tomorrow is thanksgiving. how? it feels like it was JUST thanksgiving last year. whatever, i am thankful for and excited about more or less everything. yesterday i spent a pleasant afternoon exploring in boston, and still found a little time to work on this:
which is my contribution to the red scarf project. it’s a palindrome in burgundy malabrigo, which i think makes for a nice unisex scarf. and soft! and squishy! i would be psyched to get this as a gift, and actually a few friends have asked me for one of these, so i think it makes for an okay donation, yes? i think i’m going to make one in gray for the boy i mentor, actually. he will make fun of it, because he makes fun of knitting every time we meet, but i think also he will like it (secretly, of course).
and i have to admit, this scarf also let me move in a new direction with my grandparents’ christmas gifts. i was making falling water for my nana, and henry for my papa. both beautiful scarves, but in my gut i totally knew that they just weren’t quite right. you know what will be just right? CABLES. i am having a love affair with cables. and my grandparents love ireland, and will be psyched on classic aran-inspired knits. also, they live in northwestern pennsylvania. it SNOWS there. who needs lace-weight scarves in lake effect snow? it may seem a little late in the game to just jump ship and start new projects, but i’m not even sweating it.
oh, also, my newest cousin was born last night. jack robert. i knit him this little sweater. i used some acrylic baby yarn i had stashed, so this isn’t the most luxurious baby sweater ever, but also, babies throw up on things. might as well make something machine washable? also also, i have nine cousins now. or ten. that’s a lot of cousins! fortunately, as the oldest grandchild, i never worry about losing my special rank and just becoming one of the masses. also, i don’t see any other grandchildren knitting glorious cabled scarves for nana and papa. what.
happy thanksgiving!
just a quick break from my furious knitting to help spread the word about the red scarf project. this is a scarf drive that benefits college students who have aged out of the foster care system. obviously this is very near and dear to my heart because i a) love knitting and b) work for a mentoring program that serves teenagers who are about to age out of the foster care system without permanent and positive adult supports. the description of the red scarf project explains that “these brave young people are going it on their own and trying to improve their lives and the community by attending college,” which may not sound like a great feat to those who have had adults who are invested in their lives, but my job has really opened my eyes to just what a huge that is for those who have not. and while a handknit scarf may not sound like the answer to all of the problems these kids face, i have also learned that it is a really big deal to receive anything for the holidays, never mind something handmade and personal.
the deadline for this project is december 15, so you still have plenty of time to come up with something special. read the link i included at the start of this entry for more details, as well as a nice list of appropriate unisex scarf patterns. even in the throes of our pre-scheduled holiday knitting, i think this is a really important and worthwhile project. you can also check out the red scarf project ravelry group for more ideas and inspiration.
this project is done through the orphan foundation of america, and you should really check out their website for some more information. it was one i referenced a lot when i first began my job and was just getting a grasp of the realities of the foster care system. i personally also recommend using foster club to learn more. their state-by-state foster care pages are really helpful, and may also lead you to other ways to get involved (like AHEM, being a mentor).
it feels good to be up and with a fresh pot of coffee before 7 am. it’s rainy outside but i am nice and toasty and ready for a morning of peaceful solitude, reading and knitting. i wouldn’t say that these moments are rare, necessarily. over the years i have trained myself to be a morning person more or less because i want days exactly like this to be more frequent. but i still have the odd day where i think i just appreciate it more, and today is one of those.
the picture above? those are some socks and a slouchy hat for an old friend i recently got back in touch with. i’ve done that with a few old and dear friends lately (well, more accurately, they’ve gotten in touch with me, and i’m just really glad that they have). hopefully this one likes the hat and socks, and i know i like the feeling of sending them off and waiting to hear what she thinks. and in the meantime i have lots and lots of works in progress to occupy my rainy day time.
here’s hoping everyone else has a nice day, rainy or otherwise. and also that soon i will have lots and lots of finished objects to share!
