pepperknit

But, it just occurred to me to ask: What are the cool yarn stores in NYC? I’m heading up this afternoon to visit with a friend prior to bridal shower festivities Saturday night. My friend, who I haven’t seen in months, and I will be hanging out all day Saturday, and I thought if there were a yarn store in Manhattan that was highly recommended, I could steer us in that direction. She’s not a knitter, though I’ve taught her and she is always saying she needs a refresher. I’ve read so many great NYC blogs that talk about LYSs but the store names never imprinted on me! Purl? Any comments between now and tomorrow morning will be much appreciated!

I mentioned in my last post that my boyfriend and I drove down to Maryland for a brief visit this weekend. Ostensibly we were going to the retirement party of our old high school track coach, but we managed to squeeze in a baby shower for a friend and some quality time with each of our families. (Yes, the boy and I went to high school together, though we were not technically a couple in high school; this is our 10th year together.)

The highlights of the weekend were definitely contained at the party for Coach, who is the bestest guy ever. Not a lot of former students had heard about the event, so I’m especially glad we were able to go. Every year the boy and I head over to Penn Relays, so we see Coach and all the assistant coaches, but that’s just once a year. They got the whole group of former students together for a photo–I’m in the green toward the left, and lucky me, I got to be next to Coach, who held my hand for the shot. Awww.

(In case it’s not obvious, he is not the cute white girl to my right–that’s my boyfriend’s sister, standing in front of her brother. Coach’s the cute black guy to my left.)

But back to knitting content, which is why we’re really here–it’s the not so pretty part of the weekend.

Deep breath, Minty.

I gave my mom her Sunrise Circle Jacket. It’s her Mother’s Day present. She was thrilled.

But it is too small. By the tiniest of bits! But still, too small.

Whimper.

Of course I’ll redo it–when have I ever balked at redoing something? But it sure is a bummer. I only have to go one size up, just to give her a little more room in the arms and to overlap the piece a bit more. It’s the unseaming that’s going to be the most difficult. The actual knitting was a cinch. Still, she seemed to like it a lot–loved the color–and she showed me how she dog-eared the pattern in the Interweave magazine, as something to make for herself! Do I know my mom’s taste or what?

In other news, the drive home from Maryland took more than 3 hours. This is a 2 hour drive, door to door. Traffic was horrible. I had had an allergy attack in the morning, and took some drugs, so I was tingly and sleepy, and managed to sleep through the first 2 hours or so. We stopped for gas at the Delaware rest stop, and discovered this:

Is it clear from the shot? There were looong lines for gas. Only 1/4 of the pumps were operating. The other gas station at the rest stop? Completely closed: no gas. We waited in line for more than 20 minutes. I became alarmed. People tell me how in the 70s there was a shortage. Are we looking at the same thing? Will food be delivered to grocery stores? Thankfully, I do not own a car. I’m sorry for those of you who do. I’ve asked around and have been told that gas stations were switching over to the “summer blend” and perhaps the changeover was responsible for the closures (dad reported a closed gas station in Columbia, too). It’s suspicious, whatever it is.

In order to calm my nerves, I pulled out Pomatomus #2. I finished the first sock in the early afternoon, while knitting with mom. So I started the second one in the car. Here’s the sock with Eagles stadium in the background (the Linc).

After finishing Kiri, I had a little PPD: post-project depression. I didn’t want to knit anything else. But, of course, I had a baby to knit for–our friend BK’s baby shower was Saturday, so I whipped up (if by “whipped up” I mean took an inordinately long time, compared with my speed on other projects) a Nautie for the upcoming baby girl.

BK and his wife live in Virginia, and the boy and I were already planning a brief trip to Columbia, so we went to the baby shower first. It was pouring rain the whole way down, but I happily finished up Nautie’s face in the car. I also went a little crazy with the photos. I got a bit bored being in the car for so long . . . [new glasses!]

Pattern: Nautie, from Knitty
Yarn: Knit Picks’ Crayon in Project Spectrum yellow and orange
Needles: Addi Turbo circs size 5
Started: Sunday, April 15
Finished: Saturday, April 22 (in the car, just about an hour before arriving at the party)
Recipient: Baby girl of high school friend BK, due May 20
Notes: I flubbed the pattern at first–it’s a 4-row pattern, but in my brain I made it 5, so the distance between increases on the inside of the shell are longer than they’re supposed to be. This made Nautie bigger, but that’s fine with me. He tucked into my lap/arm very nicely for the drive after he was finished. I only did 7 hanging beardlike things, because I got sick of making them (the pattern suggests 8). Oh, and I didn’t have black felt so I just embroidered on eyes using black yarn. I found the knitalong just a few days ago, but I was almost done and it seemed not worth it to join.

I find this the most delightfully creepy gift for a baby. I thing it’s impossibly cute, but in all honesty, it’s a little scary. I picked orange and yellow because I am vehemently opposed to giving girls pink things just because they’re girls, and I much prefer gender-neutral colors. The dad-to-be (a perpetually good-natured guy) good-naturedly laughed at it, the mom-to-be (who I don’t know very well) made one of those faces that are like “uh, ok, not sure what I think of that,” and that’s ok with me. The best part about it? After BK held it up for all to see, he set Nautie down on the arm of his wife’s chair, and there Nautie sat for the rest of the present-opening. So about half of their “here’s what we got!” photos have Nautie sitting in the center. Hee!

And I’m in love. It’s exactly what I wanted.

Pattern: Kiri, from All Tangled Up
Needles: Addi Turbo size 5, 8, and 10
Execution: 14 main pattern repeats; I counted the first leaves too, so I had 15 leaves down the center line and I called it “15 repeats” while I was working on it.
Yarn: Knit Picks’ Alpaca Cloud in peppermint, single strand throughout
Skeins: 1.5. I had to take out the previous, failed Kiri to have enough yarn, and that one used about 3/4 of a skein.
Preblocking size: 19″ from center top to point
Postblocking size: 27″ from center top to point
Started: Saturday, April 8 (I’m not counting the first one)
Finished: Friday, April 14

Notes:
Needles: I used 5s because I don’t have size 6 Addis, and after the first Kiri I made on my ill-purchased Crystal Palace bamboo circs, I knew I needed the smooth join and fast needles of Addis. People warned me that Addis are not sharp enough, but sharpness was a complete nonissue–I had no trouble getting the needle into the stitches. They were soo fast, too, they were worth it. Slipperiness was also not an problem.

Cast off: The first Kiri suffered a far-too-tight cast off, despite using a size 10 needle. To do it this time, I purled the last row (row 12 of the edging) using a size 8 needle, and then I cast off using the 10. I also cast off in what can only be described as full-on sloppy. Not just loose: I was sloppy. It took so much concentration to keep it sloppy, and I was a big ball of tension the entire time. And how long did it take me to cast off? Just to cast off?? It took me at least 50 minutes. When I hit halfway, I joked that it was going to take me an hour, but I wasn’t entirely sure what time I’d started. So I timed how long it took to cast off the second half of the shawl, and it took 25 minutes. Assuming I did perfectly even splits, it took me 50, but it was a while before I got into a good groove for my sloppy cast off, and so I might say that the whole row did take about an hour. Egads. It was exhausting. But! I have pretty scallops, so it’s all worth it. My recommendation for anyone seeking to do this shawl and get the scallops is to do it super slowly, super sloppy, and on gigantic needles. It’s the only way. Reading other peoples’ accounts shows that there are many straight-edged Kiris out there, much to the chagrin of their creators.

Blocking: I read through the directions and realized that they’re written wrong: It says to pin out the sk2p (slip one, k2tog, pass slipped stitch over) stitches out to make the scallops. That would look like this, which I only did in order to take the photo in order to tell you all about this error:

Everyone, and I mean everyone (every finished photo I can find does it this way, except maybe one in the yahoo knitalong (sorry, must be a member to see anything)), pins out the yo, k1, yo combo instead, like this:

It’s obvious why no one does it the way the pattern says (not even the pattern writer! look at the pictures in the pattern!). It’s because the piece naturally falls into scallops the other way, and the effect is a whole lot prettier. The other key reason is this:

The very bottom of the shawl comes naturally to a point. Why screw with that and create two points on either side of the center? It seems unnatural, and it’s not the way anyone chooses to execute the pattern. So if you’re reading the pattern and can’t make sense of the blocking directions, well, that’s probably a big reason why.All in all, it was a pleasure to make this. Probably because I’d never done lace before and it is so fun, and because the yarn is so delightful. For the photo shoot, I’m wearing the bridesmaid dress I picked out (that needs a wee bit of alteration, to make the straps a bit shorter). You can’t see it in the photos, but the lining of the dress is baby pink—a perfect match to the “peppermint” colorway. I made this shawl to go with the dress and for the event, which will be Memorial Day weekend in the mountains of Virginia, which I assume get chilly in the evening (outdoor wedding). Of course, today it’s 80 degrees out and I was boiling with the shawl wrapped around! Alpaca is so nice and warm, despite the openness of the pattern.

I also got my hair chopped off on Thursday, so I’m in those first few days of really great hair. I ordered new glasses yesterday; they should be here next week! It’s going to be a whole new Minty.

I’ve hit 13 pattern repeats done, and now a single row of Kiri is taking what feels like an eternity. It’s not that I’m moving any slower, it’s just that my progress appears to be so much slower! Just . . . two . . . more . . . repeats!!! I can do it! I haven’t had the concentration to count all the stitches in a single row, or even to time it. I think in some way that I’m afraid to count and find out just how many are there–I don’t want to know!

A special note to Kara, my new reader who’s also a new knitter: Welcome to the world of knitting! I hope you start a blog so that we can all see your progress from novice to expert. I get so much enjoyment out of knitting, I’m always thrilled when people learn. Enjoy!

The procreating this year continues to amaze me. I added a list of babies to my sidebar, because I need to keep track of all of them and this is the best way I can think of. If you read my “the future” post, you read about six babies. Note that there are eight in the list at right. Ah yes, the dad of one baby that I decided I wouldn’t knit for has just invited us to the baby shower–in a very informal capacity, but it’s not as if I can show up empty handed. And another coworker announced the expectation of his 2nd. (Not til October! Phew!)

Both will get little toys of some kind–NOT sweaters! Stop being so fertile, everyone.

Don’t fret about me! I’m coping well with my Kiri “disaster.” I decided to start over, and I’m incredibly happy I did. I’m using size 5 Addi Turbos (the compromise size, Rachel!) and they are like working with butter–and not in a bad way. I’m having no trouble with pointiness or lack thereof (k2togs aren’t a struggle at all), and the join is completely nonexistent. I’m racing through, and I’m well over halfway finished. I’ve got 10 pattern repeats done; I’m planning on doing 15. (Previously, on size 6s, I did 11 repeats, so I’m going to assess at 15 and not a repeat sooner.) I’ll be working away on it this week and expect to have it finished by the weekend.

This past weekend I did a lot of knitting while watching some of our Netflix acquisitions: The Station Agent, which was short not long but delightful, and March of the Penguins, which amazingly did not make me cry. A friend says I’m clearly frozen inside, but last night The West Wing made me cry, at the very end (”Thanks, boss”), and so did the PBS American Experience about Bobby Kennedy, so I think I still have my soul intact.

This is one of those quirks that I’ve picked up recently, and I suspect I got it mostly from TWOP; it’s taken over the office as well. When your hatred bubbles up so violently, you merely say: “Haaaate!” And that’s how I’m feeling about my technically finished Kiri.

Sigh.

I cast off too tight. But I used a size 10 needle! Apparently my tension was unaffected by needle size.

It’s too short! I misjudged how long I would want it to be. I was correct in estimating that it would come right to the bottom of my back, and I thought that’s what I wanted, but now that I’m seeing it in practice it is too too short.

Excuse the sloppy yoga clothes; class is in 45 minutes.

My god, I hate it. The bottom edge is a complete wreck. Up close on the work, the stitch is so damn pretty my insides ache, but when looked at as one piece, it’s atrocious.

I had dinner last night with a knitter, who warned me that there’s no frogging of lace. Must tink or start over. I was thinking I could just try frogging. I’m an experienced knitter! No johnny come latley. Not afraid of knitting! But, helloooo, Minty, you have never knit lace before. And if you manage to take it out to before the edging successfully, you will have to put it back on those dreaded Crystal Palace bamboo circulars, the ones that forced you to manually push each stitch over the join. Don’t do this to yourself.

So what am I considering doing? Starting over from scratch. On Addi circulars. Heck, it should take about a week (though since it’s the second one, I’m far more likely to get irritated and/or bored). Due date is late May! Pshaw, plenty of time.

Am I totally delusional? I like to think “No.” I like to think that my perfectionism is not a sign of my demented nature but rather a person knowing when there’s more that she can do, better she can do.

And away we go!

Kiri is upstairs blocking. It’s, uh, going to have to undergo some tinkering. I may still have a photo shoot this weekend, but despite using a size 10 needle for the castoff, it is too tight; I cannot coax the edging into pretty scallops, and I think I want pretty scallops. The boy says that it looks nice, but I’m really not satisfied. This is my favorite photo of the process.

Anyway, now that I’m semi-between projects, I’m thinking about the plans for the future. I have babies to knit for, things I want for myself, and–crap!–Christmas to start thinking about. I need a list in order to feel as though I have a plan.

The finished, or at least mostly finished:
Kiri in time for LM’s wedding (May due date)
Done, but in need of some revision.
Baby sweater for boss’s baby (April 26 due date)
I put the buttons on it the other morning. It’s truly done! Just need tissue paper for the box.
Baby sweater for coworker’s wife’s baby (July due date)
Giving them a sweater knit for another baby, but a baby that was too large for it from about the moment it hit outside air. Needs buttons sewn on; will post once that’s taken care of.
Baby sweater for coworker’s baby (July due date)
Going to give her the cardigan I knit last summer. I never gave it to the mom I’d thought I’d give it to, and now her kiddo is too big.

The yet to begin and in need of a plan, or just barely begun:
1. Baby something for LK’s baby (July due date)
I’m thinking a sweater involving cables + bootees.
2. Baby something for AC’s baby (July due date)
I’m thinking another version of Mr. Clunky. I have ideas for this one.
3. Baby something for EH’s baby (August due date)
E is an occasional reader of my blog, so I’ll have to keep mum on this one. But I’ve got some time, thankfully.
4. Sunrise Circle Jacket for me.
5. Pomatomus for the boy’s mom for Xmas.
Started these, at least, but only just found out her foot size.
6. Elfine for one of the boy’s sisters for Xmas.
Need to decide on a color and find some yarn. May resort to #7, below.
7. Dye yarn into self-striping pattern in order to make #8, below.
I’ve never dyed before, but I’m not finding any examples of self-striping yarn in the colors I’d want for her, so I’m going to have to do it myself. It looks like fun; how hard can it be? (Famous last words.)
8. Jaywalkers for one of the boy’s sisters for Xmas.
9. Undecided socks for the last of the boy’s sisters for Xmas. (Yes, he has 3 sisters.)
Suggestions welcome for fun sock patterns, please! I might just make it up, but if I do that I really risk SSS (second sock syndrome), because I’ll decide halfway through that maybe I want to do it a little differently . . .
10. New addition: A new Kiri.
It’s gotta be done. I can’t live with it like this.

This isn’t even considering any plans for Xmas gifts for other people. I think I’m going to knit gifts this year, because if I plan it right, I can do them affordably, and money is tight this year. But I need to decide what to make for the rest of the people on my list.

Other thing to consider: I have another whole skein of Alpaca Cloud and would love to knit some more lace.

Feeling a little overwhelmed. Reminder: Knitting is for fun.

What do I tackle next? I think the Clunky Jr. That will soothe the nerves.

I’m apparently a faster knitter than even I thought, because, um:

I finished knitting my Kiri tonight. (Still have to block it, obviously.) I started knitting it a week ago today.

Last night, after posting my progress, while my boyfriend and I were watching the Final Four, he asked me how much longer the shawl was going to take me. I’d timed some rows, and purl rows were taking about 10 minutes and knit rows were taking 8. I estimated I’d need to do 4 more pattern repeats, at 10 rows a repeat, and approximately 10 minutes a row, with each row getting increasingly longer, and thus I’d have about 400+ more minutes of knitting, at least. That would have meant at least 7 more hours of knitting, but who knew how long the last pattern repeat and the edging would take!

I estimated I’d be finished by next weekend. How naive I was. I completely neglected the few hours while watching basketball last night, and any hours I might spend on it today. And I spent quite a few hours on it today; the boy had some work to do so I knit before and after yoga, and while we did laundry, etc.

I decided, in the end, to do only 11 pattern repeats. It looks as if, when blocked, it will come just down to my waist, which is the length I want–no longer.

I cast off using a size 10 needle, hoping that it would be more than loose enough, and I don’t know that it was the best I could have done–it seems a bit taut. I’ll make do; if it has to, the scalloped edge won’t be all that scalloped. I’m not going to take that out and try it again.

My only pins for blocking aren’t going to be sturdy enough, I don’t think, so tomorrow I’ll head to Sophie’s to see what’s available there. Hopefully I’ll be able to take finished, modeled photos this weekend! More details when it’s all said and done.

See previous post about Kiri.