March 30, 2005
I've been knitting, I've been reading the blogs, I've
been playing a lot of Katamari Damacy, and I've been drowning in work for
my class (the one I'm teaching, let's not even mention that I have a presentation
and paper due in the class I'm taking that I haven't even thought about,
let alone started)... so with all of this the thing that gets bumped out
of the schedule is blogging. Things are going to get more hectic
through April, but hopefully by May I'll get a minute to breathe, before
the hell of quals start.
Anyway... a knitting update...
1. NBaT... I finished the front (thanks for all the nice compliments on the last post with the logo. Even though I called it intarsia, I think what I really did was closer to fair isle... but I still am confused about the two, and am pretty sure that I've invented my own way of doing it). I also finished the second sleeve while waiting to have my car inspected Monday morning. So just miles of stockinette for the back and I'll be ready to sew it up. Actually, the stockinette isn't so bad when I knit backwards for the purl rows. I am in love with knitting backwards!
2. Poncho for my aunt.
3. Box of Fire socks.
...
Ok, I have to go back to prepping my lecture for tomorrow,
so that later tonight I have time to play Katamari... I mean, so I have
time to knit... who am I kidding, I want to play Katamari!
March 26, 2005
Ok, well by now, I'm sure you've figured out what my
design is... That KnitPro
program is totally awesome. The design came out perfectly!
I must say that while it looks pretty in the photo, it is a little wonky in real life. My intarsia skills are still not very good (actually I have no clue if I'm doing it in a "right" kind of way, I think I actually made up my own version). Maybe if you are lucky, I'll show you the back of the Rutgers part and how ugly that is.
A couple of things about the pattern, I had to adjust the number of rows between the waist shaping and the bust increases. If I followed the pattern, I would have a dress! As it is, this is going to be a bit too long. I'm not sure why it is so long. My gauge is only the tiniest bit off. I really like the Butterfly yarn, although I don't know if I'd use it again for this project.
Maybe I'll get around to telling you about my other 2
projects, but today has been busy with doing taxes and FAFSA, grocery shopping
for Easter dinner, and playing Katamari Damacy (a weird little game that
is very addictive).
March 24, 2005
The Thank You post...
Ok, I wasn't going to post until tomorrow, but I've found a few free minutes of time and I have some wonderful news to share. My sockapalooza socks arrived!!!! They were waiting in the mailbox when I got home from teaching. The mail had come before I left for class and I was sad that they weren't there. Turns out they showed up later from the FedEx guy. Ok, the FedEx guy just delivered them. The super, wonderful Stacey knit them for me! FOR ME!!!
Peeking out from under my jeans!
Wow! These photograph beautifully!
Yes, that is a Freud action figure on the desk.
As you can see, these socks are beautiful and fit perfectly! I love the colors, so yummy! I keep staring at my feet. Stacey included a note saying that the yarn is Interlacements Toastie Toes in "Poppy Fields." It is so soft and comfy. I need to find some of this yarn to make more socks with. Thanks so much Stacey!! The socks are fabulous!!!
More thank yous...
Thank you to all of the following fabulous folks who left wonderful compliments about Mariah. I really appreciate all of them, maybe in some future life, I'll be able to dedicate more time to responding individually via email...
Ok, really stupid sidenote. But I was looking through
my archives (yes, I updated the completed projects page and had to look
back to see what I'd completed over the past 3 months), and saw the post
about Dr. Chen's (on ER) beautiful sweater that she wore on the last episode
she appeared in a while back. Well, I caught a few minutes of the
new Rachel Ray show
on Food Network, the
one where she hangs out with celebrities and eats. Well, Ming-Na
(Dr. Chen) was in an episode and she was wearing THAT sweater! I'll
have to find out if Food
Network is going to replay that episode so I can tape it and stare
at that sweater!
March 23, 2005
I should be showing you pictures of the 3 projects I'm
working on, I should be thanking everyone who has left lovely comments
about Mariah, I really really should be preparing my lecture for tomorrow,
I wish I could be taking a nap and finally getting rid of this cold...
but instead I feel the need to throw my two-cents in on a topic that is
circulating in the knitblogging world.
First check out The Knitty Gritty for a starting point. If you need to go investigate more before coming back, go ahead I'll wait here.
It is very depressing that this "Knitblogging" community of which we are all a part, whether we have our own blogs or just read other peoples, whether we leave comments or not, is continuing to show features of our society at large. By that I don't just mean the American political spectrum because knitblogging is an international community. I hate to step into professor mode here, but the situation all too clearly mirrors what I lectured to my students on Tuesday about - prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination.
