another knitting blog

How I Spent My Christmas Vacation

I'm back and working my way back into my regular routine. [The e-mail backlog alone is going to take days to wade through].

I returned late last night from visiting my parents and I'm looking forward to getting on with all the things I could only think about and plan for while I was away.

[The sun rises at Mom and Dad's].

I got very little knitting done while I was gone. I really didn't bring enough knitting with me to make any progress. I brought the Zephyr scarf and knit it to the recommended 53 inches, but I've decided to make it a bit longer to add to its drama.

I didn't really have much free time for knitting anyway on this trip. All the time that wasn't spent visiting with family was filled with configuring and fixing computers, reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and napping—not altogether a bad vacation.

I also wrote up a draft of the patterns for the hat and cowl. They still need a lot of work to be understandable to anyone but me, so maybe I'll work on that New Year's Day.

One year

Today is the anniversary of my first real post at the original incarnation of this blog. I've been writing about my knitting for a year now.

I've also just finished moving all of my posts from the old blog over to this one [the old one will start degrading soon]. I wanted to save them and have them all in one place, but not for any reason other than my own enjoyment. It's been an interesting exercise to go back and see what I've been working on and thinking about this past year.

I like my blog. It's as much a thing of my creation as any sweater or sock that I've knit. I've enjoyed all the aspects of working on it, from taking pictures to writing to formatting the posts.

I've also enjoyed all the knitters I've met because of my blog. I appreciate everyone who stops by and maybe leaves a comment.

In my web browsing recently, I've run across a recurring theme of puzzlement among other bloggers about knit blogging. Some people seem confused why we insist on blogging about our knitting [Why we even knit at all, really. Now, if we were blogging only about our cell phones, that would make sense].

I think it makes perfect sense why we're here. We want to learn about new techniques, new fibers, new patterns. We get advice and encouragement. We share our success and failures. We don't always have access to other knitters or can't always make it to a knitting group. It's all about communication the same as everything else on the Internet. We love to talk about the things that interest us. It's as simple as that. I think it's great that we can blend our passion for a craft with our obsession with technology.

Hat and Cowl

After I made the modifications to the hat, I was able to finish it with out buying another skein of Silk Garden. [Thanks for the info about the Yarn Garden though, Genia].

Since both Emma and Melissa requested, here is a picture of me wearing the hat and cowl with the jacket with which they were meant to coordinate.

After I return from my holiday travels, I'll try to write up the pattern for each and maybe even get a better picture [Perhaps I'll hire a model].

Unfortunate Christmas Cards

A selection of fine holiday sentiments for you.

Have a great week while I'm away. Now, I must pack.

Garden of Earthly Delights

I'm not quite done, but I couldn't wait any longer.

This is what my mystery yarn is turning into.

The cowl is completed—I wore it to and from work today. It's going to serve its purpose perfectly as a cozy and decorative filler of the gap between my jacket and my neck. The yarn is Noro Silk Garden, color #82. It took just over a skein to knit the cowl [Only four rows short! Grr!].

There were several inspirations for this project. One is a comment left on Wendy's blog recently by Peg, giving simple directions for a knitted cowl. I know Peg from K2P2 and I've seen her knit several cowls out of enticing luxury fibers. It's always seemed like a good way to sample the 'good stuff' without breaking the bank. [Thanks Peg and Wendy for reminding me of this option].

[BTW, K2P2 has moved from Border's to Mayorga Coffee Roasters (8040 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, MD). It still meets the 3rd Saturday of the month around 4pm though. Come on down this Saturday and see us].

Further inspiration was provided by Mady, who I know from Knitting-In-The-City at Savory. She has a beautiful feather and fan stitch scarf knit out of Silk Garden that I have been admiring for months. It was my original intention to knit a scarf just like it until I decided on a cowl instead. I kept the Silk Garden and the wavy stitch pattern though.

However, I didn't use feather and fan. The stitch pattern I used is from a lacy little sweater called Opulent Options from the Spring 1999 issue of Knitter's magazine [back in the day]. Here's the sweater as I originally knit it four years ago out of some nameless discontinued ribbon yarn. I've always liked this stitch pattern.

I reworked the stitch pattern to knit in the round and worked three pattern repeats with borders on either end [wanting those darn borders to be symmetric is why I went four rows into the second skein].

Here's a close-up of the stitch pattern in the cowl. [You'll notice that pattern is flipped in this picture].

The hat in the picture is a cheat. It's a prototype that I knit last night which has already been ripped back to almost the beginning so I can make some modifications. [For instance, the finished hat will not have a Bryspun double point needle sticking out of the top].

Also, I'm going to need some more yarn before I can finish it. I had almost a skein left after the cowl and I wanted to see how far I could get with a hat. The answer? Not far enough. The crown will need to be about another inch deep before the hat will fit well and won't feel like it's going to pop off the top of my head.

