Knitter's Nightmare

I woke last night in terror. I couldn't remember the date and I thought surely I had missed the Sockapalooza4 Mail date. My brain whirred. It was Monday, tomorrow was Tuesday. When was August 2nd? Let's work backwards. What was today? Today was, ah, well, Monday, yes I know, but the date? I couldn't remember. Think, McFly, think! Eventually I remembered that Monday was July 30th and July has 31 days which puts August 2nd on Thursday. Fantastic! Plenty of time to box up the socks that I finished a month ago. And didn't blog about.

Sigh. It's been busy around here. I'd show you what I've been working on, but it probably won't upload well and it's interesting only to Ecology geeks, like me. Yes, the thesis is written (150 or so pages. It's tought to keep track) and will be sent to the committee today or tomorrow. My attention is now on writing a presentation for ESA and my defense.

Cross your fingers and toes and if all goes well, I'll have some FO and WIP pictures soon.

Gratuitous Garlic

Siskiyou Purple Garlic

I had to share. Isn't it lovely?

Update!

It's been a while my friends and boy, have I been busy. Not so much with the knitting, though. I've been told that this is a good thing. Finishing one's dissertation is important, especially if one hopes to get a job. Sigh.

The good news is that my defense is set for August 24th, which means I must be done writing by the end of July. Knitting time will still be limited as I prepare two presentations (one for a scholarly conference, the other for the big day), but you may notice that I am slightly more productive in those interim weeks.

And now for some gratuitous scenery. Yep, that's where I did my dissertation research. Pretty, eh? It's the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, located mere minutes from New York City. You should visit.

Wrong way

I think most of you who read this blog know exactly where I work. And if you don't, just imagine a one-way road that loops around a pond, in a complete circle. A circle, as in, if you've missed your exit, you can continue around the loop until you again reach the exit.

Now imagine an SUV tearing down said one-way loop, flying by his/her exit. Three seconds later, s/he hits the breaks, does an illegal u-turn and accelerates the wrong way back around the loop.

Horrific, I know. Even more upsetting when you learn that I recognized the driver as a long-standing citizen of this institution. There was no call for that behavior.

We interrupt this silence

for a quick FAQ and update on the knitting.

Q. Have you been knitting?
A. Of course. Sadly, the knitting is not daily but I try very hard to squeak in at least 15 minutes of knitting when I can.

Q. What are you knitting?
A. Good question! I had good intentions to continue plowing through Eric's Na Craga, but when the temperatures starting topping 85, I cried uncle and cast aside the 100% wool sweater for smaller, portable, light-weight things.

Q. A wise decision, but you never answered the question.
A. Ahem. Yes. Well, you see, there's been a snafu. I have successfully completed one sock for Sockapaloooza. See?
Pattern: Spiral Boot Sock, by Veronik Avery from Summer 2007 IK
Yarn: Brooks Farm Acero, in blue
Modifications: Not a darn one!

I have cast-on for the second. See?

But alas, I know I will run out of yarn. I carefully divided my skein into two even balls. I knit feverishly while in several airports over the course of two days. As I turned the heal on the first sock, I knew with every fiber of my being that I would not have enough yarn. Brashly, I carried on, dipping into the second ball mere inches away from the toe.

I contacted Brooks Farm about purchasing more of this yarn. As I suspected, this dye lot sold out at Maryland Sheep & Wool. However, they are dying another batch soon. I intend to purchase one skein to complete my sock. I know it will not match and frankly my dears, I don't give a (beaver) dam. These socks will not be for my sock pal, I will keep them and love them as my own. I will knit my sock pal another pair - perhaps this very same pattern - in yarn that I have purchased sufficient quantities of.

Q. A good plan. Why were you in airports for two days?
A. Visiting East Lansing, Michigan where I was interviewing for a postdoc opportunity. Which I got. Which means I have to write, write, write and defend this summer. Hopefully by August. Which means few knitting posts.

