Well, it doesn't look like I'm going to finish Mariel this month. The humidity, combined with the heat, has made the idea of knitting a cashmere/mohair sweater just too much to think about. I haven't done more than 3 inches this entire week. I will finish it, but I think it's going to have to wait til it cools down a bit and dries out a bit more.
I don't understand the weather here lately. It's our driest year in recorded history, yet we've been dealing with 80%+ humidity for weeks. It's not supposed to be that bloody humid in SoCal. My mother's family is in the Carolinas, and I expect humidity there (and it's a killer humidity there ~ can humidity go above 100%?). But this is SoCal, a desert area. This freaking humidity is obviously lost on the wrong coast.
I've got the blahs, today. Nothing seems to interest me. Not reading, not knitting, and most definitely not cleaning. I just don't seem to have any energy at all. I'm blaming the heat. It doesn't even really dry out or cool off at night, and sleeping in that is difficult, at best. So, I'm tired, lack energy, and can't sleep. Not a good combination. I can't wait for fall!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A Rant (fair warning)
I am totally sick to death of the "cult of personality" that passes for news in this country. Weeks of Paris Hilton. Months of Brittney Spears. Ongoing 'breaking news updates' on Lindsey Lohan. Wake up, people! They are not news!
Why does valuable news time continue to be wasted on the irresponsible, spoiled, self-destructive behavior of these 'celebrities'? I don't care how self-destructive they are. Personally, if they all disappeared tomorrow, I'd be a happy woman. Having talent (although that's highly debatable for all three, less so for Lohan than the other two) does not make you newsworthy. It doesn't make you a good person. It doesn't make any difference in any aspect of the world.
And please, don't blame the papparazi. These women deliberately court the pack of photographers who feed on them. It is entirely possible to avoid them. Of course, that would mean not going on drunken rampages in public. It would mean not stripping down to your undies in public. It would mean wearing underwear under your too short mini skirts. It would mean being responsible and mature.
And it would mean that the news companies would have to actually report on real news. It's becoming very difficult to distinguish between the nightly news and Entertainment Weekly. When I tune in the news, that's what I want to see. I don't watch any of the entertainment programs, because I have no interest in their subject matter. I don't want it foisted on me during what should be a serious review of the day's noteworthy events. What's happening in the world? What's the news on Iraq, Afghanistan, London, DC? What's going on in India (besides the growing number of Indians who now constitute "customer service" for most major US companies). What's going on on the campaign trail? What's happening in Congress? Where are we on getting out of this disastrous war, and getting rid of this imperial presidency?
It was a disastrous failure by the media that led this country into accepting the Iraqi invasion. The Fourth Estate abdicated their responsibility to report the truth. And now, having realised that, what do they do? They abdicate their responsibility to report the news, and become an entertainment program or rag. It's just sickening.
Okay, we now return to regular programming.
Why does valuable news time continue to be wasted on the irresponsible, spoiled, self-destructive behavior of these 'celebrities'? I don't care how self-destructive they are. Personally, if they all disappeared tomorrow, I'd be a happy woman. Having talent (although that's highly debatable for all three, less so for Lohan than the other two) does not make you newsworthy. It doesn't make you a good person. It doesn't make any difference in any aspect of the world.
And please, don't blame the papparazi. These women deliberately court the pack of photographers who feed on them. It is entirely possible to avoid them. Of course, that would mean not going on drunken rampages in public. It would mean not stripping down to your undies in public. It would mean wearing underwear under your too short mini skirts. It would mean being responsible and mature.
And it would mean that the news companies would have to actually report on real news. It's becoming very difficult to distinguish between the nightly news and Entertainment Weekly. When I tune in the news, that's what I want to see. I don't watch any of the entertainment programs, because I have no interest in their subject matter. I don't want it foisted on me during what should be a serious review of the day's noteworthy events. What's happening in the world? What's the news on Iraq, Afghanistan, London, DC? What's going on in India (besides the growing number of Indians who now constitute "customer service" for most major US companies). What's going on on the campaign trail? What's happening in Congress? Where are we on getting out of this disastrous war, and getting rid of this imperial presidency?
