Category Archives: Knitting

Giving up 2012 / Remembering worth 2013

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2012 was the year of giving up…and not in a I-will-no-longer-eat-fast-food sort of way. In a I-can’t-commit-to-anything sort of way. I was restless and unfocused and, overall, uninspired. At some point in the year I started then later gave up on scrapbooking, wearing makeup, photography, writing a memoir, cross stitch, knitting, crochet, blogging, sewing, running, watching the X-Files, embroidery. Only thing I really stuck to was reading (three cheers for the Kindle) and dying my hair (though partly because of the appointments made in advance).

I felt not good enough. My photos weren’t as great as those of others on Flickr or Instagram, especially because I wasn’t willing to dress up in a funny costume and never figured out how to clone myself with software. My current life had no excitement to blog about and my past was too boring to write about even within the confines of the notebooks that no one ever sees. My cross stitch was mundane; my attempts at a TARDIS embroidery untidy. My knitting (except socks, everyone always love their handknit socks) was unwanted. My attempts at cooking, bland. My attempts to mentor the students at FIRST, ineffective. My job search did go well at first because my suit didn’t fit properly (not because a great job was waiting for my within my own company – where I wore jeans to my interview). The only thing I could do correctly was eat, it seemed. Oh, and fall asleep reading. Totally mastered that this year.

So..what will be different in 2013? I’ll learn not to care. Okay, still care about important things like doing my absolute best at work and not dressing like a slob and making sure the bathrooms are clean when guests come over. But, not to care about things which are creative.

My friend Heather once told me that you can’t possibly fail at creativity. And, you know what, she’s right. No one dies if your embroidery is crooked or your photos is a bit blurry (call it “artsy”) or your mac-n-cheese is a bit runny.

Because, for the 100th time, all of my creative (and running, ’cause, you know, there’s that, too) efforts are worth it. Because, greater than that, I’m worth it. My time, my energy, my effort, my stash of craft supplies – all worth it.

Boyfriend – Quick FO Post

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The FO itself wasn’t particularly quick, taking me a month and a half to complete. I haven’t even blocked it yet, hence the slightly too tight, slight too short nature of it as is. It’s supposed to be an easy going sweater, like you’d borrow from your boyfriend (hence the name).

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The details:

Pattern: boyfriend by  Lori Versaci

Yarn: Berroco Vintage DK in Pumpkin, purchased last Black Friday at fibre space’s annual sale

Yardage: Not quite sure, I’d guess 4.5 skeins so just under 1300 yards

Mods: Made it slightly shorter both in overall length and the length of the arms due to my, well, short nature

Comments on pattern: I liked this pattern but must admit that the twin rib drove me nuts. It’s one of the designer’s signature fabrics but I don’t think I’d sign up to lots more of it again. I liked that this was seamed – allowed me to practice my seaming and didn’t require me to fiddle with working on the round.

(Thanks to Matt for taking a quick iPhone photo. I sort of ambushed him in his office and made him take it. Try to ignore the green bag by my foot, wrinkled pants, and flipped up shirt hem.)

Hollow Threat Or Will I Really Give Up Knitting?

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Yesterday, I made the following statement on Twitter:

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Which lead, almost immediately to two replies:

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So, why? Well, because I’m not just feeling it anymore.

Maybe it’s my current projects. I’ve only completed one item in the last six months and have barely dabbled in it, otherwise. I made about 3″ of that hat and have very little desire to go back to working on it. The socks for Lora, eh, those bore me to no end (sorry, Lora).

Maybe it’s what’s in my stash. I just am not feeling anything I do with all of the DK I bought the day after Thanksgiving (yes, way back then). I’m not a fan of the bulky I’ve got. The random balls of Worsted are basically useless to me. Only things at all appealing are a skein of dark blue fingering weight and the leftovers (if you can call them that) from the colorwork hat I started.

Maybe it’s that I’m finally fed up with having all of these beautiful shawls and things I’ve made with no one to give them to. Every Aunt on both sides on the family that wants one, has one. Same for random friends and coworkers and cousins. Right this minute, I’ve got three different shawls hanging up in my office, just waiting for someone to give them to.

Maybe it’s because I’m no longer part of the knitting community. Moving to the outer ‘burbs meant leaving behind the neighborhood knitting store. Sure, I can get over there pretty easily, even after work. But, still, it’s a bit harder. I have to drive, have to find a parking space, have to plan ahead. And, on top of that, many of my knitting companions have moved away. Except for shop employees, I only know one or two folks who still live around here.

Or, maybe, just maybe, I’m over the whole knitting thing. I’ve been knitting for almost five years, officially the craft I’ve stuck to the longest. But maybe I’m able to move on from it.

I do promise I won’t make any rash decisions. I still follow knitting celebrities on Twitter, still subscribe to knitting blogs and newsletters, and don’t have plans to suddenly get rid of my entire stash (though that bulky is SO out of here).

For now, I’ll just sit and think about what’s next. And hope beyond hope that my friends will pull me back into it (or that I find myself free from any desire at all and can get rid of that giant plastic box of wool and needles).

What I’ve Been Up To

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I’m still here, just busy with work and life. This’ll be a photo-less post, partly because I’m too lazy to dig through Flickr to find relevant photos, partly because I really don’t have that many. Maybe next week I’ll get back into the swing of things with posts with actual photos in them. Who am I kidding, it’ll probably be another month or two before I write another blog post with something that’s not just like “here’s my latest scrapbooking pages.”

So, what have I been doing? Well, working, knitting, scrapping, improving the house, enjoying the weather, planning vacation, and reading. Mostly working and reading (ok, and sleeping and eating but no one wants to hear about that).

Working

Don’t worry, no boring details. Just know that work is busy and while it’s sometimes overwhelming, I’m enjoying my current project.

Knitting

Ok, so I haven’t knit a single stitch in about three weeks but before that, I knit a shawl/scarf and about 2″ on a colorwork hat.

The shawl/scarf was Different Lines using bright blue and bright orange Neighborhood Fibre Co Studio Sock that I originally purchased to make the Steven West mystery shawl. It turned out HUGE and rather scarf-like due to how I blocked it. Of course, I forgot to really take photos of it once I gave it to the recipient (Anne, my Phi Rho big sister).

The colorwork hat actually isn’t one of the patterns I was trying to choose between a few months ago. It’s called Latvian Hat and I’m using Neighborhood Fibre Co in a white colorway that’s named, appropriately, after what Matt tells me is a very, er, racially non-diverse part of Baltimore and Miss Babs in Lilacs. Even though the pattern starts at the crown and gets larger, it’s still very slow to work a single round and the pattern requires rather a lot of conentration. It’s also at an awkward stage where it’s a bit too small to work on two needles comfortable but too large for only one. I put it aside once work got busy enough that I was only making myself more frustrated trying to work on it in the evening hours.

Scrapping

Despite not taking a whole bunch of photos lately, I have been keeping up with making at least one scrapbooking page a week. Some weeks, they’re rather unimpressive but it’s about recording what’s gone on, not always having a gorgeous page. I am going to try and pick up my picture-taking so it’s not quite so sad when I open up the week’s folder of photos and see only two in there. I’ll post pages from weeks 5 to I think we’re on 11 later this week. I also still need to finish the last few pages from our last Europe trip. I think maybe two need words then they’ll be done. Oh, and finally print some of these off, likely starting with Europe pages.

Improving the House

Nothing involving power tools or anything but quite an impressive list of small projects:

  • Hanging photos everywhere (my friend Lead provided opinions on good locales)
  • Installing a door sweep and fixing the screen on the porch door (Matt did most of this)
  • Picking out and trying a paint color for our bedroom (liked the color, will paint the whole thing starting this week)
  • Buying a new hanging birdfeeder – the old one had old feed permanantly stuck in it
  • Cleaning up the leaves / sticks / acorns / randomly strewn bricks in the backyard (Matt did most of the work here but I helped with some pickup and  moving of stuff to be picked up to the curb)

Enjoying the weather

Despite being mid-March, it’s been in the high 70s almost every day the last week or so, with mostly clear skies on top of it. We’ve already grilled out twice (burgers then chicken) and enjoyed several evenings of reading on the porch after work. I keep waiting for the weather report to talk about a return to colder temperatures but it’s supposed to remain warm at least for a few more days. Anyone know if this may mean I can get my hands on some good and not very expensive steamed crabs earlier this year than normal? The wait until Memorial Day may be the end of me. Ok, not really. I’m just impatient.

Planning vacation

Matt and I started a few weeks ago thinking about taking a summer vacation and where we wanted to go and all that. After lots of thinking and looking around, we decided we’re going to head to Ireland for 10 days in May.

Reading

Ever since Matt got me a Kindle about a month ago, I have been reading like a crazy person. I think the first book I read on it was an Agatha Christie book, quickly followed by memoirs, dystopian novellas, more Agatha Christie, two books about WWII with a time travel theme, and, most recently, a thriller. I won’t go into all of the details but you can check out what I’ve read on Good Reads.

So…what’s up with you all?

“You Should Learn Colorwork”

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One of the very few instructions Matt has ever given to me regarding my knitting has been that I should learn colowork. He’s said this about once a year, anytime I complain that knitting is boring or that I’m tried of knitting lace or point out the beauty of a colorwork sweater on the Gap website. Maybe it’s about time I listen to him.

I have actually tried colorwork before, multiple times. My one success was ten little lines of stranded colorwork on a baby dress – nothing to write home about. I’ve tried knitting the Endpaper Mitts a good dozen times but have failed in color combinations or not getting gauge (boh too loose and too tight) each time. I think the pattern may actually be cursed for me, destined never to be knit. I’ve also tried a couple other patterns, often getting too aggravated at the slow pace of progress, pulling the project out after a week of work that resulted in less than an inch of progress. But, hey, I can now use both of my hands and I’ve got significantly more free time and, you know what, I’m allowed to buy other sized needles if I can’t get gauge on a 1, 1 1/2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10 (the only needle sizes I own, mostly size 7′s).

So, I’m determined to try again. Should I stick to something small like fingerless mitts or a hat or go nuts and make a whole sweater? Whatever I choose, I’ll have to go on a shopping trip first as I have exactly three skeins of cobweb, one of fingering, one of sport, 12 of DK (6 each of two colors not different enough from one another for colorwork), some random worsted/aran in colors that don’t go together, and 3 bulky.

What do you guys think I should make? Here’s 16 ideas I came across on Ravelry. Links below.

From top left, proceeding across the row then starting the next:

1. Shelbu Modern    2. From Norway with Love     3. Peerie Flooers    4. Whale Watch Hat     5. Latvian Garden Baby Blanket     6.  Undergrowth     7. Plum Forest    8. Freyja Sweater    9. Platte River    10. Liberty    11. Ukranian Tiles    12. Ida’s Kitchen    13. Tapestry Cowl    14. Inga Hat    15. Winter Solstice    16. Staghorn Hat

Year in Review (2011 Edition)

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I was going to make this a post about how I did or didn’t meet my goals for last year then realized I never made any. Sure, I wanted to graduate but, really, was that ever in doubt? (Oh, I hope not.) So, again this year, a year in review.

January: Attempted, yet again, to blog daily which became weekly which became only when I felt guilty that I hadn’t blogged in awhile. Visited the National Building Museum. Started working with the TJ FIRST team. Mostly focused on coding my senior design project. Started a new job.

February: FIRST season concluded and senior design continued. Tried skiing for the first time.

March: Attended the St. Patrick’s parade in Old Town. DC FIRST regional held. Midterms and a big senior design deadline consumed my life. Spring break was spent working and doing school work. Attended Steph’s baby shower.

April: Life consumed by school projects, tests. etc. Traveled to West Point to attend a design competition (and really wished they didn’t have a rule about no AC before 1 may).

May: Wrapped up my last undergraduate semester. Graduated Suma Cum Laude. Celebrated Matt’s grandmother’s 90th birthday. Went to a color theory workshop with Ms Babs.

June: Started first full-time job (and it’s not so fun commute). Started looking at houses. Got back into sewing by making a few handbags (and failed at making myself a skirt).

July: Brutally hot month. Went to more open houses and house tours. Attended the first annual Bontrager cousins reunion in DE. Started digital scrapbooking five years of marriage.

August: Put a bid on a house, counterbid accepted, home inspection, mortgage application, and everything else invovled with buying a house. Felt not nearly as poor as expected at the end of the process. Really started my new job (assignment received). Started a quilt for the first time in four years.

September: Moved into the new house. Held a housewarming party with friends, family, and neighbhors.

October: Spent two and a half week exploring Spain, France, and Italy. Spent the rest of the month starting a new project at work and recovering from being away for so long.

November: Had Thanksgiving at our place, this time with Matt’s parents, Jesse’s family, Alison, and Lucy. Attended the DE reception for Caleb and Karen. Finished making a sweater for myself that actually fit.

December: Enjoyed a realitively warm December. Parents and brother visit for Christmas. Had first year of decorating our own house for Christmas (but settled for just a tree and some lights on a front window).

Day 30, We Meet Again

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Okay, not really, as I’ve never actually finished NaBloPoMo successfully until this year but who’s paying attention? I may blog more often in December than usual but don’t count on a continuation of this daily blogging thing. I will be, instead, focusing my efforts on December Daily. But I’ll tell you all about that (or not) tomorrow.

Right now, I’m going to crawl into bed and read some Agatha Christie. But, look, I did some actual knitting. Knitting I may even continue to work on after today. (A first since I finished that sweater, oh, a week ago. Heh.) Eventually I’ll share what it is.

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Now what?

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On Saturday, I picked up two sweater quantities of Vintage DK and ever since, I’ve been trying to find a pattern to make with it. Too bad there are so very few patterns for adults in DK weight. I started the Trellis and Vine Pullover and remembered why it drove me nuts the last time I tried it: something about switching between cables and lace. Hopefully I’ll find another pattern soon. I’m really itching to knit *something* but nothing can keep my attention, WIP or new.

Ten Minute Update

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I’ve only it ten minutes until bedtime so this will be super fast (but will, in no way, involve Elmo).

1. I finished the sweater I’ve been knitting since we got back from Europe and it fits! Photo session as soon as I convince Matt to help with the photo shoot.

2. Work is busy and stressful.

3. My only day off next week is Thursday. Before you feel sorry for me, realize I did just take a 2.5 week vacation and will get so very much done with everyone else out.

4. I have no clue what I’m going to knit next. I started a few things today but pulled out progress on every single one because they just weren’t working.

5. Here’s a photo of Willie.

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