The Curse

My co-blogger and I agree on many things, but when it comes to knitting we are experiencing a disagreement of the most interesting sort. I am knitting a sweater for my boyfriend. It was originally going to be his Christmas gift, but it has since turned into a 1 year anniversary gift. Whenever the thing comes up my dear partner in blogging purses her lips and mentally sends the "don't say I didn't warn you" with a mere look. You see she believes in the curse that is supposedly tied to knitting a sweater for your significant other, especially if you are not married or unionized. I will not pretend that I did not consider this factor when I started thinking about making this sweater. After all there is a reason that such legends occur, and I am perfectly aware that there is an uncanny number of stories of people knitting a sweater for their partner and having the relationship go up in smoke. Am I so arrogant that I think I can make this work and not be affected by this insidious threat? The answer is that it has nothing to do with arrogance. I believe that such a curse is not the sweater itself, but in the energy one invests in it. I know full and well I could be knitting for a man who might leave me, but that is a fact that will exist whether I make the sweater or not. Secondly I believe that God is stronger than curses. I pray fervently when I knit and this sweater is so thickly covered in them that I believe it is quite saturated. Thirdly, I chose a pattern type that has a history of being knit for lovers and important men in the lives of knitters. I chose a gansey pattern, and they were originally created by women who knit for the fishermen in their lives. I would be very surprised to discover that some women did not make such things for their sweethearts whether married or not. Granted my man is not going out on the stormy seas any time soon, but the desire to give him something beautiful and special is the same. The bottom line is that even if he and I break up the day after I give him this sweater (highly unlikely, I would give it at least two :), I would not regret a single stitch I spent on him. He will always be special in my heart no matter what the future dictates. This is how I have chosen to express my feelings for him and I will say that it is the curse that is arrogant to think that it can harm something created in love.

The Cardigan Refused to Be Finished Part 4

The final installment in the saga. When last we left the tale I began knitting on the dreadful thing. I tried to be optimistic because I could tell the work would not cooperate with me if it knew my dislike. So I took it with me to my summer job every day and pretty much knit on it with every spare moment I had. As first, nothing extremely bad occurred. I worked my way through the back finding it to be meditative if a little boring. Then I began the front pieces. That is when I noticed my hands were not happy. I was very careful to keep them relaxed and not knit too tight. I even cut down the amount of time I knit to add more time of hand rest. Still, I was cramping very easily. I finally decided it had to be the yarn. Cottons do not slide through my hands as easily as the natural wool fibers or the nylon sock yarn I am used to working with. On top of the monotonous pattern, the ugly color, and a deadline, I now had to deal with the fact that my hands were being ripped apart! Plus, it just never seemed to end. The cardigan was worked in pieces so that involved a back, two front panels, two sleeves, and a button band. Not to mention that I was mortified it would not fit my pixie stick of a sister. She is incredibly thin, and after the near fiasco of my first sweater I did not want a repeat performance. Granted I had done a swatch and accounted for my idiosyncrasies, but it never left me that I could be going through all this for naught. By the end of July, all the pieces were knit. Seaming is usually not a big deal for me. However, cotton is not nearly as forgiving as a fuzzy wool or acrylic. Any little mess up in your seaming process will show as a glaring error which I knew could not occur in this sweater. As a result, the process took twice as long as usual simply because I was being so flipping careful to make the seams look clean. When I was finally through with that, I had to move on to the buttons. My sister had insisted on some lackluster light beige buttons, and they absolutely refused to cooperate! How hard is it just to stay where I put the initial tacking thread? How come they could not just work on this cardigan that I needed TO JUST BE FINISHED DAMNIT! But low and behold some hours later, the thing was finally ready. I gave it to my sister some weeks later fairly biting my nails with nervousness. I need not have worried for the cardigan fit beautifully. She had to roll up the sleeves, but other than that she was smitten. I was proud and relieved that I would never have to touch the stupid thing ever again!

