oh never mind.

I took my hemlock ring blanket out last night and realized that I'd gotten way further on it than I'd remembered. Too far to rip back and chart the original pattern out in repeats. brooklyntweed's blanket is beautiful anyway and there's really no use for me to mess with what he created. All is well.

after work treat
Look at what happened to my half-eaten bag of gummi bears! Ha ha, I love how the green ones are in the corners so that I can carve them off the main glob and enjoy them separately (green is my favorite gummi flavor).

eeee!

profile pic
I'm trying to upload my profile pic to Ravelry. How weird is it that I got my invitation today, after I mentioned it yesterday? Eeeerie. My Ravelry identity is 'eeee.' I can't get the site to recognize the fact that I'm trying to upload a profile pic—maybe tomorrow?

OK, no offense to brooklyntweed, but I might have to rip some of my blanket back and go with the original charting pattern in ever-increasing rounds. I think I prefer the way the odd numbered yarn over rounds look versus only increasing in twos after the round with 10 yarn overs. I'll make the other chart and post it in comparison to b-tweed's. Who knows, I may be completely wrong!

knitting fuel

open lid to reveal top layer of food
lift off top layer to reveal bottom layer of food
I love my new bento box!
scrambed eggs with scallions and asian spinach (spiced with garlic and ginger) with rice for lunch. pretty yummy.

I'm waiting for my turn to come on Ravelry! This is my Ravelry identity:
Joined the list on September 19, 2007
Number 34,112 on the list
358 people left to be invited before me
13,636 people on the list after me
69% of the list has been invited

beautiful!

great sunset, lazy bad photo
the bride makes awesome pottery
This is not a knitting post because I did zero knitting while I was gone. But the wedding was amazing and I have a new resolution (my resolutions are always scattered throughout the year and never created for the new year): Never wear sleeveless clothing & wear black more often. Very important life lesson for me. Perhaps there will be an amendment to that edict: dress this way for photos at least—dress however it pleases one for inbetweentimes.

hemlock ring blanket

#10 Denise Interchangeable Needles & Cascade Ecological Wool in platinum
uh yeah, I'm no photographer, but I've successfully completed the center of the blanket. It's a really fun knit and I'm now appreciating the repeating feather and fan pattern. I recommend this project! Plus, you get the bonus of knitting from a GIANT ball of yarn! Will my blanket really look like this once it's blocked? I have my doubts...

it's so big! (that's what she said)

but it is!
Look at that ball of yarn! It took me one hour to hand-wind my hank of Cascade Ecological Wool last night. Ok, so maybe I'm slow, but it really did take me an hour to create the biggest ball of yarn I've ever held in my hands.

I cast on for the hemlock ring blanket and the knitting in the round on one long circular needle thing is great. It makes me feel so tricky. I was afraid that my Denise interchangeable needles wouldn't work very well, but they work just fine. I am beginning to warm up to them.

ooooooooooooooooooooh

I get it...magic loop—small circumference, one circular needle...for the hemlock ring blanket, that is...no need for size 10 dpns. I wonder if I'll be able to use the Denise interchangeable needles I have for this project. Well, I will soon find out.

see the crappy picture

nearly 15"x15"
It's more like a stretchy 14"x14" even after I carefully made a gauge swatch, ripped out the massive, nearly finished square and re-knitted it. I made a few mistakes with the chart (most noticeably the fact that I have an uneven number of stitches on either side of the patterned part...duh!). I'm really hoping that this blend will take to blocking. The piece is in need of general grooming that will hopefully even everything out and stretch it to 15"x15" at the same time (maybe?).

Time to buy some big dpns for my Hemlock Ring blanket! And of course, bubbly curtain continues...

GASP!

I took a look at my blog after I posted the new entry and actually got SCARED by the new Knitty button picture! Ok, now that I've calmed down, I'm going to go take a look.

bubbles?

bubbly curtain on asphalt

how it may look post blocking

My new thing is knitting in the park after work. If autumn could last longer, I think I'd be the happiest person ever. It's clear, however, that the evenings are getting shorter—even if the weather isn't getting any crisper.

I've put the curtain aside in order to create my 15"x15" portion of a baby blanket. I'm knitting it in Sprite Green Bamboozle by Crystal Palace Yarn (bamboo, cotton, and nylon). I'm not sure I like the yarn, but I'm not ready to dislike it either. It's soft, but strangely textured due to the looseness of its ply (at least I think that's what creates the texture). The yarn is netting-like and it splits and unravels easily. The yarn has a heaviness that says s-t-r-e-t-c-h to me, but since I'm not knitting a garment from it, that's not what's detracting from my enjoyment of the yarn. I think the problem is that it feels oddly soft, like a synthetic microfiber. I'm not condemning synthetic microfibers. I'm just saying that they have an odd softness about them that freaks me out when I'm the one making the fabric.

brief brief brief

I've been addicted to knitting blogs lately (again). In the zillion I've been looking at lately, I've learned some things: [1] I am nothing more than a dilettante in the knitting world [2] ravelry has gotten consistently positive reviews in the world of blogs [3] flickr is seriously popular [4] knitters are cool.

picture a thought bubble above my head (nevermind that you may have no idea what I look like) — I see myself sitting in an eclectically decorated, not too cluttered not too organized, cozy nook that includes a work table. I'm drinking milky English breakfast tea, wearing a lovely handknit sweater and posting about all my finished projects with detailed photos, notes on construction and some original patterns.

I might be like 80 years old by then, but hey, it's a goal.

big yarn purchase

I did it. I bought some more yarn. That brings the project purchase to two for this month. That's a lot for me.


I can't wait to knit the Hemlock Ring Blanket! I bought some extra yardage in order to make a larger size of the blanket. brooklyntweed doesn't mention US 10 dpns in his needle requirements, but I'm guessing that they're quite necessary...how would one be able to begin such a small ring with 40" of circular needle?

I'm about 5" into the Bubble Ring Curtain and I'm having fun knitting it. Warning for those contemplating the project — you must either enjoy purling, or be proficient at making purl stitches frontwise. I'll post pictures soon.

decision

I have reached a decision regarding the Teva Durham fair Isle sweater I have 'been knitting.' I managed to knit the kerchief, the front panel and half the back panel before I stalled. I'm going to rip it out and that's final. I'm going to save all the yarn together so that when the time comes, I can start all over again. This is a monumental moment for me! My first serious frogging episode and real stash fodder (e.g. saving so much yarn for some unspecified future date).

I know that this is going to feel good.

oh sweet infatuation!

when one dives under a rock for such a long time, it's hard to keep up with what's going on in the world. I've just found brooklyntweed...how do I describe this excitement? No, I'm not even going to try. Instead, I'll use my mouse to illustrate my new state of mind.
What more do I have to say than, "Next up on the needles, the amazing and lovely Hemlock Ring Blanket."

tweedy, wool, and very particular

These are the wombats my mother makes. They're acrylic and fantasically colored. She has made >50 of these creatures (very likely close to 100). For some reason, middle aged Chinese ladies LOVE them.


This is the original, Australian wombat (named, THE - pronounced thee). He's tweedy brown, wool, and very particular. In this picture you can see his butt. The is the inspiration for the wombats my mom makes. My new goal is to finish knitting a wombat of my own. I started it as a gift ages ago and it's time to finish the little bugger.


Look at this booty that my friend brought back from Japan for me!!!! My favorite item is the bento box. I've always wanted one, but could never find one. She's the best. What makes this gift even better is that it was completely unexpected.

Knitting Update: I've nearly completed We Call Them Pirates. There's only the lining left to knit. I've also finished the last pair of socks that I will knit for quite a while (that felt good!). I'm ready to cast on the Bubbly Curtain from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I've decided to knit it in a PINK mercerized cotton (see cruddy pic below). The curtain will eventually hang in a bright yellow room (I think of it as school bus yellow).


It feels good to be a knitter again.