my first FO!

I finished the Neverending Scarf last night - I was going to say *finally* finished, but when I think about it, it didn't really take me that long. It definitely took me longer than the time listed in LMKG, but I managed to do it over the course of 5 days, which, tedious though it seemed at times, isn't all that bad.

So, here it is, in its 104-inches-not-including-fringe glory. It is so ginormous - but I like it that way. Wrapped once around my neck, it hangs to my ankles; wrapped twice is a little better - and very warm and cozy. I know it's nothing spectacular - just a rib stitch scarf, after all, and not at all fancy or difficult -but it's my first finished object! So there. I have to say that once it was done, I absolutely loved it and was almost sorry to have to give it away. The colors came together beautifully. I might have to make one for myself in brown sometime, once I have done some of the other projects for which I've already bought yarn (Interesting that the straight needles were so much easier to use than the circular ones for this pattern - see knitting with fat crayons post below - I wonder why that is?).

I gave it to my mother-in-law last night, who came over because she had left her jacket in our car and she needs it for her upcoming weekend in Vegas (lucky). Her reaction exceeded my hopes - she was SO excited! - and I was excited that she was so thrilled with it. This knitted gift giving thing ain't half bad... and after Christmas isn't so bad either, because it was all the more unexpected.

I still have a couple more gifts to finish - the airy scarf for my pink friend (which started out as the Neverending Scarf, but that wasn't working out with the yarns I'd picked) and the equally neverending Harry Potter Scarf. Today, though, I think I'm taking a knitting break. Feeling a bit under the weather... hot chocolate and a book by the fire sound good about now.

Alternative uses for double pointed needles, evil dog, etc.

Yeah, I love vacation! I have time to write on my silly little blog...

So, I had to run out and buy more of the mohair yarn for the Neverending Scarf, because I'd not done my math correctly and will run out before I get to 104 inches. I do realize that I could just cut it short, seeing as how it's taking me an eternity, but for me, the whole point of this scarf is how dramatically lonnng it is. Anyhow, while I was at the yarn shop, I was waiting for the owner to be done with helping other customers who were there before me, and so I browsed a bit. I picked up more yarn: this time for Mrs. Beeton, which is kind of funny because I already have some yarn in my burgeoning stash that could work for this... but I saw the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, and the Madil Kid Seta, both in shades of blue, and the impulse buying commenced. I've also already bought double pointed needles for this project, for baby booties in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and for the Fluffy Cuff Mittens in Stitch 'n Bitch (okay, the needles for the mittens were an accidental purchase, sort of... it's a dog story, but suffice it to say that I hadn't had the needles in mind for the mittens when I bought them)... and I know these are the exact sizes I need because I always knit right on gauge. Doesn't everyone?

But what if - and here I finally come to the point (bad pun intended) of this post - what if I bought the yarn, bought the dpns, and then, much to my shock, horror and outrage, couldn't actually knit with the dpns? I've thought it through, and I've come up with a list of things I could do with them. Feel free to use these ideas if you find yourself in this exact predicament:

1. Food: fondue or shish kabob skewers.
2. Extreme acupuncture.
3. Fetch sticks for a chihuahua.
4. Purse-sized vampire stakes (if they are made of wood; bamboo might also kill a vampire in a pinch).
5. Costuming: glue them to body and masquerade as a porcupine. Could also use as hair accessories. Or, tape them to fingers. Wolverine!
6. Use as the ends of a scroll.
7. Center-pole for a tent in a flea circus.
8. Alternative for boning in a corset (don't we all want to be skinny and breathless Elizabethan ladies? Here's a bit on the history of the corset, if you are so inclined).
9. Sticks for paper puppets.
10. Piercings - you will be the ultimate hard core knitter if you have your septum pierced with a dpn!


As a last bit of silliness, here's a picture of the dog who caused me to buy the size 10 dpns that I didn't really need but will now use for the mittens, knowing that they will be exactly the right ones because I always knit on gauge (mentioned that, didn't I?). See, in my efforts to wrestle the ninety-pound separation-anxiety-ridden beast out of the house so that I could go to Michael's and buy knitting supplies, the list of what I needed fell out of my pocket. Therefore, this subversive, sneaky saboteur caused me to go to Michael's sans list, whereupon I tried to remember what I needed; couldn't, but grabbed the size 10 dpns because dammit, I was going to buy something. Doesn't he look just the epitome of evil?

