MD Sheep and Wool!

It’s that time of year again! And this time, I’ve vowed to have a better plan than “Show up. Buy stuff. Leave when money is gone.” So I’ve created a Plan of Attack, which lists all the things I’m interested in seeing and getting in order of time and/or importance. My vendor list is highlighted with a few notes, my fairgrounds map is marked up, and I’ve made lists of things to bring in both my bag and car. I’m taking every precaution, and planning for the worst (cold, rain, lots of mud). Scott has some sort of motorcycle party going on the same weekend, so I’m on my own this year- meaning no supervision or voice of reason to keep me in check. I’ll have to do my best to exercise some restraint (hahahaha!). It’s just hard to look at Scott’s Boner-Inducing Death Rocket (his Ducati) and not think that I should be entitled to the equivalent value in yarn. Especially since yarn requires much cheaper equipment/accessories, will not likely maim or kill me, and doesn’t need things like insurance and registration. But I digress…

Last year I missed a lot of stuff in all the excitement (plus I tend to get extra forgetful when frazzled), so this time I’m hoping it will be less overwhelming. I’m trying to focus on seeing and smooshing things I haven’t seen in person before, and only buying things I can’t get any other time. That second part probably won’t happen, though. I’m weak willed. I’ve also vowed to see the sheep dogs this year, especially since Scott would like to get a border collie one day.

Another thing I want to do this year? Take more freakin’ pictures! I’m even attempting to learn about my camera’s settings to make sure I get good ones.

Sorry there haven't been many knitty blog updates. Knitting has taken a backseat to painting the house the past couple of weeks, so there just isn't anything to update. But Sunday should be filled with glorious Maryland Sheep and Wool news!

This Is Epic (to me)

Here's the thing. I've been knitting for many years now, and I feel as though I've really advanced- especially during the past couple years. But I still have this problem with stockinette stripes... I thought it would go away with experience, but so far, no luck. My purling is just super loose, no matter how much I try to tighten up the tension. Well, perhaps it's time for a change.

I started a swatch with some (rather unforgiving) cotton left over from Cass's sweater. On the first half of the swatch, I knit and purled my usual way- continental. After a couple inches, I tried something new. I knit continental, then instead of purling, I knit backwards, English style. Anyway, just look at the difference:



I'm pretty amazed. I can't believe the massive difference, and I only wish I had done this sooner. Now here's the downside: Knitting 4 rows the old way took 2 min, 57 sec. 4 rows the new way takes 5 min, 16 sec. That's a lot slower. But look how much nicer it looks! I think it's worth it.

I'm also going to use this swatch in a little experiment: I'm going to wash it every time I put in a load of laundry, and see how long it takes for the stitches to even out (if they ever do). Science!

Crap.

I discovered a possible flaw with my new bag: It might be a little too deep. And therefore dark and hard to see inside. Especially at the bottom. So when I reach in for my sock and pull out what I think are the extra DPNs, I actually pull out the needles in the sock. Bummer. At least there was only an inch or so done. And I thing the solution for this is to make or purchase some DPN project holders.

Hey! I Did It!

I sewed! I'm a sewer! Wait, that's not right...

But there it is. I made a knitting bag. It even has pockets on the inside- one specifically for a phone, and one for my notions tin (by the way, thanks goes to the ladies at knit night- mainly Sandy- for pointing out the awesomeness of gift card tins for this purpose)...

And on the other side are two larger pockets for whatever, they are large enough to hold an 8x10" piece of paper folded in half...

It's big enough to hold a sweater-sized project, I think. Below, it's holding my crocheted blanket and the socks (from the last post) and it's only about halfway full. We'll see.

And it has just one strap the way I like (if there are two, one always seems to slip off my shoulder).

The biggest problem I encountered was that my buttonhole wasn't big enough for my button. It was the first button hole I ever made on a sewing machine, and didn't know how big it should be in comparison to the button. I tried to make it the same size, but it didn't quite work out. Luckily, I had one that was a perfect fit, so it all worked out. I still have some concerns about the strength of my seams, but in the worst case I'll just have to make some repairs.

