moving up...to the head of the class

My family has been involved in a homeschool co-op and music/arts/languages/drama conservatory for the past few years.  My mother is now on the board, actually.  Well, it seems that i will probably be teaching two knitting classes this fall, a beginning and an intermediate.  I've showed my siblings how to knit, helped people out when they were having trouble, but i've never taught someone from start to finish how to knit.  It's kind of exciting and terrifying at the same time.  I'm already starting to dream of what projects we will work on, but at the same time i'm not sure how many we'll need.  In the past they've had a sort of knitting circle class with no real formal direction.  I think i am going to aim for two projects per student but if need be can come up with additional projects.  So far...scarves with bulky yarn are the plan.  I'm thinking that a hat and/or socks will be in the works for the intermediate class.  Two-needle mittens may be the way to go for the beginning class.  Anyways, will try to provide more info as it becomes available!

contemplations on knitting

There are times when i feel like a poser when it comes to my knitting (let alone my crocheting).  There are all sorts of shortcuts i take that i'm sure would shock many a veteran knitter.  I don't knit a complete swatch, block projects, or seam.  I pick up stitches and knit in the round whenever possible.  I procrastinate horribly when it comes to finishing.  No matter what pattern i'm doing, what weight the yarn is, there comes a point where i am going to get bored with it and wish that i was already finished with the object.  There are periods of time where i don't knit at all, because i lose interest, because it's too hot, because i can't afford yarn for the project i want to do, because i threw out what the pattern said, made it up as i went along, only to discover that my project is now in need of frogging (to a certain point, if not entirely).

Will i always feel this way?  Will there ever be a point where i don't feel guilty yet completely justified in cutting corners, when i feel completely skilled as a knitter and/or pattern designer?  I have been knitting for fifteen to sixteen years now, after all!  And i still feel like there isn't enough knitted clothing in my wardrobe.  Perhaps there never will be.  It will be a sad day when i start to retire some of my more recently finished objects, however.  Sadder still that some of them are never quite done.

February already?

It feels like it's been forever since i've posted here...wait, it has been!  So knitting, unfortunately, has been on the back burner lately.  I had Bell's Palsy this past fall and school things started requiring a lot more concentration than usual (i.e. multi-tasking was impossible for a while).  I have gradually improved and think that my brain is finally pretty much back to normal.  However, this semester is even more hectic than the last one!  In fact, i'm going to be dropping a class tomorrow (no worries, it was an elective, i took a class in January Term so i could complete my final semester with only three classes if need be).  So i've only been knitting a little bit here and there and don't really have anything substantial to tell about...other than my Christmas knitting, and even in that case i unfortunately didn't get as far as i meant to.

So, in 2010 i completed the following projects:

Dashing Evi mittens FINALLY

Ginny's Hex Vest...which somehow ended up felting in cold water

Tangy Giselle - even more FINALLY, as i had been dreaming of this project for years and had multiple issues with it

Drunken Bees Toes - my socks still have issues that i need to work out

Gentleman's Matrimony/Cozy Socks

four Monteagle bags (with various variants)

a Lacy Starfish Snood that i'm in the process of reworking the band of (it turned out to be too loose)

Mega-Sonic Screwdriver for Megan

Shy Adipose for Josh

Wisp scarf for Abby

Lacy Skull Cap for Alice with matching mini-hobo purse

Baby Totoro cap for Caleb (that turned out being huge)

And my Asymmetrical Wrap...which doesn't have finished sleeves yet, but i've worn a couple of times as a vest.  The sleeves are in the works (i've finished the cuffs so far...pathetic, i know) and i'm planning to make them removable anyway.  I'm also planning to add ribbing to the back waist because it rolls up so much right now.

I guess i did get a lot of knitting done in hindsight, with about 15 projects completed and a few more started.  This year i hope to improve upon my finishing methods (weaving in ends, putting the zipper in my Fair Ginny cardigan, figuring out how to seam that baby sweater i knit years ago, etc.) and will probably eventually get around to working on quite a few projects.  River's vest (from Firefly) being among them... yeah, i've been crocheting more, even tackling amigurumi for the first time.  Yeah, i have been dreaming of a couple of projects but have no idea when i'll be able to tackle them.

first project of the Fall (even though it's still Summer)

I actually have been doing more knitting than usual over this summer, not that i'm getting much done, but i am gradually working on several projects simultaneously.  These socks took me thirty-five days, which really is too long, but for the Summer is pretty good (not to mention that i probably only worked on them on five days all together).  I'm thrilled with how they came out, now i just hope that they fit the person i knit them for.

still knitting

As usual, i cannot believe that it has been so long since i posted. Since my last post i have finished the Fair Ginny sweater (save for the zipper), finished my Bible cover (well... kinda, it's turned out to be a flop, and i'm not sure what i'm going to do to fix it), crocheted several sample granny squares for Ginny's Hex vest, and worked a bit more on Tangy Giselle. That's about all, at the moment, except for the fact that i bought fabric to sew passport covers, need to work on the Ohm bag, and also want to dye a white shirt my grandma got me at a thrift store, because i'm sure there's no way i would be able to keep it white. School is less than a month away now, and the chances for a new pc and camera are on the horizon as well... my laptop is about to give out and i want to have a new digital camera for the cruise i'm going on in November.

excellent blog article

Knitting and Public Politics, about whether it's okay to knit in public (i feel that it is, but i know that i amaze and offend some people).

And if that wasn't enough, the blog has a great M.C. Escher quote. (:

yum

Bought the Kool-Aid today, i think i got more than enough if my conversion from grams to ounces was correct. Today i ordered Crystal Palace Kid Merino in Lemon Sherbet (that's a horrible photo, but this is the yarn i hope to dye light orange for the wrap sweater) and 10 skeins of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for the Ginny GoF cardigan. Were i going for colors as close to the movie as possible i would have used Khaki for the MC, but i chose to use Pistachio instead. For the CCs i’m using Orchid Thistle, Wild Mustard, and Rust. it was hard to pick which shades of the yellow / gold and orange to pick, but the Orchid was always my favorite shade of purple. i also ordered a skein of the Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Ink Blue for a Liberty Cap. i can hardly wait for the yarn to arrive!

Evi update

i guess i'll go with the convertible mittens that i've been meaning to do for forever: i'll use Broad Street Mittens as a guide. So far, i am ready for round 11 and to start the cable pattern. In round five i did a cable round like in the Fetching pattern once (instead of repeating it 3 times on the wrist, i just did it once, and because i don't have a knit 4, p1, repeat going on i slip 2 k sts, hold to front, p2, k2 off cable needle). And because i'm backwards and contrary i'm knitting the right mitten first, which is mostly because i plan to reverse the Evangeline cable pattern on the left mitten so that the cables cross the same way i do up my sneakers (outside laces on top). Yes, i know i'm anal.

Casting on Evangeline!

So i actually knitted a swatch for this (twice), and it turned out that for the pattern's gauge i probably need to use needles in size 1 1/2... but i’m using size 2 and will have 24 sts per 4” instead of 20. i decided to have the cuff come to mid-forearm, where my arm measures 10” in circumference. As it turns out, since i have big bones and am overweight, i can’t cast on 40 like the pattern calls for. i figured out that according to gauge i need to cast on 64 sts and will gradually decrease to 44 at my wrist. So i’m still using 16 sts of pattern, but have 48 sts divided evenly on my other two needles (24 sts on each). i also plan to create a gusset and add some interest inspired by Fetching. To cast on i also used the long tail method for the first time, which as it turns out is super easy, but when my Grandma tried to explain it to me some 15-17 years ago made absolutely no sense. Now i think i’ll use it every time.

knitting for... politics?

Every day that i go to work, i look across the seven square four-caps (i think that's what they're called) that everyone must pass on their way to check out, and see a book on our magazine rack named Knitting for Peace. For a long time i just stared at its pink cover and the dove on it and wondered... how does one knit for peace? So i picked it up one day and discovered: the book isn't about creating world peace or anything like that, it's about knitting for charities. Inside are patterns for blankets (with info about Blankets for Linus) and chemo caps. As far as i can tell, the book isn't about peace at all.

What a let down.

Now, i do not happen to believe in world peace. You see, the Bible tells us that once world peace occurs things are going to get really, really bad. Christians are going to have their heads cut off left and right and people will have to have a "mark" (probably a tattoo or computer chip) in order to buy, sell, survive. Why would i pray or hope for an event that's going to bring radical changes to the world that are exactly what i am against politically?

i don't normally talk about politics here (you can go to my main blog for that); when i go to a knitting blog, i want to read about knitting. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that all the political knitting blogs i have seen were very anti-Bush. i'm not saying that i agree with everything Bush did during his eight years as president, in fact he did a lot to let me down. A fellow student of mine hates him because she voted for him for one reason and regretted it: her issue of choice? She's pro-life. From a pro-life standpoint W was very much a success (of course Obama has promised to undo all those policies). Even if those the strong pro-life policies of the Bush administration only saved the life of one baby, in my opinion that makes it worth voting for W (which i did twice).

Of course, under President Bush the U.S. government has grown enormous, as has the deficit; that's not so good. However, i do not think that President Obama (we can't call him O, Oprah already has the corner on that market) is going to provide any solutions to these issues, from what he has said i think that they are only going to get worse.

According to Amazon, Knitting for Peace mentions Martha Washington spearheading efforts to knit for the troops. How is that knitting for peace? That's knitting for war. The American Girl books about Molly talk about how the girls would knit socks and blankets for the troops. That's very American, but not at all peaceful, it was part of the war effort along with having a garden and collecting scrap metal. The posters of the era were iconic and very patriotic. We've all seen Rosie the Riveter and Uncle Sam pointing at us.

Personally, i would like to knit for freedom. i'm not sure how to do that. Sit ins? Knit Liberty Caps? March in DC with needles in hand? i've never protested, i've never picketed, i rarely sign petitions. Why is it that the people who believe the opposite way that i do seem so much more organized than me? i feel very alone and don't have the slightest idea what to do in response to the change that i can feel is coming. i feel as if the war is already lost. Considering how happy i've been lately, and at peace despite my life's hardships, the prospects for the future could be downright depressing when i think about it.

i think that feeling this way is probably because of the open bias of the media. They want everyone to think that everyone loves Obama. Well this simply is not the case. Not everyone believes in bail outs and nationalizing universal health care and social security. Not everyone wants a third of their paycheck to be taken away before they cash it, and tax dollars going to stem cell research and killing babies. Not everyone believes in closing Guantanamo Bay and giving up on hunting down Bin Laden (as Obama has flip-flopped on his pledge to hunt him down, saying that he's just not that dangerous anymore).

i need to find some friends who believe the same way as me so i don't feel so alone all the time.

re: Christmas knitting

So, i decided weeks ago to keep half of my "Christmas knitting" for myself, because the more i worked on it, the more i couldn't bear to think of giving it away. i am 2/3 of the way through a sock, which is just sitting on a shelf above the head of my bed. i hardly put it down for a week and since then i haven't touched it. i've been so busy.

Finals are finally over, however. So i do need to finish my one piece of Christmas knitting, finish my Christmas shopping, and continue putting thought into my Etsy shop. i haven't listed anything there yet, i ran out of time to put up what i was thinking of, as the project didn't work out and it had a clear Christmas theme and it's too close to Christmas now (maybe next year)? i am now working at Hobby Lobby, so my employee discount should come in handy when it comes to mats. i'm thinking about making stitch markers, decorating canvas bags (maybe even buying some at Goodwill and fixing them up, thus Reusing), but knitting is still too dear to my heart at this point. It's too much effort to put a reasonable price on and i pour too much of myself into it to give away to someone who won't fully appreciate it.

Anyway, i hope to buy a digital camera soon, but i also need to save money to pay back my sis... and of course there's so much yarn that i want to buy, that i've been waiting forever to buy. /sigh We'll have to see what works out. i need to buy new glasses first.

Christmas knitting underway

i spent way too much money at Tangle yesterday: fifty dollars and change for three balls of yarn and two sets of needles. Unbelievable. But i'm knitting again, and i like that. i bought quality knitting tools and i am now more broke than i would like to be. i need a job but don't know how to handle having one. Hopefully once i get into the swing of knitting my second pair of socks (my first real pair, mind you, the first pair were kind of slipper socks and i'm not sure they count) it will help calm me down. i don't know, i'm just so happy to be knitting again. i'm thinking about opening an Etsy shop, maybe that's what i should do with the last of my money, but it would require me making an investment and taking a chance. i don't know what i'm going to do.

i just put ice in my waterbottle

It feels cold now. Is there a way to knit a cover that will keep my bottle cold? Would the condensation get the yarn soggy? Which type of yarn would i use? Those wetsuit-material bags that are sold at REI are neat but way too expensive.

