prettyknitting

Knitting, tea, and leaning in

Every year I try to come up with something to focus on. This year the goal that came to mind was writing. I have always been interested in writing, especially creative writing, but as more and more things consumed my time and attention, writing was largely abandoned. And I miss it. A lot. The creativity of writing a good story, the emotional intensity of crafting a poem. I've even written a play once. There's much writing I would like to do. I would like to write letters to my friends, and letters to my children telling them details about their childhoods I know I'll forget. In my craziest moments I even think about writing a screenplay. I don't know the first thing about writing screenplays, but I think I have a good story or two in me somewhere. And since a journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step, as they say, here I am. Writing. It's a start.

The first challenge I anticipate is fitting writing into my life. Integrating it into my routine. Making it a "must do" as I often tell my kids. Finding a time and a place for it. If not everyday, then at least every week. The second challenge I anticipate is the constant flurry of new things I constantly come up with to do and to improve upon. Like cooking classes, flamenco classes, yoga... I also want to organize my house, clean out my closets, sort and record my yarn stash, go through my extensive collection of unfinished projects and, um, you know, finish them. But I guess I can write about not finishing them, and that's ok. Right?

My favorite thing to do while thinking about what I should be doing (besides knitting) is making tea. After giving up my daily iced coffee with cream and sugar, I searched for an alternative work beverage and eventually fell in love with tea, specifically earl grey tea and it's many delicious varieties. Now my kitchen is brimming with many different tea blends, and I am strongly considering buying an electric tea kettle with a temperature gauge because apparently the exact temperature matters. My current favorite teas are Twinings Lady Grey, Harney & Sons Earl Grey Supreme, Smith No. 55 Lord Bergamot, and Mighty Leaf Camomile Citrus, all drunk from my big honking 2o oz. Klean Kanteen insulated mug. There's something very civilized about drinking tea, something soothing about the ritual of making it and the slow process of drinking it and enjoying it for several hours at a time.

On the knitting front, I finished the adorable little Elvira dress, loved the red color and can't wait to see pictures of the little bebe wearing it. The main project I am working on is a Hitchhiker shawl for my mom, knitted in the incredible, ridiculously silky Lady Godiva yarn. My mom requested black and navy, and though the pooling of the colors generally bothers me a little bit, I think it's quite nice on this project because of the bias. This has been a pretty fast moving project since it's mostly garter stitch so I am trying to stay focused and finish this before moving on to something else.

 

Summer Knitting - happens so fast

So the days are still getting longer, the nights are warm and short and the knitting takes a backseat to walks, picnics, and the beach. That's not a bad thing, I suppose. Also, it seems unreasonably hard to find good Summer knitting projects. I am currently working on a Coachella, but I am not in love with the yarn. I wanted a linen-cotton blend, which the Maggi's Irish Linen is, but the 3 unconnected plies make knitting much more of a chore than it should be. Inevitably one of the plies gets used up faster than the others and there's uncomfortable bunching and ballooning of a ply. Nobody likes that. Also I am trying to follow instructions on modifying the pattern slightly to make the back section wider to hide a bra strap, and despite the increadible awesomeness that is Ravelry, not all modification instructions are totally clear.

When not doing that I am working on a ridiculous baby/college blanket for Mr. H. He found the yarn and picked out 4 awesome colors at a yarn festival thing at Russell's Garden Center, so I decided to add a silver grey base and work in stripes with the super bright colors he liked. I love the yarn - Iron Horse Farm Cashmere and Merino, I love that it's local, I love the colors and the miles of mindless garter stitch, but I didn't quite fully grasp the gauge implications. It will be an incredible warm, light, drapey blanket, but it will take years to complete at my speed.

Stuck in project parking lot limbo are my Effortless Cardigan, and a top down half zip brown sweater for DH. I wish I could knit in the car, and have it not make me nauseated...

35!

Birthdays are always bittersweet after a certain point and today was no exception. I received excited hugs and kisses from my favorite little guys as soon as I woke up - which is awesome - but then was immediately asked to get out of bed and help make me a birthday crown. Having to make your own birthday crown is definitely a pretty powerful and spot on analogy for parenting and celebrations in general.

Part of me was a little bummed about having to spend a good chunk of my birthday attending a mandatory quarterly clinician's meeting, but the silver lining is I got a lot of knitting done. Several good inches completed for mom's Larch birthday scarf, which is turning out great. I also got a change to pop into the bead store this morning and got some beads which I intend to use for the fringe for the Linen Stitch Scarf, which I bound off last week, cut the steek, but didn't work up the courage to unravel the fringe yet. I think it looks awesome, even if it does have an over-the-top Southwest feel to the color scheme.

Though it's a little sad to leave my "early thirties" behind, I have to admit I am incredibly grateful to have made it this far and accomplished so much more than I thought I would by this point in my life. I didn't lean in and make the most of my career, and I didn't lean out and completely lost myself in homemade organic baby food and attachment parenting, and I really feel that was the right balance for me. For the next 35 years, I look forward to resdiscovering buried treasures in my yarn stash, clearing a decades old UFO backlog, striking the right balance of exercise and healthy eating, and sane parenting. And perhaps a midlife crisis related knitting tattoo thrown in for good measure ;)

Resolutions

As 2008 draws to a close, the inevitable cycle of reflecting upon the year and making resolutions for the upcoming year begins. No year in recent memory has been quite this exciting or worrysome and no other time has felt so full of promise as right now.

For me 2008 was a big year, although knitting and blogging-wise it was not the most productive. On the other hand, I did have a baby, worked two jobs, traveled, and managed not to lose it completely in the process, which I think it's pretty good all considering, even if my knitting output suffered.

On the knitting front nothing has been more significant in 2008 than the advent and widespread use of the wonder that is Ravelry. For years DH and I had thought about ways to build a decent yarn and project database for personal use, but we never even came close to the community-based multi-feature awesomeness that Ravelry has created. Never again will knitters have to suffer the indignity of having to knit a sweater based on a single paltry picture on a knitting book. Thanks to Ravelry, knitters can benefit from the experience of others and learn, before casting on, that certain all-over lacy patterns paired with certain necklines look very unfortunate on certain curvier, bustier ladies (Memories of Ukraine, anyone?). We can easily find out what yarn subsitutions others used, what modifications were successfully and unsuccessfully attempted. Ravelry has also provided a platform for keeping us honest. We can log our stashes, our knitting book libraries, our FOs, and UFOs, our queues and hopes and dreams.

My plan for 2009 Ravelry-wise is to utilize it even efficiently, with no project too big or too small to catalog (if it's on the needles, it should have be on Ravelry) and no pattern deviation too obvious to fail to mention (at the rate at which I put projects down, it's important to note anything and everything because chances are, I won't remember it when I pick it back up again). Also I have several design sketches waiting on the wings, and I am inspired by the lovely Longwool who saw something she liked in a movie, designed a sweater based on it, and knit it up to wonderful results. Kudos!

So, here are my resolutions, knitting related and otherwise:
1. No more cashmere, garments or yarn. After reading so much about how much of the world's cashmere comes from China, and how Chinese cashmere goats are destroying the landscape to such an extent that the dust and pollution are travelling all the way to California I just can't bring myself to buy cashmere stuff anymore. Technically, exceptions should be able to be made if such cashmere products of confirmed non-Chinese provenance could be found (such as handspun yarns from local farms), however that would violate resolution #2.
2. Yarn diet, thou shalt log all of thy stash in Ravelry and knit 365 days from yarn contained in said stash and nothing else. Heck, 365 days could easily be spent just managing UFOs. Plus maybe the yarn constraints (such as they are) will perhaps force me to be more creative, perhaps even put to paper some of the many ideas I've been playing with for so long.
3. No more paper cups. In 2008 we committed as a family to reducing our use of plastic shopping bags as much as possible. To that end, DH and I carried little foldable nylon bags everywhere and used them wherever we shopped: at the grocery store, at the bookstore, at the pharmacy, at the mall. Not all outlets were as cooperative as we hoped, some places started packaging our purchases in plastic bags before we had a chance to tell them we brought a bag with us and when we told them we didn't need a bag they would remove the stuff from the plastic bag, let us put it in our reusable bags but then (gasp!) they would throw the plastic bag they were going to give us in the trash instead of using it for the next customer. Yikes. Overall, though, we calculated we saved over 500 bags, and if we keep this up (which we fully intend to) we could save many thousands of bags over our lifetimes. Well, in 2009 we are committing to not using any more paper cups. We will carry our thermal mugs with us and if we don't have it, we will either order coffee in a regular mug "for here" or not have the coffee at all (ecological AND economical).