It was a disastrous failure by the media that led this country into accepting the Iraqi invasion. The Fourth Estate abdicated their responsibility to report the truth. And now, having realised that, what do they do? They abdicate their responsibility to report the news, and become an entertainment program or rag. It's just sickening.
Okay, we now return to regular programming.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Harry Potter and more
Well, I read the newest Potter last night. Picked it up around 5, finished it around 1:30 am. I won't spoil anyone else's read of the book, but I have to say I'm ambivalent about it. I mean, I liked the book. It was worth the wait. But I hate the way she's wrapped up the story. It seems slapdash, careless. Somehow, I didn't expect that from Rowling, not with Harry.
I've been really restless, knitting-wise, this past week. I've flitted from project to project to dreaming of next projects. I haven't knit much on Mariel (I'm about half way done with the front, so I have that and the sleeves left to do). I have some Lang Colombo, a cotton-silk blend in an aran or bulkier gauge, that I've been playing with, trying to find a stitch pattern I like. It's a beautiful yarn, and it shows great stitch definition, but it's also a heavy yarn. I only have about 600 yards of it, so I've been looking for a stitch pattern that doesn't eat a lot of yarn, that's also not too open. Being a teacher, I have no use for any item that's got "holes" in it, unless it's a cardigan. (SoCal doesn't really get cold enough, ever, for me to go for the layering look.)
I managed another couple of inches on my sister's cashmere scarf. (I'm making two for her, both in cashmere. One, 100% cashmere, in off-white, the other in Elann's baby cashmere blend, in claret. The 100% one is the one I've worked on this week) That yarn is incredibly soft and yummy. I love knitting with it, the feel of it in my hands. I'm going to have a hard time actually sending this off to my sister. Good thing I don't actually wear scarves, I guess. Well, good for my sister, anyway.
My Ilga Leja pattern arrived this week. It came complete with errata! Fortunately, none of the corrections were for my size, so I didn't really have to worry about them. Now I'm just pondering things like what yarn, and what color, to make it in. I'm not a fan of DK yarns. I much prefer worsted or bulkier ((I'm an ADD knitter, so faster is better!) I do have some lovely Rowan Pure Wool DK, but it's in a deep, foresty green, and I'm not sure I want to make that lovely jacket in green. I know I don't want it in any sort of beige, though, although it's beautiful in that color on the model. I'm just not a beige kind of woman, I guess. White, okay. Beige, not so much. I used to love grey, but as I've greyed, I've moved away from that color, too. I tend toward deep colors. Wines, any true blue-red, deep purples (aubergine), royal or darker blues, forest or darker greens. Black, or white. I don't do much with pastels. But this jacket seems to need the softer look of pastels. So, I'm pondering.
I also got some Katia Diva, in a black/white mix, this week. Very bulky, almost an astrakhan sort of look. 20 skeins, at 33 yards a skein. Knits up on 11s ~ 13s. Obviously some sort of jacket, but I haven't decided on what yet. I think it's going to marinate in the stash for a bit, until it begins to cool down some here. (It's actually been cool, for here, the last couple of weeks. 80s and 90s is cool, for my area in July. I'm not missing the 100+ temps, though!)
I was glad to see a stash that is way bigger than mine, this week. Bets posted on Elann about it, and CatBookMom mentioned it, so I had to take a look. All I can say is "WOW!" I feel ever so much better about my own stash, having seen that one. Although I do envy her all those glass-front cabinets. What a great storage item! And CBM was right, I have seen LYS with a lot less yarn than that.
