Chain Chain Change

The stores roundabout Exit 151 may transition from Halloween to Christmas in the twinkling of an eye, but I've been knitting myself a more gradual segue, Deby Lake's Chain Link Socks. The knitting has been going on for a while; today, finally, there was enough sunshine to take a decent photo of it.



Somehow I never got around to knitting this fun, absorbing Six Sox Knit-along pattern. The clever slip stitch motif makes me think of the ghost of Jacob Marley (= Halloween --> Christmas), also of bicycles and whoopie pies and tough economic times.

(Non-knitting rant: Speaking of which, I don't revolve a balance on my credit card, but if I did, the interest rate would have just increased retroactively to an APR over 35%. The skinflints at my bailed out bank play it both ways – they borrow money at very low interest rates and lend it at very high interest rates, all while crying poor. I wonder if credit card bankers laugh all the way to the bank. However that may be, Congress is watching and perhaps other powers too, which brings the karmic circle back to the unquiet ghost of the usurious Jacob Marley. /rant)

Still here? Here's a sweetener, some vintage stash yarn, Emu Superwash. The Seneca mini-KAL for NaKniSweMo fell through, so Plan B is to frog an ancient UFO in favor of Stillwell by Jared Flood.



Think I can finish before month's end? Or is it a fool's errand even to try??

Modest Success

The day's drenching rains spoiled my plan to take Seedy button shopping, so instead I finished [cough] another languishing cardi to the ABB stage, Sitcom Chic, pictured with a seasonal brooch as a fastener. The brooch works sufficiently well it's tempting to just call Sitcom finished and not add a button and button loop.



It was a bit of a surprise to see how comparatively few Sitcoms there are on Ravelry (as of this writing, 293 projects, which places it 42nd among cardigans). The pattern is free, well-written, easy, and fun to knit; the specified yarn is a good value and widely available; and the results are retro-chic yet eminently wearable. Regardless of how others overlook or even spurn it, I could see making another, perhaps in wool with full length rather than ¾ sleeves.

Emboldened by modest success, I'm knitting onward and even joined the NaKniSweMo KAL. For mutual encouragement and support, Nancy and I are doing a mini-KAL within a KAL for Seneca by Jared Flood. The designer's comments are helpful – I'm going to do a full sample swatch, wash, and block on the sideways cable section. Besides, diligence is its own reward – having missed the September Brooklyn Tweed event at Stix-n-Stitches, I hope to wear Seneca to the reception at Knitknack in December.

ABB

Seedy Cardi is almost finished. She's quite wearable as-is, even went to Rhinebeck on Sunday, where she performed admirably in the cold and wet (but my poor digicam misbehaved – sorry, no pix). I love her rustic Noro-esque beauty.



She's just ABB, all but buttons. Once upon a time wearing a cardi sans buttons would have bothered me. No longer. Indeed, I'm brazenly flaunting Seedy's buttonlessness. Behold! – a buttonhole with no corresponding button.



Otherwise, the loose ends are woven in, the leftovers neatly wound, and the trusty tools stowed. I suppose if I hadn't been quite so obsessive about color-matching, there would be a nice full skein left instead of a motley collection of short pieces. Oh well.



Objectively, Seedy isn't heavy for a handknit cardigan – she's well under 500 g (17.6 oz). But she feels substantial, so I stabilized her back neck with a row of slip stitch crochet, using a leftover bit of a smooth yarn, Cascade 220. On the inside of the garment, it looks like a chain.



On the outside, it looks like a decorative running stitch between the collar and the body of the sweater.



The crochet chain works to limit stretching along the back neck, which can be pulled out of shape by the weight of the sleeves, resulting in drooping shoulders. While the effect may have appeal in a luscious angora sweater, I want Seedy to have a firm shoulder line. There's a slight difference in the drape of the sweater, which seems a reasonable trade off for the improved fit.

Ordinarily, I don't much like to wear sweaters with collars, they fidget me. But the turn line on Seedy's seed stitch collar forms crenellations that frame the face, a rather nice special effect. I'm no good at self-portraits, so modeled pix will have to wait 'til DH is available. In the meantime, Seedy's going shopping.

