Ful semyly hir wympul pynched was

Whoa. The first few days of the school year hit me like a steamroller this year! Between not being prepared either for the classes I was teaching or for my own reading, dealing with multiple technological issues in the office, assisting with a big medieval conference (at which I discovered that one of my personal medievalist heroes is also a knitter on Ravelry!), putting together loan documentation and board package materials for an apartment I'm buying, and triangulating multiple times a day between the lawyer and the broker, not to mention dealing with a mouse infestation in my current apartment, I am exhausted! And that's after only a two-day week of school!

It's a good thing that this also arrived this week: lovely, unbelievably soft cashmere yarn from Colourmart.


Now I know what everyone's gushing about! This yarn arrived quite quickly considering that it was sent from England. It came on a cone, oiled for spinning, and I skeined it and gave it a hot bath with dish detergent (twice with the detergent, followed each time by about five rinses). It still hasn't bloomed as much as it could, and it also smells really strongly now of Mrs. Meyers' Lemon Verbena dish soap. Even so it is heavenly to knit with -- sooooo soooooft, with a gorgeous fluffiness that is also somehow satiny, just like the most luxurious cashmere sweater you could imagine.

I'm using it to knit a spiral cowl. I am not usually a cowl kind of girl, preferring not even hand-knit scarves but big thin pashmina-type wraps, but when I saw all the cute pictures on Ravelry of this, I was convinced to try it. I certainly now appreciate the pleasures of knitting a cowl -- just round and round and round, no shaping, a nice size for subway lap knitting. I tried out a prototype with some leftover Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it knit up. It's been a while since I knit anything in a gauge larger than 7 stitches per inch, I guess. Off the neck, it's pretty, but rather unimpressive:


But on and buttoned, I think it's really quite nice, sort of floppily structural. Pardon both the double chin and the visible bra straps:


There are many nice things about this pattern. The picot hems give it a polished, feminine look and maximum stretchiness; the eyelet spiral keeps it interesting and looks much more complicated than it actually is; it uses only about 200 yards of yarn, so you can buy something luxurious; and it's a great way to showcase one awesome button. For this red one, I used a metal "pelican in her piety" button that was a present from the ex-boyfriend -- it's a long and nerdy medieval/choir inside joke.

Baby Cashmerino was not really the best yarn for this pattern, and I'd warn people against using any bouncy, multi-ply superwash yarn like it for their cowls: it's just too stretchy and heavy and floppy really to hold the great structure that makes this pattern so cool. You definitely want something luxuriously soft and with some drape, but not perhaps stretchy -- lots of these cowls on Ravelry are knit with Malabrigo merino silk dk or Manos Silk Blend, and those both seem like a perfect choice. I have high hopes for this cashmere. I've also picked out the perfect button from my collection of antique buttons -- I have so many singleton beauties I've been dying to use!

Now for a nice, slow afternoon of luxurious knitting therapy!

Oink.

Guess whose school is canceled because of possible swine flu?


We're supposed to be continuing to "teach" our classes over the internet, but who are we kidding? I'm taking full advantage of the serendipitous free time to knit a swatch with the lovely birthday BFL. Even winding it on my new ball winder has been a treat!


This stuff is even prettier knitted up than in the skein! The color's called "harvest," and it really does remind me of beautiful, warm wheatfields.


I've got an idea in mind for a cardigan with a stripe of Barbara Walker's "Swiss Fan" lace down either side of the button band. I'm trying to decide whether to make it empire-ish waisted with a peplum, or just straight.


Opinions, anyone? I was all for the peplum, but now when I look at these sketches, I wonder if simplicity is better and will show off the lace pattern better.

Other recent activities have included tearing up my windowsill planters and laboriously spraying and washing each plant; I've been dealing with an infestation of mealybugs.


Now each plant is quarantined in its own little pot while I wait and see if the mealybugs come back. So far I've had to throw out about half of them. Poor plants! Stupid mealybugs!


Anyone have any suggestions? Everything I read online makes it sound like this is a really futile effort, but I am loath to throw these guys out because they've been my chance to prove that I'm not a total black thumb. I was seriously considering getting a box of ladybugs to eat the mealybugs, but then my plants are covered with ladybugs, and is that really any better?

Snow day!

No school today; it's been snowing like a mofo here in NYC. I woke up this morning (at the blissful hour of 10 am) to these views out my fire escape and living room window:




Snow days are so nice! Unfortunately, I can't just laze around the entire day, because I have 36 student papers on Hamlet to read. However, I can take a moment to report on some knitting progress and a new free pattern!


First of all, the red striped socks were finished in time for Paula to wear them home after her visit last weekend. They look great on her, and she reports that they are quite warm.


Then, the tulip yoke cardigan is all finished, and I am pleased to offer it is a free pattern, here on my website and as a Ravelry download (see previous post). Enjoy!

As promised.

As I posted yesterday, I have a sock completed. As I look at this little number, it seems a little short -- but I am banking on my mom's having smaller feet than mine. She's visiting this weekend and I am hoping to have the pair done by then.


Meanwhile, this tasty treat arrived this morning from Knitpicks: some Shine Sport to make a fair-isle yoke sweater for my colleague's granddaughter, due in April. This seems like a lovely spring bunch of colors, don't you think?


Not a yarn bribe this time -- more of a yarn reward. It feels quite nice to get that Chaucer-paper monkey off my back.

... what's that you say? I have some mittens that I have not finished? You are right. With temperatures in the high 40s, it's hard to conceive of knitting mittens. But not to fear: cold weather will eventually return, as will my knitten-mitting mojo.

This is ynough, Grisilde myn.

Huzzah! I finished the Chaucer paper and sent it off to my prof. Only 6 weeks late, really not that bad in the scope of things. And, of course, I could not hold off on that reward yarn and have knitted a sock. The partner's on the needles, and I'll post a picture anon. I'm banking on not getting second sock syndrome, having just been through that bout of second draft syndrome.

Actually, a thought on that: the only sock I've really had second sock syndrome with was one of the only pair I've made out of non-self-striping yarn. I think that seeing those stripes stack up really keeps me knitting, and knowing exactly how many I need to knit before turning the heel also seems to make it go quicker -- kind of like the way back from someplace you've driven or walked always seems shorter than the way to it because you know exactly where you're going and how long it will take.

For what it's worth.

Next up: two stacks of short papers to grade (cake!), some medieval mysticism to read (reading! how lovely in comparison to writing!), and a baby sweater for my colleague's granddaughter to knit. More on that anon as well.

conclusions, beginnings, and a yarn bribe.

Things have been in a shameful state recently here chez Looking Glass. One semester ended, a new one began, and ALL kinds of work did not get done. That Chaucer paper about which I jauntily wrote a few weeks ago is still incomplete, and I've got a big stack of papers to grade that are so late that my students have started joking around about their status as historical documents. I've been whiny and neurotic and just generally a loser, and I'm downright peeved at myself.

Ergo, very little knitting to speak of. I have only knit about 2 more pattern repeats on my mitten, mostly during the episodes of Lost I've taken time out to watch. These will be awesome mittens if I can ever finish them before winter ends! Just trying them on for size, they are very warm.



Only two things are providing hope: my darling, funny boyfriend and a shipment of new Knitpicks Felici I bought myself as a yarn bribe. What gorgeous, jewel-like colors! But I can't knit it until that paper is in.


Now, Jennifer K., get your act together and finish your $@&%ing paper!!

January morasse

I was looking forward to turning to projects for myself in January, now that Christmas knitting was all done. But unfortunately, grad school pressures and other daily responsibilities have elbowed out most of my knitting time.


I have just one project I'm working on at the moment: some stranded knitting therapy in the form of another Latvian mitten adaptation. I have some lovely leftover sock yarn from my various socks and berets that was just begging to be combined in gorgeous jewel-toned patterns. It's mostly Dream in Color Smooshy in "Good Luck Jade" and Arucania Ranco in rust, with additional pattern bands of Dream in Color Smooshy in "Gothic Rose" and some scraps of Koigu KPPPM in shades of navy blue and only the yellow stripes from my leftover Knitpicks Felici in "Patina." I'm particularly pleased with the way the Good Luck Jade and rust colors work together; both are semi-solid or mildly variegated, and the combined effect is like an antique piece of fabric.


As with my previous Latvian-style mittens, these have patterns adapted from the mittens on the Riga Summit website. They have a non-traditional thumb gusset, just because I really don't like peasant thumbs; this one is adapted from the Komi mittens in Knitting Marvelous Mittens. Colorwork mittens go so quickly! I had this one knitted up to the thumb, then had to rip it back and make it bigger, and it's still almost finished a week later. Watching those bands of pattern stack up just makes you want to knit one more row... then one more...

It's been freakin' cold here in New York City, so I wish I had more free time to finish these up! Alas, Chaucer and the First Crusade and Literary Theory take priority in the next few weeks...

New world, new sock

I'm finally getting over my post-election exhaustion. I'm so happy to live in a country I can feel proud of again! And, heaven knows, excited at the possibility of an end to an environment of anti-intellectualism! As exciting as it is, though, I almost feel sad -- I had so much expectation and anxiety about politics in the last month, that now it's all over I don't know what to do with myself! I'll just have to fill that hole with knitting.


Here's one jaywalker sock for Sarah. I love the way these socks look on the foot, but I can't say I adored the knitting process. And I know that she is going to gripe about how hard they are to pull over her heels. Too bad. If she hates them, I'll be happy to take them, because I love them.

Specs:
Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina
Yarn: Knitpicks Felici in colorway patina
Needles: Knitpicks options size 2

Other things to feel contented about: staying on top of my grading, perfecting my scone recipe, coming closer to having an idea what I want to dissertate about, and blissful Sunday afternoons working at the coffee shop in the most delightful company...

What I've been doing instead of grading papers.

Exhibit A:


An unblocked sock. The second in my set of socks for Sarah for Christmas. This one is top-down, eye of partridge heel, very standard-issue -- but not for me, because it is only the second pair of socks I've ever made.

Nicely kitchenered toe.

Hello, world. Hello, sock.

Exhibit B:


The sleeve of my long-neglected fair isle yoke cardigan. This one has been long neglected for two very good -- and one medium good -- reasons. The medium good one is that it has a tiny gauge. The two very good ones are first, that I started knitting it before realizing that I was twisting my purl rows, and since learning this I've become a much faster knitter when doing it correctly, and it's irksome to have to keep knitting this the old (wrong) way; and second, that I made the armholes too big when I was knitting the body, and I didn't know what to do to fix this problem. I didn't want just to rapidly decrease as I started knitting them, because that would make them have a funny shape, and in my opinion the most crucial part of a sleeve is the part where it hits your shoulder -- it can make your arm look either fat or skinny. So I came up with this ingenious scheme, which I think worked awesomely. The pit:

(for some reason, this seems like an obscene angle from which to take a picture). I ascertained that there were about 10 stitches too many in the arms as I picked them up to start knitting down, so I kitchenered together four stitches from each side of the arm, leaving the last extra stitch on each side for selvedge when sewing the arms up. Here's a closer detail shot:

That kitchener stitch is executed very poorly, but it's an armpit, for cripe's sake.

Exhibit C:
A gorgeous chevron beret that is, alas, too small, I fear. This is a mid-blocking shot, and I was only able to squeeze it onto a medium-sized dinner plate -- about an inch in diameter smaller than the one on which I blocked the first chevron beret. I have plenty of Imagination yarn left over, so I can just knit a new one if it is too small, but it's a disappointment nonetheless.


Exhibit D:

The beginnings of a February Lady Sweater for my grandmother. Despite my manifold qualms, I am knitting this in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Yes, it is already beginning to pill, but she is very picky about softness. It may not be evident in this picture, but I decided to make the yoke circular as in the original, and to start the lace pattern early instead of knitting garter to an inch before separating for the arms, because I'm knitting this as a bed jacket for her and I think that the circular, shorter yoke looks more like old-fashioned bed jackets.

Exhibit E:

I reorganized my yarn stash. I was beginning to fear moths, so I packaged it all up neatly in Ikea boxes and zipper bags and put it neatly in the bottom of one of my new bookshelves.

Pretty nice, eh? This project renders relatively obsolete my old system of organization:

I may have gotten a little obsessed in the process of putting everything in zipper bags. Here's my basket of UFOs:

All neatly piled in order of what's next to work on.

Yes, I really, really did not want to grade those papers.

Produstination

Comprehensive exams are in just a few days, and of course what that means is studying 24/7. And by "studying 24/7," what I mean, clearly, is "watching the Olympics, cooking unnecessarily fancy food, drinking quite a bit more wine than health benefits warrant, listening to Moby Dick on CD, patting myself on the back for listening to such an erudite book, and knitting." It's been productive procrastination city here chez Looking Glass.

The upshot:

Significant progress on both Radcliffe cardigans, especially the one for my mom, whose body is only about 6 inches from completion:



Quite a bit of length on the chevron scarf (man, I'm hoping those wrinkles block out!):


The cuff of a fair isle glove:


And -- steel yourselves -- I've made a sock.


After setting a lot of stock in my being a non-sock-knitter, I have knit a sock. I understand a little better now what the appeal is -- it's pretty quick knitting, despite the tiny gauge, and it's definitely satisfying to try it on every 15 minutes or so and marvel at the perfect fit. This is a trial run at knitting socks for my sister, whose only real luxury as a second-year OB resident is the fancy socks she wears under her clogs. She's picky though, about itchiness and thickness -- I'm hoping that this Lorna's Laces yarn fits the bill, as it's about the softest and thinnest sock yarn I could find.

Not usually a fan of variegated yarn, either, I find myself inordinately pleased at the fabric this yarn creates, though it was a bit tough finding a pattern for the cuff that was both elastic and not marred by the striping. I finally settled on a double eyelet rib.


Now -- merciful heavens -- I can't wait to buy a skein of solid sock yarn and try my hand at something more complicated!

Lazy Summer Knittin'...

... loungin' in the sun. It has been ungodly hot in New York City, but not hot enough to keep me from plugging away at knitting ventures. Today was juuuust cool enough to open the windows and turn off the a/c, but man, wool is hot on one's lap. I've been making myself knit a row or two on each project, and it's surprising how much progress can be made that way.

Here we have a lovely pile of summer knitting, a mix of new, old, and very old projects. You probably don't even remember this fair isle project, which languished on the needles for probably 8 months until I could suck it up and do some irrirating intarsia rows:


Then there's the chevron scarf, which chugs along, a few rows at a time, getting quite long and lovely:


Then there's the yoke of my mom's Radcliffe Cardigan; at a gauge of 4.125 stitches per inch, this has been pleasantly quick-knitting; that gauge certainly beats the 7 and 8 stitches per inch I've been working on with other projects!


Reynolds Candide has been interesting to work with: it already seems a little fuzzy, certainly rustic, but it also seems like it will hold up quite well. But it's a little tough on the wrists, I have to say -- no bounce at all.


So there it is, in all its sunset glory. Latin class is over; vacation is coming up pretty soon, and I don't know how much wool I'll be able to stand on the beach. We'll see.