Now... back to that scarf...

The Purl Scarf, AKA The Neverending Scarf

It's been a rough time lately. Last week was so frenetic that I never stood a chance of getting any of my very last minute gifts knitted. Once my vacation officially started, Christmas also began - no less frenetic, what with the shopping, again last minute; standing in line for an hour so our son could sit with an apprehensive expression on his face, wondering who the heck this red man was; the family movies on Christmas Eve tradition; visits with one side of the family on Christmas Eve, and the other all day on Christmas. Monday was, necessarily, a day of rest. And today? Errands and the dentist.

So my gifts are unknitted, and will hopefully be given shortly, should I be able to finish them before New Year's. I am sure they will be no less appreciated after Christmas - or else. Oh, I am trying. The Purl Scarf (see title of post for my pet name for this darling) is halfway done. I am using three yarns held together, as the pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts calls for: Manos Del Uruguay wool, Rowan Kidsilk Haze, and my own touch (due to not being able to find a better mohair on short notice), Berroco Mohair Classic Heather. It's for my mother-in-law, whose favorite color is red. I chose an interesting mix of colors: the Manos is bright red, the Rowan is fuschia, and the Berroco is a rust color. Coupled with the large, irregular stitches due to the thick-and-thin quality of the Manos, the colors make it look very homemade and rustic - which is what I was going for. I think it looks particularly spectacular in the sunlight - not so much indoors. In the sun, it seems to just glow and sparkle. BUT - it is taking forever. Not a surprise, in retrospect, given that the finished dimensions, before fringe, are 104 inches in length. The pattern is found in the section for the four to six hour gifts. It's a lie. Or perhaps, the person who knitted the scarf in such a short amount of time holds a world record for speed knitting? While I love the scarf, and would love to have one myself, I don't know that I could handle another one anytime soon. Easy, but SO time consuming. Getting very sick of scarves, anyway...

I do love the Manos, though. It at least is some consolation to knit with such a fun yarn. I like the way it narrows up to a very skinny strand, then gets very chunky. I can see myself using it again, and again.

Don’t knit and drive.

Or at least, don’t knit while my husband is driving.

I thought I’d take along the HP scarf on our hour-long trek on the road and get a few rows done. I’m lucky I didn’t poke my own eye out. It’s very hard to knit while your entire body is in a violent, Kumbaya back-and-forth sway as the car weaves in and out of traffic - traffic that is already going well over the speed limit. They just weren’t going fast enough to suit him, apparently.

The new knit stitch: insert needle in back of stitch. Yarn over gearshift. Glare at husband.

knitting with fat crayons.

That's what it feels like I'm doing with these size 15 circular bamboo needles. Can't say this is a great feeling, since I can't even draw with fat crayons, let alone knit with them.

I am making the scarf for the likes-pink-even-more-than-Barbie-does friend. It's the Purl Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. It's a beautiful scarf in the book; it looks exquisite draped around the model's neck and hanging to the floor as she crouches over, reading (by the way, I know it's just a model pose - but really? Who reads sitting that way? Hobbits, that's who...) If I can a) actually get to the yarn shop that's closer to home today and b) if they have pink mohair, I will frog what I've gotten done and begin again - nothing to cry over, just a couple of inches, and I'm not thrilled with the way it's looking. It needs something. Like mohair, which is one of the yarns the pattern calls for, but which I opted not to use since I couldn't find it in the right shade last night. You can use whatever you want for this scarf, but knitted up with two strands of Debbie Bliss merino dk and one strand of kidsilk haze, it's okay, but nothing spectacular, and certainly not as lovely as in the picture. Mostly, I think, because the kidsilk just kind of disappears and looks like a thread running intermittently through the scarf. Kind of like cotton candy with string...

I have a stash. Dammit.

