Flash & Yearn

Hello again!

I was trying to go a whole year between blog posts, but I just couldn't do it. So here I am, thanks to some serious prodding from Timmy, and a gentle nudge from a gentle reader.

Anyway, a while back, when we still had Blockbuster Online, I was searching around for a good movie. The kind that makes you glad you have an online service, as opposed to the kind you let languish for three weeks in the bowl with the bananas. I can't remember the movie that caught my eye, but I do remember that it was categorized as one of many Obsessive Quests. As I browsed around, I realized that I was drawn to Obsessive Quests, in the much the same way I was drawn to Crumbling Marriages, Dying Young, and of course, Witnessing a Crime.

In my time, I have been witness to any number of Obsessive Quests: Ornamental Grasses, N-Scale Model Railroad, 5 Gum, Bakelite Cherries, Beaujolais Nouveau, Flipping Off All Extant Cement Mixers, just to name a few. Most poets, also, live for the Obsessive Quest. Do I even need to mention knitters and their obsessive quests? The Socks That Rock Booth at Rhinebeck comes to mind. Malabrigo, Pigeonroof, Sundara anyone?

First picture of Tea Leaves.

My most recent Obsessive Quest? The Tea Leaves Cardigan, hands down. I swatched. I calculated. I planned. This is possibly my favorite hand knit. Ever. Never mind the entirely cabled cardigan from Vogue Knitting I made (out of Maratona) in the 80s while watching Reds over and over again from a king-sized water bed. Goodbye, February Lady Sweater and all other viral knits! This pattern took hold of me like nothing else. And then it was done. I missed it so much, I made a toddler-sized garter yoke cardi in the same yarn. I thought of Berryman, and all those Dream Songs. I flashed and yearned.

I know Heather felt the same way. On a Wednesday, she texted me that she was only 2 inches below the armholes - complete with frowny face. Sunday morning? The text said -- it's blocking (smiley).


Last picture of O W L S.

Borne along by my Tea Leaves success, it was onward and upward to O W L S. My new love. I yearned for this sweater. Yes, I swatched. I planned, I knitted on, through Swine Flu, Thanksgiving and Christmas. And yet, it was big. The back poofed. I sewed on all 38 button eyes during the Super Bowl. The sleeves sagged. I blocked, I soaked, I threw it in the dryer. It still wasn't right. I frogged. Because, as we now know, knitting is ripping and ripping is knitting. My Quest seemed for naught.

But that's the nature of the Obsessive Quest -- dazzling highs and punishing lows. Probably the same is true of Marriage and Crime. It's Spring and so to my Quest. After weeks of stewing over it all, whining to anyone who will listen, and weighing the relative merits of size 36 vs 38, I'm ready. I've bought new yarn, printed out a fresh copy of the pattern and obsessively check the project gallery on Ravelry for newly finished sweaters. Because I really want that sweater. Hopefully, the second time's the charm.

Blocking for Dollars

I have finished Talia, but cannot show it off just yet. I thought it was blocked, but when I put it on this morning, I realized that it is not blocked enough. It grew very nicely length-wise and the lace opened beautifully. But the width. That's another story.

It goes around me, but with buttons actually buttoned, not so much. Sausage casing comes to mind. I could wear it open -- like Rhoda Morgenstern -- but this was not the look I was going for. It just dawned on me that maybe steam blocking might help with the width -- I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It also dawned on me that maybe there is something to that formula or theory that one should weight within ten pounds of one's high school graduation weight. I'm not keeping my fingers crossed for that one.

In the midst of this blocking problem, I also remembered that at Rochelle's shop, they had a finisher. You left the piece or pieces of knitting at the shop, and a week or two later you picked up the finished garment! It was sewn together, perfectly blocked, and fit like a dream! At least that's how I remember it. I never thought of the poor knitter, probably woefully underpaid and squinting under a bare bulb at her dining room table, all to do the grunt work on someone else's sweater.

The last time I asked a shop owner whether she had a finisher, she looked at me balefully and said, Well, I guess that would be me. Then there was an awkward pause. That was ten years ago. So, I've learned to sew and block, and even pick up stitches at the neckline, although it does scare me. I always imagine that having completed the bulk of the knitting, I will now somehow ruin the sweater with shoddy blocking and finishing.

Instead, I can show you two items that required zero blocking: a Tender Blankie for a friend's new baby, and a pair of red mittens for the big sister.

Oh Sherrie

It is Timmy's role, as the resident Morning Person, to wake up the entire household on school/work mornings. After much trial and error, he has come up with a winning method that 1) is efficient, and 2) does not fill the rest of us with a murderous rage. Here's how it works: at 6am the alarm goes off. He immediately leaps from bed and into the shower, leaving me about 10 minutes of peaceful languishing. He then turns on the lights in our bedroom, and in the hallway, which in turn shines through the transom windows into the kids' rooms. He then turns the radio to a local station which plays "the best of the 80s, 90s and today." This is key, because he used to turn on NPR, which often stirred up household debates -- not a good way to start the day. More often than not, the songs are cheerful, or at least pleasantly nostalgic. Today was no exception as I woke to the sounds of Steve Perry belting out "Oh Sherrie."

I'm not sure if I can convey my undying love for Steve Perry - his voice, hair and nose speak for themselves. I do know that it seemed he was the heartthrob of every girl in 80s Chicagoland. I just watched to youtube video, and even Sherrie herself, who seems like a sweet, lovable dope, can't take her eyes off him.

The downside of the wake-up method is that eventually we turn off the radio and the reverie is broken (sometimes by Phil Collins or Men at Work.) We rouse the kids from their beds, and Maudie turns on the shower radio to Hot 100. And now it's Beyonce or Lady Gaga or Kanye West. Don't get me wrong, I love Kanye, but he's no Steve Perry.

On the knitting front: Talia is finished and blocking, I've got socks for Timmy in the works and an early spring cardigan from Sweaterbabe - I love her simple, elegant designs and excellent instructions - all Raveled here.

Blue Person

This little guy came to Maudie from Taiwan, from her school pen pal, along with a Chinese New Year card, carefully hand-lettered in English. The girl made him, using Chinese knots and that cute little head, and aptly named him Blue Person. Isn't he nifty?

I've finished my Just Enough Ruffles and have started a baby blanket. Enjoy the weekend!

Less Knitting, More Pudding

No knitting progress of any kind. I am poised to begin the short row section of Just Enough Ruffles (ravelled here), but because I don't understand how short rows work, I'm a little afraid. I've done them before, but I can't yet do them from memory. I love what they do -- it seems like magic to watch that lovely curve take shape.

Instead, I've decided it's officially a cooking day. I was going through my recipes and found this at the bottom of the pile. As a child, I remember eating a lot of pudding - mostly chocolate and vanilla. My grandparents used to pour milk directly onto the pudding in their bowls, which seemed completely gross at the time, but now seems quaint and homey.

This pudding makes a lovely lemon custard with a cake-y top. It comes from a family friend - a knitter of beautiful afghans who I always thought was very glamorous because she wore false eyelashes, several perfumes at once, and a frosted fall.



Trudi's Lemon Pudding

2 eggs
1 C milk
4-6 T fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon
4 T flour
1 C sugar (I use about a half cup extra)
1/4 t. salt

Separate eggs. Beat whites in a bowl to stiff peaks. In another bowl, beat all other ingredients together. Fold in egg whites.

Spray 4 ramekins with a light cooking spray and fill. Bake in a 9x13 water bath at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Makes 4-5 individual puddings.

Enjoy!

This Knitter's Hubris

When I was growing up, my mom worked at a knit shop in HP, Granny's. Granny's was owned by a woman named Rochelle. I can't quite remember, but either her married name was also Rochelle (making her Rochelle Rochelle), or she was married to a man named Sheldon, thus making them a couple with a gimmick: Shelly and Shelly!!!

