It's Just a Shot Away

I made it almost a week before casting on my only yarn purchase from Madrona. If three days is "almost a week". The snowstorm that rolled in yesterday had me thinking that I might get some "snow day" knitting in today (didn't happen), so it seemed like a good idea to start something new.

This is my swatch for the Augusta Cardigan from New England Knits, and it turned out great. Size 8 needles, 4 stitches to the inch, lovely bloom to the yarn when washing. It's a good thing that the gauge panned out after washing, because I cast on the back while waiting for it to dry. The yarn is Shelter in the Long Johns colorway, and this is the first time I've knit with it. I have a few other skeins in the stash, but what I've really wanted is to knit a sweater, so now that I've got enough yarn it was hard to hold off. Plus, I finished the body of a sweater that I started back in November (the Fiona pullover, which I have no recent photos of an haven't even posted about), so I was feeling a little accomplished. I've lost the pattern for Fiona with just the sleeves to go, so I may keep looking for it a bit before I can try to wing the sleeves.

Anyway, back to Augusta. Maybe I can finish the ribbing tonight!

Oh-oh-ooh-ooh Domino

I was only able to get into one class at Madrona this year, so I haven't got very much to report this year. I've been very lucky (and put more effort into) getting into classes in the last 3 or 4 years, so even though I was a little disappointed, overall it worked out fine. I saw some friends from prior years (Hi, Stephanie!), and I had time to check out the Marketplace (9 skeins of Shelter may have come home with me. It may have been the color "Long Johns").

The class that I was able to get into is one that I've had my eye on for awhile, Vivian Høxbro's Domino Knitting. It's a technique that I haven't tried before, but I've got one of Vivian's books and I really like the modern look & the interesting construction. The class was great--in three hours, we covered basic square construction, a half triangle, weaving in ends as you go, and setting in a square. The class project is a hat, which I may even finish if I have enough yarn--I pulled out a bunch of the Nature Spun Sport that I'm using on the Chevron mittens, and there probably isn't enough of the grey to finish the hat. I love the way my squares look (although they were so "neutral" compared to Vivan's samples!), and I'm excited to try this on a bigger project. Maybe a baby blanket? Maybe a hat from Vivan's book Knit to Be Square, or the big triangle pillow. So many options!

Do You Have One Really Funky Sequined Space Suit, Bowie?

Sparkle Beret, ribbing side & top

Since my return from Paris (which still pains me, by the way), I've overcome a fierce bout of jetlag, started a transition to a new job, and have been juggling a number of things that should have been done in early January. It's been a little tough to find the mental energy to work on anything at home that requires any attention. I'm emerging from that fog now (but may get sucked back in at any moment), so here's a little update on the Sparkle Beret: I've passed the second set of crown decreases.

As a recap: the pattern is Laura Chau's Lightweight Raspberry Beret, using Yarntini's Sparkle Sock yarn in Midnight Snow. Yes, the flecks you see above are sparkley! I'm knitting the women's large size, and I'm not sure if it's my gauge or I estimated my head size incorrectly, but it feels like it's going to be a little too roomy for me (my fine, thin hair requires no extra hat room, since it's really just the illusion of hair). I do know a few folks with more robust hair than I have, though, so if it doesn't fit me it should be easy to find it a home. I somehow believed that I could finish it in time to wear in Paris, which was ridiculous given my atrocious completion rate. It was part of my fantasy that I could make berets for the whole group going to Paris (there were six of us), which first occurred to me in late December. Ha--but at least I didn't start six berets.

This weekend, I did start a new project involving a chart (details in a future post), and so far I have been able to handle the mental strain, but I am really itching to finish up some long-term projects that really don't require a lot of work. The biggest challenge is that many of the projects have been separated from supplies/yarn required to complete them, so digging out all of the pieces may take up a lot of my available knitting / napping time. Oh, precious napping time!

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Do You Have One Really Funky Sequined Space Suit, Bowie? : Flight of the Conchords

Back, and Beret-ed

I've been back home for 6 days, and am just about over the jetlag, but not nearly over the wonderful time I had in Paris. I'm hoping to make it back there soon, although it won't be soon enough!

Shortly before I left, I finished Estella (Rav link), which I started just before Christmas but haven't shown here yet. It's a beret that looks more complicated than it is, although the decreases were a challenge because I kept ending up with the same number of stitches as I started with. I used some Berroco Ultra Alpaca that I bought when I was swatching for the Liberty blanket. These colors that didn't quite work out for that project, but I think they look good for this one. I schlepped it all the way to Paris, but it was really too warm to wear most of the time, and I forgot to bring it with me when it was cold enough.

I started a second beret a few days after this one, with a simpler pattern but glitz-ier yarn:

I needed something relatively plain to knit while at the movies on Christmas, so I started Laura Chau's Lightweight Raspberry Beret using Yarntini Sparkle Sock. I've just started the decreases, so there is a glimmer / sparkle of hope that I'll finish it while it's still cold out. Although it's been in the 50's here, so I may need to send it to my chilly east coast friends!

Paris: A Few Fotos Dramatique

This photo, taken before dinner at Au Vieux Paris last night, does not overemphasize the atmosphere of Notre Dame at night in the rain.

Laduree Champs Elysee. Macarons and cafe in an amazingly decorated bar.

Parc Monceau in the late afternoon, where I went for a short run before dinner. My pedometer has put my daily steps around 20K since I got here, but with foie gras at every dinner and more to come, a little extra exercise can't hurt. Parc Monceau is a real neighborhood spot, with people strolling and kids running around like crazy.

Only two more days here, it's gone really fast. Today's agenda includes museums, a trip to La Drougerie (craft store), pre-dinner drinks at L'Avant Comptoir, and dinner at La Ferrandaise.

Paris 2011: Day 1

First day in Paris: Took a 2 hour orientation walk while waiting for my room to be ready, but left the camera behind. This is the only photo I took. After checking into my room (which is very clean and cozy), I took a four hour nap, then worked for a couple of hours, then had a light dinner at L'Avant Comptior. If you consider a lard sandwich and ham crocettes to be "light". It was delightful. I expect to go back tomorrow.

This Time, It's a Blowout

I blew out a sock. I'm pretty sure it's fixable, just need to locate the yarn & darn it up, but I was surprised when I pulled them out of the wash (I use one of those lingerie bags when I wash handmade socks). I finished them in 2009, though, so they are almost two years old, and they are thin enough to wear with my clogs so they do get regular use.

Happy New Year, Lonely Mittens

So before I recount the final irritation of the disappointing year that was 2010 (pictured above), let me recount a few victories accomplished in 2011:

• I ran a 5K in 30 degree weather on the first, and I did so after staying out until after 2am the night before.
• I also ran this morning, outside in 30 degree weather
• Walking home from my run this morning, I slid on an icy spot that I didn't notice, and despite some pretty amazing contortions to keep my balance, I did not fall and I do not feel injured.
• Today I booked a hotel in Paris for a trip later this month. I'm arriving a few days before the people I'm travelling with (we booked an apartment), and have been agonizing over where to stay because there are hundreds of options at many different price levels & no clear correspondence between price, # of stars, and user reviews.

So the final bit of insult associated with 2010 should fade quickly under the bright, shining hope that is 2011, but since it's knitting related I need to memorialize it here. Somewhere between errands on New Year's Eve, I lost one of the last complete pair of fingerless mitts that I've knit. So now I have three single fingerless mitts, shown above, that I keep in hopes that one day a lost mitten will show up. From left to right:

• Spincycle Mitts: I'm pretty sure I lost these at a Mariner's game. They were perfect for cold spring & fall games, and they got a ton of use before I lost one. I have enough yarn to make another mitt, and I bought another skein of this Spincycle yarn at the Urban Craft Uprising this year, but I'm worried that the new mitt will look too "new" with the fuzziness of the old mitt. A new pair doesn't take that long to knit though (I recently finished a pair that I gave as a Christmas gift), so I should just suck it up and knit between two and four more mitts.
• Endpaper Mitts: I don't remember getting a lot of use out of this pair, though according to this post, I did use them a lot and lost them in Arizona (they were probably in a coat I packed?) . I loved the squooshiness of the yarn, and the extra coverage of the long size, but the "seams" up the sides of the mitten and the thumb didn't turn out that well, so I have never considered knitting a new mate for this mitt.
• Stripey Mitts: This is the pair that was cruelly separated on New Year's Eve, and it's a harsh blow. They stretched out to become a little too big, and the worsted-weight yarn made them a little bulkier than they should be, but I will miss them. Hopefully, I can find my notes about the pattern (which I never got around to writing up), and make another pair. Maybe in a sport weight, or at least with sport-weight for the pull down ribbing.

If you see any of these, please let me know.

So that's my last sad story of 2010. Hopefully, 2011 will be all happy stories about knitting, such as the beret craze that is sweeping my knitting basket, and fantastic French purchases that I anticipate in the coming weeks. And probably, very probably a new pair of fingerless mitts, because I really, really need some.