I still don't have any pictures to show you, mainly because I'm too lazy to get the camera out and upload photos to here. So today I thought I would post some musings about Christmas knitting.
1. I always feel as if I MUST knit something for everyone.
2. They probably really don't care if they get something hand made or not.
3. I'm feeling like I'm cheating everyone this year by making tiny Christmas ornaments instead of socks and shawls and what not.
4. With very few exceptions, most people are going to love the idea of the little sweaters. The exceptions can bite me for all I care right now.
5. Why do knitters have this overwhelming need to knit for others during the holiday season? We are like many of the rest of the population and we wait until the last minute to do things too, only our last minute involves things that can't be picked up at Walgreens at midnight on Christmas Eve. Every year though, thousands of knitters pick up the pointy sticks around this time of the year and vow to make objects for those they care about.
6. Why do we procrastinate so much. It would be so much easier to knit one hat every month for a year and be done with the holiday knitting before Thanksgiving and Christmas/other winter holidays. Instead, we wait until November and try to make 30 hats in 30 days.
Those are just some musings I had this morning and thought I would share. Anyone else have something they have been wondering about? Leave a comment if you do. I'm a comment whore and love to hear feedback from you all!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Interruption
Just FYI, this next month may be lighter post-wise than normal. Once again, I will be participating in NaNoWriMo and as most of you know, this will start on November 1 and last for the month. However, this week I'm going to try to finish up the little sweaters so that if I don't get to making anything else for Christmas, at least I'll have those made up to give away.
This weekend I didn't knit anything though. I hurt my foot while running on Wednesday and have been just propping it up ever since. Normally this would give me incentive to knit, but when I'm injured, I actually enjoy reading much more. Just finished Born to Run and am now reading The Runner's Handbook. Gee, can you tell I would like my stupid foot to heal up? :oP
On the bright side, even though I don't mention my weight loss efforts much on this blog, I am now below 200 pounds. I haven't been below 200 in close to 4-5 years now, so I'm very thrilled with that. I also have to admit that the losing weight thing is making me hold off on some sweaters I really want to knit. I would hate to make them and then have them be too big or make them too small and never get down to that size. So for now, I'll stick to tiny sweater ornaments and socks :oP
Knit on...
This weekend I didn't knit anything though. I hurt my foot while running on Wednesday and have been just propping it up ever since. Normally this would give me incentive to knit, but when I'm injured, I actually enjoy reading much more. Just finished Born to Run and am now reading The Runner's Handbook. Gee, can you tell I would like my stupid foot to heal up? :oP
On the bright side, even though I don't mention my weight loss efforts much on this blog, I am now below 200 pounds. I haven't been below 200 in close to 4-5 years now, so I'm very thrilled with that. I also have to admit that the losing weight thing is making me hold off on some sweaters I really want to knit. I would hate to make them and then have them be too big or make them too small and never get down to that size. So for now, I'll stick to tiny sweater ornaments and socks :oP
Knit on...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tiny Sweaters
I would post something inspirational, comical, or otherwise entertaining here, but right now, the only thing I'm doing is knitting tiny sweaters that all look the same. They're cute, but not really what I consider blog-worthy. Maybe when I finish all 10 of them I'll post pictures of the tiny sweater parade. I've got 4 done now, so just 6 more to go.
And since I have nothing else, I leave you with a random cat video. Enjoy! :oP
And since I have nothing else, I leave you with a random cat video. Enjoy! :oP
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Let the Christmas Knitting Begin
It's that time of year again when while sitting down and crocheting some dishcloths, I have one of those horrifying moments.
What the hell am I going to make for Christmas presents this year?!?
I think that just about everyone in my family has come to expect something hand knitted or crocheted, so I have a decent sized list to work on. This year I just don't have the yarn resources to make anything really big, so I was going through the stash and found the bag of leftover sock yarns. The Lorna's Laces is currently being knit into mitered squares for a baby blanket, but the rest of the sock yarn is just sitting there, so I thought maybe Christmas ornaments might be a good thing. Here's the first one I made:
Yep, tiny, tiny top-down raglan sweater. I may be addicted now. I'm on number 2 out of this yarn and may get a 3rd one out of the colorway before switching to another one. I think everyone will get a set of 3 Christmas ornaments. They'll get a sweater, a pair of mittens, and a pair of socks to hang on the tree. It'll use up my leftovers and the projects are so fast and easy that I should be able to knock out at least one ornament a day.
