it being put aside. Now that I've made a step toward fixing the problem, I hope to finish them up. I also found a male-appropriate pattern called "Dashing" on Knitty.com and will make a pair for my husband (sometime before next winter).
The Tilted Duster is on hold. I plan to do the fronts simultaneously and know I'll need to concentrate to manage the mirror image increases/decreases so haven't had a chance to work on it.
I've been knitting a few rows at night on my Lacy Yoga Mat bag. I'm about half-way up the body of the bag. I've been taking a yoga class at work every Tuesday this school year and there has just been one added at lunch on Fridays, so I could be going twice a week -- I'll need to get this bag done!
The Hemlock Ring Throw is the Ready, Set, Knit Knit Along project. I'm doing it out of the recommended yarn, Cascade's Eco Wool in a natural medium brown. It is knitting up quite quickly and is a lot of fun after working on other projects with fine yarn.
I also started the Norwegian Snail Mittens from the Knitter's Book of Yarn. I bought the Baby Ull yarn at Sakonnet Purls over Thanksgiving. Instead of kiwi green, I'm using yellow. The welts at the cuff were quite challenging, but now that I'm past them, it is going along nicely. I started out on dpns, but went and bought a 40" size 0 round needle and am loving the magic loop technique!
WHAT I'M READING
I've just gone through a quick "knitting novel" reading phase. I used interlibrary loan to get ahold of Knitting (Anne Bartlett), The Knitting Circle (Ann Hood), and Back on Blossom Street (Macomber). I've got Friday Night Knitting Club (Kate Jacobs) on order. They are all pretty light reading and kind of fun. The knitting store in The Knitting Circle is, I think, modeled on Sakonnet Purls, the shop I visited at Thanksgiving in Tiverton, RI.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Teaching Knitting
On Tuesday evening, I will meet with 14 people interested in learning to knit for our first class. Although I asked to limit the class to 10 people, somehow 14 are signed up so I'm sure the first class will be chaos -- hopefully they are 14 patient learners! Two are males -- my first male knitting students outside of teaching my sons to knit in the 5th grade.
I've actually put together a syllabus (go ahead and laugh!). I'll concentrate on casting on and the knit stitch the first night. We'll expand to the purl stitch and fixing common mistakes in the second class. Then we'll talk about scheduling a field trip to our local LYS, to talk about possible projects. In the third week we'll do increase and decrease and binding off. And week four we'll keep knitting and solving problems, but will also talk about color, fiber, spinning, Ravelry, Etsy, Fiber College, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, free pattern sites, books, knitting groups and other knitting community topics.
As lovely as my syllabus and plan is, I also know I have to be able to let it all go out the window as I learn how the group and individuals in the group approach learning to knit. This is important because I don't want any of them to walk away feeling that my agenda is more important than their opportunity to learn this wonderful skill. I especially hope to have a chance to get to know each student individually -- I do so enjoy the opportunity to get to know students when they are relaxed and enjoying themselves.
Wish me luck!
ON MY NEEDLES
OK, I caved and started another new project. The summer 2007 IK had a pattern for a yoga mat bag -- something I could definitely use! I'm using a soft sage green in Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece.
I got another couple of inches done on my sister's shrug yesterday while watching a cheering competition -- my first. One of my sons joined the cheering team at school this fall and is now captain of the winter competition team. Yesterday was a "mock" competition, meant to help prepare the teams participating for the real thing starting next week. It was a good intro for me, too, as I've never been a cheering Mom before -- and, of course, a wonderful opportunity to knit!
I've also made some progress on Zeben's socks by taking them to the last two swim meets. They are the only project I have at the moment which don't take too much concentration and allow me to knit and watch the races. I could work on the shrug yesterday because I only had to really concentrate for a few minutes at a time and it was easy to put down what I was doing and give my full attention to each performance.
The back is done for the Tilted Duster. I'm going to try to do the front pieces simultaneously, but that will require some concentration as the directions are different for each (they are mirror images). The yarn is beautiful to work with and it moves along very quickly -- especially in contrast to the lace and sock yarn projects I've been working on!
I've actually put together a syllabus (go ahead and laugh!). I'll concentrate on casting on and the knit stitch the first night. We'll expand to the purl stitch and fixing common mistakes in the second class. Then we'll talk about scheduling a field trip to our local LYS, to talk about possible projects. In the third week we'll do increase and decrease and binding off. And week four we'll keep knitting and solving problems, but will also talk about color, fiber, spinning, Ravelry, Etsy, Fiber College, blogs, podcasts, newsletters, free pattern sites, books, knitting groups and other knitting community topics.
