Larger Than Life

May 23, 2007 By

Yesterday was all about crochet.


I’m still not sure about it. I haven’t fallen in love or anything like that. Maybe it’s the yarn. (Although I still love the colors.) Or maybe it’s just crochet. Or maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t been doing it for so long, but I don’t think so. Because when I started knitting it was all I could do to stop. I wanted to knit forever. I don’t feel that way with crochet. Like last night. I wasn’t ready to stop, but I wasn’t ready to do a whole square. So I did some middles.

So far I’ve done a middle in every color I have – nine colors. Well, all except for the chocolate brown which is going to be the border and bottom and gusset of the bag. When I was done with the middles (which is actually the first two rounds of the square) I checked which colors I hadn’t used for the next color change (the next three rounds) and I matched up middles to colors.

I’m going to knit CROCHET (duh! Thanks Tonya!) the next three rounds and then figure out the outside colors. That gives me nine squares. Three left to play with however I please. I see a lot of the blue in my future. I may also decide to throw out some squares and choose some others. I’m happy to be making this bag and I’m happy to be learning a new skill, but really, I’m a knitter. There’s no two ways about it.

Can I ask you guys a favor? I’ve got some stuff going on today – not bad stuff – potentially very good stuff – but it’s making me a bit crazy and I’m not ready to talk about it but I could use some good vibes. Everyone knows that knitter/spinner/crocheter/fiber juju is the best. So maybe you can sling some in my direction? THANK YOU!

And, as always, thank you for reading my blog. Your presence is greatly appreciated.
L, C

Filed Under: Larger Than Life Bag

Seven

May 22, 2007 By

Amy tagged me for that seven random things about you meme, which is quite fortunate for me as I have no new knitting to talk about and no one to pinch hit for me.

Hmmm…this is hard. Don’t you people know EVERYTHING about me already? I always feel like I’m an open book. Forgive me if I’m repeating stuff.

1) A few people have sent me this link to tell me that Springsteen’s The River is No. 25 on The 25 Most Equisitely Sad Songs in the Whole World list. While I will agree that The River is a sad sad song and one that I very recently sat in the car and listened to about ten times while crying my eyes out, it’s not the saddest of Springsteen songs at ALL and it’s not my sad song of choice usually. Downbound Train is pretty freaking sad, if you ask me. Damn sad:

I had a job, I had a girl
I had something going mister in this world
I got laid off down at the lumber yard
Our love went bad, times got hard
Now I work down at the carwash
Where all it ever does is rain
Don’t you feel like you’re a rider on a downbound train

It only gets worse from there. Anyway, most of Bruce’s songs are tinged with sadness, that’s what makes them so good, but still and all, when I want my most sad song – the song I’ve reached for time and time again at the height of my depressiveness – it’s always Nik Kershaw’s Wouldn’t It Be Good.

I mean, c’mon!

I got it bad
You don’t know how bad I got it
You got it easy
You don’t know when you got it good
It’s getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I’m sick of fighting
Even though I know I should
The cold is biting
Through each and every nerve and fibre
My broken spirit is frozen to the core
Don’t wanna be here no more

Now THAT’S a sad song!

2) Grumperina was talking the other day about how she doesn’t like the number 4. I think she was specifically talking about the number 4 in terms of knitting repeats, but I kind of understood. I have a problem with odd numbers myself. I don’t like things to be odd. And I’m weird about odd primes (although don’t all primes have to be odd – well – except the number two?) I’ll add up numbers anyway I can to get me to a number where I feel comfortable. It’s not something I think about all the time, but it’s there. Weirdness abounds.

3) Whenever the clock hits all the same numbers (11:11, 5:55, 3:33, etc.) and I see it, I make a wish. It’s usually always the same wish, sometimes with different stuff added on to the end, but basically it’s the same. What?! I’m not going to tell you! Then it won’t come true.

