Purl, Interrupted

turkey for me, turkey for you

thanksgiving preparations stepped ahead of knitting for the last week or so. but now it's time to get serious. i think i've finished all of my xmas knitting, although i still have 2 scarves in the works (not sure who they're for, but i'm sure i'll find something to do with them).

i'm pretty much focused on t's sweater, although i spent most of tuesday night knitting circle trying to untie the huge knot that is the end of my current skein(s) of alpaca. it's a good thing the reporter didn't show up, since i was almost driven to violence.

i think i may just cut the yarn and start over on the next skeins. (skein*s* b/c i'm double knitting). amazingly, i've resisted the dual temptations of (1) the 3rd felted bag and (2) my own cashmerino sweater. my sweater will have to wait awhile, b/c i'm not going to start it until i'm done with the alpaca sweater. i may pick up the felted bag once i'm done with the scarf i'm working on (which is 2x2 ribbed in variegated manos del uruguay -- very pretty but a little 70's looking).

then there were 2 (felted bags, that is)

Okay, I am addicted to felting. And, specifically, to making felted bags -- they're so easy! Who knew? (A lot of people, apparently, but not me.) During my Veteran's Day trip to Tuscany Yarns I picked up 6 more skeins of Noro Kureyon (to make 2 more booga bags). I'm justifying this in my mind by saying it's not breaking the yarn diet if you're making x-mas presents. Right....

Anyway, first I took Bag #1 (in Noro Kureyon #55) back to the washing machine for more felting. Then I started work on Bag #2 (in Noro Kureyon # 52). The bags knit up really fast -- I think I started the second one on Thursday night and finished/felted it Saturday. As an aside, I was very skeptical about the color scheme and even when I was finishing the body of the bag I was having second thoughts about having bought this color. But it felted really nicely. Although Karrie was right -- they took *forever* to felt (about 4 trips through the whole hot wash cycle, so about 40 minutes total). But the end result is great -- here they are:

Now I need to figure out who to give them to for xmas. One is for my mom, but I don't know which one yet. I also think I'll give one to my sister-in-law who lives in Miami (so is pretty hard to knit for). I'm excited to move onto felted bag #3 (in #116, which is more like the first bag -- mostly blacks and greys). I'm considering breaking from the template and making a slightly larger bag -- maybe just longer, so casting on say 54 stitches instead of 34.

But first I have to spend some time on T's sweater so it gets (close to) done by xmas. I think I have 6 inches to go on the body, which isn't so bad. That'll be today's project (not the whole 6 inches, but part of it). Incidentally, the switch from Kureyon (100% wool) back to 100% alpaca is pretty dramatic on the hands. I forget everytime how nice the alpaca is.

Oh, and I finally got a pair of Addi Turbos, onto which I've now shifted the sweater. So can I just say ... Wow!! They really are amazing to work with. I didn't realize how light they were (which is pretty dreamy for the shoulder). So ... I'm converted.

having slept on it...

i'm going to give the bag another go-round in the washer. a woman i met at the yarn store told me to felt it until i could no longer see the stitches. it's not quite there yet, and it's just to stretchy. so ... updated pics to follow.

cool.

i finished the i-cord and felted the bag. here is the "before" shot:

i put it through 3 hot/cold wash/rinse cycles (about 8 minutes each) in a zip'd pillowcase, with 2 pairs of jeans and a towel in the washer as well. here is the "after" shot:

i love it. i hope it's sturdy enough -- it seems a little bigger than the booga bag photos i've seen. but i like the way it looks, and if i'm worried about its fortitude once it's totally dry then i can always throw it back in....

meanwhile, i had so much fun with this bag that i bought more yarn to make another one. and i'm not feeling guilty about the yarn purchase b/c these will make good xmas presents -- even for my fashionable and tropics-dwelling relatives....

oh, and i finally checked out the other yarn store in alameda -- tuscany yarns, which is on the 1900 block of encinal (a.k.a. dangerously close to my house). very nice people. and they have noro, which yarn! doesn't. hooray - now i *never* have to leave this island!!

all over but the felting

okay, i still have to finish the i-cord, too. but the body of the bag is done. here it is. (i used terry's shoe for scale, although i probably should've used one of my shoes too, since his shoes are absurdly huge. anyway, it'll still be useful for scale once i felt it....)

i used color #55, which i really like. here's a close up:

i can't wait to see how it turns out. i think i'll celebrate veteran's day with some quality fabric arts time by the washing machine.....

Irish Hiking Scarf photo

here it is:
i may add fringe to it at some point before xmas, depending on how big a pain that would be (i've never put fringes on any of my scarves, so i don't have a sense of how much hassle it would entail.

cable overload

i did very little but knit all weekend. i had lots of fun. but i'm a little sore now. (see prior post re: rotator cuff....)

anyway, i finally finished irish hiking scarf #2 (in grey mission falls wool). i feel like i've had it on the needles forever, so i'm happy to be finished. it's very snappy, and i think i'll give it to my mother-in-law for xmas. i wish my own family didn't all live in tropical climates, or all my gift-giving problems would be solved....

i also wish i could go a single week without buying yarn. (sort of). but no such luck. saturday i went to article pract and bought 3 skeins of noro #55 to make a booga bag for my mom for xmas. it's going really fast; i'm more than half way through the second skein. i really like the colors -- browns & grays & tans. i think it's going to look great.

hopefully i can felt it early this week. i'm very excited to finally try felting, but i'm a little unsure of the logistics. first, i don't have a zippered pillowcase, though, nor do i know where one finds such a thing. also, the instructions say to run it though 3-4 cylces of hot wash/cold rinse, and to throw it in with 4-5 pairs of jeans. won't this shrink my jeans? just wondering.

sadly, my all-knitting-all-day weekend is winding to a close. probably for the best because i don't think my joints can take much more of this. on a related sad note, i've begin to suspect that i'm about 2 months away from shoulder surgery #2. which will suck. but no more than being unable to lift my arm above my shoulder (e.g. the current state of affairs). i didn't know how to knit when i had my first surgery -- now i have no idea what i'll do with myself during the recovery period. read knitting books, i guess....

tough day for the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.