periscope knits

my KTE pal responds with questions, and I answer on the blog

Hi KTE pal,

How funny that you have to ask me these things.  I have a blog, I should post!   And, now that The Event That Shall Not Be Named is over, I will.  Perhaps I'll even post the answers to your questions – what an excellent thing!   Thanks for the idea, and sorry for being such a mystery.

To answer your questions:

I'm not a monogamous knitter at all, so there are several things that  I'm currently knitting (and thus, last knit).   The last knitted item that I finished is a Shifting Sands scarf (pattern by Grumperina), while I was in Tucson.  There are a few pictures on my blog, though no finished ones as of yet.   I'm in love with it – the texture, the colour, the length.  It's like the surface of a pearl, or the moon, or a choppy sea, or the sky about to storm.   What good things!  With this same yarn, I made a pair of shootin' stockings for my dad.  I used a different stitch pattern, but the results are the same.   I'm a bit sad that I can't get more of the yarn.  But, then, if I could, would I have purchased it?  Sometimes limited edition can be a good thing – I have to get it then then then, or I regret the chance missed.

Now, I'm in a sock phase.  On my needles I've got:

1) moss green knee socks (though I might turn these into gauntlets instead, with perhaps a hat to match)

2) red and white striped anklets

3) pink lace stockings

I'm also working on a Lizard Ridge blanket, square by square, and a couple of little mohair triangle shawls as gifts for my niece and sister.   Accessories are easiest for me.  I'm busty AND plus-sized, so the investment required for a jumper or vest is quite a bit, even in an inexpensive yarn.   I'm looking at knitting a sweater in the vein of the hourglass sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  I'd like to keep the yarn the same, but aiee!   I have to buy over a bag's worth of Cash Iroha, and that's stressful in more ways than I care to think about.

So, on my knitter's wish list?  Something to felt, I think.  I'd like to felt a bag, a largish-one to take with me to the farmer's market.  Maybe a neck pillow or something equally sweet and modern-ish.  Gloves.  Knee high striped socks.  Thermal, from Knitty.com.  Placemats.  A pair of socks using the motif that Eunny Jang created for this sweater.

What about you?

Janine

Awake, alive, and wearing clean underwear.

Some days, this is all you can ask of me. The Event happens in less than a week, and THANK GOD for that. I’ve done my calling and sent my emails; designed the posters and tickets and decided on the menu and decorations. Now it’s just a waiting game, and waiting is what knitting is perfect for.

I’ve got a few (ha!) projects on the needles, but since it’s a new month for Project Spectrum I’ll talk about this:

Lovely, no?

It’s Sundara yarn, a superwash sportweight merino in Rust over Green. Given that I live in the Pacific Northwest, the colourway is quite apropos. Moss, evergreen rainforest, marshes…I love it. The swatch makes a lush gauntlet, doesn’t it?  The yarn is destined to be a pair of knee socks for me. The first effort (top picture) was frogged and then re-started, but the swatch shall remain in gauntlet form until I'm ready to start the second sock. Despite how dreadfully short I am on yardage, I’m going for it! Akin to Shedir, I’m on a mission.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Design two matching knee-highs, using available moss yarn for the top and a yet unnamed complimentary colour for the rest of the sock. This message will self destruct.

Ok, enough with the Inspector Gadget references.

The plan is this: Design as I go. Knit with one ball until it runs out, then switch to another colour and finish the sock. Disregard the fact that the “other colour” is yet to be determined. Frantically Calmy, serenely search for a suitable “other colour” while knitting up the socks (anyone got any ideas?). Repeat for other sock. It's a good plan, no?

In other knitterly news: my KTE spoiler contacted me! She's from Ireland - how exciting is that? Hello, Lisa!

An Open Letter to my KTE pal.

Dear Knitter's Treat Exchange spoiler:

I really am not trying to test your mindreading skills.  There will be more posts, and they will involve knitting and memes and long diatribes on how I've been truly inspired by natural things lately and as such am nearly paralyzed with design ideas.

I am a good correspondent.  Really.

But right now, it's past midnight and I'm still not done with the emails I need to write for The Event I Am Promoting That Has Forcefully Taken Over My Life Free Time.  Otherwise known as this.  I still have a day job. Am I excited about Ultra Gypsy?  You betcha!  Am I overwhelmed?  Oh, hell yes.  Basic needs in life are not being met.  I went to knit circle tonight and I forgot to take my knitting.  That's right - I'm going mad.

Gentle reader, lovely KTE pal; do be patient.  The deluge is coming.  I leave you with this picture for proof further contemplation.

Sincerely,

Janine

A cure for the blahs

Apparently, uninterrupted sleep is not in the cards for tonight.  What's a knitter to do but blog? (To Whom It May Concern: No, this is not the six weird things meme.  I promised, and it's coming.  It'd just be a little too weird if I posted it now - trust me).

Knit?  Nope!  I finished two projects tonight! Shifting sands, and the weaving in for the Western Shooting Stockings, which I left until my dad tried them on and approved. The socks I have on the needles are in a tricky spot and best left until morning.  As is figuring out how to redesign my blog, apparently.  Adding buttons to the sidebar has never been so trying.  If anyone out there can help me with that, I'd be much obliged. 

On to the next thing.  I signed up for the Knitter's Treat Exchange! There's a few days left to sign up, if you're interested.  This is my first knitting-related exchange and I'm curious to see if it's anything like the gardening exchanges I've done before.

The other cure for the blahs, courtesy of the lovely Marion.

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire

1. What's your favourite type of yarn?  If I had to pick, it'd probably be a wool - merino, maybe, but I love even the scratchiest.  I love the colours of Sundara and Yarn Pirate and Sweet Georgia and Yarntini, though solids & "subtle solids" are more my thing than lots of stripes.  I love Noro, but I really like support small yarn companies.  I'm a DIY sort of gal, and I admire that kind of stepping into your craft.

2. What's your least favourite type of yarn?  Fun fur.  I'm not a yarn snob, but most synthetic novelty yarns are not on my list. 

3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop?  Say hello to whoever's working and ask about local yarn.  Then I go touch all the yarns, probably more than once.  I'm a girl who loves texture :).

4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do?  I write, sew, spin, garden, quilt, embroider, weave, bake & cook, dye, bead, crochet, make paper, and design things (furniture, stationery, clothing, etc.)  I like welding and woodworking, but haven't done either in years and years.

5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to? Domino, Sunset, Interview, Everyday Food, Interweave Knits and Lucky.

6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference:
Knitting / Crochet / Other Craft / Food / Home / Fashion / Celebrity Gossip / Garden   Ok!  Food, Home, Fashion, Knitting, Garden, Other Craft, Crochet, Celebrity, Gossip. 

7. What items do you like to knit / crochet?  Knit: Socks, sweaters, blankets, handbags, scarves, coats, hats, pillow covers, toys...

Crochet: Blankets, toys, pillow covers, and scarves. 

8. Are you allergic to anything?  Cigarette smoke. Air freshener, like Febreze and Glade and whatever they put in the bathrooms at work.  Also, whatever is usually put on dryer sheets and in laundry detergent.  (Aren't I fun? All of my clothing is washed with hippie-style Seventh Generation soap and fabric softener, and my house is scented by essential oils and candles.  A pain, but I like being rash-free.)

9. What do you like to* smell of?
(*This is not a typo. The question is: What do you like to smell of) Good lavender (like how the flowers smell in the sun), basil, lime.  Cinnamon or nutmeg or cloves.  Rosemary.

10. What's your favourite way to relax?  A long, hot bath with tea and knitting.  Alas, I have no bathtub in my tiny flat!  So, I go out for a mini-picnic, still with tea and knitting.  Or I'll stay at home, light some candles and dance - I leave the knitting out for this one.

11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first?  The bakery!

12. What do you come out with? A loaf of good brown bread, six croissants and a layer cake, all wrapped up for home.  Flour in my hair, too, because I probably went to the back to say hello to the bakers.

13. Where do you go next?  The tea room for afternoon tea (oh how I love tea sandwiches!), and then over to the sweetshop for divinity.  I go to the cafe last, to get a coffee for the taxi driver and hot chocolate for myself for the ride home.  I go to them all, however - who could resist?

14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal?  My favourite colour is blue, all shades.  I read like mad.  I love postcards.  Bellydance?  Burlesque?  Singing?  Chemistry?  Vintage loveliness?  All good things.    Bell peppers, not so much.