knitalong posts
knitalong (now with meme) . january 02 . 2007—
Wow. It is amazing seeing one's own pattern turn into magic in the hands of so many other knitters! I'm thrilled and a little scared at once. What if they hate my pattern? What if no one wants to wear it? (Val, I'm so glad you found something you loved :)
I've now finished my purples version of the wrap but for the weaving-in, although as I haven't developed film in a good three weeks, photos are hard to come by. I promise I'm going to the photo place tomorrow. Promise! (And then I'll get photos of the socks 101 knitalong, mine in Manos del Uruguay Mallard #36 with Midnight #A heels and toes) It's lovely. It makes me wish for an occasion to wear it.
Alas, in rainy cold Portland, I feel much more appropriate wearing a down vest and warm sweater than a wrap more suited to a draughty Eastern European ballroom than Gladstone Coffee. Anyone have a draughty ball anytime soon?
What's more, Larissa brought it to my attention that my final "sample" is nowhere even close to the pattern. Meaning that I've written a pattern and knit up two versions and neither one is truly appropriate for the book photo shoot. I've sighed, accepted my shortcomings, and purchased a skein of Frog Tree Alpaca (sport weight) in color #307. As Frog Tree doesn't appear to name its colors, only number them, I've named it "cheerleader" because it reminds me of uniforms. It's a deep teal, and will be mixed with bluesy Noro Silk Garden and a handspun yet-to-be-determined (but, in all likelihood, more of the purples).
Finally, I was tagged with a knitting meme! Though I nearly never do memes (something about blogging for work means that I never lack for topics about which to blog) I was flattered and this one seemed perfect for me. Plus it's a little frightening how much alike we are! Without further ado...
1. Are you a yarn snob? Do you avoid Red Heart, Lion Brand, etc... or is it all the same to you? Not at first, I picked up several balls of some sort of mauve-y acrylic at a garage sale for a song and thought, score! I ended up knitting one still-unfinished scarf of it, and giving the rest away. Ditto Lion Brand Homespun: six of the seven skeins I bought for $10 off Craigslist have all found new homes (one of the other, knitted into a scarf for my sister-in-law). Now I refuse to touch anything man-made or (ick) found at Fred Meyer/Jo-ann's/Michael's.
2. Do you spin? Crochet? Ix-nay to the pinning-say, although it's begun to look more and more attractive since fingering all that lovely roving at the Flock & Fiber Festival. It's highly unlikely I'll go there in the near future, though, given my fulltime job and this little thing known as "children" ...
I crocheted when I was a child, and when I became an adult and learned to knit, I put away childish things. OK, I'll admit it, the crochet hooks scare me.
paying the bills
blue ribbon scrap wrap knitalong update . december 22 . 2006—
I'm very nearly completed with my sample purples-and-greens version of the blue ribbon scrap wrap for the knitalong. I've learned a couple of things, like, green and purple together is really beautiful and if you drop your stitch in a cable and discover it five rows later, it will take at least 10 minutes to right the matter. But, since it takes around 10 minutes each to knit a row (purls can be as fast as six minutes, just call me Speedy Purler), it's certainly faster than frogging and knitting those five again.
I've sent out patterns, thus far, to 13 lovely knitters. ( Aj . Valerie . Pamela M. . Jennifer . Lisa . Pamela B. . Beverly . Jennifer . Emily . Larissa . Tara . Brooke . Christelle). I think I'll cut the knitalong off at 25 knitters, or around the 5th of January, because it's a relatively time- and material-intensive pattern. If you'd like to knit the pattern but can't make the cutoff, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the book comes out in Spring 2008! But I've certainly had projects in my unfinished pile for longer so it'll just fly by ;)
This is the sort of project that garners attention. People exclaim over it, stop on their way down the airplane aisle and reach down and touch it, it's even been known to stop arguments in their tracks or provide a welcome conversation piece in an awkardly silent hotel shuttle. This is a project that I can't put down.
Already my wrap is far longer than I've suggested in the pattern; I'll end up between 24 and 26 inches long, I believe, and it's regal in such a different way from the red wrap, surely the garment of a petite Spanish princess. This one belongs on the commanding shoulders of a Russian (or Irish?) queen.
I've gone on so long that I've used up an entire skein of the Cascade 220 (the alternate yarn to Noro Silk Garden), and can't finish until I get more. I think I know what I'll be knitting on Christmas day!
knitalong wrapalong travelalong . december 16. 2006—
When the season turns to winter, and you hop on planes, trains and minivans for the big holiday journeys, why not take a little knitting along? Not just a little knitting, but a knitalong?
All has been quiet on this blog's front, as I suffered a bit with the season's less festive tidings, recycle-crafted, and worked my little tail off (I'm especially proud of this trans fat piece).
But I have big things to discuss. I have deadlines to make! Purple angora and sparkly handspun to make into gorgeous beautiful things! As part of Larissa's book project, I've agreed (ok, eagerly jumped up and reached my hand as far as I could into the air and screamed, me, me, ME!!!) to provide a pattern and host a knitalong. The pattern is the Blue Ribbon Scrap Wrap, a name that Larissa may or may not preserve for the book but, well, it makes me happy.
Blue Ribbon Scrap Wrap was conceived as a way to use up beautiful bits of handspun yarn (both of my samples have Larissa's friend Kim's lovely yarn), on the top and bottom border, and also incorporate lovely yarns that are (a) soft and luscious and (b) have some variability in color. It's a way to enhance the handspun and explore the limits of a particular color combination. The pattern calls for 1-2 ounces of handspun and two other coordinating yarns; one option (the reds) includes Noro Silk Garden and Frog Tree Alpaca, while the other (purples) includes Cascade 220 and an alpaca from Larissa's stash (Blue Sky Alpaca, perhaps?). It's knit on 10.5 circular needles and will probably take you 20-some hours to complete if you're a relatively experienced knitter.
Take your knitting with you! If you'd like to participate, please email me at mama [at] cafemama.com to receive a copy of the pattern. You'll have to agree to complete the knitting by sometime in January, and selected wraps may appear in the book.
Naturally I've created a flickr pool and I will be giving some little specially-designed, made-by-me blue ribbons to those who finish the wrap. It should be lots of fun and give you something to do with your fingers while you're trying to while away the hours while your stomach does flip-flops from the strange "chicken" sandwich on Continental, or while your in-laws regale you with yet another tale of your spouse's childhood, or while the family driver takes a "shortcut" to avoid holiday traffic. You know what I mean.