A Day Steeped in Fiber

Some times, the Lord shows his love in ways we can least expect. At some points in life the Lord provides a beautiful opportunity that never entered into our thoughts. Such an event has occurred in my life in the form of a completely unexpected connection to a person whose family raises alpacas. This girl stopped me in class one day with a query as to where I got my yarn. Before I could even begin to go into detail she told me that her mother raises alpacas and they are willing to sell me the fiber for extremely cheap. I could barely contain my ecstasy as she continued to explain that her family had far too much fleece and nothing to do with it. What providence that I just learned to spin this summer! How could I not jump at the opportunity to own oodles of my favorite fiber for so little cost. I eagerly agreed to some terms of a deal, and we arranged a visit for me to pick out the fiber I desired. So that is what I did yesterday dear co-blogger, and here are some lovely shots of my adventure and its fruits. 

 

These are the views that met my eyes from the back patio. My friend's step-father built that barn. 

The interior of the barn was just as beautiful as the outside. Every edge routed to perfection, and full of light as well as the smell of animal. Not the manure smell that can clog the nostrils just hay, fur, and wood. The white cutie is the baby alpaca that is the newest member of the herd. She got curious first, and she looks so boldly at the camera. She is simply called Baby. The other is the alpaca that has my favorite fleece that I purchased. I know the picture is shadowy, but you can see the softness of her coat. Her name is Bambi. 

The farm has three females counting Baby, and all the others are males. The second picture is of the three females (Amber is the front and mother of Baby in back. Bambi is the other female.) The dark man in the top picture is the lover boy of the farm. He is Baby's father, and the only male to successfully convince a female to mate. His name is Echo, and I think that his coat is the most beautiful color of the entire bunch. I don't know if it translates well, but it is this amazing maroon brown like the color of cherry juice on a black forest cake. I did not actually buy Echo's fleece. However, the family proposed an even bigger discount if I agreed to knit scarves from the fiber. My friend's mother picked Echo's fleece for the project. The fiber I bought for myself was from Bambi (the tawny female behind Amber) and a male named Sundance. I did not get a good close up of Sundance. However, there are pictures of his fleece below. His is actually award winning, and I liked the touch of it more than Echo's. Still, after playing with Echo's fleece when I brought it home I have decided that I must get some for myself next time I visit. (The order of the fleece below from top down is Bambi, Sundance, and Echo). 

I know this post is long, but I cannot help but wax poetic about this stuff. It needs some cleaning. It needs to be carded. It still smells of animal. But, there are few pleasures as tactfully beautiful as dipping your arms elbow deep in clouds. I will need another post to talk about each fleece specifically so for now I leave you to gaze at my treasures.

Vermonters

Until very recently, I have been adverse to knitting fair isle, mostly because knitting with more than one ball of yarn at a time is extremely difficult when you're confined to a tiny desk in a lecture hall. This year, however, I have learned to deal with it. I went to WEBS after Halloween and bought 6 balls of Northampton wool in various colorways. The woman at the cash register asked me what I was knitting. "Hats. For Christmas. Everyone's getting hats this year."
Now, you may recall how frustrated I became last year after having knit about 30 hats in the span of a semester. Clearly, I've gotten over it, because I spent the next week knitting hats. Many colored, snowflake-y hats. I knit 6. In 5 days. My modmates reveled in them, and began pick the color combinations for me. Every day, it was "Wow, Heather, ANOTHER one!" They got really invested, and I just kept knitting.
So, when it became time to photograph the first six of these hats (I have enough yarn to make about 15), I knew I'd have to make it a group effort. My modmates and honorary modmates all gathered on the couch, and had a lovely FO shoot.
Sarah (the one with the plant--I don't really understand why that is) directed, and made sure each hat looked nice on each person. She then demanded poses, like from Haley above, "Look cold! But cute!" We all decided that the photos looked like they were from some ski trip to Vermont that we never took. I couldn't have done it without them...

