I think the world is ready.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
More Sockage
And here's another piece of fabric that I might sample for a ripple blanket. It's the lining of a bag from Mom and Kate. It's one of the prettiest prints ever; I really love the colors.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Rippling Monkeys!
These were so much fun, and so fast! It's the siren-call of the repeated pattern, I'm telling you. The yarn was Knitpicks Essential Tweed, which I will not be using again for a while, if I can help it. It's perfectly fine yarn, but it splits like crazy. Also, it had a hard time sliding just so over my bamboo needles, which made me nuts in its own right. Still, I'm really pleased with the results. Last night after I finished I cast on some very bright ribbed socks in some of the spoils of Knitswap. I don't have a larger project to work on right now; a couple of things are stalled in the waiting-for-materials phase, but essentially I'm left with nothing to do but make socks at what I predict will be a furious rate. More pictures coming soon!
Also, I've been lurking around the No-End-In-Sight Ripple-Along. It makes me want to crochet so badly I can almost taste it. I was sitting there last night thinking about how much fun it would be to do a ripple a day,how inexpensively I could obtain the yarn, how I would palette it. I've already decided that if I do get it together enough to learn to crochet and make a blanket (hey, look, a flying pie!), I'll palette it after one of the skirts that Mom's made me.
Admit it, those colors would make a killer ripple blanket. The real questions are: since when am I interested in crochet? That's always been something I make Katie do for me. Why is the project that inspires me one that would take months to complete? What's going to happen if I take up with crochet with the same, or at least similar, vigor that stirs me to knit? I may never sleep again!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Spring, Sprung
The spring! It's springing! This photo is a few days old, and there has been noticeable growth since then. I think everything's been holding back for so long that now it has no choice but to burst forth. Spring in the Hudson Valley is a true thing of beauty, and I'm very excited for the blooms and blossoms and buds.
But, on to what you really came for. I'm about 97% done with Liz's graduate Clapotis. This thing just flew off the needles. I made it about two thirds of the width that the pattern calls for, which I'm glad about because it's very bulky and puffy. The yarn clings to itself so fiercely that it actually has to be persuaded into dropping stitches.
The colors are much brighter in person. That purpley stripe above the leftmost dark grey is actually magenta. I'm just having trouble getting it in the right light. I love working with the Kureyon; although it's a little scratchy, it has a wonderful hand. I'm a little worried about it for a scarf, but am hoping that a wash and a little conditioner will smooth things out.
So anyway, there I am, knitting along as happily as can be, decreasing like crazy, and pow! Out of yarn!
I'm starting to think I have a curse. I've got about twenty more rows to go to finish up the last corner, but I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and order more yarn. If this were my scarf, I would probably just bind off and go with it; after all, this scarf's natural tendency is to roll itself up like a neck-enchilada. But since it's a gift, I want to do it right. So, once my paycheck comes, I'll order one more skein, and use the leftover to felt me an iPod cozy or something. *sigh*
There is a silver lining in all this: Monkey!
I've been puttering around with a few unsuccessful socks lately: a couple of Jaywalkers that didn't fit (too small, then too big), some crap-assily pooling ribbing, and a general sense of disappointment. That said, I can't tell you how exciting it is for me to have completed the first perfectly-fitting, super-comfy, -machine washable sock that I get to keep! I started this on Monday, and it went so fast that I managed to finish in class this afternoon. I think it has something to do with the stitch pattern. When you've got an 11-row repeat, it's just so easy to say, "Well, I'll just finish this pattern repeat," or, "I'll just work the pattern once more." And then, before you know it, sock!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Project Spectrum: Lemon Pudding
The color is a little more acidic in person, and oddly translucent. It's sort of eggy, like something from space. I love it.
And now to eat the pudding.
(By the way, if anyone can tell me how to make a button from an image, please let me know. I feel like the html can't be that hard, but my fluency in computer languages is about equal to my fluency in Hindi. I want to button!)