More Leaves

The laundry is screeching, so briefly: I cast on for another Malabrigo March project, Climbing Vines pullover by Joëlle Meier Rioux, worked in Malabrigo Worsted, colorway Indigo. This is a sleeve, with a leaf motif added to enliven the expanse o' stockinette. I do love leaves.



Tomorrow I'm off to the Philadelphia Flower Show to admire more leaves (among other things), such as these Carludovica palmata, source of the fiber used to make Panama hats.



Should the planets align just so, I'll also attend Tina's fabulous annual Stir Crazy Stitch & Spin (see pdf flyer) in Hudson (see map) on Sunday. If not, oh well. Meanwhile, for those who can't attend (and even for those who can), SpinOffMagazine.com, "The Online Community Just for Spinners!", is having a contest.

Finally, just for Deb, a photo from when I was in first grade. Back then I really really really wanted a red bicycle. Some things haven't changed much.



And even though Nancy Sinatra's boots had kitten heels, I was pretty sure mine were made for walkin' too. Tomorrow that's just what I'll do!

Observer Effect

It's Epiphany and the revelation of the day is apparently there has been a discontinuity in the spacetime of my blogoverse, undetected by me but observable by others (thanks, Kelli). Not only would that seem to confirm empirically the existence of the Black Hole of Crafting, but also to imply I've already tumbled in.

Astrophysics tells us that by the time we observe something, the event is already in the past, possibly by billions of years. Quantum mechanics tells us that the very act of observation changes things. Both philosophy and accounting wrestle with issues of recency and priority. Me, I just blame the manvest.



Here it is on New Year's Day looking innocent, posing with dodecahedrons because of that which is stated chronologically later yet is logically prior: it is NaKniSweMoDo Project 1. The pattern is Peter Easy and the yarn is Berroco Ultra Alpaca, colorway 6287 Denim Mix.

Less than a week later, it has achieved the Vast Expanse o' Stockinette stage. Can anything stop the manvest? And, do I want to, even for (let us say) Distaff Day, tomorrow?

Event Horizon

The manvest is approaching the Vast Expanse o' Stockinette stage. (It's not nearly so purple-y in person.) There oughta be voice over by Leonard Nimoy proclaiming, "We are now entering the Black Hole of Crafting" or some such.



Not least because although DH seems to like his vest in progress, he's also made some new requests. Yaaaaaaaah!

No Waffling

Happy New Year! Initially I was inclined to think that having committed to NaKniSweMoDo and Plurk Craft 365, I didn't need to make any fibery resolutions for 2009. That was before I lined up (and shot) the Socks of Shame, aka the official number of singleton socks as of 12/31/08.


From left to right: Pink Beads, Stashbuster Spirals, Meadowlands x2, Scar, Fawkes, Piscean, Green Merino, Juta's Stocking

Ahem. Here's five fibery goals for 2009:

Reduce the official number of singleton socks. The count currently stands at 9. Come December, gentle readers with avenging fury tendencies may wish to remind me to post a year-end pictorial comparison. In the meantime, I shall post a running total, with up/down status on the sideboard.

Knit or crochet seven adult-sized sweaters. Unless severe dodecamania sets in, that seems a realistic goal for my NaKniSweMoDo. The symptoms to watch for: normal dodecamaniacs have pentagonal dodecahedral calendars, severe dodecamaniacs have rhombic ones (click if you dare).



Make a couple blankies, not because there's a blankie shortage at casa Jersey Knitter, but because DH wants some and the stashes have gotten that big. Probably a sewing project, although I keep thinking Snow Flurries – knit, then fulled bouclé – would make a fabulous blanket.

Spindle sufficient yarn for a pair of socks. To give this one teeth I'll add this public vow: if the yarn is not finished – I mean spun, plied, and set – by my birthday, I shall give away a Sheep 2 Shoe kit. I'll have to think about what to do should I finish in time – besides knit a pair of socks, that is.

Reduce use of plastics, especially plastic bags. It should be relatively easy to sew up more fabric project bags – the real challenge is stash. Not only is most stored in plastic bins and bags, but also there's the monster box of plastic yarn to deal with. Some research may be needed, but there shall be no waffling!

Erm, well, maybe a little waffling?



But only because I got a waffle iron for Christmas (thanks, Mom and Dad!).