You Know You Knit Too Much When...

"I can't believe you don't have our Rewards card--You're in here all the time!" The cashier at Michaels Arts and Crafts.

Your friends never ask what you want for your birthday or Christmas or Anniversary or, indeed, any holiday that involves a present.

You're actually a little disappointed with the advent of Spring, as this means your days of showing off your handknits are numbered.

You hear that someone is pregnant, and immediately begin planning the project. You may or may not wait until the happy couple finds out the sex, depending on what colorway of yarn you manage to score in the meantime.

You don't understand anyone who can just sit anywhere without knitting or crocheting.

You're pretty sure your car can make it to the LYS without you steering it.

You refer to the nearby metropolitan area with Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics, and AC Moore as "Mecca," and the stores themselves as "The Big 3." It can take 45 minutes to drive to "Mecca," depending on traffic, but you don't care.

Your idea of a good time on a Friday night is hanging out at the LYS, knitting with people.

You get a resentment because you have two people in your life who are pregnant, one who is moving into a new apartment, one who is graduating school, and one who just wants you to just knit her the scarf you've been promising for years already, and one who's been waiting for knee socks since time and memorial--and really, these people just need to take a NUMBER!

You need to take a vacation day (or days...plural) in order to finish a project.

Normal people look in their closet, see that they don't have enough (shirts, skirts, sweaters, slippers, socks) and decide a trip to the store is in order. You, on the other hand, immediate try to determine if you can knit or crochet any of these items instead. You don't particularly care that it's probably going to take you a month to do each one.

Worn-out socks are a win-win for you. Either you can start investigating how to darn (something you've always wanted to learn) or you can knit more!

Other people look at the camera on an iPad as an odd thing. I mean, really, who carts around the iPad to take pictures of things? Well...you do! The iPad camera is better than your lame cell phone camera, and a very effective way to take a picture of a finished object (FO) and then immediately post it somewhere on-line afterwards.

Your significant other thinks it's an imposition to ask you to teach a friend how to knit or crochet. On the contrary, you feel it's your noble, sworn duty to spread the word of the yarn...

A friend at work, who is from another country, asks you what you mean, exactly by "theese yarn you speak of?" You immediately open your desk drawer and pull out a skein to show her.

You read my list and immediately think, "And your point is...what?"

(My plan is to elaborate on each of these items in future posts.)

Happy Knitting!



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103rd Annual Connecticut Sheep, Wool & Fiber Festival!

Be there or be square!  The 103rd Annual Connecticut Sheep, Wool & Fiber Festival!


http://www.ctsheep.org/sheep_and_wool_festival

I’ve gone for the past few years, and it’s a lot of fun!

It’s next Saturday, April 28, in Tolland, CT. They have booths, classes, sheep, llamas, alpacas, rabbits, dog trials, food, etc.  If you bring someone who's not into wool or other fiber (odd, I know), they can have fun checking out the animals.  My Sweetums especially loves the sheep dog trials--especially the less-than-successful dogs, where the sheep run amok all over the field...not as entertaining for the dog owner, I'm sure.

It's, of course, death on any stash-busting resolutions you may have made this year.  There are tons of booths for wool, alpaca, etc.  I always manage to pick up a skein or two (or three, or four, or...okay, probably at least ten).  For those of you who spin, they have wheels and drop spindles for sale, as well as workshops.  They are also going to have workshops called "Sheep 101" and "Alpaca 101" for those of you interested in raising and nurturing your own fiber-stock.

It’s a great time!  Can't wait!

Pullover Done...Just In Time for Spring...

It’s been ages since I posted. Life, as it has a way of doing, threw me for a loop last month, and I’m still trying to process the situation, and to do the next right thing.

But, getting back to more cheerful knitting matters…In time-honored tradition, I’ve managed to get a big, bulky, ludicrously warm pullover completed—just in time for the warm weather! I’m going to have to put it away for the season, as we are having a freakishly early spring.

The details are out on my Ravelry page:

http://ravel.me/PBELKNAP/9bndpfw

I used a Pure and Simple pattern, which was just that—Pure and Simple! It was a lot of fun to knit, and so easy that I was able to bring it anywhere as a KIP project. I used Misti Alpaca Chunky yarn. Normally, if I’m making a garment for just myself, I tend to go cheap. In fact, with the amount of scraps and stray balls in my stash, it’s almost time for another “Stash Sweater.” Come to think of it, if I modified the Pure and Simple pattern I just used for worsted weight yarn, I could probably use it for the next Stash Sweater. But, I digress. As you saw in a previous post, the day our LYS was having a major sale, friends talked me into taking the rubber band off the money and splurging on Misti Alpaca instead of my usual mainstays Plymouth Encore or Cascade 220 (or if I’m feeling really cheap, Patons Classic Wool, but only if it’s on sale at Michaels that week).

Misti Alpaca was great to work with! I found I got a firmer knit with a 10½ needle, so I slightly modified the pattern, adding on a few more extra stitches to make it roomy enough. The wonderful thing about a top-down sweater pattern is that you can continuously try on the sweater as you go, adjusting for size/length.

Note to self: It DOES freak out members of the household when you try on a sweater with the double-pointed needles still attached to the sleeves…

2012 Bernat CAL Clue #3

Are you a pattern chart person or an instruction person?

I used to think I was more of a written pattern instruction person…I especially find charts confusing when I'm doing knitted cables.  For some oddball reason, I find written instructions (C4F, C4B, T3F, etc.) easier to comprehend. 

I think the opposite is true with crocheting, though.  For the 2012 Waverly for Bernat Mystery Afghan Crochet-Along, I've been printing out both the written pattern and the chart.  All I can say is, THANK GOD FOR THE CHART!!!  The past two clues have been extremely confusing, and I think I would have been sunk without the charts.  Clue #3, in particular, is beyond inexplicable, what with needing to chain 7 and then doubling back, and then going forward, chaining 7, doubling back--on and on around in a circle.  When I just read the pattern, I almost broke out into a spontaneous migraine.  When I checked the chart, it all became clear.

Go figure...

Post Script...I found it was easier to do all the motifs up to the part where you break the yarn FIRST.  That way, I got that weird "doubling-back" section out of the way!

Weird Posts

If you saw any odd, peculiar post this morning, it was due to my account getting hacked. I've since remedied the situation, so all should be well now.

2012 Bernat CAL Clue #2...A Sad, Wrinkly Affair...

Sad Picture

After several attempts, I did manage to get gauge--that is, the motif measures 11". I used the K hook to do Rounds 1 through 3, but then reverted to an L hook (8.00 mm) to do the rest of the rounds. It was the ONLY way to get it to 11". As you see, however, I seem to have a slight warping issue. I'm tempted to just see how they look once I block them. I really don't want to do all the motifs over again!!!

The only other thing I can think to do is maybe to pick the motifs apart and redo Round #4, where you do the 5 chains and sc stitches, only use more chains, or do them looser--and then just re-thread the rest of the motif through the chains...

So frustrating!!! Ahhhh!!!


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2012 Bernat CAL Clue #1 comments

Yes, I know I'm a day late and a dollar short on my CAL update, seeing as Clue #2 is now up on the Bernat Forum...

Clue one was lots of fun and very easy, once I figured out that, in order to get the little circle to morph into a "square," I'd need to crochet the outer ring much looser. Here is a picture...not one of my greatest, but you get the idea.





The colors are Tibetan Red, Antique, Cadet, and Stone Brown.

Next week, I'll try to be a bit more prompt with my update!

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