Q. Ah, so really, it's not me, it's you?
A. Yes, it's me. My fault that I won't be writing much of anything knit-wise in the coming weeks. Take solace, however. It appears the sock-knitting nausea has passed. And that's a really fantastic thing.

A first time for everything

(The onesie says: 'Mama is a yarn ho.')

Maryland Sheep & Wool was fantastic, overwhelming and satisfying. I didn't knit a stitch on the trip down or back, nor did I knit during 'down times' at the festival. Why? We drove mainly at night (and I did a lot of the driving) and when you have a 6-month old, there are no down times. Let's look at the haul, shall we?
First up, some wool in a blue (blue mist) that matches Baby Jeneric's eyes and will make a spectacular hooded jacket from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby.
Next, we have Solana, a red Brooks Farm yarn that I coveted and tried not to buy. It's more than I usually spend on yarn, but the color and texture will make a fantastic Sunrise Circle Jacket. This marks the first first - buying the yarn I love and not skimping. Will it make a difference in the final object? We'll see.
Finally, Acero, more Brooks Farm yarn, this time a blue sock-weight yarn, destined for my Sockapalooza4 pal. I love the Spiral Boot Socks from Veronik Avery in the Summer 2007 IK and this yarn is going to make a fantastic pair.

I have to come clean, though. The patterns calls for 3 skeins of Reynolds Soft Sea yarn, which at 1 62 yard per skein, totals 485 yards. This skein of yarn is 420 yards, which is about 65 yards short. Will I make it? Will I have to rip back to shorten the leg? Should I have just purchased two skeins? (probably!)

The second first thing was that I actually admitted to being a blogger! Inadvertently, I encouraged a random knitter to purchase some of the same red yarn that I was purchasing. She got in line behind me and struck up a conversation. At one point, she asked if I had a blog and instead of lying (which I normally do!), I said yes. Of course, being the doofus that I am, I didn't say my name or the blog, but Kristy, of Eleven Stitches is a very put-together person and handed me a business card with her blog information. Go visit and check out that drop stitch sweater she knit. It's her own pattern and looked amazing in person. It's also thanks to Kristy that I picked up the sock yarn.

As Brenda Dayne would say, it's time to Cast-on.

Sockapalooooza!

The 4th round of sockapalooza has begun! I signed up as a declaration of war against my sock nausea and I'm coming out fighting! I've surfed the usual suspects, including Knitty, MagKnits and the Interweave Knits website. While my decision isn't final, I am leaning towards the spiral boot socks by Veronik Avery in the yet-to-be-released Summer 2007 issue of IK. Yarn shopping/splurging will occur this Saturday at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

On the flip side, my sock pal has already sent me something - an e-postcard of Babs, the knitting obsessed chicken from Chicken Run (who else loves everything that comes out of Aardman Animation?). I can tell this knitter has good taste and will create a fantastic pair of socks to warm my feet this fall.

Oops!

Does this count as breaking my self-imposed yarn diet?


Yeah, that's what I thought. But it was on sale (60% off!)! But it was souvenir yarn (Florida vacation)! But it was a gift (well, from Eric for being a great Mom)! But! But!

Sigh. Yeah, I didn't mean to buy it, but the colors were fantastic, it'll look great on Autumn (sweater?), and it was so cheap. I could have bought more, but I did show some restraint. And I didn't actually purchase it - I made Eric do my dirty work.

If anyone's looking to purchase a yarn store in Florida, I know where one's for sale!

Better late, eh?

Yes, as predicted in the last post, I completed the back of Na Craga. I know, all along I've been saying front, but in a hasty decision mediated by the discovery of a small mistake (fixable!), I've decided this will be the back. This sweater has not been knit in the traditional order. I began with the sleeves, then the back and now (well, tomorrow night) the front. Who thinks I can finish this in time for the county fair (in August)? I'm thinking yes!
Two notes: 1. Blocking will help even out those two sleeves - honest, they are the same length! 2. Yes, my husband really is that tall and skinny. I am knitting the smallest girth and longest length on this sweater.

In the meantime, I am questioning my travel knit project. Florida + white cardigan = sun glare and blindness. Might be a good time for those black socks, huh? Speaking of socks, I have decided to wage war against the sock nausea phenomenon. I joined Sockapalooza4. In this manner, I will be forced to knit an entire pair of socks, perhaps in a complicated pattern (perhaps not), perhaps knee-highs (perhaps not - although I am itching to try my hand at something like this), perhaps striped (perhaps not). You get the picture. Socks will be knit and maybe by the time I graft the 2nd toe, I'll actually be enjoying myself.

Did I mention Maryland enjoys all the sheep, llamas and alpacas. Maybe we can get a few photos of her with the animals (although her petting skills aren't top notch just yet). At the very least, we'll pick up some soap and a few skeins of yarn (but no lamb ? Can you tell I'm excited to go? I'm quietly hoping that Baby Jenericsandwich or sausage for me - blech!).

Maybe some bran...

would help make this blog more regular.

I always have high hopes of updating twice a week. You can see how well that's worked. Maybe it's the new mom gig or the baby that doesn't take naps (but she sleeps through the night, so you know, no complaints), or the thesis writing that I'm cramming into most spare moments. Whatever the reason, knitting has been slow and blog posts have been scattered. Here's an abbreviated, photograph-free update.

1. Na Craga. I'm a mere 10 rows away from completing the back. I estimate this will be complete next Monday, during knit-night. Maybe I can work up the front in less time?
2. Hat & scarf set. Did you know about this? I'm knitting these in exchange for an illustration. The scarf is nearing completion and the hat has been started, but is currently mired in fears of sizing and pattern choice.
3. Sweater for Baby Jeneric. Yarn purchased, pattern chosen. No knitting, not even a swatch.

See? Boring all around these parts. I can guarantee a bit of excitement in the not-too-distant future. The Wily Jeneric family will be taking a week to vacation in Florida (oooo - tanned knitting time!) and will, in early May, be traversing the east coast to the wilds of Maryland for the annual Sheep & Wool festival (can you say yarn binge??).

Veni, Vidi, Blogged

I am compulsive about avoiding lines, so Priscilla and I caught a 3:30 train to NYC and arrived in time to see the Yarn Harlot's slide show. Twice.

There were a lot of people - the auditorium holds about 800 and it was darn near full.

Ooh, there she is, in all her knitted glory. The photo is crummy, but perhaps you can make out her speech, camera and sock. She didn't knit as she spoke, but she did whip out the sock during the Q & A portion.

Just after she took this photo, she took the time to thank the many people who helped make her a success. As she wrapped up her acknowledgements, she began to share the story of how her mother-in-law had come to NYC this afternoon as a surprise. She hadn't gotten two sentences into the story when she looked over and saw Joe, her husband, who was supposed to be in Montreal. Sad to say, I didn't get her reaction on film, but it was clearly true love. Aww.


The Yarn Harlot does not disappoint. She is an amazing speaker, full of wit and humour. I really wanted to take her home with me, to show her off to all my friends and family, to have her explain to them this knitting thing. This particular speech was brushed with inspiration, not just about knitting, but about standing up, being who you are (a knitter, a mom, etc) and, most importantly, not letting others tell you who you are or should be. Brava to Stephanie, may her words whisper among us all and continue to change the world for good.

Excitement

In late January, we broke down and purchased a Wii*. If you've played the Wii, you know there's an "Everybody Votes" channel where questions are posed nationally and internationally. A few days back, one of the questions was "Do you belong to any fan clubs?" Both Eric and I thought for a moment and then answered no, as did the majority of Americans. Late last night, as I was pondering today's schedule, Eric turned to me and said, "not in a fan club, huh?"

Yeah, I'm giddy in anticipation. I have signed copies of every one of her books, I've seen her in Maryland and Atlantic City, NJ. But I've never heard her speak. I can't wait. Knitters, it's time to represent.

*I encourage the playing of Wii. Where else can I beat up my husband without having the police show up?

Where are they now?

It seems like forever since I’ve mentioned any knitting progress. And I’m so woefully limited on photographs lately. Could it be because Baby Jeneric has her first cold? Or could it be because she thoughtfully shared that cold with Mom?
Na Craga slowly marches on. There is a scant 10 cm left to the front (doesn’t it already look long enough?). One would have thought I could finish that in short order, but alas, I have flung away the interesting knitting in favor of simple ribbing.

May I present ’42,’ a ridiculously simple scarf (k2, p2 ribbing) in a fantastic forest green with a spasm of bark brown. There will be a matching hat, where the main color will be the bark brown (due to limited quantities of the forest green).

Did I mention I was knitting socks for my husband (the other half of Wily Jeneric)? I started these last year. They are the Gentleman’s Socks from Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks.
Needless to say, these socks haven’t progressed very far for two specific reasons:
1. I generally knit at night. Knitting black in dim lighting is difficult (for me, at least).
2. The last pair of socks I knit was during the first trimester of my pregnancy when I experienced morning sickness like nothing I’ve ever felt before (even water was too difficult to keep down). Many thanks to the makers of Zofran. Ahem. This experience has tainted sock knitting for me. My stomach still gets a little queezy when I pick up the tiny dpns. What’s a knitter to do? In my case, I now knit baby hats.

2007 Knitting Resolutions: March Update

Well, we’re two months into 2007. Let’s look at how well I’ve been keeping the promises I made to myself.

1. Knit from my stash.
Busted with the purchase of enough cotton yarn to knit Baby Jeneric a sweater. This uses my get-out-of-jail-free card. Can I make it to May and Maryland?

2. Projects in the Queue:
a. Na Craga. Baby steps, baby steps! Every day, I’m one pattern repeat (or half a repeat) closer to being done. As of today, I’m about halfway through the sweater front. My goal is do have this completed by July so I can enter it into our urban county fair.
b. Baby sweater with NZ wool. Rethinking the use of this wool for a sweater. Some knitted toys or pillows might be better.
c. Kittiwake. No progress.
d. Sunrise circle jacket. No progress.

4. Spin more. Lots more. Oh yes, I’ve been spinning! Just this past week, I tired of spinning the ‘cheap, dull’ pencil roving I’d purchased for practice. I pulled off the bobbin, set it on a shelf, and unearthed the beautiful merino/silk roving I’d purchased nearly 2 years ago at Rhinebeck. A wise spinner once said, “spin with the best you can afford.”

5. Think about knitting fair isle. Yep, about once a week, I look at Eunny’s Anemoi’s mittens (which, in my head, I call anemone).

Not too bad, eh?

Heads up (Seven up!)*

Pattern: Miss Dashwood, Winter 2004 Knitty.com
Size: 6-12 months
Modifications: Omitted bobble border, earflaps and ties
Yarn: Rowan Cashsoft DK, 142 yards/50 g; 1 skein
Needles: US 6
New techniques: Learned a new picot cast-on.
Final Thoughts: An adorable and quick knit; definitely a hat I will make again. The cast-on directions were somewhat confusing, but I cobbled together a nice little hat.

*Anyone remember playing that game in elementary school? It was one of my favorites, probably because I always cheated.

All Better!

It was bound to happen. I’ve made some small cabling mistakes on Na Craga, never large enough to warrant rash measures. Until today.

As is my habit (well, now it’s my habit), I was scrutinizing the last pattern repeat for errors and there it was, smugly sitting in the middle of the large, bold, center motif. This was not a mistake to be ignored. This was a mistake that needed the smirk wiped from its face. Lucky for me, Baby Jeneric was fast asleep, giving me time to spank those stitches back into shape using the Yarn Harlot’s fantabulous tutorial.

I was too eager to get started to remember to take a before shot, but I did take a during shot:

Here, I’ve ripped back to the offending row. The stitches are isolated and trust me, they are feeling the shame. Using dpns (smaller than what I’m using for the project), I crossed the cable correctly, reknit the frogged rows and slid it all back onto a straight needle.

I won’t lie. There was a rush of adrenalin as I ripped back those six stitches, recrossed and reknit them. It was a good, short-lived high. I shall sally forth without fear of mussing-up a cable cross.

Rage Outlet

Courtesy of Ry4an, I now know of another way to vent my rage at crazed NJ drivers: PlateWire. If only I'd know about this on Saturday when I watched an SUV perform an illegal U-turn mere feet from a large intersection OVER a concrete median. I suppose the driver was at least using the car for it's intended purpose - after all, they were going off-road.

What would Jesus do?

He’d use his turn signals, that’s what.

Dear people of New Jersey:

If you are turning off a major or minor road, please, for the love of all things wooly, use a turn signal. On that same note, if you are not turning off the road, please turn off your turn signal. A little bit of common courtesy, now and again, won’t kill you (I think).

As you might guess, I was burned this morning by a non-signaling passenger vehicle (nspv). Pulling on to Route 1 means a quick acceleration (at any time of the day). I was dutifully pressing the pedal when I was cut-off by a slow-to-accelerate nspv. Fine. I can take one insult. But! Less than a half a mile later, the nspv hits the breaks and careens into a right hand turn for the local ‘adult’ boutique. At 9 am. I guess some urges can make you forget what you learned in driver’s ed.

And the Na Craga Continues

Never fear, I have not abandoned Na Craga. Despite a minor set back in forgetting the pattern one knit-night, I have forged ahead, casting-on the front and working 5 pattern repeats.
Worried that I’d bitten off more than I could chew, I began Na Craga with the sleeves. I reasoned that sleeves were small, with 2 fewer cable motifs and 6 fewer cable blocks. Clearly, I shouldn’t have worried. Yes, there’s a lot more cabling going on, but none of it is tricky and it all follows very logically (at least to my brain. I’ve met a number of knitters who don’t seem to be able to memorize patterns at all, no matter how simple or straight forward. I know I use a pneumonic here and there, but knitting is so mathematical that it just seems to flow. Am I alone in this?). Now just because I’ve said the knitting is easy doesn’t mean (1) I won’t screw up. In fact, I have already, but it’s not noticeable; or (2) I’ll finish any more quickly. My goal is 1 pattern repeat a day and if you knew my life these days, you’d know that’s a pretty ambitious goal (if you’ve got tricks for convincing a 3-month old the merits of napping, I’d be forever greatful).

(ps Is it me or does that center motif look a bit like a nose?)

Twist and Turns: For Lovers of Cable Knitting

If you hadn’t already noticed, this winter is the season of the cable. Take a quick walk through your local mall or around the internet – cables are everywhere. As a knitter obsessed with texture (see Kittiwake, the Irish Hiking Scarf and Na Craga for proof), I’m quite pleased by this trend.

Knitters have long been obsessed with cables. Alice Starmore’s had several tomes on the subject. Recent additions to the cable knitting frenzy include Cables Untangled, by Melissa Leapman and
Inspired Cable Knits by Fiona Ellis. Both books are fantastic, filled to the brim with inspiration.

In my quest for cables, I stumbled across a newsletter, Twist and Turns, dedicated to cable knitting. I subscribed instantly. My first issue, Winter 2006, appeared in my mailbox less than a week later. The four projects in this issue range from a basic raglan sweater to socks to a brioche möebius. While it’s unlikely that I’d wear the möebius, the challenge of knitting one might just egg me into knitting it. Maybe I am a bit of a process knitter after all.