Sea Anemone Knits

Somewhat Cowl is so close to being finished that I can practically taste it. Of course the only thing holding me up is getting a 16" circular so I can do the sleeves. I’ve tried doing dpn’s and the magic loop thing and to no avail. I can’t do them on anything but a 16". Of course, this predisposition towards small needles is nothing new. I am after all the chick who likes to knit socks on a 12" US #2 needle. Yes you read that correctly, they make them that short and even shorter. Ask me about my 9" circulars - I dare you. They’re soo weensy and CUTE!

Since Y2E is closed on Mondays, I’ll have to head over there tomorrow after work. Yippee! One #6 16" needle coming up!

One finished sweater, coming up even sooner!

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About two or three weeks ago, I got an email from a guy on Match.com inviting me to this Tuesday night knitting group if I wanted something to do. (He’d seen that I knit on my profile) So last night, I called Mo and asked her if she’d care to join me. She did care to join me, so tonight we met up at the fountain in front of Two Rows and walked around the corner to the place where they meet. (I can’t remember the name of the cafe) Upon walking in we agreed that should we be unable to spot any knitters, we’d turn tail and bolt back out the door. As we’re saying this, I spot knitting needles in motion. You know how knitters are. We have built in radar and can spot any knitterly activity inside of like a two mile radius… So we walk over and plunk down and get this: They have a male knitter! We’re much cooler than this group and yet they have a male knitter??

I have to admit that Mo and I felt a little awkward because like no one talked to us for like the first while that we were there. Finally the guy piped up and asked me if I knew Amy. Turns out he was the guy who invited me. Mo was like she is Amy. From there out they all kind of talked to us somewhat. But it was that awkward conversation between people who don’t really know each other and are trying hard to be nice. Frankly, the Cafe Express group is light years ahead of this one. THe only knitting projects there were scarves and a pair of socks. Mo brought socks and I brought a sweater. They seemed floored that we were working on semi complicated things. We were also the loudest ones there. So they all got there at 6 and we showed up at 6:30. Always fashionably late! We had figured from the group website that they weren’t a close the restaurant out group like we are at CE… Boy were we right! Everyone had packed up and left at ten til 8. Jay-sus! We hung out a little longer because Lisa showed up to knitt a little. It was good to see her. We don’t see much of her now that she’s opened her restuarant. It’s called Yum-Yum-Cha and it’s in the village right near the M.A.C. store. She serves dim sum and it’s good. Go check it out. So that was our night.

On another note. I keep meaning to go shopping for a digital camera, but I’m holding off because I’ve had an unexpected trip to Princeton NJ coming up in a month and I need to be able to afford that and still make rent for June. So perhaps by the end of June I can cobble something together. In the meantime, I’m going to try scanning things. I can imagine how well that will work… No full shots of my sweater. But perhaps a reall generously sized swatch shot! haha!

OK, so I totally meant to post about this earlier. But I’m doing so now. I ordered sock yarn today from a really nice lady named Lisa Souza. I bought two colorways from her - pacific and wild things. I got a really nice email from her and am totally stoked about the yarn. Really great price too. I paid $14 for each skein and one skein is enough for a pair of women’s socks. Can’t beat it for handpainted sock yarn!

So, I don’t really know how to work this picture thing. I’ll figure it out, I promise! Eventually. In the mean time, I ought to mention that I went to a yarn swap that Staci very graciously hosted. I took what felt like a ton of yarn. My big "Whole Foods" reusable shopping bag was overflowing when I went over. I got rid of a lot of stuff that frankly, I was never going to use.

I came home with about twice what I took. I made out with a bag, a whole freakin bag!, of Rowanspun Aran in Caviar. What on earth am I gonna do with 2000+ yards of Aran weight drool worthy wool yarn? A heavily cabled sweater that would stave off hypothermia in Siberia perhaps… I also took on 2 lbs of pink laceweight cotton. It came with Kelly in a giant tidily twisted loop. Far into the night, we were delirious, Staci, Jet and I took up the task of winding this giant loop into neat little cakes of yarn. Staci broke out the swift and ball winder, we set up and commenced to winding. We wound, and wound and wound and wound. Then we wound some more. At that point, it looked like it had shrunk in size slightly. But only slightly, mind you. All of a sudden, mid wind, the swift leaps free from the table and takes flight. We scrambled to save yarn loop and swift, set back up and commenced to winding some more. Then the cake of yarn grows so huge on the ball winder that it projectiles into the air and luckily finds no one to take out with it. Soon thereafter, we finish winding the giant loop and we emerge victorious over the laceweight. Please, kids, don’t try that at home. Especially not alone. Or sober for that matter. Try to be delirious and drinking and amongst other knitters of course!

I also committed myself to the idea of spinning. I passed up some beautiful sock yarn that sang to my soul (sang to my soles is more accurate!) in order to take on a big ole bag of gorgeous deep green and brown with hints of almost purple roving. Enough to make quite a bit of yarn I hope. Now I just need to find a spindle and someone to teach me…

This faces me with the ever present concern that many knitters apparently have to tackle when first deciding to learn to spin. "How will this new interest affect my knitting time???" I’ll admit, it’s scary. But I’m sure that it’s like having a cat for a long time and all of a sudden, you take on a second kitty and there is this period of adjustment when both kitties are hissing and spitting and demanding you only pay attention to one of them. Eventually, I think it works out like the kitties work out. You come home from work one day and both are curled up together sleeping as if they had always been the very bestest of friends.

In other news, I have progressed on the Somewhat Cowl. I’ve finished all of the waist decreases and tomorrow at lunch will start the waist increases. I tried it on before going to the knitting group tonight and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t fit like a glove. It’s so perfect and I’m completely enamoured with it. I love it.  The end is sooo near! Wah-hoo!

And with that, I’ll bid you a good-night!

The blog says "hello!"

hehe! My first blog and blog post! Yay! It seems to me that more and more, every knitter I know has a blog. Like its a prerequisite for knitting. I can see it now… you walk into a stark white room with a desk and a chair on either side. A very serious looking man in a white lab coat is sitting in one chair with a pen and a clipboard. You sit down. "SO, you want to be a knitter?" Do you have a BLOG?"

Part of the reason I am starting this is because I really want to join one of these secret pal thingers. You sign up to have a knit-y secret pal and you get to send them little anonymous presents in the mail and hopefully you get sent little anonymous presents in the mail. At the end, you get to find out who your buddy is and it’s all sorts of fun. Apparently, you have to have a blog that you update in weekly. I can understand this. It gives your buddy a way to find out about you so they can try and pick stuff that you might actually like. It would bite to do this and your favorite color is purple and you detest red and your secret pal, being none the wiser because of no blog, sends you a skein of red yarn. Suck-fest.

If I ever get to join one of these, just so there are no questionings, you can’t go wrong with jewel tone teals and amethysts and greens. Cool jewel tones are never wrong for me. Just a by the way, you understand. *grin*

I think that I need to invest in a digital camera here pretty soon. That way I can post photos. I mean, what good is a knitting themed blog if all you ever get are these lame ramblings and no actual pictures of what I’m working on. I ought to mention that I’m working on a few things right now…That would be good. Don’t you think?

Things I’m working on…A bunch actually when I really start thinking about it. I’d best just make a list. I like lists…

Somewhat Cowl (Knit and Tonic): I’m using Cotton Fleece in Perry’s Primrose. I cast on on the 27th of April. It’s been going really quickly. I’m already working on waist decreasing. It’s been a little problematic. I’ve adjusted practically every measurment to accomodate some flaw in the sizing according to the pattern. It’s been pretty frustrating. Why publish and sell a pattern if you can’t even take the time to test knit every size you offer and make sure that it all works out properly. All in all, I’m happy with my results (according to my adjustments) thus far.

Letter Have It: I’m knitting this one with Lamb’s Pride Worsted. The colors are Limeade with Brite Blue for the trim. I’m not knitting a leeter into the bag. It’s a gift and I"m pretty darned sure they would not appreciate the letter on the side. I’m considering however, needle-felting a pretty little leaf into the side. Not sure yet though. I need to knit the i-cord and sew it all together and felt it.

Clapotis: I’m using Noro Kureyon to knit this one. I’m almost ready to start increasing on one side and decreasing on the other. I kinda put this one down to work on the Somewhat Cowl. I will finish it though…

Mama’s Socks: I’m currently working on the feet. I’ve got the toes done. I’m frustrated with these socks because I’ve never knit a pair of socks on the same needle before and it’s confusing to keep having to untangle the yarn. Foof. As soon as I get enough length on the feet to be able to stick the balls of yarn inside the socks and knit them that way, I’ll be able to actually work on them without getting so cranky that I put them down after a round or two.

Well, I think that’s it for the time being. I’ll post about the yarn swap party I went to later. I need to go filch some pictures from the other gals who went. Yay!