Catch Up, Catch All

You know how once you fall out of touch with someone, part of what keeps you from making contact again is the guilt you feel over the initial neglect? Along with the pressure of reporting on months' worth of living in a single and inevitably newsy letter? I guess these are my lame but honest excuses for having abandoned blogging this fall and holiday season...But today, fooling around with Picasa, I found a solution that has once again hoisted me back in the blogging saddle. So I offer you, first, a compilation work-in-progress photo of all the gift knitting I did for this year's birthday and holiday season:

Then, of course, there are the corresponding FOtos (hey, it's my neologism and I'm sticking to it):
Needless to say, each of these gifts has a story and a reason for being just what it is, but I think this time the stories will just have to remain unwritten. Nonetheless, I think we can all agree that the most "special" of all my knitting projects turned out to be Uncle Louie's Orange Hat, which as expected inspired much good cheer and not a few jokes of questionable taste at this year's Christmas party. That photo deserves a blowing up:
If I have half as much fun in 2008 as Uncle Louie is having in this picture, it will be a good year.

Knit One, Kill Two

Our favorite Lois Lane gifted us some lovely sock yarn for Christmas: one skein of Trekking Pro Natura in colorway 1601 and two balls of Zitron Lifestyle in colorway 1876. She also passed along some of the knitting mysteries by Maggie Sefton, which I love without ever having read a page for the spectacular puns in the titles. Needled to Death, people? A Deadly Yarn? Does it get any better than this? No, it does not, Reader. You of all people should know.

I'm sure, however, that your mind has never left the yarn, and I can't say I'm surprised. I was faced with a terrible choice, Reader: which yarn should I choose for the simple sock project that would take my mind off the sweater debacle? If I were a stronger person, I'd have waited until Lilyriver came back from France and let her decide what she wanted, but I, I am sorry to say, am not so good, nor so patient, and I've been eyeing the Zitron Lifestyle for awhile. It did not disappoint. It's a 100% superwash merino sock yarn, and I'm guessing the base yarn is Louet Gems, because it feels just like Koigu. It's just flat-out a pleasure to knit with such a well-spun, elastic yarn. I cast on 64 on 2.5mm dpns, did 5.5" of cuff in 3x1 ribbing and a 2.75" gusset. As you can see, I've finished one sock since Tuesday, and I'm about halfway through the foot on sock #2--I've never knit socks this fast before. Admittedly, this is partly because I've been glued to my Heroes season 1 boxed set, but a lovely, non-splitty yarn really helps. (I broke out the DPNs for the first time in awhile, and I think that for me, DPNs are faster than 2 circs. 2 circs have many other advantages, but I don't think DPNs can be beat in terms of speed.)

The drawbacks: the yardage for the Lifestyle is scant. Not quite Colinette Jitterbug scant, but two balls (100g) total only about 340 yards instead of the more standard 400ish. I had to rip back my first sock and start the toe decreases earlier so I'd be able to make them long enough to accommodate size 10 feet. I finished with maybe 2-3 yards left. Most people would find the yardage just fine, probably, but I like to make the leg part of my socks pretty long. The yarn is thicker than, say, Trekking (100g of Trekking Pro Natura has about 460 yards), and the ball band says you could get away with needles sized 2-4 (US) instead of the usual 0-2 (US), which helps make up for the comparatively little yardage. But that brings me to drawback deux, which is the durability factor. I've mentioned here, I think, that one of my Koigu socks got a hole on the bottom after less than a half dozen wearings and washings. I also knit those on 2.5mm (that's a 1.5 US for non-knitters). (I patched up the hole with some regular wool in the hopes that it would felt, and so far it seems to be working fine.) I tend to be hard on socks, so I'll be watching these to see if the Koigu/Louet Gems hole was a fluke or if I just need to stick with sock yarn that has some nylon in it.

If you want some of this, I'd recommend Astrid's Dutch Obsessions; while she's shipping, naturally, from the Netherlands, she charges $6 a ball instead of $10, and she has all the solid colors of this yarn, which are numerous and not widely distributed in the States.