4) I don’t cook very often, but when I do, stuffed shells is probably the best thing I make. It’s kind of funny because I just follow the recipe that’s on the box of pasta shells and I always use jar sauce, but it comes out SO GOOD. Much better than if you bought shells already stuffed. I HATE to stuff Manicotti though even though it’s the same recipe and everything. Something about getting that cheese evenly distributed in the pasta tube makes me NUTS.

5) I am the epitome of the saying: If you want something done, ask a busy man. I can procrastinate with the best of them when I’m not that busy. Give me a lot of work to do and I’m a machine. It kind of sucks because a lot of the time I’m not that busy (my work is pretty cyclical) and I sit around doing nothing. Then I get all kinds of crazy and I’m like a tornado. I’d love to be able to harness my energy better and maybe focus a bit more. That doesn’t mean I don’t get a lot done when I’m not working so hard (KNITTING LIKE A FIEND) but my house suffers and other stuff suffers and I should be better at being more even about work stuff. Not as much fun, for sure, but I won’t live in squalor probably.

6) I’ve got monkey feet (which maybe explains why I like the socks so much.) Seriously, I have very dexterous toes. I’ve never tried to write with my feet, but I bet you I could. I also have pretty perfect feet. No corns, no bumps, no bunions. No weird errant toe longer than the rest of them. Very pretty feet.

I love my feet.

7) The pool at my building is about to open next weekend but I will probably only go in once or twice the entire season. Not because I don’t like to swim – I LOVE to swim! But because the water is too cold. I’m very very particular about water temperature. It needs to be pretty comfortable for me to get in. I need to be able to walk right in without any shocks to the system. The only people that can get me in a cold pool are my niece and nephews and maybe, once a year, Georgie. He goes in the ocean when it’s FREEZING. He’s like a polar bear. Me, I’m like a jelly fish. 😉

Hope that wasn’t too boring. Thanks Amy! Oh yeah – anyone who wants to do this – go ahead! I’m probably like the last person in the world to do this so you’re probably all like wah! Another one of these stupid things? So go ahead – knock yourself out!

Filed Under: Memememememe

LA…I AM YOUR FATHER!

May 21, 2007 By

La has dubbed me Darth Cara and truth be told, I LOVE IT! Not so much the crochet, but the moniker! I LOVE DARTH! Sometimes I walk around humming his theme music because it’s just so…so…COOL. La said I had completely gone over to the dark side because you know, it’s not enough with the crochet or the acrylic, but it’s got to be RED HEART. La, my friend, when have you EVER known me to go half-assed on ANYTHING? It’s all or nothing BAYBEE!

So the crochet continues. I like it. It’s okay. I will not be making the Babette any time soon, though, I promise. I’d still rather knit than anything. I just can’t get into a rhythm like I can with the knit and that’s one of the things I LOVE about the craft. But it’s good. Still. So far my pattern has been to use the last color on one square for the first color on the next square. We’ll see how that holds up. I’m not sure about the colors I chose for this one:

I’m not sure there’s enough of a difference between the purple and red. Or maybe too much difference between the green and red. I reserve the right to change this one. But I like this one fine!

I’ve got the first two rounds of green done on the next one. I just have to choose the next colors. I think I need to plan this better, but I’m only sort of into it.

Decidedly NOT an obsession.

Something that is an obsession? Monkey socks! I actually cleaned up a little bit this weekend – I made a dent, let’s say. Enough of a dent that I pulled together all the random yarn lying around the house and actually got out the vacuum and all the attachments. I’ve written before about how much I love the attachments on my vacuum. Welp, I was at it again! It’s always a bonanza to clean the sofas – I never find change, but I always find stitch markers! Anyway, while I was gathering up all the yarn, I ended up digging through my STR stash looking for the next monkey. I came up with this yarn, which I’ve always loved, and never used.


STR Crazy Lace Agate

Even though I’ve only just finished the heel flap on my lastest monkey sock, I started a new one.

Only one problem: I think it’s much better suited for a jaywalker than a monkey, so I’m ripping it. I think the colorway will knit up very similarly to this carbon jaywalker and that’s works for me just fine. I think the monkey socks look better with lots of colors all jumbled together. The blues in this one are too much of a break for me. So back to the stash! (You may ask why don’t I knit a jaywalker then? It’s not the right time for that. Soon maybe, but the pattern’s not going anywhere and the yarn’s not going anywhere so it can sit.)