One basic feature of human existence is that we form ourselves into groups. We naturally group ourselves with people we deem similar to ourselves and distance ourselves from people who don't fit into our groups. In this way, we create what social psychologists frequently call in-groups and out-groups. I think (at least for a brief period) there existed a sense of "knitbloggers" as an in-group for all of us. To be part of that group, you blogged or read blogs about knitting. As the group "knitbloggers" has grown, it inevitably and naturally evolved into smaller, more specific groups. Whether these groups can be identifiable by a name or a characteristic is questionable. But you can probably identify your own "knitblogging" in-group by whose blogs you read and whose you don't (whose you don't because you choose not to read them, not because you don't know of their existence).
And again, as naturally (and unfortunately) occurs when groups co-exist in a similar space and there is an implicit sense of competition (who has the most commenters/readers, who has the best content, who has better projects, etc), prejudice and discrimination creep up and spew forth. Just the simple existence of in-groups and out-groups is often enough to cause prejudice and discrimination. It seems to me that this is what has been brewing around the knitblogging world in recent months. It has created a situation in which some bloggers mock other bloggers, and commenters leave hateful and angry comments to the blogger and to each other.
What can be done about this? Depressingly, not much. Techniques such as mutual interdependence are probably impossible to apply to this virtual community. Keeping an open mind, reading outside of your typical blog circle, and in positive ways encouraging others to think openly and thoughtfully are probably good steps. But again, the research literature is depressing because once people have established their beliefs, they are highly unlikely to change them (this is a little concept called belief perseverance). So again, what can be done? I don't know... Education is probably among the best medicine.
If you are so inclined or interested in learning more about how prejudice develops and functions, I would highly recommend trying to hunt down a copy of the video/DVD A Class Divided. PBS will sell you a copy for $50, but you can probably find a copy at your local library or local college library.
Ok, I'll step away from my lecture podium now. If
you have any opinions or feelings about this stuff, please leave a comment
or email me. I promise some knitting content, some life content,
and whatever else I feel like blathering about probably on Friday/Saturday.
March 20, 2005
Wow! Thanks everyone for the great comments on
Mariah! I love her so much that I've actually wore her 4 days in
a row. I'll try to reply to everyone's lovely comments when I can
type for more than 2 minutes without needing to blow my nose.
Yes, that ear ache last weekend was a signal for a whooping cold, which started Thursday and has been getting worse... sniffles, to stuffed nose, and now a bad cough. I hope I turn the corner before I need to lecture for 90 minutes on Tuesday.
I did manage a bit of knitting last night. I made a swatch for Nothing But a T-shirt.
Ok, so maybe it is a sleeve. This only took a couple of hours to knit up and probably could have been faster if I didn't have to keep stopping because I was either a) blowing my nose or b) laughing too hard at Kevin and his brother playing GTA: San Andreas. I got gauge with the Butterfly yarn on size 8s and I love the colors. The red really is that vibrant. Any guesses yet as to what design will be on the front?
If you are making a Nothing But a T-shirt, or anything else that you want a knitted logo, saying, etc on... check out this site. I found a little article about the woman who runs the site in Bust magazine. The program she offers called KnitPro can take any picture and put it into a knitting chart. Check out her activism stuff too... a very cool lady!
Ok... off to drink tea, attempt to eat (I've had no appetite
since getting sick and usually I'm always hungry!), and maybe knit, maybe
read more Bust.
March 17, 2005
First off... my
sock buddy got her socks... they fit and she likes them!! I'm
so happy!!
Thanks for all the compliments on Mariah! I've been wearing her all day and love her! I love that she fits under my coat. I love that my grandmom (who I hung out with today) thought I was extremely talented and more advanced at knitting than she ever was. We had lunch together and then went to see "In Good Company." I liked the movie, it was cute and happy (though the ending was a bit odd). And oh my god, Topher Grace is such a hottie!!!
Ok, back to knitting... what I did for Mariah's collar...
Basically, when I finished the raglan decreases, I wasn't
finished yet with the arm cabling (weird, huh?). So I decided to
shape the neck, finish the cabling, and continue the raglan decreases.
For the neck shaping, I bound off 6 stitches on each side, then 3, then
2, and then just did a decrease on each edge for 3 rows. Once the
cabling was finished, I picked up stitches along the front of the collar,
then knitted across to the other side in Chart A and picked up stitches
on that side. Then I completed 1 1/2 repeats of Chart A and bound
off. I starting to come around on the collar. I was going for
the sporty, stand-up look... but this is a bit looser, and I think I like
that. The zipper doesn't go all the way up into the collar.
