yarntherapy

I'm still here

No, I haven't completely dropped off the face of the earth, just been busy. I'm a little nervous after reading so many posts about people's Typepad woes recently. I hope this posts!

This will be just a quickie. I'm feeling a bit blah and uninspired at the moment, though I've been crafting up a storm. Bamboo Clapotis is done and lovely - very slinky, I love the drape of this yarn. I don't know if I'd ever make a real garment out if it, but it makes a beautiful wrap.

So close to being done with Hopeful! I'm halfway through the neckband, so it's just that and blocking before I can show it off. I love it so far! The neckband is really fun to knit, and got a lot easier when I realized I didn't really need three needles at once to knit it (don't ask!)

Audrey is still waiting for finishing. It's perfect weather for it, so I'll try to crank it out on Monday.

My biggest recent accomplishment has been my Back-tack project. So. Happy. With. This! I'll have tons of photos when it's all together, but the main bag is done and I'm just really pleased with it, with the design and my work. I hope my partner likes it - I'm a little afraid that I've fallen into the trap of making something I would want! I love it that much!

I do so love watching grown men jump up and down like little girls

First the White Sox, now the Astros. This was my best-case scenario World Series once the Yankees were out, and it was the one that all the "experts" said would never happen. Hah. You gotta love both teams - the Sox with the curse, and Shoeless Joe, and the four horsemen pitching in the ALCS; and the Astros with their horrible start, and the no World Series ever, and the stunning loss in game 5. It's going to be the human-interest-story World Series.

I will be rooting for the Astros, myself. My dad is a Texas boy, though not a big sports fan. However, my earliest and strongest memories of my paternal grandfather are of him kicked back in the easy chair, watching a ball game with an Astros cap on. This was the 70s - remember those uniforms? The rainbow? Let me refresh your memories:

Yeah, that one. Lovely, huh? But I so clearly remember my grandfather with that goofy orange hat on, and the drone of the play-by-play on hot Texas summer nights, that I've always had a soft spot for the Astros. Even though it does make me slightly nauseous to see Pettitte and Clemons in the thick of things - the Yankees haven't been the same since Steinbrenner stupidly dissed Andy and Roger "retired". Ugh. Anyway, I'm actually looking forward to these games - go Astros! (Though the White Sox winning would be a great story as well!)

Knitting? Loving the sleeves on Tempting - sleeve island is about a third the size of Key West on this project - I'm just about done with the second one. Bamboo Clapotis is about three-quarters done and looking very nice. I purchased Glampyre's latest design, the Bulky Cabled Cardigan, and I may use up some stash Patons wool for this - in boring black. I know, I know - but I need to replace the ugly fleece cardi I wear at work when it's freezing - which is often - and it needs to be black. I actually think the texture of the garter stitch and the large cables will look really nice in a dark color.

Oh, and I did not go to Rhinebeck. Stupid job.

what will we do till spring?

    "Baseball is better than Democracy - or at least than Democracy as it's practiced in this country -
    because unlike Democracy, baseball acknowledges loss." - Richard Greenberg, "Take Me Out"

Sigh. I know the season's not completely over, but it's over for the Yankees. And what a terribly unsatisfying ending. I knew the second I saw Crosby and Sheffield crash in the outfield and allow two runs to score that we would lose. And that we would lose by two runs. I don't think this offseason will be as fun as the last one, when at least we had the Red Sox to focus on. I fear some very bad decisions are about to be made in Tampa.

Sigh.

So what did I do while watching the game? Finished up the body of Hopeful (I almost wrote Hateful there - am I projecting how I feel about baseball right now?), grafted the shoulder seams using the three-needle bind-off and wove in the ends. Now she's all ready for sleeves and neckband.

This is a better representation of the color than some of my previous photos - much more red/cranberry than fuschia. I'm not worried about the neckline at all - I haven't tried it on yet, but I can tell it's going to be fine. I'm wondering if I'm going to like working with a 12" circular any more than I like DPNs - we'll see.

The 12" circular came from Knitpicks, along with Scarf Style and the Elizabeth I scarf patterns that I've been lusting after. I think I want a lace scarf to go with every outfit! It's just now getting cool enough to wear a scarf - I can't wait to break out my Branching Out!

I'll leave you with a little preview of my Backtack II projects - here are the fabrics:

I know she likes these colors - I just hope it's not too many flowers!

 

odds and ends

Check out the October issue of More Magazine - page 96. It's an article by Selma Moss-Ward about how she uses her knitting to deal with changes in her life. Not only is it a nice little article, there is another cool thing about it - it's illustrated with a picture of a knitted life jacket, which was actually made by my friend Gayle (aka - the one who taught me how to knit and created this monster!) Pretty neat! Her biggest challenge with the project was finding yarn the right "safety orange" color. I forget what she ended up using - I want to say Lamb's Pride but I'm not sure.

