Happy 2006

I had a good post in my head when I woke up this morning but have been rushing round like a chicken with his head cut off. Hence, I have no clue what I was going to say as dawn broke across the sky.

I guess the best thing to do it to wish you and yours a very happy, safe and prosperous 2006 from me and the Green Fairy.

I am spending the night in the house, away from the crazies or should that be, the crazy is staying in the house? LOL! In any event, I have a bottle of Absinthe that is calling my name. No, not the same one that's in the photo. I hate that stuff but the bottle is cool. I've not enjoyed this since the spring and I really need this. This is another year I won't be ringing in the New Year at the Rainbow Room in New York. Perhaps one day while I'm still young enough to enjoy it I will be able to do that. So I've thrown on part of my tux for the Green Fairy. Works for me :-)

Cheers! Here's to a productive 2006!

Imma WHAT?

You are a Nocker!! Inspired by the Gnomes of
legend, you have a natural love of building,
repairing, and dismantling things. You can
quite literally turn trash into treasure. But
as things would have it, everything you make
has some little flaw, which causes you no end
to frustration. In life, dont let yourself be
so caught up in the flaws of life that you miss
out in its beauty.


Which Changeling Kith Best Fits You?
brought to you by Quizilla

More socks

I guess I've been lazy and haven't really posted since I got Haloscan commenting installed on here. Truth be told, I'm in the middle of another pair of socks for a friend. I'm not sure if she keeps up with this blog or not (Are you reading Winnie???) so I'm not posting a photo of them. She sort of knows she's getting them but she wo'nt see what they look like.

Since that's about all I can write for now...here's a meme:

Tuesday Twosome

1. Top two Favorite Movies.
The Exorcist and Full Metal Jacket

2. Top two Favorite Actors.
Brian Bloom and Gary Sinise AND Viggo Mortensen (I can't choose between them and you can't make me LOL!)

3. Top two Favorite Actresses.
Linda Blair and Jodie Foster

4. Top two Favorite TV Shows.
The X Files and Friday the 13th: The Series (see a pattern here?)

5. Top two Favorite TV Musicians.
Mike Oldfield and King Diamond

Listening to: Under Ice ~ Kate Bush

Fingerless Glove

Well, I did it. Sort of. I'm not real pleased with the way it turned out. It's a bit too tight (it was for a woman's hand) but the stitches sort of spiral between thumb and the index finger. I did start on the second one but it will be a fingerless mitten...no fingers on the second one. It's too tight and this alpaca yarn is too expensive to just leave the gloves laying around. Without the fingerless fingers (LOL!), it's a perfect fit.

I'm also trying to figure out if it's worth the risk to try Haloscan for the comments instead of Blogger's on default comments. Anybody using Haloscan, have you had any problems or troubles getting it installed or working? I was all set to do it when Drew (The Crochet Dude) told me about it but after reading their web site and some of the problems you can run into, I decided maybe I didn't want the added headache.


Listening to ~ Mein Schmertz, Lene Lovich

Winter Solstice

I know I'm a day early but I wanted to wish everyone a very happy Yule now so I don't forget tomorrow.

That said, I got a nasty bug over the weekend. I went to Boston on Saturday and had to have picked something up on the train. Lots of people hacking up all over the place. It hit me at 2 AM Saturday night/Sunday morning. I had a fever just high enough to let me know I was sick but not high enough to put me into a fever delirium and man, did I ache! Just getting back to myself today.

Anyway, I was too weak to even pick up my needles over the weekend but have been looking for a good pattern for fingerless gloves. Anybody know of one? I had one but not being well versed in dp's yet, I'm not quite sure how to re-work the pattern which has got to be wrong. It's ok up till the index finger but where it tells to start the index finger is actually at the pinkie end of your hand. I wasted expensive alpaca the first time I tried them, I don't want to waste anymore of it but I would desperately love a pair of alpaca fingerless gloves before winter is over.

I think tonight I'm going to just work on the Aran afghan. I'm still not feeling 100% so will take it easy.

Oh, the graphic above....there's a gallery of many similar types here at Witch Way. I love the organic feel of these.


Listening To: Saturday Love ~ Cherelle

Aran Afghans, Socks and books of Poetry

First, mega thanks to Dave who helped me locate my comp book with my poetry! Keep that gift in shape Dave!!! I'm happy I have it back.


I'm working on an Aran afghan that Knitty Gritty had on some time ago. It's rather simple, just 7 different blocks to a total of 16 blocks to make a lap sized throw. I mainly did this to use up some yarn my mom had. I like the way it's looking. I'm not looking forward to doing an entire block in double moss stitch-that gets boring but I can lean my head back and close my eyes while I do it...sort of zone out or something. I'll probably have to come up with my own block to finish it as only 7 patterns doubled is 14 blocks and it calls for 16.

Knitty Gritty also did a show on socks today. It seemed she mainly followed the Universal Sock pattern I've been using. I thought she said there was supposed to be variations on the toe decreases and a heel but I can't find it on the site. It was fun to watch anyway. Her knitsters had some cool socks. I really liked the chick in the middle who had a Greek Key going round her instep. I may need to chart that out myself so I can knit a pair. I think I'll download the pattern as she was calling these slipper socks and I'd like a pair like this. I'll find a nice worsted wool and knit them up.

I think I'm gonna go make another Latte in my Tassimo and get back to my afghan.


Listening to Piano in the Dark ~ Brenda Russell

Insomnia (or a 2 AM cat fight)

I guess it's a good thing I'm generally in bed and asleep before 10 PM since I was woken up at 2 AM or so by Chris' cat fighting with my cat. My cat instigates, sneaking in where she shouldn't be but his cat is a bitch and gets pissy. So I'm sitting here with some incense burning (Dragon blood...ahh, the memories) listening to the SOS Band and reading some blogs. I suss I'll be in bed by 7 PM tonight LOL! At least I got about 5 hours sleep, I think.

I've torn up this house somewhat looking for some poetry that I cannot find. I guess I have to start over. I specifically bought Adobe's Creative Suite to get InDesign to vanity publish a book when I'd had enough written. I'll keep looking but I think that composition book is gone, damnit! I keep tossing round the idea of sitting with my Ouija board but I've never had luck using it by myself and it seems everyone is scared to death of the things. It did tell me once where to find something I had lost. My mom and I used it back then to locate the item.

I was debating weather to write some now but nothing is coming to me, it's too early and I'm not in that mindset. I'm just rather numb right now LOL!

I started an Aran afghan the other night. Knitty Gritty had shown it a couple months ago. I got one block done, am in the middle of another one now. It's being done in a soft blue yarn. My mom had bought it for something or other and I think there's 10 skeins of it? Maybe 8. I'll go as far as I can go.I just wanted to use the yarn up. I'll post a picture when I've got a bit more done on it.

Limbo Socks

I really like the way the colours knitted up. I finished these last night and was too lazy to get up and take a picture. Talk about cutting it real close, one ball of yarn JUST made one sock so it worked out well. I was praying I'd not have to order a ball just to do a couple of rows as I thought I was going to have to do.

I think next pair I make will be a solid colour. Well, maybe not-I still have that red ball of Cherry Tree Hill yarn to work up, then maybe a pair of solid colour socks. Oh wait, no! I just remembered there's a very funky pair of socks I saw that I have to try. They're so unusual that I have no choice but to try them.

I've also been going out of my gourd looking for a composition book I had stated writing a ton of poetry in last winter. I had some very good stuff in there that I cannot get back and I can't imagine what the hell I did with it. It's sort of a need to have it. It goes along with why I have been listening to Teena Marie non-stop the past week. Here's one haiku that I wrote from that book. I had saved a few on my Mac but not all of them. I've got to find that book.

Frosted tulip glows
Twinkling on a stem of gold
My heart is there too

Lots of snow makes for great knitting

We got dumped on yesterday, it snowed early in the morning but tapered off to rain, only to pick up later in the afternoon again. It was total white out conditions so I did what any knitter would do, I sat on the sofa and knit :-) Thanks to Kae for pointing me to the fingerless gloves. I got those done. And finishing up on the socks in the Limbo yarn. I think I'll do another set of fingerless gloves in alpaca, once I get to Boston to get some more.

All the holiday knitting is done so I can get back to my stuff, namely the cable sampler sweater. I want to get that one done as there's a Rowan cable sweater I want to do. So much knitting and winter is only so long.

More later....

All I Want For Christmas

Since it's so close to Christmas, I thought I'd say this is all I want. I'm not asking for much, huh? I've drooled over Brian Bloom for as long as I can remember. I had almost forgotten about him until I saw him in his small role on Melrose Place a couple of weeks ago.

Is it too much to much to ask for to find him wrapped with a big red bow under, well, I don't have room for a traditional tree so I guess he'd have to be placed under my misting fountain. Have you ever seen this guys eyes? WOW!

I'm just on a big flashback right now...don't mind me.

And to stay on topic, I'm finishing up the first of a pair of socks in that Limbo yarn. YUMMY! IT looks awesome!

WOW! That's a lot of knitting!

I think I'm finally done with all the gift knitting? At least it appears so from this photo. Last evening, sat on my sofa, I had brought my iPod down and listened to a bunch of the knitting podcasts. I had the house to myself and just sitting there knitting listening to knitting podcasts was probably the most enjoyable evening I've had in a long time. I drank a million cups of hot chocolate which is surprising as I don't normally drink it this early in the season, nor do I generally drink anything with caffeine at night.

Which brings me to my next toy. I am totally enchanted with this hot beverage maker. Don Imus has been crowing about this Tassimo machine for a while now so I couldn't take it anymore and set out to get one. Bed Bath & Beyond had them in stock. I think I got it Wednesday. Now I've not drunk coffee in over 4 years....I cannot get enough of this. You pop the discs in and you have a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, hot chocolate, a latte, espresso or whatever else you want. I'm not wild about the coffee, I'm much more of a tea drinker but the latte is addictive! I love those! I also quite like the hot chocolate. The novelty hasn't worn off yet but it's nice to know I can have a latte quite easily when I want one.

Now I need to go make a cup of tea and package all these gifts up and get them ready for the post tomorrow.

Aran For Sale

I realise this is rather ridiculous to list this for sale on a knitting blog. Why would a knitter pay this for a sweater they could knit themselves? I've sat here with Chris trying to figure out eBay...there's no way to list this as a unisex item-if a man is looking for a gift for his girlfriend, will it click this could be a woman's sweater if it's listed under menswear? Likewise, if it's listed under women's wear, would it dawn on someone it is also suitable for a man? Also, they nickel and dime you to death-too many damn fees and I'm not making eBay rich on my stupidity - I'd sooner cut this Aran to ribbons and throw it in the trash first. Which is what I've a feeling is going to happen.

That said...if any of you know someone who has a young adult that they'd like to buy a very nice gift for, this is the item. Pictures of it can be seen under the HEARTBROKEN heading....dated 13 November, 2005. It would probably fit a young adult wearing a medium. Man or woman with a 34" chest.

Measurements for it are as follows:

Upper back @ shoulders---14"
Back width @ underarm---- 20"
Front, buttoned, @ underarm---20"
Length, waist to underarm---13"
Length, shoulder to waist---23"
Sleeve width @ underarm---14 1/2"
Sleeve length, shoulder to wrist---28 1/2
Cuff measures 4" total, folded up for finished length of approx. 2"
Wrist--- 7"


Selling price is $200.

The buttons are made of genuine leather and are 'braided'. The wool is 100% virgin wool and contains the natural lanolin

Knitting Podcasts

I may be behind the times, not sure if this is old hat to everyone or not but this morning, I was surfing some blogs and stumbled upon knitting podcasts. I subscribed to these two this morning. One is Knitcast and the other is Cast-on.

iTunes has a number of others that I never thought to look for before. Go to the iTunes music store, click on Podcasts on the left nav bar and enter knit or crochet in the search field and you'll find a much of podcasts come up.

Lazy Sunday

Just how I like them. It was sort of a grey day and perfect for popping in a movie and knitting which is what I did. I finished a ribbed hat for my grandfather, now I have a scarf and one more pair of bloody slippers to do. I'm tired of those...but they go fast. Only takes me a couple hours I guess.

I got the house decorated for Christmas Friday and it looks so cool. I love how the house feels so magickal when it's all sparkling and lit up this time of year. I usually wait for a neighbour but this year I decided to hell with that, I like it and I'm doing it the day after Thanksgiving so that's what I did.

Yesterday Chris and I went to see Saw 2. I wasn't too keen on paying $7.00 (umm, regular price is $10, "bargain matinee" is 7 bucks. I fail to see where the bargain is????) since I liked the original but I wasn't wild about it. Forget it...Saw 2 BLOWS the original out of the water. To say it was brutal is an understatement, sadistic it was with a very liberal spattering of gore. It was a real on-the-edge-of-your-seat movie. Can't wait for the DVD to come out!I thought Chris was going to jump out of his skin-could hear his shallow breathing through most of it.

I think tomorrow I'm going to post an ad on eBay for my Aran. I'm not too confident it'll sell. I scanned there for Aran sweaters and there's a healthy dose of them there...all under $30. Most are selling for $24. "Hand Knit" Right....you can't buy the yarn for an Aran for $24. and to HAND KNIT IT and give it away for $24. ????? Maybe they machine knit them and still consider that hand knit? I dunno. I'll post it anyway, have nothing to lose but mine certainly won't be going for $24.

Sci Fi channel has a cool show on the Bermuda Triangle at 9 so I'm gonna go get washed up, get in my PJ's (yeah, I wear PJ's in the winter) and see what I can get myself into knitting. Come 9, I'll have a nice cup of tea and be ready for this Bermuda Triangle thing. That's always fascinated me. I used to work with someone who swore up and down that was the portal to Atlantis.

Knitting Factory

That's what I feel like. I've done all these SLIPPERS and two HATS. I have a couple more hats to go and I think I will be done? Oh yeah...I've got a scarf to make too. I'm not sure I can afford to sleep, but I guess maybe it's good that I knit fast.

I also got two balls of yarn from Carodan Farm which I'll use to make socks at some point. I need to get some plain yarn so I can try cabled socks but all these colourways are just too interesting and wild for me to pass up.

Over the weekend, I found a video I had of Kaffe Fassett. It's six episodes of his tv show, Glorious Colour, he had done in the mid 80's for chamomile 4 in the UK. He is so inspirational and so very calming to watch. I'd love to spend a month with him to see if any of it would rub off on me. It almost made me want to do another of his designs. There's a jacket from the Glorious Knits book but I'm just not into spending another 13 years on a sweater. I need to transfer that video to DVD since I'm not sure they can be found again and I'd hate to lose them.

I got Polar Express too yesterday. I've wanted to see that since I first saw the trailer on Apple's web site. I was not disappointed, it was brilliant! Made me feel things about Christmas I haven't felt since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I think I'll watch it again tonight.

I know there's more stuff I wanted to say but can't think at the moment.

Harry Potter

We went to see Goblet of Fire this morning. All I can say about it is Brilliant!!!!! Absolutely brilliant! I can't remember a series I've ever loved as much as this one. I'll have to re-read the book again, I know there was a lot left out. I didn't find it any darker than the last one. Very enjoyable. I'll have to go again. I had to bite my tongue not to laugh--There's a scene where Harry is in a tub, sans shirt. When he took his shirt off, I think every pre-teen girl in the audience let out a collective sigh. It was hysterical LOL!

Anyway, I started this hat yesterday. Not sure who it's for for Christmas. Well,l I do but seeing as how they're probably reading this, I can't say. You can't see the cable band all that well but its THIS PATTERN I've got some natural yarn that I'll make another one with.


It's funny, all the years I've knit, it's just been straight knitting on needles. I never knit stuff in the round, I think I used circular needles twice in all the years I've been knitting, only used dp's for the first time last month and love them. Now I'm doing lots of stuff in the round.

Also think since I am starting to really love grafting, I'm going to look for ways to make sure I can graft shoulder seams wherever possible. I did it on the neckband of my Aran and I had to do it for the band on this hat last night...I'm really liking it! It's so cool to see there's not a visible seam.

Forging Right Along

I started this Sunday night while I put Looking For Mr. Goodbar in the VCR. I haven't seen that in ages, I wish it would come out on DVD before my VHS copy wears out. It's getting old now.

Anyway, this is the third time I'm doing this sweater. There are five charts already established, five more to go. For some reason, I'm not so sure I'm so in love with this anymore. It looks gargantuan. It's knit on 10.5's using DK yarn doubled. It looks much more refined in Vogue Knitting. I don't recall it looking quit this 'bold' the last time I knit it. I'll have to search around for a photo of it.

The original was done in 5 different colours...deep, rich greens, purples and blues. It was gorgeous. I've never found colours that have the richness of the original which is why I'm doing it a solid colour. I'm using Jaeger Matchmaker. I love the yarn but hadn't realised it was a superwash wool until tonight.

This should go quickly where it's on such large needles. Won't be long before I start casting on for the sleeve shaping. It's a dolman sleeve. I have no idea where I'll lay this out to block it but I'll worry about that when I get to that point. For now, I'm just enjoying the hell out of the cables.

I guess I should start working on some holiday knitting...I've got a few gifts to make. I'll look into that tomorrow.

Heartbroken

OK folks, this is it. The Aran cardigan is done, buttons are sewn on, buttonholes are finished. I didn't think this would make me quite this sad but I am. Anyway, I have to sell this-can use the money to buy more yarn to make myself one that will fit. I was stupid for not double and triple checking the size before I started. I made medium and I should have made large. I need to take measurements of this so whoever buys it knows it'll fit. Not patting myself on the back, I am NEVER one to tout my own horn as I am always very critical of my work but I am damn proud of this sweater.

Rowan, Gauge, and frustration

I finally got the Classic Winter book from Rown I've been frothing at the mouth for. Have to make that cable sweater on the cover! Too bad the model doesn't come with it ;-) I'm just sayin'......Also love the fingerless gloves and the sock/slipper/leg warmers in that book. If I get to knit all the stuff I want to, I'm going to need a house just to store all these sweaters in.

So I pulled out the Holiday '87 issue of Vogue Knitting to knit the swatch for the cable sampler. Mind you, this will be the third time I'll have knitted this. I'm beginning to think someone is trying to tell me this one isn't for me. I've knit the gauge swatch on the 10.5 it calls for, went down to 10's, then down to 9's. I can't get the gauge. I refuse to go to a size 8...that's too small a size to knit with two strands of DK weight yarn. If I have to pay someone to knit this for me, that's what I'll do but I WILL wear this sweater before the winter is over. That sweater is fun to knit but three times now? I'm getting tired of it.

I wish I had knit that back in 1987 when I could have gotten the Aarlan yarn it calls for. I'm using Jaeger DK yarn for it and while that's nice, the Aarlan looked much nicer. I wasn't knitting in '87 though, I had met my soon to be ex at that time LOL!

The new Kate Bush album wasn't worth it. I don't like it...her career was over after Hounds of Love...or The Whole Story if you count a Best Of collection as an album. I'll listen to the old, wacky, odd stuff she was doing back in the 80's. I still think The Dreaming was her finest hour...that was an incredible album! My favourite of hers.

I ripped that sock back I posted last night. I didn't like the way the ribbing pattern was looking so I'll re-do it and put a small cable down the sides.

More Socks

I've been working on my sock for most of the late afternoon. This is how far I've gotten. I like the colourway of this yarn. Not sure the crossed 'cable' pattern works with it...it's very hard to see. Yes, that's Jake Hansen from Melrose Place on the tv. I'll admit it, I'm a Melrose fan.

For a guy who 1) hates soap operas and 2) has never really had much of a draw to tv, you sure couldn't prove it these past few months. Especially with Dallas and Knots Landing on the Soaps network. I can't miss them. I'm just sayin'...

Just a few more days and I'll have pics of the Aran cardigan up here. I need to get buttons for it first. I also need to figure out how to do the blanket stitch around the buttonholes. That's giving me a bit of trouble.

Bad news is, I definitely have to sell it...it's too small for me :-( While I enjoyed knitting it, I don't like doing the same thing over again so soon. Maybe after the holidays. I was so pissed as I wanted to wear it. I am very proud of it and the grafting technique I had to do on the back of the neck facing. It wasn't the easiest thing to do on a cable pattern but I did the best I could and I think it looks good. At least it's neat. My grandmother would be proud.

Hell's Bells

No, not AC/DC's song tho it's one of my all time faves! While eating breakfast just now,I saw Kate Bush finally put out a new album, Aerial. It's a double album. Hell's Bells, it's only been 12 years or more. I'm curious how many of her fans have held on or if she is even remembered. She did say once she had a baby, that was it, the music would be history. I'm actually surprised she's put this out considering she has a son now.

The Boston Globe gave it an ok review saying she's still pretty much as she was. I'm trying to decide what to do. I know some of what is on it is nothing like she's ever done before which could be good...or not. There's a domestic release and an import release. I usually go for the imports but at $47. Amazon price, I'm not sure I want to take the risk. I didn't like her last album at all, save for one or two songs, I thought it was crap. I was sorely disappointed in The Sensual World she put out in the early 90's but it is listenable. I guess I love her weirder, wild stuff better-the first five albums were amazing, The Dreaming being my absolute all time favourite.

Maybe iTunes has it, I can sample it before I decide to buy the physical product.

Yes, I know...Kate is not heavy metal and I said I'm a metal fan. I like lots of music, so long as it's not rap/hip-hip whatever the difference is.

Sorry for that indulgence...now back to your regularly scheduled knitting blog....

Monday Aft

I think maybe the Aran will be ok. I basted it last night and didn't take into account it wasn't blocked yet. When I laid the back out on the dining room table and pinned it to the measurements, it opened up quite a bit so it's looking good. I won't know till I see how much the sleeves open when I block those which won't be for a few days. I'm using a damp towel and my dining room table to do this. I thought the quick & dirty method of steam from an iron didn't suit this. I'll do the two fronts next then the two sleeves.

I found THESE SOCKS a little while ago and love the rib pattern so I think this is what I'll start next with the Cherry Tree Hill yarn I got this past weekend. I'm attempting to do the crosses without a cable needle but it's making me all confused so I'll probably use the tiny cable needle I have. This is perfect for the size of the needle. I guess I'll start those in a while since I'm having left overs for supper, no need to cook tonight.

Maybe before I start the socks, I'll check the cable sampler pattern to see how much yarn I have to be sure it's enough. I may have to get a few more balls of yarn for it, which will be interesting considering I got the yarn for it about two years ago. I may only need 4 more balls at most and can easily mix that in with what I already have. I'm also thinking I'll use twisted rib on it since the sweater is perfect for that. I love twisted rib but have only ever used it on the zebra sweater. It seems too sporty for a lot of sweaters, but this cable sampler seems to be perfect for it.

One Aran cardigan

Is done....I finished it while watching Harry Potter tonight. However, I think I may need to sell it. In my rush to make an Aran, I miscalculated the size and knit it to my chest measurement which means if I want to wear it over a bare chest, it should be fine. I should have made the large size. Which gives me pause for that damned cable sampler that is next on my list. It will be the third time I've knit that....the first time the yarn was too light and the weight of all the cables made it stretch down to my knees. I was so annoyed I cut it to pieces...I did it in colour...each panel was a different colour. The second time I knit it, two years ago, I don't know what went wrong but the cuffs were 5" total in circumfrence...that MAY fit a baby's wrist, not mine. FROG! This time will be correct...however, I need to make sure I knit the right size because if this one doesn't turn out,I am going to take it to someone to knit for me. I'm stubborn that way. I have drooled over this sweater since I first saw it in Vogue back in 1987 I think it was. I will have it before I die.

All in all, I am happy with the way the cardigan turned out. It looks fantastic! Jus too small for me...would fit a person with a 34" chest just fine. I'm a 40 now...I have to keep telling myself, I'm 38 years old now, I am no longer 17 :-(

In any event, I spent the remainder of Harry Potter winding the Cherry Tree Hill wool into a ball and looking for a sock pattern I like.

Hope you all had a productive weekend with your needles.

Saturday S.E.X.

I got some S.E.X. today! Seems to be a Saturday ritual with us :-) I got some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. Even Chris commented how cool this red yarn looks and he hates flashy stuff or anything that will call attention to him. I was disappointed that Mountain Colours dropped "Painted Rocks" from the Barefoot line...they said they didn't like the way it was taking dye so they only make it in the 4/8's wool now. I love the yarn too much so I'll just use it for a pair of bulky socks, like the boot socks from International Male I loved so much as a teen.

Also looked for Elizabeth Zimmermann, anything by her. I've been knitting most of my life and have always herd so much about her. I've enjoyed her columns in Vogue Knitting magazine in the 80's when they had her articles. I'll settle in to read this at some point. I've been going great guns on my last sleeve.

Also managed to get something that I can't mention as it's not supposed to be on sale until Wednesday. :-)

OH YEAH.....I have a question for you knitters. What makes an Aran sweater an Aran sweater? I mean, I know the real ones originated in Ireland and they have certain patterns but is any heavily cabled sweater considered an Aran? Or is that just a cabled sweater/cable sampler?

Sleeves and things

Well, I finished a sleeve last night. I decreased every 4th row instead of every other and it's spot on. I'll note that in the book in case I do another one...which I may need to. Not sure how well this one is going to fit. I chose a medium when I should have probably made a large. Which means, I may end up needing to sell it. We'll see. Hope not as I don't want to knit another of the same thing so soon but I do want it for this winter.

Have been having nightmares trying to switch over to DSL. I'd think twice if I were you if you're thinking of Verizon DSL. We were without a phone for two and a half days. I'm not even going to go into the phone games trying to get to the right people. As often as I'd firmly state I wanted a manager, I got put on hold. There has to be a commissioner of utilities or something. This is ridiculous. Needless to say, at this point I'd like to cancel DSL, get rid of Comcast, dump Verizon for Sprint or one of those and go with DirectWay since I already am a DirecTV subscriber. Their up-front costs tho are frightening but perhaps that may be the way to go. I've little faith in Verizon if I need tech support seeing how I've been treated thus far. You can talk to any HUMAN you want so long as you're placing an order or anything else that will put money in their pocket. Soon as you need help or run into trouble, you get automated systems and computers up with wazoo.

'Nuf said...it's too aggravating to think about anymore than I have already.


Back to knitting!

New Label

I like this much better...tho I still like the crescent moon. The mood in this label fits me.

Clogs by Gucci, Socks by ME!

I think everybody in the immediate area got Comcast internet lately. I tried to post this about 3.30 PM but I couldn't get on line. Tomorrow Verizon is coming out, we signed up for Verizon...twice the speed for half the price. I hate cable companies anyway.

Anyhoo....Socks are done! WOO HOO! This is so frickin' cool! I love these and to think, if I hadn't spent so much time surfing all the knitting blogs I could find, I'd never have seen the epidemic of sock knitting and never would have tried them! There is A LOT more of this in my future! I'm addicted...they're relatively quick and the possibilities are endless. Not to mention, NOTHING feels like this yarn on your feet! This yarn is wonderful!

I have another hank of this yarn in blues. This yarn had a lot more purple when it was on the rack in the store, it didn't knit up that way though. There's also another hank of their yarn I got...I may need more of that though, it's not the same type of yarn. Can't wait to try a pair of cable socks! There was a nice pair in an old issue of Vogue Knitting magazine. The same issue my Zebra sweater came from. I should try those. I always drooled over those but they seemed too hard.

Now I havee to figure out the sleeve shaping on my cardi.

SOCKS ROCK!!!!!

Happy Samhain

I had planned to update my blog to wish you all a Happy Samhain/Happy Halloween but along with some other things today, it never got done. Better late than never, huh?

I spent the weekend making a couple hats for my dad's birthday. Can't believe he'll turn 70 on Thursday. I still see him as 50-ish but I was too busy back then making his life miserable and fighting tooth and nail on everything. I'm so glad we made amends and he forgave me for being such a total fucktard but I still wish I had those years back so I could have had a relationship with my dad, not constant turmoil. But that's in the past and we get on so well now and that's what is important.

I am working on my other sock now, I turned the heel before supper so once I post this, I'll go see how far I can get. I plan to watch a couple horror movies tonight-per usual. Maybe Last House on the Left since it's been ages since I've seen it...it just never did much for me. TV stunk with the spooky stuff this year.

Also went to Windsor Button again and picked up Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road book. WAY COOL! I won't be happy until I can replace all the crap socks I bought at the store with hand knit socks.


Oh-and I made my labels finally! Rock Chick inspired me after she got the idea from Dave D. This is a prelim label. I've always had a thing with crescent moons, they're an amulet of sorts to me. Half way through this label, I remembered I have some awesome brushes for Photoshop that I'll mess with and see if I can come up with something a bit more "me". Can knitting and the macabre go and in hand? LOL!

Happy Knitting all!

Trouble in Paradise

Have been working on my Aran cardigan most of the evening. I'm posting a scan of the cover of the book my cardi is in, does anybody have this book? It was my grandmothers. I have no idea how old it is but there is a definite problem with he one I'm making. Was hoping someone might have the same book and be able to help me out?

On the off chance someone does have this book, I'm making style #8410. Take a look at the sleeve instructions. They are dead wrong. I'm dead on with my gauge and if these instructions are correct, then the sleeve from underarm to top of shoulder is 4" which is not going to fit in the armhole of the sweater no matter how you block.

The problem, best as I can tell, is they tell you to cast of for the underarm...Fine. Then they want you to decrease one stitch every second row 14 times....then bind off 4 sts. at the start of the next 4 rows and it's done.

I need to alter this or it's not going to work. I have to rip the sleeve back as it is due to this. Instead of decreasing each end of every 2nd row, how do I better space the decreases? Every 4th row? Every 6th row?

What I did on the sleeve, as per the pattern, looks like a raglan sleeve. All the dec's are in the first few inches and then it just jutts up this long narrow block of cables. That's not right.

Any ideas?

RIBBIT

I had to frog about 16 rows on my Aran. I did a bit on it this morning and noticed I hadn't been consistent with the decreasing on the right front. DAMNIT! I'm glad I caught it now, at least. I'd hate to get up to the shoulder and wonder why it wasn't right. That's ok....it gave me something different to do LOL! I've got all weekend to catch up now. And the best part is...we go back to STANDARD TIME! An extra hour of knitting! :) I've never been a fan of daylight savings time. I guess I'm weird that way...I love when it gets dark early.

I called Lisa yesterday and Chris and I went over there last night. She called her sister, Tillie, down. I was hoping we'd all get to stitch (and bitch!) but we mostly sat round the table and talked. I did bring my second sock and got a bit of the ribbing done. I also brought a skein of scrap yarn and asked Tillie if she could teach Chris to crochet. I tried but he didn't seem to grasp it. I guess I'm losing my edge. She chained some and started him off with a row of single crochet...made him continue and he got it. It just made me realise when I teach my cousin Linda to knit, I'll cast on and show her garter stitch and make her do that for a while, then teach her stockinette stitch then maybe to cast on and bind off. I think it's all too much at once.

This made Chris want to get his own hook and his own yarn. I told him to wait and go with me to Windsor Button tomorrow. I need to go and get some wool as my dad's birthday is next week and I need to make him a couple hats. One will be just a plain ribbed one,another will be stockinette st. with a cable band. I'm debating weather to call my cousin and see if she wants to go pick out a yarn and a set of needles and maybe teach her some knitting tomorrow. With her, it's probably best to plan this in advance.

One Sock Down...One to go

I enjoyed this more than I thought I was going to! I started this late Sunday afternoon and just finished it tonight. I still don't have my speed up on double pointed needles but it'll get there. I've never used them before.

So I learnt two new techniques...Knitting on dp's and grafting the toe closed on this sock which was a bitch and a half. The yarn is really soft (Mountain Colours Barefoot) so it tended to pull the stitches around the needle when I was going from the front to the back needle. The yarn is so dark I can't really tell if I did the grafting right. It's confusing. I'll need to practise it more.

I really loved turning the heel on this...it's so cool to watch it happen and then see the gusset take shape. The worst part of the sock was at the toe when you're decreasing and have fewer and fewer stitches. I was certain a needle was going to fall out.

Anyway, here's a couple pictures of the sock. Its mate will have to wait...I really need to get some time in on my Aran cardigan. I miss that, but then....The other sock may call to me quite loudly and I won't be able to resist starting it. This is why I can't start more than one project at a time. LOL!

Thanks KnitSteph! You really were the one who got my ass in gear for these. When I saw the yarn you used, I had to see if I could find it around here. It is delicious!

I think I'm a sock-a-holic now! First one ever in all the years I've been knitting. What the hell did I wait this long to try one for????

Socks

Here's how the yarn is working up that I got. I'm loving this more and more. It didn't stripe like I thought it might but I love the colours. Can't wait to see how this looks when its done. I really need to get back to my Aran cardigan...I'm almost done with that.

Slippers with Teeth

Anybody know how you're supposed to sew the heel closed on these? I've got two 'teeth' on the back of each LOL! I couldn't figure out how to sew them closed. An "aunt" used to make these by the truckload for all us kids way back in the day.

And it's official-I'm addicted to double pointed needles and socks LOL! They are a blast. I never wear hats or mittens but I guess I will be this winter just to keep on knitting with dp's!

New Toys

I did go to Boston this morning and got some new stuff to play with. I got a set of bamboo dp needles size 1-8, two hanks of GORGEOUS Mountain Colours wool and a skein of junky yarn to practice with.

The girl at the store offered to show me how to work with the dp's which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. As soon as I got home, I pulled what was on the needles off and started over again to be sure I could do it. I knit several rounds and cast off and it's actually more fun than I thought it would be.

Now I'm off to find a sock pattern...I have one but it's just a rib pattern. I had thought stocking stitch would be better, I dunno. Maybe I'll work one sock up with the junk yarn to see what it looks like before wasting the Mountain colours yarn on it.

Ghosts from the past

I frogged a bit on the left front of the cardigan, the second set of buttonholes looked off. The one in the facing was too close and wasn't going to match the one on the front itself so I ripped and did it 3 stitches in instead of the 1 the pattern called for. This pattern has problems. I wish I could figure out what year the book was published, it's old. Early 60's maybe? Late 50's? I dunno.

I'm dreaming of doing socks now...Thanks you all! LOL! Have been spending a while in the morning surfing around looking at socks and different yarns. Maybe tomorrow I'll go into Boston and see if I can find a yarn I like. There's one definite I want that I'll order on line. It looks gorgeous.

I was thinking, I've got a bunch of patterns I printed off the net, a lot from the early 90's when I was on Prodigy. I have them folded up and stuffed wherever. It hit me this morning, I have Adobe's InDesign...I can make a neat little book with them and have them all in one place. I could even lay them out in InDesign and send it off to Apple to have them print it out as a hardbound book although I'll most likely just print it out myself. I can easily do duplex printing on my laser printer.

I miss the stitch & bitch sessions we used to have in the early 80's. I guess today was nostalgic for me. I was thinking of my mom and how I miss her and then thought of the 4 or 5 nights a week we'd go to Tillie's and her sister Lisa would join us. The three of them crochet, I was the lone knitter though my mom would someteims knit as well. Those were fun times. I can't remember the exact order they aired but I remember Wednesday nights we'd be watching Dynasty while we did our stuff. I forget what was on Thursday, Dallas? Fridays was Knots Landing and Falcon Crest. I can't remember what we'd watch Tuesday. The only night we didn't go to Tillie's was Mondays. She played Bingo Monday nights.

While I've gone down there a few times recently and brought my knitting, it's never come to that. We've just all sat round the table and talked. I miss the old days.

Viking Cables

I was sitting on the sofa working on my cardigan and enjoying a great new CD, The 13th Hour by Midnight Syndicate. It's great mood music, spooky stuff. Anyhoo, Midnite, my cat, either decided she didn't want company or her dinner didn't sit right with her because she's farting. Hard to believe such a stench can come out of a cute little cat. Luckily that doesn't happen often but when it does-watch out.

So I'm blogging and asking if anybody out there has seen or has ElsebethLavold's book Viking Patterns for Knitting. I've never seen it in the stores so I'm not sure if this is something I have to have or not. Are there patterns for men in it, or patterns that are rather unisex? The few I've seen in the knitting magazines look good but I've learnt the hard way...so I'm just askin'.

Found some stuff my mom had been knitting so I took her bamboo needles as well and ripped back a sweater she had started. I have a pattern for an Aran afghan I'll use that yarn for. It's a 'dusky' shade of blue, I think it'll work out ok for the afghan. The pattern was on DIY's Knitty Gritty show. It's more of a beginner's "sampler" to see how the cables work up.

I saw another sweater I have to hunt down the book for. Was surfing a lot of knitting blogs this morning and saw on someone's a sweater called Cabin Fever from a Paton's book. It looked like a must-have for me which means the book/pattern is probably long out of print-that's how my luck runs.

Here's a picture of the two sets of buttonholes I've done so far. Not half bad for never having worked them before. Actually, the picture will have to wait. My ISP is acting up again. Man I hate comcast!!!!

Mish mash on a Tuesday

I started the left front of the cardigan last evening. Never knit buttonholes in my life until last night. They're not as bad as I thought they'd be. The hard part for me will be figuring out how to secure yarn to do the blanket stitch around them for reinforcement.

I've been seeing so many knitting blogs showing socks and dp needles that I decided after I finish this cardigan, I have to attempt a pair of socks. I've never tried dp needles and thought it's about time. I have an issue of Knitters magazine from last year that has a way funky pair of socks I want to try although, that self-striping sock yarn has me intrigued too.

It started off nice and overcast today but now the sun decided to come out and ruin everything. I'm a bit weird that way, I guess. There's times I really love grey, dreary weather. It's a great time to curl up on the sofa with a good movie and knit all day.

Samhain is fast approaching too so I need to set up for that. It's my very favourite holiday, especially since last year I felt my mom's presence VERY strongly.

Had so much on my mind this morning, I should have written at 5 AM. Can't remember half of what I was thinking now.

Jacket/Camisole set

This popped in my mind when I was eating supper an hour ago. In the early 80's, I had knit an intricately cabled jacket and camisole set for my mom. I forget what I did it for, it may have been for an event she was going to or it may have just been because she was my mom and I wanted to. I found the jacket, I can't find the camisole. She may not have kept them together, though that's unlike her. I'll keep looking for it.

Anyway, this has been sitting in a drawer for who know how many years, I can't remember her wearing it outside of a few times after I had given it to her. The cables are a bit wrinkled from being folded. The sleeve caps are puffed up, it looked nice. This was knit in 100% cotton yarn. For some reason, I want to say it was Bernat yarn. Whatever it was, I found I didn't care for knitting with cotton. It's difficult to work with, has no give at all so you really have to make sure your not knitting tight which I always did back then.

If I had thought of this set two and a half years ago, I may have buried my mother wearing this. I wish I could find the book this came from. I'd like to adapt the cable for something else. It was really sharp looking and fun to work up. There's a lot of my knitting books from back then I can't find. They're in my dad's attic somewhere.......I hope! A lot of memories tied up in those books.

Teach Knitting?

Both my cousins want me to teach them how to knit. At first I thought this would be fun, sort of evolve into the stitch & bitch my mom and I would go to, what, five nights a week with Tille and her sister? Then one night last week Chris asked me if I'd teach him, said he wanted to try knitting. Out came the scrap yarn and some needles. It didn't go so well. Nor did crocheting when he asked if that would be easier.

He was fighting the process all the way, knitting was almost as if he were trying to joust with the needles, crochet wasn't much better. He got too frustrated and quit. Told him it was a skill that took time to learn, especially knitting. You won't pick it up in one night. I didn't know weather I was going too fast, teaching him to cast on first. Is this what it'll be like with my cousins?

Truth be told, my grandmother taught me to knit when I was probably 8 or 9 years old. I'd run to her or my mom with plastic needles and beg them to cast on 100, 500, 1,000 stitches LOL! I don't exactly remember who or how I learnt the knit stitch but I'd happily sit there knitting 100 stitches worth of garter stitch while my grandmother cooked supper, my mom helping her.

So it's been almost 30 years that I've been knitting and take it for granted that it's easy. I just don't think about it anymore, I do it. My mom preferred crochet over knitting but she knit as well and though she eventually grew to ask me how to do this or that with it, she had the basic knowledge of how to do it down so it was never an issue. It's funny, I sit there with my cable needle and work on this Aran sweater and think how simple it is, anybody could do it. Same with Tumbling Blocks when I was knitting that how easy it was, just dreadfully tedious. I guess I take it for granted and that maybe not everybody can do it? But that still seems like rubbish to me.

Right Front done

I finished the right front of my cardigan this afternoon. At this rate, it seems to be working up one piece a week. Faster than I thought. This piece looks odd as it's not blocked yet but it'll look fine once it's assembled. This is strange as I've never knit a sweater before that had facings or a neck band. I guess the facings are added stability for the buttons and button holes. I started one of the sleeves already. I hate leaving them both for last, I like to break them up so I'll do one now, then the left front, then knit the last sleeve.

Whisper on a Wednesday

1. What is your favorite book of all time?
all my friends would jump to say The Exorcist but I think my all-time favourite book would be The Endless Night by Richard Laymon. He's my favourite author and this book is one of the few that is scaring the shit out of me.

2. If you had to write a biography about one person you know, who would you write it about?
probably my mom.

3. Pick one- Narrative Essay or Persuasive Essay?
narrative...I've never been good at the art of persuasion

4. Pick one- Poem or short story?
tough one, I like writing both. Short Story, I think.

5. What is the worst book you ever read?
The Tommyknockers. I wanted to throw the book out the window when I had stayed up so late many nights only to find they were alien fix-it beings. This is why I have a very hard time with Stephen King novels.

6. Are you currently reading a book? If so, what is it called?
yes, The Endless Night by Richard Laymon-he's my all-time favourite author.

7. If you were told to write a fiction story, what characteristics would your main character have?
intelligence, honesty, integrity, compassion, ability to laugh at himself, strong morality, strong sense of tradition/family.

8. If you wrote a book, what would the topic be?
probably a romance. The two books I've started to write have turned out to be romance. I've never been able to read romance novels and have grown up on horror movies. Go figure...

9. Would it be fiction or non-fiction?
probably a bit of both

10. They say you should read at least a book a month, do you live up to this statement?
usually, yes. I always read. There's nothing like turning the page of a good book.

Monday Madness

1. Name one productive thing you accomplished this past weekend.
I got a lot of work done on my Aran sweater

2. Name two things that you look forward to doing.
Cooking supper and watching Constantine finally

3. Name three things that gross you out.
Cleaning the cat box, cleaning the toilet, cleaning hair out of a sink or shower drain

4. Name four things that you normally do on a daily basis.
Vacuum, food shopping of some sort (ugh!), think of roller coasters, do laundry

5. Name five things that you own that you think you could get rid of and not miss.
Oh god, I'm a Piscean pack-rat....Ummm......My windows computer sitting in the closet, about 4 pairs of jeans that no longer fit me, all the crap in my junk drawer. I can't think of two more things

Afghan

This was a pattern I've had since my days on the Prodigy network back in the early 90's. This pattern was passed out to the knitting group I was in. I think many of them made it, I hung on to it and never knit it up until a month or so ago. I had no idea what it looked like. I think it's pretty cool but the next one I do will be with much cheaper yarns. This cost me almost $300. in yarn. Kinda hard to get a good picture of it. This is the best I could do for now.

Zebra Stripes from 1983

This was the first sweater I knit with real wool. Was also my first designer sweater. I saw this in an old issue of Vogue Knitting and it was so wild, I had to have it. In the department stores that sold Perry Ellis, this sweater cost close to $400 back in 1982 or 1983. My grandmother bought me the yarn and had to teach me to knit in the Continental style as this sweater required knitting with both hands at the same time. One colour in my left, one in my right I set out to knit this. This was A LOT of fun work. It was a challenge but was so cool to watch the colours working up. I loved this. Think it took me 4 months. I remember binding off the last stitch during the Jerry Lewis telethon in 1983. I was 15 when I made this. Here it is, 22 years later and I am amazed I can still wear this. It still fits! This is probably my biggest accomplishment to date. I still have the pattern and maybe I'd knit it once more just to do it. I think my technique has improved quite a bit since I first knit this

Close up

This is the Aran pattern close up

Aran Cardigan

Finally I can start new projects without having that Tumbling Blocks sweater looming over me. It feels good to be free of colour work and to be able to do cables. They are relaxing to me, I've always enjoyed watching them travel up a piece of work.

I started this last Thursday and it feels so good to do fun stuff again. It's just a bit strange as my grandmother knit this same cardigan for my dad a long time ago. He can't find it anymore which bummed me out. I have nothing that my grandmother knit. She taught me to knit 28 years ago, now I'm doing the same sweater she did at least 30 or more years ago. The smell of the wool with the natural oils still in it makes me high LOL! I love that smell.

Tumbling Blocks

I am finally free of this damn sweater. I finished it a couple weeks ago. I started this Kaffe Fasset gem thirteen years ago while I was on the Prodigy network. I found a knitting group there and so many of them were Kaffe nuts. I fell in love with this sweater and my mom ordered the kit for me. December 1992 is when I started it and with all the bobbins dangling in back from all these colours, I was sure it would drive me mad. I have never enjoyed anything LESS than I did knitting this. If not for the fact my mom bought me the kit, which was very expensive as it's all Rowan yarns in silks and wools, I'd have surely thrown this in the trash.

I'm glad I finished it...it is a beautiful sweater but I will NEVER, EVER touch another Kaffe Fassett sweater again. They're just too much colour and TOO much work. I don't enjoy that.

I only wish my mom were still alive to see it done. She only got to see the back completed.