I'm sure most of us have a proudest moment when it comes to knitting. A project or technique that you've tackled and completed beautifully. What is your proudest knitting moment?
If you've been around me enough,† you've heard my bird-by-bird philosophy of knitting. It's not pretentious or flip, it's really how I feel.‡
Generally, pride comes simply from finishing something§ because I have yet to find a pattern that didn't fall under that "it's either knit or purl" umbrella.¶
[SUMMARY: Pride is a sin, you know.# I'm still running for saint.]
And on the flip side? What is the one thing that you can't get right? What is that one project that you've never been able to complete? Or that you did complete but then hid away instantly because it was too embarrassing?
I have a *lot* of projects I haven't completed.
I haven't completed them generally because they aren't birthday or Christmas presents for someone else†† and birthdays and Christmas rolled around, necessitating deadline knitting.
Oh, wait... not quite true.
We've all of us KALers given up on the stupid Sebring tank because the pattern sizing is so very wrong and none of is *that* interested in fighting it.@ It's just a tank top. It shouldn't become rocket science.
But not because we "can't get it right" -- just 'cause the pattern is so bad.
[SUMMARY: I sleep well at night with my clear knitting conscience.]
Trust me... inasmuch as this is still a knitblog, you will know when I find that stitch that ties me in knots or that technique that simply eludes me.
There will be cussing.‡‡
*************
Bois de Iles - Chanel
Marin says: Heavy and sweet. I don't know if it's power of suggestion from knowing "Chanel" is in the name, but I get a lot of aldehyde right off the bat. Also rose and sandalwood, which I'm starting to recognise as a classic -- overdone -- combination.
It's a Bois, so there should be wood, but... well, I guess sandalwood is wood, but when I see "wood," I'm always hoping for something more like tree bark.§§
The nice part is that the aldehyde seems to be under the other stuff, so it isn't too overwhelmingly No. 5 for me.
There's some other flower... I'm thinking lilac.
Oh, there's some wood. Aldehyde + sandalwood = cedar.¶¶ I like cedar.
The Perfumed Court says: The first woody fragrance created for women (in 1926). This Oriental woody scent has notes of sandalwood,$ vetiver,% tonka bean, vanilla, ylang ylang,^ iris, coriander, rose,$ jasmine and aldehydes.$
Hans says: Whoo.## That smells like baby powder! Only... something else... my first impression is baby powder, but... I want to nail this! Maybe I'm just thinking lavender baby powder. Only it's not really lavendery.
†FOOTNOTE (crossed): Or been around the Rickety Blog enough.
‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): Seriously. I've never looked at a pattern to see if I could do it. I just look to see if I like it, then figure I can do it. Wouldn't it be lovely if I could approach all tasks with that kind of calm confidence? Like dating? For instance?
§FOOTNOTE (swerved): The bigger, the prouder. Square footage counts.
¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): Not that I'm looking.
#FOOTNOTE (pounded): OK, OK... I will admit I was inordinately proud when Genius Sarah told me last week my stockinette is amazing. Do I get points for confessing?
††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): Which is to say there's an assload of stuff I've started for myself, some experimental just-because projects for other people and poor Brother's sadly overdue Arrrgyle socks, which now take a back seat because they're already late and I don't see the logic in making everything else late on their behalf.
@FOOTNOTE (atted): I don't think I mentioned Bag Lady Kathryn wrote to the designer of the Sebring (there's no errata available for the tank) to ask if corrections were forthcoming or if she could give us some tips, as even the fattest of us (*ahem*) knitting an extra-small were in danger of slipcovering a Jeep with the results. Said designer said nobody had ever complained and very helpfully suggested we hadn't checked our gauge (that was sarcastic -- of COURSE we checked our gauge. If you have to start a project for the third time because it's waywayway too big, you check the gauge). Then she suggested the gauge for the lace panel should actually be smaller (7 st/in) than for the stockinette (6.75 st/in). Which suggested to me she's not thinking clearly and maybe never had a test-knitter on the thing.
‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): And vodka.
§§FOOTNOTE (seahorses!): Pine. I mostly think of pine when I think of wood. I bet there's a fancy term for sandalwood wood vs. pine wood.
¶¶FOOTNOTE (noses!): Just a theory.
$FOOTNOTE (on the money): Ha! Got one!
%FOOTNOTE (percented): I still don't know what vetiver smells like.
^FOOTNOTE (careted): I'm beginning to think I only hate ylang-ylang in bubble bath and shower gel. Maybe it doesn't react well with soap.
##FOOTNOTE (pound one in! Wait! Pound *two* in!): He may even have said, "Whoo doggy!"
Showing posts with label Sebring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sebring. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I'll Have a Blue Christmas
Or Flag Day.
Or birthday.
Or 4th of July.
The blue rolls on.
[SUMMARY: Airless rut or unprecedented level of consistency? You decide.]
First, I've more or less made peace with the awful raffia silk. It's still splitty as a cheerleader, but I've had some practice and it's knitting pretty smoothly. It weighs about as much as an apple pip, but I have faith it will be a lovely accessory† when it's all done and blocked.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love lace? Something like this‡ is just interesting enough to be... interesting,§ but easy enough for TiVi.
Under the auspices of full disclosure, I should note that roughly three seconds after I snapped this shot, the ball of yarn bounded off its perch and bounced on the deck, rolling under the railing and into the rain gutter.
Could've been worse; could've fallen to the alley.
[SUMMARY: Optimist dork.]
Also? I'm working that second ball now.
[SUMMARY: And still twelve.]
I cast on Sunday night¶ -- yet another blue-ish thing -- for Sebring, by Dolce Handknits.#
The Drunken Knitters decided to KAL this... oh, probably two months ago. While I'm lagging, I know Bag Lady Kathryn was two rows in and ready to frog and Genius Sarah didn't like the gauge and was going to frog, so I may not be the wet blanket on the project it appeared I was going to be.
For the record, since this photo was taken, I have knit another six rounds.††
Also for the record, the pattern calls for 6.75 stitches/inch‡‡ and this gives me 6/in, so I went down to a small, which makes me inordinately happy, artificial though it may be.
Also for the record, that's Knit Picks Shine Sport, which I'm kinda loving, and that kinda scares me. It's cotton/modal. I have been pretty vocal about my dislike of plant fibres, but this one doesn't seem to be hurting my hands the way I'd anticipated.
[SUMMARY: Bonus!]
Also for the record?% I already made a mistake on the lace panel on one side, but I figure nobody will notice, so I ain't frogging.
You see why I had to put that after the "bonus!" gloat.
Next!
Following my usual MO,§§ I fondled this at Sylvia's House of Fuzzy Crack for about three months before settling on a pattern to justify its purchase:
Just in case you can't see the ongoing blue theme...
Another plant fibre, by the way, but a very interesting texture. Oddly silky for as bumpy as it looks. I'm just dying to see how it knits up.
I suspect the lace motif on the bottom of the tank will be mostly lost in the pebbly bits.
I suspect I don't care.
[SUMMARY: All about the journey.]
Some of you may recognise this as yarn the Harlot recently touted.
Thus, I assume some of you may be terribly jealous and impressed¶¶ at my next blue acquisition.
When I told Sylvia I was having surgery, she decided to give me an extra-special get well gift##:
What do Fiona Ellis,††† the Yarn Harlot and your dear ol' AntiM have in common?
Fiona Ellis has a skein.
The Yarn Harlot has a skein.
I have a skein.
You don't have any.
[SUMMARY: Nya-nya-n-nya-nahhhh.]
Y'all know how much I love exclusive, one-of-a-kind, limited edition, get-it-while-it's-hot stuff. More important, Sylvia knows how much I love exclusive, one-of-a-kind, limited edition, get-it-while-it's-hot stuff.
[SUMMARY: Usual MO.]
And I'm not counting this as fuss. Besides, if fuss comes in the form of silky wool, I may see if I can have open heart surgery next month.
SUMMARY: Still a knitblog!
†FOOTNOTE (crossed): Cute Christopher, late of Patrick Carroll's (I'm sure we'll get to that story when he opens his new bar in July), dropped by last night and saw me knitting the fluffly little thing. "That's a for-looks scarf, isn't it? I'm from Minnesota. Scarves like that don't make much sense to me."
‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): k1, yo *k3, k2tog, yo* k2tog... purl on the other side... all with a three-stitch knit selvedge
§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Wow. Too many lolcats: "Interesting cat is interesting."
¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): You may ask yourself, "How many blue projects does one knitter need?" You may ask yourself, "Where is my beautiful red?" You may ask yourself, "How did I get to this place?"
#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Yeah, we love her touseled, provocative pose and snarly face too. There may be a mass snarly-touseled-provocative picture once we all finish our tanks.
††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): At 240 stitches per round, I want full credit.
‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): ?!?
%FOOTNOTE (percented): I have quite a record with this tank already.
§§FOOTNOTE (yo, k1, yo): Or is that redundant?
¶¶FOOTNOTE (I spy -- hey, they look like periscopes to me): Please?
##FOOTNOTE (all those extra pounds...): She also called me a brat for not telling her exactly when I was having surgery, but I can be pretty laid back about the name-calling in the presence of silk and wool. 'Specially blue silk and wool. She let me pick my own colour. I picked blue. Did I mention the blue phase?
†††FOOTNOTE (Arlington): Who did a sweater workshop at Syl's last weekend. Syl treats her celeb guests right. Y'know... like the Yarn Harlot, Fiona Ellis and me.
Or birthday.
Or 4th of July.
The blue rolls on.
[SUMMARY: Airless rut or unprecedented level of consistency? You decide.]
First, I've more or less made peace with the awful raffia silk. It's still splitty as a cheerleader, but I've had some practice and it's knitting pretty smoothly. It weighs about as much as an apple pip, but I have faith it will be a lovely accessory† when it's all done and blocked.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love lace? Something like this‡ is just interesting enough to be... interesting,§ but easy enough for TiVi.
Under the auspices of full disclosure, I should note that roughly three seconds after I snapped this shot, the ball of yarn bounded off its perch and bounced on the deck, rolling under the railing and into the rain gutter.
Could've been worse; could've fallen to the alley.
[SUMMARY: Optimist dork.]
Also? I'm working that second ball now.
[SUMMARY: And still twelve.]
I cast on Sunday night¶ -- yet another blue-ish thing -- for Sebring, by Dolce Handknits.#
The Drunken Knitters decided to KAL this... oh, probably two months ago. While I'm lagging, I know Bag Lady Kathryn was two rows in and ready to frog and Genius Sarah didn't like the gauge and was going to frog, so I may not be the wet blanket on the project it appeared I was going to be.
For the record, since this photo was taken, I have knit another six rounds.††
Also for the record, the pattern calls for 6.75 stitches/inch‡‡ and this gives me 6/in, so I went down to a small, which makes me inordinately happy, artificial though it may be.
Also for the record, that's Knit Picks Shine Sport, which I'm kinda loving, and that kinda scares me. It's cotton/modal. I have been pretty vocal about my dislike of plant fibres, but this one doesn't seem to be hurting my hands the way I'd anticipated.
[SUMMARY: Bonus!]
Also for the record?% I already made a mistake on the lace panel on one side, but I figure nobody will notice, so I ain't frogging.
You see why I had to put that after the "bonus!" gloat.
Next!
Following my usual MO,§§ I fondled this at Sylvia's House of Fuzzy Crack for about three months before settling on a pattern to justify its purchase:
Just in case you can't see the ongoing blue theme...
Another plant fibre, by the way, but a very interesting texture. Oddly silky for as bumpy as it looks. I'm just dying to see how it knits up.
I suspect the lace motif on the bottom of the tank will be mostly lost in the pebbly bits.
I suspect I don't care.
[SUMMARY: All about the journey.]
Some of you may recognise this as yarn the Harlot recently touted.
Thus, I assume some of you may be terribly jealous and impressed¶¶ at my next blue acquisition.
When I told Sylvia I was having surgery, she decided to give me an extra-special get well gift##:
What do Fiona Ellis,††† the Yarn Harlot and your dear ol' AntiM have in common?
Fiona Ellis has a skein.
The Yarn Harlot has a skein.
I have a skein.
You don't have any.
[SUMMARY: Nya-nya-n-nya-nahhhh.]
Y'all know how much I love exclusive, one-of-a-kind, limited edition, get-it-while-it's-hot stuff. More important, Sylvia knows how much I love exclusive, one-of-a-kind, limited edition, get-it-while-it's-hot stuff.
[SUMMARY: Usual MO.]
And I'm not counting this as fuss. Besides, if fuss comes in the form of silky wool, I may see if I can have open heart surgery next month.
SUMMARY: Still a knitblog!
†FOOTNOTE (crossed): Cute Christopher, late of Patrick Carroll's (I'm sure we'll get to that story when he opens his new bar in July), dropped by last night and saw me knitting the fluffly little thing. "That's a for-looks scarf, isn't it? I'm from Minnesota. Scarves like that don't make much sense to me."
‡FOOTNOTE (double-crossed): k1, yo *k3, k2tog, yo* k2tog... purl on the other side... all with a three-stitch knit selvedge
§FOOTNOTE (swerved): Wow. Too many lolcats: "Interesting cat is interesting."
¶FOOTNOTE (paragraphed): You may ask yourself, "How many blue projects does one knitter need?" You may ask yourself, "Where is my beautiful red?" You may ask yourself, "How did I get to this place?"
#FOOTNOTE (pounded): Yeah, we love her touseled, provocative pose and snarly face too. There may be a mass snarly-touseled-provocative picture once we all finish our tanks.
††FOOTNOTE (ddouble-ccrossed): At 240 stitches per round, I want full credit.
‡‡FOOTNOTE (doubble-crossssed): ?!?
%FOOTNOTE (percented): I have quite a record with this tank already.
§§FOOTNOTE (yo, k1, yo): Or is that redundant?
¶¶FOOTNOTE (I spy -- hey, they look like periscopes to me): Please?
##FOOTNOTE (all those extra pounds...): She also called me a brat for not telling her exactly when I was having surgery, but I can be pretty laid back about the name-calling in the presence of silk and wool. 'Specially blue silk and wool. She let me pick my own colour. I picked blue. Did I mention the blue phase?
†††FOOTNOTE (Arlington): Who did a sweater workshop at Syl's last weekend. Syl treats her celeb guests right. Y'know... like the Yarn Harlot, Fiona Ellis and me.
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