I'm already getting antsy for school to start up again, and it doesn't until the end of August. I'll be back in my classroom, setting up, a couple of weeks before then, though. Unpaid, of course. (My district thinks you can set up a completely stripped classroom, tables and chairs piled in the center of the room, in a half-day, between staff meetings in the morning, and parent visits in the afternoon. Idiocy.) And I've decided to get my Masters, finally. I've put it off for so long, and it just doesn't make sense. It means a higher pay scale for me, of course. But the main reason I'm going for it is I need some new strategies for teaching reading. Every year, the classes we get seem to be worse and worse readers, and my partner teacher and I have run out of strategies for changing that. So, I'm going for an MA Ed, in Reading and Literacy Skills. Between parent meetings, fundraisers for the DC trip, and my online Masters program, this next year is going to be a really busy one for me.
I've already been doing tons of reading on reading. Amazon has loved me, lately! I've gotten books on assessments of reading, diagnostics on reading, what to do with the info you get from all those diagnostics and assessments, current theory on reading, what it is, how it's learned, etc. It's not light reading, but some of it has been valuable. Some of it's been Doh!, but I guess it really doesn't hurt to have what you already know confirmed by some "experts".
I'm going to have a wheelchair-bound student, this next year. Tiny boy, with some sort of disease that makes him extremely fragile, and keeps him tiny. He's been at our school since kindergarten, and I don't think he's grown even 2 inches since then. I've been spending some time this summer trying to work out ways to include him in some of the activities I do with my kids, since his participation is pretty limited in any physical sense. He comes with aides for the whole day, so that's something else I'll need to adjust for. Another adult in the room! Wow! What a luxury that will be. His 4th grade teacher told me she placed him with me specifically, because I'm more "structured" than my partner, and he needs that. I've never thought of myself that way, so I've been examining myself a bit, too, this summer. I do establish routines with my kids, and I do chunk instruction, and give them plans for accomplishing tasks, so maybe I am structured. I'm still thinking about that.
Anyway, this is just rambling on and on, and I should get offline and do some knitting. Or reading. Or pondering. Just something!
I've been really restless, knitting-wise, this past week. I've flitted from project to project to dreaming of next projects. I haven't knit much on Mariel (I'm about half way done with the front, so I have that and the sleeves left to do). I have some Lang Colombo, a cotton-silk blend in an aran or bulkier gauge, that I've been playing with, trying to find a stitch pattern I like. It's a beautiful yarn, and it shows great stitch definition, but it's also a heavy yarn. I only have about 600 yards of it, so I've been looking for a stitch pattern that doesn't eat a lot of yarn, that's also not too open. Being a teacher, I have no use for any item that's got "holes" in it, unless it's a cardigan. (SoCal doesn't really get cold enough, ever, for me to go for the layering look.)
I managed another couple of inches on my sister's cashmere scarf. (I'm making two for her, both in cashmere. One, 100% cashmere, in off-white, the other in Elann's baby cashmere blend, in claret. The 100% one is the one I've worked on this week) That yarn is incredibly soft and yummy. I love knitting with it, the feel of it in my hands. I'm going to have a hard time actually sending this off to my sister. Good thing I don't actually wear scarves, I guess. Well, good for my sister, anyway.
My Ilga Leja pattern arrived this week. It came complete with errata! Fortunately, none of the corrections were for my size, so I didn't really have to worry about them. Now I'm just pondering things like what yarn, and what color, to make it in. I'm not a fan of DK yarns. I much prefer worsted or bulkier ((I'm an ADD knitter, so faster is better!) I do have some lovely Rowan Pure Wool DK, but it's in a deep, foresty green, and I'm not sure I want to make that lovely jacket in green. I know I don't want it in any sort of beige, though, although it's beautiful in that color on the model. I'm just not a beige kind of woman, I guess. White, okay. Beige, not so much. I used to love grey, but as I've greyed, I've moved away from that color, too. I tend toward deep colors. Wines, any true blue-red, deep purples (aubergine), royal or darker blues, forest or darker greens. Black, or white. I don't do much with pastels. But this jacket seems to need the softer look of pastels. So, I'm pondering.
I also got some Katia Diva, in a black/white mix, this week. Very bulky, almost an astrakhan sort of look. 20 skeins, at 33 yards a skein. Knits up on 11s ~ 13s. Obviously some sort of jacket, but I haven't decided on what yet. I think it's going to marinate in the stash for a bit, until it begins to cool down some here. (It's actually been cool, for here, the last couple of weeks. 80s and 90s is cool, for my area in July. I'm not missing the 100+ temps, though!)
I was glad to see a stash that is way bigger than mine, this week. Bets posted on Elann about it, and CatBookMom mentioned it, so I had to take a look. All I can say is "WOW!" I feel ever so much better about my own stash, having seen that one. Although I do envy her all those glass-front cabinets. What a great storage item! And CBM was right, I have seen LYS with a lot less yarn than that.
I'm already getting antsy for school to start up again, and it doesn't until the end of August. I'll be back in my classroom, setting up, a couple of weeks before then, though. Unpaid, of course. (My district thinks you can set up a completely stripped classroom, tables and chairs piled in the center of the room, in a half-day, between staff meetings in the morning, and parent visits in the afternoon. Idiocy.) And I've decided to get my Masters, finally. I've put it off for so long, and it just doesn't make sense. It means a higher pay scale for me, of course. But the main reason I'm going for it is I need some new strategies for teaching reading. Every year, the classes we get seem to be worse and worse readers, and my partner teacher and I have run out of strategies for changing that. So, I'm going for an MA Ed, in Reading and Literacy Skills. Between parent meetings, fundraisers for the DC trip, and my online Masters program, this next year is going to be a really busy one for me.
I've already been doing tons of reading on reading. Amazon has loved me, lately! I've gotten books on assessments of reading, diagnostics on reading, what to do with the info you get from all those diagnostics and assessments, current theory on reading, what it is, how it's learned, etc. It's not light reading, but some of it has been valuable. Some of it's been Doh!, but I guess it really doesn't hurt to have what you already know confirmed by some "experts".
I'm going to have a wheelchair-bound student, this next year. Tiny boy, with some sort of disease that makes him extremely fragile, and keeps him tiny. He's been at our school since kindergarten, and I don't think he's grown even 2 inches since then. I've been spending some time this summer trying to work out ways to include him in some of the activities I do with my kids, since his participation is pretty limited in any physical sense. He comes with aides for the whole day, so that's something else I'll need to adjust for. Another adult in the room! Wow! What a luxury that will be. His 4th grade teacher told me she placed him with me specifically, because I'm more "structured" than my partner, and he needs that. I've never thought of myself that way, so I've been examining myself a bit, too, this summer. I do establish routines with my kids, and I do chunk instruction, and give them plans for accomplishing tasks, so maybe I am structured. I'm still thinking about that.
Anyway, this is just rambling on and on, and I should get offline and do some knitting. Or reading. Or pondering. Just something!
Friday, July 20, 2007
I'm a Gryffindor!
The sorting hat says that I belong in Gryffindor!
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name."
Students of Gryffindor are typically brave, daring, and chivalrous.
Famous members include Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus Dumbledore (head of Hogwarts), and Minerva McGonagall (head of Gryffindor).
Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
It's Only Tuesday!
My book order from Amazon got here just now. Fitted Knits, Harmony's 450 Knitting Stitches, and Cindy G.'s I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Socks. Yay! Reading knitting books and patterns is almost as much fun as knitting. (But then, reading is my other obsession.) I'll have some time today to read Cindy's book, but I won't start on a sock just yet. I ordered some yarn from Webs, including some SWTC Tofutsies, and I plan to use that for my first socks. I just got an email saying it was shipped today, so it should be here by the weekend.
I love the Harmony Guides. I was worried for a while that they were being taken off the market, but it seems they're back, although some of them look a bit different. The 450 Stitches I just got seems to be the same as the older ones I have, though. I like the color photos of the stitches, and I've always found their directions clear and straightforward. I've had their Aran book for years, and it's gotten plenty of use around here.
