pepperknit

I’ve been itching to post here lately, for no other reason than my return to blogging has made me want to do it even more, but I haven’t had much to chat about. I’m knitting only secret projects right now, so there’s nothing to show. I’m working on some non-knitting crafts, but they’re not photogenic yet.

But I have a confession to make. I got to see Pam again. And it turns out she has something of a secret. Because though she’s mentioned the band, I hadn’t realized she was a rockstar.

I missed Empty Orchestra’s show on Thursday, and I hadn’t paid much attention to where their show on Friday would be. Turns out Long Island City isn’t way the heck out on the island, like you might think; it’s just one subway stop out from Manhattan in Queens! When she let me know that we’d completely misinterpreted their location, well, I surprised myself by bundling up and heading right out. (Another secret: When I’ve got it in my head that I’m “in” for the night, it’s normally impossible to get me out of the house.)

Note Pam’s Ravelry T-shirt. You can’t escape the knitting.

Not only did I get to meet Stephen and the rest of the band, but I met some friends of their from Flint who live in New York, one of whom makes instruments (bass). (Yay for crafty folks of all kinds.) And I even ran into someone I recently met—he’d remembered the name Empty Orchestra, was coming by the bar anyway, so decided to check them out and see if I was in attendance.

I have to admit, I had some trepidation about going to a show by myself. But I had lots of time to hang out with Pam beforehand and afterward, and I met enough people that I could have a conversation with a few different people. And I could always hide behind the camera, if necessary. So the biggest secret of all? I had a total blast.

I’m not opening this post up to comments, because you must go over to Pam’s to lavish praise, awe, and enthusiasm on the amazing, amazing birthday present she made me, if you haven’t already. (I’m sure many of you already saw it there.) A whole blouse, perfect in every way. I want to wear it all the time.

Blogfriends are the BEST! Thank you so much, Pam.

Other bloggers occasionally check in on past knits to report on how they’ve held up with regular use. I figure, since I’m a total knitting slacker these days, it would be nice to start some kind of reminiscence series, in which I take a look back from time to time. First up, Pam!

No, not Pam. Pam!

I knit this cardigan in November 2005–I finished it right before I headed to Portland for Thanksgiving. That winter I wore it a lot, but I’ve worn it sporadically since then.

The yarn, Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton, has held up really well. There’s no pilling, no fraying, no nothing. The seams are taut and secure–perhaps more a testament to my own abilities than the yarn, but even with the weight of this cardigan (and it is pretty hefty) it’s not pulling badly.

I’ve since decided that it’s a bit too short–as you can see, it skims my belt and sometimes needs to be tugged to feel as if it’s operating correctly. But then, perhaps it would “operate” more correctly if I, uh, had actually finished the cardigan. As in, attached the buttons.

The day I finished this cardigan I was home, sick with a head cold. This was back in Philly, when I lived right at the end of Fabric Row, and I vividly remember that I dragged myself outside only once that day, to walk a block and a half to buy buttons. So I have buttons for this cardigan. They’re here somewhere. But I wasn’t entirely satisfied with them (they’re black) and, well, the cardigan didn’t really need them. I do pull it over in front and cross my arms to hold it down when it’s particularly chilly, as it was today (in the 60s all day, in August!?). I think perhaps a belt would have been a nicer feature than the buttonholes with no corresponding buttons.

All in all, still a successful knit. I might like it if the collar were a bit bigger, but when I said that to people at the office today, they said no no, it’s great as is. And then one said, “I think you should give it to me.”

The Top Five for 2005
1. New technique: Magic Join: The felted join that makes my days bright. And Magic Loop: the knitting-in-the-round technique that makes hats a breeze.

2. Favorite FO: Legwarmers: an impulsive knit that changed my life. And Pam: a semi-reluctant knit (it wasn’t a pattern I was in love with, but it looked fine) that I’ve incorporated into my wardrobe fully. Note that I still haven’t put on the buttons!

3. Favorite KAL: Well, I kind of have to say Cover Your Ankles, right? It’s the one I started! I also enjoyed the Union Square Market KAL, even though I still haven’t finished that sweater. I will, I swear.

4. Favorite LYS: I’m so excited to share this with everyone—on Saturday I went to Loop, at 19th and South, for the first time. It was heaven. Everything I would do if I were opening my own yarn shop. Clean, crisp, modern, chic, but comfy all at the same time. Super-friendly owner, delicious yarns, and a huge variety of product. I wish it were closer to where I live! I will definitely go out of my way to go there, however. It’s worth it.

5. Favorite tool: I suppose 40-inch circulars, for magic looping. But I also finally got one of those needle size doo-dads, so that I don’t have to peer at the cord of circulars to figure out the size anymore.

Six Goals for 2006
1. Knit for all the many babies that are being born to friends. So far, I have 3 things to knit before July.

2. Finish the Union Square Market Pullover.

3. Clean up and organize the stash.

4. Try some lace, for real. Maybe with that Wool in the Woods I got at Stitches.

5. Maybe actually finish a pair of socks? (I’ve so far done about 3 socks, none matching. I bore easily.)

6. I think this will be my only “real” (i.e., non-knitting) resolution for the year: Dress up more. I have loads of nice clothing, but always opt for jeans and simple shirts. Let’s start being more grown-up and professional.

Yesterday I wore Pam. Though I’ve worn it several times since finishing it, I knew my mom hadn’t seen it at all, so I decided I’d wear it on the day I headed to my parents’. It also coincided with the day I got my new driver’s license picture taken! So Pam is going to be part of my identity for the next four years.

Side note about the Pennsylvania DMV: So painless! Because I’d renewed online, I only had to pop in to get my photo taken and the new card printed. I opted not to change any of my information (though I’m taller than I was four years ago—seriously. more than one inch. yoga does a body good), so I was in and out in under five minutes. And the guy was super nice, offered to take as many shots of me as I wanted until I was satisfied. I took the second and final shot—why try over and over again? (But the first wasn’t any good.)

Anyway, we drove to MD. I walked in the door coatless, dragging some bags of presents, and about to go back out for more, and my mom says, “oh! I love that sweater! Is it J.Jill?” And I got to say, “No! I MADE it!” and then dashed outside again, leaving her to stand stunned. She exclaimed “you hate cables!” I have no idea where she got that idea—maybe just because I rarely knit them. Still, she was impressed, and thought it had been store bought, so that was nice.

Additionally, I was at the boy’s parents’ place, and his mom touched my arm and said, “I really like this sweater,” and I think she might have asked where I got it or something, but my brain always kind of shuts down when people compliment something I’ve made, and I spend the length of whatever their next sentence is thinking “don’t shout, don’t sound too gloating, don’t go nuts when you say ‘I made it!’” Does this happen to anyone else? Anyway, right after I took credit for my Pam, my cell phone rang and I had to dash out of the kitchen. (I like to leave my audience time for the info to sink in, I guess ;))

Still working on the sock, but I predict little to no progress today; I’ll be cooking all day. We have an annual Christmas Eve party with my oldest friend’s family. We’ve been doing this since she and I were 5 years old—not every year, but almost.

Still without buttons, because I’m sick of sewing things on. But lookit! Lookit!

It’s done! I did buy buttons (it’s the only time I left the house today, and it left me tired), but they’re just going to have to wait. Tomorrow. Or maybe later tonight, if I get the inspiration.

I’m really happy with this cardigan. It’s comfy, the cables give it a cool feel (like, the tactile feel—not that I’m suddenly some cool chick or anything). And it’s pretty warm, too—but still breathable. Exactly what I look for in a toss-on cardigan.

I’ll do a full wrap-up once I’ve got shots with the buttons. After all, it’s not entirely done. But all the ends are sewn in (amazing) and all the parts are attached (finally!). I think I’ll wear it over Thanksgiving, so hopefully I can get some shots of it in use—in another state and everything.

Looks kind of like an FO, at least this in this shot:

But in truth, it’s only half the cardigan. And none of the ends are sewn in; I’ve merely tucked them aside for the photos.

I’m getting there, though, and I’m home sick today so I hope to be able to get the rest sewn up and the collar added. The pattern calls for you to knit the collar separately and sew it on, but I really detest sewing and so I decided to use short rows instead of the stepped decreasing the collar called for. I’m still doing the collar one half at a time, as called for, but I have no problems sewing up knits next to knits for the 20 rows or so of the collar. Going along the edge of the work, however, to sew the collar on, would have been torture. And amazingly, I picked up the correct number of stitches on the first try. I’d done some counting and some vague visual mapping, but didn’t know it was going to work exactly until I got the stitches on the needles. I think the outside edge, which should have been the cast on edge if I’d done the piece separately, looks nice and neat as a cast-off edge.

Being home sick means that I have time to get to fabric row while stores are still open to buy buttons! This is an unexpected perk of being sick, I must say. I think I’ll bundle up and go out soon, before it’s supposed to rain. I seem to just have a cold–though Thursday I had all-body achiness, that’s subsided greatly. Now it’s mostly runny nose, stuffy head, etc. That I can handle—but I need to nip in the bud before my flight to Portland on Wednesday!

I could take a picture and post it, but what would you see? Two sleeves getting imperceptibly longer as the hours progress.

I’m knitting both sleeves of Pam at the same time so that I can be sure the two sleeves will be identical. It’s a common enough method, I know—my mom always did it this way, too—and it only slightly goes against my ‘one thing at a time’ mentality. But it means progress appears slow. I keep trying to remind myself that “hey! when you’re done, you’re done!” but that is little comfort when I’m now squeezing a million stitches onto these small circulars, and I think I’m still miles away from finished.

One thing that continues to fascinate me: The circumference of sleeves at their widest is about the same as the full width of the back! I think sleeve and I think little thing hanging off the side of the body. But what I forget is that sleeves are actually significant pieces of the work! They’re not like the two fronts of the cardigan, which each knit up in two nights. They’re like doing the back all over again, almost—and twice! No wonder it’s taking forever.

Plus I occasionally manage to get confused, and it’s because the rows are so damn long: Am I still really only on row 1 of this repeat? Or am I on row 3? Because it feels like it must be row 3, I’ve been at it for so long.

Progress Pam! You know, I really don’t much care for the name Pam. No offense to Pams out there, of course, but it’s just kind of blah to me.

Of course, the Pam sweater is not blah at all. It’s full of cables, moss stitch, and, uh, ribbing. And I’m more than 3/4 of the way done!

We have the full back, the right front, and 3/4 of the left front done. Just the sleeves and this baby is off the needles and on my back. I’m amazed that I continue to be interested in working on this sweater–it’s got to be the cables. Because every other row is interesting and requires some attention, but it’s never hard. Of course, I’m still forgetful and occasionally screw up the tops of those *&@! Vs, but I’m not bothered by taking it out and fixing it again and again and again. I even think that I’ll be excited to seam the whole thing together, because the knitting was so enjoyable. Whereas the USMP, which being plain stockinette got a wee bit boring after a while . . . sits . . . in my knitting pile. All knitted up but completely unsewn.

My friend Tamar and I took a journey west today after yoga–we went to Lancaster, PA, to see some Amish people and some pretty leaves.

I worked on Pam on the way out:

We mostly drove around, on some small roads through farmlands. Didn’t see any Amish people, unfortunately, just a bunch o’ Mennonites, and cows. Because the weather was so nice, everyone had their laundry hanging out on the line. This house had about twenty pairs of stockings all drying, but unfortunately they were in front of a dark tree and the photo didn’t capture them very well. Plus we were trying to take the picture surreptitiously from the slowly moving car. I did what I could, with this second shot:

The cows were great. I’m really impressed with this shot, as we were speeding along at about 40 to 50 mph at the time–I can’t believe I captured the cow so well. I was definitely trying to get it just right; I’m amazed I did.

No squashes or apples. In fact, neither of us bought anything the whole time. We just drove around, then took a short walk around “Downtown Lancaster” and then headed back. We’d intended to go to the Central Market, but it closes at 2 on Saturdays. We ate dinner in Philly, and I just got home. I’m exhausted! It was such a fun day out in the country. It’s nice to get out of the city from time to time. I also made some good progress on Pam, until I lost the light and had to stop.