Jofrog is Knitfrog!
April 29 2005
You can take the biochemist out of the lab, but you can't take the lab out of the biochemist! The last few months I was working in the lab I did no lab work. Nothing productive at all. I read blogs, wrote a paper, and wallowed in the fact that I was misserable and why couldn't it all just end already. Despite that, I used the analytical balance quite a bit... for yarn! When a pattern says you need Xoz of yarn, we all know that means nothing these days. On the other hand, if you had a 100g skein of sock yarn, made two ankle socks and were wondering if there was enough left for another pair or possibly a child's pair of socks, knowing that there is 50+ grams left means everything. I used that scale a lot. I'd calculate exact yardage left on skeins and know just what I could do with it. That's what I miss most about the lab, that and my friends. Mike got me a food scale for Christmas, I was so excited about it, weighed my first skein to be sure it was calibrated, it weight 48g... it was a new 50g scale. Hmmm, bad skein of yarn, a bit short, maybe... ooh wait, now it's saying 50, oh nope it's saying 48 again... it went in 2g increments! Crazy. I've been spoiled by such high quality equiptment that I couldn't settle. I looked on Ebay for balances like the ones I'd used in the lab, $1300 a bit out of my price range. Then I was introduced to a little company in a town bordering Cambridge, MA that sold equiptment like what I was looking for. I called them, and ended up with a 200g capacity scale with 0.1g sensitivity for less money than the high end food scales, that only have 1g sensitivity! Score! Now I'll be able to tell you exactly how grosely huge of an amount of yarn is going into my clown socks, that I spent almost two hours binding off the first ruffle of last night, and I'm still not done and I ran out of yarn, AGAIN! Dana... I might need a little more help, horrible leech that I am! I'm about one color section away from finishing binding off. If I'm lucky sock #2 will have a bit extra, but that's a good 8 hours of knitting time away... what am I doing blogging, I should be knitting, (and showering, and walking Naomi, and eating breakfast). Ooh, before I go, no one will believe this without proof. I went to the DMV yesterday and check out my wait time. And the best part, I didn't even have to wait that long! Wow, sometimes you just hit them right! I Have A New Toy!
April 28 2005
So, Jen had a post a while ago about finally learning what she wears and what she should knit. I'm at that point in my knitting career now too. I wear tank tops. I wear tank tops 12 months out of the year. Almost every day, a tank top. Summer, tank. Spring, tank with cardigan. Winter, tank under sweater or with a cardigan. Fall, tank with cardigan. Let's think... do I need more pullovers or cardigans? Uh, cardis I think! Next truth: I like thin yarn. I don't like bulky, I don't like aran, worsted is pushing it sometimes. I like DK or sport weight yarn. Silky Wool is my desert island yarn. If it's all I knit with for the rest of my life I'd be happy. Lets look at what was in my "Future Projects" list, shall we:(all links open in new windows or popup pictures, feel free to click, I'm not going anywhere!) Bless: Cork yarn=not light weight Yes it’s a cardigan, but that’s not enough to save this one. The yarn has already been sold. Babajoes Sweater Babajoes 8ply=worsted weight. That’s okay. Huge pullover with color work and patterning, fun to knit, I’d never wear it. This yarn will become sitcom chic. Green body with attached I-cord edgings in plum. I can’t wait. I wound the yarn but then thought better of it. I’ll wait for fall for this quick knit and then wear it every day after. I have the perfect tank to go under it! Phildar Sweater Rowanspun chunky=aran weight. This yarn will never look right in this pattern. It may look nice, but never right. I swatched, it was too small, I stopped swatching. The yarn is under my dog’s daybed and will stay there for a while. So Jofrog, what will you knit? Once I finish the things I’m working on now, I’ll knit the Sirdar Cardigan out of Calmer. I’ll knit a shawl using this pattern out of Schaefer Anne. I’ll knit this perfect, must have been designed for me cardigan from Instant Expert: Knitting by Ros Badger. Maybe I’ll knit a few patterns from the new Elsebeth Lavold books. There are a few I’m eyeing. I’m trying to be a smarter knitter, and truer to myself. Someone asked me tonight, what makes a good knitter. I thought for a moment and said someone who thinks. Someone who checks their gauge and pays attention to sizing. A good knitter knows what to knit, and how to make it work and fit. A knitter can follow a pattern, a good knitter will love the end results.Rethinking my Future Knits
April 27 2005
So, we're half way there! Both socks are up to an acceptable knee sock height! Two ruffles must be added... when? Whenever there is some knitting time! Wednesdays I usually go in to work two hours later because I stay two hours late on those nights, but guess when I'm going in today... yup, regular time. I'd better finish breakfast and walk Naomi now... the ruffle will have to wait. Good news is I have chosen my ruffle, and I don't think it will be hard to do it in the round rather than back and forth. If you are curious, and just can't wait, and have Nicki Epstein's Knitting on The Edge it's the ruffle named "Belle Epoch". If none of those things apply to you, come back here soon to see them in action! The question of the day is, will I have enough guts to wear the socks, along with the short black skirt and hot pink glitzy tank to a 40th birthday party we are going to Saturday night?Livin' on a Prayer
April 26 2005
I've been working dilligantly on my Mexico Top... I will be wearing it in Mexico in three weeks. I'm still doing decreases on the skirt, but now I'm down from 310 to 170 stitches. Only one more round to go to get to the required 150 and then 10cm of stockinette and into the final push. It sounds close, but it's still a ton of stitches. This top has been my top priority. It's been the project that I take everywhere with me. It's the "I have enough time for a few stitches" project. It's growing, but it's not going to be done tomorrow. The Rebecca cardi is going much slower because I never work on it! Big surprise it isn't done yet. After seeing the socks that Paula over at "Black Olive" is turning out I'm in need of a "lookie here something wearable not just yarn loops on a needle". I've had my Trecking Socks in the mix a little (I'm working on gussett decreases right now), but they are definitely a side project. Dana, being the wonderful, generous person she is, gave me the rest of Lisa B's clown yarn socks so that I can finish them. I may take tonight to work on them so that I can finish something again! Yes, it is all about the process, I love the process, but it's fun to have something to wear and show for the process.I Feel The Need, The Need For A FO
April 25 2005
Remember a while ago, when I fringed an afghan for an older woman that is currently going through chemo therapy? Well, she was just in the hospital again, for a week, for a larger procedure involving her cancer. During that week she knit two more afghans! They are helping to keep her bordom level low and her sanity level high! Both of them have come to me for weaving in ends and one needs serious blocking and fringing, so other than a few more rounds of stockinette and two more sets of decreases on the Mexico top this is what has taken up my little bit of weekend knitting time. I'm happy to do my part in helping her recovery and every end that I weave in I think of her.Fringin' fringin' fringin' Rawhide!
April 22 2005
I have been distracted by my newest love affair, the Mexico Top, and have neglected the Rebecca Wrap Cardi! Isn't it one of the carnal rules in knitting, "Do not smite one Rebecca pattern for another" especially when one is commissioned and you are working on the one for you. All of this in mind, I buckled down last night and finished the back (the very little that I had to do) and promptly casted on for the sleeves. I started the sleeves and set the meager goal of getting through the first lace flower before I switched over to another project. I did that twice. What's that, it doesn't look as if each has two flowers, oh that's because I happened to miss the part where it said that you started the sleeve increases on the first row! Whoops, and RIP! Fortunately this yarn isn't quite as horrible to rip as I'd imagined and I only had to sacrifice my cast on row on each sleeve. By the time I ripped, re-balled, and started over, (interupted by a phone call from the bride to be Miranda), I was done with this project for the night. I have an hour before I need to leave for work, maybe one more flower can be done on them? ...or I could make it to the next decrease on my Mexico Top, I'm down from 310 stitches to 250, I need to get to 170 but I'm well on my way!Get Your Affairs In Order Johanna
Does the addition of grass make the picture any less crappy? Think of the alternatives, it could have been a crappy picture inside!
