Month: May 2016

What Sock?

A few weeks ago Ann and Kay over at Mason-Dixon Knitting started a one-sock knit-along. I had a sock that I was working on, so I was more than happy to join in. I knit dutifully on my Juniper sock (note the singular use of ‘sock’) for days and days. Until one day something inside me snapped. I didn’t want to knit this sock anymore. Who cares that I had finally memorized the stitch pattern. It wasn’t fun to knit. If I had been smart I would have remembered that I didn’t particularly enjoy the hat my sock pattern is based on. Now don’t take me wrong: the designer did a great job with that pattern. I have nothing against them. I just don’t particularly enjoy mock cables.

Still, I could get over this if I was sure the finished object would be perfect. But here’s the rub: I don’t think the socks will fit after washing. It seems my best course of action may be to frog the sock (frogging is so named because you rip-it, rip-it). I may also take a page from one of my favourite knitters ever, Stephanie Pearl-McFee (what a lovely coincidence that we share the same name) and deny any and all knowledge of this project.

What sock? I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Happy Dance

I got a piano! Well, a keyboard. But a piano!!!

2 years ago I bought a lovely upright piano. It had a lovely tone and I loved playing it. But when I moved to my apartment we weren’t able to get it up the stairs. So I very sadly gave it to a friend.

I looked and looked for a lightweight keyboard, but I couldn’t find one that I actually liked. Fast forward to this past Monday, when I checked Craigslist on a whim, and there it was: my piano. I contacted the seller and we set an appointment to meet. He was lovely, the piano was even lovelier, and we quickly settled on a price.

Off I scurried to get money and some blankets so I could transport my piano (My Piano!!!) safely. The seller showed me how to take the keyboard off the attached stand and helped to load it in the car (there was a moment in there where I accidentally dropped a piece of the stand because I was trying to be careful. If I had just done the normal thing and set it on the ground we wouldn’t have had a problem. C’est la vie) and then I was off with my piano! Hooray!

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Simple Projects

I have always been the kind of knitter who tries new things. I like to be stimulated. I enjoy a little bit of terror uncertainty about how a project might turn out. This is why I design my own patterns or at the very least muck about with half the patterns I knit.

All of which makes it very odd that I suddenly have the urge to knit simple things like garter stitch washcloths and mitered squares. WP_20160427_003

Maybe it’s because I have 2 rather demanding projects going on right now, and my brain needs a little down time. Or maybe I am changing as a knitter.

 

Juniper

I’m working away on my socks. I’ve decided to change the name to Juniper socks, rather than Spruce socks, because the stitch pattern makes me think more of a Juniper bush than an evergreen tree. I’m just about to start the gusset, so I ran a lifeline just in case the fit is off.

Why?

What is it that makes us crafters abandon one project in favor of another? Boredom? Insurmountable problems? Short attention span?

I started my Smaug Shawl many months ago. But it was hard, so I moved on (Also, Christmas presents).

I started my Spruce Socks a few weeks ago. But then I found the Smaug Shawl, and it was magically easier than it used to be.

But now the rows on the Smaug Shawl are really, really long (320 stitches). Getting across a row is an accomplishment, and I’m starting to get a little bored… even though it is silk.

Also the fabulous gals over at Mason Dixon Knitting are hosting a one-sock Knit-a-long. Do I join? Do I stick firmly to my shawl? Do I work on the Spruce socks, or do I dig out some new sock yarn and start a different pair?

Too many choices….

P.S. A friend gave me some new fabric recently. I might have accidentally started cutting out a tank top.

Dragon Scales

Almost a year ago I bought a single skein of silk laceweight yarn. It was expensive, but I couldn’t help myself. The colours reminded me of the desert where I grew up – reds, oranges, and yellows. Home. This yarn was special and it needed to be knit up into a special project. And I had the perfect shawl pattern in mind…except I needed twice as much yarn as I had. So I began a search for a new pattern.

After a long and strenuous search on Ravelry I knew I was not going to find the perfect pattern. So rather than settle for imperfection I decided to make my own pattern. My shawl is based on Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Pi Shawl – every time the row number is doubled, the stitch count is doubled. I cast on, knit for a while, increased, knit for even longer, and then started a lace stitch pattern I had found.

And then the shawl sat neglected for…a long time. I came back to it a few days ago to find that 1) it hadn’t knit itself (darn!), and 2)the stitch pattern was a lot easier than I remember it being. Needless to say, I’ve been making some good progress on it over the last few days, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it is turning out!

Graduation

Graduation is such an odd time of life. You are so glad to finally be done with all the stress of classes and the accompanying homework, papers, and tests. But at the same time you are so tired and stressed that you can hardly enjoy yourself. It’s a bit of a contradiction.

Congratulations to all of this year’s graduates, and especially to my fiancé, who graduated yesterday with his MBA. The time and effort you have all put into making yourselves better is incredible, and I am so proud of you all.