LoopyKnits

I am not feeling the stitchy goodness when I look at my craptacular afghan, a nondescript pinkish/wheat tone flecked with a rainbow of other colors. See, in a fit of knitting euphoria a year or so ago, I bought two gigantic spools of this cotton yarn on eBay. Only I didn’t know it was this super-thin cotton yarn that was more commonly used by machine knitters. (No one tells hand-knitting newbies these things.) Or that the “large spools” are, um, Paul Bunyan sized. Live and learn; I THOUGHT that shipping charge seemed unusually high.

 So I tried making a long casual sweater, knitting with two strands at once and communicating nearly daily with an incredibly patient pattern designer whose wisdom failed to overcome my knitting errors and mistaken assumptions. I was planning to make a really long duster-length sweater (no idea why, since I’m middle-aged premenopausal crazy and break into a sweat if I so much as wear long sleeves). I got pretty far along — from, oh, mid-calf length to about armpit length and I was getting increasingly alarmed at the error-riddled shapeless mass I was creating. I’d tried making a gauge swatch but apparently I knit a LOT tighter in swatches than I do when I really get to clacking the needles, so the stitches were all loosey-goosey. And not in a good way. And once again, my knitting fairy godmother failed to whisper in my ear that — cotton? — she is heavy. Like I need anything to tip the scales.

So I did what any sensible newbie would do … dumped the semi-knitted garment into my stash and moved on. And when I came across it again recently, I was intrigued. (How quickly I forget.) Took me nearly two full evenings to unravel it all, to the horror of my youngest daughter, who hated to see the stitches disappearing. The balled-up yarn filled up a queen-size blanket storage bag. I wondered what to do with it a while before inspiration struck.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? (No, not a dumpster run.) It was afghan time!

So I decided to try my hand at entrelac knitting, because I try to learn SOMETHING new with each project I take on. And once again, knitting has filled that essential spot in my life — bringing me humility. I keep slipping into automatic pilot and repeating the pattern in some funky freeform weird way that does not create a neat entrelac “woven” look. The stitches are more like, “Hello, I’m psychotic.” But I am stubbornly ripping out and re-doing. I am going to finish this darned thing so I can have more than just one finished project in 2007 (one sad little pair of socks), even if I have to foist it off on some unsuspecting person as a gift. I didn’t realize how many projects I’d tried and abandoned until I was updating this blog — yikes. So this one is a GO. You read it here first. I intend to get to another FO.

Here’s where I am so far, after 2-3 evenings of knitting. It really is going fast: 

And here’s the closeup:

Now I just have to name my project. If only I could figure out how to pronounce ‘entrelac.’ Is it ON-truh-lock, or ON-truh-lack? (I don’t think it’s on-TRELL-ick, is it?)

• Baby Got Entrelac
• Me No Like Entrelac (you must say it with a Southern accent)
• The ‘I Can’ Afghan
• The ‘Cotton to It’ Afghan
• The Pitiful Lapful
• The Sweaty Knitter’s Dropcloth
• Forgotten Cotton

Brain cells are working furiously on the soon-to-be-announced name.

Technorati Tags: cotton yarn, finished objects, newbie knitter, entrelac

I am not feeling the stitchy goodness when I look at my craptacular afghan, a nondescript pinkish/wheat tone flecked with a rainbow of other colors. See, in a fit of knitting euphoria a year or so ago, I bought two gigantic spools of this cotton yarn on eBay. Only I didn’t know it was this super-thin cotton yarn that was more commonly used by machine knitters. (No one tells hand-knitting newbies these things.) Or that the “large spools” are, um, Paul Bunyan sized. Live and learn; I THOUGHT that shipping charge seemed unusually high.