I'm thinking that I will leave the collar, but I definitely need to find
a better zipper (one that opens at the bottom!).
Here are the modeling pics...
Lastly, a pic drawn for me by my cousin (who loved her poncho and was excited that I made her present!)
...
She needs a good blocking, but that can wait. I'll
post pictures of me wearing it tomorrow!
March 15, 2005
So these came in the mail yesterday...
Speaking of Mariah, only 12 more rows until I finish the raglan decreases. Then I have to figure out my alternative to the hood.
Today I went to a new (to me) knitting store called The Knitting Gallery in Colts Neck, NJ. It took all of my self-restraint to not purchase everything!! I love petting all the yarns, and I think the thing that generally attracts me the most is the colors. I was gravitating toward very bright colors, particularly yellows and greens, and also pinks and rainbowy colors. I walked away with a gift for my secret pal and this...
The store was about 30 minutes away and I will definitely be going back. They had a good collection of sock yarn, lots of Manos, lots and lots of Anny Blatt, a good variety of cotton yarns, some Rowan, some Lamb's pride, a lot of Encore in different weights, and a great variety of novelty yarns.
Responding to comments...
First up, Sitcom Chic completed.
That's the pretty button I got at the Rag Shop on Saturday.
Damn... why did this get all blurry! Well, that's
the final Sitcom Chic on me (and yes, my hair is in pigtails.)
And now... Sitcom Chic on the intended recipient...
Hooray it fits and mom loves it!!
Poncho for my cousin (who turned 6, I think) out of TLC CaraMia (as modeled by me).
I'm going to make a bigger version (adult sized) for
my aunt, and possibly one for me. I hadn't previously jumped on the
poncho bandwagon, but this is so cute and simple, I can't resist!! (The pattern is
by Fibertrends).
And finally, because I don't have pets to gratuitously show everyday, here are several pictures of my parents' cats...
This is Pumpkin (under the chair with the alien eyes).
She acts all sweet and loving to my parents and brother, but doesn't like
anyone else. My parents wouldn't believe me the first time I told
them she hissed at me.
This is Midnight, who loves everyone, especially if you
have food or are in the kitchen.
And finally...
Midnight was more interested in the cake on the counter
than posing for a picture.
Tomorrow I'll try to respond to some of your recent comments and show
a fun goodie that came in the mail today (no, not the sockapalooza socks yet, b
ut I am anxiously awaiting them!) Oh fine, if you can't wait for my picture check
out this and guess what I got!
March 13, 2005
A load of crap...
1. Batteries in my camera died (they are rechargables) so I can't show you the final pics of Sitcom Chic before she is gifted this afternoon. Also, can't show you the poncho I whipped up last night in about 5 hours for my cousin. I'll make a matching one for my aunt during the week. I used TLC CaraMia in a pretty light blue. (I went with this because I was in AC Moore and it was on sale and ooohhh so soft!).
2. Rowan Gem... well, I bought the wrong yarn. Turns out the website I purchased it from has the wrong yarn linked from the pattern, so I have 6 balls of 4 ply cotton when I need 6 balls of Cotton Glace. I thought the 4 ply might work, but when I swatched I wasn't near gauge and the fabric wasn't very pretty on size 3s. I've noticed that while I can get gauge on things and it looks good if the needle size is 6 or bigger, on size 3 or below I need to usually go down a couple of needle sizes. So I need to save up a little money and buy some Cotton Glace. If I get one ball of 4 ply in a color to go with the white that I have, I can make up a Flirty.
3. I woke up this morning with a monster headache and lots of pain in my right ear. I hope that it signals a cold and not an ear infection. Why do I have to get sick at the start of Spring Break? Not that I was planning anything fun, but still!
4. Finally, I bought a zipper for Mariah, and the thought
of having to install it as stopped me completely from working on Mariah.
D'oh!
Hopefully, less crap and more fun tomorrow!
March 11, 2005
Mariah is looking more and more like a real sweater...
A closeup of the sleeve...
I've completed about 10 rows of the yoke. I took a little break in the middle of that to seam up the body because I hate seaming, so I figured it was best not to leave it until the end. The yoke is taking me about an hour to do 4 rows and it feels as though the decreases aren't even making a dent in the number of stitches; I hope that changes soon! The yoke has been hard because the sweater is now heavy and cumbersome, but I did learn how to purl backwards! Knitting and purling backwards is so helpful since at the end of the row I don't have to flip the entire thing. I'm hoping to finish Mariah by next weekend.
