DFW Fiber Fest

DFW Fiber Fest is this weekend - I am so excited! I will be updating this post with yarn pictures shortly once I get my camera back - I left it at the in-laws at Easter & they are mailing it to me - so sad that postage is cheaper than gas to East Plano. ANYWAY! I went to buy all the yarn I needed for this thing on Monday and I love it all. Here is the line up I'm taking:
Seamless Raglan Sweater - Fri morning
Intro to lace knitting - Fri afternoon
Dyeing with Food Grade Dyes - Sat morning
Don't Despair - Repair! - Sat afternoon
Intarsia from Beginning to End - Sun morning
Adjusting for Gauge, Changing sizes - Sun afternoon

So exciting, isn't it? I originally scheduled for a Crochet for Knitters class & it got cancelled because apparently not many people were interested. I must admit at first I was really disappointed because part of the reason I was attending was for the crochet class. My second choice was the dyeing class which I had NO interest in, but now I simply can't wait. I've been researching online & it's just...well, cool! I bought tons of Kool Aid & clearance easter egg dye. I'm only bringing a little egg dye because man, it's seasonal! And I'm too nice - I'll hand it all out to everyone in class. I can't wait to see how it comes out - I've even planned a project with the yarn I bought to dye. See the Knitty Clapotis in my Projects of Interest area.

Also, bear with me, I'm playing with my title. None of my ideas are original but I'm feeling them out!

BOOOOO!!!! HISS!!!!

Can I tell you that I HATE this Boye Needlemaster with my whole heart and soul? There is only one thing I hate more than being wrong & that is admitting that I was wrong. My baby blanket project was coming along swimmingly. I went to my knitting group Saturday night very smugly carrying my shiny new Needlemaster interchangeable needle set. I mean really, some people didn't even know that they made interchangeables so there was a good deal of interest in them. What a great idea! Well, about 10 minutes into knitting they came unscrewed. I was up to about 300 stitches on the blanket & dropped probably 75 of them. Ugh. So i recovered from that and I learned a really good lesson - how in the world do you reattach these things when you have a project on them? You can't screw them together. GGGGRRRRRR. So I finally manage to reattach them. Not 10 minutes later they fall apart AGAIN. That's it - thankfully Tatiana had pretty long 10.5 circulars so I snatched them & moved my blanket onto those.

Monday I found my receipt & hauled them back to Michaels. No go - they won't take them back because I used them. He asked me why I wanted to return them - I told him they wouldn't stay together & I hated them - too bad. Anyone who knows me well knows my "I'll just sell them on ebay" attitude. Well, they go for NOTHING - which makes me believe everyone hates them & also makes me feel like an idiot for not buying them on ebay to begin with for half the price!

Bottom line is this: I need several lengths of circulars for the DFW Fiber Fest this weekend. I'm going to give them one more shot. I will be writing an unhappy email to Boye. Then they very possibly will be sold on ebay - something is better than nothing - and I'll start saving for my Addi Turbo collection.

Drama, Drama, Drama...

Can't I do one F**King project without having issues??? Ok, now that I got that out...I started the pinwheel baby blanket & the yarn that I bought called for size 8 needles. Why I even listen to the label is way beyond me because I know that I knit really tight & the label size never works for me. I started it at out knitting group & Lynn was kind & patient enough to start it for me like 3 times since I kept screwing up - but she drew the line at the last start. I got it home & knit for a few nights & it was really just whipping my butt - I should have listened when Lynn told me that she thought I should knit it on bigger needles....Having said that, I had just bought the bamboo double points that I needed specifically for this project (and as I said before, I hate those bamboo things!) ANYWAY - so I frogged the blanket again & did a few swatches until I found a size that didn't make me want to rip my hair out yet would actually warm a little baby - an 11! So off to search out size 11 double points...have you looked for larger sizes of double points lately? My LYS is a good 35 minutes from me so I searched all the typical Michaels, Hobby Lobby...to no avail. I found 10 1/2s at Joann - you know what? Close enough! So I started it over all on my own & have been going to town on it as shown in the picture above.

