Do You Love Books?

I must admit, I was born a booklover. Both my parents were avid readers. My Dad belong to several “…of the Month” clubs, and one of my favorite photos of him is where he is seated at his desk, and nearby there is a pile of books stacked almost to the ceiling. I do come by it naturally. When I was four I had my very own bookcase filled with books. I still have it, as well as some of those favorites from way back when. That's me on the left, in my favorite dress at the time, with roosters all over it. Over the years I’ve purchased many books, and while some have been brand new, most have been used books, ex-library books, or vintage books. I seem to prefer older books. Once I read an author I like, I like to find all their books. Or collect all the books on a particular subject. I have bookcases in every room of the house except the bathroom, which only houses a magazine rack.

Collecting books, like any other hobby, can be expensive, even when looking for bargain priced books. A few years ago, I was made aware of the website PaperbackSwap, and over time, my library has increased while my book budget has shrunk!

Now, before you jump to the first conclusion, let me tell you: this website isn’t just for paperbacks. I don’t even like to buy paperbacks, because usually I want to keep the book and therefore want a hardcover. But PaperbackSwap has all versions of books: paperback, hardcover, audio cassette, and audio CD.

The basic rules are this: You create an account, and list five books that you would like to give away. Right up front you are given three credits, which you can then use to “order” books from other members. When someone requests one of your books, you get an e-mail message. If you agree to send the book, then on the website you will be given the requestor’s name and address on a printable label. You pay the postage cost to send out the book. When the book is received, you get a credit for it. That, basically, is it. If you see a book you want, you can request it, and soon it’s on the way to your address. For free!

Although part of the idea can be to receive a book, read it, and then re-list it for someone else to claim, you are not bound to re-trade any book you receive. I’ve kept over 95% of the books I’ve received.

Most of the books I’ve requested have been hardcover, and with only a few small exceptions, many have been in very good to excellent condition, many being like-new. These books would have cost a pretty penny to purchase new in the store, even at a discount. I’ve been able to use several as gifts.

The books I list for trade are books that I’ve decided I no longer have an interest in, or have duplicate copies of, or are paperbacks that I’ve replaced with hardcover editions.

Some categories on PaperbackSwap are less well-stocked than others. If you are looking for current fiction, you’ll find it, although there might be a wait for the really popular books. No problem, just add the book to your wish list, and when it’s available, you’ll be notified. Knitting books, however, are scarce as hens’ teeth, and get snapped up the moment they get listed.

Of course, browsing the site has led me to discover all sorts of new books and authors that I’d never even heard of. And, since there are books of every age, I’ve even found a few vintage editions to add to my collection.

This little narrative just scratches the surface of how PaperbackSwap works. They also have sister sites for CDs and DVDs. If you’re interested in books, and in saving money, check it out!

Stash Busting - March Update

Stash Busting is going well! The only thing is, I’m not sticking exclusively to that bucket o’ yarn that I featured last month. I’m trying to focus on those yarns, but sometimes I just need to work other projects, still busting stash, but not necessarily that stash.

However, I have managed to complete four more projects from that particular collection of yarn. First of all, here’s a photo of that stash today:

I pulled out most of the small balls and took the ones I wouldn’t use to the local Goodwill.

Out of the remainder, I made the following:

Two hats for charity. I had this rainbow hat started last month. I was intending it to fit a child, however, I got carried away, and it’s actually a little large even on me. I added it to the charity box. That yarn was Red Heart Worsted. The black hat is from the one ball of Phentex Angorel. This is also acrylic, but a brushed, fuzzy yarn. I started at the top, aiming to make a tam style, but changed that midstream, to a hybrid style hat. It fits an adult, and went into the charity box as well.
A felted bowl. This crochet project used up the 1+ balls of Lion Wool. I had fun crocheting it, and like the way it turned out. A pair of socks. There was only one ball of Cervinia Jacquard in the container, but I knew there were more balls elsewhere in the house, so I found another one and knit this pair of socks, mostly during lunchtime at work, and while on the treadmill. I like making the socks a little longer and shaping the leg. This pair will go in my Etsy shop. Projects in the works are a crocheted market bag, and another water bottle cozy. More on those in the next update.

There are a few balls in the bucket that I’m going to store away where they belong. For instance – that pink chenille from Hobby Lobby. I know there are three other balls elsewhere in the house, and why this ball got separated, I don’t know. And that pale blue Brunswick cotton has some companions in a box upstairs. So part of stash busting is actually stash management. But don’t worry – once this container is empty, there’s another one lurking just around the corner!

