The Golden Iris

Yes, with less than two weeks to go, it's suddenly Christmas knitting time. Thankfully this is pretty much the extent of what has to be knit up... ... and washed, and blocked, and wrapped... guess I'd better get started already!

Well, maybe I'm a bit late to sweater season, and I know I'm surely late to the game for this sweater, but I'm making one anyway. Here is the beginning of the really lovely February Lady Sweater . Apparently everybody is making this - Ravelry currently lists over 3,000 projects , making it the most popular adult-size sweater on the site. The designer adapted a baby sweater pattern by Elizabeth Zimmermann to adult size. I'm excited about the effect - and who couldn't use another cardigan? I'm about at the point where I can quit knitting endless garter stitch and switch to the lace pattern - I just have to double-check the raglan length against another sweater. Even with two needles in the bottom it's hard to gauge accurately how big it is when I try it on. I have a feeling that once I get going, this is going to be a very, very quick sweater to finish. Which is good - it's already more than cold enough out!

I've fallen into some good knitting luck lately and won some very nice yarn that I have to show off. Part of the reason you're seeing all these socks on the blog is that they're not just socks. They're also raffle drawing entries. And the raffle prizes are usually yarn - I've now won a prize three months in a row! This is a gorgeous skein of Schaefer Anne - and it was custom-dyed just for me. Each way you turn it, it's a little different. I asked for a warm brown, and autumn colors to complement it. I think they did a lovely job. Now I simply have to decide what to make with it!

Another sock - because I'm just that exciting. I know, I know, how many more socks am I going to show you? (It could be worse, right? I could do nothing but take photos of the cat!) One down, one to go. Finally, a toe-up construction that doesn't drive me crazy! No waste yarn, no short-row heel, just a very well-fitting sock. The heel and toe are arguably a little fiddly, being written for circular needles, but I can persevere. These are called Seaweed Socks [warning: PDF] by Wendy Johnson of WendyKnits . The yarn is Koigu (yum!). And here's a close-up, because I can. I think it's time to start the second one... and maybe scheme about some argyle socks.

...and knitting again. I am happy to report that moving couldn't have gone better. Out of the old apartment and into the truck in half an hour - two easy days on the road with clear weather - out of the truck and into the new apartment in half an hour. I'm mostly unpacked and soon I get to really start learning my way around Chicago. Once I get all my housekeys, that is - the hardware store didn't cut them all properly so it's a little hard to leave! (Well, I can leave just fine... getting back in is another story.)  Not that I want to leave, it's snowing outside, yuck. I have a delightfully long list of things to knit before the New Year, including: a sooper sekrit hat at least 2, maybe 3 pair of socks another Lace Ribbon Scarf some more sooper sekrit sample knitting (hooray!) Bits and pieces of an afghan and the February Lady Sweater for yours truly. It seems all I've been knitting is socks this year and I really want to get back to knitting larger pieces ...

Tonight, I sat down to knit on a sock - it doesn't matter which one - only to discover that several inches back, I'd made a mistake serious enough to warrant ripping it out. I like my pairs of socks to match one another as precisely as possible, so out it went. Two steps forward, one step back, and suddenly I'm in a place where I can start moving forward again, more perfectly. That is kind of how life is these days, both with knitting and, well, life. I think I've gotten myself somewhere only to stop, take a step back, and start again. Things aren't working out and I'm moving. In two weeks I'll be in another city, with other people. Closer to my family, closer to old friends for the holidays - but back to bad weather and, inevitably, unemployment. It's a gamble, but how can I not make the choice for happiness? For [astronomically] lower rent? For getting to see my parents and everyone else at Christmas? So I'm packing. Chicago or bust!

I voted, did you? The lines were short when I went to vote here in Northern Virginia (a.k.a. "Communist Country" or "Fake Virginia"). If you're in the USA and haven't yet voted, make sure you get to the polls today! Now, back to your regularly scheduled knitting....

Sometimes it's the littlest things that matter most. Waiting for flowers is a wonderful kind of waiting.

Seems like everything I start these days has to be torn out and begun again. For Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous October Sockdown, I started some toe-up Honeybee Socks, which were cute... ... but impractical. Toe-up socks drive me crazy and I should know better by now than to try them. They never seem to fit me right in the instep and heel. So now they've been ripped out and turned into something entirely different by the same designer, these Komet socks. Much nicer! I've also decided that the rib and cable sock I made was also no good... Ugly ribbed heel... Ugly wonky toe... Disappointing everywhere... I don't know what to do with these. Certainly I'll have to rip them out. But will I have to go so far as to overdye the yarn? I don't know if I want to go through that. Ugh.

