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Tuesday, November 30, 2004
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Has the top of a tam ever been more thrilling?
Well, has it?
Halfway through the decreases (slip 2, knit 1, psso... whee! I love decreases!) I realized that I should've decreased on the more-colorworky rows, rather than the knit 3 white/knit 3 gray rows, but I wasn't about to rip anything out and start over. For the record, I am not one of those types of knitters. It's pretty anyway, even if it's not perfect. I got a little adventurous with the decrease spacing, too, which means that one section is not as decreased as the others.
The very top is not perfect. I did, in fact, rip out a bit here, taking out the last round of k2tog decreases. There was a point. An unattractive point, I might add, whose grandfather is still attached to the hat. But I will rip no more.
The ribbing... let's not talk about the ribbing.
Okay, let's talk about it, and let's say, "&^@^*&%%." There. We feel better, don't we? Suffice it to say that the ribbing and I are going to have a long talk, with elastic thread and a needle as mediators.
But look at the SWIRL!
P.S. Despite the influence of Stephanie, I am rethinking my exactly-matching mittens idea. There really are no words to describe just how much I hate doing colorwork on DPNs. (Why, then, do I seem to keep picking out projects that require it?) I'll try to convince myself with the assertation that a mitten hanging off of DPNs while you're wrestling with two strands of yarn isn't as bad as a hat, which isn't really that bad, because you're just a whiner.
Tipper @ 9:27 PM * link
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Monday, November 29, 2004
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A tam a day...
I have presented myself with an interesting challenge, which is to make a very wonderful present for a friend with yarn I have in my stash. It might be more fun to take a trip to a yarn store and get new yarn, but as I have zero dollars to my name (*subliminal message*buymyyarn*subliminal message*), that isn't possible.
So what do you get when you combine light gray Lana D'Oro, angora/something yarn from a thrift store sweater, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, and Knitting Fair Isle Mittens and Gloves? Why, the beginnings of a tam!
The pattern is taken from the fair isle mittens/gloves book (Fisherman's Mittens, which I will make to accompany this. I blame Stephanie for this) and I'm about an inch away from some fancy-schmancy decreases. The ribbing does not thrill me with its lack of elasticity, but I will make do. I'm contemplating the ramifications of staying up really, really late to finish. I would certainly regret it in the morning, but wouldn't having a finished object in my dirty paws make it all worth it?
Tipper @ 9:29 PM * link
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Sunday, November 28, 2004
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The stash sale is ON!
Check it out, yo. http://www.plasticsoul.org/forsale.html
Knitting update
I am very, very close to finishing the knitting of the Campus Scarf, and then I will have 3/4 of a scarf's worth of weaving in to do. I hope my plan of duplicate stitching and a bit of Fray Check will do the trick. Could you imagine knitting all that and weaving everything in and having the ends pop out?!
Tipper @ 9:15 PM * link
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Friday, November 26, 2004
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The day after turkey
My Thanksgiving was wonderful; I hope you can say the same about yours!
I've been spending the day after parked on the couch, Law & Order on the TV (I'm surprised that after all the years I've been watching reruns nearly non-stop, they're able to show episodes I hadn't seen yet), and knitting in hand. I've finished the Denmark socks.
One toe is different than the other (and better) because I did it correctly. How I managed to do k2togs instead of ssks for the first one, yet the opposite for the second - without looking at the instructions, is beyond me.
On Wednesday I visted Three Kittens, as I hadn't been there in awhile. It's such a nice shop with nice people, and the selection keeps getting even more unique and interesting. I ended up with two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Watercolor.
I had no intention of buying this when I went in, mind you, but I couldn't resist the color. I've never knit with this yarn before, so that's an added treat. Any pattern suggestions are welcome; I imagine I have to do something fairly simple because of the riotous color, but I don't want plain ol' stockinette. Someone suggested the Dublin Bay socks from Mossy Cottage Knits (link to PDF on the left). Maybe I'll do those, or borrow the lace insert idea. But these won't be happening for a little while yet.
Stupid Reggie-cat pulled a needle out of my Regia socks this morning and started batting it around (they weren't sitting out, either, but in my knitting basket). Then, later, while I was on the phone, he managed to chew up one of the needles I was using for the Denmark sock. It's usable, but not comfortably so. I wouldn't be so annoyed if I hadn't already lost one of that set of five. Grr.
Time to go sit in front of the TV s'more and work on the Campus Scarf.
Tipper @ 2:49 PM * link
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Monday, November 22, 2004
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If you're looking for a movie to take in, try National Treasure. It's more interesting and intelligent than the average action flick, and it is great for knitting. I got from one-inch-past-toe to one-inch-to-heel-turn on this sock's mate while at the movies yesterday.
Rhapsody in Tweed is on the back burner until my Christmas knitting is completed. And how is that going? Well, I'm several inches into the second Denmark sock, the Campus Scarf (a sort-of Christmas gift) is growing slowly... and that's about it. The heat is on.
The valuation of knitting
An interesting discussion popped up in Advanced Knit the other day. Someone wanted to commission a piece of knitting, saying that the $175 they had been quoted was a bit steep for them. Of course, they got ripped into, and as the moderator, I felt a little bad. I honestly thought that someone would be glad to spend a little time to make a little money. Instead, a dozen knitters got riled up at the nerve of this person to wish to pay less than $175 for a handknit hat.
How many knitters would pay that much for a handknit hat? Most of them would say, "I'll make it myself." Isn't that commentary on the value of a finished knitted piece, right there?
I think that a lot of knitters go overboard when it comes to the valuation of knitting. Likely it's a kneejerk reaction to the idea that it's inconsequential, simple woman's work, requiring no effort, and always cheaper than storebought, and an offshoot of the idea that the more something costs, the more someone will value it. Apparently I'm in the minority, willing to knit something because I enjoy knitting - even for strangers - for a small amount of compensation. I certainly understand if someone might not want to knit something for someone because it's something they don't want to knit, or because they have no extra time, but it doesn't make sense to turn that into, "Knitting is much more valuable than you could possibly think" instead of being honest and saying, "Knitting for strangers doesn't interest me/knitting that doesn't interest me/I have no time to be interested."
Stash sale
I have yet more stash to sell. I'm hoping to put it up on a webpage soon, but I'm putting it off, simply because I don't want to take pictures. It's a lot of pictures.
A nice amount of stash is going to the thrift store. There will be some very lucky thrift store yarn hunters out there!
Tipper @ 8:22 PM * link
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Tuesday, November 16, 2004
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A week o' silence
I managed to stay silent about knitting for a week! Blame: laziness, tiredness, and busyness, in no particular order.
Since last week:
-Rhapsody in Tweed is a few inches longer
-Campus Scarf is a few inches longer
-I finished a sock:
It's from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road, the Denmark sock. I'm using some superwash stuff called "Smart" (I suppose it is very smart if you define smartness by how much you SPLIT) and size 3's. One sock took two days of unfrantic knitting, and I attribute the speed partially to the short-row heel that I knit in place of one of those overly-complicated and slow "normal" heels. These will be a Christmas present. The sock doesn't look so stupid in real life; I blame the camera angle.
Speaking of presents, I bought red, white, and blue yarn for Matthew's mommy's present. She requested red, white, and blue mittens, plus a matching hat and scarf. Whew. I have enlisted help for the scarf.
Speaking of scarves... Look what Matthew knit for me!
He worked very hard and did a beautiful job. I'm so proud!
Note to readers: I would not post this picture if it wasn't directly knitting related and entirely unstaged. I don't want you to think I'm becoming one of those knit bloggers.
Reggie has decided that my voodoo wristwarmers made out of Cashmerino Aran) are good to nap on. Not only that, he HUGS them. My widdle Weggie is a yarn snob!
Tipper @ 5:18 PM * link
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Tuesday, November 09, 2004
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Not much to say.
'Cept that I finished a hat:
...and I'm making matching mittens and will be posting the pattern(s) on my free patterns page. Fisherman's rib sure makes nice, squishy, dense fabric, but, man, is it a pain to knit.
And I started on the back of Rhapsody In Tweed:
My very ambitious first thoughts were, "Hey, if I do 3 inches a day, I'll be done with the back in 13 days!" It's day two and I'm up to 4.5 inches. Wowza, this'll take awhile. I might switch from my bamboos to metal circs cause it's getting a little too sticky for my taste. AND I just discovered that I have a size 6 circular in metal. AND then I can start the Flower Basket Shawl for the billionth time on a size smaller, and wooden, needle.
Christmas is coming!
Don't remind me.
Tipper @ 7:22 PM * link
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Saturday, November 06, 2004
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Thank you, Bets!
I got truly hit with a ROAK this week, since I'm not involved in any such coordinated thing. Bets, who maintains the 2004 knitalongs page, e-mailed me to offer her copy of the Holiday 2004 Vogue Knitting. I got it in the mail today, and I'm pleased as punch. It was so sweet of her!!
Knitting stuff
There hasn't been much knitting lately; I've been super-extra busy. A fisherman's rib hat made from some of the Adriafil Planet I bought last week is almost finished, and I added a few more inches to the Campus Scarf, but other than that I've lacked productivity. I'm glad to be busy, though, because it's all job-related (or possible-job-related). Since I have a grand total of THREE days of class left (or three weeks, rather, but I only attend class one day a week) before I receive my diploma, I'm very, very eager to find a job. The sooner, the better.
I stopped by Yarnzilla after an interview on Thursday and had some coffee and convo and spent an enormous amount of money on yarn. (Almost six dollars!) I bought some black Baby Ull, in hopes of making the colorwork mittens in the Winter IK using leftover Koigu from my first Charlotte's Web.
I'm very behind on my blog reading; maybe it's self-preservation, since I'm uninterested in hearing (again) how people who voted for Bush are ignorant stupidheads and the country's now officially fucked up. I like it much better when people are nice, don't you?
Tipper @ 4:01 PM * link
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Monday, November 01, 2004
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Dear Self,
Please, never again, say, "Oh, today I'm just gonna do some knitting..." because then it won't happen. Do not plan the knitting, and the knitting will come. Otherwise, you'll be spending all day running errands and (*gasp!*) actually doing your homework and working out and that sort of thing.
Love,
Self.
As the above may imply, there wasn't much knitting today, just a bit of the Campus Scarf:
Oh, I love this yarn. It's so damn soft. I let the boyfriend pet it and he got this adoring look on his face. I want a whole sweater done in this yarn. In dark pink! Let's hope I can refrain from purchasing the 20-ish skeins I'd need for it... at least until I'm gainfully employed. Then I deserve a present, right?
Tipper @ 11:38 PM * link
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