i seriously can’t believe how time is flying by. november, already? agh! i have been very very busy lately, assembling and packaging zine orders, working (because i know i never mention it, but i actually have a job, where i spend many hours during the week), and of course, knitting. for halloween, i was a squid. i knit my costume:
i will try to make better pictures happen soon. in the meantime, ravelry details are here. i have also been working on a number of other projects simultaneously. so far the only one with progress really worth showing is my brother’s christmas sweater. i feel okay posting this here because a) i don’t believe my brother reads this, or any blogs at all actually, and b) he picked this sweater and the colors out himself, so the only surprise will be whether this actually fits him. that said:
a very blurry photo, and also this morning i ended up knitting pretty much down to where the bottom of the pocket connects, which is awesome because it means the end of the body is near. i don’t mind some stockinette, especially in the round, but a men’s size xl sweater is a LOT of stockinette. i’m using the yarns suggested in the pattern, brown sheep lamb’s pride worsted and noro kureyon, so at least the yarn is a delightful treat after the pound of acrylic i used in my squid suit.
i’ve also made a good chunk of progress on my mom’s woodland shawl. originally i was trying to do that most quickly because i’m using my size 6 circular for it, and that’s also the needle i need for my sister’s sweater. my thought was that i could be thrifty and not buy another needle in the same size. i could just work one project, then the next. BUT. the size 6 i already own is a bamboo needle, which i’m not totally crazy about. it’s old and the points are getting dull. so if i bought myself a nice addi turbo circular, i would really be making more of a long-term investment than an impatient impulse purchase. am i right?
it feels like i have accomplished a good deal over the last few days. however, i am not singularly responsible for my progress. i owe a lot to netflix for making all of murder, she wrote available to watch instantly, to so delicious’s awesome coconut milk coffee creamer, and to new harvest roaster’s mild coffee that makes it easier for me to stay caffeinated all day without making my stomach feel like it’s on fire. i am so excited about the gifts i’m giving this year. also so excited about endless murder, she wrote marathoning. i leave you with this:
happy november!
i lied a little about doing nothing but knitting from now on. yesterday gary and i took a little field trip to mt. washington state park to hike around bash bish falls. bash bish. i know.
it was totally beautiful. we drove back roads through massachusetts and connecticut and got to enjoy tons of changing leaves, small towns and hot apple cider. when we finally got to the falls we ate vegan chicken salad sandwiches on top of a very scary ledge on the wrong side of the scenic overlook guardrail. i am so afraid of heights, but it was still really great.
totally cheesing. there were so many no swimming signs but seriously, you don’t even know how much i want to swim in this. also after four hours in a car, i was so psyched to be playing outside and seeing things like this. also, i totally knit in the car while navigating, so this still manages to count as productivity. my life is so fun sometimes. and now back to knitting!
i have been really falling down on the job lately. aka, i have no head. things are good, but things are busy. i’m racing through one project to get to the next five. not in a terribly stressful way, but still, i’m starting to feel it. i’ve also found some time to make new friends and sneak in what might be one of my last swimming trips of the season. right now as i type, my good friend shannon is visiting from maryland. this coming weekend i’ll go to pennsylvania to visit my family for a few days, which i’m really looking forward to. craft updates that will happen soon: gushing about my new spinning wheel, gushing about the drops cardigan (i’m almost done and i think it’s going to be good!), and gushing about what might be the best halloween costume idea i’ve ever had. in the meantime, feast your eyes on this picture of my beautiful cat hanging out in a tiny, tiny house:
as predicted, the end of my sock-knitting project left me with a void. a void that can only be filled by knitting things for myself. therefore:
i am knitting myself a sweater. sweaters can be complicated, for me at least. i need a sweater that is fun to knit, but that is also very wearable. i happen to like wearing things that are fairly plain. this translates to: lots of stockinette. i know that a lot of knitters dread this, but i will say that i find stockinette if not enjoyable, then at least benign.
