Woman, Pullover!

Alchemy Yarns of Transformation
Promise in Winkie’s Blue and Silk Purse in Southern View
Started: January 23, 2005Â /Â Finished: January 30, 2005>
You know you want a detail shot!

This pullover was a great knit that was so fun to put together. I hated to finish it, honestly (but I was ready to wear it!) and I am so happy with the fit. This is the first sweater that I have made (there have been three others in the past) and not one of them fits me right. I am SO happy that this one does! Others are too short, the necks are weird, or they look like burlap sacks (my first sweater). This knit up quickly on size 11s, and I have plenty of yummy yarn left to make something else beautiful! Thank you Elka for making all of this possible. I love it!

Thanks for the great comments on the last post. I loved reading what everyone thought about the PETA/Wool issue, and about my mystery fiber. I have not yet “burned” the yarn… but I will do this soon to find out what I am dealing with! and when I do, you all will be the first to know!

Everything else pretty much went by the wayside as I knit up the Alchemy pullover… even a little bit of homework (shh!) but I think it just might be worth it. I will probably pick up my socks and the other 2 sweaters in my WIPs again soon. So, stay tuned!

Yesterday, I stopped by my favorite LYS, Folk Art Studio to knit with my girl, Heather and to do some clandestine business (Secret Pal 4 shopping!) Not only is Kathy the coolest YS owner EVER, they have warmest atmosphere over there, with a scrumptious cafe (brownies and hot cocoa pour moi!), and great local art.

Heather, her Pixie J, and her boyo C, all painted pottery last week at this fine establishment, and I got to see their handiwork! Stay tuned to H’s blog to see the pottery… There we were, chatting up, trying to get a massive knot out, and up walks the lovely Donna a new local knit blogger. It was so nice to meet her in person!

Kathy, Donna, & Heather

Lolly and Kathy work on the nasty knot…

As noted, I got my Secret Pal assignment, and I can’t wait to send her the first things that I bought yesterday! For my secret pal, whomever you might be, thanks for leaving a comment, and if you would like the questionnaire, let me know… send me an email!

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I was tagged by the oh-so-clever Miss Yummy Yarn MJ with this cute little meme… so here goes:

Total amount of music files on your computer: ahem… 46.7 gigs at the last check… we have a computer devoted to mp3s… lots of music over here!

The last CD you bought was: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

What is the song you last listened to before reading this message? Kris playing Led Zepplin’s Over the Hills and Far Away on his guitar.

The 5 songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you: I have to limit this to the songs that I listen to a lot right now… I have way too many songs that mean a lot to me… These are the ones that I rotate in my various CD players.

L’accordioniste by Edith Piaf

Dark of the Matinee by Franz Ferdinand

What Brought the House Down by the Ditty Bops

Odalisque by The Decemberists

Satin in the Coffin by Modest Mouse Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 people) and why?

These are three knit bloggers that I recently met and corresponded with, and I would like to learn more about them… come one girls, answer me some questions!

In the Pink Cathi

Knitbrarian Megan

Neophyte Knitter Allison
 

 

Last year, sweet Anna finished up her FCEK cardi "Bleu Canard". However, she stated several times how it was a little boring at times… I have to say that the same thing is happening to me. It all started when I held the cable needle in the back, instead of the front, and of course I did not realize my mistake till it was already set. I don’t like to frog, but this looks wonky, so I am going to frog it soon…but…

Some readers may remember the lovely Alchemy that I received last fall from my Secret Pal 3, Elka… this lovely booty has been sitting in my stash since then, and I could wait no longer…

I don’t want to give too many hints (I want to reveal it in all of its glory!), but you will soon see why I was tempted away from the FCEK cardi… this yarn is so luscious! It is as if I have tasted the Alchemy goods, and it will be hard to go back to the others.  The picture is a little darker than it looks in person, but you can see the way that the shiny Silk Purse plays so well with the Promise mohair.

I need to say it again, thank you Elka, for spoiling me with all of this! I made a lot of headway with this over the weekend, so I will soon have a lovely FO to show you!

Last year, my father went to Chile, and brought back some lovely yarns for me from the street markets of Santiago. One of them is a very pretty handspun wool (still has that sheepy smell!), and the other is a great tan yarn… but I can’t quite figure out what the fiber is. It does not feel like the other one… it may be a different breed of sheep, or maybe it was processed differently.

So, my question for you, dear knitties, is… Is there a "litmus test" for fibers? How can I find out what fiber this is? I don’t really want to felt it to find out, because I don’t want to waste any of it. Yet, if that is the only way to find out, okay, I will do it. My initial thought was that it may be hemp. It feels a little like a rope. (I guess I could try smoking it to see what it is! *joke*) and, whatever fiber this is, I think it would make a wonder fiber for a basket, or placemats. Anyone know of some patterns for these?

It was a nice snowed-in weekend (even though it was not as much as meteorologists said) and it gave me plenty of time to catch on homework and knit. Here is a pretty snow picture of my front yard.

Kris and I played around with the new photo archiving program, Picasa, which is an amazing free tool offered through Google. We came across some great old pictures that we archived a few years ago. If you want to back up all your photos, this is the best way to do it. Free!

I came across this snow photo from about 19 years ago… this is me and my little sis, Mimi, when we lived in Wyoming. Yep, that is the one that is getting married!

Dana posted an interesting link last week about wool and animal rights. I am a supporter of animal rights, a vegetarian, and I do not find anything wrong with shearing sheep (just to say that upfront). I found this Washington Post article this weekend very timely. It tells a little about both sides of the story: PETA vs. Australian Sheep Industry.

"Should You Worry About Wool?"

Let me know what you think…

Knitting has been a little slow going lately… other parts of my life have been vying for attention.

Like grad school… and my sister’s wedding planning…

Little Mimi is getting married. In June. She just decided this, for sure, last week. Lolly = Maid of Honor (well, technically Matron, but that sounds disgusting, so Maid it is) It is not like we did not see it coming… her and D-Man have been 2-gether 4-ever. He is already a part of the family, and he is very very far away right now in Iraq.

Mom, Mimi, and Lolly went out last weekend and bought her dress. It is amazingly lovely, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

We also got the pattern for the bridesmaids’ dresses… that’s right, it’s sewing time!

Just imagine the model wearing short sleeves, and there you have it The color is either going to be a mossy green or iris purple/blue, cause these are Mimi’s favorite colors… and I like them too!Â

Sidenote: after they get married, they are moving to Hawaii, isn’t that rad? *yup*

Yeah, so as I previously stated, not a lot of knitting going on, but I have one thing to show:

Ye olde FCEK cardi makes an appearance. You probably forgot about it, because I nearly did! I worked on this left front panel while watching nerdy TV documentaries (French Revolution, anyone?) It is hard to catch the depth of the cable in the photo. The color in the pic is a little off too, it is more heathery in real life.

My Green with Envy socks have gained a few more inches, but I began to think that I wanted to wear at least one hand-knitted sweater this winter season, so I changed the focus a little. I will get back to them soon enough…

Wowy zowy, I am totally loving the new Vogue Knitting International! I think that there are at least five things in there that I will definitely knit… so, the inspiration is there, but the time is seriously lacking… anyhow, I love the Intarsia Rose pullover, the Flower Basket (Caryn is hosting a knit-along), and while I love the shawl-collar pullover, I am not sure how it will look on me… and there are a handful of others in the magazine that I love. I find this inspirational and discouraging at the same time… all of these patterns that I adore… but I fear that I will never have time to knit them all. What is a girl to do?

