Frog Is A Four Letter Word

"Prioritize" is my mantra at work. And lately work has been seriously cutting into my knitting and blogging time. Looks like someone needs to re-evaluate their priorities. It's not all accounting work, I've been working nights on a big sewing project. I'd show you some pictures, but a slipcover doesn't look like much without the sofa or chair it covers. I am so sad that there is only one item on my June Finished Objects page. And it's a frickin' scarf!

In the knitting realm my priorities are: the baby blankie and my mom's shawl. I have 19 days to finish the baby blankie for my nephew, since his birthday party is the weekend before his birthday. Just got my invite today. Crap! I was also planning on having a scrapbook done for his mom, or at least several pages completed. Well, he's turning 1, so I'm sure he'd prefer cheerios or tissue paper anyway. And I have 32 days to finish my mom's shawl. The good thing about a shawl is I can stop just about anywhere if I'm running out of time. I may be crazy (don't all protest at once) but it seems like I'll have a ton of mohair leftover. Gee, what a shame, I'd have to make something for myself! Matching mother and daughter shawls, GAG.

What is your favorite "leftovers" project?

The bf and I drove to Sea Needles today. He came along for the 2.5 hour (round trip) ride to a yarn shop and didn't even want to stop anywhere else, he just wanted the pleasure of my company. If I could clone him, I could definitely sell him. So I bought some needles--a long #6 circ and #8 dpns for working on my mom's shawl and one pair of #6 bamboo because I can't find my other ones. I tried to photograph them on the spot in the yard with the most clover. Get it? ...'cause the needles are Clover...



I also talked to the lady in the yarn shop about starting a chapter of the charity knitting circle over there. She thought there would definitely be interest, but not in the summer. Since it's the beach, the entire lifestyle and population is different in the summer. So we decided I would put up a flyer for an interest meeting in September.

What do your friends or S.O.'s think of your knitting?

I have reknit the beginning of the shawl past the point where I had to frog. On the next row I will actually start the snowdrops.



You could say I'm jumping the gun, but I've been pondering the edging for my mom's shawl. Stephanie has written a lace point edging for the pattern, but she says you could leave it off if you like. I doubt I'll have time to complete an intricate edging after making the entire shawl--35 days left and counting!! So I thought of putting some tiny subtle beads around the edge. But that leads me to the problem of either sliding (more like manhandling) little beads onto fuzzy mohair or finding little beads with big holes (what are the odds of that?).

All this talk of beads reminds me that last week M asked me if I had used some beads I bought at a local bead shop we went to together. I hadn't used the beads and I couldn't even remember what I did with them, so I just dug them out and snapped a photo. I was thinking of using them for: the ends of ties for a halter top; little buttons on a cute kid's cardigan; or along the neck of a chunky knit top.



So any ideas for my beads without a project or my shawl project without beads?

Knitterly things I've done this week: Organized the charity yarn into clear tubs; bought Interweave Knits; and read knitting blogs. So let's hope you're easily distracted by these links and won't notice that I haven't actually knit .

Robbyn is also working with some lace weight mohair right now. Hers is scrumptious pink and looks like strawberry ice cream--I could eat it! Check it out here.

Shannon is back online, yay! And she's making a groovy sounding Eros scarf that I want to see.

I found a sock pattern online that was photographed with my Regia orange/red/pink yarn. So now I know what the stripe pattern will look like and as a bonus, I like it!

What do you do when you can't find time to knit?

What is the most fun one can have with mohair? Shout it out if you know the answer, don't be shy. Anyone? Bueller? That's right, frogging it!! Overnight the Snowdrop Shawl turned into the How-many-stitches-can-we-Drop Shawl. You know it had to be bad for me to frog it. I was getting more than two mistakes PER ROW, so yeah, that's bad. But the frogging did allow me to start it over on circular needles, which will make it more portable. And I printed out the chart at work, so I don't have to knit in front of the computer.

I remember one of the very first things I ever made was a crocheted mohair scarf. I kept messing up on something and had to rip it out and I was rethinking my decision to get crafty. But then I made something with, like, Cotton-Ease and balance was restored. It has frickin' "Ease" in the name, it can't be difficult. Ah, marketing and crafts, that's a subject for another day.

So have you ever frogged mohair, and if so, what new swear words did you invent?

I have absolutely no new knitting to show. I've made tiny progress on the shawl, baby blanket and sock--but not enough on each to warrant taking a picture. To satiate my need for blog, I thought up a little project. I was tempted to conduct a virtual yarn swap to protest the one I lambasted earlier. But as I looked through my stash, I realized I didn't have anything I could give up. (That's totally untrue, but I felt as if I couldn't part with any of it.) So I thought I'd offer some yarns I've worked with for you to swatch. It may be helpful before you buy ten skeins of something to swatch it up or at least feel it. Most of the yarns aren't enough to make anything more than a swatch, but if you can use it, just let me know and I'll send it to you. Because you don't have enough leftover yarn.

Lamb's Pride Bulky (ass'td colors) by Brown Sheep
Lopi Lite (asst'd colors) by Reynolds
Cashmereno (green, pink) by KFI
Encore Colorspun (white/blue/yellow multi)
Cotton Tots (asst'd colors) by Bernat <------ seriously my favorite yarn of all time
Wild Spice (hot pink) by Wendy
Texas (denim) by Almedahls
Sockotta (blue/green/yellow multi) by Plymouth
Velvet Touch (very little hot pink) by Wendy
Funny (very little black/silver) by SandnesGarn
Cash Iroha (very little dk. green) by Noro

And if you have some leftover yarn that would be fun for me to play with, send it back as a trade! I also have one new ball of Berroco's SensuWool in dk. green that is up for trade.

Well, thunderstorms approach, gonna shut down the computer. What scraps are haunting your stash?

How does one justify over $20 for knitting needles? Easy. Follow this train of thought...if one has a beautiful instrument with which to practice your craft, one is more likely to enjoy that craft. More enjoyment means more time spent at it. More time spent at it means more beautiful handmade gifts for loved ones--because one can only make so many things for oneself. More gifts to loved ones make a lot of people happy, and if we apply the butterfly effect, it leads to a happier world. So by buying my-, I mean, oneself some ebony or coconut palm needles, you are promoting world peace. We should all aspire to that.

I have something else to mention--it's my blog, right? I got a flyer today from a yarn shop who shall remain nameless and get no more free press here. They are hosting a yarn swap, inviting the public to bring their stash and swap with other local knitters. And then in bold all caps letters they say, "NO ACRYLIC YARN!" Excuse me? First, did I hear someone say "bumptious bitches"? I thought so. Second, why would you even dictate something like that? Why would you even care what the fuck people are swapping? Third, they have not even applied business logic. Since the store does not sell acrylic yarn, the acrylic yarn that is swapped will not detract from their sales. However, if people are swapping novelty or luxury yarns which they -do- sell, the opportunity for the sale is lost, because the person just got it from another source. I am all for luxurious yarns and supplies (see above paragraph) but that does not mean I am against anything that is not high-end. Am I justified in being put off by that?

If you are still reading after that rant, haha, tell me about your most extravagant yarn/needle/accessory purchase.

I haven't made much knitting progress this week. I've been working late and passing out when I get home. My lunchtime project is the baby blanket, because I can only stand about ten or fifteen minutes of that anyway. And the sock has been riding around in the back seat of my car--buckled up of course. I took Shannon's advice and just switched the stitches to three needles--at least for the straight foot part. Here's the progress...



And of course I've started the shawl. I don't think I even sat down but came straight in from the mailbox and cast on.



I've already made two mistakes, you can see them. But that's A-OK because I will make about 300 more before I'm done. My mom would love it even if I just took some yarn and tied it in knots. See the other problem? I'm using fucking plastic needles. Grrr. The bamboo needle elves have run off with my #6 bamboos. My progress is also hampered by the fact that my printer's out of ink, so I have to knit in front of the computer reading the chart instead of printing it out. Could that suck anymore? I submit that it could not.

What your least knitting-friendly situation in which you knit anyway?

Joy!! The mohair for my mom's Snowdrop Shawl arrived today. After working very late I came home to a stinkin' hot house and no food in the fridge. But my mood improved drastically when I checked the mail. So I ordered this from The Knitter.com in Colorado who shipped it on Saturday and it arrived in Maryland on Tuesday. Amazing.



It's so thin, it's like thread!! The yarn is also more green than the picture shows and I expected. But it's cool, my mom will get a green shawl instead of blue. I should have checked what kind of needle I needed when I ordered the yarn, but no, I have to play the hard way. Now I need to get a long ass #6 circ. The only one I have is something stupid like 14" long.

So take a look at this skein. I can work straight off of this, right? Or do I need to wind it into a better ball?

I finished the Choo-Choo scarf for my SIL's birthday which is next week. I did six rows of stockinette then a row of drop stitch. I really like this yarn, even though it's *gasp* novelty! The fabric that it creates is so drapey and lightweight. It would make an awesome summer top, like this one that I've been eyeing for a while.