As lovely as my syllabus and plan is, I also know I have to be able to let it all go out the window as I learn how the group and individuals in the group approach learning to knit. This is important because I don't want any of them to walk away feeling that my agenda is more important than their opportunity to learn this wonderful skill. I especially hope to have a chance to get to know each student individually -- I do so enjoy the opportunity to get to know students when they are relaxed and enjoying themselves.
Wish me luck!
ON MY NEEDLES
OK, I caved and started another new project. The summer 2007 IK had a pattern for a yoga mat bag -- something I could definitely use! I'm using a soft sage green in Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece.
I got another couple of inches done on my sister's shrug yesterday while watching a cheering competition -- my first. One of my sons joined the cheering team at school this fall and is now captain of the winter competition team. Yesterday was a "mock" competition, meant to help prepare the teams participating for the real thing starting next week. It was a good intro for me, too, as I've never been a cheering Mom before -- and, of course, a wonderful opportunity to knit!
I've also made some progress on Zeben's socks by taking them to the last two swim meets. They are the only project I have at the moment which don't take too much concentration and allow me to knit and watch the races. I could work on the shrug yesterday because I only had to really concentrate for a few minutes at a time and it was easy to put down what I was doing and give my full attention to each performance.
The back is done for the Tilted Duster. I'm going to try to do the front pieces simultaneously, but that will require some concentration as the directions are different for each (they are mirror images). The yarn is beautiful to work with and it moves along very quickly -- especially in contrast to the lace and sock yarn projects I've been working on!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
A New Knitting Year!
Happy New Year!
This year promises to hold a lot of adventure for me and my family. Both of our sons will, I believe, graduate from high school in 5 1/2 months and go off to college in 8 1/2 months. Fortunately, we are all pretty positive about those impending adventures. As one son replied when I said "2008 is here" at midnight on New Year's Eve: "Thank God it is finally here!" Of course, he's the one who was already accepted early decision to college and knows where he'll be next fall. The other three high school seniors in the room appeared to feel a bit less confident about the future -- looking forward to it, but not as certain about what it holds and where they'll be.
I didn't get my one knitted Christmas gift done by Christmas. 62" of lace is a lot more than I thought it would be, but I'm about 13" from finishing. Luckily the recipient liked the colors (my sons picked the color out of three possibilities) in the variegated wool, so I didn't have to offer to re-knit it in another colorway. I may use one of the other colors to make one for my mother, but it won't be for Mother's Day -- maybe her birthday next September.
Before Christmas, as I think I mentioned in another post, I ordered Peruvia for the Tilted Duster. I've resisted casting on while working on Christmas, but gave in yesterday after working on the lace shrug all of New Year's Eve. Peruvia is a lovely wool -- the color is an inky blue. I think the sweater will knit up pretty quickly, which will be nice. I was inspired to make the sweater after hearing a lot about it on Ready, Set, Knit -- they did it as their fall Knit-Along. I went back to the first podcast about the project last night -- in essence, I'll be a time traveler, knitting along with people who've already left that space and time.
Today I spent some time putting together my "syllabus" for the Inspirations Jan Plan class I'm teaching on knitting. We'll meet 4 evenings during the short term of January at the college where I work. I've done it in the past, but not for a couple of years. I'm still in touch with students I met in the first class, where I was helping the woman who had taught the class for years. She was going through chemo at the time and having a second person helped her out and I had the fun role of helper without the responsibility of making the class go. I learned a lot from her, but also had lots of time for chatting and getting to know the students. One just e-mailed me today to let me know she'd gotten her first acceptance to law school!
Anyway, I'm still not completely sure whether I'll teach everyone the continental method or the English method. I've heard pros and cons about both and have taught the English method in the past, resorting to the continental method for lefties. I need to do a bit of research about which may be better ergonomically for the wrists and hands. Personally, I love the continental method. I was a belly-button knitter, dropping my needle every time I threw the yarn in the English method my mother taught me. I'm a faster knitter in the continental method and can now knit in the dark or without looking (as long as it isn't too complicated)-- I distinctly remember knitting a mitten during a Harry Potter movie a couple of years ago.
I'll certainly be introducing them to the knitting community online, which will be a new component to the class. I'll also be relying on my Knitter's Book of Yarn to share information about different fiber choices. And, I think I'll try to organize a "shopping trip" to our LYS -- probably between the 2nd and 3rd classes, to help students pick out yarn and projects. It will be fun!!
ON MY NEEDLES
My cardigan sweater has lain fallow since November. I'll get back to it when I finish the shrug.
