Because I couldn't resist

The last couple weeks, I seem to have fallen off the knitting wagon. I'm not sure why, though there are several possible reasons. I'm stressed about school, even more stressed about a 2-week song accompanying program I'm attending in June, and to top it all off I'm two months pregnant with our second child. (We really didn't see this one coming; if you're interested, you can read more about it here in my blog that's not about knitting.)

In other words, I've been too busy and tired to do much beyond what absolutely has to be done, so knitting has been on the back burner. Plus, with the weather warming up the wool just isn't calling to me. I know I could be knitting small things like socks and hats but I just haven't been inspired.

Except for one small thing:



Even though I swore to myself I wouldn't buy any more yarn until I've used up some of what's in my stash, I couldn't help but pick up a few skeins of this chunky Euroflax linen tweed that was half off at a certain LYS (not Lakeside) who won't be carrying the brand anymore. I'm thinking hand towels for a wedding I'll be going to in July. I haven't settled on a stitch pattern, though. Suggestions?

Finished! Stephanie's Birthday Socks

Stephanie's birthday was last Monday. Guess when I finally sent her a present? Sigh. Better late than never, I suppose.

These are called "Spa Socks" from Vogue Knitting's Knit 1, a magazine I usually never even bother to flip through because the patterns are generally too odd for my taste. The spring issue had a yoga section, which was full of useless, ugly patterns, except for these:



I didn't make these because Steph teaches yoga and I thought she'd curl up with them after a refreshing session of contortions and meditations. I made them because I thought she would like them. And as far as I know, she does!

Check out the fish buttons:



Pattern: Spa Socks from Vogue Knitting's Knit 1
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas organic grown cotton in the color sage, 1 skein
Comments: I can safely say these are the fastest pair of socks I've ever knit. A short cuff and size 8 needles for a gauge of 4.5 stitches to 1" certainly helped. I love the button detail on these. I'm not sure how practical they are for wearing outside the home. The socks are thick enough they would probably be uncomfortable worn with shoes, but seeing as Stephanie works at home as a writer, I didn't figure it matters too much.

Finished! Afghans for Afghans Baby Blanket

The baby blanket is done and ready to send off to Afghans for Afghans!



This is a really special project because it's going to someone who really, really needs it, and several people contributed knitted squares. I sewed 'em all up and hid the ends (except for two stragglers that I didn't notice until I was taking photographs just now, d'oh!), but there's no way I could have done this by myself in time for the May 25 deadline.



Many thanks to the lovely ladies in my weekly knitting group (Cami, Judy, Pat, Andrea and Lynda), as well as Steph, who knit up several squares when she was visiting here in April. I know that making 8"x8" squares is easier said than done, and I appreciate the trouble everyone went to. I think the result is lovely.
ETA: Of course, when you have a half dozen people contributing to the same project, you never know what you'll end up with, but we did have a few guidelines about yarn weight (worsted), colors (blues and greens) and stitch patterns (reversible, non-lacy), so that's one reason the squares work so well together.

Look at the beautiful work everyone did!







I wanted twenty-five squares to make a 40"x40" blanket, and I ended up with thirty-one, nearly a perfect number to make a 40"x48" blanket. I had to leave out one square, so I chose a boring garter-stitch one that I had made. (Maybe I'll frog it and make a baby hat.) There are a variety of worsted weight wool yarns in this blanket, mostly people's leftovers from other projects, and a few things bought new. I don't know exactly what everyone used, but I know there's some of the following (I'm not going to link them or I'll be doing that all day...): Cascade 220 and Cascade 220 Heathers, Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, Knit One Crochet Two Paintbox, Classic Elite Renaissance, Malabrigo, Ella Rae Classic, Plymouth Galway and Sensations Tesoro.

This is something we can really feel good about. Now, let's see if I can finish some little hats to send along with it...

Some progress on the baby blanket

Since Afghans for Afghans pushed back their deadline for baby blankets to May 25, I've been sewing this thing up at a leisurely pace. I'm almost done, though! One long seam and about a billion gazillion ends to hide, and it will be finished and ready to send off to help keep a child warm halfway across the world.

Daniel was interested in the blanket:



Then he ran off with the piece that hasn't been attached yet.


Think he wants one for himself?

Quick note on anonymous comments

I don't generally consider this here knitting blog a hotbed of controversial issues, but I seem to have caused a wee stir with that post on the so-called apology I received from Lakeside Fibers after a negative experience I had there last month. I appreciate all kinds of opinions in the comment roll, but whatever your opinion is, please be considerate about the way you express it. My own general principle of commenting on blogs, particularly strangers' blogs, is that I would never write something I wouldn't say in person, and I appreciate the same respect shown on my own blog. That said, in the interest of open conversation, I won't delete a comment unless it's spam or stupidly obscene. Still, life is just too short to be unnecessarily rude. Knitting is supposed to make the world a better place, remember?

I'm glad they extended the deadline!

Afghans for Afghans has extended their deadline for baby blankets to May 25. Big relief for me. I've got plenty of squares now and a lot of sewing up to do, and after that, even more ends to hide. Here's the state of things so far:



And a closer look at some of the pretty squares:





I've learned a couple of things:

1. Knitting an 8x8" square is not as easy as it looks. Most of the participants in this project had some trouble getting theirs to come out right. There was some cursing and moaning and gnashing of teeth.

2. It's way, way easier to stretch and block a piece that's a little less than 8" than to squish a piece that's a little more than 8". Still, I'm using everything I have because I'm so grateful to the lovely women (sadly, no men) who contributed to this project.

Last night, because the thought of sewing up more squares that don't exactly match size-wise was giving me a headache, I started a top-down baby sweater in Cascade 220 to send with the blanket. Will one skein be enough for a 19" circumference? We shall see. If it's not, I'll just throw some stripes into the bottom.



In case you're wondering about the pattern, I'm just adapting a Debbie Bliss raglan cardigan from Baby Knits for Beginners. Hers calls for doing all the pieces separately from the bottom up and doing gobs of seams. Noooooo! No more seams!! So I'm constructing it my way but following her numbers and measurements.

Apology....?

Remember the unfortunate experience I had at Lakeside Fibers a couple weeks ago? Last week I got a pretty card from them in the mail:



Enclosed was a $10 gift card. How nice, I thought. And then I read the note written in the card:

Susan,
Thank you for your letter; I appreciate your patience and your patronage. I apologize that you were unable to check out as quickly as you required; however, we cannot neglect one customer in favor of another. I have spoken with the employees working that day and reminded them to be mindful during checkout. As a small business, we all wear many hats. I have enclosed a gift certificate for you to use on your next visit. Again, I apologize for any negative experience.
Regards, Miranda

Is it just me, or is that not really an apology? I didn't expect anyone to drop everything and help me just because I had a tired toddler on my hands, and I certainly didn't expect them to drop the customer who was legitimately in front of me in line just to get me checked out sooner. The last straw for me was when a second employee came in and instead of helping me when I clearly needed help, made a non-urgent phone call. I wasn't upset that they didn't neglect the other customer; I was upset that they neglected me! And then instead of apologizing for treating me badly, they apologized for me not understanding how difficult it is for them to run their small business.

In any case, I'm letting it drop right here. I'm blowing off a little steam on this blog but I'm not going to push the issue with them because while I'm frustrated, I also don't want to be one of those customers. You know the type. The kind of customer who, when she walks in the store, all the employees say to themselves and each other, "Uh-oh, she's back. What bee is up her butt this time? And she's got her kid with her? Who does she think she is, anyway?" No, I'm not one of those people. I'm a grown-up and I realize that there are far, far more important things in life than making a big fat deal out of a couple employees' poor judgment and their boss's lame apology. I'm officially. Over. It.

The funny thing about a $10 gift certificate to a place like Lakeside Fibers is that it's just enough to get you in the door and spend more money. Ten bucks won't get you enough yarn for a pair of socks in that place.