I'm on Ravelry!

At last! It's really not an excuse for being absent from this blog for so long, but if you want to see what I'm up to before I actually update the blog, you can visit me at WizKnitter.

I know a lot of other people have already rhapsodized about Ravelry, but seriously -- this is a great tool. It appeals to my orderly and organized side. I like cataloging projects there. It frees up the blog for some actual writing. If I ever actually get around to that.

The DH has a great blog now: wiznals.blogspot.com. Visit that one to find out what we've been up to!

Meme-rizing

First of all, let me point out that I'm blogging for the third time this month. Considering my recent track record, this is notable.

I found this on The Knitist! and thought it looked like fun.

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting (twined knitting)
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths,tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
LongTail CO
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerlessmitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

As the Knitist says, consider yourself tagged.

Even though frogging isn't on the list, for those of you who've ever frogged (and surely that's all of us), amuse yourself with The Five Stages of Frogging.

I am somewhere around Stage 5 with the Exotic Lace Jacket by Iris Schreier, but that deserves a post of its very own.

Maker Faire

Saturday, the DH and I took the folks to Maker Faire as a belated Mother's Day gift. They were a bit non-plussed by the general weirdness, but Adam and I enjoyed it thoroughly. If you've never heard of it, it's very hard to describe, but here are a few highlights:

• People in motorized giant cupcakes (complete with hats that looked like cherries or chocolate drops) zooming around.
• Enormous fireballs shooting into the air on a periodic basis.
• Glass sculptures made of compressed sugar crystals.
• Felted pins of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
• Handmade bicycles put together from other bicycle bits, available to sample by wobbly riders.
• A giant Lego village.
• A giant Mousetrap game using bowling balls.
• A huge booth encouraging people to make crafts from old wine jugs.
• Places for kids to build robots, rockets, crocheted sea anemones, and fairy wings.
  
• And finally, my designs for Great Knit Designs on display at Ada's booth!

The Faire will be the first weekend in May next year, and if you're looking for a little something for everyone and have a high tolerance for slightly wacky people with too much time on their hands (or who genuinely want to change the world for the better using green, DIY, and alternative methods), you should check it out.

Knittin' in the U.K.

The DH and I got back from England a couple of weeks ago, where we had a very nice time visiting relatives. However, it was quite disappointing from a yarn tourism perspective. Here's what I discovered about knitting in the U.K.:

• No one does it in public. Really, I never saw even sweet old grandmas with knitting needles. I thought knitting was supposed to be big in England! There are sheep everywhere! Grommit knits, for heaven's sake! My parents, who are English, had to learn to knit in school! Perhaps there's a backlash going on, but no one was knitting.
• There were no cute yarn stores anywhere I went. Even in tourist-y Stratford, the only place selling yarn was a little five-and-dime type place with skeins of nasty acrylic. Bath, a large and lovely city, had a stall in the marketplace, also with acrylic. I once chased a bus because it had a yarn shop advert on the side saying "World of Wool." This was apparently in Leamington Spa, which wasn't on our itinerary. Finally, I found a sewing shop in dull, industrial Melksham with nice wool, so I bought some like the addict I am, even though it wasn't very exciting or exclusive or anything. What are they doing with all those sheep? The mind boggles!
  
• My relatives mostly thought I was slightly mad for knitting so much. One of my aunts said, "Well, you wouldn't really want to knit a sweater anyway, would you, when it's so much easier just to buy one."
• I still got lots of knitting done. Trains, which are plentiful and useful in the U.K., though much more expensive than they used to be, are great places to knit. I finished a sock for the DH and got most of the way through a shrug for me, which I finished this past weekend.

Say what you will about us Yanks, at least we know the point of a pair of needles, pun intended!

I know, I know, I know...

...I've been very bad. I think, really, I've been trying to avoid doing an inventory of all the projects in 2006. Kind of like doing taxes, it seemed sort of dull. So I'm not going to do it. (I will, however, do my taxes. I promise.)

Instead, I'll just show some things I haven't posted yet.

I finished CNITU's holiday vest during a family visit to Wisconsin. Say what you will about the Midwest, all that crummy weather does force you to finish off those UFOs. I think it took me longer to weave in the ends than it did to knit the vest. This is me knitting the Cowboy Waistcoat from Miss Bea's Dressing Up by Louisa Harding, knit in Rowan Wool Cotton.


Do you see all those bobbins? It will be a long time before I knit another diagonal-striped intarsia vest, I'll tell you that.

Stop the madness.

It did turn out very cute, though.

Uncle Adam got CNITU a Sheriff's badge to go with it (since it's the Cowboy Waistcoat and all.)

Here's a belated picture of the throw I knit for Sis for Xmas. I'm pretty far along in this picture. I don't know why the picture is sideways, but hopefully you can still see the yarn. There's a Noro in the middle there, surrounded by Rowan Little Big Wool, and green Manos del Uruguy. There ended up being a little light blue Blue Sky Alpaca on the end, some fluffy blue and white, and a border of shiny ribbon, but I can't remember the name of the yarns.

In 2007 so far, I've knitted a reversible cable scarf for myself out of Rowan Tapestry, from a pattern in Scarf Style. I recently finished a skirt in Rowan Scottish Tweed for Great Knit Designs (a commissioned piece). No photos yet, sorry. Those took me all of January, Febuary, and March -- I was in rehearsal a lot and didn't have much time to knit.

I finished these baby sandals in a couple of nights for a pregnant friend who is due any moment now. They're from Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino book, the same one with CNITU2's onesie. I used some of the leftover yarn from that to make them. The process is a bit fiddly, but they're so great when they're finished. Being me, I forgot to take a photo before giving them to the mom-to-be, but hopefully I'll get one of them actually on the baby.

I finished them off with antique Peter Rabbit buttons. These are so great, I'm going to make them again for the next baby shower!