I also made dishcloths this weekend and spun some more, see?
That's it for now. Be prepared for the tiny knitted things parade for the next month or so!
Knit on...
What the hell am I going to make for Christmas presents this year?!?
I think that just about everyone in my family has come to expect something hand knitted or crocheted, so I have a decent sized list to work on. This year I just don't have the yarn resources to make anything really big, so I was going through the stash and found the bag of leftover sock yarns. The Lorna's Laces is currently being knit into mitered squares for a baby blanket, but the rest of the sock yarn is just sitting there, so I thought maybe Christmas ornaments might be a good thing. Here's the first one I made:
Yep, tiny, tiny top-down raglan sweater. I may be addicted now. I'm on number 2 out of this yarn and may get a 3rd one out of the colorway before switching to another one. I think everyone will get a set of 3 Christmas ornaments. They'll get a sweater, a pair of mittens, and a pair of socks to hang on the tree. It'll use up my leftovers and the projects are so fast and easy that I should be able to knock out at least one ornament a day.I also made dishcloths this weekend and spun some more, see?
That's it for now. Be prepared for the tiny knitted things parade for the next month or so!Knit on...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
All Done
The mittens are all done now and will go to my coteacher tomorrow. Hopefully that'll cheer him up some after the crappy day we all had at school today. I won't go into it much here, but I will say it involved some visit from some high up in the school world and the principal was on a rampage and made classes stop so that everyone could clean our already very clean school. Anyways, here's a blurry picture of the finished mittens:
Hm, now what to knit? I know I need to get working on the Donegal sweater some more, but I'm really just not feeling the sweater anymore. In fact, the idea of working more fair isle stuff right now is actually causing me to cringe. I'm much more of a cable person than I am an intricate colorwork person. Unfortunately, I love the way those intricate colorways look and so I'm tempted by them. I'm seriously considering scratching the Donegal sweater and giving it another shot in just two colors instead of 11. I think I would even be much more happy with the sweater if the spiral pattern was much more visible. Plus, I also have a new conundrum. I started Donegal almost 2 years ago now. It's now way too big. So I've got a lack of thrill about the gazillion colors and the knowledge that if I continue working on it, the sweater is going to be a really big bag on me by the time it's done.
Do you all have a project like that? I'm going to call it a guilt project. I feel like I should finish it. I'm over half way done with the dumb thing. But I also kinda hate it and want to rip it out and give the yarn away.
Matter of fact, I think that's just what I'm going to do. I think that would be a good Christmas present for the new knitter next door. She probably wouldn't know what to do with that much yarn :oP Gotta enable stash whenever possible.
Knit on...
Hm, now what to knit? I know I need to get working on the Donegal sweater some more, but I'm really just not feeling the sweater anymore. In fact, the idea of working more fair isle stuff right now is actually causing me to cringe. I'm much more of a cable person than I am an intricate colorwork person. Unfortunately, I love the way those intricate colorways look and so I'm tempted by them. I'm seriously considering scratching the Donegal sweater and giving it another shot in just two colors instead of 11. I think I would even be much more happy with the sweater if the spiral pattern was much more visible. Plus, I also have a new conundrum. I started Donegal almost 2 years ago now. It's now way too big. So I've got a lack of thrill about the gazillion colors and the knowledge that if I continue working on it, the sweater is going to be a really big bag on me by the time it's done.Do you all have a project like that? I'm going to call it a guilt project. I feel like I should finish it. I'm over half way done with the dumb thing. But I also kinda hate it and want to rip it out and give the yarn away.
Matter of fact, I think that's just what I'm going to do. I think that would be a good Christmas present for the new knitter next door. She probably wouldn't know what to do with that much yarn :oP Gotta enable stash whenever possible.