The mohair for my mom's birthday (end of July) shipped on Saturday, so while I'm waiting for that I'm picking up the boring ass baby blanket for my nephew's birthday (also end of July). The bf's birthday was yesterday, but he refuses knitwear, so he got a welder. It's just as well that he won't wear sweaters or wool socks, you know, because of the curse.

How hectic is your gift knitting schedule?

I did quite a bit of yardwork today and loved it. Cutting the grass is probably my favorite. It's great exercise, I get to see parts of the yard I don't see on a daily basis, I feel like I've accomplished something when I'm done and I get a lot of thinking done. The meditative qualities are similar to knitting, I can zone out and concentrate on another topic. My mind goes a thousand miles per hour when I'm mowing the lawn and knitting and I get a lot of planning or problemsolving done. They both help me relax after a high pace day or alternately relieve boredom after a slow day. Now if only the grass would stay cut and the knitting would stay knit instead of frogged!

Also had a charity knitting circle today. It was great, we accomplished two of our goals today: get more volunteers; and start a new chapter. Well, talk was started about a new chapter at the Delaware beaches, since it's a bit of a hike to our current location. Loyal readers will know that is the home of my favorite LYS, Sea Needles, so you don't need to twist my arm to head over there. And we got a lot of work done on blankets for the charity. All of today's volunteers including me were crocheting instead of knitting. Does that mean crocheters are more charitable? Haha, no, but since we were crocheting brightly colored afghans in pure acrylic, it may mean crocheters are less fiber snobby. Or maybe it's just the blankets are easier and faster to crochet than knit. Yeah, that sounds good.

Do you use knitting as an opportunity to think or as a chance to zone out?

Here's a pic of the toe of my toe-up socks. I haven't done any work on it since I got to the four needle part, because my set of #1's is only four needles and of course I need five. I'm using both ends of my #1 circular at the moment, but it's getting in the way.



And I ordered the Douceur et Soie mohair/silk for my mom's shawl. I got it from The Knitter.com because they offered free shipping and they were a wee bit cheaper, so we'll see how their delivery is.

What's your favorite online place to buy yarn?

California was pleasant. I cannot say the same for the 5400 miles of flying, since I get airsick. This time was much worse than usual, especially coming back because I had not fully recovered from flying two days before. But I did help my 5-year-old buddy knit (I can't say I taught her, because she's a total natural, she got the very first stitch right. Damn kids.) And I left my Stitch-n-Bitch , some yarn and my #8 bamboos with my friend since she's laid up for a bit.

I mostly slept on the plane, but sitting in the airports I got a lot of Booga Bag knitting done, which the 5-year-old has renamed the Tulip Bag. Tulip it is.



While waiting for one of my delayed flights (yes there were more than one)I spied a gal doing needlepoint, one lady knitting and one crocheting--all waiting for the same flight! It was like we were on tour or something.

I did not win the phat ass mohair in Wendy's contest, so I guess I'll go buy the Douceur et Soie for my mom's shawl. Speaking of which, my mom is stopping by my house tomorrow while I'm not home, so I better clean the house and hide my bowl. How old am I now, 15?

What's the earliest appropriate age to teach knitting?

A while back, I told Froggy that I must be the only person left on earth that hasn't made a Booga Bag. Well, that's going to be my travel project. It's fairly simple, no shaping and uses circs. I'm using Lopi instead of Kureyon, so I have three different colors that I'll mix up.

The sock is coming along well. I love the fact that there is no grafting/seaming involved! And about three rows into the sock I remembered that I hate dpns. Sigh. I'll post pics of it before I leave.

Tell me about your Booga Bag.

I swatched for my first socks today. I'm using Regia [something in German] and #1 needles and I got 8 stitches and 9 rows to 1". I'm going to try toe-up socks, even though they may not be the best first socks. I know I would be pissed off if I did a cuff down sock and had leftover yarn at the end. I'm using Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Pattern and my gauge is correct. So cross your fingers, I'm diving in head first.



I love the red/pink/orange combo. What's your favorite stripe or pattern color mix?

I finished the throw for the charity using Homespun and Chenille T&Q. I must say it turned out very soft and attractive. These colors are not accurate, it's very rich green and rust and the gold border is darker. The body is just garter stitch on size 13's and the border is three rows of single crochet. Ha! Leave it to me to combine the two most boring stitches in natural history. The next blanket will have cables or something, I promise.



By the way, myimgs.com sucks ASS. So I'm back to finding a home for my pictures.

So what "everyday" yarn has pleasantly surprised you?