06.09.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:49 pm by admin
So, somewhere between now and two weeks ago and the Kiogu sock, I knit this little pair of footlets. I’d totally forgotten about them until I pulled them out yesterday to warm my feet as a result of all the AC action (95 degrees here in the Northeast is no joke!).
I can’t recommend the Regia Silk Color enough. This yarn is springy, incredibly soft, comes in beautiful colorways and feels amazing on the feet. It’s probaby my second favorite so far after the Koigi and before the Lorna’s Laces (yes, it’s true!).
I told you this is my Summer of Socks… 
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06.08.08
Posted in Socks at 8:06 pm by admin
It’s been SO long since I’ve knit with Koigu.
Ahhhh… It felt good.
Koigu is all about the senses. It feels fantastic – almost addictive as it slips through your fingers. I don’t even notice how long I’ve been knitting once I get going and I find myself craving the feeling when I put my knitting down. And the colors! Part of the pleasure is watching the colorway unfold as I knit. It’s an addiction, people.
The best part?
Slipping them on your feet. Oh. My. GOD, they feel good!
I think this might just be my Summer of Socks.
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06.04.08
Posted in Tops/Tanks at 12:53 pm by admin
Does anyone remember when I first cast on for this? It’s the “Stripes Go Round” tank by Lana Hames from the Summer 2004 issue of Interweave. For some reason, I had a burning urge to cast on for it again after the first failed attempt. By “failed,” I mean I just never finished it. It’s a good thing I didn’t because upon revisiting this project, I realized – it being cotton and all – that the size I cast on for would be HUGE after blocking.
And, yes…I did, in fact, swatch. I think I was just a bit “cotton stupid” back then. 
I wanted some shaping on the first one, so I attempted (successfully) all this complex math as illustrated here. It was my first time trying to modify a pattern, so I did learn something. But, after all that work, it remained unfinished.
I didn’t remember why I soured on this project until I started knitting it again. The stripes are unbelievably annoying. Managing three balls of yarn is tedious – this is what turns me off to Intarsia. Also, because it’s knit in the round, the stripes are off slightly at the join, so the pattern calls for a fake seam which I didn’t love.
This project falls under the category of “mindless enough to watch TV while knitting, but complex enough to require some amount of attention and maintenance.” A “medium” project for the evenings and weekends.
I’m determined to finish it this time because I love the colors, it has capped sleeves which I also dig and I want a cute cotton shirt for the Summer. No shaping this time, just “as is.”
The Karabella Vintage Cotton is also quite nice and not too hard on the hands.
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06.01.08
Posted in Life, Socks at 10:47 am by admin
It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? I keep saying I’m back and promising more posts – and then nothing. I have to apologize to those of you who – shockingly – care about this blog and my knitting progress (people have actually emailed me asking if I’ll be back). I think I just went through what they call a “blog hiatus.” So many life changes and issues to work through sort of made it impossible to keep up with blog maintenance.
But, I’ve been feeling the urge to blog again. I know it’s real this time because I’m back to reading the knitting blogs, back to buying knitting books, itching to cast on new projects and finally back to knitting regularly.
I think what did it was having had an entire week to myself. A MUCH NEEDED break from work. I didn’t even venture out once despite the gorgeous weather! It was a glorious week of reading, knitting and enjoying the sun and breeze. That’s it. Nothing else. Seriously.
I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately with life stuff and work and just things in general. Being a Designer by day and in a corporate environment has served to burn me out. Engaging in another creative activity which has nothing to do with my day job and nothing to do with making money (not that I’m complaining about money, but mainly the commercial nature of what I do and all of the compromises made to the final product) has been totally satisfying. Colors, patterns, textures and the tactile sensations of making something are the reasons I became a designer in the first place. Having something creative all to myself – by me, for me and compromise-free, is exactly what I need to balance out what I do daily.
I don’t mean to sound completely dissatisfied with my job. Being able to earn a living doing something I love is awesome. And, the fact that I’m producing a final product and working toward a targeted goal for a group of people and the company makes compromise and negotiation necessary. That’s life. But sometimes it just feels good to have something all to yourself which is similar in many ways to your chosen professional passion. Sometimes you just get burned out and need something to bring you back to what you love about what you do.
Knitting does that for me.
And so, I’m back. And it may be boring, mindless (and curative) knitting for a while, but that’s ok. Blogging sometimes makes me feel pressured to knit complex, beautiful things – especially when I troll my favorites and marvel at all the fabulous projects people are knitting – it’s partly why I stopped blogging, I think, all the pressure! But this is supposed to be stress-free and fun – the blogging and the knitting, right? So, it is what it is.
Right now, it’s back to basics and it feels good.
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12.13.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:13 pm by admin
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