Work has exploded a bit around here so the knits might not be as fast and furious as they have been lately. The socks are great for times like these – I can knit without thinking and have something wonderful to show for it in a relatively short period of time. The Monkey period has begun. I can feel it.

Filed Under: Larger Than Life Bag

Nothing says Granny Square…

May 16, 2007 By

like 100% ACRYLIC!

About ten minutes after I posted my granny square yesterday, I ran out to my local craft store to pick up a new crochet hook. I also wanted different yarn. I’m sorry, maybe I’m prejudiced, but I can’t see using my glorious STR for a crochet tote bag. Just can’t do it! To me, crochet just SCREAMS Red Heart. Lucky for me, I found some GREAT colors. Colors, actually, that mimic very closely the STR I have in my stash that I would have used for the bag.


There’s actually another purple – darker than the one shown – but I can’t find it. It’s either in my car, or I dropped it on the way to the checkout. I’ll have to go back and get it because I need the darker purple. Anyway, I came home and made another square.

I managed to do it all myself! I was able to follow the directions in the magazine fairly easily and Laura’s crochet tutorial was very helpful again, but I did it! I definitely had a rhythm going there. I’m keeping good tension with my left hand, which astonishes me because anytime I try to knit that way it’s a disaster. But, I guess, I don’t have anything in my left hand other than the yarn.


The yarn is great! It’s soft and I love the colors! It’s also incredibly splitty and fuzzy and who are we kidding: It’s freaking acrylic. But still, I’m pretty happy with the square. And I have enough yarn to fuck up many times over and change colors if I like and it was cheap. Cheapity cheap cheap! My plan is to do the sides and border in the chocolate brown. It’ll be a very fall bag and it will also be machine washable and if it gets messed up or dirty or god forbid I lose it or it rips it’s okay because I didn’t spend a million dollars on the yarn. Bags are meant to be used, in my opinion. And I’m not going to feel bad about using this one.

Wait. I didn’t tell you? I’m making the Larger Than Life Bag from the Spring 2007 Interweave Crochet. I guess I’ve committed. It’s got it’s own category now. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Here’s a shot of the two squares together – clearly the yarn is nicer in my first square, but I think my crochet is getting better in the second! I’m using a 5.0mm hook with the new yarn and I think it’s working out well. All you hookers out there – what do you think? I have NOTHING to base this on. Nothing at all. I’m flying blind.

No post tomorrow – I’m off to my sister’s again. Tonight is the dress rehearsal for my niece’s ballet recital. You can only take pictures at the recital so my skillz are in demand. Here’s what she looked like Saturday at the run through for the town at their anniversary festival:

How freaking cute is she? I would be over the moon thrilled if I didn’t have the song for her number running through my head 24/7. “Put a little color on you! Red, green, yellow and Blue! What a great way, to brighten your day! Put a little color on YOOOOOOOU!” It’s insidious. Did I ever tell you? My lifelong dream/fantasy – to this day – is to be a ballerina. Here is my absolute FAVORITE picture of me – I was probably around five or six – there’s no date on the picture.

I’m bringing it with me to show my niece. In case you can’t tell, I’m the first full body on the left. The one with the arm crossing in front of me. God I love that picture!

Have a great week! Not sure if I’ll be here Friday either – depends on if I’m babysitting or not. I promise, there will be knitting when you next hear from me. Thanks for reading!
L, C

Filed Under: Larger Than Life Bag

QUICK! Look out your windows!!!

May 15, 2007 By

Do you see the pigs flying by?!?!

Yes, my friends. Your eyes do not deceive you. I have crocheted.

Here’s what happened. First, Margene talked about crochet non freaking stop. Then Ann with the blah blah blah crochet crochet crochet. The final straw to fall was Vicki. She’s making up songs about crochet! Yesterday I actually told her to shut up and knit already.