Knit on...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Mittens
I'm really getting tired of the broad street mittens. Thankfully this is the last pair for a while I think, and without further blabbering, here's the finished one:
There's a flap behind the hand, I assure you. And here's the progress on the second one:
Almost to the fingers, thumb, and shell part. Hopefully I'll be finished with these by tonight or tomorrow. I'd like to get to working on the Donegal sweater again.
That's it for today. Maybe a finished pair tomorrow, or some other random musings :oP
Knit on...
There's a flap behind the hand, I assure you. And here's the progress on the second one:
Almost to the fingers, thumb, and shell part. Hopefully I'll be finished with these by tonight or tomorrow. I'd like to get to working on the Donegal sweater again.That's it for today. Maybe a finished pair tomorrow, or some other random musings :oP
Knit on...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sock Yarn Review: The Wear and Tear Test
Ok, so no pictures even though I can tell you the mittens are nearly done. I think Donegal is coming out of hiding again now that it's getting cooler in the apartment and I can stand to have the heavy thing on me again. But this post is not about that. This post is a review of every sock yarn I have used so far for socks for me and how it has held up over the last 4 years of sock knitting. Note: I have used other sock yarns, but they have been given away as presents, so I cannot judge them since I don't know how they were cared for by the gift receiver.
Sock yarns being reviewed:
Schoeller and Stahl Fortissima Socka 75% superwash wool, 25% polyamide
Opal Rainforest (and other opal stuff) 75% superwash wool, 25% polyamide
Knit Picks Essential (Stroll) 75% superwash merino, 25% nylon
Knit Picks Simple Stripes 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon
Lana Grossa Colortweed 80% Pure New Wool, 20% polyamide
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock 80% superwash merino, 20% nylon
Tempted Glam Grrl 63% Superwash Merino, 20% silk, 15% nylon, 2% silver
All socks have been handled the same way. I never hand wash socks, so they all have been thrown and beat up in the same washing machine and have all had equal wear.
Ok, on to Fortissima Socka:
This yarn has worn beautifully. Aside from the fact that I know these were my first pair of socks, anyone else would never know. The instep has had one hole, but I have a feeling that came into being more because it was my first sock and I may not have knit it as securely as I should have. No fuzzies. This is not a super soft yarn, but it can take a beating.
Opal:
Again, not the softest yarn out there, but they have worn beautifully. No fuzzies at all. Good workhorse yarn if you're not wanting to pamper and go the merino route. My Opal socks have never had holes pop up.
Knit Picks Essential or Stroll:
They changed the name this year but have not changed the make up. This is the newest yarn for me to try and while they feel wonderful on the feet, this yarn has led to fuzz central. I've never had a merino sock yarn pill that much. Not sure if this will stop after I shave them, but will make an update if that does end the problem. The yarn did felt a little bit. I sweat a ton on my feet.
Knit Picks Simple Stripes:
Very similar to opal as far as wear. Did get some holes on the bottom of the foot. Darned fine though and still useable
Lana Grossa Colortweed:
Another workhorse yarn. Has worn well. Wish I had made my socks smaller because this yarn stretched out on me for some reason. Socks are too loose for these to make it into normal rotation much, but they do get used as house socks. Not sure if the growing was because of me or because of the yarn itself.
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock:
I love this yarn as most of you already know. However, this yarn has not been wearing well for me. It's a weird phenomenon too. If the yarn has purple in it, it has felted and the socks have shrunk on my foot significantly. However, all the other colors have weathered well and have not shown signs of felting. I did lose 2 pairs of monkey socks to the felting phenomenon though after wearing them for about a year. The socks will fuzz some, but nothing like the Knit Picks. I think it's more just a merino thing.
Tempted Glam Grrl:
Who doesn't want sparkles in your socks? Only bad thing is that I'm rough on socks. These socks lasted less than a year for me before the soles were down to just nylon thread. Love the yarn, love the look, don't care for the short lifespan.
Hope this has been informational to someone out there :oP These are just my opinions and observations, so yours may be different. Leave me a comment about your favorite sock yarn and how well it wears. If I get a trip back to the States anytime in the near future, I may check it out!
Knit on...
