Madrona 2008 Part 1 & Nihon Homework

Wow. Time flies!

Has it really been a week since Madrona was over?

Ruth and I went down to Tacoma the afternoon of February 13, 2008. When we arrived I saw many familiar faces. It is so nice to walk into a hotel and see many people I knew. We checked into our respective hotel rooms. Ruth had some knitting she wanted to get done.

I met for the first time Jen Black, from Connecticut. She is a member of a group that I am also a member of, Fiber Traditions. She needed a place to stay just for Wednesday night so she shared the room with me, Ellen Gowey and Michale Crooks. We met and decided to head over to the Museum of Glass. To get the museum we walked over the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.



Most of the exhibits were closed but it was nice to get to know Jen better. I felt like I have known her all my life.

That night Jen, Deb, Karla, Ellen, Ruth and I went to Paddy Coyne's for dinner. That was really delicious! I remember Sandy raving about this place and it is very good.

From this point on, the whole Madrona experience becomes somewhat of a blur!

I met so many wonderful people it is a bit mind boggling.

I didn't sleep well a number of nights before Thursday. I knew I was going to be emcee/moderator at the Thursday night, Charity night. I was very nervous about it.

Despite my mortal fear of Thursday night, I had class all day with Janel Laidman. The class was Spinning a Painted Skein. It was an excellent class! I learned so much and am looking forward to practicing what I learned(you know..in all my spare time)!

This photo is of her holding up the fractal stripe sample which was highlighted in Spin-Off magazine.



After class I went straight to the room to continue to practice my speech for that evening. Melinda came into the room and we talked until it was time to go down to the room where the evening's event was going to happen. She was also going to speak a bit about Shetland. It was nice to have a speaking buddy to share my nerves with.

This is what I saw when I entered the room. I became even more nervous!



The people on the panel that night are fabulous people. I felt honored to be able to share the stage with these folks. The evening was Charity Night but it was also about Global Connections and how we can use the power of the internet to benefit the greater good of our communities.

I spoke about how many of the people on the panel became connected via the internet..how I met Melinda last year in line at Madrona. Via her blog, Purlwise, I was able to see a design by Ruth Sorensen. I couldn't get a hold of Kauni yarn at that time so I emailed her and Ruth sent me the yarn. Then another reader, Margaret, in Manhattan, saw the Kauni Cardigan and had to knit it. Then Stephanie(yes, that Stephanie) saw Margaret knitting it at a yarn store event and she had to knit it. We all know how the Kauni Cardigan spread through the internet like wildfire once Stephanie posted about it! I connected with Ruth and asked her if she would like to experience an American knitting conference, Madrona Fiber Arts, and she decided that she would like to make her first visit to the US. Then I got to thinking....she is a fabulous designer so maybe she could actually teach at Madrona. Then I hooked Ruth up with Suzanne Pedersen and that is how Ruth got here!

Ruth Sorensen talked a bit about how the internet has changed her life.

The highlighted charities for the night were Doctors without Borders presented by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.

The Mother's Day Project - Anne Landre. This woman is a dear. I felt a connection with her right away(she was good at calming my nerves, just by her peaceful face and kind smile). During her presentation the tears just flowed and I almost could not stop them. Seeing the names of soldiers that have died in the Iraq war, all embroidered on fabric, just hit me hard.

The Shetland Textile Working Museum in the Shetland Islands - Melinda Mullins and Mary Adams. Joyce James was also involved but she did not present that night. They have taken up the cause of the Museum to preserve the origins, history and traditions of Fair Isle Knitting for future generations after visiting the Shetland Islands.

Caring for Kids - Diane Formoso started this local group more than 15 years ago when, as a school bus driver, she saw so many children in need. It has blossomed to provide clothing and many essentials to young children in need.

After the Charity event, the folks that had their Kauni Cardigan on came up for a group photo. Here we are:



I have much more to write about but I have to get to my Nihon Homework so I will continue the Madrona post later.

Now a quick note about Nihon Homeowork....well...

I am a bit behind(what else is new?). Yesterday I had a setback. I had started the back of the round neck cardigan. All was going well.



Notice the seed stitch on the sides? I wanted to make things easier on myself with regard to sewing up the sides. I figured if I did seed stitch, it would be easy to match up the pattern for sewing.

So while I was watching Season 2 of 24, I realized the sides were not going to look how I wanted them. The seed stitch was going to be so glaringly different than the rest of the sweater patterning. I sat. I thought. I watched Jack Bauer. He is so brave...so I decided...hmmmnnn..maybe I could be brave in my knitting.

I could fit half of the leafy pattern repeat on the sides in place of the seed stitch and NO I was not going to rip out the whole thing.

I decided to rip out just the section that needed re-doing. Luckily I had just enough stitches for 1/2 of the pattern repeat. I have done this kind of fixing before. As all things related to Nihon, it took much longer than I had anticipated.

