A Little Yarn On The Side

Some people are "process" knitters--they knit for the love of knitting and care very little about whether or not anything actually gets finished. Others are "product" knitters--they're in it for the sweater. I am a much lesser-known breed of knitter. I'm an "obsessed-with-the-little-tally-on-the-right-of-her-blog" sort of knitter. So, in a shameless push to have a big yardage total for February, there was no post yesterday while I worked on The ribbing looks a bit long right now, but this is about the length of ribbing I normally use for a sweater, so I'm sure it will be fine. I used the same K1, P2 ribbing that I used for the bottom of the sweater. It's nice--the extra purl stitch really makes the knit rib stand out. And that one last skein brings me to 3498 yards for the year so far. Still less than where I would like to be, but not bad. Also in a desperate grab for yardage--and to at least get Andy's Valentine's PJs done ...

While I haven't actually cast on the fabulous sock yarn I haven't actually put it away, either. And there was some browsing of sock patterns on Ravelry.... BUT, today the January Aran (from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac , though if she actually knit the whole thing in one month I would be shocked/impressed/jealous because she was obviously able to knit in her sleep). Sometimes our simplest decisions turn out to be real doozies, and mine was to decide that I didn't like the neckline of EZ's patterns, so I decided to give mine more of a scooped neck. A smarter person might have rethought that decision when she realized that, the center not being at the beginning of a round but a full stitch pattern in, one of the "fishtrap" pattern rows would henceforth need to be knitted from the PURL side once the center stitches were cast off and the knitting switched to back & forth from circular knitting. Of course NOW I also realize what EZ was t...

Today I gave a friend 2 balls of yarn. It wasn't even the cheap "What-was-I-thinking?" sort of acrylic yarn that lurks at the bottom of every stash! Nope, this was nice alpaca yarn, and I just thought she might like it for a scarf. I SHARED YARN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm having a VERY big week on knitter maturity.....though I'm not so certain I could share laceweight just yet..........

....sock yarn in hand and was just about to cast on for a new pair of socks, when my small, rational self--who never usually speaks up in regards to knitting--said, "Hold on a minute....isn't this sort of behavior how we became the WIP Legend in the online knitting community???" She's not a talkative part of my personality, but she has a really annoying habit of usually having a point & being right and all of that, so..... To show I really have grown as a knitter, I dug out the Kimono Shawl which had been busily tangling itself up with all the other projects in the WIP bin (cobweb yarn always being a bit of a troublemaker). So far it's only gotten about 6 rows, but those are 6 rows I didn't have, so that was something. Then, because I still really wanted to make those socks but was desperately trying to prove that I have SOME willpower, I finished another block for the Warm Up America afghan which actually brings me to 4, but one has already been turned ...

I love this yarn. I love how the finished sweaters on Ravelry look. I love how my colors are working this time but now, inventive little project that it is, we have a new problem. It turns out that a K1, P1 ribbing is only nonrolling when it's in a solid color. Using one color for the knit stitches and one for the purls has given me a dense fabric that rolls almost as badly as plain old stockinette. I thought longingly of just pretending it wasn't happening and relying on blocking to force it into ribbingness, but years ago I tried to block stockinette into flatness, and without the aid of starch or glue, I don't think it's possible. So......I will be starting over AGAIN. But just not right now.....I'm off to visit my sock yarn bin.......

So, it has taken some discussion and perhaps a little begging, but my right hand and I have come to an understanding and it has agreed to participate in knitting. So, I was able to get here: before admitting that I think maroon & lime green aren't my favorite color combination. I think it looks like high school mascot colors that were picked with little to no thought. So....the hardest knitting I've done in a long time was sent to the frog pond. Browsing through the 200+ Kauni cardigans on Ravelry, I noticed that I liked some sweaters better than others, and the only real difference in most of the sweaters is how the different colors line up. I spent at least an hour deciding which ones I liked best, and decided to go with the more gradual changes, so I'm lining the changes up (if the knitting gods are willing) just offset by one color, and am hoping for the best. So far, it's looking very "When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple," which is a bit d...

So last night I decided there's self restraint and then there's torture, so I dug out the new yarn and gleefully cast on the new Kauni yarn for the Kauni cardigan. 24 hours later, I have One and a half rows. I wouldn't even have that if I hadn't altered the pattern. To get a nice "framing" effect, I decided to do one round of the ribbing in a solid color before adding the second color for every-other stitch for the striped ribbing. Thank heavens--I can't even imagine trying to keep the cast on stitches from twisting while I'm trying to change yarn with every stitch. I have done colorwork in the past, but as none of it has ever surfaced on the blog, it obviously isn't my favorite. I'm a bit of a lazy knitter, and the best way I know of to not have 3 trillion ends to weave in on a sweater is to stay away from colorwork. But every now and then the sheer beauty of it wins out. So, here I am. Halfway through the second row. I thought it wou...

