FO: Hemlock Ring Blanket

Ravelry project link here.

Pattern: Jared Flood's blanket-sized version of the Hemlock Ring doily.

Yarn: One and a half skeins of Cascade Ecological Wool in colorway 8010

Needles: Started on US 10 Brittany DPNs, and finished on 32" US 10 Addi Turbo circulars (my LYS was out of the 40", and I really could have used that extra eight inches).

Size: I did two more pattern repeats than Jared's version -- although I didn't measure the final product.

Mods: None.

For: A Christmas gift for my mom.

Time: Casted on at the end of October; casted off on the tarmac at SFO on December 20th.

Thoughts: A gorgeous pattern, and I am exceedingly happy about how it turned out. My mom seemed to love it! Because I finished it on the plane home, I couldn't block it as long as it really needed -- I had about 36 hours to block on my sister's bed before she came home and, you know, needed somewhere to sleep. I had to block it super aggressively -- there was a lot of fighting, and it's still a tiny bit ripply -- but the final product is pretty striking (considering that it looked like this:

More Christmas updates to come -- fiber goodness, new books, and news on life (I'll be moving soon). For now, though -- I'm going to enjoy my Saturday.

Most recent podcast: CraftLit. I'm catching up with Tristan and Isolde.
Currently listening to: Blue Planet.
What I'm reading: The Amber Spyglass, by Phillip Pullman.

What you are picks its way.

My. It's been nearly a month since I posted last, and I can only partly blame it on the new job. Because I work remotely, I spend most of the day tethered to my laptop; once I'm finished, the last thing I want to do is spend time online. I've even been neglecting Ravelry!

I have been pretty busy, though. The knitting, admittedly, has been slow. Only two more pattern rounds before I finish the Hemlock Ring Blanket, which continues to look like a big, unphotographable blob. I can't wait to block it -- my goal is to finish it this week, and to take lots of blocking pictures. The only other active project on the needles is the second of the Baltic knee-high socks, which have been good for travel. The Urban Aran continues to require a new collar and then a zipper, and it's just occurred to me that I might have some down time next week (house-sitting in Seattle (yay!), and TreeHugger will be out of town on business) to focus on it.

So, instead of knitting pictures, I leave you with "How I spent my Thanksgiving vacation" pictures. I trekked, with TH, his family and friends, to a hut in the Colorado mountains. This east-coast flatlander had a great time, even if I was sucking wind for three days.


Oh, here's something fiber related! I overheat like crazy once I get moving, and so I love my calorimetry. It keeps my ears nice and warm, but lets me vent a bit from the top of my head. I originally knit it up using Malabrigo on size 9 needles, which made a pretty loose fabric that let winter winds through -- so I took a deep breath, and threw it in the wash. Now it's perfect!

Calorimetry at 12,000 feet.

More to come, and sooner than a month later, as I finish up the Christmas gifts, and start a new project or two!

Most recent podcast: Cast On!.
Currently listening to: Sufjan Stevens Songs for Christmas Vol. 1.
What I'm reading: Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass.

You don't go out looking for a job dressed like that? On a weekday?

Is this a... what day is this?

Apologies for the lack of posting -- things have been busier than usual around here (which isn't difficult, as most days find me in my pajamas until about 10 or 11am). They have been busier because -- I have a job! After several months of searching, moving, applying, and interviewing, I've landed a job with a great conservation organization in Oregon. It's temporary for the moment, but (finger's crossed) should go permanent once the next round of grants come through. And extra good news -- Corvallis has a great LYS (Fiber Nooks and Crannies) with spinning supplies and classes!

