…why i don’t blog as much?

i thought i would steal a few moments and knit a few rows on my lace ribbon scarf. now before you scroll down and take a peek at the picture below, consider two things.

1. this is my camera phone. (note to self, don’t take knitting pictures with the phone)
2. i have just worked 3 night shifts in a row. prior to the last shift, i had three hours of sleep thanks to mother nature and the tornado sirens.

ok, take a deep breath and marvel at the stupidity:

wtf?!?! lace ribbon scarf
pattern: the lace ribbon scarf by veronik avery
knit picks gloss in cocoa
started: april 13, 2008

what you are viewing folks, is what looks like a bite out of my knitting. somehow i managed to stop knitting IN THE MIDDLE OF MY ROW and started to knit back. for at least and inch before i noticed.

please, just walk away and pretend you didn’t see this.

so you’ll notice that earth day was actually on 22 april 08 and not today. actually, it’s the day after earth day but you’re reading this a week or so later because i can schedule publishing of my posts. i’m making the effort to be more consistent. and instead of posting, say, every three days or every other day, i’ll write up a rash of posts so that there will be fresh content consistently.. at least that is the plan. (you see, i can only write when inspired and i can’t schedule to be inspired every other day…so says the drama queen slash ar-TIST).

anyway…green is the color of the moment. it’s spring!! how can you NOT want to see it everywhere? so fresh, so clean, so beautiful! it’s inspiring. it’s no wonder then, that i would want to make the effort to preserve this freshy-goodness. yes recycling folks. i’m not one to get up on a soapbox and lecture you about the virtues of consumerism. hell, i’m probably more guilty of it than most who will read this post. but a little effort on everyone’s part will make a difference. don’t think you’ll make a difference? try this attitude shift.

we quietly celebrated earth day by reaffirming our committment to the mantra: reduce, reuse, recycle!! then i knit green. (um. mostly just green yarn…but get this….)

lamb’s pride yarn label - 100% recyclable!!

i’ve also started another project. admittedly, it’s the wrong time to knit it but i’ve been itching to start so i cast on. i’ve been sweating bullets with this monster on my lap:

oscar, the green monster
pattern: einstein coat by sally melville in the knit stitch
lamb’s pride bulky in old sage
9 skeins | 125 yds : 4 oz | 85 wool : 15 mohair
started: april 21, 2008
needles: US #10 knitpicks nickel plated options
notes: miles and miles of garter (dear lord when will it end!!)

oooo….and check out this green stuff

yummy by fibranatura
100% superwash merino | 130 g : 370 yds | 4 skeins
purchased at knitter’s mercantile, columbus, oh

the plan for this yarn is an oversize stole that will double as a blanket on car trips and plane rides where the AC is on overdrive. i can’t wait to knit it up…i just need to find a pattern soon.

go green!

]]> http://crankygrrrrrl.com/2008/04/29/the-one-where-i-talk-about-earth-daylate/feed/ 080423.recycle 080423.einsteinwave 080423.yummyyarn http://crankygrrrrrl.com/2008/04/25/another-slipped-stitch-sock/ http://crankygrrrrrl.com/2008/04/25/another-slipped-stitch-sock/#comments Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:14:01 +0000 crankygrrrrrl http://crankygrrrrrl.wordpress.com/?p=178

ha!

you’re surprised i’ve been posting this much, haven’t you?!? me too.

well, i have a ton to catch up on. a ton. and unfortunately, i didn’t document everything. i’ve finished a couple of pairs of socks and started a bunches of other little things (well, not too many). i’ve acquired yarn. i’m dreaming of sweater knitting (and hoping to pull through).

here’s a sock i started and finished on a trip to north carolina to visit my bff rita, baby sam and dr. brian. it’s done in the luxurious claudia fingering weight. what a dream to knit up! so soft and silky (quite the opposite of noro sock). of course, i don’t think that it will last very long considering i wear my socks to work - and i am very hard on my feet!! next time i’ll take the time to knit in reinforcing thread.

