The Knit Goes On
It occurred to me that I haven't posted anything about knitting in quite a while. Just in case anyone was concerned, there has been knitting, although it has varied a bit in frequency and most falls right off the historical accuracy scale. Unless your idea of history is last year, which it could be. Who am I to judge?
First, during Pennsic, I actually did finally finish the reproduction of the Islamic Animal Sock. Yes, folks - many have made them, but mine is the One True Sock. Well, it is to me. It is a reproduction to the stitch, as nearly as I could do it, using yarn I dyed myself with indigo. (Well, I cheated and used instant indigo crystals - I've tried to set up a proper vat before and it didn't work so well. Sigh. Someday, when I move out to the country and don't have to worry about the neighbors objecting, I'll totally do a proper urine vat. In the meanwhile, I assume my neighbors would take issue with having a container of stale urine growing bacteria on my deck.) Naturally, I have not made a single picture of it, so I suppose I'll save the full details for a day when I've gotten off my lazy butt and gone clicky-clicky at it. It's only been a month, so I'm sure I'll get to it any minute now.
This week, I am obsessed with two projects that could scarcely be more modern. Well, maybe if they used mylar yarn or something. At any rate . . . My LYS recently got in a shipment of kits from Claudia Hand Paints. (The experienced among us already know how this is going to end.) The kits were for a lovely airy wrap called the French Scarf, and contained 2 yarns hand-dyed to match in colors good enough to lick off your fingers. M got in 6 kits on a Wednesday and we all admired them that night at Knit Night, but I resisted. When I went back into the shop on Sunday, there was only 1 kit left and my resistance evaporated in a flash. Mine is in a color called "Frog Kisses", which makes me think of Maugorn because one of his favorite songs to perform is about kissing frogs. On a personal note, I object most strenuously to the concept - I have a personal track record for kissing princes and watching them turn into frogs, so I'm more than a touch afraid of what might happen. . . Fortunately, it's just a name in this case. It is a nummy combination of blue, turquoise, green & purple. It's soft and fluffy and utterly lacking in structure or hardcore knitting skills. It has mohair. I love it and can't wait to finish it and wear it, even though I NEVER wear fluffy fussy girly stuff. It's past the halfway point, so I expect I'll finish it this weekend.
Lately, the chicas at Knit Night have been on a Knit-A-Long kick. Now, I'm normally not one for the KAL - I'm more of a knitting loner, you could say. I just can't bear going along with a crowd. Besides, I was busy getting ready for Pennsic when they started on the felted bag project, and I just didn't have time to do one, and the project wasn't calling my name. Then the fall Interweave Knits came out, and a couple of us started looking at the Every Way Wrap. I blame it on the weather cooling off so much before Labor Day. After walking the wild streets of the yarn shop repeatedly, I finally gave up on finding the Perfect Yarn for this project. I wanted something that would knit up to a soft, cuddly wrap that you want to snuggle into, in a color that makes me happy just looking at it, and I did not want to spend $150 on it. In the end, I ordered from Knit Picks online - they now have their Merino/Silk Gloss yarn in a heavy worsted weight, and it comes in a gorgeous aubergine color that gives me that gut reaction of "Purple! Happy!" but is dark enough that I can wear it to work without looking like I was dressed by a 7-year-old girl who watches Barney. The big Cast-On was Wednesday night.
First, during Pennsic, I actually did finally finish the reproduction of the Islamic Animal Sock. Yes, folks - many have made them, but mine is the One True Sock. Well, it is to me. It is a reproduction to the stitch, as nearly as I could do it, using yarn I dyed myself with indigo. (Well, I cheated and used instant indigo crystals - I've tried to set up a proper vat before and it didn't work so well. Sigh. Someday, when I move out to the country and don't have to worry about the neighbors objecting, I'll totally do a proper urine vat. In the meanwhile, I assume my neighbors would take issue with having a container of stale urine growing bacteria on my deck.) Naturally, I have not made a single picture of it, so I suppose I'll save the full details for a day when I've gotten off my lazy butt and gone clicky-clicky at it. It's only been a month, so I'm sure I'll get to it any minute now.
This week, I am obsessed with two projects that could scarcely be more modern. Well, maybe if they used mylar yarn or something. At any rate . . . My LYS recently got in a shipment of kits from Claudia Hand Paints. (The experienced among us already know how this is going to end.) The kits were for a lovely airy wrap called the French Scarf, and contained 2 yarns hand-dyed to match in colors good enough to lick off your fingers. M got in 6 kits on a Wednesday and we all admired them that night at Knit Night, but I resisted. When I went back into the shop on Sunday, there was only 1 kit left and my resistance evaporated in a flash. Mine is in a color called "Frog Kisses", which makes me think of Maugorn because one of his favorite songs to perform is about kissing frogs. On a personal note, I object most strenuously to the concept - I have a personal track record for kissing princes and watching them turn into frogs, so I'm more than a touch afraid of what might happen. . . Fortunately, it's just a name in this case. It is a nummy combination of blue, turquoise, green & purple. It's soft and fluffy and utterly lacking in structure or hardcore knitting skills. It has mohair. I love it and can't wait to finish it and wear it, even though I NEVER wear fluffy fussy girly stuff. It's past the halfway point, so I expect I'll finish it this weekend.
Lately, the chicas at Knit Night have been on a Knit-A-Long kick. Now, I'm normally not one for the KAL - I'm more of a knitting loner, you could say. I just can't bear going along with a crowd. Besides, I was busy getting ready for Pennsic when they started on the felted bag project, and I just didn't have time to do one, and the project wasn't calling my name. Then the fall Interweave Knits came out, and a couple of us started looking at the Every Way Wrap. I blame it on the weather cooling off so much before Labor Day. After walking the wild streets of the yarn shop repeatedly, I finally gave up on finding the Perfect Yarn for this project. I wanted something that would knit up to a soft, cuddly wrap that you want to snuggle into, in a color that makes me happy just looking at it, and I did not want to spend $150 on it. In the end, I ordered from Knit Picks online - they now have their Merino/Silk Gloss yarn in a heavy worsted weight, and it comes in a gorgeous aubergine color that gives me that gut reaction of "Purple! Happy!" but is dark enough that I can wear it to work without looking like I was dressed by a 7-year-old girl who watches Barney. The big Cast-On was Wednesday night.