February 2009 Archives

The days of point-and-shoot are over.  The days where everything looks orange.  Or blurry.  Or, just plain awful.  The upgrade had to happen or I might have been put off documenting my knitting forever. 

Behold the Nikon D80, a semi-pro DSLR equipped with a sweet macro lens to catch stitch definition in its full glory.  Or so I expect, once I figure out how to use the damned thing.  Years of serious black and while photography with film (you know, that purple-gray stuff that comes in rolls) has not equipped me with many transferable skills to the world of digital photography.  With a steep learning curve ahead, I anticipate sharing with you some top-notch knitting photography within a few months (best case scenario).  In the meantime, here are my baby steps.  And when I say baby, I really mean it: I needed assistance last night with the "on" function.

First, my Koolhaas hat.  One of the few projects I've endeavored on my own behalf, I have to say I'm in love.  With the yarn (Queensland Kathmandu Aran), the pattern (thank you, Jared), and the possibilities (family and friends will learn to love their Koolhaas hats, too).  I picked up a couple additional balls of the Kathmandu in a grassy green for my guy.  I'm hoping that the dense texture of this hat will tame his unruly hair in a way that the last hat gift did not. 

Pattern: Thumbs Up
Source: Big Fish, Little Fish by Jil Eaton
Yarn: Dream in Color Groovy in Blue Lagoon
Needles: US8 (two circulars)
Modifications: Knit in the round; picked up 4 stitches along thumb.  Next time I would add additional stitches in palm area for larger hand width.

Oh, mittens!  A phrase which should, perhaps, be a new obscenity.  Mittens!  Mittens, I say!

I had no fear of completing the swap mittens, and here they are.  I do fear, however, that they may be a little small.  They are stretchy, so I'll hope and pray.  Completed in just the nick of time, I did not have the chance to add the beading as I'd hoped.  They are still adorable and I'm so in love with the yarn that I may have to make a pair for myself.  My worry regarding the yardage was unfounded, as there is quite a bit left.  Maybe a cute kerchief is in it's future?  Or perhaps just going into the scraps bag.  I am confident that one day I will have a leftover yarn epiphany in which I devise the most brilliant and efficient means of putting the bitty balls to work.    

Knitting disasters come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Fortunately, my latest race down that road was not as bad as it could have been.  My first mistake was agreeing to a deadline for the latest SnK swap.  On one hand, I thrive under pressure and often employ productive procrastination to get me closer to a deadline.  However, knitting does not fall into this category for me, which is why I'm not a holiday knitter.  Regardless, a pair of mittens was the task, and we had about a month to complete them - no sweat.  I waited until last week to start because I had the perfect stash yarn to use for the project and it was sitting in my folks basement (hey, I'm a New Yorker, we all use what storage we can!).  Still no problem, I envisioned a pair of chunky cabled mittens using two strands of a local handspun merino, in a pattern I've knit up before.  I was even going to sew on some beads for added embellishment.  Green hands (yarn bleed, ick) and two mismatched mittens later (the result of knitting the second in the absence of the first all while getting my hair colored), I simply couldn't deconstruct the smaller of the two thanks to seaming with the most break-prone yarn ever.  They sort of felted up while being knit and it simply wasn't going to happen. 

Now it's a couple days before I've got to pop these babies in the mail, and I'm totally mittenless.  Last night I made an emergency run to Knitty City and probably spent the most time ever choosing yarn.  I know my recipient likes turquoise and wool, so I picked up the yummiest handpainted Dream in Color Groovy, and cast one once again.  It's smooth, strong and beautiful (at $20 a skein, it should be!).  In fact, I already feel inspired to knit myself another pair in the same yarn - it's that nice.  Of course, I'll be receiving a pair of mittens, too, so no hasty yarn purchases appear in my future. 

There is a silver lining, however, and this fiasco just follows what I've always believed - when one thing doesn't work out, something better comes along.  I'm now working up much prettier mittens in a yarn that is a joy to knit, all the while my hands remain their natural color.  Also, I reworked the pattern in the round so I won't have any seaming to do.  I still think adding beads would look fabulous, but I may not have enough time.  And that's what it always comes down to - time.  What happened to the days of patrons - isn't there someone out there who would like to support me financially so I may spend my days knitting?

After all these years I have only just experienced the joy of yarn swift and ball winder.  Yes, you read correctly.  Years of hand-balling hanks of yarn both thick and thin made me hardened to the need for gadgets.  It seemed an extravagance.  A waste.  Then, with one glorious taste of the double-contraption, I immediately sent off for one of my very own.  It was simply too wonderful and too satisfying to pass up.  No more yarn-on-feet, yarn-on-chair or yarn-on-boyfriend! 

I must of course give credit to to my friend, the aforementioned Lady Socks, who may now be referred to as "devil temptress" or some variation thereof for tempting me to multiple fiber-related purchases (also recalling the WEBS incident here).

My post is inspired by the receipt of said contraption, and I can't wait to get home tonight to ball some yarn.  I'm sure that my better half will be thrilled. 

The waiting.  It hurts.  My enormous order at WEBS is sitting in the ether of cyberspace and the only thing I can do is keep checking to see when it ships.  I'm so excited about the next few projects that my urge to be home knitting instead of at work is almost tangible.  It's almost the same little heartstring tug I feel when I'm traveling and just want to be home with my better half.  In the meantime, I can drum up even more anticipation by thinking about exactly what will be done with each ball of yarn. 

Twinkle Soft Chunky
Though generally not a fan of bulky yarn or really anything made with it, I have fallen victim to the beauty of Jared Flood's photography on brooklyntweed.  Practically anything he makes and photographs is something that I want to make and photograph.  It's a problem.  The Chunky Merino Throw by Wenlan Chia, with it's rather large pricetag, was an even bigger problem.  But WEBS entered into the equation and the yarn became slightly more reasonable and it's on its way.  Since I'm not into pastels and my black-haired puppy rules out the rich cream color, I finally decided on a deep ocean blue. 

Plymouth Happy Feet
It's time to admit it - I've never made socks.  I honestly never understood the draw and haven't felt motivated.  I go through socks pretty quickly, and it seems like quite a lot of time devoted to something that I'll most likely trash in a couple months.  Also, I was always worried that I would feel the stitch definition on my feet and it would be uncomfortable.  And so on.  But a friend of mine is always happily knitting a pair and I finally found a pattern that inspired.  So this vivid yarn of pinks and reds will be the basis for my Falling in Love socks.     

I also purchased some merino and microfiber blends to whip up a couple of fair isle hats.  I have this strange and inexplicable love of Norwegian knitting, and I invested in Hats On! by Charlene Schurch.  The cover is a little 80's, but the finished objects on Ravelry helped me get past my bias.