The Asheville Scarf from Friends & Fiberworks - Done!

It's easy being green...

I have to say, I really like how the crochet bind off edge came out—very smooth and clean. Totally worth the extra effort. This is a technique I will definitely use again!

Like many hand-dyed fibers, this one required patience in its final soak. It took nearly ten rinses to get the water clear—those deep greens are a stubborn sort, to be sure.

Still, it’s a small price to pay for such gorgeous colors.  I’m already envisioning this with a red sweater for the holidays.

The simple design and generous length make for all kinds of wearing options. Knotted ends, multiple wraps, long and draped—the possibilities go on.

And yes, it softened up nicely.

Thanks, Friends & Fiberworks, for a great knitting adventure!

Willow Cowl from Sin City Knit Shop - Day 5

...And again.

I’ll admit, I’d like this to be a bit more exciting by now.  This cowl would be what I call a “Little League” project—something good to do while the majority of your attention is on something else.  I got a tremendous amount of knitting done while my son was in community baseball.  The mom in me wanted to be there, sitting and watching.  The businesswoman in me had trouble swallowing all that downtime.  So I knit.  And knit and knit. 

This is what keeps me addicted to knitting—it ensures no waiting or watching (or sitting in poorly run committee meetings) is ever in vain.

Fortunately, coverage of the Olympics has provided lots of sitting-in-front-of-the-television time.  Depending upon how much yarn I’ve got left (and I’ve got about half of what I started with), I’m looking at either one more repeat of the lace pattern, or two.  While I’m all for larger garments being a larger gal myself, I’m not sure I’ve got two lace pattern repeats in me.  I’m feeling a case of the “I wanna be done”s coming on.

There is a common syndrome among writers where once the end is in sight of your current book, a bunch of new characters begin singing their siren song in your ear.  It’s difficult to ignore all the fun new stories calling your name and stick to the discipline required to finish the book at hand.  

The same is true of knitting—today, all kinds of new yarn is calling my name.

I am a professional.  I will plug my ears, attach my blinders, and press on toward the finish line!

Linen Stitch Bag from Unraveled - Day 5

A bag is born! 

Well, something that rather looks like a bag is born.  Right now it resembles a multi-colored blob closed at one end, but that’s to be expected at this stage.  When I look at it, the open edge feels wide.  Really wide.  Made more wide by the two-strands-held-together bind off which adds heft but in my case also seems to add width.  The open edge curves outward like a happy rainbow hat-brim.

Now, I am deeply aware that most of this probably won’t matter once the drawstring is implemented (and yes, I’m still living in fear of those endless rounds of i-cord).  I do wonder, however, just how tightly you can draw such a big thing closed?  Will it end up being practically useful?

The good news is that I don’t much care.  I love baskets and textured decorative objects, so if this ends up drawn lightly closed around a plant or just sitting as an object d’art on my office shelves, I will be equally happy as if it’s toting around my latest project.  Because it’s that pretty.  And making pretty things makes me happy.  

If it’s pretty AND useful, well that’s just icing on the cake, yes?

The Clincher Bandana Scarf from Ewe-Nique Yarns - Day 5

Getting loopy...

I made it!  I’ve started the fascinating I-cord loop trim that makes up the distinctive end of this scarf.

I wasn’t sure I’d like the charcoal trim on this multi-colored scarf, but I do think it works.  And when you factor in the huge amount of black and grey in my wardrobe, it’s useful.  

So color?  check.  Technique?  Eh, not so much.

This is one time I wish I had the opportunity to look over someone’s shoulder.  The directions are explicit, but like entrelac or turning your first sock heel, you’re prone to read them and go “Huh?  Wait, that cant work.”

The trick for me was making sure I did the final “knit 4” after the loop section of the I-cord.  Otherwise, you are not at the right spot to pick up the wrapped stitch and bind off where you need to for the inner loop edge.  Undoing complicated stitch-work in dark wool is always traumatic, and I confess to several nasty words while doing it the second time.  By the third attempt, I nailed it, and did a little victory dance around my couch. No, there isn’t a video.  Allow me my dignity.

I made it through the first of the dozen or so loops required.

Only now I’m stressed.  I can’t imagine how the tiny ball of yarn I have (25 yards) will make it across all the loops I need.  It looks like it can’t possibly be enough, and any restocking I’ll need will have to come all the way from Peoria.  Such is the risk of out-of-town knitting.  It’s not as if this is a problem Amazon Prime can solve, you know?

