Why I Have a Staggeringly Low Opinion of Diana Gabaldon

Congrats, Diana, you're the second woman to go on my list of Authors Who Just Plain Suck. You and Stephenie Meyer have something to celebrate! Sisters are doing it for themselves!

Washcloths, or Why I'm Slowly Losing My Mind

So, over the past year I've done a lot of knitting that I never thought I'd do. I thought I'd graduated from the scarf-knitting stage, whining about how boring and repetitive and flat and lifeless they are, only to discover Estonian lace (reminder: I really need to get working on Triinu again), which makes scarves one of the most challenging things I have on my needles at the moment.

I swore up and down that I would never, ever, not in my life become one of those crazy people who knits socks. Because it's silly and pointless to knit something you can buy so cheaply and they're all complicated with the heels and the toes and stuff and sock knitters seem to all be certifiably insane. Cue last week, when I finished my second pair of socks and have a third about halfway done (two at once magic loop, no less!), and I'm haranguing mom and kara to join me on the sock bandwagon. Surely, socks are the most addictive branch of the knitting tree. I don't know why. but they're just magic. The Baudelaire socks, in addition to being fancy and challenging, also remind me of me new favorite children's book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events. There's also a pattern called Snicket Socks, and you know I'll be working on that soon.

And now, NOW, I'm getting really excited about things I used to think were totally boring and ridiculous: WASHCLOTHS. I blame Mason-Dixon Knitting and that totally sweet brick-like color pattern. (hey, who knew slipped stiches could be useful and not a horrible mistake?) I also blame the genius behind the "Exfoliate!!" Dalek washcloth, which I made in one sitting that required me to stay up until about 1 in the morning making crazy little bobbles. I'll have to make a TARDIS one to match. The next washcloths I make are going to be Supernatural-inspired Winchester Washcloths. I used to think that knitting a boring old square with some sort of squashed-looking design on it in boring old knit and purl stitches was...utterly useless, but that was before I knew I could make boring old squares with "bitch" and "jerk" written on them.

The conclusion that ought to be drawn from this blog is that Fandom Will Get Me To Knit Anything. wooohooooo

River Cottage foraging and Kitchen Witchery

Walking to and from work in the spring affords me a lovely opportunity to see plants as they grow and flower and bear fruit, and ever since reading the River Cottage Cookbook I've looked at the assortment of greenery in the tree lawns in my neighborhood and seen not weeds, but food. There's a ton of wild strawberry plants scattered around that are going to be delicious later on, and today's walk home supplied the fixings for lunch. I discovered (hooraaaaaay) that I started my period today, and I grabbed a handful of young dandelion leaves to brew into a tea to relieve the bloating. it's fairly mild but tasty.

There's a TON of chives growing around here, which is awesome, because I pretty much never need to bu chives again. I gathered a goodly bunch and chopped them to put into tuna salad. YUM.

Tonight I want to do something for the full moon, and since it's also Passover I'll do something unleavened. I've been wanting to make hoe cakes for a while. mmmmmm hoe cakes. perhaps with beans and..um...salad. I don't know.

ETA: took a hot bath with rose petals and some crushed aspirin. Cramps are now gone. SCORE.

Learning! It never stops!

Fun Fact: I knit Continental, because it is so fast. I learned to purl continental as well, because I could never figure out how to purl english-style, and also because it is so fast.

My continental purling is also super loose, and makes my stitches look like...well, crap. Exhibit A would be the floppy, giant pieces of that frumpy cardigan.

I now realize that all that trauma could have been avoided had I just taken the time to figure out english purling, because when I do it that way, the stitches are tight and even and look totally professional. d'oh.

In Conclusion: Thank you mom, I learned something new from you! Speed is not always everything, and maybe now pieced garments will no longer be anathema to me.

In actual project news, I've washed and blocked my swatch for the ravelympics mittens, and I hope the gauge turned out right because I definitely don't have any smaller needles. eek

BLOCKING:

This is the first time I have properly washed and blocked a lace scarf (the Juliet being my first lace scarf), and after leaving it unblocked and soft and cushy for months I finally got up the courage to bite the bullet and do it.

Here is a before pic:


I have learned several things:
1) This silk gets incredibly stinky when wet. Hopefully the smell will dissipate when it dries, good lord.

2) There are never enough pins, not in the entire world.

3) No-one will be able to iron shirts in the morning.

4) Despite not being wool, this pattern still opens up LIKE CRAZY.

WIP Roundup

Okay. This is just madness. I have a psychological inability to finish knitting projects within a reasonable amount of time. Here's a list:

Raha Scarf: I need to weave the ends in, wash and block, and mail to Emily. This was supposed to be done like a YEAR ago. shame!

St. James Sweater: Technically this is finished, since I sewed a ribbon into the collar (for maximum stability and awesomeness) and wore it on christmas eve. But! I still need to wash it and block it, which I'm totally afraid of since it fits so well as is. ah me. And I need a decent picture of the sweater in action.

Triinu Scarf: I haven't worked on this in a while, mainly due to holiday madness, but it's such a complicated pattern that I need absolute quiet in order to focus. So I don't see this one being finished any time soon. I have about six or seven inches of scarf done. it's gorgeous, and I love doing the lacework and working with that yarn, it's just so intensive. a rainy day project. :)

Socks: no more progress since tuesday, I still have a couple inches of ribbing to go on sock #2. But I brought it in today to work on during my break.

And because I just needed something new in my life, I've started a Ballband Dishcloth, as featured in Mason-Dixon Knitting and a million other places. I love the pattern, it looks way more sophisticated than it is, and the colors just make me alert and excited. Although when I'm madly chugging away at near-midnight, the color combo of deep magenta and seafoam green can get a little too hot, and my eyes are really tired this morning. smaaart.

In addition to all this there's several other finished projects that don't have photos up on ravelry and I feel like a slacker. this will get done! ...Eventually!

Knit Night strikes again!

I am much improved in my knitting-while-talking prowess, or perhaps just while doing things like K2P2 rib, because I finished Sock #1 during tonight's get-together. Hooray! and it fits perfectly! I'm thinking duplicate stitch to reinforce the heel.

Now I have about three inches of ribbing to go on Sock #2 and I will be FINISHED. Omg. I have ventured into the abyss, and it is awesome. But I have a million other things I want to do before I tackle another, more fancier pair of socks. But still. I feel accomplished.