So, in sum, Happy New Year, may 2009 fullfill its warm and woolly promise in every way!

Better Late Than Never

Although more than a month overdue, my second Lady Sweater is finished and I absolutely love it. It fits great, the colors are awesome (although the second sleeve does not match the first) and I have a whole skein to spare. The color does not seem to bleed on my clothes, but it did bleed a lot on my needles and fingers so I should probably wash and block again. I am contemplating whether to add a pewter clasp closure or whether to just keep it as is.

Olympic Failure

Much like the US Men's and Women's relay race teams, I too have dropped the proverbial baton and failed to finish my Olympic event. I am referring, of course, to the wildly popular Ravelympics, in which I entered my second attempt at the February Lady Sweater for the SweaterSprint event. I'd love to say that events beyond my control hindered my speedy progress, but it was really a combination of things that I knew would happen and should have taken into account when selecting a project (ie. out-of-town guests, trip to a friend's wedding, fussy baby, secret knitting,etc). With all of that said, the project is at a respectable 55% completion and it's still interesting and fun enough that I anticipate full completion before too long.

My previous February Lady attempt was a complete success despite the unusual yarn choice (Sugar and Cream Confectionary Colors). My mom loved it and is keeping it, and the price tag couldn't have been more reasonable (under $15).

 

For the second take I went with the Dream in Color Classy (Ravelry's most popular yarn for this project) and I love everything about this yarn except the fact that it has been staining my needles and fingers every time I pick it up. Small price to pay for the rich color variations and luscious springy machine washable yarn goodness. I guess I'll just have to rinse it extra well to make sure it doesn't bleed onto my clothes when I do wear it.

 

Babies are bad for business

So baby Liam has been here for 7 weeks now and both the knitting and the blogging have been suffering dearly. Some good knitting and finishing was accomplished before the birth, but not too much since.

The aforementioned Moderne Baby Blanket was finished and mailed in time for the birth of Liam's baby friend Ella, and the parents report she has been enjoying its cottony-goodness. (Unfortulately the blanket is inside out in this picture, which means I need to do a better job of weaving in those pesky ends next time).

Also finished thanks to my DMIL, is my second attempt at the Wild Stripes Blanket, this time in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, as opposed to the original yarn specified by the pattern. I am super happy with the colors and the weight of the blanket and ever happier that someone else did the sewing. I would definitely consider knitting another one of these puppies, but not anywhere in the near future.

On the needles currently are my wonderful silky Clapotis shawl, and there is no earthly reason why this project has been on the needles for this long. These days though, it is rare for me to get more than 2 or 3 rows per sitting. I also got started on the back-zip baby jacket from Fiber Trends in Cotton Comfort, which I think will be really nice for the fall and early winter. It's a nice portable project which has been stowed in the diaper bag so I can get a couple of rows in whenever I get a second.

I am secretly glad I didn't finish up the other baby projects I had started because Liam ended up being significantly bigger than the average baby and is already wearing 6 month-sized baby clothes, so any itty-bitty cutie baby things would have likely only fit for a split second, if at all. And here is some unadulterated baby goodness for your viewing enjoyment:

Slow progress

With less than 2.5 weeks to go on this pregnancy you'd think I would have had all of the relevant baby knitting finished and washed and just waiting for the peanut. But you'd be wrong. I am currently simultaneously working on at least a dozen baby projects with no end in sight. I can't list them all because a few are secret, but here is the basic breakdown:

1. Baby Wild Stripes 2 from Knitty.com 80%
2. Naturally Nice Sweater in Cotton Ease 80%
3. Peapod Baby set from Interweave Knits 15%
4. Baby Bell Bottoms from blue blog 10%
5. Moon and Stars Blanket from Nursery Knits 70%
6. Baby Surprise Jacket in TyDye 30%

I also have a few projects going for myself including a Clapotis that I found half knitted in a closet, and an original design that I am hoping to get done before the next Knitty.com submission deadline. When not knitting I have been spending a lot of time on Ravelry where instead of just cataloging my projects and stash as I had originally planned, I keep finding more stuff I want to make and that has led to a couple of ill-advised late night cast-ons in between some nasty Braxton-Hicks. I guess I better get back to stitching since I may not have that much time left. :)

Somebody stop me!

Christmas is finally come and gone, and I have to admit I made out like a bandit. I got a beautiful organic cotton sweater from my MIL and a hand-dyed merino and bamboo Mommy Snug from Aunt Jan. Meanwhile, baby boy's Wild Stripes blanket is at a stunning 98% completion status (knitting status, that is), and a Cotton Ease cardigan at around 75%.

Here's the problem: when I found out I was having a boy I promptly abandoned the Alphabet Blanket (it being pink and all) and moved on to more boy-friendly projects. The Wild Stripes blanket has always been a favorite of mine, and it was a surprisingly quit knit given its relatively small gauge. The color changes kept it interesting, although I only wove in half the ends as I went, so going back in for all of those dangling strands will probably not be quite as fun. But since the blanket will have a back, it doesn't have to too neat, just woven enough so it won't unravel. So now that this is done, I should move on to another project. But I feel strangely compelled to knit another Wild Stripes. I also need to finish the Moderne Blanket, which is now earmarked for a friend's girl baby due in May, since it is not really a boyish color scheme.

In addition, the first Wild Stripes blanket has a lot of leftover yarn, so I am hoping to whip up a family of Sheldons in various colors to go with the blanket, and maybe a couple of hats and booties. My only concern about the current blanket is that I knit it in Merino Style as specified in the pattern, but it is not machine washable. I have read that people have machine washed it in the cold gentle cycle with only minimal gauge change, but I am still skeptical as to its ability to hold up to long term baby abuse. I am considering future Wild Stripes in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, Knit Picks Shine Sport, Plymouth Encore or some other such machine washable and dryable fare.

Also in the works, 60% completed, a Moon and Stars Blanket, from Zoe Mellor's Nursery Knits. I am using Lion Brand Cotton Ease in the color violet, which is a really nice night sky color and I decided to duplicate stitch the moon and stars instead of trying to do intarsia, which I don't really enjoy. So despite my total lameness as a blogger, knitting has been getting done.

Z is for zounds! S is for S*!# didn't anyone check this chart?

A full row of letters has been completed on the alphabet blanket and another one is halfway done, and so far there have been a couple of mistakes. The first one on row 11, as previously mentioned, and the second one on the second right side row of the S. I guess the key to anticipating and preventing these mistakes is to count the number of yarn overs and the number of decreases in each row. If they don't add up, there is a mistake. The problem is, you may be many rows ahead before you know something was not right. At that point, it is much harder to pinpoint the mistake, so you'll have to fudge. Hopefully, now that I am armed with this life-altering (and pattern-saving) knowledge, I will prevail.

Other than knitting the blanket, not much else is going on. I am in full countdown mode for the sheep and wool festival (Oct 20, baby!), and in the meantime trying to survive the nausea and exhaustion-fest that is the miracle of early pregnancy. Everyone tells me that the second trimester brings a burst of energy that helps you get your house ready for the baby. Well, I am definitely looking forward to that, and so is my craft room (currently operating as a crap-storage room).