stash rationale

Finished two things this weekend, but they are both presents, so stay un-photographed for now.

I have decided to take the It is Rocket Science appraoch; its not stash, its "unassembled socks". So have been happily lurking on sockwool sites today. I think here could provide me with the stuff for a pair of two-colour ones I want to make.

Still, I've said poo to the socks for now; I'll leave them all till the olympics (where I'll challenge myself to do three pairs in the sixteen days). So I got my merino chunky out to have a very-unportable (but very seasonal) cardigan. At least a chunky-weight could well be done by the time the olympic torch is lit. Plus I'm happy for it to be a home knitting project and try to read on the bus for a week or so. And its FREEZING out there. I need a warm layer!

Post

Oh, such very, very exciting post.

The Rowan Soft for the sock's I'm knitting my Grandad during the Olympics (from the always reliable Get Knitted) and some georgeous Curious Yarns sockwool I used some money I got for xmas to buy. And new Rowan 39! You know your craft is too much of your life when you get three bits of post in one day and they are all knitting related.

Anyway, Rowan... I do think they've gone a bit Boho. Letting Fassett on the Sienna Miller look. It had to happen sometime. Seriously, there is got some nice stuff if you think through the photography which is just a little too "June 2005" for me. You'd have thought Rowan had enough nouce to realise that look would appear more than dated by now.

GetKnitted and Curious Yarns feel the need to include sweeties (always a good sign in a yarn company) so I have a sugar boost to curl up with the Rowan book. That and a cup of tea I think. The picture may paint a very spring-like image, but its snowing out there. I was thinking of going to the V&A late show tonight, but forgot to ask anyone to join me and didn't feel like going on my ownsome. So I'm gong to finish my mother's socks and cast on for another (self designed) pair. There's no sign of wool for the secret project and I can't start Graddad's socks till the flame is lit, so I might as well use the Angel sockyarn I've had since December and try a different heel technique.

Reading

I've nearly finished the socks for my mother. Well, I have enough to either keep me going on my trip to and from Wye tomorrow OR to last till the weekend. I'm waiting for some yarn before I can start my next project and don't feel like starting another which I'll have to leave once said yarn does turn up.

Solution? I'm reading. Yes, reading. Proper reading, not reading while knitting or reading about knitting or endlessly browsing knitting blogs. I'm lying on my bed with knitting in its bag, I have a book in my hands and I'm reading it. I opened the cover and looked at that print on the slightly off-white paper, and breathed in that smell. I swear sniffing books is nearly as fun as sniffing yarn. And as I felt my posture move to teenager-absorbed-in-text, I realised I haven't done this for ages.

I've read things since I started knitting, obviously, even books, but they've tended to be the sort of non-fiction secondary sources you engage with on a desk. They are horizontal, you are vertical. You read them in a piecemeal way, scanning and jumping to find information and ideas you want (or you think you want) rather than absorbing yourself in the narrative.

So, I’ve got excited by a big pile of kids science fiction books, and I’m going to put the knitting away till the weekend. Not even on the bus, I’m going to try and read. I find reading on transport hard, that’s why I started knitting. But for the next few days I’m going to try. It may well help me appreciate knitting all the more.

Anyway, I did take a break from it to look over at my stash and saw this lovely purple, greens, pinks and blues arrangement nestling in the corner. So I took a photo. Just because its yummy. The cones are cobweb stuff I got at a machine-knitters sale (I don't machine knit, but this stuff is great for playing with lace). Mmmm, lace knitting. I got my 2mm Addi's in the post today.

Ahem, this knitting pause might be hard.

wrong-ness

Above is some lovely hipknits cashmere I bought to make socks with. Unfortunately someone had tangled it up in the shop before I got there. I thought it'd be ok. But that's it still with much to untangle FOUR hours in. Really. Those socks better be worth it.

When not balling yarn, I've been spending the evening sorting a parcel for my secret pal. Its a collection of things (suppose it should be kept secret) along with a card I've made using a picture printed from the Victoria and Albert Museum's knitting database.

In other news, someone has invented glow in the dark knitting needles. There is something very wrong about this.

And on a very different note, I appear to have found another wooly-crayon-maker (you'll need to scroll down).

Marvin

It's my version of Marvin the Paranoid Andriod (from the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy). Not spherical and white I hear you scream. Ah, well its based on the old BBC TV version you see...

I made this AGES ago (i.e. June) but only just took a photo. I probably could have taken a better one actually, it looks more Marvin-like standing up. It was a birthday present for my boyfriend. Its all very sad, we bonded over Hitchiker's on a very early date and he gave me an aniversary gift of a giant cardboard cut out of Movie-Marvin which is still living (or rather decomposing) in my garden.

For those who have not idea what I'm talking about this BBC news feature compares the TV series to the movie (picture five for the Marvins).

no whales here gov

I turned my first toe! I've turned a heel before, but this is my first proper toe-up (... doing Knitty's falling leaves). I spent way too much time on it today, considering I set myself the aim of writing a draft of my children's literature conference paper. I thought about trying the sock pattern in this winter's Interweave too, but I think I'll save that for HipKnits cashmere; this knitty one works well for the strong colour verigation.

I also surfed through way too much sock-weight yarn porn but was good and only ordered needles, which I needed. After battling with my incredibly loose gage, I've finally given in to 2mm's - its the only way I can even come close to gage for most 2.25mm patterns. And I'm serious about the whole knitting mainly socks thing.

Knitting cinema tomorrow morning. Then home to bake brownies. They are to pay my "model" on sunday. He's going to be modelling something I knitted and we're going to take shots by the river. And that's all I'm saying about it now. But we're going to have to wrap up warm because its forecast a bit of a chiller.

mmmm handpainted sockyarn

Got a parcel from GetKnitted today with this beautiful piece of yarn porn in it.

It WAS going to be for my Secret Pal. But I realised Mother's Day will be upon us soon-enough, so I'm going Jaywalk-er them into a gift for my mum. I'll find something else for my Secret Pal. I ordered some Lantern Moon needles today, which I know she has been coverting, and I'm going to make a case to put them in. She'll be spoilt ok, oh yes she will... And she liked the first thing I sent her - got an email today saying it arrived!

Plus I think its more my thing than hers. Mmmm, this wool is amazing. Fyberspates. I wish I could wear something mafe from it myself, but its 100% wool. Darnit, all I need is about 10% of something else.

EDIT: they are only 90% wool. mmmm... so tempting not to give away, but luckily I HAVE to get it done for mother's day. The calender gives me discipline if nothing else.

Ready, get set... go!

For some reason I've sighed up for the Knitting Olympics (see button in sidebar). I know the some reason. Its because I finished my work for the day a bit early and this seems to have fooled me into thinking I don't generally have oodles and oodles to do.

I did realise I need to knit a pair of socks by then anyway, so that's my challenge. I was going to do some for my granddad for his birthday. He's going to be 85 and has bad feet/ back/ knees. Last time I saw him he said he had problems getting shop-bought socks on but could manage "bigger" ones. In some ways its quite easy, but I do have a load of other (secret) stuff to be doing then too.

Dunno if I'll get some more DK-weight (like I did Marcus' wellie socks) or do them in sockweight but looser than usual (seeing as I still have the Angel stuff I bought for xmas but didn't get delivered in time). Or I might do it sportweight as a medium. Mmmm. Ooo, to make it a "proper" challenge I might do it two coloured.

secret pal rocks!!

I got post today. Post from Estonia... *generally jumping up and down with excitement*

From my Secret Pal!

Two AMAZING books about Estonian mittens. They have a load of patterns, with information in English as well as Estonian. She said in the card with it that she didn't think we'd need mittens in London. Little does she know my nickname at university was "Mittens". PLUS... I was just thinking about exactly these sort of colour charts for the socks I want to do for my Grandfather. So its just perfect really.

Her "name" is riietaja which according to my Google-sources means "dresser".

Alexis wearing tank top

Alexis wearing tank top!
Originally uploaded by alicerose.

Alexis and Kirsty and I had afternoon tea for gift-exchange and general knitting on saturday.

We had two types of cake and many cups of tea. Kirsty nearly finished her fairly-easy cardi, Alexis cob-webbed away with her kidsilkhaze night jumper and I got on with my secret (shhhh) project.

Alexis had requested a tank top (from a 1970s Woolworths magazine) knitted for her for xmas, way back in the autumn before she'd started knitting herself. It was a weird lace-rib mainly done with purling, and a right pain. Plus the pattern was wrong and there were issues round the shoulders. But dispite that it actually came up really well. The lace rib looked a little like a mock cable and the shape round the neck was fine. The arms are huge, but as you're meant to wear it over stuff I suppose its sensible.

I used about 6 balls of Patons Gold (wool rich, tumble dry...) which I've decided is actually a really good yarn. But I'm never knitting a garment exclusively in black again. Not after a christmas of that and black mittens.

what am I knitting

So I'm back to Blogger. I've tried typepad (just as clunky as blogger, but with a price tag) and though I love LJ I wanted a proper to be abole to post WIPs, UFOs, FOs, yarn porn and general rants without pestering my flist. I admit it, I have a stash and I might as well have a knitting only blog to keep it from swallowing me up.

And what am I knitting right now...? Well its a secret. So I can't say. Lips sealed. Tight. But there is a clue for you in the shape of the image above. A pic of a postcard which was part of my inspiration. That and an illustration in an old Alice in Wonderland Pop-up book I had as a kid - it started with cards being thrown into the air and ended with leaves on the ground. That's all you're getting. For now.

I'm going to Loop on tuesday. Was going to go tomorrow but remember they are closed on mondays...