I got these first two skeins on sale and in the mail. It looks as though if I want this hat to be done in time for my holiday travels I'm going to have to see if I can pick up one more skein locally and not on sale this weekend. Such is life.

Mystery yarn revealed

This has almost, but not quite, become what it will be.

Details to follow...

Holiday Studio Tour

I meant to post last night but a Christmas party got in the way. Very fun party, but it was very difficult to get any work done today.

Friday, I went with 'the' Michelle [I'm 'the other' Michelle] and her friend, Pam, to the Country Artisans 2003 Holiday Studio Tour. We hit two of the fiber related stops on the tour, Kiparoo Farm and Dancing Leaf Farm.

Our first stop was Annie Kelley's Kiparoo Farm.

Annie was welcoming and her little farm shop is full of beautiful yarn in beautiful colors. I picked up a skein of Skye in a colorway Annie says was inspired by a trip to the Southwest.

After the Zephyr lace scarf is done, I think a Skye lace scarf will follow.

Our other stop was Dalis Davidson's Dancing Leaf Farm. There are no pictures of the shop or the friendly yellow lab who greets you in the driveway with a sign around his neck that reads 'Need Yarn?' because the camera batteries gave out at this point.

There was much yarny goodness there, but I walked away with only a sale copy of Sally Melville Styles. Maybe I'll have to look for the Dancing Leaf booth at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival next May.

Much sleep needed now.

Thinking inside the box

The yarn that I ordered arrived yesterday. The box is hiding behind the front/back of Bark.

What's the yarn? Something yummy. What will it be? That has yet to be determined.

Right now it's still pure potential. It could soar or crash. I have an idea that I'm going to play around with, but if that doesn't work out...well, you may never know. If my idea doesn't work, I'll fall back to something safe and that's what you'll see.

Why so mysterious? Why not? It's the season for anticipation and surprise.

Why don't make a snowflake while you wait?

Progress Report

Let's look at the little progress bars over on the right and see just what those numbers mean.

Country Plaid Shirt (CPS)

I started this sweater last March and I've been taking my own sweet time with it.

All that's left is assembly (including front bands and collar). And yet, there it sits.

Nordic Flower

Can you see it?

It's there in the plastic bag, right beneath Maidenhair. I should take it off the roll because it's currently not going anywhere. [POOF! It's gone].

Manos afghan

Four of twelve blocks are done.

I would be happy to be working on this afghan, but I need more yarn. Who's your favorite Manos resource? Hook me up. I'm ready to buy.

Zephyr scarf

Modelled by our lovely assistant.

This is mindless knitting. It grows in spurts.

Bark

We know what this looks like. I'm one third up the second front/back.

So, that's where I am with all my current 'active' projects. Why don't I feel inspired?

O Tannenbaum

Today, I put up my Christmas tree.

Winter Wonderland

This was the view out of the front window this morning.

You can compare that with the view back in August when I moved in.

I'm so glad that I can spend this day inside knitting, drinking hot beverages, and listening to seasonal music. For a while, I was buying one Christmas-type CD a year until I built up my collection. I haven't bought one in a few years; but today, I realized I need some more Christmas jazz. Any recommendations?

My current favorite Christmas CD is A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special. Whose heart doesn't warm a little listening to a slightly off-key chorus of children singing Christmas Time is Here? [Sigh].

The back of Bark is done enough to cast on for the front today.

Or maybe this is the front—the back and front are exactly the same. I'm not sure about the neck height yet. I do not have the long, swan-like neck of the model in the picture. I'm not going to bother casting off the neck until I can give the neck opening a trial run.

[I ordered yarn today].

Basket Case

The weekend before last, I finally broke down and bought a basket that I had been eyeing at a local shop. There was a larger size basket as well, but I exercised extreme restraint.

Doesn't it just look as though it should be filled to the top with yarn? [It's currently holding some magazines].

Last night, I was cruising the Crate & Barrel website, checking out the basket section [home accessory p*rn], when I ran across these items. Now, except for the handles, these baskets look nearly identical to mine, but for more than twice the price. SCORE!!!

There's progress on Bark: another pattern repeat is just about complete.

However, as with every one of my projects, there is a complication. Charlotte asked if I would be making the sweater pattern length, minus the ribbing. Well...that was my intention; however, things don't always go as planned.

I swear, truly, I swatched. I did a sizable swatch. Things looked good along both the vertical and horizontal dimensions. Why, oh why, then have things changed with the full size piece?

I must have been kidding myself when I measured the swatch because now the horizontal gauge is on when slightly stretched, but the vertical gauge is short. No big deal [I'm hoping], but unsettling nonetheless.

To compensate, I'm going to do another half pattern repeat to get the body length I require. I think that if I really blocked the heck out of it, I could make the horizontal and vertical dimensions without adding the extra length. However, I don't want to be blocking that hard in both dimensions at once. It's more important for me to be able to see the stitch pattern clearly so horizontal wins.