Spread the love!

Well, Valentine’s has come and gone. DH and I both were not that interested this year. Not because we don’t love each other, but because we express it all the time. The holiday feels a bit forced and fake. We did some stuff for LB, but didn’t know what to do for each other. I gave DH a Wii game he could play with LB (actually, I gave him the money and let him pick the game). He gave me yarn…yes, the gift that says love like nothing else! Actually, he gave me money and said, “Buy yarn for yourself.” True love! So here it is! It is Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Bucks Bar colorway. I got two skeins. I am making myself some socks! The picture is not great because I had to take it this evening in my office. I will get a better picture some day when it is sunny out!

When I went to Hanks to buy it, I took my sister. She was in town to go to the Daytona 500. She has never expressed an interest in knitting. When we walked in, she started touching yarn. She picked up a skein of merino silk blend and held it. She touched some sock yarn. As we were leaving, she said, “Ok, I have to have some nice yarn. Can you teach me to knit? I really need some yarn.” It was great. After the kids went to bed, I got her some needles and yarn. First I taught her to cast on (long tail cast on, of course). I taught her the knit and purl stitches. Then I taught her YO, M1, K2tog, and ssk. Finally I showed her how to bind off. Then I just let her play with the stitches. She did a cute little swatch just practicing. She had some trouble figuring out how to hold her hands, but in a hour or two she got it down pretty well. We returned to Hanks today. She got herself three skeins of Lorna’s Laces worsted weight yarn for scarves for her three girls. I sent her home with some dishcloth yarn (three skeins…all Dale Jr. colors) and a pattern. I also sent her home with the January is for Karen pattern. She is a convert!! So I spread the knitting love with my Valentine’s gift!

 

Catching up!

The last week or so has been really crazy. Because I had several days of court last week, jury selection on Monday, even more court this week, and a trial on Thursday (and then court again on Friday), I haven’t had much time for anything but work. Needless to say, I haven’t had much of a chance to post. I have had a lot I have been meaning to say, too. First, I got my new sock project bag! I absolutely love it! It is from Spinningdoggies on Etsy. I really wanted something with pockets inside for my notions. I don’t like keeping them in a bag or tin because I want to just be able to reach in the bag and find them. This also has pockets outside. As you can see from the picture, one of them is the perfect size for my mp3 player. The others are empty (for now). The inside pockets fit my notions perfectly! I wish the picture of the inside was a little better. This is the medium sized bag. I think it would be the perfect size for adult sized sock project. I have a toddler sized sock project, so it is a bit big for that (but I plan on making myself and DH some socks at some point, so I wanted the bigger size). Another thing I love about this bag is that it can snap onto my purse. My purse is a Vera Bradley in Cambridge. This bag kind of matches! I really, really love this bag!

Monday, I cast on for a new project as a reward for surviving jury selection preparations. I cast on an Alan Dart Yuletide Gnome! I originally cast on on 2s. Unfortunately, the yarn I found that was kind of flesh toned is a worsted acrylic. It didn’t like the 2s. I had to frog and start over on 3s. This is my evenings in front of the tv project. It is for Logan. He chose grey and green for the colors of the gnome (the hat, boots, and mittens will be green…the body is grey). The gnome is really easy! It is a fun, quick project. I have made good progress despite two nights this week working on my laptop instead of knitting!

Today, I had a knitting first! I blocked something for the first time ever. I blocked the scarf for my mom! It came out so beautifully! I don’t have a blocking board, so I just used some pins and towels. I put them on my deck railing (it is about the width that I wanted, so it was perfect). We had such a pretty day! The blocking really opened up the lace and gave it such nice shape! The blocking really made the scarf look like a scarf. I can’t wait to see what my mom thinks of it! She is going to love it! It really made me rethink giving it away. DH also wondered why I wasn’t keeping it when he saw it. I reminded him that I could always buy more of the same yarn and make another if I decide I really need one. I may just do that! I have just a bit left of the Lorna’s Laces Black Purl. I will probably make another of the baby gnomes for one of my nieces.

So, if you have read this far, you are probably wondering about my trial. I got a not guilty verdict!! At the end of the trial, the Judge told me that his former law partner used to say that winning a not guilty verdict was better than sex. I just had to laugh at him. I didn’t feel that way at all. All I felt was relief that I hadn’t messed up too badly. I know that when a client is probably guilty and I win, I do feel that way (it is more of a game). When a client is truely innocent and I win, I just feel relief. Part of that is some self doubt in my practice. Part of that is just a relief that the system still works. Anyway, I felt relief because I really believed in this particular client (and this particular client really believed in me…something that scared me to death). So, that was part of why my week was crazy. I worked really, really hard because I knew that I would never forgive myself for not working hard enough and losing. As it turned out, I was probably really overprepared (a good thing). Now that the trial is over, the knitting will be able to pick back up!

