UFO redemption: a reposted bit from My Old Blog, dated 3/1/06... and my comments.

UFO redemption.

Sometime before Christmas, I gathered a bunch of UFO's...(UnFinished Objects)...into a "work from here" box. I have been feeling so crazy productive since then. I finished a scarf and hat for my DH, a scarf for my Dad, a Moebius scarf for my Mom, a splash scarf for a friend, a splash scarf with some beady chippy things knit in, for ME, a scarf (illusion knit, my own chart) for ME, a sweater vest for ME, a hat ... sad thing, that hat. It may be a yarn sacrifice. It was supposed to be a chemo cap, very soft and comfy. The recipient, who never knew about the hat, has since recovered and is living happily and treatment free. So, now, it's just a weird little hat. Maybe I will give it to the cancer ward at the hospital. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I have several summer tops to finish, a couple of sweaters, a couple pairs of socks (i did finish one pair for my Mom, and have almost finished finishing another pair for her)...I allowed myself to cast on a vest, which I am going to rip out because it sucks, and I cast on another vest to replace it, and it also sucks, so I am not casting on anymore vests. Screw the vests. I have UFO's to concentrate on anyhow.

My stash of Future Projects (yarn, bought for a specific pattern, but not yet begun) is truly obscene. I think I could cloth a small nation with lovely and expensive handknits using the yarn in my stash.

And yet, some cotton/silk blend yarn found its way into my hands this afternoon, enough for 2 pairs of truly luxe socks, and i spent a good hour and a half swatching to find the perfect stitch pattern to knit with it. *sigh* I have no sense of restraint, when it comes to my yarn. None. Such a pity.

It is really yummy cotton/silk, though. A very pretty light blue, and some cream to contrast on the heel and toe. mmmmm.

What UFO's? I am casting on a new pair of socks. Makes perfect sense

***

WELL.  Now, it is 2014.  TWENTY FREAKIN' FOURTEEN.  How did THAT happen?!  And the more thing change, the more things stay the same, don't they?!  Clearly I am a creature of habit.  I had to laugh when I reread this post this morning, because here we are, just heading into the Christmas season, and I am in the midst of gathering up UFOs to finish.  

So. Many. UFOs.  I'm still working on The Eternal Socks, and I was saying I would cast on a new sweater after them.. but I keep finding more and more UFOs.  And I just can't let myself cast on anything new until I actually get some of these UFO's finished.  

And then I re-read the post.  I realized that my friend, who was to get the soft chemo hat I blogged about?  The one who was living cancer-free?  She relapsed in 2009 or 10.  She passed away in 2011.  And I still have the hat, and sometimes I wear it and think of her.  And in an extra painful little coda to that story, her teenage daughter died tragically a few weeks ago.  I have cried buckets this fall, for that family. 

That happens to us knitters, doesn't it?  We remember knitting certain things at certain times, and it's like some of the emotion and memory is embedded in the stitches.  I pull out a certain sweater, and think of the friends who sat around the table at the local yarn shop, chatting with me as I worked on it.  I pull out a certain scarf, and remember knitting it in school colors to wear at my son's football games.. I mean, literally, I had one end of it draped around my neck against the draft, while I was knitting along to the other end.  And I was yelling at the ref while I knitted.  So much for zenlike, peaceful knitting.  

My memory of my friend is bittersweet; she should still be with us, and so should her little girl.  We should be watching our daughters dance together in the Nutcracker this year, and we should be meeting up for coffee and talking smack about the other dance moms.  We should be scrapbooking together on a memory books for our college sons, and heritage albums for our families.  She shouldn't be gone.  

I went to the movies with my daughter and husband last night.  We saw Big Hero 6 - because yes, I do like cheezy kid movies.  It was beautiful, not least of all because it reminded me that when we lose people we love, we carry them with us in our hearts and memories. I'm so glad I've been reminded.  

These Stinkin' Socks...

They are like a never ending project.  WHY?  because I'm a klutz.

You know how you SHOULDN'T carry a knitting project?  IN A PURSE, WITH A HAIRBRUSH.

Yeah.  I keep shouting about this, I apologize.  It's my inner Ugly American side, just yelling like an idiot.  But, seriously.  WHAT was I THINKING?!   I have a lovely little knitting bag, which I bought from my local yarn shop.  It's clear, and it looks like a little granny purse, and my knitting and knitting-paraphernalia all fit neatly inside without any drama.  But can I stand carrying two bags?  No.  I'm determined everything I carry be in a single bag.  so I drop in my wallet, and it fits.  That doesn't cause any drama.  Makeup case?  No issues.  Cell phone?  Actually that works out great, because I can put it in there facing out and I can see who is calling without digging for it and pulling it out;  I now know exactly who I am ignoring when I refuse to answer the call.  A pen or pencil, a sticky notepad?  Defensible additions to the knitting bag in any case.  But could I stop there?

