Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Who-Dun Knit?

Who is this creature in my skin who is so thoroughly obsessed with yarn and patterns and dpn's and circs? Why can't I think about doing something else? I've been knitting for over a year now. My projects keep me up till the wee hours of the morning. I take them in the car with me wherever I go in the hopes that maybe -- just maybe I can get a few stitches in while I am ... well, wherever I am. It's something I use as a bribe to reward myself: If I go to the gym, I can knit for a half hour. If I walk two miles, I can knit for an hour. If I make dinner now, I can knit all evening.

I do not have an addictive personality. I've never really felt compelled to do any certain behavior such as drinking, smoking, eating. Well, okay. Sometimes the eating. But it's never been where I felt I just had to do it because of a craving of some sort.

I keep thinking it will probably pass. I've talked to other people who used to knit who were gung ho, knitted up a storm for a couple of years then slowly stopped. Is that what will happen with me? How far down the road? When I'm broke from adding to my stash? When I run out of room for all my gadgets and patterns and needles? When it takes over not just the family room but the family? Do they make a patch for this sort of thing?? Do I need to find a KA meeting somewhere????

I guess I'm still okay, though. My kids still recognize me; they seem to have gotten used to hearing me respond to any request with, "Hang on. Just one more row." I'm still happily married, though my cat does seem a little needy lately. I still hold down a part-time job. I haven't completely let myself go. But I'll definitely have to watch for signs of knitaholism.

I already recognize some of them: Every sweater I see is studied for its knitting pattern. Every purse is discreetly appraised for its use as a knitting bag. Every store is graded on whether it carries yarn. If I have to explain what a "stash" is or what "frogging" means, our conversations won't be that long.

But I think I'll be fine. It's not a problem yet. It's not like I was using that space behind the couch for anything else. No one can even see the stuff that's back there. And I have lots of extra vases, so it's not like those needles are in the way there. And you can always use an extra hat or scarf or purse or two. Right?

I mean, it's not really a problem yet; right?

Thursday, January 26, 2006

One Down, One to Go

Sock number one is done, but it definitely didn't turn out that great. This was knitted on two Addi circs. I do like doing socks better this way since I'm not keen on dpn's, but hopefully the next sock will be better. I've casted it on -- in fact, I think I casted it on six times; I wanted both top edges to be the same color. Course, now I get to do the k1p1 ribbing; nothing but fun, fun fun! At least it's only for three inches; not a tall sock. These are mostly for practice, anyway. Maybe I should try the Magic Loop method...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!!!

Here's Cali laying in the kitty bed I made her. She apparently chooses not to notice that it turned out terribly wrong because I knitted it with two kinds of yarn; one was 100% wool, and one was--well, not. When I tried to felt it, some of it felted and then some of it didn't. Instead of looking like a bowl, it looks more like a very large hot pad.

On the right is Bertie, my mom's 8-month-old long-haired calico kitten that we think may have some Maine Coon in her. She just keeps growing!!! She was visiting this particular day and wore herself out tormenting Cali. Time for a cat nap!

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

I'm Gonna Try This Again...

While I did knit a pair of socks before, they were wool, and after washing them by mistake, they felted quite nicely and hid all my mistakes. So I can't really claim to be comfortable yet with the whole process of turning a heel, picking up the correct stitches, and hiding that inevitable hole in the gusset. I found a wonderfully helpful site that should be called "Sock Knitting For Dummies." God bless Silver for creating this site.

Digging through my stash, I found some Schoeller Stahl Fortissima Colori sock yarn I bought quite awhile ago. (The sample sock looked so cute!) I've been reading up on knitting socks on two circular needles since I got a bunch of them for Christmas. I finally started this one a couple days ago. Working in a k1p1 pattern is so tedious, I'm glad there was only a few inches of it. I'm also finding one of the circs a bit on the long side, but the Addi cables are so soft and flexible, it hasn't really been that big a deal. Anyway, so far so good. (HA!)

Friday, January 13, 2006

Baby Hats!

Aren't these the cutest THANGS!?!? I love making these little hats. They knit up so fast, and there are so many cute patterns. And I'm so lucky my brother and his wife had boy and girl twins so I can do both. Who knows if they'll ever use them? They're just fun to make, and they're a nice break from some of the bigger projects.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Woo HOOO!!!! Finished!

IT'S DONE! My first Clapotis is done! What a thrill for me, because I'd been putting off starting this project for months thinking it might be too hard. After frogging a few times and then finding the best help at the Clapotis Yahoo knitalong, I finished it (photos here)! This has been the most interesting and addicting pattern so far for me. I'm just itching to start my summer one, but I want to hold off a little bit ... at least a month, if I can!

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Starting Decreases on Clapotis!

This may not sound like a big deal to most of you, but if you've ever knitted one of these, you'll know IT IS! Very exciting stuff here. I finally finished my 13th dropped row and can now start decreasing in section 4. This is really one of the more enjoyable projects I've ever worked on. There's nothing boring about it because you're using a lot of different stitches, plus it's so fun to see it progress. There's also more pictures on the link below in A Work In Progress.

Friday, January 06, 2006

A Very Constructive Day, Knitting-wise.

Well, last night I started a cute little hat for my soon-to-be godson in Cotton Classic thinking I'd take a break from my wonderful Clapotis. It was so quick and easy I ended up finishing it the same evening. Sure, it was 1:30 in the morning when I finally weaved in the last of the loose ends, but it's cute, huh? It probably won't fit him for another month, but here in upstate Michigan we have the never-ending winters, so I have that goin' for me.

I also finally finished the shrug I made last month out of Lion Brand Chenille Thick & Quick. This was a great no-brainer kind of knitting project that kept me busy until I got the nerve to start my Clapotis. This thing had been sitting on my counter all rolled up waiting to be stitched together for too long. I wasn't real sure how it was going to look, but once I finished it, I found I actually liked it. I'm amazed how much it even looks like the picture! Hmm. Go figure.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Oops! I Did It Again.



Well, I couldn't help myself. I went to our not-so-LYS to pick up two more skeins for my WIP, the Clapotis, and ended up finding some BEAUTIFUL hand-dyed yarn from Twisted Sisters in Mirage and decided that would be my next Clapotis scarf for summer. While I was there, I found the cutest patterns for a couple of baby hats for my new twin neice and nephew, so I had to get some yarn for those! I'll have to get moving on the hats, though. There's a Christening for them on the 21st, and we get to be Godparents to one (Evan)! I'm tickled pink, but I'll make his in blue.