one sock done!

Yahoo! I love the way it fits, which is weird, because I didn't think it would fit at all. As you can see by the "off" position, it looks really long and skinny:


But when I put it on, it fit just right:


At first I wasn't so sure about the striping. I mean, they're not exactly uniform color repeats but they ended up being uniformly irregular, if that makes any sense. The silk makes the yarn really soft, and the colors muted. I got these two balls as part of my vacation yarn buying in L.A.

Spanky was kind enough to drive me around the various neighborhoods of Los Angeles looking for yarn stores. I got these at Unwind, which is the yarn store that was featured in "Six Feet Under". Unfortunately, I got there at the end of a long, hot day of driving, so I only had a few minutes to check it out, but I really liked it. I think the yarn was pretty pricey compared to NYC, but there were good sale buckets, and it seemed like a very friendly place to go hang out. PLUS, they have tons of really cool events. I wish we had a place like that here. Most of the shops here seem to have the basic classes, but the people in the shops are all so uptight and pinched or snootier than thou. I really liked the vibe of that place.

Anyway, I digress. The sock is awesome, and I don't think I'm going to have any trouble doing the second one, since this one only took me a week of nightly knitting--a couple of hours a night for five days, and then three or four hours saturday and sunday. But I also have to finish the sushi wallet and start on the kiddie knitting. Oh bejeezus, don't even get me started on that! Actually, that's going to be my next post. Maybe I'll take this second sock on the plane to London with me in two weeks, if they'll let me on with the metal dpns...

vrey quick update

I don't have much to say tonight. We just finished watching In Cold Blood, and my head is kind of reeling. I read the book for my book group a while ago, and the 1967 movie (starring Robert Blake) is a pretty good adaptation, although they did leave out the part where Perry and Dick go to Florida. And the guy they got to play Truman Capote looks terrible.

I have been working pretty steadily on Spanky's sock--the first one. I'm using Regia Silk Color, shade 183, and the basic ribbed sock pattern from Spun Magazine, another online knitting magazine, that doesn't come out very often. I think there are only a few issues online, but Spanky doesn't like fancy patterns or bright colors in her wardrobe, so I thought this would be perfect. However, it's a 60 stitch pattern, and I'm a bit worried that it's going to be too small for her foot. I guess we'll see.

I don't have any pictures tonight, but tomorrow I'll take one in the daylight. I really like how soft the yarn is. I don't have a whole lot of experience with sock yarn, but this is pleasantly soft, and I'm really enjoying working on the sock. This is my third pair of socks, and I'm getting much better at picking up the stitches on the gusset so that there aren't any holes. I find that after I do the heel, and am working on the foot part, I really want it to be done. I have a long way to go though. Spanky's big foot is 10 inches long (she says 9.5, but it's closer to 10), and I'm at about 4 inches, so it's not going to be done before tomorrow night.

I also think I might throw my felted tote bag into the sink to try to felt it a little better by hand. I haven't decided yet though.

Salwa's little pouch is coming along, but I was saving that as a work knitting project. I think I may work on that a bit tomorrow as well, to give my hands a break from the size 1 sock needles.

Also tomorrow, I'm going to do a post with my upcoming projects. I'm starting to lose track, and I've just been ordering yarn willy-nilly to get all my bases covered, but I need to be a bit more systematic about it, or chaos will reign.

Oh, and I got my Interweave Knits fall magazine today! Yippee! So maybe I'll go over the things I really liked in it. There were actually sweaters in this issue that I think I could possibly make, and I'm definitely going to do the swallowtail shawl for my dad's wife. I've been waiting to find a lace shawl pattern that appealed to me for her, and I think this is it. It's not too long, or to old-lady, which is what I associate most of the shawls with (sorry, but no one I know actually wears shawls much). Plus, they live in Florida, so she doesn't need something long and warm, but light and decorative instead.

