Anyway, get this: Last week one of my coworkers requested that I teach her how to knit, and of course, I enthusiastically obliged.  How exciting!  Another future knitting addict… mmmm… [insert evil laugh].  We scheduled a little lunch meeting on Monday, and I came armed with extra yarn, straight needles, and my knitting instruction book (this one).  I showed her the basics – casting on, knitting, and purling – and she actually picked it up surprisingly quickly.  She was a natural!  And despite my awkwardness in trying to do everything backwards (well, “the right way” for all you right-handed knitters out there), I thought I actually did a pretty good job…

Until I noticed that her stitches were coming out twisted.  Aaaarrrgghhhhh!  I’ve been foiled by my own left-handedness yet again!  SO frustrating.  It took me a while to finally figure out that I had taught her to wrap her purl stitches the wrong way.  I felt so bad about it, but was happy to see that she adjusted and picked up the correction with no problem.  Phew!  But man, the whole experience was so confusing!  I was trying to knit from right to left to show her what to do, and she was actually going faster than I was because I couldn’t figure out how to reverse everything!  Hahaha, it was such a disaster.  : )

But good thing this woman was such a fast learner.  Rest assured that I’ve seen her knitting since Monday, and she’s knitting and purling perfectly (no twisted stitches or anything).  This just goes to show that we backwards-knitters are unknowingly destroying the world of knitting, one twisted purl stitch at a time.  Can’t we all move to a tropical island or something where we can’t confuse the rest of the knitting community?  Oooooh, and we’d have to have plenty of margaritas and servant boys. Yes, definitely servant boys.  : )

Fresh and juicy!

A fresh crop of miters has recently been harvested – blue and purple mixed with bright white, ready to join the heap of colorful squares patiently waiting to be sewn into a finished blanket.  I love how these new miters came out – the contrast between the darker colors and the bright white will add a lot of interest to the finished piece (I hope!), and there’s just something about the cool colors that’s so refreshing in the summer heat.  This project is just getting more and more enjoyable as it goes along – who knew?  : )

Here’s the obligatory geek photo with the squares all perfectly arranged:

Mmmm... symmetry

This shot reminds me of an optical illusion or something – there’s a hypnotic feeling to it, as if I’m about to get sucked into a black hole of symmetrical knitting.  Oh no, the horror!  I am leaning very strongly against having anything this organized in the finished blanket, but it amuses me to play around with the squares as they come off the needles.  Just don’t stare at it too long or else you might get sucked in!

NKOTB: Joey, Donnie, Danny... oh wait : )

The blanket definitely needed some cooler tones, and I think they go pretty well with the recently-knit pink and green miters from the previous week.  Also, notice that there are no ends hanging around in any of these photos.  Believe it or not, I’ve actually been weaving in all the ends as I go!  If you knew me in person, your jaw would hit the floor right about… now.  I am the laziest thing alive, so to weave in the ends as I go is completely against my personality.  Then again, the thought of having a zillion ends to weave in at the end gives me nightmares, so better to nip that one in the bud.  : )  I know I could use the ends for seaming, but still, the though of all those ends is scary enough to jolt me into submission.

Coming along nicely

Above is the current state of the blanket, minus a bunch of squares that didn’t make it out of the coffee table drawer for this photo shoot.  I try to grab an even mix when I create these random arrangements, hoping to simulate the finished look of the blanket.  As this arrangement stews around in my brain, I’m thinking that I’d like to add more bright pink, but my local Michaels has been out of stock.  WTF?  If it doesn’t show up in a few more weeks, I might have to buy some online – no big deal.  Next up: white and light blue, which will brighten up the mix even more.  I just need to make more room in my week for knitting.  Why does life always seem to get in the way?