All this lead to the next obvious question - new circulars. Patrick happened to be with me on part of this quest & when I saw that the circs I wanted were $9 I starting telling him about the interchangeable circular option (like he cares, really). When he figured out that we were talking about $50 he was so confused as to why I was even considering doing anything else so I took that opportunity to find out more & immediately purchase them! I researched online & found that most everyone loves their Denise needles & Monday I drove to LYS to get them. The girl in the store talked me out of them! When I asked her if they were better than the Boye she said honestly no but that the Boye were $95 & that she used Addi Turbos so easy for her to tell me that the $20 a pop ones were the BEST option (that comment came from her, not me). I do appreciate the honesty & the whole plastic issue was throwing me - I hate to knit on plastic needles, I love my cheapy metal ones! We asked the ladies at LYS if they had used them - one lady loved them (did I mention she was also knitting with Addi Turbos though) & one lady hated them & said she wouldn't knit with them if you gave them to her for free! I decided to go with my gut. Michaels had the Boye Needlemaster set for $70 & I found a 40% coupon so I went & got them for $45 with tax. I even used a gift card that I had from Christmas so really they were free... how is that for rationale!

So that is my baby blanket drama. I signed up for the DFW Fiber Fest April 28-30 so I just realized that cuts my knitting days down considerably. I suppose I'll have to start knitting during the day between working - now THAT is the upside of working from home!

Update

I really have been knitting, I just haven't been blogging! I've finished up a bunch of projects - Finally got Kenny's scarf done, it's pictured above. I gave it to him on March 25 - pretty close to Christmas right? I got the 25th right anyway! I bought the same yarn from that first panta & made another one - these don't look totally dynamite on me either but they look ok when I have my hair in a ponytail. I changed the pattern & made them 3 ribs instead of 5 - they are so much fun! I'd make a ton of them if I had a need for them.

Now I am working on a baby blanket (pictued above as of 4/7). It's the pinwheel blanket from craftster - so adorable! I hope it comes out well - I got the invitation & the shower is May 6th so I had better get a move on it! I am using Bernat Baby Boucle in Spring Breeze & am knitting on new bamboo double points. I have to say it, I HATE these bamboo needles. Give me cheapo aluminums anyday! When I get a few rounds out I will switch to circulars so it should be ok. Lesson learned.

I was just letting you guys know what I've been up to - I'll update on this blanket as it progresses but I'm seriously hoping there is no drama attached to it!

Panta Trouble

I made this adorable "panta" which apparently is Finnish for headband. There is a thread 50 some pages long on Craftster.org with many people modeling their finished products & I decided I needed to make one too. I picked this adorable yarn - Reynolds Santana - from the clearance section of the Woolie Ewe for $3.50. It was a great pattern for me because I learned how to increase & that it really wasn't as big of a deal as I was making it out to be. It went really quickly & when I finished it up last night & put it on it looked like CRAP on me. Definitely too wide, but I should have known that from the pictures I saw. It's cute though! So I modified the pattern to make it thinner & started a new one with the yarn left over from my sock class since I have no intention of making another sock..ever.

My blog was looking so sad with no pictures. So I thought I'd share my panta experience & I'll post a picture when I'm done. My next project is going to be a baby blanket and I am going to pick up my yarn on Thursday. LATER!

Come Over to the Dark Side.....

It's official. I bought Debbie Stoller's SNB The Happy Hooker & I'm learning to crochet. I'm not abandoning my knitting, I just want to be a double threat! I come across pretty open weave patterns that seem to be crochet so I want to learn. I think that's so funny since I've been reading crochet boards & they complain about the lack of cute / stylish crochet patterns. The book I bought is full of cute stuff but really I just want to make flowers. I have no idea why. I started to teach myself last night & I really must be learning challenged. I thought I was doing it right & I was so proud of myself then I read the next section & that's what I was just doing. So I skipped a whole skill (single crochet - main move) & moved straight ahead to something else (slip stitch). Much like my knitting I'm thinking pattern reading will be a real challenge for me. I need to find some videos & practice I guess.

In the meantime I have ALMOST finished Patrick's Christmas scarf. I finished up the original 3 balls of yarn that I bought for it & he informed me that he'd like it a little longer. I bought the yarn in December. It has a dye lot. Anyone want to guess on the chances of me finding any more yarn that would work? I called my LYS & they told me they didn't have that dye lot but bring it in & we'd try to match it. I packed it in there on Friday & dug through every ball of Debbie Bliss alpaca silk & guess what? They had ONE skein left. Just for me! (well, him). So I did finish the knitting on that project yesterday, I just have to work in my ends & block it. Then I started working on Kenny's scarf again yesterday. I took it to Vegas with me & got a lot done at the airport. I measured last night & it is up to 56 inches, so it's getting there. I measured a scarf he uses on a regular basis & it measured 60 inches without the fringe, so I'm thinking my original plan of around 70 inches is probably right. It's coming along much quicker now that I'm working on it again. LOL.