Sweater autopsy

My First Sweater (TM) has turned out to be my Waterloo (a joke that never gets old, right? Right? Hello? Is this thing on?), Reader. I chose the Wicked sweater from Zephyr Style, a top down raglan (I think?) with a boat neck and some cabled details, and I used heathered burgundy Cascade 220. I will admit that I had my doubts about the Cascade 220: it didn't seem all that special to me, but it's cheap and known to be durable. As I used it, I came to appreciate its softness and springiness--I don't think you can go wrong with it. I do still think the donegal tweed version looks stupid. Sorry, Cascade.

This pattern is known to run large, so when my gauge was 20 stitches/4 inches rather than 18 on size 7s, I decided to just go with it. Reader, I can picture you muttering to yourself: Aha! Foreshadowing! This turned out, however, to not be the problem. Neither was it a problem when I realized about halfway through the collar that I'd forgotten to do the twist stitch and decided I didn't care. The problem is that the sweater is terribly unflattering. I've had this confirmed by Lilyriver, who tactfully noted that she thought it was too big. That might be one issue, despite the theoretical 2" of negative ease I thought I'd built in. Issue #2: worried that the sweater would be too small, I didn't do the waist shaping. I have a men's sweater that doesn't have shaping, so I didn't think the waist shaping would make much of a difference here. It may have, but it wouldn't have helped issue #3, which is that worsted-weight yarn and size 7 needles makes for a somewhat bulky knitted fabric. As acknowledging that it's possible that I might only be able to wear fine-gauge sweaters would cause me no small distress, I've decided that the real problem is issue #4: what was supposed to be a boat neck came out like a crew neck. I thought this might happen from some pictures I saw on Ravelry. Since patterns are resized according to a formula and not by reknitting the garment in each projected size, I think the neck doesn't doesn't quite work on the larger sizes. I think a v-neck would have helped the sweater look less bulky and would have given it a little more style.

For now, I'm not going to reknit it. (I actually still have a sleeve and a half left to go.) I'm tired of the yarn and I'm not sure I could fix it enough to make it wearable outside the house. I may eventually go back and experiment with waist shaping.

Happy new year, Reader!

Waiting for Godot.

Silence for so long, and then a pictureless post? I know; it's terrible. I promise not to make you any promises, Reader, since we know how good I am at fulfilling them. But you have a right to know of avery important development since I last wrote to you: I have decided--and this is not a decision I entered into lightly--I have decided--perhaps you'd better sit down--to sell all of my yarn and take up the noble art of Moon Sand instead.

In lieu of an actual post, I offer you a comic. Drawn by someone else.

nataliedee.com
Courtesy of a loyal reader.

A real post will follow in the next few days, darling Readers, perhaps with a preview of my selfish, selfish winter break knitting plans, but Bolty has some papers that aren't going to grade themselves. The thing is that I think the ideal TA for this course probably is a robot, but Mechanical Man Corp. hasn't gotten back to me yet on the Bolterbot2000.

We'll bend it to our awe, or break it all to pieces.

I have been holding out on you, Reader: I've got two pairs of mittens and two pairs of Fetchings I haven't blogged about yet. The Fetchings are a bit of a disappointment. One pair, out of Lion Wool, is just okay: the yarn isn't very exciting for a gift and I'm blah on the color. I did the other in Manos, and while I like the Manos (I don't love the Manos, may the dear lord baby Jesus strike me dead), I'm afraid they're too big. The problem is that Fetching is kind of a dainty pattern as opposed to a sturdy one, and I am a sturdy knitter. Manos is a sturdy yarn, Lion Wool is a sturdy yarn, and everything I knit comes out sturdy; so why I thought these things would add up to a dainty pair of Fetchings is rather beyond me. I have a friend who might like the Manos ones, and the Lion Wool ones will probably languish until in a fit of pique I claim them for my own. Maybe I'll try dyeing them I color I like better.

As for the mittens: I won't mince words, Reader. I looooove them.

I recently finished two pairs: one for Lilyriver for her birthday (only a week and a half late!) and one for an unnamed recipient.
At left is the right mitten of L.'s pair--it's a wretched picture, and I apologize, but that's how we roll in my woods. I do not know why I just said that, but it's staying. I'll attribute it to mitten ecstasy. That is how we roll in my woods. Anyway! The yarn is Frog Tree Merino Melange, which is, hands down, the softest yarn I've ever touched. Unfortunately, I had to frog it approximately 403840983029843 times, and it got rather pilly in the process. A bit of alchemy happened in the blocking: it got sturdier, rather than softer, when wet. The finished product reminds me of a very decadent cupcake*.

