Bansidhe’s blog

When it comes to knititng, I'm not entirely certain I've ever grown up.

While I do tend toward knitting toys, that's not actually what I mean: I'm really more talking about how I choose a yarn -- which means, if it doesn't feel good, I don't want to knit with it.

Case in point: I recently traded two skeins of Noro Silk Garden to a friend in my knititng group. (I ended up with a 6" size 1.5 circular needle for socks: At last check, we both think we got the better end of the deal.) Why? I mean, it's Noro -- One of those much-coveted yarns. Why give it up?
... I didn't like the way it felt, too rough for my taste. (And Noro has enough supporters and fans out there that they really don't need me, anyway.)

I don't want to work on -- or wear! -- anything that's itchy or scratchy or rough.
So it's probably no secret that I love Malabrigo, even though it's not well suited to outerwear. (Current Malabrigo project: Colonnade in Stonechat and Amoroso.)

I don't really have a point with that, other than saying it's really, really soft, so I love working with it.

Back to the toy front: I've been knitting a lot of kitties lately. The latest is a miniature version of another kitty I've already made: I was going nuts at JoAnn's last night, trying to find a set of cats-eye like ¼-inch buttons in green. (They have them in white, red, blue, pink, and black, but no green -- though I did end up finding some lime-green buttons in ¼-inch, but they're a solid color and lacking the luminosity I was looking for. Oh well.)
Also, it seems to me that JoAnn's button selection has shrunk; I am vaguely displeased.

So, projects currently in the flurry of work: More short-row hats. Itty bitty knitty kitty. And a Roam that I've been wanting to tackle for ever in a fabulous orange color of Colourmart merino yarn called Tiger.
On top of the Christmas presents, that is. (Although the short-row hats actually are presents, so they count.)

I'm also rediscovering Fetching, and thinking I may make a series of those for gifts this year, too.

Latest yarn purchase just came rolling in: 1 skein of Malabrigo worsted in Stonechat, and two skeins each of Tonalita in colors Flower and Stone & Ash from Yarn Country.

I have a skein of Pearl Malabrigo to go with that Stonechat, and I'm going to be turning them into a Center Square before long. (This year, I seem to have a thing for hats... Especially since the Tonalita are both slated to become Short-Row hats.  .. Minus the little i-cord at the top, but. Same pattern.)

Other good things: Also purchased some Noro Silk Garden, but traded it to a knitter friend for some sock-size circular needles -- She says she has the better end of the deal, which is probably true. The colors were fabulous, but the yarn didn't have enough softness for me to know what to do with it -- I'd rather it found a new home where it won't languish in the stash for eternity,after all. (And, I'm used to working with witchy little DPNs, so the circulars should be just fine for me.)

Now, confession time: These hats-to-be are Christmas presents. So my stash enhancement is really more for selection of gifts.

Lastly, I miss my spinning wheel. I really need to finish putting the finish on the thing, but the humidity this summer's been leaving me in despair: I suspect I'll have to re-sand the parts, which is really very disheartening, but I also can't put the varnish on in this weather because it'll never dry in the muggy wet conditions. (Big, big sigh.)
And I have all this roving lying around, begging to be turned into something, and all I've got are my handspindles.

... My handspindles are lovely, don't get me wrong. I'm just still not entirely sure I've got the talent to make more than fifty or a hundred yards of yarn. (And not all on one spindle, either. Aw.) Plus, those are singles, and I'm still kind of erratic, and... Whine, whine, complain, mope, you get the idea. ;) Which probably means I should be handspindling, darn it, because then I'd get better at it.

Another Christmas project this year: Socks.
I haven't really tackled socks recently, and it's frustrating to me: I was having fun with my two-at-once socks, but that project seems to have fallen out of my knitting bag and took my favorite sock double-point needles with it. (Grumble.) It's high time I tried them again, especially with as many socks as I have in my Ravelry queue.

Funniest thing happened to me on my way to the blog: I tripped over a three month period of less than prolific knitting.
Really aggravating, let me tell you.

Still: Joining the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup on Ravelry helped assure that I actually did something during that time frame.

I'm still working -- grudgingly! -- on the Big Cross Top: I'm about a third to not quite halfway through, which feels really discouraging when I stop to think about it.  Next time I make this, I'm figuring out how to work it lengthwise so I don't get so very, very bored and crotchety about it.

On the other hand, I've been making knitted kitties like mad: Two apology kitties will be going out to my first Knitted Kitty Swap partner, since hers was eaten by the post office, and as soon as I finish the two more that a co-worker asked for -- he gave me yarn, and they're models of his wife's two cats that passed away last year -- I'll be making two for my most recent Kitty Swap person. Pairs o' kitties for everyone!
... Though the next time I decide to make a tabby cat for Lillian's Knitted Kitty pattern, somebody needs to knock me unconscious.
Also, I may have made up charts for a tabby, siamese, and cow kitty with Lillian's pattern. I'm also thinking about dropping her a line to see if she minds me posting the chart pdfs in Ravelry. (Free, naturally: After all, her pattern's free, and it wasn't THAT much of a fuss for me to create them.)

My first wristies pattern is still in development, but I anticipate posting the second draft in Rav soon: I know I have at least one friend there that's willing to take a whack at knitting them for me, though I imagine the Thursday knitting group would happily help me out too. Hmm!

Not much in the way of pictures right now, but they'll come.

April went by a little faster than I'd hoped, mostly because after a wonderful visit to DC,  I happened to get sick.
I'm still nursing back to health at this point, though I'm much, much better than a week and a half ago -- I'd been out sick from work since the 16th, and only just got back this past Monday... And sadly, I hadn't been awake long enough to do half the knitting I'd wanted to complete.

Hopefully, May will be better: I still need to finish the hubby's Retrofit sweater, which I haven't touched in far too long, (If I'm honest, it's because I am so intimidated by those little space invaders. I think I'll work on getting the sleeves and front finished first, so it doesn't look so insurmountable when all I have left to finish is the back.)

I'm also slogging through Knit Tricks' Big Cross Top, and I do mean slogging -- I'm working both pieces at once, but have discovered that I have to knit a total of about 90 inches to be finished... And I'm only just past ten.
... It's going to be a long project.

Clearly, I need more short projects to keep my brain entertained: That's the only reason I have for volunteering to make four more short row hats. It's the only logical explanation, right?
(Well, I do like how quickly they work up.)

The completed spindle arrived on the first:

Tiger Spindle

I am pleased. :)

Additionally, I'm also reaching the point of needing an extra set of eyes on a knitting pattern that I've been working on: Currently, I'm polling knitting friends for assistance. We'll see what comes of it!

Time's moving a little too quickly for me these days, it seems: I thought about posting my recent Etsy finds -- two weeks ago, not realizing how much time had actually slipped away.

Hoo boy.

So, I'll be backposting my finds for Saint Patrick's, and I'll just try to be better in the future. :}

First off: I recently joined a fiber and spindle club, from Etsy's Butterfly Girl Designs.
I originally found Butterfly Girl Designs thanks to the Winter 2008 edition of Knitty's Cool Stuff: She's featured in the lower third of the page, if you want to take a look, but it doesn't tell you a single thing about how very cool a person this seller is.  She didn't get irked when I went all bouncy-like and excited about the fiber club that I'd just missed buying -- and she did indeed let me know when the fiber club opened again.
(Also, she writes occasionally to comment on the other spindles I've found on Etsy; it turns out she was giving serious consideration to the Time Flies spindle, too -- though she said she was glad it'd found a good home.)  :)

So, a week ago, my first fiber/spindle club order came in, and this was the result:

Temptation is a blend of cashmere, silk, camel, and merino: And yes, it really is tempting. I'm almost half a mind to asking her to just send more of that so I can spin up a sweater's worth -- but then I'd miss out on all her other lovely possibilities. (And I know they're lovely, since I've bought Blue Morpho, Blackbird, and Tuscany, all merino/bamboo blends  -- with the latter two including firestar for glitz.)

And the Italian Resin spindle is just a happy, lovely coincidence, since I've recently decided square whorl spindles are pretty nifty. :)

And speaking of the Time Flies spindle -- Yorkieslave's another Etsy spindle seller that I can't seem to find enough good things to say to give you the full picture of how very awesome she is. She's actually taken a commission from me, because she had some really interesting Cheetah and Cougar spindles -- but no tigers. (I have a great love for tigers.)

Spindle in Progress, by Yorkieslave

I'm in awe.
Also, yes, that is a very large spindle: I wanted it that way, since my current largest spindle is a little on the difficult side. (No hook. And no, it's not a supported spindle.)