Anyway, I am SO TIRED now. I think it's time for bed. Yep.

a day in the life

My partner, who I will refer to as "Spanky" here at the blog for reasons of my own, which is really dumb, cause if you want to, you could probably find out what her real name is, is working again. She has a high-pressure job, but works only intermittently. When she's working, I don't see her much. Sometimes she comes home in the middle of the night, if the job is really intense. Right now it's just starting up, so she's still on semi-regular hours, and I do get to see her for a few hours in the evening, which is nice.

Anyway, the dogger and I have started to develop our own coping strategies. I am trying to take her on longer walks when I get home from work, so that we each get some exercise. Then we come home, and I make dinner and feed her and the cats. Then they all have little naps, and I knit.

Usually, I watch a movie, since we have Netflix*, and I am a movie whore. Spanky isn't into the movies so much, so I see a lot of them on my own. She likes the major ones, but for little indies and foreign flicks, I'm pretty much on my own. Anyway, right now, we have Capote and In Cold Blood for a chilling double-feature, which I really want to share with her, so that has to wait for the weekend. I'm still waiting for this one, which I think is going to be really good knitting fodder, except for maybe the subtitles... But I think I can manage.

So anyway, right now, there are no viable movie options, and I hate watching reruns or bad TV, and we don't subscribe to cable (Netflix is cheaper and usually keeps me suitably entertained), so I've been listening to a lot of knitting podcasts. Right now, I've downloaded them all to my ipod, but some of them are too low to hear while I'm in the train or walking around Manhattan with the trucks and busses and other assorted noises, so I've sort of saved them for when I have time to listen at home. And I find that the time after dinner and before Spanky gets home is just enough time to hear one or two, if they're short.
I started listening to a new one today, called At the Yarn Store, which I think I'm really going to like. It's done by this woman who owns her own yarn shop in Virginia--Holly Spring Homespun. I've only listened to the first show, but she seems to have a good idea of what she wants to cover, and is a pretty good, authoritative interviewer. I really got a kick out of the interview she did with the yarn rep, who sounds like she smokes ten packs a day... We have sales reps at work too, and I imagine this is kind of what they go through as well, only they sell books rather than yarn. To tell you the truth, repping yarn sounds like it would be a lot more fun. Anyway, I think I'll keep listening.

The other one I've been trying to catch up on lately, although god only knows why, is Aussie Knit. I'm still on the fence about this one. This girl sounds like she would be a lot of fun to know in person, but she drones on and on, and sometimes I find myself losing patience with her. I do think she's got some good points, and mind you, I'm only up to episode 3, but that's because I can only stomach one at a time. She talks so slowly, and sort of whines between words, stringing them all together. Anyway, those are the ones I've been listening to today. And actually, I'll probably stick to them both for a while, especially since none of the other ones have updated lately (I know there's a new Cast On or two, but I've already heard them--those I can listen to on the train...).

More on the actual knitting soon, but I don't really have anything to show yet except three inches of the cuff of one of Spanky's Regia silk socks, and it's not really much to look at as it's really plain. I'm going to have to rip out the sushi purse, because the annoying assistant that eats in the lunchroom at the same time as me made me so irate today that I accidentally made a big hole when I went to increase. I was going to tie it up later because I'm going to felt it anyway, but I think I need smaller needles anyway, so... Riiiipp. That's all for now. Stella says "Good NIGHT!"



*If you want to be my Netflix friend, that would be rad. I only have one, and she likes really "inspirational" movies. While I'm all for the schmaltz, you have to cut it with other things, you know? Leave a comment if you do, want to be Netflix friends, that is... If anyone ever reads this, anyway.

YAY!! It's finished

Oh, thank goodness I'm finally finished with the bag. YAY. I'm not sure how I feel about the finished product. The felting didn't work like I thought it would. I also forgot to take measurements of the pre and post felting, but the finished bag is still pretty damned big.

Pattern: #32 "knitting bag" from Family Circle Easy Knitting, Holiday 2005
Yarn: Bernat Lana 100% wool in Denim and Chocolate
Needles: US 9 Straights and DPNs (for the handles)

I am not very impressed with magazine patterns so far. This particular issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting has a lot of things that I'd like to make, but I've tried two of them so far--some anklet socks and this felted tote, and neither of them seemed to have the best instructions, and the finished products didn't turn out like I expected. The anklets were the second pair of socks I'd made, and for some reason, the toes on these came out all wonky and the first pair I did came out much better. I guess a lot of knitting is trial and error, but I feel like if I am following a pattern, I should get a result that is similar to the one in the magazine. The things I've made from patterns on the internet seem to work out much better, but it all may be just chance, or my own stupidity in this case. In general, I think FCEN or Knit Simple, as it's become, has pretty decent patterns. They're plainer than Vogue Knitting/Interweave Knits, and easier to do, I guess. The problem is when they a) use inferior methods because they're easier to do, or b) include harder things without explaining them completely.

I do realize that you can't expect too much detail from a magazine, so I really should just chalk this all up to my own inexperience, and keep a reference book handy.

Anyway, on to the goods! Here it is pre-felting:


The handles aren't actually attached here. In retrospect, I should have just sewed them on before I felted, but the instructions said that you should sew them on after felting. The handles didn't felt that well, and I wish that I had given them a chance to felt on during the wash.

Here it is post-felting:


It is stuffed with plastic bags, and is still drying. The button is a vintage one from my grandma's button tin. I like the way the colors look, and the felt is pretty strong, but the bag is HUGE. I mean, I could use it as an overnight bag, if the handles were stronger. I just wanted something to be able to take my knitting to my S&B in, and sheesh, I could use the bag to hold all the yarn and notions I would need for a sweater it's so big!

The felting process: I put the bag into a zippered pillow case, and threw in two pairs of jeans for agitation. I used the lowest water level, hot water, with a dollop of my regular laundry detergent, and checked it after five minutes. It was pretty much felted after about 5 min, but I left it in for the whole wash and rinse. It didn't seem to hurt the bag at all.

Then I sewed on the handles and the button, and voila!

I think I am still going to use it for my hauling my knitting projects around. I don't know what I could have done differently except perhaps used bigger needles, but the 9's gave me the gauge that the pattern called for. Eh.

Next up: finishing my partner's Regia socks, and this sushi wallet for my friend Salwa.

the project that will NEVER END

So.... I thought I would have such a great post for you all yesterday about my tote bag, but I'm beginning to think I will never be done with it. Seriously. I thought I would be done on Sunday, but I spent the whole day listening to podcasts and creating the I-cord handles (top right in the picture).



This bag has been nothing but problems:

1. First things first: Because of the cost of the Classic Elite Montera called for in the pattern, I substituted Bernat's Lana 100% merino wool from Joann's (in Chocolate and Denim!). It says "Ideal for felting!" right on the label, so I figured it would work. ANYWAY, it must be about half as thick as the Montera, so I ended up having to double it, which meant that I had to put in a second order (online because we have no close store and I have no car). So it ended up being not as cheap as I would have liked, and I worked that whole thing doubled. But I'm pretty satisfied with the thickness of the bag so far. I did most of it while watching Netflix.



2. When I got to the handles, the directions said to double the yarn. At first, I tried to just go along with the original doubled strands, which is why you see that the straps have one brown end, because after I finished the first part of the first handle, I realized that they weren't very strong, so I reluctantly doubled the yarn. But I was worried that I would run out of yarn, so I decided to use two strands of brown and two strands of the blue. Well, if you double doubled yarn, you are working with four strands. FOUR STRANDS, PEOPLE! The four strand I-cord just went on and on. I actually got a bruise on one of my fingers from pushing the strands along the dpns. I made the second strap to match the first.

3. Last night, I was sure that I could finish all the finishing so that I could write this post, but no such luck.


Stella helped.



Riiight. It just went on and on. At first I tried to mattress stitch, which was beautiful, but it took so long! So in the end I just whip-stitched a lot of it.



Finally, the body of the bag was done.



But I'm still not done! I have to crochet the top contrasting color, sew on the pocket and crochet the top of the pocket, and sew on the button loop and handles. Argh.

Also, I've never felted anything before and I'm a little nervous that the felting is going to ruin all my hard work. I can't wait to see how it comes out though! I'm so close to being done! And I'll be able to carry my projects in the bag to my knitting group (of which I seem to be the only steady member, but that's a post for another time...).

So this has to be a story in two parts. I'm planning on finishing the bag tomorrow night while watching a movie, and felting it this coming weekend. I guess we'll see!

I read somewhere on line that it was better to use cotton dish cloths for cleaning and doing dishes because you can throw them in the wash and that will help the environment by not contributing nasty sponges to the landfills. I like that! Considering that you can get the dish cloth cotton for about $1 a skein, I decided to try making some. Especially since I found the dishcloth websites...here and and here (scroll down) and here just to name a few.

So I decided to try a few. I mean, I could do a new pattern every single time and never run out of patterns!

First one:
Octagonal Swirl Cloth, made with size 5 US dpns in sugar & cream caribbean something or other. Aren't those colors GRAND up there?

Second is much smaller:

It's the petal cloth from Knitting on the Net, in Sugar & Cream "Shades of Green" made with US 6 straights.

I know they aren't socks or sweaters or anything, but they're kind of obsessing me. I bought a bunch of sock yarn on my last vacation, but I haven't started any new ones yet. I just keep knitting these small dish cloths over and over. Well, three times now. I don't have a picture of the first one. It was more of a swatch anyway. Ah well.

Anyway, just to round out this little post of mine, here's a gratuitous shot of my doggie, Stella, sitting with the washies. She refuses to look directly at the camera!



She's also freshly shaved from the groomers for the summer, so she looks a little weird. But we love her! mwah.

Well, hello world! Im so excited to finally be the proud owner of this brand spanking new blog. I feel so behind the times. Anyway, my name is Kim. I'm a book editor in New York, but I'm from Florida originally. I live with my partner, our two cats, Sugar, and Totie, and our Yorkie, Stella, in Jersey City, NJ, right across from New York City.

I've been knitting for about two years. I can definitely see the progress I've made in that time. At the moment, I'm sort of between projects. All I have on the needles is this neverending felted tote bag that I'm knitting. It's the one on the cover of the last holiday Family Circle Easy Knitting. You know, that pink and orange one? Except mine is blue and brown, and I'm changing it up a teeny bit. I've never felted anything before, but I'm excited to try. But it's so huge that I feel like I'm never going to be done. I've already finished one side and the pocket, and am almost finished with the other side, but I still have to do the handles and the crochet around the top, and the button loop. And then I can felt it!

I'm sorry about the lack of pictures in this post. I just wanted to get an intro going, so that I could get started. I'm going to be working on the blog a bit every night after work, but it's still definitely a WIP itself. Frankly, if it wasn't for Amy and her patience and computer skills, it wouldn't have happened at all, but she challenges me to learn new computer things all the time, and I'm so grateful for that help and support.

I've had a livejournal knitting journal here for a long time, but I didn't update it very often. I didn't feel very invested in it, I guess. But this is so pretty and lovely. I'm still going to keep see_kim_knit, so that I can join the LJ knitting community, but I don't think I'll continue to update it with my knitting progress.

Anyway, I'm really excited to join that world-wide knitting community out there. All the blogs I added to my blogroll are ones that i've been reading for a long time now. There is an amazing bunch of talent out there, and I find every one of those people inspiring for different reasons, so if you see one you don't already read, check it out!

I look forward to meeting you all.

the first post

Wow. I really am the last one skeining! I mean blogging...