Yarn Condo

Here is my new knitting storage space...yay! For a while there I had a couple of canvas bags with projects and supplies split between them, plus a box of yarn upstairs. Things were pretty much everywhere but where I wanted them. So I decided I needed to find a better storage solution and searched all over for the right one. I ended up with this which I got at Target. It came as the shelf unit on it's own and the cubes seperately. I couldn't decide what colors cubes to get, but after much deliberation chose these. The top cube is a bit more eggplant than the picture shows and the blue is darker as well. I'm able to fit my two current projects in the top cube (which I can take out and sit on the floor by me while I work) and in the bottom cube, yarn for upcoming projects, needles, etc. I wasn't able to fit all my yarn in this, so some of that is still in a box upstairs, but all the exciting stuff is downstairs and readily available. I may actually end up getting one more of these units and two more cubes and attach them into a square of four cubes to allow for some (inevitable) expansion! We'll see...


LISTENING TO: CAKE LIKE - "Delicious" This three-girl band was lead by Kerri Kenney. You might know her from her stint on MTV's sketch comedy show The State or most recently from Reno 911. But aside from her comic roles in these shows, she plays bass and sings...cool! Fun fact: Cake Like was formed without any of the band members knowing how to play!

Clog Blog

The first of the clogs is done! Yayyy! I really enjoyed this project. It was challenging enough to keep things interesting and it was very fun to pull the felted end-product out of the sudsy depths of the washer. As it was my first felting project, I was especially excited to see the transformation.



I have two pictures up, before and after felting. I included the remote control for size perspective. The only thing I did differently from the instructions were... 1) I didn't put the clog in a bag, I just let it float loose. And 2) I threw a pair of jeans in to add agitation. I got this idea from some instructions for a felting project by Patons, which is the brand of yarn that I used for the clog. I don't know how different the end result would have been without these changes, but I'll do the same with the second clog to make sure number two looks the same.


LISTENING TO: THROWING MUSES - "Throwing Muses (2003)" The last of the Muses albums and the only one to feature Tanya Donelly since she left the band after the amazing "Real Ramona." Tanya went on to greater fame with Belly but Kristin Hersh kept the Muses records coming, keeping them challenging without ever compomising her vision of the band's unique sound. This last album, it it remains the last one, is a fine goodbye, full of the usual twists and turns, never predictable, yet terribly catchy.


A VERY NON-KNITTING POST-SCRIPT - PART 2:

Due to multiple requests (and because I'm a closet exibitionist...isn't that an oxymoron?) I'm posting a PIC of the new piercings (pay no mind to the pale, skinny upper torso!). I took this just a few days after they were done. They seem to be healing really well, no issues there. I'm doing 4-times-a-day cleanings, at least for the first three weeks. Then I'll probably go down to 3-times-a-day for another couple weeks. And honestly, there has been very little discomfort which has been a pleasant surprise. All in all, a good experience...I'm glad I went ahead with it after just thinking about it for years!

Upcoming Lace Project

Along with the needles, my last order from Knit Picks included some new yarn... Shimmer lace- weight in Turquoise Splendor. My intention is to make the Candle Flame Shawl as a present, maybe for Mom. Now I haven't done too much with lace yet, but I have tried this pattern out with a sock weight yarn and it looked pretty good. So I think I'll practice some more with that before tackling the real thing.

Not a whole lot to update on the other knitting. Ruth-Anne and I did meet on Thursday though and I got most of the left-side panel for the head on the bear rug completed. I also got a few more rows into the clogs, but haven't really found the time to sit and concentrate on that as needed. The last half of the second sock seems to be on the back burner for whatever reason, but I'll get back to it eventually.


Today is going to be a lot of puttering around the house. Which, being the homebody that I am, I rather like! So hopefully in between the cleaning, laundry and cooking I can find a little time to knit. We'll see...

LISTENING TO: MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO - "99%" This album, years ahead of it's time when it came out in 1990, still sounds as fresh and important to the electronic scene today as it did then. Though they have gone on to make other great albums, this for me was/is their finest hour.


A VERY NON-KNITTING POST-SCRIPT:
(THOUGH IT DOES INVOLVE NEEDLES) I GOT PIERCED!

If you have no interest in piercings, read no further...

Last Friday a few of my female co-workers went to get piercings done. They all decided to get their tragus pireced which is the small flap of cartilage that sticks out in front of the ear canal. I wanted to go along but wasn't able because I had to work that night. And even if I could have gone, I wouldn't be able to get anything above the neck pierced since I work in a conservative medical/retail environment. That pretty much left me with the option of either the nipples or a genital piercing. The latter was definitely out for me, so I decided that if I were to get anything done it would be my nipples.

The next Monday one of those same co-workers mentioned that she was going to go back to get her navel pierced that coming Friday...AND that I needed to go along and get something done since I missed out the week before. I told her I would do it if it didn't cost a fortune (which I thought it would). She called the place and it turns out it was only $20 per, jewelry included. So after work on Friday we headed down to the shop in Brewer.

My co-worker went first and was done in no time...which means that before I knew it, I was up next! I filled out my paperwork, hopped in the chair and removed my shirt. He disinfected the area, marked where the piercings would be and applied the clamp on the right side. The first one was really quick and relatively speaking, not too bad. I had prepared myself for much worse. The second one was more like what I was expecting, the pain lasting longer and it was more intense, though STILL not as bad as I had expected. As I was cringing through the second one, the piercer said, "the second one always hurts more, but I didn't want to tell you that before doing it." Which I suppose was a good thing, really.

It's only been two days, but all's going well. And I am VERY pleasantly surprised that despite some discomfort the first night, there is almost none now. I do have 6-8 weeks of 3-4 times-a-day cleanings to do, but that's to be expected. So despite some initial reservations (mostly pain related ones!), I must say I'm happy with the end result (they look great!) and for anyone out there contemplating doing the same, I'd say to go for it!

The Clog-Along has begun

For those of you who aren't up to speed, Chris organized a clog-along over at Men Who Knit that was set to start on Monday the 17th. I had all my materials together and wholeheartedly planned on starting my first clog last night. And in the end I did start it...but just barely. I began the evening by working on the fourth (and last) leg of the rug, which I did finish (leaving just the head to complete!). By the time that was done it was getting late, around 11:30. I almost talked myself into skipping the clog for the night and starting it on Tuesday instead. However I really wanted to get something done, so I managed to cast on and then knit the first row. Though it wasn't much, I did get to start with everyone else which was good!

Tonight I worked more on the clog and got the sole done (see above). I didn't start knitting until late and that seemed like a good breaking point, before changing colors and starting the top. Right now it doesn't look much like a clog, so it will be cool to see it take shape. I keep hearing words of advice from my very early days of knitting... "trust the pattern."

On the left is the bear skin rug in it's most recent state. You can get an idea of the size of it by comparing it to the coffee table and the ottoman on either side. The head will be at the end nearest the bottom of the picture. The sides of the head will be knit and attached and then the whole thing is made three dimensional with stuffing. Hope to have more progress on that soon.

LISTENING TO: THE INNOCENCE MISSON - "Birds Of My Neighborhood." Karen Peris leads this lovely trio from my home state of PA. Those familiar with early 10,000 Maniacs should find this to their liking. This CD makes me think of childhood, winter and yes, innocence.

Just a quickie...

This was my weekend to work. There are three of us on a rotating schedule which works out pretty well. I was there Friday evening until 8PM and Saturday 9-2PM. I really don't mind it all that much, it just makes what's left of the weekend go by really quickly!

I did get a little work done on my sock...I'm on the gusset decreases. And I dug the bear skin rug out and got some more done on that. When last I left off he only had one leg. As of today he has three and a half. I hope to finish that last leg tomorrow (and post an updated pic) which will leave only the head to complete! The rug has really not been a hard project, just a long one. And one that I haven't managed to devote enough time to. So it's coming along, just a little slower than originally anticipated!

I'll sign off for now with a picture I took out in the yard on Saturday. Hope you all had a great weekend!

P.S. Thanks to Kenny for the help with the great progress bars!

LISTENING TO: LISA GERMANO - "Geek The Girl." Lisa is one of my top ten favorite artists. She is an incredible songwriter who has a penchant for making beautifully sad and lonely music. That isn't to say that listening to her work is depressing...but she is able to tap into some dark places and emotions we often leave unexplored. Highly recommended if you're game for that kinda thing!

The Options have landed

Upon arriving home from work last night I discovered a package from Knit Picks...my order had arrived! Woohoo! I've spent a good bit of this morning trying them out, so let me go over what I think of them. Here's what my order consisted of:

- 1 set of 24" needle cables which also includes 4 cable cap screws and a cable key to tighten the joins
- pairs of needle tips in sizes 4, 5, 6, and 13
- two of the Classic circulars in size 2 (the Classics are a one-piece, non-interchangable circular)


Cable Ends

The cable ends seem very sturdy. The area where the cable joins the metal is smooth and will withstand a vigorous tug. The length of the post with the threads on it seems like it will add a lot of stability to the join.


Cable Key



The cable key is rather unexciting, but that being said, it does exactly what it's supposed to do. I found that the pieces can be screwed together about 90% of the way by hand, but you really need the key to finish the last bit. Which is good because it makes for a tight join.


The Join



The join itself is very clean. This is a trial piece that I knit this morning just to try out the size 13s with the 24" cable. I had no snagging and no loosening of the join.


Cable Caps



Here's an example of a "straight" needle made by using one needle tip and one cable cap end. The caps screw on just like the needle tips


Takumi Bamboo Vs. Options Part 1



I've used the bamboo circulars before with no problem, but in trying the Options I must say the the join is even better due to a smoother and longer taper.


Takumi Bamboo Vs. Options Part 2



The Options win out here, too, due to the extra amount of needle length (4.5 inches from join to tip). The short needle on the Takumis made them a bit akward to handle and was my only real complaint about them at the time. However I now have another complaint which is illustrated in the picture above. The Takumis have a very tight cable. I couldn't get it to straighten out any more than it is. The Options cables are very soft, pliable and easy to work with.


Takumi Vs. Options Part 3



This picture shows the difference between the tips of these two brands. The Options tip is much pointier! I don't know that I have a preference as far as that goes (yet anyway), but I thought I'd show you how they compare for your own reference.


My Sock!

I've transferred my sock over to the two Classic circulars (size 2). I had it on a set of bamboo DPNs, but figured I'd not only try out the new needles but a new technique (for me)...a sock on two circulars.

And this last pic is a shot of the sock in progress on the new needles.

So though I've only had them a day I'd have to give them a thumbs up all around. They are comfortable to use, attractive, fairly inexpensive and seem like they have been made well with a lot of thought put into them. I'll continue to use them and give one last post about them in a week or two as a follow up. But if you have been looking at them and trying to decide whether or not to take the plunge, I'd say go for it!

LISTENING TO: MUSE - "Black Holes And Revelations." Anyone who has listened to Muse in the past and thought of them as mere Radiohead wannabes, take another listen. This is one kick-ass album, adding in some Middle Eastern and Latin influences...even a little funk. But have no fear, the signature Muse sound and Matthew Bellamy's trademark vocals are in place.

MenWhoKnit rocks!

I want to say a big thank you to the guys over at MenWhoKnit for their gracious welcome and kind words. And especially to Chris who badgered me into joining in the first place (I mean that in a nice way...). Not that I didn't want to join, mind you. I can just be a bit lazy at times and despite Chris mentioning that I should go check out the MWK site, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. But now that I have, I'm glad I did and look forward to getting to know the guys there.

My KnitPicks Options needles should hopefully arrive this week! I'm very excited to give them a try. At first I debated as to whether I wanted to get them at all. Up until now I've been using bamboo needles almost exclusively. I've used bamboo DPNs for socks and a hat and bamboo circulars for the sweater sampler I made. I actually liked the fact that they have a little grab to them, especially in the beginning. As someone fairly new to knitting and who's paranoid about dropping a stitch, they were a perfect solution and I still really like working with them. So the thought of trying metal needles felt akin to cheating! However I have gotten to the point where I can see some advantage to the metal needles, mainly increased speed! (Sounds like I'm going through a midlife crisis, but instead of trading the mini-van in on a sports car, I'm going from the dependable bamboos to the sporty, speedy metals!)

As far as the interchangeable vs. classic circular issue, I have no opinion on that...yet, anyway. This will be my first experience with interchangeables. I am optimistic that I will like them. From all the reviews that I've read from people who already have them, people with much more knitting experience than myself, they seem to be a huge hit. Once mine arrive and I have a chance to try them out I'll post my own review for those interested.

Still working on sock #2. I haven't had the time to just sit and get much done, but I'm a little over two inches into the leg right now. On the left I've posted a pic of sock #1 completed. I ended up doing the ribbing just down the leg and the rest in stockinette. Tallguy had posted a comment that the alpaca may tend to stretch a bit so he was hoping I had continued the ribbing down the top of the foot as well. Argh, I didn't! However, the fit on them is comfortably snug, so even if they stretch out just a little, I'm hoping they'll still be fine.

LISTENING TO: COCTEAU TWINS - "Treasure." Between Robin Guthrie's ethereal guitar work and Liz Fraser's beautiful, angelic voice, Cocteau Twins were an amazing band. If you haven't heard anything by them and are interested in checking them out, I'd recommend "Four-Calendar Cafe" or "Heaven Or Las Vegas" as a good starting point.

Check out your Options

Has anyone else checked out the new needles by Knit Picks? (Hope they don't mind that I "borrowed" a pic from their site!) They've come up with their own line of interchangeable needles which look fantastic.

This weekend I got their most recent catalog that featured them on the cover and after a quick peruse of that I headed off to do some online research. I ended up at Knitters Review where a lot of people who have already ordered and received theirs have given them the thumbs up. The only real negative I've heard so far is that the needles aren't marked with the sizes. But if that's the biggest complaint, it's a minor inconvenience.

Things that people have praised them for: The join between the cable and needles is said to be extremely smooth. The cable is very flexible, thin, strong and lightweight. The needles are hollow brass with nickel plating for a very lightweight feel and a smooth surface. I'll stop here since I don't want to sound like a commercial...especially since I haven't even tried them yet! But after reading all the available information on them, I have to say that I'm very excited to give them a shot. So much so that I placed an order today!

I ordered a pair of the Classic Circulars in size 2 for socks (the circulars in sizes 0-3 come in a non-interchangeable, one piece unit due to their small size) and a 24" cable set with a pair of size 13 needle tips (I needed these anyway to make the Fiber Trends felt clogs that I learned about from Chris over at the Tex Knitter site.). When ordering, they have a disclaimer that due to the high demand for the needles there is a one to two week backorder. But once they come in and I have a chance to use them, I'll let you know what I think. If you've gotten them and have any thoughts, please let me know in the comments section.

Well, that's it for now. I hope you're all having a great holiday today. Be safe and take care!

LISTENING TO: SEVERED HEADS - "Gigapus." Tom Ellard is the brains behind this fun Australian electronic band. They've gone from the early days of creating sound collages with odd samples and drum loops to a string of great electro-pop albums. But even at their most pop sounding, they still don't sound remotely Top 40. However, for the adventurous out there, they have a lot of smart music to offer...including their upcoming "Under Gail Succubus."

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig

Well, after 11 hours on the road, I am back home from my trip to PA. I am exhausted, even after my 7 hour 'nap' this afternoon, but I'll have the rest of the holiday weekend to recover and recoup.

The trip was really good. Some of the highlights of the trip were: Seeing Mom and Dad and the old house, getting to see my sister and niece who flew in from Florida; visiting with my old co-workers; the family reunion at my cousin's house; visiting with two of my best friends, one which I hadn't seen in four years...and lots of good food!

One bad thing about the trip is that I managed to pick the week of one of the worst floods in the area. In fact it was second only to the Agnes flood in 1972. The picture I've posted shows a street that is just over two blocks away from the river.

My parents live one block away from the river. Luckily their house sits high on the far side of the street so we were spared any flooding. But most of the neighbors on the other side of the street did get flooded. We spent a good part of Wednesday helping people across the street bring things up from their basements. And if the flooding itself weren't bad enough, the whole town lost water service for four days, there were power outtages and due to large areas of water on the roads, many people were unable to leave their homes or to get to their homes depending on where they were when the flood hit. But despite all that, it surprisingly didn't put a damper on the trip and I was glad I was there and able to help.

I didn't have much time to work on my knitting, as I expected. However I did get a little more work done on my sock. I got the heel turned, the gusset decreases finished and I'm halfway down the foot. Hopefully I'll be able to finish that and get started on sock two this weekend!

LISTENING TO: LAURA VEIRS - "Year Of Meteors." Think of a slightly more off-beat Suzanne Vega, less folky and with a more electronic edge. I bought this CD having never heard her, but was drawn to it by the album cover. It's rare that I'd do that, but I'm glad I did!

Vacation, all I ever wanted

Well, the knitting has been a little on the slow side lately. I have the first sock over half done...here's a sneak peek of it in progress. And I got some more work done on the rug while at Ruth-Anne's for our semi-regular, sorta-weekly knitting night. I finished one of the three parts of the head and one of the four legs is done. Actually, laying it out on the floor as is, it's looking like a bear that's been through some sort of industrial accident, but it's taking shape.

Tomorrow I'm headed back home for a visit with the folks, family and friends. I'll be traveling with my dear, long-time friend Diane which should be a lot of fun and will definitely make the long trip go much quicker.

Here's an example of our humor through a recent exchange about the trip. After some finagling, we finally had the trip all set. She was excited because she usually makes the trip home by herself and was happy to have me along as a travelling companion. "Oh good, I'll have a big, strong man along in case something goes wrong," she said. (I replied with "Really? Who are you bringing?") I later told her how I was pleased to discover that, though I get car sick when reading, I can somehow knit in the car without any problems. So when I told her excitedly that I would be able to work on my sock on the ride down she said "Well, there goes the big, strong man theory..."

I'm looking very forward to not only the visit, but the time away from work. Though I enjoy my job and my co-workers are great, I haven't had an actual get-away-from-it-all type vacation for two years. So, it's a much needed break from routine.

LISTENING TO: TARNATION - "Gentle Creatures." Paula Frazer's wonderful voice and songwriting are the heart of Tarnation. The band has now split, but Paula continues to record as a solo artist. If you are a fan of "alterna-country" music, this is probably right up your alley. You may also want to check out Paula's site to see her work as a weaver of beautiful wool fabrics.

Sock it to me

I have put the bear rug aside for a bit. It was getting pretty warm to work with and I was running out of Chocolate Fun Fur. But, I just got the AC Moore flyer and the Fun Fur is on sale this week. So I'm going to buy the last couple of those that I need.

In the meantime I've started my socks with the Top Print alpaca. I am making these on size 2 DPNs, with 64 stitches. And Chris, since I have still not answered you as to what pattern I am doing the sock in, let me do that now! I started with a 2 inch cuff of K2 P2 ribbing figuring that I would try something different down the leg. But after trying a few patterns with the yarn I decided that most of them hid a lot of the beauty of the yarn. So I'm doing a simple pattern I saw in Nancy Bush's "Folk Socks." The whole of the leg is done in the K2 P2 ribbing with a number of heels to chose from. Then the foot of the sock is done in stockinette with a couple choices on how to close the toe. I have about 4 inches of the leg done on the first sock and it really looks great.

This sock is the first project that I've undertaken completely in continental knitting. I've practiced it here and there but it took me a long time to feel comfortable with it. However now that I've done it for a while I'm finding that I like it just as well if not better than English knitting. There is much less movement for the right hand and it feels more balanced. If you haven't yet tried it and are interested, head on over to the Knitting Help site where you can learn how with some helpful videos provided by the lovely Amy Finlay.

LISTENING TO: SONIC YOUTH - "Confusion Is Sex" I just heard that the new SY album came out this week. Though I haven't picked it up, I thought I'd get in the mood by putting in one of my favorite SY classics. Noisy, angry and essential NYC DIY post-punk.

Paca... Al Paca

Well here is what I ended up with from the sale at Cityside. I love this yarn...it's 100% alpaca and is going to be knit into a lovely pair of socks...for me! This was only the second time that I've gone to Cityside. The first time I was by myself and I felt a little out of place. I went in and there were quite a few ladies, all clustered in a group, knitting and possibly spinning (can't quite remember). I just remember feeling very self-conscious and didn't end up buying anything. This time, going with Ruth-Anne, was a whole different experience...and I don't think it's just becuase I was with someone. Certainly that helped, but I didn't feel like we had stepped into someone's clubhouse and interrupted their meeting. One of the women who worked there asked what I was making and complimented me on my choice of yarn. She even mentioned how many male knitters they get in there. So that was nice and I feel much more inclined to visit them again. Especially if they keep running that 40% off sale!

Yesterday I was off work altogether. I get Thursday off when I have to work the the Friday night and Saturday morning shifts. Though I don't love working the weekend, the break in the week is very nice. It also allows me to get to some stores that I might not normally get to during their normal business hours. So yesterday I took Ruth-Anne to work early in the morning (she's having car troubles!), then headed out for breakfast at Bagel Central. After that I ran around doing a lot of errands and a little shopping. Then home for dinner, some laundry and enough time to knit a swatch with the new yarn. It looks great and I can't wait to start on the socks. I think I'm actually getting too many projects lined up. I guess I'll have to toss the names of the items into a hat and pick one randomly to see what to make next!

LISTENING TO: JILL SOBULE - "Underdog Victorious" I hadn't heard anything of Jill's for a while so it was a very pleasant surprise to find this at Bull Mooose Music a few weeks ago. Another fine album from the "I Kissed A Girl" girl. Her lyrics are always clever, usually a bit self-deprecating and often laugh-out-loud funny.

Sensational, indeed

Well, the Sensational Knitted Socks book came today! It looks very well thought out and full of interesting patterns and tips. I can't wait to get started on some of these. I have some sock yarn that I bought from Knit Picks a while back that I never did anything with, so I'll have the yarn ready to go once I narrow down which one I want to try first.

Went to Ruth-Anne's last night for some knitting. I worked on the rug and she worked on her cool, stripey socks while we watched "The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe". She mentioned to me that her niece called her just before I got there and mentioned that City Side Yarn Co. is having a big sale on a lot of their wool yarns. So she and I are going to head over there on Thursday afternoon to see what they have left. Hopefully it won't all be picked through by that point! I'd love to find just the right yarn for a sweater. The problem is that I still don't have the pattern for the sweater picked out yet, so I wouldn't know how much I would need to buy. I guess I could take an educated guess and maybe add 20% just to be safe.

Guess that's about it for now. More later!

Making progress...

I wanted to give you an updated shot of the 'bear skin' rug. The body is almost complete. Once I finish knitting the length of it (just a few inches to go!) I have to add the front and back legs and of course the stuffed bear head! As mentioned in a previous post the body is knit using four pieces of yarn held together... three pieces of Fun Fur and one piece of Wool-Ease. Wasn't sure how easy that was going to be to maneuver, but it's gone pretty smoothly. All in all it's been an enjoyable and surprisingly quick moving project.

I have a new knitting book ordered and am very excited about it! It's the "Sensational Knitted Socks" book by Charlene Schurch. It was between this book and one called simply "Socks Socks Socks" by Elaine Rowley. I figure I might eventually end up with both as they have both gotten really good reviews and socks are, at least at this point, my favorite knitting project.

This afternoon my friend Diane stopped in to see us at work. She had the day off to get her car worked on and it took a lot less time than she had originally planned for. So she wanted to see if I could join her for lunch which I did. During lunch she said wouldn't it be cool if I had the afternoon off so we could run around. I said, well that may be a possibility as we weren't overly busy and I have a lot of personal time saved up. So upon returning to work I asked if they would mind if I took off for the rest of the afternoon and got the ok from my co-workers. I'm so glad they were willing to let me take off because Diane and I had the nicest afternoon, not really doing all that much, just spending time chatting and catching up. A very nice day and much needed.

Oh, and a shout out to fellow male knitter, Chris, of the cool Tex Knitter blog for his recent help with the felted clogs! Thanks guy!

LISTENING TO: THE CURE - "Faith" An oldie but a classic. A masterpiece of minor chords and somber moods. The perfect soundtrack for a rainy evening.

Bear and Deerhoof

Here's a little guy that I made a while ago from a pattern I found on knitty. I used Patons wool in color "Dark Natural Mix." This was my first attempt at anything like a stuffed animal. I'm pretty pleased with how he turned out, with the possible exception of his arms. The way that I attached them, they seem to stick out and a little up. I suppose I could always remove them and reattach, but that seems a little barbaric to rip him apart! And as he's not a gift and will just be hanging around the house, they'll probably stay as they are. But I'll know better next time, should I choose to make another such creature. Something else I didn't do was give him a face. He was certainly meant to get one in the beginning, but now the longer that he's been without one, the less it seems like he needs one. There's something very stoic about his lack of expression. With him, it's all in the body posture!

LISTENING TO: DEERHOOF - "The Runners Four." I got this from my friend Gary a while ago and have to say it's pretty great. This is one of those discs that I can put on when Mark is around and just watch his jaw drop! The thing that usually makes him do that is the singing, which in this case is due to the little-girl-like voice of the Japanese lead singer. He can't believe I listen to stuff like this, but to me, it's cute and the music is fun and quirky. Always good in my book!

Change is a good thing.

So after only one week of the old template, I decided I needed a change. I like this green one much better. Hope you do too!

On the knitting front, I'm working on finishing up a snake for my co-worker's grandson. It's a quick and easy little project and something I know he'll love which is always nice.

Work was very frustrating today and I'm feeling like a bit of a cranky-pants. To cheer myself up I bought the first season DVD of Dr Katz: Professional Therapist on the way home. That should make me feel better...laughter is the best medicine, right?

The infamous "What is it?"

Here are two pics of the sweater sampler I made from "The Sweater Workshop" by Jacqueline Fee. The one on the left is the '"front" and the one of the right is the "back" although I doubt that designation is really all that important.

The sampler was done on circular needles and was my first attempt at using them. Though I had knitted "in the round" when doing socks, those were done on DPNs. The sampler takes you through all kinds of techniques, some of which I'm not sure I'll ever use. But having tried them I'll at least be familiar with how they would look in a finished piece.

Today I worked a bit more on the "bear skin rug" and I'm about halfway though the "body." I thought that making it would be a bit boring (82 stitches, all garter stitch for a finished piece that measures about 5' by 3') but it's actually been pretty fun. Since there is so little attention needed, I find that I can throw in a DVD and work away. Lately I've been doing that with Season 2 of The Kids In The Hall, a very funny show indeed.

LISTENING TO: BETH SORRENTINO - "Nine Songs, One Story" A nice return from the former SUDDENLY, TAMMY! singer. This is only available online at iTunes, at least for the time being. I understand that she's also working on getting S,T!'s long-lost third album "Comet" released. From what I've heard of it, we can only hope she succeeds!

The Sweater Workshop

A while ago I borrowed "The Sweater Workshop" by Jacqueline Fee from the library. It's a great book, very witty and well written, that teaches you how to make seamless sweaters, in the round, from the bottom up. In order to teach you all the steps and techniques that go into creating a sweater, Ms. Fee takes you step by step through making a sweater sampler. Ruth-Anne and I both made one of the samplers on our occassional knitting nights (I'll post a picture of the finished sampler tomorrow. A funny looking thing, it is!). By successfully completing the sampler I feel like I could tackle a sweater with confidence, which for a relative novice is a pretty cool thing! So I think that the sweater I make will be made in this manner...in the round, rather than seamed. My biggest decision to make at this point is what yarn to use - color, fiber content, etc...

LISTENING TO: LETTERS TO CLEO - "Go!" It's a shame that these guys (and gal) broke up, but at least Kay Hanley's carrying on solo.

Let's go back in time...

Here I'll show you a couple of the things that I've already completed. The first thing that I made, aside from some practice 'squares' was a pair of socks. Now everyone told me how I should probably try a scarf as my first real project. Looking back on it I can see what they meant. However I was full of enthusiasm and I just plain wanted to try them!

So I got Betsy Lee McCarthy's "Knit Socks!" book from the local library. She goes on the assumtion that you know the basic knit and purl stitches and shows you how to proceed from there. I chose the Starter Stockinette sock and off I went.

Whenever I told anyone that I was going to try making socks, they all had the same thing to say..."turning the heel is so hard." If you are under that impression and want to try making socks, get the above mentioned book. She does an excellent job of explaining it step by step and before you know it you'll have turned your first heel. After all the apprehension and doubt about even being able to do it, when I began to see the heel form, it was like a religious experience with the angelic choir singing in my ears!

So here is a shot of those first pair of socks, with one of them still on the needles.















I enjoyed making that pair so much, which were a present, that I decided to make a pair for myself. Since the first pair went off without a hitch I decided to try something a little spicier. Using the same book I chose the Best Foot Forward pattern. This sock features a Cable Twist Rib Pattern stitch. It's a 7 stitch repeat that is easy enough to do and just involved enough to keep things interesting. The finished sock features alternating vertical rows of K1, P2, a 2 stitch twist, P2. Below is a shot of them. They were made with Wool-Ease which is a wool/acrylic blend. Though this is a machine washable yarn the sharpness of the stitches, and therefore the ribbing/twist pattern, has dulled a bit over time.















I also did end up making some scarves as Christmas presents for our friends Diane and Julie. One was a simple ribbing pattern (I think it was K4 P4, but don't quote me on that.) and the other was a pattern for a Worm Scarf (that I made into more of a snake) from Kris Percival's "Knitting Pretty." The scarves were a big hit which was a very nice feeling for a beginner!














LISTENING TO: LOVE IS ALL - "9 Times That Same Song." A great album that is reminicent of Bow Wow Wow with a little Bjork thrown in.

The Beginning

Hello all and welcome to my first blog. I named this blog 'alterknit universe' for two reasons. I hope to share my knitting with you and at the same time show my support for all the other male knitters out there. Secondly, being a huge alternative music fan, I'll also be throwing out some names of artists that I think are worth a listen. If you take me up on checking any of them out, let me know what you think!

My name is Ken and I'm a male knitter living with my partner Ron in Maine. I started knitting last September when Ruth-Anne, a co-worker and friend of mine, brought in a mitten she was working on. She showed me how she was knitting it in the round on four needles and I was pretty fascinated. Though I had toyed with the idea of learning to knit before, I never had the nerve to actually try it. But with some moral support from Ruth-Anne and a 'teach yourself to knit' book and I was on my way.

Though I did receive help and encouragement from co-workers (who have all been very supportive, by the way!), I basically hunkered down with my book and taught myself. I've been having a lot of fun and so far have managed two pairs of socks, two scarves, a hat, and one glove...yes just one but hey, I've got all summer to finish the other one!

My current project is the 'faux bear skin' rug that was featured in Knit1 magazine. There's some weird irony that I wanted to knit this since I'm both vegetarian and anti-hunting. I think it's more about the challenge of tackling such a large project than the end product. I'm not even sure what I'll do with it when it's done! You can see the pattern and a pic of it here. Though I'm pretty sure the beefcake doesn't come with the rug, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

















The pic I've posted shows what I have done so far, the tail and the rear of the body. The legs will be added on later at the corners. It's knitting up quicker than I thought, but I guess that makes sense since it's done on size 15 needles with four strands held together! I'll keep you posted on the progress as I keep at it.