Norway

FO #2 this week...


Pattern: The Road to Oslo, from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: One skein of super old yarn I picked up for $0.50 at an antique store, and part of one skein of green wool I bought in Austria six years ago, long before I knew how to knit for real


Needles: US 3 and US 4 dpns, wood
Begun: 26 September 2006
Finished: 30 September 2006
Notes: The world's quickest knit. Really. I knit the first one in one day. I loved the idea of wearing these folded down over the top of winter boots to keep out the snow (the original design for the socks in Norway). I love colorwork. I love that the yarn I used was all OLD. They need to be blocked, but I wanted to get them up at the end of the month.

One down...

... many more to go.


Pattern: My own
Yarn: less that one skein of Misti Alpaca Bulky (can't find the tag for the colorway)
Needles: Ebony Lantern Moon, US 8 (my glorious decadence needles)
Notions: Some navy beans, plastic sandwich bags (for the beans), three antique buttons from my button stash (yes, I have a button stash)
Begun: 28 September 2006
Finished: 28 September 2006

Thoughts: Fun, quick, easy, usefull. This might be the world's most decadenc wrist-rest (I keep wanting to type wrist wrest) ever. Misti Alapca is like heaven in a yarn, especially once it's knit up. I'm a total convert (and remember my insane love for alpaca). I almost stitched the whole thing together, but decided in the last minute to make it button closed, just in case the beans need replacing or I want to change the amount of stuffing in it (I only stuffed with beans -- I might want to add some yarn-scrap padding to the top, but I thought I'd try using it for a while and see if the height was right, etc.) Right now, my evaluation is that it needs some top stuffing -- the beans shift under the weight of my hands and now there are two indentations where my wrists go. I'll fix it this afternoon. But all in all, I love it. And it is definitely one of the most usefull things I've knit to date (and the first household item I've made -- on to dishcloths!)

100th Post (State of the Union)

I've been planning this post all week without even knowing it was my hundredth post. But it seems somehow appropriate to time these two events simultaneously, so I will use this blog moment to evaluate the state of my (knitting) union these days.

Folks, it's not looking good. There are a lot of WIPS, especially long-time WIPS that I'm tired of working on. There are a lot of "one sock wonders" floating around my house. There are projects I once loved but the spark is gone. There are things I can't bear to frog. There are things I should just suck it up and finish. Here is a (hopefully not too lengthy) evaluation of knitting chez Jennie.

Unfinished Socks:

Pomatomus socks


I started these before I started blogging, last December, as a Christmas gift. I made one, hated the way the yarn and the pattern coincided, hated the fact that my gauge was off and it was too big, threw it in my scraps box and tried to stop thinking about it. A few weeks ago, I pulled out the second skein of yarn and needles and cast on for sock #2. Lo and Behold, my knitting has improved tremendously since last December. Not only can I accurately read a lace chart, but my gague is much, much tighter. Now what? Can't decide whether to finish sock #2, the frog and reknit the first sock, see if I have enough yarn to knit three all together, or throw in the towel, use sock #1 as a christmas stocking and gift the yarn.

Mystery Sock (i.e. Piece of crap obstacle sock)


I hate this sock. Hate it. It's too small, the pattern is weird, the gauge is too tight. Hate. It. Must rip it out. Can't stand to even look at it. It lurks in the scraps box for now.

Huron Sock


I love this sock. I loved knitting it until I got to the foot. The foot was a pain (carrying the yarn in the back for the three rows where there was no "lice" pattern on the top of the foot was tremendously tedious). I want to knit the second, but need to build up some stamina.

New England Sock


I made the first one. Then my life got complicated. I started the second one last week. Those needles sure are tiny.

"Thinking Socks"


I forgot I hated magic loop...

The Road To Oslo


When Nancy Bush says that socks are a quick knit, she's not joking. These will be an FO tomorrow. Note: I love the part when you turn it inside out and keep knitting so that you can fold the cuff down. Why is that so much fun?

Wraps and Shawls

T-SALP


O woe is T-SALP, other wise known as the top secret amazing lace project that I didn't complete for the Amazing Lace which I pretty much washed out of after week one. Yeah. The yarn for this shawl is beautiful. I'm making it for my mommy, who I love. But the pattern I chose is so. damn. boring. to. knit. Really. It looks so beautiful that I can't rip what I've done and do something else -- I know it will be worth it in the end. But I can't bear to knit it. I know it's just gonna take stamina and some kind of strategy. Slow and steady wins the race...

Clapotis


I feel ambivalent, and the ambivalence has made me stop knitting. I love dropping stitches. But I'm not sure I even really like it. The yarn is awesome (I love the sheen of Schaefer Anne!), but maybe better suited for something else? I'm not sure yet.

Swallow Tail


I have never been a fan of small shawls (or shawls at all for that matter), but I think they are gonna be my new accessory. I started this shawl on Tuesday. I'm almost done with the Budding Lace portion. I'm knitting it with some Drops Alpaca -- so it's thicker than lace weight. Love it. Hope to be done with it (if my fingers cooperate. More in this later).

Afraid...

Orangina


I've attatched the two pieces, I'm an inch or so down the ribbing. I'm terrified it is too big. And so I stopped knitting.

Anthropologie Sweater

I love everything about this except that the whole thing scares me. I hate short sweaters -- I never wear them. Why would I knit one, using a whole lot of beautiful aplaca? It just seemed right. I can't figure out how long to make it, though, or how long the arms should be. So I knit a row here and there and think about it. I might love it short. I thought shrugs were stupid, and now I wear my "arms" all the time.

Lazy

New Advisor Socks


I need to rip out the bind off on one ankle and re-do it. I'm too lazy. Idiot.

Too Sad

Spitey's Sweater


This is proof (?) that the boyfriend sweater thing is not a myth. I've never been a very superstitious person and a year and a half ago, for Spitey's 31st Birthday, I offered to knit him a sweater. He'd been asking, I thought it was sweet, I loved the yarn he picked, the total cost of it was exactly $31 -- It seemed fated. And yet... we broke up when I moved here. I worked on it some in vain during the long, lonley, and incredibly sad first few months I was here, and managed to finish the body (up to the armpits), one sleeve, and part of the second. Then I relegated it to the bottom of one of my WIP boxes so I wouldn't have to confront it. This sweater reminds me of him. It's just one of those things -- I'm still in love him and hate thinking about it. He was my best friend. Ripping out this sweater is like... erasing something? I don't know. There you have it. TMI.

Brand New WIP

Wrist cushion


I started this today. Because my hands HURT. I've been typing a lot (transcribing interviews, working on proposals, etc) and knitting a lot and the two are not mixing. I don't think there is anything seriously wrong (I think my hands are just out of shape from not typing much this last year -- I touch type and type fast. It's a workout, especially for the last two fingers on my left hand) but I'd like to keep it that way. So I'm knitting one of those ergonomic wrist rests to go in front of the keyboard. I'm using Misti Alpaca bulky, a skein that I've had lying around since I fell in love with it at Vagabond -- a yarn shop and boutique in Philly -- over a year ago. I've never know what to do with it (one skein doesn't go all that far). But this is perfect -- it feels sooo good on my wrists. I'm using "sand" stitch, but I can't decide which side I like better. What do you think?

Or


And that ends the summary... It was long, I know. And there are other little things I've not included that I know I'll rip eventually or that I know I won't finish. I have to say, I thought I was worse off than this. With a little effort, I could get most of these done (fingers crossed).

And now, speaking of fingers... off to give them a rest.

Wednesday's Happiness on Thursday

I could have sworn I posted yesterday, but apparently I didn't. Oops.

Well, we've all been talking about it, but I thought I'd share that autumn has hit the Appalachian mountains too. As soon as I got back from Philly, I knew the weather here had turned. There was that crispness to the air, even when it wasn't chilly. And although the leaves are still green, here and there I'll notice an edge of red, a few leaves falling over the road, the inclination for spectacular color. This will be my first full autumn here in the mountains... I've been so many years in the city, where fall seems to come and go and I've barely had time to notice it. I can't wait to bask in two full months of glorious color, sweaters, crisp hikes, mornings when you can see your breath, apple pies, and fall festivals. I love it.

So, in celebration of autumn, I'm doing my Wednesday "favorite things" today:

1) My new desk.


While in Philly, I took a trip to Ikea, which was supposed to yield a new desk (because nothing makes a girl more excited about writing her dissertation than the excuse to buy new organizational materials. At least, not when the girl is me!) They were sold out of everything - damn undergrads - and I ended up just buying a set of "saw horses" to prop up a butcher block that belonged to my dad from waaaay back, before I was even born. This butcher block was hand crafted especially for my dad (he traded some jewelry for it -- dad used to be a silversmith) and it was a part of my household for as long as I can remember. Last summer, my parents moved to a brand new house and didn't need it anymore. So I took it. All year, it's been serving as a neglected knitting table (when do I ever knit at my knitting table? I knit at my desk, on the couch, in bed, standing in the kitchen, in the car...). So this week, it was reincarnated, combined with my old desk to make an L, and I'm in "office heaven." I love it.

2) Coffee.


Does coffee make the list every time? My mommy bought me that mug. I love it (although I'm trying to abandon my (inherited, I might add) pack rat qualities).


3) My new "thinking socks".


These might look like procrastination to you -- after all, I have two pairs of socks half finished and several other projects either OTK or seriously belated. But -- I love to write, and I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself, but I have a very, very hard time in the early stages of writing getting my thoughts on to paper. I had the same problem last summer when I was trying to write my dissertation proposal. What saved me were the cable and rib socks from Interweave Fall '05. They were my first serious pair of socks (I'd invented a pattern the previous winter... sometime, I'll show you pictures) and I knit them with a beautiful shade of Trekking (long before I'd even read a knit-blog and knew how popular the yarn was). Whenever I got stuck, or didn't know how to say something, I'd sit down and knit. Something about the repetative activity, engaging, but not so engaging that I couldn't think, freed my mind to be creative. And after only a few rows, I'd find a solution to my writing block. So... yesterday, I started new thinking socks. These are knit with the impossibly loud shade of Knit Picks memories "Hawaii" (for obvious reasons) and are destined to become my second pair of toe-up, two-at-once socks and my very first pair of plain-jane stockinette socks. We'll see if I get bored. I just wanted something easy that I didn't have to concentrate on.

4) The fact that I'm wearing a sweater this morning.


See that plaid sleeve under the sweater? Oh yeah. I'm not embarassed to admit that is my ankle length, long sleeve, plaid flannel nightgown. Did I mention I'm single (and 75, apparently)? But seriously, I love these L.L. Bean flannel night gowns that look like they come straight from a turn of the century farm house. Maybe it's the part of me that never grew up, that loves 'playing pretend'. But as soon as it gets cold out, I put this nightgown on at night, snuggle down in my cold bed, and imagine I'm living in the Big Woods.

5) The reason I can wear a sweater?


That's the thermostat inside my house. It's 55 outside. It was 55 all day yesterday. Want to see what I wore yesterday? Because it's also on my list:

6) This sweater.


My mom just gave me this sweater. She bought it in Greece when she visited there over 25 years ago. This sweater is not just amazing because I LOVE the fit. My mom told me that when she bought it, she went to a store, picked out the pattern she wanted, got sized for it, and then cavorted around Greece and came back in a few days (a few days!) to pick it up, completed. Folks, they knit it while she waited and it's hand knit!

Edited to say that my mom writes the following:
"I love the pictures etc. on your blog. So much fun to read. The sweater, by the way, was purchased in Mykonos, that picture-perfect island with all the little white churches. And it wasn't really a "store" since I don't recall they had any stores there in 1968 (yup -- I'm really old -- it was the summer I went to Israel and worked picking grapefruit on a kibbutz one year after the War of '67). It was more like someone's house. But you got everything else right."

There are a million more things that make me happy -- like soup (really, I love anything that comes in a bowl and can be eaten with a spoon. Try me), the fact that Julie is coming to hang out at my house tonight (I live forty five minutes from all my friends... they never come here to play), the prospect of possibly finishing my five page proposal (rough draft) this week. But, I'll stop at six. Besides, those are the most photogenic six anyway.

Happy Autumn!

back

Ahem.

Sorry about the long absense. The trip to Philly was good and bad. I missed it there so much I wanted to cry and never leave, and I hated it there so much I wanted to cry and couldn't wait to leave. I did amazing things I never get to do (like see a Czech New Wave film from 1970 scored with live music) and things I hope never to do again (like wait in the Spring Garden police station for an hour and a half at midnight because someone smashed the passenger side window of the car I left unattended for a total of two minutes to steal my purse and my iPod. I don't want to talk about it). Generally, it was completely overwhelming and I got not a single, solitary stitch of knitting done. I didn't even set foot in any of the yarn stores I love so much. No yarn, the whole time. I did get a truly fantabulous pair of new cowboy boots (this was, obviously, before my wallet and iPod were stolen). They look like this:

Love. Them.

Right now, I'm drowning in the beginning of what promises to be an insane autumn. I'll try to post regularly, but I'm in the throes of dissertation writing now -- I have grant applications up the whazoo due in November, and a lot of writing (including most of my first chapter) to get done for them. Bare with me.

But... it's good to be back and there will hopefully be some knitting progress soon. In the meantime, I have a lot of blog-reading to catch up on!