I was so proud of myself. All those lovely yarns, all those interesting patterns... and I was resisting, quite well, thank you very much. Until today. On my way out the door, I checked on the internet on a whim to see whether there is a yarn store (boutique?) near my hair salon. There is! I've only ever bought yarn from Walmart (no comment) and online, and I've longed to be in an actual store. I want to see what the yarns truly look like before getting them in the mail; I want to feel them... caress them... you get the idea.

I went in armed with a list of yarns I was looking for and needle sizes to go with them. There was quite a selection, but surprisingly, most of the selection was not what I was looking for. Surprisingly, I say, because the store's website advertised that they did indeed carry ALL of the yarns I was looking for. I should have walked out then. But no! Determined shoppers don't quit, and I was determined.

After an hour of looking, and caressing, and looking, I found myself asking the help if they had a shopping cart. (!) What happened to my resolve? Well, there was this gorgeous Manos del Uruguay in a red that I know my mother-in-law would love; one skein left of Lorna's Lace wool in a beautiful scheme called "watercolor"; then, there was pastel pink Debbie Bliss angora and wool yarn that would be perfect for a scarf for my I-like-pink-more-than-Barbie friend; Tahki Cotton Classic for that iPod cozy I've been wanting to make; and novelty yarn at half-price, of which I had to get not one but THREE skeins, for - you guessed it - more gift scarves. Oh, and lest I forget, another $25 or so was tacked on to the bill for the needles I needed in order to actually make things out of these TWO BAGS OF FREAKIN' YARN!

And why did I do this? Because I don't have enough to do. I'm not busy. Because I think that I'm going to finish the other nine repeats of the Harry Potter scarf tomorrow morning and have the rest of the week before Christmas to sit around, doing nothing but knitting for others and swigging adult eggnog (loads of sarcasm intended).

Waiter? Reality check, please.

Sigh. I consider myself initiated. I am officially a yarn wh*re.

my iPod ate my blog.

Or something like that. More like, I haven't added anything to my blog because I've been too busy playing with my new iPod. It was a gift from my husband and son for my birthday, and I am addicted! Between the podcasts, and browsing for audiobooks, and transferring my CD's, I have been on the computer for three hours every night after I put my son to bed. I am being truly irresponsible - I have other things to do, like work, clean, return letters and emails, read, KNIT, and, oh, I don't know... sleep?! I. Can't. Stop. Myself.

So, to keep this about knitting, here's an update on the HP scarf: I have done three repeats, and have finally finished with the frogged yarn (The color's a bit off in the picture; I'm not the best photo editor). Yeah!!! I don't know if it was my imagination or what, but the frogged yarn kind of sucked. It felt thinner running through my hands, even though knitted up it doesn't feel any different. It has been quite a journey so far, not because it's a hard pattern, but because I keep making mistakes and having to unknit rows to go back. Also, the Russian Join is getting very tedious (there's a video of this joining technique on this page).

I used it because I was too chicken to use the other methods I've read about or seen of tying knots or twisting strands together and then sewing in ends. Also, I know from crocheting that I hate sewing in ends. Mostly, though, it was the former, chicken reason, and I figured that Russian Joins look all but indestructible. I am regretting it now, every 27 rows, when I have to knit with the gold for three rows, then with the burgundy for five, then the gold again. I have to do the join four times in 11 rows, and it gets annoying. As if that wasn't enough, my yarn is bulky at the joins because it's thicker than the usual 3-plys that the yarn has. I cut out one ply on each end when I join it, but that still makes it 4-ply at the joins. You might be able to see the thicker stitches in the closeup. I'm not worried about it, because I'll just put that part on the edge of the scarf when I add the fringe - I don't appreciate the wave at the beginning / end of each round, anyway - but I'm realizing that it might have been a poor choice. In the name of consistency, though, I'll stick to it.

I know this scarf is good practice, doing the knit stitch and all, but, yeah. I think I get it. It's getting pretty boring. If it wasn't for the fact that it's for my husband and he reallly wants it (he gets antsy whenever I start unknitting), I might be tempted to turn it into a giant hat.