Dusty Rose

Yes, I have been knitting. Not a lot, though- 3x1 ribbing is exhausting! The Tubey is about 7.5" into the body, with another 10-12" to go. Dan likes the colors, and so do I. It's a good thing, too, because it looks like I'm going to have quite a bit left over.

I bought some new yarn in the last week from Handpainted Yarn. I wanted to get something to match a dress I have for Joe and Michele's wedding at the end of May. I think I found a pretty good match, too:

It's the laceweight merino in a rose color, and while it's darker than the polka dots it's a great match. I want to make the Moonlight Sonata shawl on elann's free pattern page. It seems like a mammoth undertaking, but I keep telling myself it's only a 12 row repeat. It's only a 12 row repeat. 12 row. Repeat. I love the way the dots match up with the dots on the dress. The only question now is: can I get it done by then?

Spring is here. AGAIN

So, things have warmed up and greened up in Michigan. The trees are budding, children are playing in the street, midafternoon arguments are wafting through open windows at the trailer park down the way...

I worked a little on the body of Tubey yesterday. Picking up stitches is among my least favorite tasks in knitting, but after the second try, it looks okay. The back is going to need some serious blocking (and maybe an ironing) to make it lie flat, but it fits and it's not too wonky.

The library system here in town has a decent array of knitting books. Here are three I want, and one I want to make copies from:

I got the letter from Eastern- I got an assistantship working on the linguistlist. Now I don't know what to do. I'm meeting with the adviser on Wednesday. I feel like I'm being pulled in two distinct directions. Everyone's got an opinion on where I should go. And it's my fault- I have asked everyone. And then there's the decisions that come from the decisions: should we move? Should I quit one (or more) of my current jobs? Which one? I am afraid that no matter what I choose, I'm not going to be satisfied.

He thinks I should go to Eastern.

Distractions

I couldn't just keep going on tubey. I needed a distraction for a couple of days. I dug out all the crappy acrylic that is not actually attached to any needles and started this:

As you can see, most of my crappy acrylic comes from the 70s. Note the construction cone orange and lots of beige. I wanted to get better at picking up stitches before I got to the body of the sweater, so I picked a project that is nothing but picking up stitches. The center is wonky, but you can definitely follow my progress around the blanket. I think that once it's finished it's going to be dropped at the nursing home where Gramma Mae is right now. She can have it if she wants, or I'll give it to her roommate.

Last night Dan and I watched The Prestige for the second time. It was good to watch it again and catch all the little things we missed the first time (don't worry, I won't spoil anything). I really like that movie. There are plenty of little rewards for the closely-watching audience. While we watched, I started on the second sleeve of tubey. Finally!

I don't like the cuff, so I'm going to do something different on this sleeve, and then go back and change the other one, I think. I want to be done with this project by auditions, which is the second week of May. Think I can do it?

The stripes took three tries!

Spring is here

in Michigan, and in knitting, and that means a few things.

1. Green Rowan Summer Tweed from my secret pal. Thanks so much! I think that I'm going to make some kind of shrug with it- it's SO SOFT, and it came with a sweet poem which is sensitive to my sensitive skin. :)

2. Tubey progress. If I weren't from Michigan, I would think that it's daft to work on a wool sweater in March (and April), but the weather isn't going to be consistent, so my lack of seasonality is moot.

3. Cute new shoes (see above).

4. Bad allergies. I have a patch of red grossness above my left eye, and I feel like a leper. Damn my sensitive skin. I've been doing a lot of house cleaning, and the dust is probably an accomplice.

5. Wanderlust. I am so tired of the drama at Cariera's. I can't wait to go work for Ric and Koshi!

That's it- you're going in the closet.

So, while the silk sari yarn is beautiful, it has a tendency to snap at crucial moments- a trait I have never before experienced in yarn. After three of the four working strands snapped on my current project, I dumped the box of yarn back into the closet. It's beautiful yarn, but I deserve better treatment than that!

So, instead, I pulled out a ball of Mission Falls to knit a swatch from Tubey. Sadly, my size 7 tips for the NeedleMaster are missing, so I pulled out the size 6 and cast on. The gauge is 20/24, and I'm a loose knitter, so I thought I'd be close. Right? Nope. Waaaaaay too big. It was more like 16. So I frogged it and cast on with size 5 needles. So I've dropped three sizes, and the fabric is a lot stiffer, but I almost achieved gauge. It's about 18.5, and I've decided to live with it. But, really, size 5? Am I really that loose, or are the ball bands- and patterns-lying to me? What happens when I want to knit a sock? The needles only get so small!

I can't believe it's wool.

So, contrary to my usual yarn buying MO, which is to stalk around the yarn shop three or four times in a couple of weeks, squeezing hanks and doing the dances of yes-I-want-it and well-maybe-not, I made an impulse buy. On the Internet. I think knitting is too expensive for me (it's isn't really) and so I am always looking for a deal. And I found one:

This is just one of the 12 or so (500g) mill end balls of Mission Falls 1824 Wool that I picked up. I haven't knit anything with it yet, but the ball squeezing test was an A+. It's so soft, and it shines in daylight. It doesn't feel like wool on my skin (and it doesn't produce the near instant rash that I'm used to). I will still probably have to wear a long sleeved shirt underneath the sweater, or perhaps put patches on the inside elbows, but I think this yarn will make a damn fine Tubey.

In other news, the craft room is taking shape. My needles have been moved off the bookshelf in the front room and onto my work table. I only have one window, but it seems to let in the right amount of light- the rest of the house is a cave. I wish I could go back to 1982 and tell my dad to add some more windows! Oh, well. It's okay in the summer when we can leave the doors open.