NO.

I dropped in a lousy HAIRBRUSH.  Okay, that's an unfortunate choice of expressions.  My hairbrush is decidedly NOT lousy.  I do not have LICE.  But I was every bit as angry as if I had, before it was all over, because, as you may have guessed, the ball of yarn came in contact with the bristles on the brush, and yarny chaos ensued.

I spent a couple of HOURS just getting it untangled from the brush.  It took even longer to get it all back in order so I could continue to knit.

*sigh*

There are not pictures of me dealing with this mess.  I just couldn't stand to take pictures of the yarny chaos.  There was wailing, and gnashing of teeth.  But now?  I am hoping to finish The Stinkin'-Lousy-Yarny-Chaos-Socks over weekend, so that I can get going on a sweater, or something. Or maybe I will weave a scarf or two for gifts.  We'll see.  I just have to

Finish
These
Stinkin'
Socks.

Argh.

UFO UPDATE:   
eh.  Nothin' new.  I finished the gusset decreases, and I'm just knitting aimlessly towards the toes of the socks, and this feels like it takes forever.  It's excellent TV knitting, or waiting-room knitting, or horrible-traffic-jam-car-is-in-park knitting.

Yes, I did some horrible-traffic-jam-car-is-in-park knitting, not long ago.  Actually, true story, I was headed to Big Out Of Town University (BOOT-U!) to retrieve Thing 1 for the weekend, and along the way, apparently there was a tree that fell across the 4 lane road (and, unfortunately, across the nose of a minivan, though there did not appear to be anyone hurt).  Just a random tree-down experience, too, because there was no thunderstorm or wind.  Odd.  Blocked the entire road, and there was nothing to do but cut the car off, sit and knit.  I got the heels turned on these very socks.  I think I was the only person on the road that wasn't cursing.

This is why I carry along my knitting, folks:  my knitting keeps me from feeling frustrated by unavoidable delays.  I don't knit because I'm patient.  I knit because I'm NOT patient.  (pop quiz:  who made that observation first?  It isn't original to me.  It came from Elizabeth Zimmerman, or the Yarn Harlot, or somebody like that.  Go.  Find out.  If you post the answer in a comment, and it turns out to be true, I will give you a gold star and name you Knitting Trivia Champion for the week.)

No picture of the socks today, because they really look about the same as they did last week.  A little longer, but otherwise, unimpressively unchanged.  If you need to look at them, just look at the old picture and pretend like it is

HERE.

Dad's Sideways Silk Garden Scarf

Many moons ago, I had a blog called KNAKED KNITTER.  I took it down, but before I did, I posted some original patterns, which I will repost here this holiday season.  Merry Knitting to all.  Stay cozy.

The Sideways Scarf.  (originally posted 3/6/2006, on the KNIT KNAKED blog)
This particular scarf was made for my Dad.  He even wore it once, I think.

4 skeins of Noro Silk Garden, 315 sts, on a needle to give a comfortable guage (it's a scarf, so relax; guage is not so crucial here). Use fewer stitches if you want a wider, shorter scarf. This one was still a nice width, and it was rather long. Dad's very tall. Use a multiple of 10, + 5.

Cast on in relaxed fashion. Don't give this a firm, tight cast on. Give it a happy-go-lucky relaxed cast on.

Knit 10 rows (garter st edge).

As you work, keep the first and last 5 sts in garter stitch for a knitted in border, or else you will have to do a border edge later. I had to do one later. I just picked up stitches and knit a simple 1x1 rib onto the ends. If, when you pick up your stitches, you alternate the direction in which you stab the fabric, it makes the knitted on portion reversible and neat.

row 1: Knit 5 (for border), Purl 5, *Knit 10, Purl 10* repeat from * to * until 5 stitches remain, Knit 5 (for border), and turn.

row 2: Knit 5 (for border), then knit the knits and purl the purls (follow established pattern) until 5 sts remain, knit 5 (for border), turn.

rows 3 - 10: repeat rows 1 - 2.

Now move your pattern over by 5 sts, as follows:

row 11: Knit 5 (for border), *Knit Purl 10, Knit 10* repeat from * to * until 10 sts remain, Knit 5, Knit 5 (for border), and turn.

row 12: Knit 5 (for border), then knit the knits and purl the purls (follow established pattern) until 5 sts remain, knit 5 (for border), turn.

row 13 - 20: repeat rows 11 - 12.

