Skirt! Again!

It's 9pm. My #1grrl is in tears because she's gone through her entire closet and drawers and cannot find a single thing to wear for picture day. It has to be a skirt or nice pants, but she doesn't have any nice pants. And she can't find a single skirt that touches her knees, well, she can, after all, I just made her one this summer, but she doesn't want to wear *that*.  No, no, the skirt won't even show in the picture, but you still have to have just the right thing for the *outfit*. And me, I'm a sucker. If she wants me to sew for her, I'll do it, even though I know she'll never ever wear the skirt again.  Besides, I got to practice my *rolled hems*.  Oooh. Ahhh.

State Fair

In honour of my blog silence for all of September so far, I present you with, "Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I've just been so busy..."



I just wonder--is life ever not busy?  Not that I would ever know.

As in other years, the end of summer means time for the State Fair. I had intended to enter my Jeanie in the fair, but that fell apart. So I opened up my Ravelry project page and looked over my last year of knitting accomplishments. I decided to submit my herbivore and my stripey gothy hat-heel knee socks. The socks have gotten a lot of wear in the last year, and so they weren't in pristine condition, but they were clean and neat, and I liked their unusual construction features, including the garter toe, the reinforced pad-of-foot area, and the hat-heel.

Attending the fair has cemented into a bit of a tradition with my daughter. We attend with my knitting coworker and her son, who this year is 4. We also bring along one of her ballet carpool buddies. The girls enjoy taking care of a little boy, and he likes hanging with big kids. We tour the Home Arts building, and the girls keep an eye on the boy, while we two adults run around looking at everything. It's not just the knitting that impresses us. We linger at crochet, quilts, baby christening gowns, table cloths, embroidery, and so much more. This year we ventured into the food-side of the building and oohed at the cakes and breads and preserves, too.  We never get enough time, what with the patience of a 4-year-old being our limiting factor, but we thoroughly enjoy the visit.

Now, on to my results. My stripey knee socks received a red second place ribbon! The judge wrote on the back, "Fun stuff" and "loved the graduation to fit calf".  In the picture, you can see a lovely set of monkeys (I think?) beside my socks with a blue ribbon, although they were submitted by a different category of knitter, so they weren't in direct competition. This year, the socks were stuffed a little for display, which gave them some body in the presentation.

And my herbivore received a third place ribbon in the scarf category. The judge wrote "Interesting concept". Well, I can't take any credit for the concept, other than choosing that lovely pattern to knit.

 

I also was quite delighted to find a Shipwreck entry displayed.  I have been gathering supplies to knit my own Shipwreck, and thought this one was very lovely. I felt like it could have been displayed better, and was surprised to see it only took fourth place. Because of the nature of the chaotic displays, it was not worth my limited time to hunt down and see what three items placed above it, although I'm certain they were also very impressive. I did try to find this on Ravelry, but with so many shipwrecks listed, I gave up. But to the Shipwreck knitter out there, "Lovely job! I think it rocks!"

This year, I let my daughter spend her babysitting money on a wristband for rides. She and her ballet friend toured all the animal sheds with us, and then they were let loose on the rides. Soon I left with my coworker, and the ballet girl's mother took over for the rest of the afternoon.  When she came home exhausted at dinner time, the grrl admitted, 'My favourite part is really the Home Arts building and the animals." But I do think she got her money's worth on that wristband.

It's all over now, baby blue

You know how it feels to have your words thrown back in your face, especially when they're true?

"If it's bugging you now, you know it's going to bug you even more later"

Yeah, my knitting coworker and I tell each other that a lot. Because we both know it to be true.

When I started on the third skein for Jeanie, it looked darker, but I kept knitting, trying to believe the difference wasn't significant. After all, I hadn't been able to see the difference in the skein.

It's no good. The difference is noticeable. In the photo posted below, I hope it's obvious that the edging is significantly darker than the rest of the knitting. The last third of the project would be that darker colour.

And as much as I've tried to tell myself I don't mind if the last third is darker, it's bugging me now. And experience tells me, it'll bug me more later. It certainly cannot be my entry for the state fair.

