Monday, May 25

Reduce, recycle, reuse

I bought some Lorna's Laces Swirl Chunky in December 2008 from Nana's Knit Shop. My good friend blog-free April might remember that shopping trip (!) I didn't know what I wanted to make with it but the yarn was so beautiful that I wanted it. The yarn was on sale, but at the time (and maybe still), the most I have paid for yarn. Surpassing, ever so slightly, what I paid for the Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride and Burly Spun for the felted rug.

Soon, the EZ Bog Jacket was calling to me. I swatched and refigured and modified then knit it up:



Hmm - not what I had in mind. The jacket is very heavy - chunky yarn in garter stitch with a size 8. Dense and blocky. Impossible to wear. I received that very nice knitting bag from blog-free April on that same December day and that is where the unfinished jacket sat for a very long time. Right next to the recliner.

We are in frugal times and I have large piles of (boxes and bags of) yarn in the corner of my bedroom, near the chair in the living room, and even in my office. I want new yarn but how can I justify one more skein??? Fast-forward to a day I was on Ravelry and found Nordicfibregirl's Jawbreaker Cardigan in Lorna's Laces. Fabulous!

Reduce my pile of unfinished objects.

Recycle the yarn - after frogging the (failed) Bog Jacket, I soaked the yarn and put the skeins on my porch rail to dry. Saturday night was not very warm so the yarn spent the next day basking in the sun. Sunday was not very warm either, and despite being flipped and switched around to stay in the sunbeams, most of the skeins are still damp, even today.



Reuse the yarn into a sweater I can wear!


by Nordicfibregirl Flickr

I will get the pattern (Interweave Knits Winter 2006) from fully blogging Julie.

Saturday, May 9

Golden Boy



This one has a name now, Golden. I trapped him last Monday, took him to the Anti-Cruelty Society on Tuesday to be neutered, and released him Wednesday morning. I finally saw him again tonight, finally, when I fed the group.



This one, however, was my target. Ingleside. He has a stumpy tail and big gnawed spots on the side of his head. Weepy eyes. He is probably everyone's Papa. I have given him a taste of the yummy Friskies 9-Lives. I will try again on Monday.

Tuesday, May 5

Join the crowd


I succumbed, relented, gave in. I made a Lady February sweater. Only one of 5502 projects of such on Ravelry (as of 5:59, 5/5/09).

This was junk food. I couldn't resist and I couldn't stop. Knit in one piece (hooray), garter stitch with a little excitement of M1 pm M1 on the right side, then a 4-row, 7-stitch repeat until morning. But wait; there's drama.

I didn't have enough yarn. Tried to finish off the sleeves to an acceptable length with alternate garter stitch stripes of a reasonable facsimile. Boo. Bad color match and too short. No pictures.

Found yarn, frugally bought the carefully estimated minimum - we could be in the next greatest depression after all - then seem to have lost one skein. Boo.

Decided the body really would benefit from a trip to the frog pond so that the gull stitch would.line.up. Markers! Every 7 stitches! Wonder tools! The Baby February should meet the same fate.

Found yarn again, from the same vendor on eBay, bought all that was on offer. Finished this sucker off - body a little longer and sleeves below the elbow.

Bought short-sleeved t-shirts to accessorize.

If I had it to do over again, I would cut out that abherrent stripe of maroon. I thought I would see it in every skein but only sometimes. And on the right-side knit, I would purl the band as well. I like the side of the band where the garter is all one color.

Ella Rae, Palermo, better part of 10 skeins, size 8 circ and dpn. Loopy Yarns in Chicago and Needleworks in Champaign-Urbana.

Monday, May 4

Cassoulet du fil






I'm taking a lace class at Nana's Knit Shop - Wrapped in Tradition from Wrap Style. I tried to talk myself into a neutral silver/white/cream but instead just reached for the red. What a fun knit. This is the bottom band, knit sideways - we pick up 238 stitches across the top. I thought this made blocking not optional.

I love the look of the detail. I don't know where I will wear it, and I wonder if the Kid Seta will shed (mohair and silk). Red yarn hairs will clash with all the cat hair already adherring to my clothes.

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