teamkaty

In which virtue is not rewarded.

The solution to pollution
Originally uploaded by teamkaty

Bet you thought my next post would be about finishing something, eh?  Nah--FOs are for sissies!  When faced with a raft of half-done projects, the tough...go shopping.  Actually, there is a logic here, tenuous though it may be.  I have some pillow tops for Pete's room that I need to finish. (And then you'll get the full show, I promise.  Although there's some, um, styling that needs to happen first.)  To do that, I needed just a yard or two from Purl Patchwork, but making it into Manhattan is a little more complicated than it used to be.  So I thought, oh for Pete's sake (heh), just order it online and pay shipping; subway fare would be $4 anyway.  But of course...I had to get a little something to round out the order, didn't I?  And who can resist HIPPOS, especially HIPPO BUTTS?  (You have to cap it, sorry.) No, I have no idea what to do with it.  I'm thinking maybe little HIPPO pants for several small persons I know.

The irony here is that PP actually ships from California.  So what I could have picked up in a two-mile trip on public transportation I had shipped several thousand miles.  Good one.  Quite a carbon footprint on those HIPPOS.

I've been mulling over the Surprisingly Large Baby Issue (I seem to do more mulling than knitting these days, alas) and I think the Pea Pod will not answer.  It's apple green cotton, you don't get much Springier than that, and by Spring she'll probably be wearing pre-teen sizes.  Instead, I think I'll make her a Vestee--short-sleeved with a hood, perfect layering for Fall and Winter.  I've always wanted to use some of the heavier weights of Lorna's Laces, and since they're superwash, this seemed like a good time.  A scroll through the completed projects on Ravelry encouraged me to try a subtle variegated.  And then...I started playing with the sell/trade feature.  Which is, as most of you probably already know, pure genius and pure evil.  I found three skeins of the worsted weight going for a steal--$30, including shipping!  True, it wasn't in one of the colorways I wanted for this particular project, but hey, I could use it for something else, right?

Oh, you know how this goes. 

On Thursday I plunked down the Paypal, and guess what came this morning, courtesy of the lovely Tomtenknits?  That's practically the speed of light! Clearly the USPS in Minneapolis is a whole 'nuther animal from Brooklyn's, or perhaps Ann is just made of sterner stuff.  Thank you, Ann!  I promise not to let it languish in my stash...well, not too long.

While I'm obsessed with sell/trade: what's up with some of the "bargains" out there?  Like people selling skeins of STR for $25.  No, not discontinued or club colors.  Just regular ol' skeins that you could buy direct from STR...for $19 plus shipping.  Are their shipping costs outrageous?  I don't get it.  Seems to me that when you're de-stashing, you should expect to take a slight loss, unless you have something extremely rare or coveted.  If, for example, I decided to part with some of my Hello Yarn (not gonna happen).   Calculate further loss if you wound it, and still further if some of it is frogged.  Right?  Am I missing something?

Roads to hell, etc.

Oh, I had such grand plans for this past weekend.  The knitting and sewing that was going to go on!  The photographing of FO's and Renegade loot! Suddenly, I have several crafting deadlines upon me, but never fear, I was going to Make Progress.

Yeah.  Not so much.  I did work some more on my so-far smashing Raspberry Ripple socks, and stuffed a secret softie I'm working on.  I went to Renegade and spent a bunch of money, we cleaned the (thoroughly filthy) apartment and made dinner for some friends.  Wound a ball of yarn for my Sockapalooza socks...only to remember that #2s are the one set of dpns I don't have.  But I got absolutely no traction on the sewing.

Why?  I've been buying fabric and patterns lately, I have a long list of things I want to make, but when free time presents itself, it's usually knitting that wins out.  I blame the city.  If I want to knit, I grab the project and plunk down, wherever.  If I want to sew...well.  The first and perhaps biggest barrier is the laundromat.  I have strong opinions about pre-washing, you see.  But I can't put my fabric in the bag for the wash n' fold, because I don't want it dried, and yeah the laundromat is just around the corner, but it's so...gnarly.  And wait, I really should zig-zag the edges first, but that would entail dragging out the machine...

Which brings us to the second problem.  The machine, it's heavy, and it lives in the closet.  I dream of the day when it can have a dedicated table and bask in the open air, but for now this is where it goes (note my tiny stash in the lower left!):

Yep, on the main desk/computer table, and it's just not practical to leave it there, even if I had the confidence that the fiends cats would not fuck with it (did I mention the foot-long piece of twine that came out of Minny's butt on Sunday?  No?  Just as well.)  And no, there's not a better place to plug it in, and yesssss the cord gets in the way.  Bonus irritant: putting it on the high table means I can't use the knee-lift, which is especially missed when I'm quilting.

Anyway, let's say I haul it out, and finish off the raw edges, and scamper over to the laundromat and back, then what?  Well, I'm going to have to press the fabric before I start cutting.  Where does the ironing board live? Behind the door.  But when you open it up (with horrid screeching noise) it has to go here: and I guess you could leave it out, but then you can't really see the TV from the couch. 

Nevertheless!  The fabric!  It is now clean, and pressed!  Let us cut!  Ignoring the fact that my shears have desperately needed sharpening since I dropped them (bad!) five years ago (very bad!), we will proceed to the cutting table, aka where we eat:

Ouch. My back hurts just looking at it.  Wait, why do I cut here, when I actually have a 36" table I bought specifically for cutting?  Well, because that table is the one covered with computer crap, and clearing it would be a task of massive and dusty proportions.  Hey, did I mention that the light stinks in all of these places?

So it's a hassle to prep any of these surfaces, but the real problem is that when I'm using them we can't eat/watch TV/check the computer, or at least not very well.  And all the mess is right in my face, tempting the cats.  I look at pictures of people's craft rooms on flickr and I could just cry.

I know I'm not the only person whose space-challenged.  Other people live in closets and manage to produce (hell, I used to get more done in 400 square feet--pre-husband and cats). Tell me: how do you do it?

insta-stash!

insta-stash!
Originally uploaded by teamkaty.

Once upon a time, I vowed not to start a yarn stash. It would be disingenuous of me to say I've been true to that pledge, but I think it is fair to say that my stash is pretty modest. It consists mostly of sock yarn, and that hardly counts, right? I've never bought enough yarn for a big sweater. Until now.

Because when a friend in London told me that Liberty's was selling bags of Rowan yarn for 10 pounds, how could I resist? Hmm, Soft Lux--not something I would ever pick on my own, as I'm not a girl for glitter, but c'mon! It was practically free!* I told her what colors I found acceptable, and behold: insta-stash.

Funny thing about this color, which Rowan calls "Azure"--I'd say it accounts for at least 1/4 of all the clothing I've ever had. My mother started dressing me in it as soon as I was semi-recognizable as a girl (which took a while, actually. I had no hair to speak of until I was over a year old, and without hair, really a baby is just a baby, no?) and she calls it Katybird-blue. It was the color of one of the first sweaters she ever knit--a little crewneck with a jaunty yellow duck marching across the tummy.

I have four winter hats in this shade, made by me, my mother-in-law, and my mother (shown above--with the shade obscuring the reason she picked the color). In recent years my color preferences have been brighter, stronger--orange, red, and since I started dying my hair darker, a lot of teal. But this is still "my" color, and probably always will be. This latest addition proves that I can't get away from it.

So what should I do with all this lovely yarn? Checking out the London knit blogs should give me some ideas; apparently everyone was in on the feeding frenzy. Today I followed january one's enthusiasm to Ariann, and guess what one of the suggested yarns is? (Love that Bonne Marie gives that big list, by the way--very helpful for someone like me, who doesn't have a very good mental catalog of what's available.) All suggestions welcome!

*In fact, it was free, because she wouldn't let me pay her back. So I need to come up with some juicy American treat for recompense--ideas?

Small things

Two questions:

1) Any Regina Spektor fans out there?  If I can't get "Fidelity" out of my head (damn you, Veronica Mars!) will I like the rest of the her latest album?

2) Arrgh, darts.  That's not really a question, I guess.  Just: arrrgh.  I used to know how to adjust them for my AAA cup.  But I've forgotten.

Ooops, gotta go rescue my pattern pieces from the cats.

You never forget your first love

  IMG_2369 
  Originally uploaded by teamkaty.

In my case, that's fabric.  I've been thinking I need a new dress to take on vacation, so I made a dedicated lunch hour jaunt (using "hour" with extreme liberality) up to B&J.  I know, I know, their prices are outrageous, but it's the best place for one-stop shopping, and super convenient to both the train and Pret A Manger.  And that store always re-kindles the old flame: I go in bent on just one thing, and end up fanning up and down the aisles in a fever of longing.  Tissues, mon amour! Only the most dogged restraint kept me from sweeping yards and yards of Tana lawn into my arms.

I was looking for striped or plaid seersucker, remembering a few particularly drool-worthy pieces they had at the end of last summer.  But the current selection is pretty pallid, so I scoured the shirting, canvas, and printed stripes instead.  This is a very light cotton denim; I think it will have a nice drape after I get the sizing out.  I'm only going to line the bodice, because I'm--sing it with me--l-a-z-y.  And I may need to hunt up a refresher on matching stripes, because it's been a long time. 

I used to make a lot of my clothes, and then right around the time I moved to New York I abruptly stopped.  I don't know why, really--a string of bad luck, heightened fashion awareness, a body that was getting harder to fit, less time, the difficulty of finding a place to put the damn machine, all that stuff.  It's time to try again, if only to give my hands a break from knitting.  They're sore!

Here's a better photo of my haul.  The white bits are interfacing and lawn, the stripe is for a sundress, and the cute flowers I just couldn't resist.  Viva la stash!

Shine on

In knitting, as in life, I've always been something of a serial monagamist--one project at a time, occasionally with something small to finish up on the side (kidding, kidding, Alex!).  But reading about the swinging knitting of my fellow Spiders is giving me a yen for polyamory.  Plus, I've been getting a lot of hand/shoulder pain lately, and I figure mixing it up can only help (because God forbid I, you know, take a break).

Of course, multiple projects can add up to massive expenditure, especially when one (not to get too specific) has champagne tastes.  Knit from my stash?  Please, let's not get drastic.  No, my solution was to pop my Knit Picks cherry.  Obviously I'm hankering for spring, because I just ordered 19 balls of cotton/modal Shine Sport.  These are intended for:

* a secret stuffed reptile for my father-in-law, in sand/willow
* Debbie Bliss Lace and Bobble jacket for ME, in green apple or possibly butter
* Pea Pod Baby Set in green apple, because I have got to get over this baby-knitting thing

Add those into rotation with the brioche scarf and hat and a pair of socks du jour (currently Anastasia) and I think I should qualify for knitting slutdom.  Whee!

Oh, YES

I was dubious about the new IK, but Glampyre's cable-down sweater seemed promising and this picture confirms it.  I might just have to pre-order some yarn...

ETA: Oh no!  How will I ever choose?

Suited up, just in time

I finally have a proper winter coat--and not a moment too soon.  Ever since I moved to New York eight years ago, my mom has called me up each November and said, "Are you going to get a coat this winter?  I'll pay for it."  And every year I say, "Oh, hmm, maybe," and then Christmas comes and things are too insane, and then the January sales come and I think, but wouldn't it be cooler/more responsible to find something vintage, and then it's March and I figure why bother?  Next year. 

But last week, I saw this coat on final sale at J. Crew and thought, "For crying out loud, just buy it."  It is not hip.  It is not cool.  But it was decently priced and it has a Thinsulate lining and it is not black.  So I ordered the damn thing and it came today, just in time for the first genuinely cold day all freaking season.  It fits.  Now: perhaps I can jazz it up with some fabulous hand-knit accessories?  And perhaps they will even match--I don't think I've had matching hat and gloves since my rainbow-hearts set circa 1982.  And PERHAPS they will feature stranded colorwork...I'm thinking Anemoi mittens, a hat like this one (or maybe a tam?), and then some kind of solid scarf.  Because I am not completely insane.

Waffling, Part Deux

IMG_1512
Originally uploaded by teamkaty.

OK, we had a little more light this morning so I managed to take a picture of my wedding shawl candidates. On the left, we have Rowan Kidsilk Night, in Starlight. It's off-white with a twist of sparkle--the sparkle isn't really showing up in this photo, you can get a better feel for the scale of twinkle here (scroll down). On the right, Wagtail Yarns 4-ply in dark teal (I really, really wanted the raspberry, but there was only one skein left). The bride's dress is off-white satin shot through with gold and silver metallic threads. She's a very fair brunette with amazing blue-green eyes.

Obviously, beyond the color contrast, we're talking about two very different shawls here. The Kidsilk would make a lighter-than-air, gossamer shawl, with the pattern obscured a bit by the fuzz. It will blend with the dress, not contrast. I may try knitting a sample with two strands, to see how that looks (and to see if the yarn is slightly less crazy-making when doubled). I'm not absolutely sure it will work for the lace--for some reason I thought lots of people had used Kidsilk, but when I went back and looked at the pictures I realized no, most people stick to alpaca. Hmm. The Wagtail has an absolutely wonderful silky feel--it would make a heavier, slipperier shawl with a more defined pattern. The color won't seem quite as dark when knit into a lacy pattern, but it's still going to be a decided contrast from the dress. It might not be quite as versatile for later use (the raspberry would have been--drat!).

They're both gorgeous. If I don't use the Wagtail for this, I'll use it on something like the Fiddlesticks Peacock shawl for my grandmother. If I don't use the Kidsilk, I'll exchange it for a different color and make Neoknit's Grannie Smith.

Opinions? Advice? Pleeeeeeease?

A trip to Crazyville

This afternoon, I went to Seaport Yarns for the first time.

My God.

How did I not know about this place?  It seems like it should be the stuff of legend--or perhaps horror stories.  Have I missed all the scuttlebutt?  I mean, on the one hand: wow.  That is a LOT of yarn, people.  Easily the biggest selection in town, and their prices are at least a dollar cheaper on everything.  The needles, books and notions looked impressive too.  And then...the pure chaos.  Holy shit.  The mess.  Yarn, yarn, everywhere, wantonly un-skeining and leering off the shelves.  Barely a discernable order to any of it.  Bags of pretzels and bottles of pop and other random comestibles mixed in everywhere.  And JESUS WEPT, that desk!  With an inventory like that, their suppliers must get paid, but how?  I can't imagine.  Lights to most of the rooms turned off, and I almost electrocuted myself on a bare switch.  Much hushed gossip about the BAKG between the salesperson and another customer--someone has a blog dedicated to trashing them?  But she's a member herself?  (And, I think, writing all the comments herself as well.) The saleswoman was extremely loathe to advise me, as if giving me her opinion would unleash hordes of thirty-something knitters asking, "OK, and how do I cast on again?"

Regardless, I spent $120.  Speaking of Crazyville, I've been to 5 yarn stores in as many days, spent almost $200, and I still don't know quite what I'm doing with this shawl.  Yesterday I spent a few pleasant hours at Brooklyn General (where all the luscious yarns are arranged prettily and they leave the lights on for you) and came away with some beautiful Debbie Bliss Pure Silk.  I came home and commenced knitting furiously.  An hour or two later I had seen the error of my ways:

What happens to me when I enter a yarn store?  Is there a sign somewhere saying "please check oversized bags and your brain at the counter"?  Silk?  DK weight silk???  WTF was I thinking?  Was I so seduced by the shine that I thought I could substitute this for laceweight alpaca, and most importantly, forgot that silk can't really be blocked? 

OK, fine.  I will think of something to do with that one skein and return the rest for store credit (luckily I only wound one).  I got not one, but two new candidates at Seaport today, I'll try and take a picture in the light tomorrow and see if anyone can advise me...