The shrug is close to being done. I just started on the 4th skein of yarn, which is the last skein. So, that means I've knit more than 1320 yards so far. The third skein had a couple of problems -- knots in the middle and one place where the order of the variegation was reversed at a knot. Strange. The colors are pink, fuschia, and purple, called "Sweet Peas," Gossamer lace yarn by Knit Picks.
Zeben's socks -- I'm past the heel and working on the leg and cuff. The heel is an "afterthought" heel, so I put in placeholder yarn and will go back and do the spiral heel once I finish the legs.
The Tilted Duster! I've got the first 4" of the upper back and am about to do the arm decreases. I reviewed the podcast about the back and am going to try the sloped cast off technique after carefully writing down the instructions.
And, the tea cozy from The Knitter's Book of Yarn -- look here for a photo of one that someone is working on: http://notplainjane.blogspot.com/2007/11/all-cozy.html Mine is a deep aqua blue and lovely pale camel in Malabrigo worsted.
WHAT I'M READING
Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters!! What a neat book! I've made my first test small sock and need to do the second one, but am particularly looking forward to doing a cool sock called "Spiraling Coriolis" which has a band that spirals up the foot and leg. A photo of a pair is at http://public.fotki.com/barneysue/knitting-1/52pairplunge/october011.html, knitted by a woman who appears to have knit a different pair of socks each week for 52 weeks -- and people think I'm obsessive about knitting!
This year promises to hold a lot of adventure for me and my family. Both of our sons will, I believe, graduate from high school in 5 1/2 months and go off to college in 8 1/2 months. Fortunately, we are all pretty positive about those impending adventures. As one son replied when I said "2008 is here" at midnight on New Year's Eve: "Thank God it is finally here!" Of course, he's the one who was already accepted early decision to college and knows where he'll be next fall. The other three high school seniors in the room appeared to feel a bit less confident about the future -- looking forward to it, but not as certain about what it holds and where they'll be.
I didn't get my one knitted Christmas gift done by Christmas. 62" of lace is a lot more than I thought it would be, but I'm about 13" from finishing. Luckily the recipient liked the colors (my sons picked the color out of three possibilities) in the variegated wool, so I didn't have to offer to re-knit it in another colorway. I may use one of the other colors to make one for my mother, but it won't be for Mother's Day -- maybe her birthday next September.
Before Christmas, as I think I mentioned in another post, I ordered Peruvia for the Tilted Duster. I've resisted casting on while working on Christmas, but gave in yesterday after working on the lace shrug all of New Year's Eve. Peruvia is a lovely wool -- the color is an inky blue. I think the sweater will knit up pretty quickly, which will be nice. I was inspired to make the sweater after hearing a lot about it on Ready, Set, Knit -- they did it as their fall Knit-Along. I went back to the first podcast about the project last night -- in essence, I'll be a time traveler, knitting along with people who've already left that space and time.
Today I spent some time putting together my "syllabus" for the Inspirations Jan Plan class I'm teaching on knitting. We'll meet 4 evenings during the short term of January at the college where I work. I've done it in the past, but not for a couple of years. I'm still in touch with students I met in the first class, where I was helping the woman who had taught the class for years. She was going through chemo at the time and having a second person helped her out and I had the fun role of helper without the responsibility of making the class go. I learned a lot from her, but also had lots of time for chatting and getting to know the students. One just e-mailed me today to let me know she'd gotten her first acceptance to law school!
Anyway, I'm still not completely sure whether I'll teach everyone the continental method or the English method. I've heard pros and cons about both and have taught the English method in the past, resorting to the continental method for lefties. I need to do a bit of research about which may be better ergonomically for the wrists and hands. Personally, I love the continental method. I was a belly-button knitter, dropping my needle every time I threw the yarn in the English method my mother taught me. I'm a faster knitter in the continental method and can now knit in the dark or without looking (as long as it isn't too complicated)-- I distinctly remember knitting a mitten during a Harry Potter movie a couple of years ago.
I'll certainly be introducing them to the knitting community online, which will be a new component to the class. I'll also be relying on my Knitter's Book of Yarn to share information about different fiber choices. And, I think I'll try to organize a "shopping trip" to our LYS -- probably between the 2nd and 3rd classes, to help students pick out yarn and projects. It will be fun!!
ON MY NEEDLES
My cardigan sweater has lain fallow since November. I'll get back to it when I finish the shrug.
The shrug is close to being done. I just started on the 4th skein of yarn, which is the last skein. So, that means I've knit more than 1320 yards so far. The third skein had a couple of problems -- knots in the middle and one place where the order of the variegation was reversed at a knot. Strange. The colors are pink, fuschia, and purple, called "Sweet Peas," Gossamer lace yarn by Knit Picks.
Zeben's socks -- I'm past the heel and working on the leg and cuff. The heel is an "afterthought" heel, so I put in placeholder yarn and will go back and do the spiral heel once I finish the legs.
The Tilted Duster! I've got the first 4" of the upper back and am about to do the arm decreases. I reviewed the podcast about the back and am going to try the sloped cast off technique after carefully writing down the instructions.
And, the tea cozy from The Knitter's Book of Yarn -- look here for a photo of one that someone is working on: http://notplainjane.blogspot.com/2007/11/all-cozy.html Mine is a deep aqua blue and lovely pale camel in Malabrigo worsted.
WHAT I'M READING
Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters!! What a neat book! I've made my first test small sock and need to do the second one, but am particularly looking forward to doing a cool sock called "Spiraling Coriolis" which has a band that spirals up the foot and leg. A photo of a pair is at http://public.fotki.com/barneysue/knitting-1/52pairplunge/october011.html, knitted by a woman who appears to have knit a different pair of socks each week for 52 weeks -- and people think I'm obsessive about knitting!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Where has the time gone?
Well, I can't believe it has been over a month since I've had time to write. After Thanksgiving, I came down with a nasty cold that knocked me out for most of a week (between cold and stomach bug, I used 5.5 sick days in November!), and then I've been playing catch up ever since. Add in the holiday demands and still sharing a computer with two teenagers and you get the picture -- I've been out of the picture!
Not only have I not written in a long time, but apparently I've been leaving some questions unanswered, according to one of my comment writers. My apologies. I'll try to rectify the situation (having fans carries a lot of responsibility -- especially when they are your sisters!).
Yes, the tilted duster is from the cover of the Fall Interweave Knits magazine and is designed by Norah Gaughan (pronounced "gone," I think). I'm going with an inky blue color, though, instead of the purple everyone associates with it. Sorry to make you have to Google things -- I'll try to put in links more often. (As an aside, I'm enjoying reading Norah Gaughan's blog about the design process -- she works for a yarn company called Berroco.) And, I decided to link my blog and my Ravelry name, so can be identified as "Journey Knitter."
In my knitting life, I'm especially enjoying my new knitting group at work. Due to my crazy month, I was a bit slow in organizing the second meeting, so was grateful for a member/colleague who nudged me along and helped me get the second meeting together last Thursday. I left with a smile on my face, though it was funny that everyone was so excited about sharing that we were all talking over each other and jumping from one topic to another. We've decided to meet on the first Thursday of each month. I shared my new favorite book, The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Knitter's Review's Clara Parkes (who lives in Maine) and it caught the interest of several people -- one of whom asked me to e-mail her husband and suggest it as a Christmas gift!
In the rest of my life, one son has been accepted early decision to his first choice college, Allegheny College, in western PA. He'll be a 12-hour drive away, but, having visited with him last spring, I'm confident it will be a wonderful place for him to go to college. One down, one to go. The other son is due to hear about his early action application to UVM any day/minute now. You can cut the tension around here with a butter knife.
ON MY NEEDLES
My main project at the moment is the lace shrug I'm knitting for one of my sisters for Christmas. She knows that I'm knitting it but doesn't know what color. I can reveal here that is is a variegated color combination -- I ordered three different colors and my sons picked one of them out for her. I'm a little more than half done and am just about to admit that it won't be done in time for Christmas (I should be knitting instead of writing this blog post!). I made huge progress on it the week I was home from work for 3 days with my cold, but can't afford to take more time off at this point. But, it is looking substantial enough to be able to wrap up for Christmas day. The pattern is from A Gathering of Lace by Meg Swanson.
Zeben's socks -- I actually got past the afterthought heel and am working up the legs/cuffs. I worked on them during the High School holiday concert the other night, but dropped a stitch on one before I got very far into the Golden Compass movie I went to see this afternoon and had to put them aside.
The other project on my needles is a new one since Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law took me shopping to Sakonnet Purls in Tiverton, RI and bought me a couple of knitting treats to celebrate my "big birthday" last October (they were traveling in England in October, visiting my niece and celebrating my father-in-law's birthday). I was salivating over the Cabled Tea Cozy pattern in The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes and she bought me the Malabrigo wool to make it. She also bought me Lantern Moon rosewood sock dps that I will be using to make mittens from the same book that I had bought Baby Ull for a few days earlier. The mittens are not on my needles yet, but I've done one side of the tea cozy and started the second side.