another slipped stitch sock
pattern: based on a sock club pattern by lynne (i couldn’t find it!)
in claudia handpainted yarn fingering weight
2 skeins | 180 yds : 50 g | 100% merino wool
started: march 6, 2008
completed: march 12, 2008
needles: 5 - us #1 2.25 mm knit picks harmony dpn’s

thank you gena-beena for the gift of yarn! the colorway is perfect! ps - gena is now online and can be found as knittinggale on ravelry.

scarves have traditionally not been know to hold my attention. well, they’re so rectangular. and the monotony just kills me. but given my knitting mojo has been waning, and the fact that i’ve been itching to knit with my kp gloss yarn…i think i’ve found a nice little pattern to keep my knitting A-D-D at bay.

the lace ribbon scarf by veronik avery (ravelry link) from knitty.com.

once you get through the pattern repeat, you start to blaze through the rest of the scarf. i’m almost up to 20″ after the biggest loser finale and a night ‘on call’. this will make great car/travel knitting…it’s hard to make a mistake once you get a hang of the pattern. and BONUS!! i can knit backwards on non-patterned rows.

lace ribbon scarf
pattern: the lace ribbon scarf by veronik avery
knit picks gloss in cocoa
2 skeins | 220 yds : 50 g | silk merino 4 ply
started: april 13, 2008
needles: 1 - #3 (3.25 mm) knitpicks nickle plated fixed circs

incidentally do you have any other favorite lace scarf patterns for fingering weight yarns? i think i’m going to have knit more scarves!

just because i haven’ been online doesn’t mean i haven’t heard about the relatively new noro sock yarn.

as an aside, i must say that i am SO elated that the sock craze is still going strong. my lys’s all have decent, even spectacular selections of sock yarn. my heart goes a-pitter-patter just thinking about the possibilities. remember when it was so hard to get your hands on some good sock yarn?!? not so much anymore!

where was i? oh yes, noro sock yarn. i caved immediately when i saw it on the shelf. what’s that?…oh, yes, i know it’s not superwash. i broke one of my cardinal rules of knitting socks. but it’s noro! who can resist the color? here is the colorway i got from my lys in columbus:

noro kureyon sock yarn, color S164
70% wool : 30% nylon | 100 g : 420 m | 1 skein
purchased at heavenly creations

um….i also caved and bought another skein of it when i spied it at a lys in greensboro, nc.

noro kureyon sock yarn, color xxx
70% wool : 30% nylon | 100 g : 420 m | 1 skein
purchase on vaca in greensboro, nc

aren’t the colors just gorgeous? so saturated. so noro. since i’m not so much a sweater person i’ve never even considered buying any type of noro. their yarn didn’t fit my scope of projects (um, socks) and while the colorways are almost all beautiful, they were too bold for my conservative tastes….in a sweater or accessory….but not for a sock!

from what i’ve read over at ravelry, people have a sort of love/hate relationship with this yarn. it is a thinnish, single-ply yarn that is overspun, often twisting back on itself and has a sticky feel when it moves through your fingers. the yarn also has spots of underspun areas; when these are knit up you can see a definite change in the texture of the fabric. still the colors are so beautiful it’s hard to resist! Despite the ‘cons’, many people still find their finished projects to be worth the (figurative and literal) pain of knitting with kureyon sock.

for my first round with kureyon sock i attempted a figure 8 cast on for a pair of basic toe-up socks. i started with knitpicks harmony dpns but the yarn would not cooperate. i would normally cast on very loosely then tighten up the stitches later; but the yarn was so sticky it turned this process into sheer torture. i immediately put it down and walked away. i didn’t want to be disappointed.

the same evening i decided to try a slicker needle and a more stable cast-on. but which one? a light bulb went off in my head when i was browsing my bookshelf for sock patterns suitable for the long color repeats of the yarn. cat bordhi herself endorses judy’s magic cast on as her favorite for toe-up socks. how perfect! and if you get it right, you end up with a perfectly tensioned cast-on with no fiddley-ness.

noro cables & corrugation socks
pattern: cables and corrugations by cat bordhi from new pathways…
in noro kureyon sock yarn color #S164
started: april 4, 2008
needles: 1 - 32″, 2.0mm knitpicks circular needle

the fabric is somewhat stiff and scratchy; but i suppose i could go up a needle size…my worry is that the thin areas will wear disproportional to the thicker parts. we’ll see if the yarn holds my attention long enough to finish a pair of socks off. i’ll let you know how it goes!!

edit: after catching up on some of my favorite podcasts, i’ve learned that i’m not original in thinking that this pattern will go well with the colorway…and…i’m far from the first to feel ‘meh’ about the yarn. maybe my second skein will turn into a scarf? what do you think?

i just thought i’d post to let you know that i’m still alive.

life has been super busy; but knitting has not been forgotten. i’ve made a few, er, five pairs of socks and i’m dreaming of making an einstein coat…but pictures and words will be at a minimum as i try to keep it together.

i do miss blogging…but something’s gotta give, ya know?

without fanfare, i present:

world rib socks
pattern: lichen ribbed socks (ravelry link) from vintage socks by nancy bush
in knitpicks essential riverbed multi (special dye lot)
started: september, 2007
finished: november, 2007
needles: 1 - US1, 2.5mm knitpicks circular needles

my mods…toe up, short row heel, sewn (l) and traditional (r) bind off

i royally screwed up the bind-off yet again. er…(cough)….

in an effort to study the elasticity of different bind-offs, i used two different cast-off methods. (i admit - i didn’t have the first sock with me when it was time to b.o. the second. i just assumed that i used a simple sewn bind-off (like on the left)….but i didn’t. the first sock (on the right) was finished with a very very loose traditional bind-off….now that i think about it, i didn’t have a needle at the time and decided that risking a non-elastic bind off was ok.

the risk was worth it; my bind off was loose and elastic…no frilly willy nilly cuff for me! (except that i used a different bind off for the second sock). while i prefer the look of bind off on the right, the sewn bind-off is decidedly stress free. is it worth ripping back to fix the error?

no.

oh! and the yarn?! well, the jury is still out.  i’ll report back after wash and wear testing.

oye. you’d think that when you finally respond to a meme you would reveal something interesting and profound about yourself. instead, the geekiness is revealed.

well, liz tagged me…and though i’m not so good with the meme’s (this is my second ever i’ve responded cuz i’m so not cool), i have the inkling to respond. here are the rules: open the book you’re currently reading to page 161 and read the fifth sentence on the page, then think of 5 bloggers to tag.

patients share more information when they feel safe, as within a relationship with a specific registered nurse.

i bet you want to run out and buy the book now, don’t you?!? (snort.) the quote is from “relationship-based care: a model for transforming practice”, the american journal of nursing’s book of the year in 2004.

now i loves me a good nursing book…but i’m reading the book for a committee (for work) called the professional practice committee. the committee is supposed to be the ‘voice of nursing’ in our hospital and serves as a liason between staff rn’s and the executive staff. anyway, the committee was directed to make decisions and have discussions about the topics at hand from within the paradigm of the book. blahbitty blah blah blah…yes…i dig it. the nurse geek has revealed herself.

(getting distracted yet? wait! here’s a yarn picture!!)

koigu painter’s palette premium merino
100% merino | 50 g: 175 yds | 2 skeins
vacation yarn purchase in vancouver, canada
from three bags full

tag, your turn!!! euroboy, carol, stacey, valerie and yarmando

remember i said in my last post that i had started another project before bellamonkey? actually, i tried to start a number of lace shawls. ‘tried’ being the operative word. and why wouldn’t i? the lace diamond stole was so fantastic! i wanted a shawl in every color!!

for me, though, the marriage of yarn and pattern is a sort of magical thing. i’ll troll for patterns through books, magazines and on the web, mentally noting what piques my interest. then i’ll browse the lys or e-tailers or the stash for yarn that catches my fancy. when doing one or the other, suddenly inspiration strikes, the stars align and poof! an obsession is born. at least 99% of the time. and at least until the first sock is born.

the other 1% i find a project that i love and (cough) plan to knit it up. admittedly, much less magical, but these projects also exist. meet clapotis.

2nd wave clapotis
in knitpicks bare fingering 100% merino
started: october 2007
needles: US #4 knitpicks options circular needles
notes: zzzzzzzzzzzzz

i have always wanted the have the clap (snort - sorry, i know that’s been overplayed but, come on, let a gal have some fun!). i saw clapotis as a way to stash bust. but, my stash is almost exclusively sock yarn in sock quantities. not so much with the choices. my second problem lies in the fact that i wanted a dark….scratch that….a black shawl/scarf. i may be thirty-ish but my eyes belong in a 90 year old’s eye sockets. that would be just asking for a migraine. (excuse me, waiter, i’ll have a migraine with some blurry vision. but, can you serve that on the side?).

i really wanted to make this project. it’s almost like a knitting milestone.

oh, you started knitting when? that’s fantastic! you must have knitted clapotis, didn’t you?!?

i wanted to be able to say yes to that question and be one of the hundreds that participated in the knitting web community. (i realize i have a blog…but clapotis is more than that i guess. i mean, i’m not the only one who wants to knit it). anyway, i had some kp bare lying around. it isn’t superwash so i didn’t want to dye it up for socks…instead i decided to use it for this project.

since the yarn is so plain i think the magic of clapotis is lost on me. I AM GOING TO FINISH IT, THOUGH. i’m about halfway through. i’m just not so obsessed like some people (it looks awesome carol!). once i dye it black i foresee it being used many times over.

happy halloween!! ye’ere skeerd, weern’t cha? hehehe.

i’ve been away….but….i guess i’m not surprised. last year october was christened “frogtober” as my knitting mojo dried up with the leaves. i started the month with good intentions….you know, try to finish up some old wips and TRIED to motivate myself by denying myself the privilege of knitting up a new pathways sock. (sigh). but, bella fell to the frog pond, the horror!

bellatrix….rest in peace?

but, this year there will be no eulogy for bellatrix…she has been reincarnated (cue thunder)…(no, cue evil laugh….) MWAH-HAH-HA-HA!! meet bella reincarnated…. (more thunder)….(louder evil laugh)….(cue lady screaming)…

sheeeee’s baaaaaa-aaack: bella monkey!!

bella monkeys
pattern: monkey, by cookie a.
claudia handpainted yarn fingering weight in black walnut
2 skeins | 180 yds : 50 g | 100% merino wool
started: october 31, 2007
needles: 5 - #1 2.5mm susan’s rosewood dpns (gifted by gena - thanks gena!!!)

despite all best intentions, i caved. i couldn’t force myself to finish knitting the mates to my single socks. so i did what any determined knitter would do. i started another project. actually, i started two. but that one fell victim to my lack of focus (remember my crusty knitting mojo?…yeah, ol’crusty beat me again).

i love this yarn…so soft…and i love the colorway. i couldn’t leave it in the frog pile.  it was calling to me…(tani!!  tani!!! knit me!!  i want to live!!!).  and so i did.  (yes i realize i am listening to the voices in my head, so what?!?)  it’s worth it; i like monkey a lot and can see why people go ga-gah over it!   i think, though, i may go down a needle size for the foot. me likes me a nice cushy fabric.

how fitting that bella rises from the dead on halloween. MWAH-HAH-HA-HA!! (hey! i didn’t cue any evil laughing!!)