PLAGUE! SOCKS! FEET! SP goodness

OMG, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK!
This has got to be the best package ever. Really. I mean, look! My SP, Spazzy Pickles, sent me this pair of socks. Now, that in itself is amazing and worthy of admiration and unending gratitude. Because having socks knit for me is one of the ultimate luxuries in life, IMHO. Having lace socks knit for me... I'm in awe. I'm touched. I'm wearing the socks around the house.


I mean, look at that lace!


The detail... it's amazing! So pretty, so perfect. Spazzy Pickles, I adore you! I mean, look at how well they fit!


And from the side, because it's hard to take pictures of socks from the top:


This doubles as my "feet" post for the blog stalking. Because I want all the world to see my amazing new socks. So beautiful, so purple, so happy-making!

But that isn't all. I was just commenting on the cuteness of those stuffed microbes in a thread on knitty. Yesterday, way after the Pickle mailed out my package. The Pickle reads my mind, I swear, because today, I got my favorite disease: the PLAGUE!!! It's so cute, and I'm taking it to work so all the other catalogers on the Contagion project can see him. Here he is, my new friend Pesty:


Isn't he adorable? I love him, and David Herlihy's book on the black death was one of my favorite reads while I was preparing for my general exams in grad school. Here's a closeup of me cuddling Pesty, because he's so adorable.


I also got some things to facilitate spoilage, just look at this great-smelling moisturizer from Kiss My Face, one of my favorite organic/eco brands, and the scrubby gloves. And isn't this a cute little painted heart thingy? With stars on it. Now it lives on my bookshelf, right next to our Ars Magica books, because the stars remind me of pointy wizard hats.


And, last but not least, YARN! In red and purple, tempting, alluring, whispering in my ear suggestions of what it would like to be...


Ah, Spazzy Pickle, you have truly made my day. Heck, you've made my year. You are the bestest SP ever. I am not worthy.

Birthday Haul

Yesterday, my husband gave me the credit card. The instructions were to either go to a spa or a yarn store. I thought about it really hard. A facial at a really good salon is 90+ bucks, and after a couple of weeks at the very latest, I'd just be my old pimply self. So what did I do?

Yes, I went to my friendly neighborhood LYS. I also went to Borders, which is the only book store of any size in our town. Here are some pictures of the haul:


These are: The latest issue of Vogue Knitting. I adore the black knee-highs with the flower embroidery! They're on my must knit list. Next, a back issue of IK that was half-price. I think it's summer of last year. I got a copy of Knit Fix, which is, not surprisingly, about fixing mistakes in one's knitting. Most of the stuff is obvious, and I'm not sure the book really is worth 20 bucks. But I've seen at least a couple of things I didn't know, and which will be worth knowing once I start my experiments with color work!
The Minnow Knits, Too book is full of the cutest, most adorable baby and toddler patterns. Our friends are having kids like you wouldn't believe, and these are not only pretty, but look like they're going to be fun to knit.
There are also Addi Turbos. 40" Addis in sizes 000, 0, and 1. Lace, here I come!

And yes, that's a crochet book. I've taken up the c-word. It's fun, so watch yer language!

Ahem. So, back to the most important thing, the one thing I haven't said anything about: the gorgeous, lustrous, shimmering skein of silky, shiny Cherry Tree Hill goodness. 400+ yards of it. There were other yarns that had a better yardage for the money, but I fell in love with this one. I don't know what it wants to be. Here's a closeup:


Gorgeous, isn't it? I love my sweetie, he gives me a credit card and tells me to buy yarn!

I'm officially middle-aged!

Today, I'm turning 30. The big 3-0. And you know what? It's not a big deal. I don't feel any different than I did yesterday, though I have to admit that I feel a whole lot different than I did when I was 20.
Examples? More self-confidence, thicker skin. Criticism used to reduce me to tears. Now, I shrug it off with a smile and a professional "So what do you think we can do to solve this problem?"
Thank you, Mr. abusive grad school advisor!

I'm still a serial academic, but no longer desperately competitive. I guess I'm mellowing out. Instead of piling major upon major and pulling 16 hour days, I make sure I have time for knitting, baking, family. All the important things that make us happy rather than just successful.
I hope the personal growth continues, maybe without some of the major life crises we've had in the past 5 years or so.

And because this is a knitting blog, I should post a couple of pictures of the WIP I'm working on. Somehow, it seems especially appropriate to be working on something for my friend's baby. Lillian was born about a month ago. As I am entering a new phase in my life, she is beginning hers, and her parents are entering a new phase in theirs.

This is the back of Kate Gilbert's Samantha sweater dress. I'm making the 1 year old size because I haven't seen Lillian yet, and I don't know how big she is.
I have to admit that I got bored with stockinette stitch, but now, interesting things are happening. Note the slip stitch pattern towards the top. It's so pretty, and so much fun!
The bottom edge looks like a stocking stitch roll. It's not, it has YO's that will make a cute scallopy bottom when the seam is folded under (see closeup below).

Here's a closeup of the slip stitch pattern. The pattern between the two lines is actually a different slip stitch pattern, but I couldn't make it look less stockinette-like in this picture. It's quite different, though in a subtle way, and adds to the overall appeal of this otherwise simple piece.


I am particularly excited about the hem of this sweater dress. When it's folded over, it'll form little picot-y thingies. Here's what the edges of the sleeves and the bottom hem of the dress are going to look like when I'm done sewing up the seams:


Pretty, no? The provisional cast-on was a PITA, particularly because I did it with the same color yarn as the rest of the sweater. But this is so pretty, I'm sure the end result will be worth it!

OK, now I'm going for a nice long walk. Then, I'm headed for our friendly LYS! Hubby told me it was OK to hit the yarn store with his credit card! I love him, love him, love him!
Of course, I was planning a grand tour of Rhode Island yarn stores, but it turns out they are all closed on Mondays. Oh, well. Better for his finances, I suppose. And I'll find something I like anyway!

Birthday yarn, here I come!

Yawn... but productive

I'm sleepy, but the stitch markers for the knitty stitch marker swap are finally all done! I was hoping to mail them today, but didn't make it in time before the post office closed. Oh, well. They're going out on Monday.

I'm going to take a nap now.


This has got to be the most boring post ever. More when more interesting things happen!

Lotus Blossom Tank

Well, here it is, the Lotus Blossom Tank. It curves in the front because my shoulders are too narrow. The seam on the left looks like crap because something got twisted in the process. The colors aren't really my cup of tea. It's actually not uneven in the front, though. It just looks uneven because I tugged on it before I put it on.
Other than that, this top actually looks kind of neat. The lace is very pretty, and the colors look interesting. I'll wear it, but it's not my usual style. Maybe with a cute jacket...


And here is my latest WIP, the Samantha baby sweater dress by Kate Gilbert. The part with the YO's is going to get folded under, and then there's going to be this cute picot-like edging on the bottom.
This is a surprise gift for a friend of ours who just recently had a baby. I haven't actually seen the child, so I hope it fits!

Friday Chez Maison Batty

This week's (well, last week's) blog stalking assignment involves dinner at our homes. In this installment, I will be talking about tonight's dinner: Salmon with soy maple syrup glaze, green beans, and bread.

Ever since my husband got really, really sick last summer, I've been fasting on Fridays. This means no animal products -- except fish. This particular dish is commonly referred to as "yummy fish".

You start with a pound (more or less) of fresh salmon fillet with the skin still on, like so:


Then, you make the glaze by boiling down 1/4 cup of natural maple syrup and 1/4 cup of soy sauce. We use less sodium Tamari sauce. It is yummy!
In the background, you can see the green beans. Just boiled beans, nothing special, the perfect addition.

You divide the glaze, about 2/3 and 1/3. The larger amount gets brushed onto the fish in 3 stages: first, generously brush glaze all over fish, let stand 5 minutes. Brush again, then bake at 450 F for about 10 minutes. Take out and brush again, broil for 5 minutes. Here's the salmon fresh from the broiler:


Brush again with 1/3 of glaze you saved in a separate bowl, serve with yummy sides like beans and bread.


By the way, I don't really like fish all that much. The glaze gives it a really nice flavor. It tastes less fishy, smells less fishy, and my husband really loves this dish. I like it too. For fish, it's pretty darn good!

Sick

Yuck, I'm sick. Yesterday, I was too sick to knit, and too sick to play computer games. That's bad, because generally, I'm well enough to do at least one of these. So what I did instead was flop around the bed and read the rules for Shadowrun RPG (4th edition) all day. I think I like what they did with the game, but I digress. This is a knitting blog.

If I'm feeling well enough in the afternoon, I'll finish the stitch markers for the stitch marker swap. In that case, pictures of the finished products will be posted. These are my first stitch markers ever, and after seeing what some other people have done, I know I need to make some more, just to try different things and for practice.

Too hot to blog

It's so hot! Usually, I wouldn't be bothered, but our central AC broke down a couple of weeks ago. I put in a portable unit and it helps, but lugging it from room to room is a PITA. Besides, I'm leery of putting it in our computer room. Why? Because every time it kicks into high gear, the lights flicker!

But here's an advantage to being a cataloger: I'm sitting in the cool, windowless basement of our building. It's downright chilly down here. Can anyone blame me for not wanting to leave?

