I always forget about this place. It's hard enough keeping up a regular blog, let alone a specialty one. I guess because it's hard to separate knitting from the rest of my life, since knitting is such a big part of my life (weird as that may sound). But I want to make more of an effort at least to record things here, projects I've made and such, just to have it.
Right now I'm working on: a scarf, two blankets, and a cardigan. Blankets are for some of the MANY people I know who've gotten married this year. There are a lot of them, and I've been trying to knit blankets for all of them. I could do something easier and quicker, like placemats or towels, but I really love knitting blankets. I love having blankets, too, so I sort of just assume everyone does. Even if it gets stuck in a closet somewhere and never sees the light of day, it'll be there for that day when they need an extra bit of warmth. I still treasure the first package I ever got in college - an afghan my grandmother made for me. I actually don't know if it was knit or crocheted - I think she crocheted a lot more than she knit, but it sort of looks like knit stitches. It's hard to tell though. In any case, I love it. I really wish I had been more into knitting while she was alive. I didn't start until my sophomore year in college, I think, and even then it wasn't nearly to the degree I knit now. She died when I was a senior, and I probably only saw her a couple of times in person in the interim, so I never really got a chance to bond with her over that. But that's the way life goes, I guess. At least I can keep it going, though I can't glean pearls of crafting wisdom from her.
Well that went off on an unexpected tangent. But that's ok. You know, I'm just so very very thankful that I have knitting. Throughout my life there have been lots of things that I pick up, enjoy for a little while, and then let go of for no good reason. (Violining comes to mind. I really regret not keeping up with that.) But knitting has weaved itself around my heart (ha, get it?), and I don't think it's ever leaving. And thank God for that. It's funny - I don't really appreciate how good at it I am (please understand I'm saying this in a modest way, because I know there's still so much about knitting I don't know) until I get around other people who knit occasionally. For me, I just taught myself to knit and I was off and running, and I've never really struggled with it or had many mishaps or difficulties. So I can make some really pretty things. I mean, I still don't know how to do much with multiple colors, and I certainly have not yet gotten up the courage - or desire, really - to start designing my own patterns, but I have yet to meet a pattern that I can't pretty easily figure out. It just really works for me. It works well with the way my mind thinks. I take it for granted sometimes, and expect that everyone should be able to pick it up that easily, so it's no big deal what I can do. (Really, it's all just a matter of following the instructions.) But then I get together with other people who knit as a hobby, and they're often surprised by what I can do.
Ok, that probably all just sounded incredibly prideful and braggy. It's not how I mean it. Anyone who knows me knows how much I dislike admitting that I'm good at anything. It's not about me, though, it's all God. He really gave me this gift of being able to create beautiful things with my hands. Practical things. Warm, cozy things. Oh, how excited I am for fall, winter, colder weather! Snuggling in around bunches of blankets, wrapping myself in mounds of scarves, throwing a deliciously warm hat over my head. Knitters love winter weather. I am no exception. I may have been known to knit blankets during a ridiculously hot DC summer, but knitting in winter is just so perfect. And it may seem silly to associate God with knitting, but I know that I couldn't do it without him having given me the skills to do it, the mind to easily adapt to knitting lingo and patterns and symbols, the heart to embrace it more and more every day - and to want to spread that love to everyone else!
Boy oh boy, am I ever and always thankful for this craft.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Poor, neglected blog
I haven't written in this thing in almost a year. A YEAR! Just what do I think I was doing? (Oh, maybe studying for comps, then taking comps, then finishing up my master's degree, then moving home...after that, no excuses, buddy.) One thing's for sure - I was doing a lot of knitting. In that time, I finally acquired myself a set of nice interchangeable needles, and lo, it was love. I've knit several blankets. Some shawls. Hats. Mittens. Scarves. Etc. My yarn stash has reached epic proportions (especially with a recently-acquired box or two of enough yarn to make several blankets I have planned) (one of which I've already possibly scrapped, but am using the yarn for a different blanket, with some sadness, though, because it was originally going to be a pattern I've been really wanting to do for over a year now). I have a yarn swift and a real nostepinne, both of which are vast improvements over my previous method of "loop the yarn around my knees and use part of an old wrapping paper cardboard tube". Though I'd be lying if I said I immediately, or even as yet, got rid of that old wrapping paper card board tube. It was quite good to me there for awhile. And that tube itself was an improvement over my previous method of wrapping the yarn around three or four of my bigger-sized double pointed needles (which was, in its own time, an improvement over using several pens held together).