In the morning of a big day

I had a great time this weekend (as you can see -- that's Julie, me, and Shawn, a.k.a. Chippy, eating in what turned out to be the worst diner ever), and although I didn't place in the flatfoot competition in Laurel Bloomery, Julie got third and our friend John got first, so all in all, it was a satisfying weekend. Laura asked if I could post some flatfooting footage to YouTube so she could see what it looked like. I'm working on this...

I did see some funny things on this trip. I've got a real weakness for funny signs, and although I've tried to keep my posting of these pictures to a mininmum on the blog, I just couldn't resist. I saw these two this weekend -- the "creamer" at the worst diner ever and the Burger King sign in Berea, KY.



I feel a little overwhelmed this morning. You see, I leave for a two week trip to Philadelphia tomorrow and I have to get everything in order before I leave. This includes several loads of laundry (can't leave the house with dirty laundry. ditto dishes.), cleaning out the fridge, vacuuming the whole house, cleaning my office. It also includes packing (haven't done that yet. I hate packing for two weeks when I have no idea what I'm going to want to wear in said two weeks) -- not just clothes, but the books and work-related stuff I think I might need, as well as two weeks worth of knitting. I also need to clean out Lil' Betsy (my car) who is carrying around the accumulated dirt of a summer's worth of festivals and fiddler's conventions. This might wait, because I'm going to a bluegrass festival in New Jersey this coming weekend (it was my first bluegrass festival, years ago, and I feel a certain nostalgia for it. I timed my trip to Philly so I could go to it). Add to all of that the fact that Hank is a chirper (he loves to talk and walks around gurgling like a bird) and last night, at four in the morning, was feeling particularly conversational. I tried shutting him out of the bedroom, but then he spent hours scratching on the door, meowing loudly. Not much sleep.

Why, you might ask, am I doing all of the preparations for my trip now when I'm not leaving until tomorrow afternoon? No, it's not because I'm a girl blessed with amazing forethought. It's because tonight, I'm driving to Prestonsburg, KY for a concert -- my first non-bluegrass or oldtime concert since I saw Devo in Atlantic City this time last year. Tonight, at the Mountain Arts Center, I get to see Dwight Yoakam in concert for the very first time. There are no words for how excited I am about this concert. I heart Dwight Yoakam. Which is funny to me, because although I harbor a great deal of love for old, classic country (give me Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzel, or Kitty Wells anyday), I have always professed an intense dislike for all modern country. But Dee-wight is a totally different thing. He's what Hank Williams would be if he hadn't died and were a lot younger. He's the cat's pajamas. And I hear he puts on a great show. I can't wait.

As for knitting, I finally finished Fair Isle sock #1. I blocked it (a first) and it's drying. Maybe a finished shot later, maybe not. I think I'm going to wait a while before I make it's parnter. I'm a little underwhelmed by the color combination and the tedium of carring the lice color all the way around the foot. Maybe I'll follow Grumerina's lead and make a fraternal twin for the second sock. In the meantime, I cast on for my second New England sock (long waiting). And look what I got in the mail:


A few weeks ago, I mentioned being interested in learning how to use a drop spindle to spin some wool I got from a friend who sheared his sheep.


I got an e-mail from Meg mentioning that she had a spindle hanging out in her basement somewhere in West Virginia, and that she would put her dad on the task of finding it, if I wanted it. Well -- yesterday, it arrived! Thanks Meg, and thanks Meg's dad for finding it and mailing it -- with instructions! I can't wait to give it a whirl (no pun intended).

And I'm off (again)

Remember last week, when I said that Fries was my last fiddler's convention until my friends' convention in October? Well... I lied. I knew I'd be going away this weekend -- Julie and I are scheduled to dance on Sunday at the Clear Creek Festival in Berea Kentucky (scroll down to the bottom -- see on Sunday at 2 p.m. when "Hell or High Water" is scheduled? Yeah. That's us). But yesterday, Julie called me up and convinced me that on the way to Berea, we should stop by Laurel Bloomery, TN and spend one night at their fiddler's convention. Just enough time to dance in their flatfoot competition, stay up all night dancing and making a rukus, and then drive off to Berea to hang out with more friends and dance our exhibition dance on Sunday. It didn't take much arm twisting.

So... not much knitting to show (the foot of that sock is killing me!), but I have been getting some prep work done for my fall knitting... swatching, a little designing, and a lot of hanking, washing, and rewinding cone yarn I ordered from Webs. Ugh, it's so disgusting on the cone. I hope it will soften a lot with a good wash or three. But it's a beautiful color, and I've got some nice projects in mind...