April 20 2005
I am definitely enjoying knitting my Mexico top. The knitting is simple (even if the directions are ultra-confusing), I've had a decent amount of knitting time, and I'll be wearing it in Mexico, what is there not to love? Did I mention that the yarn is so smooth and luxurious that I forget that it's cotton and convince myself that I'm knitting with silk? Oh yeah, it's the truth. I knit both of the ties first and I'm working on the skirt now. I'm one full skein into the skirt, and I just got past my first set of decreases. That means that I'm down to 290 stitches from 310! Woo hoo! To ensure that this kept being an easy knit that required little brain-power I marked all of my decreases with my new stitch markers... the whole bag of them! I have two blue ones left, that's it! Good timing on buying them I guess, that would have been a lot of little yarn loops that I'd have been tying! Camisita, te amo
Click to see the amazing stitch definition
April 19 2005
I spent last night printing and assembling invitations for my best friend Miranda's wedding shower! I'd had the basic design in mind for a while, and a prototype done up on white paper, but now that it's six weeks before the event, it's time for the real ones to go out. I braved Boston Marathon crowds yesterday to make my way to The Paper Source to find cute, coordinating paper, and like always, they didn't let me down. So, what did you do instead of knitting last night?What Did You Do Instead of Knitting Last Night?
Click to see the inside.
April 18 2005
It's been so long since I've had a day off from work without real plans. When I found myself in that situation on Saturday I grabbed my husband and we took advantage of it! We started off in Mason, NH at Parker's Maple Barn for a breakfast of lemon poppy seed pancakes for me, and the "Mini Parker Special" for Mike! Not only was did the morning include maple syrup (one of my most favorite things), but it was also named especially for us! I got to wear the Manos sweater that I got from my LYS when they were clearing out some older shop models. Want proof? On the way to breakfast we'd passed a little yarn store so of course, when we were driving back by it and it was open, we stopped in. Unfortunately, that's all I have to say about it, but new yarn stores are always fun, right? It was such a beautiful day that when we passed by a sign for a driving range, how could we not stop? We had time for two more stops on the way home, first was in Harvard, MA. Kerstin had told me such good things about The Fiber Loft, how could we not stop while we were that close? It was a fun store, packed with yarn and fiber. Upstairs they have tons of sale and disconinued yarn where I picked up two skeins of Lane Cervinia "Forever Jacquard" sock yarn in a great blue/grey/turquoise colorway for $3 each! Wow! We finished off the day in Concord for a quick lunch, but we will be planning a trip back to Concord soon to check out all of the stores in the town center. Yummy breakfast, two yarn stores, a bit of golf, and a cute New England town, is this how everyone gets to spend their Saturdays? If so I might have to rethink my schedule!So This is What They Mean By A Day Off!
April 15 2005
Now that our Mexico trip is all booked and confirmed I need something to wear, right? When I first saw the new Rebecca I knew that this top was going to be worn, by me, in Mexico... if I ever got there. I didn't want to jinx it, so I waited to get the yarn and start until all was set. Well, Wednesday morning I got the call from the resort, Wednesday evening I came home with seven balls of GGH Scarlett in Color #06 Dark Chocolate! I'll be swatching tonight. That's another story in itself (or may turn out to be). The pattern says to use 3-3.75mm (US 3-4) needles. [First problem, those metric and US sizes don't jive.] The ball band says 3.5-4.5mm. Um... that's a US4-7... [Second problem, that's a huge range, and uh... DK weight cotton on a 7? I don't think so!] I'll start my swatching on US5s and see where we go from there. Does anyone have experience with this yarn already?Are You Crazy, Another New Project?
April 14 2005
I brought the newly completed socks home and Mike popped them on right away. By special request from new knitblogger Paula here is a picture of Naomi with Mike's toasty feet! A cool April evening, new hand knit socks, and sweat pants, who could ask for more?He Like's It, He Really Does... Mikey Likes It!
I grafted Mike's second sock last night for my sock class to see. This class was wonderful. It was a small class, wonderfully pleasant, and quick studies. They were not at all intimidated by the kitchner stitch while I did it, and feel confident to do their own when they are ready (which with this bunch might be tomorrow!)
April 13 2005
This week (which is just a continuation of last week, I'm really looking forward to a day off this Saturday) has been as crazy as most weeks are around here... okay crazier! I'm teaching my usual two knitting classes, covering for another class, visiting new babies and old friends, and babysitting for a friend of a friend of a friend both Saturday and Sunday nights. When I had the chance to go to sleep at 10:30 last night and sleep until 9 this morning I took it! This means very little knitting (although Mike's socks will be finished tonight during the class so that I can show them how to kitchner the toe). No big news on the knitting front, but big news on the travel front! Mike and I will be going back to Mexico! We were bumped from the super-amazing resort that we were supposed to stay at for our honeymoon three days before the wedding. We were bumped to an amazing resort, and were given a complimentary stay at the super-amazing resort within one year. The catch was that we couldn't book more than sixty days in advance and when I called to book it everything was booked for May, June, and July and our offer expires begining of August! Arg! The customer service was horrible, I've been fighting with them for a week, but this morning I woke up to a call from Yeuris from cutsomer service telling me that our dates have been booked! I'm so so so excited! I was sure that it was never going to go through and we weren't going to be able to go, but Mexico here we come! Off to find plane tickets (the complimentary part is the resort only, but I'll take it!)Hola Mexico
April 11 2005
I've been busy busy busy lately, so when this, (and a bit more) followed me home from my LYS I felt no guilt at all. Terri, those are real stitch markers there! No more washers from the hardware store for me. I have pink and blue stitch markers with their own little pouch! I also picked up my absolute favorite knitting tool, the coilless safety pins/stitch markers/stitch holders/pins for seaming! I gave my set to my mom last weekend, and there was no time lost in replacing mine! Mom, I'll send you the others that I had in projects so you can have a full set too. The Sirdar book I've been eyeing for ages and it's been the last copy at my LYS and I just couldn't tempt fate any longer. No plans to do anything out of this any time soon, but there is a super cute blanket that some day may live on a childs' bed in my home. That book will sit on the shelf for a while, but I know now that no one else will snatch it from under me. The blue yarn, that you can hardly see, is some Yorkshire Tweed DK. Remember when I got some of this at the Knitsmiths swap? Well, I told myself that if it was the same dye lot that I could get a bit more. Obviously you know the outcome on that one! Now I have enough for a sweater up to 6 year old size, rather than 18 months or so. Seemed like a logical decision to me. All of this was good and fun, but hardly noteworthy... that is until I show you my newest WIP. My LYS just got in GGH Kid Soft and asked me to make the wrap cardigan from the new Rebecca... I'm sure that I don't have to link to a picture, you know the one that I mean! After a lot of debate, we decided on purple over the green that is in the magazine and that everyone else seems to be doing it in. So here I am, making this oh so soft thing, but not for me. Don't worry, there are some perks for me, and it's always fun to have other people ooh and ahh over what I make... hey, that's part of the reason I blog, right? So, now that I've been roped into making this oh so popular sweater, there must be a knit-along, direct me and I'll sign up!I Treated Myself, and They Treated Me!
April 8 2005
Yesterday I stopped at In Stitches in Weston, MA to pick up a steel crochet hook. The pattern calls for #9, they had all even numbers from #2 to #14. I got a #10, a little tiny bit smaller seemed better to me. Look at this thing! It's S-M-A-L-L! Last night, after dinner, I pulled out my yarn, I pulled out my #6/0 beads, and I took my new hook out of the package. Everything looked to be a go. I cast on, I knit three rows in garder stitch, I knit up to my first bead, I pull out some beads to put them on my hook, the holes are too small! The beads are the right size, my hook is slightly smaller than is called for, and the holes in the beads are too small! Arg! On average four out of every twenty beads would fit on, but that's a lot of pre-screening and only adds to the fiddly nature of this project. That said, I did make a little bit of progress, and here it is, for your viewing pleasure! I am not taking a trip out to Weston again any time soon. The only other place that is convinient that I can find steel crochet hooks is Windsor Button downtown. A good friend blogger that I know works right by there. Maybe she wouldn't mind picking up a #12 hook for me before knitsmiths on Sunday? No pressure Colleen!No Soaring Here
If it can make a US1 needle look big, you know it's small!