I'm actually quite proud of my little bag, as I haven't sewn anything more challenging than a hem since Home-Ec in junior high school. And I'm excited about not having to dig around in the bottom of my bag for my phone at the next knitting meet-up. It is a little bland though... perhaps I can find a way to dress it up at a later date. And I know, the term is seamstress.

I love a good day off. No plans, no obligations... a true day of slacking off and doing whatever I please. At some point I plan on knitting, or crocheting, or maybe even working on making a new knitting bag. I have an actual knitting bag (with pockets specifically for skeins and needles and such) but it's a little cumbersome to drag to knit night. Right now, I use a canvas bag that Scott bought for me a long time ago, which is the perfect size- but lacks pockets. And frankly, carrying around a canvas tote bag makes me feel more like I'm turning into my mother than I'm comfortable with. It doesn't help that the bag says "Mom" on it. So I went to Joann's last weekend and picked up some big remnants for a new bag (plus thread and a button):

I don't know where the button will go, or what it will fasten, but I like buttons. The stripey fabric will be the outside, and the paisley will be the lining. Now I just have to figure out how to sew. :)

A couple days ago, I went through a box of keepsakes in search of this sweater:

This sweater was the first thing my dad ever bought my mom. It's super cute, but even if I could fit into it, obviously I wouldn't want to risk damaging it. So it stays wrapped in plastic, in a box in the closet. Even bringing it out for a little while sort of makes me panicky. But I really like it. My guess that it's not hand-knit is based solely on the fine gauge, and the amount of sewing for the seams (machine sewing, not seamed up with yarn). The construction intrigues me- it appears that the yoke was knit separately in the round, steeked, and sewn together with all the other pieces. Also, I didn't see increases in the yoke; instead the gauge just changes.

My early relationship with Scott sort of mirrors my parents' in that they met and fell love pretty quickly. Their engagement was only 6 months, as was ours, by sheer coincidence. Both my mom and I were 19 when we met our husbands, and we both married older men (which mildly concerned our family in both instances). Anyway, I think it would be fun to knit something using the same fair isle pattern as sort of an homage. I'd like to use the same colors, but that main color will pretty much make me look seasick, so my colors will be similar but with blue undertones. I bet there's a pattern out there for a similar cardigan, where I could just swap out the fair isle pattern and change the hem/cuffs/collar if need be. So I've charted the fair isle bits, and the sweater is now safely back in it's box.

The crocheted baby blanket is still chugging along. My early concern was (once again) running out of yarn, but after finishing up the third ball it's about 10 inches long... So if I do 9 stripes, that will be 30 inches, plus there will be the one ball of green left over for the border (which might not be much, but that's okay).

I've gotten faster at crocheting, but can't look up from it which sucks a little. Thank god for podcasts!

And lastly, I did wind up starting a pair of socks for a little variety.

That's going to be a pair of Hedera socks using Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock in Asilomar. Clearly, they're not too far along, but so far so good.

Real Quick (Before I Forget)

Someone just posted this video on Ravelry, and it's really interesting.

They mention at one point that knitting can even improve your immune system, which sort of boggles my mind, but that would explain why I haven't really gotten sick in a while.

What I want to know is why my memory is so completely warped. Apparently, I can only remember things I don't care to remember. As soon as I think, "I should remember this," I can pretty much guarantee that I won't remember it at all. For instance, as I was driving home the other day, I thought about looking something up online. I even said out loud, "Don't forget..." and repeated whatever it was 5 or 6 times. Later at home, I could not for the life of me recall what it was. I knew exactly where I was on the road, and even what song was on the radio, but I had no idea what I wanted to look up. I still don't. At work I can't remember what supplies we need (unless it was just a passing thought), but I can remember what everyone ordered the last few times we went out to lunch. Weird, right? I wonder if knitting has the power to fix my crazy memory... GASP! What is knitting is the cause of these memory issues!? Oh, well. It's totally worth it.