I got Stephanie Japel's book, Fitted Knits, not so much for the patterns as for her methods of shaping.There isn't any one pattern I absolutely have to make,(although the Perfect Dress is calling to me), but I'm interested in how she uses different stitches to shape garments. That will mean some close reading, so I'll save that til I have some solid uninterrupted time.
I lose track of time when I'm on my summer vacation. There's nothing I have to do (well, besides housecleaning, feeding my cat, etc), no place I have to be, so the days all run together. I can't believe it's only Tuesday, today. Feels like it should be Wed. or Thursday. I have no idea why it feels that way, I just know it does. Thank God my computer keeps track of the days!
I love the Harmony Guides. I was worried for a while that they were being taken off the market, but it seems they're back, although some of them look a bit different. The 450 Stitches I just got seems to be the same as the older ones I have, though. I like the color photos of the stitches, and I've always found their directions clear and straightforward. I've had their Aran book for years, and it's gotten plenty of use around here.
I got Stephanie Japel's book, Fitted Knits, not so much for the patterns as for her methods of shaping.There isn't any one pattern I absolutely have to make,(although the Perfect Dress is calling to me), but I'm interested in how she uses different stitches to shape garments. That will mean some close reading, so I'll save that til I have some solid uninterrupted time.
I lose track of time when I'm on my summer vacation. There's nothing I have to do (well, besides housecleaning, feeding my cat, etc), no place I have to be, so the days all run together. I can't believe it's only Tuesday, today. Feels like it should be Wed. or Thursday. I have no idea why it feels that way, I just know it does. Thank God my computer keeps track of the days!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Rambling on
I've finished the back, and begun the front of Mariel. It got a bit too sticky to work yesterday afternoon. It wasn't that hot, but with over 80% humidity, it felt too warm to be knitting cashmere and mohair. It's a relatively quick knit, though, so I plan to get this finished before the end of the month (I get a lil insomniac on my summer vacation time, and it does cool down a tiny bit at night)
I'm waiting to get a pattern I ordered a week ago. It's this one: Antique Lace sweater Ilga Leja I don't generally knit much lace, but I absolutely love this one, so I'm going to try it. It will be perfect to wear when I get back to work in late August.
I've also decided to finally (!) learn to knit socks. I see all these folks knitting merrily away on their socks, and they get to post so dang many FOs! So, even though I have sock knitting patterns, and sock yarn, and even a sock knitters how-to book, and I haven't done a thing with any of them, I bought Cindy G's new sock knitting book, and I'm determined to actually learn to knit socks.
My mother always said she didn't know how to knit while simultaneously turning out pair after pair of socks. Argyle socks. Lacy socks. Plain, workhorse socks. If she could do that, I can. I just need to get over my fear of doublepoints, and I'll be fine. Really. I can do this.
I think my real problem with knitting socks is that I can't visualize it. I can see in my mind what a sweater pattern is going to look like. I can design, from scratch, a very complex Aran sweater. I can take a black and white fair isle design, and picture it in many color schemes. I can take a stitch pattern and visualize it as an all-over pattern, as an inset pattern, as part of a mosaic of stitch patterns. But give me a sock pattern, and I draw a blank. I can't see any part of it. All I see, to be honest, is all those needles forming a pointy circular forest. And it stops me cold. I even tried the Cat Bordhi method of two circulars, but got nowhere with that, too. I just couldn't figure it out.
So. Sometime before 2008 gets here, I will have made a pair of socks. I'm promising myself that. I owe it to my development as a knitter to master this area, and I am going to. (I figure if I keep saying that, it will happen!) I intend to utilize all the folks I know that are sock knitters (fair warning!). I may even break down and head over to my LYS (which has moved, and I haven't been to the new place yet) and beg them to teach me. Some how, some way, I will knit a pair of socks this year.
I'm waiting to get a pattern I ordered a week ago. It's this one: Antique Lace sweater Ilga Leja I don't generally knit much lace, but I absolutely love this one, so I'm going to try it. It will be perfect to wear when I get back to work in late August.
I've also decided to finally (!) learn to knit socks. I see all these folks knitting merrily away on their socks, and they get to post so dang many FOs! So, even though I have sock knitting patterns, and sock yarn, and even a sock knitters how-to book, and I haven't done a thing with any of them, I bought Cindy G's new sock knitting book, and I'm determined to actually learn to knit socks.
My mother always said she didn't know how to knit while simultaneously turning out pair after pair of socks. Argyle socks. Lacy socks. Plain, workhorse socks. If she could do that, I can. I just need to get over my fear of doublepoints, and I'll be fine. Really. I can do this.
I think my real problem with knitting socks is that I can't visualize it. I can see in my mind what a sweater pattern is going to look like. I can design, from scratch, a very complex Aran sweater. I can take a black and white fair isle design, and picture it in many color schemes. I can take a stitch pattern and visualize it as an all-over pattern, as an inset pattern, as part of a mosaic of stitch patterns. But give me a sock pattern, and I draw a blank. I can't see any part of it. All I see, to be honest, is all those needles forming a pointy circular forest. And it stops me cold. I even tried the Cat Bordhi method of two circulars, but got nowhere with that, too. I just couldn't figure it out.
So. Sometime before 2008 gets here, I will have made a pair of socks. I'm promising myself that. I owe it to my development as a knitter to master this area, and I am going to. (I figure if I keep saying that, it will happen!) I intend to utilize all the folks I know that are sock knitters (fair warning!). I may even break down and head over to my LYS (which has moved, and I haven't been to the new place yet) and beg them to teach me. Some how, some way, I will knit a pair of socks this year.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Pictures (not good, but pictures nonetheless!)
My apartment is dark, even at midday. Since it helps a tiny bit in keeping the heat down, I don't mind all that much. However, trying to take a picture of yarn or parts of a sweater in this light just sucks.
So, long exposure, which makes it a tad blurry (I can't hold still that long, and I don't know where I've stored my tripod), and only barely adequate color . Oh, well.
Below is a shot of the yarns I am using for my version of Mariel, followed by a peek at the back, just to show the fabric. The yarns are actually deeper wine than the pics show, and the specks of color in the mohair are much brighter and shiny.
Obviously, I need to find a better spot to take pictures, and I probably also need take a short course in close-up photography. 
Since I'm going to be taking classes
online this year, I probably won't have the time for a photography course, but I will be looking for a better spot to take pics.
If you don't read The Yarn Harlot, I urge you to do so. There's a story, yesterday, about Tory Bowen, that will make you scream or cry, possibly both. Stephanie provides links to contact your reps about this outrage ~ please, if this misogynistic slap at a rape victim moves you, tell people and contact your reps to ask them to help. I asked both my senators to talk to their Nebraska colleagues about the reprehensible behavior of the judge. I just can't believe this can still happen in America. Or, perhaps, I just don't want to believe it.
(Generally, though, I read Stephanie because she makes me laugh, not cry!)
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Actual Knitting Content! (gasp!)
I know, I know ~ y'all thought I was fibbing when I said I was a knitter. Hardly a word about knitting in all this! So, just to prove I really do knit, there's this:
Our weather dropped a bit this week ~ down from 110 to merely 95, and today, so far, the low 80s. I can knit! And to celebrate that, do I finish any of my WIPs? Nope, I start something entirely new. In mohair and cashmere, of course, not practical cotton.
Because it was so hot, I was just cruising online for knitting patterns, and of course I checked out the Berroco website. Among several other patterns I grabbed, there was a perfect slouchy sweater in mohair (I'm thinking ahead to December, when it might actually be cool enough to wear this, of course). And so I downloaded the directions to "Mariel", printed it out, and put it away. Then I was cruising through my stash, and I found the wonderful wine colored mohair I'd gotten on Ebay not too long ago, and went "Ah Ha!". Whipped the pattern out, did a gauge, and scratched my head. No way I'm going to get 14 sts to 4 inches with this yarn and these needles. I checked Berroco again, to check out the yarn, and it looked very, very similar to the weight of the mohair I was using. So I looked at the pattern again, and discovered I'd completely missed some important info ~ they used two different yarns together to knit the pattern. Duh. (The second yarn used in the pattern is no longer made by Berroco, and they don't even have the yarn info online, so they didn't do the usual bright blue link for the yarn, and I just plain missed it.)
So I sat there for a bit, grabbed the scarf I'm making for my sister and knitted a few rows and then noticed that the wool/cashmere yarn I am using on my sister's scarf is a perfect match to the mohair I want to use for Mariel. Eureka!
So, I'm knitting this:
(That's Berroco's shot of the sweater, not mine, not me) I'm about a third of the way through the raglan decreases on the back, but I made some changes to the pattern. I didn't like the way the decreases were done on the body of this ~ it disrupted the flow of the K3P3 ribs. So, I instead just gradually made the K3P3 ribs into K3P2 ribs, after casting on 12 less stitches at the beginning. The pattern states the bottom edge would be 49 inches, and on me, that would be enormous. The pattern called for 24 stitches to be decreased before the bustline, and the decreases are all done 9 stitches in from the sides. I tried it, but it just destroyed the vertical flow of this sweater. So, I ripped back, eliminated 12 sts, and substituted the remaining 12 decreases in the P3 rib, and got the right number of stitches for the bustline. I'm much happier with this decrease, because it's completely unnoticeable.
I'm using 10 1/2s, with Mario Niccoli's Mantegna mohair and Elann's Baby Cashmere held together. It feels incredibly yummy! The mohair has random bits of color scattered throughout and it's much more subtle with the cashmere added. I hope to have pics of it tomorrow, so y'all can see the color. I really, really love it! (The light today is just impossible, or I'd have pics now)
Our weather dropped a bit this week ~ down from 110 to merely 95, and today, so far, the low 80s. I can knit! And to celebrate that, do I finish any of my WIPs? Nope, I start something entirely new. In mohair and cashmere, of course, not practical cotton.
Because it was so hot, I was just cruising online for knitting patterns, and of course I checked out the Berroco website. Among several other patterns I grabbed, there was a perfect slouchy sweater in mohair (I'm thinking ahead to December, when it might actually be cool enough to wear this, of course). And so I downloaded the directions to "Mariel", printed it out, and put it away. Then I was cruising through my stash, and I found the wonderful wine colored mohair I'd gotten on Ebay not too long ago, and went "Ah Ha!". Whipped the pattern out, did a gauge, and scratched my head. No way I'm going to get 14 sts to 4 inches with this yarn and these needles. I checked Berroco again, to check out the yarn, and it looked very, very similar to the weight of the mohair I was using. So I looked at the pattern again, and discovered I'd completely missed some important info ~ they used two different yarns together to knit the pattern. Duh. (The second yarn used in the pattern is no longer made by Berroco, and they don't even have the yarn info online, so they didn't do the usual bright blue link for the yarn, and I just plain missed it.)
So I sat there for a bit, grabbed the scarf I'm making for my sister and knitted a few rows and then noticed that the wool/cashmere yarn I am using on my sister's scarf is a perfect match to the mohair I want to use for Mariel. Eureka!
So, I'm knitting this:
(That's Berroco's shot of the sweater, not mine, not me) I'm about a third of the way through the raglan decreases on the back, but I made some changes to the pattern. I didn't like the way the decreases were done on the body of this ~ it disrupted the flow of the K3P3 ribs. So, I instead just gradually made the K3P3 ribs into K3P2 ribs, after casting on 12 less stitches at the beginning. The pattern states the bottom edge would be 49 inches, and on me, that would be enormous. The pattern called for 24 stitches to be decreased before the bustline, and the decreases are all done 9 stitches in from the sides. I tried it, but it just destroyed the vertical flow of this sweater. So, I ripped back, eliminated 12 sts, and substituted the remaining 12 decreases in the P3 rib, and got the right number of stitches for the bustline. I'm much happier with this decrease, because it's completely unnoticeable.
I'm using 10 1/2s, with Mario Niccoli's Mantegna mohair and Elann's Baby Cashmere held together. It feels incredibly yummy! The mohair has random bits of color scattered throughout and it's much more subtle with the cashmere added. I hope to have pics of it tomorrow, so y'all can see the color. I really, really love it! (The light today is just impossible, or I'd have pics now)
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Missing in Action
I know it's been a while (over a month!) since I last posted anything, but I've been busy, busy, busy. First it was the trip (fantastic), then Open House at school, then the end of the school year, then cleaning/organizing/storing my classroom, and finding homes for the stuff I had to bring home since my classroom is stuffed to the gills.
I was done with all that last Wednesday, finally. It's just finally sinking in that I'm on vacation. I have time! Yay, me!
Of course, it's the summer, here in L.A. Insufferably hot (which matters greatly to me, since I live in an upstairs apartment with no A/C), and very, very dry. Driest year in 130 years, officially. Cities are scrambling to outlaw fireworks for the upcoming 4th of July (I wish they'd just outlaw the individual fireworks permanently ~ professional displays are enough.) Today was 103 around 2 pm, and it's 90 now, at nearly 9 pm. They say the next two days will be hotter. I can hardly wait.
The idea of knitting while I swelter is somehow not very appealing. Well, the idea is appealing, very appealing. It's the application that isn't. I've started several things ~ a scarf for my sister in VA (It will be her first winter there, and she's a native CA kid like me), a short sleeved top for me, a cabled tank in cotton/silk. I do a couple of rows, and quit. It's just too hot. It's too hot to even just read, which is another obsession of mine.
I guess I'll be heading over to the library for some in-house reading time in the next few days. And window shopping in malls. I'll wander over to my LYS, which has relocated, too. I'll have to find a project to make using the yarns I've bought there, so maybe I'll get a little knitting time in. In general, I'll be searching out all the places that offer a chance to spend time in A/C without involving lots of money. It's hard to believe it's already this hot, this early. I can hardly wait for August!
That's it, for now. I'm going to go get some ice water, and decide whether I want to drink it or pour it over me ~
I was done with all that last Wednesday, finally. It's just finally sinking in that I'm on vacation. I have time! Yay, me!
Of course, it's the summer, here in L.A. Insufferably hot (which matters greatly to me, since I live in an upstairs apartment with no A/C), and very, very dry. Driest year in 130 years, officially. Cities are scrambling to outlaw fireworks for the upcoming 4th of July (I wish they'd just outlaw the individual fireworks permanently ~ professional displays are enough.) Today was 103 around 2 pm, and it's 90 now, at nearly 9 pm. They say the next two days will be hotter. I can hardly wait.
The idea of knitting while I swelter is somehow not very appealing. Well, the idea is appealing, very appealing. It's the application that isn't. I've started several things ~ a scarf for my sister in VA (It will be her first winter there, and she's a native CA kid like me), a short sleeved top for me, a cabled tank in cotton/silk. I do a couple of rows, and quit. It's just too hot. It's too hot to even just read, which is another obsession of mine.
I guess I'll be heading over to the library for some in-house reading time in the next few days. And window shopping in malls. I'll wander over to my LYS, which has relocated, too. I'll have to find a project to make using the yarns I've bought there, so maybe I'll get a little knitting time in. In general, I'll be searching out all the places that offer a chance to spend time in A/C without involving lots of money. It's hard to believe it's already this hot, this early. I can hardly wait for August!
That's it, for now. I'm going to go get some ice water, and decide whether I want to drink it or pour it over me ~
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