Balls of Yarn

Hands...

2010-10-12T21:31:00.005-04:00

Hi. It's been a year. A year. I only knit one thing.The Hybrid/Shirt Yoke seamless sweater from E. Zimmermann's Knitter's Workshop. It was a distracted and fraught with mistakes, but in the end, good, experience. Distracted, because, out of an entire year, I didn't make proper time for it; I worked on it when I was tired, or rushed, or both. By Spring, I had managed to make one sleeve slightly wider than the other, both a bit too long, and screw up the decreases after joining the body and sleeves, then set it aside, and got on with my Summer.

This past weekend, I woke up Saturday morning, sat up in bed, pulled the book and sweater into my lap, figured out where I left off and what needed to be fixed, and knit for two days (sitting in bed watching subtitled Naruto Shippuden and eating frozen pizzas). I knit it by the book, but did add some increases along the body at the point the back begins to broaden, and made the saddles even (with the woven seam directly in the middle).

There it is. A year. You're looking at it.

The Guilty One

I declare myself guilty of never having
fashioned, with these hands I was given,
a broom.

Why did I not make a broom?

Why was I given hands at all?

What purpose did they serve
if I saw only the rumor of the grain,
if I had ears only for the wind
and did not gather the thread
of the broom,
still green on the earth,
and did not lay the tender stalks out to dry
and was not able to unite them
in a golden bundle
or attach a wooden cane
to the yellow skirt
so I had a broom to sweep the paths.

So it was:
I do not know how
I lived my life
without learning, without seeing,
without gathering and uniting
those elements.

At this hour I cannot deny
I had the time,
time,
but not the hands,
and so, how could I aspire
with my mind to greatness
and not be capable
of making
a broom,
not one,
one?"

- by Pablo Neruda, from The Hands of Day

What I got for ya...

2009-10-14T18:43:00.004-04:00

...is a whole lotta nuthin'. Man. DANG. Most of last month I was visiting friends on the weekends - even spent a week out in Denver, CO. Aaaand not a lot of knittin' happened, which has been the case for a while now. Aaaaand now I'm having some serious trouble kick-starting my knits. But hey - its Fall: my favorite seasonal kick in the arse! Time to make a Marked For Knittin' (M.F.K.) list and get ta crackin'!

Need to assess a few things:
First, some of the M.F.K.s need to happen more badly than the others, for one of two reasons: 1. fresh babies are getting squeezed into the world continuously or 2. I saddled myself with a favor (aka. boring side project) agreed to months'n'months ago, but procrastinated (aka. tried to spare myself for as long as possible).

Second, every project I have lined up lacks two very essential things - creativity and planning; I may have creative ideas, but I don't plan them well - or even worse, I have a plan, but its not creative. Right now, I've got a sock cuff which doesn't fit, the start of a sleeve which definitely doesn't fit, and am wonderin' if the body of the pullover will have a wonky shape... Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Third, the whole 'fail to plan' thing is screwing up more than just my knitting. Ouch.

So here's the M.F.K. list:

Baby blanket for a kid arriving first week of January (fun times)
Hat for a friend (the new kid's father - also fun times)
4 pairs of minuture mittens (gag!) as a favor (they are gonna owe me Big Time for this one...)

and at this point, I'm realizing the stuff I had hoped to finish by now is getting relegated to the bottom of the list... (depression).
EZ seamless Hybrid pullover (done with the body, but not sure of fit/shaping)
a classic Rowan pullover or cardigan (got the yarn/not even gauged yet)
tri-color vest (got the yarn/no plan)
green socks (do-over!)
thick winter socks (easy)

I am getting a notebook and planning each one of these projects from start to finish - no more muckin' up half-baked ideas or instructions. Every project has inertia; I'm tired of hitting points where I have to put 'em down and figure it out - it breaks my stride (apparently for weeeeeks at a time lol). Need to hit my knits running again - startin' with momentum I can build on.

Jotting down a few rules while I'm at it wouldn't hurt, either; worked in Zombieland!

Rule #1: Cardigans.
Rule #2: Guage Matters.
Rule #3: Fail to plan, plan to fail.
Rule #4: If it doesn't fit, you must unknit.
Rule #5: Do the sleeves first.

Okay, time to start knockin' out the M.F.K.in' list.

I have returned.

2009-08-30T14:52:00.012-04:00

Ya got that right. I am bloggin' 'bout knittin'. Word.

The long and short of it was that I had another surgery. An anterior ulnar nerve transposition. It is loads better - no problems, I am good to go. As soon as I could pick up the sticks and bust out some knit, I did. And here was what happened:

I finished the copper socks and gave them to my brother as a birthday present.

I finished the Jared Flood Habitat hat. I used Malabrigo (always the right choice); I knit it on US 8's to make the larger size, and it fits me noggin perfectly. I did skip a few plain knit rows here and there in the crown of it, so as to make it close up quicker, or else it would have been deeper than I prefer. (Thanks for taking the below pics, Kristen and T).

I also finished the striped vest (which I had not worked on for three months). I used Cascade on US 8 cir following Ann Budd's handy book. I really like this vest. Ya know, vests have a lot going for them: they keep you warm (but not too warm), they are incredibly easy to knit (80% of which can, and probably ought to be, done in the round), and they are economical (about half as much yarn as a sweater). There will definitely be more vests in the future (I already have the yarn for the next one).

I am very excited to have begun Elizabeth Zimmerman's seamless Hybrid sweater, from Knitting Workshop. I came across Stephen's Hybrid back in the spring when looking for sweater ideas; I wanted a basic, easily modified pattern (to allow for wider shoulders) - which is what E.Z.'s patterns are all about. I bought the yarn (an intense blue Cascade) for the Hybrid just before my elbow was cut on; I wanted something to look forward to, for when I got better - with the hope that it would be better. You know how it is:

"Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crises." - E.Z.

P.S. Here are some pics from the State Fair.

The striped vest - normal pose

Feelin' good about being finished - Hulk pose

Cool pose

No comment.

The Habitat

Tuesday sucked. Friday rocked!

2009-04-11T22:58:00.004-04:00

I came home Tuesday after a plain 'ol stupidly awful day. Only one thing for it:

Beer bread (used Bluegrass Brewing Co. Nut Brown Ale)

The sock is much farther along by now than what is shown above - I'm already past the gussets. I wanted to finish this weekend. I still may, but then, I'm having second thoughts about the kind of toe I put on the first sock, and may end up redoing it. I'll need to decide soon, before its time to do the toe of the second sock.

I'd debated showing a pic of the red and brown striped vest I'm working on - I'd actually thought, "If I don't write about it, it will get done faster. I'll hurry up and finish it, and then write one post about it, instead of a slew of 'not quite there' entries." Eh, here it is - the torso. It was a bit inspired by this vest here; stripes are just cool. I'm using Ann Bud's handy book for the basics. I cheated and did the trunk in the round. I'm using Cascade, a great yarn. I like the colors a lot.

Also, I'm knitting the vest Continental style; that's right, I have expanded my knitjutsu to include this fast, high-economy-of-motion, knitting technique (I've been watching too much Naruto while knitting lately lol). Really, if you are doing stockinette in-the-round, continental is faster, once you get the hang of it.

