Rose of New Mexico

PATTERN: Rose of England by Marianne Kinzel.

YARN: ColourMart 2/30NM Laceweight (100% merino, 2405yds/150g cone).

NEEDLES: US 0/2mm

NOTES: It is very hard to photograph giant lace objects by yourself.

Lurching Toward Vague Competence

Today is the Irishman's birthday, and we wanted to go to the movies.  Which meant, of course, that I spent all afternoon frantically attempting to turn a sock heel so I would have plain knitting for the feature.  I should really learn just to have a plain sock at the proper stage at all times.  Or do afterthought heels, I guess.

I spent most of the movie winding yarn for my third Camp Loopy project, but when I pulled out the sock I got a surprise.  Turns out in my rush I'd left my fifth needle at home.  So this happened:

I am nothing if not resourceful!

Also this week I have been spinning!  This is half of a braid of Polwarth combed top from Into the Whirled.  I think, despite my lousy picture, that this may be my best spinning effort yet.  TI moved my wheel to a different place in the living room which actually turned out to be a really good spot--right next to a window, directly underneath a lamp.

Next is the other half of the braid, of course (I am going to to try to spin from the same end and then keep the color changes consistent in the 2-ply), and then I don't know.  I'd like to try spinning from the fold, but I'm not sure which fiber would be best to start with . . . *   Anyone have suggestions?

*Incidentally, we aren't supposed to end sentences with prepositions because it can't be done in Latin, and some crabby grammarians† decided that it would be proper to make English grammar conform to Latin grammar.  This is pretty ridiculous, it almost goes without saying.  In Latin you literally CAN'T end a sentence with a preposition, as a preposition in Latin a) always has an accompanying noun/adjective/adverb and b) always comes BEFORE its companion.  (See that "pre"?  Actually, look at the whole word--pre + position.  Makes sense, no?)

In brief--too late--it's not a philosophy to which I subscribe.  Not slavishly, anyway.

Also, my favorite preposition joke:‡ a woman walking around the Harvard campus stops another woman and asks, "Excuse me, ma'am, but where's the library at?"  The latter woman replies, icily, "At Harvard, we do not end our sentences with prepositions."  The first woman says, "Okay then, where's the library at, bitch?"

† "The Crabby Grammarians" is my new band.

‡ Does it really surprise anyone that I have a favorite preposition joke?

The Grammar Guru

I just got a message saying "Urgent request relating to hyphens. Your Facebook presence has earned you the dubious status as the first person I thought of to ask about this."

I've been thinking about market niches and such lately, as it seems that successful bloggers/designers really carve out their own brands.

I think maybe my brand is "Annoying Pedant."

The morning this video came out, I had like three people text/Facebook me saying "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS?!" before I even got out of bed.

So I've Been Thinking

(A dangerous pastime! I know!  But that crazy old coot is Belle's father, and his sanity's only so-so.)

(A film I may have watched one too many times.)

I've been catching up on my blog reading lately (and mystery novels, but not on the internet), and thinking about what makes a blog an appealing read.  And I've come to the conclusion that my favorite blogs feature a combination of appealing knits, excellent photography, and good storytelling.

Now I'm not the most cutting-edge knitter, and I'm certainly not a very good photographer, but I am, when I choose to be, a very good storyteller.  (Modesty is also not counted among my better points.)

In the past, I'd left storytelling and, really, any personal details to other places--my personal blog, Facebook,* Ravelry--but that seems almost silly now.  Knitting is what I spend most of my time doing, and I would like to spend more time telling you about what I do, even if it's not necessarily knitting.

So I am going to try to be less strict and more open here, meaning that in addition to posts about knitting, there may be posts about what I'm having for dinner, what the weather is like in New Mexico, and what stupid stuff my dog is doing.  Also, I may bring in some of my non-knitting interests, which include translating racy Latin poetry and criticizing the aesthetic choices of others.

Also probably more swearing.

I hope this will lead to more frequent and enjoyable posting.  Let me know what you think . . .

Gozer says: "Are you not entertained?"

 *Feel free to friend me on either, but I automatically delete friend requests on the Book of Faces if there are no mutual acquaintances, so message me and mention why if you do so.

Sale pattern yay

Everyone should go immediately to Ravelry and purchase my friend Kitty's new sweater pattern, Three County Highway.  It is cute.  See?

