Frog Is A Four Letter Word

I am the Homer Simpson of travel arrangements. Well-meaning, but completely incompetent. This evening I shopped online, found a great deal on airfare to California, and purchased my tickets....for the wrong dates!! And the kicker is, I can't afford to change the tickets! No, no, the worst part is I've done this before, the very last time I flew! M foolishly let me arrange our flight to Chicago this winter and I got the AM and PM mixed up. It turned out fine because we flew standy on the flight we originally wanted. One would think after such a near miss I would be very careful when choosing my flight--but one would be wrong.

So I'm flying out to California next week and we all know what that means! A portable knitting project! I have several plane changes with the accompanying layovers, so I'll have lots of airport time as well as flight time. And God forbid I just relax or catch up on my sleep. No, I must be productive. So I'm asking everyone out there, what should my travel project be?

I should not be this in love with a pizza. When I saw DiGiorno's "Spinach, Mushroom & Garlic" in the freezer section, I thought there was no way anything store bought, frozen no less, could possibly have enough garlic on it to suit me. I was proven wrong today, mark your calendars. It is most garlicky, to the point that even -I- think my breath is bad. That's how I know it had enough garlic. The only way to make that pizza better is to have just garlic and pizza dough, maybe some cheese.

Enough about food. Here's a pic of the Choo-Choo scarf. It's fun to do, that drop stitch. You feel like you're royally fucking it up, but it turns out just right. Much like how I feel all day at work.



What technique do you like to show off a special yarn?

My favorite new stitch for today is the drop stitch. But tomorrow I may hate everything about it. As predicted, I frogged the triangle kerchief. I loved the way the fabric worked up, drapey and light. But it still wasn't showing off this yarn the way I want. The eyelets weren't serving the purpose, they were just bunching the yarn up together. I stared at the ball of Choo-Choo and realized it looked better in the ball than knitted up. But I obviously can't give my non-crafty SIL a ball of yarn for her birthday, "Here, it's an objet ." So I picked the drop stitch and it really does the trick. I'm dropping every 7th row on a skinny scarf and it looks great. Pictures to follow, I promise.

On that note, I have signed up for an image hosting service, and of course the first day I use it they're down. So I'm not going to transfer all my archive photos just yet.

What's your favorite stitch?

Right about now I'd like to pretend I've never even seen a sewing machine before and can't cut a straight line to save my life. But I'm not fooling anyone. I've been sewing every night after work and all weekend for the past three weeks to get a couple big jobs done. Everything else has been put aside, including my knitting. Gasp! But I have been working on a little kerchief on my lunch breaks.



I don't know if you can see, but there are eyelets along the edges, a stitch in from the garter stitch border. I'm just making this up as I go, trying to do the math on my own instead of using a pattern. I may frog the whole thing, because I wanted more increases so the corner would be more like 90 degrees. This ribbon/yarn is the cute little Choo Choo that I ordered last week. It's nice to work with, a vast improvement over the Deco-Ribbon. And I'm using fairly large needles (#10) to show off the design and colors of the yarn.

Do you enjoy the mathematical aspect of knitting?

So I get home today and look what's in my garage!!



Big thanks to everyone who donates to Handknit Neighborhood. They are KEWL, as my boss would say. (Feel free to roll your eyes.) So not only did these folks donate to a charity, they gave up yarn! That takes guts and I know I couldn't be that big of a person. Plus they delivered it to me!! It's all clean yarn and a lot of it is new-ish, which is a pleasant surprise. I still crack up at some of the names. I got really excited when I saw one called "Moon-Glo", thinking perhaps it glows in the dark. It does not, do not ask how I know. And I can just imagine the snooty one called "Knitting Yarn" warning everyone, "Don't even THINK of crocheting with me." So I need to write some thank you notes and find a home for this yarn and the large donation from last week. I guess I'll sort it all by color and go buy more clear totes!

Do you find it difficult to part with yarn?

The Ribbon Tank is done, yay! It looks great, simple but textural. It is also very heavy, I can see where it might get hot, but hey I'm not the one wearing it. Tee hee! Again, I used Crystal Palace Deco-Ribbon in #109 Verde and the pattern was from Vogue Knitting Summer '03 p. 27. This same yarn/ribbon was featured on the cover in a cardigan, and after feeling how heavy this tank is, there's no way in hell I'd wear anything larger made with it, let alone in the summer! The pattern also called for a fringe on the straps and the neckline, but E specifically said she wanted a simple tank, so that's what she's getting.



Here's a shot of my very first 3-needle bind off. It really is easy, don't be intimidated. It's a hell of a lot easier than a %*@! purl bind-off.



What are your thoughts on ribbon yarn?

Also, I've had to delete most of the archive photos because I'm over my quota on Mindspring. Bear with me as a find a new home for them.

I'm seriously thinking of breaking up with my LYS. The last several times I've gone, I've left disappointed. Yesterday was no exception. It's not just the selection--come on, how much novelty yarn do we need, people?--but mostly the owner's attitude. She is very unwelcoming of new ideas and any ideas that do not agree with hers. Now that does not belong in my knitting world, folks! My knitting is all about new ideas!!

But I already have a "rebound" LYS, Sea Needles. *Insert dreamy music here* Their selection is much larger and much more comprehensive, eg. they have a trillion kinds of sock yarn, a billion kinds of felting wool, all the usual novelty suspects, and five or six different brands of needles. Both of these stores are exactly an hour away--in different directions--so I'm not sacrificing time by switching loyalties. I just feel a little guilty, since the other store WAS my first yarn store. I'll probably call it up at 3 AM, drunk and pining for the early days when I didn't know any better.

So I did not find any yarn for my mom's shawl at the yarn store . I have picked some out online, K1C2's Douceur et Soie in color #21. I may shop around a little bit more before payday, but I need to order something this week.

Have you switched yarn stores?

Man, I'm glad it's the weekend. I still have lots of work to do, but at least I have two whole days to do it, uninterrupted by my job. Well, I did not get E's tank done in time for her birthday. But they are gone for the weekend, so I will have it done by the time she comes back. I'm on the straps on the front, so all that's left is blocking, seaming the sides, grafting the shoulders and adding the fringe around the collar.

Oh! And I got Knitware Sweaters, the software to design your own sweaters. I have already made up several designs, but I need to pick out some yarns and swatch them before I can print out an actual pattern.

I think today I'll go to one of my LYS's to get some laceweight yarn for my mom's birthday shawl. I am going to use The Snowdrop Shawlpattern from Yarn Harlot. While I'm in that town, I will also head to Ben Franklin to see what they have. E needs me to pick up more Patons' Fresco for a cardi she's making and I may see if they have anymore Divine in a color other than that blue.

What knit design software or tricks do you use?

It was 4:00 pm and there I was, knee deep in House Bills and poorly constructed memorandums when I remembered something! I had ordered yarn last week and it should be at home waiting me. In fact, at that exact moment, my tiny box of tiny yarn was sitting on my back step, impatient and grateful for the shade of my awning. M rescued me from my memorandum hell by writing the whole thing and I was free to come home to my yarn!!



The Deco-Ribbon is to finish up the Ribbon Tank (see below) and the Choo Choo will be some type of kerchief--a small one! 92 yards, what's a grown person to do with 92 yards of novelty ribbon? Don't answer that.

So the back of the tank is blocking right now. It needs it, the bottom hem curls like crazy and the neckline where I bound off folds down in an ugly manner. The front of the tank is about 20% done, it will hopefully be 30-35% done by the end of the night.



What project provided the most blocking trouble for you?

I picked up a large donation of yarn to Handknit Neighborhood yesterday. It was about four kitchen-size trash bags full of acrylic yarn, all of it still with the labels on, and most of it older than me.



I had to laugh at the some of the names for the yarn... "Magic Hands", "Honeybun", the creative and descriptive "Yarn" and the paradoxical "Natura". As if bright orange acrylic is natural. Well, it will certainly be put to good use and we appreciate it.