Warning: The next photo is not for the those affected by gory photos....



Now I am knitting back up in the new and improved pattern.



Now it is all better...looks a lot better, don't you think?



I have to knit all day today. Time is running out.

Next week is a big one at work. Beginning tomorrow I will be building our production budget database, filling it up with all kinds of good budget data. I'll have a number of late nights(hopefully not too many). I just hope all goes smoothly.

Ruth also just has a few more days here. I wish the "big" week at work was not coinciding with Ruth leaving. Even though she is staying with me and the boys, I probably won't see much of her!

Wish me luck!

Ruth Sorensen is Here!

I have a break from my busy time here at the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat. I thought I would take some time to tell you a bit about my time with Ruth Sorensen.

I picked Ruth up on Monday February 11 at the airport - we agreed to meet at baggage claim. She had to navigate through passport control and I did not anticipate it would take so long. I was getting worried. After all, what would I do if she was not on this plane? How would I find her? No need to worry. She finally got through Passport Control an hour and 15 minutes after her plane landed.

I agreed to wear my Kauni Cardigan so she could recognize me. We met and it was so lovely to finally meet her in person.

While Ruth was retrieving her bags I was standing around waiting when I get a tap on the shoulder. I turn around and this woman asks me if I am going to Madrona. I said "how did you know?". She pointed to my sweater. I asked her how she knew! She said "oh blogs and all that!". She too was going to Madrona. She had just returned from Vienna, was going home to Paulsbo and then she was heading off to Madrona! How cool is that!! Another connection made, to another knitter, just based on our love of knitting. How wonderful.

Ruth is an absolute dear, dear woman. She is easy going, funny and very nice. I am lucky to get to know her better! Even after being up for close to 24 hours she was completely charming!

Here is a photo of some of her lovely hand knit items, of her own design.



Some of her hats...

She made these adorable pins...



Greg took her sightseeing on Tuesday. I had to work so Greg played tour guide. He took her to the Ballard Locks and the Pike Place Market. Then the ladies of Village Yarn and Tea took us out to dinner.



From left to Right: Ellen, Ruth, Kari, Victoria, Deb

Wednesday we hung out a bit at home before heading down to Tacoma.

Here she is hanging out with Chase(he is a very good doggie ambassador).



This next photo is kind of funny. Here is Ruth taking a picture of this huge prawns we ate. She was amazed at how large they were. She joked that everything in America is big. So she had to take a photo of these HUGE prawns.



I have so much more to "talk about". Madrona has been a whirlwind of activity. I am going to take this morning to relax before I go help out with Ruth's hat class this afternoon. I will post again soon....

Relapse Week(but Kauni is done!)

I must tell you something that cracked me up on my last post about losing my brain. Yarnsnob makes me laugh. In an e-mail she said something about being "crackers". I just love English terms and humor. Why? I don't know. I just love thinking "I'm crackers". Anyone else love English terms and humor? Or is that humour!?

Naomi here. Remember me? The recovering perfectionist?

Uh. yeah. Sometimes the best laid plans....go awry! Ok, I know. Personal growth does not happen over night. You get conscious of an *issue*. You realize you have some personal work to do. That is the first step. Then you forge ahead with your new intentions. At least that is how it works for me.

My current issue. Working on not having the need to have everything *perfect*.

I KNOW life is to be enjoyed and cherished. I do take time out of every day to ponder on the things I am grateful for. Yet I have this crazy need to have things perfect. When guests come over...no dust bunnies should be seen by human eyes. There should be no dust on tables, window sills, on ledges of frames, etc. There should be clean towels in the bathroom. (My monthly knit buds know one time there were NO towels in the bathroom! I was mortified but they never came out of the bathroom saying..hey gnome, where are the towels?). Basically the house should be spotless. I'm trying to let this go and actually NOT purposefully clean before guests come over - I'm trying really hard to let this kind of thing go.

So with regard to knitting this week...I did not fare so well in the letting go department. I had started the Serendipity socks for the first 2008 installment of the BMFA Rockin' Sock Club. I did the short row heels with the W&T method as specified in the pattern. I thought, I do not like the way the W&T looks but I continued on. I wanted to let it go. It wasn't perfect or up to my eagle eye standards but I just coached myself. Just keep going. It WILL be ok.

I kept thinking about it. I thought about it some more. What did I do? Can you say relapse?

I frogged it. I have always wanted to do Priscilla Gibson-Roberts short row heel version. I have the book Simple Socks Plain and Fancy but I could never quite understand the instructions. Luckily my friend Melinda has a very nice tutorial on this method on her website. I followed her photos along with the book and I was successful at this method. In fact for me, it is much easier to read the stitches and see what I am doing with this method than with the W&T method.

Doesn't this technique look good? I like it.

How else did I relapse in my non perfectionist knitting? Well....

I finished the Kauni Cardigan. YAY! Here she is blocking on the wooly board.

I have a lot to say about this project. I apologize for being verbose but I have a lot to say about this fun project.



This photo shows how I used my clover blocking pins(which I LOVE!) to straighten the bottom cast-on edge which was still curling during blocking. I just stuck these pins along the edge to keep it straight and it worked very nicely. No more curling.

I picked up for the neckline. I love the Nihon Vogue technique for picking up. I used to hate picking up for a neckline before Nihon Vogue....trying to count and figure out how many stitches to pick up 2 for every 3 stitches, blah blah blah. Now it is easy and straight forward for a round-neck. You should try it. You might never struggle with neckline picking up again(sounds a bit like an infomercial doesn't it? Can you hear Billy Banks of Oxyclean saying "You will never struggle with picking up neckline stitches again. Just use Nihon Vogue!").

When you pick up, just pick up one stitch for every stitch. No more figuring out 2 for every 3. Count how many stitches you now have on the needles. You do want to at least get close that you have the same number of stitches from shoulder seam to center front on right front and left front.

So you count the total number of picked up stitches. On the next row(pattern row) decrease 10%. That is it. I have done it on all my vest and crewneck projects and now on the Kauni Cardigan. Works like a dream(I must have commercials on the brain - like the sleep aid Lunesta commercial..Lunesta, works like a dream. Yarnsnob, maybe I truly am crackers!).

Here is the perfectionist relapse part. I did the neckline 3 times. The first frogging I did was because of the color combination choice I used to do the ribbing. First I did deep purple against the lime green. I got almost completely done and the color difference was just too stark compared to the rest of the sweater. Then I tried the color it is now. I like it but....when I was done and tried it on, I saw an area where the pattern did not look exactly the same on the left front neckline decrease and the right front neckline decrease...you can easily see because of the pattern of the squares. So I took it out again and what you see in the photo is the "third time is the charm".

Now for the cast-off edges. I did the invisible cast-off for the sleeves which is a method I learned in the Nihon Vogue class. Why did I do this? I want these edges to have some give/stretch to them. So I used this handy dandy bind-off. You bind off similar to kitchener(using a tapestry neeedle or bodkin). Some folks have asked if I can tell you how to do this. I'm not sure I can. I will have to ask Jean.

I did the regular knit cast-off for the neckline and the button bands because I want these edges to remain firm and NOT stretch.

The buttonhole technique I used was Kevin Ames version of EZ's One-Row Buttonhole. His technique is detailed out in Sweaters from Camp. I'm not in love with the results of this technique. So I guess I am letting go *just a tad* because I left them as is. I'm thinking I should have taken Jean's Buttonhole class at Madrona! The buttonholes are just *ok* to me.


I'd love to hear anyone that has a good buttonhole technique for two color fair isle. I looked in all my books and most techniques are pretty standard.

Here is the finished sweater with all the buttons. I used buttons I picked up at Beppa Buttons...the place that opens only 2x a year. I love this sale but after the first time I went I have not been back because I spent a lot of $$ on buttons. I like the idea of not using all the same button(all vintage). No two buttons are the same..the only button I am not sure about is the button at the top. I liked it because the outline was like the outline the squares in the pattern, except it is a circle.

I can't wait to wear this! It is just so cheeful and fun!

Lost My Brain

If you have seen it around lately, can you please let me know where I left it?

I need more time!

There is so much I want to knit. Don't you wish you could either have more time to knit or to have extra arms and hands so that you could knit more?

Do you ever want to not go to events and gatherings because you would rather knit? Although I have a very busy social life, I do have to make an effort to go to these various events. That is why I love getting together with other knitters to knit. I can be social, yet still engage in my passion for knitting.

Friday I received the first installment of the 2008 Rockin Sock Club from BlueMoon Fiber arts. I just HAD to cast-on. I had a birthday party to attend Friday night. I waited to the last possible moment to leave the house and I had to bring the socks with me(in my cute Amy's mom project bag - see my last entry).

This is my progress on the sock.

Today I could not knit on it because Greg kept asking me if I was working on homework. He would see me knitting and say "is that homework?".

Yes I worked on homework. What I have been working on is the v-neck. I added 10 additional rows to the front and back of the sweater because my last sweater was just a tad too short. I finished the sleeve cap on one of the sweaters. This photo may look a bit funky and it is because I will block out the 2x2 rib pattern. So it will widen considerably after blocking.

You notice the markers on the sleeve? One color is for matching up the rows on the front and the back side of the sleeve when I attach the sleeve to the body. I will explain more in another post. How it is calculated(what row you put these markers on) is little confusing but this helps to position the sleeve when attaching it to the body of the sweater.

