Knitting Travels: Gastonia, NC, and other Crafts

I've been out of town the past few days with my husband M.A.P., visiting his parents in Gastonia.

I've been wrestling with a knitting project, that must remain secret because it's off to a magazine as a submission when it's finished. I have knit and ripped this project 5 times now, which is a lot even for a trial-and-error designer like me. I had to set it down and take a walk today, and realized as I was walking that I had a bone-crunching headache--I didn't even notice the headache because I was so caught up in the project. My sister called as I was walking and I told her about the project, and she said, That doesn't sound like fun.

So true.

Question: Is knitting always supposed to be fun? If you knit a project for weeks on end and you feel frustrated, or even miserable, shouldn't you QUIT? I'm calling this knitter's angst. Has anyone else ever experienced this? What did you do to get over it?

While I've been here, I commandeered the garage and worked on some wood. A good break from yarn. Two bed-side tables that I inherited from friends, received a refinishing.

And my M.A.P., a fabulous carpenter/cabinet-maker, built custom cabinets for the laundry room we built.

That's a link to another blog I keep, where I've tracked the DIY construction work at our home. The thing is, crafting is crafting, right? So if I rehabilitate found furniture (like this) I can talk about it here, can't I? I added sewing a few posts ago, since fabric is fiber (right?). Well wood is fibrous too, isn't it? I'm kind of tired of keeping up with two blogs. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Um, like Jordynn?

My mother-in-law offered to take me to the local yarn shop one afternoon this week. It's really a yarn corner tucked into a frame shop. I bought a ball of sock yarn and some size 3 dpns (the size recommended on the ball band) but I should have bought 2s, because that's what Cookie A. always uses in her patterns. And I got to have me some of those socks.

Here's my mother-in-law shopping in the store, Things Remembered (isn't that also the name of a chain store in shopping malls?):

They have Berroco and Cascade mostly, and a few other things.

Here's my small haul:

I'm doing well keeping to my promise to support my knitting expenditures solely with knitting earnings. The paypal account looks small right now, though. I need to launch another pattern.

Coming up:
1. Durham Centerfest, where some knitting buddies and I will be selling knitting wares. If you're local come out and find us. We're called the Durham String Thing.

2. The N.C. State Fair. I'll be entering a project in the crafts category come September. (Another secret project. I hate not being able to share WIP pics on the blog.)

Wisp, and a Revised Object

First, my first lace FO. Wisp, from Knitty, that I have called Wisp-of-Nippon.


I bought the yarn in Japan, and I miss Japan. I wear this and think of Japan. Or rather, of Yuzawaya, the most amazing craft store on the planet. (Said without reservation.)


My husband took the pictures. He put up with me screaming at him about (1) focus, (2) composition, (3) framing, and (4) the dishes. Good man.


I also revised an earlier piece of knitting. This was the second sweater I ever knit. The sleeves were goofy. Lots of things were wrong. Here's the original. Wow, that's just terrible. (By the way, the pattern is the Two-Tone Ribbed Shrug from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel.)

Here's the new one.



I added some chunky yarn to trim the edges. I wasn't sure about the third color at first, but now I like it. I really like the loooong sleeves, too. Rare for me since I'm so tall.

Yarn Ethics

M.A.P. and I are on our honeymoon in a delightful little metropolis in the south. We stumbled upon a yarn store on our way to dinner while tromping around town, and I exclaimed, "Honey! A yarn store! Can you believe it?" and dashed inside. M.A.P. said, "I have been flim-flammed," and sat down in a chair to read Harry Potter.

I limited myself to the odd lots basket and dug out some darling Noro and mohair blends and funky Cascade, loading my shopping basket to the brim, thinking of my pregnant friend as a justification for at least half of the yarn in the basket. I called out to M.A.P. when I reached the counter, seeking his help in curbing my addiction.

Once, twice, three times I called to him. And he never came.

$111.00 later, we stood on the sidewalk; I was accompanied by buyer's remorse, M.A.P. by a rumbling stomach. I blamed him for the remorse I felt, insisting that in the ethical contraptions that shape our relationship, it is his duty to limit my spending in high-risk situations like shoe stores and yarn shops.

(Similarly, given my training as a lawyer and in the area of close-reading, and given we double-tipped the waiter at the resort restaurant last night because an 18% tip is included by the resort on all purchases and M.A.P. doesn't tend to examine receipts, it is my job to ensure that all annoying paperwork is read completely and filled out properly. See e.g. our life insurance documents.)

And he didn't fulfill his duty today. Even though I asked thrice.

Apologies were made and accepted. Shortly thereafter we stuffed our faces on half-priced appetizers at a fun little bistro and drank fruity beer.

M.A.P. then observed that it isn't like we threw the money away on the yarn--like with the double-tipping--since we did purchase worthwhile items that I will certainly turn into other, even more worthwhile items with my knitting.

Did I marry a winner, or what.

Men can be funny - who knew?

My M.A.P. and I were sitting on the couch watching our new 50" plasma television (what the heck? clearly I wasn't a part of that decision) and I was typing a blog entry. He said, "Your knitting blog is called what? Cyber Farts?"

It was an accidental slip of the tongue, actually, the transposing of the first letters of each word. But of course, now it's the preferred phrase of our household (if you are 6'3" and male).

Yes, I'm marrying a teenager, complete with oversized televisions and fart jokes.

But you know, Knitty Gritty lookes bitching on that T.V. screen -- you should see those swatch close-ups. You can actually count the gauge from across the room.

