Tag Archives: knitting

toast and socktober.

Posted on by
2

Whoops! Saw these last week at A Friend to Knit With and just had to cast on. I used random leftovers of Cascade 220 Heathers. Finished one immediately, and then life got in the way. I’ll be happy with my schoolwork progress if I read two books this weekend, and after I finished the first one, I sat down to knit on my second mitt. One episode of Craftlit later, and I was weaving in the ends.

I just learned that I’ve been assigned a carrel in the library stacks, and it is a bit chilly up there. These will be perfect for helping to keep my focus on my reading… I can’t believe we’re already 5 weeks into the semester. How did it become October? Now I will awkwardly transition to Socktober. I did an absolutely horrible job last year — I managed to not finish the pair of socks I already had on the needles. You heard it here, folks. I am vowing not to repeat that peformance. I’m going to finish at least one pair of socks, and to increase my chances of success, I’ve cast on for the Through the Loops Mystery Sock! Take a look:

Boh doesn’t seem to think I can do it. The yarn is sunshine yarns in a lovely variegated green — a gift from a knitting group friend months ago. These pictures do not do it justice, but I am thrilled with how the cuff is coming along. I’m going to reward myself with some more knitting time if I can make some progress on this second book. Hope you’re having a great weekend!

boh is worried…

Posted on by
4

Boh is worried about my june bug socks. He thinks that I’ll get distracted with life and other knitting projects and never finish them. Never fear, my dear dog. The first heel has been turned. And I have proof:

If I can get some serious reading done this morning, I’ll reward myself with some podcast listening and sock knitting later today. Looks like it is going to be a rainy Sunday, worthy of pots of tea and curling up on the couch.

inching along…

Posted on by
Reply

I didn’t post this weekend because I felt like I had nothing new to tell you — slowly making progress on my pinwheel (which NEEDS to be done this week), reading a lot of books, occasionally chuckling at the dog and his pouting, baking bread. You know, the usual. And then, I figured that while you might not enjoy me explaining these things in infinite detail, you might want to see the pictures. So that’s what I’ve got for you today.

eggs.

Posted on by
4

Somehow I managed to use up all of the week’s eggs in a 24-hour period without even realizing it. You see, I made bread pudding (far above, and from Mark Bittman’s big yellow book) in order to put my moving-towards-stale homemade bread to good use. Yesterday’s frittata (recipe here) was absolutely necessary, as I needed to procrastinate AND I had some summer squash begging to be released from the veggie drawer.

Despite all of the reading I’m doing, I have been allowing myself some knitting breaks to clear my head, or, as in the case of this morning, give the coffee a little bit of time to work its magic.

I absolutely love the striping. Yesterday, I began the heel of #1, and I am excited to see how the colors arrange themselves in this part of the sock. (I’m just using the basic fingering weight sock recipe in Ann Budd’s Getting Started Knitting Socks, which I highly recommend.)

Also, it feels like fall here. Hooray for handknits!

brought to you by the letter B.

Posted on by
1

Brussel sprouts…

Boh asleep on my Bed (note that his head is on the pillow. Silly dog)…

Beret #2. How did that happen?

(no-knead) Bread #4. This time I used bread flour, and Boy is it Beautiful!

I didn’t actually plan for today to be sponsored by the letter B, but it is nice when things turn out that way. Here are the details of my accidentally cast-on and completed star crossed slouchy beret #2:

Yarn/needles: Malabrigo leftovers from Foliage and sassymmetrical, US 11 needles.

Mods: A bunch on this version: On the increase row after the first pattern repeat, I did K3, M1, rather than K2, M1, to make it slightly less slouchy. The second time through, the pattern directs you to do a repeat and a half. I eliminated the half repeat, and began the decreases, knitting the appropriate cable row partway through the decreases. Also, I did some stripey stuff to stretch the Cinnabar color a bit further, and I like how it turned out. Again, the cables and the large needle size make the resulting hat super squishy and soft. It will be easier to put Beret #1 in the mail with this one here for me to enjoy.

Time to slice into that Bread…

weekend.

Posted on by
1

My Sunday morning began with some muffin making. I was out rather late with friends from the Southwest last night, and Boh still wanted to wake up at our regular time. If you have to get up earlier than you’d like, the wonderfulness of muffins wafting from the oven certainly helps with the expected crankiness.

I received a box from WEBS this week, containing materials for several pinwheel blankets and a cobblestone sweater for me:

Thus, I cast on for pinwheel blanket wedding gift #3 (Valley Yarn Northampton in Apple):

Also, because I have a need for a portable project for guest lectures, bus rides, etc. (and because I need to work on my goal of knitting more socks/taking advantage of my sweet Yarn Pirate Booty Club membership), I also cast on for a plain stockinette sock using this beautiful superwash BFL in June Bug:

I really like the way the yarn is striping, and these are already moving along quite quickly. Details: I’m using the basic sock formula for fingering weight yarn from Getting Started Knitting Socks, by Ann Budd, and I’m using 2.5 mm (US 2) needles.

I’m off to eat muffins! Have a great weekend.

it has begun.

Posted on by
4

I am officially a graduate student. I attended my program’s orientation session yesterday, and classes start tomorrow. I don’t exactly know how to describe my feelings at this moment. Several years of work in a range of positions have helped to affirm that I want to become a scholar and a professor, and I am thrilled at the particulars of the opportunity in front of me. That said, I am also incredibly anxious, perhaps beginning to feel the self-doubt that will likely rear its head many times during the next several years as I work to explore the kind of work I wish to do, and the kind of scholar and teacher I will become.

I think quite a bit of this is reasonable at this point: I’ve been out of school, and thus out of situations that require my brain to operate in a critical, academic way, for four years. Many of the people in my program are younger, and thus, while the “life” aspects of graduate school may be newer to them, their brains are likely a bit sharper when it comes to seminar discussions and critical thinking and writing. How do you reclaim that chunk of brain power and work on expanding and refining these abilities? The only answer I can come up with is to just jump in, with an eye towards maintaining a balance in my life that includes cooking, running and knitting (while READING, and this week, attempting to reacquire enough language skills from college-land to pass a placement test…)

So, pie = balance. The pie above, by the way, is fresh peach and strawberry, with a dusting of a crumb topping. Yum!

Also, while the BSJ patiently waits for buttons (and seaming), I’ve cast on for something new:

It’s the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret, and it is moving quickly. I’m using Malabrigo in Verdes, and while I worried that the variegation would be too busy for the cabled pattern, I’m liking it so far. This is heading back West, to a dear friend who requested a green hat. I am excited to get this in the mail, as I’m sure the mornings are already turning cold in the mountains.

I’ve also begun making some lists for holiday knitting — more on that soon.

jam-ming?

Posted on by
2

Yesterday, while in the grocery store oohing and ahhhing over the strawberries, I decided to make jam. I love those little Ball jars, and they were on sale. Done and done. Once I arrived at this point (see photo) — the “bubbling mass”, as The Joy calls it, I reached a bit of a conundrum. The recipe directs you to set a timer and leave the berries alone until the beep. Then, you are to tip the pot so you can see the bottom to determine whether the liquid on the bottom is demonstrating a “tendency to set”. I ended up allowing my bubbling mass to simmer for double the allotted time, after which I think I talked myself into the presence of said “tendency”. It seemed awfully runny when I spooned the mixture into jars, but a few hours later, after a full cooling and some refrigeration, it seems that I have jam (even if it is not quite as sticky as I’d like). I made some more bandwagon bread to serve as a delivery system.

Time for a bit of knitting content — my BSJ is off the needles, and is patiently awaiting seams and buttons. I love the colors in this sweater, and I think it will be absolutely perfect for a fall baby. I seem to know several folks expecting an arrival this fall, so it is quite possible that there will be a few more of these adorable sweaters in my knitting future.

Also, it appears that you guys like pork! I had more visits to my blog yesterday than ever before — and there wasn’t any knitting content to be found. I’m glad you’re here.

FOs: a finished object and a face-off

Posted on by
4

The good news: my new apartment has a full length mirror with some natural light. The bad news: Boh hasn’t learned how to take FO pictures for me yet.

Pattern: Sassymmetrical by gaysknits

Yarn: Malabrigo in Cinnabar, just over 2.5 skeins

Mods: I used a worsted instead of a dk weight, so I adjusted the math (see project page) accordingly. Also, because of the thicker yarn, I shortened the sleeves by a row, eliminating the fourth row of knitting. I knit the body until it measured closer to 10 inches from the underarm. Could have done a few more repeats with the remaining yarn.

I heart this sweater. I wore it immediately (someday I’ll block it), fastened shut with a cable needle. I finished it about half an hour before plans to have dinner and play croquet at the home of some new friends. It was the perfect layer for an August evening, and my sassymmetrical has already been romping through the bushes to pick blackberries.

I also have a silly dog picture to share. Check this out:

Yep, that’s Boh, staring down a young deer in the yard. I snapped this less than ten minutes ago. Given all of the activity in the yard, Boh has done an excellent job of re-entering civilization over the last week. I’m so proud.

Not sure what I’ll work on next — stay tuned!

show and tell.

Posted on by
4

First:

Whoa. I stood outside, mug of locally brewed honey wheat beer in hand, staring at all of this for at least an hour on Tuesday night. We’re getting quite a bit of rain this monsoon season, and watching the storm clouds build is starting to rival knitting as my favorite Base Camp activity.

In the land of knitting, I have much to share — things both finished and received.

I received an unexpected gift this week in the form of this stunning merino-silk lace knit scarf. One of the parents I’ve met through work has become a dear friend, and in honor of my departure, she wrapped this up and gave it to me — and she didn’t even know that I am a knitter! This is absolutely gorgeous (second picture is truer to the color, first shows the detail a bit better) and I am overwhelmed by all of the love and effort that went into this.

This picture doesn’t quite do this super-cute cabled headband justice, but I love taking pictures on this quilt at the home of dear friends here in town. I taught one of our staff members to cable and together we puzzled out this pattern — intending to replicate a knit gift she had received — and then she made me one! There are several folks around Base Camp with their dirty hair fashionably accessorized/tamed by one of these cabled headbands. I’ve been wearing mine almost daily.

On to my super big news:

Can’t believe it took me 8 months to finish this — lost steam in the middle, but I picked this up again last week and it moved super quickly, perhaps because while I was knitting, I was daydreaming of wrapping myself in this while buried in grad school reading.

Pattern: You know the one.

Yarn: Brooks Farm Riata (2 large skeins)

Mods: Only one — I was nervous about having enough yarn, and at halfway through my supply, I noted how far along I was and decided to do one less repeat (11 instead of the 12) of the straight section. This turned out to be a brilliant move — I completed the shawl with a few yards leftover.

Thoughts: I love this — and despite how long it took me to complete it, I really enjoyed the process. I also learned quite a bit about dropping stitches, and way back in November, this pattern taught me how to purl into the front and back of a stitch.

I’m sure I’ll have lots of photos of my clapotis (and other recent FOs) in action come fall. An FO also means a new project — what could it be?

This is the beginning of sassymetrical, by gaysknits. I queued it awhile ago, but when I saw The Plucky Knitter’s version, I knew it needed to be next on the list. This pattern seems to be the perfect use for 3 skeins of Malabrigo in the cinnabar colorway. I’m excited about this, and a bit nervous because this is the first pattern I’ve modified to accommodate a yarn choice in a different weight. The pattern recipe is written for a dk weight, using size 6 needles, and thanks to gaysknits’ instructions, I’ve calculated my gauge, the number of inches I want my finished cardigan to be, and then made some guesses about proportions, particularly with respect to the sleeve stitches. Here’s what I’ve got:

The original is 28 inches around, made to fit a 32 inch bust (this makes sense for the way the cardigan hangs). I want to make mine to fit a 39.5 inch bust, so I want my finished sweater to be 36 inches around. My gauge in the Malabrigo using size 8 needles is 4 st/in, so 4 st x 36 inches = 144 stitches. I am unsure about how to determine the number of sleeve st to cast on when making a larger size, but I am hoping that I can just see how it feels as I go because of the top down raglan construction. I decided to cast on 36 for each front (because of the overlap, each front is the size of the back), 36 for the back, and 18 for each sleeve. Wish me luck!

Whew — lots of pictures and projects to share. In case you’ve been wondering about my houseguests*, I’ll leave you with this shot of them resting peacefully during the daytime (they’re out exploring when I am sleeping in my cabin, so I only see them when I return to grab things during the day):

* Please don’t worry about this — these bats are not aggressive, and the space they’re inhabiting is an open air structure — minimal risk for bites or disease transmission (which tends to occur, also rarely, in contained spaces without good air circulation). Additionally, the friends I’m staying with would like you all to know that I’m wearing my cross, eating garlic, and throwing salt over my shoulder. More soon!