This afternoon I worked on the Kauni cardigan sleeves. Ssshhh. Don't tell Greg!

I tried different things for the bind off. Here is cast-off using a regular knit bind off...


Then here is the one I decided I will use. With the color I planned on binding off I did one row K1, P1. Then I did the Nihon invisible 1x1 bind off.
Now when I look at the photo, I want to do the bind-off in the purple color for this sleeve. Darn. I need to go back and re-do this. I'll be happier with it if I re-do it.

Here are the two methods, side by side. I think the Nihon one definitely looks more "finished".

If you have not checked out Ruth Sorensen's blog lately...you need to especially if you will be taking one of her classes at Madrona or at Village Yarn and Tea(Feb 20). She has samples of all her cute hat designs using Kauni. You will be in for a treat in her design classes. Fun!

I love Blue Moon Fiber Arts

Happy Friday!

My last post showed how my 2 BMFA Laci yarns in Rook-y did not look right.

I wrote to them this morning and JoAnn who has been helping me was so responsive. I directed her to the photo and she said to definitely send the yarn back(they will pay postage) and they will send me replacement skeins.

So I will package them up and send them back. I'll post new photos when the new skeins arrive.

Another reason I love Blue Moon? I joined their Rockin' Sock Club 2008 again this year. I just got the first package today. Yee Haw.

Shhh. I can hear you guys saying "doesn't she have ENOUGH projects on the needles? Shouldn't she be doing her homework like a good little girl?". That would be yes. Does that prevent me from moving forward with these socks? NO.

I am working on rebelling more! :) Rule followers beware. Naomi is on her way to breakin' the rules! (I know. I'll break the rules for about 5 seconds)

I got a new sock bag, sewn by Amy's mom. These are great. They are lightweight, they have a snap yarn guide inside, drawstring closure and a handy dandy hooky thingy so you can hook it to belt loops. It also has a wristlet thing a ma bob if you want to carry it around your wrist. So versatile.

I have to put a new project in there or else it might feel lonely. So I have to start the BMFA rockin' socks(the only clue I'll give you is they are called Serendipity).

Amy gave me a different one for Christmas and I love it. Then she put some up for sale this past week and I had to have this one because it had pink, brown and green colors. Amy - I used your photo - hope you don't mind!

Well last night I met up with Ellen, Melinda and Amy. Amy brought some additional bags her mom had made. While I was looking at some stuff in the store, Ellen had picked out a bag that she wanted. It was the same one I have. No freakin' way.

I was just aghast. Not again. Yes. Ellen had chosen *my* bag. Although Ellen and I are not like Peggy and Rebecca, true twins, somehow through cosmic forces Ellen and I got separated BEFORE birth.

I really want to post a photo of the new Blue Moon Rocking Sock Club 2008 installment but I won't be a spoiler. I don't know how to do one of those fake photos that says "spoiler alert" and you click on it if you want to really see it. If someone knows how...drop me a line and tell me how.

Do these look like the same colorway?

The very last day of 2007 I made an order with Blue Moon Fiber Arts. The last hurrah of 2007.

The reason for my order(do I need a reason?) is I had it in my mind to do Irtfa'a. If you have not seen this design, you must. It is the perfect design for Blue Moon's Raven colors.

Ellen and I decided to do this(I know...when?). So then we had decide what Raven color we wanted.

Originally I waffled between Rook-y and Korppi. I decided Rook-y. Mind you this was not an easy decision. I looked on blogs, on Ravelry and on Blue Moon's website. Finally I made a decision. Rook-y.

I waited for Ellen's e-mail letting me know her decision.

Lo and Behold, she was waffling between Rook-y and Korppi and had decided on Rook-y.

I was surprised, yet not.

You must understand something about Ellen and me. We have these very scary similar tastes. We gravitate to the same patterns. I thought "our color choices can be very different so we probably won't pick the same color". True to our "twin-ness", we chose the exact same color. (We joke that we must have been twins in a prior life. Not just because of our tastes but our personalities as well).

Do these look like the same color? According to my order, these are both Rook-y.



In person, the skeins look very different. Not even close, really. One skein did not even have the yarn band attached. According to Blue Moon, there was some confusion with our order and they wanted to make sure the 2 Rook-y's came from the same batch and that is why it took 3 weeks for the order to arrive. Hence, I was even more surprised when I opened the package because...well...."a picture is worth a thousand words". 01/23/2008-Clarification: I had contacted BMFA because it was taking so long for the order to arrive and I inquired on order status and this is what they said, "Thanks for your email. I apologize for the delay in your order going out! I was on vacation last month, and the person covering for me made in an error in sending your order to production, so only 1 Laci came through, instead of 2. So I sent it back to production to be corrected. It normally doesn't take this long". I interpreted this as them making sure the two skeins came from the same lot.