Rochelle was a great knitter, and although she was a dedicated smoker and allowed others to smoke in her shop, we will forgive her because it was the '70s. Anyway, Rochelle always said "knitting is ripping and ripping is knitting," when consoling tearful knitters faced with massive corrective frogging. As an adult, and a knitter with a more than a few years behind me, I completely understand the wisdom and up-by-the-bootstraps practicality of this statement.

I only wish that Rochelle had had a similar maxim regarding swatching, because that would really come in handy, for oh, say, every single project I ever do. The thing is, I almost never swatch. And if I do, I frequently fudge the gauge a little because I don't want to do another swatch. Bad, I know.

One way I've tried to get around this is by using the exact yarn that the pattern calls for, desperately hoping that my gauge will match that listed on the pattern. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I also tend to use fall-back yarns, like Cascade 220, which I know I'll never ever have to swatch.




This practice, along with my attendant hubris, came into play this past week when I made the Birthday Cowl. While I have admired numerous cowls on Ravelry, I've only ever knit one other cowl. Why I don't know. It's the perfect little project -- highly portable, quickly finished, practical and wearable. Living as I do in drafty house built in 1893, I could wear a cowl all day every day from October - April. After looking at scores of beautiful Birthday Cowls, I cast on with some gorgeous Cashmere Island Heather gave me last Christmas.

I followed the pattern to the letter, blithely assuming that 1) Cashmere Island is a worsted weight yarn (since I long ago misplaced the ball band), and 2) the gauge on the size 8 needle would therefore be perfect. The pattern is genius; it's easily memorized and only two rows. Once you get just a little tired of the lace round, you get to knit one round, and then it's time for more lace. The end result with the diagonals and yarn-overs is really to die for.

Cashmere Island, as I now know, is a DK weight yarn. Hmm. I love my cowl, and I'm wearing my cowl, but my cowl is big. Not crazy big, but a little droopy, and not snug up to my neck and chin like I wanted it to be. I can't stop thinking about what would have happened if I had only used a 7 needle. If I had only swatched. I guess I could use a funky little pin to make it snug, but that isn't really the way I pictured this cowl.

Will I rip and re-knit the cowl? No, despite Rochelle's maxim. Have I resolved to "get with the program," as my dad would say, and swatch every project from now on? Probably not. Am I getting there? Maybe.

While I was gone

This is what's happened:




Both Charlie and Maudie turned 12; she started junior high. Shockingly, junior high is now considered 'fun', probably because they all have personal phones and are available by text and IM 24/7.

My mom got sick, and then she got better.

I happily reconnected with an old friend, thanks to Jane.

Snuffy went from a 38 lb. weakling to a 55 lb. stud. (Also, he got neutered.)

We drove to Chicago, to Boston and to Florida.

My cousin was ordained as a minister.

I took a quilting class. Quilting is okay; there is a lot of ironing, which is also okay. I experienced a lot of junior high home-ec class sewing machine anxiety. For me, junior high was not fun.

For Christmas, I baked cookies, knitted mittens, juiced a lot of oranges and received a new iron.

There was knitting, and planning knitting projects, although I was completely silent.

Now I'm back.

Peace to everyone in 2009!

Spring Mittens

With everything that's been going on around here -- the return of Spring, school play, talent show, 6th grade graduation frenzy, scrambling to finish the Circle of Friends blanket strips and Snuffy's emergency toenail-ectomy (don't ask), I found myself yearning for a quick and simple knit, one that I could finish in a day or so.

I've been dreaming of white-ish mittens for a while, and had a false start with an EZ Mitered Mitten and Noro Silk Garden.


I love the yarn, love the pattern, but the long cuff modification, while practical, just isn't right for me. I'll be frogging and starting over with a standard cuff. Besides, Timmy told me it looked like an oven mitt, and I have to admit, he's right.