This morning, though, I woke up to a dream about crochet granny squares and that damn bag all my girls are making. The honest to god truth is that I want that bag too! So when I talked to Ann this morning, I asked her if she thought she could teach me to make the square over the phone.

Three and a half hours later – I had a square.

I’m not going to tell you that I enjoyed it – because I didn’t. It was tough. At one point I started screaming in agony and Ann’s going what? WHAT? and I yelled TOE CRAMP because my foot started to cramp up. She’s all like, well then you’re doing it wrong honey and duh I was so tense that my foot cramped. That hurts. Add in my elbow, my wrist, my shoulders and my back and WHOO HOO! Crochet is FUN! Seriously, I know that with practice it will all get better. I need a new hook though. I have a few lying around the house but none of them were the right size really and the one I used was way to small for the yarn (which is Heavyweight STR). The square is going to be a coaster because the gauge is so tight the damn square could stand on it’s own. No drape, people. NO drape. Which might actually be good if I make this bag. We’ll see. I’m going to get a bigger hook and try again. Maybe.

Ann was crochet teacher EXTRAORDINAIRE and we all got a little bit of help from Laura’s crochet tutorial. Thanks Laura! All in all, I think it was a pretty good foray. Definitely room for practice.

I’m getting lots of practice on these:

A finished MONKEY SOCK! Surprise, surprise! This one is Dutch Canyon STR Lightweight. Casting on for the mate as we speak. Still loving this pattern.

Thanks for all the nice comments yesterday about the kids and the pictures. Those kids are a HUGE HUMONGOUS part of my life and it’s always fun to show them off. Alright – I have GOT to eat something. Too much crochet, not enough food.

THANKS ANNIE! FUCK THE YARN – YOU ARE MY LIFE GURU!!

Filed Under: Crochet, Monkey Socks, Socks

Childlike

May 14, 2007 By

Thank you thank you thank you! All your good vibes made my reunion a RESOUNDING SUCCESS! I had SUCH a GREAT time! Sure I was nervous walking in, but after like five seconds it was all good. It was a blast to see so many people and the years have treated us all well. Every single person told me I looked like I hadn’t changed AT ALL, which I took as a good thing. (The zit on my cheek probably helped that. 😉 ) I was talking to one friend and he told me that it felt like everyone was in a really great place – everyone seemed happy and happy to be there. No pretentions, no airs, no misery. I totally agreed with him! There was a fantastic vibe to the evening! I guess all the miserable people stayed home. The turnout seemed great. My outfit was comfortable (even the spanx!) and my hair behaved and I felt really really good. I was so pleasantly surprised, I can’t even tell you. I even got to talk about knitting! (Hi Diane! It was so great to see you!)

I ended up wearing a black pair of dress pants, a sleeveless black top, black backless sandals, and my shawl. It was perfect. This is how good the evening was: on my way home I stopped at McDonald’s and after I ate, I popped my zit. All in all, a really nice night – I’m sure I’ll be ready to do it again in 10 years!

The rest of the weekend was just as fantastic. My sister’s mil gave my sister her gently used bike for Mother’s Day and since the seat needs to be adjusted for my sister, I got to ride all weekend! Her mil put a seat on the back for the kids so I played pony for the weekend. What a blast! I had so much fun! My sister literally lives in Mayberry USA and every time we passed a neighbor they’d wave to me and the kid on the back of the bike. Then, to make things even more idyllic, the ice cream man came and we all got treats! Dude. I never ran into the house so fast for money! I’ve known this for a little while, but it all solidified this weekend. Being a kid as an adult is SO MUCH BETTER than being a kid as a kid. My sister and I decided that it’s because we know just how much fun being a kid really is and we can appreciate it so much better. I also understand, though, that being a kid is just as hard TO KIDS as being an adult can be to us. I’m so happy to be grown up!

For Mother’s Day, I did a photoshoot with the kids for my sister. I haven’t taken pictures of them in a long time – too busy being their aunt to worry about pictures – or even bring my equipment down. Besides, that’s work (as much as I love it) and I like to play when I’m with the kids. (See paragraph above.) Anyway, the shoot was great. My niece continues to be my BEST model – since she was four days old. I’ve got LOTS of pictures, so I hope you enjoy.

