Monthly Archives: February 2005

Knitting

A’ Cabling We Go

Posted on by Jean

Finally got to start on the Must Have yesterday.  I have no idea why the color is all funky on the picture. It’s a deep cranberry.

I gotta tell ya.  Cables kick my arse until I get used to them.  It wasn’t until I got about three inches into the pattern that I finally started to feel like it was clicking along and the cussing pretty much stopped.

Though I ended up making up my own, a huge help for me was the “cheat” sheet that Kate made available to those of us on the Must Have KAL page.  When I first saw it I had one of those slap-myself-upside- the-head moments.  Duh.  Why didn’t I think of that.  Keeping track of different row changes in different cables is what has always deterred me from texture knitting before.  I’m feeling pretty good about this one.  I might just be a cabler after all!  Speaking of “cheat sheets” you have to see the masterpiece that Nathania (Nathania Apple) made!  All in color and everything. 

I did find an error about halfway down the cable on the left side.  It was a pretty easy fix though.   I just dropped those nine stitches down to the mistake and knit them back up on double points.  I almost like doing that.  Makes me feel powerful.  Like *I’m* the one in charge of the knitting and not the other way around.

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I greeted my guys with heart-shaped pancakes this morning.  Daniel thought I should try tree pancakes at Christmas next year.  What am I?  Pancake Picasso? 

Daniel’s at school so I don’t have a factoid for today.  I forgot to get one from him this morning.  I was kind of thinking they’d get a snow day today because we got dumped on all night and it’s not supposed to stop for a couple of days.

Spinning

Fun With Clay

Posted on by Jean

It’s not that I have a shortage of spindles.  I actually have a nice little collection.  The thing is, I’m bored out of my gourd waiting for the Must Have pattern to arrive.  I’m being very stubborn good about not starting a new project so that I am free to be totally committed to the Must Have. 

So what does one do with itchy fingers and some free time….  play with FIMO of course.  That there is a spindle that I made with some granite colored clay.  I do have New Hampshire roots… GO PATRIOTS!!!  Don’t tell Dan… he’s still crying because the Patriots met the Cowboys Superbowl record.  HA!

I’m happy to report that it spins pretty well.  This is something I’m definitely going to be playing around with more in the future.  Already have more clay on the way.  Yippee!!  Another hobby!

Knitting, Travel

Better Late Than Never

Posted on by Jean

I know… hard to believe.  I finally finished one of the Fluted Bannister socks.  I cast it on way back in October.  I’m in a self-enforced knitting lull as I wait for my Must Have Cardigan pattern to arrive.  I want it to be the only thing on the needles once I start it or I’ll find any reason to put it aside.  I love the look of cables, but I’m just a fair-isle kinda girl.

Speaking of the Must Have, I took Tori’s (Tori Knits) advice and washed the skeins yesterday so they’d already be blocked and ready to go.  When I use the ball winder I usually wind once from the skein and then rewind from the cake.  The first winding is usually a bit tight and want the yarn to be able to relax.  It makes a huge difference as you can see.

Thanks to Norma (Now Norma Knits 2), I was able to start my gauge swatch.  I had to go all the way down to a 2.5mm.  I knew I was a loose knitter, but yeesh!  I think I’ll do the sleeves first and use a 3mm since I’m pretty sure I’ll knit tighter doing the cables.

Another baby blog… I get to meet a lot of great people through my knitting addiction.  I met my friend Nilda (Waltzing Natilda) on the Hebridean Isle of Mull in Scotland in July.  She stayed at the same guest house so we had plenty of time to visit in the morning over breakfast and in the evenings in front of the fire at the B&B.  Our most memorable moment though has to be the one-hour bumpy (and I mean BUMPY) ride in the boot of the car (station wagon hatchback…. little hatchback) that Dodie drove on the way to Tobermory.  Hey Mullers!  Who has those pictures, anyway?!  Nilda is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met and I look forward to her posts. 

This view was worth the bumpy ride: