Checking In

Been doing plenty of knitting lately. Haven’t actually finished anything since my Pink Spider Socks, but I’m getting closer to finishing about 4 other things.

Here are the Pink Spider Socks.

Pink Spider Socks

And here’s the Snapdragon Tam.

Snapdragon Tam

And so far, I’ve been sticking to my yarn diet.

It’s getting harder, though. The magical place where Lorna’s Laces do their thing is having a mill ends sale this Saturday. I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating – Lorna’s Laces mill ends are flipping awesome.

Also, I have a “Yarn Tasting” on Friday night. What’s a yarn tasting? It’s when a shop decides to share a bunch of different kind of yarns with a group of yarn enthusiasts. Usually you get a few yards, and while you knit it up, the shop owner or a representative talks about the yarn.

At least, that’s what happened the last time I went to a yarn tasting. It was a few years ago. It was great, because I was exposed to some different types of yarn that I may not have knit with otherwise.

This yarn tasting, like the last one I went to, is going to be held in a yarn shop. I’LL BE SURROUNDED BY YARN. YARN THAT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.

I’ll try to stay strong.

Thoughts on 2012 so far: AWESOME

So far, I’ve finished 2 projects – the Snapdragon Tam by Ysolda Teague and the Spectra Scarf by Stephen West.

I’ll try and post pictures of those later today. I got some good shots of the tam the other day, but I only finished the Spectra Scarf last night, when there was no light.

And 2 finished projects means $10 into the yarn fund, which I’m going to try and not spend at all this year.

Hey, I’m not supposed to buy yarn, but supplies and books are not off the table.

Also, I finished the body of my Lopapeysa sweater. I tried to get pictures of that, too, but haven’t been too satisfied with them. Now I just have to pick up stitches for the sleeves and get cranking!

And then there’s the January sock challenge – Pink Spider Socks (Rav Link)!! THEY’RE FREAKING AWESOME. And hard to put down. And I’m thinking the large spider motif would work well on the back of some fingerless mitts or something.

In other news, I’ve been crock-potting away. Every Monday (or Tuesday, if I have Monday off), I load up the crock pot in the morning and come home to a cooked meal in the evening. It’s AWESOME and certainly takes the edge off Mondays.

I’ve only had one failure, and that was an orange chicken recipe. It was totally my fault. When a recipe says “Cook on low for 4-6 hours,” they MEAN it. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, loading up the crock pot and then leaving for 9 hours.

I ate it, but it had an awful burnt quality. I threw out the rest. Lesson learned.

But the rest of my attempts have been much better. I’ve been getting plenty of inspiration from A Year of Slow Cooking.

And, 17 days into 2012, that’s how things have been.

More on Resolutions

I’ve been doing quite a bit of brainstorming about the things I’d like to accomplish in 2012.

So I’ve been making lists, and the list has gotten out of control.

Apparently, I want to be a super-healthy woman who has her sh*t together, gets 8 hours of sleep EVERY night, lives on barely any money and sets enough aside to buy a car outright. And my knitting house in gets in order.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to revamp basically your entire life (especially when, just a few short years ago you were pretty much living the ideal you’re reaching for), but there is such a thing as setting too high a goal, getting overwhelmed, and then failing spectacularly.

This is why it’s helpful to have a plan.

For example, I want to not buy any yarn in 2012 (well, if I run out of stash (unlikely) I can do so, but only once I run out!). So I have to set some rules.

#1 – Don’t go to yarn stores if there isn’t an event or gathering taking place. Totally fine if I want to hang out and do knit night.

However, I’d feel really strange coming in and socializing with knit night and spending zero dollars at the store for a whole year.

But, knitting supplies (needles, bags, books) are not out of bounds, so we should be okay there.

#2 – No fiber festivals or events unless I’m taking a class. Even then, stay away from the  sales exhibition part of the festival/event. YarnCon is the only exception, as there is much socializing going on.

#3 – Unsubscribe from yarn store newsletters. Hide the yarn stores I’ve friended on facebook. Catalogs that arrive at my house go straight into the trash.

The last point feels really drastic. This isn’t like quitting smoking where I can be like, “CANCER MERCHANT!” and feel justified shredding the coupons and flyers I get from them.

Yarn peddlers are nice people, for the most part. AND THEY GET ME. I can talk about alpaca, wool, silk and my neverending love for cats and Doctor Who AND THEY TOTALLY GET IT.

Rule #3 feels like I’m cutting off  my big toe.

But it’s not like I’m the only knitter out there. The yarn stores will not shrivel up and die if I don’t buy from them. This is just a year-long challenge to help me get through my stash.

And there’s going to be a final harrah – I got a gift certificate to one of my favorite yarn stores, and I will be heading out there later this week to purchase a bunch of yarn for the Master Knitter class. And maybe a hank of sock yarn, because everyone knows sock yarn doesn’t count.

New Mitts

I have 2 pairs of fingerless mitts. They’re both modified versions of Fetching.

They’re made out of sport and DK weight yarn, and they get the job done.

However, Chicago can get pretty ridiculously cold, so I started digging through my stash for some worsted weight wool that would keep me a little warmer.

But instead I found a 60 g ball of worsted weight alpaca.

To non-knitters – this is like finding a $20 bill in a coat you haven’t worn in a while.

I bought it ages ago, back when I was still pretty new at this whole knitting thing. I bought it because it was 100% alpaca, and I bought such a small amount because I’m sure it was expensive and I didn’t know any better.* I’ve lost the ball band, so I don’t even know what brand it is, but I remember that it was definitely alpaca.

I never used it, because I never had a project that called for such a small amount of yarn. I never gave it away because, well, it’s alpaca.

Alpaca’s awesome. It is much warmer than wool, which means that if you make a sweater out of it, you’ll bake yourself. It’s really soft, so it can be worn against the skin and it won’t be itchy.

This is the PERFECT yarn for fingerless mitts – closes up that drafty gap you get at your wrists, it’s soft like a kitten and it’s nice and warm!

These are pretty toasty!

The pattern I used was Fast & Easy Fingerless Mitts, version 2, with some alterations due to my small hands.

The end product – fantastic! And I would definitely use the pattern again. If you’re looking for a basic pattern that isn’t complicated, easy to alter (if you need to), go for this one.

*This tends to be a rookie move with new knitters. You’re new, you’re in a yarn shop, there’s a lot of beautiful things to look at and squish. You see a luxury yarn. It’s wonderful, and it’s on the expensive side. So you buy a really small amount. And you never get around to using it, because it’s such a teeny amount. 9 times out of 10, it never gets made into anything. I’m not judging, it’s something that happens, like falling off your bicycle when you’re learning to ride.  And, as you can see, I’ve done it, too.

Busy, Busy

Oh, the holidays.

Where running to the store for toilet paper and other staples can turn ugly just in the parking lot.

Seriously, where do some of these folks learn how to drive? And since when is it okay to drive into oncoming traffic, especially when THERE’S ONCOMING TRAFFIC?

And to add to it, my car has decided that it needs a bunch of work.

But I’ve been trying to keep up with it. I’ve got most of the Christmas shopping done, all I have to do is wrap it.

And in the interest of the environment (and a dash of laziness), I’m wrapping my gifts in the Sunday comics.

Yes, I know you can get holiday paper on the cheap after the holidays, but I don’t even feel like storing it. It always gets ratty when I do that.

So I’m not going to do it.

I’ve also been thinking about resolutions/goals for 2012. I feel that one should think carefully about what you’re going to commit to for an entire year.  You’re looking to push your boundaries, not set super-lofty goals and then not have a plan to achieve them.

I should know. I can’t tell you how many times, at 11:58 pm I state to everyone at the party, “I resolve to quit smoking!” only to be having a cigarette late in the day on January 2.

(BTW – I did quit smoking, but it was on a random day in September. That was over 5 years ago, and I haven’t touched a cigarette since.)

My knitting resolutions are as follows (at the moment. This could change by 12/31):

#1 – Don’t buy any yarn in 2012, unless it’s for the Level 1 Master Knitter Program, or you run out of yarn.

#2 – Knit all sweater quantities into sweaters. 2012 will be the year of the sweater.

#3 – Knit through stash. Like, actually try to get to zero yarn.

#4 – Complete Level 1 of the Master Knitter Program.

My next step is to come up with a plan, otherwise I’m going to end up in yarn stores and yarn events buying yarn, and then I won’t start working on resolutions 2 and 4 until November.

Luckily, other members of Chicago Knitters Unite are looking to knit through their stashes, so we’ll be able to hold each other accountable and make a significant dent in our stashes.

Confessions of a Sock Knitter, Part 1

As a pretty prolific sock knitter, I have knit a decent number of patterns.

I’ve got my preferred direction (toe-up), preferred heel (no-wrap heel) and preferred method (magic loop).

I’ll totally do other methods and try new things – part of the reason why I joined the Sockdown in the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry was to kind of push my boundaries and to get me to try new things.

Truthfully, I’ve never met a sock pattern I didn’t like. I always get something good out of it.

Occasionally, I’ll come across a sock pattern I love to bits.

My Pomme de Pin socks would be one of those patterns.

I so loved making these!

One thing I look for in a sock pattern is how easy it would be to work on public transit and around friends. But I don’t want something boring, otherwise I’ll never pick it up.

These reside within that happy medium. Enough interest to where I seriously could not put them down – I had to work on them all the time. But not so complicated that I found myself tinking back all the time.

And they look amazing.

I’d recommend this to any and all sock knitters, no matter the skill level, but especially to beginning sock knitters because you end up with an amazing looking sock without having to tear your hair out.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I do hope you’re enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend. I sure am.

No Black Friday sales for me – I just hung out at home and did domestic stuff. And I knit.

I finally officially finished the October Sockdown socks. Didn’t see that being a nearly 2-month project, but there you go.

The buggers that took 2 months to knit.

The November Sockdown socks are going much faster. I cast on Wednesday evening, and it appears that I will have at least 1 sock finished by the end of this weekend, if not sooner.

I swear I’ve been doing things other than knitting – Wednesday night I was hanging out with knitters, so while I did knit, I was social. Thursday was Thanksgiving – didn’t do much knitting, but I was social. Yesterday I cleaned ALL THE THINGS because I had the house to myself. Then I hung out with knitters and got unbelievably drunk was social and helped a friend that was moving by drinking all her rum taking some food and about 45 issues of “Real Simple”off of her hands.

Today, I slept in, so there wasn’t much knitting going on.

So, I’m guessing a small army of elves has moved in someplace and they’re knitting my socks when I’m not looking. I would have appreciated them 2 months ago but hey, you take what you can get.