 So I tried making a long casual sweater, knitting with two strands at once and communicating nearly daily with an incredibly patient pattern designer whose wisdom failed to overcome my knitting errors and mistaken assumptions. I was planning to make a really long duster-length sweater (no idea why, since I’m middle-aged premenopausal crazy and break into a sweat if I so much as wear long sleeves). I got pretty far along — from, oh, mid-calf length to about armpit length and I was getting increasingly alarmed at the error-riddled shapeless mass I was creating. I’d tried making a gauge swatch but apparently I knit a LOT tighter in swatches than I do when I really get to clacking the needles, so the stitches were all loosey-goosey. And not in a good way. And once again, my knitting fairy godmother failed to whisper in my ear that — cotton? — she is heavy. Like I need anything to tip the scales.

So I did what any sensible newbie would do … dumped the semi-knitted garment into my stash and moved on. And when I came across it again recently, I was intrigued. (How quickly I forget.) Took me nearly two full evenings to unravel it all, to the horror of my youngest daughter, who hated to see the stitches disappearing. The balled-up yarn filled up a queen-size blanket storage bag. I wondered what to do with it a while before inspiration struck.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? (No, not a dumpster run.) It was afghan time!

So I decided to try my hand at entrelac knitting, because I try to learn SOMETHING new with each project I take on. And once again, knitting has filled that essential spot in my life — bringing me humility. I keep slipping into automatic pilot and repeating the pattern in some funky freeform weird way that does not create a neat entrelac “woven” look. The stitches are more like, “Hello, I’m psychotic.” But I am stubbornly ripping out and re-doing. I am going to finish this darned thing so I can have more than just one finished project in 2007 (one sad little pair of socks), even if I have to foist it off on some unsuspecting person as a gift. I didn’t realize how many projects I’d tried and abandoned until I was updating this blog — yikes. So this one is a GO. You read it here first. I intend to get to another FO.

Here’s where I am so far, after 2-3 evenings of knitting. It really is going fast: 

Now I just have to name my project. If only I could figure out how to pronounce ‘entrelac.’ Is it ON-truh-lock, or ON-truh-lack? (I don’t think it’s on-TRELL-ick, is it?)

• Baby Got Entrelac
• Me No Like Entrelac (you must say it with a Southern accent)
• The ‘I Can’ Afghan
• The ‘Cotton to It’ Afghan
• The Pitiful Lapful
• The Sweaty Knitter’s Dropcloth
• Forgotten Cotton

Brain cells are working furiously on the soon-to-be-announced name.

Technorati Tags: cotton yarn, finished objects, newbie knitter, entrelac

Has it really been a MONTH since I’ve updated my knitting blog? Sheesh. All this time, I’ve been slaving away on my baby blanket for my husband’s co-worker. You’d think by now that I’d have knit my way to the Brooklyn Bridge and back again, right?

And you would be wrong.

Okay, okay — to be truthful, all this time I’ve been knitting and then tinking and then knitting again. So far, only about 90 rows. (Now, just another zillion to go.) But if no ripping out had been required, I’d have looooooooong ago been finished. I’ve realized that, although I love the look of lace and love being able to say, “Hey, I made that,” I’m too scattered and spread too thin right now to have a project that requires paying close attention to what I’m doing. Only the fact that I put stitch markers between the pattern repeats has kept me from pitching the knitting into a corner when I discover yet another glitch; with the markers in place to alert me to where a repeat SHOULD be ending, at least I seldom go more than a row or two before I discover a problem. (It’s just the knit rows that have the pattern; the purl rows are just — thank God — straight purling.) If anyone has any advice applicable to “distracted lace knitting,” I’m all ears. (Sorry, “pay attention” has already occurred to me.)

I spent all of last night’s Memphis Knitting Guild meeting just tinking out four rows. (Yes, I know you don’t have to remove the whole rows to fix a problem — I’ve fixed several without doing that — but I was making a bigger mess just trying to do a spot repair, in this case.) But progress is progress, right? I imagine this blanket will make a nice gift for this baby sometime, God willing, within the next month. And if not, she can just use it to play with her dolls when she is older and I finally finish it. ;o)

Ignore the colors in the photo above, by the way — the ghastly lighting in my office is making this clear lavendar look all yellowy. I’ll try to put up a better photo later on. I do like the fern lace pattern, though. The ivory edging you see is a provisional cast-on (my first). My learning experience there was to make sure to really secure it; it partially unravelled at first. I have plans to make a cute edging on this, finding something appropriate from my copy of Nicky Epstein’s Knitting on the Edge, a book I’ve not used previously as anything other than an absorbent surface to catch my drool when I’m looking at all its lovely designs. So, obviously, this baby blankie is a TOTAL experiment for me.

This size 4-needle and sportweight yarn approach to afghan making was not well thought out, though — duh. I just randomly picked a pretty Fern Lace pattern from Claire Crompton’s excellent book, The Knitter’s Bible, and set to work with some soft lavendar acrylic. Mental note: Next time I make an afghan, use a bulkier weight yarn and bigger needles.

Or just make booties or a lace bonnet — they’re cute too!

[Update: I eventually abandoned this project, sadly. I know -- I feel so guilty! But I wasn't enjoying knitting it, so I put it aside and just bought the co-worker a present. Maybe for her next baby!]

Technorati Tags: lace knitting, knit lace, baby blanket, baby afghan, baby knitting, fern lace, Claire Crompton, Knitter’s Bible, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm

What is it about trying to travel, talk AND knit at the same time? It’s not like I’m the one driving, y’know. (Thank goodness.) On Friday night as we were packing for a trip, my husband mentioned to me that he has a very nice colleague who just adopted an adorable 1-year-old daughter, and would I pretty-please consider maybe possibly knitting her a tiny little baby blanket from us? What, are you kidding? In my eagerness to encourage his support of my knitting jones, er, hobby, I practically leapt from the couch when he asked and I started immediately riffling through my pattern books. I picked something ridiculously easy (I thought) and happily settled in for some serious stitching this weekend as he drove, the kids slept, and we all toodled down the road on a brief overnight trip to visit with family.

But for some reason I could *not* get into the pattern. Simple one … but I’m wondering if I’m just too distractible to do lace? It’s not even a HARD pattern. Just a 16-stitch repeat, not even any border to the blankie. If I wasn’t forgetting to do the yarnovers, I was screwing up the sequence of stitches, dropping a stitch, or just forgetting what I was doing if I tried to be sociable on the ride. I’m thinking now that, unless I want to keep hissing “Sh, I’m counting!” every few minutes, I’m thinking that the lace? She is not for me. Or at least not for when I’m around anyone else while I’m knitting.

Somewhat annoying … perhaps I am just one of those people who take a while to get into the rhythm, though? Or perhaps I should have made better use of stitch markers. I plan to test the Little Lavendar Baby Afghan project again later this week and finish it quickly, before the child is old enough to take it to school with her. ;o) I’m thinking that a few nights of TV and knitting after the little ones go to bed will make this happen. Hoping!

Mental note: Take along on future trips JUST the projects of simple knitting made from interesting yarn; save the fancy stitching (at least when it’s a new pattern) for quiet nights at home. For trips: Stockinette and Noro, perhaps, or stockinette and ribbon yarns. I saved my
knitting zeal for the weekend by putting aside the blankie and doing the Noro thing; never let it be said that an over-packer doesn’t have small victories by having another project in the wings. Yeah — at least I finished a small scarf for myself!

And I even wore it for a while, even though it was 70 degrees when we got to Vicksburg, MS, unlike the 45 or so we left behind in Memphis, TN. And when I started to sweat on my precious Noro, then I got real and shed the scarf, leather jacket and shoes, and I padded around the rest of the weekend in my sockfeet except for when we actually left the hotel rooms. ;o)

It’s good to get out of the house occasionally, eh? Even if you’re just going to another one.

Technorati Tags: lace knitting, baby afghan, baby blanket, travel knitting, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm

What is it about trying to travel, talk AND knit at the same time? It’s not like I’m the one driving, y’know. (Thank goodness.) On Friday night as we were packing for a trip, my husband mentioned to me that he has a very nice colleague who just adopted an adorable 1-year-old daughter, and would I pretty-please consider maybe possibly knitting her a tiny little baby blanket from us? What, are you kidding? In my eagerness to encourage his support of my knitting jones, er, hobby, I practically leapt from the couch when he asked and I started immediately riffling through my pattern books. I picked something ridiculously easy (I thought) and happily settled in for some serious stitching this weekend as he drove, the kids slept, and we all toodled down the road on a brief overnight trip to visit with family.

But for some reason I could *not* get into the pattern. Simple one … but I’m wondering if I’m just too distractible to do lace? It’s not even a HARD pattern. Just a 16-stitch repeat, not even any border to the blankie. If I wasn’t forgetting to do the yarnovers, I was screwing up the sequence of stitches, dropping a stitch, or just forgetting what I was doing if I tried to be sociable on the ride. I’m thinking now that, unless I want to keep hissing “Sh, I’m counting!” every few minutes, I’m thinking that the lace? She is not for me. Or at least not for when I’m around anyone else while I’m knitting.

Somewhat annoying … perhaps I am just one of those people who take a while to get into the rhythm, though? Or perhaps I should have made better use of stitch markers. I plan to test the Little Lavendar Baby Afghan project again later this week and finish it quickly, before the child is old enough to take it to school with her. ;o) I’m thinking that a few nights of TV and knitting after the little ones go to bed will make this happen. Hoping!

Mental note: Take along on future trips JUST the projects of simple knitting made from interesting yarn; save the fancy stitching (at least when it’s a new pattern) for quiet nights at home. For trips: Stockinette and Noro, perhaps, or stockinette and ribbon yarns. I saved my
knitting zeal for the weekend by putting aside the blankie and doing the Noro thing; never let it be said that an over-packer doesn’t have small victories by having another project in the wings. Yeah — at least I finished a small scarf for myself!

And I even wore it for a while, even though it was 70 degrees when we got to Vicksburg, MS, unlike the 45 or so we left behind in Memphis, TN. And when I started to sweat on my precious Noro, then I got real and shed the scarf, leather jacket and shoes, and I padded around the rest of the weekend in my sockfeet except for when we actually left the hotel rooms. ;o)

It’s good to get out of the house occasionally, eh? Even if you’re just going to another one.

Technorati Tags: lace knitting, baby afghan, baby blanket, travel knitting

No excuses — I haven’t been knitting. I haven’t been blogging. Just been a mom and a co-worker and a (tired and sleepy) wife and a slacker of a housekeeper. And busy with school-year commitments, anniversary celebration, kiddo birthday party, our recent rash of colds and stomach bugs, my first few months serving as a Brownie troop leader (a surprisingly huge time sink, although a nice one), and other commitments. And I have started a new novel (writing one, not reading one, for a change — the Snowflake method intrigued me). And, of course, I’ve added 30+ new blogs to my Bloglines subscription since I’ve been dipping into fiction writing again. Choices, choices.

So — guess what? I’m clearing my knitting project slate of all the UFOs because life is too short to keep feeling guilty over half-finished projects.

• The baby bootees are history! The babies are half grown by now and I’ve already chipped in for group gifts. Sorry. ladies — I still love your little darlings, but they’re better off without my knitted ski covers.
• The snarly brown afghan that languished in my den for the better part of this past year? Demolished, and most of the yarn donated to others for charity use.
• The rainbow-colored Gaudy Frog Socks socks that I wanted to make but which I can’t get anyone associated with that pattern to help me figure out why the pattern is screwy? Set aside to be frogged instead of fretted over. Moving on …

Now if I could just find the long-lost guaranteed-to-be-simple shawl pattern that goes with my soft and plummy lace-weight alpaca yarn, I’d get started on something new. Harrumph.

Technorati Tags: knitting UFOs, no knitting, knitting excuses, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm