(Five points to whoever got the Monty Python reference.)
Although my blog posts have been few and far between (almost none, in fact) I've been doing just as much knitting as ever. I just had to take a time-out from school to post what may have been my most important FO of the year. FO: Rose's Wedding Shawl Pattern: Aeolian Shawl by Elizabeth Freeman Yarn: Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb Needles: US 4 circ's Other odds-n-ends: used a crap-load of mauve beads, size 8/0 Started: 08/05/09, Completed 08/20/09 ...technically ends were woven in on 10/03/09.
With only two months of notice, I worked on this night and day so I would be sure to finish in time. It actually only took two weeks of non-stop knitting and beading. I think I lost about fifty beads in my couch.
I am always so surprised and pleased after blocking. I swear, it is black magic.
Finally, here is a picture of the whole thing, with my fiance (!) for scale. (Don't mind the empty bookshelves in the background; we were in the middle of moving.)
Do the joys of Malabrigo ever cease? I think not. I love the feel of Malabrigo on my needles, and on my skin. Knowing this, my mom bought me some of Malabrigo's Silky Merino for my birthday. It is glorious. Its soft, light and warm, like the worsted merino, but has the most beautiful silky sheen.
FO: Silky Wool Cowl Pattern:Spiral Cowl by Keri McKiernan of Knitty Gritty Thoughts (free pattern!) Yarn:Malabrigo Silky Merino Needles: US 6/ 4.0 MM knit picks options nickel plated fixed circs Mods: I omitted the button, as the cowl was not loose enough to warrant it. I would make it again, a bit bigger, just so I could use the cute button accent.
This was a fun, easy knit, mostly completed in the car. I ordered the knit picks nickel plated needles for this project and the Aestlight Shawl (by the Shetland Trader) which I am knitting up with Dream in Color Starry. I like the needles-- light weight and fast. I always am a bit slower with circs-- no matter how smooth the join, it slows me down. For me, these were much faster than the bamboo needles they replaced.
A fun, useful knit with fall around the corner. Its time to break out shawls, scarves, and cowls to ward of the morning frost!
Pictures taken at Clautiere Winery, in Paso Robles, CA on my mini-honeymoon :)
My friend recently sent me a picture of a FO I gifted her in action, and I realized I had never shared it on the blog.
FO: Nantucket Purse Pattern: DROPS Cable Bag (free pattern!) Yarn: Peru Naturtex Partners Pakucho Organic Cotton (mine was cheap on elann.com) Needles: US 10.5 Bamboo Circulars
I named this purse the Nantucket Purse for my friend Amelia who spends some time every summer in Nantucket. Here she is on her way from Nantucket to Boston, with the purse in action.
I love this pattern and this bag! My friend Jess added the handles and the sewn in lining. I did not like this yarn, it had almost no twist, and was splitty like crazy. I prefer cottons with a strong twist like Rowan cotton rope. The cotton was not fun, but I did love the outcome. Very slouchy and cool.
Assumptions.When I was a kid we said assumptions make an a$$ out of you and me.
When I started the Ring of Fire socks, I assumed the pattern was written for 3 DPNs because that is what I use.I cast on as instructed, without thinking much, 34 stitches per needle.I joined, then knit a row, again, not thinking at all.I looked down at a massive beast of a knitted circle.I looked at the directions, confirming I cast on correctly. Yup, 34 on each needle.Yet, I seemed to have a third more stitches than I needed!I reread the pattern again, finally actually reading the beginning instructions.The pattern was written for 2 circulars, not the 3 DPNs I was using.I frogged my giant, 112 stitch sock, and adapted for 3 needles, scaling back to the more normal 68 stitches :)
I saw King Tut at the De Young last night. It was a lovely exhibit, really well put together. Much improved from the version I saw 5 years ago in LA. The sky was crazy last night, unusual high clouds (we usually only get low fog) made for a dramatic sky behind the modern towers of the De Young.
Kristina visited San Francisco this past weekend. We had an awesome time scoping out cool places to live in the Bay Area, playing cards excessively, knitting, eating delicious Burmese food and sushi, and walking about.
Kristina slumbers peacefully with a cake of DICSmooshy Yarn in Pansy Go Lightly
Kristina brought me the most amazing gift ever. She knitted me an amazing wedding shawl, using Knitty's newish Aeolian Shawl in a gorgeous chocolatey brown, and with beads! It is both perfect and totally awesome. She is such an amazing knitter, and friend. I am so grateful to have her :) Thanks, friend.
Some sock in progress shots! The pattern is a freebie, Ring of Fire, by Kristin Kapur. This will be a Christmas gift for N's mom. Her foot is a bit larger than mine (about 4 sizes!) so I lengthened the heel flap quite a bit and am making a longer foot.
Cookie A is such a fun designer. I love her wacky, innovative sock patterns, they are so much fun. Pomatomus is no exception.
FO: Sunset Pomatomus Pattern:Pomatomus, by cookie A. (free pattern!) Yarn: Knit Picks Bare - Peruvian Highland Wool Fingering Weight hand dyed by Kristina and myself. A fun, but very smelly project ;) Needles: Knit Picks metal DPNs. I loved working with these. I switched mid-project after snapping a bamboo needle in twain. I started these socks back in March, and they have served as my go-to project between projects, and often got cast aside for other things. I waited a while between finishing the first sock, and casting on the second. Between this and the needle change, the second sock is a bit snugger than the first, but both fit just fine. I knit a lot more quickly and tightly on the metal needles than on the bamboo. On the second sock I played around with the number of stitches grafted on the toe. In the above picture, the right sock is knit precisely as the pattern specifies. This makes for a very point sock. I have very block like non-pointy feeties. Only my big toe fits into the toe point, which sort of makes the whole sock twist a bit on my foot. So, on the second sock, I decreased less on the toe, and grafted more stitches. The sock is much comfier in the toe area as a result. In the picture above, my left foot is closer to the camera than the right, its not actually noticeably more giant than the right in person.
I had fun knitting this pattern. I think I would do it again, in a sock weight yarn. The fingering weight is enough smaller that the scales (which look like fans to me) have less pop and 3d texture than the ones I have seen on ravelry knit in sock weight yarn. I like using fingering weight because it produces a tighter, less slouchy sock, and slouchy socks are a bit of a pet peeve of mine. I might try the adaptation of this pattern to fingerless gloves, because I love the definition of the twisted rib in the sock weight yarn. In fact.... I have some new Dream in Color Starry that would be perfect for it.
Three incredible weeks in the Dominican Republic...I haven't blogged about it because I have not quite figured out how to sum it all up in a blog post! In lieu of, here is a short reflection piece I wrote, and some more pictures, of course!
As the airplane soared through the darkness towards Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic, I wondered where the city was, where the lights were.Though I had signed up for the volunteer trip and read about the Dominican Republic for months, my sixteen year-old self had no conception of the all-encompassing nature of poverty; the city was below, but the electricity was out for the night. Later, as our bus hurtled through hazy dawn in the countryside, my eyes drank in every detail, every mango stand, every machete-wielding sugar cane worker, and every stray dog. I returned the next year, to repeat the experience, and in 2009 I returned a third time, as an adult chaperone on the same trip for high school students.These trips changed my worldview, shaped my values, and gave me a new perspective of the world, and my role in it.
For the first time, I stepped out of middle class America and into poverty, with the goal of building houses and helping rural people.I gave up the comforts of home: showers, plumbing, air conditioning, cars, a house full of gadgets, and days packed with activities and obligations.I stayed with a local family, ate what they ate, bathed in the local swimming hole, abandoned my reliance on cell phone and internet access, and adopted a slower pace of life. The family I stayed with and friends I made in the Dominican Republic taught me more and gave me more than I could have ever hoped to give to the people I had come to help.My family and friends in the Dominican Republic are poor by American standards—spotty electricity, occasional running water, no cars, and few material possessions.Yet, they give with open hearts.They give time and energy:a helping hand, a cup of coffee, an able body to help a neighbor dig a hole, or a couple hours playing cards with the grandmother next door.
In the town of La Desucbierta, you cannot stop by someone’s house without drinking a coffee or lemonade, being offered a banana or mango, or even being served a full meal. As I opened up to the Dominican way of life, I felt my heart and my mind expanding and growing as I adapted.When given an invitation to do something new or go somewhere, I replied “yes” instead of responding with the usual barrage of detail-oriented questions Americans ask.I extended my hand, hugging an elderly woman in the mountains of Haiti with an infection in her leg, speaking with my heart when I lacked the words to communicate.I abandoned American fear of making mistakes, and learned to dance the Bachata with the family who owned the local corner store.By adapting to the conditions and customs in the Dominican Republic, I opened myself up to an enriching cross-cultural exchange that has contributed to my development as a person, and certainly fueled my desire to continue to work to change lives.
Renovated house, featuring windows, doors, and floors!
Me and David, a child from an orphanage in Neyba. We did arts and crafts with the kids from the orphanage. It was so amazing to see....they definitely do not get to play with markers and construction paper all too often. Excuse the blurriness...photo taken by a 6 year old!
Signing our lovely latrine. After the cement dries, a corrugated metal house-like structure goes on top.
Adorable kids at a swimming hole near Los Rios.
Wendi, a third generation servant who received a scholarship to attend university, studying by generator lamp-light. No computers, all paper! She is studying to be an elementary school teacher.
With only two months of notice, I worked on this night and day so I would be sure to finish in time. It actually only took two weeks of non-stop knitting and beading. I think I lost about fifty beads in my couch.
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