Looks like it happened again... I fell off the Internet. Never fear, I'm still knitting. It's simply that many of the projects that I was knitting in the interim were samples that I was unable to show off. At least I have something to show for my time away: yet another pair of socks! Ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous and their monthly Sockdown knit-along has inspired me yet again to actually complete a project. I had wanted to knit Cookie A.'s Hedera Socks ever since the pattern was first published in Knitty. While admittedly the pattern is a bit boring, the effect is lovely. I picked up the yarn, some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Lucky Stripe, on my last trip to Chicago. It seemed a fitting souvenir (as Lorna's is Chicago-based). Not usually a fan of their "Stripe" colorways but the two colors were close enough in tone in this colorway that they blended well in the body of the sock and made nice stripes at heel and toe. I love the way the colo...

My vacation last week included some not insignificant travel time on buses and trains, so I was finally able to finish a project for myself! These are the Diagonal Rib Socks by Ann Budd, available via Knitting Daily. I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Cool and US 1.5 needles. I'm really pleased with the way these turned out, even if the knitting was a bit tedious. I'm thinking I should knit up more socks at a slightly looser gauge instead of as tight as possible - they feel a little finer and less clunky. These were also my project for this year's Ravelympics, in the WIP Wrestling event. I have too many languishing projects that I need to see through to completion, and I was hoping to get more done, but one finished project is better than none. Back soon with more sample knitting news!

There is nothing like coming home after a day at work to three big boxes at the top of the stairs, each one filled with lovely, lovely yarn. Of course, one box I had to send to myself because I bought too much yarn on my vacation - but the other two.... I have lovely yarn for socks and a top as payment for some sample knitting a while back, and more yarn for more sample knitting! So exciting. Excuse me, I'm going to go play with my yarn now.

Somehow it's August, and I'm not sure how that happened! As the years go by they seem to go faster and faster. All the heat has really pumped up my tropical plants. I woke up this morning to find that my "Pretoria" canna had its first flower. You just can't ignore that glowing orange. It's even more spectacular considering the leaves, which are green and yellow striped, offering its other name of Bengal Tiger. I also have a "Tropicanna" plant, but that one is not quite ready to bloom yet. Next year, come hell or high water, I'm buying "Cleopatra" cannas . I just love the broken color. In other tropical news, my elephant ear is unstoppable. It usually wilts by the afternoon, but I keep it watered and hot and it just gets bigger and bigger. And of course it wouldn't be a jungle without hot things. Jalapenos! Yum... Soon I'll be done with sample knitting, and it will be time for the Ravelympics and whipping up some baby sweat...

Working at a paper store, just like working at any other store, has its pros and cons. For the creative person, it's fabulous - great ideas, great products, and a discount! Of course this means that you end up buying more stuff than you really need at any given time. Take me, for instance. I think personalized stationery is a fabulous idea. It's, well, personal. Of course, to get the real thing is prohibitively expensive for most of us, and who really writes that many letters or notes anymore anyway? Perhaps we should write more. It would get us out from the pale glow of our computer screens and bring back some of that fine motor control we've adapted to pushing virtual iPhone buttons. But I digress. Regardless of how much we really do use it, I found out that personalized stationery is not all that hard to get, and lots of the materials you use to make it can be reused for the next time (you know, after you write a bunch of letters). Ingredients: 8.5x11 paper A2 e...

What was supposed to be a quick trip to the drugstore this morning turned into a much longer trip with several detours. The best detour was a garage sale. 8 books, 2 nearly brand new pair of shoes (to fit my crazy sized feet), and 2 star cookie cutters. $15. What a deal! And even my haul at the drugstore was cheap. Most excellent.

Na na na na na na naaa.... Yes, it's a real Katamari ! I don't have any photos of stuff sticking to it, but with its magnets you can roll it through the junk drawer and pick up all kinds of stuff. And, you know, rebuild the universe. I realized I never wrote about this, even though it was a Christmas gift. Sadly this is a dangerous object in our home - all those strong magnets are dangerous for our various electronics. So it sits in the windowsill, generally being awesome, but kind of lonely. I made mine from Amy Shimel's Magnetic Katamari Pattern , with scraps of acrylic from my mom. And lots and lots of strong magnets and more stuffing than you think would fit into such a small ball. This is usually about as much crocheting as I can stand, so it was a good small project.