Oh, and for those of you (mom) who mighte worried that I'm not getting work done -- don't. The dissertation writing preparation is coming along nicely. I leave next week for a two week trip to Philly to meet with my advisors, take advantage of the library (and Trader Joe's!), and generally get ready to what I expect to be a marathon fall. Yes, this is the time when I start to write the dreaded dissertation (and I'm not even done researching yet!). But I have grant applications due this fall that require a completed chapter (just writing that makes my heart start racing), not to menion the paper for the hawaii conference... So, I'm in training for the "getting down to business" that must happen come September. These next two weekends are like my last hurrah until winter break. I plan to live it up!

More when I get back from Kentucky...

Living in color

The title is not, in any way, to imply that I think I've been doing any sort of black-and-white living, not daily nor in my knitting (actually, looking back over the last years-worth of knitting, I seem to gravitate toward wildly colorful yarn. So there!). Rather... if anyone other than Chris made it through the monster of a meme/questionnaire that I self-indulgently filled out last week, you would have noticed that I declared 2007 (and, I guess, the rest of 2006) the year of color-work knitting. That's right -- I want to "master" the art of fair isle. So... two nights ago, I decided to start this. I didn't go to bed until I had gotten to the heel, that's how addictive I found it.


This is a slightly modified version of the Huron Sock from knitting on the road. I really wanted to wait until it was finished, but the foot has slowed me down significantly, and I'm too impatient to wait any longer. I changed the colors (obviously). I'm not wild about the two of these together in a pattern like this. There's not enough contrast and it's a little... wild? In a strangely conservative way. I added stripes to the foot, rather than continuing the "lice" design, which seemed genius to me at the time (reinforces the foot, makes a nice, cushioned bed, etc.). It was only when I got to the first round after the lice row that I realized I was gonna have to either a) carry the blue behind the brown across the whole top of the foot for three out of every four rows to continue the striping on the bottom, or b) weave in a s**t load of ends if I snipped every round except the lice round. I tried it both ways -- carrying the yarn behind won out. It is slowing me down. A lot. Meaning, it will take me three instead of two days to finish the sock. But... I'm in love. And this is all technical prep so I can make this:

Ah, winter sweaters...

Soggy Fries

So, despite the "chronic" fatigue, I went away this weekend to the Fiddler's Convention in Fries (pronounced like "freeze"), Virginia. It's my last fiddler's convention of the season, until my friends' convention in Morehead, Kentucky in October, so I felt like I couldn't miss it. And despite torrential downpours and getting kicked out of the park due to the rain, I had a really great time. No knitting accomplished, but my new brown "Fetchings" got some action:


Pattern: "Fetching" from Knitty fall 2006
Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, in "Chocolate" (just a hair more than one skein...)
Needles: Brittany, US 5 dpns
Started: 15 August 2006
Finished: 16 August, 2006

Notes: I added an extra cable repeat at the bottom and the top (and remember to flip the cables so they are mirror images). I also made the thumb a hair longer. I like them better this way.

While in Fries, I saw the biggest, weirdest, ugliest bug (Julie got bit by it! It is, I have since learned, a Dobson fly. This is a female Dobson fly. The male ones have longer pincers):


And I won fifth place in the dance competition. This doesn't sound like the big deal that it was -- it's really hard to place in these dance competitions down on the Va/NC border... I dance verydifferently than they do there. As you can tell, I'm pretty excited (and pretty drenched). This was right before they made us leave the park. Julie and I were practically giddy (the band Julie played in placed first!). We couldn't hold still for a picture.


We spent the night with some friends in North Carolina. They have the sweetest German Shorthair (named Callie). She snuggles like a cat.


All in all, good times were had.

Question for spinners

I've got a question for any and all of you who spin. I'm acquiring some fleece from friends who have shorn their sheep. I'm interested in learning how to spin, but obviously this needs to be a low cost endeavor (given the whole dissertating-student-going-to-hawaii thing). So I've been thinking about drop spindle spinning. But I know next to nothing about it. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on what kind of spindle to get (both design and make)? Ditto that for carders. Any help (or internet resources that are good, too) would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

While waiting...

A gauge of how much time I spent in the doctor's office yesterday and today trying to figure out what's wrong with me. I cast on yesterday afternoon when I arrived at the clinic. We still don't know what's wrong (extreme fatigue and tightness in my chest), but I'm an afternoon's knit away from warm winter hands (all for me!)

