Welcome Fall

Thought I would try to get back into a routine with this. Try to make reflection and writing part of my home routine. Today was free Redbox text day, so of course I'm watching a junk movie. What better time to try to fire this thing back up.

Yesterday was the autumnal equinox. The weather here in Seattle remains quite pleasant. It's gotten a bit chilly in the mornings, but remains sunny and sometimes quite warm in the afternoons. I think it might be time to pull the duvet out of summer storage. Despite the persistent pleasant weather, I've had the urge to knit hats over the past few weeks. Partly to welcome fall, and also to have the gratification of a quick project.



Pattern: Habitat (ravelry project page)
Yarn: Imperial Yarn Columbia

This was a fun project. The cables kept things interesting. I made the longer size, and it covers my ears nicely. This was my first time using this yarn. I bought it on a whim a while back and it's a bit wool-y (read: itchy), but the soak in wool wash softened it up a bit.



Pattern: Molly (ravelry project page)
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted

This hat represents is a good example of the importance of pattern and yarn agreement. By which I mean this yarn, more specifically this colorway, was a bad match for this pattern. The pattern, one large cable on a simple background looks great in the examples worked in a solid or semi-solid colorway, and I knew from about row 10 that this wasn't going to be great, but I kept knitting it anyway. :-/ The problem with my color choice aside, this hat is just fine. The yarn is so soft! And the hat has a nice slouch to it.

I have so many other projects to share. These were two were the most handy, as I had just been blocking them on the kitchen counter, and I could photog them myself with my phone. It's harder take a cell phone self-portrait with a shawl. I could bust out the big camera and the tri-pod, but for now baby steps--cell phone pics. For whatever dumb reason (laziness), downloading pics from the big camera is a huge chore.

FO: Semi-Precious Shawlette

 

Pattern: Semi-Precious Shawl [ravelry project page]
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy
Needle: US8

Another item donated to our soup kitchen's auction. This one a more traditional triangle shape. Super easy pattern, love the colorway with its subtle variation. I did a few extra repeats of the big diamond pattern, yielding an item that is between shawlette and shawl in size. Great for gray northwest days.

FO: Different Lines

Pattern: Different Lines [ravelry project page]
Yarn: madelinetosh sock in "oak" and "terra verte"
Needle: US6

This scarfish thing was super fun to make. Mindless garter broken up by short-rows and fun colors. The odd shape makes for an interesting neck accessory. This one was auctioned off to support our church's soup kitchen. Not sure who "won" it, but I sure do hope they like it! I plan on making one for myself--maybe gray and purple? We'll see...

FO: Orchid Theif Shawlette

Pattern: Orchid Thief [ravelry]
Yarn: Artfibers Carezza
Needle: US6

This yarn is a super-soft silk-alpaca-merino blend. Raj brought it back from San Francisco. Artfibers is a yarn company in San Francisco with a little shop near the French Embassy. So when Raj had to go down there to get a French visa, he was kind enough to stop in and buy me some yarn. :) He also brought me back this fun cone of greenish sock yarn.

I enjoyed this pattern. It was complicated enough to be interesting, without being difficult. And it knit up pretty quickly. Nice yarn + quick interesting pattern = great project.

Why I knit socks

A while back, I tried to count up all the pairs of socks I've completed since I started knitting socks 6.5 years ago. My estimate is somewhere between 60-70 pairs (accounting gets a lot easier with the advent of Ravelry). I've made them in all the colors of the rainbow. There have been lacy pairs and plain stockinette pairs and pairs with various types of ribbing. Most of them have been made with some sort of wool or wool/nylon blend (though one of my earliest pairs was made with alpaca--not a practical choice, but they sure are cozy!)

Cauchy Socks [Ravelry page]

There are a handful of reasons why I keep making socks. They're relatively quick to knit (when compared to an adult-sized sweater, at least). They're practical (we don't always need ANOTHER hat, but who doesn't need another pair of socks???). The yarn comes in eye-catching colors which some people might not choose to wear on any other part of their body besides their feet. They're great travel projects. You can try out practically any stitch pattern.

Some More Socks [Ravelry page]

They make great gifts. This is one of the biggest reasons I keep knitting socks. I know that I treasure the knitted socks I have received, and I choose to believe that everyone to whom I gift a pair treasures them just as much. Giving knitted socks is my way of saying, "I love you and value you enough to make something for your feet." :) If you'll indulge me a bit (like reading my blog isn't indulging me already--ha!):

Ode to My Socks - Pablo Neruda

Mara Mori brought me
a pair of socks
which she knitted herself
with her sheepherder’s hands,
two socks as soft as rabbits.

I slipped my feet into them
as if they were two cases
knitted with threads of twilight and goatskin,
Violent socks,

my feet were two fish made of wool,
two long sharks
sea blue, shot through
by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons,

my feet were honored in this way
by these heavenly socks.
They were so handsome for the first time
my feet seemed to me unacceptable
like two decrepit firemen,
firemen unworthy of that woven fire,
of those glowing socks.

Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere as schoolboys
keep fireflies,
as learned men collect
sacred texts,
I resisted the mad impulse to put them
in a golden cage and each day give them
birdseed and pieces of pink melon.

Like explorers in the jungle
who hand over the very rare green deer
to the spit and eat it with remorse,
I stretched out my feet and pulled on
the magnificent socks and then my shoes.

The moral of my ode is this:
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool in winter.

Market bag update

Success!!!



Pattern: Linen Market Bag (ravelry project page)
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy
Needle: US5

I ripped back the ridiculously long market bag and modified the finishing. I made some little handles perfect for carrying my loot, and one strap long enough to sling the bag over my shoulder. For the shoulder strap, I held the yarn double for less stretch and more stability. Now I'm ready for the farmers market/library/yarn shop. :) This type of bag would also make for a great beach bag--all the sand would fall through the holes!

This was my first time using Hempathy. It was a great yarn to knit with, though I'm not sure what other projects I would use it for besides this kind of bag... maybe a summer cardigan?

Quilting practice

Despite having learned to quilt at the wee age of 8, I still feel like a total novice when it comes to machine quilting. I've done some walking-foot quilting, and a smidgen of (awful) free motion quilting, but this is remains a skill-set that I need to develop. When I was helping my sister pack for her cross-country move last summer, we came across a table runner project that she'd stalled out on after piecing the top. I saw this opportunity to practice my machine quilting and volunteered to finish the table runner for her.



I considered doing some free-motion quilting in this project, but in the end I chose the easier option--straight lines. It's fun to practice on projects that you plan to give away.... so that you won't be looking at the mistakes for the rest of your life. :)

I still need to practice free-motion quilting, but no plans for that right now.