Random Monday

A few random thoughts because I'm not quite together enough for a real post.

~ I think I read somewhere that I'm supposed to wait till Wednesday to be random. However, when you think about it Mondays are probably a better day. Mondays are tough enough most weeks without the added pressure of a proper blog post.

~ My husband went grocery shopping earlier today. Yet he is now complaining that there is no bread for a vegemite & toast creation. Am I the only one confused as to how this might be?

~ I have a love-hate relationship with "nature". Today was about the love. This is what greeted my morning tea. Can you see the mother in the upper right corner?


~ If you are wondering what to do with that leftover red yarn in your stash. Consider this - Red Scarf Project. I don't know why but this really pulls at my heart strings. I've got some Manos that should be perfect for this.

~ Have you ever tried to find DK weight non-synthetic, non-cotton yarn in big bird yellow? Doesn't exist. I've looked. I only need one skein. You would think the universe could arrange this for me. Apparently it has better things to do.

~ I've been on vacation since last Thursday. Tomorrow I have to go back to work. What I really want is a winning lottery ticket. Since the universe can't come up with a simple thing such as bright yellow wool, I won't even bother to ask for the ticket.

~ My peacock/palawan shawl is no longer in trial mode. The final cast on has happened and I am half way through the first section. Stay tuned for pictures.

Less random posts will commence again in the near future. However, I make no promises about the improvement in coherence. I can babble in a straight forward manner just as well.
:)

Decision Made

Last we met, I was in a quandary. Deciding between toe-up or toe-down, beads or no beads, green or blue. It was too much for me to handle and I called for a vote. Thankfully, you helped me out.

The count started out fairly even, but eventually Baudelaire pulled slightly ahead. The final total was six for Baudelaire, four for Reptilian Lace, and three undecided including myself. I swatched to ensure I had the right needle for the pattern. (Marji, I can hear you snickering!) I casted on. I fell in love.


The two needle process, the lace, I am in love with these socks. A quick reference from the book gifted by my SP8, Socks Soar on Two Circular needles, and I was on my way. Why have I been torturing myself with double point needles all this time? Seriously, this two circular method is soooo much quicker.

The lace is absolutely gorgeous. Bonus, it is also very easy to memorize. I had it figured out by the second row. I am almost to the gusset and I only started yesterday afternoon. I think there might be a bit of caffeine or some other addictive substance in these socks. I cannot put them down for very long.

All in all, a good decision made. . . sort of.


I am waiting for my size zero circulars to arrive.

Opinions Wanted

I have to make a decision. But I can't. I want to, but I am torn.

All the thinking, calculating, charting, and in general creative noodling for the peacock shawl has left me with little brain power. It has also created the desire to knit some lace. Not just any lace, but some lace where someone else has done all the work.

I have narrowed it down to the following two items. They fill the requirement of pre-designed lace. There is the added benefit of being portable. A valuable trait for the lunchtime knitting hour.

So would it be too much to ask of you to decide for me? Really, I cannot make up my mind. One has beads, the other is toe-up. This holds an appeal to the never-before-tried side of me. One is cuff down and the other is beadless. This is attractive to the less-risk-of-exploding-the-only-remaining-brain-cell side of me.

(If I did the htm code right, you should be able to click both links and open separate windows for side by side comparison)
Option 1: Reptilian Lace socks, Koigu yarn color P535 with perfectly matching beads.


Option 2: Baudelaire Socks, Koigu yarn color P416L


Don't hold back. Tell me what you think.

Light Housecleaning

During my time at Stitches, one topic of conversation was a frequent visitor among my friends and I. Knitting what you love, knitting what you will use or wear, and not knitting what you impulsively fell in lust love with only to quickly lose the excitement days later. I came home from Chicago filled with a new determination to do a little housecleaning, of my yarn stash that is. Some of my wips are going to the frog pond, some are declaring a mulligan, and some will be moved to the top of my must finish soon list.