Maybe these 2 skeins sort of representative of our "twin-ness". We don't look anything like each other(except we are about the same height). Maybe these two Rook-y's are really representative of us...similar, yet different.

What would you do? Send one back? For this particular design I do not like the skein on the right in the photo. What do you all think?

Whole Lotta Knittin' Goin' On

I've been busy. At work and at home.

I have been good about tackling my Nihon homework. Here is the finished crewneck.

It fits great. All this hard work is coming together. There are things I would do differently. It is a tiny bit too short - both in the body and the sleeves.

With each project we do and finish I learn more about how much ease I like. For instance I know I like more ease in the sleeves. I hear many of my fellow students echo this as well.

This particular project we learned how to attach the sleeves to the body with a crochet hook. It is definitely more sturdy but it is time consuming. I know with experience I will get faster with it but at this time, it has been taking me a couple hours per sleeve. That is because as you attach the sleeve, you look at it from the right side, take it out if you don't like it and re-do.

I read the blog Knitspot from time to time and I recognize the pattern of her paris-roubaix mitts, hat, and scarf...look familiar? See her January 17, 2008 post.

So because I got SOME homework done, here is some fun knitting projects I am working on(I get to work on as a treat when I do some Nihon homework.

The project that I MUST get done before Madrona is my Ruth's Kauni Cardigan! I am almost done with the second sleeve. The sleeve will be done tonight. I am going to re-do the cast off of the first sleeve. I am going to use the invisible cast-off we learned in Nihon class.

January 1, 2008 Ellen and I started the Pi Shawl from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac - the July project. Our current plan is to do one row per night. We both have a lot of other knitting to do so one row per day is something I can commit to. This is addicting though! It is the food equivalent of potato chips. I just want to do more but I have to limit myself! I am doing it in Malabrigo's Baby Merino Wool in the Hollyhock colourway. This is oh-so-soft!



I am also doing some fair isle. The Feral's group is doing a sock or tam project. I am doing Sandy Blue's Midnight Sun Tam. Although I am not a "tam person", a fellow Nihon student and Feral knitter, Andrea, made this tam and blocked it on bowl so that the result was more like a hat than a tam. That I would wear. Here is the start of it. I will only probably work it when I attend Ferals every other Monday night. Our *due date* is April 1, 2008. This is a special date for me. I met Greg on April 1....8 years ago.



I want to start some socks...namely something from Cat Bordhi's latest book. I happened to record an episode of Knitty Gritty that had Cat on demonstrating the Coreolis sock. I want to start that. Note: Hey Amy...how are your letter stitch markers coming along for Cat's techniques??? :)

I just got some beautiful yarn from Sundara. I am a member of her Season's Club. I chose the Summer colorway. I must say that because you choose a season, the colors you get are going to be something you love. I have loved each and every installment. I have been a member of a few sock clubs and some intstallments I like, some I am just ok with. With Sundara's Season's club...I have LOVED each one of them. I will definitely re-new if she decides to continue with it.

Here is a quicky photo of the latest installment - sock yarn...this will be perfect for coreolis.


Now for the non-knitting content.

Beanie is looking so darn cute. He just got a haircut. I just have to share a photo of him.

Ok, another one.



I got a new toy this weekend. All I can say is I love this thing. I wasn't too up on the iPhone. I know Amy raved about hers. This is an early Valentine gift from my husband. He got one too. His birthday is Feb 4. This whole trip down the iPhone road is all his fault(of course!). He has corrupted me!!

Amy, I can relate now!

Of course my wallpaper had to be of Chase and Beanie. Aren't they cute???

Quick Post - Vest is Done!

Ok folks. The vest is done. It turned out better than I expected. Still don't like the yarn. It is already pilling and I haven't even worn it yet. Plus it shows every bodily flaw known to woman-kind. Yes I have put on 10 lbs in the past year and I don't want to highlight it!

I'm very happy with the fit. Amazing how it all works out. Do a guage, knit to measurements and the thing fits well! I keep harping on guage to people. It is so important. Even though I have had issues with this vest it fits well because I measured the guage before the swatch is blocked, and after. Really. If you are going to invest time in making a garment and you plan on loving the garment by wearing it, take the time to do guage. You will never regret the time you took to make your guage swatch, because it will result in a garment that fits.

Jean actually prefers that we do two swatches. One that is blocked and one that isn't. That way if you are knitting along and the piece just doesn't look like it is going to fit, you can look at your blocked swatch to remind you of what the fabric will be like after blocking.

Here is the front:

And the back:

You may see some yarn sticking down from the ribbing. We are going to learn how to sew up the ribbing in class this weekend.

Thankfully this is done. Now tomorrow night I will block the crewneck pieces. Today at lunch I cast on and made some progress on the 2nd sleeve for the v-neck .

Students in the class got an email today from Suzanne saying that we should have all our homework completed and ready for class! I do believe I will have all my homework done for Saturday morning!

