One More Day...

I can't wait for vacation. So its only 4 days but its 4 days I can spend doing nothing but knitting shopping and spending time with the family. To me that's a perfect vacation.

I did some research and its looks like there are two knitting stores "near" my grandmother's house out on the Cape, Adventures in Knitting and Ladybug Knit Shop, both of which will be open while I'm there. I can't wait to explore new knitting stores. The one's in NYC can intimidate me sometimes. Some of the women (and men) who run them are very sweet however many of the others can be a little...well...bitchy. When I walk into one of "those" stores I always feel judged like I'm not advanced enough to be in that store. Maybe that's just a New York thing who knows but it will be nice to try out new places and maybe I'll come back with some fun new yarns! I don't know if I should look for something for a particular pattern I want to try or if I should just get whatever catches my eye. I wonder what other people do...I think I feel a poll coming on!! If there is anyone reading this is your time to speak out!! YAY!!

Oh and I finally found a way to track my package from Joann.com and it is out for delivery and will arrive today. Note to self, never order from there again.

Yarn Frustration

After ordering from royalyarnsinternational.com and now joannfabrics.com I'm a little frustrated. Neither site gives you any information regarding package tracking which I find very annoying. I have no issue with the service or products but I like to be able to track my package. Especially when I order yarn to arrive on a certain day and it doesn't. I really want the new plum colored yarn for this jumper to come today (like I paid extra for it to) so I can start tonight. The lingerie project is a-go but I think it might be a little more advanced than I am. I'm not scared and I'm not giving up but I think while I work on this more advanced project it would be good to work on this easier one.

Here's a shot of the jumper I want to make but I have no yarn. Why I paid extra for 2-day shipping I don't know.

When I say more advanced, I mean that I have never had to do any shaping before and the bra and panties set really requires a lot of shaping. I think that if I work on the jumper, which requires some shaping, while I work on the lingerie the lingerie will come out much better. However, if this new yarn doesn't come before I leave for the Cape I will have to work on the lingerie and risk it not turn out as well as I'd like. Keeping my fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!

By the by, I started the book I mentioned yesterday. Its very good. The author has some very interesting stories and writes well. I like that she sounds more hip and modern than one might expect from someone writing about knitting. But if I'm any representation of a knitter then knitters MUST come in all shapes, sizes, ages, colors and types.

I've been looking around for yarn shops in Cape Cod and I found a working sheep farm that makes their own yarns. And its down the street from where we're staying this weekend. I'm currently trying to get my boyfriend interested but I don't think it will happen. Maybe my grandmother or stepmother would like to join me on a little adventure but I doubt it. It looks like I might have to go this one alone. Oh well...I do have lots of fun on my as it is. C'est la vie!

Will that yarn come already...

Randomness

I know this has nothing to do with knitting but my friend sent this to me and it was so good I just had to share. Apparently there is a magazine or newspaper (still unclear about that) in Portland, OR where the following comic strip runs: http://www.qwantz.com/ it is hilarious. I love a good smart and funny dinosaur joke. Seriously, this has nothing to do with knitting but I just couldn't help but share this with others.

YAY New Project!

The new yarn finally arrived from RoyalYarnsInternational.com and its beautiful and so fine. I purchased 5 or 6 hanks of pink (#053) Filatura di Crosa Millefili Fine Yarn which is beautiful. It's easily the nicest yarn I've ever used. Its very fine and soft which will really work with this pattern. No itchy wool undies here! Now that all the positives out of the way, I'm having some problems with the pattern. The stitches are simple but the pattern is weird. It's probably my fault for not making a gauge swatch but I am using the recommended yarn so I thought I wouldn't have to...possible BIG mistake but I think I can fix it. The first thing I have to make is the bra band that should fit around my ribcage just below the bust. I followed the math provided to get the number of stitches I needed to cast-on. There is no way it's making it around me. I decided after a glass of wine and some deliberating with the boyfriend (who is in the dog-house by the way but that's for another rant) I decided to keep following the pattern. If I need to add some pieces in the back to make it fit around me then fine. If I have to unravel and start again who cares. Every mistake is a time to learn.

