P&PS

I'm taking a couple of days off from the '30 Days of Knititng' meme for the holiday.  Before I go and leave you all hanging (trust me my stash isn't that interesting) I figured I'd do one more post.  Sort of a 'which of these don't belong' type deal only not as all of the following go together. Let me set the scene first.  It's a late fall/early winter afternoon, gray and a bit rainy.  You have a fire going or a row of candles laid out on the table beside you.  You're sitting by the window looking out at the fallen leaves and the deep blue of the mountain in the distance.  You're sitting in a rocking chair with your favorite blanket and a cat purring nearby.  You have the stereo on, a cup of your favorite tea steaming next to your latest book and a basket full of yarn and a new project freshly cast on.  This is where the following comes in. The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow (above) is the first single off their new album.  If it's ...

Do you have a “Knitter Hero” or someone that is just way too awesome for their own good? Do share!  Becca 's my favorite knitty person but this really shouldn't surprise anyone.  She's a horrible enabler (and I love her for it), she's forever knitting and sharing the sordid details with me, and she loves her wool as much as I do. As for the celebrity bloggers of knitty awesome, Yarn Harlot 's a fav of mine.  Her sense of humor rocks my socks (no pun intended, her knitting is shiny and awesome, and um, hi Canada!

Do you have a favorite pattern or designer?  If we were talking about sewing I'd be directing you all over to Bridges on the Body so you could all stare at the pretty and wonder, like me, why you don't own a copy of Corsets and Crinolines .  We're not though so I should probably get back on topic before I go off on some crazy ramble. As I mentioned I recently purchased a copy of Judy Sumner's book Knitted Socks: East and West.  The socks are absolutely gorgeous, definitely some of my favorites.  While I was trying to decide if I did in fact want to buy the book, I ran across Modern Top Down Knitting by Kristina McGowan.  I've been itching to get my hands on it ever since.  I have yet to actually see a hard copy of the book and I can already tell it's going to be my new favorite.

What fiber or yarn do you love working with?   Hands down, without hesitation, WOOL.  Seriously anything that comes from one of these guys: I've always loved wool.  I'm not sure why, maybe because it's warm.  Surprisingly though it wasn't my first choice when I started knitting.  That was until I actually knit with it.  I fell head over heels in love.  There was no turning back.  Nothing compares to the experience, the texture, the weight, the slight elastic nature of the yarn.  It's heavenly.  Cotton's also a favorite of mine although working with it in the round tends to be a bit trying. Basically for me natural fibers are the only way to go.  I do knit with a lot of acrylic, but that tends to be what I'm gifted and I'm not one to complain.  There is some really nice acrylic out there, but I am a crunchy nature girl through and through and if natural fibers can do just as well (if not better) I seen no problem with that....

What’s your most challenging project?   Maybe I'm just insane but I always pick a project with something new, something a little bit challenging (a new lace or cable pattern, an improvised pattern).  This makes picking a "most challenging project" difficult.  There's a couple of things that to this day that allude me, like the Italian cast on (which I know is similar to Judy's magical cast on which I love but shhh) but these don't belong to any singular project. Looking at this more broadly I could say, however, that projects with lots of small parts, like toys and dolls tend to try my patience.  Working on such a small scale requires lots of casting on and binding off which is fine if it weren't so repetitive and if it didn't require me to eventually sew all these pieces together.  I love tedious tasks (really I do no sarcasm here), but I'm not one for final finishing details.  Maybe it's the perfectionist in me but it's been known to driv...

Your least favorite?   I generally don't finish projects I don't like.  I tend to frog them and move onto something else.  I'm having problems with my Ron Hearts Hermione hat ( Rav link ).  I love the pattern but the yarn I picked is the worst possible yarn for that project.  If I ever finish it that hat will be my least favorite project. As for completed projects or near completed projects I would have to say the computer case I've got a dozen rows left on.  It started off fine, but looking at it now the bottom section's too narrow (so it stretches something horrible) and while the cable pattern's great I'm so sick of looking at it.  Plus the texture of the yarn is disappointing.  I used the yarn (Carrousel Wintuk) for a cowl a year or so prior to starting the computer case and I love the texture and the feel of it.  Knitting it up for this project not so much.  For the cowl it's soft and thick for the computer case it's rougher, a...