Oh. I laughed at myself and the title I chose a couple days ago, "Spinning my Wheels". I laughed because it could have meant that I actually did some spinning. No. But hopefully sometime soon. The funny thing about the classes I chose for Madrona? All spinning classes-Janel Laidman on Thursday and Judith Mackenzie McCuin on Sunday. The only knitting class I will be attending will be on Friday - I will be Ruth's helper in her Kauni design class.

I think Nihon is keeping me quite up to date on new knitting skills! My confidence is building!

Small but significant note. Thank you all for your comments. They have REALLY helped me slog through. I have learned a valuable lesson to tackle my homework early and have a plan to pace myself. I HAVE to do pleasure knitting. For me it is like having a small sweet after dinner. I have to build in time for that too! (Gotta finish my Kauni cardigan before Ruth gets here - I'm about 1/3 way done on the second sleeve - making progress on that as well)

Next session we will begin pattern drafting for project 5!

Also (yeah a quick post, uh, huh) I'm still communicating with the organization that has rescued cute little Pito, the Yorkie from Puerto Rico. He is doing well. He is eating well, his various tests have come back negative for a bunch O' stuff, he has been neutered and he is getting his teeth cleaned next week. Depending on certain factors it *may* be possible that I may have another baby in my pack. One big IF - if he would get along with Chase and Beanie and vice versa. I don't want to upset the apple cart but it might be even MORE fun to have a youngster in the house! Since Chase is 13, Beanie 11, the vet in the US thinks Pito is 4, not 1. It is heartbreaking to imagine this guy suffering for 4 years. It was bad enough thinking he'd suffered for one, but 4? No matter what happens I have comfort knowing he'll find a family that loves him - after all he should be cherished!

Into the Confessional?!

For those of you that have read my blog for awhile you know from various posts that I grew up Catholic.

Well I have to have to make a confession of sorts.

My posts from the past few days have been filled with frustration, angst, stress and hopefully some useful information here and there.

I am a *recovering* perfectionist. My background was I was the "perfect" child, "perfect" student, blah blah blah. Straight A's, played sports, was a well rounded person. I followed the rules, I did what I was told, I lived in fear of "getting in trouble" either from my parents, my sisters, elders, teachers or God(that sure covers a lot of people doesn't it?).

So with that information you can understand where my angst has been coming from. Yes I am now a 41 year old adult but I still sometimes feel like that little girl. I NEED to get my homework done AND it needs to be perfect. It needs to be A-level work. I don't want to get in trouble by my teacher for not having my homework done.

I *know* that this course is about learning. I AM learning so very much. I cannot thank Jean enough for what she has taught me so far. Even though the vest is not *quite* right, the main pieces of it fit perfectly.

I *know* that I need to let these things go. Don't sweat the small stuff they say. For a Type A, perfectionist, I mean recovering perfectionist, that is much easier said than done.

As I move forward and document my experience in this class just remember I have baggage. This is a wonderful course. We have some challenges because Jean lives in Vancouver but I would much rather slog through my demons and have this wonderful experience/opportunity than not.

This class is teaching me a lot more than just knitting. I have to remind myself to let go and not take it so seriously. I also need to learn that anything I do, perfect or not, is *perfectly* acceptable. I remember when I went to Amish country in Ohio many, many years ago. I was somewhat into quilting at the time. I just recall so clearly how these artists would do something to make their product NOT perfect because only God is perfect.

I feel a lot better now. For all those perfectionists out there ( I won't mention names but I do know more than just a few ) I hope this helps you get perspective on what is important in life. It is the journey, not the destination and for me, it is the relationships I establish along the way...like those folks that take the time out of their busy days to see what I'm up to, and my fellow students, and teacher, who are daring to really challenge themselves in this art form.

Spinning My Wheels!

The vest is a fiasco(no photo - it looks terrible to me). ,,I don't like the yarn(it shows every uneven stitch, totally unforgiving), this is not my best work and it seems that no matter what I do, this is going to be a disappointment. I hope this doesn't sound whiny. It is just the truth.

I think with work stress that I get into this brain space where I think I am thinking coherently and apparently I'm not. The next month at work is going to be incredibly stressful. There is still so much to do and I feel like I should be putting in extra hours but I can't with all I have yet to do for homework. This coming weekend is Nihon class so I want to be prepared. I feel pulled in two opposite directions. The rub is that I invested a lot in this class and I want to be prepared for every class so I can get the most out of it I possibly can. On top of the stress to get homeowork done, we are at a critical point in implementing this budget system. After class this coming weekend I can put in many, many more hours at work. I want to to ensure my portion of the project is ready. It just feels like I'm in a vice right now. I'm a bit on overwhelm.

My husband wonders why I get so stressed about my homework. I know from experience that once you get behind, it really is hard to catch up.