And even though it was an absolute MESS getting home last night (a train hit a deer on the Northeast Corridor line), there was my favorite boy and YARN waiting for me when I finally got home. Socks That Rock yarn at that!

Knitting tomorrow – hope you like the photographs! Thanks!

Filed Under: Life

So happy to be ME!

May 11, 2007 By

I know I said I was signing off for the weekend, but yesterday was so miserable I thought I’d share.

Last night I went to the mall in search of something to wear to my 20th Year High School Reunion having decided that everything I own doesn’t fit and makes me look fatter and lumpier than I really am. That was a mistake. Not thinking that my clothes look bad on me, but going to the mall. At one point I was wandering aimlessly around Macy’s trying to find something, ANYTHING, that would make me look not so lumpy and I caught sight of myself in one of the many fun house mirrors they’ve got hanging around the store: my shirt looked funny. I walked up to the mirror and took a good look at myself. After trying on the 100th unflattering outfit I could find, I had put my shirt back on BACKWARDS. I was so depressed that I stood there, in full view of men, women, and children, and turned my shirt around thereby letting everyone know that I can’t DRESS MYSELF. It’s a true story.

I even talked to my mother, complaining about how fat I’ve gotten, and NOT ONCE did she tell me how beautiful I was. Isn’t that a mother’s JOB?

And then, after buying a pair of jeans that tout “an instant tummy tuck” that I can’t wear to the reunion, I sat in my car, in our parking garage, and listened to The River ten times, singing along at the top of my lungs while crying my eyes out. Doesn’t get anymore high school than that.

The truth of the matter is that I’m very content with who am I and what my life is all about. I’d love my house to be cleaner, sure, and dropping fifteen pounds would certainly make things nicer, but overall I’m incredibly lucky AND I’ve worked very hard on myself and my relationships to get them where they are today. Generally I don’t stress that much about my appearance (that’s what happens when you spend most of your time in pajamas) but there’s nothing like the thought of being around people that last saw you when you looked something like this:

to spur you into self-pity. Granted, they never saw me in an army uniform and this picture was taken three years after I graduated from high school, but it’s the sexiest picture I have of me. Things don’t change that much from 17 to 20. 17 to 37? That’s a whole other story!

Now I’m certainly not complaining about how I look now. I’ve grown into my face and my body and I know how to play my strengths. And most importantly, my husband thinks I’m beautiful and tells me so all the time. But there are (at least) fifteen extra pounds there and I am twenty years older. I can still rock it right? This picture is from a year ago:

I still look like this. Maybe an extra five pounds but I wore this exact outfit to a Bar Mitzvah last month and I looked good. My sisters told me so. GOD BLESS SPANX!

Anyway. I found something to wear. (Note: not the outfit above. WAY too formal for this event. I’ll try to get my sister to take a picture of me before I leave for the reunion.) Clothes I already had in my closet that I feel good in. My husband told me I look hot. And I’ll have my favorite shawl around my shoulders. It never fails to make me feel elegant and beautiful. I decided on the outfit about ten minutes after getting home. Then I did what any self-respecting fat girl trying to get skinny would do: I made myself one of my favorite Lean Cuisines for dinner, curled up with Grey’s Anatomy (anyone else think McDreamy is being a TOTAL DICK!), and knit on a sock.

(My new pair of monkeys. Dutch Canyon STR Lightweight.)

I really am confident that tonight will be very weird, somewhat uncomfortable and ultimately fun! But just in case, I’m bringing along some knitting.

PS – Go congratulate my friend MJ! YAY! Mazel Tov!
PPS – Go help my friend Claudia!! I have. Now it’s your turn! Do the right thing and win prizes to boot!
PPPS – This post is my own little pity party. No need to tell me how gorgeous I really am.

Filed Under: Life, Monkey Socks

Knanette and Her Monkeys

May 10, 2007 By

I stayed up late and finished my first pair of Monkey Socks – and then I stayed up later watching Inside Job. Clive Owen and Denzel Washington. Nuff said.

First though, I want to talk about Knanette! Thank you for all your encouragement. Some initial work has been done and I can pretty much guarantee that this will not (at least not right away) turn into another miter madness. There are lots of kinks to be worked out, I think, and also, it’s going to take a lot more planning on my part.

I need to say right off the bat that I take no credit at all for the construction of the square I’m about to show you. I was merely the workhorse. The genius comes straight off the brain of Kay. If you’ll indulge me please, I’m going to take a minute to talk about Kay. She’s a great friend, a fantastic host and most of all, she has been the single most influential person in my knitting life (besides, of course, my grandmother, who actually taught me to knit.) She has opened up possibilities to me that I never ever dreamed about. She has awakened my inner artist. Thank you, Kay, for changing my life for the better. You truly are my Kaffe.

Okay. Back to Knanette. Fifteen minutes on the phone with Kayye and I’m ready to tackle my miter in the round. I don’t know much about crochet, but I understand that if you know what you’re doing, those baby squares in Babette can go super fast. Not so with knitting. It will take CONSIDERABLY longer to knit this blanket than it would, most likely, to learn how to crochet from scratch, fuck things up a bit, then finally be on your way cranking out squares.

That’s not an option for me. I don’t want to crochet this blanket. I want to knit it.

Kay and I decided (or really Kay decided) that by knitting the square from the outside in, it gives you the best way of knitting the blanket WITHOUT SEAMS. You knit a square, then pick up one side of that square and knit another one. And so on and so on. Kay also suggested the garter stitch border – which I happen to LOVE. I think it gives the square a decidedly granny FEEL while being VERY different from an actual crocheted granny square. This is how I knit the square above:

Cast on 96 stitches. Join in the round. (When you’re casting on, you might want to place a marker every 24 stitches – this demarcates the four corners of the miter.)

Round 1: [Knit 10, k2tog, k2tog, knit 10] Repeat 3 times.
Round 2: PURL all stitches (For garter stitch in the round.)
Round 3: [Knit 9, k2tog, k2tog, knit 9] Repeat 3 times.
Round 4: PURL all stitches
Round 5: [Knit 8, k2tog, k2tog, knit 8] Repeat 3 times.
Round 6: PURL all stitches
Round 7: [Knit 6, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, knit 6] Repeat 3 times
Round 8: KNIT all stitches (You’re now doing stockinette in the round.)
Round 9: [Knit 5, ssk, ssk, k2tog, knit 4] Repeat 3 times
Round 10: KNIT all stitches
Round 11: [Knit 3, ssk, k2tog, k2tog, knit 3] Repeat 3 times
Round 12: KNIT all stitches
Round 13: [Knit 2, ssk, ssk, k2tog, knit 1] Repeat 3 times
Round 14: KNIT all stitches
Round 15: [ssk, k2tog, k2tog] Repeat 3 times
Round 16: KNIT all stitches
Round 17: [s1, k2tog, psso] Repeat 3 times

You should have four stitches left. Cut your yarn and thread them threw the last four stitches pulling them together. Change yarns wherever you see fit. I knit my square using two circulars because that’s the way I do things, but this pattern lends itself nicely to dpns seeing as it’s all in fours and such.

I just love the little bud in the center from the four remaining stitches. I LOVE this square. LOVE it. Some things I discovered: I think you really need to start with a stitch count, that when divided by 4, gives you an even number. I was going to try for a slightly smaller square, starting with 84 stitches, but the breakdown is 21 and when you’re decreasing by 2 for the garter stitch rows, it’s not so neat. Also, you need to knit three garter stitch ridges to get the stitch count back to something divisible by 3 so you can start the stockinette section and be able to get three decreases.

The worst part of this is that you have to cast on a lot of stitches. If I want to make a really big miter – I might need to cast on 400+ stitches. BUT you start decreasing at a very fast speed – 12 stitches every round. So you pay the price up front, but soon get to a manageable place. Re changing colors – I thought you might get a bad jog because you’re knitting in the round – but the color change wasn’t really noticeable at all. Maybe because really you’re knitting flat? I don’t know, but weaving in the ends seems to cover all ills.

The square above measures 4″x4″ and I really wouldn’t go much smaller. I mean, I guess you could cast on 72 stitches, but it would pretty much be garter stitch. This is acceptable to me as my SMALLEST size. I tried a bunch of times to cast on the next square by picking up 24 stitches on one side then casting on the next 72 and theoretically it should all work. I kept messing it up though – didn’t like my initial cast on. Twisted it when I went to knit in the round. Cast on too few stitches. You know. Bonehead stuff. I think I’ve got the cast on I want to use (cable cast on) and if I can just keep the round straight this should work pretty good. My plan is that I’d take a section of the blanket and attach those together – then move onto another section. So when it comes time to finish the blanket – you seam sections as opposed to individual squares.

As I said – this will take a good long while. I really want to plan things out – make up some rules color wise (already working this out in my head! It becomes clearer by the moment!) and layout wise. If I were you, I’d probably just learn to crochet. But, I’m a glutton for punishment. Don’t expect much on this for awhile. I definitely LOVE my little square though!

Hey Hey it’s the MONKEYS!

Poor sad little monkeys! Look how wrinkled and scrunchy they look! Dance MONKEYS! DANCE!

I totally agree with the assessment I’ve seen around the blogs that these socks look better blocked – they do. But only for their photoshoot. Don’t let the scrunchiness fool you. They look JUST FINE on your feet – the best blockers of all.

A thoroughly enjoyable knit, these monkey socks. EXTREMELY enjoyable. This p
air took me a week. And I would’ve knit them faster no problem if I didn’t have other stuff to do. I used Socks That Rock Lightweight, in the Rare Gems colorway (which means that it was a “special” skein that didn’t go as originally planned and then was overdyed and sold as a rare gem – these are one offs. This skein is UNIQUE.) I used Addi Size 2s for the twisted ribbing and the first two repeats, then switched to 1s. I love the fit – nice and snug. The only modification I made to the pattern was to do my standard heel flap and toe. The rest of it is as written.

I’m fairly certain I’ll be making a bunch of these.

Okay, so I’m signing off for the weekend. My one friend from high school, the one I’m going to the reunion with, told me she bought a new dress. So I feel like I have to go shopping – especially since all the things I thought I might wear don’t fit. On a happier note, I’m getting a pedicure! Have a great weekend – reunion details next week – and more Monkeys I’m sure!

L, C

Filed Under: Knanette, Monkey Socks, Socks

Knit Knit Knanette!

May 9, 2007 By

Thanks for all your kind comments about my prom picture! My legs have never been a problem – I’m strictly a boob/belly girl. But I’m working on it! I’ve been dieting for the last few weeks (trying to eat healthier and not as much) and it seems to be working slowly but surely. I’m hoping to get back to the exercise soon and have it all start dropping off.

The zit doesn’t seem so big in the light of a new day and I’ve got some new makeup so I think it’ll all be alright. Thanks for all the great advice.

The second Monkey sock needs five more repeats before I start the toe. I MIGHT be able to finish them today. Depends on how much work I get done first. I’m thinking of casting on for the next sock NOW so that it’s all ready to be picked up when I’m done this one.

That’s all the real news – today I want to talk about possibilities and potential: I know what I want to do with all the leftovers.

I’m going to make Babette. Only I’m going to knit her so I’m calling her Knanette. Clearly I am NOT done with color. I happened to be in Purl the other day, visiting with Christine and I got to see first hand the Babette that’s captured everyone’s fancy. They also had back issues of the Interweave Crochet where the pattern first appeared. I bought one.

This is my plan: I’m going to make the blanket as written – the layout, the number of squares, the size of the squares, but I’m going to log cabin all of the pieces. ETA: I just spoke with my guru and we decided that log cabin is the wrong way to go – miters in the round is what I want for sure. The way the crochet works is that all the squares start the same. A few rounds in the middle and a few rounds on the outside – or something like that. I’m crochet challenged to say the least. (I start seeing all those CH4 and CH2 and my head starts to spin.) As the squares get bigger, you’re adding more and more rounds.

And that’s what I’m going to do. Make my nice little center log cabin patch and for the smallest square, I’m only going to go around once. And then I’m going to get bigger and bigger and bigger for the rest of the squares. I think this will translate VERY well to knitting.

Of course, I’m going to end up with something VASTLY different than the Babette. First off, there won’t be any holes. Second off, the color combinations will have the potential for a lot more variety (as I can make the different log cabin parts different colors if I want.) Thirdly, the blanket will be cotton, instead of Koigu, so there will be much less variation in the yarn itself. Actually, no variation. But that’s okay! What I love about this blanket is a) THE COLOR. b) COLOR c) LOTS OF COLOR and d) the varying sizes of the squares. So by having a “guide” for my own squares, I see it all working out. Of course, making a few squares will really tell me how it’s all going to be and then maybe I’ll find out it sucks.

Which brings me to the only downside I see right now: I’m finding that the more I think about it, the more I’m having trouble breathing. It’s like if I don’t cast on RIGHT NOW I’m going to die. Literally suffocate because I can’t catch my breath. Sometimes, whether I’m writing or taking photographs or knitting – whatever it is – the creativity overwhelms me and I literally can’t breathe. Do you know what I mean? Have you ever felt this way? I see this blanket at the ULTIMATE companion piece to the Madness and it’s making me crazy all over again. Today I might have to make a little square. Just a baby one. Just to see how many stitches I need and how it’s all going to work. Maybe just one. Only one.

I hope this feeling never ever ends.

Filed Under: Knanette

Time, Time, Time…

May 8, 2007 By

See what’s become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities

I picked the yarn for my next pair of monkey socks. Always good to think ahead.

The yarn is STR Dutch Canyon (Lightweight – I only knit socks with Lightweight so it’s safe to assume that any STR yarn I’m making a sock out of is Lightweight.) I tried to use this yarn once before – as a Pomotomus sock, but alas, I didn’t like it. I think it’s MUCH better suited to Monkey. I knew this yarn was destined to be a Cookie A pattern!

Speaking of Monkey socks, The RachFace seems to have a bit of knitocd going on herself: she’s got washclothes or bibs and monkey socks as far as I can tell, but who knows what other obsessions are going on over there. Although, as far as obsessions go, six pairs of monkey socks is kind of lame. I’m just saying cough10jaywalkerpairscough, you could be a bit more obsessed. But thank you for raising the bar for me. 😉 But mostly – thank you for your modifications! Check out all of rach’s Monkey Mods – some very cool socks.

In other news, I have a nice big red zit on my cheek. I’m prone to breakouts, but mostly on my chin and lately things haven’t been too bad. So to break out on my cheek – you know – right in the middle of my freaking face – isn’t the most attractive. I’m dealing with it as only a seventeen yr old can.

Did I mention that Friday is my high school reunion? Did I mention I’m GOING?

Yeah. That zit just got A WHOLE HELLUVA LOT BIGGER!

I’m sort of iffy on the whole reunion thing. I was talking to Ann today and I said that 99% of the people attending I haven’t spoken to in 20 years. She said, that’s the point of a reunion. Duh. The zit is eating my brain. But still – the reunion website lists all the people attending and I can’t help but click over there a half a dozen times a day and think – oh. I don’t want to see her again. And they all keep popping up in my dreams. I have to say though – I’m pretty damn happy with my life and where I’m at in it and who I have in it and it’s nice to go to a reunion and be confident. Although I do have a huge zit. Here’s what I looked like in high school:

No, I don’t have a skin condition – that’s scanner rot. And here’s a funny picture for the family Annie! My senior prom dress!

Even then I couldn’t keep the boobs up! And no, I didn’t go to my prom with Conan O’Brien. I have no idea what happened to my date – he joined the Air Force soon after high school. I hope he’s safe.

Now go pray for my zit to go away.

Filed Under: Life
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