in which I ramble for a while and then show you some pictures

This is roughly the conversation I have had with my husband, Stuart, over the course of today:

Me: Hey, you know how I keep threatening to knit you a sweater? Well, I found a good sale online on the yarn I would use, so I'm thinking I'll go ahead and order some. What color do you want, navy, dark gray, or light gray? (Note: these are probably the only colors of a hand knit sweater Stuart would consider wearing. He might make an exception for dark brown.)

Stu: Uh, I dunno. Whatever you think would go the best with the rest of what I wear, I guess.

Me: I think the navy would look best on you, and it goes with all your nicer t-shirts, but not with any of your breeches (yes, I said "breeches") except jeans. What do you think?

So far, this part of the conversation was over email. At this point, everything google-related (namely gmail and blogger) started blowing chunks and became completely non-functional, so if Stu responded right away, I wouldn't have read it. Not wanting to wait, I went ahead and ordered the navy. Several hours later, when gmail is recovered, I read his response:

Stu: Remember I rarely wear jeans in winter.

Me: Ah, good point. (thinking: uh-oh. I took a guess and ordered the wrong color!)

So what was I to do? Cancel the order? Tell him to live with the navy and LIKE it, dang it?! Nope. I went back and ordered a bunch of gray PLUS a couple extra skeins of the navy so that I could make another sweater for my dad, since he loves the other one I made him so much it's already pilling like crazy and may well wear out by next Christmas. It seems I have:
1) no control when it comes to sale yarn; 2) a completely unrealistic perception of how long it takes to knit sweaters for two full-grown men, one of whom is over six feet tall and generously endowed in the waist area (my dad), the other who is more average-sized but still nearly six feet tall (my husband--love you both, guys!), and 3) no memory of my very recent resolve to knit for myself and no one else this summer. Ah, well. I love to knit, no matter what it is or who it's for, so it's all good.

Here's the best part, though. This evening, I explained to Stuart the whole yarn-ordering situation:

Me: So, you know how I told you I would order yarn for a sweater for you?

Stu: Yeah.

Me: Well, gmail was crapping out right after I asked you what color you'd like, so I just went ahead and ordered navy yarn and AFTER that I read your response that gray is probably better, so I just went ahead and ordered gray as well, plus some extra navy to make another sweater for my dad.

Stu: Why are you telling me this?

Me: So you know why there will be twice as much yarn arriving here as you're expecting.

Stu: I don't keep track of your yarn at all. I have no idea what comes in and I don't care. You don't keep track of the computer stuff I buy, do you?

(Answer: absolutely not, though I am usually the one who's home when FedEx comes by...)

My whole point here is that I'm extremely lucky to live with someone who understands completely that this hobby I have (I don't think it's turned into a lifestyle yet) is completely and totally mine. In other words, my knitting and my stash and my projects are my business. I have more yarn than I ought to and more unfinished projects than I care to admit, but that's okay. As long as I'm not spending money irresponsibly or invading his closet space, he doesn't care, and he doesn't even really pay attention. He's not a knitter (not even close), and he's not really interested in it, but he totally respects how important knitting is to me (especially now that I'm staying home with Daniel and Anya and not working for pay or playing gigs). He'll never truly understand why I enjoy knitting so much, but then, I'll never truly understand how he enjoys writing computer programs in his spare time. To each his/her own, I suppose. But that's how we work. We have many things in common other than our respective hobbies, and our lives together are working out pretty darn well.

That's why he deserves a sweater. Not the ugly one I knit for him before I knew better and before we got married. I haven't even mustered up the energy to frog that one yet. But a nice one in a color and style that he will like and wear. Even if it bores me to tears to make it, I'll do it. I'll do it happily. (And we'll just neglect to mention that I sneaked in a few skeins of something for a sweater for myself while I was at it...)

Now, then. Speaking of unfinished projects, I promised that I would show you pictures, and pictures you shall have! My current projects on the needles are gift knitting (and therefore secret for now), so here are a few WIPs that have been sitting around for quite a while. Like, years. I figure if I put these things on the blog for all the world (er, all 3 of you), it just might motivate me to finish them and get them off my conscience.

Let's go from youngest to oldest, shall we?

This is half of a skirt out of Rowan Linen Print. The yarn and pattern (Rowan Linen Print collection booklet) were a total impulse buy when my mom was visiting last April. Everything about this project is totally unlike me, but I love it anyway -- the bulky yarn, the variegated colors, the fact that there's not a hint of animal fiber in the yarn. The fact that it's a skirt and the least practical thing I could possibly knit...I think it's the loops at the bottom that charmed me so much. I whipped up half the skirt in a couple days...and promptly found out I was pregnant with Anya. No way was I going to wear a skinny little skirt last summer! So I put it down and haven't picked it up since. I'm nearly back to my pre-pregnancy body (a little bit of lovely belly flab notwithstanding), so I really should finish this skirt and try to find some occasion to wear it this summer.


This is a sweater I started for Daniel about a year and a half ago. It's the chunky cabled pullover from Adorable Knits for Tots by Zoe Mellor. The yarn is Mission Falls 1824 wool in thyme (green) and a little bit of dark purple for the edges. I am already done with this book; it's full of mistakes and I made everything in it that I was interested in, so I photocopied the pattern and gave the book away. Fortunately, I had the foresight to make the 2-3 year size, knowing that it might be a while before I would finish it. If I get it done soon, Daniel can wear it this spring (we often have chilly days through May). It's even possible that he could wear it in the fall, but seeing as he's shooting up like a weed, the sweater will be too short by then. However, I also had the foresight to pick unisex colors, so Anya can wear it in a couple years. All that fuzzy red hair means she looks good in green.


Now here is a project that goes back a little while. It's the Harvard cardigan from Melanie Falick's Knitting for Baby. This is the first knitting book I ever bought. It was 2004, and I had just discovered that I was pregnant. Once I got over the shock (we were trying to avoid that very thing), I bought a baby knitting book and started the Harvard cardigan (the one on the cover, if you look at the Amazon link), using some DK yarn in various garish colors I had leftover from other projects. For better or worse, the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, and the sweater was stuffed in a bag and nearly forgotten. While cleaning and rummaging in the basement not long ago, I found it and decided to finish it. The body is done, and the sleeves are at least halfway there. By the way, again with the foresight: not only did I hide the ends as I went along to save myself time finishing at the end, but I worked on both sleeves at the same time! That means no starting over and figuring out how the heck I did it in the first place. I don't know where this sweater will end up, but someone out there is bound to want it. Maybe I'll even donate it to Afghans for Afghans when I've got enough hats/sweaters/possibly a blanket accumulated to send off.

The Harlot takes Madison!

Remember how excited I was when I found out that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was going to be in Madison for a book-signing? Well, the event was last night and there was NO WAY I was going to miss it. I admire her in so many ways - as a knitter, as a writer, as a person - and even though I knew I would only have a minute or less to meet her, I really wanted to.

All day yesterday, I was undecided about whether to take Anya with me. On the one hand, I know that Stephanie likes babies and wants them to be welcome at her events, especially when they're little and breastfeeding. I've had to get both kids to bed in the evening by myself and it's quite the challenge, so I didn't want to burden Stuart with that responsibility when he would have to warm up a bottle of milk whenever she got hungry. On the other hand, if I left her at home, I would actually be able to KNIT at an event for KNITTERS and I would also be able to sit in my seat the whole time. In the end, I took Anya with me to make things easier for Stu. I figured even if it was getting close to (and past) her bedtime, if she was with me, she would be okay. I was mostly right, though by the end of the Q&A, I was squatting behind the Country/Pop CDs to breastfeed her.

And Stephanie? Was amazing. Not only was she funny and witty and charming, she had the energy to met hundreds of people and sign their books an be nice and gracious to every one of them. She had lots to say about how knitters deserve more respect in our culture, and how we deserve the acknowledgement that what we do is complicated and valuable. She also spoke at some length about brain function and how knitting enhances it. She's done some reading about the research out there concerning meditation and how it affects the brain, and how knitting relates to all of it. I was really impressed with that part because she talked in a very intelligent way about scientific research without trying to sound like a scientist. In my family, there are several trained scientists in various fields, including my husband, so I am rather sensitive about this. Anyway, I thought Stephanie did a real nice job. When I got home, I even ran some of her points by Stuart, who got four years into a PhD in biological neuroscience before bailing to program computers, and he said it all sounded all right.

I discovered that even though walking around with a baby for 2-3 hours in the evening is a little tiring, it also gets you right in front of the line to sign books. I felt a little guilty about that, but everyone else with babies was right up there with me. When I got to the table, I suddenly wished I'd prepared something really clever to say to The Yarn Harlot upon meeting her, since it was my one and only chance and everything. Instead, I stammered something really and totally stupid like "Uh, I'm a blogger, but I don't think anyone reads my knitting blog." She took my picture, and my friend C took a picture of us (which I'll add to this post as soon as she emails it to me), and then I thanked her and went home.

It was really, really great, and I was grateful for a chance to get out in the evening (something I never do these days). And now I better quit ignoring my family and finish my breakfast.

I really will show you some knitting next time, I promise!

ennui

I've got the Knitting Ennui, I'm afraid. I blame the coming of spring, the blooming of flowers, and the allure of dirt.



Boy, I love dirt. I've been down in it, planting things like monkshood, rhubarb chard and leopard's bane. I've been knee-deep in compost, I've tromped in the mud, I've hoed and chopped and pulled and dug. And I love it. It feels so good to do physical work after 9 months of pregnancy followed by a long, cold winter.

In any case, that's why my knitting needles have been a little quieter of late, and why I have nothing to show you at the moment. Actually, I have been knitting a little bit, but it's all gift knitting that I prefer to keep under wraps until the gifts have been given.

Which brings me to another point (or two). Mostly, I find myself knitting for other people. I like the process and the satisfaction of completing something, but usually I am rather indifferent to keeping the finished object. So I knit baby stuff for baby gifts. I knit scarves and socks and hats for Christmases and birthdays. I've made many hats and a couple blankets for Afghans for Afghans. I've knit every important man in my life a sweater. (ETA: I should have said NEARLY every important man. My father-in-law and brother-in-law are also people close to me, but I haven't made either of them sweaters...yet) (That includes an ex, my brother, my husband, and my dad. None of these guys are short, mind you. Most of them are very, very tall. That's a lot of sweater knitting when you think about it. I don't think any of those sweaters have survived/are worn except the one I made for my dad for Christmas 2006, but that's okay. Like I said, it's the process.)

Anyway, I have a couple family birthdays in May that I must knit for (I've begun one thing already), and a friend's baby due in the summer. I have a couple sweaters to finish for Daniel...and then I'm going to knit for ME! Moi. Mich. I've got enough yarn stashed for a few (ahem) sweaters, and the only reason I haven't started any yet is that I keep putting the gift knitting higher on the priority list than the me-knitting. That's fine for now. I know that what I make for other people is appreciated. I wouldn't bother to make anything for someone who wouldn't appreciate it (except for babies and toddlers, but it's not their fault they don't get as excited about handknit items as toys that light up and beep.)

So, once I get the birthday knitting done and finish planting and mulching the garden, I'm going to make myself a sweater! I haven't decided exactly what yet, but there's time.

A Fine Fleece

I recently got my hands on the library's copy of the new book A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd. (Glenna is going to post a review any time now, and I'm looking forward to what she has to say about it.) A Fine Fleece is a collection of 26 patterns for handspun yarns, though each design is knit up in commercially available yarn for knitters who don't spin or, I suppose, knitters who don't spin enough yarn for whole projects.

Let me say now that I never have been a spinner, nor have I ever particularly wanted to. My crafty inclinations take up enough space in my very small house that I can't imagine adding a pile of unspun fiber to the mix, nor can I imagine taking up another hobby I have no time for. I figure, I like knitting and I'm good at it and there are wonderful yarns out there already, so why try to spin yarn myself when it would look crappy (because there's no way I'd be good enough to make usable yarn, at least for a while) and not be enough for a project anyway? Of course, I've never sat at a spinning wheel and tried it out, though I've seen it done. In fact, one of my few clear memories from very early childhood is seeing a spinning wheel that belonged to a friend of my mother's. The spinner had long, long hair and the wheel was bigger than I was (I was probably 2 or 3 at the time), and she told me my hair was the color of "flax," which sounded so much nicer than "brown," which is how most people (non-spinners) would describe my hair color.

In any case, A Fine Fleece has almost made me change my mind. Lisa Lloyd and Clara Parkes (of Knitter's Review, also author of the most excellent Knitter's Book of Yarn), who wrote the forward, talk about the qualities of handspun yarn - vibrancy, color, feel, depth - that can not be mimicked in millspun yarns. It makes me want to give it a try and see what all the fuss is about.

And then there are the patterns. Oh, the patterns! (Click here for some images on Knitpicks) I don't think I've found a book full of patterns this appealing in a long, long while. Usually, I consider a book successful if there are two or three patterns I like, but A Fine Fleece is just the opposite. There are 26 patterns - mostly sweaters, but there are socks, scarves and a hat pattern as well - and with the exception of maybe two sweaters I want to cast on for everything RIGHT NOW. Mind you, the styling isn't for everyone. The patterns in A Fine Fleece include lots of intricate cables and lace and stitch work using animal fibers (obviously, since they're for handspun yarns...), but not a lot of shaping. There are no patterns with colorwork, which is just fine and dandy with me since fair isle and intarsia aren't nearly as appealing to me as a bunch of knotty cables. None of the sweaters are close-fitting, and many are unisex with boxy shaping. I'm on the small side, so any sweater I would make from this book would be rather loose on me. I'm not sure that's what looks best for me, but they're all so gorgeous and look so comfy that I don't care. These are sweaters that are timeless instead of trendy, and could last a lifetime or more if properly cared for. Isn't that what you would want with yarn you worked so hard to make yourself?

Finished! 2 pairs of socks

My spring sock fever has subsided a bit with the completion of these socks.





Yarn: Plymouth Happy Feet, 2 skeins
Pattern: toe-up socks from the Vogue Knitting Ultimate Sock Book
Needles: size 2 DPNs for a gauge of 7 st = 1"
Comments: Now that I've done toe-up socks, I'm not sure I will again. Mostly,I am just not in love with the final result of the short-row heel. I don't like the holes it leaves when you work the wraps, and I don't like the way it fits over my heel like ye olde heel flappe. I like the mottled colors of the yarn, though, and they went pretty quick, all things considered.
Made for: ??? I haven't decided whether to keep these or put them on the gift pile.



Yarn: Jojoland Melody
Pattern: I made it up, but there's nothing special about it except the faux cable going down the sides
Needles: size 1 DPNs for a gauge of 7.5 st = 1"
Comments: I thought the yarn was lovely and soft. It's also quite thin, but that didn't bother me. As you can see in the picture, even though the skeins are from the same dyelot, it's obvious they don't start in the same place. This didn't bother me. I have to admit I'm not in love with the looooong color stripes. I doubt I'll get more of this yarn, but then, I'm such an intermittent sock knitter, I don't ever have to use the same yarn twice if I don't want to because there will always be something different to try.
Made for: ??? Again, I haven't decided if I should keep these. They fit me perfectly, so I ought to be selfish and keep them all to myself, but for some reason, I have a really hard time keeping the socks I knit. I think I have ONE pair I made that I wear. Every other pair of socks I've made I've given away, and I think I like it that way.

Here's what's left over:



That's quite a lot, as you can see. What do I do with it? I guess I could make several socks for Anya for next year when she's walking. We'll see.

sock casualty (almost)

or "Why you should never leave a partially completed sock within reach of a curious and unsupervised Danimal":




Why he felt it necessary to stick the DPNs in the couch cushions like tent stakes is beyond me. No worries, though. I got the sock back on the needles and even got a few rounds in this morning while some knitting friends were visiting.

I've got some finished stuff to show you, plus some OLD unfinished stuff to finish, some plans for using up some stash yarn that I'm tired of, plus a couple of things I scavenged from my parents' basement...all good stuff to blog, but that will all have to wait until I can take good pictures.

Ta-ta till then.

latte saves the day

I've been trying for two days to finish my Jojoland socks, but I keep getting interrupted...




(Daniel won't sit still long enough for a sock picture, so it's just Anya today).

Naptime horrors continue, so for the second time in five days, I plopped the kids in the car and got a latté at the Starbucks drive-through so that they would fall asleep on the way home. It's only about a mile away from my house (doesn't it seem like there's a Starbucks within about a mile of everywhere, though?), so I wasn't even wasting that much gas. Anyway, it worked like a charm. Even if I only get a half hour of them sleeping, that's a half hour of my life not wasted fighting with Daniel to get him to sleep, so it's worth the three bucks I spent on that latté. Plus, I could really use the caffeine.

Now then, only about 3 rounds to go, and then it's Kitchner time!

I wasn't joking...

...I really am making socks! I think it's the whiff (just a whiff) of spring in the air that makes me want to pack up the plans for warm sweaters and go for little projects.

But first, check out the adorable beret my mom made for Anya. I think the little flower is a nice touch:



Now then, onto the socks. I know this is just part of the daily knitting for many of you (if I could claim that "many" read this little blog), but not for me. I'm such an on-again off-again sock knitter that when I start a pair, it's kind of a big deal. For one thing, I am quite picky about sock yarn and patterns. I don't like lace (too many holes to wear through), I don't like plain stockinette (too saggy), I don't like self-striping (seems like cheating, but that's just me, plus there's the risk of pooling and I HATE that), and I'm wary of variegated because the pattern doesn't show up very well. I was also strictly a top-down heel-flap sort of gal.

That is, until a couple weeks ago. Ladies and gents, I present you with my very first toe-up sock:




The yarn is Plymouth Happy Feet. Yes, it's variegated, but I like the way the colors are splotchy, and besides, it's just a 1x1 rib, so the variegation adds interest without detracting from the stitch pattern. The pattern is from the Vogue Knitting Ultimate Sock Book (really cool book, I recommend it), though there's not much to it. Just cast on half the stitches you need for the circumference, work a short-row toe, knit up the foot, do the same short-row sequence for the heel, and work up the cuff until you feel like stopping. That's it. Easy-peasy.

So easy, in fact, that my waning attention span demanded that I cast on for a different sock before the first pair was finished.



The pattern is my own, though I'm thinking I saw a blogger doing something similar recently with the faux cable going down the side, which is probably where I got the idea (Yarn Harlot, maybe?). Geez, I'm SO unoriginal. In any case, the yarn is Jojoland Melody
. It's kind of weird how the colors change, but I like it, despite my normal misgivings about self-striping yarns. It's 100% wool, and I saw a few comments on Ravelry about this yarn being itchy, but I think it's very nice and soft. That was half the reason I bought it, actually.

Here's a gratuitous close-up:



My "pile" of works in progress keeps growing. (It's not really a pile. If I put them all in a pile, I'd get depressed about it. They're really scattered about so it looks like less of a problem.) Still, finishing these pairs of socks is high on the knitting priority list. Then I think I'll tackle some languishing unfinished projects, and then I won't feel guilty about starting something new.

(Right. I'm sure it will work out exactly that way.)