The ribbon tank is half-done. I will post pics later today. I have decided to leave the shoulder stitches live and graft them instead of binding them off only to seam them later. I don't think this ribbon will make a very nice seam, and you certainly wouldn't want that right on your shoulder. So any advice on grafting is most appreciated! I have my trusty Vogue Knitting should I lose my way.

What is your favorite/least favorite finishing technique?

Hey there. Here they are--my first socks!! They are for Shannon's new little girl, Courtney. I was impatiently waiting for her package to arrive so I could blog about them. I used the "Two Needle Sock" pattern in Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits for Beginners. Yeah, you heard me, two needles. I know the sock nazis out there will say that's cheating. But you have to start somewhere. It was good practice working a heel and working on such tiny items. And of course having a seam in your sock is impractical once your baby starts to walk. But they were fun to make. The yarn I used is KFI's Cashmereno, even though the pattern called for Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino (natch), because they are indistinguishable. I did not like any of the colors they had in stock in the Debbie Bliss, and since Shannon said she had pink baby clothes out the ass, I wanted something other than pink.



This sock is proof that Debbie Bliss really is an Amazon from Themascara. The pattern says to use #3 needles and the cashmerino. Which I did. The pattern says that will then fit a 3 month old. Okay, a 3 YEAR old, Debbie. Slight difference there. I was only intending to make these green socks, but since they turned out so huge, I wanted to make another smaller pair that Courtney could wear sometime this year. So Shannon, even if these don't fit by the time she's walking, save them and when I'm a famous knitwear designer you can sell them on eBay.



This is more like it! Though I don't believe it would be possible to make anything to fit a 3 month old with this pattern. Look at how tiny those needles are! This is the smallest I've ever knit.



So I think they're very cute, but I'm ready to start some "real" socks. To fit my yarn personality, I want to use a toe-up pattern. Because I'm the kind of knitter who likes to use every inch of yarn. I would prefer to make the socks as long as I can until I run out of yarn, rather than to make it cuff down and have extra yarn and a short sock. I have my Regia 4-ply in pink/orange mix that I will use for my first pair.

What were your first socks?

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I was going to knit something with Mexican yarn today, but alas, could not find any in the stash. Now my friend E bought some yarn called "Mexico" last time we went to the LYS, so I could sneak into her house and steal it, I suppose. When all else failed, I drank some tequila and knitted. So what's up, Southern Neighbors? Why don't you make me any festive yarn? Turkey's doing all the work in my stash, apparently. ("Apparently" is courtesy of M. She says it so much, it's rubbing off).

Take a look through your stash. What country of origin showed up the most?

In case you were wondering, I loathe p2tog. Now let's move on.

I'm back to work on the Grass Green Tank. It's a tad boring, so I thought I'd practice my Continental knitting on it. I just read the directions for Continental in Stitch-n-Bitch and I must admit they are clearer and easier than the directions in Vogue Knitting*insert choir of angels here*. It even makes purling Continental look easy. So perhaps by the end of this tank, I'll be proficient. Speaking of the end of this tank, E's birthday is next Thursday, so I better hustle.

So are you a Continental dude or an English dude?

Got together with my mom today and exchanged Mother's Day presents. I got her a lamp and she got me Stitch-n-Bitch. No handmade items here. Since my mom and I both sew for a living, we have an unspoken agreement that it's perfectly okay to buy each other gifts. We both love to sew, but at the end of the day, the last thing we want to do is sew more. So I knit and she needlepoints. Yeah, totally different. I rarely sew for pleasure anymore. Enough 14 hour days or all-nighters of sewing will kind of ruin it for you. I know there are many of you out there whose dream is to knit/sew/craft for a living. But be careful what you wish for. It works for some people, obviously, just not me. I hope that with this new job of mine, I won't have to do as many demanding sewing jobs, and then I can return to loving it and being creative with it. You know, when I'm not knitting.



What have you knit for your maternal unit?