Peaceful Knitter

It started snowing about half an hour ago.  Again.  I’m writing this as heavy, fluffy flakes fall and the Weather Channel muzak plays in the background.  This would be a welcome sight, fun even, if a)we hadn’t been planning on going to a New Year’s Eve party tonight, and b)I wasn’t flying to Idaho early Friday morning.  I’m a little concerned that something will happen and I won’t be able to leave the state again.

Virgin snow at 10 am today.

To help cope, I’ve started thinking about starting a new project on New Year’s Day.  New Year, new knits.  Sounds good, right?  I’ve recently started a sweater project(see previous post) and a lacy scarf project.  After much trial and error, I decided to go back to my original intention of knitting the lace ribbon scarf from Knitty.  So far so good on the 2nd try.

This is maybe 20% done, so there’s a ways to go yet.  It’s nice and easy to memorize, and I’m pleased with the overall effect of the yarn and lace working together to make a somewhat funky little scarf.

So, with two satisfying projects on the needles, I somehow still feel the need to start a third.  I miss socks.  I’ve been trying to knit a pair for my mother for ages now, but have recently decided that I’m cursed when it comes to knitting them.  I have tried 3 patterns and have made irreversible mistakes each time!  In a fit of rage after discovering I had 81 stitches instead of 72 after 2 inches of the last pattern, I ripped it out and rewound the entire ball of yarn.  It is now in time out.

So I’m going to do something I haven’t done it a long time and knit a pair of socks for myself.  A pair of lacy, girly, bubble gum pink socks.

Will you be casting on with me on the first day of 2009?

I started a new sweater project last week: Baby Cables and Big Ones Too by Suvi S.  This is a more involved pattern than my previous sweater, involving 5 cable charts, a backward loop increase, and pages of instructions.  I found myself feeling a little discombobulated when getting started.  Over the course of the first several rows, I came up with a few ways to make the process a little bit easier on myself.

The yarn is Stockbridge from Valley Yarns, a nice alpaca and wool blend in a slightly heathered grey.  It sheds a little bit, but is knitting up beautifully.  The sweater is knit seamlessly from the top down, with the arm increases magically hidden within the garter stitch background.  All of those things are great, but the main reason I wanted to knit this sweater is for the cables.

There are 5 cables spread across the yoke of the sweater, and 4 charts for these cables.  That means a lot of stitch markers!  I did the first couple of cable rounds with the stitch markers as is before I realized it would be helpful to label them.  So I got out my trusty Dymo label maker (yes, I’m that nerdy) and got to work.  I printed out the coordinating chart letter for each cable and put it onto the marker.  Voila!

Now I can knit along mindlessly until I see that “B”, look at the chart, do that cable, and continue on.  Of course, after a few inches I knew which cables were which, but this really helped me get a handle on things in the beginning.

There are also stitch markers on each side of the sweater to demarcate the raglan increases for the arms.  These are orange and the cable markers are green.  Again, a lot of stitch markers, but they really help you along.

I put the pattern in a plastic sheet protector to keep things tidy (again with the Nerdy).  Then I’m also using the green highlighter tape to keep track of what section I’m on on the charts.

And this is how I got started on my second sweater!  Organizing yourself for a project is as individual as the knitter, and these are just some of the ways I have found that help me stay sane.

Do you have any suggestions, tips, or tricks for project organization?

All that extra down time last week afforded me the opportunity to sit down and finish up the One-Piece Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting.  I had started it during the first snowstorm that hit New England, and it knit up incredibly fast.  The only catch was, when the knitting was finished, there was still blocking, seaming, and figuring out a closure.

• Pattern: One-Piece Baby Kimono by Cristina Shiffman, Mason-Dixon Knitting

• Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Lime, less than 200 yards.

• Needles: US 7/4.5mm

• Mods: I knit this in stockinette stitch instead of garter stitch thinking it would be more delicate.  I also used buttons instead of ribbon for the closure.

I neglected to take a photo of this before seaming it up.  Imagine this: the seams run up both sides and out underneath each arm.  I pinned the right sides together and stitched them together from the inside.  This makes the sweater a little bit bulkier than I think would be comfortable for a teeny newborn, particularly in the underarm area.  Two things could remedy this: knitting the sweater with a finer gauge yarn, or knitting a seamless version like this one. I think if I ever feel compelled to knit something like this again it will most definitely be of the seamless variety!

In an exciting moment, I got out my button jar reserved for those buttons less than 1-inch in diameter, and set about finding the right pairing.  I was briefly tempted by two royal blue buttons, but in the end went with these slightly mismatched white ones.  I attached some yarn to the front right flap and crocheted 10 chains before attaching it to the same edge to create a loop.  I did another one about 2 inches above the first.  I then sewed on the buttons in the appropriate place with a single ply of the same yarn I knit the sweater from.

Overall this was a fast, fun knit that successfully busted into some of my stash.  The finishing was a tedious learning experience, but a worthy one as I had never seamed up a garment before.

Thank you so much for your kind, thoughtful, and sometimes candid comments on my last post.  Your support is invaluable to me and I deeply appreciate your kindness.

All that lovely snow I was mooning over last weekend wreaked havoc on holiday travel plans across the country, including ours.  Sweetie and I felt a little smug on Monday as we headed to the airport, clear skies and positive weather reports behind us.

We checked in for our flight to find there was a 44 minute delay.  Okay, that’s manageable.  When you’re flying across the country, it’s best to set yourself up for success by not keeping track of every minute of every hour, otherwise it’s going to be a LONG journey.  But soon enough, 44 minutes had come and gone, and our flight was still not boarding.  Sweetie had a feeling that something was awry, and got in line at the counter to see what was happening.  Our flight was now something like 2 hours delayed, which meant we would never make our connecting flight in Minneapolis (you’ve heard that name in the news a lot this week, right?).  So the choice was: get on the plane and be stranded in an airport with no definite way out, try to find a new flight, or bag the trip altogether.

To make a long story short, we spent hours at the airport trying to find another way out West.  There were simply no available seats on any flights for days.  Days after Christmas, the very reason for our travel.  After about 4 hours of trying everything we could think of, we got our bags back and made the sad journey home to try and find another way.  The Internet unearthed a few seats, but at premium prices: $2000 for one coach ticket!

In the end, we made the impossible decision to cancel the trip.  My heart felt so heavy when I had to call my mom and sister and deliver the news.  They had been preparing for our arrival for weeks, and now we wouldn’t be there.  And to top it all off, my brother was stranded in Seattle with a closed airport and no way to get there either.  Christmas 08 was not what anyone expected it to be!

So Sweetie and I spent Christmas quietly at home.  There was good food, some movies, napping, and lots of knitting time.  It was relaxing but a little bit lonely.  Not only were we not with our family, but we were reminded that 2008 was such a rough year.  If everything had gone according to plan, we would have been in Idaho with my family and our nearly 2-month old baby.

Naptime.

This year I am resolving not to make any resolutions or long term plans.  For too long I have been living my life within the parameters of trying to get pregnant, curtailing other plans  and opportunities because they conflicted with my doctor’s appointments or the possibility that I might be pregnant then.  Trips abroad.  A new job.  Decorating a knitting room that I had planned on making a nursery.  I am intending to live a little short-sighted for a while.  Time is hard to replace, and I feel like I have lost so much of it waiting.

That said, we are still planning on trying round 2 of IVF very soon.  I didn’t write about it the first time I went through it last January/February for myriad reasons.  This is a knitting blog.  It is an intensely personal experience.  I didn’t want to alienate or offend anyone.  But this time, after struggling through infertility, in-vitro fertilization, and miscarriage on my own, I feel ready to share and seek support.  So I will, from time to time, mention how things are going.  There may be some knitting of sharps container cosies or injection-site ice packs.  I am sharing this as a way of letting others know what the journey is like for me.  Knitting relates to this 100% for me, because without my knitting, without the ability to focus on something beautiful and creative and somewhat predictable, I would have completely lost it long ago.

I hope you will accompany me through the upcoming  year of knitting and real life.  Many of the same things we like to say about knitting apply to life: It’s not always easy, results may vary, but it’s always worth the effort.

I hope you have more time to knit than you know what do with this holiday season.

Happy holidays!

I woke up this morning to news reports of an impending snowstorm.  Every news station I turned to told tales of the blustery weather headed our way and how it would affect the roadways, airports, and local school districts.  Everything was shut down for the day, and it was only 7 am!  So I quickly planned to run some errands before the blizzard hit, and Sweetie decided to make it a snow day.

At 10 am the errands were finished and we were safe inside awaiting this disastrous weather.  We all waited.

We waited some.  I baked some cookies and started a new knit.  By lunchtime the snow still had not arrived, so Sweetie headed out for a doggie play date with Big Martha and her friend Hugo.

10 am

And just as she arrived home, tired dog and Starbucks in hand, it started to snow.  Around 1 o’clock things really started happening.  It got a little bit darker, a little more quiet.   An hour later we had about 2 inches of snow.

2 pm

What do do, what to do…  We put in a DVD, I grabbed my knitting, and we gave in to the snow day.  The movie, The Jane Austen Book Club, was the perfect compliment to this sort of day.  There’s even a character who knits and plenty of great sweaters to ogle (even though it’s spring/summer in CA, but that’s another discussion).

Once the film was over and the hours of daylight were waning, we decided to bundle up in our hats and snow boots and get shoveling.  I love being the first to make tracks in a fresh snow!  It was hard work though~at least 6 inches had accumulated in 3 hours, with more falling as we shoveled!  It sure looks pretty, though.

4:30 pm

I’ll happily wrap myself in a blanket on the couch and return to my knitting now.  We were supposed to go to a holiday party tonight, but I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere…it’s still snowing and I have a project to finish!

Heartbreakingly cute baby kimono from MDK

What’s the weather like where you’re at right now?

For the past few days I have been quite dissatisfied with my knitting.  There’s not a single thing in my knitting bag that is calling out to me.  I go through these phases and always seem to come out of them, so I don’t know why I let it affect me.  It’s just frustrating when you want to start a project and be excited about it, but everything that’s on the needles doesn’t feel quite right.  In an attempt to fix this sad state of affairs, I went on a frogging spree and left this in my wake:

The first victim of my ripping rampage was the Lace Ribbon scarf.  I have loved this pattern since I first laid eyes on it.  Every time I see one that someone has knit, I like it.  It seemed perfect.  So I cast one on for myself on Friday in a beautiful variegated yarn I got from Sweet P in deep blues, greens and purples.

The pattern is straightforward enough, the yarn is gorgeous, and yet every time I looked at it I thought it looked sloppy and boring.  So I let it sit for a day, then yesterday I ripped it out and started something else.

I began knitting the Branching Out scarf in the same yarn.  This project is more complex, with a chart that has no repeats–every right side row is different.

It takes a lot of focus for this lace novice, and the results are lovely, but…I don’t know if I have the ability to concentrate like that right now.  We’ll be traveling next week, and I need projects that can be picked up and put down without complication.  I did one more repeat than shown in the photo, just to give it another chance.  I’m still on the fence, but have to admit that I’m thinking about going back to the Lace Ribbon scarf!

After putting the lace aside, I turned back to a pair of socks that had been put in time out a couple of weeks ago.  They started out as the Undulating Rib socks from IK.  That didn’t work out too well with the pooling of the yarn, so I ripped back to the cuff thinking a plain stockinette sock would suit me just fine.  Boring.  So yesterday I ripped the entire thing out and started over with the Peak Experience socks from Fiber Trends.

Mt. Hood version of Peak Experience

It’s very similar to the Jaywalker sock pattern.  I cast on 68 stitches which somehow helps the yarn redistribute its colors more evenly, and it’s working.  I might even be so bold as to say I like it!  Finally, some forward progress with these socks; I was beginning to think there was no chemistry between myself and this yarn!

So that’s where I’m at with my projects: 1 pair of socks that I think I like, and 2 potential scarves that will be victims of my mood once again.  See?  Frustrating!

2 hand knit sweaters + 1 cat = bad news

Is there a problem?

Whaaaaat? Can't you see I'm busy?

Let me see that camera. Now.

Knitting can be a very solitary activity.  For me, the bulk of my time spent knitting occurs while alone, kept company by my yarn, needles, and usually the television or my ipod.  Once a week I get to socialize with others of my kind at Stitch ‘n Bitch, a wondrous place where needle crafters gather to bask in the camaraderie of our work and share ideas, information, and friendship.

I had a couple of knitting friends before I started attending these meet-ups, but they live far away.  Finding this group was my first real opportunity to meet with knitters regularly, and it has made all the difference in my knitting and my life.  These women have pushed me to try things I never thought possible.  They provide endless inspiration and support, and through them I quickly learned not to be scared of knitting and that its potential is limitless.

Non knitters in my life politely smile and start to glaze over when I talk about my knitting and the aspirations I have.  I imagine they think it’s cute, or at best wish they could do it too, if only they had the time (ha!). No one outside of my fellow knitters seems to really get how intensely important knitting is to me, how it  enriches and emboldens me, and how utterly anxious and lost I would be without it.

So it was an amazing experience this weekend when I got some knitting friends together in a room with some non-knitting friends at our holiday party.  In a pleasant turn of events, they brought their knitting!

From left: Jenn, Rebecca, Jen, Kelly, and Nancy

I wonder how/if the non-knitters were changed by seeing knitters in action.  I missed a lot of the conversation as I was trying to be a good hostess and circulate, so I would love to know some of the questions and comments you ladies received.  I truly hope you were treated well and didn’t have to fend off too many comments!

Have you mingled your knitting and non-knitting friends successfully?

What is the most interesting thing a non-knitter has said to you about your knitting?

• Pattern: Pom Pom Peds by Purl Bee, size 8

• Yarn: Knit Picks Felici 1 skeins = 218.0 yards (199.3m) in Atmosphere

• Needles: US size 2 (3mm) double points

• Mods: Haven’t made the namesake pom pom.  Something tells me it would be too busy with the stripes.

Peg The Leg's 1st snow