However, before I start making the panties I need to figure out the gauge of this yarn. I hope I don't need to find another set of needles. It was hard enough trying to find #2 24inch circular bamboo needles, I don't want to go another search. I guess the saving grace is that I would need bigger needles not smaller ones to fix my gauge problems. Oh my adventures in knitting...and I'm just begining.

Here are some shots of the yarn. Isn't it pretty. I think I like it because it's so simple and classic.

Hey maybe fixing this knitting mess will keep me from fighting with the boyfriend...nah...I can knit and yell!

I also picked up this book yesterday called "Zen and the Art of Knitting" by Bernadette Murphy it sounds very interesting and I can't wait to start. I find knitting to be so theraputic and relaxing. I think it would be lovely to hear someone else's take on knitting and its relaxing and zen like properties. I'll let you all know what I think when I'm done.

The Reveal

Last night I let the boyfriend in on my secret...this blog! He giggled a little but thought it was really cute (I'm thinking he meant that in the best way possible). I explained how I couldn't talk to him too much about my knitting because, frankly, he's not that interested. My solution, to talk to the imaginary people who might possibly ever read this. Hey, if anyone is actually reading this let me know what you think. It would feel great to know someone actually cared about my rambling re: knitting. But till then I will continue to ramble to the imaginary people to save my boyfriend the horror of having to listen to hours and hours of knitting related stories and ruminations.

The whole "blogging" phenomenon is interesting. I've never gotten into it before. I think I tried once when the whole thing started to become popular and I just found it stupid. Who wants to listen to my daily whining? But at that time I had no topic to be excited about or to even talk about other than myself and who really cares about the stupid college drama I was "dealing" with at the time. Then I graduated and started looking for jobs and I started to hear all these stories about people being judged by what was out there on the Internet about them. I never got into the whole myspace craze, though I do have a facebook account because that's what you did in college but I don't use it all that much. I guess I just didn't see the need to put myself out there in cyberspace till the knitting. Who cares is my boss finds my latest knitting related entry. He's not going to fire me over too-big-bootees! And I get to nurture my excitement and honest to goodness love of knitting. And maybe make a few cyber knitting friends along the way? Who knows? Its not the point really. I love having a place to just let out my inner knitter where I won't be judge. I'm just glad I got the blogging bug about knitting and NOT about anything I could get fired for hahaha! But of course I never do anything bad...

Last night I finished the bootees though I'm still looking for something nice to trim them in. Essentially they are done. I still think they're too big. I think I'm going to re-do them just not yet. After I finished them I was stuck with nothing new to start. The new yarn hasn't arrived and I don't like having nothing to do. So this morning I hopped on JoAnnfabrics.com and ordered yarn for a different project. I found a very sweet jumper in Knit-1 magazine that I would like to try. I ordered the yarn for 2-day delivery so I know I will have something to knit starting Wednesday. I leave for Cape Cod on Friday and I would hate to have nothing to knit, especially for the drive since the boyfriend doesn't let me drive (and its my car!). The only good thing about being a passenger is that I get to knit for 4 hours straight and maybe when I come back I'll have a new jumper!

OOO I think I'm going to research yarn/knitting stores in Cape Cod. I hope the boyfriend doesn't mind a few stops!

Of course the new yarn for the sexy bra and panites just arrived. Oh well two projects at a time. I really am becoming an experienced knitter!!

The weekend

The boyfriend and I have had a fun filled weekend (Coney Island and late birthday party drinking with old friends) and we're trying to recover so he's at the gym. He's crazy but we can talk about that another time. I'm recovering by finishing my bootees. One is about done and I have one more to assemble. I'm actually a little disappointed with them but I think it's the pattern. I just don't like how they end up looking. Here's a preview:

I think I'm going to just finish them and maybe try again with smaller needles and maybe finger-weight yarn. Then I think I will try to manipulate the pattern so that the bootees come out a little smaller. I just think that the baby that will fit in these will be so big that they might as well wear shoes. And I don't like how they trim the edges. You cast on and the cast off and use that as some sort of piping and I don't like it. I think I'm going to find a nicer trim.