 

Avoiding the Knitting Police

It’s here!!!! The one thing I have been waiting for is finally here! That’s right, my Yuletide Gnome pattern is here! I am dying to cast on. I am restraining myself. I have to finish my January is for Karen scarf first. I have decided that it will be my Mom’s birthday gift (her birthday was earlier this month). I bought the yarn for myself, but I know that I won’t wear a scarf enough. It is too beautiful to sit in a closet most of the year.

I am trying to be disciplined about casting on projects. I have always only ever had one project at a time. I always felt like it was some kind of rule that you just don’t start something new until the old thing is finished. I am not sure who I thought would enforce such a rule. When I discovered knitting blogs and got on Ravelry, I realized that most people have more than one project. No one put them in knitting jail! I see the value in having a small, portable project and another project for at home. I still can’t bring myself to have more than two projects at a time! I still fear the knitting police, I guess.

Another reason I haven’t cast on yet (besides avoiding the knitting police) is that I don’t have a flesh colored yarn. Now I am searching for something that will work in earnest. The Alan Dart group on Ravelry has some suggestions that I am going to check out. Since the face is the first thing that you knit in the pattern, I have to find some flesh colored yarn before casting on.

 

Fearless Knitting

Lorna’s Laces Sock Yarn Argyle
Originally uploaded by Knitting Gnome

When I first arrived on Ravelry, I read a lot about “Fearless Knitting in 2008″. The first few times I saw it mentioned, I thought “how silly…who is afraid of knitting?” As I thought of it, I realized that it wasn’t being afraid of knitting…it was being afraid of certain aspects of knitting. I, myself, have a fear of anything that I see as “new” or “complicated”. I have been terrified of trying anything that wasn’t strictly knit or purl. Since Ravelry, I have decided to conquer those fears.

My first big fear was anything with a slip stitch. I have been knitting the January is for Karen scarf even though the pattern looked “hard”. I have found lots of support on knitting the “more complicated” stitches from people on Ravelry (including a link to the video I talked about in my last post). Now, I realize that those stitches are easy!

My next big fear is socks. I bought my first sock yarn this weekend. That is the absolutely beautiful yarn pictured above. I am going to start with socks for Little Bug. He wanted red and blue socks. I found this colorway (Lorna’s Laces in Argyle). It is soooo pretty (yet appropriate for a boy). He and I are both excited. I plan to swatch this week and get them started. I am going to use the sock recipe from Yarn Harlot’s Knitting Rules! book. After reading the section on socks and a few boards on Ravelry, I am no longer afraid…just excited.

After that, I plan to address my next fear…cables. I have seen a few videos. I am no longer afraid of cables, but I have to find a cabled project to start. Maybe a hat? I will have to look around (probably mostly on Ravelry). As you can see, Ravelry has both made me aware of my knitting fears and given me the tools to address them. Have I mentioned how much I love that site?!

 

When Disaster Strikes…

I never thought I would describe anything in knitting as a disaster. Until now… I have looked total yarn failure in the face. This past week, I figured out a new and better way to do Continental Knitting from a video. All of the sudden, my knitting was beautiful, loose enough to do more complex stitches, and even. I frogged the January is for Karen scarf and started over. It was going beautifully. This is before with two full pattern repeats:

This is after, again with two full pattern repeats:

Things were goingwonderfully. The scarf was starting to take shape. Even though I was totally enjoying the project, I decided not to take it to the in-laws (they smoke). I decided to take the Blanket Buddy I was working on. I knitted a bit on it (the change in gauge from the new, improved knitting didn’t show since it was knitted in chenille). I was starting to struggle a bit on the head. The chenille is not stretchy, and the knitting calls for a bit of stretch. Because I was finding it challenging, I continued to work on it in bits all day.

And then it happened…the unthinkable (ok, maybe a bit overdramatic, but…)! As I was knitting, the yarn broke about three rows down (and several stitches away from where I was actually knitting). I had noticed that the yarn was a bit thinner in that section, but hadn’t worried. I stopped for a bit and contemplated what to do. I decided to keep knitting and see if I could fix it when I got to the part where I stuff the head. I picked the needles back up and suddenly several loops on the needle broke (not just one broke and the others unraveled….several broke in various places along the needle…not all together). Complete yarn failure! I just sat it down and watched for a few minutes. After a short temper tantrum, I took a few pictures and put the project in the yarn drawer in my craft room (yes, I have more than one storage place for yarn…it doesn’t all fit in one drawer). Here are some pictures:

This is what got completed:

What disintegrating yarn looks like (sorry so dark…I need to get an extra light for photographing projects when daylight isn’t avialable):

So there you have it. A knitting disaster!