Everybody Loves Saturday Night

year of crochet

I have all sorts of resolutions for the next year dancing around in my head--craft- and writing-wise, that is. I try not to make any "real" resolutions because I think I put enough pressure on myself as it is. And how pressure-making is "2008 is going to be the year I finally figure out what to do with my life?" See what I mean?

But crafty goals, those I can make. Things like "2008 is going to be the year I learn to use a sewing machine" and "2008 is going to be the year I finally use the yarn I bought in 2003."

(I just looked up out the window and noticed two guys in the third floor apartment across the street, taking out the windows. I guess renovations are underway over there. A little startling to look up and see two guys in the window across the street. Thank goodness I'm dressed.)

2007 wound up being the year I became a crocheter. Not a knitter who only picks up a hook when an edging is called for, or a knitter who knows how to crochet but prefers not to, but a bona fide crocheter.

I made this bag over the weekend. The pattern comes from here. It's the same bag Brainylady made a few months back. I used KnitPicks CotLin and a size G hook. I'm planning on using that green Lion Brand Cotton Ease you see in the bag to make another one. Perhaps two. The bags serve two resolutions: to stash-bust and to be more environmentally conscious.

I fully admit that until 2007, until something finally clicked for me and I understood the mechanics and trappings of crochet, I was one of those knitters. You know what I mean. Who may have appreciated the finishing touches that a crocheted edge could bring to a knitted item, but who mostly said one of two things: 1. "I'm just hopeless at crochet, I can't do it right"; and 2. "Crochet just doesn't do it for me."  Well, ok. #2 was really more like "Crochet? Feh!" And yes, #2 was the result of #1. I didn't master it quick enough, so I turned away from it.

What was the click moment? I wish I could tell you. I think it was watching someone else crochet and realizing that I had been going through the front loops on every row, when I should have been going through both loops. Though I have since learned that going through only the front or back  can be a design choice. It makes a rib-like texture that looks cool especially if you're working in stripes.

Then came the ripple. Finishing my own ripple afghan is on my 2008 to-do list. I had started one in March and then realized that it wasn't going to be wide enough, and the yarn for it has been sitting patiently in my closet since.

Crochet is fantastic for stash-busting. Simply fantastic. It's quick, and it requires more yarn than the average knitting project. I cranked out three washcloths in the same weekend as I made the bag.

Again, I used KnitPicks CotLin, less than a skein for each washcloth. I used Lion Brand's free Grit Stitch pattern (registration required, also free). Crocheting these took no time at all. I started one as I sat down to watch Superbad, and was done with it before the movie was over. All of a sudden I looked down and realized I had a square. Leftovers are going to be made into a hand towel.

And since the weekend I have embarked on a blanket for Scout, which I'm not going to post until it's done. I'm using stashed Lana Grossa Bingo in the most blinding shade of red (why do I have it? It was free) that I think it would be best to take the picture after it's done and Scout is on it so you don't have to look at so much red.

I have also begun something that I am only continuing because I think the end result will be neato. A long while back, perhaps a year or so ago, I purchased nine skeins of Noro Tidori, two of which are shown here:

At the time I think I was thinking about using it for some kind of lightweight scarf? But when I got around to working with it, I soon realized...I hate this yarn. It doesn't look good in any kind of knit stitch, not garter, stockinette, ribbing, nothing. The two-toned cable construction of the yarn is interesting but yields nothing pleasing in its fabric. The composition of the yarn is mostly artificial, rayon and nylon, with 10% cashmere and let me tell you--10% cashmere is not enough cashmere. The yarn feels wiry and ropy. I hate it. I would've gotten rid of it but I doubt anyone would've paid me what I paid for it, because I hate it so much that I really wanted my money back. But too much time had passed, and more than one ball of this stuff had been attacked by my needles, so returning it really wasn't an option. And I had a sense that I wouldn't have been able to even give it away. So I held on to it.

I started fiddling with it on Christmas, as Michael and settled in for our traditional Lord of the Rings trilogy viewing. This time I brought a hook to it, but again, neither ripples nor shells nor moss stitches were doing the trick. The stuff feels like rug wool.

Aha.

It may be the height of decadence to use anything with cashmere content for a throw rug...but that's exactly what this yarn needs to be. A mitred square rug. One ball of this hateful stuff makes two almost 6" squares.

The square on the left has been bordered with Brown Sheep Nature Spun in black, which I plan on using to join all the squares.

So yes--I hate this yarn, hate working with it, and yet I'm psyched to have this rug. It may be because I can't wait to stomp all over it.

less pomp, more circumstance

Michael's done with school! Hooray!

The piece of paper that says he's smart will soon be here, at which point I will start expecting A LOT MORE from him.

could i be wearing any more clothes?

socks: two pair
underwear
long underwear
sweatpants
thermal shirt
long-sleeved shirt
lambs' wool sweater
robe
scarf
hat
fingerless mitts

and I'm wrapped in a blanket.

and I just made tea purely for the sake of holding a hot mug.

and I'm about to start knitting emergency mitts that go past the first knuckle of my hand.

shall we place bets on whether I will be done with the mitts before the heat comes back on?

I may need to don a cowl because right now the only part of my body that's really cold is my nose...so all I can think about is my cold nose.

maybe I should knit a nosewarmer instead.

it could be worse...the thermostat reads 64 F. Why is 64 warm in the spring but cold in the winter? At any rate, it's not criminally low. In fact, it's close to the temperature my dad keeps his house at in the winter.

in North Dakota.

this is why I don't visit my dad in the wintertime any more.

[two hours pass]

ahhh...I can hear the guys in the building working on the heater. Emergency mitts may not be necessary. I should probably make them anyway, for the next time. I should have a go kit just for the winter, full of accessories knit with alpaca and llama and yak.

but speaking of mitts...

these are the fingerless mitts I made for my sister-in-law:

These are the Herringbone Mitts, a free pattern from Brandy at The Purl Parables. Brandy wrote that she wanted something similar to Eunny's Endpaper Mitts, but a faster knit. I had been looking for just that--something quick that would also satiate my stranded knitting jones.

Inside and outside shot:

I used yarn from my stash (bonus): Filatura 501 in black and white. I made the middle size (on 3s, which turned out to be very snug, a little bit of a struggle to put on but not too bad when they are. I may make the largest size for myself. Fingerless mitts have apparently become the new socks--I keep finding patterns I want to make.

whoops

Did I say tomorrow? I meant "by the end of the week." It's been a flurry of organization and work here, and I've noticed that when I am getting physical things organized (like clothes, yarn, shoes, books) my capacity for mental organization, viz-a-viz getting thoughts down on paper in some sensible way . . . is somehow lessened. So focused am I on getting shit done that my thoughts tend to come out as "shelf together now" and "where put drawers."

Before I left for Minnesota I bought a bunch of organizing aids. A few shelving units, a cheap yet nice wire frame 5-drawer thingy that was the easiest thing I have ever put together, and a set of cloth boxes that will fit into the shelf units and preserve that which is inside from the dust of Brooklyn.

This is the dustiest city I have ever known. Seriously.

Half of my broken dining room chairs are now gone. I've been putting one out with each trash pick up. I'm thinking of starting with just two new chairs, because the ones I want are going to be a little pricey for me right now, if I get them stained to match the table and hutch. And really...what would be the point of an unmatched set? Gothic Cabinet Craft has chairs that closely resemble the ones I have to discard:

I'll have to bring in a broken part of chair to have them match the stain. Ideally I would have the chairs ready by the beginning of the new year, if I can find the time to order them.

In other news, I went to see I'm Not There with Jackie the other night. I agree with a lot of what Carolyn says about it here. Thought Cate Blanchett was absolutely brilliant. Liked Christian Bale a lot as well, and give him major props for appearing not only as the dazzling young Dylan but also the pudgy afroed born-again Dylan. I didn't even mind the Richard Gere segments--it reminded me a little bit of those Fellini films I never saw. Also liked the young boy segments. I thought the scene in the hospital with Woody Guthrie was a bit heavy-handed, but I really liked the scene with the one family at the beginning, where the boy is going on and on about experiencing stuff that happened like 20 years ago, and the mom of the family looks at him and says, "Live in your own time." To me, that matched up well with the Richard Gere part, where he's also bizarrely not living in his own time. But then, no one is. I don't know...it worked for me. It's movies like this that make me love movies.

eighth night

My favorite.

We will return to regular posting tomorrow.

third night

And that's all I can do until Monday. The thought occurred to me that I could light the candles for the 4th, 5th and 6th nights just to take pictures, and then post them on timers but...that's cheating, yeah?

But at least I get to take a picture on the 8th night.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

second night

And it snowed today.

happy hanukkah!

I found the candles.

i'm not ready

But then, neither is Michael. For the first night of Hanukkah he will be working, then because of another early morning lab, he'll be staying in Manhattan tonight. Just me and Scout, lighting that first candle. If I can find the candles. Crap.

And yet I'm not stressed out about it. Last year I don't think we even lit the candles, but now that I'm on another apartment overhaul organizational binge, I would like to. If, again, I can find the candles.

I'm not stressed because I had a really good day yesterday. I made a list of crap I needed to do...and I did it. Almost all of it. And what I didn't finish I at least started.

I'm not stressed because it's really winter. The snow Sunday morning was perfect. Real snow. Not those stupid dry-looking tiny flakes that try to pretend they're snow. It looks like it's starting to snow again. This makes me happy.

I'm not stressed because 2007 is almost over and, instead of making me feel like the time has just whizzed by and I didn't make enough of it, I feel like this has been a good year and I am ready to see it to bed.

I'm not stressed because I am going home this weekend, to visit my family and friends. Two trips in a month--not like me at all. But it will be good. I'll be in a place with no internet connection at all. Good. And also good that it's just for a weekend.

Finally, I'm not stressed because I found a new love. Or rather, rediscovered an old love.

This no doubt looks familiar to all you knitters out there. It is indeed a striped scarf of the Noro Silk Garden variety (Silk Garden Variety Scarf? I like the sound of that). I wanted a new scarf to go with my new coat, see. I didn't want a solid color. I wanted something if not reversible then something that would look nice on either side. I wanted something easy. I wanted stripes that would both bring out and somewhat mute the sheer redness of my coat.

I remembered Cari's stunning Clapotis, which went so well with her own very red coat. While my mind did linger on the idea of making another Clapotis, my heart said no. My heart said, "You've already made two." My heart said, "You really want to work with Silk Garden 84 again." It was true. Silk Garden 84 is the only color I have ever, really, truly loved.

From there it was easy to determine what to do--the ubiquitous striped scarf. It's been done so many times that I can't begin to link to all the versions, but like so many other knitters, I'm using Brooklyn Tweed's notes as a starting point.

I want my scarf to be wider and longer, though, so I ordered extra balls of 84 and one more color to stripe it with.

The one on the bottom, 252, is what I've started with. The other two are (l-r) 203 and 71.

I never thought that nothing but 1x1 ribbing would make me happy. Not only that, but unspeakably happy. It's all I can do to not work on this so I can finish up Hanukkah presents. Which may not get finished in time for my trip.

But I'm not stressed.