What's the pattern for this delicious mitten, you ask? Why, it's a one-of-a-kind Bolty original. Two-of-a-kind. There are two, I swear. And, okay, it's not really a Bolty original, per se, as I basically just applied a cable** from the Vogue Stitchionary Vol. 2 to my favorite easy mitten pattern at freevintageknitting.com. Put away the hot poker, Reader. You and I have no secrets.

The second pair of mittens isn't even badly photographed--indeed, it's not photographed at all. They're flip top mittens based on an amalgam of patterns and they are damned fantastic. I used a spring green tweed, the Queensland Kathmandu I've blogged about before. Flip tops are absolute genius. I realize that I call every new knitting thing I learn "absolute genius," but it's true. It is also true--and if you're an Expos teacher, you'll spot the "secondary emerging thesis" of this post--that when I learn a new technique, I have to frog like a maniac. But I don't mind frogging overmuch***.

At the moment, I'm--or rather, was--working on a cabled hat from Cables Untangled--it's a ribbed hat with braided cables in a gorgeous red tweed (also Queensland Kathmandu), or, at least, that's what it's supposed to be, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm not fated to get past the ribbing. I started it in size 8s (the pattern recommends size 7s, but all I had with me whilst visiting E. this past week were 8s and 6s) and the hat was freaking huge, so I frogged about 5 inches of ribbing and switched to the 6s. Three different pairs of 6s, Reader. I only had 4 of my 5 size 6 dpns with me, and there were way too many stitches to fit comfortably on those needles, so I made E. take me to Jo Ann's on the way to the airport, where the only size 6 circ I could find was 29" long. I bought it thinking I'd just Magic Loop, but the cable was very stiff, so when I got home I borrowed the 16" cable and size 6 tips from my Celtic Cabled Scarf and was happily knitting away when I realized that I'd misread the pattern for the increase row and had to frog back to the ribbing. Then I thought I misread the cable pattern and frogged again, only to realize that I hadn't misread it at all. Demoralized, I have put the hat back in its plastic bag for now in favor of starting another pair of flip top mittens out of some lovely Beaverslide McTaggart Tweed. Which I have also had to frog twice. I told you, Reader; I've no secrets from you.

*A cupcake that looks like a hand. Wow, this suddenly got creepy.
**It's called the Seven Sisters. The ribbing is ktbl1, p1; the cable is a basic 12-stitch cable following the ktbl1, p1 rib.
***This is a lie.

Measure for measure.

From: E.
Date: Sunday, November 18, 2007 12:08 PM
Re: the most important thing for us: hair products.
To: the bolter

Actually I've been blackballed from all of the yarn shops in Denver for "casting off" on too many patrons and sending them to the hospital.

----- Original Message -----
From: the bolter

Date: Sunday, November 18, 2007 8:49 am
Subject: Re: the most important thing for us: hair products.
To: E.

also, i have been hunting down yarn shops for us to visit!!! are you excited???

Later:

the bolter: You have no idea what casting off means, do you?
E.: It means punching people in the face with brass knuckles.
the bolter: It's hard to disagree with that, actually.

The Last of the Time Lords.

There have been some complaints, Reader, about the late scarcity of posts that feature actual knitting, as opposed to chatter about yarn shopping*. Well**--I do take the point. Thus, as your happiness is of paramount importance to me, I offer you one completed pair of Nikki Sixx-inspired Knucks.

Specs: 1 skein of Jo Sharp Silk Road DK Tweed, in some browny color I'm too lazy to look up. This yarn is the same as the Queensland Kathmandu I have already noted that I love (really, it's the same; I don't know what the deal is, but the Queensland Kathmandu comes from the same manufacturer and is generally a dollar or two cheaper--or more, if you find it on closeout at Webs...). I'm giving some thought to using this yarn in the far distant future*** for the Katharine Hepburn Cardigan. Anyway, the Knucks pattern is genius; it's knit fingers-down, which seemed to me to be a cockamamie scheme if I've heard one, but it worked out well enough. I somehow managed to do the gusset in a different way on each glove. It's not terribly noticeable and doesn't affect the fit, so I've decided it doesn't matter. They are a gift for a non-knitter who will, I hope, forgive me. I hope she's feeling kind about my elementary embroidery skills, too. Maybe I should redo the "8" before I send them.

