Right as Rain

I'm a Weeble, People, a Weeble. You can knock me over, but you can't keep me down. This sick thing took its toll; bleary eyed and hacking away for over a week, nary a stitch was stitched. But now I'm back and ready to rock. Except for the hacking. And a wee dip in stamina. So where were we...

First of all, I missed my anniversary. My first year blog anniversary. Was it only last January that this adventure began? And less than a year earlier that I took up knitting as a Serious past time? There have been a lot of hits and misses since then, I have decidedly grown as a knitter during that time. So while I hold on to the new stuff just a little bit longer, lets take a brief walk down memory lane... (And, as always, you can click on any picture to view it in full size.)

January brought my first FO of 2007:

childHood by Natalie Wilson

Like most of my beginning projects, this one came from Knitty. And like many of my first offerings, this was made up in acrylic. Hard, icky acrylic. I made this up in both the hooded and hood less version (I much prefer the hooded one.) Given the right circumstances, a do-over may be in order. I still think it is rather a cute cardi and for the right little girl and the right yarn I'd give it another go.

February's cold was a natural inspiration for scarves and Scarf Style was the first pattern book I bought. Having it shipped to me in Israel made the anticipation that much greater.

Of course, Knitty was still a major force on my life and I was already a true Argosy addict. In February I completed my 4th. (I've picked up my snoozing 6th again, BTW, and I fully intend to knit a minimum pattern repeat per day so I can finish this up.) I also knit up my Funky Chunky Zigzag scarf (by Debbie Bliss,) Midwest Moonlight (by Ivy Bigelow) and started a few more.

Still in the scarf groove, March brought Lacy Ocean (much of which was done in Eilat, on a surprise mini-break UM & AB sponsored,) Elbac (by Laura,) and Backyard Leaves (by Annie Modesitt.)

I would venture to say that it was Backyard Leaves that turned me from a knitter to a Knitter. My first chart and first true lace pattern, where each row, RS and WS, was different. It inspired the book purchase as well as the first on-line yarn purchase. Yes, it was Knit Picks, in Andean Silk Lettuce colorway. And though more exotic yarns would come, this scarf is still a treasured favorite.

April was the month of the ughs. Endless hours were spent in pure joy working on Nora Gaughan's Capecho.

Imagine the bitter disappointment when I, like so many others, learned that VK's cover shots were a wee bit misleading. Although I toiled into the next month, I never finished it and am still sad every time I see the pictures or the miles of frogged yarn; a lovely, not inexpensive, dusty rose yarn from Gedifra (Airmix, a merino, cotton mix.) April also saw the failed Entrelac experiments. The technique I got down cold, but never completed a project using it. The desire is still there. Next try will be Eunny Jang's Entrelac Socks (IK Spring '07.) Shapely legs I've always had, but the calves run to the large size so I'll not be making the knee high version, nor will I be using the tassel!

May, the month of my birth, brought all the joy that is Arietta. Though she remains a UFO I love her no less.

Why, you may ask, if I love her so much does she remain unfinished. Two reasons. First, all that cotton was drying out my fingers and as the weather turned colder I needed some squishy wool goodness. Second, try as I might, I have yet to lose the girth that stands between me and my love. So, though this is not a forum for resolutions, (goal will be addressed in a couple of days,) I hope this year to lose the necessary bulkage to fit into my Arietta when the time comes. Other UFOs remaining from May are the Windchime scarves and some TBD skinny version of Clapotis, just to say I did.

June saw no photo shoots as my mind was mostly on the, finally public, impending departure from Israel.

Tomorrow should see us through the balance of the year, followed by goals for 2008, including a virtual UFO Hall of Shame to get me back on track with some forgotten friends.

Betwixt and Between

This is just a quicky while a take a deserved respite from my Pesach cleaning. This year I am being even more fastidious in my sorting and stacking so it can get pretty involved. And yet... there are things that call to me at the strangest of times and I must heed their beckoning. Like those Backyard Leaves which I hear rustling in the background saying "finish me, finish me". And so I admit, I did sneak in one 20 row repeat this morning. I can't help it. This pattern is like a great book. You get completely absorbed in it and way too quickly you find you are nearing the end. Wanting desperately to finish and yet for the experience to gone on a while longer. Seriously. I never would have thought this think would knit up quite so quickly! And while I haven't yet memorized the repeat (find me someone who has!) I am less glued to the chart with every passing row. Much of this has become intuitive knitting and though I have had my share of frogging and *TINK*ing (that's knitting backwards to the uninitiated,) I find the chart more of a reference point to make sure I am on track. I have to say it, I Love this pattern. Really. I could do it again. OK, I must finish this one first, but you get my meaning. I am now on the second piece and have completed 2 of 12 (I added one because I have the yarn) repeats.

Oh how I love this pattern, let me count the ways:

It's a challenge. No boredom to be found.
It's knit in two pieces which makes it easier to block on my makeshift blocking board.
Because it joins up in the middle, it is quite forgiving while you are working the whole thing out (not that I didn't restart several times to make sure there were no mistakes.)
The yarn I chose (Knit Picks Andean Silk in Lettuce) is so soft to work with and reassuringly warm.
I'm sure there's more but this posting is supposed to be about brevity, so with no more ado, here are some pics of pre and post blocking:

Oh, and let's not forget my reversible, cabled scarf Elbac, which I also brought to the knitting event and finished up just moments before I sank my needles into those Backyard Leaves.

Wishing everyone a Chag Kasher v'Sameach.

Good things come to those who wait

Despite my self imposed moratorium on new yarn, a sincere effort to finish all UFOs and to get back to sweaters; I am pleased to announce my KnitPicks Andean Silk yarn arrived today. At last! The yarn is 55% Superfine Alpaca, 23% Silk & 22% Merino, the color is lettuce and I can't wait to start working on Backyard Leaves! And don't let this luxurious sounding blend fool you into thinking I spent a fortune either.

While my yarn took a very, very slow boat to Israel (via La Jolla, CA - thanks Di!!!) I began to wonder whether it would ever arrive. You see after I ordered it the end of January, it decided to take a longer vacation in La Jolla than I anticipated. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I heard it was soaking up the Californian sunshine, even if I wasn't. This meant that it was not lost at sea... However a week ago I started worrying again, I mean the mail may be slow getting here but this was taking a wee bit too long. Then Friday morning I received an email from Di letting me know that it should be arriving any day (if it hadn't yet appeared.) So I went downstairs to see if my notice was there. No such luck, nor today when I went out for a meeting. And then, upon my return, after seeing my disappointingly empty mail box, I noticed that box next to mine had a delivery notice. Now I am not usually the nosy type, but I just HAD to look at the name, and yes IT WAS MINE!!!! So I waited 2 more hours for the post office to reopen, stood in line and was told about the million transparent people who were actually standing between me and the person I thought was in front of me (ok, there were only two but this crazy place holding here is beyond ridiculous. "I'm after you," they say as they disappear into the sunset or grocery store and finish their errands while you stand like a good girl - ooh am I sounding bitter or just fed up...) and finally the package was in my hand. And it was all worth it!

Let this be a portent of things to come!

In the meantime I finished my scarf based on the Laura Zukaite's lacy sweater Vogue Knits Winter 06/07. Here it is drying. I used Lanas Stop:Yes in colorway 205.

And here is a closeup of the lace work.
Now I have about 20 cm more of my Elbac scarf from Knitty (I am making version 1) plus the ending which is about 10 cm. Should be done tomorrow or the next day.

Then I am on to frogging my Banff sleeves so I can redo them using 2 balls of the Himalaya self striping yarn at the same time to give a more random look. And of course I will break my vow and finally start on Backyard Leaves.

Oh the thrill of it!

And a fun time was had by all...

One of things I love about this country is our exuberance. We get so excited about things. Like today, for instance. Whilst in line at the bank (it's always at the bank, isn't it) I witnessed a gentleman at the counter as he worked himself into a true tizzy, demanding to see the bank manager because the teller wouldn't let him pay his bill. No, he didn't have the bill with him, why should he. The teller should have that info in the computer! Well, it turns out that our gentleman thought he was at Orange, not Bank Mizrachi. Shame on the bank for changing their color scheme, you see how much damage that can do!

But I digress, the fun time I referred to in the tital was not at the bank, though it was amusing. The fun time was at Rebekka's house Thursday night where she hosted an evening with Laurie Kimmelsstiel and a group of 15+ knitters learned to make ruffles and sample luxurious yarns, many of them hand painted, silk or silk blends from Artyarns. Just getting an opportunity to actually see the yarns and work with them before deciding to invest was a great plus for me. And Laurie was so enthusiastic about sharing info that she stuck around way past 10 to give us more design ideas and patterns. The best part, though, was meeting so many fellow knitters, many of whom I knew only from their emails and the Avodat Yad group. In many ways it was like meeting old friends. We all got along and just chatted away, I don't think anyone walking in would have known many of us had never met. And my 11:30pm ride to Binyanei HaUman with Ayelet and Orli not only enabled my splurge buy (no taxi needed!): a skein of Artyarns Silk Rhapsody in a green colorway I had been eyeing all evening, but also to engage in a pastime favorite, Jewish Geography.

Those of you who come from the East Coast seem to play on a daily basis but for those of us from California it is a rare treat. Turns out Orli's husband is not only from San Francisco but also went to Lowell High School (a few years after me, but still I call that a score.) I'd also like to give a special call out to Yael B, who not only organized the event but has been an amazing source and inspiration. And she is just as cool as I thought she'd be. Glad to finally meet you!

I have some project updates and a couple of new projects on the needles.

Banff sweater, two sleeves done. Now to work on the body. I knew the stripes in the sleeves would be much thicker than those in the body (I am using Teddy's Himalaya self striping yarn) but I was hoping to use two balls of yarn to compensate. Problem is the color changes are less than two rows so that doesn't work. I have before me two choices, I can just accept that the stripes in the sleeves and body will be of different thicknesses and not care, or take apart the sleeves and use two balls starting in different places giving thinner more random stripes. Opinions?

Prima Ballerina: Pink Eyelet Wrap Around Cardigan for T: I think I have done more frogging on this than anything I remember. I seem to get through lace projects but am having a heck of a time with these simple eyelets. I only have half a sleeve to show for my troubles but I am making it in a size 6 and T is only 41/2 so I am just trying to remain patient.


A Foreign Affair - still on hold. I am hoping to find something with the right drape when the spring selection of yarns come out.

Cable Vests small one frogged and re knit to set the end of the cable in a more appropriate place. still need to redo neck and arm bands. Large one frogged. I am hoping with added length they will make it through til next winter as I doubt they'd get much use of them now. Will have to get M to measure the boys before I start dealing with seam and bands.

Funky Chunky Zigzag scarf: on hold. I've used 4 balls of the Himalaya in the pink colorways and need one more. I am STILL waiting for the yarn to come back in stock. Pashosh had been out of for a couple of weeks although Aviva assures me it is coming in any day. In fact it may have arrived but the store was mysteriously closed on Tuesday...

New Project! Elbac was a late addition to Knitty: Winter 2006. I am using Gedifra'sCashmerino; a cashmere (10%), merino (55%) and acrylic (35%) blend on 5.5 mm needles. Not as luxurious as that 100% cashmere we drooled over Thursday night but very soft indeed. What's great about this scarf? It's completely ribbed and thus reversible! I just passed the half way point.


New Project! I don't know what to call this new scarf, but I am using the chart from VK's Lace Pullover in the recent Winter 2006 issue and once again the Lanas Stop: Yes Please, this time with color 205 in different shades of blue. After blocking I think the lace work will really show.


Of course I have a few more planned projects and a couple that are so barely started that I am holding off until I share.

Remember, you can click on any image to see it enlarged and all free patterns are linked back to the original site. So until next time...