(more enjoyable for me if it’s in the round – i hate purling! hate!)
i enjoy a basic fitted raglan or cardigan with a stockinette bod (yes, bod) and a more elaborate yoke pattern. i don’t mean that this is the only kind of sweater that i like, but i think that for me it’s incredibly wearable, but not incredibly boring to make. the stockinette can be kind of meditative, and the yoke patterns give me something fun to think about. the owls sweater i knit in february or march is a perfect example, and definitely my favorite sweater that i’ve knit so far.
keeping this in mind, i decided to cast on this drops design cardigan to use up the gold cascade 220 heathered yarn i’d bought on sale at webs a while back. i’m making a few changes to the pattern. my gauge is smaller, for one. i’m using worst weight yarn instead of aran, and size 6 needles instead of size 7. i’m also doing what a few other ravelers have done and knitting a 1×1 ribbed border instead of the moss and garter stitch suggested. my end result is hopefully also going to be less a jacket and more a fitted cardigan. let’s see how it goes – i’m about 2/3 done with the body, and then i’ll knit the sleeves two-at-a-time using magic loop (who knew i would love the magic loop so much?!) and then it’s on to the lace chart. i’m ready!
this is my first time knitting a drops design, and i have to say, i’m kind of into some of their other patterns. i’ve passed over them on ravelry plenty of times without paying much attention, but once i scanned through some of the project galleries, i realized that what may be turning me off is the a-line or bulky shaping that a lot of them have. but with a little modification, the patterns are actually right up my alley. a few more that i’m definitely interested in knitting: the 88-17 cardigan and the 116-1 cardigan and socks. you should probably just go browse their designs on ravelry. 63 PAGES of patterns. all so nordic and wintry. it’s pretty irresistible and kind of makes me forget that it is currently late august and 84 degrees outside.
Filed under: appreciation
yesterday was my birthday, and it was a nice one, don’t worry. it kind of started monday evening with some crafting and beers courtesy of waste not want not, and a trip to craftland across the street, where i bought myself this cute little fiber batt:
and on tuesday i got to spend time with wonderful friends. everyone who called, emailed, came to the e&o to have a beer with me, etc. made me really happy. it was a quiet but really nice night. meg made the most amazing vegan cupcakes i have maybe ever had in my life, i’m still trying to mentally process how awesome they are. and jess brought this little gem into my home and my heart:
i think that in my twenty-fourth year, i should probably do a richard simmons workout tape every night to really keep my life rich and fulfilling. my mom did mail me some new running shoes. although i suppose maybe i should use them for actual running, not just wiggling around in my apartment wearing leotards and drinking pabst. or maybe both.
jess lives in providence now! in under 24 hours gary and i have taken her swimming twice. i love our full haus. get out of my way everyone, i love summer!
i had to work at an office in bristol yesterday, which i was in no way bummed out about. i got up nice and early and took the east bay bike path from east providence to bristol. my hope was to get my work done and then enjoy a late afternoon of swimming at colt state park. the weather wasn’t really having it though, and the ol’ one-piece stayed in my bag. fortunately i at least didn’t get caught in a thunderstorm on the way there or back.
AND i found a new (to me) yarn shop in warren. AND i walked in and they were having a big sale! i have what i call the “yarn tourism loophole.” basically, even though i am trying very hard to destash and not to buy yarn that i don’t need for a project, i always let myself buy a fun skein of new yarn whenever i go to a new yarn shop. i justify this by acknowledging that i am supporting a local business that loves the thing i love. which is wool. however, in a sale situation, sometimes i may buy more than just that one permissible skein.
some noro silk garden sock yarn (30% off) and some sheep shop sheep one (50% off). i spent under $30 but got so much squishy wonderful yarn. i also learned while i was there that the sheep shop will be no more. and so you should go stock up on as much as your little heart can handle, either at your lys or online at the webs sale. i’m trying to be good and not buy any more. but i kind of want to just because i know that before long i won’t be able to! sheep one is just a nice single-ply squishy not-too-soft yarn, and the colors are so great. ugh. you should go buy it all so i can’t.
oh, and last week i went and got myself a motivational tattoo. it was done in providence by mike brousseau at federal hill tattoo. i think it’s perfect. and i mean, you know i’m always hanging in there. tonight this takes the form of stitch and bitch at waste not want not, followed by an outdoor screening of the big lebowski. i’m trying to come out of an antisocial phase. i think this is a pretty good way to do that.
have a fun weekend, kids. and be good!