Now move your pattern over again, by 5 sts, as follows:

row 21: Knit 5 (for border), Knit 5, *Purl 10, Knit 10* repeat from * to * until 5 sts remain, Knit 5 (for border), turn.

row 22: knit 5 (for border), then knit the knits and purl the purls (follow established pattern) until 5 sts remain, knit 5 (for border), turn.

row 23 - 30: repeat rows 21 - 22.

Move the pattern over again, by 5 sts, as follows:

row 31: Knit 5 (for border), *Purl 10, Knit 10* repeat from * to * until 10 sts remain, Purl 5, Knit 5 (for border), and turn.

row 32: knit 5 (for border), then knit the knits and purl the purls (follow established pattern) until 5 sts remain, knit 5 (for border), turn.

row 33 - 40: repeat rows 31 - 32.

Repeat these 40 rows for the pattern.

You get the idea. Every 10 rows, you move the pattern over by 5 stitches. Keep working the scarf until you are happy with the width of it.

Knit 10 rows garter stitch, for the last edge.

Then, pull out a needle that is a size larger than the one you are working on, and use it to bind off. LOOSELY. Seriously, keep that bind-0ff relaxed.

I steamed the piece lightly to block it, but you may not find that to be necessary, depending on your tension and fiber.

I didn't make the tulip-shaped dishcloth yet. In fact, I strayed from knitting entirely, for a while.

I certainly strayed from this blog.  I really CAN'T be trusted.

FIRST UP:  OBLIGATORY YARN-RELATED CONTENT:  

I haven't bought yarn in a Really, Really Long Time.  I am on a yarn fast, and finishing up UFOs (UnFinished Objects) from the stash. The very, very large, out-of-control, hoarded stash of yarn and UFOs.  The current UFO, and the only project I allow myself to touch until it is done, is a pair of rather yummy ankle sock, the yarn for which was bought in Florida when my kid was in a basketball tournament down there in Orlando, sometime around July of  2011, I think.  I cast on the socks then... and I'm finishing them now.

• Yarn shop:  
• Needle Craft World, in Kissimmee, FL.  needlecraftworld.net  
• Yarn:  
• Infatuation, color 1302.  two skeins, 7.95 per.  
• Needles:  
• Knit Picks, of which I'm not too fond.  They feel almost sticky to me.  Size... I dunno.  maybe they're size 2?  something like that.  
• Guage:  
• eh.  Running about 7 stitches to the inch.  
• Pattern:  
• You might have noticed my previous rambly post about making socks.. it's kind of a recipe, or guide, for making YOUR sock with YOUR needles and YOUR yarn.  I tend to just kinda wing it when I'm knitting socks.  It's not hard, but people THINK it's hard, so then they think I have really big Smartacles... Which I do.  I can own that. 
• top down
• 2-at-a-time
• Intended target:  
• This is under intense negotiation.  Thing 2 thinks they should be for HER, but she is threatening to wear them OVER HER POINTE SHOES, ON THE SIDEWALK OUTSIDE THE STUDIO...yeah, that's not going to work for me.  Therefore, I think they should be MINE. 

NON-YARN, CHATTY PERSONAL CONTENT:

I got a job  (GET A JOB, I said to myself.  And then I did it.)  I have friends and loved ones to thank for that; Beloved Cousin, who hired me to deliver veggies, and then L.P., who kindly recommended me to share a job with her as an office assistant for a professional organizer.

Yeah, a professional organizer.  Stop laughing.

I can't stop laughing.  Seriously, I can't say it without a giggle.  But, The Boss is a quilter, so she understands about craft stashing.  I'm hoping to learn a thing or two from her, about stash management.  I will post some ideas here.

OK, so...  first, the vegetables:  See, Thing 1 has gone to college.  College, people.  I have a kid in COLLEGE.   This traumatizes me, but even more than that, this traumatizes my wallet.  And Thing 2 is still taking dance classes, at an insane level of participation and commitment.  Should we be prioritizing DANCE classes, financially speaking?  The argument could strongly be made that we should NOT, but..  It's her THING.  This is a struggle.

So I needed a paying gig.  I've made Forays into Work World, over the last decade or so, but this is, hopefully, a Return.  Returning to Work World, after being absent for 15 years, is very difficult.  The confidence is not there, and frankly, the skills have eroded.  I mean, I still lapse into using words like "potty," and my wardrobe is "Mommy Chic:"  sweats and jeans and oversized t-shirts.  So I've learned to shop smart in thrift shops for work clothes (which is surprisingly fun).  I have stared for hours at my resume, and I might even have a halfway decent one written.  I have struggled mightily with the whole "courage to submit" thing.  I have tended to screen myself out of jobs before I even finish reading the job announcements.

So.  Beloved Cousin, who rocks solid in a thousand ways, got involved with a veggie delivery crowd. The Farm Table (thefarmtable.org) actually is a fantastic group that delivers in Virginia.  They market and sell local, sustainably grown fresh produce gathered from farmers who are all located within about a 150 mile radius of Richmond, VA.  Their motto:  "48 hours, dirt to doorstep."  Some of the dirt comes along; there is no time wasted with washing your potatoes for you.  Anyhow, I tried out their service, thought they were fairly awesome, and signed up to make deliveries, because hey, I got a pretty great discount and I worked pretty much entirely on Thursdays.  And, Beloved Cousin was my boss, which was fun.  Actually working for a relative is hard, because you want so much not to let a relative down that you tend to go perhaps a little work-crazed.   Anyhow, between the (admittedly not wildly high) wages and the (very, very deep) discount, and along with the increased fun of cooking interesting and healthy food, my grocery budget took a plunge, which helped us.

SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT:  

If you check out their website (thefarmtable.org) 

and you decide to sign up, use coupon code 

KristinTFT 

to get $15 off the $50 yearly signup fee.  

You can buy a trial box before signing up.  

You can skip deliveries, at will.  

AND if you want to get involved delivering, they are looking for Team Members.  

Drop me a message and I'll get you in touch with them, 

or call the numbers on the website for more info.  

DISCLAIMER:  

All the awesome stuff I am saying about The Farm Table is true.. 

I am still their customer, and technically not quite off their payroll, 

and I will get a small boost if you use coupon code KristinTFT.  

Still.  Objectively speaking, It's Good.  

Along the way, I met a bunch of Farm Table Team Members, mostly Awesome Chicks, though there are some Awesome Dudes, too.  L.P. was one of these.  She left the employ of The Farm Table, and began working part time for a professional organizer, and needed someone to share the full-time hours, and for some inexplicable reason, she thought of ME.  I am grateful.  I've had to give up delivering for The Farm Table, which I enjoyed and which I miss -- but I was hired and have begun working 28 or so hours a week, doing Office Assistant things.  I like it.  And the wardrobe requirements are casual, so the clothes-shopping requirement is very low.

I was a Program Analyst for the government, many moons ago, and for a long time, before quitting to raise the Things.  Since them, I have worked intermittently for temp agencies, and I have worked for preschools and elementary schools, and I have worked for retail establishments and even a bookstore cafe.  I have taught knitting classes, I have delivered groceries and now I am an office assistant ... What a weird resume.  I'm nothing if not well-rounded.

Well, that's it.  I got nothin' else to say.

:) K

So, I have ... a reader. A READER! Hello, reader.

I shall endeavor to make it worthwhile for you, reader.

OK, so maybe I have two or three.  There's somebody in the USA, according to the stats page on blogger, but... that could just be me, looking to see if there are comments.  There aren't.  (*sob*)  but...  somebody peeked at my blog from somewhere in the Ukraine!

Hello, Ukraine!   Nice to meet you!

And just because I'm happy to have a READER, I shall now do a happy little dance (did ya see that? It was a belly dance.  It embarrassed my kids, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The neighbors will complain if I ever do it again, but it was worth it, this once.)

Ok, that was silly.

I planned to post a tulip-shaped dishcloth, and ...  I can't decide how to do it.  I mean, in my brain, I see short-rows.  Lots of them.  and the little center bit is a small mitred square.  The trick is, that the flower isn't supposed to be perfectly round.  It should be a bit elongated.  so..  still working that out.  All ideas and suggestions are welcome.  (That's for you, Ukraine.  Any thoughts?)

In other news, somewhere along the line, and for some unknown reason, I googled "knit a square" and look what I found:

http://www.knit-a-square.com/

How cool is that?  I like it.  I think I shall participate.  

I am That Mom.

Oh, Yarn Harlot, I love you.  (in a completely non-creepy, un-stalkerish, fangirl kind of way. No need for a restraining order.)  You posted (http://www.yarnharlot.ca/) about your bike ride with your daughter, and I swear, I was so very relieved to know that I am not the only mom who is That Mom.  I love that you were still announcing upcoming patches of gravel and protectively admonishing her to be careful.

Thing 1, my little baby boy, a.k.a. "STINKY ROTTEN," as in, "Come on, Stinky Rotten, we have to leave in 12 seconds!"   yeah, that one:  Thing 1 graduated from high school.  Graduated.

Just like that, he aged me into "Mother of Semi-Grown Person" instead of "Mother of High-Schooler."   Jerk.

At graduation, as they were reading all 680 or so names (that's actually literally true), I was crying by the time they hit the Bs.  We are not Bs.  We are Gs.  And I cried all the way through the Ys, because I knew so many of these stinkin' kids, who have all grown up through 12 years of school together.

I made a special point of spit smoothing his hair for a picture after the ceremony.  Just because.

Stay tuned.  We take him to college in August. He refuses to consider staying home and attending community college, so ..  ok.  Big University Out Of Town, here he comes.  

OK. So... the socks:

it's a crew-length or ankle sock. make a swatch. use needles that seem too small; you want a firmly knitted fabric, so your socks will last.  This is an ever-evolving kind of how-to set of instructions for making a sock with YOUR needles and YOUR yarn, to fit YOUR foot (or a foot with which you are acquainted..That's YOUR business.)

If you see errors, please tell me, because I keep reading it over to catch them all.  

here's your formula for your cast on: measure your ankle, subtract an inch, and multiply your guage out by that many inches. so, for an average (9") woman's ankle, it's (9-1)x (guage). If my guage is 9 stitches to the inch, then 8" x 9 sts = 72.

ok, so i cast on 72. i used a multiple of 12, so i could do a wide rib, (10x2) if that number won't work with your guage, then choose a different rib. maybe your cast on number is 80; you could adjust the stitch multiple to 10, and use an 8x2 rib, see?

your socks. your decisions.

so here's the cryptic version:

guage: 9 sts/1"
co 72, join the round.
K2, P2 rib for 1". put a marker on the last round, in a stitch. make sure it's a split marker, so you can get it out later, right?

K10, P2 rib for 6". put a marker on the last round.

redistribute your stitches so that your round begins and ends with K5. (this centers your pattern)

HEEL FLAP:

you make your heel flap and turn your heel on 1/2 of your stitches, give or take one to keep the numbers even. That's pretty normal:

row 1: Knit 36. TURN (working flat now, ignoring the other 36 stitches.
2 (and all even rows): sl 1, purl 35.
3 (and all odd rows): sl 1, K1 across.
repeat rows 2-3 until your heel flap is square. finish with a purl row, placing a marker on one of the center 2 stitches as you did in the ribbing above.  If you tend to hate that tight feeling around the instep, this is where you can add a little space in, by making your heel flap a little longer than square.  But beware.  Too much length in the heel flap will give you that sexy elephant-ankle look.

TURN HEEL:

basically:
you knit to 2 stitches past the very center, then you SSK, K1, and turn.
slip 1, and purl back to the same center point, p2tog, p1, and turn.
look. see the little gap that formed at the points where you turned? you will always close that gap with the appropriate decrease, and the work one more and turn. eventually, you will end up at the ends of your needles. after the first row, you always slip the first stitch. end with a KNIT row, and you'll be ready to move on.

with my numbers, this worked out to:
1: K 20, SSK, K1, turn.
2: Sl 1, P5, P2tog, P1, turn.
3: Sl 1, Knit to one stitch before the gap (i hate counting!), SSK, K1, turn.
4: Sl 1, Purl to one stitch before the gap, P2tog, P1, turn.
repeat rows 3 and 4 until you finish the needle at both sides. you may have to omit the extra K1 or P1 at the end of the last set of rows. End with a knitted (right side) row.

GUSSET:
pick up stitches, one per slipped stitch, along the side of the heel flap. Finagle one extra stitch up in the corner, by pulling up the strand between the first stitch on the next needle and the last picked up stitch, just to tighten that join. place a marker here, if it is not the end of a needle. knit across the instep (36 stitches) in pattern. place a marker here, if it is not the end of a needle. pick up the finagle-ey stitch, and then one stitch fo reach slipped stitch on the other side of the heel flap. knit to the middle of the heel. look. be proud.

readjust your stitches so that:

if you are on 2 circs: I would put ALL the gusset stitches and heel stitches on ONE circ, and I would put only the 36 instep stitches on the other circ. it's a little awkward for a few rounds, but it completely eliminates the need for those irritating side markers. and it makes it much easier to count later. (i hate counting, remember?)

if you are on magic loop: I would work in profile, so the work would be divided halfways from center heel to center instep. the markers stay.

if you are using 5 dpns: learn the 2 circs or magic loop. ha just kidding. put the instep on one needle. put each set of gusset stitches on it's own needle. put the turned heel stitches on their own needle. the markers aren't necessary. You'll end up readjusting after the gusset decreases are done.

now: your decreases are worked EVERY OTHER ROUND. If you are an average woman, the ball of your foot will measure about the same as the ankle, so you decrease down to your original cast on number, and then work even for a while to complete the foot.

so, if you are working on 2 circs, or on dpns, then you work to 3 sts before the end of the gusset needle, k2tog, k1, then work in pattern across the instep to the other side. You'll pick up the gusset needle again, k1, ssk, and knit to the center of the heel, where you might have already placed a marker for the beginning of the round. round 2: plain knit, in pattern on the instep. round 3: work the decreases as on round 1. and continue, alternating decrease rounds with plain rounds until you have your original cast on number again (36 sts on each half of the sock, 72 total)

if you are working on magic loop, in profile, then for your decrease rounds, you knit from the center heel (beginning of round) to 3 sts before the marker, k2tog, k1, slip marker, knit the instep in pattern, slip the marker, k1, ssk, knit to the center heel. alternate decrease rounds with plain rounds until you are back down to 72 total stitches (the original cast on number).

FOOT: knit plain, (in pattern on the instep) until you are about 1 1/2 inches shy of the total foot length. (total foot length, you might ask? why yes, from the back of the heel to the end of the longest toe. stand on a ruler up against a baseboard to measure.) you can also just try on the sock (unless you use dpns) and when you hit pinky toe cleavage, it's time to start decreasing. put another split ring marker to mark the end of the last round.

TOE DECREASES: if you are on 2 circs, it's easy. you decrease on the first and last 3 sts of each needle. if you are in profile, you have to place center markers on each needle again, or readjust your stitches so you aren't in profile anymore.

so, if you are on 2 circs, knitting from the side of the sock, it's k1, k2tog, k to the last 3 sts on the needle, ssk, k1, and repeat on the 2nd needle.

if you are on dpns, from the side of the sock, it's needle 1: k1, k2tog, k to end. needle 2: k to the last 3 sts, ssk, k1. needle 3: just like needle 1. needle 4: just like needle 2.

if you are in profile, then from the center of the heel, you knit to 3 sts before the center marker, ssk, k1, slip marker, k1, k2tog, knit around to 3 sts before the next marker, ssk, k1, slip marker, k1, k2tog, knit to the end of the needle (center of heel again)

ok. whew.

round 1 (and all odd rounds) are decrease rounds.

round 2 (and all even rounds) are plain knit.

when you are down to half the total number of stitches (36 total) it's time to eliminate the plain knit rounds. decrease every round until you are down to about 18 or so stitches. then...

you have 2 choices.

you can kitchener the toe closed, which i will post about later (hey, my fingers are tired from all this mad typing!)

or

you can turn the sock inside out, and do a 3 needle bind off. but then you end up with a little seam at the end of your toe. that can be irritating. i vote for the kitchener stitch.

ok. well, i am sure there are typos in here, but i will read it over again tomorrow, and when i find things that need to be fixed, i will edit and fix it. if you have questions, leave a comment and i will answer you.

this material is basically the sock class that i used to teach. there's more. stay tuned.

Today's knitting brought to you by: AVOIDANCE OF STUFF THAT NEEDS DOING.

AVOIDANCE.  Count on it to help you to create much more stress later, by being much more relaxed RIGHT NOW.

HA

so, I finished the market bag.  It's ... ok.  I mean, it's a kitchen cotton market bag.

and I still have so much more kitchen cotton leftover.  bright yellow:  so I'm using it up on sunshine dishcloths.

CO 15, turn and knit across.

so, to make one sunny wedge:

k2, yo, knit to the last to the last 2 sts, turn.
slip 1, knit back.
k2, yo, knit to the last 4 sts, turn.
slip 1, knit back.
k2, yo, knit to the last 6 sts, turn.
slip 1, knit back.
k2, yo, knit to the last 8 sts, turn.
slip 1, knit back.
k2, yo, knit to the last 10 sts, turn.
slip 1, knit back.
cast off 5, knit to end.
slip 1, knit back.

repeat the wedge, until you have a sunshine.  graft or sew the two edges together, and then cinch up the little hole in the middle... and it's a sunshine dishcloth.

i love this.  it makes me happy.

i hope it makes you happy, too.

stay tuned, because i have some red kitchen cotton that might want to be a dishcloth shaped like a tulip.

Good Friend of the Day:

So, I got up this morning.  I dragged my sad, chubby self into the living room, sighed a deep, self-loathing sigh (ohhhh  i feel craappppyyyyy) and decided to do some yoga.  I'm new to yoga.  What I hear is that one of the basics of yoga is compassion and acceptance of one's self and respect for one's body.  I need to learn these skills, so.. yeah.  yoga.

I was yoga-ing, however imperfectly, and frankly enjoying it thoroughly, and my phone rang.

As I gave in, paused the yoga video and went to check the message, I notice my friend, with 2 of her daughters, in her minivan, parked outside.  Huh. She said, "Come with me to the craft store.  I will buy you coffee."  Well, who am I to turn down such an invitation?  I got my keys and wallet, and I climbed in.

It was an excellent decision.  We walked into the store, and the first thing I saw was a thing I needed:  tie dye.  OK, I know what you are thinking.  You think nobody ACTUALLY NEEDS tye dye, but you are mistaken.  I do.  See, daughter has a window, with blinds, but no curtain. Recently, I bought a 5 buck Walmart single sheet, which she was intending to use as a backdrop for a puppet show presentation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."  I kept saying, "BRING BACK THE SHEET WHEN YOU ARE DONE."  My intention at the time was that she would draw or paint all over this backdrop, and when she was done with it, I would tear it into strips and include it in my rag rug.  but... she thought she wasn't allowed to draw or paint on it, because I kept asking for it back, so she didn't.  So it's a perfectly good, non-raggy sheet.  So I am going to tye dye it and hang it as a curtain at her naked, boring window.  It will be fab.  I plan to dye it teal, or some kind of nice color that is close, and I will then simply drape it over a curtain rod.  I plan to put two vintage knobs or something like that on either side of the window, and the sheet can be pulled aside over the knobs or just left to hang straight.  The window is narrow enough that the sheet will be gathered.  Inside my brain, this is really a fun looking window treatment.

If it turns out well, I am going to buy six more of these cheap, 5 buck Walmart single sheets, and do the windows in the rest of our apartment.

And if THAT turns out well, I'm going to have to figure out a way to do something similar for the sliding glass door in the living room.

I'm on a roll, people.  There's TIE DYE to be done.

I spent a chunk of my time tonight looking at youtube videos about how to tie various patterns... like, peace signs, and mandala stars, and spirals, and circles, and stripes.  So fun.

While we were at the craft store, just to make the entire experience perfect, I got to touch YARN.  You know this wide mesh "yarn" that knits up into a ruffle?  well...  they had it on sale, and this lady was standing there demonstrating the glories of this stuff, which I frankly hate to knit with, but .. ok, I was almost tempted, anyhow.  and she was teaching Friend's Daughter to finger crochet, and she was teaching Friend's Other Daughter how to knit with the ruffly stuff, and another little girl (about 6 years old) came over, all fascinated, and I had the MOST fun teaching her to finger crochet.  She was so cute, and so proud of herself.  Bright little thing, too.  She caught right on.

That little dose of happy, that time with my friend, that success and creative impulse, that chance to teach a child, all of that good stuff completely changed my outlook from a self-pitying, self-loathing, self-critical, self-obsessed negative person to a person who felt joyful, lucky, grateful, positive, and happy.

I went home, finished my yoga and really, had a pretty good day.

Thanks, Good Friend of the Day.

I didn't knit today.

I didn't knit, or weave, or work on my toothbrush rug.  I didn't touch fiber in a creative way, at all.  Not even once.

What the ^&*( was I thinking?!

Now it's midnight, and I'm downright squirrelly, digging around deep in the depths of pinterest for pictures of yarn, like a teenage boy searching for porn.  ooohhh, ahhh, is that an antique walking wheel?  what kind of fiber is she spinning?  how on earth do you draft out that far?  quick, google "how to draft fiber" ...   yeah, baby.  

I'll be making time for my art tomorrow, that's for sure.  This yarny stuff, it feeds my soul.

Yarntrap

Yarn is the one thing in my world that Just Doesn't Go Away.  Ever.  If yarn was a shark, it's got hold of my leg and it's dragging me under.  Seriously.  I am drowning in yarn.  I have a huge lane chest full, and two huge plastic bins the same size as the lane chest full, and probably enough yarn to fill yet another plastic bin that size, with some left over.  I have been in the process of going through my stash, and I have discovered a few things.

1.  I am apparently a process knitter.  You cannot call yourself a product knitter if you NEVER FINISH A PRODUCT.  I have finished so very few things, that I must be a process knitter.  The processes the I love the most involve planning, designing, writing out a pattern, adjusting and customizing an existing pattern, choosing the materials, starting the work -- even the swatching.  I like swatching.  GO FIGURE.  and guess what?  NONE of those things gets me a sweater to wear.  Not a one.

2.  All that stuff in #1?  BS.   I'm an ADHD knitter.  No product can hold my attention long enough to get finished.  Some call it fickle, but I call it...  oh, look, angora!

3.  My looms scare me.  I have a very nice little 24" rigid heddle loom that is currently wearing a purple double heddle woven bit of fabric that MUST be nearly done... and yet I don't work on it.  I look at it, and I think to myself, "but what if i'm doing it wrong?"  and "how will i finish it?"   OH, my. So there it sits, begging me to come back and finish it up - and I suppose eventually I will.  I want to make other things, don't you know.

4.  I love fiber.  I mean, the fiber itself, the skeins of yarn, the balls of wool, they call to me.  Loud.  Even the ugly ones.  Deep in the HUGE selection of stash yarn in my little home, there are some tragically ugly skeins of yarn... and I just can't toss them in the trash.  I mean...  ugly babies need love too.  

5.  I love learning new ways to knit, weave and spin.  I have in recent days spent chunks of time looking on the internet at the different ways of knitting and weaving, just for the sake of seeing "how they do that!"  and I love it.  I love seeing the ways that people have made themselves different kinds of tools for their fiber craft, and I love the ways that people have hacked this loom or that to do different kinds of things.  I have never DONE any Brioche knitting, but I am learning all about it and I will probably cast something on at some point, just so I can try it.  I don't use a spinning wheel, but I owned one for a minute or two about a decade ago, because I wanted to know how it worked.  Once I understood it, I was done with it, and I finally sold it to a lovely lady who gave it a good home and a productive purpose.

6.  I hold fibergrudges.  This is a shame.  I mean, you know That Skein that's left over from That Ugly Failed Garment?  You know the garment.  It's the one that had the hateful stitch, or the horrible mistake in the pattern, and you just QUIT the project because it was so frustrating and hideous?  You hurled it in the farthest, most forgotten depth of your yarn stash, to give it an eternal time-out?  Yeah.  there's the leftover yarn, right THERE.   It's actually not ugly yarn.  It's ok.  It's nice wool, with some bamboo or something luxurious mixed in.  It's probably expensive.  and will I use THAT YARN?  NO.   why?  because it is associated with the UGLY FAILED HATEFUL ABANDONED BEASTLY THING.  

7.  I'm a fibervangelist. Yes.  Witness:
  ME:  sitting in the waiting area of .. some office where I'm waiting.  Knitting (a cotton mesh market bag, if you must know.
  RANDOM CHICK:  Oh, wow!   that's so cool!
  ME:  (a bit smugly, and in complete agreement)  Why, thank you.
  CHICK:  My grandmother knits like that.
  ME:  (eyes narrowing, and thinking unkind things about CHICK)  I'm sure she and I would get along, then.  All us old ladies who knit love each other.
  CHICK:  (completely missing the bitterness under that comment)  Of course!  I could never do that.  
  ME:  (sensing a potential convert to yarnishness)  Sure you could.  If you can write your name, you know,  then you have all the dexterity you need.
  CHICK:  (almost ready to take the bait)  You think?
  ME:  you know, I'm here most Tuesdays, I could teach you...  
  CHICK:  Could I make a scarf?
  ME:  (gotcha!)  Sure!  (whipping out paper and making a list)  Here's what to get and where, and I'll get you started next week.

8.  My yarn makes me feel smarter.  I know stuff about it that lots of other people don't know.  I know stuff about the tools and the fibers and the fabrics.  I have preferences about kinds of wool and blends of fibers and shapes and lengths and brands of needles.   I know what a rigid heddle is, and I know what an inkle band is, and I know what a Turkish spindle does that is really cool.  (It makes a center pull ball, so you don’t have to rewind your singles!  And I know what center pull balls are, and I know what singles are!)

9.  I only give knitted things to people I really, really like.  A lot.  Because yeah, it might not cost that much in dollars (ok, that’s usually a lie:  yarn for a really nice sweater can cost $150 or even twice that much) but it costs a lot more in brains and time and energy and thought.  I think about people when I knit for them.  I don’t want to think about people I don’t really like, so I don’t knit for them.   If I give you so much as a little lacy bookmark, it means I really, really like you.

9.  My yarn motivates me to play with yarn.

And with that, I’m going to go finish up the handle on that market bag, weave in the ends, and give it as a gift to a friend.