Lazy, lazy, lazy

The main reason I write is to procrastinate from doing things that I don't feel like doing (e.g. school or work). Since I haven't had much of that, I haven't had the urge to write. But I have been doing things! Cool things! So it's picture time! And announcement time. I'll save that for last, because tension is good, or whatever.

First up!



Have you seen Hansigurumi's patterns? Go ahead and look, and buy them all. I'll wait here. The whole time I knit I was mumbling "Well christ that's clever." Except when I knit the head, during which I was screeching "How the (very bad word) did she figure THAT out?"

Seriously. I think she dabbled in quantum physics to figure that head out.

I bought the set of four cephalopods. I've started work on the squid. Hella awesome.

Next, I got to meet my friends' wee bairn while I was down in NC, and naturally I decided to knit her a hat, because... because. This is Aviva:



The pattern is Larissa's Feather and fan bonnet. I decided to knit it after seeing this picture (brace yourselves, clicking on that picture might result in death by cuteness). I used DK yarn (Lana Grossa Merino 2000) on size 4 needles. It came out a little small, so next time I make it (and I will again), I'll either use heavier yarn or add more repeats.



I also omitted the eyelet row and instead (hand!) sewed the ribbon on. This took ages. Not recommended. Also, my blocking job kinda sucked. I think I need a styrofoam ball for baby-hat-blocking purposes.

On a whim I took some of the roving I'd bought from TerraBellaSpun's Etsy store, and began spindling up some thick-and-thin singles, which I plied with some green sparkly sulky thread. Since the roving has sparkles, it's a WAY sparkly bunch of yarn.



I think I like it? But I don't know what to do with it. At all.

Speaking of spinning, remember that purple handspun? It became these:



GLOVES. Neat! I didn't use a pattern. I should've used smaller needles for the ribbing, but didn't have any appropriately-sized dpns. So I didn't.

So my friend Paige (who, it should be said, rocks pretty hard) is getting all married in early October, and invited me to be one of her Maids of Honor. The other MoH is making her dress, so I offered to make a lace shawl.

Because I'm an idiot.

I've done one lace thing before -- the Branching Out scarf -- and it had a bunch of mistakes (including being made of super crap yarn). I've done 7.5 (12-row) repeats. Of 34. Then there's the inner border. And the outer border.

I am so screwed.



But I'm using Malabrigo lace, which is hella soft. That part is good.

Now! Announcement time! I want you to meet someone:



This is Short Stuff, my impending nephew. Which explains all the baby stuff, and the octopus. I didn't mention him earlier Just In Case, but we've got 2 months to go and LOOK at that FACE. Somebody's got the chubby cheeks!

Awwww.

What?

This spinning thing? I can take it or leave it. You know. Whatevs. I have some roving in the mail, so I'll pick up some knitting until then.



I mean, spinning's neat and all, but it's not be-all-end-all or anything.

What picture? I don't know what you're talking about.



Oh. That picture. That's nothing. Just, um... some roving I found. At the yarn shop.

I JUST NEEDED SOME WORSTED WEIGHT SUPERWASH WOOL, OKAY? AND THIS JUST JUMPED OUT AT ME. IT WAS STRONGER THAN ME. NOT MY FAULT.

The fact that I'm spinning it up already -- also not my fault.

Oh yes

I like this spinning thing.



I bought this batt at SAFF in 2006.



I think it's BFL, and about 4 oz. I lost the tag for it, so I have no idea, really.



I also don't have the foggiest idea about yardage. My mom offered to buy me a niddy noddy when we went antiquing the other weekend, but I declined until I get more into spinning. In retrospect this was a poor move.



...I have 6oz of new roving on the way...

Super chuffed and also kind of annoyed

Turns out Kiwi Knitter and I had the same idea: Don't blog for a long time, and acquire a large number of FOs. Then the next post will be all amazing, and we will look like crazypants awesome knitters.

Being all unemployed like I am, with my propensity for sitting on my duff in front of my computer (I used up all my exciting in New Zealand), I've got a LOT to show you. Grab a cup/mug/jug/box of your preferred beverage and get comfy.



This is the baby surprise jacket I made in NZ (out of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport). I finally sewed up the seams (though I haven't put all the buttons on, so it's not actually done yet), and I am totally pleased with how they look. I actually looked up the proper way to seam, and it looks way better than what I was doing (which, it turns out, was basting).



Look at that. That's so pretty. (I bought these GREAT blue hippo buttons and put one on, but the buttonholes aren't QUITE big enough, so I think I'll find four better-fitting ones to put on the rest).



I made a Grrr! It's not for me. I like the embroidered face, but the back of the sewing looks not so good. I am only minimally concerned about this.



My first singles, getting wound up to be plied. This picture just made me happy.

And they, plus my blue singles, got turned into this:



Somehow, in the original spinning of singles, it didn't occur to me that blue singles + grey singles = marled yarn. I don't much like marled yarn. But I did it anyway, because by the time it occurred to me to Andean ply each color on itself I was too far in.

I'd read this link about plying a balanced yarn, which made for a pretty loose ply. Then I read on Ravelry that yarn doesn't need to be balanced immediately after plying. Instead, you wind it on the swift, soak it in hot water, soak it in cold, repeat hot then cold, wrap it in a towel and gently squeeze the water out, then take it out and give it a good solid whack on the sink (or wherever). Then turn it and repeat. This makes the yarn "bloom" and should (so they say) make it more balanced. There you go.

This is what Janice had to say about spinning:

That bit about letting the yarn ply back on itself to determine if it's balanced ONLY applies to very freshly spun yarn. IOW, if you want to see what a balanced 2-ply yarn would look like from the single you're currently spinning, do this: spin out a long length, and then double it back on itself RIGHT THEN. Smooth it down and let it find its own level of plying. Break that bit off and keep it as a sample.

After that, spin as much as you want, then ply your singles so that they look like that sample you did. As long as you're spinning your singles pretty consistently, you should be fine.

Whacking yarn and wet finishing it will help fix some things. They don't really BALANCE the yarn per se, because that's determined by the amount of twist in the singles vs. the amount of twist in the plying.

And I don't care what anyone says, I staunchly maintain that "balanced single" is a meaningless term. There's nothing for a single to balance AGAINST. Soft-twist or low-twist single describe the yarn better.

BTW, blocking yarn doesn't get rid of twist in singles either. The yarn that I used for my SAFF sweater last year was spun many, many years ago. I'd blocked it on niddy noddies as I'd spun it, and it looked pretty straight in the skein. But as soon as I put it in water to wash before dyeing, *sproing* all the twist energy was released, and I had little curls and twists all over the wet yarn. :)

(I tend to spin with a lot of twist.)

She knows way more than me about this stuff.

And it's about 205 yards. I have no idea what to do with it, if anything.

The remaindered blue got Andean plied into this:



A much tighter ply. Note the artful application of dog fur on the left.

I also pulled out my new Koigu and cast on for some socks:



I'd seen a sock on some blog (I'd love to know where so I can give credit -- anyone remember?) with a nice light texture pattern that went:
1. K1P1 around
2. & 3. K around

A good idea, I thought! But I changed it to:
1. K1P1 around
2, 3, 5, 6. K around
4. P1K1 around

Deciding, as I do, that following patterns are for suckers I decided to wing my first toe-up gussets.

This sock sucks.

First, I can't get it over my heel.



Then I can't get the heel over my heel.



Then it cuts off circulation in my calf.



And finally, the heel just looks funny.



So it's sitting in the corner until I can gather my wits enough (or stop being distracted long enough) to frog it.

There's one more FO, but I need a different picture of it. It's one thing to put a mildly saucy picture on Ravelry, and another entirely to put it on my blog.

This spinning thing, though...



...I might be hooked.

Bits & Pieces

Some of you may have noticed that waaaaaaaay back in September I won a contest on Mari's blog, and then never mentioned it here. I have good reason! You ready?

I won about a week before I left for New Zealand. The plan for me was originally to find a place to live in NZ, and so Mari was going to send the package to a friend of mine, who was going to add to it, then forward it on to me. Flawless, right?

Except that I never settled in NZ, so there was nowhere to send the package. Between busy schedules and life just being what it is, I didn't get the package until after Christmas. Which is fine by me, I'm happy to accept gifties anytime.

And what a gift! Check this out!



At the bottom and on the right are 2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM, in the middle is a skein of Sundara sock yarn (!!!), and the needles are, obviously Pony Rosewood. None of it is stuff I've tried before, but all of it is stuff I've wanted to try!

Needless to say, there was much prancing around when I opened the package.

Thank you Mari!

Someone on Ravelry asked in a forum how to knit faster. Here are my tips:

1. Don't have a job. Frees up lots of time for knitting.

2. Live with your parents. Without a job you have no income, but with parents buying food and paying for things like heat you can use whatever savings you might have for wool.

And, less hilariously:

3. Don't read blogs. It gives you a false sense of other people's speed, and seeing 400 FOs in one day makes one despondent.

4. Project monogamy. Sucks, but does make things go faster.

Look! I made socks!



Final successful cast on: January something.

Finished weaving in the ends: January something.

The originator: Basic toe-up pattern to 60 stitches (should've done 64) with a short-row heel.

The string: Schaefer Anne

The sticks: Size 1 dpns.

Pattern shmattern: I don't like short-row heels. They're always a little pointy until they get worn once or twice, and they're a little too small for my feets.

And I'm working on a scarf, because, as it happens, I don't have a decent one. Seems wrong, somehow, to be a knitter and not have a good scarf. But I brought out my cashmere (NOM NOM NOM) and have cast on for a brioche scarf.



Of course, immediately after casting on I learned that cashmere goats are super bad for the environment, but... you know. So is cotton. So I'm not going to worry about it right now.

The other thing I'm doing with my plethora of free time is teaching myself to spin. I bought a new drop spindle with part of my gift certificate to one of the LYSs here, read an article and watched some things on youtube.

I had some Merino 64 from The Yarn Tree last time I tried to learn how to spin. Turns out? Spinning is hard. My consistency leaves something to be desired, and I need to study up on some more expletives because I just don't have enough for this learning curve.



And I find I'm getting the beginnings of a blister on my drafting thumb. Is that normal?

I do still knit, and not just in extreme ways

I'm back in the northern hemisphere, and back in Philadelphia, where it is quiet and uneventful, even in the wake of xmas. In the interest of my laziness and the motivation-suck that is living with my folks, here's what I've done since I've been gone. With notes! Because I care.

Before I start, though, I would like to note that I am not pregnant. To reiterate, me = not pregnant. Okay! Moving on.



A wee tomten jacket! Made of NZ wool in "Haven." It just needs a closure of some variety. I was thinking a zipper, but my mom suggested a button-and-loop.



Another bebeh shedir! Also NZ wool, but I don't remember the brand.



A very, very modified Cardigan for Merry, which is so modified I've been calling it "Cardigan for Pippin." It's drop-shoulder instead of raglan, and the cable doesn't meet up at the top so I just did a three-needle bind-off and it may just stay that way. Otherwise it's finished.



Bebeh surprise! Just needs to be blocked and sewed up. SO cute. Made from Lorna's Laces Purple Club. I finally found a pattern where the yarn didn't pool.



Snowflake star ornament for mom. I made two, blocked them, and sewed them together. I'll get a picture of it finished. One day. Hopefully before it gets packed away.





Dylan's Hat from Alterknits. The polka dots in the book/pattern are painted on, which is okay, but kind of weak, so I embroidered them on instead.

I also tried to knit socks but they thwarted me at every turn and are in my bag, thinking about what they've done. The jerks.

Things

Things people have said to me lately about my knitting:

1. "Is this the first thing you've knit?" About a hat with which I was admittedly having some trouble, but still, that's a stupid thing to say.

2. "Are you knitting? What are you, 60?" But in a flirtatious kind of way, so that was fine.

3. I was sitting on a bench, knitting and waiting for freaking EVER for my bus, when a guy who clearly fancied himself the man about town was showing some friends/family around, leaned over me and said, loudly, "In anticipation of, or because of?" And then he laughed, and I laughed, and then I punched him in the face, because 1. it was a hat (see above), and 2. that's a stupid thing to say.

IN THE MEANTIME, knitting rage aside, XTREEM knitter returns! To knit on a volcano!



...And look very smug, apparently.

X-treeeeeem!

X-treem knitter knits in a cavern:



X-treem knitter knits on a glacier!



...and gets teased about it.

Xtreem!

The xtreem knitter will return, as soon as I can find a place where I can upload pictures for 6 hours, because that is how many I have.

Also, used spinning wheels are CRAZY cheap here. I mean CRAZY. Like, $30. 30 New Zealand dollars. That's like nothing. Augh!

Ahem

< singing>'Cos I'm leeeeeving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back a-gain¹, oh babe, I hate to gooooooooo² < /singing>

http://www.trippingacrosseurope.blogspot.com <sup>3


1</sup> December 21ish.

² Well, actually it's not so bad.

³ Yes, I know I'm not going to Europe, but I was when I started it.

Iceland, some geekery, new toys, a FO, and a problem

Iceland was great. It's a major knitting country, and was all kinds of easy to find yarn. My folks and I were wandering the Main Shopping Street in Reykjavik (you could tell it was the main shopping street because it had a big sign that said "Main Shopping Street."), when I saw this:


(Útsala means sale).

And I thought to myself, huh! That's a nice knitted shawl! ...Wait a second... That's Birch! And there's yarn! I looked up at the second floor of the building and saw this:


(It's the Storkurinn, not the Bonus (which appears to be a poorly stocked grocery store))(Bonus does not have yarn).

I can't believe I found a yarn store because I recognized a knit shawl. I'm such a nerd.

(I'm not even going to mention how, when we were walking past a shop, I heard a "clang!" from inside and recognized it as a dropped dpn. It totally was).

I wasn't sure how to get in there, and managed to find it by walking through a restaurant (I was a woman on a mission). They had only Rowan and Debbie Bliss yarns. Sigh.

ANYWAY, let's get to the goods, eh?

First up, some merlot colored merinould (merino) called Lucca (it's Danish):



Deeeelicious!

And now -- the really good stuff! Check this out:



That's nine discs(?!) plates of unspun Icelandic wool at about 100g each. I don't know the yardage, but it's a lot (ETA: they're probably around 300 yards each, for a total of 2700 yards -- thank you, ravelry!). It's around dk/sport weight, and I learned after I bought it that they use it double or triple stranded, but whatever whatever. This has sweater written all over it. I'm not even going to tell you what it cost as you would die with envy. (I'll give you a hint: it was $37). I'll post the link to their store when I find the receipt.

Speeeeaking of sweaters, I bought a Lopi book, and it had these tasty items in it:


(the one on the left)




(Okay, I don't usually wear skirts and the thought of a wool skirt makes me want to cry, but it's still cute).



But the real reason I bought it is this:



I mentioned to the woman I bought this from that I thought it was hilarious and awesome, and she agreed, and added that someone else who worked in the store had actually knit it for her horse.

No, really.

For the record, if I decide to knit anything from this here's what I have to deal with:


(For the record, that's from the horse jacket).

IN the meantime I finished the Gusset Heel Gansey Socks by Katherine Misegades:



I love the heel on this:



It reminds me of stockings from the 50's.

The problem is this: I knit them for my dad for his birthday (they're a smidge long for me), but he's cranky about wool (they're merino), and they're not really stretchy (a little snug, even), so it's a bit of a trick to get them on. I just don't know if this particular pair is right to convince my dad that knit socks are the way to go. His birthday's soon, so it's this pair or no pair. Thoughts?

Final successful cast on: August, um, something.

Finished weaving in the ends: Er. I might not have finished that part yet.

The originator: Gusset Heel Gansey Socks by Katherine Misegades, out of Knitting Pattern A Day Calendar 2007.

The string: Debbie Bliss Merino DK

The sticks: Size 1 addis.

Pattern shmattern: I made them a little longer, but otherwise, no mods. I know!

Returned and jet-lagged

I'm back from Iceland with some goodies and a so-oh-oh nearly finished object. Will update when I'm over jet-lag. Should be any time now. Ahem.