almost there

A mohair marathon.

 

a winner!

Congratulations to the apparently blogless Stephanie who wrote comment #112! Yay! Thanks for all of the comments — it was so nice to hear from everyone.

the beast

**So nobody’s hit comment #112 yet, although it’s getting close.  I should have posted the contest when the comment total was a bit closer to 112.  Sorry.  But thanks for the comments!  Especially the lurkers!**

Here’s the Beast.   So far, so amazingly good.

I can’t believe I first started this sweater in the summer of 2006.  (I think.  It seems so long ago, filled with so many repressed memories of mohair and YOs, that I don’t rightly recall the date of my first attempt.)  I do, however, feel a certain sense of pride that I’ve not only stuck with it, but am actually able to knit it — two years later — without too much trouble.  Once I got the pattern down, made all of the fussy increase/decrease notes, etc., it is quite a quick knit.  Using US11 US10.5 circs to get gauge helps.

See how furry this stuff is?  Even though it’s hot and muggy here (so gross), I’m remaining faithful to the mohair.  This is an epic battle; I will not be defeated by sheep products.

shameless

I’ve decided it’s time to have a blog contest.  No blogiversary or anything to celebrate (although this endeavor is 1 year - 10 months - 3 three days old).  No particular comment threshold reached.  But whatever.  I’ve got some pretty German yarn to give away!

contest!, originally uploaded by katie:m

This is some lovely hand-dyed sock yarn from Tausendschön:  75% superwash wool, 25% nylon (420m/100g), color Blumenwiese (= flower meadow).

I’m not up for organizing a complicated contest so the yarn goes to whomever leaves comment #112.  As in the German emergency-services number.  A nice round number, more pleasing to my own strange mystical numerology than “100″ or “115″.  So if you’d like some German sock yarn, leave a comment.

Not much blog-worthy knitting going on at the moment.  I’ve picked up the Beast [ravelry] again, and surprisingly, things are going well.   I’m hesitant to say more about it, as I feel fate might have a nasty surprise in store for me if I get too confident.

I’ve also finally discovered how flickr and blogging work together.  A slow learner, I guess.

lady marmalade

Ms. Marmalade is done.

Quick and easy, blocked and much softer. Yay.

Gloria Cowl = 120g Schachenmayr nomotta Extra Big Merino (color 127) + US7 circs

project spectrum : elements

Lately I’ve been feeling like a big project spectrum : elements loser.  But then I stopped beating myself up for not following the project to the letter and attempted, instead, to embrace the spirit.

Turns out there are all kinds of element-worthy colors in my apartment.  Not to mention the whole wide world into which I only rarely venture.

 

So I’m going to take a walk.  And then work on my proposal, trying to keep in mind that it isn’t a cruelly calculated method of punishment, but rather something I’m supposed to enjoy.

Go figure.

wha’ happen’? *

I’m feeling a bit dazed by school, as usual. Once again I have found out that my self-discipline does not improve in the spring. Sigh.

At least my knitting fidelity hasn’t suffered.

FO the First:

pattern: baby socks [ravelry]

yarn: 20g of Bergamo by Schachenmayr nomotta (color 650)

needles: 2.5mm circs

started: May 16, 2008

finished: May 22, 2008

mods: knit only 20 rounds of 2×2 ribbing; no ribbing on instep

I really like this pattern for baby socks; the 2.5mm needles are definitely the way to go — even on smaller needles each sock only took an evening of movie watching to finish.

FO the Second:

pattern: EZ’s February Baby Sweater [ravelry]

yarn: Lana Grossa Merino Big (color 685), 2 3/4 skeins

needles: US7 circs

started: May 15, 2008

finished: May 22, 2008

mods: well, if forgetting the decreases before the bottom garter edging and hence working said decreases in the middle of the garter edging counts as a mod, then that’s the only one

I really love this little sweater. The color isn’t really my first choice for a baby sweater, but I had enough on hand, so I went for stashbusting and a neutral color since I didn’t initially know the sex of the baby. After blocking the merino is so very soft and lovely! I don’t know how it will wear, but it certainly feels nice.

After all that finishing, I started a mindless project: the soup du jour of the knitting world … a cowl.

A Lady Marmalade cowl, to be exact:

Well, actually, it’s the Gloria cowl. It just needed a flashy name to go with the flashy color.

* For a little Fred Willard click here. I don’t want to get all dogmatic, but really, if you haven’t seen A Mighty Wind, you really should.

meme (cheeky monkey edition)

Emmms tagged me for the “internets are nosey” meme going around. As I felt I couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I’m happily filling it out again (thanks Kim for my first. tag. evah.). This time: the cheeky monkey version.

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

Well, I was still being awkward and 17. Probably trying to figure out what movie we would be watching in history class that afternoon or studying for some calculus test or practicing the flute or writing about German dwarves (my senior project). Or something equally deep. Like how to get my hair to behave.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

not eat the rest of the gummy bears that only give me a stomach ache; do the big pile of dishes in the kitchen; get dressed before late afternoon (it’s a holiday, after all); pretend to be a serious grad student and get some f***ing work done; actually make dinner instead of ordering pizza

3) Snacks I enjoy:

The aforementioned gummy bears of doom; all the things I don’t buy at the grocery store: chips, cheese, chocolate candy of any type, gummy bears (why did I break my own rule?!).

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I would probably just order more pizza. And bathe in cashmere and quivit, of course.

5) Places you have lived:

Well, those haven’t changed really: a depressed mill town with a serious meth problem, various college hot spots (otherwise known as rich-ass suburbia), and southern Germany. You know, where all the hep cats hang out.

6) Peeps I want to know more about:

If you made it through a second time, consider yourself tagged! Honestly, I’m kind of still too awkward and shy to tag real people. Baby steps.

(It wasn’t all that cheeky, was it?)

boring baby progress

Not much to see here. I’ve been working diligently on the baby knitting, which is quite satisfying because small. Last night’s overdose of Vincent Price classics (via iTunes rentals — so dangerous), provided much knitting time. And an excellent excuse to break out the sherry.

The February baby sweater [ravelry] is just missing buttons and a good blocking:

Unfortunately, May is the month of Catholic holidays here in Baden-Württemberg, and today Corpus Christi is seriously interfering with my ability to procure the correct shade of embroidery floss to secure these super-cute buttons:

more department store buttons

I’ll provide the project details when everything is finished up. Not that they’re very interesting — I just followed the pattern and voilà: a baby sweater.

Until then, I’ve got the baby socks [ravelry] to keep me busy:

Once I moved down to the 2.5mm circs, all has been smooth sailing. Even though I knit very tightly, socks still need that bit of extra firmness small needles provide.

Well, baby socks and daydreaming about a certain project for which I just bought some yarn. Some lovely, tweedy yarn. Mmmmm.

Rikes Wollmaus never disappoints (I’m glad I paid attention to the Skinny Rabbit’s recommendations).

Any guesses what this wants to be when it grows up?

baby steps for baby knitting

A weekend away visiting friends was just the ticket for clearing the fog of my lingering anxiety hangover. I saw the largest plain waterfalls in Europe, but didn’t get a lot of knitting done.

Luckily, I’m concentrating on small stuff right now:

One baby sock, finished in an evening. Instant tiny gratification.

The February Baby Sweater is, unfortunately, in that boring stockinette phase.

My KnitPicks Options needles got mixed up (why no sizes written on the needles?!) so this sweater ended up on US7 circs, instead of US8. Consequently, the gauge is a bit tighter than anticipated. Oh well. Babies start small, I hear.