pepperknit

I’ve got at least 3 babies to knit for in the coming months. My boss, who’s having her first kiddo, is beyond excited, and is due in April. I was thinking of making a baby blanket for this one.

I recently read The Golden Ratio, which is all about phi, or 1.61803399 . . . It’s a number very closely tied to the Fibonacci sequence (you know, 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 . . .) And in the book there’s an image of a Fibonacci rectangle—which could be used to make the Fibonacci spiral, which is also a golden section. (Confusing, I know, but look:)

Ignore the spiral drawn on there. Note that each section is a square (with sides equal to Fibonacci numbers). Now wouldn’t this be a cool baby blanket, done with each square in a different color? I could work out my gauge to match the numbers in inches. Say that I wanted the largest size to be 34 inches (lopping off that 55 square)–that puts the short side at a little less than 3 feet and the length at about 4.5 feet. Which seems like a nice size for a baby blanket, right? This means 9 colors.

The other option I’m toying with, though it’s a lot more geeky and not as immediately visually pleasing, is this math problem of taking a rectangle and filling it completely with squares. Like this:

It’s apparently a difficult little puzzle that mathematicians like to entertain themselves with, and being historically a geek myself, I do find it pretty neat. But at a glance there doesn’t seem to be a specific order to it.

I think I’ve made my decision, but I’d love any input. My leaning is toward the Fibonacci spiral version, for one important reason: If I build my way up, starting with the 1×1 squares and going up in a spiral, I can always cast on by picking up stitches along one edge, rather than sewing all the blocks together at the end.

Speaking of which, are there special tricks for doing that (picking up stitches along an edge) without creating a totally ugly back? It may be that I’ll have to sew things together anyway.

Two coworkers (maybe three, I’m not sure) got ipods for Christmas. The headphones are in their ears all the time. Heck, even my mother got an ipod for Christmas. It makes me think back to a year and a half ago, when I got my own ipod. Now I’m all jealous of the new, super-slim 30G (smaller than my 20!) with large color screen, etc., but my love for my ipod hasn’t wavered.

An about a year ago, after several prototypes went unused, I made and adopted my own cozy for the little guy.

The yarn is white—to match—and slightly sparkly—to make it superspecial. (It’s some cheap acrylic something bought at a Michael’s.) I love the no-cast-on bottom (made by using a provisional cast-on and then using the double knitting technique) and how self-contained it is (no button to sew on). Unlike Laura over at Affiknitty, who made a popcorn and loop closure, I did a popcorn and buttonhole closure. The body is in stockinette and the flap is in moss stitch, for some added fanciness :) There’s also a hole in the top of the flap for the headphone cord (which, on my 1.5-year-old ipod, is dead-center in the top). If I put my itrip on the top, the piece still closes up, because the yarn is stretchy. It’s versatile, indestructible, and I [heart] it!

I got a cold a week ago Tuesday, and I ended up with some major laryngitis. I started off 2006 sounding like a frog, and Monday I mostly communicated with air. I had to expell so much more air than usual to make even the slightest sound! It was exhausting.

Which is why it’s nice that you can just sit quietly when knitting. I made my dad a hat!

The color is definitely too washed out in this shot–it’s really much much darker. I know you can’t get a real sense of scale here, but it honestly looks really small. Still, I can put it on and it’s comfortably roomy, and dad told me that the last hat I made him eventually ended up feeling too big, so I wanted to err on the tight side. I’m going to surprise him with it; he made it pretty clear over Xmas that he’d like a new one, but I wouldn’t commit to a timeframe. I knit it completely in one afternoon, but as you can see I haven’t taken it off the needles, because I fear it’s not going to fit.

And since Dad’s coming to visit on Sunday (we’re going to a St. Joe’s basketball game, at the Palestra—his Xmas present from me), he’ll be able to try it on so I can know for sure whether it’s back to square one or if I can cut the yarn and sew it up. A soon-to-be FO, I hope!

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.

Scarf?

or belt?

I asked these questions of my boyfriend when I opened this gift from my aunt and uncle. He decided it was a belt. I decided to find out what J Crew thought. They simply say it’s a sash. Well that helps.

Whatever it is, it’s silky and soft and a beautiful color. I really love it. Wish I knew how to wear it! Do I even own something with which I could wear this as a belt?! Any suggestions?