Le Bon Temps Roule

Rusty is all ready for a wild Mardi Gras. Too bad we live so far north...

Stash Busting 2009

For me stash busting has been an ongoing process for several years. I rarely buy new yarn for a knitting project, but I did buy yarn last year to enhance the stash, for future, yet-to-be-determined projects. That was not supposed to happen. It didn’t happen a lot, but it wasn’t supposed to happen. At all.

I suppose that in order to bust stash I should know just how much I’m dealing with. Well, I did start organizing the yarn and made up an Xcel spreadsheet a few years back. But after 1,500 balls, I ran out of storage room in my upstairs closet, and didn’t add any more to the list. Now this closet isn’t small – it runs the length of the house. But half of it was full of puzzles, games, sewing supplies, and other odds and ends. I’ve been working at getting it cleared out, so I can continue with my yarn storage project.

But try as I might to keep it contained, yarn just seems to keep showing up everywhere. In my bedroom, there are four totes hung on the doorknobs, with in-progress projects. There is also a pressed tin bucket that my sister gave me a couple of years ago. This became a catch-all for odd balls, and a few balls I brought down to try in projects, that didn’t make the cut.

I’ve decided to start with this bucket, and work on the yarn in it until I use it up, or put it away. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to empty the bucket, and how many projects can come out of it. One of those cases where, if you write it down, you’re more likely to do it!

Here’s a photo of the bucket today.

I wish I would have thought to take one before I started, but you get the idea. Full! Here’s another picture of the contents, spread out on the sofa.

I’m going to put all the tiny oddballs either in the leftover totes for their specific fiber, or in a bag to take to the Goodwill. I usually try to use up every bit, but see that purple eyelash yarn? I have no idea what to do with that little leftover bit. I made and sold a hat from the rest of that ball several years ago. I’m sure this little bit would make great trim on a Barbie dress, but I’m not ready to go down that road just yet!

Here’s what I’ve made so far:

Two cotton washcloths, using a ball of Lily Sugar and Cream, and Bernat Handicrafter. I should have gotten two blue cloths from the Sugar & Cream, but there was a knot in the yarn, near the beginning, so I cut it out. After I finished the cloth, the remaining balls were not big enough to make another complete cloth. These, and the leftover Handicrafter, will go in the “leftover cotton” tote upstairs. A Ganomy hat from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s “Knitter’s Almanac”. I used one of the two balls on Lion Wool. The hat came out a little on the small side for me. And it only used a little less than one ball, so now I have to figure out what to do with the remaining ball. In progress is a child’s hat. This is from a ball of unlabeled acrylic. Probably Red Heart. Rough texture, but cute colors. I know that I can steam this into something that feels better, but I don’t want to take away too much stretch. And the next project from the bin? A pair of socks. There was one ball of Cervinia Jacquard in the bin, minus its ball band. I found another ball in a box upstairs, and I’m hoping that they’re the same dye lot. I can’t see any difference. I like this Cervinia yarn. No, it’s not as posh as some sock yarns, but I think the finished socks look and feel just fine. I’m basing this pair on another Cervinia pair I made in October, and had the foresight to take notes on!

That’s the stash busting update for now. I’ll continue these updates as I work my way through this one bucket. It isn’t much, but I have a feeling it’s going to take longer than you might think to get through it. And hopefully the projects will be unique, and a bit creative. We shall see!

Welcome to 2009!

A little belated, but still heartfelt. I didn’t make any resolutions for the New Year, but I do have good intentions about keeping up with the blog. So here goes!

The year seems to be off to a good start. I was on leave over the Christmas holiday, so I enjoyed several relaxing days at home, knitting, watching old movies, and snoozing with the cats. It seems like every two or three days we’ve had snow or sleet or some kind of weather to deal with. The latest was icy rain, which made all the roads and surfaces slick and shiny. It hasn’t really been warm enough to melt yet, so walking around outside is done by taking baby steps.

Much knitting was done during this time. It seems like lately I’ve had so many ideas for new projects, but just can’t knit fast enough! I’ve written most of them down, so hopefully I won’t lose the idea or inspiration.