The "reward" yarn I ordered for myself on January 1 arrived yesterday and.... I haven't yet cast on. I know--I am shocked as well. I thought I'd probably have the first loop on the needles before the UPS truck even pulled away! I don't know what has gotten into me! Instead, I worked on the January aran blocked the moss scarf, which I am actually pleased with--and I think this is my favorite stitch pattern variation so far but I am not sure everyone would love a variegated yarn scarf. Then I spent some time working on a block for my friend's Warm Up America project only to discover my gauge goes to hell when I'm bored. The blocks are supposed to be 7 by 9 inches. This one is 8 by 9, so to the frog pond it goes. That will teach me--I did a seed stitch block at the correct gauge, so I didn't bother to recheck with garter. I dared smugness and was smote by the knitting gods! And over a garter stitch block of all things! My new block is my own variat...

Today I went down to take some pictures of the first part of his therapy session. What a good sport he is! First he walked on the treadmill, then went up and down the stairs and ramp, then into the water tank! He won't walk on the treadmill in the water tank any more, so they just keep picking him up and setting him down in the far side of the tank and have him walk to the door. I think it would be a stretch to say he actually enjoys this but he's such a good sport--he does it anyway. He has more exercises to do, but after this it will be just a matter of rebuilding strength in the leg and finally getting all his hair back. And learning to forgive Andy and I for our part in all of this......

I just got back from teaching a friend to knit. To be fair, she was able to knit 30 years ago, so it was just a matter of remembering, so I don't really deserve much credit here. I did show her some of the sweaters I've made over the years to inspire her, even though we're actually working on squares for the Warm Up America project for her stepdaughter's Girl Scout project and 49 squares is going to take some time. But I wanted to open possibilities for her and inspire her to stick with knitting after the blanket is done. Or I think I did. The other possibility is that it would be easier to justify a room full of yarn if all of my friends ALSO had rooms full of yarn..... Exactly when does "helping" end and "enabling" begin,,,,,,,?

This year I have high stash-burning goals. What am I working on? which doesn't qualify as either yarn or fabric. I have become completely obsessed with the darn thing. I guess I was finding lace knitting just a bit too speedy or something. This is what it will look like when done and that little green tag explains why I have more than one. Mark anything in the craft world 50% off and I'm a lost woman. Theo is completely unimpressed by the new hobby and Calisto is uncharacteristically lobbying for a new sewing project and she's right, of course. This is Andy's Valentines gift. Luckily, the box he's making me for my knitting needles isn't finished either, so we will be spending Valentine's Day making gifts for each other. It sounds a bit like an O. Henry story, but I promise I have not sold all my knitting needles to buy flannel to make pajamas for Andy. I love him dearly and everything, but my rosewoods???????

So the bad news is, the cold is still hanging on. The good news is the February Project of the Month is DONE!!! I'd be gloating about getting it done in the first two weeks of the month if it hadn't actually been languishing in the craft bin for about 5 years. But, it's done, washed, and ironed. Now I just have to figure out where I put the other one. It's probably off somewhere with the pajama top having a terrific laugh about my organizational skills.... I even did a little work on the baby blanket I did say "little," didn't I? Actually, there's a little more done than it appears--the blue I've been working with tonight is almost the exact shade as the ink used for stamping. A little scrounging in the sewing room has revealed that for some inexplicable reason, I have 3 copies of this blanket kit. Three--of the exact same blanket. I vaguely remember buying this on clearance, so maybe it's not just yarn sales that make one take tempora...

Those with good memories will remember that on January 1 I allowed myself to order yarn for one project for myself--along with a couple gifts, one of which the yarn is still out of stock so it might be ordered on January 1 of 2010--to make the Kauni cardigan (free pattern PDF here ). The rainbow colorway has been on backorder, but I placed the order anyway. I just received an email from WEBS today--the yarn is in and on it's way to me!!!! New yarn is coming!!!! New yarn is coming and it isn't for gift knitting!! In a few days there will be a box on our doorstep containing yarn and it will all be mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously, knitting only from stash doesn't always bring out the best sharing tendencies in a knitter.........

I don't have a picture yet, but the pink blanket is done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can now work on SOMETHING ELSE!!!! I spent yesterday in bed with a cold which gave me plenty of knitting time. You know you might be an obsessed knitter when you get sick and your first thought it, "Yippee!!! A day of rest and knitting!"

This followed me home from the yarn store...... But in my defense, I didn't buy yarn, and I bought the magazine for this pattern which will use yarn I already have. And I learned one very important lesson yesterday: Yarn diets are all fine and dandy, but it's easier to behave oneself in a yarn store if one only has $10.37 in one's pocket.