Tuesday may have sucked, but Friday was awesome. It was... kinda perfect. A rare day. I had Friday off from work, so my coworker L and I went to WFPK's Live lunch to see the Cold War Kids - it was just awesome. We got there early - by a few hours lol - we were the first in line; I knitted on my sock, and L read to pass the time. The show was a great time - I sure hope they come back to Louisville soon! We even got to meet Laura Shine - the best damn DJ in Louisville and a super-nice lady. Afterward, I went to Ear Xtacy, got the new albums from Neko Case and Cold War Kids, and spent the remainder of the day listening to music and knitting. What a day.

Yawn! O man, its bed time.

Confection perfection

2009-03-28T13:06:00.012-04:00

That's right, I finished the Confection, a pattern by Tonya Wagner. It was a fast knit (when I was actually working on it), made of Blue Sky organic cotton (which is some really good stuff). I made the largest size, which took two hanks of the Blue Sky - but I Had a ton left over. I only had to use the second hank to do the last few rows on the back, and add the ribbing around the edge. Soon, it will be in the mail to my friend. I'll see about getting some pics posted of baby Gracie wearing it - that would be Confection perfection, no doubt.

Still working on the copper socks - I'll finish the cuff and heel today - it won't be long now.

Its time I started a larger project; I'll get some input from my comrades at the Nook, and keep you posted. Later - I'm going to rock out with my socks out.

Currently knitting to: Andrea Bocelli - Con te Partiro

Knit it like you stole it.

2009-03-08T20:20:00.015-04:00

I feel like a failure - look at me - one post per month - sad! You deserve better, my readers. The thing is, my knitting right now is really indicative of my life in general - a lot going on, but not a lot getting done. I currently have three projects going (all of which might have been finished weeks ago), and a few ideas of projects I'd like to start - but I'm kinda standing around scratching my head wondering where all the time goes. I've been back into lifting for a few weeks now, and that's cut into my usual amount of free time quite a bit, now that I think about it. Maybe I need to sit down and evaluate my priorities.

First off, the copper socks. I finally finished one of them, and started the second one. I tell you what, the first two inches of an 80 stitch sock take forever. But, once I get past that, it starts rocking.

Secondly, is the Confection baby shrug: this is an extremely fast knit, but I'm just not getting a lot done on it. Forget the excuses - this shrug needs to be off the needles and blocked, and in the mail well before Easter. From now on, I will be knitting it like I stole it. Pun intended.

Third, is the Habitat. I had hoped to finish this before the cold weather was over - as long as there was cold weather, having another hat around couldn't hurt. But the cold weather is over - which rocks so hard - even if the hat isn't finished. Anyhow, for this one I need to follow a chart, which isn't really good for knitting with my comrades at the Nook or when its late at night and I'm feeling kinda wonky - which is when most of my knit action happens. Cold weather or not, I'll finish this one, if only to get my no.8's back.

I don't know about the rest of you, but this weather is freakin' invigorating. Saturday! what a God-send it was... woke up late, started some laundry, finally got the stupid Vista update to take on my computer, ran some scans after that, put the laundry away, then Bill came over, and lo and behold we still had the whole day ahead of us. So, we went to get some lunch, ran some errands, I got a tight haircut, did the grocery shoppin' and then it hit me! What the heck, its only 5:30, its absolutely beautiful outside, and there's 2 whole hours of daylight left! So we hit the park and took a really slow walk; it was crowded - babies, dogs, couples, runners, picnics - someone even had a kite out. We got back to the house, I cooked a pizza dinner, and baked a loaf of home-made bread while we watched the entire first season of Father Ted (which is hilarious), and then I fell asleep with all the windows in the house open. Not too shabby.

Today, I went to Vi's housewarming party. What a pot-luck! I haven't seen the likes in ages - and I'm a Baptist for crying out loud! It was great to sit around with friends, laugh, knock out some solid knitting, and get absolutely gorged on some phenomenal home cooking. Vi really knows how to throw a party. Wish I'd taken pics, but I'm sure somebody did.

I came home after the party and baked four more loaves of bread, while I worked on the Confection. I had no idea bread was so time consuming - but it is totally worth it. I made two whole wheat honey loaves, one molasses, and one maple syrup. Crap, the kitchen is a complete wreck.

I'd rather be knitting than blogging. Until next time - which won't be next month!

Not really a surprise - but, yeah, it is.

2009-02-01T22:42:00.014-05:00

Here it is. The surprise jacket I started right after the last one. I finished it about a week ago. I know. Also pictured below is some yarn for some wash clothes, and some Blue Sky organic cotton - I'm making the Shizknit's Confection baby shrug for a friend's kid.

Time for some honesty: I spent all of the snow days we've just had playing WoW. You have no idea how addicting this game is. It is straight heroin. I kid you not. If you have ever seen the South Park episode about WoW, then you might be able to comprehend what I am trying to relate about this game's all-encompassing life-sapping soul-raping addictive power. The game is an MMORPG. MMORPG stands for Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game. Emphasis on the massive. There are loads of people playing this game. You probably don't know any of them, because, well, they are at home, playing the game. Anyhow. You start the game as a level 1 player, and try to run, gun, fly, buy, hack, hunt, spit, shoot, heal, kill and kick as much arse as possible until you reach level 80 (separate expasion set required). Which will take an unholy amount of time.

But the game is just... I don't know how to put it. You actually create a character in this 'world' and then start living by its rules (and yes, spitting on someone in the game is as rude as in real life - save it for the enemy). You can get pets (and you have to feed them). You can get hair cuts - my character has a mohawk. You can pick your own clothing/armor. You can be a hero, or an a-hole. And believe me, there are a-holes in this game. Guys who will beg you to help them with a quest, and then once you are deep within the virtual reality bowels of this world, up to your ears in a vicious mob (aka. large group of monsters) wacked out on aggro (aka. aggressiveness), that guy will hearthstone (aka.leave), and you will die, alone. And then you have the tedious task of corpse crawling (aka. "get your ghost back to your body, try to run from monsters, get killed, repeat") until ya make it out of the dungeon. For you knitters, this is similar to frogging the cuff of a sleeve 5 times before getting it right. Frustrating, in a word.

And get this: the game has its own freakin' economy. And it works better than our real one! I mean it - everyone in the game has JOBS. And no, JOBS is not a jargon acronym - the characters actually have to work. My level 31 Night Elf Hunter is a leather worker and skinner. Because to get better stuff (armor, weapons, useful items) you need gold. Good thing there are auction houses and banks (and apothecaries, stables, blacksmiths, etc. etc.). Yeah, the characters make items, then try and sell/trade/auction the items at a premium price. You can also form guilds - which is basically large groups of players who combine their resources and abilities for mutual advantage - such as helping with quests. Not only this, because the world is so large, you are constantly running around from place to place - or, in my case, getting a bit lost and having some gnarly animal kill me. Those are the not-so-fun times.

I kinda realized, slowly, that when jargon for the game begins to include terms like "grind" and "farm" (aka. spending long hours just killing lower level creatures to earn needed gold) - its kinda become too much like real life. And this may sound insane, but that's also why the game is too much freakin' fun. When you do get a level up, and the monsters which were a pain get easier, well, that's something. Effort pays off. You play by the rules, you win (which isn't necessarily how real life works, but oh well). Technically, though, the game will never end - they will always come out with expansion packs.

