Quick, post fast, before they catch me!

Wednesday, I caught up on all my blog reading, commenting hither and thither, and then wandered onto the Danger Lands (aka Ravelry). I looked through all the wonderful things my friends have knitted (AND FINISHED), and then looked at my own little Finished Items bit on my infopage. There is one thing there.

One Thing.
I know I've finished lots and lots of knitted things - and even worn them in public. Often repeatedly. So, I *could* take pictures of all the things I've finished (that I can lay my hands on), add them to Ravelry, and be all happy about it. But, being me, my solution is instead to try something I've never before succeeded in doing. I am going to choose a project... and work on ONLY it until it is completed.

"Well, she's practically done with a pair of gloves," those of you that don't know me well say. "She should be able to finish those, right?"

[KnitStuff/Glovie.jpg]
Fingers! I gots fingers!
Those of you that actually know me are rolling their eyes. "She's going to pick something she'll never actually finish, isn't she? So she can have the excuse of snapping completely sometime mid-December, and then start another ten projects that she'll ALSO never finish, of course."

I say, a completely different outcome IS possible. I say I CAN knit on just one object until I finish it! I say it IS possible. (Shhhhhh if you've guessed the Obvious Loophole in my plan!) So, on Wednesday evening, I conducted a calm, collected inventory of my currently-accessible UFOs (I suppose I should call them WIPs, but really, we all know what they are), and the Winner, the little knitted creation that will be carried around and knit until it is completed, come hell or high water (which is possible, since I work right next to a major American river), is:

The Lilly of the Valley Shawl from Lace Style!!
[KnitStuff/LotVSandSots.jpg]
LotVS and SotS usually hang out together.
Yes, of course, there were other candidates, of course. The Cat Sweater wanted out of its bag, but it's too heavy to carry around at this point, and colorwork is a good way to drive myself insane. Secret of the Stole (pictured next to Cup-o-Shawl, aka the LotVS) also peeped up. It knows it's my favorite project... but beads. You see... I'm going on a bus trip to New York City tomorrow to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Eight hours on a bus. I need something easy (to which I have the pattern memorized), highly portable, and something that, with eight hours, I will have visible and measurable progress to show off. Plus, given that once I get going, I can do a full repeat in about half an hour, I have a shot at actually finishing the "guts" of the shawl on the trip.

Now Peggy (of Knitting and Spinning With Ewe) commented that she really doesn't think that reality and knitting go together at all. I *have* to agree... I suffer from Knitting Delusions of the first order - and let's face it, thinking I'm actually going to stick with LotVS until it's finished is a long shot. However, it *could* happen. "Improbable" doesn't mean "Impossible". (I checked.)

The Cat Sweater insisted I show you a picture of its misery, trapped in its lovely knitting bag. I may have to finish it next (ugh)!

[KnitStuff/CatSweaterPouting.jpg]
See, it's pouting!
Have a good weekend, everyone. I'll tell you all about the NYC trip when I get back!

How dare they think I'm actually here to do work!!

Okay, there was going to be a long, fun post about "yay, I have a great idea for Finishing Things", but work has decided to get REALLY frantic (with promises of just getting worse from here through Christmas).

Quick cool thing: Yarn Harlot Podcast!

See y'all tomorrow (I HOPE!!)...

My First Glove - well, half glove, anyway...

I spent a chunk of yesterday's lunch break reorganizing my BlogSpot entry labels. I'd started with name-each-project... but the list was getting unwieldy - and uninformative. I still have to fix things further, but at least I'm started.

On the "otherwise started" front, I learned that maybe lace gloves on 3 DPNs aren't the best carry-around project. I usually have things that are (a) on circular needles, (b) don't require intricate counting and (c) have any stitches involving more than two vowels (possok??). On the other hand, I'm actually having fun with my little size-one toothpicks. I'm having more fun with my stylish metallic-blue paperclip stitch marker. (Fun with office supplies!!)

More importantly, I've got a Thumb Gussett (stitch holder) *and* a pinkie finger (red arrow). Slowly, but it forms... oh, it forms!

[KnitStuff/SnowflakeGlove1-2.jpg]
The Unnamed Sweater is almost done. It's been sitting like this for almost a week now. The bright dots (pins) next to the bright circles (the buttons) are my proof that no, all I have to do is attach the damned buttons. Maybe tonight.

[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweaterAlmostFinal.jpg]
And in holiday news, Thanksgiving is over, so the Ivy Reindeer are now sitting at their table outside the local Starbucks.

[KnitStuff/festivereindeer.jpg]
Coolest find for yesterday: Snowball's Chance In Hell armwarmers from The AntiCraft. These are SO in my queue. And I'm SO doing them with the Glow In The Dark Yarn I mentioned yesterday. I also found whatever the heck this is. I got to play a round of "where are the cotton balls hidden in the house THIS week?" Monday night, and this would certainly solve THAT problem. "Oh, honey, I'm pretty sure they're in the robot. Did you check the robot?"

On the Serious Side: A New Yarn is a shop in seattle that accepts donated yarns, books, tools, etc. A New Yarn is a not-for-profit yarn shop supporting the work of Northwest Family Life, a learning and counseling center that is working to solve the issues and impacts of domestic violence. Donations are tax-deductible. Contact A New Yarn if you have S.A.B.L.E. that you know you'll never use - it's going to a good cause!

Photos from Over the Weekend

Sunday was be-a-vegetable-day. Being a vegetable involved making potholders (something I haven't done for... oh... 25 years?) on a cheap plastic loom using "Hot Loops". Think unnaturally-bright colors, and then multiply by ten. These things should glow in the dark. They don't, but they really, really should.

[KnitStuff/hotloopspotholders.jpg]
Next, we have Things I Won't Actually Pay That Much For But Want. Actually, I could probably afford the cute little sweater pictured below. JCPenney has good sales. It's much more fun, however, to hit the Giant Stash of Yarn and make my own. (I've never done just half-a-zipper. Should be entertaining.)

[KnitStuff/ImperialSweater1.jpg]

And guess what was in the PO Box Wednesday night? My package from Knitty Noddy!!! Look at the pretties....

[KnitStuff/chpy-oceandepth.jpg] Ocean Depth, for Pretty as a Peacock

[KnitStuff/chpy-pistaschio.jpg] Pistachio for Secret of the Stole

I actually showed AMAZING willpower. I had this yarn ALL WEEKEND and didn't start the shawl until last night.

[KnitStuff/prettyasapeacock1.jpg] Look. Pattern and Untouched Yarn. For FOUR DAYS.

[KnitStuff/prettyasapeacock1a.jpg] Seven Rows In!

And finally, just in case you missed it on the Daily Chum: real actual nylon fiber-basedGLOW IN THE DARK YARN!!!!
I figure what, ten balls to make a sweater?

Monday already??

Okay, so this was going to be a photo-filled entry of all the new stash, things found on sale, and finished objects.

This madcap photo spree required just one thing: that I remember to bring the SD card with all the pictures on it with me today. As I did not, I'm just thankful I had *one* knitting photo on my cellphone, so I could e-mail it to myself!
To wit:
[KnitStuff/SnowflakeGlove1-1.jpg]

The Fingerless Snowflake Lace Office Glove from SqueakyWeasels gallops apace. I'm actually up to my Very First Thumb Gusset right now, and so far, so good. It'll be interesting to see if I ever get to the *second* thumb gussett...
[KnitStuff/blurryrose.jpg]
This is just a blurry picture of a rose that I spotted on the way home from work on Wednesday. I just *love* the colorway. It'd make a great hat....! And now, What I've been up to the past four days, more or less:

THURSDAY:
Lasagna at the in-laws', turkey at home. Watched CSI, and knitted on glove. Fairly typical day off, just more family and food.

FRIDAY:
Shopping at zero-TooEarly-hundred. Scored the Desired Electronic Item in the first ten minutes. Spent rest of day alternating between bringing small stuff home/to mom's and wandering around watching other people shop. Managed to *not* spend too much money. Did score Spice Girls CD. Came home; discovered local ruffians had spray-painted a tag on our garage door. Called police, fixed exterior lights.

SATURDAY:
Got up, cleaned off garage door. Talked to neighbors: we were the only house hit, but every white van or truck on the street had been tagged (plus some on side streets). Talked to more police. Napped most of the day; went out for Mexican ("not turkey!!"), shopped. Lots of cruisers through neighborhood.

SUNDAY:
Shopped. Can you tell I shop when I stress? More police sightings. Got buttons, pins to get buttons on Unnamed Sweater which is finished, but for the buttons. Knit more on glove.

MONDAY:
Got here WAAAAAY the heck too fast! Must buy caulk; stuff that removed spray paint from garage also eating through latex exterior paint. Do *not* want to buy new garage door.

And how was YOUR weekend?

Crafting hath its uses

Beads!
Yesterday, I accidentally wandered into Joy of Beading (if anyone needs a part-time job for extra holiday cash, they're looking for someone...). I walked out spending only $12.00 plus tax - on one more tube of beads for the Peacock Scarf (since I'm already 1.25 tubes down, and I only have two), and two strings of goldstone chips. I have *NO* idea why I love goldstone so much; the only jewellry I've actually managed to make for myself are a goldstone-and-turquoise glass choker and bracelet set. I'm also tempted to get a little bitty goldstone bear fetish from Fire & Ice, the world's most dangerous store, but I know better than to actually walk inside if I've got anything like "money" or "credit cards" on me. Or, for that matter, an "ATM card", since there's an ATM for my bank ten yards from the door.

Yarn!
The Sanguine Gryphon, who does handpainted yarns, some of which I might actually be able to touch. She's looking for designers to use her yarns for patterns. I'll probably try getting some in the next few months, coming up with something fun, and trying to publish. What the hey!

Photos!
First, the obligatory knitting photo. The Unnamed Sweater progresses; the sleeves are almost half-done (lengthwise). I may run out of yarn, but I've got a plan for that. If it happens, I'm going to rip back enough so that I have yarn for both cuffs (8 rows ea of 24st, garter stitch). Putting that aside, I'll use plain black to finish the sleeves, and do the collar; I'll then add black pockets to the front panels, and get plain black buttons. If I have enough yarn, no pockets and fancy silver buttons. No worries, either way.
[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweater5.jpg]
Now some people say crafting has no practical applications. These people are just uninformed (or willfully ignorant). I submit to you the floors in my house. Using inexpensive (but durable) industrial tile and a new blade on my 24" rotary paper/cloth cutter, after charting on my cross-stitch software, I created the following fun floorcoverings in my house, since I can't have carpet (and hate boring floors).

First, we have the back room, cleaned for the S&B-that-didn't. It's a 8'x8' chessboard - and eventually we'll have pieces of the corresponding size to actually play the game. This one was done first, since it was the easiest.

[NeatoStuff/Cleanfloor2.jpg]

[NeatoStuff/Cleanfloor1.jpg]

Next up, we have the center room (a Greek-key maze) and the front room (Compass Rose). For some reason, I don't have a picture of the middle room floor, but you get the idea from the schematic, and the tiny photo in the set-of-three.

[NeatoStuff/floorpatterns.bmp]

[NeatoStuff/floors1.jpg] Top: Chessboard Center: Greek Key Bottom: TETRIS board

[PICT0224.jpg] Compass Rose in progress

[NeatoStuff/floor4-small.jpg]

Finally, the two back rooms. Originally, the Shoo-Fly Quilt Block was in what was gonna be my craft room; the Tetris board in my husband's computer room. Sadly (for him), I have more stash than he has computers, so we have floors inappropriately matched to the purpose of the room they inhabit. Not that either floor is presently visible, of course.

[NeatoStuff/shooflyfloor1.jpg] Purple walls and Quilt Block...    Computer room. Orange walls and TETRIS floor...    Stash room. All done with a rotary cutter and Imperial industrial tile.

[tetrisfloor-all.jpg]

See? Without all my crafting stuff, I wouldn't have dared do stuff like this - but, since I craft, it was EASY.
To execute, anyway. Getting it all actually done DID take about a year.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Find of the Day

I forgot to mention, regarding last Friday, that I avoided another Yarn Accident. I had, instead, a pattern-and-needle accident. The pattern is the lovely snowflace lace fingerless office gloves from Squeaky Weasels.

[KnitStuff/SqueakyWeaselSnowflakeOfficeGloves.jpg]
photo from SqueakyWeasels/Pattern by Chris O'Brien of same
See more here: Squeaky Weasel photostream!
Read more here: SqueakyWeasels.blogspot.com!
Aren't they fabulous??
The needles were the called-for size 1 DPNs, which I didn't already own.

Yes, I stop by Stitch DC almost every day. Yes, there's actually some needles and yarn I don't already own. You know this; you must own some of it if you're reading this. Stop looking at me like that.

Anyway, lovely gloves, lots of great patterns and lovely stuff, everyone go look!

In shopping news(that ended up not actually being shopping), JC Penney had some CUTE sweaters. This first one's yoke was cabled, and the decreases all happened inside the cable, so it just went in pretty. Must try this.

[KnitStuff/storesweaters1.jpg]
Then there was the sweater-coat. I've wanted a sweater coat for YEARS. I've been thinking about making one... but just buying one? At 30% off? I couldn't even buy the yarn for that! I looked at the brown one, first. There's lovely cabling down the center of the back; I took a photo of the white one, too, because the cabling down the front and the sleeve showed better. I SOOOOO wanted to get this sweater coat!

[KnitStuff/storesweaters2.jpg] Celtic. Cabled. Affordable.

[KnitStuff/storesweaters3.jpg]

Sadly, I donned it. And resembled nothing so much as a large, brownish lump. Perhaps a medium-sized brown bear - but totally not the effect I was going for. I did not get the sweater coat, even though it was a great deal. I am now much less inclined to make one... unless I suddenly lose 100 pounds. (Please note that I have, in fact, weighed 100 pounds less than I do now. Granted, it was after the mononucleosis/bronchitis/strep combo from hell, and even the doctor said I needed to gain back about 20 pounds... but I was 100 pounds lighter, and still alive. I could lose over half my body weight, and survive. This is BAD.)

Still twiddling away on the sleeves for the Unnamed Sweater; I'm about 1/3 down from the top, and as the rows get shorter the longer the sleeve, it should start at least *feeling* like it's picking up speed one of these days. I really hope to be wearing it to work on Monday!!

Not the weekend I had planned.

Well, it wasn't the weekend I had planned.

The Weekend I Had Planned involved two fun birthday parties (one with board games, the other with Tarts & Vicars, which I've always wanted to go to), seeing Grammy for her birthday on Sunday, followed by the Stitch & Bitch at my house. While I did get to see Grammy (for about half an hour), NOTHING else panned out. Saturday I was flat out with the sinus headache from hell (which was making me queasy enough that it might've crossed into migrane territory, but I didn't get a lightshow, so I didn't think of that until it was too late). Sunday I felt a bit better in the morning, but felt wretched by about 3pm, so it's probably best that no one showed for the S&B. I was pretty disappointed, though, since I had been ready for it, and if I'd known no one was coming, I would've stayed with the family. (My one guaranteed person had to call in with children - her husband is currently working two full-time jobs, so she's got the kids. My house is pretty much the opposite of "childproof" - "deathtrap", I think it's called. Although the back room is much clearer now, since sometime in the next few weeks we should finally be getting the door we ordered in April.)

So, other than a brief stint with related-people, I saw no one.

This gave me (on Sunday, for a while, at least) some time to knit. So, the body, except for the collar, of the Unnamed Sweater is done and seamed.

[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweater4front.jpg] front (above, left); back (right)

[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweater4back.jpg]

As you can see from above, it needs blocking pretty badly (Hmmmm. Guess it's time to take the cotton racing stripe sweater off the blocking board. Three months of blocking, it should be OK by now.), and sleeves. The button band I did as I went, so I don't have to worry about that. I decided to seam the back (right) so it showed - absolutely no point in going to the trouble of knitting a two-panel back if no one can tell it's been done. The sleeves, I'm doing at the same time, to avoid the dreaded Second Sleeve Syndrome. I threw in some short rows to fake a shoulder cap (even though it's almost a drop-sleeve), and I'm putting one decrease every two rows three stitches in, alternating left or right end of the sleeve.

[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweater4sleeves.jpg]
That should get me sleeves the length I want with wrists that don't flap everywhere, assuming I did the math right. I've also noticed that I may run out of "Heather", hence not doing the collar yet. If I do run out, then the cuffs and collar will be of Some Other Color, probably black. And it will *almost* look intentional.

Short week this week, thankfully, and the new New Girl starts this morning. Hopefully, she'll last out her tenure (3 months, I think)...

In SQUEEE news, my package from Knitty Noddy has shipped. Oh, I hope I get it by Wednesday! It would be so much fun to start Pretty as a Peacock on Thursday! Fingers crossed!

Friday, YAY!

First, a housekeeping note: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/secretofthestole-ii/ is the new, updated link for the Secret of the Stole II knitalong starting in January. The "-ii" does make it easier to parse the name of the group! If you're already joined, no worries, but if you're trying to find the group, and can't, that may be why.

I got yarn. It's not a yarn accident this time, like yesterday... it's coming back on purpose to get seven more balls of the stuff so I can make my next shawl. Yes, I know, I've got two shawls on the needles as it is. And I figure it might as well be four, since we all know I'm starting the Pretty as a Peacock the second I get my paws on my box from Oregon.

[KnitStuff/ElsebethLovellCottonFrappe.jpg] Elsebeth Lavold Cotton Frappe 159yd/ball Destined to be Fiddlesticks' "Peacock Feather Shawl"

[KnitStuff/ElsebethLovellCottonFrappea.jpg]

It's Friday, usually a good thing. This Friday, however, the weather is cold, rainy, and blearch. Naturally, it's also given me a case of the sniffles, which sucks. Sniffles are bad for me being around people with lowered immune systems (my friend G has a birthday party Saturday, and his son has been home with respiratory difficulties for several months); and when I'm sniffly, I can't deal with allergy triggers myself (everywhere we're supposed to be on Saturday has cats). *Sigh.* I'm really hoping the sniffles abate, or Saturday will not be the fun-filled partyday I had envisioned for myself and my spouse. (And said spouse could *really* use the break; he's got final exams coming up in three weeks.)


At least I want to keep my spouse, unlike "Jennifer" here:
[KnitStuff/FreetoGoodHome.jpg]
On the UFO count front: Screw it. I wasn't counting handbags (for some odd reason); I wasn't counting the dice bags I've already cut up to sew. The count is now sixty-three (63). I'll just have to work at keeping it under 70. *Sigh.* I therefore am completely free to find new, fun patterns, since "going over 60" isn't an issue, apparently. Here's a pic of one of the "offenders", Diane Zangl's "Britney Handbag" from Knit'n'Style:
[KnitStuff/BritneyHandbag1.jpg]
Mine's gonna be bigger... enough to hold some yarn and needles, at least!
Got the third piece of the Unnamed Sweater done, at least. I think, despite the fact that there are two sleeves after this next bit, I'm closest to finishing this, out of EVERYTHING. I'm really liking the diamond-zig-zag thing that's happening with the colorway here. I'm hoping I get the same effect on the second side of the back; it'll look COOL. It's Red Hearts TLC Essentials, colorway "Heather" - which has been out of production for a while (of course). I think I've got enough to finish the sweater, since I've already done the button band as I went!
[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweater3a.jpg]


First up for Things-I-Found-on-Ravelry: Kathleen Taylor's cute Gramma K's Fair Isle Tam, knitted up over here by NerdyKnitter. So cute! Requires felting, which requires wool, so I'll be playing with it a bit due to Sheep-less requirements. I'm *certain* I've got stash I can use... I'm thinking that leftover black, with the leftover green, blue and purple... or something like that. I just love the pattern!

Next: Her Stranded Pumpkin Tam. And the Stranded Pumpkin Mitts that go with it. If you haven't guessed already, Kathleen Taylor just went on my favorite designers list. Yes, both patterns are "child sized" - but I wear child-sized glasses, because my head is freakishly small, and I can wear kids' mittens... so I'm really not too worried.

But wait, there's more great stuff out there: Interweave Knit's Summer 2007 had this scrummy Oriel Lace Blouse, where the fitting was done by changing needle size. I'm definitely doing it someday, but it's at the bottom of the queue because I need to resize myself before knitting this blouse.

More: If you're on Ravelry, check out Street Legal Designs. Arrrr! I totally need a messenger bag with the winking skull on it. Or several winking skulls, in various colors. Wheee! Damage will eventually be done here.

All y'all have a good weekend. Safe traveling to those headed out!

Show-N-Tell!

Yay, this morning, Blogger fixed itself, and I was able to get on to the Pretty as a Peacock knitalong blog. I don't have my stuff from Knitty Noddy yet (as they probably don't have the money order yet), but I'm on the group! Yaaay!!

In actual I-do-occasionally-knit-news: first, Show-N-Tell! You couldn't really see the ties of the Yarn Accident Headscarf in the previous pictures - theyr'e just garter stitch, cast on after the main part is done, and short-rowed as I cast off to make the front part fit my head. I'm going to try to get the actual pattern-with-beads written up and figure out how to put it up either here or on Ravelry. Yay!
[KnitStuff/YarnAccidentHeadScarf-3.jpg]

Second... EEEE! There's a Secret of the Stole II knitalong, starting in January! Yay! The YahooGroup is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/secretofthestoleii/. Go, join! The last day the Secret of the Stole I charts will be avaliable through the group is December 8, remember that. Hint #7 (of 8) comes out this Friday. Have I finished Hint #1 take #2 yet? Heck, no! But I know I will.

On the subject of finding some quick, cute project I can finish before the box full of Handpainted Yarn for Pretty as a Peacock arrives, I'm actually not terribly close to finishing ANYTHING just now. (Not in four days, anyway, not if I have to work, and this weekend is busy.) So I'm just gonna keep going on the Unnamed Sweater - it requires the least amount of thinking. I'm definitely doing both sleeves at once, though. No way am I gonna get stuck with Single Sleeve Syndrome again! (This terrible syndrome, as you may have noticed, is why you haven't heard anything about the Cat Sweater since the end of October. It's dangerous, the SSS is. Which isn't to be confused with Second Sock Syndrome, which is just as dangerous. The only sock I've ever completed is nice, fitted perfectly, and thigh-high... and will never have a mate.)

Here is that sock:

[KnitStuff/ThighHigh1.jpg] The squares in the floor are 6"x6", to give you scale.

[KnitStuff/ThighHigh1a.jpg] Perfectly fitted to my leg; there's even a place for my knee. Short rows RULE.

In other news, Ravelry is a very dangerous place. Those of you already on know this. There's this pernicious feature, "search patterns". You can throw in a word like, say, "Gryphon" or "Fingerless" or "Slytherin" and get a plethora of patterns to suddenly appear... many of which are FREE. You can search groups the same way, for, say, "Allergic" or "Anime" or "Sheepless". Suddenly, you're on almost a full day, just poking around, finding and queueing projects, joining groups, friending complete strangers that seem interesting (or people you've been following through podcasts or knitalongs)... gah. It will eat your life.

Not that you'll mind, of course.

Tried to join the Pretty as a Peacock knitalong blog, but Blogspot is having serious issues. I'm having serious issues with the utter idiocy of their alleged "Help" system... which seems to be a jillion people going "WTF?" and "When will this be fixed?" with no actual concrete answers regarding the issue. This is why I'm primarily on LiveJournal - GREAT support, better FAQ, and really good System Issue notices. (And a much more moldable and friendly interface, too.) If they don't have it fixed by this evening, I'll let the knitalong owner know there were issues. *Sigh.*

And, the end of show-n-tell:
[KnitStuff/Show-n-Tell11-15-07.jpg]
All the stuff I'm taking to SweetLife tonight.
It's my crocheted bag a la Ruth's design, presently holding The Single ThighHigh, the Yarn Accident Headscarf, the Diane Zangl Britney Bag (to go with my Britney Top), the two balls of Really Cool Stuff for the OTHER Peacock Feather Shawl (I need to buy seven more balls, but they're on sale!!), and the yarn for, and two front panels of, the Unnamed Sweater. Hopefully, panel 3 will be finished by the end of the evening!

I keep having Yarn Accidents.

Yesterday, I had another Yarn Accident. I have no idea how (okay, it was Lime & Violet's Daily Chum), but I stumbled across the Pretty as a Peacock Shawl Knit-a-Long (it's got its own blog!). My reaction to the pattern?

MUST HAVE!!!! MUST HAVE!!!
Ahem. Anyway, through the designer's blog, I found Knitty Noddy, a lovely online store that has both the Pretty as a Peacock pattern *and* Claudia Handpainted Silk Lace.

[KnitStuff/YarnSwatches.jpg] Left: Ocean Depth; Right: Pistachio

So, I now have my "extra skein" of Pistachio (for Secret of the Stole), so I can do the long version thereof, but I have two AMAZING blue-green-violet skeins for Pretty as a Peacock. (Note: there is an errata for Pretty as a Peacock, here.) I have made my request to join the knit-along. I have mailed my money order to Oregon. I am eagerly awaiting my yarn and pattern, which I'm probably going to start the moment it arrives, as I have limited to no willpower.

Therein lies the problem. I CAN'T go over 60 UFOs again, I just CAN'T!! So, I have to find something to finish, and FAST. But what? None of the knitting projects are close enough to being done. Most of my cross-stitch, ditto! Yikes, yikes, yikes!

Oh, the dilemma!
Anyway, I'm telling you about this wondrous new pattern as a halfhearted segue into telling you about my new S.E.X. strategy (that's Stash Enhancement eXperience). Stash is threatening to overwhelm my house completely, as its associated credit-card debt is threatening to overwhelm me. So, here's my brilliant new idea:

Only pay Cash for Stash.
I sent Knitty Noddy a money order. I sent Keepsake Needlearts a check. (Checks, drawn directly from my stockpile of cash, count as cash.) So far this month, I'm almost at the $CCCL.00 mark - but at least $CLX of that was a Peter Rabbit rug and three Beatrix Potter cross stitch kits I'm going to hook for my mother for her birthday. And, okay, $CXXX went to Knitty Noddy. Any remaining money *might* have gone to a set of Margaret Sherry Coasters. Not that I'm addicted to Margaret Sherry designs or anything. Lots of cool stuff hitting or headed towards the mailbox - and I'm not in debt for *any* of it.

Also discovered Gina (of Sleepy Eyes Knitting and the podcasts!) on Ravelry - and her cool (FREE) Christmas Eve Cabled Mitts from last year: Here!. (Alli, I think I know what I'm doing with that yarn I got from you!)

Oh, drat! It looks like the Blogger invite feature has crashed, so I won't actually be able to get out to the Pretty as a Peacock blog today. Darn!! (And can I just say that unless you actually know what you're doing already, Blogger "Help" isn't very?)

Yarn as props...

Okay, so, finished the second-of-six panels of the Unnamed Sweater. Started on the third. Yay!

Since this is a pretty basic pattern, I figure I need to chart it out (such as there is). I'm trying to figure out how to say "Okay, so, the ends-of-rows that are on the button band side, that people will actually be able to see? You want to make them look nice by carrying up your final stitch so it looks like a row of knit stitch going up the side. You kinda knit into the back (from the right) of the last stitch, then, when you turn your needles to go back, slip it purlwise so the yarn isn't twisted. Don't actually do anything else to that stitch; then keep going right along."

There's got to be some way that gets said in Knittese. I *know* I've done it on some project before, and was given instructions. I guess I'll just have to figure out which, and what. Drat. Ideas, anyone?

Anyway, here's how it looks, courtesy of the tinyresolutioncam on my cellphone. The second shot is the vague hope that you might be able to see the colorway.

[KnitStuff/unnamedsweater2-1.jpg]

[KnitStuff/unnamedsweater2a.jpg]

In "Knitting is Invading the World", one of the chi-chi high-fashion shops in Georgetown (on M Street, yet!) had some non-knitted clothing in the window... but used balls of yarn, giant needles, and crocheted afghans wrapped around pillars as window jazz. See?

[KnitStuff/Storewindow1.jpg]

[KnitStuff/storewindow2.jpg]

In other-other news, I'm still about 10k words behind in NaNoWriMo. On the upside, I've been writing, so it's still only 10k behind, instead of 20,000, which is how many I was *supposed* to have written (total) as of yesterday. *Sigh!*

Headscarf!

Okay, so, Friday, I had a Yarn and Bead Accident:
[KnitStuff/YarnAccident11-08-07.jpg]
Everything is actually much more orangey and yellow-y then depicted. The beads, per usual, are from Joy of Beading. The yarn is from Be Sweet Products, Be Sweet 100% Bamboo, color 662. "Eco-Friendly, Antibacterial". On the label: "This yarn was hand dyed and balled by women in South Africa under a job creation program that has offered opportunity in an economically depressed rural region with a 75% unemplyment rate. Enjoy this beautiful product knowing that you have brought hope into a South African community and that a portion of your purchase is helping support the local school!" Didn't even notice that until I read the label to tell you what the yarn was. It's a neat idea!

For all my projects that had to be done by Sunday, progress is as follows:

1.

Wedding Sampler: Well, not a whole lot. But what I got done is as follows, and looks kinda cool: [CrossStitch/TracingwithThread1.jpg] First, I got the photo on my lightbox. (My very inexpensive lightbox that works better than any of my really expensive ones. Always buy the kids' version of stuff like this - it holds up, it's inexpensive, and it's brightly colored, thus making it easy to find in the house.) [CrossStitch/TracingwithThread2.jpg] Then, I put 22ct cloth over it, and started tracing-with-thread. I haven't actually marked the fabric in any way. [CrossStitch/TracingwithThread3.jpg] See? Eventually, it will be a monochrome representation of the photograph.

2.

Dice Bags: Nada.

Other Stuff that Actually Happened Included:
Well, a bunch of stuff, actually. I did help my mother move a lot of furniture, I did get about fifteen loads of laundry done, I did get a new mattress pad for our bed.

I also made myself a head-scarf from the Yarn Accident, instead of doing what I was supposed to be doing. *sigh*

It started simply enough:[KnitStuff/YarnAccidentHeadscarf1.jpg]
... and then kept going.

[KnitStuff/YarnAccidentHeadscarfFront.jpg]

[KnitStuff/YarnAccidentHeadscarfBack.jpg]

I like how it came out, though.

Rare Weekend Update

Okay, so I had three things I had to do today:

1. Clean all the bedding
2. Stitch as fast as I could a wedding sampler for my friends who got married on Monday (so I could give it to them tomorrow) and
3. Make eight dice bags for everyone in the gaming group (also so I could hand them out tomorrow)

While I did get all the laundry done (and got a lovely new Martha Stewart mattress pad), instead of doing EITHER of the other craft projects with the insane-I-must-do-this-NOW deadlines (of TOMORROW), I used the yarn and beads I bought yesterday to knit myself a cute little headscarf, which will be finished in about three more rows.

THIS is why I never actually finish anything on time for other people. If there's a deadline, it just WON'T get done.

Gaaaaaaah.

Found Objects

Yesterday afternoon, when I was expecting to be quietly filing, only to find myself the only secretary on my ENTIRE WING, I freaked out and played on Ravelry. Thus did I discover the Very Danger Therein: basically, any cool thing you find out there can be entered into your "queue", so you don't forget it exists and can find it later. My first queued item: the Heere Be Dragone Shawl by Sharon Winsauer. SOOOO cool.

Last night, had a wonderful time at Sweet Life, with a lot of giggling and outright laughter. As Vicki said, "I better stop here. I'm heading into some increases, and that takes concentration." The only reason I didn't mess up my sweater-panel more than I did was because it was stockinette. We had a *lot* of ladies - KnitFriendly/GroupMom, Svetlana (who knits such beautiful things - and SO FAST!!), Alli, Vicki, Me, mom, she-who-knits-SotS, she-who-has-cool-wire-glasses-holders, she-who-videojournals, she-whose-sweater-looks-hommade-yet-wasn't, and at least two other women whose names I don't have yet, and whose projects I wasn't quite close enough to see. I will get everyone's names one of these years.

This morning, I decided to at least see what was in the pile in the middle of our middle room. Several surprises lurked therein:

1.	[KnitStuff/PeacockFeatherPattern.jpg]	First was what had once been the acryllic yarn that was about 1/8 of the Peacock Feather shawl. I unraveled it, because while I fully intend to knit this sucker again, I'm *so* doing it in Claudia Handpainted Silk Lace.
2.	[KnitStuff/thelostsock.jpg]	Next was a sock I don't even remember starting. I'll be unraveling it, too... and who knew I already had a set of dpn's?
3.	[KnitStuff/thelostsockNo2.jpg]	I think I remember starting this sock, but having no clue what I was doing. I'll be starting it again, too.
4.	[Crochet/AnneSweater1.jpg] and [Crochet/thelostsleeve.jpg]	First is the COMPLETED sweater I did for my carpool driver. Second is the sleeve I did for that sweater, but lost in my house. So, I've got an orphan sleeve. It does NOT count as a project in progress, since its intended project IS finished, and has been given to its new owner.

