Kitsch of Yester-year

HP 7 went on sale yesterday and I'm still desparately plowing my way through the fifth book. I want to be up-to-date before I read the final one. Pops picked up #7 from Costco the morning it was released and has since settled down to read it. He gives me smug looks at the dinner table and laughs when I clamp my hands to my ears and hum loudly when he drops hints about the plot.

Preparing for HP 7 has definitely been the reason for my knitting lapse; I think that I should continue with the VK pullover soon if I hope to finish it before it gets too cold to wear short sleeves!

A few evenings ago, the absense of knitting drove me to rummage through drawers in search of kitsch. And kitsch I did find!

Circa 1995. This sweater was knit for me by a family acquaintance while we were still living in Russia. Though this photo doesn't show it, the panels of ribbing are actually diagonal. The sweater is really itchy so I didn't like it much. I wasn't too keen on the color either. 'Still had to wear it, though...

Circa 1987. This dress was crocheted for me by my godmother. There's a tie in the front (photo on left) and a button closure in the back (photo on right). I've got to hand it to my mother, she kept this dress in pristine condition all this time!

Socks!! L to R: Slip-on socks made from dog hair (my guess is that it came from a dog my uncle's family used to own); wool socks; my baby socks! All of these were definitely brough over by either my mom or dad from Russia at some point.

More socks! These are a combination of dog hair and what looks like the same wool used for the white socks in the photo above.

Detail of the heel.

The potholder at the top was crocheted by my grandmother's neighbor, who then gifted it to my mother. I'm not ashamed to admit that I sniggered at it. A lot. Dad came home, took one look at it, and scoffed. He then began to rummage through the kitchen drawers, looking for something. After asking him what he was after multiple times, he replied that he was looking for his mother's crocheted potholders. I benignly pointed to a hook on the wall above his head which held the two potholders (bottom photo). "Now that's crocheting", dad proclaimed. I've always been in awe of his mother's handiwork, though I've only just begun to truly appreciate and understand it.

Her crocheted coasters.

Amazingly, these items satisfied my need for a knitting fix without me even so much as looking at a pair of needles. Pathetic? Maybe. Nostalgic and inspirational? A definite 'yes'!

At the half-way point--pausing to enjoy the view!

Progress on the pullover's sleeve became faster as I got closer to the shoulder thanks to the decreases. And the less stitches on the needles, the more rows I was able to do on the train! Returning home from work today with five minutes until my stop, I had almost finished binding off when I accidentally dropped a stitch. So much for my triumphant finale! I ended up finishing the sleeve at home in front of the computer. Here it is, in all of its triangular glory:

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A different perspective:

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The two finished pieces together:

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It's starting to look like a pullover now, eh? Two more pieces like this and I'll be ready to block and seam this puppy together! I'll probably cast on for the front in a few days--I'm a bit behind in reading the first six Harry Potter books before the final one comes out next month! (A change of activity is supposed to be good for concentration, right?)

Making a knitter of her

Today I sheared a live'un!!

My father, to be more presice. Sadly, he produces hair and not wool.

Ever since I learned about Ravelry, I was anxious to join and see what it was all about. So many knitters and crocheters in one place--who can say 'no' to that? Finally, a few days ago I received an invite and signed up! I haven't had time to explore it yet or get settled in, but after reading about various bloggers' addiction to it, I think it's only a matter of time before it becomes one of my daily habits.

Work was busy this weekend so I didn't get to knit as much as I'd hoped; my goal was to finish the sleeve I'm currently working on, but no cigar. I'm about 3/4 of the way done, with 11 of 16 repeats out of the way. 'Not much time to knit this week, so the soonest this piece can be finished is next weekend.

Eventually it'll look like this:

The list of knitting/craft blogs I read has gotten longer again. I read sporadically, but I do read them! It's extremely uplifitng to interact with people with a common interest, to give and receive compliments and critique. Mostly, I just like oggling at crafts!

You CAN take it with you...but will you use it??

The mominator (aka my mother) and I left for a vacation on the 12th, but amidst the hustle, bustle, and shouting, I didn't find time for an update. So here it is, in all its posthumous glory!

Knitting needles and planes: there's a lot of infrmation about this topic if you know where to look. (Craftster has a thread featuring experience as well as rock-solid evidence; then there's TSA's list.) Up until the day before our flight, I'd been looking forward to whipping out my knitting 38,000 feet above ground...then the pink fog of dreamland cleared and I came to realize reality: no carry-on inspector in their right mind would let an abundantly-pierced gal wielding sharp, thin metal sticks onto an airplane full of unsuspecting people. Well, they might, but the odds were against me. Besides, I wasn't prepared: circs or even plastic needles look much more benign, and point protectors are good to have as well. Having weighed my chances, I concluded that it would be best for both me and the knitting if it rode in the suitcase. Better than having to stick it in an envelope and mail it back home.