Also, her fiber batts are very creative color-wise, and so, so soft: I bought more of her colorway of Alice,  which is the mini-batt that came with my Tempus Fugit spindle -- mostly because I am a lover of yarns, and soft roving and batts are just an extension of that. :)

Earlier this week on Ravelry, I warned the knitting group that I was bailing due to early work shift-induced unconsciousness. Luckily, after two days of that, I've been back on my more accustomed closing shift  -- so on my way into work, I contemplated retracting my 'not gonna be there' post.

And then my car started growling and grinding while I turned the first corner in the parking structure. I cursed quietly and anxiously turned into the first free parking spot I could find -- and the Rabbit jerked to a sudden halt two-thirds into the spot.
I almost burst into tears, and did something productive instead: Called up to the co-workers and asked our big guy to come down and help me push the car the last third into the space. Easy, right? Just pop the car in neutral and a little weight does the work for you. Actually, I felt a little silly asking, once I started thinking rationally again, and tried to just give the car a nudge or two into place while I held the wheel to complete the turn.

Only, not this time.

I had one random stranger stop to try and help, and then one of the managers on my floor: My co-worker finally made it down, and though he claims he can bench 800 lbs, we weren't able to get it to budge an inch.
So I hop back in, and in a fit of desperation, try to urge the VW forward again. ("So. Do me a favor and call 911 if I smack the wall and knock myself out, okay?" "... Maybe. I'll think about it." "Jerk. Stand back.")
The front wheels didn't turn at all, he told me, but I was able to get the car to lurch into the space.

And then I went in to work, called my mom, and promptly had a small little jag of crying.
Washed my face, went back to my desk, and started working.

It was a blessedly slow day today, so I was able to put this little munchkin together:

Knitted Kitty

In the end, I guess I'll just have to wait and see on the car's story: It seems to be the breaks, since the Rabbit works just fine in reverse (though the breaks take about three feet to catch on that I want to stop) and locks up completely when in drive  -- The car's sitting in the overnight drop lot at a repair shop, and I just have to wait and see.

I am grateful, however, that it is unlikely to be the transmission.
That would've been REALLY expensive.

In the past twelve days, I’ve had a lot going on in my little knitting world. I’ve been to my knitting group twice, and enjoyed myself a lot: There’s also been a lost stash enhancement package along the way, though I’m hoping it’s less ‘lost’ and more ‘merely delayed’ -- after all, Robyn of the Robyn’s Nest says she has yet to have lost a package, and I would really, really hate to ruin a perfect record. Also, Ravelry has started eating my brain, in parts.

So, to start with Ravelry: I’m becoming more active as of late, writing up what I’m actually knitting -- and what the hell am I thinking anyway, casting on with no less than four projects at once? -- and getting some camera practice in while I’m at it. I’ve joined a Harry Potter group, specifically the House Cup competition, and I’m largely lurking around until the sorting in May. (Well, not entirely true -- I’m trying to come up with a cheer for the Quidditch Cup thread for no particular reason, but mostly lurking.)  
I’ve also joined a knitted kitty swap group, because some of the little stuffies coming out of that group are ADORABLE. (Also, I think I just want the excuse to give the ‘standard’ knitted kitty swap pattern a trial run.)

The rest, well, I think I’ll have to break it down by project.

The Kromski: Three weeks ago, I took my spinning wheel apart for the express purpose of putting a finish on it.  It’s been slow going as unfortunately, it’s not a project that can be properly completed in a single afternoon -- but the good is, it’s coming along nicely. There was a bit of ugly when I went to use the golden oak stain that my father suggested: Luckily, I only stained the matching niddy-noddy before discovering that I don’t really care for the color. (The natural wood itself is SO pretty, really!)  All that’s left on that project is 1) buying my polyurethane and 2) applying it, this coming weekend’s weather allowing.

The Husband’s Sweater: I’ve finally cast on for his long-awaited sweater -- A modified version of Jesse Loehsburg’s Retrofit,  adjusted to include Aija Goto’s Space Invader charts across the back.
And the bad is: Figuring out the vertical placement of said space invaders is driving me BONKERS. I’ve momentarily put the whole idea down to come back to again, although I’ve definitely decided that losing the bunkers on the Space Invaders ‘screen’ is going to take a lot of the crazy off my plate.