Art around my house

This week, they knitty blog-stalkers are doing "art around your house," and here is my contribution:

First off, the oil painting in our bedroom. I couldn't get rid of the glare (oil reflects flash), but I think it's still pretty recognizable. This painting was done by a very gifted unschooled artist in Kucevo, the small Serbian village where my mother grew up. It's a bit surreal, but mostly,t here are loads of things characteristic of the region. Dried red peppers, small houses, home-made bread... It's a very small village, and to this day, there's a village fair where people trade cows, goats, sheep, and where toothless old women in black clothes and scarves gather to gossip. Time hasn't exactly stood still, but it hasn't advanced very far, either.


This is a wedding gift from my friend Linda. Linda is a master tilesetter in Germany, and this is a large, heavy mosaic done in tile, with my and my husband's initials and the two rings. She's not only an excellent tilesetter, she's also a very gifted artist, and a wonderful human being.


This is the golden Jesus given to me by my uncle when I got married. Sorry about the glare, he's opposite a window, one of the first things you see when you enter our house. As you can tell, I was brought up in the Serbian Orthodox tradition. Now, my husband and I go to an Episcopal church, but I'm not giving up on my religious roots.
It took our parish a while to figure out that you can be goth, wear black, and still go to Church regularly!


This is another oil painting. My mother bought it for us in Belgrade. She got stopped at the airport because you can't export art of any kind without official paperwork. She wanted me to have this picture because the books and wine combination reminded me of her. Finally, my uncle in Belgrade got the paperwork straightened out, and my parents brought the painting the next time they came to visit.

Seaming disaster

I don't know if the picture is too blurry for the problem to show, but I'm not happy with my seams. One of them looks like crap, and I had to mess up both of them to get the front to lay flat. It's looking a little less awful now that it's blocking, but it still isn't good.
The neck opening doesn't look uneven when I'm wearing it, by the way. It's an adjustment I had to make for the symmetrical top to fit my asymmetrical body.

Freezer shot, Lotus Blossom Tank, Oh my!

Well, here they are, the insides of our freezer. Ice cream, fries, Uno's Pizza frozen pizza, some veggies in the doors... I guess it's time to go grocery shopping again!


And now that I have satisfied the Knitty blog stalkers, back to knitting: Here is LBT in the bizarre pastel hippie yarn, about 2 inches away from getting short-rowed. Don't get me wrong, I love the way it's turning out. I even love the large pooly bits that turn into thin lines as you go up. It looks so cool, it looks intentional.
But pastels??? What was I thinking???

Almost!

Today is my sweetie's birthday, so no paper writing. But it's going to get done tomorrow, I'm going to hand it in, and that'll be it. Almost done... World beware, here I come!

LBT is going well, by the way. I've finished the front and am in the 7.5" stockinette section before the short rows. Again, almost done!

Paper-induced delay

I know I haven't posted in over a week, but my final paper for the last course in my program is due on Thursday. I'll be done. I'll be a librarian!

To make up for the delay, I promise not only to post pictures of my knitting progress, but also at least one picture of myself with a bun. It'll be great.

SP Surprise!

Look! Look what was waiting for me when I came home from work! A package filled with goodies from my SP, Spazzy Pickles. It really made me feel special. Why?

Yarn Harlot! Need I say more? Knitting Rules cracked me up, and I can't wait to get started on this one. My paper for my intellectual freedom class is due, I've been running from consulate to city hall to immigration office to get my passport and other documents renewed, and I've been job hunting. I really need a good, knitting-related read right now, the timing couldn't be more perfect.

Then there's the chocolate. Not only does it look yummy, but if you look more closely, you'll see that it says "Dagoba" on it. Only the best SP ever would go to some gourd-forsaken swamp planet at the end of the galaxy to get me chocolate. Must have snuck it past Yoda, too!

The highlight, though, is unquestionably the sock yarn. Blues, pinks/fuchsias, some purplish tones... soft and pretty. But the extra-special thing is that it's hand-dyed by Spazzy Pickles! HAND DYED, just for ME! I've been petting the skein. I've been carrying it around the house. Even the husband is impressed, and he usually doesn't show much interest in yarn.

Last but not least, there's the cute card with a kitty on it, an allergy-free kitty-in-a-box from my SP. I really feel happy and spoiled.

Now, I have to go back to petting and ogling that skein...

Unexpected Gift

I knew the people on knitty were special, but lindydiva did a wonderful, touching thing for me yesterday. She knew I'd had a crappy week, and she showed up to our SnB with a surprise for me: A pretty bag I'd admired earlier, one of those fun Madlib thingies, and a piece of soap wrapped in a hand-knit washcloth! I'll have to post pictures, she really made my day.
Thank you, Eileen!

Tempting, new bangs, and a WIP

My husband and I just spent a wonderful week with his mom. We drove to Cape Cod, where we stopped at the cutest little yarn store, and my sweetie bought me two skeins of Silk Garden, which will make there debut on this blog when they've been knit up -- or when I feel the urge to post some yarn pr0n.
I also used the time away to get my hair cut. He's still getting used to the new bangs. Men, it turns out, don't like change. Too bad. I love the way this looks, everyone else seems to like it too, and I finally look good with bright red lipstick! Woohoo!

I know I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so before this turns into Batty's Boring Blog, I give you... the finished Tempting!
(...and my bangs)


I put it on in a hurry and didn't tug it straight, but on the whole, I think it looks rather nice. The bow is off-center on purpose, and I like the thin ribbon better than the gift-wrap like broader version. My bow-tying skills suck, so the hangy part looks way better than a big, wide bow.

The details: The sweater was knit on aluminum US 9s, in Debbie Bliss Cash Merino. The yarn is wonderful, soft and warm, and the main reason I altered the pattern to make longer sleeves. It feels so luscious, I want to be able to wear it year round.
My only peeve is that it produces a very, very stretchy fabric. It doesn't reveal anything it shouldn't, but when I tug at anything, it bags out and stays that way. Further tugging fixes the issue, but who wants to tug and tug and tug all day?
I almost wish I'd done some decreases around the shoulders for shaping. There are no sweater getting away problems, and I probably won't bother, because it looks fine. It's just the perfectionist in me trying to get out.

So much for tempting, now for something different: the Lotus Blossom Tank.

I just started the third repeat of the lace pattern. As can be seen, a lot of blocking will have to be done before this turns into a non-spaghetti-like piece of clothing. I've never blocked lace knit in the round that isn't supposed to lie flat. I have no idea how to go about it, but am hoping the nice people at knitty.com and my fellow LBT'ers from the LBT knitalong will know what to do. Their wisdom has been of invaluable help in my knitting life.

Why the pastels? Beats me. I hate pastels. With a passion. Yet when I saw a picture of this yarn, I had to buy some, and I knew it wanted to be a Lotus Blossom Tank. It'll take a lot of black eyeliner to make up for this piece of girly fruh-fruh!

Must read the manual...

...for my new digital camera, that is. It's more software based than my old one, i.e. it has many more functions that have nothing to do with the strictly mechanical principle of "push this button, and that happens." They have invented a whole hieroglyphic alphabet of options to choose from in my tiny little display window! I'm sure it's a good camera and I'll be very happy with it eventually, but I really need to read that manual.

Last night, my husband tried to take a picture of me in my newly-finished, bright red Tempting. I was standing there, grinning like an idiot because I have a brand-new sweater, and it fits so much better than Banff. So what happens? The pictures come out dark. Really dark. Like you're standing in a vast room illuminated by a single lightbulb, and we're talking in the remotest corner of remote corners. No color, no definition, just silhouettes and a bit of glare where the light hit my glasses.

So: pictures are coming, but only after I've read the manual. My mother-in-law is visiting us for a week, and I may be a bit behind on blogging and reading people's blogs. Sorry 'bout that.

Hope all concerned have a pleasant 4th of July -- no offense to my British pals!

Lotus Blossom Aaargh!

I just finished round 8 of the first lace repeat... and I'm off by 1 stitch! Knit 3 after you do the last pattern repeat, I only have 2. My stitch count was spot on after 6. Maybe I forgot a YO? Maybe knit an extra stitch somewhere?
During lunch, I'll go over row 8 stitch by stitch. All 200 of them. With any luck, it'll turn out that I made a mistake in the last repeat or 2.

Clapotis modeled

Here's a modeled shot of me in my comfy chair with my mother's Clapotis. Scroll down for more Clapotis pictures. Sorry about the hair -- I just removed the Clap from my head after a picture that was so horrendously unflattering, I removed it from my computer and my camera.

Clapotis

As I said, my camera and I are still getting to know each other, and I haven't yet figured out how to get far enough to capture the entire Clapotis yet have the image not turn out blurry. This is a shot that wasn't all that successful because the lighting sucked, but I think it looks sort of artistic. Reminds me of dunes, a desert landscape of some kind.


The next picture is more... conventional. It doesn't do the yarn justice, though, Lion and Lamb has a beautiful shimmer. Click for a closeup to get a better idea. I love the Aslan colorway. Neutrals are usually not my thing, but I've been prancing around the house in my mother's Clapotis, and I'm loath to let it go.