The mystery stole is coming off my needles. The wonderfully charted pattern kept the momentum going for a few weeks. Slowly reality set in, however. I do not like the yarn and needle size I choose for the pattern. It will be less of a stole and more of a ridiculously long, skinny scarf. Most certainly not the image I had in mind when I casted on. Now that some weeks have passed, I am on the fence about finding a new yarn to start again.

The lace camisole is being frogged. Atleast as frogged as kidsilk haze will allow. I was looking for a pattern that used kidsilk haze and this one caught my eye. I casted on before common sense could voice an opinion. It is not a style of garment that looks good on me. Should I continue, it will become one more item I knit and never wear.

The Silkroad Aran Cable sweater is in need of a do over. Sometimes I am too smart for my own good. One of the classes I attended, discussed how important it is to know your style. As it turns out, I have two. The fitted drapey style I tend to feel best in for work and the casual style I prefer for weekends. I also learned in this class that most sweaters as written are about one to three inches too long for my height.

The length issue would have required that I rip back two and a half inches from the casted off edge of the finished back piece. However, I tried to rewrite the pattern to combine the two styles. In hindsight, not one of my better ideas. Although, my mother will be the first to tell you it isn't my worst. I suppose I can take some comfort in that. Thus, I need to rip it back to the first three inches and start over from there.

The two remaining sweaters, I have placed a self-imposed deadline of thanksgiving. If I haven't finished them by then, they too will join the frog pond.

Life is too short to knit an unloved item.

Gray Saturday Sky

SP8 Revealed

Time flies when you are having fun! It is hard to believe that the end of August is almost here. But, the end of the month brings the knowledge that Deborah is my SP8 spoiler. She sent along all sorts of goodies, even birthday gifts to make sure that my birthday lasted for a long time. One package was even marked open last. I resisted temptation and followed instructions. :)

She has been funny, kind, and generous from the beginning. Her reveal package is no less wonderful. Yummy goodies like a chocolate bar, chocolate raisins, and crunchie fruit mix to appeal to a girl's taste buds; scrumptious yarn - Berrocco Ultra Alpaca (soooo soft), a ball of ribbon yarn from Lion Brand, and two balls of beautifully colored cotton to satisfy the fiber lover in me; the newest copy of Knit n Style that has a wonderful shrug pattern I need to cast on for; and the "open last" package was the book from Cat Bordhi for moebius knitting! I have been really wanting to learn this new technique and already have at least two projects that I want to try!

Deborah, it has been a lot of fun and you have been a great secret pal! Thank you so much!!

My Very Own Socks

The excitement of Stitches has rejuvenated my desire to swatch for my Peacock-Palawan Shawl design. As Marji has mentioned, it also inspired me to take a hard honest look at my stash and wip's. Some yarn on my needles is going to come off. Some have found new motivation to finish.

I'll post more about the swatches, and stash & wip reduction later. Amidst all the Stitches excitement, I also found a cold, allergy, sinus infection or well, something that requires a great deal of sleep and throat lozenges.

Fresh off my DPNs I present Crusoe. My very first pair of socks for moi!

Needles: US2 DPNs.
Pattern: Crusoe from Knitty
Yarn: Koigu, color 105L
Dates: May 29, 2006 - Aug 16, 2006

I loved knitting them. I even like the pooling. (The other sock has a blue splotch on the bottom.)They were quick and easy. After a brief read through, I didn't need the pattern either. Thus they were very portable. I will have to weigh the remaining yarn, but I think there may be enough to do another pair. (I had three skeins and I think I used about half of two skeins each.)

Also - Alyssa you asked about the Andrea Silk colorway. It is Renata Tebaldi from the memorable womens VII colorways. Even better in person than I was able to photo it. :)

Now I'm off to sleep some more. I'll leave you with Cleo being all snuggly with the sheep.

This Little Knitter Went to Stitches

I'm home! It was so much fun and I still haven't taken it all in yet. There was a great deal to see and to learn. A presentation on the new book that XRX will have available this November, Victorian Lace, has me on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait for this to hit bookshelves and yarn stores. I'm still absorbing the knowledge I gained from my technical classes with Jean Frost, Lily Chin, and Sally Mellville. I'm really not sure where to even start with all that I walked away with from their classes.

