I've been working on Bristow today instead of doing homework, studying for my two exams, or writing any of the five papers I have due next week.
This is not good.
The progress today. Peanut, my female chinchilla, is checking it out. She's your eye candy for this post :)
The yarn is not that red. My room is dark, so I guess the flash washes it out. The yarn is really much more maroon. Closer to what it looks like in the first picture of the last post.
What are the warmest fibers?
Animal fibers.
What have I just started knitting a scarf out of?
Cotton.
Why am I doing this?
Because I'm a weakling, perhaps?
I'm knitting a scarf for Scott's Dad for Hanukkah. So I had Scott pick out the yarn. That's all fine. But Scott for God-knows-why somehow has it in his head that every type of animal fiber is itchy. (Not true, Scott! NOT TRUE!) So he picked out Blue Sky Alpaca's Cotton. It's a nice yarn, I love Blue Sky yarns. But...why cotton...for a winter scarf???!
I mean...come on... Who doesn't love alpaca!?
Besides...there's just something about cotton yarn that just feels yucky to me. Not what I want running through my fingers somehow.
*sigh*
Well...here's the scarf so far anyway....
I think I'll go shove my head in a pile of alpaca yarn now....
I just bought yarn. I'm supposed to be on a yarn diet....but I had to. It's going to be for a gift....
16 balls of Knitpicks andean silk in hollyberry. For Bristow.
It's going to be a Christmas gift.
If it gets here in time, and I can knit fast enough......
I want it to get here now!!!
I think it's time to chronicle the project that ate all my knitting time and memory all last spring ans summer: the shawl.
Sometime spring semester I decided that I should make a lace shawl for my sister, who was married in August. (Hey...I'm ambitious!)
I scoured the internet and knitting books for a pattern I liked. I finally landed the Spanish Peacock shawl from the gallery of Meg Swansen's A Gathering of Lace. Then I had to find a white lace yarn I could use. Lori (sister) is allergic to wool, so that narrows things quite a bit. I eventually chose Misti Alpaca Lace. I started in with a lot of apprehension, but I gained more confidence stitch by stitch.
I think I cast on in the beginning of May. Around and around I went. It was practically the only thing I worked on for months. I had my set backs of course - like the hole I made near the beginning that I was absolutely freaking out about, but tur
ned out to not show up one bit in the finished product. The hardest part for me may have been trying to figure out how to do the edging, which was from Barbara Abbey's Knitting Lace. I had a lot of time to work on it in July, after I had surgery on my foot.
I finally finished the first or second week in August. I was ecstatic. I'd actually finished before the wedding! I couldn't wait to block it out.
The blocking process took me about six hours. (Keep in mind this was my first time block anything, let alone a huge lace shawl.)
There was one mistake I made that was very evident. Instead of a sl2tog-k1-p2sso throughout the pattern, I had been doing a sl1-k2tog-psso the whoooole time. This resulted in an open line between pattern repeats instead of a nice tight line, and also made the pattern go in a pinwheely shape instead of like spokes. This made me really really upset. But I got over it. I told myself it was still beautiful, and anyone who didn't know the pattern wouldn't know the difference.
I felt so empty without that shawl to work on. "This must be what post-partem depression feels like" was my thought.
It was an amazing experience...and I can't wait to start another one.....when classes are out....
Lori loved it. She cried.
:)
Back from the weekend hockey trip. We lost to URI and the Panthers, but we beat Hahvahd (YESSS!!!) and MIT. Was overall a very fun weekend, but left me exhausted. Which partially explains why i didn't knit as much on the ride home as I should have. The other part of why I didn't get as much knitting done as I meant to is that we were watching season 2 of LOST on the bus. Granted I've seen all the episodes multiple times...but I just can't turn down LOST.
Anyhoo...I'm mostly recovered now. A good night's rest tonight should take care of it. My leg muscles are crazy right now. No hurt fingers either!
The progress:
I'm about to head over to Lynah Rink to get on a bus to head up to Rhode Island and Boston for an intense weekend of hockey with the Cornell Women's Club Team. We're playing four games this weekend (Rhode Island Panthers, U of Rhode Island, Harvard, and MIT). Hopefully I won't die.
But the good news about the trip knit-wise is six hours each way of free time on the bus...for knitting! Granted, I've promised myself I'd also do some homework and nap during this time as well, but I'm actually going to have time where I won't feel guilty for just sitting around knitting!
I've packed the branching out I just started in Rowan kidsilk night in pink. (No, I don't like pink...it's going to be a gift.) And I packed the second sock in the pair that I promised my mother. The first sock was finished this summer, and this poor sock has been sitting around with a measly three rows of a cuff for..well..months.... Damned Second Sock Syndrome. At least it got cast on at all.
Hopefully I won't break any fingers this weekend...I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't at least knit ^_^
After this things get a little fuzzy. I can't remember what I knit when and I can't remember everything I knit.
I know I did Bubby and I did Pasha. There were some hats in there for Scott. I did some fingerless gloves for my brother-in law. I started some armwarmers that ar burried and neglected in my stash somewhere.
I started my first lace project during this time. It's a scarf that still has yet to be finished. I'll get around to it some day, right?
I know I did more things, but it's hard to remember until what I did this past summer. Soooo, we'll just mumble this all up as what-the-heck-happened-spring-semester 06? and I'll move to what happend this past summer in the next few posts.
Not long after learning to knit, I fell in love with Firefly, and hence I just had to make a Jayne hat.
And so it was that a Jayne hat was my second project. I jumped from garter stitch (only knowing how to do the knit stitch) to knitting in the round with ribbing (had to learn how to purl) decreasing, picking up stitches, and even making a pom pom.
This is one of my proudest projects to date. Whenever I wear my Jayne hat I feel happy ^_^
"A man walks down the street in that hat, you know he's not afraid of anything"
Edit: Oh dear! I forgot the specs! Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky. Pattern can be found here
This was my first ever knitted project (about one year ago). I was pushed over the line from crocheting to knitting by the prospect of the Gryffindor scarf. I decided I liked the look and feel of knitted fabric better, so I learned to knit. Bronwyn helped me along.
The pattern I just made up on my own.
It's worked in garter stitch.
Yarn:
Knitpicks Andean Silk
cranberry and mustard
I was so proud of myself when I finished!!
It's not a very flattering picture of me, but that's ok. It was taken right after I finished.
So after a year of knitting I figured it's about time I start my very own knit blog. I read enough other peoples' knitting blogs and I'm sure my boyfriend is tired of me complaining about my knitting woes. He doesn't quite understand the joys either. (Sorry Scott, but you just don't get as excited about a beautiful alpaca yarn as I do.)
So here it is! The start of "Newman Knits"
I guess I'll start off with going through projects I've done in the last year in the next few posts. Then I'll move on to works in progress.
Oh, a little knitting history is in order I suppose. My lovely sister got me into the fiber arts initially by teaching me crochet. I soon took to knitting as taught by the absolutely marvelous Bronnie. :) And the rest is history. My knitting talent grew quickly, if I do say so myself, and I've already knitted a full lace shawl (more on that later).
That's all for now :)
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