CERN Rap from Will Barras on Vimeo.
Sayeth Ajay, in a thread on Making Light:
A euro is a nocturnal marsupial of the kangaroo family, just over a metre long and weighing up to 35 kg (80lb). It is highly adapted to desert living and requires little food or water to survive. It makes a loud hissing noise.
Yes, it is. Really.
Last weekend, Dan and I went up to North Conway, for our first anniversary. (Well, close enough - the day itself was Monday, and I had to teach that night.) We stayed at Stonehurst Manor, did some hiking, and swam in the pool. Our plan had been to get going early-ish on Friday, so that we could maybe go swimming/hiking/something along the Kanc. The early thing didn’t happen, and then I’m pretty sure that everyone in Boston was trying to go to NH for the weekend. Traffic was gross, both along 128 and on I-93.
Saturday we climbed Mt. Avalon, and watched the Conway Scenic at the crossing in Bartlett, and swam in the pool at the hotel. I need to go swimming more.
Sunday we climbed up to Champney Falls (have I been there before? Mom? It felt vaguely familiar… but falls all look alike), which was gorgeous. Stunning. Wow. Totally will do that again if I’m there after a rain (instead of late in the summer when everything is dry).
Also on Sunday, I got Dan and his mad photography skillz to document some knitting.
First, socks!
These are the Spring Forward socks, in Auracania Ranco Multi. I like this colorway a lot - it’s the “rainbow” colorway, but the colors are all very muted and low-saturation. I also like this pattern a lot - the squiggles are a lot of fun and the stitch pattern is easy to memorize. The pattern also shows up well even in the multicolored yarn, which is always a plus. I might do more repeats on the leg if I were to do these over - there’s plenty of yarn left and I really prefer my socks a little longer than these.
And then, a sweater!
This is Cece, by Bonnie Marie Burns (from ChicKnits, who have all sorts of lovely stuff), in Gedifra Merino Cotton. The yarn is from Mom’s and my trip to WEBS in the spring, in which there was serious stash enabling going on. But, eight balls of the Merino Cotton has turned into this lovely sweater, which is a pretty substantial inroad on the pile.
Notes: I made the body two inches longer than called for (cause I’m tall!), and still got a cropped silhouette. If I wanted this to feel like a more traditional-length cardi I’d have to add at least two or three inches more, and then the shaping would all change. (The shaping starts at the waist and goes up, so you only ever increase - this works because of the cropped length but wouldn’t in a longer sweater.) I made the three-quarters length sleeves, which are still a little on the short side, but I was afraid of running out of yarn. They’re also a little snug at the cast-on edge.
I wasn’t nuts about the lace pattern until I finished it. I’m still not wild about it up close, but the overall effect I like better than I expected. Yay! And the yarn is a beautiful color. It’s a bit splitty to work with, but not too bad. I machine washed the finished sweater(cold water, delicates setting), and the yarn bloomed… and shrank (my swatch only did the first of those). The fabric ended up feeling much sturdier (which was a goal), and the sweater was a bit more fitted than I’d anticipated. It’s stretched out a bit, and right now seems to fit just right, but I don’t think I’ll toss it in the washer again.
What has Abby made in the last five months? All sorts of stuff!
A baby sweater:
Boy Oh Boy, by Carol Scott, in Dream in Color Classy. This is the In Vino Veritas colorway, leftover from my Central Park Hoodie. The pattern calls for one skein of Classy, and when I weighed my FO, it was exactly 114 grams. Be careful if you decide to size it up any. Wooden buttons from Jo-Ann’s Fabric, cheap but they look good.
Socks for Dan:
Lonnie’s Sports Socks, by Rebecca Mercier, in TOFUtsies. This yarn wears like iron, but I really don’t enjoy working with it. (I have another pair of socks for D languishing due to this factor…) The pattern is great, makes sorta a waffle-weave texture, but the colors were perhaps a bit much for it.
Socks for me:
Jaywalkers, by Grumperina, in Socks That Rock Mediumweight. This Monsoon colorway was the first sock club colorway of 2007. It didn’t want to be the club pattern, nor at least one other thing that I tried. It finally decided to just follow the crowd and be jaywalkers. Love the way it striped on the legs, less the way it striped on the foot, but hey, handpaints, that’s what happens.
