Yarn addict

f.i.n.i.s.h.e.d.

2008-03-23T18:01:00.004-04:00

I have been a busy girl. Knitting, not knitting. Working. (as usual.)

Let's see what we have to show for it. Two knits for the husband. He's been patient, and deserves fun handknits.

A sweater!!! I grew a sweater in my garden bed, in the snow!
No, this pattern is Flood by Kim Hargreaves. It's my first sweater and I'm pretty proud. It's knit from Rowan Plaid and has taken about 6 months from start to finish. Finishing a sweater feels like such an event. It's done. All of the hours of knitting, blocking, seaming. Done. Woohoo! It's a little big for it's intended giftee, but he wears it anyway.

Second, finished object:

Thuja from Knitty, out of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK, in the Java colourway. These socks were so simple and I loved knitting them. The yarn is very soft and has lots of spring. He wears them all the time, and I wear them, too if I can. They are too big for me, but fit him perfectly.

So, that's what I have for today.... Happy Easter!

growth

2008-02-17T18:35:00.002-05:00

Catching up

2008-01-01T19:15:00.001-05:00

It's been a while. Things in my non-knitting world have been rough. As I am in charge of a residential program for 15 children with mental illness, I have been responsible for making sure that each of them have a holiday celebration in concert with the beliefs of their family of origin and understandable by my staff and within time and financial constraints. Not easy. In the middle of this, my dad got sick and I had to spend some unplanned time in Maine. (He's ok now.)

Needless to say, I am thrilled that the holidays are over and it's 2008.

In my knitting world, I was able to finish a few projects at the end of 2007.

This is a felted tote bag that my mother-in-law commissioned me to make for her sister for Christmas. I used Knitpicks Wool of the Andes for the first time and found that it does, in fact, felt beautifully. For the price, I think it may become my go-to yarn for felting. The colors aren't really what I would choose, but the recipient loved it, so what more can I ask? There's a little bit of novelty chain yarn in there, too. The patten is from Fiber Trends.I also made two pair of fingerless mitts, one for myself and one for my brother's girlfriend (which I'm gifting this weekend). They were both of Cascade 220, using the Cabled Fingerless Mitts pattern. I added one cable repeat for the gift mittens, as the ones I made myself feel a little short.

These are the ones for Danielle. Please forgive the crazy outfit and messy background. No pics of the ones for me - but they're getting plenty of use. I really wasn't sure if I would get a lot of use from the fingerless mitts, but I happen to love them. I use them at work while typing, as my computer is right next to a not very well insulated window. When running errands, they allow me to have access to my fingers to get my keys, wallet, dog leash, etc. They're great.

So, that's it. I did knit a few gits that I didn't have time to photograph - a bunch of mini mitten ornaments, a scarf, and Knitty's Calorimetry. All things I plan to reproduce en masse for future gifts. I'll try to post plans for this year's knitting in my next post. For now, cinnamon buns are beeping from the oven..

Baby blanket - finally finished!!!

2007-10-08T16:06:00.000-04:00

Look what has gone for a wash!

After months of work, I have finally finished and gifted the baby blanket I made for my friend Jen, who is due to have her third baby tomorrow. I so enjoyed working on this project. It's a log cabin in 4 colors of incredibly soft egyptian cotton.

Four colors you say? Isn't it a violation of artistic principles to use an even number of something? Why yes it is. I tried to avoid this for about a month. I tried a variety of other colors, to make it 5, or to reduce it to 3. It did not work. However, I feel despite the even number of colors, the result is quite lovely.

Check out my first attached I-cord:

I attached a cotton flannel backing with two layers of batting in between. This was the first time I have lined anything, and I'm so glad I took the chance to give it a try. This project allowed me to develop so many skills- picking up stitches, attached i-cord, backing/lining something. And, best of all, the recipient liked it. Yay for me!

Time to myself

2007-09-21T12:38:00.000-04:00

A month ago, when things were very hectic at work, I scheduled to take this week off. I correctly predicted that things would start calming down at bit and I would be able to be away from the program and just recharge. In a strange turn of events, I actually followed through with the vacation and did not go to work at all this week. (I have checked my email each day, though.)

What did I do with my time? I feel very domestic saying this, but I really just worked around the house - and it was great. I organized, cleaned, caught up on laundry. I built this, all by myself, with my own two hands:

It is an IKEA file cabinet on wheels. I'm pretty proud of myself that I put it together with no help at all. I even used power tools!

I also went to Maine to spend some time with my family. All of our birthdays are in August, September, and October, so we kind of celebrated them all at once. I spent a little time in Old Orchard Beach, re-acquainting myself with pier fries. If you've never had pier fries from Lisa's Pizza in OOB, you are seriously missing out. They are hand cut crinkle fries, cut on the thick side, greasy, and you must load them with vinegar and salt. They are incredible.

We also spent some time shopping in the Old Port in Portland. I LOVE the Old Port. There are cobblestone streets, little shops and boutiques, lots of pubs, and it's right by the water. When I was in college, I would drive the 20 minutes from Brunswick down to the Old Port to just get away. They had the best coffeeshops.

In one of the parks there this week there is an art installation. Unfortunately, I can't recall the name of the piece or the artist, and my google-fu is weak today. It was a participatory piece in which the audience takes red ribbons and ties them to branches and trees in the park. Each ribbon was to represent a relationship that the audience member would like to to try to repair in the coming year. As I've previously written in this blog, symbolic action is interesting to me, so I thought this piece was very engaging. I tied a ribbon and spent a few minutes in awe at all the ribbons and the relationships they represented. It was a brief visit, but special. The whole visit, and writing about it, reminds me how much I miss Maine. I live here in Massachusetts, but Maine truly is my home.

There also has been knitting. Some updates on ongoing projects:
Flood - the husband's sweater:

I am enjoying my first foray into cables and into knitting a sweater. The cables are really so much easier than I thought! This picture is of the back, and I'm about 10 cm from the armholes. (Since it's a Rowan pattern, it's all metric). After much discussion with my knitting group about the pros and cons of flat vs. round, I decided to do as the pattern said and knit it flat.
I'm also making progress on the Multidirectional diagonal scarf out of Rowan Tapestry:

I love the long runs of color. It's such a simple pattern, but it's very satisfying. I'm 1.5 balls in, and I think I'll end up using at least 3 balls total, but maybe I'll dip into the fourth.
And, the Cascade Fixation Socks.

I have been knitting frantically on these because I want to finish them and move on. I'm at the heel flap on the second sock. I like watching the colors change, and I like the way the socks are coming out, but I just don't like the needles I'm using. I was first using Brittany's, but they were too "sticky" for the cotton. I then picked up some metal ones at the LYS, but they are not the nickel plated kind, they are metal with an enamel or some other coating over it. They're faster than the wood, but still not as fast as I'd like. So, I'm looking forward to the next project.

And that is the status of my life right now. Back to work on Monday. I do feel a little more relaxed. I could use another week to finish getting things in order in my house, but it's much better than when this week started. Vacations are good.

How to convince the husband that more yarn is a good thing.

2007-09-03T19:28:00.000-04:00

It all started on Friday night of this gloriously long weekend, when I was having very strong cravings for new yarn. Now, if you've seen me on Ravelry (where I'm Lorigirl), you'll know that I do have a stash. It's not all catalogued, but it fills a dresser and a plastic bin. I also do have a number of projects on the needles. But, I wanted to shop.

Now, to actually shop for yarn this weekend, and spend money on yarn, I would need the husband's blessing. I also was dying to go back to visit Webs. How would I get the blessing to increase the stash yet again, and drive an hour to do it? I would have to make him part of the purchase process. Two strategies at play here:

1. I did have $12 worth of merchandise from Webs that I needed to return. Getting money back is a good thing, and the husband supports that.
2. I would have to convince the husband that this trip is about him. Ever since he felted his beautiful Irish fishermen sweater in the wash, he's wanted me to knit him a replacement. So, this trip is really for him, so he can pick out yarn and a pattern for his new sweater.

This worked! We went to Webs and he tolerated a brief walk through the store, and then sat with Elliot in the "non-knitting partner" section of the store and read magazines. I took my time browsing patterns and yarn, and gave him a few choices after about an hour. He made his choice - Flood, in Rowan's Plaid yarn, in the "washed pebbles" colourway.

I have cast on, and knit about 2 inches on the back, but have decided to make a change to the pattern, to knit it in the round. Since I much prefer knitting to purling, and the body is mostly stockinette with the 3 cables, I think this will make it a much more enjoyable knit. We'll see. This is my first sweater, and my first time cabling, so I'm excited about the chance to expand my skills.

Stay tuned for pics of my progress.

Worth the wait

2007-09-02T11:40:00.000-04:00

My socks are here!! Yay! Check out the gorgeous socks my pal, Annemarie sent me:

They are the Horcrux socks made from ONline Supersock and I LOVE them!
They are very soft and the purples and black are beautiful together. They arrived in the mail last night and I wore them all night. I wish I could get a better picture of the pattern, but it just wasn't working out.

Funny thing is that I was planning on making these socks for the husband. However, seeing them makes me think that they might be too lacy for him, so this is a good thing. For me, though, they are perfect. One of the nice features of this pattern is the ribbing all the way down the foot - this makes them fit really well.

My pal also snuck some other goodies into the package:

She sent the leftover yarn from my socks, a sachet of lovely smelling bath salts, some very cool knitting themed cards, and a ball of the same type of yarn that she used for my socks, in a beautiful blue colourway. I am so lucky. Thank you Annemarie for being so thoughtful!

Am I crazy? Yes.

2007-08-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

I am signing up for another swap. I just like spoiling people, I guess. I also don't mind being spoiled... I'm hoping to join the "Fall into Autumn" Dishcloth swap.

I like autumn, dishcloths, and people. Perfect.

In other news - I'm exhausted. Work is incredibly stressful right now. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I expect things to be better after tomorrow.

My Sock Pal.

2007-08-17T21:08:00.000-04:00

I have the most incredible sock pal. Look what s/he sent me:

This is the yarn I mentioned from Alabama Fiber Dreams. The colors are beautiful and the yarn is soooo soft. I cannot wait to wind it into a ball and start knitting. What shall I make? It's more than 400 yards. I'm thinking socks, of course, but which ones?
AND:

These stitch markers match the yarn perfectly! Thanks to my pal, I now have 2 sets of stitch markers. A week ago, all I had were those little round plastic ones. Now I need to find a project where I can use the markers. Maybe venture into lace?

Regardless what I choose, I have the nicest, most generous sock pal ever. I'm intrigued to find out who this person is and what my socks will look like. Until then, you can find me winding yarn and weeding through patterns.

Stash Enhancement

2007-08-14T21:32:00.001-04:00

I did it again. On Saturday, I practiced the fine art of stash enhancement. I have realized that my practice of buying one skein/ball/hank of a yarn I like doesn't actually yield fruitful projects. I buy the yarn, thinking that I will incorporate various yarns into beautiful scarves. However, getting the black mohair to mesh with worsted weight yellow and a blue and green variegated slub yarn. So, I was itching to buy some yarn and instead of buying different yarn, I augmented my current stash with enough of a yarn to actually make something. Here are the goods:

Rowan Tapestry - destined to become the Multidirectional Diagonal
Scarf for me!! I have 4 balls, so I think I'll get an extra long scarf out of it.

Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Spirit - hopefully the 4 balls will be enough for another multidirectional diagonal scarf and mittens for my brother-in-law's girlfriend for Christmas.

Southwest Trading Company - TOFUtsies! I fell in love with the soft colors of this yarn. I've heard that it's splitty, but I'm going to give it a try. The price and yardage is good. I'm debating between another pair of Jaywalkers, Cookie's Monkey socks, or something completely different. Any votes or suggestions?

Jaeger Trinity - will become a long, comfy, striped scarf - striped horizontally the long way.

It's been a LONG time since I've thought of this many scarves. I think the last scarf I made was a supersoft, superlong black scarf two winters ago. I loved that scarf, and knit it very quickly because I needed a scarf. However, the scarf was lost somewhere at work, so it's now time to replenish the scarf stash.

So, now it's knit knit knit in anticipation for winter... I can't wait.

Georgia on my mind

2007-08-12T16:41:00.000-04:00

I seem to have a very tricky Sockapalooza secret pal. I received a package this weekend from "Steve Sockmasterson" in Atlanta, Georgia. Apparently, the socks s/he is making me are causing problems, so s/he's still working on them. This is fine, and I hope s/he doesn't stress about them. It's too hot for socks here, anyway.

"Steve" sent me some beautiful stitch markers from a very cool Etsy shop called Alabama Fiber Dreams. [Sidenote - The yarns are gorgeous. I'm in love with the Narcissa Malfoy and the Spring Prairies colourways.] The stitch markers are very cute red and black with a little silver ladybug. I tried to take a picture, but my skills are, well, not so good.

It's very sweet that my sock pal sent these to me so I won't feel left out or forgotten as everyone else gets their socks. I'm just happy that s/he is keeping in touch. That's what these swaps are about, anyway, right? Making connections?

So, I'm left wondering if my pal is actually from Atlanta, or if s/he is being adept at trickery. I will just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, my downstream pal, Ana has received the socks I sent and reports that they fit. Hallelujah! I managed to get a few pics before I sent them 0ut:

I feel very relieved that my deadline knitting is over, for now. I practiced some stash enhancement yesterday at one of my favorite yarn stores in the area. I'll try to post pics as soon as I can.

Weather....or not.

2007-08-11T16:59:00.000-04:00

It's incredible how much the weather can effect my mood. More rightly speaking, it's actually the temperature which determines whether I am fit for human company. I loathe heat and humidity. I cannot function in an environment where I am sweating - and I do sweat. So, summer is particularly difficult for me. While others frolic about with cheerful faces, I orchestrate grand schemes to be in air conditioning. I live in New England, so A/C is not everywhere. Shops, movie theatres, and my bedroom are all air conditioned. Most restaurants although, surprisingly, not all.

This summer, I have found another way to deal with the heat. We have been camping and spent some time in the water. I find water, especially rocky riverbeds so soothing. I mean, who can be stressed looking at this?

The dappled sunshine on the uneven floor of the riverbed, all the little cracks and crevices, its own ecosystem in each pool of water. I am calm; refreshed and renewed.

Yesterday it rained and was around 50 degrees in these parts. I was in heaven. I wore jeans for the first time in months. Last night I snuggled under the blankets, instead of sweated on top of them. And today, I feel on top of the world. It's warm here, but the inside of my house is cool. I am comfortable and happy. I feel like I got a little hit of autumn and the relief of the crisp air is on its way.

Yarn porn and final Jaywalker pics tomorrow. For now, here's Elliot in his favorite summerwear.

Yes, I think I can dance.

2007-08-04T17:58:00.000-04:00

Aagh! I have been a terrible blogger, and now there is too much to catch up on. I will have to make a list.

1. I read the new Harry Potter in 10 hours the weekend it came out. Bad idea - I read it too fast and now don't remember it much. I will have to read it again.

2. We went camping twice and I actually liked it!! I surprised myself. I do like nature and being outside. I always have. In the last few years, though, I get a little anxious about being in the wilderness. Well, we went "car camping" in the Berkshires. It was so beautiful, and I was able to relax given that there were real bathrooms with real toilets and our car was right there if we needed to go anywhere. One of my favorite parts of camping was knitting by the campfire, with a headlamp on my head. It was so goofy and fun.

3. I am addicted to So You Think You Can Dance. This is the most incredible show. As a dancer and choreographer, it's wonderful to have different styles of dance showcased every week.

4. Jaywalkers. I'm almost finished with the second sock! I have about 3 inches left on the foot section. Then it's the toe, and I'm done. Here's my progress: (I knit about 2 more inches after I took this picture.

These socks are for my Sockapalooza Pal. They're due in the mail Aug. 9, so I need to finish them this weekend! I think it's do-able.

5. Ravelry. Last night I photographed some of my favorite yarns to catalog my stash. I have visions of a stash organized and all in it's place. I'm Lorigirl over on this site.

6. Cleaning. I have sucked it up and saved money and decided to get someone to clean our house. I feel weird about it - there are people in my family who do this for a living. But, I do not have time. And, I don't want to spend the time I do have cleaning. So, we've allocated some budget to this luxury. Let me say that having someone clean our house has helped me to keep it cleaner. I love it.

That's it. Off to knit.

Mother's Day Project

2007-06-04T21:28:00.000-04:00

I have always been interested in symbolic activity. Art that has meaning, purpose. Something to say. And so, the Mother's Day Project called to me. Through this project, I have had the opportunity to honor a female soldier who gave her life for me. I did this through the simple art of embroidery. My humble needlework will be incorporated into a piece of utilitarian art, a tote bag, which people all over the country will have a chance to use for a while.
This is my name: Jennifer A. Valdivia. I embroidered in simple backstitch, with a deep purple. The background is an off-white muslin. I changed the photo to blue, to make it more visible.

I looked up Jennifer A. Valdivia, to find out how she passed away. Turns out the circumstances surrounding her death in Bahrain are "under investigation." I tried to imagine all of the things that could have happened to her, all of the ways she could have died. I wonder about her family. Do they know how she died? Do they have answers?

I have no opinion to profess on the war in Iraq. I do have an opinion, but this is not that kind of blog. This blog is about the art I'm doing now. It's enough to honor this sailor, to write her name, to bring attention to her death and all of those who serve.

Too tired to knit.

2007-05-24T22:29:00.001-04:00

I am currently without husband or dog. Both are on a 3-day business trip, and so I am on my own. With all of this freedom, I am supremely dissapointed in myself, as I am, sadly, too tired to knit. Last night I knit a bit but tonight, my eyes are only half-open and I'm needing my bed. Tomorrow I've taken the day off and, if it kills me, THERE WILL BE KNITTING.

I miss my boys, and I'm going to bed. I'll try to post the Jaywalker progress pics tomorrow.

Aaaah. Better.

2007-05-20T20:48:00.001-04:00

HERE is the new and improved Sockapalooza sock for my pal.

Much improved. Clearly Jaywalker is a much better pattern choice for this yarn. You can actually see the pattern, this time. I'm also happy with the striping so far. I find it pleasing to the eye. However, I'm not so happy with working with size 1 needles. I'm having to alternate with the baby blanket on the size 7's just to keep the sharp pains at bay.

(No pics of the baby blanket yet. Since it's a gift, I don't want to spoil the surprise if the recipient reads this.)

Other ramblings for today:

I've been increasingly aware that my world is getting smaller, and I'm a little unnerved by it. My husband and I moved to this house in this city 9 years ago. We didn't know anyone. Everything we knew was an hour away in Boston. Work, grad school, friends. My family was 2 hours away in Maine, his family 4 hours away in Vermont. Just the two of us in this house, commuting every day to our "real" life in Boston. We had moved to this city because we could afford to buy a house here. But we didn't really want to live here.

Now, we both work in this city. Our commute is less than 10 minutes to work. We go out to dinner here, go to the movies here. We actually joined a gym here, instead of the gyms near our jobs or school in Boston or Cambridge.

Now, 9 years later, I'm starting to bump into people that I know when I'm out in public. At the park today, with the dog, I bumped into a woman who is a coworker of a good friend of mine. We socialized with our dogs for about 15 minutes, my peace broken by putting on my "public" face. More and more this face is demanded by my environment. I've started to talk to my neighbors. They've actually knocked on my door to talk about "neighborly things." So, now I need to keep the inside of my house presentable as well as the outside.

I am torn between missing my anonymity and almost enjoying these connections. Part of me felt good to be recognized at the park - the person knew me. And, I actually felt like I looked ok. I had lipstick on. The dog is, of course, beautiful. It was ok. I kind of felt like a normal person in a normal town. I felt seen. But, my instinct to hide, to withdraw, to hibernate is deep, and I'm...well....unnerved. I don't know what this means or where it is going, but I'm just aware of it.

Ok, serious stuff over. Now for another cute Elliot picture:

And we're back.

2007-05-15T21:24:00.000-04:00

As you can see, we now have the camera cable. Watch out internet. I will overwhelm you with ridiculous pics of my knitting, yarn, flowers, and - of course, my animals.

Here we have better pics of the Mother Day's gifts. I finished the felted bowls off with ribbons, and the put ribbon around the fabric as well. I take all my gift giving advice from Martha Stewart. Ribbons, lots of ribbons.

Now, the sad news. My sockapalooza sock is no more. I worked very hard on it. I knit until my little hands were cramped and bleeding. However, it seems that the River Rapids pattern is not the right pattern for this yarn. I don't think the variegation of the yarn allowed the pattern to really show up. What do you think? (Note - the colors are pretty off here. They are really much more vibrant than McDonald's-like.)

So, now I'm on the search for a new pattern. I'm thinking that Jaywalkers might be a good choice. Thoughts? Any other ideas?

Living like a grown-up.

2007-05-10T18:51:00.000-04:00

This is the first day this week that I am home in the evening. I can do things like - eat dinner, plan my clothing for tomorrow, empty the dishwasher, watch tv, maybe even knit!
I sent off our Mother's Day presents today:
For both my mother and the in-law, I knit some of the felted bowls from One Skein, by Leigh Radford. (I LOVE this book, by the way. Every time I look in it I find something new I want to knit.) In the bowls, is some incredible fabric I picked up in the Bahamas. It is hand-batiked, made by the fine folks at Androsia Batik, right in the Bahamas. The shop I visited was incredible. I wanted to buy something to support them and to have a unique souvenir, and these small "fat quarters" of fabric were perfect for my quilting mother and in-law. I packed them up this weekend, but haven't made it to the post office until today. I took some better pictures after I fancied them up with ribbons, but they are stuck in the camera. When we get another mini USB cable, I will post them.
I started my sockapalooza sock earlier this week. The first couple of rows looked really messy. I have a problem with knitting too tightly, so I cast on with a needle one size larger than called for. I thought I was going to have to start over, but I had faith and kept going. I'm glad I did. With a few more rows on it, it's looking much better. I will post my progress when I can get the camera situation straightened out.
What's going on with the camera cable, you might ask? The husband decided that he should take it to work. Since he's a teacher at a "therapeutic day school" (read "Chaos Factory")* the cable is now gone. It appears that one of his students felt they needed it more than we did. So, they took it home. Now, all of the lovely pictures I am taking are stuck in the camera. No shiny cable to transfer them to the computer and then to the world. Sigh. When husband gets himself together to replace it, we'll have more pics. For now, we'll have to settle for the pics already in the computer.

Obligatory cute picture of Garbanzo and Elliot.

* I'm allowed to be cynical about his students. I'm a therapist and many of his students are or have been clients in the program where I work. I know them. Chaos, I tell you, chaos.

Sockapalooza Four

2007-05-05T21:59:00.000-04:00

So, I have selected my yarn for Sockapalooza Four. My partner appears to love yarns that are much more vibrant than the ones I am usually drawn too. So, I moved out of my comfort zone color-wise, and found this:

It's Schaefer Anne. (And yes, it's in my BBQ grille. I couldn't resist. I thought it looked like fire.) It's soft and squishy and these incredible yellows, oranges, and reds. I couldn't capture all of the brightness here, but trust me. It's bright. I'm really serious about pleasing my sock partner. I even knit a gauge swatch for this sock.

Pattern-wise, I'm thinking of River Rapids. I wish I was knitting it in blues and greens, but maybe with the reds and oranges it will look like lava. We'll see.

We went for a walk to the park this evening with Elliot and took some cute pics. I can't resist posting one of them. Elliot sitting for his future statue:

10 Reasons I started this blog:

2007-05-05T21:41:00.000-04:00

1. My old blog is too boring. It's on livejournal and I'm ready to break free from that crowd and set up something new.
2. I want to document my obsessive knitting and yarn purchases.
3. I figured out the whole deal with transferring pictures from my digital camera. As such, I needed a place to display all the interesting (to me) pictures I take.
4. I feel ready to return to writing and sharing my words with others.
5. I'm inspired by all of the blogs I read.
6. I'm doing Sockapalooza 4 and need a place to write about my progress.
7. The whole internet needs to see pics of my pets.
8. I have something to say.
9. I have nothing to say.
10. What the hell? I need another obsession.

2007-05-04T23:36:00.000-04:00

Inaugural post. My fingers are fluttering, but I feel that I should get the template all set before I write too much. We'll see.