it may be sunny and 55…

Posted on February 24, 2008 by barefootrooster

but I am wearing a sweater!

(Boy, that mirror is dirty.) I can justify the sweater, though. Take a look at the mountains:

See? There’s snow up there! Also, I think there is some kind of rule that you have to wear your first sweater the second it is done. (Okay, not true. This isn’t exactly the first sweater I’ve made. Over the summer, I knit Coachella, but the neckline turned out a bit too low to be worn in most situations…More on that someday.)

Anyway, I spent much of last night finishing the ribbing. Here’s a shot of the shrug in vest form:

I spent all morning seaming. I was a bit unclear about how everything was supposed to line up — no schematic — so I ended up seaming most of the sleeve caps, looking at them, and realizing that I needed to seam a few inches more of the sleeeves to the body. This process created many ends to weave in.

Somebody was pouting. In all fairness, he did miss a leisurely Sunday stroll. (His life is extremely hard.)

A few more pictures of my finished Bolero Jacket:

The necklace I’m wearing, by the way, is made by Lisa Donald, a friend who also makes/sells jewelry. She has a great eye — this is made from a clip-on earring that feels very 1960s to me. How convenient that it matches this sweater perfectly!

Posting may be sporadic this week — a dear friend flies in tonight to spend 4 days playing with me and Boh!

normal, shitty loop.

Posted on February 23, 2008 by barefootrooster

I’ve begun sharing this space with dear friends from my “real” life, and their reactions are a lot of fun. (Hi, you guys! I’m glad you’re here.) One friend, whose lovely daughter was the recipient of the first baby bib I knit, wondered why it had taken me so long to tell him about my knitting blog.

“Are you worried about me meeting your knitting friends?” He asked.

Another friend took a look through the posts and told me that he was particularly intrigued with the magic loop method.

“I’m so glad you’ve learned how to do the magic loop — it is clearly much better than normal, shitty loop.”

That’s right. My friends are awesome. (I have some great pictures of you guys, but I’m not sure you want them on the internet…)

A few pictures of the beginning of spring here —

Screen door.

Rain clouds.

Black bean salad. (Okay, this is more of a summer thing, but I got a massive bunch of deliciously smelling cilantro in my CSA box, and this salad is a staple in my kitchen, thanks to a summer spent living in Minneapolis with a friend who is queen of these kinds of salads.)

Happy weekend!

pick up st.

Posted on February 21, 2008 by barefootrooster

Thank you for all of the happy thoughts on my grad school news — it has been hard not to write about all the waiting over these last several months. I am so excited — and trying to transfer this energy into my UFOs — I cannot wait to actually have some of the sweaters on my needles actually in my wardrobe. I’m making progress on the ribbed collar/edging of the bolero jacket (226 st/row takes a long time!)– almost ready to start the short rows.

I also made another boy hat — but in my sleep-deprived stupor, I gleefully gave it away before photographing it. It is just like the first one — in super soft malabrigo in a colorway of deep greens and blues.

Here’s another almost FO — just needs a button and the ends woven in. I have two entire bibs to show for the stress of the last few weeks — knitting these was calming, and I needed it.

Oh, and I must share this:

He can be such a ham. This is from dinner at my house a few weeks ago -had to check with my dear friend (of pink and white VD frosting fame) to confirm that she would not mind being featured here with Boh.

and exhale…

Posted on February 18, 2008 by barefootrooster

I’ve been knitting quite a lot lately, as you can see. There are many reasons for this, but there is one big reason that I haven’t shared: I’ve been waiting. Anxiously. And not sleeping super well. This fall, I decided that I was ready to apply to graduate school. I completed each step, put everything in the mail, and began to wait.

On Saturday, I received a phone call from a professor in an excellent department of ___ at an incredible university. In August, I will begin a PhD program. I have truly loved (and/or learned from!) the range of work I’ve done over the last four years, but it is time. I am so excited to be able to devote myself to reading, learning, thinking and writing.

I had planned to run away this weekend to disconnect from technology a bit and distance myself from things like “no” letters and the anxiety of waiting and worrying. That phone call came as I was packing the car. Boh and I headed south, to explore by doing this (that’s not me!):

And to help with this:

And to enjoy this, windows down, music a tad too loud:

And this:

Sigh. I slept soundly last night.

blocking.

Posted on February 16, 2008 by barefootrooster

Inspired by Mick at Much Adored — and by the arrival of a much needed weekend, I knit the last 5 rows (I know, I know, ridiculous that I left so little to complete) of the second sleeve of my Debbie Bliss Bolero Jacket, and began blocking.

The sleeves are looking a bit big to me (I say that like I’ve done this before) — but I’m intending for this to be a cozy shrug-sweater, so I hope it will be fine.

I let the pieces dry overnight, and this morning, though still slightly damp, I decided that the front pieces and the back were dry enough for me to seam the shoulders and begin picking up a million (okay, 226) stitches for the all-the-way-around ribbing that makes this sweater so cute. No pictures of that yet, but now that I have picked up said stitches, I am hoping to complete this before the cold weather leaves us entirely.

Lucky for me and my sweater, I woke up to a sprinkling of snow on the ground. I’m off to a place that likely has snow — and a crackling fire in the wood stove — for the rest of the weekend.

U R GR8.

Posted on February 14, 2008 by barefootrooster

I helped frost some Valentine’s Day confections last night — conversation cupcakes, if you will. My friend Sheri has the photo-documentation. If I can get them from her this week, I’ll share some of our creativity.

Onward to this morning’s valentine:

While listening to an episode of This American Life, I worked a few more pattern repeats of Nutkin. I love how the colors are combining in this pattern.

Also, if you haven’t taken a look at this pattern, the cuff is very cool: you knit a band, do a purl row, knit some more, and then fold over at the purl row and by picking up stitches from the cast on edge and knitting together with the live stitches, you create a reinforced stockinette cuff.

Have a lovely day.

planning (plotting?)

Posted on February 13, 2008 by barefootrooster

“What have we here?” asked Boh upon my return from our weekly knit-gathering. The answer is Sunshine Yarns sock yarn in Olive, a gorgeous, unexpected gift from Ramona, heretofore known as the yarn fairy. (Well, maybe I’ll still call her Ramona.) She also brought me Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters to borrow and peruse for ideas/further enabling in the sock knitting department.

Actually, I think I’ll go do that now: The sun is streaming through my window, I have a steaming cup of coffee in my hand, and I’m wrapped in my favorite blanket. These few hours before I leave for work are my favorite time of the day.

squirrels love _____.

Posted on February 12, 2008 by barefootrooster

The answer is Nutkin.

It is also the reason I did not post this morning. I have at least seven other projects on the needles, included a sock that I am making progress on, so I can’t really explain why I felt the need to cast on — except that I was procrastinating on Ravelry, and saw a gorgeous photo of the January Yarn Pirate Booty Club yarn, Kalamata, en route to becoming Nutkin. In this case, I’m a joiner.

Home for lunch — must get back to work!

monday morning baking

Posted on February 11, 2008 by barefootrooster

You know you’re a blogger when you bake blueberry muffins on Monday morning and debate over how to arrange them on the plate to take their picture BEFORE biting into one.

(They are delicious, by the way. I ate one while this photo was uploading.) The recipe is another of Mark Bittman’s, from the big yellow book (aka How to Cook Everything). I’m a huge fan.

A bit more sock progress to share as well –please disregard my severely chipped nail polish:

Thank you for all of your thoughtful advice on short row heels. I am looking forward to trying it again with my second Twisted Tweed sock.

Happy Monday — I’m off to eat more muffins.

garter st therapy

Posted on February 10, 2008 by barefootrooster

Sometimes you just need it. I cast on for this bib on Friday night, mostly because there was a chance we’d be going to the movies, and I wanted something that I could knit in the dark. I just kept working on it, enjoying and truly needing the soothing powers of garter stitch to help me take a deep breath and continue with my weekend.

It’s working. I’ve already cast on for a second bib. (These projects also have the added benefit of requiring a button, meaning I get to visit my LYS soon.)

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes. I celebrated with delicious meals and board games among friends, walks along the river and in the foothills with the dog, and many long overdue phone calls with those dearest to me.

The sun is shining brightly this morning– spring is slowly springing here. Hope you get some sunshine today too.

barefoot rooster

cockadoodle-doo: one rooster's ramblings