Thursday, March 30, 2006

The Inevitable Slip-Up

What does one do with a wounded heart? Are you the type that sits at home feeling sorry and eating? Are you the type who throws yourself into work until you are so tired you can't feel anymore? Are you the "mature" type who gracefully accepts that things haven't worked out and soldiers on keeping the freak-out moments to alone/appropriate times? Or are you like me in that you do bits and pieces of all the above plus blow your yarn diet with an $90 purchase? I don't think I'm alone in this coping method.

Actually, I'm feeling much better about the whole thing and thank you to all of you who commented and emailed. It was very welcome support. But since I am the dramatic/slightly hysterical type a yarn purchase was necessary. I knit for relaxation so anything that adds to that is always a good choice. So, which yarn did I get? Duh! :) Rowan "Calmer."


10 skeins in Coffee Bean. This stuff is gorgeous. I'm working with Calmer in the Peacock color (not enough progress on Hearten to share) and I love its hand. This has been earmarked for the Loll Cardigan. Here's a shot of that in case you've missed it.


Now, I know that my "Up Next" list is getting a little more than long. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Actually, even just blue times call for a creamy, warm, coffee colored yarn. I'm not a hundred percent sold on Loll but it seems like everyone who's knit it enjoyed it and wears it. When I finally get to it I'll double check.

Despite the slip-up I am continuing my yarn diet. I've never been perfect in any kind of diet so if I can make it until the end of April without another slip I'm calling the whole thing a success. I'm off to knit some more. And by more I mean again since I haven't picked-up needles in well over a week!

Have a great weekend!

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Sooo not about knitting

I'm afraid I am about to completely transmute into one of those bloggers. For the record I have no problem with these bloggers (and I love my word of the day). The ones who say their running a knitting blog or a soccer blog or an underwater basket weaving blog and then they go ahead and talk about their lives. So, just to save you some time, if you're looking for knitting content check back next week. I swear I might actually knit something.

It's been a big week. I managed to get an internship that I am not at all looking forward to (it's a grunt job, but it fills an inch on the resume), to finished two more units in my design school and to tell one of my best friends I can't see him anymore. The latter, if you couldn't guess, is the topic from here on out.

I figured it was time to own up to how I *really* feel about him. There were reasons for the timing, but they aren't interesting. As I'm sure you can guess, he didn't feel the same. Of course I knew that. But I had to do it. Being all wrapped up in him is keeping me from finding someone who actually wants to be with me. And since I've been trying to get over him while being friends with him since I met him years ago, I finally accepted that it wasn't going to work. Beside all the ooey gooey feelings I have, I have to say, he is a really amazing person. He accepts people for who they are and is a great listener. He's also really fun to be with and is genuine in everything he does. I miss him already.

The guy who gave me the name for this blog was the one I called tonight after this very depressing evening. Poor boy I woke him up (he lives in New York). But then he called me in the middle of the night when his girlfriend dumped him so we're these kind of people. His response? "He's the one who blew it. You may have the whys now, but he's going to be the one with the what if in five years, not you." Its this kind of comment you need to hear at these moments. Whether they're true or not doesn't matter. Sometimes when life (or you) closes a door your friends climb in through the windows with margaritas. If you couldn't tell from this entry-from the very fact that I blogged about this. I've had a few.

So, to conclude :) here is one of my all time favorite quotes that suddenly feels applicable.

"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love." - Charlie Brown.



I swear my next entry will be about knitting. Oh, 27 days and counting.

Monday, March 20, 2006

No stitch this time

No knitting to show for this week. The best laid plans, right? In knitting *related* news, I don't think I shared this, but I'm currently on a yarn diet. 20 days and no yarn purchases. For many of you this will seem like hardly any time at all, but for me this is quite a while to go. I was planning on only going for a month. But I was also going to finish the socks, Hearten and the Phildar jacket by the end of the month. Seems a little more than ambitious at this point. So I'm extending the diet another month. But since my retail habits can only be curtailed so much I purchased this book.


A gal named Terry commented on my blog a couple of times and suggested it in my quest to break the code on that brown Phildar sweater so many of us love. Thank you Terry for the heads up!

This book has everything. If anyone has any Danish/Estonian/French/German/Icelandic/Italian/Japanese/Norwegian/ Spanish/Swedish patterns, this book has your translations. It has two sections. The first is English into the other languages and the second the reverse. I bought it at the Yarn Market. I usually avoid this online shop since they are pretty overpriced, but it was one of the only places with this book in stock. Hopefully, sometime soon I will tackle that pattern. The only issue is I don't have any yarn for it so it'll be my first binge. Knit 'N' Tyme here I come!... in a month or so.

I hope everyone's week is off to good start!

Monday, March 13, 2006

Back to Back

No sock knitting occurred this weekend but I did in fact do something.



For the longest time I had the first "lace" edge of Hearten done. Then it just sat there while I knit Ruby. I came back to it this weekend. I have to say I'm really enjoying knitting with Calmer. I generally don't like cotton, but for some reason this is different.



I'm not ploughing through this pattern by any means but I did manage some progress before the overwhelming need to cast on for the Phildar Jacket with the Wide Collar took me over. I'm knitting it in Aurora 8 Color 139. And I'd forgotten. I had forgotten my first love in knitting. Addi turbos and Aurora 8. Is there a better melding of metal and wool? I think not. Several times I have looked down at my knitting only to find I was at the end of the row without realizing it because everything was so smooth. As you can tell I fell in love all over again. I loved it so much I finished the back and have a little progress on a sleeve.



I don't have a pic of the sleeve though because I totally forgot to put it in my new knitting bag!



I got this from Spunky Eclectic and I really like it. I wouldn't say its love at first sight. But it is a really usable bag and I do love toile fabric. Plus, it cost me $35 so the love is growing.

It occurred to me this weekend that I've only ever knit Rebecca patterns as well as a few non-commercial blogger patterns. I've always stayed away from VK since those patterns just look scary and I haven't knit anything from IK yet. From this limited experience, I've felt that patterns for the most part always need to be altered and are never very clear.

Now, I'm hesitant to say this since I have so little experience with these patterns and everything is going so well, but they are the best patterns I've ever encountered. The translation on the Phildar pattern is actually clear and all the numbers add up (unlike Rebecca patterns). I feel this must be due to a translator who actually knits. The Rowan pattern is also very clear and makes sense in the construction. I'm only about a fifth of the way through them, but I'm really enjoying the process of knitting a clear pattern.

So, this week it'll be more pampering with Aurora 8 and maybe getting a little Calmer on the side.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Great pattern, but perhaps not for me.

Here's my Project Spectrum project all finished:


Pattern: Ruby from Jems Collection by Saunashine
Yarn: about 2.75 balls of SWTC Phoenix
Color: Rose
Needles: Addi turbos size 8 and 6 for the ribbing
Size: L/XL
Changes: None. Though I ended up using less yarn than it called for.

As a fellow aspiring designer, I have to say, trying to fit people sucks. Everyone's different in more ways than you may realize. Though being knitters you've probably noticed. It's the reason no one can go out try on one pair of jeans and be done with it (at least no one I know). Because of that I don't really mean this comment as a criticism, but more as a thought. I think this pattern is probably best on women without a large difference in bust and waist measurements. I could be wrong but on my figure I end up with a large pocket or gap just under the bust down to the waist. If you're willing to play around with the decreases though you could probably remedy this.

My only other comment on this knit is that I think I would have gone with a different yarn had I knit with Phoenix before. It's beautiful yarn and has a lovely drape, but I think that for a vest I would have gone with a yarn with a little more body when knit up.

In retrospect I think a lot of these "problems" I encountered probably would have been remedied by knitting the smaller size. My bust size fell in between sizes so I took a guess. If I had knit with Phoenix before I probably would have gone with the smaller size (due to it's stretchiness).

All the comments aside, this pattern is really adorable and very clearly written. Its a fast knit and cleverly uses some basic tricks. If you are built like the model this a great, very wearable knit.



So, no more progress on my socks. It seems the turning of the heel, knitting the gusset, etc. has scared me off. Actually, this is just how I work. I go gang-busters until I hit a point where I don't know what I'm doing and then I drop it and run behind the nearest tree. Eventually, I will slowly approach it and try again. The pattern repeats itself if I hit another snag. I'm going to try and tackle them again this weekend. Everyone tells me its no big deal and I know I can handle it but at this point I think I have to call this behavior "my process."

Have a great weekend!

Friday, March 03, 2006

A package! For Me?!


I have gone a bit nuts recently. I've been trying to find some Phildar patterns like mad. They just aren't distributed in the states. They are in French, but more and more they are being translated much the way Rebecca is. So, where are they known for speaking English and French? Yep, I got these from Canada. Knitntyme to be exact. Two have translations and the other I will attempt to translate using my very rusty French and my not so rusty dictionary.
And high up on the list of "to knit" are these two:




They are both gorgeous and I can't decide which I want more. I will most likely do the second one first since it's translated and I just want want want it. Plus, I have a yarn substitute with the same gauge in my stash already. It'll be a perfect sweater for San Francisco in July. But now I have to calm down since I've cast on for Hearten (two needle sizes smaller than called for to get gauge!). I still have a couple loose ends to tie up (literally) and my first pair of sock to finish. They're just simple all over rib but hopefully I'll be able to wear them soon.

Here's my progress in the sock arena:


As you can see I've just about gotten to the good stuff on both of them. I've never turned a heel or knit a gusset or whatever it is I'm about to do, but I'm excited. We'll see how successful I am. Fortunately, I've got friends in knitting places. :)

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