More Frogging Than Knitting
I’ve been working on patterns where gauge isn’t important, yet I’m frogging more than I’m knitting.
I’ve been knitting the Branching Out scarf from Knitty for someone special. When I first saw it at Knitty, I was drawn to the leaf pattern. I’m using the Filatura Di Crosa Ultralight yarn I got from the Webs Tent Sale, 10 balls for $25. Good deal. I’m using size US 4 bamboo needles. The yarn doesn’t feel as soft as it did the day that I bought it. Maybe it’s just the hot, sticky weather we’ve been having. Without AC downstairs, I don’t care to have fuzzy wool around my neck.
I’ve made a few mistakes already, but nothing I couldn’t cover up or fix. But now look at what I found. Can you see the dropped stitch in the photo? With this complicated lace pattern, I don’t really know where to begin trying to pick up the stitch. I’d rip the whole scarf back, but this yarn doesn’t rip out easily. It really sticks to itself. So with all those balls of Ultralight, I’ll just start over. I want to use bigger needles anyway. I probably dropped the stitch the other night while doing k3tog stitches and watching Angel.
This past weekend I went to Sheep’s Clothing in Milan, New York with my friend Johanna. So much merino and gorgeous colors. And I loved a lot of their patterns. But I was strong and resisted buying much. I bought a set of birch straight needles and a set of birch cable needles. And as for yarn, I only got a single skein of this lovely lace merino for a belt. I’ve been wanting a fun belt to wear with my brown linen pants. I’ve been testing the yarn, knit/frog/knit/frog and knit some more, not quite sure what I wanted to do. I think I may try to go down a few needle sizes. I might like it more.
Too Much Knitting?
I woke up Monday morning with a terrible pain in my neck and right shoulder. Could it be too much knitting?
I did a lot of knitting on my Soleil top over the weekend. I got past the lace and I am now almost done with my decreases to the waist. But I woke up with this terrible pain Monday where I could barely turn my neck. I did notice it starting Sunday afternoon, but that didn’t stop me from knitting. I hadn’t boxed at the gym since Thursday, so I don’t think that was the cause. It must have been the knitting, right? I took all of Monday and most of Tuesday off of knitting. I did do a little knitting last night when I went to see Sin City and when I got home. I’m feeling so much better today. I think I need to pay a little more attention to my posture while knitting. Being hunched over for two hours straight is not good for my body.
I Want to Felt
Now that I’ve taken care of those nasty piles on my desk, I want to finish my purse and start a big new project.
I didn’t pick up my knitting all day Monday. But I got to bring it to my Mothers & More Book Club meeting. By the end of the meeting, we finished discussing Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper and I had finished knitting my purse. The purse knitted fast, but there are a few funky things going on with it. I don’t think I connected the ends of the i-cords very neatly. They’re all knobby. I searched through my large stash of beads for something that I could fit the yarn through. I’m a little afraid about how much the big beads are pulling on the yarn. I’m hoping that after felting the purse, it will come together and look good. Now I just need to find a top loading washing machine and a time to felt.
After a fairly successful Daisy Girl Scout meeting, I felt like relaxing watching some brainless TV and trying something new knitwise. Since I wasn’t intimidated by cables any more after watching the video clips at KnittingHelp.com, I thought I’d try cables. I grabbed my copy of Stitch ‘N Bitch and tried a 6 x 6 front-crossed cable. After knitting a few cable twists, I was amazed at how easy it was and how real it looked. Now I just need to learn how to read a cable chart.
This morning I decided to finally clean up my craft cabinet. There were beads and yarn all over the pull-out table left there from the purse project. I turned on some SXSW tunes and got working. In no time it was cleaned up. I still had energy and decided to organize all of those knitting papers I have lying around. I created a binder with sections for my yarn stash, knitting tips, completed projects, and knitting patterns and ideas. I printed out a few patterns from Knitty.com that I want to try and added those to my new binder.
Now I just need to figure out what project I want to work on next. Am I ready for a sweater? Should I try socks? Ella wants a vest. I’ll go to Webs tonight before my organizing class and pick up some new yarn and needles. I’ve found simple knitting is a great way to stay awake for my late evening class.