Oh heck yes, I am quitting this game. At level 31 - not level 80. I have just (barely) managed to buy a mount (Nightsaber Cat, to be exact), and I'm walking away while I still have a few wafts of the euphoria of victory to savor, before I'm subjected again to the hack and grind existance which is WoW. I'm sure I will jones for it - the rush of battle, the clang of weapons - I will go into withdrawl from my own adrenaline lol. I mean, when Conan was asked, "What is best in life?" he answered, "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women." That's some mighty potent stuff.

But like others before me, I will have to rely on my yarn and sticks to beat an addiction. Um, okay, I shouldn't have made that joke. Turns out the people that comment on WoWDetox.com have/had an actual addiction problem. Insane.

Not sure how much sense it makes to beat one jargon-riddled subculture-ensconsed addiction with another, but here goes. (Don't worry - I'm already working on the Habitat which didn't get finished this week. So many terrific snow days, and I didn't knit a stitch. I just kicked myself.)

Another reason less knitting is happening: I got back in the gym. Its awesome. "Picking up heavy things and setting them back down", as Hank used to say. Tomorrow: leg day.

Fall, Froggin', F-bombs, & F.O.'s

2009-01-14T21:37:00.028-05:00

Get this: I actually put off writing a blog for so long, that Blogger blocked my blog and I had to put in a request to keep it from being deleted.

I don’t have much of an excuse for not writing, other than just getting busy doing other stuff. Personal Stuff which is not appropriate for blogging. If you want to know what that is, you'll just have to come to SnB and pull up a chair like everyone else haha.

But here’s some of idea of what I got into during the months I didn’t write: Rocktober rocked really hard this year; I went camping in Red River Gorge for 6 days/5 nights, and also got in a day of hiking in Bernheim Forest at the start of November. Both months didn't involve a lot of knitting. Which is kinda lame, since Rocktober was when I started knitting - and what a great year its been. I mean check it out everyone, I am an established knitter. I have a freakin’ blog about my knitting for crying out loud (yeah, sorry - it will get a lot more posts in the future!). I won’t say accomplished, but yes, established – and I give a most hearty shout out to all my comrades in yarn at the Knit Nook, Lou.KY for all their help, advice, and wit - here’s to many many more yards of yarn together!

Rocktober - 6 days/5 nights in the Gorge. Fun times.

A view from Bernheim, early Nov. - nice, eh?

Eh, December might as well of not happened. Moving on.

Since my last blog, I have finished the worsted weight socks, and while working on them, gave some thought to the reactions I get about my knitting. Some like it, most don’t care, but generally, everyone points out that I am a man who knits. Just for the record, Balls of Yarn isn’t a “man’s knitting blog” – it is a “knitting blog”. The blog used to be called “Ballistic Knitter”, but I changed the name to Balls of Yarn because my friend D and I had a laugh about it. Yeah. And now I’m stuck with it since Blogger won’t let me have the old name back. Yes, we are stuck with the hairy testicle reference URL for my blog… sorry, world.

But hey, back on topic: being a guy makes no difference in how a knit or purl turns out... But this is an ironic argument for me to make. Feminists have used a similar argument to justify wanting to fly jets, shoot their enemies, and go into space - you know, typical "man" stuff; women can do it just as well, so why shouldn't they? Here's the irony: I ascribe to the school of thought which thinks is should be men crashing into mountain sides, running through foreign slop catching bullets, and die screaming in the black cold silent vacuum of space - call me old fashioned for not thinking gender roles are completely outdated... It's not that I want to put women in a box, so much as them keep them from ending up in a pine one. Moving on.

I admit it – what other people thought about a man knitting – it bothered me at first, and that’s why I didn’t knit much of anywhere other than the Nook. But I also had this in the back of my mind: I went to Ethiopia a few years back, and while there, I paid a weaver to make a gabbi for me. The weaver supported his large family working a simple loom made of tree limbs. He worked with native hand spun cotton to create a sturdy fabric which was then sewn together to make the traditional uni-sex clothing (the only difference, the women's had more 'color'). The weaver was skilled, and extremely proud of his work. In all the areas I visited around Lake Tana, I never saw a woman working a loom; women cooked, carried stacks of wood larger than themselves, fetched water, bartered and haggled in the market, and washed the clothes in hippo and croc infested waters - but weaving was apparently men’s work; it made an impression on me. Evidently. Now, wood is freakin' heavy, and hippos and crocs are lethal, but somehow, this was the woman's work. Go figure. I think the guys did the weaving because, really, its grueling work - and come to think of it, a good source of income. Income is power, and... well, okay, I guess I might as well stop. Culture, mores, gender roles - I figure knitting fits into all that somehow, but I don't know enough to explain it, much less understand it.

Another reason I picked up knitting: it fits. I’m good with my hands; I like to make ‘stuff’; I have a humongous utilitarian streak. Breaking any sort of convention had nothing to do with it - gender or otherwise. Nowadays, though, I have to admit that knitting is unconventional for anyone to do... I can see the appeal knitting might have for all the DIY’ers out there wantin’ to buck the consumer culture, and even for those seeking to connect with something traditional (ie. something older than themselves)… I don't think that's really my reason, though. My friend Deb (who gave me my first knitting instruction) told me the old adage a long time ago, “He who cuts his own wood is twice warmed” – aaaand that’s about as complex as it gets for me.

Recently, I completed a few hats. I made another (larger) butterfly hat. I also knitted an Epitome hat (a Tonya Wagner Shiz Knit design), and it turned out great. I used Malabrigo, double stranded, and manoman is that some great yarn – and it only took one ball! The Epitome was given away to a friend already – so I don’t have a pic of it. I may just make another.

I still have a copper sock on DPs, which needs to get finished. When, I have no idea.

Here’s the worsted weight Cascade 220 socks I finally finished. You have no idea how warm these things are. All of Sept – Nov with no heat in the house? Not a problem. I knit them on US 3s.

Yeah, they are as comfy as they look. I plan to perfect the fit on my next pair.

I also started a Habitat (Jared Flood/Brooklyn Tweed design) - I'm about 1/3 of the way done.

And my roomie had been hankering for a handknit scarf, so I got some Rowan and knocked it out in about 3 days – it was part of my Thanksgiving knitting. It was a simple knit one row/knit-purl one row, then alternate the 'wrong' side when I switched colors.

the roomie's scarf

I had purchased some yarn to make a jacket for my brother’s baby (who isn’t here yet. The kid was a complete surprise, so, its not like I had to think hard about what to make). But then my friend Deb sent me a pic of Aurdrey Jane (5 months), and the idea of a pink/green striped jacket for her took over. Seriously, knitting for red headed babies - if you haven't done it, go find one, and knit something - you'll know what I mean.

I have a confession to make. In the course of making the baby jacket for sweet Audrey Jane, I had to frog. Twice. The first time, I’d been about 3 hours into it, before I began questioning what was happening. I reread the pattern (EZ’s and the another version I had of it), and not finding an oversight, just carried on for another 4 hours or so. And then I realized it – I wasn’t knitting every 2nd row. So, I bit the bullet, and frogged it. When I started again, I kept going for about 8 hours, and then realized I had been making a different mistake – I hadn’t been moving my marker, so… yeah. I dropped a few F-bombs, and said some things about EZ's pattern which I absolutely entirely wholeheartedly regret. So many regrets.

But don’t sweat it – I finished it a few weeks before Christmas, found just the right buttons for it, and mailed it to Audrey Jane's very appreciative parents (they get it!). And get this: the pattern is awesome and I really like it a lot. Yeah, yeah, nevermind my stupidity earlier. Once I mailed the first, I immediately started the other one for my brother's kid, due in a few more months.

Begin with a bit of inspiration...

...to quote EZ, "ALL GARTER STITCH. All in ONE PIECE." - Knit Workshop pg.100

...sew up the seam with a crochet hook...

...add some buttons....

...insert baby, aaaaannnd...

Happiness!

Next time I completely bomb a project, I'll try not to F-bomb the project - I could end up loving that project and getting tons of thanks for it. I'll just begin rippin’. I'll try not to cuss – it does not help; I will only say things I'll regret. Frogging – its not just the balm, its the cure.

Which makes me recall a favorite book of mine, Emily Upham’s Revenge, or How Deadwood Dick Saved the Banker’s Neice: a Massachusetts Adventure. I loved this book as a kid. It was a smartly crass hybrid of a moralistic children’s tale, and a cheap Western dime novel, and it was hilarious. Here's a poem from the book, “Don’t Tell a Lie Dear Children:”

Don’t tell a lie, dear children,
No matter what you do,
Own up and be a hero,
Right, honest, brave and true
The rod but hurts the body,
While lies destroy the soul,
So, don’t tell a lie, dear children,
Keep your spirit pure and whole

You have no idea how hard I laughed when I first read this as a gradeschooler. I'd recite the poem to myself whenever I needed a laugh. Good times.

Next blog: the Habitat (!), another Baby Surprise (!!), and will I ever finish the copper socks (!?!)? Stay tuned!

Knitting: the result is always greater than the sum of its yarn.

2008-09-02T21:21:00.011-04:00

Here's the pics I promised!

my first pair of socks!

Jan, dutifully modeling the Butterfly hat described in my last post.
The hat is a wee smaller than anticipated -
but that won't bother my sweet neice Chloe Reese.

my decreases are the shit.

I made another Thorpe for Jan, just because.
Sara is posing the hell out of it, and I'm just doing what comes natural.

Since completing the butterfly hat, I got two more hanks of Malabrigo - the stuff is just that good, people. I don't know what you guys did this Labor day weekend, but I watched all the Harry Potter movies back to back, got two hats started, and finished this sock. The sock is Cascade 220, 60 stitches cast on, size 3 needles. Yeah, this did involve my roommate coming into the living room at 5am on Monday, seeing me turning the heel, getting a drink of water, and going back to bed. This sock represents a lot of ideas/frustrations/realizations I've been having about knitting, and you can bet I'll still be hashing this all out while I work on the sock's mate. Maybe by the time the pair is finished, I'll have figured something out worth sharing.

But I NEED it!

2008-08-23T17:05:00.012-04:00

Hey, July is over with. It's gone, no blog action happened at all, and not as much knit action happened as I would have liked. Sorry everyone for having to look at my gross foot for two months straight.

I guess I might as well relate what happened to the socks: I finished the red socks, and gave them away as a birthday present. I had hoped the person would really like them, would understand, "These, the first socks I have ever knitted, were made for you, by my own hands." I really took the effort to make sure they were just right, too. The reception of the socks was about as ho-hum as it gets, dealing a serious blow to this person's knit-worthiness; who knew my mom wouldn't 'get it'? Life is full of harsh lessons... (HAHA - I'm reading aloud as I type this, and Cindy just cracked on me for sounding like Doogie Howser).

After the socks, I didn't start anything else for a while. I had to start saving some funds for a new-to-me car because the slave-cylinder went out on the '88 Ranger. I was fairly bummed about that - I really liked that truck.

But the summer wasn't all downers: I met some new knitters - at my church. There is a really sweet lady named Ms. Ruth, an immigrant from South Africa, who is teaching the ladies how to get their knit on. Ms. Ruth also has a great way of holding the needles; she cradles the needle between her thumb and index finger, so that when she releases the needle to throw the yarn, the needle is resting in the groove between thumb and finger - what's more, she throws the yarn with only her index finger! Her way strikes me as a mix between the advantages of continental and regular; you never release the yarn or the needle, and all the while she's primarily working with her dominant R hand. Ms. Ruth doesn't think its a big deal at all; all the knitters in South Africa knit this way, she says. She accussed my way of being 'dreadfully slow' in her aweseom accent, and we had a hearty laugh. Yeah, me and Ms. Ruth are lookng forward to knitting together more. She's a sock knitter, and quite keen about DP's (circular are just not for her); rock on.

Uh, what else... I did knit another one of the beanies from Son of S'n'B, using yarn I purchased for that purpose a long time ago. Basically, because I'm poor, and can't support my yarn habit. Once the beanie was done, I made a few modifications to the Thorpe hat I knit a while back, and made another for my Comrade in Yarn Jan (this time, I cast on 96, altered the fair-isle pattern to involve three rows of diamonds, and in general just did a much better job the second-time around). I think I really like fair isle - a lot.

Right after I did the Thorpe hat, I bought some Malabrigo yarn, and started making a butterfly hat for my aunt, and I'm hoping she get's it.

When getting the Malbrigo, I also got some needles and the Yarn Harlot's At Knits End, and really liked it. What sold me was when I opened it and read the page describing how knitters won't choose a subtitled movie to rent because the project they are working on has a chart. BWAHAHAHAHA!

So anyhow, I've made two hats watching the Olypics, and started a third. I will sorely miss the Olypics. I was up until 3am last night working on the Butterfly hat, watching some vollyball action.

So the Ranger which has been sitting on the curb for a couple months now? I took it to the junk yard today. It was a strange time. A few guys kept offering to buy it from me, even as a five ton fork lift was driving up to hoist it in the air and haul it away. A short guy who worked there asked what was wrong with it, and I told him 'nothing, except the slave cylinder - you'll have to drop the transmission to repair it, but other than having to put clutch fluid in it every time I drive it, its a great truck.' He was more than happy to keep it separate from the others gettin' stacked. Did I say already I will really miss that truck??

Anyhow, I got a couple hundred bucks for it. Do you know how much yarn that is!?? (Okay you knitters out there quoting exact yardage for five different kinds, I'm not at that point yet, but yeah, it's A LOT).

And then I had to make the rent, and pay some bills, and then the Ranger-money didn't seem like so much anymore... what a let down. I still got some sock yarn left, and plenty of Cascade 220. But you know, sometimes Cascade 220 just isn't enough...

Okay, that was a lie. Sometimes, you just gotta knit what you can get.

Next blog: photos!

Its a SOCK!!! (and a half)...

2008-06-24T19:41:00.023-04:00

The 'ol ankle, fresh off the choppin' block!

Here it is - the sock! And my ankle two weeks after the above pic - nice, huh!? It's healed up super fast - must be my mutant healing factor... it's a real answer to prayer. My doc did one helluva stitch up job. Maybe he should knit??)

Here's the Cascade 220, and the Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn I've got in the stash. And the sock and a half. Maybe they'll fit better when blocked... oh well - I'm all about finishing them!

