Faster, Pussycat, Knit! Knit!

Last year, at some point, I decided to become a serial knitting monogamist. One project at a time, maybe two if I was on a gift deadline. This way I could concentrate on the craft. I would finish things faster. I would have the joy that a properly finished FO can bring to your life.

Well, fuhgetaboudit. (Hey, that sounds quite authentic with my regional accent, right?). With the advent of Ravelry, I now know how much knitting must be done. I've thrown common sense to the wind and cast on every damn thing I've wanted to and that is why I a) don't have time to blog and b) don't have time to wash your damn jeans and c) went the yarn store on Sunday when I have, well, a lot of yarn here already.

Pictures to follow, but this is what I've got going on right now:

• Pub Crawler Men's Sweater
• Minimalist Cardigan
• Mermaid Socks
• Irish Hiking Scarf
• Quant
• Another Calormetry which has become the top fashion accessory of the kindergarten cognoscenti

And this is only a start, because my Ravelry queue has 107 other projects.

Calendar Girl

Why yes, that is me on the June 11, 2008 page of the Stitch 'n Bitch Page a Day 2008 Calendar!

Hey I'm Back

I was gone so long, the neighbor boy grew a beard:


Actually, his very clever mom knit this beard for him, presumably as a disguise but when I saw him wearing it I realized that this is probably what he will look like 40 years from now.

On The Road

I'm heading out of town for a little work trip. A little trip! I'll be gone for a whole week. I'm taking my typewriter, roll of teletype paper and a suitcase full of amphetamines...wait, that was Jack Kerouac. I'm taking my Denise Interchangable Needles, 1600 yards of alpaca and a copy of On The Road. Check back in a week for the 411 on LYS and the crafty scene from Portsmouth, NH.

I am Susceptible

Well, it was a record high temperature day here today, contrasting weirdly with the freezing cold weather of last week. And coincidentally I came down with a cold today, prompting every co-worker to remark: You Caught That Cold From the Weather. Folks! I caught this cold from what my father in law calls amoebilies: all purpose germs.

Observing my runny nose, a man from my office told me that he was sure I caught this cold from failing to consistently wear long underwear. He said: "I put on the long underwear on October 30, and I don't take it off until April 30, regardless of the weather. This way I know I Am Not Susceptible."

More and more, people are telling me about the magic powers of long underwear. No one has developed a knitting pattern for it, but someone did write a song.

So of the many things I am susceptible to in a given week, I was really susceptible to the hype about Noro Sock Yarn. I had to have this yarn and I looked all over this big city to find it. I can tell you it's like knitting with really beautiful colored unwaxed dental floss.

Here it is, halfway through a pair of Simply Lovely Lace socks. I wonder if I was wearing long underwear, would I have been susceptible to this yarn purchase? Maybe not. Now that I've worked with it a while, I will say it's a good buy ($19 a skein, 465 yards, plenty for one pair) but not cozy enough for socks (or underwear of any kind).

First FO of the Year

I hardly know what I like more, the hat or the picture of the hat.

As I mentioned before, this is a kick-ass stashbuster project: I used some leftover Habu textile Silk Tobi Mori, some silk/linen blend also from Habu, some of the brown handspun I used on Emily's newsboy cap, some old cashmere blend from somewhere, some Baby Ull and some hateful chenille that finally found it's purpose in life. I made the ties braided instead of twisted.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Yes indeedy, it's cold here today. It's about 175 degrees below zero with the wind chill factor, especially when you started the day waiting for public transportation that never came.

I prepared myself for the cold weather by going to see The Golden Compass, not just because I enjoyed the books and am eager to see hear what Nicole Kidman has to say about atheism, but because I heard the knitting in the movie is divine. And it is!

Mostly everyone who is a good guy is wearing some knitted thing; all the bad guys are wearing, I don't know, maybe Polartec. And it appears that in this society, the smallest needle size is 17 with mostly everyone stitching it up on size 35.

I ran right home after the movie and made this hat, worn by Lyra in the coldest darkest regions of the Golden Compass world and made it in about 45 minutes. I was so keen to cast it on I did it standing up over my yarn box which is the knitting equivalent of eating old chinese food standing in in front of the refrigerator . Not only is it a fast knit on the biggest pair you have in the house, but it is the Killer StashBuster of 2008. I used 6 strands of leftover yet very high end yarn for this hat, about 50 yards of each. Hopefully I will have a picture this week to show you before I give the hat away to a deserving tot.

While there was plenty of knitting in this movie, there was no golf. You had to go see the movie in the next theater for a golf joke, as follows: Why do you need two pairs of pants when you play golf?

In case you get a hole in one.