Mo Rocca and Itchy Sweaters

Every Sunday morning, I like to sit with some coffee and knitting and listen to one of my favorite radio programs from NPR, Wait Wait....Don't Tell Me The past week featured comedian Mo Rocca stating that he never wore handmade sweaters because "they are always itchy". As a knitter, I was defensive, but this week's program is currently an apologetic Mo Rocca reading a prepared statement after being bombarded by knitters up in arms, and I nearly shot coffee out of my nose from laughter. I think that it is a testament to how we take things too seriously sometimes, but it is nice to know that many knitters have decided to convince Mo wrong, and are making him some lovely hand-knit sweaters. At least we know that the knitting community welds some power in the world of mass communication.




So I feel this this photo of my stash is a fitting commentary on where my life is right now. If you compare it with my past one, you can see that things are a bit more organized and co-ordinated, but still with a little chaos, which I need my life. On the bottom shelf, I keep most of my FOs that have yet to find a home, and the top shelf contains most of my craftyness tools. WIPs are scattered around the apartment, some on my nightstand so I can finish a few scarf rows before bed, or the pair of socks next to the TV, so I have something to do when I watch bad television. Everything is a little bit scattered, but I like it like that. Organized chaos and all...



My favorite project at the moment is a pair of socks that I am making for my friend Heidi from some lovely hand-dyed Footscray from Ingrid over at Yarn Workshop. A few of us gathered around her yarn-dying kettle a few weeks ago, and these beautiful yarns came out of that. It was my first time hand-dying anything more than a tie-dye t-shirt, and I must say that I am hooked. Since then, I've been perusing the asiles at Jusco and Japan Home Center, musing over the rows of stainless steel cookware, mentally justifying the money it would cost to buy myself a shiny kettle of my own. I keep telling myself that as soon as I finish my TEFL, I can reward myself with the kettle and some dye and then just go to town. The thought of all the colors that could come out of my kitchen makes the 4 hours of coursework on verbs and conjugation a little less daunting, but still tedious none-the-less.

Sweater Frustrations!

So the baby sweater was going good...until I reached the part where you do the neckline shaping, and then it all just went wrong! The body of the sweater didn't seem like it was going to be wide enough for any baby that I've seen and the sleeves seemed to be a mile long. I stuck with it for a little while, and then just got so frustrated with the damn thing, I frogged it all! Now the yarn and needles are sitting in a corner, thinking about what they did. I think that I also might need to find a different pattern, or go out there and get a pattern book.

For right now, I've moved on to the unshaped shrug project for a little. I found this great bulky yarn in these beautiful variations of red. Its a little bulky, and I'm using the measurements for the largest one, but I think that its going to be lovely and less frustrating. When I saw and felt this yarn, I knew that it had to be made into something soft that you feel luxurious wearing. Here's to times of less frustrating knitting!

Madil-Sophy Yarn Project

I've recently gotten inspired to step outside of the scarf and hat box and attempt my first sweater.....baby sweater that is. Within the past 4 years, two of my older siblings have gotten married, and I know that babies cannot be far off. I've decided to get a little ahead of the game for when it actually starts happening...

The yarn I picked for this project is Sophy by Madil. Made in Italy, this 66% fine Merino, 34% acrylic yarn is a dream. It looks like a basic white crinkled, but the suprise is the little swaths of bright colors that appear at random. Now I am a sucker for anything veregrated, but this is a treasure. I think that it could be made into anything, its just that lovely and versitile. The colors might look a little dull in these pictures, but that is due to the dimness of the lights in my apartment. They really do pop!

The first part of this project/set is a little newborn baby blanket, that I finished last night. I used the standard "Feathers and Fan" pattern that can be found almost anywhere. I found mine on KnitPicks, in the free pattern section. (http://www.knitpicks.com/ ) I've used this pattern for several projects already, and it works out so nicely. Its one of those patterns that everyone thinks is harder than it looks, but just one row is worked in pattern. The finished blanket measures about 14 inches wide and about 3 feet long. I think that it can qualify as something unisex in todays world. This is a photo of what it looks like on my off-white couch. I think that next time I use this pattern to make a blanket, I'll do it a little wider, maybe 20 inches.

The next part of this project is one of the 5-hour patterns that are floating out around there. I found mine by browsing through Bev's Country Cottage and her list of free patterns. Its a very simple, hooded sweater in seed stitch. Not only will it be my first sweater, but also my first time attempting a hood. I started it this afternoon, and I have about 4 inches of seed stitch done. You can see the pattern here- http://www.knitlist.com/2002/FransHood.htm The next part of the project is going to be some booties, but I haven't found a pattern that I love yet. I'd be grateful for any suggestions!