Mental Indigestion

Overwhelmed by a plethora of choices, I frittered away most of Saturday morning trying to design a sock. It didn't happen. Bleh.

Look at what did happen:

PS. Noricum, Ford's neck hole is large enough to fit over my big head. Thanks for asking!

Do What you Want Weekend!

Yippee! It's Saturday and we're having a Do What you Want Weekend. The previous two weekends were filled with obligations and chores, so this weekend, you guessed it, we're doing what we want.

So far, I'm just having too much fun saying "do what you want!"

This is the type of weather we're having:

Pretty eh? I think I want to take a walk, and knit outside, and maybe do some gardening. Or maybe I'll just goof off and do stupid stuff. Whatever I WANT!

I finished up the body of Ford:

I'm pleased with the curve on the neck. The Lopi wool is pretty scratchy so rather than knit the neck band double and sew it down on the inside, I knit it to the length I want and did a sewn tubular bind-off. I'm satisfied with it. It looks ripply in the picture, but I'm confident that it will smooth out in the wash and wear.

Just look at the hairiness of the Lopi. I won't be working on this sweater too much longer. Even though a sleeve doesn't fill your lap the way a sweater does, the yarn will feel unbearable between my fingers in warm weather.

Warm weather! Wee! Do what you want! Awesome! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Hooray for the W words!

Shifting Gears

As I suspected, many of you find knitting to be both a left- and right-brain pursuit, which is just one of the reasons so many of us love this hobby so much. I liked Nicole's theory that we are most happy when both sides are in balance. This makes a lot of sense to me since I believe that being in balance is the ideal goal to strive for in all aspects of life.

I've noticed that the nice weather has made my right-brain more active. After finishing up those Sailor's Rib socks, I came up with an idea for Maia's handspun. This beautiful yarn had quite an attitude problem and didn't like any of the ideas I came up for it. I'd already ripped it twice, and it sulked in my yarn basket for quite some time. Then I found the right stitch pattern and the right needle size and we were off to the races together!

I've decided to make a lacy version of a fisherman's scarf. The stitch is called twisted brioche stitch and it makes a lovely fabric with this yarn. The fabric is light and squooshy with a really good drape. Love it! Here's a close up:



I've also been working on my oldest UFO ever, Ford, or as I think of it, the Rainbow Lopi Fair Isle. It's amazing how odd hours of knitting, snatched here and there, accumulate:

Of course, I decided to put some steeks in for the arm holes and was quite prepared to do the same with the neck, when my knitting came to a screeching halt by a decidedly left-brain problem. How do I decrease the neck? The pattern calls for putting 17 sts on a holder, and then casting off 3 sts on the neck edge once, 2 sts once and then 1 st three times. It's those first three stitches that has me perplexed. Now I think I understand why so many Fair Isle designs have v-necks.

Here are the ideas I've come up with:

• v-neck; tried and true, but doesn't seem to fit with this drop-shouldered design
• knit back and forth; it's only for a couple of inches, I can suck it up
• try a placket neck; that fits with the idea of an outdoorsy sweater like this, but I've never done one before. (Like that would stop me.)

So, dear readers, my most excellent knit pals, what do you suggest? What would you do?

This project has been through a lot and I don't want to abandon it again. It sat in the closet for 3-years, stuffed in a basket. It moved with us from one side of the city to the other. And it has grown in spite of only getting the most sparse knitting time. I just can't knit it in front of the TV or in company because of the syncopated pattern. Help me rescue this poor thing. Because in spite of the barfing rainbows, it is really pretty.

Rescued!

Well that was fast! The Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl is back in business. I've got two more 4mm circulars to work it on. I'll be using them like DPNs, just knit off one needle and onto an empty one. Except I think I'll put a point protector on the end of the working needle, for safety's sake.

Tonight was Monday night knitting, and Mary Jane kindly brought her longest 4mm needle, which is 100 cm, for me to borrow. Tomorrow knit is the knitting club and we're having a swap and trade. I was digging through my stash for yarns that might be better loved elsewhere, and I found my 4mm Addi Turbo. Yipee!

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night. It sounds exciting, doesn't it? Don't worry, I'll bring my camera and see if I can collect some yarn p0rn shots for you all.

Hey Angelika! Here's a scan of the rainbow sweater, especially for you:

It's from the Lett-Lopi book number 13 which I purchased at a sale at Len's Mills about 3 years back. I don't know where you could get it from now.

Stymied

Once again, knitting mirrors my life: I've been stymied in both. This left me with a mood all last week. By Friday I felt like a sulky 15-year old. All that was missing was the black lipstick and nail polish. But I've had a nice weekend that has left me in a much better mood.

It's funny, how I don't feel entitled to my bad mood. I know that I'm very fortunate in my circumstances. I have a lovely family, a house, a job and a closet full of wool. There's got to be some compromise between feeling our feelings, and still recognizing that things could be worse. Anyway, I'm working on learning what it is.

So, enough of life, I came here to write about my knitting. Unfortunately, write is about all I can do, since I don't have much of anything to show. The Clessidra Stockings are progressing; I've started the ankle shaping of the second sock. That means I still have one sock's worth of knitting to do.

The Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl stalled out because of needle issues. The largest 4mm needle I have is 80cm or 32 inches. I haven't finished the first repeat of chart 2 and this needle is already full. I tried knitting on two circs at the same time, but that's terribly awkward with lace. I'm considering buying a KnitPicks circular because they go up to 60 inches. The longest Addi Turbo I can find is also 60 inches. I have a Boye NeedleMaster, but when I try joining multiple cables together, they come together at an awkward angle. I haven't tried knitting with it yet.

The real problem is the jumperweight wool. It takes too much room on the needles. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can comfortably knit this shawl? Perhaps a large jumperweight shawl in the round is just a Bad Idea. I'm very close to ripping this out. I only started it because it was such a pleasure to knit, but without the right needle, the pleasure will be gone.

So, I'm tired of knitting blue socks. I wanted some color, and I found it in a 3-year old project that I've resurrected. It's a fair isle pull over in Lopi that I put aside when the weather warmed up in the spring and then never picked back up. Since this week has been so cold, I've enjoyed having it's warmth on my lap. I keep having the phrase, "barfing rainbows" go through my head as I knit on it though:

The sock in the picture was started on Saturday night as Jim and I watched Casino Royale. It was a good movie, so I needed something simpler to knit than what was currently on the needles. I'm loving the bright colors and the stitch pattern. It's Sailor's Rib, but I've added an extra knit row.

I gotta run, dinner is almost ready. Roast rabbit, roast vegetables, beets, mashed potatoes, and I've chopped some fresh pineapple for dessert. Hmmm.... I'm counting my blessings, including the support of all my knitting pals. Thanks to all of you. Cheers!