Ho, ho, ho....

Sorry but I couldn't resist taking a picture of this current WIP against some pine. I guess you could say I'm getting into the holiday spirit around here, in spite of myself.



This is the first of a pair of gloves for my sister. I am using the Fetching pattern for fingerless gloves from Knitty, but I plan to make them with fingers using the Handy Book of Patterns as my guide (hoping and praying I'll be able to figure this out). As a knitter, I love fingerless gloves because they are cool and easier to make, but since these are a gift I want to make sure the recipient's extremities stay warm. That's the longwinded explanation for why I am willing to put myself through the ordeal of knitting up those little fingers.

This pattern is great fun, by the way. I have only tried cables for swatches, so this is my first attempt incorporating them into a real piece, and so far so good. I can't say I really enjoy doing them, especially when I'm working with dpn's, but the effect is so pretty and the cable rows so few, I've decided it's worth the effort. Also loving the the 4X1 rib pattern.

Materials:
Plymouth's Suri Merino (red) and size 5 dpn's (went down a needle size to make the fit a little smaller for my sister's hands)

To be continued....

Funny little bunny

Who'll be my funny little bunny, hey hey, pretty babe?


My favorite part by far is the big floppy ear, inlaid with pink angora:

Isle of Harris Hat

I made this hat for Elsa a few months ago from some wool I found on the Isle of Harris in Scotland. She was wearing it today while playing with the leaves in the backyard (yes, we do wait as long as possible to gather our leaves), and I was attempting to get a good picture for a potential holiday card.



The hat reminded me of our trip to Scotland last August, which was the last time we went to Europe since having Elsa. At the time, I was not quite as obsessed with knitting as I am these days, or I probably would have stuffed my suitcases with some more of this beautiful yarn.

Here is where I found the wool (these hanks were hanging out to dry):



The source:


This picture was inspired by Andy Goldsworthy:

Little Gifts

A few days later, here's the Ballband Dishcloth in its finished form:



After looking at some comments on the Mason Dixon KAL, I've decided that these could be used as washcloths too, so I'm going to knit up a few more for holiday gifts and wrap them around luxurious bars of soap. Yesterday I went to Michael's and enhanced my Sugar and Cream stash, so now I have many color combination possibilities. I also got some colored pencils so I can plan out my designs on graph paper.

The latest WIP is Elsa's holiday present: a little white bunny (knit with a double strand of Blue Sky Alpaca DK White) with pink angora ears. The pattern is from Hoverson's book (again!), and it's been really fun to watch it take shape. I am changing the pattern a bit and knitting with DPN's rather than two circular needles, as she suggests. This allowed me to knit more pieces in the round, so there will be fewer seams at the end. The only snag I came across was the transition from the two legs (knit separately) to the body. I was able to solve the problem by knitting the last round of each leg as if they were on straight needles to open up the circle. Then I was able to join both legs together on dpn's and close up the circle again, but it did leave a gap in the crotch area, which I sewed together this morning.

I also hit a small snag when I shaped the shoulders because it was my first time doing an ssk (a left slanting decrease)combined with a k2tog (right slanting decrease). It took me a while to figure out how the pattern was working, but with this handy visual aid I was able to pull it off:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/basic_techniques/decrease.php

Here's an unintentionally eerie picture of the bunny in progress:



I decided to stuff the legs and belly this morning before I get too far along on the head. Oh boy, that was fun...and now it's really starting to look and feel like a toy. Can't wait to give this to Elsa.

Reflections on a dishcloth

Started this yesterday while Elsa slept in the car:



It's the Ballband Dishcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting. It's a ton of fun and looks much more complicated than it is. Think I might make a bunch of these with the Sugar and Cream cotton. Gotta love those $1 skeins, a much needed compensation for my excesses at Purl.

As I slowly construct the Ballband Dishcloth brick by brick, I can't but help notice that it's the kitschy equivalent of a modernist grid. I feel like Agnes Martin as I knit, though she would probably never use such bright colors. The colors are Mondrian, but the pattern is Martin.



The beauty of the dishcloth, though, is that it approaches abstraction, but is still grounded in reality. It is meant to be wiped along the back of a wet plate.

Holy Stash!

Went on a family expedition to Purl and got the yarn for Lorenz's present. I decided to go with this burgundy color (M--Bing Cherry) rather than the brown (thrush) that the pattern calls for. Decided he needs a little more color in his life, and he took a peek at the yarn and agreed.

It was worth it to make a trip to the city and really look at the yarn. The thing about Manos is that they don't have dye lots so the colors vary. I looked at the yarn closely and tried to pick skeins that had a similar striated pattern. And I must say that I loved going to Purl, even though they're a bit pricey. I wanted to buy so many yarns, but controlled myself and stuck to the Manos plus one skein of pink angora for Elsa's bunny.

So excited.

Froggin'

The last few days have consisted of many futile attempts to begin projects, only to discover unforgiveable mistakes. Just frogged that lacey bit when I discovered I had too many stitches. Also not happy with the yarn I received for the "big" project and will probably have to start that over.

Frustrated, but take it as a sign that I need to slow down and relax. The holidays whipped me into a knitting frenzy and I wanted to give everyone a special gift. I will persist--but tonight I will take a rest. When I get obsessive like this, nothing comes out right.

Frogging is depressing, but part of the learning process. I see no point in continuing to work on something that is dissatisfying or incorrect. Frogging helps me to view what I knit as a process rather than an end product, and after having a good cry I realize that the next time I will build it again even better. This is part of the zen of knitting, which I am only starting to understand.

Plus, there's a certain thrill in the popping of those unravelling stitches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa1hX0vOWzs

Excited to say that tomorrow we will go to the city and I will lay my eyes and hands on some fresh yarn. I've decided that getting certain yarn on the internet is a bad idea. The whole point of buying yarn is the tactile and visual sensation, and it's very hard to replicate that experience online unless you know exactly what you're getting. But with the Manos, there is too much variation in the dye and it's necessary to handpick the skeins. Hopefully I will find what I need tomorrow.

Goodnight.