I really do have a crap-load of miters to knit in order for this thing to reach “blanket size,” but I’ve been on a roll lately, so hopefully I’ll finish this project before I’m a crazy old cat lady.  At least I don’t have any cats (yet), so there’s still hope.  : )

Admiring my handiwork : )

After I posted about my first pair of Endpaper Mitts, I decided to grant my second pair a temporary leave of absence from my office drawer for its oh-so-deserving glamour shots.  Don’t they just say, “Hey baby, you know you want me…” in that coy, seductive kind of way?  Wait… is it just me who hears their knitting talking in sexy voices?  Oh, ok then.  Nevermind.  : )

Project Specs:

• Pattern, pattern source, and needles: same as my first pair of mitts
• Yarn: Koigu Painter’s Palette Premium Merino (KPPPM) in light blue and brown semi-solids
• Current Level of Crafty Excitement: Done (a long, long time ago, minus about a month or two)

Let me just state for the official record that my undying love for Koigu will passionately burn until the end of time, when all the world’s supply of this luscious yarn has been exhausted, at which point life will have lost all its meaning, and we knitters will have no choice but to release that last, hopeless breath in acknowledgment that without Koigu, we just can’t possibly go on.  Also, I hope that as I make that final gasp for air, I am covered from head to toe in handknit Koigu nirvana.  I’m sure you all feel the same way.  I mean, it’s Koigu, people!  *swoon*

My infamous left hand takes a few minutes out of its busy day

Like the first pair, I think these blue/brown Endpaper Mitts came out really well.  I love the color combination, and the mitts keep my hands nice and toasty in my igloo (er, cube) while keeping my fingers free to perform slave labor (er, type endless engineering reports).  I think I knit one less repeat of the pattern in the cuff of these mitts, or rather, I think I knit one too many repeats on the first pair.  But who cares, right?  Knitting is supposed to be relaxing and therapeutic, so I don’t worry when I accidentally make a non-project-threatening knitting faux pas.  Yeah, that’s how I roll.  : )

I tried to get an action shot of the beloved Endpaper Mitts in their natural habitat…

More report revisions? Bring it!

… but apparently I take very blurry/crooked photos when I’m only using one hand and have the camera at a weird angle.  Oh well!  I give myself an A for effort.  After all, it’s the thought that counts.

Although these blue/brown mitts are often stuck in the office, sometimes, when they think I’m not looking, I catch them practicing for their debut at the MOMA:

So worth the $20 admission

I swear, all they need is a big fancy frame and a spot next to an Alexander Calder mobile.  All kidding aside, I am a fairly regular visitor to the big NYC museums, and the MOMA in particular, and it’s not unheard of to see fiber-related art proudly displayed among the Warhols and Pollocks, not to mention things like the traveling Gee’s Bend quilt exhibits and the various costume exhibitions at the Met.  Fiber-enthusiasts of the world, unite!  It always makes my woolly heart skip a beat when I witness major art institutions whose love of fiber-related goodness matches my own.  I guess these people know something good when they see it.  : )

One last note about these mitts – the first time I wore them in the office, I was stopped by a male coworker who requested that I make him a pair.  Although I was flattered, I took one look at his monstrous man-hands and was like “yeah right!”  and politely excused myself from the conversation.  I love my coworkers, but not enough to spend months knitting an intricate pair of fingerless mitts for hands that are easily twice the size of my own.  But thanks for the knitterly love, my fellow cubicle monkey. 

All in all, these mitts are a great project.  They were fun and interesting to knit, they actually provide the intended warmth and utility, and they’re a fine example of fiber art.  Too bad I’m going to stuff them back into my office drawer on Monday morning, ha.

Oh Endpaper Mitts, how I adore you

As I’m knitting away on the Mitered Square Blanket (which is actually going really well – I’ve been knitting about a square a night all week), I figured I’d post about an old finished object (FO) that’s near and dear to my heart… and hands.  The Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang, a beautiful and cleverly-designed pair of fingerless mittens, perfect for keeping chilly hands and wrists warm in an arctic-like office (i.e., my office every single day of the year, regardless of the actual temperature outside) while still being able to type.  But I digress… these mitts were a really fun project and came out great, if I do say so myself.  : )

First of all, Eunny.  Can I just say how much I admire this woman?  She’s young and cheery, she designs absolutely amazing and intricate projects that we just can’t get enough of, and – hello? – she’s the freaking editor of Interweave Knits!  Holy knitting icon, Batman!  I am in awe of her drive, dedication, and absolutely superb craftsmanship.  These little mitts only scratch the surface of her patterns – a quick Ravelry search (or Google, of course) will give you a much better idea of this woman’s talent with yarn and needles.  Can you tell I am fascinated with Eunny?  Oh, don’t deny it, you know you are too!

Endpaper Mitts in action

I whipped up these mitts back in the winter of 2006/2007 (???) or during some other point in my life that would classify as “a long time ago.”  (The pattern came out in November 2006, so I don’t think I’m too far off.)  I found the two-color pattern to be a little complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty intuitive.  The mitts are knit in the round from the bottom up on double-pointed needles (DPNs), and the only trick is making sure that you don’t have any weirdness where the needles join.  I found that pulling the yarn a little tighter in those spots usually does the trick.  (BTW, notice in the photo above that I’m modeling wool mitts, in June, with my air conditioner in the window, and with my holiday cards from December still hanging on the wall.  What can I say?  This is my life, people.)

Project Specs:

• Pattern: Endpaper Mitts
• Pattern Source: See Eunny Knit
• Yarn: Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply in black and cream, purchased at The Knitting Niche in Greenwich, CT
• Needles: US #4 (3.5 mm) Clover 7-inch bamboo DPNs
• Current Level of Crafty Excitement: Done (a long, long time ago in a land far, far away)

My poor right hand, only good for modeling FOs

.... and the back of the mitts

Did I mention how much I love how these came out?  : )  Let me just say, I get all sorts of “ooohs” and “ahhhs” when I wear these in the office, and even more so when I tell my coworkers that I made them myself.  What a great knitterly ego boost, right?  I can’t take credit for the gorgeous pattern, but the mitts do show off my knitting skillz, which have come quite a long way since I first started out.  Little do my office peeps know how easy these are to make!

I actually enjoyed knitting these beauties so much that I immediately cast on and completed another pair during the same winter – a light blue/brown combination that is currently sitting in my office drawer and therefore unavailable for a proper photo shoot.  If you’re looking for a quick, fun project that will impress your friends, these mitts are just the thing… not to mention the fact that they really do keep your hands warm and also look fabulous.  It’s a win-win, really.

My only complaint about this project is that I cast off the thumb ribbing too tightly on one of the mitts, so it starts to cut off my circulation after a while.  I suppose, in theory, I could redo the cast off, but come on, I am way too lazy for that!  Instead, I suffer for fashion, as all women do.  I think the ultimate combination would be these mitts and a fabulous pair of “for display only” heels – the ultimate uncomfortable sacrifice for the sake of fashion.  Note to self: must plan this into my week.  : )

Welcome, my babies!

Allow me to introduce the newest members of my Mitered Square Blanket: eight little pink and green miters – aww, how cute!  : )  I squeezed in a boat-load of knitting time this past weekend, and what you see above is the result.  These bright-white squares are really growing on me, and I really like the way these came out.  Plus, as I was gazing at the half-used skeins of pink and green yarn on my couch, I thought about even making some pink/green miters in the future – ah, so many possibilities!  Hence the allure of the beloved Mitered Square Blanket.

Organized arrangement

I played around with the arrangement of these babies for a while – the above photo shows one of the possibilities.  On the left, white stripes are in the middle.  On the right, the white is on the outside.  Although the organization and symmetrical arrangement appeal to my inner geek, I’m fairly confident that I’ll go with a random arrangement for the final blanket.  I have a feeling that the randomness will look better than whatever contrived, over-thought arrangement I manage to come up with, and besides, randomizing it eliminates all the stress!  This is knitting, after all, and who needs extra stress in their knitting?  Not me!  : )

I picked out an even mix of color combinations from the stockpile of miters and mixed them all up behind my back.  Then I randomly reached behind me and blindly picked up each square, one at a time, placing them in order from left to right, top to bottom, until I came up with this completely random arrangement:

Random arrangement - what do you think?

Then I walked around to the other side of the coffee table and took a shot of them upside-down:

Random arrangement - upside-down

I’m not exactly crazy about this arrangement for two reasons: (1) it seems a little heavy on the pink and green combinations, and I have a bunch more blue and purple miters to add into the mix; and (2) things clumped together a little bit.  Somehow I wound up with three purple/green miters in one corner, and all the pink/white miters wound up on one edge of the rectangle.  It’s very likely that I’ll even out little irregularities like that after the final randomized arrangement is laid out, but we’ll see.  I want to let nature take its course with this piece.

