Back-Alley Intarsia

So, those of you who have followed this blog for a while may already be aware of how I feel about bobbles (sad, sad, nipply wastes of time); but I don't think I've ever let you in on my feelings about Intarsia. Um. Yeah. Not A Fan, Myself. That may very well be the reason you don't find photos of sweaters with pictures of sheep on them around these parts (the DH once pointed out some be-sheeped shop samples with an oh, so hopeful and impressed, "Look at that! Could you make me a sweater with a sheep on it?").

Not being a fan of the technique, I've never even attempted it (oddly enough, I've taught others how to do it). I swore to myself that I would never try it.

Enter the challenge.

A coworker of the DH, after learning I knit, mentioned the Christmas stockings his grandmother had knit for everyone when he was a child. Grandma had since passed, leaving nary a knitter in the family. Coworker's mother had of late started a desperate, yet fruitless search for someone, anyone, capable of recreating Grandma's handiwork.

"My wife could do it."

"I don't know, there's like, pictures and stuff on them. They're pretty complicated..."

"I'm telling you, my wife could totally do it."

The originals were sent home with the DH, and, armed with some holiday colored Super Saver (wow, it's been a while since I touched that stuff!) and my own mother's patience and beading talents, I am now 2/3rds of the way through my Intarsia Odyssey. Still not a fan of the technique, but I am now certain I could slap a sheep on the front of a sweater if the need arose.
























In Other Holiday Knitting News, I finished the Montreal Tuque (actually Wild Tuque) for the young BIL. That was a lot more pleasant to work on:

Montreal Tuque from Knitting Classic Style by Veronik Avery
Size L
US 4 Knitpicks Harmony 40" circular (Magic Loop)
Knitpicks Swish Superwash in Jade
Red Pepper
Natural, 1 skein each.
Lovely, soft, squishy and warm!












Happy Holidays!!!

The Journey of 1000 Miles

Yes. We're moved, and we all survived. Some of the highlights of the cross country junk-haul include: Skippy and I driving so long and getting so tired we were independently hallucinating (you haven't lived until you've "seen" a giant Bengal tiger crossing I-80 in the middle of Nebraska), arriving at our motel room to discover there was no handle on the toilet and being so exhausted it didn't phase us at all, we just took the lid off the tank and lifted the flapper that way, but by far, the highlight for me was spending two entire days (albeit in a confined space) with Skippy, my best and oldest friend.

The DH's job is going well, and I'm still trying to find a way to earn my keep. I've registered as a sub here in the district, and have applications in several places. We'll see if anything pans out.

I have finished some stuff, including the "Klapotis" in Kureyon 40:






















The "Po-mom-tamus" socks in Trekking XXL 147 (Christmas present for my mom):

















A ribwarmer in Reynold's Harvest Tweed Burgundy Tweed:


And, I've also done some spinning. One of the DH's students is a 4-Her and raises chickens and sheep. The DH told her I know how to spin (I love how he oversells me) and she brought a bread bag of fleece for him to give to me. I got around to cleaning some of it yesterday, and have been prepping and spinning some of it up today. The fleece is a beautiful grey with blond tips, and is spinning up really nicely with some great, subtle color variation in the singles. I am getting close to being able to say I no longer suffer from a drafting disability, and I actually had fun spinning this little bit up today (no, Emily, I didn't park and draft, I actually did it with the drop spindle. I must have been channeling my inner twit).

Cleaning House

First and foremost, I got my Sockapalooza socks! Love them! They fit perfectly, and even have a nice deep gusset for my high instep! Thanks again, Emily!


















Then, there's the parade of almost FO's that keeps getting longer. I have made two promises to myself in the vein of all the dejunking I've been doing lately: 1. I will work on one project at a time (plus a sock, socks don't count, right?) so that I finish one big project before starting another.

2. I will be knitting from the stash from here on out. Until I run out of yarn, of course. This is for several reasons, not the least of which is the financial crunch that moving without having sold the house will create. Also, it will help me in my attempt to simplify my life. Not that I'm all that complicated a critter; I'm quite simple, myself (not intellectually speaking, mind you. I can hold my own on that front, thank you!), just a bit "nesty" and cluttered. Trying to nip that in the bud (can one technically nip a habit that spans a full third of a century "in the bud?")
So, the BFD is done, waiting to be blocked, my sister's mittens are knit, fulled, and temporarily on display at the shop, and Skippy's scarf is just waiting for me to stitch the two halves together. This flurry of finishing is a prime example of the effect of project monogamy.