...And now I have too many hats. Again.

The Cardigan Refused to Be Finished Part 3

(Parts 1 and 2 can be found in earlier posts) I knew I was doomed because the moment I saw the color only one word came to my mind, "ick!" Taupe is the less than attractive step-sister of beige and it is completely against my nature. I like to knit with bright, bold, and saturated colors. I enjoy yarn whose color makes you drool with desire to wear it. When I had previously knit things for my sis, they were in beautiful greens or deep merlot. She is a gorgeous woman with a taste for good clothing, and the one time I offer a sweater she manages to pick the color that I would never have even considered touching unless it was for a dish rag. I will admit the color does have one advantage; taupe matches everything. Even though black can achieve the same advantage taupe is lighter and less stark simply because it has not personality of its own. Bemoaning my own stupidity and quietly cursing my fickle sibling I began to search for yarn. I decided knitpicks was my best option due to my limited funds. My sister had requested that the cardigan be light enough to wear around in spring, but heavy enough that she could potentially wear it in the cooler months. Keeping this in mind, I settled on knitpicks Cotlin in the colorway Cashew. It was the right weight, machine washable, and the linen would give it a nice drape while the cotton would keep it from being too warm. I went ahead and ordered the stuff and prayed that it would less yucky in person. No such luck, but the die was cast. 

Peace in frogging

So I just spent the last half hour frogging three inches of knitting. Although this may not sound like a great feat, you might reconsider that position when I tell you that it was about 140 yards worth and 6004 stitches. Yes, I just had to frog an entire ribbing of a sweater. The stitches got so hopelessly twisted that there was no saving it. It is strange that I do not find myself upset when I have to frog things, or even when I have to start things over in general. I remember when I used to take private art lessons, my teacher would sometimes advise me to go back into the piece and recreate a certain technique that I had already created on another part of the work. Daunting as recreation is, I always said, "If I did it once, I can do it again." With this in mind I have faced many starts and stops with a strange sense of patience, especially in knitting. I find that the aspect of frogging is far more vexing than actually making the decision to do it. In the case of this work, I came to a couple realizations that I would not have discovered had this initial error not occurred.

1. Even though this sweater is a massive project, I was able to keep up with directions and maintain the correct stitch count. I have a big problem with phantom stitches when I do large projects. However, I am still very happy that after the increasing my stitch count continued to be correct even with the daunting number (394 at that point)

2. With the work off the needle, I was able to see its actual size. I am making this sweater for a man and I was a little worried about sizing issues due to the fact that he is a big guy and my gauge is, yet again, a little wonky. As I was knitting I was constantly worrying that it would be too small. When I took it off I was able to compare its true size with a sweatshirt I had on hand. The sweater will prove to fit him the way it is supposed to, which is looser than fitted. I am extremely excited now because I know for sure that I am on the right size track.

I will cast on again. I will knit the ribbing correctly this time. I will recreate the beautiful stitches and the right number of them. If I did it once, I can do it again.

The Lost Generation

I'm back! ...For now. I can't be blamed, I'm fulfilling my pre-practicum as an intern at the performing arts school down the street, taking a Shakespeare Seminar that I'm far too young to take, and I'm TAing a freshman tutorial. Lots of reading, but so rewarding--especially because of my duties as a TA.

So my professor Michele (now my committee chair and mentor and wonderful) sent me an email that listed my TA duties. I skimmed it quickly, saw that it was the usual stuff (hold office hours for students, hold writing workshops, planning lessons, etc.), and went on to the next email. In our meeting before classes started, we were bantering on the topic of these duties. "Hey, at least I'm not knitting in class!" I retorted. "Well, then you obviously didn't read the email very carefully," she said. Hmm? She opened the email on her laptop, and scrolled down to the bottom. It said "Knit me a scarf for winter." She was ASKING ME TO KNIT IN CLASS...even while I was teaching!

I've been drooling over photos of Noro Striped Scarves (a la the pattern that Jared Flood claims was not his idea), and while I've never really been much for Noro (don't shoot!) I saw the opportunity and dove in head first.

Now, I'm just going to show you photos, because I've spoken long enough, and the pictures speak for themselves.

I took these around campus, and actually waited two weeks for the right light to do so.

On the fire escape outside my house.

On the Graffiti Wall and adjoining stairs in the Arts Village.
On the trellis at the entrance of the Community Garden out my window.
God I love this. I haven't put it on, because I'm afraid Michele will never get it off me.

A Brief Respite From the Cardigan: Psycho Socks!

Yes it is true, the socks are finished! I have never taken so long to finish a pair of socks. Seriously, even my pomatomai did not take me so long. However, these socks are completely worth the trouble. They scream my name with a larger than life bull horn. What is funny about this pattern is that my lovely co-blogger is doing the same design. We did not plan this. Indeed, I was absolutely tickled to discover that we picked the same pattern with no previous consultation or hints. Even more awesome is how different the two pairs are from each other. My co-blogger chose to do them in a stunning solid (was it red? I really can't remember except for the fact that I oggled) while I picked a very loud hand-dyed. My socks are perfectly me. What you see first is the crazy colors spreading themselves in a dizzying array of neon green, purple, and electric blue. Then you notice that there is a pattern. Finally, if you take the time to really look, you can see that the pattern is extremely intricate and lovely on its own. I am layered. First you see the boldness, then you notice the texture, and if you stick around long enough then you might discover the depth. Your dice Heather, make sure you post about your socks! (PS Pattern is Vilai by Cookie A. and it can be found in her book Sock Innovation)

The Cardigan Refused to Be Finished Part 2

I have decided to break up this saga in parts so as not to create a humongously long post that no one wants to read. (Note: If you want to start at the beginning please see the previous post). Anyway, upon telling my sister of my plan, she was absolutely giddy. She insisted on a cardigan (no surprise) and she was unsure of color. As the months wore on I picked out some patterns I thought she would like and rifled through knitpicks in the hopes of finding some color possibilities. Due to extreme business on her part, we did not get to consult until only a month before her actual graduation. We agreed that as long as the cardigan was finished by the end of the summer she would not be upset. She picked out a pattern, and the winner was the Basic Black Cardigan by Glenna C. (available as a free ravelry download). For a long while, she could not decide on a color. And then came the fateful day, the day that decided the whole tone for this entire project. 

(Paraphrased conversation between my sister and myself)

Meg: Hey there

Me: Hey Megs how're you?

Meg: FIne, but I can't talk long. I just wanted to let you know that I decided on a color for my cardigan.

Me: Excellent! What do you want?

Meg: Can you make it in taupe?

Me: ......taupe?

Meg: Yeah

Me: What on earth is taupe?

Meg: It's a- look it up online, google it. I'm sorry but I've got to go

Me: Okay I love you

Meg: Love you too

I did look it up, and the minute I saw it I knew I was doomed. 

The Cardigan Refused to Be Finished Part 1

To those who know me well,  you know that I do not often knit for other people. I am not like most knitters in the sense that I have very little desire to knit things that I must give away. I like to knit for my own enjoyment and my own pleasure. Knitting is extremely special to me, and when I have to knit for other people, a few things happen that make it less than pleasurable. 

1. I usually have to finish it by a deadline like a birthday or some other gift-giving holiday

2. I have to make the garment extremely specific to the recipient. This means everything from color choice to sizing.

3. If I make a mistake, then I mess it up for someone else who, unlike me, will probably not wear it in spite of the glaring error.

With that said, there is one person in my life who I will knit for regardless of what she asks for or what I burden myself with on her behalf: my sister. Indeed, I cannot quite explain the strange lack of distaste when it comes to creating comfy fiber things for her, but that is the way of it. So, when her graduation from college came rolling around I decided I wanted to do something really special for her. I decided to make her a sweater. Not just any sweater, the sweater of her dreams. What that turned into was one of the most arduous knitting journeys that I have ever embarked upon in my young existence. 

