Armpit Knitting

Seriously though, cool tutorial.  I believe this way of knitting was used a lot in Victorian times, but they used a belt to hold one of the needles.

How much is that yarn skein in the window??

Ever wonder how much money you spend on your hobbies? Just out of curiosity I did a little investigating. I downloaded data from my checking account for the year and sorted through and kept only known yarn shops, paypal (because that's pretty much all I purchase via that method) and chain craft stores. I came up with $2,238. This does not include my $230 membership in Socks that Rock and the $550 I spend on a spinning wheel. Wow!

Now, this is not an exact number - I can't track cash purchases, sometimes a coworker and I go in on Knit Picks orders together (however, she ordered sometimes, so I guess its a wash because I paid her cash for her orders, so I'm including our combined numbers from the orders I placed in my total here) and some of these are patterns or other items. But I think this is a fairly accurate number.

I was trying to come up with a budget for 2012 - mainly to force myself to knit from my stash and stop collecting. I was thinking $100 per month. Then I was really wondering how much I actually spent in 2011. So let's say $2,500 with the club membership - and now I want to decrease that number. So I will continue with the $100 per month, plus a bonus of $50 - that's exactly half of what I spent in 2011.

So there you have it folks, as part of my Surmount the Stash exercises I will be held accountable to maintaining this budget for 2012. I have some rules and exceptions here:

1) Amounts can be borrowed from a coming month. For example, if I want to sign up for a club membership and that total is $250 ... then I borrow from the next two months to get that amount. Jan + Feb + 1/2 March = $250.

2) Gift cards and presents do not count towards my budget.

3) Unused amounts roll over til the end of the year.

4) What is considered and accountable expense? Yarn, knitting notions (needles, darning needles, stitch markers, wool wash, blocking accessories, knitting bags), patterns, roving, spindles, knitting or spinning books, knitting or spinning magazines, class and workshop fees.

I think I've covered anything. Do you see any loopholes I can come up with in this plan?

A Perfect Evening

A Neil Gaiman book on audio, narrated by Neil Gaiman (M is for Magic).

A cool pattern (Summer Wind).

A super squishy yarn (Malabrigo Sock).

An awesome set of needles (ChiaoGoo Circulars).

A Cuppa Mint Tea .....


A perfect evening.

Startitis

Startitis - A knitter's insatiable urge to start a new project.

I've had it bad lately. Especially since I've been cleaning up my queue and moving things to my favorites list, using only my queue for things I know I will knit in the very near future.

I went to to my local Social Security office the other day to change my name to my married name. I had to wait over half an hour in line ... I could have been knitting, did I bring anything ... no.

So I thought I would start some plain vanilla socks for just this occasion (because I have to go to other places to change my name, like the Registry of Motor Vehicles).

So I took this yarn I got recently and split it into two balls to knit two socks at the same time on separate needles.


I start by winding the ball.


Then I use the scale to determine when I'm at the half way point.


Then I split it.


Only to find out the needles I need are already occupied by another pair of socks ...

Oh Startitis how you plague me so!!!

Myself and I

I decided it would be a good idea to start the conquest for World Domination of WIPs. So I told myself (hereinafter referred to as Self) to start with the Bat Shawl tonight and get going on that. So Self said, "Hey I, that's a good idea."

Self went to the WIP bin to get the Bat Shawl out and upon seeing only end caps and no needle tips attached realized that I decided to start a new project a few weeks ago and took the needle tips.

So I had to go and finish the row that the Niantic Rose shawl was using the needle tips on and then ashamedly passed them on to Self. Self used them to complete another row on the Bat Shawl edging. Self is nice and left a note where she left off on the pattern, so it was easy to start again.

I is typically not nice, spends too much money on yarn she doesn't have enough hours in the day to knit and loves to start new projects, even though Self is drowning in WIPs.

I is also the one who stays up too late and sometimes drinks too much beer, leaving poor Self to have to get up with a headache and go to work the next morning.

Its a constant battle ...

Training Example: Knitting

I've been attending supervisor training by an outside company for my job and the exercise today was to bring something from home or work that you could train someone to do in 10 minutes ... well we all can guess what I brought.

I knit up a few rows of garter stitch with worsted weight on size 8 needles to prepare. My topic was the knit stitch.

I was paired up with a coworker, each person brought a topic and we were paired up and taught each other the specific task that was our topic. We were provided with instruction on writing an objective and task instructions. Later in the day was hands on. We had too much fun with the knitting!

I instructed my partner, then the instructor of our training pulled me aside and said what do you think about me asking Tim if he thinks he knows enough to teach Bob? I said go for it. It was too funny.

Do you remember first learning and holding the needles in a death grip? Putting the needle in the wrong direction, dropping stitches, wrapping the yarn in the wrong direction, etc.? All this happened.

I'm known for being very blunt, sarcastic, having excellent mnemonic ablitilies, wanting things done quickly, being very matter of fact and not touchy feely and I think the instructor had an idea that I was like that when I trained people. I was complimented by the instructor of my knowledge and patience and instruction in knitting. It was such a fun exercise.

Pictures of course were taken on phones, but I didn't get any of them yet, if I do I'll post them ... blurring the victims faces of course!

Knitter's Denial

I give you this short story so that you can learn to recognize your own Knitter's Denial. Its real, its out there, its a fact of life!

I hurriedly finished up my toe up socks to get them off the needles so that I could start the Tardis socks mentioned in my last post. I cast on the Tardis socks shortly after midnight (problem no. 1 judgement is severely impaired at this hour). The pattern calls for 72 stitches, I usually use 64. I look at the colorwork band and it does indeed need the 72 stitches to be completed, so no altering that. Then I thought I could decrease after the colorwork band so that I am down to my usualy 64 stitches. I'll make the socks a little longer so that where they are 72 stitches is higher up on my leg so they'll fit. But there's a pattern stitch and I'm not sure that would work out and not interfere with the pattern.

Then I measured the gauge on other socks in this yarn on size US1 2.25mm needles and got 9-9.25 stitches per inch. Well that'll work I tell myself. That comes out to 8 inches circumference. That's about what my foot and ankle are. While this is going on I am completely ignoring the fact that it is advisable to subtract 10% from a sock so that they have negative ease and fit properly (problem no. 2 utter and total denial). For some unearthly reason I think, or tell myself, that socks knit on size US1 with 72 stitches are going to fit just like socks knit on US 1 with 64 stitches .... why would this work in any way, shape or form?!?!?

Not once do I think that I should change needles sizes, (problem no. 3 disbelief in the existence or reality of a thing) althought it may be due to the fact that I'm pretty sure I don't have anything smaller than a US 1 in my collection. So this justifies the fact that I am going to add 8 stitches to a sock and not change anything else and somehow they are going to fit me ...

I cast on said socks. I knit 2 rounds. Looking at what was there and telling myself, see its not that big, they'll fit ... then I went to bed.

Luckily sanity returned with daylight. I got up and had some coffee. Went online to see if Knit Picks carries size US 0 and found that they do and thought, perhaps you should order some. Of course I don't want to wait until they arrive to start these socks. I then went in my stash - I was pretty sure I needed US 0 DPNs before for a project, but wasn't sure if they were good needles or not (like did I want to knit an entire pair of socks with them or are they icky needles that I just got for a tiny Christmas ornament once). They are Clover Bamboo 5" DPNs and seem to be in good condition, so I'm gonna go with them. I think I'll order US 0 circulars for future use though because I typically prefer Magic Loop.

I can assume that I'll get at least 10 stitches to an inch on 2.0mm from the 9 I get on 2.25mm. Usually I get 7.5 or so on 2.75. That brings me awfully close to the size I get with 64 stitches.

Why, oh why do I continue to deny? I admit that I do have Knitter's Denial, but am able to recognize it before a project gets too far. Usually sleeping on it helps.

Do you suffer from Knitter's Denial?

Knitting Monogamy

So I found this pattern for Tardis socks a while ago. I wanted to make them. The yarn in an acceptable color (meaning, not the exact color I want, but close enough to work) arrived from my order and I was rearing to cast on. Oh, what's that ... you don't have size 1 needles free?!?! Well how many do you have? 3 sets?? And none are free?!?!

I have 3 sets of circulars, because I prefer magic loop for socks. That's not to say that I don't have a few sets of DPNs kicking around. I do. But my 3 sets of circs are on projects at the moment. Oh this is why I keep leaning towards a life of monogamy and stop being the loose, sleazy, yarn w&^%$ that I am.

I don't even have needles to cast on this project and its not like I only own 1 set, I have three and still don't have any free to start this project!

What does this say about my knitting morality?!?!

Let's see how much of a s&^% I really am ....

What's on the needles right now?!?
2 pairs of socks
3 scarves
1 sweater
4 shawls (yes four)


10 ... I have 10 unfinished projects right now and I'm thinking of casting on another?

Are you a monogamous knitter or a polygamist knitter?

And what about yarn hoarding? I have enough yarn for 11 lace weight shawls ... yeah this one goes to eleven.

How about sweaters ... 9 ... nine sweaters.

Socks ... oh we don't go there. We stopped counting when we got over 100.

I have 9 skeins of sock yarn that I dyed that I haven't knit anything out of ... yeah 9.

I'm cut off. There's been an intervention. There will be no more yarn buying until October. I am putting it out there so that its in writing and there are witnesses!!

How's your stash?

How to Knit a Shawl in 10 Steps

Step 1. Pick out yummy, super cool yarn from stash.

Step 2. Spend approximately 2 hours debating over patterns. Check out many of the projects on Ravelry to determine if the pattern is going to look good with the yarn you picked. Note: Make sure you don't start this process until very late in the evening.

Step 3: Finally decide on two patterns, go back and forth between the two several times.

Step 4: Purchase pattern. Download pattern. Transfer to flash drive because you're printer is out of ink and you have to use the other one in the house. Print pattern.

Step 5: Find a non-wobbling bar stool to set up yarn swift on, luckily this takes 2 seconds as opposed to the 2 hours it took to choose a pattern. Using a wobbling one is a lot like using a grocery store carriage with a wobbling wheel ... its annoying at best.

Step 6: Find needles. First find empty package of the correct size and curse ... really you don't even know where they are. Check interchangeable set for this size, almost certain that this one doesn't ring a bell. Squee with delight when you find that you did indeed purchase tips in this size.

Step 7: Wind yarn. Photograph yarn for blog prior to casting on.


Step 8: Look at the clock and ask yourself if you really even want to knit this stupid shawl now that its almost midnight. Note: The shawl is not stupid, you are.

Step 9: Cast on shawl.

Step 10: Admire the first pattern repeat. Ohhh pretty!

Weekend Update 12-31-11

Biggest mistake? What are you happy to be finished with?


I ordered a mini spindle. For some inane reason, even though I knew what I ordered and the dimensions were explicitly divulged, I still was surprised at how small it was. Nothing is wrong here, it is beautiful and what it was supposed to be. I was just so surprised at how small it was!

Here is the box it came in with my phone for reference.


It is a beautiful spindle.




I finished spinning the roving I was spinning on my wheel. I started plying it. Its going quite well. I am pretty sure I am over-plying, but I like the look and think after winding the hank and washing it will come out OK. We will see. This is the first complete roving I have spun on a wheel, so if its not balanced, I would not be surprised and lessons will be learned.



Why I never get to bed on time ...


yeah that's my side of the bed at 11pm.