I took classes every day of the conference and learned a lot. For example, I now knot that I am not nor will I be a spinner. I made a perfect bulky thick n' thin yarn during my drop spindle class. However, I am content to buy my yarn from now on. I'd rather be knitting than spinning. My technical classes have given me a great deal of confidence to design a sweater from scratch instead of following ones in magazines. Although, I've got so many ideas that I think it will take a few days to let the noise settle down and allow me to start.

More importantly I got to meet Marji and Kim. They are even better in person than in blog. Which is saying a lot because they blog well. Warm, generous, funny, smart ... I could go on and on. I didn't stop laughing for most of the weekend. They made a good time great! Again, this is a wonderful benefit of blogging. I'm sure Marji will post some pictures when she has a moment to do so. I'd post mine, but I thought I'd save you the headache caused by squinting at the blurriness.

They also have a good sense in when to enable and when to stop me from disaster (like when I momentarily forgot that I am not nor will I be a spinner and thus didn't need several ounces of roving). Very handy friends to have around in a market full of wool, silk, roving, buttons, lace, and the like.

I think I was very restrained compared to some of the suitcases I saw leaving the market area. For patterns, I came home with several lace shawl and jacket patterns, the book A Gathering of Lace that I have been wanting to get my hands on, and Knitting with Hand Dyed Yarns that was a gift from the organizers of the conference. The fiber from top left is 20 cashmere/80 silk laceweight, koigu PPPM (click here for closeup), Schaefer Andrea silk (click here), and 3000+ yards of laceweight merino wool. I definitely enhanced my lace stash.

I am still unpacking and sorting everything into it's new home. It's good to be back, but I'm looking forward to doing it again next year!

Ready, Set, Stitch!

Whew! I'm exhausted and ready for a vacation. I've been vacuuming and doing laundry. I even dusted. What is it about leaving for a few days that prompts this huge need to have a clean house? I think it's because I know that when I get home, I will be able to stare at, fondle, knit without interruption all the wonderful yarn goodness I hope to find at Stitches.

Complicating matters is that my original plan was to take only 2 or 3 projects. However, after a brief conversation with Marji whose motto was apparently "You are driving, bring it all and sort it out later. It'll fit in the car won't it?" It took me 30 minutes to pack my clothes and 2 hours to pack my yarn. (I know my mother is shaking her head in amazement and concern - lol!)

So, my bags are packed. I'm off to Stitches! I can't wait to meet Marji, Kim, and Patty in person. I'll be back online sometime Sunday.

Call It What You Want

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." - Jane Howard

The biggest surprises are the ones you do not expect. They aren't always good, I'll admit. But they are always big, in emotion, if not physical size.

A while back I was invited to be part of a Tribe. A tribe of wonderful, creative, thoughtful women. I accepted. I was humble and grateful to be included. Some of these women have continuously amazed me with their kindness towards me and others. Others I met for the first time and am so glad to have gotten to know them.

Many of them live on the other side of the equator in Australia. My husband spent many years there working in hotel & restaurant management in Sydney. Occasionally something would pop up on the TV or in the papers that would prompt an Ozzie story from him. Not often - there isn't a whole lot of Ozziness going on around here. Until I started blogging.

I have been exposed not only to a new culture of food, language, and humor, but my husband's stories. Stories that I might not have learned if not for this tribe. Combined with the friendship of some great ladies, I am blessed.

I didn't see it coming. I never imagined how blogging would change my life. I am very grateful that it has allowed me to find so many people who have enriched my life beyond measure on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

Never Say Never

"I never knit a swatch!" If I was starting gloves, hats, or a scarf - I reasoned that the item was so small that the start of it would in and of itself constitute a swatch. If I was starting a sweater, well than I'd start the sleeve. Again, same thought process.

Fate is ugly business. You should really think long and hard before you tempt her. She is sneaky and she is patient. very. very. patient. She waits until you have been lulled into thinking you have been forgotten by her. Then she whacks you up side the head.

This year, I have generated more swatches than any knitter should have to create in a life time. Starting with my four month lace class that netted an average of four to five swatches a month. There is the swatching for my peacock shawl. That adds another twelve swatches to the count and I'm not done. Finally, to ensure that interest has been paid on the bill of unknit swatches, my Stitches homework requires another eight swatches.


There are barely five days left before Stitches. (Sorry Marji, KnitBrit, and Patty - I should have warned you to sit down first.) I have two swatches left to complete. One of them is a fair isle. I used to say "I never knit fair isle."

Fate apparently thinks she's funny.

Looks Like Rain

It is gray skies here at Chez Jae. I'm not complaining. The yard could use the rain and I could use the continued break for the extreme heat.

Remember the First Time?

Do you remember when you first decided to learn how to knit? Do you remember why you wanted to learn?

I have been knitting for more than eight years. Actually, it's closer to nine. It was only recently that I found an old journal that could pin point the date to within a given month. A lot has happened in the intervening years. While I've known how to knit for almost a decade, the date I actually became a knitter was more recent and more significant in it's relevance to my obsession passion for the craft. That is the memory that usually comes immediately to mind when asked how long I've been waving pointy sticks around. I have to do math from that date to get to the real number of 8 plus years.

The why still escapes me to this day, though I'm sure I had a really good reason to learn at the time. None of my friends knitted. My mother knows how, but her thing has always leaned towards paper crafts. I think my grandmother knew how but the only fiber projects I remember were crocheted. I suspect that I came across an incredibly over-priced sweater or scarf and thought to myself "how hard can it be?". Then again, I could have just gotten the notion because I had nothing better to do that day. I've done stranger things for less reason than that.

My first project was a sweater. Yes,that's right a sweater. No sticking my toe in the water to test the temperature for me. Nope, nada, no way. I didn't wear hats or gloves with any regularity. Scarves abounded plenty in my closet. I decided I wanted to learn to knit and a sweater seemed the practical choice.

I never wore it. Atleast not for more than a few minutes. And never in public.

I chose a bright variegated worsted weight acrylic yarn from Red Heart. My local Meij*er store had several skeins of Red Heart and Lion Brand in a multitude of fibers and weights to choose from. From the start, I grasped the idea that substituting yarns for my first project might be a bit more advanced than I was ready for. No, the concept that a sweater was a bit more advanced never occurred to me. I purchased the required amount of yarn, the pattern book, the how-to instruction booklet, and the correctly sized needles.

I quickly mastered the knit stitch and the mating purl stitch. I even understood the concept of gauge. It was several projects later that I learned WHY gauge was critical, but suffice it for this story that I did realize early on that it WAS critical. It took bit longer to learn how to knit and purl in the same row. The instructions said to move the yarn to the front when switching to purl stitches. I did - under the growing rows of fabric. It created a nice ruffle effect, but 2 x 2 ribbing it was not. Squinting at the picture did little to clear up my confusion. It wasn't until I accidentally did it right that the light glowed brightly on how to flip the yarn front to back correctly.

After 3 inches of ribbing on US 3 needles and 2 inches of stockinette on size US 6 needles, I was rapidly losing interest in the project. A habit I still regularly indulge. The pattern was a drop sleeve pullover. I was supposed to knit 21 inches to the neck shaping, but by the time 17 inches had been knit boredom won. Having known how to sew since I was in grade school, I immediately recognized that the same 4 inch adjustment would be required for the front. A few weeks later, the front piece was completed. A few more weeks after that I had a pair of sleeves. It took several tries, and I use that term loosely with understatement, until I learned how to mattress stitch all the pieces together.

The more astute among you have already added up that tight ribbed edge plus a cropped length equals a sweater not for public consumption. The ribbing began only three to four inches below the underwire of my unmentionables. I recall that it barely reached the top of my jeans. It was beautifully knit, but ugly to wear. It sat in my closet for over four years. I was proud of what I had learned, but smart enough to not be caught dead wearing it. One day it was gone. I don't remember throwing it out or donating it. I suppose I had eventually amassed enough finished objects that could be worn outside the home. I no longer needed that sweater as a reminder of what I had accomplished.

For the record my next project was a feather & fan blanket. No fitting required.