This is one spur-of-the-moment project. Nothing fancy, but it’s my first attempt at a wine bottle cozy. Instead of digging out a pattern, I just made it up, figuring out the shaping as I went along. I like my basic premise, so I will use it as a jumping off point for future wine cosies. The yarn was an old ball of Brunswick Crystal, that I got from who-knows-where. It’s similar to Lopi, but I never really had any coordinating colors to put with it, and knew that one ball wouldn’t go very far. I wasn’t even sure that I’d get to the top of the wine bottle. The string tie was all I had left when I cast off. Even though it’s kind of plain, it still made a nice gift bag.

My other project that went from start to finish during the holiday was this Christmas Stocking. I adapted the stitch pattern from a vintage sweater pattern, and let the repeats determine the size of the stocking. It’s a little on the large side, especially the foot, but I think Christmas stockings can be all sizes. The yarn for the stocking was – GROAN - Red Heart Super Saver. I don’t intentionally go out and buy this yarn. It just happened to be mixed in with some more desirable yarn in a bag at Goodwill. I was going to use it for charity projects, and still might, but the colors worked well for this project. This is actually the second stocking to come from this yarn. It’s not that pleasant to knit with, but I did find that by washing the finished item in conditioning shampoo, then liberally shooting it with a steam iron will take away most if not all of the roughness and make the hand and drape of the finished item much better. I won’t go overboard with the steam on this stocking, as I want it to have some structure, but I know it will soften up considerably.

Finally, here’s a photo of a recent visitor to the back yard. It was a snowy day just before Christmas, when this pileated woodpecker came swooping in, and spent a good 40 minutes working away at my old black walnut tree. This bird is bigger than Lily the cat, and looks so intimidating! And since it normally doesn’t visit neighborhoods, I felt honored to have it in my yard. It came back last Sunday, which was much sunnier, but I was too close to the window when it swooped in, and couldn’t move to get the camera without scaring it away. What a treat!

I am Rollie, and I Approve This Sofa...

Saga of the Klik Klak

When I moved 12 years ago, I bought quite a bit of new furniture, but couldn't afford a new sofa. And even if I could, very few styles appealed to me. So I moved my battered, 1940's era sofa, a second-hand purchase, into my new house and made do.

Over the years, it became even more battered, as three cats used it for a scratching post, and eventually it stayed covered year-round with sheets or quilts and one very ugly slipcover.

It's one good point was that it was very comfortable to nap on, and I could sit on it with all three cats without too much fighting. But it had outlived it's life expectancy years ago.

These days, I still can't afford a new sofa. Not a very fancy one, anyway. And I'm still having trouble finding something I like. And most of the furniture these days is still big, for those big new houses with gymnasium-sized living rooms. Not for my 1950's Cape Cod.

A few years back, I started reminiscing, remembering a sofa (we called it davenport) that we had in the 60's. It was a convertible sofa, meaning you lifted up the front, and then the back folded down, and it became a bed. And there was a storage cabinet underneath. Now, you might be thinking, yeah, a futon, but no, this was upholstered furniture. not a frame and mattress. And it had arms. If you were a tall visiting relative, you had to sleep diagonally so as to avoid the arms. In those days, I loved it, and it was fun. We played on it, slept on it, and I think we even tried to hide a kid or two in the storage underneath. Eventually, it gave way, and we got rid of it, but the memory lingered.

Fast forward to the present. I realized that in my small house, storage is a premium item. I started remembering that sofa, and thinking how clever, and why don't they make something like that today. Then I saw one on "Mission Organization" one day, and the hunt was on. I surfed the web relentlessly, and found a handful of sofas, but either they were mail orider only, or located in Canada, or still too expensive. Then last year, I found the Klik Klak brand, and there were even some in a furniture store about an hour away. This was exactly what I wanted, and I loved the name. Klik Klak! That's the sound it makes when you flip it up and down. How cute!

In July, I was looking through the local Shopko store flyer, and lo-and-behold, they had Klik Klaks! On sale! Four styles! I went right to the store that night, and yes, they had the model I wanted, with arms, upholstered, with storage, all good! Except....out of stock. I got a rain check, and was told I should check back in a week.

Week One: - No Klik Klaks yet. None at any area store. Call again.

Week Two: - Still no Klik Klaks. Another ad comes out; now they're even cheaper. I get a new raincheck.

Week Three: I'm calling twice a week now, because they get trucks in twice a week. But no Klik Klaks, nowhere. Another ad comes out, and now my model Klik Klak is a half page ad, still on sale.

Week Four: I'm calling every store in the area twice a week. Still no Klik Klaks. I know by now that each store has at least 7 on order, but that each store has rain checks out for 12 sofas or more. There might be a problem with the manufacturer, because nobody is getting any.

So last Saturday I wrote a letter to Shopko customer service. I politely asked if they could tell me what was going on. And I also told them, that no matter what store I called, or who I talked to, everyone was extremely polite and helpful. Really. It was amazing. I'm sure other people besides me were calling; they pretty much had the SKU memorized. But never did they act like "oh it's the pesky sofa lady again". Nope. Always very helpful, very sympathetic. All for a cheap sofa. But really, corporate needed to get it's act together.

Monday I received a call from the store manager - corporate had forwarded my e-mail to him. He gave me the inside scoop that they did check into it up the line. They did have problems with the manufacturer, but that stock should start arriving within the next two weeks. They did pull the sofas from upcoming ads until they could fulfill all the outstanding rain checks. And, even though it's not store policy, they WOULD call me when a sofa came in, and I would definitely get one. (I missed out on one that came in the week before because somebody else called at the right time and I did not). I told the manager how pleased I was with the everyone's helpfulness.

And lo and behold, today, about a week ahead of their estimate, I got a call from the store. One more sofa came in, and they were holding it for me until Monday. The timing was perfect; since it was Saturday, I could get my brother to help, and we could take my old sofa to the recycling center, then go get the new one. Which is what we did! And here it is!

Ok, I realize, it's just a cheap sofa. It's not spectacular. But, it's what I can afford, and it's what I want. It's here, it's mine, and I'm going to enjoy stretching out on it and watching the Olympics!

Evenutally, I'm going to move it to the spare bedroom, where it will replace a twin bunk bed. That was the original intent. For the living room, I might get another Klik Klik, or a more traditional sofa. For now, I've perked up the living room and life is good. By the way, when I went to the store to pick it up, I took the staff fresh baked brownies, as a thank-you for being so helpful. Because they genuinely were. Good job!

How Do They Do It?

I would love to blog everyday. I have been reading several blogs over the summer months. It amazes me that these women have time to knit (some prolifically), work, raise a family, keep house, travel, take photos, and blog about it all. Some manage it every day. How is this possible?

I think some of them must walk around with a camera constantly in their pocket. Even though my camera is small, I don't always remember to take it with me. And then fiddle with the pictures, etc.

Maybe they don't always keep a clean house. You could't tell it from the photos. Maybe they never sleep! I just don't know.

I get up by 6 am, feed the cats and get myself to work. When I come home, I usually make supper, check the mail and e-mail, and then either do chores, work on my ebay and etsy shops, or relax with some tv and knitting. Play with the cats, get ready for the next day, and in bed by 10:30. Chores are usually yardwork in the summertime, or snow shovelling and woodcutting in the winter. The house cleaning type work gets done mostly on weekends, or when I feel like squeezing it in.

I am constantly trying to organize my life, house, and possessions. I am constantly cleaning up after the cats, their food area, litter box, and whatever mess they've made while I was gone (they're good at it, believe me).

And yes, this leaves very little time for socializing. That's ok, I don't have much desire to socialize. I did go to many ball games this summer, and that cut into my free time even more.

I don't know what the secret is, but I'm going to try my darndest to get moving. I've always thought I was a pretty good multi-tasker, but maybe I'm not such a good time manager.

The start of school always stirs feelings of getting organized, getting busy, settling down to a more sturctured routine. Maybe a list of assignments is the answer. A schedule for the off-work hours. We'll see. Something's got to change around here. And it's got to start with me!

In closing, here's a pretty little photo from the backyard.

Attack of the Mutants!!!

I've been attacked!! By these....

I have no idea what these are. Here's the background - I have one section of yard that contains the remnants of a wildflower plot. Also, in this section, I let any flower that wishes to naturalize itself into the yard do so. It's an area full of shasta daisies, rudbeckia, galliardia, echinacea, fleabane (I do pull that) and more. I spend most of the year mowing around these flowers, then try to cut everything back in the fall went they're done blooming. It's usually very pretty, if a little untidy.

But it appears that all these composites have been up to some indiscreet love-making. And in the front yard too! Imagine!

The plant in the photo is the largest clump, but there are at least two dozen others. Here's a closeup:

I'm going to call it the black-and-blue-eyeball flower! What happened to petals?? Petals are the pretty part, and they're sorely missing from these plants. My brother figures that Darwin's theory will take over here, because no self-respecting bee is going to be attracted to such an ugly thing, without the allure of colorful petals. So he thinks they'll all just die away. I'm not so sure. Here's one more look:It's really too bad, because the plant itself is tall and sturdy. But I think I'll be pulling them all out before they can set seed. I've got enough gardening challenges as it is!

Of course, Rusty blames it all on the government!

I am in Charge Here

What do you mean, you can't see the tv? What tv? Look at me....I am in control....and I'm not moving until I get some catnip....

A Little Diversion

Real blog content will resume shortly. In the meantime...

My Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English 20% Upper Midwestern 15% Yankee 5% Dixie 5% Midwestern

Take the free quiz: What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I guess I'm just average, and true to my locale. However, some of the questions didn't have the exact answer I would have picked, so maybe the test needs a little refinement.

You've Got Scarf!

I guess when you have a blog and a digital camera, you get a little carried away. You become an amateur photographer whether you want to or not! My digital camera is pretty simple, and very outdated compared to what’s out there today. But it was one of the smallest ones going when I bought it, and my biggest need at that time was taking photos for ebay. I like the fact that I can fit it into a plastic traveling soap holder. Other than that, it’s nothing fancy.

But now that I’m trying to take more appealing photos for Etsy and Ravelry, I’m playing around with composition a little more. Not too much – I still just lay a lot of items out on the carpet and call it good. But yesterday I had the whim to get creative, and this is the result. I like this photo. It’s cheery.

I like the scarf too. I bought three balls of Twilleys Freedom Spirit last summer without a project in mind. I just liked the yarn. It sat on a bookcase in the hallway for most of the year. Through the usefulness of Ravelry, I found out that I could make this scarf and it would show off the yarn very nicely.

I don’t always wear scarves in the winter, but I think I’ll wear this one. It’s cozy, and again, I’m drawn to the colors. The yarn was loosely spun, so I’m not sure it would hold up for a harder-wearing item. It would have made a nice felted something, but maybe then the colors would have gotten too muddy. This will do.

Of course, it will be months before scarf season comes around. Until then, happy knitting!

Updates

I realized, looking back at past blog entries, that I’ve left some writing undone. I’ve written about some projects here on the blog, then finished them on Ravelry. There aren’t too many people reading this, but the few who do probably think I never finish anything!

So here are some updates…

The Blue Tank Top: is finished, but the armholes are way too deep for me to wear comfortably. So I either have to A: shorten the straps, B: pick up and fill in the armholes, or C: never wear it outside the house. Right now, I’m leaning toward C. The Blue Shawl: is finished. I was able to needle felt the hole that Rusty made in it well enough that it’s not too noticeable. However – I HATE WEARING IT!!! It’s like torture. I put it on one chilly Sunday morning, and I actually had to force myself to wear it for two hours. Here’s why: 1. It wouldn’t stay closed across my chest, until I pinned it. This looked stupid because I had to pin it in several places, or it kept gaping open. 2. It wasn’t long enough to completely cover my arms, so my forearms were colder than my upper arms, even though I had a long-sleeved turtleneck on. 3. It got into everything! I couldn’t reach over the stove without holding it back so it wouldn’t touch a burner or drag in the soup. I just kept thinking: I’d rather have a sweater. Sweaters would solve all these problems. Sweaters are so modern compared to this archaic thing! So I may just let Rusty have it for a cat blanket after all. I know there are different types of shawls out there, and I might try a Faroese shawl or Pi shawl next, but this triangle shawl is just not for me.
The Olympic Sweater: hasn’t been touched except to take that photo. Something must be done about this!

And the cats!
Lilly: is much better, although she is started to sneeze and chuffle again somewhat. At least the goopy eye cleared up nicely. See how pretty? Rusty: is fine now, although we went through some intestinal problems this past winter.

Rollie: My good cat, who never gets sick, did the unthinkable, and GOT SICK. He’s being treated for an inflamed bladder, which is either from trauma or food. And I’m watching the others to make sure they aren’t headed in the same direction.

That's all for now - hopefully I can keep the blog up to date with what's going on, although summer activities are numerous. And I've noticed that not too many people are even reading this, so maybe it's all for naught. However, I've been thinking about having one of those contest giveaways to shamelessly lure people to this site. Just for fun. More to follow!

Spinning My Wheel...

This is my spinning wheel. It’s an Ashford Traveler, which I bought as a kit, almost 20 years ago, and put together by myself. It’s been very neglected and was in a wretched state just a few short weeks ago. But when I found out the batch of sheep’s wool was headed my way, I pulled the wheel out of the corner, cleaned off the dust and cobwebs, tightened up all the joints, made a new drive band, and gave it a whirl.

Here’s a tidbit – Did you know wool that stays on the bobbin for five years loses all of its elasticity? Yep, it surely does. I was working with a very nice wool/silk blend when I stopped spinning five years ago. I have one good skein, that’s all. What was left on the bobbin was rubbish, but I didn’t find that out until I spun some more, and tried plying new with old. What a mess. I pulled off all the old stuff, and started over, spinning up the rest of the roving.

Here’s another tidbit. If you stop spinning for five years, you pretty much become a beginner all over again! At least, the yarn I’ve spun looks like a beginner made it. All thick and thin, over-spun and under-spun. Part of it might be that my wheel still needs some adjustment, but a big part of it is me. I need a remedial class. So I pulled out some sturdy roving, and I’m trying to re-learn proper drafting, and just working toward making a balanced yarn, even if it turns out bulkier for now.

It’s a long road back, but I hope that I can come up with a decent looking yarn by the end of summer. Then maybe I can plunge into some of the new sheep’s wool that will be waiting for me!

When Life Gives You Wool...

…Make Yarn! A co-worker who lives in Southeastern Minnesota has these three sheep, and last winter she offered me the wool when it came time to shear them. It’s been years and years since I’ve handled raw wool, and then I only played with it a little bit. In fact, it made me realize that it’s been five years since I’ve even done any spinning! Too long, that’s for sure.

The sheep were sheared in May, and suddenly I had several sacks of raw wool to deal with. I called another friend for help, as she used to raise sheep and could at least give me some advice on skirting, and preparation, etc.

We spent a lovely spring evening skirting through the first two bags of wool, removing burrs and manure tags, sticks and straw. I have since skirted one more bag, and have three left to do.

This leaves me with a large pile of nice creamy wool, and that wonderful fresh sheep smell. There’s nothing like it! The sheep turned out to be a Corriedale cross, and since this is their first shearing this is truly “virgin wool”. Most of it is in very good condition, but the one bag I sorted through on my own was full of second cuts (short clippings). It almost made me cry, because it was such lovely clean wool, but chopped to bits. I did save a pillowcase full, and will see if I can use it for stuffing. The next step in the process will be washing the wool, but I’m saving that to do all at once. I’m planning on sending the washed wool to Blackberry Ridge in Mt. Horeb to be carded into roving. The big question is, should I dye some first, before it’s carded, or wait and try to make some hand-painted roving? I might try both, if there’s enough.

All this activity is reinforcing my recent revelation that good fiber craft can and should be very intensive. The past few years, I’ve done so many “quick and easy” projects. Portable, no-fuss projects. That’s ok, but it’s really satisfying to sink my teeth into a time-consuming, mind-challenging project that throws up challenges from start to finish. And I’m up for the challenge!

I'm in Love...

…with my latest knitting project, that is. I wouldn’t actually say I was in a slump lately, but I was becoming increasing frustrated with my knitting, and not really having any fun. Well, all it took to change that was to read a few blogs! This one in particular. It got me to thinking (always a good thing). I have, in the past, designed a sweater or two. And a few pairs of socks, and hats, mittens, etc. I’ve learned plenty of technique at Knitting Camp, and Stitches, and Midwest Masters. But lately, I haven’t been applying much of it. I needed a new stimulus, a challenge, to learn, and think, and be creative again.

So I took the plunge, and started designing a new sweater for myself. From scratch. I started with creating a stitch pattern that pleased me. Then I thought about it. What did I want to create? Usually I plunge headlong into a project, telling myself I’ll figure out the details later. I didn’t want to do that this time around. I wanted to have a plan. I worked on the development of the sweater long before I cast on, even for the swatch. While I was knitting the swatch, I read Barbara Walker’s “Knitting From the Top”, because I decided I wanted to make a top down v-neck. Now, I made one once before, following a vintage Spinnerin pattern. But this time I wanted to work completely on my own. So I read. And thought. And read some more. Barbara’s book is great, but wordy. Not a bad thing, but how many knitting books do you see that are almost all text these days? Not too many. Usually there are plenty of photos, diagrams, and charts. Not this book. I started thinking about it as a college textbook. Dry, but not really, because there is a wealth of information there. Just not very snazzy.

