Knit Picker

The A.M. Shift

I am really trying but failing miserably at being a morning person. This week I've been coming in early to work and leaving the Madison Sq. Garden/warzone-looking area early. It's great for my commute, but without coffee (I try to detox for a week each month, this is day 2) I am not myself! So instead of knitting on the subway to work, which is relatively impossible on a crowded morning train anyway, I just started reading "Knitting Lessons: Tales from the Knitting Path" by Lela Nargi.

It's safe to say I am pretty obsessed with knitting! Oh yeah, I'm starting a group near my home in September. It should be tons of fun. The response I got just from the craigslist posting alone was great, and generated a lot of interest! So my plans after work are as follows: checking out venues to meet other than my local Starbucks; catching the new Mira Nair film "Vanity Fair." I have also been trying to get out to Smileys because the chunky socks that I am making require more than 1 skein of yarn.

I can tell the upcoming weeks are going to be hectic. I am trying to get out of going to Boston for the Labor Day weekend, but I did promise the boyfriend I'd go, and then he'd be here the following weekend. Not that I dont love Boston, but weight-wise I am still paying for the Legal Seafood dinner I had last weekend. I cant resist the Lobster/Crabmeat ravioli!

Gotta hit the gym again soon; I'm using my slight tendonitis as an excuse not to work out, it's quite pathetic!

Socks, Continued

If I wore Birkenstocks in the cooler months, these would be perfect! These are slouchy, comfy and thick.
I don't own or ever recall owning a pair, however, so these socks are actually turning into really cool boot socks. I think if I had made them with really small needles like a 2 and a 4, I could wear them with my Prada loafers!

I made them a little longer than usual. Shaping the heel part was done on smaller, size 5 needles. I have found that although I am following a pattern, once the heel is formed I moved stitches from one needle onto another, so as I knit and shape the foot I can see the parts (instep, bottom, heel gusset) of the sock more clearly. The first time I made a pair, I was so obsessed with keeping the exact number of stitches on each needle, and unfortunately, when picking up stitches from the selvedge edge to form the heel cup, knitting with dpns can get really uncomfortable and awkward when there are a ton of stitches on one needle and less on the other. To make matters worse, try doing this while riding the subway!

So now I dont really worry about it...I'm more worried about leaving the Madison Sq. Garden area promptly after work because it's crowded and anxiety inducing.

The RNC

Just back from a mini-vacation and in time for the Republican Natl. Convention to arrive down the block from my job! While in Boston over the weekend I paid Windsor Button a visit where I stocked up on Filatura di Crosa pattern books. Alas, I am still waiting for Gedifra, and will keep everyone posted!

WIP's: Socks

I learned how to knit simple socks from this book: "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns" by Ann Budd. These are now on size 9 dpns but I'll be switching to smaller size needles after the K2, P2 ribbed cuffs are done. My cheapie camera doesnt do the colors justice, but they are the exact colors of this blog and I swear I never planned it that way.

They are knitting up easily and bulky. It's finally raining, cooling off the city. It's a perfect night to stay in, pop the Netflix DVD in and knit!

Years have passed, and I am still paying the price for dropping out of Color Theory class at the Art Center College of Design. Sometimes I can pick out the right colors for a project by sight at my LYS (see mittens, below). Other times, I wonder what was I smokin'? I have grown to like the color of my kitchen, although it is not the desired semolina color, but more like Gulden's Mustard! Fortunately, I find inspiration for knitting and art everywhere, even in a bottle of mustard. That said I will now be redecorating the kitchen in a vibrant Frida Kahlo style--vivid fuschias, blues, reds. By the time autumn is in full swing my tiny kitchen will still be sunny and bright. Besides, a Tuscany-styled kitchen, with its warm, soothing colors, would only make me want to eat more pasta.

Adding to the Mystery

Uploading today to my photo album has been a challenge today, so I pasted the mysterious gesture here. I can't remember exactly, but I read somewhere that in Japan, a thumbs-up sign means money (lack of?), or take a hike?

Anyway, the mitten(s) were knit with Araucania "Nature Wool Chunky," Lot 1403, and Crystal Palace "Straw Into Gold."

Casting On

It's in the embryonic stage, but I started a pair of socks using Lane Cervinia "Calzetteria," a wool/polymid yarn in funky colors found at Smileys Yarns in Woodhaven, Queens. Read my free plug for the store on knitty.com's coffeeshop link, under the "Yarn and the City-- NYC" topic. I think it's under the LYS topics.

IMHO means just that--an opinion. I occasionally run into a few closed-minded individuals who, under duress or too much caffeine get upset and attack. I'm plugging Smiley's because I love the store and it doesn't mean you have to! Some folks need special, handheld attention and want to buy higher priced yarns. Feel free to visit the other great stores in New York City!

Last spring I saw Calzetteria, an Italian sock yarn being sold in Windsor Button in Boston MA for $6.50/50g skein. I believe it was $4.50 at Smileys.

The Hole In the Wall

It's a really good thing I can type fast...now if only I could reduce the amount of errors.

Finally, after much trial and error I feel the silly blog situation is under control. This morning I spent only 45 minutes trying to get the buttons, links, all the tech-related things I detest, to finally work. I can now get back to more important things like:

a. spending quality time with family, friends and Horselegs MacKinnon
b. knitting
c. checking out the Guggenheim this week
d. writing a bio for the upcoming human resources and management training classes I will be attending at work, every Thursday morning for 5 weeks

WAIT A MINUTE! One of these things is NOT like the other...choice 'd' is the correct answer, because if there were no page/length requirements to this thing I'd gladly refer them to the About Me link on my blog.

My favorite surf bum Bradford was in town from Los Angeles, test marketing the new "Spawn of Chucky", "Son of Chucky," or something that sounds like that-- film that I am so sure will be a blockbuster hit when it is released. I took him to down to Chelsea where we ate at my favorite Cuban/Chinese place, La Chinita Linda, and I had some delicious ropa vieja (shredded beef), yellow rice, and a Tsingtao, while Brad had some grilled shrimp and Dos Equis.

Although it was great going down, the ropa vieja, which means "old clothing" en espanol, didnt agree with me since I have been going the vegan route now for a little over a month now. For the past week I have been experimenting, a la "Super Size Me", to see what would happen if I ate some of the foods I used to eat before I became enlightened. The answer is Very Bad Things happen to you, aches and pains and things I can't even begin to describe but involve the toilet seat. I won't even go there. That wasnt anywhere as exciting as the wild mood changes that occur after eating, let's say, an entire pint of Haagen Dazs' Cookies and Cream in one sitting. After the third pint, finished on Saturday, I couldn't focus on simple tasks like reading. Maybe that's why it took me so long to learn now to paste a button on this blog!

I know, I know, it's actually called a relapse or a setback, but hey, nobody's perfect.

Aches and Pains

My right hand hurts, not from knitting mind you, but from being a blog newbie and spending too much of my spare time on my computer...

Time to Recycle

Mango Moon's Recycled Silk yarn strands were occasionally speckled with tiny golden fibers. They appear to be made of wood! I repeatedly stopped to admire the beautiful jewel-like tones as I began to knit. Initially I was planning to knit 3 or 4 lavender/jasmine-scented sachets, but the yarn was too beautiful to keep tucked away in a drawer.

So, inspired by the yarn's organic origins and its soft, brushed texture I made what looks like a bejeweled silk potpourri nest! It's basically a small (2 in x5 in, approx. 5" in. wide) knitted basket or pouch stuffed with some peach melon potpourri. The thick woven texture of the silk contains the potpourri, and I added a drawstring top so it can be refilled and still be used as a sachet, or small pouch. I put it on my desk with the dried flowers, leaves, cones, etc peeking out...It only took half a skein to make, so I knitted another as a gift.

I wish I had one of those high tech, expensive digital doodads (and a magazine stylist to boot) to give the Bejeweled Nest justice in the photograph, but I don't. My cheapie digital camera picked up a lot of the blue tones, but the yarn had a lot of vivid reds and fuschias. The photo you see is the Nest on my desk, in its most auspicious Feng Shui location, of course!

I thought about using the silk to make a bag, but unless it is a small evening purse, I can't see making a bag with it, even if it is lined. The silk is very fragile--I gently tugged on certain areas of a strand and it pulled apart! Also in my particular skein (it was from Mango Moon)I was able to see a couple of the knots attaching the yarn strands together. I would definitely use this yarn combined with another to make a scarf. I saw one pattern using the recycled silk, with Jo Sharp Kid Mohair to make a scarf in last Winter's issue of VK.