Photo © and courtesy Kate Heppell

Also it is half-price until July 28.

Camp Loopy Mark Two

I'm a little discombobulated these days (planning a wedding will do that to you), so I'm not even telling you what I'm knitting for Camp Loopy until it's already done.  Whoops.

But anyway, the inspiration for project two was our favorite spot to vacation.  Mine is my hometown.  For example:

Just another day on the Palouse

(Follow the link for the photo credit and to see more beautiful pictures.)

There, much wheat is grown.  So naturally, I knit a Whole Wheat Cardigan.

Here is the left front, fetchingly posed with Gozer as a backdrop.

And here are both fronts and the back, on a pillow, as Gozer was unavailable.  (He must have been out eating yard mushrooms or something.)
 

As I mentioned above, the sweater is actually complete, but I'll leave all the details for a FO post.  I still need proper pictures.  I didn't even try with the Irishman; he always somehow makes me look deformed, as if I've hastily slapped my glass eye or prosthetic chin back on for the photo.

Sprossling

A few winters ago, I was visiting my parents and wandered into the Yarn Underground and was promptly overwhelmed by wool fumes.  My mother picked out some nice yarn, and I told her I would make her a sweater.

When I finally got around to it (that will be on my tombstone), I spent most of winter 2012 working on said sweater.  I actually finished almost all the knitting then, but I had to put it into hibernation while we were moving and my buttons were still in storage.  In April 2013 I pulled it out and finished it just in time for a trip to Cyprus, where my folks were living.

PATTERN: Sprossling by Anne Hanson.  Well-written and clear, as with all of Anne's patterns, although I was not pleased with the waist shaping as written.  My own version can be found on my Ravelry page.  Size 38", no other modifications.

YARN: Palouse Yarn Company Fingering (100% wool, 700yds per113g skein), two skeins in an unnamed colorway.  I think this is the yarn that was renamed "Featherweight" but am not sure.

NEEDLES: US 1.5/2.5mm and US 2.5/3.0mm.  I knit very loosely.

I think it turned out beautifully, don't you?  My mom sure does.  Just look at her dance.

The Magic of Blocking

How this:

becomes this:

 So magical.

Lilaceous

Ravelry informs me that this, the Lilaceous Shawl by Derya Davenport, was my second finished object of 2013, which would make it the first object finished in our new home of New Mexico.  (In fact, I remember binding it off while we were still living in a hotel.  In the blocking photo below, you can see there are still unpacked boxes by the piano; I must have blocked it just before I went to visit my parents in Cyprus.  About which more later.)

Overall it was a quick and relatively easy knit. As I noted on my Ravelry page, some of the instructions weren't very clear.  Specifically, the construction is unusual (you begin with the central portion and then the three "wings" are knitted separately), and the way the designer oriented the pattern made no sense whatsoever to me.  The jury is out on whether the problem is hers or mine.

The yarn is Palouse Yarn Company Super Lace (75/25 wool/nylon, 1000yds/113g skein), with which I really enjoyed working.  (In fact, I have another two skeins still lurking in my stash.)  I don't know if it's the nylon or that it's on the tightly-spun side for laceweight, but the stitch definition is just beautiful.

It went off to live with my friend Brittany, because she deserves it.  And I went on to block more things.  (In fact, I blocked my Rose of New Mexico today.  But you won't get pictures of that one for a few more days.)

The truth?

The truth is that I have nothing for you.

I finished the Rose of New Mexico, but it is not yet blocked, and taking (let alone posting) pictures of unblocked lace is an exercise in masochism.

Sadly, a woman in one of my Ravelry groups has had a breast cancer recurrence, and I have knit two  squares to contribute to the patch blanket being made, but I don't have pictures of those, either.  Also, they are squares.  You can use your imagination, like people did before television or the internet.  (Get off my lawn.)

I've been knitting on the first Animal Crackers sock, but it doesn't look substantially different than the last time I showed it off, and the next one is going to be (spoiler alert) pretty much the same.

I haven't even started my second Camp Loopy project yet--still waiting on the yarn to arrive.  (I changed my mind at the last minute.  Typical.)

So . . . got nothing.

With luck that will change this weekend--I have blocking to do, if nothing else, and I will photograph the stupid blanket squares for some color.

But in the meantime, here's a picture of my dog being silly:

(It's hard to tell, but he is actually fast asleep like this.)