Instant Recycling's Gonna Get You

I was mere inches away from finishing the first of a pair of Lisa Gaskell's Les Cables de Faux (Rav) legwarmers for a frosty friend in Calgary. Feeling pretty proud of myself, I was. Though it is a simple pattern easily memorized, my Swiss-cheese memory seemed to keep getting erased after each 3-row segment.

Once it clicked that I was over-complicating things by merely thinking I couldn't knit without referring to the instructions, I was on cruise control. Then I re-read her email with the sizing information and discovered something that the back of my monkey brain stored but refused to acknowledge: calf circumference is 14 inches. Fourteen. And I was on my merry way making a 9 inch circumference legwarmer. I know she asked for snug but that size could impair one's circulation.

Ripping ensued until I realized I could cheat rewinding to smooth out the bumps by re-knitting as I unraveled. It's not like I was making a different pattern that required smooth stockinette. There will be bumps. I may not enjoy having to play do-over but I think this instant recycling could catch on. Details when I'm actually done. Maybe she'll even model them for us (hint, hint!).



Remember crochet?

I was hoping I'd have a chance to do a few squares from "200 Crochet Blocks" compiled by Jan Eaton. When I originally got the book, I went through it like a mad woman, placing sticky notes on every page that I thought might possibly, remotely be used for some future something or other.

Then the call came in early January. I finally had the chance to break out my Clover Soft Touch hook (size F / 3.75 mm) and get busy. Not sure what I'll make but oh-you-kid, I'm loving the simple tactile experience of Textured Bluebells.

There is downside, and that's the fact that my hands are so out of practice with the hooking and whatnot that they cramp up after working too long. The only way to get past the cramping is to get back into crochet on a regular basis. Until then, it's rest 'em and rub 'em.

How the french bread cut my finger..

...and other food-related knitting.

It was just one of those unexpected things. I was so hungry by the time I got home with my lunch and the golden-crusted baguette that I didn't take the time to cut off a proper piece. As I rudely ripped into the loaf, leaving a jagged edge, I felt a quick jab at my left index finger. I figured it was my imagination and thought how funny it would be to fashion a knife out of bread then crumble the evidence (too many forensic cop shows).

Later on, as I sat knitting my Super Cupcake cowl, I noticed that the yarn kept catching on my finger. Upon closer inspection, I saw what looked like a splinter and a little dot of blood. It wasn't my imagination. The french bread actually had cut my finger and left a little bit of itself behind as evidence! Laugh if you must, but it took a week for that sucker to properly heal.

Despite the aforementioned grievous bodily harm and a continuously cantankerous shoulder, I managed to finish both the cowl and the slouchy hat, making this pair the second of my Chicago winter warrior gear.

Yarn: Lorna's Laces - (2) 225 yd. / 114g skeins in the Vera colorway
Needles: 16" circular sizes 7 and 8US / 4.5 and 5.0 mm; size 8 dpns to finish
Stitch: Shaker rib

If you're new to Shaker rib (or any of the other brioche-like stitches), it takes some getting used to the whole "knit one below (k1b)" business. It may be counter-intuitive but go ahead and drop that stitch. It'll work out in the end. Promise. The only tricky part you might encounter (or at least I did) comes when you stop paying attention and purl the k1b and knit the purl. Hopefully you find your mistake before you've finished the round. If not, my advice is to frog back to the purl row.

My only other admonition? If you knit loosely as I am doing at present, take the time to check your gauge. Seriously. You see how my cowl looks a bit, um, large? That's because it is. It turned out to be wider than the pattern's 26" circumference and hence not quite as face-hugging as I would have liked. The fault lies not in the pattern, but in myself.

I did a whole lot better on the hat. I tightened up my knitting and plowed through to the finish on that swell chapeau within five days, which is fast for me these days. Love, love, love everything about this hat. It has just the right amount of insouciant slouch. I think it looks adorable and will definitely be baking up more of these in the future.

Now, back to the baby dress.

Now here's a happy snap!

The First Post's Daily Beast feature has just the thing to send you smiling into the weekend. Cape penguins sporting knitted red scarves with green and white pom-poms for the holidays.

Cape penguins at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama. Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno

By the way, my Super Cupcake cowl is all done and the matching hat is on the needles. More on this terrific looking duo next week, once the fat lady binds off.

This week in snow, sleet, rain and knitwear

It was Monday morning. As is his habit, Nik stood on my chest long enough to wake me and make known his desire for his 4 a.m. feeding. He does this every morning, like I'd forget or something. Not bloody likely after 13 years. I'm a creature of habit, too, buddy. I know how it goes.

I glanced upward from my bed out through the slightly open blinds. It seemed so light out that I figured I really had overslept, leaving poor starving kitties to struggle for themselves well past 5 o'clock. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, squinted at the clock on the night table and saw that it was only 1:48 a.m. In my vast experience of such things, the only reason for the softly bright night sky was snow. The first real, stuck-to-the-ground, more-than-a-dusting snowfall of the pre-winter season. And me, caught with my needles down.

While it's true that I already have a beret and cowl under my belt, I want more. It wouldn't hurt to have another cowl or two, with matching chapeaux, mittens or fingerless mitts completed. I won't go so far as a sweater or lacy shawl because these things, while quite lovely, require the kind of patience I do not possess.

Watch out for sticky fingers with this one! She is called Super Cupcake and she will be mine this winter. Bonne Marie has come up with another practical, sensible and versatile knit to battle the wind and the wet. I have just the worsted in mind, too: 3 or 4 skeins of Lorna's Laces in the Vera colorway that's been marinating in stashland for quite some time.

Perhaps I need to put the baby dress aside and gear up for more suitable woolens. My original plan called for the dress to be finished in time for baby's first Christmas. Well, like the man says, plans change. I hear there's a bonafide winter storm headed our way by week's end.

Things That Make Me Feel Good

Shiny silver buttons


This cute cadet-style coat from Old Navy came with dull brass buttons that did nothing for it. See for yourself. I consulted a friend and M&J Trimming (love them!) to find the perfect antique silver flower buttons. Color me happy because these little things turn the coat from blah to beautiful.

Expressing myself with color


And oh, what color! As mentioned previously, I'm taking an abstract art class with the goal of finding parts of myself I thought had left the building. The most recent assignment was to use the drip and splatter techniques of Jackson Pollock. The rest was up to us; how we used color, movement and layering to create with purpose. I know it's not to everyone's taste but I rather like it.

Finishing another hand knit



Pattern: Seed Stitch Cowl from VK Holiday 2009
Yarn: 75 yards of marigold dyed alpaca; 2 skeins of vintage Malabrigo; color unknown
Needles: Size 11US / 8 mm

The main difference between mine and the eye-popping green one in the magazine was the weight of the yarn. I doubled worsted weight to approximate the chunky yarn called for in the pattern. This resulted in a smaller cowl which I actually like better. It fits inside my coat and it's equally useful as a layering piece over a sweater.

I also added the pale marigold alpaca as a carry yarn at the start and finish of the piece. If I hadn't been so lazy, I'd have set up the tripod so you could see how perfectly this goes with the Leaf Beret. This is the second item I've finished in the space of a little over three weeks and, at the the risk of being immodest, I'm pretty proud of myself. To go from nothing to something and enjoying the trip? Happy-making!

Friends like you

Thanks for reminding me that words such as those some anonymous person used were just that: words and nothing more. Thanks for reminding me that I have people in my life who will tell me to move on, let go and forget the small stuff and small minds. Reminding me to remember who I am and am not.