I've Been Kniting

Last Tuesday (sorry for keeping this from you guys for so long), I got a wonderful package from KnitPicks filled with some Swish Superwash yarn in Red Pepper, Light Coral, Truffle, and Capri. Here's some yarn porn:



The Red Pepper and Light Coral will be baby sweaters for my coworker's daughters. He is paying me for this venture (yes!) and the Truffle and Capri will be gifts for my twin nephews. Here is a pick of what I accomplished with the Red Pepper and Light Coral this past weekend:



I love the result of how the stripes came out. Not too babyish but still very girly in my opinion. BTW, this yarn is soft, durable, and great for projects for children or something for yourself. Maybe in the future I'll purchase some more Swish for myself, after I get through the rest of my stash that is (I still have yarn from my trip to Argentina this past June that I have projects for that I haven't started yet).


Reality Check

So I did say that I wanted to make my mother a shawl a couple weeks ago but as we get closer and closer to Christmas, I'm realizing that a shawl won't be possible. In fact, I don't think I'll be done with the shawl by time January when my parents will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. So I was searching thru my stash and realized that I could make my mother something just as meaningful as a shawl and hopefully a bit more useful. This past August I went to the Michigan Fiber Festival and picked up some of this stuff for myself:



It's Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in an eggplant purple. I loved the color and felt that they could be some luxurious socks for me. But now I'm thinking my mother would love them even more (she's a luxurious kind of woman). So I'm making socks for my mother this year. The benefits are obvious: less time to knit them, less stress, and most importantly, I feel that my mother would appreciate a pair of handknit socks than a handknit shawl.

This does not mean that I won't be knitting this shawl. I've never knitted lace before and the shawl is very pretty. Maybe next summer when I have more time.

More Stripes

I think have an obsession with stripes. Here is some progress on these very tall socks I'm working on:




I love how simple the pattern is but I would prefer to call them "Hooker Socks" than "Very Tall Socks." The length of them remind me too much of hooker boots.

I don't have a clever way to finish this post today so I'll just say, "That's it for now!"

Turkey and Yarn

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm pretty excited about today. Outside of summer vacation and Christmas, Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year because I love food just as much as yarn. This Thanksgiving, I'm staying in Michigan and going over a friend's house for some good food and good times. Sadly, I won't be able to see my family, or eat the Guyanese food I've grown up with (Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America as were ruled by the British till 1965 when it got it's independence).

Right now I'm working on some baby sweaters for a coworker. Pictures later (my friend is asleep on the couch right now and I don't think he'll be happy to be awaken by my camera flash or clicking noises). The yarn is Knitpicks Swish in Red Pepper and Light Coral. At first I didn't like the colors together but knitted up in simple stripes changed my mind.

Anyway, I'm making a Green Bean Casserole. Truthfully, I've never even heard of this dish before until this year, while watching Food Network (one of my regular channels). Apparently it's as American as apple pie. It's pretty simple and easy to make but most people have told me that it taste great so I will attempt to be an American for a day and make this very traditional dish for a very traditional holiday.

Gratitude

This weekend was really rewarding. After a semester of weekends filled with homework, I finally didn't have much school work to do this past couple of days. So you know what I did, right? Knitted till my hands hurt, of course!

Sorry, I don't have pictures yet. I don't believe I've progressed enough on my CPH to actually post a picture of it. It would be like Deja Vu.

I also gifted these striped socks to my friend who jumped up and down and gave me a big hug out of excitment. In other words, it was a good reaction and one I did not expect. It only confirmed to me that knitting is just as exciting as all day football on Sunday.

This week is Thanksgiving (Thank God!). That means there is only 2 more weeks of school left, then finals. I'm so excited to be half way done my senior year. Maybe now that I'll have more time, I'll start on my mother's shawl. We'll have to see.

Dreams

I had to tell you guys this before I skipped on over to class. Last night I had a dream that I was gifted some yarn. The yarn was lace weight and a dusty rose color. Throughout the dream I held it in my hands, wondering what to do with it. I woke up before I decided. What do you think this means? Just something to have fun with.


Weekend Plans

I just realized that I only have 3 more weeks of school. This weekend I will be working on my CPH as well as some socks for me. I haven't started my mom's shawl yet, but if I don't get it done by Christmas, I'm not worried. My parents will be celebrating their 25th wedding Anniversary and I could just gift it to her then.

As always, have a good weekend and Happy Knitting!

Making Paper

I have to admit that there is a little part of me that likes to knit mainly to be recognized for my talents. I can't sing very well (even though some of my friends would argue that I do), I damn sure can't draw, and I definitely cannot do complicated math. Lately, though, my knitting has been noticed more by non-knitters. Whenever I tell them that I made whatever the object they are admiring, their eyes get wide with amazement and then they are really impressed. Whenever non-knitters compliment my knitwear, they always ask if I could make it for them. In the past I would have told them that my time is more valuable and that I would rather teach them. Most would retreat and say, "Nah, I don't have the time." or "It looks hard!" in which I would say, "Well then, I guess you wouldn't be getting a handknit hat/scarf/wristwarmer/whatever any time soon!"

My paradigm has since changed and now I'm knitting for money. A coworker saw a lavender hat I made a year ago and liked it so much that she told me she wanted one for her grandaughter. Another coworker saw me working on some socks last week and immediately wanted me to knit him 2 sweaters for his 2 girls. I'll show them the goods when they show me the money!

Now, this isn't the start of some multi-million dollar company (seeing that even if I quit school and do this professionally, I can only knit so much). I do, however, enjoy the fact that people are willing to pay me for something that I love to do anyway.


The Answer

Justine (as you can tell, she JUST got this blog started) in the comments of the last post told me that a friend of hers was a fanatical knitter (like the rest of us) and will be traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina this month. Remember in July when I talked about the knitting scene out there? Well I tried to contact you privately but that didn't work, so I will answer your question here. There are several yarn shops on this one street called Avenida Raul Scalabrini Ortiz. Here is the website of one of them.. I forget the cross street, however, on this website, if you click the word "Nosotros" you will see the address of this store, which is at the beginning of the yarn mecca. When your friend gets to Buenos Aires, I suggest she asks for directions to this store. If she finds that store, she will also find all the other yarn stores, which are packed close together. If she's a frugal traveler, the subway or bus is way cheap (about 80 centavos per ride) and pretty reliable (this is during the day, I don't know anything about the night schedule). In terms of language barriers, most of the people in Buenos Aires know some English but I would still suggest that your friend know some key knitting words (yarn-lana, cotton-algodon, needles-agujas) just so that she's not confused about what she's paying for and gets the best out of her experience.

Hopefully this information is helpful to your friend, Justine. To the rest of you, thank you for the advice on the future blocking of my CPH. I believe I will go with what Gray said. I'll iron the edges for sewing and then block the whole garment when it is finished.

Where Have I Been?

Well, I've been in school, friends. I know it's been a week. Truthfully, though, I wasn't really inspired to write last week. I'm in the last 5 weeks of school and it's getting pretty intense. If only I could stop procrastinating! Through it all, however, I have found time to knit. Here is what I've done:




Some socks for a very good friend of mine. She requested them and I had some yarn I didn't like for me but thought would be perfect for her. She said she wanted colorful, so I'm giving it to her. The yarn was bought last November while I was in Toronto, Canada visiting a friend. I think it was Regia, but don't quote me on that one.




These are very Fetching, if I don't say so myself. Again, these are going to a friend of mine (not the one that wanted the socks, though). She asked me for them back in September when it was still warm in Michigan. I finally got around to them last week. The yarn is Cascade 220 and the pattern is quick, easy, and fun. I have to say that this is the perfect last minute gift. It took me I'd say literally 4 hours to complete the pair. Instant gratification at it's finest.




The CPH is coming along pretty fast. I've completed the two fronts and one sleeve and I'm working on the second sleeve. I'm loving the yarn and the results of my knitting. I do have a question though, when should I block the pieces? Many of the stitches are still on DPNs and I'm not sure if I want to submerge my needles in water? Should I just knit the whole thing, sew it all up, then block the finished garment or should I block before I sew? I need some advice, people!