Well, the boxes are calling! One (hopefully) last carload to the donation dropoff, and I'll update once we're settled in the Central Time Zone and the house sells. 'Till then, Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Winter Holiday of your choice, the list goes on, and on, and on...

Not Much, You?

As in, not much left around here to get rid of, and not much left to pack for a while.

So, where's the knitting, you ask?

1. The Ghost of Christmas Past
Those of you with looooong memories will recognize this as Skippy's Christmas scarf. The one that I finished half of in time for gift exchanging. I'm finally getting this monkey off my back and cranking out the second half. It was Skippy, after all, who deemed 2007 the Year of the UFO.




2. The BFD (as in "Big F---- Doily" big fancy doily, get your mind out of the gutter, potty mouth! )
Mommes Lysedug. This is another knit for Skippy. Skippy has a lot of lovely older furniture on which a doily would look right at home. This doily, however, may find itself more at home as a cozy for Delaware. It just keeps getting bigger. Funny how that works, eh? You knit more rounds on and the thing gets bigger. Genius.



3. I Swear, it's Not What You Think!
Unless, of course, you were just benignly thinking, "Oh, it's a Baby Surprise Jacket!" Because that, it is. It is not, however, an announcement as to why, other than the move, things have gotten so quiet around here. In other words, it's a gift. For Mrs. Feezy. (Yeah, Feezys!)

















4. Separated At Birth?
You be the judge. Here is Hugh's sock hanging out with my terrible reenactment (not a judgment, that, I just think terrible reenactment sounds more exciting than historical recreation).

I think we may have a pattern by mid-September!

Set Adrift

One of the things I love about knitting samples is, other than the big pluses of getting a "sneak peek" at a spankin' new pattern and often getting to use yarns I wouldn't otherwise drop the cash for, it gives me focus, direction. The deadline charges my knitting and I actually get things done. I recently finished two sample socks for Gardiner Yarn Works, and once they were out of
the house, that old feeling crept up on me again.









Lazy River Socks











Walk in the Woods Socks


I feel I've been set adrift in a round boat with no rudder and no oars. Just spinning and drifting and listing this way and that. No focus, no looming deadlines. It's a strange feeling.

In an attempt to combat the perception that I never knit for myself, I've been plugging away at a couple of things for me, namely the Fire Monkey socks and Bianca's Jacket. But I keep getting torn away by one temptation or another... Not stuff for me, just flashes of brilliant gift ideas for others and the like.

The Shetland Triangle, last seen as an expanse of fluffy peaks, was gifted to the lovely and talented Emily (LYS owner extraordinaire!) for her birthday. Tears were shed and, as expected, it looks wonderful on her.














Pattern: Shetland Triangle, by Evelyn Clark
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas sportweight in ? baby pink (leftovers from some sample knitting)
Needles: US 6
Modifications/Notes: I think I knit one more full repeat than called for. It was a pretty easy pattern to memorize and a lot of fun to block since it knits up SO LUMPY!

I'm also plugging away on my pal's Sockapalooooza socks:

First time using Trekking, first toe-ups (successful toe-ups, there was a toe-up of which we shall not speak, and one toe-up sample that I don't count), and first shortrow heels (for an adult) Any suggestions on a stretchy bind off? Don't say EZ's sewn bind off, I've used it and I don't find it to be elastic enough (ie: it stretches, but doesn't have much memory, KWIM?) Should I do a tubular bind off, or are there any other suggestions out there? I'm almost ready to start the ribbing for sock #1, so any suggestions would be welcome! Thanks!

Fiddle-Fart: Techno Edition

So, after spending some quality time on the phone with Kodak, no dice. They are mailing me a CD to update the software. Meantime, I decided there must be a way to load new photos in absence of the "Easyshare." There is. You probably already knew that, but it was a discovery for me!

Without further ado:

Mrs. Feezy's second sock!
It will eventually get mailed to you, Feez, so Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday and all that jazz!

Pattern: Log Cabin Socks from Handknit Holidays
Yarn: Bernat Denimstyle in Polo, 2 skeins.
Needles: US 5
Comments: Yeouch! Denimstyle has no resilience, so was a total PITA to cable with, especially at this tight of a gauge. Worth it for you, though, F! And, another Holiday Hangover is done and gone! All that's left is the second half of Skippy's scarf!
















Here is a photo of the Monkey sock in Fire (ooh! Flaming Monkeys!)










The heel has since been turned and the gusset is decreased. I can't wait to wear these!

And here is the knitaround ad nauseum. The more I look at it, the more I think maybe I was thinking Seurat instead of Monet. Well, they're both good.









But not as good as this:
It even comes with patterns for a little afghan and throw pillows! I love how the cat on the cover seems to fully realize the humiliation of his situation.

Picture This...

So, there are a lot of things I would like to show you (including a real gem of a pattern leaflet find, and a couple of blue FO's), and the powers that be at Kodak have been contacted, so, perhaps by the end of the week.

The DH was not hired for the position he interviewed for. Back to the drawing board with ever-changing game plans. It would be nice if things could just be simple, but we all know they never are, so it's best not to dwell.

It's Official: I am Not Elizabeth Zimmermann (I know, I know, you were sure I was, but, nope!)
I have a great admiration for her innovative and creative contributions to knitting, but, I gotta tell you, I have a current project on the needles that is stockinette in the round and I. Am. So. Bored. I know I've said I like a lot of fiddle-farting around in my knitting, but, it turns out I actually need a lot of fiddle-farting around in my knitting. I need something to be thinking about. I'm knitting around and around and around and around and around and around on this thing and there is absolutely nothing to think about while I knit and knit and knit except that I miss home and I want to move back but now there are some people here that I would just have to sneak into the moving truck because I will miss them if we do end up moving. Do I really need extra time to think about all that? No, I say, I do not. So, it's a good thing the yarn is knitting up to look like a Monet painting, or I'd likely have chucked it across the room by now! Anyone have any suggestions of a pattern with major fiddle-farting that I could reward myself with upon completion of this one?

To ease the grumblemuck of the aforementioned project, and to remedy my pathetic sock drawer, I am working on a pair of Monkey socks in Jitterbug Fire. They are for me, and the first heel is turned with the gusset almost complete. I resisted the call of the Jitterbug for a while, but now that I've actually knit with it, I want to smuggle all of it out of the shop and take it home! I'd suggest you go out and get some, but, honestly, I want it all for myself, so I won't!

For Once!

For once, I have a gift knit completed well ahead of schedule!

Swallowtail Shawl, by Evelyn Clark
Yarn: Misti Alpaca laceweight
Needles: US 4's

This was the first triangular lace shawl I've knit that uses more than one lace pattern. The nupps were far easier to work in the alpaca than in the mohair I used for the Estonian Garden Lace scarf. This was knit as a gift for my grandmother's upcoming 90th birthday in March. It is small, weighs practically nothing, and is really quite lovely, so I deemed it an appropriate shawl for a little old lady (who would be mortified if she learned that I had referred to her as such!). I'm gifting it with the offer of lifetime laundering and blocking services. I only hope to have the favor called in for many years to come!

The DH is wearing his Cambridge Jacket again! I guess for once I picked a winner with this one! He is also excited at the prospect of adding Avast to his wardrobe, so I'd best get swatching for that soon.

Glancing at the sidebar, we can see that the Year of the UFO is progressing quite well, with far more filled progress bars than not. I think I'll keep them all up there until they are all filled up. Kind of adds some color.

In the biggest knitting news chez Bitter, Ilsa knit five stitches this weekend! All by herself! I'm so proud. That girl is getting her own needles for her fourth birthday, that's all there is to it!

So Long, Crack-Soaked Kitten!

Although I shall always love you, the time has come for you to move on and tempt others!

The Estonian Garden Lace Scarf is now blocked, dry, and ready to take up residence at the shop! I hope many things for this little scarf, not the least of which is that it sells yarn and gets people interested in lace!









I think it turned out quite nicely.





















I also finished the 4 Corners Dishcloth. It was a really quick knit and is quite effective in showing off the variegated colors. Might have to file it away for future use!

In sweaterwatch 2007 news, the DH wore his Cambridge Jacket again today! Any other good patterns for zippered cardigans for men out there? I think I've found his niche!

Short-Rows-A-Go-Go!

So, I finished Dishcloth #1:
I'm pretty sure you all know the pattern by now, I know I do! For the other dishcloth, I decided to shake things up a bit and try out the 4 Corners Dishcloth, which, I must say, is going exponentially faster than the Garterlac. Shortrows are simply faster than picking up stitches, especially since I seem to have developed a fondness for tight-gauge dishcloths (more "squish-factor" I guess!)







The shortrows seem to be contagious, as I started a new sample for the shop, the Curlicue
Coverlet by Oat Couture. More shortrow shaping fun!




The Estonian Lace Garden scarf is currently soaking, awaiting blocking as soon as I finish this post! I'll post post-blocking photos when it's dry!

In other news, the DH has yet to take off the Cambridge Jacket unless he's sleeping, showering or sauteeing onions, so I think that qualifies as a hit.

In other other news, I know that Skippy and Mrs. Feezy are probably reading this, Mrs. Feezy clutching her solitary Log Cabin sock, and thinking, "Great! More projects! When are you gonna finish our stuff?" A valid question which will be addressed just as soon as I conquer the second battle of the nupps (the Swallowtail shawl for my grandma's 90th birthday) She's 90, alright? Cut me some slack, Feezy!

Houston, We Have a Sweater

Another FO!










Pattern: Cambridge Jacket by Ann Budd
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needles: US 7's

The DH will be so happy this thing is finally ready to wear. I put off the crocheting around the edges for a good long while (turns out, it wasn't so bad) and then there was the zipper. Oy. That put a whole new level on my procrastination! Again, it wasn't so bad, and didn't really take all that long to do. Now, we'll see if I can pry it off him to take in to the shop to show off at the next Knit Nite! Merry Christmas, honey!

You Might Think

You might think, from my extended absence (if, of course, you notice such things), that I have had my nose to the needles and somehow managed to finish all those gifts I had planned without inadvertently igniting them with the sheer speed of my needles.

You might think that with all those projects, I would have photos of either the projects themselves, or the happy recipients with their new, treasured handknits.

Alas, you would be wrong on both counts. Oddly enough, the only gift that was actually completed and gifted within the holiday window was the pair of felted clogs I decided to make for my "little" BIL. You'll notice the DH's clogs' progress seems to have taken a negative turn. Having finished the clogs intended for the DH, I then attempted to felt them in my MIL's washing machine. They stubbornly refused to shrink beyond a certain point (water softener salt maybe?) and were therefore gifted to the BIL's larger feet. In front of the DH. The DH who visibly pouted at the thought of all that promised cuddly warmth being bestowed on his brother instead of him. I immediately cast on for the DH's new pair, but due to the fact that I was cornered by a well-intentioned yet full of unsolicited advice relative while attempting to knit, my stitch count is off and I must rectify it before proceeding, and though it is a fun pattern, I'm just not up to it this instant.

Mrs. Feezy got one Log Cabin Sock. Perhaps she will get the other by her birthday. (I can still delude myself, can't I?)

Skippy got a preview of her scarf, which is now officially 1/2 done.













My mother ended up finishing the Oddball Golf Club Cover. She needed some mindless knitting, and that fit the bill. For her gift, I gave her sock yarn and the Susan Bates sock needle set.

Currently, I am up to this:


Those of you who know me rather well are now thinking, "WTF?" and well you should be. Yes, I am making an illusion scarf with hearts on it that I designed myself. (there are so many things "wrong" about that last statement that I need to take a moment....there... I'm better now...)
I'm teaching a class on Shadow Knitting, Illusion Knitting, whatever you want to call it, and the class is in late Jan., so... what better project than something for February? I have passed the 1/2-way mark on this now, so the end is in sight.

In non-knitting news, I got together with a long lost friend over this break, and it was really great to see her again. Also, the DH and I, after years of pining, are really honestly looking to move back to MN this year. For me, this also means a return to the workforce. This is kind of a scary prospect for me, to be honest. Exciting, yes, but also a bit daunting. I've been "out of teaching" for longer than I was "in" it. Hopefully the classes I'm teaching at the LYS will help me remember that I really can teach. Any advice or confidence-building from the peanut gallery would be greatly appreciated.