Since our destination featured a beach, I'd imagined that I'd get a lot of knitting done there. And wow was I wrong! Maybe it's because I had forgotten what a sandy, wet place the beach was, or maybe the Harry Potter books I brought along proved more interesting (with #7 coming out soon, I've gotta get in the mood). So in conclusion, the knitting only came out in the hotel room, and just a few times at that. Silly me, I'd even brought materials for starting the front of my WIP, as well as my Vogue Knitting reference book and some larger needles and scrap yarn for the purpose of practicing new techniques. Oh, well. I guess knitting on the beach just isn't for me.

Knitting on the train, however, is definitely my thing. Getting a second job in San Francisco has proved to be pretty beneficial to my knitting, since there's not really much to do for the 35 minutes that I'm on the train. It warrants some interesting comments/conversations/glassy-eyed stares. The interaction is one of my favorite things about knitting, second to the finished product and the experience, that is!

A Small Mistake Almost Sunk This Kitschy Ship...

Yow, not one update for almost a month. (Some would call it a curse, while others insist that it's a form of genius that's closely related to procrastination).

To summarize: I was progressing well on my current WIP and getting a lot done at work...until I made a mistake. About halfway through the ridge-patterned section of my pullover, I must have gotten distracted by something (like my job) and instead of purling 2 rows, I only purled one and moved on. As I was knitting the next row, things didn't look right and I realized my mistake. No problem!, thought I. I'll just frog this row and that'll be the end of that. So I frogged the row, undoing the stitches one by one (they're so small that ripping them out will almost guarantee that some will get lost). My workday was just about over by the time I finished frogging, so I put my knitting away; I could go back to it the next day, right?

That's where things went painfully wrong (insert screeching violins here).

I didn't get a chance to knit at all the following week but when I started again Saturday morning, I was confident that I knew where I'd left off. The first ridge looked right but as I finished the second, I saw that the repeat didn't look right: the WS was on the RS, and vice versa. To say I was perplexed was an understatement. So I frogged what I'd done and set out to correct my mistake, a process that took almost 2 full days of knitting a few rows and frogging them again (stitch. by. stitch)! It got rather depressing after a while. I somehow finally managed to find the right place in the pattern repeat.

After that, things went smoothly until the "knit both sides at the same time" direction for knitting the neck. I'd initially thought that this meant keeping the work on the same needle and to keep knitting as usual. As I tried to knit on the other side of a bound-off row, the two sides became connected and I realized that there must be something else to the whole "knit both at the same time" thing. I looked up the term in my Vogue Knitting reference book, which cleared things up: each 'side' is to be knit using a separate ball of yarn. So I made another skein of yarn into a ball and things went merrily on their way.

Behold, the finished back piece!

I cast on for this piece on April 22 (Sunday) and finished on June 3 (Sunday); that's a little over a month. Not bad for knitting twice a week, plus a row here and there on weekdays.

A few detail shots:

A view of a shoulder and the neck opening.

Armhole shaping.

For the sake of variety, I decided to knit a sleeve now. My progress so far:

As suggested by Gloria, I've been writing out pattern instructions to prevent myself from losing my place (instructions like "decrease every other row 5 times AT SAME TIME cont. ridge pattern" or "*dec. 1 st each side, work even 3, dec. 1 st each side AT SAME TIME...." are just asking for it). Writing out the pattern repeat (k, k, p, k, etc.) and then adding whatever it is you have to do next to that row helps tremendously. I check off rows as I go and there's no chance of losing my place!

A (blurry) example of my notes:

This update is dedicated to a Mr. B. Franklin, whose aphorism I stole and twisted into what is now the title of this post. You rawk.

The Selfless Knitter 6.0 (batteries not included)

My FOs are few, but I can safely say that I enjoy knitting for others more than for myself. (My current WIP is a necessary exception). Coupled with my love of pleasing people is my reluctance to disappoint them: in essense, to say 'no' when they suggest that I knit them something.
Now, don't get me wrong, getting requests is flattering and frankly, sometimes I suggest it myself. But I get to thinking sometimes...could that be what knitting is all about? I'm by no means a knitting history buff, but I do know that from the very beginning, knitting was a practice that benefited many people other than the knitter. Whether it was a necessary craft (socks, sweaters, etc.) or simply entertainment (lace, etc.), the knitted items always seemed to benefit somebody else. But does that meant that knitters are selfless folk working tirelessly for the good of others? I'm not so sure. The act of knitting something is, by itself, highly rewarding, pleasing, and challenging. Watching somebody accept your finished item and knowing how much good they'll get out of it is, as they say, the icing on the cake. Besides, there are only so many things you can knit for yourself. Would you ever be able to use them all? Not to mention that after weeks of working on an item (if not longer), I'm pretty eager to send it on its merry way.
So perhaps there's more to knitting than yarn and needles, cardigans and baby socks. Maybe knitting has hidden intrinsic value that only really makes sense to a knitter.

So what has my knitter's nature wrought upon me? Why, more future projects, of course! There are many thigns I want to knit for myself, but the majority of future projects are for other people:

M-the-younger: He's my co-worker and we're only a few months apart in age. He was the first to (jokingly) ask for something after seeing me knitting the now finished faux-lace scarf at my desk. He requested a tie (really) and since then I've found a few good pattern that will work.

M-the-elder: Another co-worker. This one wants a vest, with cables and all. Well, if he wants it done before the year is over, he'll have to settle for something simpler.

