Back From The Beach
I didn’t get much knitting done this past week, but I did spend a lot of time at the beach.
And the kids had a great time at the Mystic Seaport in addition to the beach. Ella loved jumping over waves and Liam enjoyed the giant hole I dug. Who needs the gym when you have the beach?
I did get some reading done, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and At Knit’s End : Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much, both of which I’m thoroughly enjoying. I’m now up to the heels on both of my Sockapaltwoza socks. But one night I temporarily lost one of my double points and had to start knitting the back of the Dino Sweater. I think I’ll wait to work on the front until I take the Multi-Color Techniques class at Webs this fall.
I did go to one yarn store while away last week, Knitwits in Westerly, RI. It was a nice store with some interesting stuff. I just had to get these purse handles, though I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them yet. Liam came with me to the yarn store and he picked out the blue sock yarn for himself, and I picked out the other one for Ella. I’m excited to see what develops as I knit with self-striping yarn.
And the other thing that I did at the beach was to continue obsessing about the name for my new professional organizer business. It’s tough coming up with something that’s original and interesting, but not too cute. The latest one I’m mulling over is Detangle with a descriptive tagline. What do you think about that? Anyone have any other suggestions? I’m working with my first client this week, so now I feel the push to get some of these details settled.
My Tooth Ith Loothe
Here’s a poem that Ella wanted me to read to her this morning by George Ulrich.
My toothe ith loothe! My toothe ith loothe!
I can’t go to thcool, that’th my excuthe.
I wath fine latht night when I went to bed,
But today it’th hanging by a thread!
My tooth ith loothe! My tooth ith loothe!
I’m telling you the honetht truth.
It maketh me want to jump and thout!
My tooth ith loothe….Oopth! Now it’th out!
She’s so excited about her first loose tooth. And it’s getting close to coming out now. So I quickly knit up a little tooth fairy pouch with some left over Cascade Fixation.
Sockapaltwoza Update
Since Alison does her Sockapaltwoza update on Tuesdays, I thought I’d update you on the progress of mine.
I’ve completed the first sock up to the start of the heel. I’ve begun the second sock, but unfortunately, I don’t remember how I did the first. I sort of winged the first, looking at several patterns and I forgot to take good notes. I’m a terrible note taker. But it’s not that complicated of a sock; I should be able to figure it out. I’ll just put the knitting down for the rest of the day. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do on the leg of the sock. We’ll see how much of the purple I have left after the heel.
I read somewhere today that the superchunky version of this yarn pills. Oops, maybe not so good for socks. But they are incredibly soft. Maybe they’ll be nice wear around the house socks.
And I want to mention that Bill and Ella did their first broadcast of their kid-friendly radio show, Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child. Check out their blog to see play lists and band links. It was a lot of fun to listen to and if you’re up next Saturday morning from 6 to 8 you can listen too.
You Knit What??
I just can’t help but laugh at these knit creations.
Please go check out the blog You Knit What??. I found the link on someone’s knitting blog (can’t figure out which one any more).
Yarn Store Reviews & Anti-Procrastination Day
We came back early from our weekend away since there were a few of us not feeling well. So I’m treating the rest of the day as “Anti-Procrastination” day. Here’s what I’ve accomplished.
It’s been just over 6 months now since I learned to knit and I’ve got a ton of bookmarks in my internet browser. So I spent half an hour cleaning those up into descriptive folders. Hmmm, much nicer.
I’ve got a good start on my Sockapaltwoza socks. I’m approaching the heel of the first sock. I’m loving the yarn. I may need to buy some more sometime for a sweater for myself or a baby. Lots of nice colors and it’s very soft.
And I took a nap. With all of the Harry Potter reading and new business name obsessing I’ve been doing, sleep fell down on the priority list. I guess that may be how I got sick in the first place.
I finished my book club book for this month, Persepolis, a graphic novel. I liked it so much I need to get Persepolis 2 from the library.
And now the big procrastination…the yarn store reviews from my vacation. I’m afraid my memory is not that good, and this may be closer to a list of the stores I went to. Oh well, that will teach me not to procrastinate. Well, probably not.
Idea Studio—This was not one of my planned yarn store stops. But my sister-in-law Lisa mentioned it since it was so close to her house. It’s new as of last year. I was on a mission for Rowan Calmer yarn and nice wood needles for the Dino Sweater. It was just a quick stop since Bill had three kids in the car. We were on our way to Kiddieland. No luck in finding what I was looking for. But the salesperson did ask me if I needed any help and was pleasant.
Mosaic Yarn Studio—This store was a half hour north of Lisa’s house. I read about it on the Knittyboard. The staff was very helpful with showing me how to read my gauge of my Blaze swatch. Then I was able to get the needles I needed for it. I almost left with some Koigu yarn too for my sock pal, but she doesn’t want 100% wool yarn. Now I wish I had gotten some for myself since they had so many colors.
The Bead Alley—This is a bead/yarn combo store in Stillwater, MN (my birthplace). Actually they just recently started to carry yarn and the owner seemed overwhelmed with all of the choices of yarn out there and wasn’t sure what to carry next. But their yarn inventory is expanding so I’ll be interested to see what it looks like next time I visit. I left with nothing, but as a former beader and new knitter, I was excited about this combination store.
The Yarnery—This was one of my favorite yarn stores on the trip. I’ve been to this St. Paul store a few other times, but long before I even learned to knit. I found my Calmer yarn here. And they had some good ideas about what contrasting color I should choose for my NBaT. One of the staff showed me a nice way to splice wool yarn together when starting a new skein. And she also gave me a bunch of free small yarn bras which she gets from a florist. And there was plenty of space to sit and knit while I waited for my ride, never feeling like I didn’t belong there. An interesting side note, I heard the staff talking about Meryl Streep being in the store the day before and how she’s a big knitter. She was in town for the filming of Prairie Home Companion.
Amazing Threads—Up in Maple Grove, this was a tricky store to find, but well worth it. The staff were generally excited to be there. The store had a really good vibe and really good yarn. An employee spent a lot of time with me helping me figure out what yarn and pattern to use for my Sockapaltwoza socks. (Of course now I’m using something different, but that’s just because I don’t feel like knitting such small stitches right now.) She also mentioned that the Twin Cities now has 25 yarn stores. Hmm, maybe that’s a reason to move back.
Crafty Planet—This would be by far the coolest store I went to on the trip. Not so much a yarn store, though they do have some yarn, but a hip craft store. I got a skein of bamboo yarn (which I’ve been wanting to try out) for a lace hat for Ella. I also got her an interesting book with a chapter called “Spy Supplies and Mad Scientist Materials” which I knew she would like. But I had to come back to the store. I couldn’t stop thinking about the faux vintage print fabrics. They would look great as a lining for a felted knit bag. So I got these. The first is to go with the yarn I already had for a purse I’m making for a friend. And the Dysfunctional Family fabric I plan to use in a knitting project bag for myself.
Depth of Field—Ah, and now the most disappointing store. I had been warned about their service and their reputation seemed to be correct. There were five employees sitting around a table in the middle of the store. And all of the times I was going up and down the aisles with Ella saying things like “I’m just trying to find this sock yarn,” not once did any of them ask me if I wanted any help. But the store does have a lot of great yarn and I did leave with several things that I found all on my own. But with so many stores in the Twin Cities, next time I’ll try out a new store before going back here.
Hand Held—Finally we arrived in Arkansas and I got to go back to the store where I bought my first pair of needles and skeins of yarn. They did carry Calmer, but not the color in the extra skein I was looking for. They did spend a lot of time with me trying to teach me how to do a provisional cast on. Unfortunately by this point, I had already bought so much at other places I didn’t buy anything here. But next time I will.
Loops—We were passing through Tulsa on our way to visit a friend in Bartlesville (my husband’s birthplace) and knew about this store in advance. After lunch I stopped by quickly and I found the skein of Calmer I was looking for. I had no time to look around. But I can’t wait to go back. It looked lovely.
Colorful Stitches—I went here with two other knitters the day after I got back from our trip. I bought some yarn on sale for a neck gaiter for my sister-in-law and I bought some purple Calmer for a second NBaT, this time a tank. They had a lot of Calmer colors, but it was the most expensive I’ve found. Lennox is such a cute place with lots of shopping; I’d come back here again.
Well that brings me up to date on some of my procrastinations. Now if only I could wake up in the morning and have all of the scrapbooks from the past four years finished.
Mysterious Skin
I saw Mysterious Skin last night and thought it was a great movie, though difficult to watch at times. But I was confused by one thing in it. There was a scene in the movie where Mrs. Lackey was “knitting” while watching t.v. and talking to her son. But every time you saw her, she would readjust her knitting, or move it a little, or fiddle with a needle. But she never even knit one stitch. What’s up with that? I’m not even convinced that the needles were holding stitches of the thing on her lap. That’s only one small thing that bugged me about the movie. Otherwise, go see it.
Don’t Lick the Yarn
This is what happens when you let your 3 year old hold the yarn. (Mouseover the pict to see what happens.)
So I’ve decided that I just can’t knit socks right now on size US 1 needles. So now I have new yarn for the Sockapaltwoza socks, some Noro Silk Garden and some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I’m still figuring out the pattern right now. Maybe the Silk Garden will go on top, and the Cashmerino will be on the foot. I’m not sure yet.
NBaT Is Done!
And I love it. (Drag the mouse over the photo to see the back, a tip I learned from Nona.)
I’m so excited that my NBaT is finished. It feels so good to wear too. So soft and stretchy, just like your favorite T-shirt is supposed to feel. I probably used exactly 4 skeins of the main color. I didn’t even come close to needing that 6th skein that I bought in AR. The only change if I was going to do it over again, I’d make it a little longer, maybe six rows. So I guess when I make a tank version of this with the Calmer in Joy (478), I’ll do just that.
Now onto the details of the top.
Project Specs:
Pattern: Nothin’ but a T-shirt by Alison Hansel from MagKnits
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Peacock (480) and Laurel (464)
Needles: Size US7 24″ Addi Turbo
Size: 36 inches
Pattern Alterations: I knit the top in the round, casting on four fewer stitches.
I did a provisional cast on using Bubbleknits’ T-shirt hem details.
The 36 in. size called for a 23.5 inch length, I aimed for a 21.5 inch length. So I did fewer rows before the decreases and fewer before the increases.
For the neck, I used Anna’s chart for a more open neckline and Emily’s suggestion for picking up stitches for the neck. Since Anna did a different kind of neckband, I had to figure out how many stitches to pick up by trial and error. I think I picked up 124 stitches for the final try.
After reading people’s issues with the stair-step effect when binding off for the neck and shoulders mentioned on the NBaT along, I discovered the Slopped Bind-Off in Vogue Knitting.
After making one sleeve, I realized it was going to be too big. So I designed a slightly shorter and skinnier version that came out just right. And one more change, the contrasting color on the neck and sleeves is five rows rather than six.
Monkey Bag
I’ve found a new bag for my small projects.
I’ve decided that I always want to have a smaller project going on the needles, socks for example. Today when walking through Cedar Chest I noticed a cute little tote bag to hold a small knitting project. Maybe this is the incentive I need to really get going on my Sockapaltwoza socks.
Also, I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to do for my sister-in-laws neck gaiter. I wonder if I could make this work as a neck gaiter?
Can You Believe It, A Sleeve!
I’ve got a sleeve attached to my NBaT and it looks good, especially for a first sleeve.
Here it is and it’s a keeper. I went to the knitting drop-in at Webs last night and Melissa walked me through attaching my sleeve. She was great, very patient, and good tips. So now I need to do the other one and weave in the ends and I’m done. I can’t believe I’m so close to the end.
Those Yarn Store reviews from my vacation are still coming…I just can’t seem to get myself motivated to do them. And now my memory is fading and I didn’t take many notes.
By the way, the kids and I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Monday and Liam was terrified by the squirrels, screaming and pointing at the screen. This came as a bit of surprise to me. We’ve been reading the book and we all have been enjoying it quite a bit. Maybe he knew what was about to happen to Veruca Salt. There were things I really enjoyed about the movie, and other things that I did not like. But the big surprise was that Noah Taylor was in the movie as Charlie’s father. I’ve loved Noah Taylor ever since I saw The Year My Voice Broke and Flirting. Now I’ve got The Life Aquatic and Max coming from Netflix so I can catch up on his movies a bit.