This yarn is, of course, an "experimental". I bought it at a discount because it wasn't a regular line of yarn, so the inconsistent colour is all part of the experience. I just wish it had been visible when I examined the skeins.

My entire summer's knitting efforts are for naught.

Bye bye jeanie.

Musings and Numbers about Jeanie

• There's just not a lot to blog about when knitting Jeanie. I've done it before and she looks the same, just longer, day after day.
• Jeanie needs to be 3 skeins long.
• July didn't even finish off one skein.
• Jeanie progresses in groups of 6 rows, one cable unit.
• I could theoretically knit one cable unit in 35 minutes, because 5 of those rows take 5 minutes, while the cable row takes 10.
• I have never actually knit a cable unit in less than 40 minutes.
• What with interruptions and distractions and life, a cable unit often takes an hour.
• While on the road, I challenged myself to knit 3 cable units in 2 hours, theoretically possible.
• 
  
  
  
• The first time, I completed it in 2 hours 6 minutes. The second, in 2 hours 11 minutes.
• There is no "making up time" if you get behind in knitting Jeanie. If you have to reach back and pass the ipod to the teen, that is time forever lost. If you try to quickly find Pretty in Pink on the ipod, but it's not there, and you search and search and never find it, that's all knitting time forever lost.
• I focused on knitting on the trip home, and I calculate that I knit a half a skein in a 13 hour drive. My goal was to knit a cable repeat for each hour. I managed 15 repeats, by way of the above-mentioned 2-hour challenges.
• 
  
  
  
  
• I'm almost finished with skein 2.
• I'd like to finish skein 3 in the next 8 days.
• That would have been easier if Mockingjay hadn't come out on Tuesday.
• But I finished Mockingjay last night, so now to knit knit knit like a maniac. Back to knitting!

Raven's Wings--a finished object

Yarn: Bugga in Ruby Tailed Wasp

Pattern: Herbivore by Stephen West (ravelry link)

Made for an art show benefiting the Zen Center that is affiliated with our knitting circle.

This is my second herbivore made from a bugga yarn. The yarn is delicious. The pattern is a joy to knit. The finished product is very pleasing.

A skirt's tale

Once upon a time, I had a blue linen skirt from Old Navy. It was a good skirt, with a delightful bell shape, and attractive embellishments above the hem.

I wore that skirt often, and it was with me when I stepped into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, and when I met Don Quixote.

Then, one tragic day, I was wearing the skirt at work, and it split open right at the bum.  Alas, those fabrics from Old Navy are fragile and have no stamina.

Although the fabric was sorely damaged, and I could not see how to repair it, I could not dispose of so much good fabric, and the skirt went into a pile in the sewing room, where it became a part of the clutter, forgotten and dusty.

One day, my daughter wished for a better skirt for her costume. She needed something blue, with lots of fabric for flowy dancy action. It was she who discovered the old blue skirt in the sewing room, and presented it for my consideration.

Being that the skirt has a draw-string waist, no alterations to the width were needed. All that was required was removing a great chunk of thin and damaged fabric, and the skirt had a new life!

Let's get this started already!

I"ve been wanting to start another Jeanie all year now. I started experimenting in preparation for it in February.

A week ago, the time came to start my new Jeanie. Casting on turned out to be an adventure.

Casting on Take One:

• cast on 137 stitches
• count stitches--136. add one stitch.
• count stitches--136. add one stitch.
• count stitches--137.
• count stitches--137.
• start first row. come up one stitch short.
• rip out.

Casting on Take Two:

• Cast on, adding stitch markers to keep exact count.
• Knit one row.
• After examining knitting, understanding why Judy's Magic Caston is not a good replacement for the provisional caston and will not be okay.
• rip out.

Casting on Take Three:

• Cast on using a size 10 needle and replacing the waste yarn with a cable from my interchangable needle sets.
• use stitch markers to keep careful count.
• due to busy schedule, carry this around in my knitting bag a few days.
• knit the first row, carefully following pattern, at lunch time at work.
• after lunch, sit in a work session, fondling my knitting.
• discover that section one, which should be 8 stitches in length, is only 6 stitches.
• recount several times that afternoon.
• section one still continues to be 6 stitches.
• rip out.

Casting on Take Four:

• sit down with the family to knit and watch sitcoms
• cast on 20 stitches, using stitch markers to keep track
• notice I'm doing the figure 8 backwards
• rip out.

Casting on Take Five:

• cast on 40 stitches, using stitch markers to keep track
• notice I'm using a size 6 needle instead of the size 10 needle that's needed for caston
• rip out.

Casting on Take Six:

• cast on all stitches, using stitch markers to keep track
• knit first row
• knit second row
• notice that I didn't put the end cap on the interchangable needle cable, and the provisional stitches have fallen off the cable.
• rip out.

Casting on Take Seven

• cast on all 137 stitches, using stitch markers to keep track
• continue to knit.
• This time seems to be the right time!

More herbivore!

I've required some pretty simple knitting lately, aka "mindless knitting". So when I finished the Noro scarf, I immediately cast on my new Bugga! into a new herbivore. The yarn colours are knitting up just gorgeous.

Stripes!

I previously posted that I was caking up my Noro. Since then, I've had lots of "mindless knitting" time, but not much blogging time. Time enough to knit up a whole new Noro scarf. Once again, it was a very addictive knit! It required a little intervention, now and then, when the colours collided, but was a very rewarding project to knit. The scarf is a donation to the school auction this fall. Yay, I'm done early this time!

FOOD--Italian-style tofu on rice

Last night I wanted to make marinated tofu to serve over wild rice, but I didn't have time to marinate for an hour. Instead I started to make sauteed tofu, but it turned out so saucey that it wound up being stewed instead. The recipe was loosely adapted from the Italian Marinated Tofu in Vegan with a Vengeance, and it turned out yummy.

Italian-style Tofu

1 lb tofu
8 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP Bragg's Aminos
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

Drain tofu and press while preparing the sauce.  Heat the oil over medium-high in a saucepan and add the garlic. Stir and cook just until sizzling. Add rest of ingredients, and stir together until well incorperated.  Dice and add the tofu. Simmer until the tofu takes on the flavour of the sauce, about ten minutes.  Serve over rice.

Notes.  All measurements are approximate, I just poured stuff in. I would have preferred fresh Italian spices, like basil, oregano, and thyme, but my garden isn't thriving well enough yet to provide.

Titanium Socks, Finished!

On May 31, I finished my titanium socks.  I didn't want to let my participation in the Sock-a-Month club pass me by for the month, so I cast them off at the very last hour.

Yarn: Stitchjones Titanium Sock
Colorway: Bangkok
Pattern: Yarnissima's Firestarter
Needle: Size 1 circular

I loved the yarn, but was dissatisfied with the pooling. I gave up on trying to avoid the pooling and just let it pool like a pooler. The socks are very comfy and colourful.

Acquisitions! Spoiler alert for Loopy and Gothsocks

Dude, like the topic above says. There are spoiler pictures in this post for the Loopy Groupie package and the June Gothsocks. In case any readers care.

First of all, I have acquired my first Wollmeise! I have been aware of its insane popularity on Ravelry for a long time now. Only recently have I paid enough attention to be able to successfully navigate an update at The Loopy Ewe and actually purchase some for myself. I also got some more Hiya Hiya 9" needles, as I still do enjoy knitting with them. I had also added the pattern "book" Balloon Tying Creations to my cart, but in an incredible stroke of bad luck for me, Sheri blogged about the book on the very day that I was stalking for the WM, and the book sold out instantly, and I didn't get to buy it.

Need another look at that Wollmeise?

As a bonus, this was my sixth order at the Loopy Ewe. (And it's taken me years to get to six orders.) Loopy has a loyalty program called Loopy Groupies. When you place your sixth order, you are inducted into the Loopy Groupie club. As a welcome, they send you an awesome package.  This purchase was made using my mother's day and birthday gift certificates, so getting a bonus gift in my package made it extra special!  They sent a really cute see-through tote bag, a pattern, a sheep calendar, treats, plus a skein of yarn!  My yarn was Brooklyn Handspun in the colourway "renew".

Oooh la la!

But wait, that's not all!  Today I received a birthday package from Ember.  And she sent me the Balloon Tying Creations book!  Thanks Ember!!

Plus! Today I also received my June Gothsocks club package. It's my final club package, and I struggled a long time while I decided whether to renew or not. By saving my yarn money, I was able to buy the Wollmeise, which isn't exactly buying yarn as it's needed, but I've definitely slowed down on the gratuitous yarn-stashing. Anyway, back on topic, my final yarn is GORGEOUS. DO WANT.

The yarn is based on the TV show Big Bang Theory. The photo above shows the yarn with a disc of Big Bang Theory, which also arrived in the mail today. Good mail day!

Caked Noro

Well, the titanium socks just need to be bound off, and my dad's socks are at the heel, but the numbers don't add up, so they'll require more problem solving.

What to do? Cake some Noro! MMMMmmm, Noro cakes!

Herbivore, finished object

Yarn: Skinny Bugga in Lubber Grasshopper (mmm-mmm good!)
Needle: Circular size 7
Pattern: Stephen West's Herbivore (ravelry link, if you're interested and aren't a member of ravelry, sign up. it's worth it.)
Notes: The pattern says to knit until the centre spine measures 12".  That was a little too small for me.  I knit until I couldn't get any more pattern repeats out of the yarn.  There were 5 grams left when I bound off.

Yarn 4 yarn--May Gothsocks Club Spoilers inside

When I received the May Gothsocks Club shipment, I knew that it was a yarn that needed to be with someone who would love it madly. As always, as soon as the spoiler pics were released, there were people looking to acquire it, so trading it was no problem.

I received Bugga Ruby Tailed Wasp from the lovely MissTwilight on Ravelry. It snuggles up with me at night and keeps me warm.

Spoiler below

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

And in return, I sent her the Alice-inspired "Drink me" colourway. Gorgeous, pettably soft, but not something I would have knit up. I'm glad she can give it a Good Home.

I also gave up my spot in the Gothsocks club, allowing one more lucky soul to get in. I only have so much yarn money, and I need to be able to choose what colours and yarns to buy when I do splurge. But I still have the June yarn to come!

when it all falls apart

I really do like center-pull balls. For my routines, they work the best, and keep the yarn tidy and behaving. However, when they get low, really low, they get all discombobulated, and that's when it's a bummer.

Bullied by wings

Well! I was knitting along on my titanium socks and I'm really only 14 or 21 rows from the end. But then I started dreaming about Lubber Grasshopper, and couldn't stop. The titanium yarn was the same way, creeping into my consciousness and demanding to be knit up. The this other yarn edged out titanium and forced me to take up my needles and knit.

I'm knitting the Stephen West pattern "herbivore". The sharp angles and crisp texture speak of the yarn's namesake, grasshoppers, with their sharp angular legs. They also speak of dragon wings, huge, intimidating, sharp and angular, but delicate and graceful in luminous colours.

Linger

Ooooh la la! Linger is coming!

What's in progress now, Part Two

With my mom's socks finished, and my dad's socks well underway, but not able to be gifted before he left, my attention has wandered back to the titanium socks, and I split my knitting time between the Skews and these.

I've just started the gusset on sock #2, and I'm hoping to contain the pool to one side like I did on the first sock.

Back to knitting!

What's in progress now, part one

Last week, my parents visited. It was their first visit in 5 years. We just live a little too far away to get many visits. Sadly, life does not stop for visits, and we still had school/work/ballet/softball. But I did fix them dinner every evening, Dad fixed several things around the house, and we had a lovely visit.

Before they arrived, I finished my mom's socks. I immediately started a pair for my dad. I managed to finish one sock, so he could try it on, but didn't get the second done before they left. Sadly, the heel is tough to get on, but he still thinks he'll wear them, as they seem to fit well once on. I'm using Trekking that I bought last November specifically for this purpose. In fact, I've knitted from all the yarn I bought that time, although one skein still has enough left for socks.