Airplane knitting & Secret Pal

Well, I was overly optimistic about the amount of knitting that I would accomplish on my 2 cross-country flights last week, but I did a fair amount. I started my Sockapalooza socks (more about them tomorrow) and a Clapotis (mostly to give myself a break from the toothpicks and thread of the socks). And I found one very convenient part of airplane knitting - the built-in patternholder. Right there on the seat back in front of you. Don't believe me? Take a look!

(That's my Clapotis below - I love the color, love the drape and feel - it's 100% cotton - in short, I believe that I will love this megascarf. I will finish it for spring!)

I flew back in to home around midnight Saturday night, and Dan picked me up at the airport (how sweet!). Rather than going home, though, we just headed north and got 2/3 of the way to New York before breaking down and getting a hotel room. Our destination? The last day of The Gates! Were we succesful? Yes, we were!

That's in front of the Museum of Modern Art. We rambled all over the park, met up with Dan's brother who was in town on business, and just had a great afternoon. Then we drove home and went to an Oscars party. And then I finally got back to my house and kitties. A great Sunday, though.

And what was waiting for me when I got home but an inspirational package from my Secret Pal! A cool vintage magazine (McCalls from 1946 - the war is over and the men are home!), a cool cutting edge magazine (FiberArts), and a notebook to sketch and write out my own designs. Thanks, Secret Pal! I love it! Can't wait to see what you send me next.

Coronet

I know, it's been ages since I've had a finished object, and now there are two in a row! Craziness! I've had this luscious yarn in my stash for quite some time now (last August, so not as long as some, but a few months), but could never commit to what I wanted it to be. It's amazingly soft and scrumtious (because it's made from bunnies!) and it's also the most expensive yarn I have purchased to date, price per yard wise (I rationalized because it was close to my birthday, so it was a present). Then I decided I needed a hat because my head frequently gets cold, looked through my printed patterns, and the desire to make a Coronet was born. It was not the easiest of labors.

I knit the cable band, Kitchenered (grafted) the ends of the cable band together to make a ring, and picked up stitches along one side for the top of the hat. Three rows into that, I decided to actually try it on (gotta love 2 circs!). It was too big. It just didn't really grab my ears how I wanted it to. So I ripped, ripped the picked-up stitches (sob), un-Kitchenered (double sob), and unknit a cable repeat (sob again). Then re-Kitchenered (sob, sob, sob), and probably did a better job the second time because I actually attempted to graft the purls as purls and knits as knits. There are only 4 purl stitches, so this is not as big of a deal as it sounds, but still an accomplishment. Then I picked up stitches again (sob), and commenced knitting the hat (again). I did try it on, and while it is still a bit loose, I decided it was liveable. I finished it while we were at Snowshoe snowboarding last weekend, and it kept my head nice and warm while walking around the village.

The picture above was taken on my business trip on Friday - that's the view from my hotel. Not bad, eh?

Details:
Pattern: Coronet from knitty
Yarn: Reynolds Devotion (50% angora, 50% nylon)
Needles: 8
Completed: February 19, 2005

I still have almost an entire ball left of the green and two balls of magenta. I'm thinking probably mittens to match with some kind of cable detail... stay tuned! (Of course, it will probably be next winter, so don't hold your breath)

site issues...

OK, so it seems like my site is a bit screwed up... the pop-up pictures don't work and the entire page doesn't display (sidebar - where are you?).
I'll work on it as I can but I'm currently in Crescent City, CA for a conference (hooray for hotels with high speed internet access!), so I don't know if I can fix it from here. Bear with me please.

Tanja!

That's a finished Tanja! I wove in the ends and everything... Even wore her to work. I think she fits fairly well, so I'm leaving her a pullover. I can always change my mind and cardiganize her later, but once that's done there's no going back!

Specs:
Pattern: Tanja, from The Best of Lopi (and also a Lopi book that I bought in Iceland)
Yarn: Gjestel Naturgarn, purchased from Elann, 100% wool
Needles: 10 (or was it 10.5?)
Started: December 2003
Finished: January 2004

Comments: I started this sweater and then put it aside with one sleeve and the body done up to the armholes. What can I say - it got warm, and this is a cold-weather garment. I picked it back up again a little before Christmas and finished the other sleeve. With a slightly different gauge. I'm not sure if I used a smaller needle, or if my tension has just changed in the intervening year, but whatever. It didn't bother me enough to actually redo it, so I just went with it. The yoke was finished several weeks ago, and then it sat in the living room waiting patiently for the ends to be woven in. I finally did that one lazy weekend day, and then wore her to work the next week! Still hasn't been blocked, but I'll do that someday.

More pictures: the Rachael, and (for Becky), a dancing photo (in which I look quite stupid - thank goodness it's blurry!)

Manos Update

Happy Valentine's Day!

Alison is right - I am in love with my recycled Manos!
The most popular question regarding it seems to be "what am I going to do with it?" And the answer is... I'm not sure yet. I don't think I have enough of any of the colors to really do something with except stripes, and I'd rather not do tan and blue stripes.
I'm thinking the tan may become a vest along the lines of Gesta...
and with the blue I'd love to make a cardigan along the lines of the Must-Have Cardigan from Hip to Knit (seen here) or with a plain color of blue with Manos stripes a la Gloria from the Jane Ellison Noro book...

I'm not opposed to going in and buying a few more skeins of Manos to make any of these projects, particularly the vest. I mean, I got what I have now for about a third of a skein, so I think I can afford one or two more. First, though, I think I'll visit the post office to do a little weighing and try to determine exactly how much I have. Ah, the possibilities!

Secret Pal 4 Questions

Hello everybody! I've had a hella hectic week (Friday was the only night I was home before 11... two were spent doing fun things, two nights at work that late. Sigh). But now it should be a little better for a while (I hope!). Yesterday I went snowboarding in the morning, visited a yarn store with an amazing bargain basket, and then went shopping and eating out with friends in the evening. A good day, with great weather!

My secret pal has been very patient with me, since she e-mailed me questions on Tuesday and I'm just now getting around to answering them. I did do the questionnaire for Secret Pals 2 and 3 (found here), but the version she sent me has a few differences, so I thought I'd fill it out here.

1. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I am allergic to cigarette smoke, but it needs to be pretty strong. Nothing else that would make this list (just don't roll my yarn around in poison oak or ivy, okay?)

2. How long have you been knitting?
Since January of 2003, so a little over 2 years.

3. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I like the food-scented candles (gingerbread, sugar cookie, etc.). I'm not very fond of the extremely sweet floral scents (honeysuckle, gardenia), but freesia is good. I also like "crisper" smells like citrus (the coconut lime verbena from Bath & Body Works is good!).

4. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Yep. Chocolate is good in all forms. Candy is good. Cake is good. Etc.

5. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s?
(if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like almost everything, and I love getting turned on to a new band or singer by getting a mix CD. MP3's are fine.

6. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette
you prefer?
I love ocean colors - blues and greens in just about any shade, from bright to very dark. I like bright colors for summer clothes, but can also use neutrals for coordinating with everything. Can you tell I'm not terribly picky?

7. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
What a difficult question. I love Manos for the subtle changes in color. Noro and self-striping sock yarns for the magic that seems to happen as you knit them up. Linen and cotton for fabulous summer tanks. Merino wool for sweaters that go from fall through spring. 100% Wool for felting projects. Basically, you name it, I knit it.

8. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Red Heart Pound of Acrylic and the like. I just can't do it. I'm also not terribly fond of mohair (and I currently have a bunch in the stash), just because it seems like I wind up eating the little fibers while knitting.

9. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I really want to finish Banff, so I've been knitting on it almost non-stop. I think my next project will also turn a little obsessive, so I'm trying to hold out as long as I can (more on that later).

10. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like sweaters, because they seem so complicated and people are really impressed by them. Generally it's just a bunch of rectangles (or trapezoids) with some sewing invovled, but people don't get that. I like being able to wear things I've made and show them off. I also like giving knitted gifts to people that I know will appreciate them (like fellow knitters!).

11. Are you a sock knitter?
I am now! I signed up for Sockapalooza, and I'm practicing by knitting a pair of socks for myself first. I've finished the first one and am working on the second (pictures in a future entry).

12. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I love Spongebob. I also love the Simpsons (try to watch it every week). Animal is hard; I'd have to say whales in general.

13. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas. I love the gifts. (Yep - materialistic. That's me!)

14. Are you a magazine reader?
I am, but I probably subscribe to too many already, with one exception. My only knitting magazine subscription is to Interweave Knits (got the spring issue yesterday, hooray!). I should probably break down and get Vogue Knitting because I seem to buy most of the issues. I also love the foreign magazines (Rowan, Rebecca, and Schoeller Stahl) and try to stock up on them when I find them at yarn stores, particularly if they're on sale (like they were yesterday, yippee!).

15. What is your shoe size?
8-8.5 US (Women's, but that's understood, right?)

16. Do you wear much jewelery?
Not really. The only thing I wear everyday is my wedding/engagement ring and watch (which has a Velcro sports band, so probably doesn't really qualify as jewelry). I have some necklaces that I put on if the outfit needs it. I also have pierced ears, but only rarely wear earrings.

17. What's your favourite style of architecture?
Um, I'm pretty stumped on this one. I love gothic places like cathedrals, but really only for churches. I like Cape Cod houses (although we didn't buy one) - the room up in the eaves is so cool! In terms of buildings, I'm not a big fan of the huge glass-coated skyscrapers - I prefer more metal. I'm not sure I've answered this question very well, but I must admit that I've never thought about it before.

OK, enough with the questions. In the next entry: knitalong updates, including Sockapalooza... Banff progress... the call of Clapotis, and much, much more!

Here's a Story...

Here's a story
Of a Fair Isle sweater
That was hanging on a lonely thrift store rack
Surrounded by acrylic and scratchy cotton
It was all alone.

Here's a story
Of a lonely shopper
Looking for a sweater to use again
She was getting quite discouraged
She couldn't find one
Yes, she was all alone.

Until the instant when the sweater brushed her hand
And her heart almost stopped when she read the tag
And she realized that several skeins of Manos
Could be hers for a mere four dollars!
And that's how tbis sweater became this bowl of yarn!
Yes, that's how this sweater be-came this bowl of yarn!

(my sincerest apologies to Sherwood Schwartz and Frank De Vol, composers of the Brady Bunch theme song. Note to self: if you want to post something on your blog in a timely manner, don't try to make up a cute song parody. It takes way too long.)