G: My little cousin. She requested a rainbow-colored scarf and matching hat. I'm planning to have them ready for her by this fall.

N: A former lady co-worker who may have asked for a scarf at some point. I'm thinking something lacy.

M&C: The original muses :) These two can pull off things like shrugs and capelets. I'd love to make things like that but I know that I'd never wear them; just a matter of taste. Having friends to gift things like this to allows me to make things that I wouldn't necessarily use myself. And of course, it's fun figuring out what they'll like.

The rest of my list includes projects for people that didn't ask for them. A huge benefit of making things for others is the opportunity to learn new skills and practice learned ones--both parties benefit!

Moving right along...

I've made a lot of progress on the pullover--it's almost time to shape the armholes, neck, and shoulders!

Aerial view: the sides roll horribly, so they were pinned out for the photo session. Look--shaping!

A close-up of the ridge pattern.

Another view of the ridge pattern.

I wasn't kidding when I said it curled! Half of the time, it doesn't even look like the front or back of anything.

And the WS of the piece. Lots and lots of garter stitch.

Currently, the piece measures 36.5 cm; it needs to be 37.5cm before I can start shaping the armholes. I started a second hank last weekend! This time around, winding it into a ball by hand turned disastrous towards the end--a scary, tangled mass that took me about a half hour to fix. Maybe it was a combination of the late hour and listening to a radio show. Perhaps there is something to having a partner help you wind...

The photos were taken with different types of flash, which is why they all look different. Still not sure which is best for 2am photo sessions with the floor lamp on...

It's been very smooth sailing so far and I'm a bit nervous about starting on armholes, shoulders, etc. Something about "working both sides at once" scares me. That and the AT THE SAME TIME directions--not only must you continue the ridge pattern, but you should also decrease/increase every x number of rows. The first two repeats of the ridge pattern called for this and it wasn't so much difficult as it was about planning ahead and knowing after which row to increase. My other concern is the length. The ridge pattern on the sweater the model in the mag is wearing doesn't start at the same place it starts on me. Granted, we're not the same person but the size of the sweater is the same! I'm afraid that it'll turn out ot be a little long for me. In that case, I'll probably frog from the bottom and re-do the ribbing so that it fits better.

Not only have I been able to knit at work, but during the week as well! A row here, two more there--that adds up to a lot, considering that it takes me about 10-12 minutes to knit a single row. There are currently 134 stitches on the needle, although it doesn't look like it! (No, I didn't count them! 'Just glanced at the pattern!) Initially, I thought that bringing my knitting to school would just distract me, but I've actually found that knitting a bit before hitting the books is relaxing. Plus, I'll never be bored during a dull lecture hour!

I should be done with this side by the end of this month, finals and all being taken into consideration. Maybe I should do a sleeve next instead of the other side, to keep things interesting.

I'm considering starting a second, smaller project in addition to this WIP. There are a lot of things I'd been planning to knit--mostly things people have requested. But that's another can of worms meant for another post...

Stash: Not just for yarn anymore

I've made a lot of progress on my pullover over the past week--in reference to the pattern photo in the last post, I've just begun the ridge pattern.
So far, I've been surprised at how some of the direction details I'd previously thought of as challenging were a breeze when it came to actually following them. For example, I was worried about how I could keep track of the number of rows I'd done (and in what stitch) and, at the same time, make the right number of increases. The problem was easily solved with a piece of paper to tally up the number of increases and write down either 'k' or 'p' for the row I was currently on. The upcoming directions will probably challenge me a lot more than this, since they involve shaping for the sleeves and picking up stitches to form a neckline. I'm hoping that it'll fall into place when the times comes to knit them, just like everything else!

Progress photos in the next post.

On stashes. Since I've only recently started to get serious about knitting, my yarn stash is pretty nominal. And actually, I'd like to keep it that way! I like impulse buys as much as the next knitter, but the longer that yarn sits unused, the more guilty/frustrated one feels. My plan is to buy yarn as I need it, whether it be for a current project or for a future one (yarn specs. would be known). It's pragmatic and ambitious. Let's see if I can stick to it!

My weakness, however, is books. And magazines. And anything craft-related. So, for your viewing pleasure as well as my future nostalgia, my book-stash!

Clockwise from top: 3 books on sewing, 1 small book with Chinese patterns (knitting inspiration!), my current collection of past VK issues (80s-early 90s), a Vogue Knitting reference book (very handy; it's got articles from past issues, stitch patterns, techniques, etc.), a few books on marcame. This section of my book-stash is dubbed 'the old stuff' because, well, it's all second hand! And yay for that!

Dubbed 'the new stuff', this is my collection of current knitting magazines and books. Only the Vogue Stitchionary (vol. 2: cables) is second hand (I'm not ashamed to admit that as a relative cheap-skate, I try to buy as many things used as possible).

And now the yarn stash, plus where I keep my notions and all that jazz...

It all fits inside a medium-sized box: needles, yarn, ruler, faux stitch holders (made out of paper clips).

Not pictured are my pattern binder (downloaded patterns from online) and an inspiration folder (holds clippings, pictures, etc. that are somehow inspirational).