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knitting: commentary
25 february 2003 a strange sort of quiet
the home computer has gone from ill to critical. in fact, i believe it may have to be removed from life support this evening. i try not to think about the eight months of poetry submissions i have yet to wade through that are hopefully safe and sound on the hard drive, and instead focus on the small amount of chaos that has been removed from my life. i can't go without a computer for very long, but right now, it's rather nice to be unplugged whilst at home.
not all my free, unplugged hometime has been devoted to knitting, but plenty of knitting there has been. when we get a new computer and everything is all hooked up, i will load you up with pictures; for now, you're stuck with text.
i finished a hat and a pair of mittens for my co-worker, to match the scarf i already completed. the scarf was from the sally melville book, the mittens from the ann budd book, and the hat from my happy little head.
i was so excited about successfully making mittens that i whipped out another pair for sophie. "red mittens for sophie!" she insisted, so red mittens are what she got. i used some lamb's pride worsted that i had left over from making a pair of fuzzy feet for jim. my mother, a lifelong knitter, was appalled and somewhat skittish about my purposefully shrinking something but all was well and jim has a pair of bright blue and red slippers to wear around the house. he usually pads about in socks, but he goes through the heels of them rather quickly. hopefully, the fuzzies will last a little longer.
what with all the new, you'd think i had ignored the old, but no! the two front panels for tom's baby sweater are complete and i am about a third of the way through the sleeves. i am hoping to have the whole thing done by this weekend, so i can cast on for vicki's second sock as, amazingly, the first one fits her perfectly.
13 february 2003 e-woes
bad thing: the computer at home is ill. i can read mail, or surf a few pages, but if i try to do anything that requires too much memory or power, she freezes up. i need to take it in but work has been so crazy i haven't been able to make it there during business hours. why is this bad for knitting? i can't download nor edit pictures of my finished and in progress works. i do so like pictures.
bad thing, 2: i lost my favorite finishing needle. it was ancient, a dirty grey steel with a blunt bulbous end. i still have hope it will surface in the carpet or hidden in the corner of a bag. i bought a new set of big eyes needles, but it is not the same.
good thing: i have finished objects! sophie's sweater? done! [i did end up ripping the hood, and then redoing it to make it lighter. i also finished the sleeves using the 2 sleeves+2 circular needles method] the first sock for vicki? done! [waiting for her to try it on before making the next one; they look too big to me so if i'm right, i won't make number 2 yet. i'll just start a new number 1 for her]. scarf for co-worker? done! [now i just need a matching hat and mittens. mittens! i've never made mittens before.] back of baby cardigan? done! [and i'd better get a move on. tom's baby was born 2 weeks ago; four good friends are due this summer so it will be baby knitting for a while around here]
good thing, 2: i learned a new finishing edge in the process of my first toe-up socks. first i tried binding off loosely; couldn't get the sock on. then i tried the suspended loop cast-off; still too small. then i tried the sewing! i know there is a name for it but i think of it as the p2k1 sewing cast-off. a beautiful, stretchy, fit over my whole foot edge! i actually liked doing it; i've heard a number of people complain about "grafting" a whole cast-off edge, but i found it very simple and soothing.
good thing, 3: i made the goal of not buying yarn for 30 days. it was more like 38 days! and then it was under $10 -- some cotton for baby bibs.
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