Nothing like a little creative “will I make it?” tension to give a clever project a nail-biter of a finale.  Stay tuned—anything could happen.

The Clincher Bandana Scarf from Ewe-Nique Yarns - Day 4

Pressing matters...

The color is pretty, but the rows are long.

The yarn has that marvelous wooly elasticity, but the rows are long.

The loopy closure looks really interesting, but I’ve got long rows to finish before I get there.

Do you sense a theme?

I think if it were all garter stitch, I wouldn’t be so grumpy.  But half the rows are purling, and purling just seems to go soooooo slow for me.  I can’t continental purl. Well, I can, but then after a few minutes my fingers cramp.  For a long row, that means I’m stuck with American style.  The fact that I can knit continental style—which is faster—just makes the purl rows feel that much more like slogging through molasses.

I’m determined to finish out the rest of my ball of Prairie Spun today so that tomorrow I can begin tackling those fascinating loopy closures.  It’s a rainy, chilly day in Chicago—the exact opposite of my last post—so it’s a good day to hunker down and knit.  

If only I didn’t have writing to do, errands to run, and this guy I married who has a right to expect some interaction (and some dinner made) from his spouse.  I’m writing the climax of my book, which is always rather exhausting (yes, writers get caught up in their work), so I want to run away and hide in my knitting.

So, today is going to be about pressing on.  In my writing.  In waiting for Spring take up permanent residence in Chicago instead of just swooping in for a day or two and then handing the keys back to Winter.  In finishing these ever-elongating rows of knit and purl.

Onward.

The Fog Shawl from The Fiber Universe--Day 4

Feelings...

I’ve decided.  I’m done.  

If the criteria is “you can’t stomach it any more,” I’m there.  I’ve been knitting through so many back loops my eyes are blurring.  It’s time.  If this goes on how I feel, I feel ready to be done.  Of course, this is a top-down shawl, so I would have felt ready to be done long before I was truly done. And for me, the only thing that would feel worse than “not done” would be the feeling I’d get if the thing ended up too small for my liking.

Wow, I really am feeling all the feels on this one, aren’t I?

Of course, Bella had to inspect

Time for some science.  Or at least some theoretical visuals.  I laid the shawl out overtop a finished shawl I already own, whose size I like very much.  This Fog is currently is about two-thirds the size of the finished right-sized Phoenix shawl.  To me, this affirms that I’m at a safe enough place to stop.  If it doubles in size, I’ll have a lovely big shawl.  If it grows less than that, I should still be okay.  Only I do know how to block a shawl within a inch of its life, so I’m feeling confident I can stretch this one to an ideal size.  At this point, I don’t think it can come out too small.

I’ve learned a lot about my control-freak nature on this project.  I need directions.  Specific directions.  I can punt in many areas of my life, but in knitting, I need to know it will turn out right.  I want to have solid trust that the directions I follow will produce the outcome I desire.  

As such, this “recipe” has taught me the limits of my knitting improvisation.  And those limits are rather small.  Then again, my life calls for a great deal of creativity in other areas, so being able to depend on my knitting makes a kind of compensatory sense.  Were I an accountant, maybe I could go hog wild with my knitting.  Goodness, wouldn’t that be a thing to see?

In any case, I’m settling in tonight for a very long stint of Jenny’s Incredibly Stretchy bind off to ensure I can stretch this baby out.  Stay tuned—I’m feeling like it’s going to be wonderful.

Alexandra Scarf from Gauge Knits - Day 4

Mental motivational trickery...

Cue BB King, the thrill is gone.  I’m halfway through and like lots of big projects, this last half feels harder and longer than the first.  Three more feet of zig-zags is looming wearily over me, a daunting I-can’t-get-there-from-here finish line.  Time to get my head in a new place about this project.

Now is the time the little boosts of knitting serve to encourage us.  I was knitting with a friend the other day, and we talked about the mini-joy of reaching the end of a challenging row with the right amount of stitches. You know what I’m talking about:  the pattern says something like “knit 4” and—lo and behold—you’ve got exactly four stitches left on your needle!  You didn’t botch this row!  Every knitter I know gets a little “zing” when that happens.  The longer the row, the bigger the zing, yes?

