Sing me a Song
Sunday evening found us in a most unusual state. Instead of being tucked up safely at home in our pajamas, we actually got up, got dressed and left the house. This is especially impressive as The Boy was just getting over a nasty cold and I seemed to have accidentally encouraged some sort of alien parasite to take up residence on my tonsils and stab me each time I did anything so injudicious as breathe. But, Jukebox The Ghost was playing right in our very own town. We regularly leave the state to hear them play (and we drove down [...]
And in Other News
The lovely blue socks I took off to the retreat are done (and have been for a while now, I just didn't quite manage to get them outside and snap a picture). We'll start with proof of concept. See that, two legs, two heels, two toes, all tidy and done. And then lets take a closer look at the top of the feet. Left and right mirrored (though it would be just as cute to put a left-leaning leaf and a right-leaning leaf together on the same sock). It's Vice (and yes, I am trying to irritate Lizzy into finishing [...]
Actual Knitting
Between the reading and rereading and rerereading of the proofs, there has only been a bit of time and energy for knitting. But that little bit has been quite pleasant. Here's the first of the redone mitts finished and blocked. I switched the thumb gusset out to the style I like better these days. It fits well and is easy to knit. I think it looks nifty too, but I could be biased. The second one is on the needles and might even be finished this weekend. Or maybe I'll nap. Depends on how cross-eyed I end up after the [...]
Proofs
This is what the last day or two has looked like (with the cup of tea being refreshed as needed...I'm not still on the one from Tuesday). These are the proofs for the book. Proofs are sort of a trial run for the finished thing. I send the files off to the printer, the printer runs off a version of the files using their printers and their inks and their paper, and then they send them back to me. I look them over to make sure what seemed like a lovely golden yellow on my screen didn't turn out to [...]
Character Building
The proofs of Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet, Volume II have arrived from the printer. They are sitting on my desk. Unopened. It feels wrong to open them by myself, so I'm waiting 'til The Boy is home from work. Just for context, they arrived at 9:00am. It's going to be a long wait. I'm considering calling with some sort of terrible emergency (ninja rodent invasion? attack tarantulas? kitten spirit possession?) that would require him to come home immediately, but that seems against the spirit of the thing. So I wait. But folks...this means the book is almost ready for you.
Updated
I know more about knitting, designing, and pattern writing now than I did a few years ago. That's actually a good thing. If I hadn't learned something in the last several years, I'd be terribly disappointed in myself. The tricky bit, though, is that when I look back at my early work, I sometimes get twitchy. I see all sorts of things I'd like to improve. Not correct...correcting is for wrong things...just improve. Different yarns, different directions, different charts, different photos. Alas, making these changes is generally not practical. There are only so many hours in the day, and updating [...]
And After…
Quick and not-so-great snap (it is unpleasant outside, I don't want to be outside, so I didn't stay long) just to show you the much more relaxed shape these take on post blocking. Compare that to the tight bunchy shape before blocking. Some time I'll get close up pics of the scallops so you can see how they're made, they really are shamelessly cute.
Why Yes, I am Rather Exacting
I explained last time how I deeply truly love flared cuffs. They fit beautifully, make my hands look all pretty and girly, and are ridiculously convenient. The only thing they have against them is that they can be tricky to block. But no more, I have found the solution. Graph paper and shampoo bottles. No really. Hear me out. The problem with blocking cuffs like this is getting the flare nice and distinct and even. To do that, you need a way to make it bigger than the part on your wrist, and you need keep the points uniformly spaced. [...]
Greetings Underlings
We interrupt your regularly scheduled knit blogging to bring you an important kitten announcement. Kitten Overlord Barry has taken the 'over' part of his title a bit too seriously and devised a way to get to the top shelf of the bookcase. This does not bode well for Barry, the books, or my equanimity (he's a leaper). That shelf is a good 6 feet off the ground. Let's talk him down gently, ok?
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