Hence my latest yarn splurge: some Lion and Lamb in the colors of the fire (oranges, reds, greys, purples...). The inspiration came from veritas' sky hat -- great thanks go out to the great gothic knittyboard enabler : )

Back to my mother's Clapotis, though. It's pretty much invisible, but there is a difference in dye lots. The numbers were the same, but the third skein included substantially more of a yellow-ish color I hadn't seen in the other two. It's very gradual and subtle, though, so I don't mind. Nobody but me will ever know!

The pooling bothered me before I dropped the stitches, but now? I think it's kind of neat. And I still can't believe I finished with only 3 skeins and about 4 inches of yarn to spare. It was nerve-wrecking because I didn't want to ball the entire 4th skein just for 3 inches of yarn. But 3 was enough, if only barely.

There will be more pictures once the wrap is blocked. I'm extremely happy with it, my only worry is the smell of raw silk. If anyone can think of a way to lessen the smell of silk, let me know -- it makes my mother nauseous. I don't want to give her a gift that makes her puke.

SP package

I finally bought a new camera! We're still getting acquainted and there are tons of functions, so I want to apologize in advance for the questionable quality of my pictures.


First off, a (somewhat blurry, sorry!) picture of the wonderful package my SP, Spazzy Pickles, sent me a while ago. She's the bestest! 3 skeins of bright red Baby Ull, which will most likely end up as fingerless gloves. Then there's the strawberry tea, which smells wonderful and makes the whole house smell like... well, strawberries. I love strawberries! The first full sentence I learned in English was "Could I have some strawberry ice cream?" For years, I wanted everything to be strawberry flavored. I'm still crazy about them.
Oh, and look at the orange chocolate. The good stuff. With orange. Believe me, it took a serious act of willpower to make the chocolate last till I was done taking pictures. Now that the deed is done, I can start stuffing my face. Yay!

OK, I'm back after having some of the intensely orange-flavored chocolate. Yum, yum, yum! I don't know what the little crunchy bits are, but it's heavenly. Thanks so much, Pickles!

1 Day to Pictures!

I've had it. Tomorrow, I'm going to buy a new camera, and then: pictures. In addition to the overdue SP package shots, I also have a bunch of knitting that needs to be shown to the world. You see, the weather sucks out here in good old New England.

Today, we were supposed to have class, 9-4. I got up at 6 am, got on the train, sit around for the 1.5 hours it takes me to get to Boston, make it to the library -- only to find a big handwritten sign telling me that all classes have been cancelled till Monday due to flash flooding. Apparently, the entire main campus is without electricity.

So I take the T back to the station, sit around for another hour, then take the train back home. I'm bummed about the class because one of my profs has to go back to California tomorrow, and we missed 7 hours of her lectures. That's too bad because she's a good lecturer. On the bright side, I spent my extra train and waiting time knitting. The upshot: Clapotis is done, the ends are woven in. Tempting is about 2 inches (give or take an inch) from being done. Then I need to graft together the armpits and weave in the ends, and voila: a second FO. Blocking will have to wait because my blocking room doubles as our guest bedroom, and my MIL is coming next weekend. With this humidity, it'll take my knitting more than that to dry. I'll take pictures of it anyway, in its pristine, unblocked state.

Done! Done! Oh, Darn!

Why does the camera have to be broken?

In a fit of mad procrastination, I finished my mother's Clapotis. It took exactly 3 skeins of Lion & Lamb, with about 3 inches left over! Now all I have to do is weave in the 2 ends. I love drooling my yarn together (i.e. spitting on the ends, then rubbing them together between my palms until they form one strand of yarn)!
The colorway is no good for my complexion, I don't like neutrals, this thing hasn't even been blocked, and it's for my mother. So why am I walking around the house with it? Why did I just splurge on some Lion & Lamb for myself, when my term appointment ends and I'm possibly going to be unemployed for a while?

Because this shawl is gorgeous! The way it drapes is unbelievable, the sheen is incredible, and I have to have one of my own, that's why. And as soon as I have a working digital camera, I'll put up pictures of the wonder that is my... ahem, I mean, my mother's Clapotis.

Digital Camera is Dead!

That's right. My husband's digital camera gave up the ghost today. This is particularly unfortunate because I still haven't taken pictures of my SP's wonderful package, and because my Clapotis is growing tremendously. I just started on section 4! It looks pretty and classy and I need to go buy a cheap digital camera of my own so I can share my knitting life with other knitters while DH's camera is in the shop.

Progress report

Looks like it's time to buy a new digital camera pour moi while my husband gets his fixed. There is so much to photograph!

1. The wonderful package my Secret Pal Spazzy Pickles from the knitty board sent me. It's full of yarn and chocolate and tea, and it made me very happy. More gushing as soon as I can put up the pictures. The Pickle deserves to be bragged about and fully appreciated!