What is your favorite piece that you’ve knit?  It's far from my best knitting (the majority of it was knit between 2am and noon for a 3pm deadline aka sleep deprived and between classes) but I'd have to say the final version of my Monmouth cap.  It's shorter than it should be and not quite wide enough to fit my head but it's the only hat I've made starting with roving.  I spun the wool (on a hand spindle...thankfully the spinning wheel was invented), dyed it using black walnut and knit the final cap over a span of about two months.

I'm combining these two days as the first question answers the second for the most part... How did you learn how to knit?/How long did it take from the time your learned how to knit, to finish your first project?   I had (re)learned how to crochet (from my grandma) about a year prior.  I was totally in love.  I crocheted 24/7.  The more I crocheted, however, the more dismayed I became that I couldn't make socks (at least not socks that looked like conventional socks*).  So, one day when I was more bored than bored (hard to imagine isn't it?) I asked my mom to show me.  She did and I hated it *gasp* I couldn't figure it out, it was painstakingly slow and I gave up after about an hour. I tried on and off again for about six months before I finally got it.  After frogging and reknitting the same swatch to perfection I moved on to dpns and things took off from there (even if dpns I do not love). *Note: I have since discovered this shiny book in the k...

Do you have any other WIPs (works in progress)?  I have tons.  I'm unfortunately fond of starting stuff and not finishing it. With knitting alone I'm sure I have a good dozen projects completed to some degree.  Photos below of two of my older WIPs; the headband I started last summer and the fingerless glove/mitten combo I started the prior winter (which will probably be frogged in favor of another project.  

What is currently on your needles?  As Becca's present's currently sitting in Oz land (and no one else of concern reads this blog) I feel safe answering this question.  I have a couple of Christmas presents currently in the works. I have a GSP cozy (textured stitch, with felt owl for the front), a cabled hat ( based off this ) and ribbed hat ( rav link ) currently in production.  The cozy's almost done.  The side needs to be seamed up on it (yes I knit it flat...I didn't have my circs handy *headdesk*).  The cabled hat's halfway done and the ribbed hat's just started.  Unfortunately I only have the ribbed hat with me to take photos.  No worries though I've made up for it by using one of my favorite books as a backdrop. The cable in the photo's because I'm using the magic loop method (best thing ever!)...

What was your first finished project?  I could make you a list of the zillions of projects that I started and frogged or flat out never finished but I can't tell you what the first project I finished was.  I know I spent ages knitting and frogging my first swatch.... The first project I know for certain I actually finished was my Monmouth Cap mock up for a school project (it was a bit more than a project but we'll go with that anyway).  Granted by this point I happily knit away on dpn's (thanks to the half dozen socks I had started) so I must have finished something by that point. The cap was made following a pattern by Jennifer Carlson ( Rav Link ).  The yarn used is a double strand of white acrylic I'd been gifted.  It makes for a headache of a knitting experience and a useless hat but the material is wonderfully smooth and drapey.

Meme and banner stolen from Becca because everyone knows she's a bad influence... (aka I'm not even going to attempt to top shiny circs and sparkly table of crafty <3) Day 1 : What was your first finished project? Day 2 : What is currently on your needles? Day 3 : Do you have any other WIPs (works in progress)? Day 4 : How did you learn how to knit? Day 5 : How long did it take from the time your learned how to knit, to finish your first project? Day 6 : What is your favorite piece that you’ve knit? Day 7 : Your least favorite? Day 8 : What’s your most challenging project? Day 9 : What fiber or yarn do you love working with? Day 10 : Do you have a favorite pattern or designer? Day 11 : Do you have a “Knitter Hero” or someone that is just way too awesome for their own good? Do share! Day 12 : Where do you keep your stash? Post pictures! Day 13 : Do you have yarn that you love but can’t find a project for? Day 14 : What’s the worst yarn/fiber that you’ve worked with and why?...