It's Not That Distracting

Beaded cuff, as of Saturday Morning

Thanks for the nice comments about my weekend. I know that in the grand scheme of things that I don't really have much to complain about, but I am more than a little burned out right now and it makes me very grouchy.

Desiknitter (check out her Spiral Scarf, it's awesome) asked a good question about the Bohus class I took--why the class was helpful for knitting the actual sweater. The class used a chart just like the chart for the sweater yoke, which was excellent practice. The charts used for Bohus aren't quite like other charts--the sitch repeats from row to row aren't necessarily symmetrical, so you have to pick out the repeat for each row and follow it to the end. There are also a lot of colors to manage--up to four in a single row. The class was definitely a confidence builder in that area, and gave me a good idea of what is required in terms of concentration. This is not car knitting! On the most basic level, I don't think I would have bothered to order a kit from Sweden if I hadn't seen the original garments and used the same yarn that comes in the kit for the class project. Speaking of the Bohus, I've made some good progress, and will post more photos soon.

Recently I restarted the Beaded Cuff that I began while in Phoenix for Spring training, and I've been using it as my in-car project now that my second Inside Out sock is in the cabling section and is therefore unsuitable for the car. My commute isn't very long by Seattle standards, but there are a few very long lights on the route and it's easy to do a little knitting while I wait. Only. While. Waiting. Not. While. Driving. The projects that are ideal for car knitting fit the following criteria:

• very small: socks, beaded cuffs, maybe a simple scarf
• use circulars: less poking potential, less likely to slide off
• no or very simple pattern: no need to keep track of rows or complicated repeats
• not too slippery: the key is being able to drop the project onto your lap and drive as soon as the light turns green
• fewer stitches per row will make it easier to see progress

Sometimes, I hit most of the lights at the right time and don't get any knitting done, but in the last four days I've gone from the photo above to this (less interestingly posed) photo:

Beaded Cuff as of Tuesday Evening

Granted, I did get a little knitting in at work over the weekend, as I repeatedly rebooted my computer when it crashed for no apparent reason, but the vast majority was knit at stoplights or the Starbucks drive-thru line. I'm still surprised that I've knit so much of it in four days, a couple of minutes at a time. It's surprisingly tricky to photograph this sucker, but I guess I had the same problem when I started it the first time. Maybe some natural light would help?? The beads came from Confetti--the Bead Place, there are six different types of seed beads in greens, blues, and greys. My favorites are the metallic green beads, and my least favorite are the clear green beads. The yarn is Rowan 4 ply soft from the Needler's Nest, and the needles are size 0 Knitpicks. The pattern is Susanna's. I'm hoping to finish this cuff up this week so I can start a new on this weekend, on my trip to LA to visit some friends. The trick is finding time to string the beads, I definitely can't do that on the plane. Or while sitting in the car, waiting for the light to change.