I also promised pictures of the baby blanket that took me forever to complete and finally got me hooked on knitting so here it is:

(I said it was huge)

My journey on Friday to find the knitting store I knew was in the area but couldn't find listed anywhere was found! It is on first avenue between 65th and 66th streets. I knew I wasn't crazy. The only problem was that in August the store is apparently only open from 12-6pm on Wednesdays so that was a bummer. I did walk the rest of the way home stopping into a couple neat boutiques and did a little shopping which I haven't done in a really long time which was fun.
All in all its been a great weekend!

If the new yarn doesn't arrive tomorrow I swear I don't know what I'm going to do. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Interesting Reading

The other night I was reading this article in Interweave Magazine (I think that was the name) about this lady, Althea Merback-IGMA, who does miniature knitting. And when I say miniature I mean miniature. But she re-makes paintings on tiny little sweaters. Its nuts!! I couldn't believe that 1) someone could knit that small and 2) knit with the much detail at that size. It is quite remarkable.

The next day I decided to try and find her online because someone like her must have a website. So here is her work: http://www.bugknits.com/ check it out. There are some amazing things on the site. She does beautiful work. I couldn't imagine knitting anything so tiny. I think I would go blind. Also, I think my boyfriend would kill me if there were tiny sweaters everywhere. He already gets mad enough about all the people size clothes that I leave around the place. The tiny ones might just push him over the edge.

So after sitting here at work all day I'm a little bummed. The new yarn still has not come. If I have to wait any longer I might have to start another project. Baby bootees do not take long enough and if I start anything bigger I may never finish. Plus work is too slow but its not like I can whip out the knitting bag and start purling. I wish I could sometimes. So I don't know what to do now. Do I start something new or try to move as slowly as possible through these booties? I can't go much slower!!! Difficult decisions all-around.

I am happy that its finally warm and sunny outside all the rain and gloom this week has been killing me. So think I'm going to leave a little early today and go scope out the yarn stores in the area. I keep seeing places on my way home from work but I never stop so....tonight, I explore!!! There is a place on 14th and 2nd Avenue that looked really cool called Knit New York (http://www.knitnewyork.com/). It's a yarn/knitting store and a coffee shop which I thought was neat. I unfortunately have to go in the opposite direction to get home so I guess I will have to save that for another day.

I'm excited for my knitting adventure though sometimes I wish I had people to go with me. I guess that will have to wait till I can attend my first knitting group meeting which won't be till after labor day. I am excited though to meet new knitters. I wish we had an event today but alas we don't meet for a few more days.

Newbie and Obsessed

So I probably started knitting 2 or 3 years ago after BEGGING my mother to teach me for year and years. So I did the prerequisite scarves and well more scarves and then I just got f-ing bored (plus I only have one neck so how many scarves does a person really need). So I didn't knit for about a year till my single, 42 year old, lawyer friend decided to make a trip to the sperm bank (literally) and have a baby. The pressure to knit something for the baby-to-be was on. So I found a baby afghan pattern and went for it. It might still be a rectangle but at least its not a scarf!! After many months of knitting and knitting and knitting this massive afghan (seriously how big does a baby blanket really have to be?) I finished (pictures to be posted shortly) and an obsessive knitter was born.

I didn't knit for a day or two after the blanket's completion and honestly I had no idea what to do with myself. I had pick a new project to start but the yarn hadn't come yet (actually I'm still waiting for yarn) and I just couldn't sit still. TV wasn't even the same. I hadn't watched TV without knitting needles in my hands for months and here I was trying to just sit and watch. IMPOSSIBLE! It was too much. I had some extra skeins of baby yarn lying around the house so I just started to make bootees. I have to make something and bootees it is!

At 23 I have found my obsession...



here is my next project...woo hoo SEXY!!

I can't wait to start...will that yarn just come already!!!!!