3 posts tagged “hoodie”

Every other Tuesday morning, my LYS has a thing called "Breakfast Club" where, for $5, you can come in a couple hours before the store opens to knit and enjoy good company, coffee and bagels. It's sort of become one of the highlights of my, well, fortnight. And it's pretty much the only time I go to my LYS to sit and knit for a couple (or few) hours and spend time with other knitters (and crocheters).

Seeing as how I'm fortunate enough to work from home, I realize I could, hypothetically, go to the LYS like every day of the week and hang out, especially since it's only a 15 minute bike ride away. But, of course, that wouldn't be very productive - especially since the yarn store also doubles as a black hole where all time and space becomes distorted. Therefore,  what feels like an hour and a half is actually more like... uh, 5.

5 hours is what I spent there today I'm somewhat shocked to admit. But I think it's ok because I'm sort of in job-limbo. (More on that in a second). Anyway, I enjoyed myself as always but I did not get an inch of progress out of my dreadful Avalon Hoodie. It wasn't for lack of trying. I had to rip back 3 times because, no matter how closely I tried to follow the directions, my collar was not turning out at all like it was supposed to. And looking at the photo of the finished product, I can not conceive of how the corresponding pattern could possibly result in that same look, because, believe me, I've tried. I do find it mildly suspcious that in ALL 4 photos of the finished product, the model's hair or hand just so happens to be covering up the crucial part of the pattern upon which I am stuck. (I could just be paranoid and delirious, however.)

As of right now, I am screwing the pattern and just improvising something that I (hope) will work. But I have to say, I am getting dangerously close to loathing this project and wanting to rip it all out and never speak of it again.

I should have just spent those 5 hours finishing my husband's remaining sock.

I was so frustrated I had to buy some yarn to soothe myself. I bought some beloved Noro to make a striped scarf. I wanted to use Silk Garden but there were no colors available that I liked. So I went with Kureyon. And instead of colors mixed with dark stripes, I'm going to try a light-striped version.

I also picked up these cute and teeny little circs. I had no idea they came in this size! I'm gonna try to knit a sock on them, because double pointed needles get on my nerves sometimes (although they are quite efficient).
 

Anyway, back to the job-limbo. For the past 5 years I have worked for a certain comic book company as the writer and illustrator for one of their monthly books. It has been a most satisfying run, but alas, all good things must come to an end. Last week I completed my final issue. And for the first time in years I find myself without a deadline.  I do have other projects lined up but nothing as reliable as that first one, and those are still in early-stages. So right now I'm sort of in project limbo and have a bit more time on my hands until things pick up on my other projects. Part of me is like "woo hoo!" because I suddenly have some time to get some personal projects complete (I'm trying to write a novel), and of course, knitting! But another part of me feels a little adrift and sad at losing such a big part of my regular work routine.

Right after I finished my final issue, I felt a little melancholy and decided that I needed both a pick-me-up as well as some kind self-congratulatory prize for my 42 issue run. And what better way to acheive  that than with a little retail therapy?

In what was clearly a haze of desperation and sorrow, I found myself signing up for Blue Moon Fiber Art's Rockin' Sock Club. I can't be held responsible for my actions, really. ;)

I must be crazy because I have only completed ONE pair of worsted acrylic socks to date. But, when I'm learning something new I ususally like to just dive right into it and tackle it head on. So what better way to learn to knit nice socks than to subscribe to a sock club that will surely have patterns that will drive me insane? Of course, the yarn is main draw to the club. BMA has some of the most gorgeous colorways out there. I ordered two skeins of their yarn back in my early knitting days (when paying more than 5 dollars for yarn was ghastly and risque!), and I loved and treasured them so much I couldn't bear to use them. As a result, they have been sitting in a bowl on my coffee table as decoration for the past 3 years! Of course, for my husband's socks I finally relenquished one of them (Beryl) and used it. And I love the yarn so much I am totally sold.

One last note.... it seems I have been wearing my aforementioned acrylic socks a little too much. (More like slippers than socks, really. I only washed them once, but I swear they don't smell!). It is a little painful to see a gaping hole in something I spent hours on... but it kinda just makes me love 'em even more.

Ok, well, remember how I swore off socks some months ago? Well, I have officially flip-flopped. In fact, I have worse than flip-flopped. I have caught the sock bug... bad. All I want to do is knit socks. I've lost interest in all my non-socks projects. Yes, it's that bad. So what would make me change heart so drastically? Well first it was reading the latest book by the Yarn Harlot. Every time I read her stuff, I come away wanting to make socks, period. (She just has a way of making it sound like they are the most amazing thing in the world).

Then, completing my first pair of socks which I mentioned a couple entries ago was a factor. Even though they're made of cheap acrylic and they're kind of saggy on my feet, I've been wearing them almost nonstop since I made them (and as I write this, in fact). They keep me warm and cozy when I'm in the house and I get a little ego boost every time I look at my feet and think, "I made these"!

The real cincher, however,  was when I made a sock for my husband. (Yes, just one. I'm still working on its mate!). I wanted to make a "real" sock, using tiny needles and sock yarn (Socks that Rock medium weight in Beryl, for those who want to know). What I didn't realize was how much time it would take. This wasn't anything like my first pair which were knit with worsted yarn on size 6 needles - those were cake compared to this. And it doesn't help that my husband has huge feet and that the pattern was a time consuming and mind-numbing 3x1 rib.
It was a real test of patience to finish that sock. I always kept it nearby and did a few rows here and there, whenever i had a chance. And I had a couple of marathon sessions too. But I was determined to finish it.

And I finally did, on Christmas eve while hubby and I were visiting my folks for the holidays.

I got that familiar warm and fuzzy feeling of completion, but the best part was seeing my husband actually put it on. It was a little tight, he admitted, and I realized that I would possibly have to rip it back. But he wouldn't give it back to me. He insisted it was fine and it would "probably stretch out" on its own, and he continued to wear that one sock for the rest of the night and urged me to hurry up and finish the second one!

So even though the pattern is pretty dull, I'm fully determined to finish the second one! I think I may have officially beaten Second Sock Syndrome! Of course I can't really say that until I complete the pair, but I feel optimistic!

I've also decided to give 2-socks-on-one-circular-needle another try. And naturally, because I like pain, I chose one of the more difficult patterns (well, difficult for me) in the book to attempt to re-learn the technique, Belle Epoque, which has a picot edge AND cables, and Yarn Overs! (Oh, my!).

But so far, so good. The picot edge was a headache and if I was more type A, I might have re-done it so that it looked better, but I'm not. So I will learn to love my flaws. I like the technique of knitting two at once and I've finally gotten into the flow of it. The yarn tangling continues to be a problem, but that's partially my fault because I chose to knit from two ends of the same ball of yarn, rather that separate it into two. As for the yarn - I love it! The color is just amazing and the yarn is so soft. I got it in a swap so I don't know exactly what it is, only that it's by Mystical Creations. I have a feeling these socks are going to take a while though.

I want to start another pair of socks... something that is less boring than the pair I'm working on for my husband, and something less complex than the Belle Epoque ones... but I'm trying to convince myself to finish those before I start any new ones!

When I went home for the holidays I brought along my Avalon Hoodie to work on, but since I was so enamored with my sock projects, I didn't even touch it. I have to say, the more I look at it, the less i like it. The way the yarn is pooling isn't really appealing and I'm still not convinced it will fit right. But I have to remind myself that it's still in progress and not yet blocked... and it may end up being cute! But taking photos of my progress didn't really encourage me...

And on one final note, I've joined Indie Dyer's WoW sock club! What better way to feed my new sock addiction than to buy yarn inspired by my WoW addiction? :D 

I have a short attention span. I think I have more projects in-progress than I do actual completed projects. The projects that I have completed tend to be one-shape deals. A scarf, a baby blanket, a coffee cup cozy. As soon as extra elements such as sleeves, shaping, seaming, and especially pairs are introduced, the chances of my finishing the project drop dramatically.

However, I've decided to take a stand and start taking care of those un-finished objects (or UFOs in yarn-speak) and get them done, if only to free up some of the needles they're resting on.  And so far so good! I think it's a promising sign that my knitting is getting more proficient because finishing my projects seems to be taking much less time than I anticipated.

Last February I knit a cozy orange neck-warmer and wanted to make arm-warmers to go with it. I completed the first one, but lost motivation to finish the second. Well, I picked it up the other night and was amazed that I was able to finish the second arm-warmer during a few episodes of 30 Rock. That wasn't so bad... and now I have a cozy neck and arm-warming combo to wear just as the weather is getting more nippy!