Sock yarns being reviewed:
Schoeller and Stahl Fortissima Socka 75% superwash wool, 25% polyamide
Opal Rainforest (and other opal stuff) 75% superwash wool, 25% polyamide
Knit Picks Essential (Stroll) 75% superwash merino, 25% nylon
Knit Picks Simple Stripes 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon
Lana Grossa Colortweed 80% Pure New Wool, 20% polyamide
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock 80% superwash merino, 20% nylon
Tempted Glam Grrl 63% Superwash Merino, 20% silk, 15% nylon, 2% silver
All socks have been handled the same way. I never hand wash socks, so they all have been thrown and beat up in the same washing machine and have all had equal wear.
Ok, on to Fortissima Socka:
This yarn has worn beautifully. Aside from the fact that I know these were my first pair of socks, anyone else would never know. The instep has had one hole, but I have a feeling that came into being more because it was my first sock and I may not have knit it as securely as I should have. No fuzzies. This is not a super soft yarn, but it can take a beating.
Opal:
Again, not the softest yarn out there, but they have worn beautifully. No fuzzies at all. Good workhorse yarn if you're not wanting to pamper and go the merino route. My Opal socks have never had holes pop up.
Knit Picks Essential or Stroll:
They changed the name this year but have not changed the make up. This is the newest yarn for me to try and while they feel wonderful on the feet, this yarn has led to fuzz central. I've never had a merino sock yarn pill that much. Not sure if this will stop after I shave them, but will make an update if that does end the problem. The yarn did felt a little bit. I sweat a ton on my feet.
Knit Picks Simple Stripes:
Very similar to opal as far as wear. Did get some holes on the bottom of the foot. Darned fine though and still useable
Lana Grossa Colortweed:
Another workhorse yarn. Has worn well. Wish I had made my socks smaller because this yarn stretched out on me for some reason. Socks are too loose for these to make it into normal rotation much, but they do get used as house socks. Not sure if the growing was because of me or because of the yarn itself.
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock:
I love this yarn as most of you already know. However, this yarn has not been wearing well for me. It's a weird phenomenon too. If the yarn has purple in it, it has felted and the socks have shrunk on my foot significantly. However, all the other colors have weathered well and have not shown signs of felting. I did lose 2 pairs of monkey socks to the felting phenomenon though after wearing them for about a year. The socks will fuzz some, but nothing like the Knit Picks. I think it's more just a merino thing.
Tempted Glam Grrl:
Who doesn't want sparkles in your socks? Only bad thing is that I'm rough on socks. These socks lasted less than a year for me before the soles were down to just nylon thread. Love the yarn, love the look, don't care for the short lifespan.
Hope this has been informational to someone out there :oP These are just my opinions and observations, so yours may be different. Leave me a comment about your favorite sock yarn and how well it wears. If I get a trip back to the States anytime in the near future, I may check it out!
Knit on...
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Catch-up
Hey, everyone. Sorry I was gone a little longer than normal. It was Chuseok here, which is kind of like Korean Thanksgiving, so I had a nice four day weekend that DF and I used to go to Seoul and see some parts of the city that we hadn't seen before. Before I get into that, here's the current knitting:
Yep, it's another pair of Broad Street Mittens. I think I only have one more pair of these to go, and the last one is for me, so I'm about done with the mitten parade. At least it's a fast, easy pattern.
So, back to Seoul. We visited Olympic Park on Friday:
Home of the 1988 Olympics. On Saturday we went to Lotte World:
Yeah, basically a Disney knock off, but it was still pretty fun to go to. Sunday we walked around the Hangang river park area and went up Namsan tower. Those pictures are on the other camera though, so for now, you don't get to see them :oP
Hopefully more knitting progress tomorrow!
Yep, it's another pair of Broad Street Mittens. I think I only have one more pair of these to go, and the last one is for me, so I'm about done with the mitten parade. At least it's a fast, easy pattern.So, back to Seoul. We visited Olympic Park on Friday:
Home of the 1988 Olympics. On Saturday we went to Lotte World:
Yeah, basically a Disney knock off, but it was still pretty fun to go to. Sunday we walked around the Hangang river park area and went up Namsan tower. Those pictures are on the other camera though, so for now, you don't get to see them :oPHopefully more knitting progress tomorrow!
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