I’m declaring a moratorium on miters. I will not be blogging about mitres until they are FINISHED! I will try to blog though. Sort of like practice for when there are no more miters to blog about. It will be sad, won’t it? I will miss them.

Yeah. Yeah. I remember I used to blog about socks. But does anyone remember the two sweaters I whipped up this Winter? Huh? Sometimes I feel like a one man band with these obsessions. No matter what I knit, I will always be known for the Jaywalker thing. Just yesterday I was reading someone’s site and they were talking about me and Jaywalkers. The knitalong ended over a year ago. I’ve knit a lot of stuff in that year. And maybe only one pair of socks were Jaywalkers.

Not that I’m complaining, really. The Jaywalker sock pattern is a GREAT pattern and I’ve actually been thinking about it a lot lately. It may be time to knit it again. When I really think about it, this miter obsession is very very close to the Jaywalker obsession. At the heart of all of it is COLOR. The Jaywalker thing wasn’t really about the sock pattern (it became like stockinette to me) – it was about how the colors of STR worked with the pattern. It was an exploration of the colors of Socks That Rock and Tina’s true genius. The Jaywalker pattern just happened to be a great way to manifest that color. I’ve never made a pair of Jaywalkers in anything other than STR.

Maybe I’m just obsessed with COLOR. If you ask me, in a world where there are so many awful things I could be obsessed about, color might be the best choice.

Thanks for all the contest entries and for all the lovely things you’ve said about my miters. I really appreciate it.

I’m so close on this project, I can taste it!

I wasn’t that close this morning, when I was getting ready to post. I had taken all my photographs and prepared them and was all set to upload them when I realized I had no internet connection. I checked the tvs and no tv either. Cable was out. It went back on about 5:45 PM (It went out around 10:30 AM.) Needless to say, while I did get a lot of stuff done around the house, I also figured out my next miter.

See, this morning, I was going to tell you that for the first time since the beginning of this project, I DIDN’T immediately cast on for a new miter. Not because I didn’t want to – but because I felt like I really needed to sit with the project before deciding on how I was going to end it. I know how I’m going to end it.

First, though, let’s look at the progress I made this weekend:

Square #23

This square is yet another in the Stained Glass series based on this photograph:

I’ve taken to using the photographs as more of a suggestion than an acutal color palette and I’m enjoying the process very much. Two more squares:

Square #24

Square #25

That brings my miter total up to 100 – 25 squares. I have definitely decided on 30 and the last square that I knit for this blanket will be based on the finger photograph. The finger square will anchor the blanket – it will be placed in the lower left hand corner and the layout for the rest of the squares will grow out of it. So that leaves four more squares to plan. The whole weekend I had the blanket laid out on the floor. (G was so good to step around it – especially since it was right at the entrance to the kitchen and pretty much blocked the whole passageway.) I wanted to study what colors I had used and what I felt like the blanket needed and what better way to do that than walk by it a million times a day. This is what I studied:

It goes without saying, of course, that this is no where close to the final layout – either for the squares OR the blanket. This is just putting it all down so I can get a good look. After I took a picture – I applied the Stained Glass Filter so I could get a better idea at the colors represented and hopefully what I need to concentrate on for the last four squares.

I’ve already started a mainly purple square because I feel like it needs purple – and I’m using lighter colors for the main color because I think it needs some lightening up, but I’d love to know what you think it needs. It’s become very hard for me to be objective anymore. I have to say, though, I am LOVING what I’ve got and am so excited to put it all together. I just hope I don’t drive myself crazy with the final layout.

Here are a million more pictures of the squares laid out – I couldn’t resist. Feel free to skip over.

So? What do you think? Fantastic, no? Okay – so maybe you feel like your retinas are being blown out, but I’m very happy. Very very happy. EXTREMELY happy. I can’t wait for this to be FINISHED. I told G I was getting to the end and he said that’s great! What’s next? What’s next indeed! (Someone’s bound to ask – most likely I’m going back to the KH Cardigan.)

For those of you doing the Mason Dixon miter, Kay gave me a tip that can help you get into a rhythm on the miters. For every decrease row that has a stitch count divisible by 3 BEFORE the decrease, you do a SSK, K2TOG, K2TOG, knit to end (should be the same number of stitches as BEFORE the decreases.) On the rows that DON’T have a stitch count divisible by 3 – you do a SSK, SSK, K2TOG then knit to the end (should be one LESS stitch than the number of stitches before the decrease.) Trust me on this – it works. The first few miters I was doing all this division, because, you know, I’m math-challenged, but it’s pretty intuitive now. I also know that when I’m using my “main” yarn, I’m going to have two decrease rows that are divisible by 3 (the first and the last) and one that’s not. The opposite happens when I’m using the contrast yarn.

Whew! Before I sign off, I wanted to let you all know that I’m not going to Maryland Sheep & Wool this year – family stuff came up and it was too much of a pain in the ass to get down there around the family stuff. Not to mention the fact that the last thing I need to be doing is buying more yarn or fiber. So I won’t be organizing a knitblogger meet-up, but I understand one is being organized by Gryphon. So go on over there and check out the details. Have a blast everyone! (At least this year there’s NO WAY I can be blamed when the STR sells out in five seconds flat. So don’t even try it.) (Oh and if there’s anyone out there willing to buy me a t-shirt, I’ll paypal you the money ahead of time and hopefully make it worth your while. BUT only if you’re planning on standing in that hideous line anyway. I don’t want anyone going out of their way. THANKS!)

Okay. Back to mitering. The finish line is calling!

Square #22

This square was inspired by this photograph:

Applying the Stained Glass Filter in PhotoShop:

The white looking color in the square is actually a peachy pink that perfectly mimics one of the lighter colors in the photograph. To be honest, all the colors look a little off. It’s really much closer to the photograph.

Guild was fun – but I have to admit my mind was on squares rather than spinning and llamas. I spun for like five minutes and it was all I could do to take out a miter. I have to measure my bed today, but I’m leaning more towards 30 squares instead of 25. Somehow I think a rectangular blanket will be better than square. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s the right thing to do or because I can’t see myself stopping. Everything’s sort of muddled together now and I’m pushing myself.

I’m also knitting hurt. This project has taken a toll on me physically. I have slowed down CONSIDERABLY (and please – no lectures on repetitive stress injuries and exercises and whatnot. I’m a big girl and if I want to fuck myself up I will.) But I start to get some pains in my right elbow and right wrist about half-way through a miter. I know what this means and I’m taking steps to fix it. The biggest problem, though, is that I’ve put a hole in my left index finger.

Basically, I split my callus. I’ve written about how proud I was of my calluses before, and I still am. Proud, that is. I showed my finger split to Ann while I was out on Lawn Guyland and defiantly proclaimed that I was HARDCORE! Look at me! There’s BLOOD! She cackled in the way that only Ann can and told me I wasn’t freaking hardcore. All my booboo meant was that I was DOING IT WRONG!

I told her, if I was doing it so wrong, how had I managed to knit 91 miters (with another one on the needles) in 37 days? She told me madness trumps knitting skills any day. I think she might be right. But hey – I may get a square out of it anyway!

Have a great weekend!

Yesterday, knowing I didn’t have anymore color combinations lined up for mitres (that’s for you Sundara!), I went a little crazy playing with Ruth’s method of singling out colors in photographs. Just to reiterate, I’m using the Stained Glass Filter in PhotoShop. You’ll just have to wait for the results because at least the next two squares will be from this method.

Anyway, so I went a little crazy pulling up photographs – especially photographs that didn’t seem like they’d yield a lot of different colors and I came across one that looked a lot like the square I was currently knitting. The colors for what would become Square #21 had been sitting around for awhile – I knew I wanted a red as the main color and gold yellow as one of the accents – possibly with two squares and I had a deep blue purple and brown as the other accents. The way I knit the squares is to knit all of the different colors first – and then decide what the repeat color will be. Well, last night, I had knit the three different squares and I couldn’t decide on the last color. I knew I didn’t want to repeat the yellow, but what to choose? So I went to the altered picture and the stash and this is what I came up with:

Square #21

This is the altered photograph:

And this is the original:

Salmon Roe

What do you think? I’m pretty happy with it!