So...as my Saturday post detailed I had to frog front and back of the vest to the armhole shaping. I spent Friday and all day Saturday(from 5:30 am to 11pm) with a couple breaks here and there to finish making up for my terrible mistake.

Today I'm putting all the pieces together and I put the shoulder seams together, seam up the sides and put it on. You know what? I neglected to allow for armhole ribbing.

Translation: I didn't really make that much of a mistake before. Yes. All that re-work and apparently I was closer to where I should be with the prior pieces than where I am currently. No. I won't frog BUT...I did the short rows again, I picked up the neck again, I sewed shoulder seams again. So I got to practice the techniques again. Not all was lost but it sure is a disappointment.

So the end of the front and back pieces(unfinished) are exactly at the shoulder point. Yes Naomi. For the crewneck which will HAVE sleeves, this is the right place for the body to end. For the vest, vest AND ribbing should FINISH at the shoulder point. ARGH.

Lesson to be learned. Slow down. All the garment have to be done by the end of the course. If I am a bit behind, it is ok. If I absolutely have to I can re-knit the vest in something else before the end of term. I will talk to Jean about all this when I see her Saturday.

I will finish the vest as-is and see what she says. I'm not liking this yarn so I probably won't wear it much but I must say this....the rest of the vest fits perfectly! See, all the calculating, figuring, etc. is worth it! I'm gaining confidence(slowly). The more I do, and the more I screw up and learn from it, the more confident I feel.

I thought I would have the vest completely done early today. I'm not. I still need to do the armhole ribbing. I also thought I would have the crewneck pieces sewn. No. I still have to finish the short rows on the crewneck back, block the pieces and sew them together.

I have finished the back/front up to the armhole and one sleeve for project 4, the v-neck(see photo below). I will attempt to finish the other sleeve this week during my lunch hour. Now this yarn is lovely to work with. Berocco Ultra Alpaca.

Thanks for all the support guys!

Lessons Learned

First off, I must thank Rebecca and Punkin for your comments yesterday. That kept me going until 10 pm last night.

I realized after I re-evaluated this whole vest mess that not only did I have to frog the front but I would have to frog the back as well. How does this happen? All I can say is that I am learning. I'm learning a lot, which IS a good thing.

This is when the Nihon concepts really take a firm grip in my brain/memory. It is exciting to really get it. It can just be very hard getting there. Like any valuable lesson in life, it can be hard but the payoff can be tremendous.

I had numerous fits and starts. First problem. The needle size I documented in my notes that I used were incorrect. I firmly remembered using size 6 (4.25mm) but my notes said 7(4.5 mm). I spent about an hour knitting, tearing out, re-knitting. Ok lesson learned. Be very careful in documentation (Lesson #1)

To re-knit I had used the yarn I had just frogged. That will NOT work. I looked at the knitted piece and it looked uneven. I frogged yet again. I should have taken a photo but I didn't. I don't want to keep that memory! :)

I have one(1) yes, one more ball of this yarn. I HAD to use this last skein because the yarn that resulted in my frogging was NOT going to work.

You can kind of see it in this photo. I knit about 4 rows using the bad yarn. I hope this will block out.

Where had I gone awry? Oh...it was in many places.



In the photo about you see two curved lines. The bottom curve is the original armhole curve. The second curve is the adjust armhole which is the one I want to knit to.

After I adjusted the armhole, for the back of the vest, I started decreasing at the beginning of the second, upper curve. My fatal mistake was for some reason I looked at the decrease numbers for the lower curve(Lesson #2).

If you look at the lower curve and follow the line up to the shoulder I somehow knit to that width. The width of the shoulder should be following the line of the upper curve. This is a huge mistake. (Lesson #3)

I took the frogged yarn and wound it around my knitty noddy and spritzed it with water in hopes of it relaxing back close to the original, unused yarn. I think I *may* have enough of the one skein to finish up what I have to re-knit. I will most likely have to use the frogged yarn for the neckline and armhole ribbing.

I have not like working with this yarn and this resulting frogged yarn pretty much puts the nail in the coffin for me with this yarn. Do not use Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran for a class project. It does not have good memory plus I'm finding it pills more than I would like(Lesson #4).

I have my weekend cut out for me. I will be locked in my office.

Since 5 is my lucky number I have come up with Lesson #5. Always put homework first. No more *fun* knitting for awhile(yeah, right). Get the homework done first and THEN you can do other knitting.

Wish me luck. I have a whole lot of work to do before next Saturday.

Since we only meet every 6 weeks or so it is really hard to pace myself in what has to be done. This is one big downside of the long breaks between classes. Up in Vancouver they meet every 2 weeks I think. This would definitely help with questions and pacing. I'm finding this pacing harder and harder the more projects we are juggling at once. Maybe it was the Christmas holiday's that put a crimp in my pacing as well. I did do a fair but of non-Nihon knitting.

