I probably dropped about 10,000 hints that I wanted these for Christmas:
I may have also threatened a major delay in post-Christmas sweater knitting if I did not find them under the tree.
I can be a little overbearing when it comes to Christmas gifts. Eric puts up with a lot.
Whatever bad karma I may have accumulated in the process was totally worth it.
I may have already reached Nirvana anyway.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The Commitment Sweater
There is a somewhat foolish, but well documented, knitting superstition that you should never knit a sweater for your significant other before you are married or you will break up. One can only imagine the pitfalls for knitters in same-sex relationships, though I guess it would be one more argument in favor of legalizing gay marriage-- as if there weren't enough. And of course, we all know that people never break up after they are married.
Ever since I learned to knit, Eric has periodically mentioned his desire for a sweater. In the beginning, fear of such an undertaking caused me to refuse, but in the past couple of years I admit to feigning belief in the infamous Sweater Curse in an attempt to nudge along a marriage proposal. For shame.
So I have the requisite skills. Now I am legally wed. Hence, the Commitment Sweater. I have been planning this magnum opus since I started becoming confident in my knitting skills, but it didn't begin to really take shape until this fall. I have been searching for just the right pattern and just the right yarn. I have done hours of research on Ravelry. Now I'm ready to start!
Eric is probably unusual among husbands in that he actually likes going to yarn stores. We made a couple of trips together so that I could get a feel for his color and texture preferences. We're both excited about this:
I always planned to make a seamless sweater-- sewing gives me the willies-- and I had initially decided on a pattern for a top-down raglan. With a 50% alpaca content, my yarn of choice does not behave well at 4.5 stitches per inch, the gauge called for in said pattern. Too much drape, too much stretch. I realized I needed a more open-ended pattern.
Early in my knitting career, my mother bought me The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee. Again, I don't think I was quite ready for the idea of knitting sweaters. Additionally, the sweaters shown in the book have a distinctly 80s look, which might be cool in 2009, but has never been my cup of tea. Sorry Mom.
Flash forward to 2009. I need a sweater pattern that can be adapted to any yarn and any size. At some point I gave away The Sweater Workshop, which teaches you to make such a sweater (crap crap crap). From somewhere in the depths of my memory, I recall the name Elizabeth Zimmermann. Don't tell any knitters that I may have forgotten her name. She's something of a knitting goddess, or was one. In knitting circles, she goes by EZ.
I checked out Knitting Without Tears from the library. I don't feel I can approach a decent description of how entertaining and useful this book is. Besides, many many many people have already done so. In it, EZ describes five ways to make a seamless sweater, using your own yarn and measurements. I say describes, because they aren't really patterns so much as very chatty formulas. This part scares me a bit, because I like the security of a pattern that tells you exactly what to do. But you trust in EZ kind of like you trust in Jesus.
So I'm going to take the plunge today. I already have my gauge sample:
Now to cast on 242 stitches!
Ever since I learned to knit, Eric has periodically mentioned his desire for a sweater. In the beginning, fear of such an undertaking caused me to refuse, but in the past couple of years I admit to feigning belief in the infamous Sweater Curse in an attempt to nudge along a marriage proposal. For shame.
So I have the requisite skills. Now I am legally wed. Hence, the Commitment Sweater. I have been planning this magnum opus since I started becoming confident in my knitting skills, but it didn't begin to really take shape until this fall. I have been searching for just the right pattern and just the right yarn. I have done hours of research on Ravelry. Now I'm ready to start!
Eric is probably unusual among husbands in that he actually likes going to yarn stores. We made a couple of trips together so that I could get a feel for his color and texture preferences. We're both excited about this:
I always planned to make a seamless sweater-- sewing gives me the willies-- and I had initially decided on a pattern for a top-down raglan. With a 50% alpaca content, my yarn of choice does not behave well at 4.5 stitches per inch, the gauge called for in said pattern. Too much drape, too much stretch. I realized I needed a more open-ended pattern.
Early in my knitting career, my mother bought me The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee. Again, I don't think I was quite ready for the idea of knitting sweaters. Additionally, the sweaters shown in the book have a distinctly 80s look, which might be cool in 2009, but has never been my cup of tea. Sorry Mom.
Flash forward to 2009. I need a sweater pattern that can be adapted to any yarn and any size. At some point I gave away The Sweater Workshop, which teaches you to make such a sweater (crap crap crap). From somewhere in the depths of my memory, I recall the name Elizabeth Zimmermann. Don't tell any knitters that I may have forgotten her name. She's something of a knitting goddess, or was one. In knitting circles, she goes by EZ.
I checked out Knitting Without Tears from the library. I don't feel I can approach a decent description of how entertaining and useful this book is. Besides, many many many people have already done so. In it, EZ describes five ways to make a seamless sweater, using your own yarn and measurements. I say describes, because they aren't really patterns so much as very chatty formulas. This part scares me a bit, because I like the security of a pattern that tells you exactly what to do. But you trust in EZ kind of like you trust in Jesus.
So I'm going to take the plunge today. I already have my gauge sample:
Now to cast on 242 stitches!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Christmas Gift Shout-Out
You know, friends can be such jerks sometimes.
Take Sarah (please!), for example. Look what she sends me on, like, December 10th:
Really Sarah, you should try to send your gifts a little earlier next year. You really put the "pro" in procrastination this time. Seriously, if I open my door and find gifts from you after, say, November 30th, there will be consequences. I'm counting on you to set an example for others. Sheesh. And don't think I can be distracted from your extreme tardiness by cute things from Muji. I am not playing around.
Next, from Vickie:
Vickie clearly did not do her homework on this one. The materials from which this book is made are NOT edible. I found that out the hard way. Vickie, next time you send me something I might want to eat, just make cookies, okay? Thanks.
If I was the paranoid type, I would wonder if Emily was stalking either my J.Crew shopping cart or my yarn basket:
I'm sleeping with one eye open, Emily. I don't trust you anymore. By the way, I sent those cupcakes to the FBI for further analysis. Red velvet, eh? Nice try.
Then some crafty bitch named Nicole sent me these:
You know, Nicole, I have feelings. Martha Stewart hurts them enough. I don't need you showing me up all the time. I thought we were friends. Handmade lavender sachets may be very handy for repelling moths from my growing yarn stash, but what about my pride?
(I would like to give a final shout-out to my dear husband Eric for teaching me how to use Photoshop. He may regret it some day.)
Take Sarah (please!), for example. Look what she sends me on, like, December 10th:
Really Sarah, you should try to send your gifts a little earlier next year. You really put the "pro" in procrastination this time. Seriously, if I open my door and find gifts from you after, say, November 30th, there will be consequences. I'm counting on you to set an example for others. Sheesh. And don't think I can be distracted from your extreme tardiness by cute things from Muji. I am not playing around.
Next, from Vickie:
Vickie clearly did not do her homework on this one. The materials from which this book is made are NOT edible. I found that out the hard way. Vickie, next time you send me something I might want to eat, just make cookies, okay? Thanks.
If I was the paranoid type, I would wonder if Emily was stalking either my J.Crew shopping cart or my yarn basket:
I'm sleeping with one eye open, Emily. I don't trust you anymore. By the way, I sent those cupcakes to the FBI for further analysis. Red velvet, eh? Nice try.
Then some crafty bitch named Nicole sent me these:
You know, Nicole, I have feelings. Martha Stewart hurts them enough. I don't need you showing me up all the time. I thought we were friends. Handmade lavender sachets may be very handy for repelling moths from my growing yarn stash, but what about my pride?
(I would like to give a final shout-out to my dear husband Eric for teaching me how to use Photoshop. He may regret it some day.)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas Knitting
I started out with big ambitious plans to make felted slippers for my family and all of my inlaws. I ended up making only three pairs, which I gave to my parents and my brother.
Check out before:
And after:
It's like shrinky dinks for grown-ups! I admit I had my doubts that they would actually shrink to the correct size, especially since I only have access to a front-loading washer. They are still a tad baggy in the toes-- the red ones are a bit reminiscent of Ronald McDonald. This may be because my family members all wear half sizes. Had I perhaps made the instep 1/2" shorter, they'd probably fit perfectly. For a first felting project, I'm pretty stoked with how they turned out-- and my parents and brother were appropriately baffled when they opened the ginormous socks.
As it turns out, I was unable to resist putting my newly-acquired Continental knitting skills to the test in a little display of newlywed cuteness:
Check out before:
Note that cat is shown for scale purposes only.
She wanted to model, really!
I have very docile cats. Do not try this at home
And after:
It's like shrinky dinks for grown-ups! I admit I had my doubts that they would actually shrink to the correct size, especially since I only have access to a front-loading washer. They are still a tad baggy in the toes-- the red ones are a bit reminiscent of Ronald McDonald. This may be because my family members all wear half sizes. Had I perhaps made the instep 1/2" shorter, they'd probably fit perfectly. For a first felting project, I'm pretty stoked with how they turned out-- and my parents and brother were appropriately baffled when they opened the ginormous socks.
As it turns out, I was unable to resist putting my newly-acquired Continental knitting skills to the test in a little display of newlywed cuteness:
And since we are equal in all things:
Isn't it adorable when stockings cuddle?
Monday, December 14, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Confession
I bought the boots. Eric gave me permission. They are el-fabuloso. Penance: no "gifts" for myself until January. Or maybe never. We'll see.
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