So, add another one to the pile (these are not all of my knitting books, but a goodly amount) and if you look close, you can see all of the notes marking the pages of "Things to Knit"…

TLooks like my dream came true: We are expecting to get 6-12 inches of snow this weekend!T

…but I hope to catch a little bit of time with sweety Heather before it gets too bad…

One more thing… anyone ever order from KnitPicks.com ? Their prices are really great, and I was just curious…

Everyone and there mother is working on socks right now (or so it seems) so, I joined the pack, and picked up the DPNs once again. Mind you, I am not an expert in this field, and have been known to sigh with frustration, and even slam those little buggers down on the table… but I perservered, and started working up this little doll:

*Green with Envy Socks*

The yarn is Reynolds Swizzle in Forest. It is self-striping, it looks pretty decent so far. I think that they might be a little slouchy when they are done, which is not a bad thing… they just appear to be a little big on the needles. I needed a small portable project for the train, and this really fits the bill. The socks were started yesterday in the few spare minutes I had (my hands were dying to knit). This semester is looking crazier by the day, and I honestly hope that I am able to keep up the knitting.Â

Carnivale est fini! I am planning to block it to get some more length out of it… there was only one more skein of this colorway left at FASC last weekend, so I did not have another option. If I had known this earlier, I would have used larger needles (I used 7s) or made it thinner. However, I think it turned out pretty good. It is definitely warm, and will be nice to wrap around my neck when all the snow comes to Maryland (let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!) and the colors will brighten up any gray day. I can wear it as a neck warmer/scarf, or as a little wrap, with a pin or brooch to secure it.

BLOGLANDIA HAPPENINGS–Things that I saw and didn’t want you to miss!

• Jenna recently updated her travel blog, http://jennainindia.blogspot.com, and it sounds like things are going swell for her. She is teaching women how to knit so that they can start their own business. Go send her some love when you get a chance.
• Tami just finished a lovely Weasley sweater, and it looks perfect on her! Great work, Tami!
• Gina did some dyeing recently, and the stuff turned out amazingly beautiful! Also see her adorable baby knits from SnB Nation.
• Amy is just so hot with her new cashmere neck warmer. I love this design!
• Megan’s got a brand new blog! Princess Papaya = Fruity Chick!
• Shobhana is working on some great socks! She is so talented!

I love finding new knitting blogs, and seeing new projects, so if you have one to share, drop me a line!

And… another yummy foretaste of what is to come… Interweave Knits Spring 2005 preview came out!! *drool*

Word.

Over the weekend, I had a wonderful knitting marathon… I watched the complete Season One of Carnivale (what a show!) and knit, knit, knit! I needed a good *knit fix* with my new semester of school starting.

When else am I going to have a chance to knit for a whole day?

I worked on three projects: Kris’s sweater is still coming along. The front is finished, and I cast on for the sleeves. This bored me after awhile, so I moved onto my mohair scarf… the scarf’s new name is Carnivale mohair. I picked up another skein of this at FASC on my last visit, and the lovliness continues. It is wider than a normal scarf, but not quite wide enough for a wrap or stole… I guess I can figure out how to wear it when it is finished. Heather loved this mohair so much that she picked up her own skein when we went out the other day. It is great stuff!

The third project that I worked on was quite a surprise… a friend’s birthday was coming up, so we went and bought her a cute margarita set. Long story short: Silly Lolly was trying to carry too much from the car, and dropped the margarita mix set on the ground… liquor everywhere. I felt like a huge dork, and even did a little bit of stomping… but then I regained my composure, and realized that a hand-knit gift would be better than alcohol anyway. So, I had a few hours to whip up the green ribby scarf you see here… (thanks for the modeling job, Kris!) I did it while watching 24 (See Cara’s post about guilty pleasures… we share the same one–Jack Bauer!)

Thanks to those readers that made me feel better about spending the gift certificate the other day… well, I got another gift certificate from the sweet Kim last week for Kaleidescope Yarns… and I took your advice again, and made another purchase:

Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky Hand Dyed

Newsboy cap from SnB Nation

My first night of classes went very well. This is going to be a very challenging semester in school, but I am going to learn so much. *nerd* For any of you that are interested, I am taking Archives Management and Preservation this semester… I am planning to work on my Librarian blog soon, and I will talk more about these topics in there (as well as any other library/archives/info systems stuff that comes to mind) So stay tuned for that… (if you are so inclined)

Okay… gotta go read… *I’d rather be knitting*