2. Clapotis. I'm on the 9th repeat of the straight section. Soon, I'll start on the decreases! This scarf/shawl is turning out so pretty. At first, I didn't know what all the excitement was about because I thought it looked so-so in the pictures. But in person, the Lion & Lamb has a beautiful sheen to it, and it works incredibly well with the pattern. I'm in love!

3. Tempting. The sleeves are almost the same length and ready to be joined. I haven't worked on this for a week because I got bored of the ribbing. That's what I get for making the sleeves elbow-length. I know I'll like the end result better for the extra work, but for now, it's annoying.

In other news: I sent out my sister's package yesterday, she should get it in 6-9 days. And I still don't have my e-bay stuff. If it isn't here by Monday, I'll e-mail the seller.

I don't want to go to class tomorrow! It's Saturday, it's going to be gorgeous, I have class from 9:30-4:30. Off to check the LYS schedule. Maybe they'll still be open so I can go shopping for my downstream SP?
You never know.

I'm beat

Today, I only got in 1 repeat of section 3 on my Clapotis. I'm about to start the 4th repeat, and so far, things seem to be going well. Dropping the stitches is a pain, though. I know I have weird body chemistry. Gold plating comes off, tapestry needles blacken, yarn gets grippy and felts. Yes, that's right. It takes serious effort to get that stitch to drop. I don't want to wear gloves while knitting, though. That would look ridiculous.

The reason I didn't get more done: I went to the mall to put together a care package for my sister, who has her physical therapist licensing exam this month. Literally. It's a month-long monstrosity of an exam. So I bought a whole bunch of ginger-scented pampering products at the Origins counter -- I love that scent, will have to get some for myself when I have more money! It's not obnoxiously strong, it's subtle and refreshing.
There's also some white chocolate, lip gloss and a lip liner, cocoa, and vanilla-flavored redbush tea. I hope she feels loved and pampered. She's worked very hard. Studying doesn't come easily because she has a learning disability, and they test 3 years' worth of knowledge in one big test. It's rough.

I tried to go to our LYS, but couldn't, as they're not open Sundays May 1-Labor Day. Bummer. Other than that, I got everything I need, but I'm exhausted.

Trouble in Clapotis-Land?

So I've been knitting my Clapotis. Things have been going well, except for the following issue: It says to drop the stitch, then pick up the top bar. I did, front to back. Then, I knit that stitch and the next stitch through the back, like the pattern says. Then I saw that picking up the stitches front to back and knitting through the back loop makes the drop stitch ladder go away on top (see picture). Now I'm thinking: if I'd picked up back to front, it'd keep going. Did I mess up? The picture shows rows 8 and 9 completed on my first repeat. Does this look right?
Help, I may be over-thinking again!

Fun, fun, fun

My, the amount of fun I've been having! First, my internet connection decides to come and go as it pleases. Why? Turns out we need a new modem. Then, the grant that pays for my job gets extended, but only till August. So now, I'm job-hunting. Oh, and I'm cataloging Congressional documents all day long, and all of this while trying to suppress the urge to hit my head against the wall.

To keep myself sane, I've been knitting. The second sleeve on Tempting is coming along great. I modified them to be slightly below elbow-length. I want to have something that is both warm and pretty enough to dress up for a party. Has anyone noticed how women's fancy dress doesn't change with the seasons? Men have lighter fabrics for summer and heavier suits for winter. For women, the dressier the occasion, the less they wear. Strappy dresses, floaty fabrics, high-heeled sandals, anybody? In December?
Been there, done that. So instead of freezing my butt off, I'll have a nice alpaca and cashmere sweter to keep me warm. And it'll still be pretty!

My mom's clapotis is also coming along. I'm half a repeat away from dropping my first stitch. It's both exciting and strangely disturbing. Pictures of my progress are coming up, possibly tomorrow. Who knows, by then, I may have my first drop stitch ladder!

Morehouse Merino Haul

What you're about to see is the end of my yarn diet.
My husband and I went to New York state for our quarterly D&D mega-geek get-together. Because it happened to co-incide with a major Massachusetts wool and fluffly-critter event, my sweetie promised to take me to Sheep's Clothing, the yarn store attached to Morehouse Merino. I'd never been in there, and I was blown away. All that yarn, all those colors, the selection of books, and they even had roving! I could have spent the entire day in that store. Instead, I tried to limit myself to an hour or so, and this is what I left with.

These are going to be striped mittens. Purple and fuchsia, need I say more?


This is my red/rust/rust brown laceweight. One skein I bought, the other skein my husband bought for me. Together, they are a total of 1760 yards of laceweight yarn. I'm thinking they'd make a lovely fall wrap.


This is incredibly soft purple worsted weight. They had such a huge selection of colors. I counted at least 5 different purples. And it's so soft! Next time I go, I'll go with a definite pattern in mind and get a whole sweater's worth of this wonderful stuff. I'm in love with this yarn, it's amazing.



And, finally, my latest addition to the Cthulhu yarn collection. I don't know what it is, but lately, I haven't been able to resist the bright greens and yellows. Have I been corrupted by the great tentacley one? I don't know. All I know is that I don't really like yellow and green combinations, nor do I like leg warmers. So what are these going to turn into?
You guessed it. Yellow and green leg warmers. Oy!

The Amazing Lace - Challenge #1

My skein and I have entered The Amazing Lace.
So far, this skein is just a skein, waiting for a true Jedi Knight to unlock its full potential. In honor of the event, I am wearing my Obi-Wan t-shirt. I hope it will help me turn a ball of pricey purple string into the Baltic Sea Stole.

Many questions remain: Will my Padwan help me achieve the ultimate knitting experience? Or will it turn to the Dark Side, forcing me to frog over and over? Or perhaps it will prove to be ill-suited to the rigors of Jedi training. In spite of the Force, it is sometimes difficult to see what the future holds for a knitter and her skein. This is the beginning of our adventures together.

May the Force be with us -- and with all of you!

Picovoli!

I am so excited! This is my first-ever hand-knit garment that actually fits! I tried it on before blocking and was a bit concerned about the fit. Not long enough, a little tight in the chest, rolly like you wouldn't believe. And why can't I feel my arms? Could the armholes be too snug?
Argh, somebody cut me out of this thing!

Now, I'm so glad nobody did. I blocked Picovoli, I visited it twice a day to see if it was dry yet. And today, magic happened: not only was it dry, but when I unpinned it, most of the roll was gone, and it fits like a glove!

The 3 Stages of Knitting

You've seen the pretty purple yarn, now here's the FO: Grumperina's Picovoli in Classic Elite Provence. It's the 32" bust. The pattern calls for 2" of negative ease, and it takes into account the blooming of cotton when it gets wet. Gotta love designers who consider such small yet important details.
Right now, the tank is blocking, but I can't wait to try it on when it's dry. It looked great before, if a little bit snug. I'll post modeled pictures as soon as it's ready. I bet it'll look even better then!


Next up is my current WIP, Tempting. Can you say behind the times? It's knitting up fast, though, and I'm loving the yarn. It's soft and luscious and has a wonderful shine to it. The color is breathtaking. So much brighter in person! You know that bright red lipstick your mother told you to wipe off because it made you look like a slut? That kind of red. I absolutely love it.


Speaking of mothers, these are the 4 skeins of Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in the Aslan colorway. Not boring, yet subtle enough to be really classy. These are going to be a clapotis for my mother, who is a very classy lady. She asked me to knit her a wrap. She never asks for anything, so when she did, I went out and bought the prettiest yarn I could think of. And here it is.


I'm getting started on "the clap" today. It's so exciting! I must be the only knitter around who hasn't made one yet. It's about time.

Yippee! Gauge!

We have caston!
When they say the material your needles are made of matters, they're not lying. I tried 4 different sizes of aluminum needles yesterday, no luck. Then, late last night, I tried Addi Naturas, and the bamboo did it. I have achieved gaugehood!
Pictures are coming this weekend. I started Tempting late last night, it's in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, which is so soft and luscious and pretty. I've heard it pills, but when something is so much fun to work with and such a happy red, I can take a few pills.

Long time no blog

Sometimes, absences are good. In my case, I've been too busy knitting to put anything up on my blog! Picovoli is done! Tonight, I wash and block, and when it's dry, I'll put up some modeled shots. Apparently, it's very flattering on. When I did a pre-wash-block (i.e. pre-cotton blooming) fitting, my husband's first comment was that it looks really good because it makes my assets look good. Only that's not quite how he put it...

Next in line: Tempting, which I've been putting off for quite some time. I've tried to get gauge 3 times now, no luck. My row gauge must be way different from my stitch gauge, because I can get one or the other, but never both. And that happens with almost every project I make! Maybe a more experienced knitter will see this and explain?
Oh, well. Haven't tried US 10 yet. Got to love my Boyes Needlemaster kit for swatching on the train!

The Kindness of Knitters

Knitters are generous people. Yesterday, I decided to go to the student lounge before my exam, all freaked out and looking for a place to cram. So I got comfortable and started going through my notes. Know the feeling when the exam approaches and you realize how much there is to know, how much more you should have studied, and how there's no way you're going to pass this test? Well, that's where I was. Not a good place to be, emotionally speaking.

That was when I noticed part of a colorful picture poking out from a pile of library science magazines. It looked a bit unusual, so I pulled it out -- only to see that I was holding the holiday issue of Vogue Knitting! And across it, someone had written in big, friendly letters, "TAKE ME"! So I did, and it made me feel very happy. Not only is this an issue I hadn't bought, not only was I excited to see three patterns I absolutely must make. But I felt as if someone had offered me a kindness at a time when I was preoccupied with all the bad things that could happen on the exam. It reminded me of the fact that sometimes, good things happen, too.

It sounds kind of corny when you write it out like that. An exam is hardly the most important thing in the world, and finding a knitting magazine on a table isn't going to change my life forever. But I want to thank the Unknown Knitter for leaving something she didn't need in a place where it could distract someone who needed distracting. It was a wonderful, generous thing to do.

Exam tomorrow, blogging today

Tomorrow, I have an exam for the reference class I'm taking. So am I going crazy studying? Well, in a couple of minutes, I will be, but first, I must procrastinate. The best ways to procrastinate are to a) knit, b) talk to people on knitty, and c) blog/post pictures of yarn. So here it is, the picture of the Giotto I bought for 40% off. Isn't it pretty?



OK, now that I have gotten the yarnography out of my system, it's time to go back to studying and typing like a madwoman. Wish me luck!

Exciting office move

Our office moved into a new building today. I am very excited about this, not just because we'll be working in the basement like real catalogers, but mostly because it's diagonally across the street from a yarn store! All the knitters in the building ought to get a pay raise so we can support our yarn habits. I can already see the dilemmas: Go to lunch or buy yarn? Spend money on food or buy yarn? Go to work or go buy yarn?
Well, OK, maybe not the last one. Because if I do that, it won't be long till I no longer work diagonally across the street from the yarn store!

The Stars are Right! (Yarrrn)

Ia! Ia! Ahem...
And now, we learn about knitting when the stars are right. These are my Cthulhu slippers. Yes, the feet go into the hole in the middle, so it looks like Cthulhu is chomping on my tootsies. Aren't they great? Why have only one Great Cthulhu when you can have two!
And Cthulhu likes yarn.


Here, he is trying to ingest a skein of Supersock in yellows and greens. I saw the yarn and specifically bought it to wear with these slippers. The colors are perfect. Now, if only I can get this mean monstrosity from the great beyond to give it back...

Oh, OK. He found something he likes even better: the amazing, tentacular blue and green yarn Ah Xia! sent me a while ago. It looks like it has its very own tentacles! I'm not sure what I'll make out of it yet, but I'm absolutely certain it will be non-Euclidean, a gibbering hand-knit terror blaspheming among the stars.

WIP and Future Clapotis (Yarrrn)

Can't tell what this is? Yeah, if I didn't know, I'd have a hard time too. But this pretty purple object is the beginning of my Picovoli top from Magknits. The yarn is a beautiful purple cotton, Provence from Classic Elite. The hole-y ridges are the raglan seams. So far, it's a fun knit, and so much less complicated than I thought. But switching out my cable from the 16 to 24" Boye Needlemaster needles was a pain. I almost dropped some stitches, and I may have snagged a stitch or two in the process. Oh, well.


Here's the swatch that went with this project. For once, I actually got gauge! And isn't the yarn pretty? It's purple and shimmery and 100% Egyptian cotton. Its only fault is that it's a bit splitty.


Future Clapotis! Lorna's Laces worsted weight yarn, because it gets so darn cold out here in the Northeast, and because I want to have something pretty to wear when my neck and shoulders are freezing. Purple and green, a deliciously annoying color combination! And if you look closely, you'll see that the green yarn almost matches our green carpet in the attic room. Yay, I'll match the rug when this is done!

Hat and Socks

Socks! These are the first socks I've knit in, oh, 10 years or so. Supersock in Tropical Storm, US 3 needles. Should have used US 1 or 2, though, because of negative ease. What is it with me and making things too big? The colors were even more vibrant, and there was no pilling, but I had to stick them in the washer to shrink them just a little bit. Now they fit pretty well, though, and I love the colors.
But next time: negative ease. Swatch socks? Me? Why bother? Because they'll wobble and sag around my feet and ankles if I don't, that's why!


And here's my winter hat. I'm confused. I don't really like colors. I rarely wear anything other than black, and when I do, it's usually dark wines and purples. So why do I find bright, slubby colors irresistible when it comes to yarn? This hat is a perfect example: pinks, yellows, blues... what was I thinking?
But it's warm and happy-making, even though I look dorky with my head tilted forward so you get a better view of the hat.


If you take a closer look, you'll see this spiraly effect created by the thick and thin yarn. I had no idea this would happen, but it's pretty cool. I just cast on x number of stitches (can't remember how many, too lazy to go back and count), knit for a bit, then made decreases. The yarn did the rest. Neat, no?