L stands for many things in my world; libraries, love, laughter, lefse, and left-handedness in hockey all come to mind. But when I read the Yarn Harlot‘s blog today, and she linked to the Knitting Olympics Team Wales page, I was hooked. And trust me when I say that L truly is for LUNACY.
I’m moving next weekend. My yarn is packed. My needles are packed. We don’t have cable in the new place yet, and I gave away the bunny-ears attenae when I sold my television. Rest assured that Amy doesn’t own any of those antiquated things.
And February 10? Well, that’s just a few short days after I move into a new place, after Amy and I pack up our houses and move 350+ miles to a new city where we will put the bulk of our possessions into a storage unit and will try to figure out how to merge the rest of our stuff into a 7-month rental in a city I’ve never lived in before. And then just 3 days after the Knitting Olympics begin, I will start that new job I wrote about earlier and trust me when I say that I will be brain-dead at the end of each day and how on EARTH do I think that I’m going to be able to knit up 400 yards of heathery navy blue and heathery purple corriedale wool into a multidirectional diagonal scarf? In 16 days?
That, my friends, is lunacy.
So Team Wales, you get me, whether you want me or not.
KNITTING.
Which is really hard to do when all your stash, needles, and WIPs are packed away in boxes. Soon, though, I’ll be able to get back into it. I’ve decided my next project is going to be the multidirectional diagonal scarf my mom was making when she so graciously and helpfully flew into town last weekend to pack up my kitchen and office. I’ve got yarn in mind, and a recipient in mind too. I had planned to make a scarf for this person for Christmas ’05, to no avail. Maybe if I start in February ’06 it’ll get done in time for next Christmas!
Still knitting away here. I’m about 7/8 of the way done with my second striped scarf from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. For some reason, I knit 2×2 rib really slowly, so it’s taking me forever. Oh well, it’s cute, I like it, and it will be done soon.
The huge thing I did last weekend? I ripped out my entire Weekend Warrior sweater. I was just so unhappy with how it had turned out that I’d never finished piecing it together. And the yarn is so beautiful that I couldn’t just let in languish any longer. So rip-rip-rip it went.
From here:
To here:
To being in big hand-rolled balls.
What really prompted this was that I managed to score another hank of the right colorway, so I can make the right size sweater this time, without worrying about running out of yarn. Not sure what pattern I’ll use this time around – possibly a top-down raglan would be nice. That way, I can make sure the sleeves and body are both long enough for me. AND I won’t have to seam the darn thing! AND I won’t have to fret about how wonky my seams are! Win win situation, right?
So that’s where the knitting stands right now. Too bad I’ve got 4 books that I want to read Right Now on my bedside table, otherwise I’d really get cracking on all the knitting…
Last night, in a fit of cleaning-out-the-closets, I looked quite critically at my Va-Va-Voom vest, and sat down and ripped it out.
Poor Va-Va-Voom vest. You were my first knnitted non-scarf/hat/mitten item. You were created with love and care, but not much forethought. For example, why did I not think, “Super-bulky 100% wool for a fitted sleeveless vest? Bad idea!” No, no, instead I charged right ahead and knit you up, in a frenzy of activity. Why also did I not realize that knitted gauge changes on circs vs. straights? It turns out that I knit much tighter in the round than I do flat, and you can see it here.
That being said, I now have seven or eight balls of a lovely Gedifra wool yarn, just right for a hat and mittens or a scarf. Trust me, I understand the irony here.
Finished Object time!
After fretting for (literally) months about having to learn how to crochet so I could finish the edging of Amy’s birthday present (in May, folks, it was in May), I bit the bullet last week and found an online video that gave me the basics.
I seamed, I crocheted an edge, I wove in ends, I blocked. Amy still hasn’t tried it on, but I’m sure it’ll fit fine (especially since she’s a bit more modestly sized).
The dogs seemed to like it just fine, too.
Specs:
Pattern: Boogie Vest
Pattern Source: Knitty, Spring 2004.
Yarn: Triple G Farm wool, color Teal, dye lot Summer 2004. Used about 1.5 skeins.
Needles: Clover Bamboo, size 10, circs
Recipient: Amy
Things I learned how to do while making this vest: cables and single crochet edging.
Things I would do differently if I made this again: Rather than having a slit opening, I would include a set of decreases so that it had a V-neck opening. I’d also make the sleeve openings a little larger, and would make the entire thing about one cable repeat longer. (In other words, knit the front first and make the back to match, rather than the other way around.)
A-Z, knitting | Megan 01/27/2006 | 
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