knitting: commentary

26 nov 2003 thankful

i am thankful for my family. i am thankful for my friends. i am thankful for having a wonderful home to come back to after a less than wonderful business trip. i like chicago, but i spent entirely too many hours inside the marriott, trapped with rooms full of people suffering from a variety of colds and flus. no wonder i came home with yet another head.sinus.chest thing. bleh.

but, i am also thankful to have some just about finished objects! one sock, with a tiny little rolltop edge. i fear number 2 won't be cast-on for a while, unless i decide the pair would make a good last minute christmas present for someone else, and then it will leap onto the needles with great alacrity.

jim's alpaca scarf is done too, except for the pesking weaving in of ends. and just in time for st nicholas day! good thing, as i don't think i can wait until christmas to hand it over.

the impossible to photograph baby sweater just needs a few seams and a few rows knit around the neckline. then i have to find buttons, and an appropriately coordinating yarn to make some booties and a hat of some sort. i won't have enough of the red to make either, but there should be enough for accents, so the set will still tie together.

swatching. i really don't do it often enough; i tend to be a go for it girl when not following a specific pattern, and even then i'll sometimes skip it. i know i knit tightly, so i just go up two needles sizes and 9 times out of 10 i'm right on target. but, i felt like swatching, so swatch i did. the first and third are destined to be scarves, i think. and the really pretty red ribbon in the middle might be a little shell for sophie. it is very christmasy so if i can figure out a way to stretch the three skeins into what i am envisioning, it will be the perfect little top.

though december is right around the corner, my christmas gift list is still in flux. the one thing i definitely planned on making was the sitcom chic for my sister, so i thought i'd better get a move on. it is zipping right along, and i think i might actually finish it before she arrives for her holiday visit, even with everything else i need to be doing between now and then.

and finally, a skinny little tube scarf from himalaya wool/silk scraps yarn. it is a little funky, and a little worldly, and probably destined as the perfect gift for my sister's mother-in-law who will be spending the holidays with my family this year.

and this? this is a girl who needs a lot more sleep. in the hat that didn't quite make it into the knitty book.

17 nov 2003 outta here

i leave for a five day business trip wednesday morning. hopefully there will be time to knit in the meetings as the nights will be all about the working. viva la laptop!

i finished the bag and it will be delivered to its new owner in chicago. it's not a purse, more a bag into which things can be put. the lopi paired with the lamb's pride worsted felted beautifully and the shaping held true to form. i'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but will make some small adjustments if i make another.

i also finished the giant socks! they are lion wool-ease thick'n'quick, and i used the pattern on the label, as that's what she wanted. i think if i lived somewhere colder, i'd make a pair for me, but living in relatively moderate seattle, i fear my feet would swelter. that said, the pattern was cleverly shaped and easy to follow. mayhaps i will make some more, as christmas stockings, they'd look great hanging from a mantle.

just so you can see how giant they really are, here is one on sophie. it covers her entire leg. i could have joined pair at the top, knit a few rounds and had a pair of heavy duty tights for her. now, that's an idea...

15 nov 2003 felting as therapy

when i arrived home from florida, it was to find sophie sick with a wicked cold. never one to miss a sharing opportunity, she gave it to me, and it has morphed into some strange bronchial beast. i am fevering and sneezing and coughing up things with the hues of 70's kitchens. in a perfect world, i'd be home, bundled up in front of the fire, knitting as i recuperated. in the real world, i am working and trying to keep the house in order [rather unsuccessfully] and barely knitting at all.

i can't bear the thought of the tiny needles for my socks and the baby layette, so i made another bag. it's felting as i type; i spent the first ten minutes of the cycle with my head over the washing machine, breathing in the steam of the hot cycle. it's entirely different than the ones i made before -- at least a different as a felted bag can be -- and i took some risks with different weight wools. we'll see.

i'm also knitting a giant pair of socks for a coworker. on size 13's, they just about fly off the needle complete, so i might even have the pair done this weekend.

09 nov 2003 baby steps

i spent most of last week in florida at a conference. i have to go to another conference in chicago the week after next. i have to take at least 8 vacation days before the end of the year, or lose them. if i add all of these days up, it means i have 21 working days until the end of the year. i also have 4 major projects due by then, as well as 3 minor ones, and my assistance is required on any number of other things. i expect to be certifiable by the middle of december.

i managed some knitting on the flights and at day one of the conferences. the two back pieces of the baby sweater are done and later tonight i will cast on for the two sleeves. it still photographs horribly, so you'll have to take my word that it is very cute.

i finished the brown and am onto the maroon with jim's scarf. this thing is curling like a mo-fo, even with the seed stitch border. let's all hope the gods of blocking are on my side.

i really could have finished sock number 1, but it wasn't giving me that loving feeling. i think maybe another inch or two of the 2x2 ribbing and we'll call it a day. sock number 2 is slated for the flight to the next conference.

and finally, i felted bag number three. my little adjustments worked out great, so next time i will incorporate them and the next set i have in mind. i started another bag this afternoon, but it is going to be a little different in shape. hopefully my mental vision will translate nicely into fiber reality.

october 2003

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