This week has brought some lovely things from the garden. Sweet peas... A lovely apricot daylily... And what's this? Yarn? Yarn in the garden? Yes, you guessed it, it's secret stealth knitting time. I received some lovely Schaefer Yarns Judith in an incredible purple (called Betty Friedan). Impossible to photograph, even with a contrast color in the full sun, but still gorgeous. It's a lovely 100% alpaca that looks like it's going to be a joy to work with. I can't tell you much more until the pattern is published, so, until next time, happy knitting. (Don't worry, I won't totally disappear!)

It's done! I'm amazed I've finished something else. Maybe I'm getting some knitting mojo back. Here, modelled by my lovely lamp, is the new Clapotis. The stats: Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert Yarn: Trekking XXL, color 105 Needles: #4 Modifications: Less width, more length, a looser gauge for a scarf/wrap that's more suited to the spring and fall (and probably the not-so-intense winter) here! I love this, I love the way the colors gently blend and don't repeat. It blocked up nicely and I think I'm going to be much happier with this one than my old one. Not that I really enjoy retiring old knits, but there is always room for new ones. Especially when they're as delightful as this. What's next? I'm still telling myself I need to finish the bedjacket, but I've also got another top-secret sample knitting gig coming down the pipe, so you may not see much knitting from me for a while. All in all I'm already doing better on my summer...

In with the new. The Logan River Wrap is no more, and it has been totally frogged and balled back up. Anybody want 5 balls of Noro Cash Iroha? Because it is hotter than hot here, even my winter knitting needs to lighten up. So no more worsted weight wraps. Fingering weight is the only way to go! I'm working on a skinnier fingering weight Clapotis in Trekking, color 105. I hope a good wash will soften it up, but right now I don't mind because I'm totally in love with the color. I also can't believe I'm making another Clapotis, but I love the one I have and don't want to make another Lace Ribbon scarf so soon. I keep telling myself I should try to break away from knitting everything in purple, blue, and green. It makes all my knitting look and feel the same. I have also started the Shetland Shorty sweater with the yarn that I dyed . Casting on and working garter stitch on over 250 stitches is a little tedious, but that's OK as it's the whole sweat...

It's time for my first finished object since January (well, one that I can actually talk about). What's this, you say? Hooray for the lovely Lace Ribbon Scarf designed by Veronik Avery. Incidentally I think I want to be Veronik Avery when I grow up. I wouldn't even have to change my name very much! In any case, I'm so glad this scarf is done, mostly because this is the third incarnation of this yarn. Poor Spunky Eclectic Super Socks... I loved this yarn (now, sadly, unavailable). It was beautifully dyed, the colors were unique, it was nice and soft and squishy... and just didn't want to be anything I wanted it to be. Here is the yarn, so innocently awaiting a project, months and months ago. First I tried to make it into a pair of socks. Yuck! They didn't fit and the colors pooled oddly, which was a shame for this yarn. Then I tried to make it into the Lace Diamond Scarf, and got all the way to the end before the edging got screwed up. It looked nice f...

Today I finally sent off four hats to the 300 Hat Project started by Kristy . Kristy is going to the Ukraine in September and is planning to donate the hats to an orphanage. I had hats that I didn't need and figured they could get better use. So off they go! Of course I forgot to take a photo before I sent them, but that's OK. Want to make some hats for this good cause? Check the links above for more details. You have until early September, and there's prizes involved!

A year ago, I had never heard of something called icebox cake , which is apparently a classic, made with Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers and large amounts of whipped cream. In my house we always made Chocolate Eclair Cake in the summers, another no-bake dessert made with graham crackers, vanilla pudding, Cool Whip, and chocolate frosting. In any case, with company coming, someone insisted that we make it - partially so we didn't have to eat it all! While the recipe and photo on the Famous Wafers box isn't particularly inspiring, a quick search brought us to this fabulous entry at Smitten Kitchen . That, my friends, is a cake to be proud of, baking or no baking. There is nothing difficult about this cake, except getting over the idea of three cups of whipping cream, and perhaps finding a way to protect it in the refrigerator overnight, which I'll get to in a bit. You have to use real cream, none of this stuff in a spray can. But first, the super-simple recipe. This ve...