Overall, however, I really do like the way this angular beast is developing.  I’m still in love with the design (Ann and Kay are geniuses, aren’t they?), and I’m excited to finally be moving forward with it after it sat in my coffee table drawer for so long.  As I knit each little miter (most of which has been outside in the gorgeous weather recently!), I keep imagining the feeling of being wrapped in the finished blanket, the dense fabric keeping me warm and enveloping me in a multitude of colors.  Pastel colors, but whatever.  : )

Awake from hibernation & relaxing by the window

From the vast darkness of my bottomless “craft closet” (an actual closet in my apartment overflowing with crafty mayhem), I managed to unearth a very noble, classy, and sophisticated project – the Henry scarf, originally published in the Fall 2007 Knitty.  I absolutely love the design of this scarf.  The cleverness is astounding, really.  I love how the pattern makes this knitted piece look like woven material, and herringbone in particular.  Oh, herringbone, you are my long-lost love!  I really can’t wait to add this stylish and elegant scarf to my winter wardrobe. 

Project Specs:

• Pattern: Henry
• Pattern Source: Knitty, Fall 2007
• Yarn: Jaeger Matchmater Merino 4-ply in pale blue, purchased at The Knitting Niche in Greenwich, CT
• Needles: US #3 (3.0 mm) Inox 40-inch circulars
• Current Level of Crafty Excitement: Blah

Progress so far

As you can see from the photo above, I’ve actually completed quite a bit of this scarf, although there is certainly a LOT more to go.  The thing is huge – 452 stitches across and scrunched to fit on my 40-inch circs.  Whoa baby, those are some long-ass rows.  In fact, the reason this project is so “blah” right now (and part of the reason it’s been in hibernation since I started it in the fall of 2007) is because those incredibly long and tedious rows take forever to knit, and the project moves along at a snail’s pace.  A tired, drunk snail, actually.  A snail who’s lost all its slimy little will to live and has essentially given up and decided to die a miserable death on a scorchingly hot sidewalk.  Ahem.

So what’s a girl to do?  I really, really love the design, and I would get so much wear out of this scarf in the winter… but how can I muster the determination to slog through the rest of this beautiful but mind-numbing beast?  When I dug it out of my closet this afternoon for the photo shoot, I was very tempted to work on it a little bit, but then I remembered that it takes 20 minutes just to get through one row, and I was like “screw that!” and put it back in the closet.  *sigh*  Is all hope lost???

To distract myself from the monotony, let’s focus on the clever design.  The photos below show a close-up of the pattern from the front and back.  The front is the herringbone design that I absolutely adore, and the back doesn’t look too shabby at all.  In fact, the back looks pretty damn good and almost exactly like the front.  Like I said, such a clever design!

Herringbone pattern - front view

Herringbone pattern - back view

In the front view photo, you can also see the 3-stitch slip-stitch edging that’s incorporated into the pattern.  These slipped edges form the top and bottom of the scarf, and the sides are finished in some fancy way that I am too lazy to look up right now.  I used a crochet-chain cast-on, which is usually indicative of some kind of fancy finish.  We’ll see if I ever get to the finish line in the first place!

Oh, Henry scarf, the thought of wearing you this winter is so appealing, but the thought of knitting all those long-ass rows makes me want to jump out the window.  Such a conundrum… but maybe if I work on a row here and there, I might start to see the light at the end of the tunnel?  Despite a bleak outlook, I haven’t given up hope… yet.  : )

Do we make a cute blanket or what?

Remember the other day when I bought a bunch of white yarn to mix into the Mitered Square Blanket (MSB)?  I was a little dubious at first as to how the blanket would handle such a bright white, but I think it’s growing on me.  The colors are all pastel anyway, so I think the white will fit right in.  And besides, “white says summer” (as Ann and Kay so adorably put it in their book), and this is most definitely summer knitting.  Oh, bright white yarn, you had me at hello.  : )

What you see above is a mix of the four miter color-combinations that I’ve knit so far: purple/green, light blue/dark blue, light pink/dark pink, and — the newest edition — light pink/white.  I intend to combine white with each of the other colors in the blanket, which will really insert a LOT of white into the mix.  Why not lighten things up a bit, right? 

What’s really interesting to me about this blanket is the way the colors will flow together once everything is sewn up.  You can start to see it in the photo above – see how the light pink stripes will match up in the two miters on the right side of the 4-patch?  Imagine if the light pink ran through all four miters - cute, right?  It’ll give some continuity to the overall piece, and I think it will stand out even more when darker colors match up.  I really can’t wait to see the finished product, but alas, there are a crap-load of miters to knit before that happens!

Light pink and white miters

The two babies above are the only light pink/white miters completed so far.  I still think they’re really light (the pink and white kind of blend into each other), but I think this is the only color combination where this is going to be an issue.  If nothing else, they’ll serve as a “Hey, look at me, I’m super white!” square in the finished blanket.  It’ll break up the pattern a bit, which I suppose is a good thing for such a random blanket like this one.

All in all, I’m really happy with the way this project is turning out, and I’m having a lot of fun switching up the colors as I knit.  Nothing like portable, colorful knitting to get me back in the swing of things. 

Oh, and my Ravelry invitation arrived today – so exciting!  I can’t wait to check it out.  : )

Even their shiny pink logo is adorable!

Now that I’m reinvigorated with knitterly excitement, I checked out the website of my favorite local yarn shop (LYS) to see what was new, thinking that a trip and a little purchase were in order.  But lo and behold, I found that this yarn nirvana is going out of business after six years of serving the Greenwich, CT community with all things warm and woolly.  How sad!

The Knitting Niche is truly an exceptional shop, somehow cramming a full range of mouth-watering yarns (from delicious cottons to exquisite cashmeres and alpacas) into a bright, friendly, and tiny storefront shop.  It was my favorite place to spend a Saturday afternoon fondling, sniffing, and even taking home a few specimens from their scrumptious collection.  I can’t believe I won’t be able to go back there and soak up the knitterly love anymore!

The best part about this shop was the fact that the staff was friendly and helpful without getting all up in your grill while you were shopping – know what I mean?  They left me alone when I wanted to browse, and they would really go the extra mile for you when you asked for help.  It was a fun, welcoming community, and I even made a few knitterly friends who also frequented the shop.  Plus, there was plenty of parking – a rarity for Westchester/Fairfield counties.

I know the knitting business (and the knitting blogosphere – I have impeccable timing with starting up this site, right?) have been in a bit of a decline compared to a few years ago, and I can’t help but think that my recent bout of knitting ennui and the associated lack of Knitting Niche purchases contributed to the store’s untimely end.  I’m truly sorry to see it go, and I have a new-found appreciation for the importance of supporting local small businesses. 

To Vanessa (the owner) and the entire staff at The Knitting Niche – thank you so much for all the hard work and love you put into that store.  You will truly be missed.

So, what’s left?  Two other LYSs come to mind – Sticks & Strings in Scarsdale, NY and Flying Fingers in Tarrytown, NY.  Both are adorable shops, but I don’t see either one of them replacing The Knitting Niche as my local favorite.  Even if I can no longer visit, it will always have a special place in my woolly heart.  : )

New yarn for the Mitered Square Blanket

Not bad, right?  They didn’t have any of the bright pink, but I figure I can just pick it up another time.  The interesting thing about this pile of future-miters is that I almost got into a fight with the Michael’s yarn section employee to get it.  Yarn shopping shouldn’t be this difficult, seriously!

So here’s what went down: I stroll over to the Michael’s yarn section to find that they’re reorganizing/restocking the entire section.  Most of the bins are empty, and there are piles of yarn in shopping carts (and on the floor – the horror!) scattered haphazardly all over the place.  It was a total mess.  I locate the bins that I need, only to find one sad little skein of white yarn whose label has been torn and taped up with packing tape.  It was a sad state of affairs, trust me.  Lucky for me, there is a Michael’s employee restocking the shelves… maybe she can help.

I politely ask her if they have any more Patons Grace, showing her the sad little white skein with the torn label.   She looks at me with complete confusion and simply replies that she doesn’t know and won’t know until the entire section is restocked.  I ask her if there might be any in one of the overflowing shopping carts, and she says (get this): “No, I don’t know, we’re restocking the entire section.”  What kind of response is that??  I say, “So, I”m out of luck?”  She says, “No.”  I say, “So you have some then?”  She says, “No.”  Arrgghh!!!  It was like talking to a brick wall.  I finally accept the fact that this conversation is going nowhere and begin to walk away, still holding the hopeless little white skein.

