Archives for March 2003

It snowed all day yesterday. Looked strange, snow falling on flowering trees. It’s supposed to be cold again today, and then slowly warming up toward the end of the week.

I found this on the ground coming in from my garage. I’m viewing it as an omen, that we will get spring-like weather at some point.

So Friday night I went home and spent the evening in a zombie-like state. Not much knitting accomplished. I did get a bit done on Saturday though. See?

Wait — we’ll try that again:

I did start the armhole steeks:

Saturday night’s movie to knit by was “All or Nothing.” Not the happiest of films, but if you are thinking your life sucks, watch this. It’ll make you feel better about your own life. I do recommend it — a very good movie in my opinion.

Happy Monday, all. Another week in hell in store for me . . .

A reader asks:

“This may sound like a dumb question but do fair isle sweaters like Hank 8 only consist of various permutations of only 2 colors/row or do some rows have 3, 4, etc colors in them? I’ve only just started knitting again and I’ve never done anything where I’ve done more than 1 color per row. I think Hank 8 is beautiful, but looks far too complicated for my fingers, but I wanted to ask that question, because I can’t really tell from the pictures. I think some of the colorways are “tweedy” or multi-colored and that might be throwing my eye off.”

Not a dumb question at all, actually a very good one.

Hank is only 2 colors per round. There’s a total of 12 colors and some are heathered and/or tweedy. There’s something about fair isle that deceives you into thinking the patterning is more difficult than it is. Traditional fair isle never has more than 2 colors per round, though I know there are some “fair isle” patterns out there that have 3 or more — like in a recent Jamiesons book. You will never find an Alice Starmore fair isle design with more than 2 colors per round. Correct me if I’m wrong.

And of the fair isles I’ve knitted, this one is not among the more difficult, in my opinion. It consists of a number of vertical charts, each one symmetrical in nature, so they are easy to keep track of — at least I think so! I know at least one of my knitbuds who sez that those vertical scrolly charts make her go wiggy!

What do you all think?

Shelter in Place Emergency Kit

To those of you who wondered, rest assured that there is sock yarn in my “SIP Emergency Kit.”

Yesterday at work we got email with information about SIP. In the unlikely event this comes to pass, we will all be given a kit of emergency supplies in our shelter location, but everyone was advised to make up their own small kit as well — containing any medications they need, phone lists, etc. So I’m ahead of the curve here.

And oh yeah — I’ve also got a paperback book in mine.

Could They Be Any More Identical?

Well, yeah, they could. But they are pretty darn close!

Izzy’s worn out from a tough week of lying around the house.

Me too. But not from lying around the house. I knitted exactly two rounds on Henry last night. Sigh.

Have a good weekend everyone!

This is getting old. Get up. Go to work. Work my ass off. Go home. Manage a few rounds of knitting. Pass out from exhaustion.

Repeat daily.

My office is showing the strain. Less than tidy, eh?

At least I’m not reduced to doing this:

And I do have my “Shelter-in-Place” emergency kit strategically placed, in a Holland America tote bag.

And I’ve got a view, such as it is:

Could be worse, I guess. Could be snowing.

But y’all get an update photo of Hank 8 today, even though there’s precious little progress made.

Izzy feels very protective towards Hank:

Sock Ribbing

There were a couple questions in my blog yesterday about what permutation of ribbing is best for socks. I had pointed out that the ribbing I’m doing on my current socks-in-progress is k3 p3. I was asked — does this fit better, does it keep the sock up better?

Wanna know why I do 3 x 3 ribbing?

Because I loathe and detest doing ribbing in any way, shape, or form. And k3 p3 ribbing means that I have to move the working yarn from the knit to the purl side that many fewer times than with k2 p2 ribbing or — god forbid! — k1 p1 ribbing. Who cares how it fits?

So there.

I know. I’m so . . . so . . . naughty!

Here’s something I do if the recipient of my socks has . . . uh . . . fat ankles. If you are knitting a 60 stitch sock, increase to 72 stitches when you start the ribbing and do a k3 p3 rib. No one will ever be able to tell that you increased and the recipient will have a much easier time getting the sock on. So far, no one’s complained that my socks fall down.

(Remember Alfred E. Newman and MAD Magazine? My brother was a devotee in the 1960s, much to my mother’s annoyance. And of course I read it too. Avidly.)

Yesterday morning when I was going to work, a woman who works on my floor, with whom I exchange pleasantries when I see her, asked me agitatedly, “Are you worried about the possibility of going into lockdown here?”

I said “No, what’s the point of worrying?” She looked at me like I was nuts.

No worrying. That doesn’t mean one shouldn’t be prepared. So I’m putting together a “Shelter in Place” survival kit to keep at the office. A bottle of water, some protein bars, a small battery-run radio, and of course some knitting.

The chocolate colored cotton and pattern from the most recent Knitters that I mentioned yesterday. And appropriate needles of course.

That’s one way to get the durn thing knitted. If I’m trapped at work and it’s all I’ve got to knit.

I’m not trying to make light of the situation. But I’m not going to worry about it either. If it happens it happens and I’m as prepared as I’m gonna be.

Imitation

Is the sincerest form of flattery, or so they say. I dunno. In some cases it’s just plain old plagarism, doncha think?

Odie’s Easter Socks!

I finished the first one. It certainly is nothing if not cheerful.

I leave you with “Repose With Catnip Mouse.”

Wherever you are . . . be careful out there.

There’s a design I like in the Spring issue of Knitters.

I know. No one was more surprised than I.

It’s “Delta Blue” by Kathy Zimmerman. This link may or may not take you to a photo of it, depending on how screwed up the KnittingUniverse website is at the moment you click on it.

Pattern calls for DK weight cotton and as it happens I have some DK weight cotton, in a lovely chocolate brown. I purchased it for next to nothing off eBay in a moment of madness. It’s Conshohocken Cotton Company yarn (did I spell that right?)

Yeah, I know I’ve said that I detest knitting with cotton. I’ll never learn, will I?

Hank 8

Got home late so I didn’t get much done.

This working for a living nonsense is cutting into my knitting time.

More Yarn Will Do the Trick

I listend to my Jean Moss CD — a lot of fun! There are three songs — the first one, More Yarn Will Do the Trick, has sort of a bluegrass feel to it. Four Loom Weaver is a traditional English folk song, and Mama Don’t Allow No Knitters is Moss’ version of a “traditional goodtime rag.” All in all, very pleasant listening, even for a non-knitter.

In these stressful times, remember Moss’s words:

“Why pay shrinks and doctors
When more yarn will do the trick?”