some thoughts on fibre

Most of you will have discovered these images in my flickr feed long before this post auto publishes around 12am Wednesday morning. ;) (If there are weird index page formatting issues I’ll fix them around 8am EST. That’s the only thing I am not testing well prior to publication).

Right. I can’t knit garter or a simple lace pattern. *sigh* I love the softness and subtlety of this yarn but I didn’t want to totally reknit so i tink’d down and hoped for the best. It was a bit stressful so I did it while reclining on the bed. When I ever do steeks I’ll probably employ a similar technique. ;) It looks like there is a ladder but my stitch count is right so I think so blocking later should straighten it out and if I hadn’t documented it here, no one would be the wiser. PG is very very pleased with me even if I was a dork and used much smaller needles for the first few rows (the blue ones) before switching to my favorite 2.5mm brittany birch needles (they are not toothpicks, but i never called to replace the one I broke. I feel the innards of my bag are conditions which would null any warranty).

My books came! I ordered Coloring in Spinning by Deb Menz and In Sheep’s Clothing by Nola Fournier and Jane Fournier from Interweave’s Hurt Book sale. I would have gotten them Monday but we have a temp daytime doorman this week and the L (designating our apartment) was written lowercase and it does look like an I. (Why the last name wasn’t checked is beyond me). If I hadn’t asked they probably would have sat until next week as the package was put separately from the rest of the boxes. I am SOO happy and would have paid full price for both books. I am colour-sense blind and while I’m still nervous that some of the coloured roving I’ve acquired will turn to mud, I now understand a bit better how it might turn out.

Thanks to the wonders that is that amazing tool, Ravelry, I’m looking at my larger-than-I-realized stash with new eyes. And sometimes a project will jump on the needles. In the past week Chapeau Marnier by Marnie MacLean from Knitty, Summer 2007 claims that honour. It’s not perfect but we’ll see how it goes.

I’m using some of the cursed koigu. I’m not sure if it’s a good fit yet (colour pattern to lace pattern), but am determined to try. What is the cursed koigu? Among my inability to knit garter or simple lace I also am unable to knit the Purl Beret (each new attempt has me screwing up something different. go user error). Anyway. If you poke around my archives enough I’m sure you’ll find out what i’m talking about.

Many thanks to PG for being a well behaved model. (Does anyone know of good markers I can use to fix her eyes? The sharpie wears off quickly. I just want to repaint the lids with a pale purple and fix the black. I’d prefer a fine point tip. It’s a smooth plastic material..) I can go to Pearl or other NYC art stores, but talking to the clerks is very difficult for me. I’m not artsy enough to be able to ask vague queries. Going in and asking for X brand marker would be possible. Public aside to Dave: E is scared of PG (and of a few other friends from the same line) .. something about the eyes freaks him out. ;)

Other projects.. I’ve joined the slogalong in an attempt to finish V&J’s afghan. I should probably add E’s argyles there too. For both projects I’m trying to knit two rows a night. Not much but two rows is more than no rows. :)

I finished my “answer to cold hands”! They are awesome and make me happy. I’m alone at the office this week (everyone deserves vacation!) so I’ve been running around too much to need them. The yarn is Rowan Wool Cotton. I really don’t like doing cables on the subway but can if necessary. I tried to cable without the needle, but it didn’t work out. This was really exciting to knit because I’ve made it twice before and it’s a good pattern to see my progress. The only thing I was less good at this time were the dpn’s (odd despite my odes of love to them this time last year). I must say circs are best for me on the subway. So far I’ve opted not to put thumbs on these hand warmers. That may change when it’s colder.

All lace has stalled. I’m sad because I want to be knitting the MS3 (Swan Lake! I love thee!) but the beads are a bit difficult to manage short of locking myself in a padded room without nooks and crannies for the beads to hide in. I try to knit a complete row (k/p) of seraphim every few days. I love the large chunk o stockinette but the purling (even now and I’m not that far) is killing me. Jared has a great quip on how to fix that. :) he also has a beautiful new wheel. Stop drooling. Between him and Dave I am inspired to attempt to take better photos of my work. E wants a new lens. Maybe he’ll let me play…

Do you have a hitchhiker or a fricke wheel? i’m gathering opinions. I will eventually make my own decision which some of you agree with and some of you won’t. I don’t know what my decision is yet. Cost is a large concern. I want to be able to spin a range of yarn on it, leaning more toward fingering/lace. Size is almost even more important. I can store the Louet under my desk but I must take the bobbin off and I tend not to use my desk when it is there. if I finish cleaning up I know I will have a few other places to store a wheel but smallness is a large factor.

Finally, I used my $5 rewards bonus to a certain smaller chain book store to buy my fall issue of IK so I only paid $1.99 for it. I *love* this issue even thought I know I would never wear all of the patterns. Eunny’s Tangled Yoke Cardigan, Ruthie Nissbaum’s Minimalist Cardigan, and Kate Gilbert’s Cinnabar Pullover want to be worn by me. I love the textures of Jared’s Cobblestone Pullover. I’ll have to see if E would like it…

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Midnight bunny: I still cannot reply BY EMAIL to your comments. I assume I should take the MAPSON (reverse that) from your email address. I get the following from AOL
Your mail to the following recipients could not be delivered because they are not accepting mail from penny (a t ) penguingirl.

• Category: handmade
• Tag: knit, spin