I do hope Lilyriver will soon post about the very excellent hat she knitted me for my birthday; I may otherwise have to take matters in my own hands.

*I realized today--yesterday--well, see below; time is relative--that I have been buying yarn in various shades of green, to the extent that I am in serious danger of becoming mightily sick of green before I've even knitted up a skein of it. Okay, that's totally a lie; really, what I'm feeling is the strong desire to buy some more yarn--maybe this time in a rich blue.
**Hey, Daylight Savings Time just happened! I've been watching Doctor Who on and off all day and am feeling especially inclined to believe I have just gone back in time.
***Spring Forward?

The roots of debate and the hope of dialogue.

Can we talk about how my new favorite yarn in the whole world is on closeout at Webs and my first instinct is to buy a truckload of it or maybe the whole warehouse and then I think, hey, maybe I should pay my bills instead? But how I really just want to buy yarn? Yeah. Let's talk about that.

What's black, white, read, etc., etc.

No, not my Milton paper (wish me luck or something)--this.

It's a bit weird to me that the artist insists that turning your newspapers into yarn is good for making "tangible" memories--you can't read the paper, she says, but sometimes you can see snatches of dates or words. Playing devil's advocate for a moment, why is it necessary to "justify" art by insisting that a piece has tangible value? It's not a huge leap from "tangible" value to capital, either; making memories tangible also makes them buy-able, so sign me up for an October 24, 1983, newspaper yarn rug, you know? Is it an accident, I wonder, that the article reads a whole lot like somebody's trying to sell me something? And that her text (which seems to have been translated from the Dutch) reads like a catalogue? And I, a trained (indoctrinated?) consumer and moreover used to the insistence that 1) "indie" yarn is hand-dyed art and therefore I should feel better (more organic? more artistic?) about using it because it's not commercially made, and 2) that you can put a price--often a high(er) price--on "indie" hand-dyed/hand-spun yarn, immediately went looking for her web site so I could see how much the stuff cost. It doesn't--it's part of her portfolio and she just graduated from a design academy; she's selling herself (1).

(1) I happily sweep intentionality off the table, but I do wonder what her statement is; it's not a terrible way to think about memory--bits and pieces woven into a larger tapestry (or sturdy doormat)--or about (god help me) "culture." The idea that something else (/"different") can be made out of newspaper.

I wonder if the stuff is as flammable as newspaper usually is. On a more technical note, I wonder what she's plying it with--there's some kind of thread, it looks like, wrapped around the newspaper tubes. Is she using a spinning wheel? Or is she doing it by hand? I was also surprised at how colorful the tubes were; I forget that newspaper isn't--well--black and white anymore.

Caught up in Webs

So we may not have made the pilgrimage, but we did get some relics from the fiber arts mecca that is Northhampton, MA. This tote bag is so sturdy. It will be perfect for yarn I mean books then next time I have a lot to carry home from the yarn shop I mean library. And it's cat approved, too. Check out that skein sticking out from the top -- that's my first even skein of Noro Silk Garden, and it is so special I'm almost afraid to use it. Should I follow Sarah G's lead and tackle a beanie or should I plan on a Fake Isle hat? Or do I dare attempt these lovely mittens, as difficult as they look? Luckily, I do not have time to make any of these things, so I can just enjoy this moment of anticipation.

And speaking of pilgrimages, tomorrow is the Yarn Harlot! There is a lot that has to happen before we get there, but it is nice to have something to look forward to.

Dear Abby,

Is it possible to accidentally buy yarn?

I realize that this entails, say, the googling of "yarn shop," and a few errant keystrokes in the sale section of Knitch, but--you know, given enough monkeys and enough typewriters, you get Hamlet, right? It's harder to explain one's wallet accidentally unzipping and one's credit card number accidentally appearing on screen, but weirder things have happened. Look at Michael Jackson.

Send me your thoughts as soon as possible, c/o debtor's prison.

Signed,
Not That This Has Happened To Me Or Anything

The sun also rises.