In addition to Rowan Gem, Nothing But a T-shirt, and Sparkly Sock, I've added two more projects to my list. I'm going to knit 2 ponchos, one for my cousin and one for my aunt. Their b-days are in a couple of days, but I'm sure they'd appreciate a belated handmade gift more than some crappy thing I can find at the store. I'm hoping to venture out to a new (for me) yarn store over Spring Break to get yarn for Nothing But a T-shirt and the ponchos.
So I'm planning to buy some yarn in red and black for
Nothing But a T-shirt... can you figure out why?
March 9, 2005
So yesterday, from the time I got to my office (a little
before noon) until just before my class, it appeared as though we were
having a blizzard. For those of you not in the Northeast area yesterday,
we didn't get much snow, but what did fall was constantly blowing around,
and on top of a bunch of rain that had fallen overnight, everything was
freezing and turning to ice. And of course, the wind was blowing
directly onto my office windows which have zero insulation, so I had to
keep the heater cranked up. So while it was ugly outside, I was giving
exams in my office while knitting Mariah's sleeves, because I had to lecture
at 4:30 and my brain can't focus on anything but the lecture until I give
it. Don't you know, Rutgers... the university to rarely closes, decides
to cancel all classes starting at 4:30pm... when my class starts!
UGH!!! To top it off, about 5 minutes after they announce that they
are cancelling things, the sun come out and the snow stops, and it appears
as though it is a gorgeous day. WTF?! This wouldn't be nearly
as bad, but my class has an exam on Thursday, so since yesterday at about
4:31pm I've been swamped with emails from students... "is the test still
on Thursday... are you going to include the material that was going to
be in class today?" ARGH!! Yes yes yes yes yes!!! I posted
some stuff over on the class website, so I am hoping that will decrease
the number of emails I get.
Sorry I just had to vent that!
I joined the Nothing
but a T-shirt knit-along! 
I can't wait to make this pattern. It officially starts on April
1st, so I've got time to finish up Mariah. I have about 4 more inches
before I get to the yoking. I've been so proud of myself with the
cabling on the sleeves. I've gotten to the point where I can just
glance at the pattern and continue knitting. I feel a good connection
with the cables so I understand where they are heading and twisting.
It is so much fun!! Back on the Nothing
but a T-shirt, I don't think I'll be using Rowan Calmer (partly because
of the price, and partly because they don't have the colors I want), but
I have time to find a good substitute.
In other knitting news, I started a new sock out of this, which I got a while back from Ronni (we miss you at Wednesday night knitting!!)
I also started a swatch for Gem from Rowan #37, but I don't "really" want to start that until Mariah is finished.
Thanks for all the lovely comments recently. I've
been bad about emailing people, but please know that I very much appreciate
all the comments!!
March 8, 2005
Sockapalooza is finished!!! Here are my Flock of
Chocolate socks, kitchnered fresh this morning!
...
Sorry for the crappy photos, it is rainy here.
This means Mariah is now going to get my entire focus
(at least for a little while) and also means that she is my carry around
project (ugh!!).
March 7, 2005 (March 6 updated)
Sitcom chic is finished! Well, except for the button.
I loved knitting this! This was the first sweater I've knitted where you
join all the pieces and knit the yoke (Mariah will be the second). I absolutely
loved it! While at first it was a pain in the butt to have all those stitches
squished on the needle, it was awesome to be decreasing by 8 stitches every
RS row. With the detail in the center of the yoke, it kept me motivated
to reach that detail to see what it would look like, and then get beyond
to really see it. Of course by then I was close to the neck shaping, so
that was more motivation, and then it was finished. I really like the finishing
on the front edges and neck (I'll show you a close up after it is finished
blocking). I have an 1 1/2 skeins of Cascade left over (how did that happen?).
When I calculated how much I would need, I really ought to have 1/2 a skein
left. I loved using the Cascade. It was very nice to knit with. When I
blocked it yesterday, it was very resistant to getting wet, but eventually
complied. Now we just have to pray that it will be dry by Sunday! And yes,
that is a questionable feat for around here.
...
Here's the front and back obviously unblocked. It is a bit too big
on me, which is good. Hopefully, it will fit mom good!
Here's a closeup of the detail.
In other knitting news, I am at the toe of Flock of Chocolate. About an hour or two of work and it will be finished. Although I still have to weave in all the ends (boring!!). I plan on putting this in the mail on Wednesday or Thursday. I spent some time last night with Mariah. The sleeves are at 12 inches now. There is no way I am finishing all 9 increases before I reach 19 inches. I can't wait to get her in the yoking phase, although after Sitcom Chic, I'm a little disappointed that I will have to seam this one.
Tonight is my knitting class, I know I will have one student
seaming her sweater and hopefully most others are starting on their sleeves.
I'm going to recommend that they take a look at Alison's
Magknits
pattern for their next project. (Which I might be starting as soon
as these socks are off the needles, because I need a new simple, carrying
around type of project. I want to start the Rowan Gem halter, but there
might be a problem, I'll explain in a future post).
March 3, 2005
Just a quickie post before I gotta run to class...
1. I went to Kohl's and am now well stocked in jeans and other things that I didn't really need. Thus I am under a self-imposed ban not to go to Kohl's for a long, long time.
2. Flock of Chocolate is stuck in the gusset and I am uninspired to work on it. Especially since...
3. I finished sleeve 2 of Sitcom Chic and now have it all together on one needle for the yoking!
...
Here it is being modeled by my new Sheepie friend (yes,
from Kohl's... who can resist $5 for a sheepie that goes to helping kids).
You can see the stitch markers in the second picture, I had to take those
out because they were really too small for the needles, so I am back to
using the cheap plastic ones. Ok, time for class where I'll be daydreaming
of knitting and Motley Crue (tonight!!!).
Countdowns...
0 days until Motley Crue
1 days until my brother comes to spend the weekend
5 days until I really ought to be mailing Flock of Chocolate
Socks
9 days until I really ought to be finished with Sitcom
Chic
March 2, 2005
Seeing how yesterday I talked about the current knits
in progress (Flock of Chocolate has a heel now!), I thought it would be
good to take a step back and look at some old knits and were they went.
(I realize that I need to update my completed projects page, but if you
click over there, you can find pictures of the ones listed below).
1. Mismatched size mittens... gone
2. Bikini and Halter tops... no clue
3. Dressy Halter... unfortunately suffered some biazzare
discoloration, so is no longer wearable... i really ought to make another,
i loved the pattern and know much better what i'm doing!
4. Hippie Shoulder Bag... i should pull this out of the
closet, but i've been in a small bag mood lately
5. Cap-Sleeve top... decided i hate this and it has since
vanished
6. Poncho... i don't really like it, but know where it
is
7. Simple tank... gone
You guys out there are the best because I've been getting great comments!
Well, here we are starting off March buried under a lot of snow. Can you believe the snow was so bad that Rutgers actually cancelled evening classes? That of course meant no knitting class, but we'll stick an extra one on at the end. Speaking of my knitting class, I'm going to highly recommend that they all check out Alison's Magknits pattern. I think it would be an excellent some knit for them. Heck, I am adding it to my list of things to knit!
So how did I close out February... well by tearing a huge, freaking hole in my jeans. Yup, check it out...
You didn't think I would show the hole while wearing
them did you?!
Kevin and I went to do laundry in the morning (I was worried about the snow, so he decided to come along and help... of course it didn't start snowing until 4 hours after we finished the laundry, but it was nice to do it together). As I was squatting down to pick up some of the clothes to shove in the washer, I heard this "riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip" sound. Thankfully I was wearing my long black coat, so no one got a look at my tushie. But I basically had to spend the next 2 hours in the laundry mat wearing my jacket and feeling drafty. This jeans were in fabulous condition. Maybe 8 months old, never put in the dryer, no visible holes... the only conclusion I can think of was my butt magically expanded to burst through and then retracted to its normal size. It really pisses me off because I have 2 pairs of jeans that I wear all of the time and they were just washed, so won't be dry for a couple of days. I have one pair of corduroys that are ok, but they were also just washed. This WAS the only other pair of pants left that I have that fit (yes, I have one pair of jeans from college, but I tried them on, and wow... I could pull them up, but I couldn't move). I guess that means shopping time... but as all women know, jeans shopping can be worse than bathing suit shopping! ARGH!
In knitting news (because that's why you come here), I have completed the body and one sleeve of Sitcom Chic.
...
The body is hanging from the bookcase and the sleeve
is being modelled by my laptop. I am really loving the Cascade 220.
Just so she doesn't feel left out, here's Mariah's body pieces hanging from the bookcase.
I am nearly finished with the first repeat on the sleeves.
And no pictures of Flock of Chocolate. She is being punished because she was a bad little sock. One stitch in the cabled part got dropped and I had to fix it. Let's just say it involved 4 sets of circular needles and dropping 8 stitches about 10 rows and reknitting. It is fixed now, but I'm pissed at it.
Some responses to comments...