Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Catching up

This will be a long one.

A few things have happened since my last, long-ago post.

First, I got a fab new February project from Stitch DC in the mail. Sock yarn from Three Irish Girls in a gorgeous variegated array of greens, mauves, whites and turquoises. I started on the suggested sock project, the MagKnits Jaywalk Socks, mostly because I've never knitted socks before and I wanted to try them out. I had help from mom, who bought me a beautiful set of size 1 dpns made of rosewood, as a prize for being good at the dentist. (Good to know that as I approach 30, I still get prizes for being good at the dentist. Of course, it WAS a root canal so I deserve it!) Jaywalk is a fun, easy pattern and a great intro to sock knitting. It's also wonderful with the yarn because it causes traveling spiral stripes up the leg. My favorite is when they alternate white and turquoise--it's such a bold, interesting color combo. This is really my first experience with variegated yarn, too. For some reason, alternating colors in knitting projects has never appealed to me. I always thought that no matter how cool the pattern, if it's done up in a variegated yarn, the project ends up looking dowdy, tie-dyed and hippyish. (I'm so sorry all you hand dyers and yarn makers out there, but as they say, de gustibus non est disputandum.) This yarn coupled with this pattern may be the exception to my rule, and I will proudly wear my jaywalk socks if ever they get finished.

Second, I got busy. I'm hitting that stage where everyone around me is getting married, buying houses, and having babies. Including me--no babies for me that is, but I am house hunting and wedding planning. So the weekends were a flurry of looking at venues and dresses, attending housewarming parties, brunches and baby showers. And more general family functions. All this while working 10+ hour days on the weekdays. Exhausting!

Third, I left my socks at my mother's house after staying the night. Ugh! I still haven't managed to retrieve them. And just as I was starting to turn the heel...

Fourth, I got REALLY busy. Work exploded on me, and I found myself preparing for seminars, conferences, and approaching project deadlines ALL IN THE SAME WEEK. Weekends went away, and I started working 12 and 13 hour days, getting pulled off of projects (and out of conferences) to start new ones, and attending various work functions. Then it all stopped at once. Just as....

Fifth, I received my March project from Stitch DC. Another gorgeous Tilli Tomas yarn, the luscious lace weight Voile de la Mer, spun from silk and seaweed. But consarnit... it's another variegated color, and worse, a color that I would never have picked out in all my days: Mermaid. Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful mix of soft blues, greens and lavender. But I had absolutely no idea what to do with it. A scarf would be just wrong... it wouldn't go with anything I own, and I'd just never take it out to wear. But then that night, as I was tying my hair up to wash my face it hit me: a headband! And not just any headband, but one adapted from Eunny Jang's Print O' the Wave stole, a lace pattern I've been dying to try. It seemed appropriate to use a seaweed yarn in a mermaid color with a wavelike pattern, and the weight of the yarn will give the headband some substance. It will also give me some much needed practice in knitting and blocking lacework without having to worry too much about gauge. And if I make it long enough, I can use it as a scarf too, if ever the need arises. Perfection! This is the beginning of the project below.


Finally, I received a request from a dear friend of mine to knit this cardigan for her. I'm really excited to do it, as I know it'll look great on her and it is always nice to be asked to make things for your friends. I feel like a Good Knitter. :)

So that's the knitting news that's fit to print. Pictures of socks will be forthcoming as soon as I retrieve them.

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