But I read, and I thought, and I knit. I used my swatch to make changes in the stitch pattern, the needle size, and type. When I was satisfied, I cast off, washed the swatch, smoothed it into shape, and measured. And observed. And thought some more. When I finally cast on for the actual sweater, it was amazing. I felt like I was soaring, because all that prep work had freed me to just run with it. Although, I will say, the initially set-up of the stitch pattern had me a little baffled at first, and I spent about an hour so deep in concentration that I actually shut out any other distractions. I haven’t done that in a long time! But it worked, and now I’m off and knitting away, fast approaching the spot where I join the v-neck and start working in the round. I realize that I could have steeked the v-neck, but I didn’t like the idea of cutting and sewing a steek on yarn with this much halo. That’s also the reason why this will be a pullover, and not a cardigan. This project has gotten me out of whatever kind of knitting doldrums I was in, and I’ve already been thinking ahead to other projects, both original designs and a few patterns I’ve been studying. It’s a great feeling to have the knitting brain in gear again!

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Knitting...

To make these: a simple pair of slipper socks. I’ve been working away on several very interesting knitting projects lately. But after a weekend of rummage sale treasure hunting, I had to stop and whip up this quick project. In one of the “free” boxes I found a very crudely crocheted scarf. Obviously a beginner’s project, obviously acrylic yarn. But I figured the next stop for it was the trash, so I pulled it out and added to my haul. I’m sorry that I didn’t take a “before” picture, but just imagine wide stripes of purple and gold in wobbly double crochet. On Saturday afternoon I took the scarf apart, and wound the yarn into balls. It was clear there wasn’t enough for a big project, so I decided to make my standard slipper socks. I added a strand on coned yarn that was black, with slubs of color, including gold, hot pink, purple, blue and green. Adding an extra strand of yarn seems to help unify and spruce up any “leftovers” type project.

I finished the first slipper on Saturday evening, and then made the next one on Sunday, in time to toss in the washer with the laundry. All in all, I’m very pleased with the result. The speckled strand does help pull the project together. For acrylic yarn, the feel is ok, not too stiff. I used up about 90% of the yarn from the scarf. The rest went into the bag for Goodwill. I’ll get some good use out of these, saved some yarn from the trash, and all for zero dollars. Serendipity!

Note: This entry was originally written at the end of April, but I way behind in updating the blog! More to follow!

Give Me Strength...

I am trying, with great difficulty these days, to focus on my current knitting projects, and not start anything new. I have way too many irons in the fire as it is. Ravelry is a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because it is keeping my unfinished projects in the limelight – there can be no avoiding them when I look at my page. That’s good, because it’s making me focus on finishing a few less-than-interesting projects which I’m sure I would have squirreled away and forgotten about.

One such project is the Shapely Tank. I’m not so enamored of the yarn, now that I’m knitting with it. It’s Sedona, a mercerized cotton from Webs, and while I’m sure I’ll love it for weaving, it doesn’t feel so nice for hand knitting. It feels heavy, and even kind of rough. Also, the pattern, even though it incorporates short rows, and shaping, is still plain old stockinette, and knit flat to boot, which is becoming a snooze. So I’m trying to finish this one as quickly as I can, and move on to something more interesting. The curse of Ravelry, of course, is seeing all the other projects that folks are working on, and getting over-inspired, which makes me want to cast on for at least three or four new projects every day. I really want to do more color work. And cables. And make sweaters for me, instead of just socks, and hats, and such. The last sweater I made for myself is now too big, so I was only able to wear it around the house this winter. It also pilled rather badly, which surprised me, considering it was a fairly nice wool from a Wisconsin supplier.

I did unearth a sweater project that I started during the Salt Lake City Olympics, circa 2002. I always wanted to make a Dale of Norway sweater, but a few attempts made me realize that I didn’t want to follow their patterns with more than two colors in a row, or make the boxy, drop shoulder shaping. So I was making up my own version of an Olympic Sweater. The color pattern is based on a sweater from the Winter 97/98 issue of Vogue Knitting. I’m changing the shaping though among other things, like side seams that disguised any jogging, slip-stitch selvedge, and more. I was really enjoying the knitting, but for some reason I shoved the project into an upstairs closet, and completely forgot about it. When I pulled it out last week, I was surprised to see how far I’d gotten, and wondered what I was going to do next. The yarn felt lovely, and inviting. It is also from Webs, a wool yarn called Greenwich, from the Spinrite Mills. I put the tote with the sweater project back in the living room, and as soon as I finish the Shapely Tank, I’m going to pull it out and see if I can remember what the plan was. Or make a new plan, because it’s not that far along.

One lesson that I may have finally learned is to think carefully before starting a new project, about the reasons for doing it in the first place. Maybe that will help me have the right balance of mindless projects vs. challenging projects, take-along projects vs. less-portable projects, and above all, projects with a purpose, instead of “just cuz”. It’s certainly a good goal to work toward.

My New Toy

Isn't it cute? Finally, an MP3 player I can handle! I tried an I-pod shuffle a few years ago, but I couldn't get it to work. I didn't want to fiddle with I-tunes, and all that business. All I wanted was to be able to copy the mp3 music and podcast files I already had on my computer to a player.

Also, since I've been suffering from tinnitus for the past year, I really didn't like the idea of earbuds or any other kind of headphones. And all the speaker accessories that come with MP3 players seem awkard and bulky and not very portable.

But here it is, a little Sansa, about the size of a salt shaker, with a speaker in the top. Perfect. For ages 8 and up, which seems to be just about my speed. I was able to copy a hunk of Knitpicks podcasts within 2 minutes of opening the package, and yesterday I added some music from Jonathan Coulton. Works great. The only tiny drawback is that I can't fast forward in the same mp3 file, so if I turn off a podcast in the middle, I have to start from the beginning again. Not a big deal, though, really.

The price was pretty reasonable too. I purchased it from Best Buy, because I had some Reward Zone vouchers to use up. I had to order it on-line, because they didn't carry it in the local store. Cost with shipping, before the discount was less than $50. It comes in other colors, but I thought the pink was sweet.

So now I can listen to podcasts in bed without having to lug the laptop in the bed with me. Or take it downstairs while I'm on the treadmill. Hooray!

Bunny Update

I've receieved a request to share my circular version of the lop-eared bunny pattern that appeared in the March 2008 issue of Creative Knitting. I'm not going to recreate the pattern here, because that would probably be closing in on copyright infringement. But I will share my notes on the adapation. So if you have the original pattern, you should be able to use my notes to work the pattern circularly.

I cast on the required number of stitches, and divided them on double pointed needles. I joined and knit row 1 according to the pattern. All the even numbered rows were plain knit. So I worked the pattern as written through Row 29, as written. NOTE: There are two edge stitches included in the flat version, to aid in sewing up. I left them in, so the back (or front, it's up to you, has two more stitches. Not a problem, just be aware of it.

Row 31 is dividing for the body. After slipping the required number of stitches to a holder for the arm, I cast on 2 stitches and then knit the next section of body stitches. Same then for the arm on the other side. This puts the seam, or beginning of round at the center back. I then worked the body rounds.

At this point, I left the body, and put the stitches for one of the arms on double points, attached yarn, and worked the arm rounds. On the first round, I picked up two stitches in the base of the two stitches I cast on when I joined the body. I knit and shaped the arms, pulling the yarn tail through the last remaining stitches to gather and close. After doing this, I stuffed the head, then both of the arms, and most of the body.

Back to the body. Remember, there are two more stitches on the body. Divide the body stitches in half, right side and left, and put one half the stitches on double points. Then work the first leg, casting on two stitches to join. Pull the yarn tail through at the end, again to gather the leg shut. Stuff this leg now. Then, put the remaining stitches on double points for the other leg, and join, picking up two stitches in the cast on stitches at the crotch.

I made sure I had long ends of yarn when joining yarns for arms and legs, and used these to snug together any gaps caused by the picked up stitches and joining. The ears were knit exactly as the pattern calls for. The only other change I made was to use a blunt needle and sew a running stitch around the neck, and pull it tight, knot, and work the ends in the help give the neck and head a little more definition.

I hope these notes help anyone who would like to knit these bunnies in the round. It was not too akward knitting on partially stuffed pieces, but then again, maybe I'm used to it, because I do it quite often.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!