Baby booties:
Stay-On Baby Booties, by Kristen Nicholas and Melanie Falick, in Lisa Souza Sock!. Leftovers from the first socks I ever made for Dan. For baby Liam (who was nameless at the time).
A mesh bag:
Elisa’s Nest Tote, in a mysterious blue-and-white tweedy cotton yarn that I think I got as a Christmas present from Dan’s parents a few years ago. This pattern is (as many people have noted) very, very, very stretchy. Make with care.
A lace scarf:
Lace Ribbon Scarf, by Veronik Avery, in Knitting Notions Merino Laceweight, a lovely heavy-laceweight kettle-dyed yarn. Love this scarf, love this pattern, love this yarn. Love.
Fingerless mitts:
Pulsewarmers with Falling Leaves, by Alexandra Brinck, in Berocco Ultra Alpaca. I went back and forth for a while on whether this yarn wanted to be this pattern or not. I was concerned about the fluff factor of the alpaca covering up the pattern too much. Final verdict was that it was a good pair, and since they’re knit to a tighter gauge than recommended for the alpaca, they’re warm warm warm.
A squooshy hat:
I more-or-less improvised this pattern. It’s a simple cable rib, done in squooshy pink yarn. Auracania Limari is way too warm to photograph in July (in case you were wondering). I have plans to make a matching set of wristwarmers with the other skein of this that I have (part of the great WEBS excursion of April 2008).
Rustic-feeling mittens:
The mittens from Chunky Winter Set, by Amy King. Made in handpsun wool/silk/alpaca that I got at NH Sheep and Wool. I adore the texture of these, and this is a really functional basic mitten pattern.
What I did on my winter vacation.
Towards the end of December, Interweave made the pattern for the Central Park Hoodie available from the new online pattern shop. I know it’s a “trendy” knit, and everyone and their mom has made one (there’s almost a thousand entered on Ravelry), but I like the simple cabled lines, and the hood, and I think it’s just cute as anything. So I’m a sheep. Baa.
I printed the pattern and picked out the yarn (Dream in Color Classy, color In Vino Veritas, gorgeous burgundy-red hand-dyed, superwash, worsted-weight merino), and tossed it in the suitcase to take to Gabon. Two weeks of travelling and lounging meant that most of it was completed by the time we returned home. This is a some-assembly-required sweater. You make the back and both fronts, and then sew the shoulder seams and pick up stitches to make the hood. Then the arms are added, and you pick up stitches along both fronts and the hood edges to make edging/button bands.
I actually swatched for this, and washed my swatch (in a sink in our hotel in Libreville), and found that, as usual, I need to go down about two needle sizes. I did the ribbing on a US 4, and the body on a US 6. It was worth it, as it fits beautifully, and exactly as I had in mind.
The buttons were the last to be done, and I don’t have any photos with them. The whole thing’s been done for more than a month, though, and I’ve worn the hoodie almost everywhere. The yarn is starting to pill a bit, especially where the arms rub the sides, but I’m (so far) okay with it.
Other knitting:
Lenore
Most of the photos (the ones hosted on http://spinfire.smugmug.com, that are 3×2 aspect ratio) are Dan’s and used w/ his license.
The game: You are assigned a target. The pattern is released. When your target receives a finished hat, you’ve killed them. If you receive a finished hat before you’ve finished yours, you’ve been assassinated, and must send your unfinished hat to your assassin. They complete it and send it to your target, if, of course, they are not themselves killed. Last knitter standing wins.
My weekend:
Friday, I snag one of the remnant balls of KP Merino Style and swatch, as gauge has been decreed to be grounds for disqualification of a weapon (hat).
Saturday, the pattern is released. I have plans already to spend most of Saturday playing 1856. The good thing: Knitting and 1856 go together very very well. The bad thing: In driving to Acton, I lose an hour and a bit of knitting time. I finish long after the post office has closed.
Sunday, there is no mail, no FedEx, no nothing. I consider driving to my target’s house and delivering the weapon by hand. I decide that any target living north of Burlington is better dealt with by the USPS, and prepare the delivery.
Monday, my hat hits the mail. My target is going down. I get a message from my assassin warning me that she overnighted my hat and I’m going to be dead on Tuesday. I prepare real, from scratch, sharp cheddar macaroni and cheese as a last meal.
Tuesday, about 9am, a knock on the door. FedEx. I’m dead!
It’s a very lovely hat though.