I celebrated with a knitting splurge -- I bought a handful of color cards from KnitPicks, as well as two books, one practical and one impractical, as a true splurge should be. The practical is The Knitter's Book of Yarn, bought as a direct result of my Tangled Yoke yarn selection frustrations. There's an excerpt on alpaca in the winter Interweave Knits, and I think it's going to be a useful addition to my knitting library. The impractical: Twinkle's Big City Knits. This is not a book I'd normally buy -- I prefer technique books to pattern books, and simple, classic patterns to trendy, striking ones (nearly every shirt I own is a long-sleeved, solid-colored, cotton knit). But there was something about a few of these patterns -- Shopping Tunic, Karate Sweater (both Ravelry links) -- that I really enjoyed and kept coming back to (I think knit lit kate's love affair with Twinkle helped plant the seed).


The arrival of these two books, as well as finishing the Tangled Yoke and Joel's hat, has led to some serious project lust. The afore-mentioned shopping tunic is tempting as an instant gratification project, and I've been drooling over the Lion Brand Pringle sweater knock-off for awhile now. Conveniently, I also have LYS credit burning a hole in my pocket -- thanks, four extra skeins of Tangled Yoke yarn!

On the knitting front, I'm about halfway through Jared's Hemlock Ring Blanket, which I am loving. The blanket will be a Christmas gift for my Mom, and should be done (knock on wood) way ahead of time. I never plan this far ahead, and I have to say I'm quite pleased. I may even cast on another once I'm done with the first, for a recently married friend with a baby on the way. (Excuse the poor picture -- I was too lazy for a proper photo shoot).

Most recent podcast: Lime and Violet.
Currently listening to: The Seahawks game/The Simpsons.
What I'm reading: Doris Lessing's The Real Thing.

I miss my ball winder.

Another item packed somewhere in my storage space is my ball winder. It took me two hours to create this:

Cascade Ecological Wool, in the 8010 colorway, that I've begun to turn into Jared's Hemlock Ring Blanket, a Christmas gift for my mom. The heavy worsted weight knits up super-fast on size 10 needles, giving me hope that I'll definitely get it finished in time for the holidays. If it goes quickly enough, I hope to knit up another for a friend as a belated wedding/early baby gift.

My iPod is back in one piece and fully operational -- I'm elated that it took a $30 part and about 20 minutes total to fix a problem Apple told me they'd charge me $150 for, and then suggested I just buy a new one. Apple, I normally love you, but I'm not going to buy a new iPod every year and a half.

Tangled Yoke pictures to come -- I can't wait to show it off!

Most recent podcast: Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
Currently listening to: Law and Order repeat.
What I'm reading: Doris Lessing's The Real Thing.

Subtlety.

The button bands (my first) are complete, and all that remains is to weave in ends, block, and attach the buttons. Quite exciting, especially since I learned a few new tricks at the end, including three-needle bind off and buttonhole-making. This sweater has more ends to weave in than anything I've ever knit -- I plan to wear it to a party next weekend, so I hope that will spur me on to the finishing.

A different purple in every picture, none of them correct.

My one frustration with this sweater is my yarn selection. I hope to talk about this more in-depth in my FO post, but the mohair in the Jo Sharp Alpaca Kid Lustre (Ravelry link) has had me worried from the start. My fears have slowly built up on themselves, just like knitting a item you know will be frighteningly enormous, but you just have to keep going. It's just so...fuzzy, and doesn't quite show off the cable as I'd like. I'm attempting to overcome this frustration with the mantra "subtlety." The cable isn't fuzzy, it's just a little subtle.


As I near the end, however, I'm getting itchy for a new project, with plenty to choose from. It's getting on toward the holiday season, and I'm thinking BrooklynTweed's Hemlock Ring Blanket for Mom. I've also got some of that Scottish Tweed to use up. For Joel's Hat, I'm thinking Jessica's Cashmere Ribbed Hat, the pattern having been given man-approval.

In other news, more funny keywords people have followed to my site: "How fast can a wild monkey run?" I imagine they were disappointed.

And -- we ate the sushi too fast for pretty pictures; but one day, I promise, that spicy tuna roll recipe.

Most recent podcast: CraftLit Episode 53 -- I am woefully behind without my daily bus ride.
Currently listening to: Beverly Hills Cop II. Hey, I live with three guys.
What I should be doing: Weaving in ends.