Okay – I’m off to Guild tonight in Long Island – so no post tomorrow and another square on Friday. I have a feeling we’re getting down to the knitty gritty on this thing. Then the adventure REALLY begins!

So you know how some people will say: “It was so much fun I pissed my pants!” or others might say: “That scared the piss out of me!” ? Welp – that’s the kind of weekend I had! Lots of wet pants.

My sister set up the new huge trampoline in the backyard last week – you know – when it looked like it might really be Spring? – just in time for the litte one’s birthday party on the weekend. Luckily Saturday turned out to be the NICE day and we all got a chance to jump. Can I just tell you? I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun! I cleared all the kids out and went to town, windmilling my arms higher and faster, forcing my body to SOAR! I was laughing and laughing and jumping and jumping and I pissed my pants. Literally – pee came out. THAT’S HOW MUCH FUN IT WAS!

(I’d like to think it was also the bottle of water and gravity and not some kind of bladder malfunction because I thought all that pee stuff was supposed to happen AFTER you have kids. Not before. Needless to say I’ve been doing Kegels like crazy. There. I just did another ten.)

The party was great and we all had fun and then Sunday night I got the opportunity to have the piss scared out of me. It was late and I was having trouble sleeping what with all the wind and the rain and I had finally fallen asleep. Then – CRACK – CRASH! I bolted upright! What the hell was THAT? I listened. Nothing. I waited for the others to come running. Nothing. I checked for wetness – whew! Nothing. (Although I was sleeping in the waterproof princess bed, just in case.) Eventually my heart stopped pounding and I went back to sleep, figuring that it was just the wind. The next morning we found the branch across the backyard and the hole in the roof of the garage. Thankfully it missed the house.

Quite the weekend of extremes. I’m ready for some nice weather now. Any time Mother Nature is ready.

Onto the miters! We’ve got two (I just love reaching my goals!)

The first was inspired by this photograph:

I applied Ruth’s method by using the Stained Glass Filter in PhotoShop.

Then I went to the stash and pulled out some colors:

Which gave me this!

Square #19

I’m pretty happy with how it worked out! I’ve got four (or nine) more squares to go – and I may just try this exercise again.

For the next square, I just put together colors that made me happy!

Square #20

I just love how the dark chocolate brown sets off all of the bright colors. You’ll be happy to know that Square #21 is half finished.

Thank you again for all your comments and opinions on my post about blog behavior. I’d like to reiterate that I welcome constructive criticism. I understand that my opinions are one in about 6.5 billion – opinions, it turns out, really ARE like assholes. My blog life is VERY charmed and while it IS hard work and occasionally people like to rain on your parade, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. At least as long as it takes to sew up all these miters. Have a great day!

Thank you all so much for your eloquent comments and a wonderful free exchange of ideas. I’m so glad to hear from all of you – whether you regularly comment here or not. Please know that I’m working my way through every comment. If you don’t hear from me – I READ WHAT YOU HAD TO SAY and took your words to heart. I have to admit, when I pushed publish yesterday my heart sunk a bit at the earnestness of my post. I’m don’t like to be earnest – it’s uncomfortable and embarrassing to say the least – plus I’m not sure it makes good writing (I put it just below sentimentality.) But I don’t think I’m all that earnest on a regular basis and sometimes you just have to get stuff off your chest.

I really don’t get that much negative feedback – constructive or otherwise – compared to others. And I’ve, fortunately, never really been flamed here or anywhere else, that I know of (and please don’t feel you need to tell me about if I have been.) But I have friends who have been – and frankly – I don’t think that behavior is appropriate whether you’re my friend or not. It’s just not good blogging.

I would like to say that I welcome CONSTRUCTIVE criticism here, on this blog. And please don’t feel that if you have a contrary opinion from me, or anyone else that reads here, that you aren’t welcome to express it. If something should happen in the comments because of your comment, you can rest assured it will be addressed by me in the manner I deem appropriate – that may be a further blog post about my feelings, or the deletion of comments. Thank you again, as always, for taking the time to read my blog.

Whew! Now let’s get back to what’s REALLY important! The miters!

Square #18

This square is based on a ribbon sample I bought a while back. I like the squares and colors and I think it’s a good match for the blanket. I’ve got three more squares planned out – the next one I started is based on one of my photographs and I’m really excited about it. It’s kind of neutral so I hope it works out. I’m off AGAIN for the weekend, but I hope to have more miters on Tuesday. My goal is an even 20.

Have a great weekend!

Remember I showed you this photograph from the NYT on Monday?

Remember how freaky it was that the Sol LeWitt painting they showed with the announcement of his death pretty much EXACTLY matched the square I had started the night before?

Square #17

I showed G the picture and my square and he said that I must have seen the painting somewhere somehow and I said no. I can’t remember the last time I was at the Whitney (which is where the picture seems to hang) – sadly, it’s got to be AT LEAST 18 years ago. I told him that I had never even HEARD of Sol LeWitt. Not once. The only possible explanation is that on his way to heaven, good old Sol whispered into my ear, “The yellow will look great with some light turquoise, some forest green and some rusty brown red thrown in for the accent.” Really. That’s the only thing that could’ve happened.

Any other dead or dying artists (or even living ones) that would like to whisper some color combinations into my ears – bring it on. I’m starting to struggle.

In fact, when I was putting the photographs of #17 into the gallery – I caught a glimpse of #14 and panicked for a second that they were so close – but I think it’s okay. The yellows are different and the greens are different and the blues are different and there’s rust instead of wine. So, similar, but not the same.

When I first started this project I thought I needed to be really inventive about my color choices – be BOLD and DIFFERENT! Now I’m just happy to find inspiration anywhere I can get it. I find myself putting together these great combinations only to realize that I’ve already done it with maybe a touch lighter shade of purple or a darker shade of blue. As frustrated as I’m feeling – this is the time to persevere. Many times the moment of exhaustion – the moment where everything blurs together – directly precedes the times of utmost clarity. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself.

I slowed down a little yesterday. I don’t have a finished miter to show you – I think I took a bit of a break because I knew that I had something a little bit better to show. You’ll have to wait a few minutes though. I’m now more than halfway through the KNITTING portion of this project (not counting the border – which is already giving me fits.) Whether I make 25 or 30 squares – I’ve got 66 miters completed. One on the needles. 16.5 squares.

Things are changing for me in this project. First of all – I’m retiring colors.

I have knit five miters out of each of these individual skeins – four main color miters (so they start the miter and therefore use the most yarn) and one background miter. There’s about 8g or less left over and I can’t get a really accurate read as to whether or not I’ll be able to make another miter – I think I use about 8g but I’m not positive – so I’m letting these colors go. Which is kind of sad because I really love these colors. Why don’t I buy more? A couple of reasons. 1) I currently have 56 untapped colors. 56. And I’ve only exhauted 9 colors. That’s a lot of unused color and I’m actually feeling a bit gluttonous so I’m not buying any more yarn. If I can’t get 8 or 13 squares out of what I have, then I should just give up this project. 2) I have no idea what the colors are. I may be all OCD about some things, but I’m clearly lacking in many other OCD departments. (I like to think that if there was an OCD club, I’d be kicked out on my ass – just for the sheer number of germs taking up residence in my home.) I have kept a running list of all the colors I have in my “collection” but I haven’t recorded which colors I’ve used for which squares AT ALL. I have no freaking clue. (So please don’t ask which colors I used for square # this or square # that. I already feel bad about it.) I think those are two excellent reasons NOT to duplicate yarn colors. Don’t you?

Another interesting fact is that I’ve now knit an entire square (or two) using yarn already used before. I don’t know why this is important to me, but it is – am I copying myself? I don’t think any of the squares are so similar. But still, it’s in my mind crowding around with all the other thoughts about this project.

One of the reasons I knit like a maniac this weekend was because I wanted to get to the magic number 16 so I could lay out what I have and see it taking shape. 8 was too few, if you remember, and this time I did it right. (Forgive the really crappy photograph!)

Laying out all the squares, I was VERY pleasantly suprised! I LOVE IT! (And I’ve still got 8 or 13 more to add to the mix! I can’t wait to see how it changes.) In real life, I’m happy with every square. Fortunately or unfortunately, picture-wise, there’s really only one square giving me fits.

One of the things I LOVE about the red square is that the orange and red values are very similar – especially give the contrast of the blue and green. BUT, red is awful to photograph (contrast and saturation are a BITCH to control) and as I was taking the picture I could see through the camera that the red and orange were blending together. There is much more of a difference to the naked eye – but this square worries me – and it’s one of my favorites. Here’s where I was killing myself about not recording the colors – because if I could I would re-do this square with a more contrasty orange. Of course – the red, blue, AND green have all been exhausted and I know I will have a terrible time trying to figure out exactly which red and which blue and which green they are. I’m not going to worry about it until the end. I can always try to back track my way out and re-do the square if need be.

Needless to say, this layout is not the end result. I love the squares where the values are similar and blend a bit in contrast to the color combinations where the values are in stark contrast and when I do lay out the final blanket I will have to pay particular attention to those “lighter” miters. But the blanket is pleasing to me nonetheless and I have added encouragement to continue. Rest assured, there will be a new square to show you tomorrow. For now, here are 80 million pictures of what I’ve accomplished so far. Enjoy!

I’m not sure if that title is talking to you, my dear wonderful crazy-as-I-am readers, or I’m talking to me. I’m not sure it matters. To clarify a few things: I am smart enough to know that if people are talking about you, in whatever venue, that’s a GOOD thing. They may be hating on you or loving on you or whatever – they have an opinion. The worst thing for an artist, or writer, or blogger, or person in general is INDIFFERENCE. It’s when people AREN’T talking that I’m really going to worry. Also, I don’t feel guilty about the squares or blogging about the squares, I feel guilty that they’ve truly taken over my life. My husband is a GENEROUS soul and he gets some kind of thrill out of seeing me in the middle of an all consuming project. He’s seen that look in my eye whether I’m writing or shooting or knitting – he gives me glorious space to do my thing. But sometimes I feel guilty. He goes to work every single day so that I can have this joyful life and while I know that I take care of him well, sometimes I don’t feel like I take care of the house well. And I feel some kind of Ozzie and Harriet guilt about that. Like I’m not pulling my weight. Although back a million years ago when we were dating I did tell him I was crazy and he should get out while he can – and he decided to stay – so really. It’s his own fault. 😉 And my last point for now is that I blogged about boring you all because it was something I started to worry about all on my own – before I read about it. I worry about you. I know there are a lot of you and I’m so grateful to you all and the truth is, is that I do feel an obligation to you all. To keep you entertained. It’s not something that really affects what I have to say or knit or write – but it is there. I’d like to think you influence me way more than I influence you. If not – I don’t think I would’ve kept up with the blog or love it as much as I do.

Enough with the metablabber. Eh.

Square #13

Square #14

Square #15

Square #16

I was in sort of a blue mood this weekend. I hadn’t used much blue at all. Oh and as much I still enjoying knitting the squares, photographing them is getting really tedious. The colors are hit or miss and I just don’t care anymore. Even the focus is off on some of the above pictures.

I started a new square last night and in the THERE ARE NO NEW IDEAS department, I was shocked to see it in the New York Times this morning. (No. I haven’t started hallucinating.) A little background. I need to use some yellow – real yellow in the blanket and generally I’m a few squares ahead of the knitting. I keep little groupings of color out and most of them are ready to go but sometimes I throw them aside. So yesterday I had a group of purples and greens with a yellow background and it was all Eastery and I didn’t really love it. I was finishing up square 16 and all of my TCC was laid out on the floor grouped by color and there were some greens close to the oranges and also a turquoise pretty close by and I figured out the new yellow square:

This morning, while I was scanning the front page I saw this picture:

Sorry for the photograph of the paper.
I couldn’t find the painting online and my scanner won’t work.

It accompanied the announcement of the death of Sol Le Witt, an important Modern American artist (who, incidentally, I’ve never heard of – I’m more a Renaissance kind of girl.) How crazy is that? Guess I’m doing something right.

Tomorrow – squares, again, but in a whole new light. 😉
Thank you all so much.
L, C