I already know I'm not going to be knitting once I get home. I just found out two of my friends had a stealth wedding on Monday - and I'm seeing them Sunday. So, the world's fastest wedding sampler has to be stitched up FASTFASTFAST. Plus, I'm seeing my D&D group on Sunday, as well, and was going to make little Dice Bags for everyone - and they're not quite done, either. I may not sleep before I see everyone on Sunday!

All y'all have a good weekend now, y'hear?

Slightly Off-Kilter Thursday

I'm bummed. The Sisterhood of the Maribou Garter (sort of a Red Hat Society for the under-50 crowd) has planned a trip to a tea room... on the only day in November I can't go. Drat. I had a lovely hat to wear and everything.

On the other hand, the portable knitting gallops apace:
[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweater2.jpg]
Lest you think this is a fairly subdued color choice for me, please note both the LIGHT-UP bright orange needles and the lovely bag I'm carrying it all around in (I love TJ Maxx - I love that the Sweet Life group meets right near the TJ Maxx).
[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweaterBag.jpg]
I'm also a bit bummed because I've already lost the crochet bag I made. I really wanted to show Ruth if we both made it to Sweet Life tonight. It's not as good as hers, but it at least held things and had workable handles.

I'm thinking I'm just going to be a bit "off" this week. Oh, and I'm already 5k+ words behind schedule in NaNoWriMo, too.

Meh. I just might knit at my desk today, so there!

Progress!

Well, I got things done (due to all the lawyers being out of town today).

1. All my current knitting projects, numbering only eight (much to my surprise), are entered on Ravelry, and I've found OK photos and gotten a Flickr account. It's going to take some time and research to find all the things I've finished and get decent photos, but that's on its way.
2. Looked through the 2008 Knitty Calendar. I'm going to have to get this just so I have my own copy of the Bunnies of August.
3. Starting the second front panel of the Unnamed Sweater; it gallops apace.
4. Forgot my cell phone at home this morning, so no picture of Unnamed Sweater today.

Fortunately, I found *other* pictures. Eventually.

I don't appear to have posted a picture of the Very Bright Sock Yarn I bought off one of the Sweet Life girls three weeks back (a terrible oversight, I know!). Fortunately, one of the *other* ladies (possibly Alli herself), did. I will never, ever again download a picture without making some sort of notation where I found it. I've tried everything (and have the original file name) to find it to properly credit, but I can't (or Flickr has some sort of odd blocking thing going).
[/KnitStuff/BrightSockYarn.jpg]

So, this is Not My Picture, and as soon as I figure out whose it is, appropriate credit will be given, or I'll find the yarn wherever it got stashed in my house, and take my own bloody picture. I am not using her bandwidth; that would be rude...wait!

I FOUND IT!! It's taken by Judy Y., and she has a lovely album full of Knitted Things from various SLK meetings, which I am bookmarking here so I never, ever lose it again. She also had a cute picture of my New Yarn Carrier (red arrow) and my mom (green arrow), and proof that I occasionally show up, too (red arrow, right). Thanks for taking such nice pictures, Judy!

[KnitStuff/SLK-10-27-mom.jpg]

[KnitStuff/SLK-10-27-me.jpg]

Next time, I'm going to bring a real camera. My little cameraphone camera is nice, but not quite up the the quality I expect/demand for photos of actual yarn!

Actual pictures of my own of my own stuff forecast to appear here tomorrow. We'll see if my percentage is any better than the local meteorologists, who are having a bad week.

Could be worse, could be Tuesday.

"Could be worse, could be Tuesday." My college buddy Steve G. said this every time something wasn't going quite right with his fruit flies (we were both molecular-biologists-in-training back then), the dish sanitizer (we lived in the same off-campus townhouse, along with twenty-two other eigteen-to-twenty-four year olds), or his love life (which always seemed more exotic and interesting than mine, although, looking back, was probably about the same in angst and anxiety levels). It was the catchall expression when anything looked hopless, to bolster us up, and remind us that there's always hope, if you know how to find it, and make yourself believe.

I still find myself using that phrase, at least a decade since I last laid eyes on Steve. So: it's Tuesday, so it can't get any worse, right?

1. Last week, I was pretty ill; I'm all better now.
2. Last week, the incredibly competent secretary we found after a three-year search quit (she had good reason, believe me). I'm not sure we're going to bother looking for a replacement, but we'll be okay, and hopefully she'll find the perfect job for her this time around.
3. Last week, NaNoWriMo started, and since I was home sick, and not able to move very far, I got about 5,000 (or 1/10 of the goal) fired off right off the bat, and haven't written anything since. I'm not that far behind, though - I could easily catch up today, if work stays quiet.
4. Last week, I was bombarded by election ads and candidates; today, I voted, and hopefully, that will make a difference.

It's times like these that I'm really glad I'm a knitter. Things may be bad, but they'll get better, and that explains my knitting philosophy (and, by extension, my life philosophy.

For example, today's carry-around project is the button-hole front side of the Unnamed Sweater, and it'll be done by the end of lunch (assuming I figure out what I want to do with the neck, and if baling string and binder clips can actually be converted into stitch-holders). I'll get to cast on the next piece - the other front side (did I put the button holes on the correct side for a girl-sweater? I have no idea).

Starting new things is incredibly soothing. Casting on has all sorts of possibilities. Danger (the lone ball of yarn, spiraling down the aisle of the subway car as it winds itself around other passengers' legs)! Adventure (trying to fish knitting needles out of the restricted area of a subway car, without being hauled away for Suspicious Activity)! Drama (finding a hole in your lace forty rows past said hole)! Tears (the only proper response to any of the preceding)! Joy (actually finishing something)!

As you may have guessed from my UFO numbers (only fifty-nine as of today, and I don't really think more than ten of those are knitting... I'd have to check the master log), that last one isn't my usual outcome, except in rare instances. I, typical Aries that I am, find far too much happiness in the what-might-happen-next of casting on a new project. The potential that really, just this once, I might actually finish in a timely manner. That I might actually have the Cat Sweater to wear this Winter, or the Peacock Scarf or Secret of the Stole Stole to wear to the Hello 2008 New Year's party. That the Stoplight Sweater might actually get steeked and grow sleeves and a zipper before the last snowfall.

I never count on this, of course... but there's always the delicious possibility. I firmly believe that. And that, my friends, is the essence of "hope".

Take II

Okay, so after the SotS Disaster, I tried to knit something.

First, I picked up the bag holding my Peacock Scarf. No go. I patted it a few times, and put it aside with a disenchanted sigh.

[KnitStuff/PeacockScarf-Untouched.jpg]

Next, I found Cup-O-Shawl (which still hasn't been moved to a mug it likes), and finished off a pattern repeat. But I quickly grew bored, despite the pretty lavender color and the joy I get out of the lovely pastel-metallic paper clips I'm using as stitch markers.
[KnitStuff/LotVshawl-11-5-07.jpg]

So, bravely (and much sooner than expected), I cast on SotS again.
[KnitStuff/SotS-Take2-1.jpg]
I really like knitting this. I love the yarn, I love the beads, and now that I'm being very (VERY) careful that I've actually completed all the stitches I think I've completed, I'm already back up to row 43 or 45 or so. I should be back to where The Disaster happened in another week.

So, for a brief, shining moment, I was at 57 UFOs. SotS added back to 58... and then I had a Yarn Accident. There are balls of this lovely green/black/blue stuff that I was attempting to turn into an all-over-cable sweater a year or so back. It just kept not working. So, it became a Giant Ball of Yarn about the size of my head. It has been sitting quietly in the center of what was the dining room (once when we had room in that room for a table and chairs) for about two weeks. It knew I'd give in eventually. So, meet UFO #59:

[KnitStuff/UnnamedSweater1.jpg]
I'm making a Very Simple Sweater. Sorry the picture is so large, but any smaller, and you can't see the color variation. Somehow, 36 stitches at my gauge manages to kick all the blue to the button-band side! I've decided I'm doing the back in two pieces, to keep the magic going, once I've finished the fronts. (This will be the Very Basic, Easy-to-Knit-on-Public-Transportation sweater. Basically four large rectangles for the fronts and back, and two large trapezoids for the sleeves, to be gallantly attached together in the approximate shape of a sweater (somehow) in the future.)

And, oh yeah, I'm supposedly doing NaNoWriMo... but here's my laptop, safe in its cabinet in its little Harajuku Carryall. I'm about 5,000 words in (already several thousand behind)... don't know if I'll finish it on time this year. Oh well!!
[KnitStuff/Computer11-5-07.jpg]

Adventures in Real (Married) Life

My husband just glanced over to see me working a Sudoku puzzle.

"Are you using numerology to cast some sort of sexual spell?" he purred.

"No," I replied. "To find yarn storage."


I'm hoping he'll eventually stop laughing long enough to go back to his previous point.
You see, though, why I have to keep him: He laughs at yarn jokes.

SotS Disaster.

Pictures of The Tragic Event will be added later, once [file hosting service I no longer recommend] has finished its maintenance.

On to the tragedy.

I finished Hint #1 of Secret of the Stole quite happily (photos in Monday's entry). All was right with the world! I was catching up! But I had some trouble around row 111, so I decided to start using lifelines. I carefully pulled back to a row I knew I had right (for the third time), and threaded the lifeline in a bright yellow, contrasting (I thought) cotton thread. I then cut the lifeline from its spool... only to discover I had cut the silk yarn, instead.[KnitStuff/SotS-TheWrongThreadjpg.jpg]
This was Not Happy. I was at the end of a row, of course, so I kept going. Everything was otherwise fine, right? And I'd be able to hide those ends in the edge of the stole somehow. So, I kept going, replacing the lifeline about every ten rows. All was happy - I was almost halfway through Hint #2! Yay! I spread out what I'd done thus far, and noticed something.

There was a HOLE in my lace. I tried to pick up the stitches (I wasn't quite sure how this would affect the pattern, but, darnit, it was a good fifty rows back!).[KnitStuff/SotS-Disasterjpg.jpg]
I tried and tried, but the danged hole just kept getting bigger, until I realized there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to fix it without ripping all the way back. Cue the frogging tears.

I got all the way back to the hole, and realized that I couldn't quite figure out what was going on with the pattern at that point - lace is very squiggly, and I couldn't separate "stiches" from "loops that are just hanging out having fun". I couldn't find a good place to pick up and start again...

...so I kept going.[KnitStuff/SotS-TheAftermathjpg.jpg]

I haven't got the heart to restart today; I'll pull out another lace project for a while and practice some more, then come back to it. Because it *is* really lovely, and I really liked the way it was coming along.

I want to knit this stole.
Just not for a few days.