Love Of Seeds

To say I enjoy knitting is no surprise. To say that I enjoy all kinds of knitting should also come as no shock. However, it may impress one to know that I indeed have a favorite stitch. I did not know this myself until I made this incredible garment. This is my Green Seed top, the pattern being the Carnation Tee by Cathy Carron found in the winter 2008/spring 2009 edition of Knit Scene. When I first viewed this pattern, I deemed it rather bizarre and not to my liking. Upon repeated examination as well as reading the article in the magazine about the designer, I began to notice how clean and lovely the design actually was. What had put me off, I realized was the strange color combination of brown paired with deep rose. I realized that I had the perfect yarn for this garment and it was in a lovely color combination that would not appear so off kilter. As one can see, the result is spectacular. What made me fall in love with this piece was the abundance of seed stitch, also known as moss stitch. I said before that this is my favorite stitch pattern. I am a fan of stockingnette, lace patterns, and cables do make me drool, but seed stitch has all the components I desire in a good knit. It requires a consistent change in hand movement to create the different stitches, but it is just as rhythmic as garter. Also, unless one knows its secrets, it is very difficult to see how the pattern is put together. Most patterns are somewhat discernible to a practiced eye, but it is difficult to pick this pattern apart. The combination really does blend together to look like hundreds of thousands of perfect little seeds. Simple magic that manages to fill me with delight akin the wonder one felt as a child upon seeing a butterfly sitting on a flower so still and clean.

For Jess Dugger

Dear Coblogger,

   Please excuse this temporary deviation from our usual chatter, but a friend asked me to look into some yarn for a pair of knitted undies so I do hope you will forgive me in indulging her in some pictures.

Dear Jess Dugger,

   Here are some lovely yarns for your viewing pleasure. 

1. I would say the picture at the top is your best bet. You don't get as broad a color selection, but it is unbelievably soft and I think it is a reasonable price.

2. This is handdyed and really  pretty and also quite soft, a little expensive but it could be worse.

3. The last one definitely has the most color selection and it is quite soft. The only issue is that it has a little fuzziness that some might consider itchy especially in such a sensitive area. It is up to your discretion in the end.

Tell me what you like the best 

KP

Summers are for Fiber

As you wish my worthy coblogger! This summer is so full of knitting that I doubt much of it will actually be complete by the end of it, but still I will pursue the following with wild abandon and no thought of completion nonsense:

* My soft serve sweater. The pattern is Jaden from knitty.com. There will definitely be a post about this one soon because the yarn and color choice simply insist on a written documentation.

* My green seed sweater? (it has short sleeves but I can't really call it a t-shirt because of its heaviness) This little beauty hails from KnitScene Winter 2008/Spring 2009 issue. The pattern itself is called Carnation Tee and this will also have a post dedicated to it because of its excessive use of the seed stitch.

*My Ocean Spray top. Pattern is Sea Tangles from knitty.com and is being knit in the most beautiful laceweight I have ever owned i.e. thepaintedsheep's Jasmine in the colorway By the Sea. Both the yarn and the pattern look absolutely ravishing and I am hoping it works out the way I would like.

*My Grateful Dyed Socks. The pattern is Vilai by Cookie A. found in her book Sock Innovation. I love the yarn, but the pattern requires concentration so I am kind of avoiding it right now (hangs her head in a guilty fashion.)

* Leafy Top. The pattern is the Leaf Kimono Top in Interweave Summer 2008. I think this project will never get finished, but I will continue to work on it until the lack of space in my coffin prevents me.

*Meg's Cardigan. A lovely little pattern created by a raveler named Glenna C. and the pattern is called Basic Black. I promised my sister this sweater, but I will fully admit I am avoiding it like the plague because she wants the entire thing in taupe. Bleh! Leave it to my sister to want a whole freakin' cardigan in taupe.

*Midsummer Night's Dream ensemble. Includes Cybele vest found in French Girl Knits and a tube top of my own design. I have the materials for both, but I am not starting until I have finished my Carnation Tee and at least the back of the Soft Serve sweater.

*Finally, some Queen of Hearts mitts. These are awesome fingerless gloves that require some fun colorwork in red and black. The pattern is Alice's Queen of Hearts Gloves and can be found on purlescence.com

Busy summer no? 

Also...

Today I went back to work at the children's library. I'm technically not allowed to work until July (silly fiscal budgets), so instead of dealing with patrons, I was given the fun jobs. 

I experimented with and troubleshooted (troubleshot?) some of our summer crafts, which involved making a giraffe, a crocodile, and a lion out of wine corks...apparently, the library staff has a collective drinking problem, because we have enough corks to make a replica of the Bronx Zoo.

I also made parrots and cockatoos out of construction paper, googly eyes, and feathers. It was to promote the summer's first activity, which is basically a guy showing the children his bird. Kids eat that stuff up, I'll tell you.

...I was going to rewrite that last sentence due to its ambiguity, but it's rather hilarious, so it stays.

My crowning achievement for today involved the BULLETIN BOARD. the national library summer reading theme this year is BE CREATIVE. This is exciting because it's way easier than CATCH THE READING BUG (last year's theme, which was devoted entirely to insects...it got old fast...) and we can make up our own story times. Somehow, the logo is a tree, so I made a tree, stapled bunched green cloth napkins as leaves, and then scattered it with tons of foam stars. 

I also added a fish in one of the branches. I directly associate creativity with a flair for the unnatural. The fish is purple, with orange fins and three blue squiggly stripes.

*Bzzt*...CLEAR!

Hello, my name is Heather. You may remember me as one of the bloggers for this blog, which has not existed in quite some time. Let's see if we can get back into the swing of things, shall we?

I am all aflutter with ideas. I'm going to knit:

-Hannah Fettig's WHISPER CARDIGAN (Interweave Spring 2009)

-The rest of Mom's QUILTED DIAMOND VEST (Webs online pattern DL)

-Some bookmarks (because I can)

-BIRD IN HAND mitts

-Scrap yarn hats (I WILL have time to donate hats this year)

-Something for Nate's birthday

...And many more things, I'm sure. The only problem (and by only, I mean many) is (are):

-I need to order some new needles, and am waiting to see if I can go halvsies on a Knitpicks order with SuperKnitter. I am also too lazy to get out my credit card every time I sit down and have time to order.

-The vest bores me to death. I'm sorry, I just dread it. But I have to finish by Mom's birthday (June 16th).

-There's no problem here. In fact, these are what I knit to fill time in which I don't know what else to knit.

-I don't feel like balling the yarn right now, and even if I did, it's not winter, and the thought of knitting thick mittens as the summer heat closes in is just plain depressing.

-See the last part of the above statement.

-I have no idea what Nate would like, except a sweater, which is bad luck, and besides, he's always too afraid to wear my knitting because he thinks it will diminish its value. Pfft.

Ok, KP, your turn.

CHAOS and KNITTING!

CHAOS pretty much describes my life right now. My show opens on Thursday, and has consumed my life. On top of it, I'm having some pretty serious throat problems, and have been referred to a specialist the morning of opening night, just in time to stick a scope down my throat and make me useless in this musical. 

BUT, I am knitting feverishly, as a few of my friends from home would say. (They plan on making a documentary about it.)

AND, it made my day when I emailed my anthro. professor, Alan, to tell him that I wouldn't be in class Thursday because of the whole throat and CHAOS thing, and his email back said, and I quote: "Don't worry about it--just knit."

This has nothing to do with knitting...

And I won't even explain it, except to say that this is what is keeping my from blogging, knitting, and general life-living...and I love it.

But I can't take it forever. 6 more weeks.

My First Sweater (Strap in for the Saga)

Every knitter knows of this milestone, the inevitable first sweater. It seems that there is a strange unspoken rule pokes at the back of the knitter's heart that whispers, "You're not a true knitter, until you have knitted a sweater." Perhaps this strange unhappy voice is only in my own mind. I know plenty of amazing knitters who have never even touched a sweater pattern. However, I felt the call. I knew that once I made a sweater I would never be able to make the excuse of, "I can't do it" ever again. So, shall I tell you a tale of the nearly epic failure of my first sweater? (If you said no, then do please get off this post due to the fact that no one is forcing you to read this.)

   My sweater began with the pattern Banff from Knitty.com. The sweater was rated as an easy pattern and the fit was baggy while still looking chic. The pattern called for super bulky which was perfect because I have a lovely Ocean State Job Lot in my town that sells Lion Brand bulky weights for only $2 a skein. I went to the store and purchased 9 skeins of the most luscious Lion Brand Color Waves in the Autumn colorway. The yarn was mainly red with small variations of purple, gold, and green gently winding throughout. 

I cast on for the front a few weeks into my first semester and I happily knitted on and off. However, by the time Christmas break rolled around, I was starting to get antsy. I was bored with the pattern, and though I only had to complete the two sleeves and the finishing, I was avoiding the project. I took it home with me, determined to have it finished by the time I went back to school. For the first three weeks of my break, I barely touched it. I think in my heart, I could already see that the body pieces were just way too big. I know the sweater was supposed to be baggy, but still, they looked wonky. The only reason that sweater ever got out of the pieces stage was due to Brenda Dayne (I am not sure about the spelling of her last name) and her podcast called Cast-On. A truly a wonderful listening experience, I was able to focus and listen to something new while knitting on this gynormous sweater. I worked my way backwards through the podcast starting at episode 73. By episode 61, my seater was ready to be seamed.

Seaming this monster is an experience that I treat like a PTSS considering it was so awful I don't remember much. All I know is that by the time the booger was ready for its first try-on, I knew I had a HUGE problem. The sweater, while a very comfortable fit for a half-giant, was so large on me that when I put it over my head, it fell down the entire length of my body to the floor. Now, I do not mind a big sweater that I can only wear around the house, but I do require that my clothing at least be able to remain on my person without the use of chains or bungee chords. The body of the sweater was over four feet wide. The sleeves were big enough to fit a couple of toddlers quite comfortably. I was devastated. I know if any seasoned knitter reads this they will cluck their tongues and sigh, "Should have checked your gauge." Okay fine, should have, didn't, definitely my fault, end of story. I wanted to cry, but instead, I prayed, picked up my tapestry needle with some extra yarn, and I improvised.

I have a history of making strangely cool things out of nothing. An example could be the "basket" I once made for my co-blogger out of plywood, cardboard, scrap yarn, and some E.E. Cummings poetry. I am firm believer that when you've got nothing but a crapload of mess, it is up to you to do everything in your power to make it beautiful. I had not been knitting for 6 years to let a sweater defeat me now. I folded, I tucked, I rolled (if anyone makes a snarky comment about putting out a fire I will be most displeased), and I sewed the ever loving day lights out of that monster. At the end, I had a sweater that was unlike anything I could have envisioned. Yet, even my co-blogger was impressed. She was there the night I finally finished the neck. I know Heather pretty well, but I never thought that she would like the puffy squish ball I created as much as she did. I will not spoil her own sweater story, but lets just say it was a far cry from my own first attack. Still, I am in love with this thing. I have worn it multiple times and it makes me feel as most of my really good knitting does; unique.

Secretly, I am a Cupcake...

...
...
...
I must stop making such pathetically cute things.

Chapter 1: Obamania, and a New Semester

New chapters in my life are emerging everywhere!

Obama was inaugurated President of the United States (despite what Fox News stipulates) on January 20th, 2009. This is historical, people, and a new chapter in the life of our nation. I even made a little pop-out White House and Obama Family, provided by the Hartford Courant. Sadly, my mother threw them away before I could take photos, because Michelle Obama's head kept falling off. Anyway, this is all so new...I just can't imagine how to get by knowing that my country no longer condones torture...

Okay, so to avoid getting too political, while I was watching the inauguration, I was knitting. In fact, I was knitting my first sweater. This is Chapter 2 of my Chapter Ones. If that makes sense...anyway, it's not so bad. More on this project will come later, but I'm realizing that such a large garment will not equal the end of the world for me or anyone else, and that I am capable of something more difficult than a sock. The February Lady Sweater has given me confidence--I can look at a new pattern, no matter what it is, and imagine myself completing it without some form of death or destruction. 

Wednesday also marks the beginning of my second semester at Hampshire College. This means that I am no longer a completely inexperienced freshman (merely an inexperienced one). I moved back into my dorm today, and found this note on my desk.

I'm sure I wrote it after completing my final Final Paper (I passed all my classes, yay!). I probably intended it for a blog post, but was too brain fried to string together a coherent sentence, let alone tell you people about it. So I will leave this little sticky note as a reminder to me and all that, no matter how stressful life gets, and how busy, we must always take a little time every day to preserve our sanity. Chapter 3. I promise if you do. 

Winter Photo Shoot: A Kp Special

Due to the fact that I am slightly bored and realized that some of my knitting pictures are woefully out of date (not to mention bland), I decided it was high time for a photo shoot. Every single one of the photos below had no other party involved in their making save myself, my camera, and a really cantankerous old tripod. I would also like to point out that all the outdoor photos were shot in 14 degree temperatures. These first pictures (above, all comments will correspond to the set above them) are in honor of my dear and lovely co blogger, because they feature her really lovely Snowflake Hat Pattern in diVe Zenith yarn. Let us walk through some winter fiber goodness shall we...

Okay, so this is a display of the Twee Gloves designed by the wonderful Anushka Tay, and the yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Many of these shots have a faery theme attached to the look considering my love of anything fae and that fact that a great deal of my knitting tends to ere on the side of the fantastical.

Ohhhh I am such a geek, but yet, this is actually on of my favorite looks in this collection. The knit being featured in this spread is the Saphira Gauntlets in the pattern Dragon Scale Gauntlets that can be found on chartreuseknits.blogspot.com, and the yarn is Zen by the paintedsheep in the colorway Tranquility. (Yes I know that was a run-on shut up!) What is so special about this look is that I made more than one thing that is featured (and no it is not the bokin I am holding.) Yes, I made that cloak and I am still uber proud of it.

Ahhhh, Cleaves. Yes, this is the pattern Cleaves, found on www.knitty.com and this particular version is done in Lion Brand Homespun and Lion Brand Jiffy. Mercy, I look gorgeous!

This is a tribute to my checked scarf made of Caron Simply Soft Brites. The scarf holds a special place in my heart not because it is my favorite, but because it is one of the first large things I made when my love for knitting was reawakened. It is a 9 foot monstrousity that was made the summer when I worked my first assistant scenic design job, and the long hours of tech were whiled away, knitting on this scarf.

And so we come, at last, to the end of this gallery of knitwear. This is my favorite hat EVER!!! The pattern is the Chicken Tam by Cass Long and it can be found on www.shutuppatterns.blogspot.com.  Anyway, the yarn is Handpainted Alpaca by the paintedsheep and the colorway is Larkspur. This is my go-to hat. I wear it so often and it is so perfect for me I can barely contain my glee every time I put it on my head. 

So ends the gallery. I am thinking on a part II that would be less of me and more of arranging the knitting in different settings with the props, but we shall see. I hope you enjoyed the view!