ON MY COOKING LIST
Since I don't have time to read anything at the moment (other than the latest edition of Interweave Knits and Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazines), I'm deep into Christmas cooking. Tomorrow, I'll be making Date-Filled Cookies (like the ones I used to snarf down at my grandparents' house at Thanksgiving), Festive Cookie Dough (from which I make the chocolate chip and dipped in chocolate crescent cookies that are beloved by family and friends), British Fruitcake (my neighbors aren't making it this year, so I'm picking up the slack -- believe it or not, one of my 18-year-old sons told me I have to make it because he "LOVES" fruitcake!), and Sugar and Spice Pecans. We've already been through batches of butter/sugar cookies and Chocolate Sour Cream Drops (another recipe from my childhood). Plus, I'll be making a big batch of American Chop Suey to keep us warm through the big snowstorm we're supposed to get tomorrow. Yummmmy!
Not only have I not written in a long time, but apparently I've been leaving some questions unanswered, according to one of my comment writers. My apologies. I'll try to rectify the situation (having fans carries a lot of responsibility -- especially when they are your sisters!).
Yes, the tilted duster is from the cover of the Fall Interweave Knits magazine and is designed by Norah Gaughan (pronounced "gone," I think). I'm going with an inky blue color, though, instead of the purple everyone associates with it. Sorry to make you have to Google things -- I'll try to put in links more often. (As an aside, I'm enjoying reading Norah Gaughan's blog about the design process -- she works for a yarn company called Berroco.) And, I decided to link my blog and my Ravelry name, so can be identified as "Journey Knitter."
In my knitting life, I'm especially enjoying my new knitting group at work. Due to my crazy month, I was a bit slow in organizing the second meeting, so was grateful for a member/colleague who nudged me along and helped me get the second meeting together last Thursday. I left with a smile on my face, though it was funny that everyone was so excited about sharing that we were all talking over each other and jumping from one topic to another. We've decided to meet on the first Thursday of each month. I shared my new favorite book, The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Knitter's Review's Clara Parkes (who lives in Maine) and it caught the interest of several people -- one of whom asked me to e-mail her husband and suggest it as a Christmas gift!
In the rest of my life, one son has been accepted early decision to his first choice college, Allegheny College, in western PA. He'll be a 12-hour drive away, but, having visited with him last spring, I'm confident it will be a wonderful place for him to go to college. One down, one to go. The other son is due to hear about his early action application to UVM any day/minute now. You can cut the tension around here with a butter knife.
ON MY NEEDLES
My main project at the moment is the lace shrug I'm knitting for one of my sisters for Christmas. She knows that I'm knitting it but doesn't know what color. I can reveal here that is is a variegated color combination -- I ordered three different colors and my sons picked one of them out for her. I'm a little more than half done and am just about to admit that it won't be done in time for Christmas (I should be knitting instead of writing this blog post!). I made huge progress on it the week I was home from work for 3 days with my cold, but can't afford to take more time off at this point. But, it is looking substantial enough to be able to wrap up for Christmas day. The pattern is from A Gathering of Lace by Meg Swanson.
Zeben's socks -- I actually got past the afterthought heel and am working up the legs/cuffs. I worked on them during the High School holiday concert the other night, but dropped a stitch on one before I got very far into the Golden Compass movie I went to see this afternoon and had to put them aside.
The other project on my needles is a new one since Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law took me shopping to Sakonnet Purls in Tiverton, RI and bought me a couple of knitting treats to celebrate my "big birthday" last October (they were traveling in England in October, visiting my niece and celebrating my father-in-law's birthday). I was salivating over the Cabled Tea Cozy pattern in The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes and she bought me the Malabrigo wool to make it. She also bought me Lantern Moon rosewood sock dps that I will be using to make mittens from the same book that I had bought Baby Ull for a few days earlier. The mittens are not on my needles yet, but I've done one side of the tea cozy and started the second side.
ON MY COOKING LIST
Since I don't have time to read anything at the moment (other than the latest edition of Interweave Knits and Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting magazines), I'm deep into Christmas cooking. Tomorrow, I'll be making Date-Filled Cookies (like the ones I used to snarf down at my grandparents' house at Thanksgiving), Festive Cookie Dough (from which I make the chocolate chip and dipped in chocolate crescent cookies that are beloved by family and friends), British Fruitcake (my neighbors aren't making it this year, so I'm picking up the slack -- believe it or not, one of my 18-year-old sons told me I have to make it because he "LOVES" fruitcake!), and Sugar and Spice Pecans. We've already been through batches of butter/sugar cookies and Chocolate Sour Cream Drops (another recipe from my childhood). Plus, I'll be making a big batch of American Chop Suey to keep us warm through the big snowstorm we're supposed to get tomorrow. Yummmmy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
