Welcome to the blog of a young male knitter!



Monday, September 26, 2011

Some knitting

Clearly creativity has left me. Blog titles are hard to nail down, they tend to be really good, or really bad.

It is obvious which way I lean.

I finished both the socks this weekend. That wasn't to hard, neither one of them really needed that much work. Later today I hope to cast on the second pair of the plain one, and work a little bit on the fancy one. We'll see if that works. I hope it does, but I am consumed entertained by this little number.

It's Elizabeth Zimmermann's Totem Jacket, and despite the fact that it is acres of garter stitch, I am in LOVE with it. I'm aming for mid-thigh lenth which means that I will probably have to get it about hip-lenth, and wait (let it sag).

The yarn is a reycyled cotton that I ripped out a few months back. I'm not sure if it will be enough, but I am physically and emotionally prepared to deal with contrasting sleeves.

Don't expect to see a hood on this puppy. I aim for a nice elegant collar. Maybe some pockets too.

It's about sixteen inches long. I hope to be at the armhole by tonight. Wish me Luck.

(And by the way Desperate Housewives last night was a little silly. I can't even count how many murders those girls have covered up, but yet this one is giving them issues? Come on!)

(Pan Am was a good watch too. A little hard to follow, but it all came out in the end.)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Here's the knitting

As promised the knitting is here, and I am going to proceed to blab my little ole' gums off about it. Here is project number one:

A little pair of socks. These little beauties are destined for the long range planning box, whose range is getting smaller and smaller. Do you feel the hot sticky breath of Christmas breathing down your neck yet? If you're a knitter than you probably do. I am doing EVERYTHING to avoid "IT" this year. Last year wasn't too bad, I had a lot more free time (not being able to do any housework really frees up a lot of time). This year I don't think that I will be forced to descend into midnight knitting madness, (famous last words) Given the time I have left to knit, and the amount I have left to knit, if I work steadily at it, then I should be fine.

What was I talking about? Oh, socks. These are the Edwardian Boating Socks. Ever since I first saw them over at the Harlot's* I knew that I would be knitting several of these in the near future. Since these ones are a gift, I am going to be making some for me here pretty soon. Thank god these aren't my size, I would be keeping them.

The aerial view

The yarn is Serenity Sock Yarn . I must say that while it is rather plebeian, I really do like this stuff. (I like most yarn though.) The price is right, and so is the feel.



It's hard to get a good picture of this thing.

And because I've been reading a lot lately, I'm working on a mindless sock to churn out while I'm doing something that I have to look at.

A plain old ribbed sock. This too is going towards the long range planning box. I'm such a good person.

*I love how most knitters know what I mean when I say that. For those who don't, I mean The Yarn Harlot.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Hmmm,

That's exactly how I've been feeling for a little while now. Hmmm, I've been knitting, but only on some secret things. (Well, I guess I could tell you, but I've already given them away, and I forgot to take pictures,) There are a few socks, but I'm in bed right now, and I don't feel like going down stairs and getting them and the camera, you'll have to use your imagination.

Since I last blogged, I've been a touch busy, but that is no excuse. Really now, it isn 't a good excuse. Truth be told, I've been reading a lot (shame on me!). Yes, he of the knitting, has forsaken it all (not all) for the written word. (We will over look the fact that I've finished my second book, and I'm thinking about a third, I'm talking about someone else's words.)

I have a little confession. The book that has sucked up my every thought for the past week is, The Thorn Birds. There, I've said it. My name is Garret and I'm reading The Thorn Birds. The one with the whole forbidden-love-Australian-sheep-ranch-family-saga deal. That Thorn Birds. The one with the priest and the young girl. (Sick at first, gets better after time)

And here is the thing, I'm freaking loving it. It is compelling, to say the least. Every word of it makes me want to keep reading. I think that is what I'll do now. Knitting soon, I promise!

(If you want to discuss, leave a comment, and I'll jabber your ear off about it!)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

What I have I been up to?

Whenever I'm away for a little while, I always have the urge to title a post "Hello, Hello!" But that is one that I deal with quite frequently.

Despite the fact that it's a million degrees here, I know that Fall has come. That might have something to do with the fact that it is Labor Day weekend. Another way that I know that Fall is here is because I now have lost several hours a day, Fall tends to be a little busy for me. I have got so much editing to do that I don't know if I'm ever going to get it all done. I may just start hoping that the little fairies will come and do it all for me.

What with all this, knitting has fallen by the wayside by just a little. You know how it is when studying short fiction just has to come before finishing a few rows. I figure that since I do write a lot of fiction, mostly fiction really (oddly it seems more real to me), that I might want to know something about it.

But I have managed to get a little bit knit while I was away.



I even sewed elastic. Ignore the note,  it's hot, my plants are thirsty.

These are the Dublin Bay Socks from Mossy Cottage Knits (I'd link, but my computer won't cooperate and let me open another window. Fussy machine) (Look on the sidebar if you're interested).

I had to sew some elastic into the tops of these, as you can see. They turned out about a few million sizes too big. I knit loose and don't check my gauge (on socks).

These might look like a little something that I whipped up in a few days, but no. I've written books faster than I've knit these socks. They've been on the needles since . . . forever. I guess that forever would be about early May. They just needed a quick toe and a dose of confidence. It look herbal tea to finish them.

I've also knit a shawl for a friend (a knitty one, not a blogger) who's moving to Florida. Her going away present will be this (plus a few rows, I'm going to finish it).


It's not a shapeless bag, no matter how much it resembles one.
It's the Pie shawl from the Knitter's Almanac. (I am nothing if not consistent.) I'm making it out of some black stuff I bought at Goodwill. This stuff breaks easier than any other yarn I've ever seen. There are times where it just breaks for no reason. Maybe it resents me, being turned into a shawl, and everything that shawls represent. (It's okay when your yarn talks to you. When you answer it (out loud) that's when you may have a problem)


Here is where I was about three weeks ago. I just wanted you to see how open it was (is).




Remind me to see how many Wraps Per Inch I get with this yarn.

Well, I'm off to go over analyze poetry. Maybe some day here really soon I'll actually have a chance to write one.