Knitting Page Archives: August 2002

You'll all be happy to know that the cats have decided that they like the cat toy I made, after all. I think they just had to get used to the sheepy smell, and to understand that the cat toy was not going to attack them. Theo has been doing his dog-like barking and growling at it, which means he really likes it.

August 26, 2002. I'm sorry there aren't any updated photos; I'm moving the scanner from Dave's computer to my computer, and I haven't installed it yet. I'm stalled at about six inches on the back of the Rowan sweater, since it's on hold while I work on the mohair scarf, which really needs to be done by September 8th (the color I'm using now is Infrared 6555). I've got 20 inches done on that, and it looks so much better now, without all the mistakes. It's very fun to knit, despite the time pressure. I'm also doing pretty well on my first Opal Mexiko sock; I've turned the heel and am halfway through the gusset decreases.

I'm the aortal link at My Life in Stitches! Woohoo! Thanks Shobhana!

But the big fiber excitement here is that I bought a loom! Details are on the home page.

August 19, 2002. Darn all of you perfectionist knitters, putting your voices in my head! I was happily knitting away on the mohair scarf, not worrying about the fact that the ribs shifted to one side, and then shifted again, and again, and that there was a hole (probably from an accidental yarn-over). It still looked pretty because the yarn was so nice, and my mother-in-law is super sweet and would really appreciate anything I give her. But then I started really looking at it, and seeing the misaligned ribs, and that awful hole. I imagined Dave's mom's knitter friends looking at it with a disapproving eye. I couldn't stand it anymore. I made a half-hearted attempt to rip back to the hole, but Melissa was right when she told me that it's almost impossible to frog mohair. So I cast on, and started again. And this time I'm really paying attention, so I'll actually be happy with the way it turns out.

A while back Liz posted something about what she learned from knitting, and I didn't post anything about what I learned about knitting, because it seemed to me that all of her answers were really good on their own. But I think it's not so much what I've learned from knitting as how it has changed me. I am someone who used to start a lot of things, and never finish them. Someone who would abandon a project midway because it was boring. Someone who would leave things done somewhat sloppily, and just say that the sloppiness was part of the charm. Knitting is slowly changing me, and making me want to put much more effort into the things I'm making, to work slowly and steadily so things get done right. I spent all of yesterday completely rearranging my home office and linen closet (note: those are two separate things; my home office is not in the linen closet) because I was sick of the sloppiness. I took all day, and will take some time this week, to make sure it's done right. Maybe there are many of you out there who were already this way, but this is a complete revelation to childish, messy, it's-ok-let's-leave-the-finger-paints-out me.

In other news, I got my latest issue of the Rowan magazine in the mail today. None of the designs really jumped out at me as something I need to knit right now. That's good, considering the length of my to-knit list right now. I am interested in the new Rowan Cork yarn though. It sounds nice.

August 18, 2002. I now have three works in progress, which is highly disturbing to me. I decided that, although I didn't like the mohair/novelty yarn scarf I was making for my mother-in-law before, that doesn't mean I have to give up on making her something. So I got some bright red mohair, and I'm using that to make a mistake-rib scarf (like the one in The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns). It's a good thing the pattern's called mistake-rib, since I've already made quite a few mistakes. You'll all be happy to know that the socks and sweater I'm working on are perfect so far. Just in case you thought I was a complete slob when it came to knitting.

This was a big fun knitting weekend, since Shannon came to visit! She brought her spinning wheel, so I got to try spinning for the first time. I am not, suffice it to say, a natural at spinning. Still, it was fun/mesmerizing to watch Shannon do it. We also went to the yarn shop and bought some sock yarn and patterns. I was purposely vague on double-point instructions, so that Shannon will have to come up again so I can show her (I don't know why I'm under the deluded notion that there's no one in Boston who can knit on double-pointed needles...let me live in my dreamworld). She gave me a little ball of her supersoft handspun wool, and, being the insane cat owner that I am, I decided to knit a cat toy. I used my size 9 double-points and made a sort of ball-shaped tube by knitting, increasing a lot, and then suddenly decreasing a lot. It was going to be a mouse, but there wasn't quite enough yarn for that. I felted it a bit so that the catnip wouldn't fall out (first time felting! and first time using my antique glass washboard!), let it dry, then stuffed it with catnip and sewed off the end. I had a few little bits of yarn left, so I gave the cat toy four jaunty pieces of fringe. It sort of looks like a spaceship.

Too bad the cats don't care about it at all. I stuffed it full of their favorite catnip and everything! I gave it to Theo, and he pretty much acted like I'd handed him a postage stamp. Peatie didn't even finish sniffing it once before he decided it was much more important to lick his paw. I kept trying to make it dance around, and even rolled it in some more catnip, but they really wanted nothing to do with it. At one point I tossed it to Peatie, and he got up and ran in the other direction. I decided to give up then. Stupid cats. Don't appreciate a handmade, handspun present.

I promise there will be picture updates of the mohair scarf and the worthless cat toy, later this week.

August 13, 2002. Ok, now here's a picture of my Opal Mexiko sock progress (hi, Scarborough Public Library!).

August 12, 2002. Things are progressing slowly on my Jack sweater (no new picture, so I won't link to it), but it's going to be really nice, I think. And things are progressing pretty quickly on my Opal socks (again, no new picture yet, sorry). It's so much fun to keep knitting to see what the yarn will do next.

Here is something you can look at, though: two new books with knitted parts on the cover. Star Journal and Little Square Journal.

August 8, 2002. Check out these hilarious sweaters. What is wrong with me that I sort of like the "20s" sweaters? I think it's just that bright geometric thing that I tend to go for. And who knew one needed a tennis racket cozy?

August 6, 2002. Forget the mohair scarf. I hated the way it was coming out. It looked all glitzy and disco for some reason. I might try it again with just the mohair, and not the Optik. But blech, I really hated the way it looked.

I got a roll of film back, and we all know what that means! Massive picture updating. So, you can see pictures of the final 3/4-sleeve raglan sweater. Also, photos of my Fixation socks on my feet.

Then, in my usual scanned-in picture updating method: I did the ribbing on the back of Rowan Jack, and I started a new sock as my portable project. This is very unusual for me to have two knitting projects going on at once, but since one is designated as a home project, and one as a not-at-home project, I feel ok about it.

August 1, 2002. I stopped by one of my local yarn shops to return two extra skeins of Berroco Pronto I had from knitting the 3/4-sleeve sweater. I also needed some more needles of various sizes. While I was there, I realized I had a 10% off frequent shopper card, but she told me it was only for yarn (which it said in huge letters on the card...oops). So of course I immediately decide I need some yarn. I had been thinking of making my mother-in-law a scarf for her birthday, since she'll actually be here. We usually just give her a card, but I figure since she'll be visiting us, I should give her something. I wanted to make her an easy, but luxurious scarf. I ended up buying Berroco Optik and Classic Elite La Gran Mohair to strand together. I think I might just cast on for this now, since it should be pretty quick (I'm just going to do it in garter stitch). I got the Optik in Tiffany, and the La Gran in a color I can't find online, but it's sort of a dark sage (light muted jade) green, that looks great with the Tiffany.

It looks like Shannon's going to be able to make it up this weekend! So excited. She had to work last time she was going to come up. If she does make it up here, she's going to bring her spinning wheel, and we're going to make Dave examine it and see if he can make me a spinning wheel. Or if he can design some fabulous new spinning wheel technology.