The Tilted Duster: In the past five weeks, I’ve cast on for the tilted duster twice. Why? Well...
The Ugly:  My completed Tilted Duster was made of Main Line in Ink, a green-based black yarn. It looked really good, it had a fabulous hand to it, and I loved wearing that sweater.  Matter of fact, I wore that sweater non-stop. Which was enough time to realize that the main line was shedding like mad -- all over my shirts, my pants, my arms, my car, my purses and knitting bags... My cats didn’t shed that badly, so something had to be done.
The yarn is billed as machine washable, so surprise! I machine washed it. (And I put it in on gentle / slow cycle and cold, but still -- machine washed.)  
And then it turned into a fur coat.
The shedding magnified, the sweater burst into a giant puffball, and eight times of re-washing has not yet convinced the yarn to stop with the damned shedding already.  I’m honestly about to give up on the thing, which is heartbreaking since it took me 3.5 weeks to complete -- but I’m intending to go find a soft-bristled brush and try that on the duster before I give it up entirely.

Honestly. So mad.
Which is probably why I cast on again, this time in a full wool. (I had about 10 skeins, and only need about 6 of them.)

Other than that, I’ve been a spinning fool: Apparently, I only need to take apart my spinning wheel to rile up the urge for it. Thankfully, I have a spindle collection, so I’ve been using those instead. And it’s probably about time I learned how to ply without a spinning wheel, anyway...

Last week, I finished my Tilted Duster in Knitpicks Main Line yarn.
During the next three days of wearing it, I found out that Main Line sheds horribly -- so I borrowed my mom's washer and washed it.
It turned into a poofy, fuzzy mess, and I'm still caught somewhere between severe irritation (Superwash yarn, fer chrissakes!), depression (oh my God, how much work wasted?), and the vague hope that it's all still salvageable. ... I really, really want it to be salvagable, because I'm already well in love with that sweater.
And that's most of what I was doing on Saturday, killing the time in-between by taking apart my Kromski Prelude and sanding its parts.

After two years of going around with an unfinished spinning wheel, I'm finally going to put a protective coat on it. The surprising break in the rain's helped a lot with that: I forgot my two yard niddy-noddy at home for the sanding job, alas, but I can fix that this weekend. Dad's even offered up his workbench for the staining and such -- maybe if I'm really lucky, he'll even give me a hand. I'm opting to use some of his Oak stain, rather than go with mahogany or anything else that's similiar to the finishes available for Kromski wheels: After all, why imitate if I can customize?

I've been playing with a lot of handspindles in the mean time, and while I don't have a serious amount of yarn made yet, I do seem to have a small and steadily growing collection of lace- to fingering-weight singles mounting up. I'm still debating if I want to leave them as singles or ply them: I'm probably going to go with the latter, since I have this abysmal habit of overtwisting my yarn that I haven't yet figured out how to avoid, and plying seems to help keep the yarn from twisting around and around and again on itself, once I've set the twist.  -- It probably also helps that I have two new, lovely spindles, weighing in at .6 oz and 1.2 oz, respectively.

Both were Etsy finds: That site continues to be a huge temptation for me. Really, I just need to start selling some of my knitting up there, if only so I have money for all the pretty things I can possibly find there!

First, from Yorkieslave:

Tempus Fugit Spindle

I'm perhaps a little too amused by the fact that it's a crazy clock-face on the spindle's top: On the other hand, I'm apparently not the only one that thinks Lewis Carroll, since the seller sent along a mini-batt of yummy bamboo-merino fiber in a colorway she calls Alice.

And the other, from Butterfly Girl Designs:

Tigereye Stone Spindle

I have a weakness for Tiger's eye. 

So, since I've been more active on Ravelry recently, I'm making use of my Fuji FinePix S700 and taking pictures of everything -- trying to drag out the projects I still have in my possession, snap pictures, and so on. (I'm still desperately sorry that all I have is a really wonky picture of my Jayne hat, back before I had a better camera.) 

And now I've moved on to my stash.
Which is crazy.

See, I've been very good at putting in what I remembered from my stash -- but oh my lord, I've forgotten so many. I didn't include my Malabrigo worsted in Pearl -- I promise, Malabrigo, I still love you!  And then there was the accidental discovery of two skeins of robin's egg Debbie Mumm Traditions yarn, back when its center core was still black. And so many other things.

I'm having a lot of fun taking pictures and rediscovering my stash -- so far, there's only two skeins where I'm going, "Uh, what exactly was this again?"

Guess my memory is better than I thought. ;)