As I get to the end of the aisle, I see the Michael’s employee walk over to one of the overflowing shopping carts and proceed to (rather reluctantly and – dare I say it – angrily) unload about 50 skeins of exactly what I’m looking for.  WTF???  She obviously knew there was plenty of the yarn I wanted because she knew exactly which cart was holding the stockpile.  I thank her a few times (since she is very obviously annoyed at me), but she doesn’t say a word.  Once she finished unloading, she grunted and went back to restocking the shelves.  It was all very strange, and I’m just glad I walked out of there with what I needed.

Usually yarn shopping (even at Michael’s for cheap-o yarn) is pretty exciting, and I like to soak up every moment.  This time, I was happy to get out of there without that woman running me over with a shopping cart!  Geez, Michael’s, please get some new employees before I run out of yarn again, ok?  : )

Anyway, once I had escaped the yarn-section-of-doom, I started some new miters using white and light pink. 

Aww, a new miter is born

And here’s where the left-handedness comes in - notice how I’m knitting backwards?  I’m knitting across the row (into the long-tail cast on), from left to right.  Oh, the humanity.  Try to to freak out, people.  : )

Hopefully I’ll have some finished squares to show in my next post – stay tuned.

Mitered Square Blanket from "Mason-Dixon Knitting"

There’s nothing like an almost 4-day, commitment-free holiday weekend to dig out an old project and pick up like you never left.  Oh, Mitered Square Blanket, how I’ve missed you!  You were so dear to my heart when we first met, but I’ve neglected you terribly, tucking you away in my coffee table drawer for all this time, ditching you for non-crafty activities.  Shame on me, really. Can you ever forgive me???

My Mitered Square Blanket started out as a gift for an expectant mother back in the summer of 2007 (two years ago!), but alas, the baby is now a year and a half old and much too big for a baby blanket.  Oops.  I knit most of the squares outside during the summer in various parks and relaxing places near my apartment.  The yarn is cotton, the squares are light and portable, and it’s the perfect project for summer knitting.  My only complaint is that the cheap-o yarn I’m using is only available in (mostly) pastel baby-appropriate colors, so now that this blanket is presumably for me, the colors are a little… well, pastel.  But whatever!  I can roll with that.

Disclaimer: I know this project is old news in the knitting blogosphere, but, in the interest of finishing old projects before starting new ones, let’s all pretend to be really, really excited about this, ok?  : )

Project Specs:

• Pattern: Mitered Square Blanket
• Pattern Source: “Mason-Dixon Knitting” (by the lovely Ann and Kay)
• Yarn: Patons Grace in various pastel colors, purchased at Michael’s
• Needles: US #1 (2.5 mm) addi Turbos
• Current Level of Crafty Excitement: New-project euphoria!

I knit a small boat-load of little miters two years ago, and so far, the blanket is looking something like this (only with more squares):

Random sampling of miters

Notice the extreme pastel-icious nature of this beast.  Mmm… I love sarcasm.  Also note that the original recipient was a baby boy, so I made more blue squares than the other color combinations.

Yesterday, after I victoriously liberated this project from the vast darkness of my coffee table drawer, I managed to make a meager yet exciting contribution – three more blue miters!  Let us all rejoice at my miraculous success!

Wow - three more blue miters!

I had seriously forgotten how to make these little guys and actually had to consult the instructions in the book.  I am hanging my head in shame, really, since these miters are just SO easy to make.  I also found my little cardboard how-to-miter cheat-sheet at the bottom of the drawer.  I love this thing – it’s small and convenient, and it makes this project incredibly portable.  Yay!

Miter cheat-sheet

So now that I’m armed with my old instructions, miter cheat-sheet, and plenty of pastel cotton yarn, I hope that I can really pick up on this project again.  Let us not discuss the massive number of squares left to be created, the big sew-up, or the mind-numbingly tedious border that will have to be constructed at the end.  Right now my new-project euphoria is in full swing - why ruin it?  : )