I promised Knit-Out pictures-

Lily Chin demonstrating two-color slip stitch knitting - check out the gigantic pink needles she did the demo with! Also note her sweater advertising her new yarn line - I fondled some of it at the Seaport Yarns booth, it seems like nice stuff - really nice colors and reasonably priced. I'm just not sure the knitting world really needs another collection of basic yarns - or maybe I just don't need to be tempted by any new yarny goodness!

The spinning booth -

Doesn't that look like fun? I loved that little booth - so cozy, with the carpets and the stocking feet and all the fluffy wool. It was such a pretty day, I would have loved to have stayed there for a while.

I have totally ignored the finishing on Audrey and I haven't touched Hopeful in a few days either. Projects reach a point for me where they're too heavy or complicated to carry around with me so they need to stay home. Unfortunately, the lighting in my living room is atrocious and I require a LOT of light for finishing, so I can really only work during the day when I have some natural light coming in. With the days growing shorter, it's definitely time for me to finally buy a good work lamp. I just hope I can find something that goes with my living room decor!

My travelling knitting has been the bamboo Clapotis - I'm just over halfway done. I just love dropping those stitches!

too sick to knit!

Yeah, it's been a few days, huh?

Well, first of all, when a person only has one day off from work each week, is it asking too much to NOT be sick as a dog on that one day? I mean, really - food poisoning, or whatever ridiculous digestive disorder my body decided to develop - is not my idea of a relaxing day. I got not a single thing done on Monday, no housework, no knitting,  and it got even better when - get this - they turned the water off in my building. Yeah, it was ugly. I barely made it through work on Tuesday, but as always happens with these things, I was perfectly fine (and 5 pounds lighter!) on Wednesday.

I made it down to Union Square for the Knit-Out on Saturday, but only had about 45 minutes to walk around - it was packed! I said hi to the couple of folks that I knew and I think I recognized a couple of others from their blogs. I even got a "You go, girl!" from Nicki Epstein who was signing autographs when she saw the mohair poppy (from Knitted Embellishments)  I had pinned to my bag. Cool, huh? Very fun event, but definitely more of a "hang out knitting with your friends" kind of thing rather than a "wander around alone" deal. I did fondle a lot of yarn at various booths but didn't go to any shops since I had to work. A good thing, really.

I watched a spinning demonstration for a while - I need to pull out the spindle - from what I could tell, I think I was doing it right when I made my feeble attempts a few months ago! I really would like an actual lesson someday.

I did take a few pictures, including Lily Chin knitting on the most gigantic needles ever, but I haven't downloaded them yet. Not a whole lot of knitting progress either - I'm almost done with the back of Hopeful, so I just need to seam the shoulders (hello, beloved three-needle bind-off) and start the sleeves. I ordered a 12" circular so I can avoid the DPNs. One of these days I'll actually attempt the Magic Loop technique - I've had the book for months since Mindy so kindly passed it on to me.

I've been plugging along on the Bamboo Clapotis - 4 straight row reps done, so I can see how it's going to look. Very cool! I like this yarn - it's a little slick and splitty, but I'm not doing anything very complicated with it. I'm not usually a huge fan of variegated yarns but I love the way this pattern looks using one, and the Bamboo does not disappoint - no pooling or striping or any other weirdness. I'm starting to get a bit bored with it but it's great subway knitting and I know it goes pretty fast once you get through the straight row section.

Coming up - Lace Leaf? A scarf or two? More felted goodness? Backtack fun? Stay tuned.....

surprises and sweaters

Since my SP5 secret pal Wendy has received her final package, I can post a picture now:

Felted bag out of Cascade 220, with a piece of needlepoint plastic in the bottom for sturdiness, lined, and with a magnetic snap closure.

I also made a matching accessories bag and some personalized stitch markers - my very first stitch markers ever!

I'm really pleased with how this project turned out - I hope Wendy enjoys them!

I'm almost done with the body of Hopeful - this was taken a couple of days ago - I'm a couple of inches away from finishing the back. Then it's on to the sleeves and the dreaded dpns.

Anyone going to the NYC Knit-Out tomorrow? I'll be there for about an hour from noon to 1:00 - unfortunately I have to be at work at 1:30. Stupid job! It's probably a good thing, though - both Knit New York and The Point are offering discounts tomorrow and I really don't need to be spending money on yarn - with only an hour I doubt I'll have time to do any damage!

Time to go - I'm still recovering from the awesome Yankee win this afternoon. I hope they can do it again tomorrow to wipe the Red Sox totally off the board!