Another midway boost for me is what I call “pattern immersion.”  That’s my term for that magic moment when you don’t need to look at the written pattern to execute your repeat—you’ve memorized what comes next.  Most times it comes organically somewhere in the middle of a project.  This time, I needed to make it happen.  Having to keep peeking back at the written pattern was part of the reason this scarf was becoming tedious, and that needed to change.

I took 30 minutes and analyzed the set of left-leaning rows and those that leaned to the right.  I stared at the stitches until I could see that the two stockinette stitches to the right of those zig-zaging yarn-overs were the ones that were K2Tog’d.  Now I don’t have to count rows or stitches, just look for those two stitches.  

Conversely, staring hard at the stitches showed me that the YO and SSK happens right overtop the yarn-over from two rows below.  Now, the knitting tells me what I have to do next, not a constant glance over to the paperwork.  Sure, I check back every few rows to make sure I’m where I thought I was, but this little shift is enough to keep me motivated and heading toward the finish line!

Hey, a knitter’s gotta do what a knitter’s gotta do.

Honey Cowl from Cream City Yarn - Day 4

Knit yourself some life juice...

Small projects are portable.  My handbag (always, always chosen for its ability to carry my life AND my knitting) was bulging with the addition of the Multi-Textured Vest.  I’m delighting in how easily this cowl slips into my purse without making me feel like a Chicago Suburban Mary Poppins.  Like socks or mittens, or hats, cowls tuck nicely into our everyday existence.

More than their portability, however, is their progress.  The sense of accomplishment I feel, the excited “almost done” feeling you get when you’re sure you’ll have the thing finished by the week end--doesn’t that fuel your energy?  I think it’s the sense of finishing that makes such a counterbalance to the endless stress of mothering--or any other caretaking for that matter.  Face it: some things in life feel endless.  Marathons of effort with no clear finish line.  Often, life hands us “ends” to such endurance races--elder parents pass away, children grow up and move off--but they don’t often feel like “finishes.”

The control freak in me likes finishing.  Especially when I can do it on my terms.  There’s an old publishing saying, “I don’t much like writing, but I love having written.”  That’s me.  I’m the kind of gal who makes lists because she loves checking tasks off.  Don’t get me wrong, I adore the process of knitting from start to finish.  It’s just that I get an extra boost of "life juice" when I can see the finish coming toward me.

Like lots of knitting truths, this one applies to life as well.  If you’re facing a marathon of sorts--and life seems all to ready to hand us one these days--where in your knitting can you fuel your sense of accomplishment?  What’s near finishing that you can take that final mile (or is it yard)?   Stitch yourself up a boost of life juice this week and watch what happens.

Brady Scarf from Ruhama's - Day 4

Finished and unfinished

This week was all about things finished and things unfinished for me.  Professionally, I turned in a manuscript--an unheard of two days early!  That tug you feel when you’re finishing the first sock or mitten? The siren song of a new and more exciting project?  How suddenly ANYTHING looks more interesting than finishing what you’ve got on your needles?  Multiply that by about ten and you’ll feel what every writer feels at the 3/4 mark of their manuscript.  Your head is suddenly filled with new stories, deeper characters, more promising plots...everything but the resolve you need to finish your current manuscript.  Both are lessons in discipline.

I’m over the halfway mark of my Brady scarf, and I won’t lie to you...despite its wonderful design and enthralling colorway, my eye is wandering.  I keep fingering the yarn of my next project, lured in by the silky brown fibers.  I’m grateful to you, DestiKNITters, because you keep me accountable.  I do really like this scarf, but were it not for you (and my admittedly self-imposed deadline of no more than six episodes per project), I might stumble and lay this down.  But I won’t, I promise to soldier on, row after colorful row. I finished my book, and I’ll finish my scarf.

As a lesson to myself, I took today to sort through what I call my “knitting tower,” the place where I keep all my current projects.  And some...ahem...not so current ones.  I said goodbye to socks that I knew, deep down in my heart, would never welcome their mates into the world.  With a sad but resolute sigh, I unwound the second set of toes and pulled out the needles.  Same with two scarves half done, for I’ve admitted they’ll never see bind offs.  Two other unfinished projects, however, I kept.  I dubbed them worthy of finding the time to finish.  Balls of yarn--both those pristine and those unwound off forgotten projects--were returned to my stash while other fragments went into the trash.  Into the drawers went a succession of planned new projects, which felt tremendously satisfying.

It wasn’t easy, but it felt wonderful.  A reboot, as it were, of my creative fiber self while I reboot my creative writing self into another book.  For on both fronts--like my projects--I am finished and unfinished.

Diagonal Rib Infinity Scarf from Stitch(es) - Day 5

Before we begin, let's take a moment to recognize this is my 250th post.  Wow.  Who'd have thunk it??? I hope you've enjoyed the journey as much as I have!  We now return to the subject at hand:


Heading for the final curl...

I’m finally at the end of that l-o-n-g expanse of knit-5-purl-3.  The diagonal ribbing truly ads something special to the piece.  I can’t say until I’ve put it on, but I believe it will factor in how the scarf will drape around my neck.  I certainly know will feel soft and warm.  It’s been an eerily warm winter so far in Chicago...and I can’t help thinking payback is on the way.

Given my druthers, I’d suppose I’d opt to make it a bit wider.  I only received one skein of the Shibui Baby Alpaca, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to make it the full 7+ inches called for in the pattern.  I had to measure out the far end of the yarn.  I felt I needed to mark a “stopping point” to make sure I'd reserved enough yardage to do the five rows of stockinette.  I want that clever roll I need to match the beginning edge.  

It’s fine the way it is, but some part of me would prefer another three inches or so of width.  It feels like 10 inches to play with would be optimal.  It’s just a hunch--I haven’t gotten it around my neck yet.  And, let’s not forget that a wider scarf would mean three more inches of endless knit-5-purl-3 and I’m really done with that.

My original charm with this project still holds:  it’s a cute basic taken up a notch with some thoughtful pattern design.  Well worth a try--especially if the Chicago winter’s about to have its way.

Knit Along: Schmetterling Shawl from Mia BellaDay 3

Yikes!  It’s just getting bigger!

Did I not ponder the lack of wisdom in a project which just got larger the closer we got to the holiday?  I need finishing motivation, people.  I can barely remember to close kitchen cabinet doors or empty the dishwasher.  That’s sorely lacking here.  What I need are projects that start out with long (and thereby slow) rows and work toward short (and fast) rows.  

Yes, well, we can’t always get what we want, can we?

So I’m building character here (right? right??).  I’m glad there’s only one more repeat of this pattern because I think more than that would just about kill me.  I don’t think there’s a full size lace shawl in my future.  Well, not unless I break a leg while simultaneously loosing all my book contracts (No!).  This shawlette seems to be the limits of my stick-to-it-iveness.

Have you done this?  Looked at a week that’s supposed to be a holiday and envisioned all the knitting time you thought you’d have?  Only to turn around six days later and see yourself only a row or two farther than before?  

Part of the difficulty here is that this isn’t the kind of project you can do casually--it takes a fair amount of attention.  I can’t knit it in meetings or anything more mentally taxing than television or driving.  

What I need is a good long train trip.  Is it lovely in Nebraska this time of year?

Knit Along: Comin’ Round the Mountain Socks from Hearthstone Knits - Almost Done But...

The hard-toed truth

It has to be faced.  

The hard truth that I cannot finish two complete socks in a timeframe that won’t bore you to tears.  Well, at least not finish and have a life outside of my knitting bag.  

I really like these socks.  I’m proud of myself for mounting the challenge that it was to attempt them.  For adapting the pattern, for turning two heels simultaneously, and for doing my first-ever socks with a pattern that went beyond simple ribbing.  

But that doesn’t mean you all have to suffer.

I’m heading happily down the foot of these socks, cruising through the switch-back pattern on down to the toes.  I finally got smart (really wish I’d done this on the leg portion...duh!) and put some stitch markers on the yarn-over pattern to keep things in line.  Why is it I always feel like a sissy for using stitch markers on simple pattern?  I always pay for it when I don’t, so why try to get all over-confident instead of humbly smart?  I may never know.  Anyhow, I predict these are going to take me another five days.  But I don’t think you really want to hang around and watch.  And, unless I decide to launch another once-in-a-lifetime medical drama (NO!), I don’t think there will be much to write about until I bind off.  So I’m going to make you all a deal:  with the exception of a final photo when I’m done, this will be the last entry on the socks.  

Later this week we will travel to Indianapolis, where I met some wonderful people and ate some outstanding ice cream and cupcakes.  See? Isn’t that more exciting to read about than the final inches of socks, even if they are awesome socks?

OK, I’m going to go get in a few more rows before lunch.  Because they really are awesome socks.