I don't want you to get too excited, Reader--perhaps you'd better sit down--but we are going to see the Yarn Harlot a week from today. A week and eleven hours from right this very moment. This is all thanks to the sharp-eyed Sarah G at Yardage, who, I think we can logically conclude, must have some kind of super power, because she found this out even though Stephanie hasn't put it up on her website yet.

I have been doing some knitting myself, although not quite as fervently as Lilyriver. I have been working on some gift knitting for friends I won't write about here, partly because progress has stalled out. I've also been working on a pair of Knucks--also a gift, but for a non-reader of the blog, I think--that I plan on embroidering with Nikki Sixx's knuckle tattoos. It's rather more difficult than I expected to find you a picture of this. She would know in a heartbeat, but--well. ETA: Aha! Top right. I will be so pleased with myself if I can make the embroidery look halfway decent. The Knucks pattern is practically genius, as it's knit top down and comes together fantastically well. I'm using Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed, which is about 85% wool and 15% silk and cashmere, I think, and it knits up beautifully. I ordered a couple skeins in Aran weight to use for a hat I'm planning. Uh, for myself.

The Way We Were

I don't believe I ever shared a photo of my last finished project of the summer. This is Stefanie Japel's Orangina, knit in Lamb's Pride Cotton Fine on size 4 needles. It was a very satisfying project because it's made me believe that I might have it in me to be a lace knitter. This is not to say that I want to chuck all my other projects and start knitting my way through Victorian Lace Today, but it's nice to know that a pretty shawl in a simple lace pattern might not be beyond my abilities. I'm very impressed with the yarn I used for this -- it has a little wool in it, which really does help it to hold its shape, I think. It's been blocked and worn several times and washed and worn again and it's only improving in appearance, which I'm thrilled about. Most of my projects seem so fragile once they're off the needles and on my body, but this feels like it's meant to be used.

Yet, alas, summer is beginning to fade and there will be less and less use for lacy cotton tops. Look how happy and carefree I am in the photo! I don't expect to look that way again for-- what's the date, again? -- oh, about four or five years.

More than one way to wear a hat...

...especially if the hat is accidentally oversized and floppy. Lately I've been just ambushed with work and have been able to steal so few moments for knitting that blogging hasn't seemed as exciting as it once did. I have finished two hats recently, however. One of them, a cabled Utopia hat in my new favorite worsted weight wool, Mission Falls 1824, was sent away before I took pictures of it, but the other has been photographed from literally every angle. It's Ysolda's Urchin pattern from the latest edition of Knitty. I knitted with desperate speed with the first super bulky yarn I could get my hands on, Paton's Rumor, which is full of acrylic but comes in lovely colors. The hat is just plain too big, but it's also kind of fun.




And I'd like to close this post, such as it is, with a shout-out to our good friend over at Yardage, whose awesome new knitting blog has nudged me back in the saddle.

Postcards from the edge.

Don't think I have forgotten you, Reader! I have not. But my knitting energies have lately been redirected into some gift projects for friends and I can't share them with you--partly because I am not sure that I'll wind up having the time to complete them. Apparently, I'm not allowed to knit instead of writing papers, nor am I allowed to knit my final papers. I'm disheartened, but I'll press on.

A few brief notes: I tried the magic loop technique and found it to be quite cumbersome. I only did a few rows with it, but jockeying the needle into place interrupted my flow. I can see trying it again in the future; there are certain practical benefits to it, the chief amongst them being that it only takes one needle and one is thus spared half the trouble when needle-hunting and half the expense of buying new needles when one realizes that one has approximately 4308240328043802843 size 1.5s, but no size 2s.

Secondly: I'm using Lion Wool for the mystery project, which is a 100% worsted weight wool. I'm suspicious of wools that advertise that they are good for felting, which usually means that they are either scratchy or poor quality, and I'm suspicious of all Lion Brand products because I succumb easily to internet-born yarn snobbery peer pressure. But it turns out that while Lion Wool is not by any means a soft yarn, it's actually a quality, sturdy workhorse yarn. I do remain puzzled as to why Lion Brand has chosen to put it out in 85g skeins instead of the 50g or 100g that one usually sees, but I got my 85g on sale for 3.25, so I dare not complain too loudly. A limitation of the yarn is that it doesn't come in very many colors; there are only a few of the colors to which I could say I was genuinely drawn (although there are many that would do)--and no heathers at all. And I test-felted a bit of it and they were right--it really does felt well. A side note: Lion Wool is also available in a few variegated ("print") shades.

