Busy

I am not used to running more than two or three errands in one day, so when I woke this morning, I did not realize how I would feel at the end of the day. I barely had the will to knit a garter stitch shawlette at knit night, which should tell you something, because I am always up for knitting.

I started my day by trying to get some swap yarn put in envelopes to take to the PO after having breakfast with a friend, which I failed to do. Oh, the late breakfast- a corned beef hash sammie from Lou's- was amazing, I just wish I'd managed to be prepared for the day in advance instead of as I went. (Story of my life.)

The lunch was succeeded by dropping off two lemon cakes at my friend's work, where they'd been gifted a box of lemons, but didn't know what to do with them. (And yes, I still have a whole box of lemons in my apartment, waiting to be used.) This was the first installment of many, many lemon foodstuffs. I'm looking forward to challenging myself and trying new recipes, but I think we'll all be sick of lemons by the end. The cake went over very well, by the way. I used this recipe.

I returned home to complete my packaging, set up a presentation of my handspun for a local LYS, and pull together everything I was going to need for the day, including a brand new project and some suitable needles (which involved a Ravelry search for what constituted "suitable").

Then: the bank and the Post Office. Fortunately, the bank is directly across the street from the PO I use, and even more fortunately, the clerks at the PO are efficient and friendly (not something one often hears about postal workers). I got my two international packages off, and for less shipping than I expected.

The yarn store was next; it was a two-bus trip just to get there from the PO, and at that point it was precipitating. Not heavily enough to be rain, but definitely not just misty (and I, out in an overshirt and no umbrella). The yarn store was quick, and I did manage to kill two birds with one stone by purchasing some stitch markers, presumably for the new project I was carrying, but also because I've sunk to using bits of scrap yarn for markers. I think it took me three years to get to this point; hopefully these markers will stay around as long.

The public library was next, where I went in search of a pattern book (it took me a while, but in my defense, the book was in a the next isle, under a different Dewey number than the normal knitting books, which I didn't expect). $0.30 of photocopies later- the charts are still hard to read, even blown up 150%- I sat down  for a little rest, to start my project. Unfortunately, as I had suspected, my yarn was much lighter weight than I need (I immediately ordered another cone), and I think I might've ended up with a shawl 1/3 the size called for. To add insult to injury, just as I was concluding this, my yarn snagged on the cable join of my needle, and the yarn broke.

A sign from the universe, perhaps.

It being 5pm, I had a quick bite to eat and then hied myself to knit night (thank heavens!), where I proceeded to knit maybe an inch in three hours. Happily, good company (and the promise of more social knitting this Saturday) enlivened me enough to hit the supermarket on the way home, where I restocked my fridge and prepared my kitchen for another round of lemon cookery.

Tomorrow: Easter egg dyeing and face painting with 50 1st- & 4th-graders followed by dinner and theater.

The weekend: choir performances and knitting.

In short, busy.

Tacit Tuesday: Lemons

Rye Sourdough

I was handed a free loaf of bread as I was going home today. It was a very weird interchange, but the bread is good.

Sooo Clooose

I've finished knitting the squares on my mitered square blanket. I already miss selecting the next colors; it was so, so much fun to lay out the blanket and pull out my big basket of minis and play with color.

Even after this blanket is finished, I will have 30 skeins worth of minis left. When I look at the mini basket, it doesn't seem like that much, but when I see the yardage in my spreadsheet and on Ravelry, I am overwhelmed. (And I have still grumbled over not having the just-right color!)

The edging is left to go; I'm going to fill in the saw-tooth edges with triangles, and then do a crochet border. I'll be working out my own fill-in triangles, because all the other ones I've seen have been too fussy or ended up with a wonky edge.

I'm already dreaming of what else to make with minis...

FO: Within A Shell's Heart Shawlette

 I love, love, love how these two colors interact. They look like the insides of a shell to me.

This was a pretty fun, quick knit. It only took me 6 days (although it always takes longer to get to Officially Finished, because I'm so lazy about blocking).

Pattern: Sideways Shawls by Kyoko Nakayoshi, in the Winter '12 Knitscene
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Sock (of course!) in Punch and Wallflower
Needles: US6
Mods: I did the whole thing in garter. I also carried the not-being-used yarn up the edge (instead of breaking it and rejoining the other color each time- yech!). It did end up smaller than I like; the pattern calls for sport-weight, and I used fingering. I'm not sure I'd have liked the fabric if I'd gone up to a larger needle.
My Ravelry project page.

Tacit Tuesday: WIP: Sideways Shawl

13 in 2013

Here's my list for the 13 in 2013 challenge in the Stash Knit Down group on Ravelry:


13. Stash Diva skeins
12. Teeny tiny knits/small projects
11. green items
10. WIPs dealt with
9. using handspun
8. gifts for others
7. fiber into yarn
6. shawls
5. hats
4. sweaters
3. socks
2. blankets
1. Chuppah

Stash Diva

Last year, the challenge was called something else, but this use-it-or-lose-it year-long challenge in the Stash Knit Down group is called the Stash Diva Dash. Presumably it's a pun between diva (a temperamental woman) and a heavily-accented version of diver (as in stash diving); I don't really know, and it's not really important.

The purpose of the challenge is to select 13 skeins (some choose 13 lots- insanity!) of stash yarn, preferably "mystery" yarn. Since I went through a period of turning all my hanks into yarn cakes, and discarding the labels because "I will remember," I have plenty of mystery yarn, though I don't limit myself to mystery yarns for this challenge.

Here is a terribly-lit photo of my yarns for this dash. Left to right, in columns: 2 cakes Colinette Prism (Moss and Fire, I believe), 3 cakes of mystery wool, 4 skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino in Sand (needs to be overdyed), 1 skein Lang Tosca, 2 cakes mystery-yardage mill-end handspun bfl, a tiny quantity of cashmere-silk handspun.

Stashdown Challenges

Last year, I joined the Ravelry group Stash Knit Down, mostly because I have a large stash of yarn that I bought years ago, which I haven't been knitting as quickly as I'd like. I joined this group because they have a thread (which could probably be its own group, it's so active) called "Cold Sheeping." The point of Cold Sheeping is to not buy yarn. At all. Or, at least, not outside of some planned exceptions. (I tell people about Cold Sheeping all the time, since I am a total adherent. I will no doubt talk about it more some other time.)

The group has many, many other ways to reduce stash and for members to help one another resist temptation and find creative ways to use what we have. There are lots of challenges, craft-alongs, knit-as-much-as-you-can dashes, "virtual retreats," and all kinds of ways to be happy in our own stash.

This year, I was super excited to participate in some special stash-down challenges. (I think I may even have annoyed some of the moderators in my exuberance, heh.)

Here's what I decided to join:
-Cold Sheep (same as last year- not buying any yarn, except the Hedgehog Fibres Sock Club)
-Epic Project-Along (does what it says on the label; I'll be working on my mitered square blanket, and then the lace Chuppah for a friend's wedding)
-"Diva" Dash (a year-long attempt to do away with 13 skeins of mystery/difficult stash yarn)
-A quarterly spinning stash-down (I have been neglecting my wheels something awful!)
and, the thing I was most excited for
-13 in 2013 (where we attempt, over the course of the year, to do 13 of x, 12 of y, 11 of z, etc. A la "12 Days of Christmas")

I'm confident of my ability to complete all of this. Not to mention, I will be doing my utmost to double-, triple-, or quadruple-dip each project into multiple categories and challenges. (Because, despite how it looks, I'm not crazy.)

Tacit Tuesday: Raspberry Splash

From the Love to Dye Indie Dyer Swap- thanks Ivyadrena!

...and Now There Are Three

Remember when I was complaining/bragging that I was knitting two blankets out of sock yarn? Well, now I'm making three blankets out of sock yarn.

I couldn't stop fantasizing about imagining another permutation of the endless color arrangement possibilities, in this case, a rainbow of stripes on the diagonal. So I started one. And almost immediately I stopped. Not out of boredom, but because the precision color selection needed for Blanket #3 warred with the precision color selection needed for Blanket #2 (Blanket #1- which really should be #2, but let's not make it too confusing- is being made out of leftovers in a totally random pattern, so there is no "precision" anything). Specifically, I needed most of the golden yellows for #3 while coming to a section in #2 that needed those as well.

Age before beauty, as they say, and Blanket #2 gets first dibs. Blanket #3 is on hold until #2 is done; Blanket #2 is about 75% finished. I wanted to have it done by the time my friend Michele comes to stay for two weeks in October, but I've been distracted by two sweaters and three cowls. (More on those at a later date.)

Tacit Tuesday: DIY #2 Mini Swap

Tacit Tuesday: Old Embroidery

Tacit Tuesday: Women's Weekend 2012 Tomatoes & Tomatillos

Tipsy Tuesday: Civil Unrest

This beverage was discovered at a recent work event, when we had a partial bottle of raspberry vodka, and needed a mixer. That cocktail was about 1/3 vodka, 2/3 lemon-lime soda, with a squeeze of lime. Surprisingly refreshing. (I'm sure it'd knock you on your ass if you drank them like I wanted to.)

The above illustration is for a permutation that I've been in love with for ages. It really is refreshing, since the alcohol content is negligible. That's a pint glass with a shot of raspberry liqueur (any will do, but use Chambord if you're feeling fancy), filled with lemon-lime soda. The liqueur gives a light raspberry flavor to the soda, without giving it any boozy kick. I don't usually bother with the lime.

Want a boozy kick? Add a shot of vodka.

Totally Manic

There's a short circuit in my brain somewhere. I normally consider the idea of knitting a blanket ludicrous... I mean, why spend all that time and money on a large, worsted weight item that is never going to be finished anyway?

Somehow, though, knitting a blanket in tiny squares of sock yarn seemed totally reasonable.

And I'm making two.

Above, you see the "colorwash" blankie (so called for the group that fuels my madness: BlankieMania) as it stood a couple of months ago; it hasn't changed much, since I motivate myself to work on it afresh by disallowing myself to work on it the moment I feel ennui or have something else I should be doing. I was inspired by this one, choosing each new square color by matching it to the two squares it grows out of. (There is no seaming in this project: I pick up stitches from the squares below, and ends are woven in as I go.)

The other one is random, with a black border between each square, to give the eyes a break. It's still in the too-small-to-photograph stage.

Uh, yeah, and my other blanket project (that's right, blanket #3) is also garter stitch, knit on the bias out of handspun Romney (this is why it's obvious there's an error in my wiring).

FO: The Dark Dance

Another knit from a favorite designer, this shawl was an absolute delight. That's actually not emphatic enough, but you get the idea. Birgit Freyer's designs exemplify German design at its pinnacle: her patterns (like German cars and German architecture) are graceful, complicated, and intuitive. There are almost no written instructions, because the charts tell you everything you need to know. (The bits which you need to have written instructions for come in five different languages!)

This shawl is Flamenco, my first Birgit knit. I purchased several patterns from her over a year ago, but waited 'til now to make one up, and I don't know why I waited so long; Birgit creates beautiful motifs, wielding an impressive control of yarn overs. Other lace patterns seem poorly designed after knitting one of her patterns. Really: when she wants to introduce a centered yarn over into a motif, she has you work a double increase. That may not seem like much until you are in the process of knitting one of her patterns, and the design appears under your needles as if by magic.



My addiction to beaded knitting extended even to this piece, although I knew the knitting would be a pleasure by itself. (That's why it's an addiction: I know I don't need it, but I want it.) I went over the charts before I started, and placed them wherever it looked like they'd be pretty. I placed predominantly on plain stitches, but in retrospect, putting beads on decreases would have looked great and given me a little more space to add beads in. (Still looks pretty, though, whatever improvements I might have made.) Beading lace makes the whole project much slower; by the end, I was glad to have some bead-free right-side rows.



Specs:
Pattern: Flamenco by Birgit Freyer
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Cashmere Lace in Boreal, an exclusive Lace Club colorway. I used 1.7 skeins.
Beads: Silver-lined gold (it's quite a light gold) AB finish, size 6.
Mods: I worked 5 repeats of the pattern (Birgit calls for 4 or 5 repeats, but I wanted more than a half-circle), and added beads.

This shawl ended up as a birthday gift to our former manager at work, who has been back in the city for a month, in the middle of his year-long national roadtrip. The muted purples suit him really well (they were too muted for me), and the large size means he'll have plenty of toasty cashmere around his neck next month, when he's in New York.

Tipsy Tuesday: Victoriana

While cocktail mixing has always been of interest to me, I have never been one to use exact measurements or fancy equipment, being much happier eyeballing quantities and using a spoon to stir. 

In light of this, my drink inventions have previously been kept under wraps, since I couldn't bring myself to pin down how much of X ingredient goes into Y drink. 

Here, with the help of an image, we have my "recipe" for a Victoriana:

Earl Grey vodka. I steep my own, but any tea-infused alcohol would be fine, I'm sure. 

Honey syrup. I use a 1:1 honey-to-water ratio, but some honey-loving bartenders use 2:1 or 3:1. Pour hot water into a container, pour in honey, stir until dissolved. Refrigerate.

Lemon. Lemon is a traditional accessory for Earl Grey tea, so might as well use some here. I use an 1/8 wedge. (Add a bunch of lemon juice, and you've got a booze Palmer.)

Soda. I like plain soda water, to keep the tea flavor topmost, but using tonic or other lightly scented fizzy waters would work.

Pour vodka, syrup (to taste... I admit I'm a sweet fiend), and soda over ice in a mug or low glass. Stir. Squeeze lemon.

Yum!

PS. If you want to make your own Earl Grey vodka, it's really easy: using the vodka of your choice, insert Earl Grey tea bags (or loose tea in a tea ball or fine cheesecloth). Let it steep until the vodka is dark, around 24 hours. Remove tea bags, store your new Earl Grey vodka with the rest of your booze.

FO: Midday

This pretty shawlette is from one of my favorite designers, Susanna IC, whose crescent-shaped shawl patterns have garnered her thousands of projects and a Ravelry group of the same name with nearly 1500 members.

While not the largest group by a long shot, this group (which I confess I'm biased to, since I'm the one that started it) acquired 1000 members in about 10 months. To celebrate this, Susanna hosted her first mystery shawl KAL. The result: Polaris (this links to my project page).

There was chatter, on-the-fly pattern changes, yarn drama, and prizes.

It was awesome.

I got to test knit, which pleases me no end, since I have a huge problem keeping track of clues in mystery knitalongs. The only downside was that I had to keep it under my hat (so to speak) once I'd finished, so as not to spoil the mystery.



Specs:
Pattern: Polaris by Susanna IC
Yarn: less than one skein of Manos del Uruguay Lace, in L2330, possibly Rhiannon. (The label wasn't very clear)
Beads: Silver-lined green with AB finish, size 6.
Needles: US7, US10 for the cast on.
Mods: none.

The Manos yarn was lovely; the wool content saved it from being inelastic. I was surprised at the simple "Lace" line name compared to the fiber content. The drape on this yarn, after a hard block, is amazing... it doesn't matter how you throw this shawl on, it always looks great. In the end, it was the yarn color that didn't draw me in. Since I love greens of all kinds, I'm not sure exactly what about it doesn't work. No matter: this shawlette was gifted to someone who loves "scarfy things" (her words) and acid green.

Gifted

Evolution is wonderful, and I'm not talking about Pokemon or Kansas: I have evolved into a process knitter.

My evidence for this is the gifting of two beautiful shawls that I started making for myself, enjoyed knitting, and then handed off to someone else. Times past, I would have kept them both for myself, even though the colors did not end up suiting me. I am very happy at this development, since it not only means that my scarf/shawlette collection hasn't taken over my apartment, but that I am finally spreading the love of handknits to deserving non-knitters. (My definition of "deserving" is pretty strict, and there are extremely few who I think would understand, love, and care for a hand knit item. But more on that another time.)