There's been little going on knittingwise this past week but I have a great excuse. Boy and I have found a nice little house that we want to buy so of course, this entails lots of paperwork, phone calls and moments of doubts.
If everything goes well, I will have a yarn closet starting June. Yes, you read that correctly: a yarn CLOSET. One of the bedrooms has a nook with a cedar closet on one side and enough space for a bookcase on the other (perfect for knitting books and magazines). I'm thinking of hanging skeins from the rod and organizing the center-pull balls below in the cedar closet. I have seen some yarn stores hanging skeins of yarn and as long as everything is on hooks, there should be no tangled mess -- or at least I hope so.
So no new knitting but I had forgotten to post a picture of the Moebius scarf finished a few weeks ago. I started it at the KR retreat during Cat Bordhi's class - it is made out of Handmaiden Lady Godiva, a luxurious merino/silk blend. Cat is a wonderful teacher and you should trust her and her books: the Moebius cast-on is not difficult at all. Actually, I find it easier than a cable or knitted cast on!
A few notes about Moebius knitting:
- The first knitted round will be somewhat painful because you have to push stitches on the cord. I consider it payback for the easy cast on.
- It might be hard to tell how wide your knitting is because the cord stretches it.
- The bind off has to be loose. Cat advised binding off with doubled yarn or instead of the usual bind off (K2, slip first stitch over second stitch), you increase by one stitch for every two original stitches (K2, slip first stitch over, M1, slip first stitch over).
February 27, 2007
February 15, 2007
Tale of two diets
I did not mean to worry auntie Vi so let me tell you about my two very reasonable diets.
- The food diet is about being healthy: at least one meal a day is a salad, no sodas, and I eat fruit when I want a snack.
- The yarn diet is about enjoying what I have: at least 20 skeins of my stash (currently 135 skeins) must be used before my next purchase and I can buy at most one knitting/pattern book per month.
2 skeins are gone thanks to the Gentle Waters scarf made with Rowan Tapestry. I like to buy a few skeins to swatch a new yarn, I can always use them for a charity scarf or hat (this one will go to Dulaan).
Tapestry is a single-ply DK weight yarn made out of 70% wool and 30% soybean. It is similar to South West Trading Karaoke (also single-ply 50% wool 50% soysilk but worsted). Both are good substitutes for Noro Kureyon - I like the gentler color variegation and find them softer (though not for next-to-skin wear because of my sensitive skin).
Edited: to answer Amie's question, the colorway is variegated pink and gray - it's shade 172 "pot pourri".
February 04, 2007
We have no bananas today
Or rather, we have no knitting to show today (but we have plenty of bananas as I am supposedly on a diet and I've heard from very reliable sources that bananas are the way to go).
Instead, here's a picture of my new case for circular needles by Honeycake designs purchased through One Planet yarn and fiber. I love purple and Jenn's handmade case is perfect for my Addi needles. Too bad I don't use crochet hooks or straight needles, otherwise I would have ordered the matching cases. It doesn't look like she's sewing knitting handbags but I might inquire. The traditional 2nd anniversary present is "cotton" - maybe I can convince Boy that a custom-made knitting bag would be perfect.
I have started my February socks (Sunshine yarns in "The Cure" using the "Pink Ribbons" pattern by Lisa Lloyd). They will either go to my aunt who had breast cancer or to some hospital.
I also bought three skeins of STR in Nodding Violet (if auntie vi is very nice, I might send it her way), Midsummer's night, and Stormy Weather. "Stormy weather" is for a pair of socks for Boy. There's nothing that I can knit for him that he will actually wear - work is business dress only so even knitted ties would be off limits, he has too many sweaters for the weekend, and he refuses to wear scarves/hats/gloves (I think it's a "I'm a man, I can endure the cold" thing). So socks are the only thing I can knit for him but they have to be boring.
If you are looking for things to knit for men, David Reidy had a great show on that topic. Sticks and String is starting its second season, it's one of my favorite podcasts!
Instead, here's a picture of my new case for circular needles by Honeycake designs purchased through One Planet yarn and fiber. I love purple and Jenn's handmade case is perfect for my Addi needles. Too bad I don't use crochet hooks or straight needles, otherwise I would have ordered the matching cases. It doesn't look like she's sewing knitting handbags but I might inquire. The traditional 2nd anniversary present is "cotton" - maybe I can convince Boy that a custom-made knitting bag would be perfect.
I have started my February socks (Sunshine yarns in "The Cure" using the "Pink Ribbons" pattern by Lisa Lloyd). They will either go to my aunt who had breast cancer or to some hospital.
I also bought three skeins of STR in Nodding Violet (if auntie vi is very nice, I might send it her way), Midsummer's night, and Stormy Weather. "Stormy weather" is for a pair of socks for Boy. There's nothing that I can knit for him that he will actually wear - work is business dress only so even knitted ties would be off limits, he has too many sweaters for the weekend, and he refuses to wear scarves/hats/gloves (I think it's a "I'm a man, I can endure the cold" thing). So socks are the only thing I can knit for him but they have to be boring.
If you are looking for things to knit for men, David Reidy had a great show on that topic. Sticks and String is starting its second season, it's one of my favorite podcasts!
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