Check Out my Booty...uh...Bootie?

So my best friend in the world is pregnant.

This is excellent news on the knitting front. There's nothing like sitting down to an episode of Jon Stewart on the TiVo with a new project, and having it done by the time the episode is over.

Ah, the joy of baby booties.

I have made exactly one bootie, from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies, a book my mother bought for me when I told her I was engaged. Ah, mothers.



It is the cutest thing I've ever made. It's on display, and my M.A.P. walks by it in the house and glances at it out of the corner of his eye with a combination of dread and uncontrollable excitement. I keep reminding him it is not for us.

But it is so cute, I can understand his temptation.

Does Erika Knight have a blog? I can't find it if she does.

Question for the Public

Given my propensity to start and start projects and leave them unfinished, and given that my dearest MAP is a furniture-builder when he's not doing his real job, and given that I hope (expect) him to build us some lovely furniture for the house we just bought, am I being hypocritical if I get on his case about starting and starting and starting carpentry projects and not finishing them?

Am I?

heh heh.

I did happen to finish my blue Japel shrug from Fitted Knits, but at the very same moment, started the diamond scarf out of Wenlan Chia's Twinkle's Big City Knits. I seem to maintain this stasis of 4-6 projects going at any one time. And yet this seems okay with me. Given that I'm knitting. And knitting is (1) small, (2) relatively inexpensive (ha!), and (3) not something I expect to be eating dinner on.

No. Not hypocritical. But I'm open to others' opinions on the matter.

May Showers

Here's what must happen this week:

1. Save The Date cards must be sent Thursday because my dear MAP asked me to marry him 2 weeks ago, and apparently people send TWO invitations to weddings these days, not just one.

2. Dissertation must be defended on Friday morning so that I can take my new job at the fancy state university this fall without a hitch.

3. House must be packed because I close at the end of the month. (I. Have. Not. Started.)

So now, a question for my readers: How much knitting has happened this week?

a. A lot.

b. A humongous amount.

c. Like, so much it could cover Mount Everest.

d. Where is Dr. Fibersmarts? All I see is a huge pile of yarn. Wait. Is that pile of yarn breathing?

Exactly.

Handwarmers, part 1

This morning I said to MAP before he left for work: "We need to come to an understanding about me warming my cold hands on you. I agree to make you yummy stuff on the stove, and you agree to let me put my cold hands under your shirt." Like many people I suffer from freezing-cold-hand-itis (and its partner, ice-cube-feet-itis). MAP sometimes runs away when I try to warm my hands. My arguments are to no avail. (e.g., I'm so cold, can you imagine how hard it must be to be this cold?)

His response to my suggestion was that I crochet myself some handwarmers to use when I type my dissertation and my novel -- late-night typing seems to create serious hand-coldness. He said if I made the handwarmers in good faith, and wore them, and my hands were still cold, I could warm them on him all I want. (At least that's what I heard.)

So, instead of working on said dissertation and novel I'm crocheting and writing a pattern today for some ribbed handwarmers. I'm using a mercerized cotton that I had on hand. There's lots of patterns out there I know, but none that I like. I'll post the pattern and instructions when I get farther along. As usual with 2-part projects (socks, gloves, etc.), the first tends to be the experiment and the pattern drafting; the second I use to test the pattern. I'll take pictures along the way as well.

Swift on a Chair

My awesome significant-other-person MAP gave me a beautiful maple wood swift for xmas (purchased at Yarns Etc. in Carrboro). We named it Jonathan. I purchased a darling little winder to go with it (previously mentioned, named Harry). So now I have Jonathan and Harry and I want to wind all of my yarn while watching Arrested Development. The problem is, I don't have a table of the right shape to clamp these great tools upon.

Voila. Harry and Jonathan, happy together.

Ugly Turtle No More - a Reinvention Project

I bought this Club Monaco 100% wool turtleneck at a thrift store this past week intending to poach the yarn. It's very very soft for a non-fancy wool. But then I was captivated by a nifty snap at the bottom hem, and gave the thing another gander. It had some strange crusty stuff on it from it's previous life, but nothing I couldn't wash off, and the fabric was in perfect condition. I slipped it on and voila--excellent sweater hiding beneath a dreadful turtleneck.*

(*My significant-other-person MAP insists that turtlenecks have their valuable place. He would refer my readers to his freshman year French teaching assistant at UNC, Miss J., who apparently redefined the meaning of "romance language" for her young male students via the snug turtlenecks she would wear to class.)

No problem, I thought. I might not know how to knit, but I sure know how to take knitting apart. I removed the turtleneck and then wound the yarn onto my ball winder.*

(*MAP has named the ball winder "Harry.")

Then, starting at the back where the stitches were in nice, lined up loops, I crocheted through each loop using a 2.75mm hook and the poached turtle-yarn. (This is the only turtle-poaching this blogger approves of.) Working in a circle, I made five tiny rows. The wool still needs to be blocked to smooth out the work, but now there's a scoopneck I'll wear.

The turtleneck had been sewn on abruptly and left some jagged edges in the front. Because the knit loops weren't lined up, but rather fell diagonally, I folded over the rather tattered material and just, well, invented a row of crochet stitches across the knitting. This seemed to work fine.

***If anyone has any better ideas for this step in the process, PLEASE post them. Or please post if you have any ideas for how I might do up this neckline.*

(*If anyone suggests "scalloping" I'll delete the post. No turtles. No scallops. Okay?)