All these thoughts were going through my head as i was walking from lunch to the computer lab. Not knitting is definitely getting to me, especially considering the fact that when i knit in class i have better focus and remember lectures more clearly. Drat it all, why can't i find a job so i can fund my knitting obsession???

knitting deprivation!!!

My yarn stash is pretty much exhausted at the moment, except for personal wips that i don't want to focus on before Christmas (and the dreaded afghan for Mom that i don't know if i'll ever complete)... and i have no money to buy the yarn for the gifts i want to knit!!! The places i've put applications in at have yet to get back to me or are waiting on background checks. Financial aid is similarly wishy-washy and i don't even have money for my tuition or textbooks yet. /sigh

I FOUND IT!!!

:jumps up and down in glee:

Which is a relief, because otherwise i would have wasted the last two hours of my life and never gotten to try this method. It was on a site that i had bookmarked the hompage of, Ysolda, which wasn't very helpful to myself. It's called Tubular Cast On and apparently there are a couple of different methods (that are featured on other websites and blogs) and i'm going to try them all! Eventually, at least. (: Here's the video, which you can find by searching for "Tubular Cast On" using her site search engine.

Casting On

So i have discovered (though long suspected) that my casting on method does not really have a name or actually exists as a taught method. i learned to knit a long time ago, when i was still in junior high, and taught myself from a book that did not have the best illustrations. For a long time my knitting was perfected through the elbow grease of trial and error, and as a result i probably don't know all of the tricks that would have been taught to me had i learned from another knitter. i'd been meaning to look up cast on methods, but last night i was talking to one of the women i work with, and she said that all cast on methods are supposed to have elasticity, and i inwardly knew that my cast on has never been elastic. It used to be tight, even, but though my tension has improved with time, the resulting edge has always been rigid. i imagine that this might actually be something that could be helpful in certain situations and projects, but not usually. (:

So i visited KnittingHelp.com and here is my discovery: my cast on is a modified version of Knitting On, though i don't twist the stitch the way they do (i sometimes twist the sts while working the second row, but usually just leave it as normal).

Grandma tried to teach me the Long Tail Cast On when i had only been knitting for a few weeks but my brain couldn't wrap around it at the time, and she didn't do enough knitting anymore to really answer my questions (i couldn't even form them yet, as i recall). Though now it looks easy enough i still am not thrilled about figuring out how much yarn i need before hand.

The Single cast on looks like it's cheating. A row of half hitches, come on, how sturdy can that be? But there a lot more methods of casting on for me to try that there are videos for on this website! i am so excited. Incidentally, the KnittingHelp website also says "Casting Off" instead of "Binding Off", so i'm not a total loser!

But the method of casting on that i really wanted to try i can no longer find for some reason. i know that i had it bookmarked, and i know that i watched it last week, but now i can't find it! i went through all my knitting bookmarks and still can't find it!!! And that's why i started writing this post in the first place, to tell you about that method, and in the meantime i got sidetracked finding the other webpage and trying to find the one video i wanted to show you in the first place. ):

December already?

Another present project down, three to go, and i'm dreaming of knitting my grandma some socks with a new elastic-y cast-on that i saw online. Today i joined Ravelry and archived what knitting needles and crochet hooks i have. i wish i could knit more!

re: beanie visor

Would you believe that i still have not knit this project? This winter Wal-Mart had rip offs of the elusive Fox beanie visor but they looked poorly knit. i'm still searching for the zigzag knit stitch pattern that i know must be out there in order to allow me to recreate this pattern myself... So far my efforts have been unsuccessful.

Has it really been that long?

Well i've been working full time, going to school full time, and not knitting nearly enough to keep down my stress levels. i've knitted two hats for Christmas presents for next year... but i'm not posting photos of them until at least December 25th! Now that i've finally bought a digital camera i guess i need to start updating though, huh?

Summer's here

Well my swimsuit has become a swimsuit coverup and is currently in progress using a Vogue pattern. Brinna's swimsuit was crocheted (based on a Macy's product, i believe) and i hear it's done but haven't seen it. i've began collecting yarn for Christmas presents; need to get started soon while i have plenty of time! So far i will be knitting a fancy fur coonskin cap, a scarf, and some socks.