Emboldened, I dared to face a project from my very distant past. Almost 2 years, to be exact. That's right... my first sock. I was so proud to have finished the first one, but also traumatized and I couldn't bear the thought of repeating the experience. I even dabbled in other sock-knitting, but as I mentioned in my last entry, socks are just not for me. But that one single sock has been a spot of bother in the back of my mind for the past 2 years now and I decided I wanted to be done with it once and for all!

My poor neglected first sock and the accompanying ball of yarn were buried in a basket and somehow coated in dog hair. I spent a good amount of time picking these hairs off as I contemplated my mission. Then I began, feeling somewhat reluctant, like it was a chore.

But then, something funny began to happen.

I began to enjoy myself. The sock seemed to fly off my needles (it is worsted weight yarn on size 6 needles, after all), and it seemed like I was done in no time at all. And even though the socks were made of basic acrylic yarn - nothing fancy, when I slipped them on my feet (which are perpetually cold, by the way), I experienced a sudden blissful feeling of "Aaaahhhh". I'm wearing them now as I write this and my feet feel so cozy. I'm usually always barefoot in the house - I don't like wearing socks indoors...but I'm changing my mind!

In fact, I've decided to give socks another try. I'm now working on a "real" pair of socks using real sock-yarn and tiny needles for my husband's huge feet. I'm almost done with the first. If I can finish the pair I'll know I have beaten my second-sock-syndrome for good!

It isn't just knitting projects I've been finishing. I also weaved in ends and embelleshed three market bags that I made for my aunts for Christmas. I'm feeling quite good about getting all these things out of my way!

I still have projects left though.

The main one that's bugging me is the second Beer Glove to match the first I made for my husband. I learned that if there is something I like less than socks, it's making individual finger holes. But the first turned out fairly well and I would really like to get the second one over with. That's next on my list.

Next, is my Avalon Hoodie. I fell in love with the image in the magazine and I really should have held out for the kind of yarn shown in the magazine (Lorna's Laces Swirl in Pewter).....

...BUT... I was impatient and bought what was immedietly available at my LYS, (Lorna's Laces Swirl in Black Purl). Now, don't get me wrong. I like the color - it reminds me of my favorite time of day - dusk. But I'm not sure I like it on me. I very rarely wear purple and as I've been working on the hoodie (I've got the body done, just need to finish the sleeves and hood), I'm not sure I'm digging the stripey effect of the yarn.
 

I'm having a hard time seeing myself wearing this, and from trying it on so far I fear the bottom edge isn't as long as I would like so I'm already wondering if there's a way to knit from the cast-on edge to make it longer... As if that weren't enough, the LYS only had 5 balls of the yarn, not 8 like the pattern called for. But I was too impatient to worry about it (else I would have ordered the color I really wanted and waited for it to come in), so I bought the 5 that were available and knit until they were almost gone and ordered 3 more online. And, of course, the dye lot is different. Luckily it seems very similar, if not for the annoying shades of pink in the new lot of yarn that were absent in the first skeins. Sigh...

As a result of all these annoyances I haven't been working on the hoodie much of late, which is a shame because I do have so much of it done and that yarn was not cheap!! So that will be next after the Beer Gloves.

Lastly, I have a crochet afghan that I started enthusiastically when my good friend Cecily was asked to host a Crochet-Along for Lion Brand.  I started using all the random acrylic colors in my stash just to get rid of some stuff I wasn't going to use ever again. But the damn thing was just so ugly!!! And when I saw Cecily's blanket which was in lucious shades of purple, and crocheted with a much bigger hook so the blocks were large and springy compared to my tightly-wound curmugeons,

So I basically got yarn-envy and ripped out all my blocks in brown and orange and god-knows-what-other-random-pukey-color  and ran out and bought a bunch of puple Lion Brand yarn and started over. And I got like 6 blocks done! But.....then I sort of lost interest and I currently have a bag full of blocks and heaps of yarn that I bought in desperation.

I'll have to deal with that later...

I also have a gray boatneck sweater that I've barely started. I may just rip that out and pretend in never happened. (Anyway, gray boatneck sweaters are so two years ago.)

I think that's all of my UFOs...though I'm sure if I went digging I would find one or two more. I'll try to pretend that isn't the case while I get my current list tackled.

I'm already forming a resolution for next year and that's that I will not start a new project unless I finish another one first!

We'll see how long that lasts!