April 6 2005
Here's the beautiful picture of what Judy Pascale's beaded vine scarf will look like when I'm through with it! Isn't it great? (Of course I forgot the tiny tiny itty bitty crochet hook at my mom's also... maybe an errand for tomorrow so that I can get started already.) Have a pearly bead studded day!Beady Goodness
April 5 2005
I can't believe that I forgot to post about the late entry into the socky weekend. I started this sock on Sunday night when I got back from my mom's. I couldn't work on any of the other socks I showed yesterday, I didn't want to work on my Diamond FI (it's so close to being done, I really have to give it that final push). You may notice that I'm using the Magic Loop method for this sock also. I love my DPNs but this is really pretty quick and easy, especially for stitch patterns or ribbing. I usually do my socks stockinette with a ribbed cuff, but my 3x1 ribbed cuff has decided to go the distance in this pair! The other project that I couldn't start on Sunday night, but will be starting very soon is Judy Pascale's Beaded Scarf. My mom's knitting guild had Judy Pascale teach a workshop a few weeks ago and this beaded scarf is just perfect for the Twinkletoes yarn that I won from Margene! My mom may not want a shawl, but this beaded scarf is just perfect so I'll be making it for her. (What a deal, she goes to the workshop, and then I make the scarf for her!) I picked up the beads for it yesterday and now I just need to get the pattern (I forgot it on my mom's coffee table!). The picture on Judy Pascale's website isn't the clearest, but the pattern has a better one that I'll scan in and post. It's basically a beaded vine pattern done with fingering weight yarn. The beads are put on with an itty bitty crochet hook rather than pre-stringing like I've always done before. We'll see which I prefer.More? How Could There Be More?
April 4 2005
In other words, I had a wonderful weekend with my mom. Lunch with friends at Red Lobster, a bit of yarn shopping(A Stitch in Time in Bethel CT), an adventure to find another yarn store that closed seven minutes before we got there, and lots of sock knitting and fixing of sweaters. I knit on my clown socks until I ran out of yarn! They still aren't tall enough and I stupidly told Lisa B that I didn't need to left overs from her socks! Either I ask Dana (the left-overs recipiant) what her plans are or I go off to find another ball to make them a few inches longer and of course, add the ruffle. I also finished the first of Mike's socks. I wanted one done before class starts this Wednesday and I promised him the second one next Wednesday. He loves them already and they couldn't fit better! ...and for those of you asking for a modeling shot of the Santana tank, sorry to dissapoint but it isn't for me! It's a larger size than I'd make for myself and in this design larger is NOT flattering! Speaking of larger knits, I had my mom try on the Serape Jacket from an IK from last year and it fits her so much better than it fits me so it has gone to live with her in CT. I wish I'd had my camera to take a picture of her in it. It's just so perfectly her. Ahhh, I'm finally moving past the selfish knitting stage into the knitting for others stage. More on that tomorrow!My Weekend Socked
Also, the colors are more vibrant when it isn't midnight in my dark apartment.
April 1 2005
Here it is, Friday already! The crocheting went amazingly fast. I did almost all of it in less than an hour! Wow. No need to avoid croched edgings any more. (Granted this was only a slip stitch edging, so it went really fast.) Alison asked if I thought that the crocheted edging would be necessary. What do you think? Post-crocheting What do you think? Unfortunately it definitely needs the edging. Fortunately it went really fast and will for you also! Now, the moment you've been waiting for. The completed Santana tank (pre-edge blocking, I was anxious to take the picture!) Click on the picture to see the back. Enjoy your weekend. I'm off to spend mine with my mom! There may be some yarn store visiting, but only to look at shawl patterns. She may not want one, but the Anne wants to be one. The current thought is a shawl for me worn around my waist over pants or jeans, but also to be used over a little black dress. FO Friday