A green tomato. Yeah, that's duct tape; I used it to create the supports between the bamboo stakes. To make the supports for the pepper plants, I used a really ugly Joseph and the Technicolor Acrylic Yarn. Chris from Highland brought into the Nook one day, thinking one of the Nookers had left it there (my bet is it was purposefully abandoned). See, acrylic yarn is good for something! (Lord only knows what it'll end up as next...)

Check out the garden! I accidently deleted some photos I took a two weeks before the above photo - I wanted to chronicle how fast things are growing. This pic compared to last months seems kinda ridiculous... seriously, this is just under four weeks of growth. The oregano is really taking off. The basil is doing okay, too. The lavender is a bit of a slow grower. The onions? I botched it; most of the onions are dead, I think. I'm going to dig them up, maybe plant something else instead.

Cilantro - it does this all the time... I need to plant more of it!

Reading and Recovery (with socks on the side...)

2008-06-23T21:41:00.012-04:00

I'm just gonna apologize for the non-bloggin' and get that out of the way - I'm sorry for not bloggin'! I just spent a couple weeks recoupin' from getting my ankle cut on (for the 2nd time in 9 months). It kinda hurts. I'm okay, though - I can still hold knitting needles. Really - I'm doing well. I'm already walking on it and everything. It's like E.Z. said, "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises."

But, to my shame, I didn't actually hold onto the needles very much during my down time. I did make some progress, though. I visited some friends the weekend before my surgery, and managed to finish the first sock, and then I ran around swingin' it over my head and causing a ruckus, hittin' people with it, holding it aloft like a mighty weapon 'o war and such, etc. No one was really impressed - except maybe Deb and me (I easily impress myself). And then I went under the knife a few days later, and after about 4 days of some (very good) drugs, I cast on the second sock of the pair. I just turned the heel on it - it won't be long now... After that - more socks. I've already got the yarn - some more Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn. In case you didn't know, the socks I'm making now are Rich Red - the yarn/colors I've got in stash are Copper and Olive. I also got some worsted Cascade 220 (a basic grey/tan and burgundy).

But, I did get a lot of reading done. The first day of recovery, I finished reading Jane Austen's Persuasion (Captain Wentworth is the shit, btw), and then read Farenheit 451. Day two I read Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Day Three I read Austen's Pride and Prejudice in one sitting (granted, there were a couple of nice naps involved - but its one heckuva page turner!). The next day, I put in LATRG (Lars and the Real Girl) and started the other sock, and then spent the rest of the time off from work looking for a new ride (the Ranger is awfully close to kickin' the can). Stupid leakin' slave cylinder.

Right now, I'm reading Sense and Sensibility, and its off to a great start - I'm only about 3 chapters in today, but I can already tell Marianne is gonna be Trouble. I'm actually kinda worried about this book; in regards to the rest of Austen's novels, I am a (typical) total ignoramus about them until I actually read them - never having seen any films/movies/miniseries of them - and yeah, thinking they were, (a-hem) "girl" books. But it's actually a good thing that I've been a total ignoramus, because the novel's plots and characters strike me in an unadulterated fashion; they aren't ruined by having some famous actor attached to the face of one of the main characters - I can more readily imagine them as Austen wrote/describes them. Anyhow, this isn't the case with Sense and Sensibility; I saw the movie a few years ago - so even though I may already know the basic plot, I'm hopeful it's still going to be a great reading experience.

So who else is going to the Stitch 'N Pitch?? What an awesome freakin' idea. If we had to vote for the best damn Local Yarn Store, Kristen and Cindy win, hands down. (...aaaand I just repeated "Knit Nook Wins! Knit Nook Wins!" in my best Harey Carey... to myself...)

And that's got be it for now (i'll add some pics later). Sleep is awesome!

Feel the burn!

2008-05-26T13:43:00.004-04:00

This morning I and a couple of friends rode our bikes down to the Waterfront to take part in Mayor Jerry E. Abramson's Healthy Hometown Hike and Bike. Yeah, Jerry was there - sportin' some spandex and everything. blarghfph! It was a lot of fun. A few month ago I got a new bike, and have been riding the H-E-double hockey sticks out of it. Today was no exception. I didn't realize it was a 16.1 mile ride until I got there.

I was a bit anxious that my single gear bike wouldn't allow me to keep up with my friends, but this wasn't the case. There were a few hills which got me up off the seat. It was a lot of fun - I'm definitely gonna do it again next year. During the ride, I even ran into a couple of people I haven't seen in a long time - one of which was a college friend I ran a couple of minimarathons with back in the day.

I think I ended up finishing in about 50-55 minutes? The friends I started the ride with finished in 58 minutes, but I got ahead of them at the end (I was riding with my friend from college at the end). Next week, I am seriously considering riding my bike to church. Right after I invest in a new bike seat, or some serious butt padding. Oh yeah, some major glute pain is happening, folks.

In other news, the sock I'm knitting is too small. Yeah, I'm knitting socks - my first pair. I'm close to actually finishing the first sock, and when I do, I'll make a post about it. But right now, I don't feel like writing about a project gone awry. There is no way I'm gonna frog it - it's a perfectly good sock. The problem I have now is to think of someone who is badass enough for these socks I'm knitting...

Life is good. I mean it.

2008-05-18T16:16:00.008-04:00

This past Thursday, at SnB at the Nook, I finished my Jared Flood Cobblestone Pullover. Kristen taught me to Kitchener stitch, so I could stitch up the arm pits (thanks, Kristen, you rock). It looks great, and it fits, too - that's always a bonus, huh?

um, i'm too lazy to put of a pic of me wearing it. so here it is, on the hood of the Ranger.

In other news, I've started reading Jane Austen's Persuasion. I've never read any Austen, but lately, I've seen the movies "Becoming Jane" and "The Jane Austen Book Club", and it got me interested in her writing.

I also read Steven Weisman's Chewing Gum in Church last night before going to sleep - I love this guy's comics. And I just started James Kolchaka's The Cute Manifesto, which is sort of an apologetic for creativity.

I have a new favorite movie. I think my favorite movie before this was Amelie - so I'm actually kinda reticent to say it, but its true - I have a new favorite movie. I watched Lars and the Real Girl this past Thursday night (to celebrate the pullover being done), and then Friday on the way home from work, I bought it, and then watched it again. The only other movie I've done that with is Amelie (I had to order it off the internet, because I couldn't find it in stores at the time).

You know what else is weird? I can't freakin' watch a movie without seeing knit/crochet stuff in it - its freakin' everywhere! In Lars, there's a lot of hats and gloves, and he uses a baby blanket his mother knit as a scarf (um, its complicated).

Um, what else... oh yeah, the garden! Its going great. Yesterday, I woke up early and got on my old jeans and boots and dug up more ground for planting. I remade some mounds around the plants (to keep the leaves up off the ground), raked the soil to get rid of any weeds that might be trying to start, and then planted the green, cayanne, jalapano, and banana peppers. Later on, H-bomb and I hung out, and that's when I picked up a habanero pepper plant at the Lowes across the river, along with some sage and two lavender plants. I don't plan on using the lavender, it just smells awesome, thats all. This morning, before church, I was back out in the garden, planting everything I picked up last night. I have a few more spots I could plant something, but I have to quit sometime. And I got a nice tingling sunburn to boot. Folks, it is summertime: get off your duff and go outstide.

the garden

greek oregeno is a good looking plant

Tonight, I'm watching baby Job, so his folks can go out; I'll prolly read, watch Lars and the Real Girl (again), and work on the socks I just started (they'll kick a lot of butt, I'm using Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn, 100 gram skein of a superwash/mohair/nylon blend - the color Rich Red. Ah man, I gotta go, I'll be late for dinner!

Garden? check.

2008-05-06T19:43:00.009-04:00

before

after

Here it is: the garden. I'm gonna have to make it larger, though, so I can plant the peppers I bought this week. I got banana, jalapano, cayanne, and green peppers. I still want to get some habanero peppers, and maybe some red peppers. Man, I had a great time getting this garden together. Dirt, old blue jeans, sun, a nice breeze - this is my idea of a good time. When I was watering the garden tonight, I didn't feel so bad about not getting as much done on the sweater as I had hoped to this month.

And then I smacked myself in the head and got back to reality. This sweater needs to get done; its a bad ass sweater, and it's muy gratifying, but I'm getting other projects on the brain, namely, socks. This will be the Summer of the Socks, if I can only get them on the needles. I never thought I'd do it, but I am gonna have to become a two project man, instead of "OCC on one project guy". I knit during the drive home today (yeah, I carpool - go ahead, be jealous), and while unstuffing the sweater from the back pack I carry it in, I realized, "I can't believe I drag this around with me." Anyhow, the sweater is 6/7th of the way done, and I'm working on it every night now; I've already given it a couple hours tonight, and it'll a get a couple more while watching Return of the King for the nth time (the roomie is now down with seminary - so we are going to celebrate with LOTR and Taco Bell!). Good times - the sweater is going really well - just garter stitchin' the yoke, and praise the Lord, I've already got a decrease row done.

Speakin' of praising the Lord, there are knitters at my new church! Ruth, a lady with an English accent, knits socks for all the new members who are women - so when my friend Jamie got her new pair socks from Ruth, she let Ruth know I was a knitter. Ruth is very much a sock knitter - she busts 'em out on DP's, too. Man, it was really cool talking yarn with Ruth - I will definitely have to bring her to the Nook sometime.

A titular change...

2008-05-04T16:58:00.003-04:00

If you were able to find my blog, you'll have noticed the change of title. No more Ballisticknitter, it's now Balls of Yarn. My friend D. suggested I call it this, and this was actually one of the options I'd had when I started out. Although the old title was a good one, this title's testicular obviousness has won the day. I plan on making a new banner for the blog soon; hopefully, it'll make ya laugh.

The sweater is still very much happening - I'm going to work on it some tonight. I wanted to work on it at SnB this week, but I forgot my instructions, and wasn't gonna risk having to frog anything else, so i just sat there and griped. I was actually really bummed that I didn't work on it at much this week. I'm a slacker, and I shouldn't neglect it - it mellows me the heck out, yo.

The salsa/chili garden is happening, too. I planted everything last weekend, in spite of warnings it might frost even after Derby. I even had to make the plot a bit larger, make sure the tomatos would have plenty of room to grow. The basil is lookin' a bit rough, but no regrets so far. I still haven't put out any peppers, though. That'll maybe happen next week.

In my next entry, I'll prolly just post some pics of the garden (before/after).

Egads, I'm going outside to enjoy this crazy amazin' weather.

Take your passion and make it happen

2008-04-18T03:21:00.019-04:00

The Cobblestone took a direct hit, folks: Interweave's knitting guide's wrap technique is crap - at least I think the result is crap, and I'm looking for a better method to wrap a short row. Since I had to take the sweater off the needles to take all the short rows out, I went ahead and tried it on. Lisa quipped something like, "Hey, it looks like Kev stole Jennifer Beal's Flashdance sweater," and then everyone laughed at me.

I was already ticked and thinking evil of Interweave for their B.S. wrap technique, with a couple weeks worth of work frogged and tangled up around my feet, not to mention Jane being finished already, and somebody has to quip that I'm wearing this:

That tore it.

Like Brett from Flight of the Conchords, I dance when I'm angy. I must've been on the verge of becoming a maniac, because Flashdance moves are my "in case of emergency, break it out" moves. Seriously, the 'breakneck-toe-tapping-thigh-shimmy-head-girate' move probably saved the store some furniture (I was too busy using the chairs as props, to seriously consider smashing and breaking them).

Don't worry folks, I'm sure, through the power of dance, Kevin will become an Elizabeth Zimmermann master knitter and one day finish his Jared Flood Cobblestone sweater. I'm already knittin' away again!

In other news, I still love the bike; it's awesome. I ride it as much as I can. And I've started a salsa-chili garden; it was Kristin's idea. I wanted a larger garden, but the friend I rent from would only let me use one corner of the yard; dunno why, the yard's pretty crappy - might as well plow it under and grow food, that's what I say. I've got a nice 10'x10' plot ready, and this weekend I'd like to plant the tomatos, red onions, cilantro and basil I bought today. Cindy says there's still a chance it might frost; this is the Ohio River valley, after all. The habanera and jalepano peppers will come later - I'm looking for a good variety, so if you got any suggestions, lemme know.

the hat which went to Afghanistan

2008-04-02T17:54:00.010-04:00

Oh man, I love my bike. But maybe I shouldn't love it so roughly... yeah, I'm finding out that I ride it too hard ('Michael Scott' it, I know you want to). Yesterday, I got a blow-out on my way to the Knit Nook; I was riding in traffic, and there were too many cars ignoring my existance, so I had to take it to the curb, and ride on the side walk. Well, I must've hit the curb too fast, because the front tire didn't take it so well. Good thing the Bardstown Rd. Bicycle shop is open until 7pm, Mon.-Wen - the guys were a big help. I was about half way to the bike shop, so I went ahead and walked the bike there, and then hoofed it the rest of the night until I went back for it at closing time. I was a bit pissed about having to get a new tire, but then I got philosophical about it: it's better than ending up under one. And shoo-whee, was it cold out last night, and being a dummy, all I had was a white t-shirt on. My nipple transplant operation is scheduled for this weekend.

I forgot to add this to the blog last time - the hat which went to Afghanistan: my friend Jeff sent me this pic of him wearing it. Jeff likes the hat: this pic is also his profile pic on Facebook - go figure. Anyhow, I'd rather be knitting the Cobblestone than blog'n, so I'm taking off. Later!

Pick your jaws up off the floor already...

2008-03-30T17:44:00.033-04:00

...yes, this is an actual blog update. I got so much flak for not posting, I broke down and and here I am, typing up a blog. This is a good thing.

A few weeks ago I got more fish for the 55 g. They all get along, although one (of the five) black skirt tetras got a bite taken out of one of his fins by Adam (the Bicher fish - named after my brother who gifted it to me). The fin has almost grown back; no harm, no foul. The blue Australian rainbow is, uh, blue - and the new severum, named Steve (for one of my friends), is one boss fish.

Over the the past couple of weeks I've read Pablo Neruda's Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair; Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five; Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet; currently, I'm reading Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. It's been... satisfying; I've been severly anemic for all these things.

I've watched Flight of the Conchords, too; the second sleeve was basically knit while I laughed my arse off - not a bad way to get it done. There were a few dropped stitches involved, but they were worth it. The Bowie episode - brilliant, spot on.

Yeah, yeah, we are now to the part which concerns knitting: I've got the body, and the sleeves for the Cobblestone done! Which puts me in the lead (Jane, who had her Cobblestone practically finished, decided to frog the body and redo it; this blow to her almost unassailable lead has made things a lot more interesting. Cindy's taking bets on this, I just know it).

Below ya can see where I was on 2.26.08 - I was making the most of the time on a lunch break at Arbies (not shown in picture: a large Diet Dr. Pepper).

A month later, I've got some sleeves done.

The goal this week is to get the sleeves even, put everything on waste yarn, try it on, adjust if necessary, get it all back on needles, and soldier on...

In other news, I've purchased this sweet little number. A steel frame, but I can curl it with one arm.

I haven't had a bike of my own since... uh, puberty. I gotta admit, Louisville drivers worried me before, but now, well, I needed more adrenaline in my life anyhow.

I ride the hell out of it, to all kinds of places: to the pet store to get Mad Max a new coconut hut; to the Knit Nook to hang with the Comrades in Yarn; to Wild and Wooly; to the gym; heck, last week I was riding home from returning a video at Red Giraffe (yes, Kristin, at least two still exist - but it seems only in Louisville!), when I came across a Latino couple (no habla English) driving down the one-way street I live on in the wrong direction, with a sick baby in the back seat, and they were looking for Kosair's Childrens Hospital. Learning Spanish in five minutes didn't seem feasible, so I had them follow me there. It was the right thing to do.

Mensch, it's late, I need sleep - g'night.

Mad Max and his new coconut hut.

Ever have to make up your mind?

2008-02-26T21:32:00.007-05:00

Here's a link to the article about making up your mind; its not about choosing a yarn color, but I think there are a lot of transferable concepts. I guess I had this on the brain because on 2.14.07 I was having an NPR binge at work, and this interview came on, and then I went to pick out a yarn color, and had a fairly bad case of option paralysis. So here ya go, Knit Nookers - I did make up my mind to post a link to the article, after all. It's a strange article; I had no idea.

In other knit news, today I took the sweater with me to lunch at Arbies, cuz I'm realizing if I don't start taking advantage of small increments of time, I'll be giving it to myself as a birthday present (mid-summer). I think it was Shizknit who told me she loves to knit in public. I dunno, about it, though. The Arbie's manager came over and started asking me about knitting. Then we swapped war stories about broken ankles; he and I agreed - broken ankles are the freakin' worst pain in the world. Jus' chop my foot off and get it over with, thanks.

Instead of knitting tonight, I did three weeks worth of laundry - folded and put it away,vacuumed my room with the shop vac (it was lifting the carpet off the floor - feel the clean!), boxed up all the books from the past six years of school and put them in the attic, organized and shelved the books I still want to read/re-read (including the Human Development books which make me feel like an emotionally crippled social-retard), washed/dusted all the woodwork and furniture in the room, finally installed the videocamera software so I can video-Skype me pals overseas, flipped the mattress, made the bed, gave Mad Max some attention, fed the fish, and then wrote this blog entry instead of going grocery shopping. All of this was obviously fueled by the three large Diet Dr. Pepper's I had at lunch (it really does taste like regular Dr. Pepper, by the way - flavor: awesome).

Now, I'm gonna read a bit before going to bed. I can't knit before sleeping - I won't put it down. But I can't read about knitting - I won't put that down either.

My first E. Zimmermann book and the yarn for my first sweater.
Choosing the book: easy. Choosing the yarn: RRRGH!! (insert Leo sound here).

Two of my fish in the 55g.

So far, so good.

2008-02-24T21:38:00.004-05:00

In advance, I'll apologize for no pics - there isn't enough of the Cobblestone sweater finished to warrant that at this point. The sweater is coming along; I started it on 2.14.07, and I just used up my first ball of Rowan Scottish Tweed today - only 6 more to go. Like Erin, I had some trouble getting the gauge right - I started with 7's, tried 8's, and then finally went with 7's. What the heck?

Its been some slow knitting lately - Jan. and Feb. haven't been a great time, but I think I've got the nose up - the months almost over anyhow. Yeah, and it feels really good to be accomplishing the goal I had when I started knitting: to be able to make a sweater.

It may sound dumb, but I had a crazy difficult time choosing a color for the Cobblestone - I mean, it was my first sweater, I didn't mind spending the money to get a good yarn, but by golly it had to be the right yarn. Kristin, Cindy, and Jan were a big help... without 'em, I'd probably still be in front of the yarn rack agonizing over it. I wanted to make a green sweater, and it had to be tweed. I had a few good options, but the one I wanted the most was in the wrong weight. There was a really similar green in the right weight, and I literally had to force myself (with plenty of encouragement from others) that it was "okay" to choose that color. Kristin finally got really serious and said, "Kev, there will be other sweaters." That put it in perspective.

I don't think I generally get affected by "option paralysis" a lot... but then again, I probably do. I'm generally a decisive guy - I know what I want, come up with a plan, and work like hell to make it happen. Maybe its just things that involve elements of uncertainty - things I can't control... agh, enuf! I'm going to bed!

I like this hat a lot

2008-02-13T09:31:00.007-05:00

I finished the Thorpe hat Monday; what a great hat. It was my first go-around with fair isle and also my first top-down hat. I've got plenty of yarn left and plan on making another hat soon.

Thorpe hat by Kirsten Kapur 2.9.08-2.11.08 (slightly modified)

cast on 88 (instead of 80) on DB #8 (which means I made the front bind off 33 instead of 30, and each ear flap is 16 wide, not 14).
Cascade 220 yarn worsted (dark brown, grey, tan)
using my own simple fair isle pattern (thanks to Kristin for telling me to increase to 88; the fair isle knits thicker, I knit tight, and I have a big noggin'. The hat fits great, btw. On the next hat, I'll prolly use 88 even if I don't fair isle it.)

I'm getting geared up to make my first sweater. So far, everyone I've asked has unanimously (and independently from each other) suggested the Cobblestone, so, I'm gonna make Jared Flood's Cobblestone sweater. I gotta admit, when I first saw it, I immediately thought, "that is a kick ass sweater." Soon, I too shall have a kick ass sweater. I just need to get some yarn; more on this later.

"I'm Fair Isle-ing!"

2008-02-09T20:51:00.002-05:00

Last night I retouched my original fair isle idea while watching the Science of Sleep (for the 3rd time - I actually own it, its that good). Once I got the pattern down (see below), I started trying to get the top of the hat going: it was work (I'm not gonna say how many tries it took - I kept losing sticks!). I stayed up until I was sure I had it down, but then frogged what I had and went to bed. All the practice paid off today, though; the cast on and increases were a cinch, and I have a respectable hat going. I'm not doing it on the #8 circulars though - I tried it out, but didn't like it - I think I knit too tight for 'em, because the loops don't slide very well; I'm back on the double-points and liking it a lot better. Also, because I knit tight, I increased to 88 (instead of 80) 'just in case'.

I've tried to learn something new with every project: the scarf was a good foundation for the basics; the hats were good for learning to use double points, decreasing, double-stitching, and purling; with the gloves I learned how to cable, create additional increases/decreases, and how to stick to a pattern (with the result being matching gloves!). For this project, I learned to fair isle (dur) - but we'll have to wait and see how good I am at it...

And hey! I got the pics of the above projects posted - just see my first blog entry below. Oh yeah, if you all have any ideas about sweaters I might knit, lemme know.

I got the K.T.'s...

2008-02-08T08:57:00.001-05:00

I did not sleep on Wens. night. I had gone over to the Knit Nook to get started on this blog (CINDY helped me decide on the name - i like it a lot, it has just the right amount of knituendo), and ended up getting a 'decaf' espresso blended freeze, but I think the guy making it put some liquid crack in it instead. Like Margie, I'm swearing em off.

Or else maybe I got the Kniterium Tremors. I finished the gloves, and have been kinda out of it ever since, not sure about what to get started on next. Last night, Kristin said, "I think you should do a sweater." Whoa. I think I'm ready... but I need to find a pattern; suggestions are welcome.

In the meantime, to shake the K.T.'s, I'm gonna work on some hats. I saw the Thorpe hat on Erin's blog and my knit fit was assuaged. Ear flap hats have been on my brain for a while, to the point I was seeing them everywhere (like here). At SnB last night, CINDY helped me choose another Cascade yarn, and CINDY also helped me sketch up my first fair isle pattern for a modified Thorpe hat. Sorry no pics of my own yet - here's one from the Science of Sleep (I like the hat):

Here goes...

2008-02-07T08:45:00.003-05:00

I'm a beginner knitter; here's how I got started:

A good while ago (maybe 6 years?), I was visiting some friends; Deb was knitting a sweater. I didn't know she was a knitter, and had never seen it done before. Deb gave me a crash course, but since she didn't have extra sticks, she gave me a crochet hook, taught me to cast on, and I started making mistakes/crocheting.

Shortly after that, I bought a hook and a large skein of bright yellow acrylic yarn and crocheted a crude hat and a scarf (which was about three inches wider at one end than the other). I gave the hat and scarf to Alex, Deb's young son. A while after this, I made a blue scarf, which I gave to Em, Deb's daughter. My friend Mark 'busted me' while working on the blue scarf, which kinda made me angry at the time. I wasn't always the balls out yarn man I am now. I mean, look at me back then - no spine about it at all; pathetic:

Fast forward to October 2007, the day I gimped into the Knit Nook. I was on crutches at the time (I'm already telling one long story, so I'm not gonna start another). So anyhow, I'm in the Knit Nook, on crutches, and I'm not looking for coffee (that's next door). Whitney was teaching a lesson. I got a few weird glances from Whit's students as I hobbled around. When I left, I had a copy of Stitch N' Bitch, some bulky yarn, and #11 needles (which I've not used yet). I went back the next night, which was the Thursday night SnB, exchanged the bulky yarn for worsted, bought #8 16" circular needles, and went home and stayed up really late teaching myself to knit. I was back again on Saturday; Kristin patiently helped me get decisive about yarn and got me going on the K.S.B.N.R.A.H.P. scarf (see below).

I gotta admit, the first few times at the Knit Nook were awkward, but it wore off quick. It was cool when I showed up at my second SnB to hear Cindy say, "Hey - you came back!" Heck yeah I came back - learning to knit has gotta be one of the coolest things I've ever done. My 'Comrades in Yarn' at the Knit Nook are really generous with their know-how and they're highly prone to encourage. Kristin was really patient helping me understand just what I was gettin' into. Whitney taught me to drop down to a mistake, fix it, and then pick it back up. Marge actually put an in-progress hat back on the needles for me because I got pissed off, couldn't think straight and yanked the circular needle out (uh, I don't do this anymore, by the way). Erin and Whitney helped me get going on the Michigan hat, too (see below). Liz actually made me promise that I wouldn't let anyone but her teach me to knit socks - how cool is that?

Below are the projects I've completed so far since I began knitting, in the order that I completed them:

Kinda Sorta But Not Really A Harry Potter Scarf - 11.27.07 - 12.6.07 approx. 45hrs total

*based on an atypicallyknit.com pattern
400yds Lamb's Pride Superwash cornflower (blue) SW57 lot 017
400yds Lamb's Pride Superwash charcoal heather (grey) SW04 lot 016
approx. 6' long, 8"wide, 19 strips, knit in the round on #8 16" circular (cast on 80, 22 rows/stripe)

Since I was on crutches for 1/3 of the year in 2007, my aunt Ruthann was good to me and kept me supplied with movies. A couple weeks before I happened upon the Knit Nook, I watched all the Harry Potter movies back-to-back. Have you noticed how many knitted goods there are in those movies?? Loads! So, I guess I was unwittingly conditioned into this being my first knitting project. It's happened a few times that when a friend has asked and found out that I hand-knit the scarf, they've said, "But it looks like it was made by a machine." Each time I've responded with, "It was." Man, does it feel good to say that.

Knit Nook Hat - completed 12.07.07

200 yds Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran
cast on 80 using #8 16" circulars, rib 1" (k2, p2)
k 6" of stockinette, pm, then close top by k2t/8stiches for 1 row, then k 1 row; then decr. by k2t/7 stitches for 1 row, k 1 row; etc. etc.

Michigan State Hat - completed 1.1.08

based on Ski Beanie hat in Son of Stitch N' Bitch pg.55 - the only alteration was I created a stockinette area to double stitch the logo. I used #3 double pts.
50g Debbie Bliss Rialto Merino extrafine superwash blue color 23017 lot 60
50g Debbie Bliss Rialto Merino extrafine superwash yellow color 23007 lot 60

Erin and Whitney helped me get this going. My friend Aaron, who drove me around a lot this past summer, is proud to be from Michigan and is a college football fan. I stayed up on New Years until 4am working on this hat (I found out later I wasn't the only one who did this). After I woke up, I finished it in time to walk the hat over to the house where Aaron was watching the first half of the Michigan/Florida game. When I showed up at the door, the Florida fan said, "Agh! not another Michigan fan!" Aaron jumped up to see who it was, says, "Hey, nice hat!," does a double take, points at himself and asks, "Is that for me?" Michigan won, and Aaron is wearing the hell out of his hat.

Beer Gloves from Son of Stitch N' Bitch - completed 2.3.08
The goal was to complete these things while it was still winter. Kind of an ambitious 4th project, but what the hell - I saw the ones Kristin made and went for it.

This past weekend I drove up north to visit my friends Tom and Deb; it was awesome - there was lots of snow, barn chores, chainsaws, beer, and an awesome steak dinner. I finished the gloves on Super Bowl Sunday, and started wearing the hell out those gloves right away. At a party later that night, Tom, Deb, and Em thought it was gross that I was eating nachos and cheese while wearing the gloves - so I took them off. But I put em right back on again when I had me a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and a couple of Grolsch's to boot.

Get this: during my visit, Deb got motivated to finally complete the sweater which got me interested in knitting in the first place (go back to the beginning of this post). Deb said this sweater has been ten years in the making, and she's going to finish it! She dug through her cedar chest and got all the peices out; turns out only 1/4 of the front needs to be completed, but one of the sleeves was too short and need to be fixed. Deb unbound the sleeve and started pulling; 5 minutes later, that short sleeve was getting longer. What's more, Deb and I went hunting for LYSs, and found two. Recently Deb knit herself a great hat out of handspun wool sent to her from her friend Martha Owen, a resident artist at the Folk School.