Knitting, Botany, Mycology, Nature, Adventure, and Life... in no particular order.
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Big trouble in cable city
So I’m working on knitting a present for a couple of friends of mine who got married. (Technically I have the whole first year so who cares if I cast on after the wedding!) It’s a mod of a complicated Starmore sweater into a lovely afghan. A few cables, a bit of simple lace, and viola!
So the thing about cables is that though they are simple in theory, there are some problems that can arrise, especially if one is lazy and does not actually use someting to underline their working row on all the charts.
Here is the panel in question:
Can you see the problem? How about now?
So this is what it is supposed to look like:
and this is what I have:
and if you look back to the first picture you might notice I have knit quite a bit since then. A whole additional repeat from where that mistake is. About 23 rows. 23 ROWS! And now I see that I have 3 options:
- Leave it, say that hand knit things have mistakes, and never look back!
- Drop back just those 5 stitches and see if I can figure out how to fix it and reknit everything along the way with just the cable needle, crochet hook, and my wits.
- Frog back 23 rows and fix the mistake and then reknit 23 rows.
As I see it 1 is straight out. I refuse to succumb to my own stupidity and laziness at forgetting a cable cross. Number 2 is terrifying and yet if it works is the least amount of work. I just haven’t yet figured out how exactly it would work, though I can usually figure out how to grab stitches as knits and purls, not usually 5 in a row with cables. The final option will work if the second option fails. (So long as I don’t drop other things along the way. I am suddenly considering lifelines for every pattern repeat.) However the idea of reknitting that many rows is inconceivable very hard. The backside rows speed along, but the front-side rows, when I am in a good rhythm and everything is moving perfectly probably take me no less than 10 minutes, which means if I was only doing front rows perfectly then it would take me about 2 hours of perfect knitting to redo all that work.
I think morning is a better time to tackle this, perhaps even afternoon after coffee and a lot of thinking. I may even have to phone a friend for some help, if only moral support! (Chocolate and wine may be on hand for the post results in case of both good or bad. Or beer, beer alyways helps… right? Maybe I should have one of those now.)
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Saturday is…
Chocolate for Breakfast Day!
That’s right, back in probably late August I decided that Saturday should be chocolate for breakfast day. It started on a particulary difficult Saturday where I felt I needed a boost, and then I decided that EVERY Saturday should start this way.
I’ve stuck to it! (out of enjoyment and not obligation) It’s not necessarily that my entire breakfast is chocolate. Perhaps a mocha (hot or iced), a scone with some chocolate, pancakes with some chocolate, and usually this is accompanied by non-chocolate themed food. (Though not always! Mmmm chocolate croissant and mocha!) Sometimes I go out to achieve this, sometimes it is as home. Sometimes it is true breakfast, and sometimes it is more of a second breakfast. Either way, there is chocolate and it makes Saturday great. Even my handsome man agrees!
So, give it a try! Saturday is Chocolate for Breakfast Day!
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Whip It
I loved the movie. Good music, hip/alternative roller derby vibe, touching moments between friends and family, and lots of female actors in their 30’s having fun and looking awesome, and a really kick-ass food fight. Not too melodramatic, angsty, or sappy.
Though he didn’t come see it, my fella might be right… “It’s like a chick flick for tough chicks.”
Now I just need to go watch some actually Roller Derby…
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Race Results
On Saturday (26th of September) was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K in Boston. I was on a team that called themselves the blue-footed boobies. It was my first 5k and my first big fundraiser and I feel great about both!
My fundraising amount: $925 (because my friends and family are awesome)
My 5k time: 29.15!! (I’m allowed to be excited for that time, it’s my first race since high school!)
Now I just have to keep up with all this running in amongst all the ultimate and knitting! (New found love of audio books is making the latter really even more awesome!)
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Beer differences
Things beer may make seem different (or actually be different)
- Role playing (especially if you are new/nervous)
- Knitting tension
That is all I am currently testing. Results to follow.
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One look from you, I drift away. I pray that you are here to stay. […] I live my life, to be with you. No one can do the things you do. […] I’m glad to give my love to you. I know you feel the way I do. Anything you want, you got it. Anything you need, you got it. Anything at all, you got it. Baby!
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Fall Aspirations
So the temperature has dropped and it is cool and gray and rainy outside. This weather is perfect for knitting and drinking copious amounts of tea! (note to self: find more decaf black tea, preferably lady gray.) The tricky thing becomes sticking with something long enough to finish it!
Right now I am working on (or about to start):
- An afghan in Sheep Shop One wool in beautiful blues using cables from Alice Starmore’s St. Brigid. I cast on after the wedding it is a gift for so I really better stick with that!
- A lace mobius cowl in Three Irish Girls Springvale Super Merino in Devon (a beautiful mix of greens that are very spring like). Meant to do this earlier, but after having made the same pattern (Prickle) for a swap gift I know I can do the whole thing in 12 or so hours of knitting.
- BSJ! That’s right, I’m about the start the famous Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern for the Baby Surprise Jacket. The yarn: Koigu Kertsi Merino Crepe! Excitement level very high. Too bad I need to gauge swatch still. :(
- Pirate/skull hats! Some of my favorite people have moved to Durham and the boys have requested hats, pirate hats. So they’ll get matching hats, one with blue details and the other with red (as requested). It’ll take longer to get cold there, but I still better get started on those… which means going and buying yarn. :)
- Owed hats: 1 for my knitting buddy and pastery expert and 1 for my nerdy love. I already did 1/2 for my buddy, however ran into a problem and since it’s lace and the pattern is flat and I’m doing it in the round I’ve ignored it for probably at least 6 months! For the cutie I actually knit the hat once… to big around and not long enough. Superfast knit if I get my act in gear.
I think that’s a big enough list for now. Should allow lots of options for difficulty, attention, techniques and fiber. :) However I also would like another fall scarf for myself, preferably something that looks smashing with my new brown herringbone blazer/fall coat.
I better get of my computer and pick up my needles!
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Wait a Minute!
So tomorrow is September 1… how did that happen?! Where did the summer go?! We got 3 weeks of summer weather in August and that’s it!
August was a pretty packed month: I went to “Nerd Camp” for a week to learn about hypogeous fungi (and even collected some species that need to be described), the cutie and I went to Philly and he sucessfully defended his dissertation and we got to spend time with great people, my friend from high school got married and it was beautiful and fun, I got sick and knocked on my tuchis for a week… well that was pretty much August. Some work and helping friends from work move and a trip to the South End and even a movie got snuck in there too. Whew, maybe I’m ready for a new month.
September always feels like a new beginning… which we can probably attribute to school years. Having attended 17 years of school (kindergarden-college) it’s pretty much hardwired, and then throw in working at a university and taking the occasional class, my brain is positive September marks the beginning of things. So I think this September I am really going to embrace it!
This September will be the beginning of getting myself back in order! This hopefully will include:
- Cooking more! (Healthy things!)
- More time on the porch and listening to music
- Leaving less clutter and mess everywhere at home!
- Running more (with 2 nights of frisbee a week and signing up for 3 races I better)
- Scheduling things I want to get done and doing them (like grocery shopping and working on my collections)
- Making time to relax, be me, and do my own thing (knitting, reading, drinking tea, dancing in the livingroom, bike rides, hikes, looking for fungi, and even some yoga!)
- Have people over more!
So here’s to September and new beginnings! Let’s hope it has some good beach days in it so we can still have some summer left!
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