February 2011 Archives

Even though I'm not posting as much as I used to, I still compose a lot of posts in my head. Typically when I'm in the shower or walking to the bus. By the time I get back to a computer, I have other things to do. And then when I do have some time to actually post something... poof! all of those posts in my head are gone.

Remember little Yakky? I've been wearing this scarf every single day (well, every day that I go outside).

Initially I had been worried about the scarf being too small and too short to be an effective scarf. I quickly realized that as a stand alone scarf on cold days little scalloped yakky wasn't going to cut it. But, as a base scarf, yakky is perfect. I can tuck the scarf inside my jacket and wrap my neck in its lovely softness. Then I wear any of my more sizable scarfs as normal. It might all be psychological, but I've felt warmer waiting at the bus stop with this double scarf set up. This is the role that little neck tubes / neck warmers should be playing, except for the fact that they won't stay up!

It took me a few days to find the time and the fortitude to dismantle poor Ginevra. Unsewing the insert was about as painful as sewing it in in the first place. But now Ginevra exists as a huge ball of yarn, a small ball of yarn, and a rectangle of lace (not sure if that's getting ripped too). I was quite thankful that I went for the spit-splice when adding new skeins. Fewer ends to unpick and now a giant ball for my next project.

I was thinking about ideas and looking back through my Ravelry queue and I rediscovered the Estes Vest from Interweave's Fall 2008 mag. The malabrigo should work perfectly for the pattern and I should have more than enough. A cozy best will be a much more practical use of the warm wool than a full pullover.

Now as I'm looking out at the snowy scene on this President's Day, I'd really like to snuggle up with the pattern and yarn and get started. But of course I did no work over the weekend and now have a mile long to do list for the day. Emails to write, papers to grade, lectures to prepare, exams to craft. Blah!!

(I almost titled this Valentine's Break-Up, but I worried that you'd all think worse things were afoot. They are not... I still love my new vacuum! Ha!!)

I think on Valentine's day, it is best to reflect on your relationships and take an honest stock of what's good and what's bad. So my dear Ginevra, this is directed at you.

You are a beautiful sweater. It was love at first sight. I knew that I couldn't resist your charms. As we flirty over the pages of Interweave, I knew that we had to give it a try.

We started by selecting some lovely maroon Malabrigo. I had a single minded focus on you and only you. There was a little dalliance with a sock, but I quickly ended that relationship. You were so soft and lovely that we zoomed through the lacy phase of the relationship.

We ran into a few bumps in the road when our gauge wasn't working right. I knew it was just a matter of time that we'd be a perfect fit. There was that terrible fight and a needle was broken, but we quickly overcame our differences and carried on.

I knew I was probably moving too fast and I decided to put the body on hold and focus on a sleeve. And I convinced you that doing the sleeve my way would shed a little weight, not that you were ever fat dear Ginevra. You were just a little baggy in the upper arms.

As I finally neared the completion of the first sleeve, this is where are problems really started. Ok, I'll take the blame on this. I got too busy, I started to ignore you. Alone, you would sit and wait for me, and yet I didn't give you any attention.

I tried to rekindle our love with the drastic move of inserting the lace piece. I painstakingly sewed the insert in. But alas, I was a little less than careful and it isn't quite even. I thought no one would notice your little blemish. But that blemish sticks out like a sore thumb to me. And the thought of ripping and resewing is disheartening.

And of course, there's still the matter of another sleeve and to finish the body.

Oh and well, there was that affair with a mitten. A singular mitten who is more likely to have a buddy than you are to get finished before the winter is over.

To be honest, while in our honeymoon phase I could picture wearing you with jeans or a skirt, loving being wrapped in your soft warm embrace, the reality of the environment we live in is unlikely to make you a much worn sweater.

My dear, you are very warm and quite heavy. It's the nature of who you are and I know you can't change. I know that I'm always complaining about how chilly it is in my office, but I've got Mariah there for extra warmth, and sometimes Clapotis visits. And really, the classrooms where I spend more of my time are at least 85 degrees on the best of days. Your warm embrace under teaching conditions would be like a death sentence.

Oh my lovely Ginevra, I don't regret meeting you. You'll leave me with some yummy Malabrigo. You'll find others who will love you. I've seen the evidence on Ravelry. It is time to be honest with each other and to part as friends.

Love always,
Dr. GF

No one tells you when you become a grown up that the best new toys are practical gadgets. Kevin and I finally joined the world of real vacuum cleaners last night. We'd been making do for 6-7 years with a stick vac that had gotten to the point where it only really picked up the big crumbs and only if it was feeling in the mood. So a little research and a little spontaneity resulted in us bringing home the Hoover Windtunnel T-series something or other.

It was too late last night to actually try it out (unlike our neighbors who are inconsiderate, we do try to be considerate). This morning I assembled it and fired it up. Oh my!! I had no idea of what color our area rugs actually were because it had been so long and they were apparently that full of crud. The amount of dust, dirt, and crud that this vacuum picked up was impressive. I couldn't stop vacuuming. I tried out all of the tools, in all of our rooms, sucking up dirt and dust that hadn't be touched in years. (We really aren't super dirty people, but in cracks and crevices some dust is impossible to get out without awesome suction power.)

So not only did I get a grown up toy, I now have a clean apartment!

I decided that I needed some mittens. I haven't had mittens in several years. The last pair that I made were from 2005. They were cozy and warm. But somewhere along the way, I lost one of the mittens and thus no more mittens.

The next year, I also made my first gloves. I really like these gloves and still have both of them. Yay! They've been getting a lot of wear recently because it is very cold outside and because I lost this pair.

The pair I lost were originally knit in 2008 and then had knit surgery in 2009. They were perfect and fit wonderfully. They even had that little ring pocket. Where'd these gloves go? I have no idea. Back in December when it was getting too cold for my fingerless mitts, I went searching for them. I could have sworn that I'd seen them in November and maybe even worn them. But they were no where to be found. I checked my knit goods area, I checked my sock box, I checked old jackets and purses. I checked at home and I checked at work. So they either fell out of my pocket or I left them somewhere (most likely), someone stole them (less likely), they are still hiding in the apartment (least likely).

This is not the first time that I've completely lost a pair of gloves. The first gloves that I made for Kevin were beautiful and warm. He handed them to me one day while he was driving. I had them on my lap, I forgot they were on my lap, I got out of the car, and the gloves likely fell in the street, and no more gloves. His replacement pair has been treated (by me) with much more respect (because I'm not ready to knit a third pair of black men's gloves).

So anyway, I'm making the mittens you see above with Malabrigo Rasta that I got for my b-day. I didn't have any plans for the Rasta and was "saving" it. But I realized, why save it? Why not use it for something pretty that will get a lot of use?

Of course, I could only find one of my size 11 circulars (I think there's a needle thief in my apartment!). The biggest size that I had two matching circs in was 10.5, which is a little tight, but I think works well for warm mittens. Unfortunately what you see above has already been ripped out. Since I'm winging it on the pattern, I guessed at a number of stitches to cast on and went for it. I tried to fool myself, but by the point you see in the picture, I had to admit the mitten was more wrist brace than mitten. It was tight and not comfortable. I'm keeping the ribbing because that's fine, but I think adding an extra 3-4 stitches (about an inch) will make a lot of difference. Overall, what you see in the picture only took about 2-3 hours to knit. I'm hoping for a new pair of gloves by the end of the Super Bowl tomorrow!