My next project is this baby blanket. I still have to pick yarn & the baby is due in May, so I need to hurry it up!
http://www.knitlist.com/00gift/round-baby-blanket.htm

That's it for now - I just hadn't posted in a while and my blog was looking neglected.

The Tote That Wouldn't Felt

I finished knitting my bag on Friday. YAY! I was unsure about the finishing because I honestly haven't done much. Reading all the different ways to join edges & such confused me so I decided to wait until knitting group Saturday night so I could get some help. Tatiana taught me to knit & she suggested crocheting the ends & the handels on. To be honest, she did it for me - who am I to complain? Most knitters hate the finishing work & I brought other projects so I let her. Well, we knit the handles on wrong, which really didn't matter before felting because it was really big & still hung kind of like a hobo bag & I liked that it was different. We had lots of new people at our group & everyone really wanted to see it felted so we decided to do it at her house. We did take "before" pictures but she has them so I'll post when I get them.

Felting...we followed the directions of the pattern for felting & left the bag alone. Oh the excitement! When time was up we looked at it and...it was BIGGER. Not smaller, people, bigger. When I held it up I could have worn it as a dress! So we tried again on a longer wash cycle with hotter water & actually threw in some of her son's jeans to help with aggitation. No cigar. STILL not felted. Ok, maybe a little, but really, just a little. We are girls that aren't afraid to experiment so we got out the iron. We steamed it under a washcloth & that worked some, but still not much. Bottom line is this...Tatiana has this really cool state-of-the-art gentle washing machine! (she's gonna be mad I wrote this). But everyone started coming in there & checking out the washer & we all agreed that we'd never seen such a machine. Gentle on & perfect for regular washing, bad for felting. It doesn't have an agitator! I put it in my old beat up washer & VOILA! Felted - too much. The finished measurements are 11x13 - so about a legal sheet of paper. Now the sideways handles matter. We've decided to cut them off & line the bag, but it will be a few weeks because I can't fool with it right now - I'm leaving for Vegas this Sunday & I have other things to do on my days off.

Current projects: I'm steadily working on my sweater. It's getting closer but it's so...boring. I finished up the yarn I had for Patrick's scarf thinking I was finished - he doesn't think it's long enough. UGH. Woolie Ewe doesn't have the same dye lot, so we'll see what happens.

I've seriously started looking at baby stuff because I have 2 baby gifts to make. It's so hard to decide because everything is SO cute. I also have some issues knitting clothes that I know they won't get much wear out of...I have a few things in mind so stay tuned for that!

I guess I get my gold medal. I just have to figure out how to put it on my blog...

Ever heard of a Moebius Loop?

Well, that's what the brainiac I live with informed me that I had NINE inches into my first circular knitting attempt. On a deadline. During the knitting olympics. I'm not sure what they call it in the knitting world, but I'll be sure to find out so I can avoid them in the future.

When I started this project the voices of my helpers rang in my head, "Be sure not to twist your stitches." Yeah, whatever. In my world of straight needle knitting, really it doesn't matter because you untwist them as you go. Ummmm, not really the case when you JOIN your work & knit in a circle. Let me back up a bit. The olympic events really started at 3:00 on Friday, but I was thinking that I couldn't start until 7:00 when they really really started. Not so. I got back from Walmart with Patrick telling me to start knitting already, opening ceremonies started! He is still in self preservation mode & not wanting to get stuck with the pointy sticks. So I quickly unpacked my groceries & started knitting. I knit all of Friday night while watching tv & then Saturday I watched literally 5 movies & all I did all day was knit. About 8:30pm, I decided to see how wide the opening of the bag was. Hmmm, I can't seem to straighten this out. Patrick, hold this side. Ummm, we have a problem. "You have a mobius loop", that's what he said. What the hell is that??? It can't be - it's not possible that I screwed this up & knitted for 2 days not knowing. Alas, yes, it is possible. I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but it is indeed twisted and there is no fixing it. Well, there is but it's not really what I wanted to do. I frogged the whole damn thing, nearly 2 balls of uneven, bulky yarn & started over. I wanted to cry but I really just couldn't. Lesson learned. I realize this is what happens when I decide to try new things with no supervision. Really, though, it doesn't make it fun.

The good news? After much knitting & a few tips from my knitting friends, I'm back on track. I'm about 9 inches in and the handles are done, so it's not the end of the world. See picture #2. Now THAT'S a circular bag. Geometry lesson over.

And so it begins...

The olympics start tonight! I'm so excited! Why is it that it's been so hard to wait to start this project - I have found myself wanting to cheat a little & start early WAY more than once. So I put off buying my needles until Tuesday this week. But I sure have been looking at my yarn a bunch - isn't it so pretty? I can't wait to see how this comes out. Nevermind that I NEED a bag like I need a hole in my head, but whatever. Sixteen days to finish - I'll be a knitting fool....

I did finish up that cream/ gold scarf Wednesday night at knitting group - blame it on the huge snickes coffee that I drank (fat free whip & no sugar, so there!). SO GOOD.

Keep an eye out - I'll let you know how I'm coming along!
Go USA!

On the Sticks

*** I feel like I haven't been actually writing about what I'm knitting so I took some pictures today. #1 is a cheapy one skein just knit scarf that I'm making for me. So FREAKING boring! You can't tell from the picture but it's pretty skinny & has some gold sparkles in it - I figure I can wear it over a tee or something! #2 is Kenny's Christmas scarf - I am using a pattern called Reversible Stitch that I found on about.com. Kenny ended up with a really cool Christmas present so I put him on the back burner so I could finish other presents for people that didn't have gifts! But poor man. His birthday is in May, so I joke that he might get it then. I'm really liking the way it is turning out - my friends say it looks "tweedy". #3 is Patrick's Debbie Bliss alpaca silk Christmas scarf - it much more sage green in person. I am using the pattern for the Cashmere Boyfriend Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I really really like it. And everytime I'm knitting something else he reminds me that it doesn't look like the alpaca! One day he'll get his present too. ARGH! The knitting olypics start Friday(along with the real olympics) so I'm starting something new. Plus my sweater I previously featured. Too many WIP anyone?

Meet Priscilla - modeling my new scarf...

Today marks the debut of my scary new model, Priscilla. It's such a long story - I'll try to make it brief. I really wanted a dress form because one of my 2006 goals is to learn to sew. But we went to a furniture / fixtures close out sale & I found this thing for about $16 so I got it. I figure I can use it to model the stuff I'm selling on ebay & maybe rig it into a dress form eventually. If not, it's less than $20 & the entertainment value is definately at least worth that much! We named "her" Priscilla after the transsexual in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, since it is technically a man but will be modeling primarily woman clothing. Patrick has banished her to my reading / craft room for fear of waking up in the middle of the night & putting bullet holes in it. I have to agree with that! Be on the look out, Priscilla will be making sporadic appearances here.

On to the scarf - it is the same Spiral 'Ruffled' Scarf previously featured here but I knit it in Sierra - for me! I love it but I haven't worn it yet. Shame on me! I am still singing it's praises though, it has definately been my favorite thing to knit to date - which is pretty obvious since I knit 3 of them.

Did I mention I'm a yarn whore?

Oh yeah! I mean, I have a stash. I have a really big stash. But for whatever reason, I can't pass up a yarn bargain. And to make matters worse, then I choose a new project & go buy yarn to knit it!!! How crazy is that? This is my latest acquisition: Jewel Box from Big Lots for $1.99 a skein. My sister emailed me that her Big Lots had yarn on sale & she'd go check it out for me if I wanted her to. I tried to explain that yarn was like crack, you can't pass it up if you are addicted, so I wasn't going to even go there. Plus it's really hard to tell other people what you are looking for in yarn. Well, Big Lots is literally 1/2 mile from my house & I buy bottled water in bulk there. On a recent trip I innocently passed by the yarn aisle (HA) and found this - my fav is at the left, the "tiger" looking stuff! LOVE. The good news is that I just saw the exact same yarn at Joann's & Michaels for like $5 so it really was a bargain.

Here is my job today: I'm riffling through the dozens of knitting mags that I've picked up & matching projects to yarn that I HAVE. It will be done! Will update when I figure all this out. Sigh....

Going to the Olympics! Knitting, that is...

Yep, I joined the knitting olympics. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, author & fellow blogger at www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/, put out a challenge for a knit along that begins during the opening ceremony of the Olympics & you have to be finished your project in 16 days. That is also the day I leave for a girl trip for Vegas, so I may just have another bag to bring with me to put my winnings in (read, shopping loot since I don't really gamble)! I will be attempting the Berroco Toshiko Tote - it is my first attempt at felting & since I have primarily knitted scarves, I feel like it is a challenge for me. I will post a picture of my yarn (Damariscotta Mix) when I get it because the color on the site is such a bad representation - it's much more green.

Poor Patrick. See, one of the rules of the knitalong is this:
"While this is intended to be somewhat difficult (like the Olympics) it is not intended to ruin your life. Don't set yourself up for failure. (Olympic athletes may cry, but they do not whine pitifully, sob and threaten members of their family with pointed sticks because they haven't slept in five days. ) This is intended to (like the Olympics) require some measure of sacrifice, and be difficult, but it should be possible to attain."
Hmmmm, I read this to him & he's a little nervous. Simply because he actually has been poked with knitting needles & apparently it's not really pleasant! :) I'll let you know how it goes.

Knit no more...

So I won't be knitting for a while. On Wednesday I was slicing potatoes on the PC Ulitmate slice & grate & I cut the hell out of my finger. I mean I cut it good. Went to the doctor and got the first three stitches of my life. I had knitting group that night & was all kind of happy to go knit with my friends because I haven't seen them in a while. Oh well....

On the needles right now:
*Scarf for Patrick out of Debbie Bliss Alpaca silk - it is a dream to knit with. I am using the pattern for the Cashmere Boyfriend Scarf out of Last Minute Gifts. It looks great so far! Especially since poor baby I gave him a box of yarn for Christmas instead of a knitted gift.

*Scarf for Kenny. I am using a great yarn - shown in the upper left of the picture above. We got it free at an estate sale! I am using a Reversible Stitch pattern shown here http://knitting.about.com/library/blscarf.htm

*My sweater - Crosby from Berrocco - see pixs above. I have the front & back done, I just have to finish the other piece. Oh yeah, and sew together & learn how to block (I think).

*Another spiral scarf as shown in my other article in Sierra. This one is for me. :)

So be on the look out for me! I'll be working on projects just as soon as I possibly can. I'm ready NOW.

Spiral Success

I love this scarf! It was so much fun to make. I made it from a pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website called Spiral "Ruffle" Scarf with Homespun Yarn Prairie & edged with Moonlight Mohair in Rain Forest. I love this color combo. I was looking for a pattern using these two yarns because they were in a huge box of yarn that I got at a yard sale for $5. I chose this one because it was knit on circular needles & incorporated a yarn over, neither of which I had done.

I made this scarf originally as a Christmas gift for my stepmom. Well, I also needed a knitted gift for Patrick's grandma (she specifically asked / hinted for a knitted gift) & as time approached, it became very apparent that I didn't have time for a new project. Since I had a gift for smom, Gran got the scarf. Out of all the things I had finished, this scarf really fit her personality & she really seemed to love it - she even wore it Christmas day. But my mind wouldn't let it go that this was smom's gift! I made it with her in mind! And she seems to "get it" and appreciate my craft, so I bought more yarn & made another one. After all, her birthday is Jan. 11th! I knit it while we were at the beach on vacation, so it also has happy vacation beachy vibes knit into it! No sand though, I was on the balcony.

So Happy Birthday, Ms. Nancy, I hope you love it as much as I do. As a matter of fact, of all the projects I've made for others, I may have to make just one more. Just for me!

No Hat Left Behind

I had good intentions, really I did. I decided to knit my sister a hat for Christmas. I've never made a hat, but she's really not a scarf gal. And she has a hat that she loves! After looking at some knitting magazines in, oh, about September, she commented on a hat. So I searched forever looking for a hat pattern that looked like the one she has that she likes (crocheted, probably) & found a great free pattern on Bernat (I'll add the link if I ever figure out how!). Anyway, the pattern called for Bernat Galaxy yarn. I saw the yarn & thought it was pretty enough, but it didn't come in an color I wanted to use. She owns a black jacket & a red jacket & she already has a pink hat, so I was trying to find something that went with her jackets & she didn't have. So I opted for Caron Charming in Jubilee. It seemed to be the same weight, it called for the same size needles, no harm in switching out yarns, right? Or at least that's what I've read....

I had minor struggles with the pattern but after a few phone calls to my knitting buddies I figured it out. It came out quite smashingly, I thought. Except...
It was too small. It was WAY too small. Many people that saw it questioned my sanity - I mean, didn't I notice when I was knitting it that it was only big enough for a small child???? Well, no, because you knit it flat & sew a seam and HEY it's my first hat, people! Well, my niece is 4 & she doesn't have a knitted project for her auntie, so I figured I'd improvise & give it to her. NOPE - it didn't even fit a small(ish) child! But she got a cabbage patch baby doll for Christmas, so she's the lucky receiptent. Which kind of worked out since I knit that poncho for her sister's doll. Now my other niece decided she wanted a hat knit out of the same yarn that I used for her poncho into a hat for her cabbage patch doll. Uhhhhh, yarn size substitution / pattern resize anyone? I don't think I'm ready for that. But i'll make her a hat for some doll she has - I just have to figure out what!

So the bad news? My sister, my own flesh & blood doesn't even have a knitted project! My goal is to knit something for everyone in my family & now she is the odd woman out. Good news? I guess now I can actually find out what she wants, what color, let her pick her yarn, etc. My teacher laughed & asked cautiously "Oh, now you are letting people pick what they want you to knit?" Apparently that is a no-no in her book. My answer to that is - sure, my rule is that if I majorly screw up your gift, you get a freebie!

One more present down...

A poncho for my niece's American Girl doll. This is my third attempt at this poncho. The first time I knit it with yarn that was lumpy (if that makes sense - like it had knots on it) and I didn't realize how much sewing I would have to do, so that didn't work out so well. The second attempt was a purely stupid mistake on my part. I finished both pieces in the yarn shown, but when I sewed it together, I didn't get it quite straight so I took the scissors to it. Well, long story short, I ended up cutting my knitted piece - DOH! So I finally finished it today, on my day of complete knitting while watching Sex & The City DVDs.

Do you ever feel guilty when you take the whole entire day to knit? I know I do. I am reminded by my sweet man that I am making Christmas gifts so that is the equivalent of Christmas shopping & I wouldn't feel guilty about doing that, now would I? Of course not! So I guess I'll have several knitting days this week. I won't be posting pixs of my finished projects since they are gifts. And in Tasha-land, where I live, the peoople who know & love me check my blog every single day to see my new entries - they anticipate pictures & FO with bated breath. Like I say, it's my fantasy land, let me believe it! So I won't be showing off my stuff until after Christmas, but I'm really excited.

OH, and more great news - I am officially a professional knitter, as in, I sold a scarf. My friend took a few of my finished pieces to craft shows & such that she has been in and someone actually bought one! I am so excited, it's very validating to have someone who doesn't love me actually pay money to wear one of my creations! And the best news is, the yarn that I used was $1 at a yard sale, so my profit margin was HUGE! Oh happy day!

Maybe I'm screwed

I'm starting to think that I don't know how to knit. Just because I've finished lots of projects & non-knitters think they are pretty does not necessarily a good knitter make. I started to think I was screwed up when I took that damn sock class. Apparently the teacher there is an "english" knitter & I knit like an old Russian grandmother - more specifically, my teacher's granny. I apparently learned the Continental method of knitting, plus I think I put my own spin on it. I figured out that I was knitting different when I would knit in different groups & they would ask me if I was left handed. Which I'm not. So when I took the sock class, they tried to show me how to purl as if I was knitting using the English method. Which naturally didn't work, but I didn't know any better because I never bothered to study things like the anatomy of a stitch! When I went to my sweater class, my teacher there figured out that I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. So she literally worked with me for 2 hours to figure out how I could purl to make it work with the way I knit - as you will recall, obvioulsy I put my own "spin" on it because I don't knit exactly like anyone I know - including the people that taught me.

I am such a rebel. I put the book Knitting for Anarchists on my Christmas list mainly due to my extreme agreement with this statement from a review of the book on Amazon.com "Zilboorg's book is a real eye opener, and equips those of us who do our stitches a little differently with the knowledge and ability to deflect purists, stitch nazis, and other fiber arts authoritarians when they tell us we're doing it wrong, and show them that our stitches are perfect regardless of whether we knit Continental or English, leading leg in front or back, or if we wrap clockwise or counterclockwise." AMEN my knitting sista!

But here is what I'm learning. If I want to be a knitting rebel, I really do need to
figure out what each stitch does. I did the exact same thing when I wanted to learn to play the piano. I wanted to play songs, damn it, not learn notes!!! I also refuse to do a swatch & figure my gauge - I mean, really, what is wrong with me. How am I supposed to knit cool sweaters & wraps & things that I'll actually wear other than scarves if I won't play by the rules? I guess I'm just frustrated. There are many things that I want to make & I can't figure out how to do them because I can't just follow a book. Like over the weekend, I wanted to make a scarf that said I needed to "yarn over" - which looks easy in the book. But they show you how to yarn over if you knit like them. So how am I supposed to know how to yarn over? I tried a few things but it's not working because instead of a spiral scarf, I have just another straight scarf. Oh, what's a knitting rebel to do? Part of me thinks that I should just start all over & play by the rules. But the rebel in my refuses that theory, because I can be an anarchist if I so chose! I guess I'll go study boring stitch anatomy. Or maybe I'll just wing it & stay in my frustrated state! I'll let you know what I decide.

The Lone Sock

I really wanted to knit socks. I saw the picture of the pippi kneestockings in Stitch 'N Bitch & really really wanted some. I mean, come on, they are so cute! I had only knitted rectangles so the idea of a sock was a little more than I could handle on my own. I can't read a pattern to save my life & I learn by sight, not by books, so it's really more than I cared to try without help. One night at knitting group Becky & Valerie said they were taking a socks class at the LYS. PERFECT! I had partners in crime! So I called the very next day & signed up for my class, so excited at the prospect that I, too, could knit socks (nevermind the fact that I didn't even know how to purl).

I love the Woolie Ewe in Plano. They are so sweet & the class was super, but ya know what? I hate socks. I hate that sock more than anything else ever. I attribute my hate for socks to the following things (get your cheese, everyone, I'm about to supply the whine):
* we had homework. Obviously to be at the next point to teach us something, we HAD to do homework each week. I knit for fun, people, I don't want someone to dictate to me that I HAVE to knit. Granted, if they hadn't "made" me, I'd probably have knitted knee socks, but hey, tell me I have to do something I don't wanna.
* I have discovered that I like size 13 needles & up. I like instant gratification. These are knitted on size 5 double point needles. I have corpal tunnel & I knit really tight, so this was hell on my wrists, but I'm also a baby.
* I need to be knitting Christmas gifts! 3 weeks later I'm still not, I'm working on a sweater just for me, but in my head, every second I spent on this sock was time I could have spent on gifts.
* My sock has what is referred to as "ladders" and 2 air holes because I didn't knit it tight enough in certain spots.

Poor little lone sock. Am I going to make it a friend? One just like it so I can actually enjoy my sock(s)? I guess one day. I guess after I do Christmas presents. When I feel like it. Maybe then I'll wear them & love socks! I figure I'll make some pretty Christmas stockings & start in February on great big needles - maybe then I'll love socks! My knitting teacher said "you weren't ready for socks" - man, she is smart. I wasn't ready for socks, but hey, I know how to turn a heel. And I can say I know how to make a sock. And I learned to purl & rib. BTW, when I left my friends they were both looking for new sock patterns & yarn, so I may be the only one that hates socks.

AWWW, I'm looking at my sock thinking it needs a match. I want to hate it but I can't, it's like a knitted child, my sock baby!

Knitting for the fam

Well, when my family found out I was knitting, everyone was....skeptical. You have to understand, I used to be Ms. Corporate America & my Martha skills were limited to picking up bread or the plastic utensils for family functions. But since I am not working anymore, I am exploring my artsy side, and as far as I'm concerned, that includes knitting. So when they snickered I took it for a while & when I finally had enough, I said "If you laugh at me, I'm not making anything for you." Well, after they saw that what I was making was PRETTY, the attitudes shifted just a bit. At an extended family gathering yet another family member got wind of my new hobby & started cracking up. My sister quickly said "if you laugh you won't get anything, and her stuff is really pretty." Eureka!!!

On a trip to see my family a few months ago my Mom very respectfully asked if I planned to make her something because she would really like to have something that I made. So I sent this to her today: it's just garter stitch using 2 balls of Berroco Softy in Kiss. I don't know how to fringe, so this is as good as it gets for now.