pepperknit

1. Lamentation.
On the bus this morning, when I went to put my knitting back in my bag, I discovered, much to my horror, that only one mitten was present and accounted for. I had shoved them into my bag but not worn them to the bus stop, and I could have lost it at any point along the walk–I got out the iPod, futzed, etc. I was so sad; these mittens, my Manly Mitts, have been hard workers since I made them a year and a half ago. This was their FO shot.

2. Speculation.
At the prospect of not having anything more than a crappy pair of gloves I knit two years ago that I don’t find especially warm, I started thinking about my next pair of mittens. People are all into the Anemenoi pattern, or however that’s spelled, but I’m not paying for a pattern that I can easily make up and customize to myself. And after all, I could just apply a new design to the Manly Mitts structure and I’d be perfectly happy. In fact, a long time ago I bought some light blue and some dark brown Lana Wool Gatto with the intention of making a hat, and I never did that, so why not use it in mittens?

3. Jubilation!
I got home around 9 tonight, and what greeted my weary eyes? Oh, but one of the happiest sights ever!

Can you see it? Just sort of a blob sticking out into the path, on the left, near the middle? It’s small in this shot, but I wanted to capture exactly what I was looking at when I opened the door. Because even just this glance made my heart leap with joy. (Yes, yes, I have a looong and narrow hallway, I know, I know.) It’s my other mitten! It must have fallen out as I was getting ready in the morning–I’d not had both on me at all today!

But now I’m not sure what to do. I kind of got into the idea of a new pair. And I do need to use up the stash–but do I need two pairs of mittens? I could give the Manly Mitts away; they’re in very good shape. I’ve never been thrilled with the colors of them when paired with my coat . . .

Ok, they’re not fully finished yet, but the first sock is essentially complete, so now’s as good a time as any to share with you guys.

These are for a really great friend of mine, someone who’s really been there for me in the last few months. I’m incredibly lucky that she works around the corner and can meet on the street corner for “nonsmoking breaks” at nearly any time, and that we can call each other during the day and say “wanna come over for dinner?”

So of course the socks are named for her, and I picked the stitch pattern with her in mind. See, it’s kind of delicate and maybe a little girlie, but totally sturdy and hard-working–and my friend has these qualities, too. I started these socks at Christmas (they’re a Christmas present, technically), and in fact I knit them for the many-hour knitting session Lolly and I had over the break. Of course, when I got back home that night and was knitting with my mom, I discovered that I couldn’t pull the socks on over my heel (I started them top-down). So they got shoved in the knitting basket.

Last Monday I pulled them out again, and I thought about how best to tackle the pattern. See, because it’s got this lattice effect, and the yarn is just slipped past lots of stitches, there’s a limited amount of lateral stretch you can get. So I had to think of it as a flat fabric and work around that–this means I had a lot more stitches for the leg than I needed for the foot, and planning for the decreases/increases was making my head hurt. But when I started the socks toe-up, it all kind of clicked.

It fits her nicely (I had her try it on a few days ago). But as I did the shoot I realized the cuff should have fewer stitches than the leg, to make it tighter. So I’ll have to take out the cuff. Luckily, I didn’t cast off, anticipating skeins of slightly different lengths.

As always, when I have the pair finished you’ll get a free pattern!

Happy New Year!

My first bona-fide celebrity sighting since I’ve lived in New York! Claire Danes, who came into the restaurant where I was eating dinner with friends, down in SoHo, and sat at the next table with several friends. She looked exactly as you’d expect her to, if you’ve seen a photo of her in the last few years. Her hair was long and kinda scraggly. No photo; there was no way to do it subtly.

Then, on the subway, this guy sat next to me.

And someone leaned over to ask him if his jacket was handcrafted (yes) and by whom: “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” The guy who asked gave this half shrug, half ‘come on,’ and got an answer:

Andy Warhol.

Hmmmm.

This past Eye Candy Friday, for example, I showed just a few shots I snapped at the MoMA. I went to the MoMA three times in two weeks (twice on lunch-hour “dates” with a friend, once with Jaax), and I now feel I know the museum like the back of my hand. It was fun taking photos of new favorites as well as seeing old standards. This Klimt (without me in the foreground) is now the background on my phone.

If you’d lilke to see more MoMA photos, check out the MoMAproject in Flickr (of which I am a participant), which aims to give those who can’t visit New York the MoMA experience.

Yesterday, I met up with the Sit ‘n’ Knit group (hosted by Anne-Marie) and saw the Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design (I don’t know how long that link might work; apologies for anyone reading far into the future). It was . . . interesting.

You weren’t allowed to take photos in the gallery, but I’m a rebel and all, so I risked chastisement. Then I decided to go with honesty, so I asked if I could take photos, and was told No, so then I knew I was being watched. At one point I even tried to cutely plead with a kindly security guard, but he was firm, if totally smiley at me over it. The front hall had this enormous net funnel thing, in multicolors, and when you were at the lowest level you could stand right under it and look up through it–it was amazing! I wanted a photo of that view so badly. But alas, they were strict and vigilant, so you’ll have to go see it yourself. Is it worth the $9 cost of admission? Yeah, I guess so. (We had a group rate of $8, which was all the better.)

Many of the pieces were “lace” in a very loosely interpreted sense. Like the woman who uses an X-acto blade to cut intricate, lacy patterns out of solid bolts of fabric. Or the “knitted” fiber optic chandelier (my personal favorite). Did it open my eyes to the way artists use the principles of knitting for further expression? Yes. Did it inspire me in any particular way? Eh, no. Still, I’m very glad I saw it, and it was nice to go in the company of knitters.

Last night I had the chance to accompany a friend to the ballet, at Lincoln Center. My friend has a subscription, and the seats were in the first row of the 3rd tier–truly excellent seats. Here, too, I decided to flaunt authority and take a photo despite clear notice that photos in the theater were prohibited. Yes, I got yelled at.

The performance was three short ballets, none of which were stories. They were Klavier, with music by Beethoven and choreography by Chirstopher Wheeldon. It premiered Jan 24, 2006. I liked this piece–the constumes were sort of goth and there was a lot of sliding the women around. The second one was Russian Seasons, with music by Leonid Desyatnikov and choreography by Alexei Ratmansky. It premiered June 8, 2006. This one featured boldly colored costumes and kind of jokey moves that I didn’t really like much. The best parts had only the men on stage, doing powerful jumps. The last piece was The Four Temperaments, with music by Paul Hindemith and choreography by Balanchine. It premiered Nov 20, 1946. Some of it really didn’t seem “old” (not that I know what old ballet really looks like)–and it was clearly very technically complex. I still liked the first piece better, but this one was interesting. Why are the men costumed in bright white shirts, black tights, and shockingly white socks, though? They looked silly.

And this morning, I headed down to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year’s celebrations. I might save the bulk of these photos for Eye Candy Friday this week (no peeking at my flickr page if you don’t want to be spoiled!), but here’s one to whet your appetite and properly ring in the new year.

Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday, after Thanksgiving (with my birthday attached, of course). In the past, I’ve had a Valentine Cookie decorating party. This year would have been the 7th annual, but with my small apartment and ultrabusy lifestyle, I couldn’t make it work. So sad! So I’m going to share some favorite shots from the past right now.

This year, however, I did get my act together to mail Valentines, and old tradition that I’d let slide. I used to make my own cards with random witty messages, but this year I went with purchased cards for nearly everyone. My best friend, however, got a card that I’ve been thinking about and planning for literally years. I’m pleased as punch with how it came out. Click to see it big enough to read what I wrote.

She called me the moment she got it to exclaim, “I didn’t know you loved me THAT much!”

So to all of you, I say, a Happy Valentine’s Day. Enjoy some lamb or other food you love that much, and remember those that you love. I’m thankful to have so very many people who love me in my life–and I love you all!

with the gorgeous bouquet my parents sent!

Because there’s another dinosaur out there. This one just looking for your approval–he’s a little insecure but ultimately a happy guy.

Pattern: Trice
Yarn: Knitpicks Crayon, orange
Needles: US 3 Knitpicks circular
Started: 3pm Saturday
Finished: 1am Sunday
Total Time: 5 hours or so, a little more
Modifications:As with Mr. Stegs, I knit this one in the round and stuffed as I went. I’m not sure if I completely forgot the numbers I used for Stegs or if I just stuffed him more full, but he ended up more chubby than Mr. Stegs. And by golly if he isn’t just even cuter as a result!

But so I don’t forget the values I used in case I want to make one again (which I’m sure I will), and if any of you opt to knit it in the round, here’s what I did for casting on and getting to the 10 stitches that the pattern calls to be cast on.

Nose: Cast on 4 stitches. Kf/b in each stitch on next row. Knit one row plain. K1, kf/b, knit to last 2 stitches, kf/b, k1. 10 stitches.
Legs: Cast on 12 stitches, knit 12 rows. (K1, k2tog) around. Knit one row plain. K2tog around. Draw through (no plain row before drawing through).

The horns actually came out ok, so I’m considering adding Mr. Stegs’s tail spikes, but I’m not sure if I want to.

Love!

Project Spectrum-style:

I didn’t knit a stitch today!