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Today I learned…

That I should never ever again purchase wood DPNs. This is the second set I’ve broken in the past month or too. Not only do I step on them, but my cats chew on them and leave little bite marks and I knit so tightly that I actually break them when fireworks start going off with no notice!

I also learned that my fat kitten is petrified of fireworks. She is currently hiding in my closet, crying. I did not know she would have such a strong reaction to them. Last year I lived much further away from the display, so she couldn’t hear them.

¶ Posted 04 July 2008 § random ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: cat, dpns, le suck, wood

I hate you.

I’ve been prowling the web in search of the world famous self-striping rainbow Regia sock yarn, and I finally found it last week at an online shop, which shall remain nameless because even though I’m fucking livid, I’m still a decent person.

I placed my order, grabbing the last two in stock, only to receive an email from them (almost a full week later, might I add) saying their stock count online was incorrect and that they could not fill my order as they have sold out.

Then they said the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life, ever: THE YARN HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED BY THE MANUFACTURER.

Why does nobody else make a self-striping bright rainbow sock yarn? It’s pretty ridiculous.

¶ Posted 03 July 2008 § random ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: angry, hate, sad sad panda, yarn drama, yarn love

Too fucking many WIPs

I don’t know what has gotten into me lately, I just keep casting on for stuff. Before this week’s rash of new projects, I was fairly content with having two projects on the needles: one pair of socks and one other item. I liked my system, I got things turned around pretty quickly so I always had an FO. I’m more of a product knitter than a process knitter.

How many WIPs do I have now, you ask? Six. Six! I get a little dizzy just thinking about it.

I resurrected my Hexacomb Cardigan from the snooze pile and finished a sleeve yesterday. Quite the accomplishment, since it has been sitting untouched for about 2 months. All I have left is the second sleeve and the trim, which shouldn’t take that long to complete. However, at the rate I’m going, I don’t expect to be finished until October. I am rather sick of the color I selected, so I think that isn’t exactly helping matters. I like the cardigan, but it definitely needs to be blocked when finished before I wear it in public. It tugs a little awkwardly in some places. I wish I would have selected a different yarn, but it’s a little too late for that now. I may knit another cropped cardigan in white after this is finished.

I have not touched my Endpaper Mitts, Leaf Lace Scarf, or Montego Bay Scarf since last week, which isn’t much of a surprise since two of them are gifts, and one is an item I won’t be able to wear until September or October. I frogged my plain stockinette socks because, let’s face it, I have better and more fun things to knit for my feet.

I’ve been working on my Swallowtail Shawl slowly but surely, and I’m very close to being finished. I’ve almost completed charts 3 A+B, and the number of stitches on my needles is getting a little daunting. I’m dreading blocking it, but I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m really excited to finish this project. The Misti Alpaca yarn is delightfully soft, even though I don’t love the color. My LYS doesn’t carry much lace (only 3 or 4 different kinds, with half being mohair based) and they only had the Misti Alpaca in red, pink, dark purple, black, and cream, none of which I really liked, so I settled for dark purple. I think it looks lovely, but I would have liked a different color.

And then, yesterday, I had this strange whim. I decided to cast on for a Clapotis with some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that I bought from a Ravelry user.

The yarn does not have the best drape to it, but that’s ok. This is more of a test knit than anything, and I might end up giving it away once I finish a second one for me out of one of my prettier yarns. This yarn would have made amazing socks, but I just couldn’t find a pattern that suited it. The photo shows the subtle blue-green variations, but it is not that noticeable in person, and it is actually fairly dark.

I finished 5 repeats of the increase section yesterday and it is looking good. I feel so strongly motivated to knit my Clapotis, and I’m worried that my other projects will suffer because of it. I guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m feeling totally overwhelmed by my WIPs right now, and I don’t think that is a good thing.

I guess I should calm down a little. It doesn’t really matter when I finish these projects, as long as I’m happy while knitting them. The only problem with that is, of course, that I’m a product knitter and not a process knitter. I want things to be finished, and I don’t really enjoy making them. I find the closer I get to completing a project, the antsier I get over finishing it. And not just the “I can’t wait for this to be finished, I’m so excited!” antsy, but this whole-body consuming anxiety about finishing the project.

Eat, sleep, work, knit. Eat, sleep, work, knit. There are not enough hours in the day!

¶ Posted 03 July 2008 § knitting life § wip ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: clapotis, endpaper mitts, hexacomb cardi, knitting life, leaf lace scarf, montego bay scarf, swallowtail shawl, too many wips

I knit so I do not kill people.

I’ve gotten quite a few messages on Ravelry regarding my ravatar, and several inquiries as to whether or not I had designed a tshirt or coffee mug with the design available for purchase. And well, now I have. You can pick up these items, and more, here!

[I knit so I do not kill people] Juniors Ringer Tee

Everything is decently priced, and I’m open to customizations. Just shoot me an email and I’ll work on it for you!

On a side note, I also have a store for shirts, etc, with witty little slogans about feminism on them. You can check those out here.

May the fetus you save be gay [shirt] Feminism is for everybody [shirt] Feminist, defined [shirt] Keep your rosaries off my ovaries [shirt]

¶ Posted 02 July 2008 § random ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: for sale, i knit so i do not kill people, shirts, witty

Fires, FOs, beetles, and a yarn cornucopia.

I have been house sitting for my boyfriend’s parents all week, and I came home today to find a package for me on the doorstep! In it were 10 of the most beautiful skeins of sock yarn I’ve ever seen. Each was individually delicious, of course, but together, they made for a cornucopia of color and fun. I took pictures of then each individually, but they just look so fun stacked up like that!

House sitting was an adventure, to say the least. Boyfriend’s parents have adopted a kitten from their veterinary practice, and his name is Hoover. Hoover likes to bring you presents in the form of frighteningly large beetles. These things are huge! Massive! I’d say they are roughly the size of a quarter. He brought me two over the course of my stay, and I killed them both. Scary fuckers.

As I’m sure many people know, basically the entire state of California is on fire. There are over 80 wildfires burning throughout the state right now, providing us with some nasty air. I’ve been spending minimal time outside of the house, and the majority of my time this week at home, because of the poor air quality. You walk outside and it is just hazy and disgusting. It has caused my asthma to kick up a bit, and isn’t helping this cold I am trying to get over. I can’t go outside without hacking up a lung at this point. It’s not healthy.

The one plus side to all this badness is that I got to spend a lot of time knitting.

I finished my Spring Forwards (R):

I started a Swallowtail Shawl (and yes, Jamie, those are Addi lace needles!) (R):

And I also started a pair of Endpaper Mitts, which I have been coveting for months (R):

Apparently I had some sick, strange desire to cast on for projects that are insanely complicated. I think I may actually cast on a pair of plain Jane stockinette socks. I’m also nursing along my Leaf Lace Scarf (R) (although I had to frog a few rows and am very angry at it right now) and a Montego Bay scarf (R) for my friend’s baby.

I must say, it has been an interesting week…

¶ Posted 27 June 2008 § fo § random § wip ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: endpaper mitts, fo, house sitting, leaf lace scarf, spring forward socks, swallowtail shawl, wildfires, yarn love

I believe in peace, bitch (and quality knitting merchandise).

Remember those nice things I had to say about the KnitPicks needles I purchased and have been knitting my Spring Forward socks with?

Yeah, I take it back. I take it all back. They are evil, awful, crappy needles, and I probably won’t be buying them ever again.

They didn’t survive a week in my knitting bag, which is kept in my big bag. Despite the fact that it holds my smaller, nicer, 10 times more expensive Coach bag in it, I’m pretty rough with my big bag (it is a $20 cotton tote bag from a Tori Amos concert that has I BELIEVE IN PEACE BITCH screen printed across the side.) However, I keep all of my things in little teeny bags, so nothing actually touches… except bags. It is very incestuous.

Back to my point: my KnitPicks circular needle did not survive a week in my bag. Both tips of my circular needle are now mercifully bent - and I am less than 1 pattern repeat away from completing my socks!

Now, some pay point to my lack of secure mobile storage, but I must say that I disagree. I carry my Addi needles in my bag, and they have never been bent. The same goes for my teeny tiny wooden DPNs, and my crappy set of Susan Bates sock needles. If anything was going to bend in there, you’d think it would be the Susan Bates $2 set of sock-sized DPNs, but no, it was my KnitPicks circular needle.

I managed to bend it back to an acceptable amount of straightness, but man am I disappointed. I was really considering buying the KnitPicks set, and now I’m glad I didn’t.

Oh - and the nickel plating has already started to wear on them, and I haven’t even finished my first project with them.

So, thanks KnitPicks, for wasting my $4. For the record, I would have bought another brand, but very few make a 2.25mm 32″ circular that is flexible enough for magic looping, my preferred method of knitting in the round for socks.

¶ Posted 25 June 2008 § random ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: bad tools, grr, knitpicks, needles

Weekend Knits, A lusting for lace edition

I’ve been bit by the lace bug - bad. All I can think about is a gorgeous, lightweight lace shawl for the summer. All I did this weekend (besides drink) was dream of lace shawls and scarves. It is like some sick, sad, craving that can’t be satiated until I have a finished one wrapped around me.

I can’t help but covet the Icarus Shawl, with its simple, yet stunning, construction. I’m obsessed with Laminaria and its complex charts and intricate end results. I can’t stop thinking about Juno Regina, and just how lovely it would look draped over my shoulder while I study for grad school in some cold library. I dream of Seascape, in a lovely variegated blue, with shades that undulate like the waves that most likely inspired it.

I obsess over Alhambra, with its simple construction and amazing results for such a small amount of yarn. I have fond thoughts of the Luna Moth Shawl, and delight in the fact that it is knit with worsted weight (of which I have enough in the richest teal). And I dream (literally) of the Sawllowtail Shawl wrapped delicately around my shoulders as I cuddle with my kitten on a Wednesday night, sipping herbal tea.

I don’t plan on beginning one of these until I finish my Leaf Lace Scarf and Spring Forward socks, but that’s not saying much: both projects are nearing completion, and should be done this week. The socks will most likely be done today, which means I can cast on for my Endpaper Mitts! I’m thinking black for the contrasting color, and pink for the main:

¶ Posted 24 June 2008 § weekend knits ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: covet, lace, potential wips, weekend knits

Weekend knitting hiatus

I had a really shitty week, so this weekend I will be doing the following:

Friday: drinking at Happy Hour after work
Saturday: drinking in my favorite bar with a friend
Sunday: being hungover

I think it works out.

¶ Posted 19 June 2008 § random ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: booze, bye bye knitting

She made me do it.

Elizabeth, that is. I don’t take part in memes on my other blog, but I figure this blog can be my exception since it is more personal.

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing 10 years ago? I would have been 12, so I was probably painting my toenails and figuring out how tampons worked.
What are 5 things on my to-do list for today? I don’t really like to-do lists. Nothing urgent. Some bills, etc.
Snacks I enjoy: sunflower seeds, cheese, ice cream with chocolate syrup and peanuts, broccoli with monterey jack cheese, sweet and salty granola bars, garlic bread.
Things I would do if I were a billionaire: buy a swanky house somewhere and redecorate it to my little heart’s content, buy a Vespa, buy a Prius (and have it be converted to all electric), set aside $10 million for knitting paraphernalia (I have many knitting years ahead of me), donate money to a university to have a library named after ME, open an independent bookstore, TRAVEL, and donate to my favorite causes.
Places I have lived: I’ve been restricted to northern California. Paradise, Chico, Marysville, Yuba City, Sacramento, Davis.
Jobs I have had: high school attendance office, hostess at a Mexican restaurant, Starbucks (die), Gap Kids, Apple Computers, UC Davis Library, tutor for autistic children, salesperson at a retail counter for Benefit cosmetics (very briefly), and I currently work for California’s domestic violence coalition.
YOUR TURN, BITCHES: I’m lazy and don’t want to have to open my feeds to tag people. Just do it, dammit.

¶ Posted 17 June 2008 § random ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: memes

Details: Liquored up, toe up, Spring Forward socks

Pattern: Spring Forward socks, by Linda Welch (r)
Source: Knitty Summer 2008
Needles: 2.25mm Knit Picks nickel plated (see below)
Method: Magic Loop
Materials: dkKnits Technicolor Smoosh Toes in “Sugar the Rim”

Sock 1: 06.14 - 06.15.08 (pictured)
Sock 2: 06.16 - [WIP]

As soon as the Summer 2008 Knitty came out, I knew I had to knit these socks ASAP, and I knew exactly what yarn (r) to knit them in. My original intent was to knit two at a time on one circular, but I decided to knit one at a time to make my knitting on the bus easier. I had a lot of free time this weekend to work on them, and I was able to complete one sock.

Modifications and Details:

I wanted to knit this pattern toe up so that I could as much of my yarn as possible. The original pattern calls for decreasing down to 18 sts total, but I decided to CO 24 with Judy’s Magic Cast On instead, and I am quite please with the result. I didn’t get Elf Toe Syndrome, which was the desired effect.

I increased until I reached the required number of stitches (66 total) and began knitting the lace pattern. Instead of beginning with row 1 and working my way up the chart, I knit from row 24 and went down the chart. I didn’t do this because I wanted to rotate the stitch pattern, I did it simply because I preferred the lace pattern that way.

I did two full chart repeats, plus rows 24-21, for the foot (size 7.5) before beginning my short row heel. I intentionally ended the lace pattern on my foot in the middle of a repeat because I wanted to continue my heel in stockinette for a bit longer before I started the lace pattern on the heel. After completing the heel, I worked rows 20-15 on the foot, and knit the heel/leg in stockinette stitch. After completing rows 14-12 (plain stockinette) on both the foot and leg, I began knitting the lace pattern on both the leg and foot from there on out. The result left me a with a heel that was slightly sturdier despite the stretch, as it didn’t have yarn overs running across it.

The leg had 4 full chart repeats (with the first chart repeat on the heel/back of the leg beginning halfway through the lace chart) and was ended on row 1. I proceeded to knit with the 1×1 twisted ribbing for 14 rows, and I bound off with US 6 (4mm) needles. I had some misgivings about the 1×1 twisted ribbing, and in retrodspect, I shouldn’t have done it, or I should have knit it with a 2.5mm needle rather than continuing with the 2.25mm. Binding off with a US 6 left the top a little snug (I have big calves), so I will mostly like bind off with a US 7 or 8 for the next sock.

The verdict?

This is definitely a “must knit” pattern for all sock knitters. It is not the most innovative and original design, but it is absolutely gorgeous when executed. The lace pattern shapes up really quickly, which is ideal for an impatient knitter such as myself. This pattern is ideal for any type of yarn, but obviously works best with variegated colors that have some sort of striping or angle to them. I’m not sure how these would look in self-striping yarn, but I’d imagine it would be an interesting effect to see with the decreases.

A word of caution: with all of the leaning decreases, I could see how this sock might twist on DPNs. Follow Linda’s directions in the pattern and that probably won’t happen to you.

A brief review of KnitPicks nickel plated needles…

You should know three things about me before reading this “review”: (1) I am an extremely tight knitter, (2) I refuse to use wooden needles of any kind because of this, and (3) I hate DPNs and will do anything to avoid them.

This was my first experience with KnitPicks nickel plated needles. I’ve been considering purchasing their nickel plated set, but I wanted to try them out before committing to an entire set of needles (which I would recommend to any knitter who is considering purchasing a set), so I purchased a 2.25mm circular several weeks ago in anticipation of knitting with it. I’ve been knitting all of my socks with Addi Turbos in the Magic Loop method, and I love it. I’m a tight knitter, so the ease with which the stitches slide off the needles is great, and the cables are fairly flexible, even though they do need some wear.

However, with my KnitPicks needle, I did not have a positive first impression, which was to be expected since I was buying a product of lower quality. The needles and cable felt cheap when I removed them from their wrapper and started casting on. The cable, like my Addis, needed a little working before they became truly flexible. Once the cable was worked in, however, it was nice and flexible, and had very little memory, much like my Addis. The needles were not as smooth as the Addis, but they were still good.

Overall, my experience with the needles was satisfactory, and it is a good deal for the price. While they will never surpass my Addis in quality (you do get what you pay for), I will most likely be purchasing a set in the near future. They are quite good, but they aren’t great.