Lastly: there's been a promise made concerning a visit to yarn shop in Princeton next Wednesday, and it's like I'm eight again and I'm about to get an American Girl doll for Christmas.

We join this program already in progress.

All right, darlings, I've finally done a little sweater scanning. I've got about 10" of a project 18" for the bottom of the Lucy cardigan. The stitch pattern is so simple that I'd probably be gouging my eyeballs out if it weren't for the yarn--I've gone on a bit about the Berroco Ultra Alpaca before, and I won't do it again here, but it's fantastic. Not so great for stitch definition, as is the case with most dark yarns and most alpaca yarns; the scanning picked up the patterning in one dimension much better than the eye can actually do in three. But that's okay, because it doesn't matter, really, and I think when blocked, it'll be a little bit crisper. My other potential problem is that while I'm ly(tru + mad + deep) in love with the Peat colorway, it turns out that dark green actually doesn't go with a great deal in my wardrobe. I think the green's too dark to go comfortably with black or navy blue, and reds are out unless I want to look like Mother Christmas. Brown could make me look like a tree, and greens, possibly too matchy, and anyway, the only green shirt I have is more lime than earthy. So I'm left with light blue--and the feeling that this might be a good excuse to start collecting shirts in the purple family. But first Bolty's gotta get paid.

Cheap shots.

Nononononononononononononononononononononononono
nononononononononononononononononononono NO.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

I have some bad news for you, Reader: the Summer of Crafting Fun is sadly at an end. Tomorrow, there are books to be read; papers to write; students, god help me, to teach. In other words, there is music to be faced. In such situations, there's only one thing to do: tie up one's belongings on a hobo stick and hit the rails.

I am ending the summer with four WIPs, violating, of course, the rule of 3 that I had semi-established for myself. Nevertheless, I think they're all projects I have a reasonable chance of finishing during the fall semester (knock on particle board). First, I have my Lucy in the Sky cardigan. I have not offered any pictures either here or on Ravelry because, quite frankly, they would be extremely dull. I'm working on the bottom now, which is about 18" of a knit/purl diamond/King Charles brocade-ish pattern; I'm about 8.5" in. I love love love the yarn; it's a 50/50 wool/alpaca blend from Berroco called Ultra Alpaca. The colors are designed, they say, to mimic plant-dyes. I chose, as I believe I have mentioned before, the Peat colorway. Anyway, it's soft like alpaca, but has the sturdiness and elasticity of wool, and it's not as painfully expensive as one might imagine. Also, it smells like the upholstery in a new car. If you have ever smelled pure wool, especially if it's been sealed in a Ziploc for awhile, you will know that this is a good thing.

I am also still working on my pair of plain stockinette socks from the Colortweed. One down, one to go.

Thirdly, I'm working on the Celtic Cable Scarf from Kraemer Yarns. I'm using Peace Fleece in the Tundra colorway. Now, I love the Peace Fleece colors and I love the mission of the company, but man, this yarn is hard to knit with. It's very scratchy. The thing about Peace Fleece, though, is that it softens well when washed; I rinsed the bottom four inches in ordinary tap water and noticed a large improvement. I think with a little Eucalan, it should be good to go. Some projects you want to have more than you want to knit them. But I've only got about a foot done out of a projected six, and the cabling demands my full attention, so I'm in this one for the long haul. ETA: Apparently I said the exact same thing with respect to "long haul" two posts ago. Don't think I'm not paying attention, Reader.

Fourthly, I've got my Almost Argyles going out of Knit Picks Essential in Grass. I had to rip a good inch or so back due to a pattern mistake, so I'm still working on the gusset. The other problem is that the Essential really does get as fuzzy as everyone says it does (you can sort of tell in the picture). It didn't look so hot when I was done frogging that bit. The experience I'm having with the Essential is really the opposite of the one I'm having with the Peace Fleece; while the Essential is soft and lovely with which to knit, I'm quite nervous about washing it. Someone on Ravelry suggested washing the socks inside out so the pilling happens on the part of the sock you don't see, which seems to me to be genius advice.

'Til next time, Reader--and do let me know if you've figured out how to charm yourself a bottomless purse.

Beach Blanket Bingo.

Gratuitous blanket shots: