Red Rocks

We climbed this past weekend in Red Rocks, outside of Las Vegas. Great fun. I led a 5.7, which is a step up from what I usually lead. Here's me on lead.


I got a few centimeters of Side Impact finished, but Jacque and April drove off with my knitting on Sunday. I could have gotten a lot finished on the drive home, but instead had to content myself with tormenting one of my friends by fiddling with the radio. Oh well.

So far Side Impact is fun. I'm terrible at lace, even in small side panels, so it's slow going. I'm thinking of starting a second sweater in a chunkier yarn for that instant gratification.

Resurgence

In spite of the very busy month I just had, or maybe because of it, I've been knitting a lot. Unfortunately, I tend to lose things when I'm stressed. So I was sure I had pictures of all the things I've knit since December. Alas, I do not.

I did make some great things, though. And I followed my New Year's Resolution quite well. It's not easy to break the habit of knitting for someone in particular. My thought process goes something like this: "What do I want to make? Maybe I should make that, it will fit so-and-so and they have a birthday coming up. Or maybe I should make this, since I've wanted to make it for a while. But it won't look good on anyone and I want to use wool." Obviously, I'm still considering what others can wear, but I'm also knitting things just for fun.

I just finished Quincy by Jared Flood. That guy is a genius. I used some wool I bought in Idaho this fall and it looks great. I had no recipients in mind when I knit this. It will be given away when the time comes.


Quincy was a much needed quick project after finishing a pair of Faux Bois Mittens. I'm crazy about faux bois right now, so these were great for that. I liked the colorwork and the twisted stitches, but I should remember that I knit stranded work tightly. The mittens are quite snug, even though I was got gauge on my swatch. I'm not crazy about the thumb, either. I think I prefer a gusset. The lack of a gusset makes these pull, which adds to the snugness. The technique also left holes where I picked up stitches (I should have picked up an extra stitch over the hole and then knit the extra stitch in on the next round). The pattern is very clever, though, and I'm happy I made them, even if I have to find someone with tiny hands to give them to. But that's not the point anymore, is it?


Otherwise this month I finished a cowl. This was a clever bit of cheating, since the only knitting I did was binding off. I had started a girl's dress using a Drops pattern five years ago. It dawned on me that the skirt, which was all I'd completed, could be turned into a cowl. It took a couple tries because I'd forgotten that I'd decreased some, so I had to rip out the bind off and a few rows to make it work. It's beautiful. I gave it away before I could take a picture.

I also knit some fingerless gloves out of the leftovers from Sarah's Caliometry. They've already been used to climb outside in January.


In December I decided to catalog and photograph my stash. In doing so, I rediscovered some yarns I had stored away. From that came a quick, garter stitch cowl out of R2 Braid.



Before that I made a Sag Snood/Cowl out of three strands of Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton. It was supposed to be for me, but I don't like how drapey the cotton is. I knew it was a risk, but I really wanted a big, chunky cowl. I might rip it out, I might decide I like it. I love the color at the very least.


My sweater project in December was a Shalom. Fabulous sweater. It took about a week to make. I gifted it to a friend at work. She wanted it a little longer, so I ripped back and added about an inch to the bottom. Top down sweaters are awesome. This was a two-person knit along with my friend Amber, which really helped me decide what to knit then. I'm glad I knit it. I made a few modifications to the sleeve and the yoke by shortening the ribbed sections by one repeat each and continuing the pattern onto the sleeve.


I also knit two hats. I gave both of them to Jen at Christmastime. The first was another Piper. It really is an amazing pattern that creates a beautiful hat.


While visiting Jen, I also made a Robin's Egg Blue Hat out of Ella Rae Latte. Oh, my, what soft and fuzzy yarn. I have some in a couple other colors that should be destined for something to wear around a neck, or maybe even mittens so the recipient could touch it all the time. I don't have a picture of that hat.

I think I ordered some buttons for Holly, but I can't find the receipt, so I'm not sure I really did. I did, however complete all the finishing. Now it just needs buttons.

Now I'm starting a Side Impact Sweater. I've had the pattern since I visited Artfibers in 2006 and the yarn for at least a year. It was a toss up with some other sweaters, but I think it's time I cracked down and made this one. I've liked it for so long and it will be perfect for Spring.

Oh, and the Gathering was great. See my last post for links to the cybercast and other media from the event. I skipped a Super Bowl party tonight so I could stay home and knit. It feels good to spend some time alone after hanging out with hundreds of people for a week straight.

Gathering Time Again

I'm at the Gathering, so not knitting. Check out these links--they are the next best thing to being in Elko right now.

Western Folklife Center
Cybercast from the 26th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Western Folklife Center Blog (I'm occasionally posting here)
Herding Cowboys
Mountain Girl
Lounge Act

Back to work for me.

Fall

Fall and winter are so busy for me anymore (with planning the largest and oldest cowboy poetry gathering and all), that I no longer have time to plan for the important things, like making flight arrangements for Christmas, or figuring out where I'll be for New Year's Eve. The busy-ness creeps up on me. All of a sudden I'm working late and skipping lunch and I don't know how that happened. I don't mind, though. My job is still interesting enough most of the time to keep me expending the energy it needs.

Knitting doesn't seem to be suffering right now, which is a surprise. I take that back. The amount of knitting I'm doing hasn't slowed down. In fact, I seem to be spending more time with the needles in my hands. What is suffering, are the knits themselves. I spent all that time loving the Holly Jacket, but now that I need to do the finishing touches (which include knitting), I can't get motivated to do it. I thought I was finished with the cozy shorts for Sandman, but I need to rip back and fix a leg.


Those shorts. How can I have the same number of stitches and end up with one leg wider than the other? The problem with the pattern is that it doesn't give stitch counts, so it's harder to keep track. I thought I had calculated everything correctly. I even had a friend try them on. The simple fact of the matter is that one leg is wider than the other. So the shorts have been sitting in my knitting basket, staring at me with contempt when I pick up the needles to make a sure-fire hat.

I was thinking that it was just garments, and that I should stick to accessories. I made two hats (stop what you're doing and make Piper now. It's awesome),


then I made a scarf,


then a Calorimetry.


But I'm risking a garment so I can have a very, very loose knit along with Amber. Amber's been knitting way longer than I have, and we've never had a chance to knit together, really, since we lived together before I learned how to knit. So I like the idea of a two-person knit along. It makes me feel connected to her. So we're both knitting Shalom. I've already made a mistake and had to rip back, but it's a fast knit so it wasn't heart breaking. I don't mind ripping back (except when I think the garment is complete--see above or, worse yet, Patti).

I've also made a New Year's resolution. I am going to avoid knitting for deadlines. These deadlines are always self-imposed and stressful. I am also going to avoid promising knits for anyone. That is also stressful. Instead. I'm going to knit what I want, how I want, and then decide who it's for. If I'm knitting for myself, I'm going to allow myself to take however long it takes. This way, I'll eliminate all the self-imposed stress and can enjoy the entire process. This starts now and is retroactive. Therefore, Sandman may not get his shorts while it's cold (though isn't it always cold in North Dakota?), and Aimee's cousin will never get his rattle. But someone else will get a great sweater in a couple weeks (or days, this thing moves fast!).

One more thing. I'm busy these days. I might not blog for a couple more months. Come to the Gathering if you need a fun festival in the depths of winter. I have an extra bedroom and plenty of floor space. I really recommend it. I know cowboy poetry doesn't sound like it could be as much fun as it really is, but trust me. It's a great time.

Promo

Check out my friend Lainie's website. She's my most favorite artist, and one of my favorite people. I think she should be famous.

Another "Why I Don't Blog" Post

I've been teaching a theatre class at a dance studio in town. It started as two classes, but the younger students' class was too small, so it was combined with the older class. Now I have one class and the students range from 6 to 16. It's been interesting. The classes are fun, but it's still hard to gauge what they've learned this month. They know the areas of the stage as much as they know left from right, and last week they caught on pretty quick to vocal expression. There are a couple of kids who are really outgoing and a couple shyer ones. Overall, so far, it's been fun. But (here's the blogging excuse) I seem to have no time for anything anymore. Which really isn't true. I'm just having too much fun hanging out to get the important things done. At least the class forces me to sit down and write a lesson plan each week. This week we're going to talk about beats. I'm having a little trouble planning for this one since there are a few students who can't read much yet (being only in first grade).

In my knitting world I'm all over the place. I started a rattle for Aimee's cousin's new son, but I need a cat toy for the inside and I haven't made it to the store for one yet. So I started the shorts for Sandman. I think those will move pretty quickly, but I don't get much couch time to work on them. I've been watching Firefly with Jacque, and we're going to try some game knitting on the next episode. I think I need something wacky right now. I need to seam the Audrey sweater and do some finishing knitting, but I haven't been interested in that since I picked up the other things. There's also a hat I really want to make for a friend in Chicago, where I'm going in a couple weeks, so I'll have to pick that up soon, too. I can probably knit most of that on the airplane, though, so I'm not too worried.

I don't have any new knitting pictures, so here's a photo from last week's climbing adventure. Picture courtesy of Karl.

Summer Photos

I have a post in mind (what I've learned about knitting from climbing), but I've had such a busy summer that I thought I'd get the photos out of the way.

First, thank you for all the kind comments. I might have put the sweater in the UFO pile if left to my own devices. I'm still enjoying knitting Holly and made great progress on a recent flight. I have two other somewhat pressing projects to finish, but I can't take my hands off Holly.


Jacque and I hiked the Ruby Mountain Crest Trail a few weeks ago. I had never done a multi-day backpacking trip. I also grew up where it's relatively flat. I think I've acclimated pretty well to the altitude, because that wasn't a problem at all. I could breathe even at 11,000 ft. Jacque helped that by keeping our pace slow. I have a tendency to walk fast and then get out of breath. The trip was amazing. It was hard in some places, and simply fun in others. These pictures are chronological.

A gazillion-mile switchback at the end of the night. Just before Overland Lake (below)*

The Crest (we saw this same view after climbing that peak, and then again five more times)

Liberty Lake

The Parking Lot!

Then a group of people drove up to the City of Rocks to celebrate my birthday (and Jason's but he had to stay home on doctor's orders. Boo). I had no idea my friends in Elko were so amazing. I knew they all wanted to climb--that was really the point of the trip--but they also surprised me with an awesome gift, which I opened after cake.

Presents!

Last weekend I visited Jen and family. I just needed to see their faces. It was soul-soothing.

Now it's September and I'll be around for awhile. Maybe I'll actually get some knitting done this month.

*edited to add photo. My apologies for multiple versions of this post.

Conundrum

I had a high school teacher who would always say "Questions? Comments? Conundrums?" before moving on from the current topic.

I have a conundrum. I am working on the Holly Jacket. It's a fun knit so far. But I have been looking at the picture of the sweater, and at some completed Hollys on Ravelry and the Knitting Daily Galleries, and I'm not sure it's going to look good on me. I don't need more emphasis on my hips--trust me. And I'm knitting it in a color that doesn't look good on many people--yellowgreen--so I can't gift it. So what do I do? Knit it for the fun of it? That's a lot of time going into something that won't be worn. Frog it? But I'm enjoying the knitting, and I'm to the armholes on the back. I've even been staying up late-ish to work on it, which hasn't happened in so long and feels so sleepily good. Stop where I'm at and use the rest of the yarn (Ella Rae Shibu [very nice to knit with, but a little splitty]) for something else? I don't know! I don't have anything else I am desperate to knit, and the socks I'm working on are feeling too wooly for the weather. Silk is perfect.

In other news, Jacque and I are hiking the Ruby Crest Trail this weekend. Three days for 43 miles, and we're sharing a tent with her gaseous dog. I can't wait.

Reasons and Excuses

It has been over a month since I've blogged. It's been quite the busy month. I've been traveling a lot. We had a major deadline at work that I've had to fit in around plane rides and furlough days (that's right, I'm on furlough). I've been extremely stressed, and it's shown in my work and in my knitting. In fact, there's not much knitting to show. I worked on a sock and I knit a chalk bag for myself. I just sewed in the liner, so no photos of that yet. I haven't finished anything in months, it seems. Yet I'm itching to start a sweater or something else that is big and time consuming. Here are some photos of my trips.

On a walk back to the hotel from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Cherry Lake in the UP of Michigan

City of Rocks, Idaho

Fieldwork in Florida

Pucker

Pucker is done. Remember a long time ago when I was knitting with size-two needles and thought I was knitting on sixes? Well, this time I thought I was knitting on size six, but it was actually a two. So Pucker's neck is a little tight. Besides that, I think the top is lovely. My pictures are bad because I took them myself, but you get the general idea.


There's been some climbing, but not much to report on. I haven't gone in two weeks. I have made new friends, though, which is nice. I also had to buy a new computer, this right after splurging (actually, I'd saved for them) on a washer and dryer. But now I can do everything I want. Except transfer my files from my old computer because the new Mac has only one firewire port and it's not the same as the cord I have.


I'm working on the umbrella and I've started the socks. I might also start a hat for a friend who is leaving soon. I'll report on the chalk bag when I get some action shots. It looks great and I think it will work. I may have to make more--handknit chalk bags for all my friends!

Anxiety Sets In

I realized that I haven't posted about my trip to Korea. Well, it's going to wait a while longer, because I'm exhausted. I just wanted to get another post in before May was through.

My trip to Korea is one of the things weighing on my mind right now, though. I promised a pair of socks to Aimee's weaving teacher. I bought some Koigu and some needles from a very tidy shop in Seoul, but I haven't even taken the needles out of the package. Aimee leaves Korea in July, so I want to have them finished in time to send them before she's back stateside. I am also working on a gift that would be perfect for Aimee in Seoul, but probably not as useful in upstate New York. One of these days.


Trouble is, I don't want to work on those projects. I've picked up the umbrella here and there--now I'm a hair over half done--but the socks I barely even think about. Until it starts stressing me out anyway. I suppose I should power through Pucker so I can focus! I must sound like a broken record these days.

Instead of knitting I've been climbing. Here I am finishing off a heel hook on a 5.10 TR in Red Rock on Memorial Day. I didn't fall at all! Sandstone is awesome. I think learning to climb on slabby, flaky granite makes other rocks seem, dare I say it, easier.


I also had a visit from my sister and dog-niece. I miss Porter a lot. She's such a good dog. I spend all my dog time around puppies these days, so it was nice to have a mature, well-behaved dog around.

Hidden Treasures

A couple months ago I moved into an apartment. A lot of my things had been in storage for more than a year, and I'm still discovering treasures collected over many moves. I have packed and unpacked 18 times in my life.

Whenever anyone visited my grandmother, Babci, we were sure to leave with an armful of clothes, at least, or bags full of things we just couldn't refuse, try as we might. It was hard to say no to Babci, who was thrifty and earnest. Sometimes she found just the right thing to make my day--I have a great green-and-purple houndstooth dresscoat that came with a handmade (by my aunt) dress to match. Babci hemmed the dress a little too short for me to wear regularly, but it makes its appearance as a go-go dress, the only costume I can pull off. Other times, I'd come away with a stained sweater that I reluctantly took but never wore. Before my grandmother moved in with my aunt, she insisted I take a tablecloth that I had no use for, and no means to transport. She saved it for me, with a post-it note, taped to the black plastic bag, that read "for Tammie" in her shaky hand. I can't remember what year it was, but I threw the bag in my rental car, returned to Chicago, and put the bag in the basement.

A month ago I opened the bag to put away the tablecloth only to find that Babci had snuck in a couple other items. There were a few folds of fabric with interesting patterns and the cream of the crop, a crocheted afghan. I closed up the bag to deal with it later.

This weekend, I opened up the bag to find a beautiful, full-sized afghan in a bright and fun pattern. I'm sure it's acrylic and Babci may or may not have made it. But it's such a treasure. I can picture Babci cooking or slicing strawberries, but I can't remember seeing my grandmother doing any kind of hand work, though we always had crocheted slippers to wear, and her embroidery is recognizable because she never split the strands. Once she showed me a rag rug she was making; that was the only time there was a direct indication that she made beautiful things from fiber. I did learn some sewing from Babci, mostly mending, and she once helped me make a pink satin pillowcase for my Papa (my grandfather on my mom's side). I knew my aunt was crafty--she must have learned it from someone, probably Babci, her mother. My aunt tried to teach me many of the skills she has in abundance; most notably, my aunt gave me my first knitting lesson, when I was about nine.

There's a needle-arts lineage in my family that I'm proud to share. I'm a knitter, through and through, but lately I've been having dreams of expanding my knowledge of all things fabric and fiber. I'd like to learn to sew and to embroider, mostly to embellish my knitting. I'd also like to make a rag rug in honor of my Babci.

For now, though, I'll keep knitting. I'm halfway through Pucker; I have to sew in a lining and add a drawstring to the chalk bag; I've got more than half of a gift to finish; and I promised socks to Aimee's weaving teacher. I've got to finish those before Aimee leaves Korea. So the other fiber arts are going to remain on the wish list for now. Each thing I knit, though, is infused with the spirit of my grandmother, and the memories of learning from my aunt. Makes me love to knit even more.

The Adventure Continues

I've decided to stop trying to make Elko home. Without trees or water this landscape could never comfort me. However, I am going to continue to live here happily, for now. I'm going to think of this time period as a time for continuous adventure and simply enjoy myself.

I got a knitting-themed tattoo. A few people have asked if it's rope. That makes me sad. I think I'm going to have to do a little touch up on it, because I realized that the fold in the top isn't quite right. Otherwise, I love it.


I am going to Korea on Friday to visit Aimee, who is there on a Fulbright. I've been knitting furiously on a gift, until I reached this point:


I have to make eight panels and I'm not even finished with four. No way is this getting done. So it's going to rest while I'm overseas and I'll finish it as a thank you present when I return.

The most depressing thing to happen lately was discovering that I didn't knit the two fronts of Patti to the same length. It will be a relatively easy fix, but it's so heartbreaking that I'm going to leave it for a while, maybe until fall, and then fix it. Jen won't be able to wear it until then anyway.


Now that I'm not furiously knitting for Aimee, I have two projects with no deadlines to keep me occupied on my trip. I'm improvising a chalk bag for a friend, and I've started Pucker. I haven't done much, but I like the slinky nature of the Seduce. This should be fun.

Momentum

I've been thinking about knitting a lot. I've been thinking about blogging a lot. Though it doesn't seem like I'm doing much of either lately, I'm trying to catch up. Unfortunately, I broke my camera, so I don't have any new knitting to show.

In fact, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. My life in Elko is extremely different than it was in Chicago or anywhere else for that matter. My life in Elko most closely resembles my life in college. Here's a list of what I do with my free time in Elko:

• Rock climb
• Ultimate Frisbee
• Dance class (modern and Zumba)
• Hang out with friends at their homes or mine

Yes, I'm cheating a little. It was a really hard climb.

What I did in Chicago:

• Walked around town
• Knit
• Shopped
• Watched TV
• Ate out with friends or alone

I'm not in the picture, but I did do this while visiting Chicago last week. Those poofs are really fun to plop down on!

So you see, there isn't as much time to knit, and there's nowhere to shop (nowhere like the Threadless Kids! as shown in the above picture, that's for sure). I was sick for two days, so I got some knitting done. Patti is almost finished. I need to seam and knit the button band. I majorly screwed up the placement of the held stitches so I'll have to do some extra-special magic to hide the mistake (there's no way I'm ripping both fronts). I also made progress on some gift knitting.

Which brings me to another change. Lately, the only knitting I've been attracted to is knitting for myself. I can't seem to finish the projects I'm working on, or get to the ones that I have planned, but all I want to make is Pucker or the Side Impact Sweater. My gift-knitting queue isn't that long--just the two projects on the needles, a chalk bag, and a pair of shorts (on request from Sandman, who needs knitted shorts to live in North Dakota--I'm thinking alpaca or cashmere for warmth and next-to-the-skin softness). I should just go ahead and start Pucker. I've already swatched. I bought the yarn while I was in Chicago just last week.

Ah, Chicago. I spent all the money in my checking account on shoes. I bought three pairs and had seven pairs repaired (including two I bought). It was totally worth it. I also bought an amazing jacket and a lot of yarn. I missed Nina herself, but did get time with Sam and Mary Rose, which was nice. Okay, once again I'm straying from the point, which is this: I've lived in Elko for 18 months but I don't feel at home here. I love everything I do here, and my friends are incredible people. I like my apartment and the mountains. I like my job and the people I work with. When I was in Chicago I felt like I was home, even though I was sleeping on a couch and awakened by shark noises (from a four-year-old) and stroller wheels (the two-year-old). I felt like me. Here in Elko I feel like I'm on adventure, with a bit of work thrown in. Maybe it's more like a working holiday. So how do I settle? Do I settle?

Do I continue to knit for others or knit for myself?

I Love this Hat!

This is Jacque.
I taught her to knit in January. She's made four hats. Hats are the way to go for a beginner, I think. She's accomplished so much in such a short time. She's going to make a vest of her own design next. Her latest hat is ribbed the entire way up, so Jacque had to figure out how to decrease in pattern, rather than using the standard spiral decrease I taught her. She's been knitting on straights and has had some trouble with her hats having nipples at the top, so I hope the ribbing and the different decrease pattern will solve her nipple problem.

In spite of this weirdness, every hat Jacque makes is a joy for her. She exclaims "I love this hat" while knitting them. She realized she said it for every hat and asked if I felt the same way about what I knit.

It's got me to thinking. I don't love everything I'm working on. Lately I feel like I've put down or frogged everything I attempt. I'm supposed to be working on a dog sweater for Jacque's dog (also in the pic), especially since it took much convincing of her husband that a dog sweater is still macho. But the yarn I picked is too bulky for the wording I want to incorporate. I thought I'd just make a prototype, then, since I wasn't using a pattern, but I haven't touched the sweater for weeks. I am working on other things, of course, but I don't love anything right now.

The closest I'm getting is on Patti. It feels good to make progress. I'm sure I won't finish until the sun is warming Michigan, but Jen will still appreciate it, I think (hope).

So I how do I get the love back? I still need to knit. I still want the feel of the yarn growing on the needles. I just don't love anything I'm working on. Nothing is bringing that joy.

Here's some Misti Hand Paint Sock Yarn I wound for Tympany. Tympany is fun. I'm almost onto the earflaps. I'm not going to have enough yarn, since I'm using some leftover yarn from a pair of socks, so I'll have to get creative.

Quickie

Holidays. Gathering.

The Gathering was fantastic. Please check out the cybercasts on our website to see what amazing shows you missed. I had the time of my life this year.

It's been busy. Christina took all the chairs, so typing at my desk is difficult. Here's a photo summary of the things I've been doing when not at the holiday festivities or the Gathering. There were other projects, too. I'm just missing some photos.

Postcard. Aimee, did you ever get this?

Legwarmers.

Hat.

Bike Helmut Earmuffs.

Climbing on January 18th. I needed this right before the Gathering.