In the meantime, through the magic of Ravelry trades, I found myself with three skeins of Wool-Ease Chunky in Fisherman. These are Super Mittens, from Weekend Knitting, and they're exactly what I had in mind -- finished in two days, and perfect for cool Spring mornings. Next up: a chunky cowl like these to match? Yes, I'm a bandwagon knitter, and proud of it!

Wintry Mix

That's what we had all last week. Snow, sleet, freezing rain and a couple of snow days thrown in for good measure. The latter, which often induce cabin fever and general bugging out, were actually two very nice days with Maudie. Once the novelty of tv wore off, we cozied up on the couch, knitting and taking turns reading to one another. She is hard at work on her strip for the blanket, and I am working on a Juliet for her.



This photo is from my friend Jane in Chicago, who has made a kind of long-term installment/photo project with several mannequins. I thought they were gone, but she sent me this gorgeous photo of her newest model, and that granny-square scarf caught my eye. She told me she's granny-square mad, and can't stop making them -- and has been crocheting granny-square belts out of embroidery thread! That is some serious granny-square dedication, and I can't wait to see them.

Also, I've decided what to do with all that Manos. I'm donating it to the Mother Bear Project, which provides hand-knitted teddy bears to children with lives affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations. I realized that it would just languish here (with a lot of other languishing yarn) so off it goes.

My Circle of Friends

I think maybe the world is getting smaller. This occurred to me the other day when I saw Sylvester Stallone on The View. He was totally pumped, sitting between Barbara Walters and Joy Behar, talking up the new Rambo movie. He's smart and funny, but there just seemed to be a disconnect. Or just an odd mix of people. Maybe it's just me. I prefer Rocky to Rambo anyway, and really only the first Rocky at that.

Then yesterday, I took Maudie and her friend to Hot Topic at the mall, where you can buy a Ramones t-shirt and a Sex Pistols t-shirt and a plethora of t-shirts with other images, old and new. Looking at Sid Vicious over the bobby-pinned heads of two 11 year old girls kinda felt like I had just passed myself in a narrow hallway. But the girls weren't interested; they wanted Save the Planet and Hello Kitty. Bollocks.

Sid, Rocky, Sly, Dee Dee, Hello Kitty -- it's all okay with me. Old friends who, wierdly, turned up in the same 24 hour period.



I got started on the first strip of the Circle of Friends baby blanket from LMKG last week. It's row upon row of lovely garter stitch, which is just right for showing off the neat squares of color. We've got six knitters lined up, three of whom are kids, to crank it out by the end of February. It's seven colorways of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. We recently replaced a caramel color with a cotton candy pink, since the recipient is most definitely a girl.

This is definitely tv knitting, so tonight I'll start the second strip, act my age and watch the next Jane Austen on "Masterpiece".

Adding Insult to Injury

Thanks so much to all who sent get-well wishes to me and get-lost wishes to Casty. I did break down over the weekend and tried to do a little knitting. I did two rows on the Clapotis. Not only was it slow and laborious, but I felt like I was knitting with my shoe. At the end of row two I realized that my right thumb was also starting to hurt. Enough said. 28 more days and I can resume my knitting life.

In the meantime, I've been fretting about all the Christmas knitting that won't get done, cleaning and de-crumbing the toaster, and looking for other ways to use the yarn around the house.

Here you see some lovely fragrant rosemary from a friend's amazing kitchen garden -- all tied up to dry with Cherry Tree Hill Supersock. Tomorrow I'll tie up the rest -- thyme, oregano, sage and tarragon. All is not lost!

Cast On

It seems ironic, doesn't it, to start a knitting blog when there is no knitting going on. For the next four weeks. Instead, I've got Casty, stylishly purple, yes, but not at all knitter-friendly.

Casty is healing an ulnar sprain in my thumb, an injury common to skiers (which I'm not). It's a repetitive stress injury to the ligament, and mine comes from knitting. I had one last summer, in my index finger, which didn't require casting, only a small brace. It made knitting a little tricky, but not impossible.

So I've been spening my time on ravelry, queuing up project after project, organizing my stash, winding yarn and counting the days until I say goodbye and good luck to Casty.