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So, after last post things got a little bit better. I put on some podcasts and that took up enough of my brain that what was left didn’t get bored counting. If that makes sense.
I was thinking of posting again, something like ‘your lace knitting skill has improved by +1′.
So, I was listening and knitting. One hour of Absolutism in European history later, It was going pretty well. Then I hit a little bump and, in trying to fix it, messed it up enough that I’m going to have to rip back a good two or three rows. By this stage it was 11:30 and I realised that staying up to fix it, while it might be what I really really wanted to do, would not be a good idea.
I realised that this was a familiar feeling. The desire to go over and over the same problem until I got it right. The inability to get it right the first or even second time, even though the problem was essentially the same problem over and over. The way this didn’t get boring. The desire to stay up far later than was responsible or sensible, in order to get it.
Did I mention the fact that my iPod threw up two Bungie podcasts in a row? (it’s on shuffle). Yes, folks. I have another metaphor (uh… similie). Knitting is like computer games.
I feel better. Its’ not that I’m stupid, I’m just a lace n00b.
I can’t decide, though: Is knitting the game, and lace the difficulty setting (ie, lace is legendary – or is it? What’s harder than lace? Any thoughts?). Or, is lace the game, and the harder the lace project is, the further in the game the you are? I think it’s an important distinction.
Don’t you?
I will defeat you. I WILL unlock the bonus level.
Why?
Why do you make it so that I am always, but always, ONE stitch off.
Seriously? One whole afternoon and all I have is two inches of tangled string, and even though I’ve unpicked each and every row at least twice, there’s STILL at least one mistake (I’m not looking too hard. I can’t stand it)
I feel like Charlie Brown and his f#%king kite eating tree. I have stitch eating needles.
WHY?!?!?
At least it’s pretty string. Sunshine yarns silk. (etsy shop here) Colourway Graphite.
But still… please? Just one row that isn’t wrong? Once?
I hate you.
*sobs*
Time: 8:25 am
Place: the tea-room
Incident: N came into the tea room with a new jumper on. Scoop neck, three chunky buttons over the breast bone area, swinging freely after that. Vague A-line shape. Heathery wool, brown and greens. Stitch pattern: moss stitch panels framing faux-cabled travelling stitches in lines of four, with and actual cable on either side of that – just a mini one, maybe four stitches or even two?
I say ‘wow. Nice jumper, N. Is it new?’
It is new. It is from Supre.
Seamus says ‘it kind of reminds me of te Arans from hoom’ (excuse the poor reproduction of his delicious accent. Just try and recreate it in your head)
I say ‘yeah, but that’s not cables, it’s travelling stitches.’
Silence.
I hadn’t had my coffee, ok! My filters weren’t in place!
N proceeded to mock me for ‘having my little knitting club.’ This irritates me greatly. One time, P found out that I went to a knitting group and she asked ‘so… what do you do? Do you all knit one big rug, or something?’. In this really judgy weird voice. Humph. like she can talk. She’s taking conversational French!
Anyway, luckily I had my wrap cardi on, so I could prove that I was no lightweight. However, note to self: just because your workplace is one of the most accepting and lovely and diverse places on the planet, does not mean that being a 24 year old knitter is not weird for them.
Luckily there are one or two secret knitters. They are, I have to say, older women. But they are also the most elegant, well put together people in the whole fracking building. They wouldn’t blink and eye at a conversation about stitch patterns… maybe I’ll go find them now…
That once you are in the kitchen, it is actually easier to keep baking than to stop and do the dishes?
Baked tonight: One apple pie (cheating, sort of. Pastry and filling made yesterday, it was simply assembled today). One chocolate pie (pastry made about three weeks ago.) Once butter cake (currently still in oven. One batch of white choc chip and raspberry cream cheese cupcakes (in oven – raspberry cream cheese icing to be made later.)
Still to be made? One batch of chocolate cupckaes. Can’t make them now, all my cupcake pans are full. Shit. I just realised… that means I’m going to have to do the dishes…
I heart silocone bakeware, btw.
I think I have ADHD. KADHD? I was doing so well there, too. For about ten seconds.
CPH is close. Really close. I have to finish one sleeve, piece it together, and then knit the bands and hood. I probably could have finished it this weekend, if I had really put my mind to it. However, I think I might have knit the first sleeve the wrong length. But it fits me. So I need to sit down and work out what I’ve done. Which I am in no mind to do.
Monkeys: Also almost done. Turned the heel on the last one. Am on the gusset. Somewhere. But I was knitting it at WWKIP day and I sort of lost track of where I was. It will take me about 10 seconds to work it out, but apparently that’s too hard.
So what did I do when I got home on Saturday? Ooooooh, shiny!!
It’s cashmere. And it’s in the process of turning into a cowl.
Except… then. I, uh… got distracted.
Ahem.
And I cast on for a cowl. Another one.
And… and… I really really want to cast on for a shawl for my cousin’s wedding present. Really really want to.
Also, I have some Cascade 220 that really wants to be a Rogue.
Really.
Really.
Wants to.
HALP!!!
Oh, WWKIP was nice, btw. We went to the T-bar at the market. There was knitting. And coffee. And friends.
Carol was not a cooperative subject. See?
But I got her! Mwahahaha! Much to her daughter Bianca’s amusement.
Emma and Mel were better at being photographed. Maybe it’s because Emma wanted to show off her clap. Otis.
Vellan not so much. Like she can talk!
We’re all so meta…
Every time Emma said ‘Clapotis’ I thought she had said ‘cup of tea’. Annoying. Also, I expressed my complete lack of desire to ever knit a Clap, despite being a complete sheep (case in pint: on the needles atm? A CPH, monkeys, two cowls. Just cast off a cobblestone. Cliche much?) and she sent me a link to a sock yarn one. Which looks niiiiiice. And of course, now, what do I want to do?
CAST IT ON. That’s what I want to do. But I WILL NOT. Because I am a sheep, but I am not THAT sheep. And also, I don’t really wear scarves. Which, is why I need cowls. Natch.
My boss messaged me today to ask me if I knew that it was WWKIP day yesterday. I’m guessing she saw a news spot about it, or something? Confusing.
And since we were at the market anyway, I bought yummy veggies and stuff and today I made kangaroo curry pea and ham soup.
And Emma and I went op shopping afterwards (after WWKIP, not after the soup), and I bought a yummy snuggly aran jumper, and another not-so-snuggly one that is huuuuuge and I’m gonna turn into cushions (Emma’s idea) and a nice glass cake plate and a Rhubarb cake platter which Emma totally wanted but I saw first and it’s really nice and it was only twelve dollars. And, and, and, and…
What was I knitting, again?
So, it’s June. Don’t know if you noticed. Yeah, that whole jumper-in-a-month thing? Not so much.
See, thing is. Thing is, I really really want my CPH. And I was going to say ‘I’ll make that my jumper in a month’. Then I realised I’m sort of almost finished.
Still, my plan is thusly: By the end of June, I aim to have completed my CPH, and my Monkeys.
I think that’s a reasonable goal. Especially since I am thinking about christmas knitting. I want to knit a jumper for my mother, my father, my sister and my boss. That’s four jumpers. In, let’s say five months, since I won’t count June.
I know what I want to knit for my boss. She covets my wrap cardi. She likes nice things, and she gets the whole handcrafting thing, and she is totally awesome, and she will really really appreciate it, in the way that all knitters long to be appreciated. So I will knit her a large wrap cardi, in the same colour that I knit my sister’s, since that is her favourite colour. This is incidentally the colour I have bought for the cinnibar-supposed-to-be-knit-in-november pullover, adding to my unwillingness to pull it out from under the bed. Knitting this will not be that big a deal, since it is 12 ply yarn and big needles. shutupiamnotdelusionaliamnotdoyouhearme.
Dunno what for the others, yet. Something with drop shoulders for the mother (yick. But that’s what she likes, and the jumpers she wears to death are all drop shoulders.) Something slim for the sister, maybe? Dunno. Or maybe something arty like. She’s a bit indie. Maybe Ivy? (am looking through my queue) Thing is, I don’t really want to knit her something that I want to own myself. Or I will forever be trapped making the same three patterns over and over and over… hey, why don’t I make her a cobblestone! (I am almost not even kidding.)
Wait! Why don’t I make her a vest! Yeah, that’s an awesome idea. She is totally a vest person, and also, then I don’t have to knit so much! I rock. Maybe this one? It’s not even a WHOLE VEST. Or vest everest? I don’t know if she’d like it, though. People are tough to knit for… Plus, it’s aran, which is sort of hard to come by over here. I’m thinking maybe provincial waistcoat. Which I do want for myself, but I am nervous about bulky weight yarns on me. This way I can try it out, and see how it looks! Yaaaaaay! I am awesoooome!
And I also sort of want to make something for my grandma. A colourwork something. Sometbody please lock me up now. I can feel the panic rising. Halp!
This is non-negotiable. I will have it.
It’s from Norah Guaghan, vol 3. I heart you, Norah. Although not enough to ever remember how to spell your last name, apparently. But I heart you. A lot. This precious thing lives here. Urge to spend money I do not have… rising… I don’t even have volume 2 yet! This must be rectified.
The yarn is not out yet, but it looks like it might be DK? My gauge gauging skills have gone downhill a whole lot since ravelry. I think that might be the best thing about ravelry, actually. I’m serious. With all the many and varied joys it brings me, the thing I use the most often is checking the weight of yarn. Especially since we’re over here in Oz, where most of the yarns used in patterns don’t apply.
Speaking of ravelry and guage. I finished cobblestone the second.
Ta, da!
The reason I bring it up in this context is this. The pattern actually calls for a worsted weight yarn. When I knit the first one, it was pre-ravelry, I’m pretty sure. Or maybe just after I’d gotten in. I sort of guessed. I bought DK yarn. I swatched. I got gauge… sort of. Maybe one stitch off for four inches. Maybe two. Over the whole jumper, that turned out to be a lot. It was smaller than it should have been.
This second one, I used the same yarn. Different needles (although the same size). Didn’t swatch, because, why would I? I’d already knit it, in this yarn. On this size needles. But something was up with my gauge. Maybe the gods of gauge chose to punish me for my hubris. Maybe I’m just more tense. I don’t know. The fabric looks the same, it’s not visibly or palpably tighter. But this time I think I was about four stitches off over four inches. Which I didn’t realise until I got halfway up the body and thought ‘hmmmm…. this looks small’.
It turned out to be about the size I was shooting for the first time – a 39″ chest. Well, it’s still a bit slim. I tried to block it a bit bigger. It’s not BAD small. Just, if I was doing it again (aaaaa! Nooooooo! Why would I even joke about that!!) I would go up another size, or even two. My sister commented that it was ‘very ’70′s’. I think what she is picking up on is that it is 1) slim fitting and 2) brown.
Boy, is it brown. It’s not the pattern that I would object to knitting again. In fact, I think I would like one for myself. But going around and around and around in brown yarn? Oy.
Also, it bleeds.
Like a mo-fo. That is not dirt in my late-on-friday-night, poorly lit sink. It’s red dye. The towel came out all splotchy, too. Don’t know if this will wash out. It ran clean, sort of, but I suspect it will reoccur on further washing. But then, I am the suspicious type.
I managed to get the short rows neater in this one, too, and also managed to remember the curled neck (although it is still TIGHT. I thought for a moment there that I was going to have to unpick the cast off and re do it. What is that about?) Last time I picked up the wrapped stitched on each short row, which left hoels which I had to darn closed. This time, I left the knitted one. On the purl one, I knitted over it, went back, dropped it down and ‘fixed’ it. I don’t know why, but no matter what I tried -ssk, ktog, anything – I couldn’t replicate the way it sat when I tried knitting it. Must experiment. Also, that wasn’t very clear, was it? Oh, well. Mayeb I will have to take photos? I know a couple other people have had problems with this, from ravelry convos. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love ravelry? I wish it was a teddy bear so I could snorgle it)
It is my Grandma’s birthday next week, and we had her party on Sunday. She had coveted the original, so… I gave it to her. Well, I didn’t want the damned thing! She was pleased. Terrible photo of her – but the other one is fuzzy. Check out my flickr for more, if you are so inclined. (link on sidebar)
I am really pleased to have finished this one. Like the last time, once I got the sleeves connected, it just flew. I think I did the yoke in about three nights. Thankyou, TWiT and Tripod. I couldn’t have done it without you (or other podcasts/comedy songs, I guess. Whatever).
Also thanks to podcasts and comedy songs, as well as my need for a coping strategy while staying over at my parent;s house, I am almost done my CPH. Well, almost almost done. I had previously had the back done. On Saturday, I got up to the armhole decreases on both fronts and most of the way up one sleeve. I stopped at teh decreased for the fronts, since I wanted to check them against the back, because I knew I had knitted the back about a cable repeat longer. There was jiggery-pokery with the needles and yarn I was using, since I hadn’t planned on doing so much knitting. In fact, I had to borrow a needle – when I went up on Friday, I had only got the ribbing done on one front, and naturally forgott aht I would need a bigger needle for the body. I have some weird blindness about that, I’m always forgetting it. I also left one sock needle at home, and the first sock, so I couldn’t make progress on the monkey. And I can’t find my cable needles. Good thing I have so many DPNs…
No progress photos on the CPH. Hopefully there will be completed ones, soon! So here’s a random dandelion photo. Why are dandelions so compelling? Or is that just me?
Oh, in other exciting news, I won something! Kirsten from Through the Loops had a sock pattern for a pair of matching-but-not socks. She gave them the working title of ‘fraternals’ (she has twin girls, so I guess that was why? Except her girls are identical. Genetically, anyway!) Then she couldn’t come up with a name for them. So she asked us! I was feeling particularly stream-of-consciousness at the time I read her post, and I sent her a list of suggestions. I got interested, and looked up wikipedia. They have a list of twins. Not my favourite wikilist. This is. However, there were some good ones there.
Apparently 5 of us suggested Appollo and Artemis. Which was the winner! The prize was supposed to be two patterns and some handspun, so Kirsten drew for the handspun, and it wasn’t me. Which I’m not too cut up about, because she really should send it somewhere with less postage costs, anyway. Also, I don’t NEED more yarn. Nor do I NEED more patterns, as such. However, they are certainly appreciated! Three new sock patterns. Good thing I bought all that sock yarn, huh? Maybe I should buy some more, just in case…
Man-perfume. It’s Gross.
Especially when you bathe in it. Especially if it’s a $5 can of lynx. That you’ve bathed in. To cover your BO. And you’re over, say, 20. Seriously? I’m supposed to be attracted to that smell? 1) you smell like every boy I ever knew in high school. Not a turn on. 2) I can’t breathe. No, not because you are SO HOT. Because I have ASTHMA.
This PSA brought to you by Citizens for Breathing on Public Transport, in conjunction with the Department for Workplace Sanity. You might like to check out some of the other announcements from the DWS, such as ‘Perfume: not for bathing’, ‘Muttering Under Your Breath as You Type is Not Really Necessary’, ‘Why Would You Steal My Mug?’, ‘I Don’t Really Care About Your Weekend. What Did You Call Me For?’ and ‘Taking off your Nail Polish at Your Desk and then Re-applying it And Leaving the Tissues in your Bin: What is wrong with you?!?’
I’m not really pro-meme. I generally find them too long and boring when other people do them. But I’ve seen this one around a few times, and I quite like it. So I shall inflict it on you. Mwahahahahaha!
To play:
a.) Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b.) Using only the first page, pick an image.
c.) Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into the fd’s Mosaic Maker.
The Questions:
1.) What is your first name?
2.) What is your favorite food?
3.) Where did you go to high school?
4.) What is your favorite color?
5.) Who is your celebrity crush?
6.) Favorite drink?
7.) Dream vacation?
8.) Favorite dessert?
9.) What do you want to be when you grow up?
10.) What do you love most in life?
11.) One word to describe you.
12.) Your Flickr name.
This was funner (yes, I know that’s not a word. And I prefer ‘contradiction’ to ’hypocrite’, btw) and also harder than I thought.
Partly because it sort of ate my original one. And then when I went to remake it, the searches were different, due to people uploading new photos. Annoying. But still kind of fun.
My name one was hard – I really didn’t want photos of Kate Olsen, or people’s children. But the only ‘Kate’ on there that wasn’t a person had opted out of big huge labs, so I couldn’t us it (sad).
Also, turns out I don’t have a dream vacation, or a love of my life. Who would have thunk it? Still, I managed. I’m a trooper like that.
Oooh! Look at that! Lunch time. And I managed to haul arse into the kitchen last night and make lamb curry pies. I’ll let you know how that works out.
