A Little Yarn On The Side

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......