One Geek to Stitch Them All

Happy World Wide Knit In Public Day. I hope everyone had a good time and got some good public knitting done. I headed over the the  Central Library at Grand Army Plaza, but didn’t get to stay long, as I had a birthday party to go to. There were knitting, crochet, and spinning lessons. I would have loved to learn to spin but the time crunch as I had to make it down to Prospect Park West.  Maybe next year.

So as you all know I broke the yarn drought while down in DC. I felt this was a good cause when I heard, “I didn’t even bring any yarns or needles with me”. Said friend is only in DC for eight weeks for an internship but still so wrong.

I’ve decided to keep the tally going because I am making a dent in the yarn, and as I gear up for Christmas knitting, and other gifts I will have to buy yarn eventually but I am making progress. So I have simply added a new category. Skeins Purchased in 2010.

Another thing I’ve been picking up like there is no tomorrow are stitch dictionaries:

Those two being the most recent purchases.  Both books have appealing stitches and are helping to inspire and show me how I’m going to pull out some of the images in my head.

I also picked up a new project bag. This one in fact. I had been turned onto the seller by a fellow knitter and needed a second bag.

Despite the knitting in public I’m still only a third or so of the way done with the  blue jeans shawl, I blame writing, and reading on the bus, but I’m sure it will get done soon enough. Hopefully to keep me warm on said bus.

Tally

Skeins Likely to Use: 138
Total Yards: 25, 558
Cast on in 2010:11

Skeins Purchased in 2010: 2
New Skeins used: 0

Days without a yarn Purchase in 2010: 4

Completion

Projects: 5
Skeins: 19.25

Remaining:

Yards:  22,815
Skeins: 118.75

knitting bag, books, etsy, WIP, WWKIP

Right under the wire I suppose. A Stash busting update for April.  Four months in and still not the biggest dent, though I wonder how the soon to be almost 4 hour round trip to work will effect that.  Likely on the positive end. I had a 1 1/2 hour commute round trip when I first learned to knit and that is when I made the EPIC Christmas gifts, I’m talking,  Hat, Scarf, and Flip top mittens for way too many people.

Pioneer is kindly kicking my butt which may help explain the increase in cast ons and not so much with the binding off.  Smaller size, the sleeves are perfect, the front works, the back is still too big, growls.  I will just have to deal with it later.  Ah the first sweater.

But on  to the  Tally:

Tally

Skeins Likely to Use: 138
Total Yards: 25, 558
Cast on in 2010:9

Days without a yarn Purchase in 2o10: 119

Completion

Projects: 4
Skeins: 16.25

Remaining:

Yards:  23,576
Skeins: 122

Slow and steady win the race I suppose. And I did just pick up E. Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop today so I’m a step closer to starting my  Captain America’s Shield Shawl.  Likely, I   shall break my yarn drought with white lace weight yarn to start the shawl.

knitting 2010 goal, books, sweater, WIP

Back from beer and knitting, it was still a bit more crowded than usual but not as bad as last week.  ( I found a knitting book with pint glass on the cover) The title already escapes me but it was something about simple knits for the social knitter.  The Devil’s Panties covers this well. Don’t let the name scare you, the worse thing about the image is some profanity at dropped stitches and not the @$%# kind.)

So I have gone with the three color vertical line plan.

So we have  colors and I hope I have actually worked out how to keep the three edges about the same size.

Also hit up Barnes and Noble today to get Skin Trade. And while I was at it I picked up a copy of Reversible knits.

As you may remember it items created from the book by the author were at Gotta Knit the day I headed over there.  to get more shawl yarn. There are a couple techniques from it I want to try (it states 6 for making items reversible) though one seems to be garter. I flipped through on the train and with my 35% off (20% Members discount 15% coupon) I am not complaining.

More on the shawl….

Read more…

knitting books, color-work, double knitting, shawl

How do we have Progress and fail all in one? Remember the candle flame shawl I started? In shades of purple blue and greens. Well I had always planned to use that yarn for a shawl. The only catch was I had planned to make a much lighter one. So I knew I didn’t have enough yarn. I headed over to Gotta Knit during lunch to get more and of course that color scheme is long gone.

This yarn fuzzes like there is no tomorrow, or like there is mohair hiding in its acrylic wool blend.  So frogging is not an option.I have gotten maybe 1/2 of the way done with 2 1/2 skeins of the 3 I had.

Its coming along well. I have memorized the repeat rows after leaving the pattern in a friend’s car and in fact being able to knit for hours without it.  But right now it drapes over my 13″ MacBook. You know the one the background for 95% of my pictures. Not nearly enough for keeping me warm at work. I may also in the future attempt a shrug for the same reason. The weather has been weird enough that the AC has not been cranked up to max yet. Though today it was fixed to be “cooler” in general.

But back to the shawl. The ladies at Gotta Knit were very helpful, and helped me select the three above colors to continue the shawl. My only questions become what order should they be knit in, and should I do two repeats or one. two repeats would give you one solid flame and half of another. One would be 1/2 of a flame though opposite ends.

Or take the advice of a friend and have vertical lines of color.  \ | / So each of those lines would be and equal part of the pattern. I may have to go on Ravelry and look around and see what else has been done to this pattern and if its what i have in mind.

At Gotta Knit they were also looking at things that the Author had sent for their copy of Reversable Knits. I will likely be picking up this book at some time as from what I saw all but one project was double knit.  How could I not? Just the lace weight scarf was enough to get me wondering. And the DK scarf that was cabled on one side and striped on the other.

WIP, knitting books, lys, shawl

So I went to The Point closing sale and wow. The place was picked clean! I doubt there will be much of anything left tomorrow to be honest. I totally spent more than I should anyway.

See there’s a book too so I’m not that bad really.  But yes 2 skeins of the orange 2 of the purple, 1 burgundy, and 1 blue purple mix. Most are fingering weight and I was thinking shawl or some other such thing from the orange, gloves maybe from the purple. And a hat possibly from the red.

The book Pretty in Punk, had caught my eye a few times so I was willing to pick it up at 30% off. Couple projects to add to the super queue.

I also got a size 0 40″ bamboo circular that I have already used to redo the cast on and start of a Dalek, (Extermaknit by Penwiper) using Karabella Aurora 4 in black and white for the first one. I may do the red supreme next or switch back to the Tardis.

knitting books, lys, yarn