I gotta run. Chase and Beanie just came up to my office to tell me to come down for breakfast! I've been up working on homework since 5:30 a.m. I guess I can take a break now. First I have to unchain myself from the desk!

Small side note. I didn't want to say anything but I was going to go down to see a dog in Gig Harbor today. He's a little Yorkie that needs rescuing. He is so darn cute. My heart breaks to know his story and I really wanted to meet him. I know Greg, Chase, Beanie and I could be a great family for him. Greg tells me he will find a good home. I just think our home is the best. There is just no way I could take the time out do see him today. Next week I'm in Nihon class all weekend so I couldn't see him then either. I guess it just isn't in the cards this time. Go check out Animals In Need. It is the start of another year. Start making your charitable contributions now. They could use the help.

If you look at the animals for adoption this little guy is Pito. He just arrived in the states two days ago and yesterday he had to have his hair cut short because it was so matted. How could anyone just leave this cutie pie in the back yard to starve? I'll be thinking of him all day long, wishing I could go meet him.

It is all about learning....RIGHT?

Doofus here.

How are you?

I'm doing very poorly at the moment.

Good thing I have all weekend long (and next Friday) to work feverishly to get my Nihon homeowork done. Here I am getting ready to put my vest together and things don't look quite right.

I count. I calculate, re-calculate. I think, "Oh, this isn't SO bad".

The vest back has 4 extra rows from the end of the armhole shaping to the beginning of the short rows. Not a problem. Just take out the shoulder seams(I already took out the neck ribbing to block my vest pieces), frog back 8 rows and re-knit. Very do-able. Not a big deal.

So I count the rows in my vest front so I can mark where I need to frog back on the front and re-do the short-rows. This is what I found. Something so disappointing....I could SCREAM!

Notice where the armhole shaping begins? Well it is supposed to start on the row where the orange marker is....4 rows up from where it currently is. When I re-calculated the armhole size, I adjusted it and brought it up 4 rows. If I didn't do that the armhole would be too large.

I guess when I knit the back, I did it correctly. When I knit the front, I started at the old, unadjusted point to begin the armhole shaping. You know that that means? I have to re-do the whole vest front from the armhole shaping up.

Someone please remind me why I am doing this course.

Two gift knits and, finally, the Raglan

I've been so busy that I haven't been blogging much.

Despite lack of blogging I have been doing A LOT of knitting

Here are two gift knits.

For Christmas I knit Greg a pair of socks. I know I *said* I wouldn't knit Greg any other items since he doesn't wear them. These he wore on Christmas. I think these will actually get used/worn! I must say...these seemed to take FOR-E-VER! G's socks take a LOT longer to knit than my socks!



Details:

Yarn: Trekking XXL color 71
Needle size: US 0
Pattern: From Favorite Socks by Interweave Press. They are the Retro Rib Socks designed by Evelyn A. Clark

The pattern calls for size 2 needles. I am a loose knitter and usually have to go down 2 needle sizes to get guage. These fit perfectly.

The second gift knit was a scarf for my friend Jamie for her birthday which was December 27. She complains that I don't knit her things.

From experience I rarely knit for non-knitters. How many things I have I knit for non-knitters that opened the package and said "Oh, thanks" and then never wore the item(s). This lack of appreciation does not motivate me to knit for those that don't understand how much time and effort a hand knit item takes.

I digress.

This scarf is called the Wavy Scarf by Handmaiden Yarns. The wrapping rows were done in Handmaiden silken and the other rows were done in 100% cashmere. I did do one row in-between the wrapping rows(plain knit rows) in the silken as well. In the pdf you use just one kind of yarn. I used two. I also divided up the cashmere into two balls. This way when you go back and forth, depending on what side of the scarf you are on, you need to have the cashmere yarn on each side. I'm not explaining it well am I? Sorry.

I think it turned out beautifully! I just love these colors!

Here she is wearing the scarf. We celebrated her birthday by going to dinner at Seastar. We had a lot of fun. The food was excellent. This is a place you go for a special dinner(like a birthday) but be warned, it can get pricey! (Don't worry Jamie - you are worth every penny).

I had this really yummy spicey Mango Martini. You actually order the number of stars of the hotness you want. Very interesting. If you like spice, this is an excellent way to have a martini.

Before I leave to do extreme knitting (meaning hell-bent-fast knitting) to catch up with Nihon homework, I have to show my finished Raglan. It fits perfectly. Please forgive the photos - bad lighting in the northwest winter does not allow for good photography.

One of my goals for 2008 is to be a bit more regular in my postings!

I'd love to hear what your goals are for 2008 - knitting or otherwise.

I also want to (very badly) come up with a contest so I can give some of my coveted yarn to a very loving home! