Ooo Baby Knits

Joiners Annonymous

The knit-a-longs and SPs sound like such fun. I’ve even joined a few, but I’m just not good at them. I joined the tote-along, I’ve made a few totes, sewn and knit, but I have yet to post. I can’t figure out how. Knit the Classics sounded right up my alley, but every book they’ve chosen has either been one I’ve read in the past year or have no interest in reading at all. Next month is Frankenstein. Maybe. I could read it on line while I knit. The 6 Sox Knitalong was great at first. I knitalong two pair but don’t think I ever posted. I plan to knit more. We’ll see. Then there was the Knitting Olympics. I joined. I knit. I won the gold. But I never bothered to show off my medallion. SPs just leave me with terrible feelings of guilt. I don’t have a LYS so I have to order everything. I think I’m getting what my SP has said (s)he likes, but then I’m sure I got it all wrong so I buy more than the limit trying to get it right. I stopped doing them.

So what do I go and do? Join the R.I.P. 2006 Autumn Challenge. It’s not knitting, I know, but I read almost as much as I knit, and knitters seem to be readers, so there it is. I joined too late for the prize drawing, but I like the button so I joined anyway. The directions are to “pick out any 5 books that you want to read that you think meet the very open, broad criteria of being scary, eerie, moody, dripping with atmosphere, gothic, unsettling, etc. and vow to read them.” Here’s my potential reading list and how I justify them:

1- A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (space is dark and scary)
2- The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (very eerie)
3- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark (magic, woman raised from the dead, ghost ships- or so I read on the jacket flap; note: this book has 782 pages and should count as two)
4- Good Grief by Lolly Winston (grief- duh)
5- The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian D. McLaren (it’s bound to be unsettling)
6- Among the Missing by Dan Chaon (short stories; someone’s missing, someone dies- ooo)
7- The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson (black- dark and scary and there’s a moat around the castle)
8- Nostromo by Joseph Conrad (corruption, obsession, and a fellow goes insane)
9- Chocolat by Joanne Harris (love the movie; moody, dripping, the fear of running out of chocolat)
10- The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (something about witches in the table of contents)

Yes, this is more than 5, but I need choices. A couple I’ve read, a couple I’m reading (#4 and #7). I think I may actually pull this one off.

On to knitting. My dear friend Kay had a birthday. It's in September and conflicts with my back-to-school frenzy. She really should consider moving it to a less hectic month. I thought about what to knit for her all summer, had luscious yarn picked out but not purchased, then it sneaked up on me and I had to go with stash. Patons Classic Wool in go-with-everything black. The pattern I found on the Internet and now have lost. It was an easy lace pattern because I only had two days to knit it, then didn’t even see her for a week after her birthday. But she liked it so all’s well.

I’ve finished the fronts of my fall cardi and picked out buttons. I love the buttons. (Click on them to get a close up.) They are handmade of clay from South America. There are actually 5, but one is lost somewhere in my knitting basket. I found them at that traitor of a yarn shop that closed with out telling me, but here’s the web address on the back of the card. Cool stuff.

Nights are getting down right cold, so I bought new jammies and cast on more hats for the homeless shelter. I finished this hat and scarf set for a little girl and picked up some Bernat at Wally World in guy colors. Any one have a favorite acrylic? I really need inexpensive acrylic (at least washable) for some charity knitting, but I want good quality. I know Red Heart is cheap, but I won’t give anything to charity that I wouldn’t give to a loved one.

Now, I know you are all wondering how the new eating plan is going since I haven’t mentioned it since I started. We will not call it a diet. It’s an eating for life plan. And it’s going very well, thank you. I’ve lost 11 pounds and, except for the first couple of weeks, haven’t given up dessert. Hubby has lost 35, but he isn’t exposed to the temptations I am. (I did threaten to sock him- and I don’t mean the knit kind- if he brings home any more Little Debbies. My will is only so strong.) This I say as I am working my way through a batch of delicious blueberry oat muffins and a pot of vanilla bean coffee. I feel better. I look better. I have new jeans. I don’t cringe when I ride down the escalator in JC Penny- the one completely walled with mirrors. Life is good. So are these muffins....

It’s Fall!

The signs are everywhere. The temperature has dropped to the 70s. It’s been in the 40s at night. The trees haven’t started turning yet- it will be a couple of weeks- but I wait eagerly. The kids are in school and soccer has started along with all the other activities. My white shoes are put away. Store shelves are lined with candy corn and vampire teeth. Season premiers and fewer reruns grace the TV. And sweater weather begins.

This must be the season of choice for knitters around the world. Sure, I have a couple of knit cotton tanks, but to be honest, I don’t wear them much. But being cold natured (between hot flashes) and more frugal than usual (our electric bill almost doubled last winter with a rate hike), this will be The Year of the Sweater. Of course, it’s been done.

1971  Vogue declares it Year of the Sweater. Time magazine states, “Sweater fever gripped the fashion world.” Sweaters are slim fitting, and women are braless. (I was 9- it didn’t matter.)
1972  Lee Abraham, merchandising chief of the May department stores says, "we are calling this the year of the sweater." The recession is over and sales are up. Vests and sweater sets are big, as are wine and cheese-making kits. Are these related trends? (photo on left: waistcoat by Kaffe Fassett)
1980  Fiber Arts jumps on the ban wagon with their own YOTS declaration, even though sweaters are out and power suits with the oh so flattering shoulder pads are in. Fuzzy angora sweaters, shaker knits, and argyle vests are acceptable. A pink sweater is essential. Mine is a pink cabled cardi.

1984  Ski Fashion fashion editor calls it the YOTS. I’m pretty sure she is talking about ski sweaters, but to be really cool, wear a thigh length sweater cinched with a plastic belt. Don’t forget the leggings, slouch socks and scrunchie.
1994  Declared “Year of the Sweater” even though sales are short and clothing designers and manufacturers phased out some lines. Acrylic shakers and jacquards were in style.
1998   B.J. Foreman from the Cinncinati Post says this YOTS sweater must be worn with  pearls. What else?
1999 Simply Family’s YOTS must haves include sweater sets and dressy sweaters with satin skirts.  Beads and bangles optional.
2002 Easy Living declares it the YOTS. “Oversized jerseys, offbeat styles and eccentric  necklines” are in.
2003 The Alpaca Hut probably always says it’s the YOTS, but that’s okay.
2005 The Year of the Sweater KAL begins and is still going strong.
2006 The tailored, modern look is in, hippie chic is out, but sweaters are oversized. (huh?) Wear with leggings. Get one in gray. Fashion United says so. I don’t think so.

Do I have my new sweater ready? No, but I'm working on it.

All That’s Gold Does Not Glitter

After spending an afternoon getting to know my yarn a little better, I pulled out a couple of old friends to party with. They aren’t the fanciest or nicest yarns, not super soft or exotic. I skipped over the recycled silk and alpaca. I didn’t even keep out the cashmere blend I stroke and dream about wearing. I went with fun and practical.

I bought this practically antique wool on Ebay years ago and never used it because the color was so disappointing. The rich, golden hue in the photo turned out to be washed out and dull pyrite. Here’s the fun part- Kool-Aid. Just what it needed, and I do so love to dye. A few packs of Cherry and Black Cherry later and voila. (Bad picture, but you get the idea.)

And how did you choose a pattern? you ask. And I answer: I have two shelves in a largish closet just for my knitting books and magazines. Knitting books and magazines are very heavy. The shelves are very weak. The books and magazines are all over the floor. Good time to flip through every magazine and weed out the ones I’ll never use. I gave two to my sister. Knitter’s is not my favorite, but this pattern in the winter ’04 issue caught my eye as a good, basic with a little stitch interest, throw on any time practical sweater. And so I began.

It’s a boy! I have several girly sweaters ready to donate, but only one boyish so here we go. The pattern is kind of one in a mag, but I’m knitting it in one piece and doing the button hole bands differently and my gauge is different so the number of stitches is different. Of course the yarn is different. But otherwise it’s the same.

Just for fun… Check out these videos. Scroll down to the oh so cute crocheted tulip hat, too. The new Knitty is out if you haven’t seen it, and this I have to knit. Cute baby hat, another baby hat, and lots of cute baby things. Knit on!

Oink, Oink

I am wallering in indecision like a pig in the mud. Other than all the stuff I have started, I don’t have anything to knit. Soleil is finished and blocking, the Ribby Shell is almost finished so that doesn't count because I really am going to finish it this week, and little things like hats, socks, and baby items don’t count either because they are on-going. So what do I do now? Fair Isle? Lace? Cables? Or something simple to show off the yarn? Sweater? Shawl? For whom? I could always work on something I’ve already started… naaaa.

A yarn survey is a good place to start. I pulled every last box and bag out of the big storage closet to organize and came up with this:

The last picture is my collection of projects that just might possibly get finished one day. Maybe. I sorted and labled and organized- wools together, cottons in another box, a couple with baby yarns, sock yarns, etc. The see-through boxes are nice, and I labled the rest. Go Sharpies. Then I remembered the down stairs closets and pulled out more. I also came up with a box of projects that just didn't make the cut and need to be recycled, and a pile of yarn to sell on Ebay or give away. I was so proud. All the organized yarn was put back in the closet; the rest sat on the floor a little too long. I started thinking about it.

A skein of bulky red became mittens, and the boucle that I hate knitting with and am not quite sure why I bought to begin with became a neck warmer, a poncho and a hat. Then I started looking at the big trash bag of leftover yarn balls. I really needed slippers. Really.

 

Now that I know what's in my stash, I have to decide what to do with it. Time to go through all the pattern books, magazines, and notebooks of internet patterns. This could take a while.