Ready for winter

Pattern: Fetching, from Knitty Summer '06
Yarn: Knitpicks Swish Superwash, in "Red Pepper"
Needles: Bryspun dpns, US 5
Begun: 11 August 2006
Finished: 13 August 2006

Notes: Well to start, I used this project as a test for one of the new Knitpicks Yarns, Swish. When I ordered my needles the other day, I decided that I would buy a skein or two of a few of their new yarns, just to see what I thought. My reports on Swish? Well, at first, I was kinda disappointed. The yarn seemed kind of... acrylic-y (?). It wasn't particularly soft or anything, and something about the bright red on the skein made it seem cheap. But once you knit with it, man oh man! It's great! The yarn is a little splitty (and very uncooperative with cable-needle-free cabling) but it creates a tight, soft, squishy fabric with great stitch definition. I'm really pleased with it. And a superwash wool for gloves, hats, and mittens seems like a great idea. I would definitely use it again.

The pattern is a really quick knit. I would have finished both on Friday, if I hadn't been feeling so bad and if I hadn't had to get to Galax yesterday. The only modifications: 1. I sized the gloves down (they are a gift for a friend with remarkably small hands [and feet] -- if she's reading this now, she knows who she is!); 2. I started the second glove while at Galax, didn't consult the pattern and forgot that the cables are supposed to switch direction on the second glove. So they are symmetrical instead of mirror-images. I figure, that's ok. 3. I ditched the cable bind off. Couldn't figure it out, it looked sloppy, and a regular bind off worked fine. If I were to do it again, I would add an extra cable repeat at the top to make it grip the hand a little more (I have fingerless gloves with floppy tops). But all in all, great pattern which makes a great looking glove.

distracting questionnaire...

I just returned from the Galax Old Fiddler's Convention (where I did not place in the dance competition -- I dance so differently from the way they do down there, and like the Sparta convention, they seem to favor their own styles). I had a great time, though the weather was freakishly cold. After the last two weeks of hot hot hot, I never in a million years thought the temperature would stay below 60 all day yesterday. I drove down in the morning, pretty early, with my friend Julie, and it wasn't that cold up here. But by the time we arrived in Galax, I was already wearing all of the warm clothes I'd brought and it wasn't even noon. I usually carry a scarf, fingerless gloves, and a down vest in the car for "emergencies" (i.e. cold nights at festivals), but just took them out to wash them and didn't bother to replace them. I was kicking myself for that last night. I could see my breath, it was so cold. And dancing up a storm will only help that for so long. Hopefully, this exhaustion isn't a bout of sickness 2.1.

Anyway, I have pictures and FOs but I'm too tired to dig the camera out of my bag (not ready to unpack the muddy mess that is my festival gear -- Galax got a lot of rain Friday night). In the meantime, I leave you with this. I ganked this from Laura's site. Although I don't often do these questionnaire things, I liked this one... food for thought.

The Knit-Geek Questionnaire (unrelated to any swaps or secret pal exchanges)

1. What's your worst habit relating to your knitting?
I have really bad posture. I sit hunched over my needles with my shoulders pulled forward. I think this might be because I rarely wear my glasses when I knit, but even when I do, I still crouch over the knitting. I also always forget to cut the nails on my right hand (I keep my left well trimmed for banjo playing) and then they cut into my hand. See:


(ignore that cut -- I droped a picture frame and sliced my hand a few weeks ago).

2. In what specific ways does your knitting make you a better person?
I think it has made me more generous -- I love knitting for other people and I'm always planning projects for them. It definitely has made me more thoughtful, in general and specifically with regard to the handcrafts of others. I feel like I have a greater appreciation for how things are made and the time and thought that goes into it.

3. How might you or your life be different if you were suddenly unable to knit?
Wow. I'd have a lot of free time. And more money. But I think I'd be bored. I'd probably have found another (less portable) craft or art to serve as a creative outlet and a meditative force. Or else I'd be crazy and (as Laura said) more than likely a little depressed.

4. If money were no object, what one yarn, and what one tool or gadget would you run out and buy first?
Oh! I'd definitely get myself a pair of hardwood dpn sock needles (does lantern moon make dpns? in ebony or something? That's what I'd want!). And a blocking board. Wait, no! Scrap that. The very first thing I'd buy is a yarn winder and swift. I'm so tired of hand-winding yarn. Then I'd get that other stuff, and only then would I invest in something truly decadent, like enough cashmere yarn to make myself the world's greatest sweater vest (I dream of knitting a sweater vest out of hipknits cashmere sock yarn. Am I crazy?)

5. What knitting technique or project type are you most afraid of (if any)? What, specifically, do you fear will happen when you try it?
Fair Isle. For sure. I am confronting this fear as hopefully the year of the sock with turn into the year of colorwork. I don't know what I'm afraid of... I've tried it before and my tension was all wonky and I've never tried it again. I feel like I'm a stronger knitter now, and I've learned some technique, so maybe that will help.

6. Who is/are your knitting hero(es), and why?
Well, I'm not sure I've "heroes" in knitting, but I greatly admire the work of Eunny -- such detail, precision, and care! I also have always admired my grandmother's knitting. But you all know that.

7. Do you consider knitting, for you personally, a mostly social activity, or a mostly solitary activity?
I really prefer to knit alone. I do enjoy sitting with other people...But I've never really spent time at any kind of stitch-n-bitch and I find that talking while I knit is distracting. I like to listen to talk radio while I knit or, when I have the opportunity, watch TV.

8. Is there a particular regional tradition in knitting that you feel strongly drawn toward (e.g., Fair Isle, Scandinavian, Celtic, Orenburg lace)? Any theories as to why it calls to you?
Oooohhhh... I don't know. I do always feel drawn toward all sorts of Eastern European designs. Maybe because I'm of Ukrainian/German descent? I have no idea. But I love the patterns (this is connected to 2007 - the year of colorwork) and the combination of warmth and function with absolute beauty.

9. If you were a yarn, which yarn would you be?
Hmmm... I'd love to be something soft, beautiful and a joy to knit with (like the Noro Lily -- my favorite yarn right now, though I've never had a chance to knit it. It just seems sooo lovely). But I'm probably something way more practical, pretty but not the first thing you run to when you walk in a yarn store. Maybe a little bit of a pain in the ass to knit with, but totally serviceable.

10. Some statistics:
(a) How many years have passed since you FIRST learned to knit?
Nineteen (wow)
(b) How many total years have you been actively, regularly knitting (i.e., they don't have to have been in a row)?
two
(c) how many people have you taught to knit?
four
(d) Roughly what percentage of your FOs do you give away (to anyone besides yourself, i.e., including your immediate family)
Oh, wow. I'd say close to 80 -85 %. Most of them. It's fun to knit for other people.

11. How often do you KIP (knit in public)? i.e., once a week, once a month, etc. Where do you do it?
All the time. I knit at festivals a lot. Concerts. While waiting for people, anywhere. Any time I get a chance.

12. If a genie granted you one hour to stitch-n-bitch with any one knitter, living or dead, who would you choose and why?
Definitely, definitely my grandmother. (Not including all the other stuff I'd like to talk to her about, seeing as I never met her...) I'd really want to get lessons -- learn how she learned to knit, what techniques she used, did she ever knit socks?, figure out how to line a sweater the way she did, find out if she used patterns or created her own, see when she learned how to knit and who taught her, what her inspiraitons were, and, well, basically ask all the same questions that are here. I want to know my "knitting genes".

13. What aspect or task in knitting makes you most impatient?
Weaving in ends. Period.

14. What is it about knitting that never lets you get bored with it?
I love to watch the project develop in my hands. With variegated yarn, I love to watch the colors shift. I love the feel of (most) yarn in my hands, the sense that I am creating something.

15. Describe how and where you most often do your knitting - where do you sit, what is going on around you, what tools do you use and how are they (dis)organized?
I most often sit at either my computer or on the couch. When I still had television, there was an indentation in my couch where I sat in the middle and watched/listened to the TV while I knit. Now I sit mostly at my desk. So I'm mostly surrounded by work and then whatever project I'm working on at the time. The desk is convenient because it's hard for the little kitties to eat the yarn I'm working with. I have a yarn table where I keep whatever I'm not working on. My yarn is pretty organized, but my WIPS and needles are always kind of a mess on top.

16. Which one person is the recipient of more of your knitting than any other?
My mommy... or she will be as soon as I finish T-SALP and mail her that last pair of socks (it's coming mom, i promise!)

17. What's the oddest thing about your knitting, or yourself as a knitter?
Hmmm.... I don't know. You mean, outside of my general oddities? I guess that I'm not a very patient person in other aspects of my life, yet I can sit for hours and work on a sock on size 0 needles.

18. What do you see yourself knitting - if anything - twenty years from now?
God, hopefully something other than socks! I'd really like to knit a beautiful, fair isle cardigan. Sometime warm, delicate, and with beautiful colors, embellished silver buttons, some shape, that definitely manages not to look even remotely frumpy (something with a nice 1930's flair).

19. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could have only ONE SKEIN of yarn, which yarn would it be and what would you do with it?
Practicality aside (length of said skein, durability, machine washability, or practicality in terms of the weather on a desert island), if I were stuck knitting one thing for the rest of my life, I'd have to say that I'd knit Blue Sky alpaca until my days were through. wow. what a lovely yarn.

20. If you were allowed to own only one knitting-related book, which would it be? (you'd be free to browse others, but you couldn't keep them)
You know, I just don't use knitting books all that much. I consult for patterns and stuff, but I never had a "knitting bible" that I've consulted for stitches or techniques. I've always wanted one, but never gotten it, so... I do without.

21. Is knitting the new yoga? Why or why not?
Man, I don't know. Maybe it's the "trend-bucker" in me that hates how popular knitting is (I feel like it encourages the use of eyelash and other novelty yarns that I hate. I'm soooo snobby). I do find it relaxing and frequently use it to focus and redirect my thoughts, but... It isn't necessarily good for your body, and I never feel taller, stretchier, or healthier when I finish. I usually feel cramped and disoriented (like I said, I have bad knitting posture).

22. What important thing are you trying to put off doing whenever you knit?
Transcribing. Always transcribing. Sometimes reading. Occasionally writing or making phone calls. But transcribing is definitely #1.

Satisfaction

Thank you all for your guesses/responses to my "sneak peek" last night. Here they are, completed:


Pattern: Really? the infamous Jaywalkers (pair number 4 for me)
Yarn: Socks that Rock, in a colorway they unfortunately no longer carry - Fire on the Mountain
Needles: Those same Inox dpns, US size 1/2 (they fall kinda in between)
Started: Oh god, so long ago, I can't even remember
Completed: 11 August 2006

Notes: So much to say, and nothing to say at the same time. I raced to finish them before daylight disappeared... This shouldn't have been a problem -- I was more than halfway down the foot when I posted my sneak peek, but then I house-sat for a friend last night with two kittens who have not yet been introduced the wonders of yarn and poof! My plans to knit all night were thwarted. I did finish in time this afternoon, thanks to some old episodes of Project Runway and a very productive (work-wise) morning. I started these socks so long ago, there might still have been snow on the ground. I need to the ankle of one sock, got tired and didn't touch them until this last weekend. In the last six days, I have knit the heel and foot of one sock and the entire second sock. I thank Clifftop and my new-found urge to finish all these old WIPS for getting me through it.


I'm not sure why I stopped. For a long time, I thought about ripping out the ankle I had knit on the one sock and starting over. Now I'm SO glad I didn't because I love them. I love the way the colors look in the pattern, I don't mind the huge swatches of pooling pink (though I wish it was the green pool instead). I don't even mind all that much the fraternal quality of them, though can someone explain to me why they don't pool similarly? I think my initial frustration was due to the fact that I knit the first half of the first sock using magic loop. I don't like magic loop. I'm all about dpns.


The one thing I don't like? I tried a new toe-technique. That is, I waited too long to start decreasing the toe, so I didn't it pretty fast, creating a rounded toe. I like the looks of it on, except that with this pattern, I think there is something strangely alien about the toe. Does anyone else get this? Maybe I'm crazy...


And, you might remember, I once said the sign of a good pair of socks was how they look with your favorite shoes? Well, here you go:


These are obviously not boot socks -- too bright. But they do look great with my favorite pair of Doc Martens (ignore the safety pin holding the strap on -- these babies are 12 years old!). Oh yeah, fall socks! All ready to be worn with a skirt and a cute little sweater (to be knit, of course!)

In other news, today I felted for the first time. And it wasn't on purpose either. Remember these?


Well, they are now these:


The world's warmest, felted socks.


Yeah. Oops. In my defense, they were already felting a little as a result of being worn with my boots and being a little too big. So I figured, "What the hell? I'm throw them in the wash!" (I'd heard that some knit picks "hand wash" yarns held up to a delicate wash). No go. Out came felted socks.

I also think I'm going to join Sock Wars. Although I think my sock knitting patience is wearing thin (I crave a sweater -- a whole sweater!), I can't resist the call of competitive knitting. I've also joing Sock-a-Month II. Yeah... 2006, the year of the sock.

** Editor's Note: Who I am kidding? I'm going to be writing my dissertation this fall. I don't have time for competitive sock knitting... though it sounds like so much fun... sigh.