Ah, growth.
So here I am, wanting to write about knitting, because it's one of the greatest things in my life (well, to an extent, and with some caveats). But I do love it, and I have a greater appreciation for it with each new stitch I learn, each new project I start - and hopefully finish.
Right now, I'm working on that previously-mentioned unplanned blanket. Here's the story: I was knitting a blanket for a friend of mine who got married last year. What can I say, I really am thankful there's a year-long rule for getting people wedding presents. I started it in November, but that was around the time I was also working on a present that was going to be a definite Christmas present (I had the idea of giving this wedding present by Christmas, but it's hard to knit two blankets simultaneously for one event when you can't knit multiple hours a day and still be a functioning human). Thus, the definite Christmas present took priority, and thus here we are, almost in February, and the other blanket isn't yet finished. Last weekend I was looking to be done with it. I felt it was pretty well long enough, and so all I had to do was finish the rows of pattern repeat, and then to the bind-off - which is a different method than I've ever done, since this whole blanket has an i-cord edging around it as you go. But all of a sudden, I couldn't stand how narrow it was. It's fine for, say, a twin bed, and I personally am in love with it, but if I'm going to make it that long, shouldn't I make it wide enough for a bigger bed? These are the thoughts that began to plague me. Of course, it'd be fine for a couch afghan, which is really what I typically intend these things to be. (It takes a lot of yarn to make a blanket wide enough and long enough for a non-twin bed.) But it just didn't feel good enough to me. I am my own harshest critic, always, but I want these things to be loved.
So, despite the fact that I had purchased this yarn earlier in the year with the express purpose of being for this particular friend, I started wavering. And then I dug into the stash of yarn I just bought for other blankets for other friends, and started up a new blanket. And now here I am, a week later, ten inches done on the new one, and the other one still waiting to be finished. I had a brilliant idea of another friend who I think would enjoy and appreciate the not-wide-enough blanket, and I'm loving the new mostly-simple pattern I've got going on this blanket, but now I'll have to figure out something else for the friend who was intended to get the yarn I'm now using...we shall see...
But the new pattern! So, the pattern I was going to use with this yarn was a complicated one, with lots of cables and different stitches going on. I anticipated it taking awhile. And I do still want to do it one of these days. On my desk at work sometime the second week of January, a book showed up (with a card). 400 Knitting Stitches. It's one of the best things I've gotten, partially because it was so utterly unexpected. (Apparently receiving gifts is one of my love languages.) Immediately I began looking through it, and wanted to try All The Patterns. And I still do. But I found a fairly simple one, that's easy to turn into an afghan, and I adapted it slightly, added an edging around it, and here I am, still enjoying it. But it was an interesting start - I had the basic of the pattern repeat, but I had to make it work for the 256 stitches I cast on. Not that it's hard to do, since you just take the number of stitches they tell you to use per repeat, and multiply so it's wide enough for what you want. And then add stitches for the edging. I actually did a swatch this time! I never do that, but I wanted to make sure there weren't any kinks in the pattern before I knit 64 inches and several rows of it only to discover some problem. (The worst part about afghans, for me, is casting on all those stitches. I only want to have to do it once, so no room for miscounting or error!)
Well, as luck would have it, I didn't adapt quite correctly. On the very first row. (Which, after having done the bottom edge, meant I had already knit eight rows.) I am a perfectionist. I don't let myself make mistakes. If I notice a mistake in my knitting, I do what I can to take it out, much to my own detriment sometimes. Occasionally I'll let it slide if it's not too egregious, but usually, I can't stand it. So when I realized I hadn't done the first row right (which I didn't notice until I started the third), I had a few options: take out two rows of knitting (meaning over 500 stitches), which is never an appealing thing to do; let it slide and accept that it would just look wonky at the bottom of the blanket - also not too thrilled by that one; or continue with the third row, dropping the offensive stitches when I got to those ones so I could fix them as I went. I chose option three. It meant it took me a long time to get that third row done, but I managed to fix it so it looked fairly normal. I'm still pretty new at this "dropping stitches when you get to them" business rather than just ripping back and re-doing them, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Of course, I then noticed several rows later that there was one I had missed, but by that point it would have been just too much work to drop down that many rows and manage to stay within the pattern. So, this blanket has an imperfection. An obvious one, if you're looking for it.
That's the good thing about knitting for non-knitters, though - usually they're not looking for it.
Anyway. That was a really long post with lots of writing and utterly lacking in pictures. Terrible re-start to my knitting blog. I'll try to do better next time (which hopefully will be sometime sooner than a year away...)
Ah, growth.
So here I am, wanting to write about knitting, because it's one of the greatest things in my life (well, to an extent, and with some caveats). But I do love it, and I have a greater appreciation for it with each new stitch I learn, each new project I start - and hopefully finish.
Right now, I'm working on that previously-mentioned unplanned blanket. Here's the story: I was knitting a blanket for a friend of mine who got married last year. What can I say, I really am thankful there's a year-long rule for getting people wedding presents. I started it in November, but that was around the time I was also working on a present that was going to be a definite Christmas present (I had the idea of giving this wedding present by Christmas, but it's hard to knit two blankets simultaneously for one event when you can't knit multiple hours a day and still be a functioning human). Thus, the definite Christmas present took priority, and thus here we are, almost in February, and the other blanket isn't yet finished. Last weekend I was looking to be done with it. I felt it was pretty well long enough, and so all I had to do was finish the rows of pattern repeat, and then to the bind-off - which is a different method than I've ever done, since this whole blanket has an i-cord edging around it as you go. But all of a sudden, I couldn't stand how narrow it was. It's fine for, say, a twin bed, and I personally am in love with it, but if I'm going to make it that long, shouldn't I make it wide enough for a bigger bed? These are the thoughts that began to plague me. Of course, it'd be fine for a couch afghan, which is really what I typically intend these things to be. (It takes a lot of yarn to make a blanket wide enough and long enough for a non-twin bed.) But it just didn't feel good enough to me. I am my own harshest critic, always, but I want these things to be loved.
So, despite the fact that I had purchased this yarn earlier in the year with the express purpose of being for this particular friend, I started wavering. And then I dug into the stash of yarn I just bought for other blankets for other friends, and started up a new blanket. And now here I am, a week later, ten inches done on the new one, and the other one still waiting to be finished. I had a brilliant idea of another friend who I think would enjoy and appreciate the not-wide-enough blanket, and I'm loving the new mostly-simple pattern I've got going on this blanket, but now I'll have to figure out something else for the friend who was intended to get the yarn I'm now using...we shall see...
But the new pattern! So, the pattern I was going to use with this yarn was a complicated one, with lots of cables and different stitches going on. I anticipated it taking awhile. And I do still want to do it one of these days. On my desk at work sometime the second week of January, a book showed up (with a card). 400 Knitting Stitches. It's one of the best things I've gotten, partially because it was so utterly unexpected. (Apparently receiving gifts is one of my love languages.) Immediately I began looking through it, and wanted to try All The Patterns. And I still do. But I found a fairly simple one, that's easy to turn into an afghan, and I adapted it slightly, added an edging around it, and here I am, still enjoying it. But it was an interesting start - I had the basic of the pattern repeat, but I had to make it work for the 256 stitches I cast on. Not that it's hard to do, since you just take the number of stitches they tell you to use per repeat, and multiply so it's wide enough for what you want. And then add stitches for the edging. I actually did a swatch this time! I never do that, but I wanted to make sure there weren't any kinks in the pattern before I knit 64 inches and several rows of it only to discover some problem. (The worst part about afghans, for me, is casting on all those stitches. I only want to have to do it once, so no room for miscounting or error!)
Well, as luck would have it, I didn't adapt quite correctly. On the very first row. (Which, after having done the bottom edge, meant I had already knit eight rows.) I am a perfectionist. I don't let myself make mistakes. If I notice a mistake in my knitting, I do what I can to take it out, much to my own detriment sometimes. Occasionally I'll let it slide if it's not too egregious, but usually, I can't stand it. So when I realized I hadn't done the first row right (which I didn't notice until I started the third), I had a few options: take out two rows of knitting (meaning over 500 stitches), which is never an appealing thing to do; let it slide and accept that it would just look wonky at the bottom of the blanket - also not too thrilled by that one; or continue with the third row, dropping the offensive stitches when I got to those ones so I could fix them as I went. I chose option three. It meant it took me a long time to get that third row done, but I managed to fix it so it looked fairly normal. I'm still pretty new at this "dropping stitches when you get to them" business rather than just ripping back and re-doing them, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Of course, I then noticed several rows later that there was one I had missed, but by that point it would have been just too much work to drop down that many rows and manage to stay within the pattern. So, this blanket has an imperfection. An obvious one, if you're looking for it.
That's the good thing about knitting for non-knitters, though - usually they're not looking for it.
Anyway. That was a really long post with lots of writing and utterly lacking in pictures. Terrible re-start to my knitting blog. I'll try to do better next time (which hopefully will be sometime sooner than a year away...)
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Now that's more like it
I finished a baby blanket a couple of days ago, and washed it last night. I was more or less ambivalent towards it before I washed it, but afterward? My goodness. it's nice. It's just a basic knit/purl pattern, but in such a way that one is in a pattern against the other so that they make the shapes of bears. Washing it really made the bears pop out more like they should, I think. Confused by what I mean? Here, let me show you!
Well, first, this is what I started out with:
That would be two skeins of lots of yarn. A pound each - 1020 yards. I made one into a center-pull ball (quite a beautiful one, which I have yet to be able to replicate well) because I couldn't find the end of yarn that normally pulls from the center of store-bought skeins like that. I ended up pulling out a huge chunk of yarn from the center, and just couldn't find it, and it was messy, so I just took the one on the outside and turned it into a ball. It took like two hours, though, so since I pretty easily found the inner end of the yarn on the other skein, I didn't bother balling that one. It is quite a space-saver, though!
Anyway. Here's the finished result, pre-washing:
Not too bad, I suppose. But it looks a lot more polished post-washing:
(The hat is also going to my friend who's getting this blanket. It's one of my older baby hats that I just happened to come across a couple of weeks ago. Since she's having a boy, I figured, hey, might as well give it to someone! But, like all baby items I make, I don't know if it's the right size or anything. Oh well.)
Last week, I also made my first real alpaca item, which I've worn...a lot since then. I love it.
Anyway. It's pretty basic, but it's so warm, and so so so soft. And I kind of love that it has a hint of the smell of animal. Maybe I'm just making that up, but oh well. I like it. (Of course, this coming from the girl who has been known to "crave" the smell of manure at least a few times while I've been in DC. I like farms.)
Last night, I also cast on a new project - probably my most challenging to date. It's sort of a lacy shawl. I'm using this yarn that's part bamboo blend! Pretty excited about that. (Also, ignoring the fact that I literally have at least five projects on needles right now. But, you know, different situations call for different projects! I'll be finishing at least one of them today, too, so that's good. Of course, I'll probably just turn around and start another one, but whatever. :-P )
Well. Now it's off to send a couple items to their new owners!
Well, first, this is what I started out with:
That would be two skeins of lots of yarn. A pound each - 1020 yards. I made one into a center-pull ball (quite a beautiful one, which I have yet to be able to replicate well) because I couldn't find the end of yarn that normally pulls from the center of store-bought skeins like that. I ended up pulling out a huge chunk of yarn from the center, and just couldn't find it, and it was messy, so I just took the one on the outside and turned it into a ball. It took like two hours, though, so since I pretty easily found the inner end of the yarn on the other skein, I didn't bother balling that one. It is quite a space-saver, though!
Anyway. Here's the finished result, pre-washing:
Not too bad, I suppose. But it looks a lot more polished post-washing:
(The hat is also going to my friend who's getting this blanket. It's one of my older baby hats that I just happened to come across a couple of weeks ago. Since she's having a boy, I figured, hey, might as well give it to someone! But, like all baby items I make, I don't know if it's the right size or anything. Oh well.)
Last week, I also made my first real alpaca item, which I've worn...a lot since then. I love it.
Anyway. It's pretty basic, but it's so warm, and so so so soft. And I kind of love that it has a hint of the smell of animal. Maybe I'm just making that up, but oh well. I like it. (Of course, this coming from the girl who has been known to "crave" the smell of manure at least a few times while I've been in DC. I like farms.)
Last night, I also cast on a new project - probably my most challenging to date. It's sort of a lacy shawl. I'm using this yarn that's part bamboo blend! Pretty excited about that. (Also, ignoring the fact that I literally have at least five projects on needles right now. But, you know, different situations call for different projects! I'll be finishing at least one of them today, too, so that's good. Of course, I'll probably just turn around and start another one, but whatever. :-P )
Well. Now it's off to send a couple items to their new owners!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Do-over
Well, remember that infinity scarf I mentioned the other day, the one I was knitting with Malabrigo yarn? I finished it last night, or two nights ago, and while it would have been ok to leave as-is (or, as-was, more appropriately), I decided it wouldn't do that fabulous yarn justice for me to have something I was ambivalent about. So, project was frogged, yarn was re-wound (and my goodness, how happy I am to have figured out that I can make center-pull balls with yarn I wind up! Before I was just winding it in a straight-up ball, and working with the outside yarn. Doesn't work as well that way. Center pull? I loves me a center-pull ball). Trying the scarf thing again, but with different yarn. I'll have to contemplate a bit more what I want that Malabrigo to become. I think I found something, but it'll have to wait a bit.
So tonight, I got down to the business of starting a new one. Except, here it is, hours later, and I'm still trying to figure it out. I've cast on and undone and re-cast on and knit a few rows and undone again, multiple times. I can't figure out the right needles, and decided to try a different pattern. And then the pattern I decided on had me cast on what I consider an insane number of stitches, but I didn't really realize this until I had already gone a row or two. Hopefully I'm settled down now, and things will finally progress. I'm anxious to have it done, because the yarn I'm using now is an alpaca yarn. And let me tell you. Alpaca is my new favorite animal. Goodness. If you've never felt alpaca yarn, be my friend and come over and I'll let you pet it. It's delicious. So, assuming that when I join the stitches (so I can knit in the round - because boy oh boy, I have a great dislike for stitching up a project) I don't twist it, which has happened once or twice tonight as well, I should be off and running. And I should hopefully be able to get this thing done by the end of the week.
Of course, there's also still the other blanket to finish. Plus the baby one. Plus a couple scarves promised to a couple of people. (But I'm trying to stay simple on those, so they're not so time-consuming.)
And, oh yeah, did I mention, those five graduate classes I have. Right, those.
Thankfully, the worst part of any project for me is the beginning. And it's especially bad when it requires casting on 100-200 stitches, because having to redo that many is time-consuming. Casting on 15 or 20? No biggie. That's the trade-off between knitting in the round versus doing seaming afterward. Ah, well. At least once this one is going, everything I have going is pretty simple. So that's good.
Now, back to it.
So tonight, I got down to the business of starting a new one. Except, here it is, hours later, and I'm still trying to figure it out. I've cast on and undone and re-cast on and knit a few rows and undone again, multiple times. I can't figure out the right needles, and decided to try a different pattern. And then the pattern I decided on had me cast on what I consider an insane number of stitches, but I didn't really realize this until I had already gone a row or two. Hopefully I'm settled down now, and things will finally progress. I'm anxious to have it done, because the yarn I'm using now is an alpaca yarn. And let me tell you. Alpaca is my new favorite animal. Goodness. If you've never felt alpaca yarn, be my friend and come over and I'll let you pet it. It's delicious. So, assuming that when I join the stitches (so I can knit in the round - because boy oh boy, I have a great dislike for stitching up a project) I don't twist it, which has happened once or twice tonight as well, I should be off and running. And I should hopefully be able to get this thing done by the end of the week.
Of course, there's also still the other blanket to finish. Plus the baby one. Plus a couple scarves promised to a couple of people. (But I'm trying to stay simple on those, so they're not so time-consuming.)
And, oh yeah, did I mention, those five graduate classes I have. Right, those.
Thankfully, the worst part of any project for me is the beginning. And it's especially bad when it requires casting on 100-200 stitches, because having to redo that many is time-consuming. Casting on 15 or 20? No biggie. That's the trade-off between knitting in the round versus doing seaming afterward. Ah, well. At least once this one is going, everything I have going is pretty simple. So that's good.
Now, back to it.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
I take it all back
You guys, it's finished. The edge has been undone and redone. (The whole blanket was knit with size 10 needles; I ended up doing the edge row in size 15 needles. And it worked beautifully.)
It can now be packaged up and sent off to its new owners, and fulfill its blankety destiny in whatever way they see fit. It's about 64" in diameter, all told. (If I hold it up to the top of my head, the other side hits the floor, so it's even wider than 64" if it's stretched a bit.) It'd probably look better on a bed, but I have not an appropriate bed for this sort of thing. (It's a twin. And pushed up against the wall. This blanket wants a bigger bed, I think.)
I hope the recipients like it. And I hope they don't tell me if they don't. :-) All I know is, I'm quite satisfied, and feeling a lot better about life than I did last night. Sometimes it's worth it to put in several more hours of work on something that's finished but not up to standards. Anything worth doing is worth doing well, right?
Mmm. I love finished products. (Except when they're disappointing finished products...)
It can now be packaged up and sent off to its new owners, and fulfill its blankety destiny in whatever way they see fit. It's about 64" in diameter, all told. (If I hold it up to the top of my head, the other side hits the floor, so it's even wider than 64" if it's stretched a bit.) It'd probably look better on a bed, but I have not an appropriate bed for this sort of thing. (It's a twin. And pushed up against the wall. This blanket wants a bigger bed, I think.)
I hope the recipients like it. And I hope they don't tell me if they don't. :-) All I know is, I'm quite satisfied, and feeling a lot better about life than I did last night. Sometimes it's worth it to put in several more hours of work on something that's finished but not up to standards. Anything worth doing is worth doing well, right?
Mmm. I love finished products. (Except when they're disappointing finished products...)
Friday, January 28, 2011
Setback.
Today has not been a very good day in general, and in knitting.
I'm currently working on my first-ever Malabrigo project (a delightful and delicious yarn I'm so excited to try, and the color I bought a few months ago - and yes, am just now getting around to using - is called Azalea. Hello, perfect?). I realized today that I really wish I had used a size or two larger needles for it. I like squishy things, and with the needles I'm using, it's not turning out so squishy. But I'm so close to being done (and really, it's not a big project and I just started it a few days ago) that I'm just going to finish it, but not cut the yarn or tie the end off, and see how I feel about it. If I like it, great, if not, I'll just have to start all over. No biggie. But still. Kinda disappointing.
Then tonight, I finished up a scarf I started (back in December, when I got way over-ambitious about Christmas projects) for my nephew, and realized both that it looks shabby thanks to the number of times I went back and forth between colors, and that I seem to have tightened my gauge halfway through so it's not exactly even as it should be. Which wouldn't be noticeable except for the fact that I decided to switch colors every 15 rows. So, I'm rather bummed about that. He's almost 6, so I doubt he'd really care or notice, but I care and notice. Still have to figure out what I'm going to do about that one.
And last Saturday, I worked hours and hours and stayed up late to finish this blanket project I've had going since November (which also was meant to be a Christmas gift). First of all, I'm not entirely sure that I even like it now that it's done (except now that it's washed and soft, I love the yarn - I always love the after-wash result when I make blankets and things out of Caron Simply Soft. Acrylic it might be, but it sure lives up to its name). It's a circle. Who wants a circle blanket? Sigh. Plus, the worst part is that, as usual for me, the edge (which is all bind-off, obviously, since it's a circle done from the inside out) is too tight. I should have used bigger needles, or something, been more careful about it, but by the time I got to that point I had already been working on it several hours longer than I had originally planned (but I decided to add four extra rows - which isn't a small thing when the rows have almost 600 stitches each), and I just wanted to be DONE. So I did it quickly, and not loosely like I should have, and it kind of curls in. I was hoping it'd relax a bit with the wash, and it did some, but not enough for my liking. So, ridiculous though this is (especially since I was hoping to get it in the mail tomorrow), I'm undoing the edge. All 576 stitches of it. Gah. And then I'll redo it in a larger needle, and hopefully that'll help it a lot. If not, it just wasn't meant to be great, and hopefully the recipients will at least appreciate the gesture.
And people wonder why I don't think I'm very good at knitting. It's because I'm not. Duh.
Back to the never-ending blanket. Sigh.
I'm currently working on my first-ever Malabrigo project (a delightful and delicious yarn I'm so excited to try, and the color I bought a few months ago - and yes, am just now getting around to using - is called Azalea. Hello, perfect?). I realized today that I really wish I had used a size or two larger needles for it. I like squishy things, and with the needles I'm using, it's not turning out so squishy. But I'm so close to being done (and really, it's not a big project and I just started it a few days ago) that I'm just going to finish it, but not cut the yarn or tie the end off, and see how I feel about it. If I like it, great, if not, I'll just have to start all over. No biggie. But still. Kinda disappointing.
Then tonight, I finished up a scarf I started (back in December, when I got way over-ambitious about Christmas projects) for my nephew, and realized both that it looks shabby thanks to the number of times I went back and forth between colors, and that I seem to have tightened my gauge halfway through so it's not exactly even as it should be. Which wouldn't be noticeable except for the fact that I decided to switch colors every 15 rows. So, I'm rather bummed about that. He's almost 6, so I doubt he'd really care or notice, but I care and notice. Still have to figure out what I'm going to do about that one.
And last Saturday, I worked hours and hours and stayed up late to finish this blanket project I've had going since November (which also was meant to be a Christmas gift). First of all, I'm not entirely sure that I even like it now that it's done (except now that it's washed and soft, I love the yarn - I always love the after-wash result when I make blankets and things out of Caron Simply Soft. Acrylic it might be, but it sure lives up to its name). It's a circle. Who wants a circle blanket? Sigh. Plus, the worst part is that, as usual for me, the edge (which is all bind-off, obviously, since it's a circle done from the inside out) is too tight. I should have used bigger needles, or something, been more careful about it, but by the time I got to that point I had already been working on it several hours longer than I had originally planned (but I decided to add four extra rows - which isn't a small thing when the rows have almost 600 stitches each), and I just wanted to be DONE. So I did it quickly, and not loosely like I should have, and it kind of curls in. I was hoping it'd relax a bit with the wash, and it did some, but not enough for my liking. So, ridiculous though this is (especially since I was hoping to get it in the mail tomorrow), I'm undoing the edge. All 576 stitches of it. Gah. And then I'll redo it in a larger needle, and hopefully that'll help it a lot. If not, it just wasn't meant to be great, and hopefully the recipients will at least appreciate the gesture.
And people wonder why I don't think I'm very good at knitting. It's because I'm not. Duh.
Back to the never-ending blanket. Sigh.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Lackadaisical
My knitting + blogging has been a pretty failed endeavor thus far. Oh well.
Knitting goals for this year (and maybe next year, depending on how things go). Learn entrelac. Learn fair isle. Learn intarsia and other kinds of colorwork. Learn brioche. Of course, by "this year" I really mean "starting in May" because I just can't commit myself (or give myself the temptation) to learn something new like that. Unless the opportunity presents itself.
For example, tonight I was looking over notes from one of my classes from spring semester last year. I have been much better about this in my second year, but often in my first year I would write random notes to myself interspersed with class notes when I was getting particularly bored or just had to write something down so it'd get out of my brain and I could go back to concentrating. Anyway, at one point (from a class in February, I believe), I saw a note that said something about how excited I was that I had just tried cabling for the first time, and had finally learned how to knit in the round and how to knit on double pointed needles. And it's hard to believe, but yes, I've only had those skills for less than a year now. I believe it was the week off during Snowpocalypse that encouraged this. I also believe that the first hat I ever knit, a couple of baby hats aside, was during Snowpocalypse. Plus, there's only so many blankets a girl can knit before she wants to try her hand at other things. But the point is, for the first 4-5 years of my knitting life, all I made were blankets and scarves. And until 2009, it was two baby blankets, just a few scarves, and two and a half ish regular blankets. I mean, really, I don't know what I did with myself knitting-wise for so long! But then, I guess I didn't have a lot of what I do now. I knew basically no one who knit (aside from the influence of two of my college friends who were the impetus for me teaching myself in the first place), and didn't know the vast knitting resources that were online. 2009 really started it, and I got that afghan-making book and some large needles to go along with it, and thus started my obsession with afghans, and I did some baby booties and a hat...hm...how did I make a baby hat before learning how to knit in the round? Must have seamed it up the side, I guess...hm. Or I learned knitting in the round earlier than I thought. Except I know I didn't have double pointed needles when I made those baby hats...well, in any case, I avoid seaming now whenever possible.
Point is, I've knit more things in the last two years than I did the four-ish years I could before. And it's been so fantastic. Knitting has been one of my saving graces these last two years. Graduate school has been good for something! Haha. And it's fun because there are awesome knitting sites to go to, and I now notice knitting in movies and things (30 Rock mentioned knitting in one of its episodes in the fall, which was really funny, and tonight on the Office there was a woman knitting! Very briefly, but it was there. And another show I watch has had a character knit a couple of times), and I get distracted by pretty knit things in movies and in real life (at the March for Life on Monday, there were lots of hats I wanted to knit. I just kept seeing cute hat after cute hat. Not really the point of the day, but fun nonetheless).
I just love knitting. The more I do it, the more I want to do it, and be good at it. I've had a number of things in my life that I did for a little while, but wasn't disciplined enough to get really good at. Violin comes to mind (which is still a regret I harbor). Being a good graduate student is another...haha. But knitting? Oh, I just want to keep learning, and keep getting better, and ensconce myself in this world of yarn and needles and lovely gifts and projects. I want to work at this. I want to understand it better. I want it not to be just some thing I do once in awhile, half-assedly. I want to be good at it. I don't want to make disappointing projects. I have, many times, but I would like that to decrease exponentially. I want to be happy with what I make, and I want the people I make things for to be happy, too. And not just "Oh, I like it because you made it." Genuinely happy, and appreciative. That's what I want. I hope I can make that happen. I'm encouraged by the progress I've made in the last year. I want to keep going, though. When I'm settled somewhere, I want to start getting involved with a knitting group, somewhere I can go and learn from other people for once. There's only so much a person can do alone (although, I've managed to teach myself quite a bit thanks to the wonder of youtube and awesome people who want to help others get better at this lovely craft). It'd be nice to have a group, though. Much as I am an introvert.
Anyway. Rambling. I could talk about knitting all day. It's kind of pathetic, probably, but whatever. It makes me so happy. Almost as happy as pictures of Nutmeg. :-)
Knitting. The love of my life. Hahahahaha.
Knitting goals for this year (and maybe next year, depending on how things go). Learn entrelac. Learn fair isle. Learn intarsia and other kinds of colorwork. Learn brioche. Of course, by "this year" I really mean "starting in May" because I just can't commit myself (or give myself the temptation) to learn something new like that. Unless the opportunity presents itself.
For example, tonight I was looking over notes from one of my classes from spring semester last year. I have been much better about this in my second year, but often in my first year I would write random notes to myself interspersed with class notes when I was getting particularly bored or just had to write something down so it'd get out of my brain and I could go back to concentrating. Anyway, at one point (from a class in February, I believe), I saw a note that said something about how excited I was that I had just tried cabling for the first time, and had finally learned how to knit in the round and how to knit on double pointed needles. And it's hard to believe, but yes, I've only had those skills for less than a year now. I believe it was the week off during Snowpocalypse that encouraged this. I also believe that the first hat I ever knit, a couple of baby hats aside, was during Snowpocalypse. Plus, there's only so many blankets a girl can knit before she wants to try her hand at other things. But the point is, for the first 4-5 years of my knitting life, all I made were blankets and scarves. And until 2009, it was two baby blankets, just a few scarves, and two and a half ish regular blankets. I mean, really, I don't know what I did with myself knitting-wise for so long! But then, I guess I didn't have a lot of what I do now. I knew basically no one who knit (aside from the influence of two of my college friends who were the impetus for me teaching myself in the first place), and didn't know the vast knitting resources that were online. 2009 really started it, and I got that afghan-making book and some large needles to go along with it, and thus started my obsession with afghans, and I did some baby booties and a hat...hm...how did I make a baby hat before learning how to knit in the round? Must have seamed it up the side, I guess...hm. Or I learned knitting in the round earlier than I thought. Except I know I didn't have double pointed needles when I made those baby hats...well, in any case, I avoid seaming now whenever possible.
Point is, I've knit more things in the last two years than I did the four-ish years I could before. And it's been so fantastic. Knitting has been one of my saving graces these last two years. Graduate school has been good for something! Haha. And it's fun because there are awesome knitting sites to go to, and I now notice knitting in movies and things (30 Rock mentioned knitting in one of its episodes in the fall, which was really funny, and tonight on the Office there was a woman knitting! Very briefly, but it was there. And another show I watch has had a character knit a couple of times), and I get distracted by pretty knit things in movies and in real life (at the March for Life on Monday, there were lots of hats I wanted to knit. I just kept seeing cute hat after cute hat. Not really the point of the day, but fun nonetheless).
I just love knitting. The more I do it, the more I want to do it, and be good at it. I've had a number of things in my life that I did for a little while, but wasn't disciplined enough to get really good at. Violin comes to mind (which is still a regret I harbor). Being a good graduate student is another...haha. But knitting? Oh, I just want to keep learning, and keep getting better, and ensconce myself in this world of yarn and needles and lovely gifts and projects. I want to work at this. I want to understand it better. I want it not to be just some thing I do once in awhile, half-assedly. I want to be good at it. I don't want to make disappointing projects. I have, many times, but I would like that to decrease exponentially. I want to be happy with what I make, and I want the people I make things for to be happy, too. And not just "Oh, I like it because you made it." Genuinely happy, and appreciative. That's what I want. I hope I can make that happen. I'm encouraged by the progress I've made in the last year. I want to keep going, though. When I'm settled somewhere, I want to start getting involved with a knitting group, somewhere I can go and learn from other people for once. There's only so much a person can do alone (although, I've managed to teach myself quite a bit thanks to the wonder of youtube and awesome people who want to help others get better at this lovely craft). It'd be nice to have a group, though. Much as I am an introvert.
Anyway. Rambling. I could talk about knitting all day. It's kind of pathetic, probably, but whatever. It makes me so happy. Almost as happy as pictures of Nutmeg. :-)
Knitting. The love of my life. Hahahahaha.
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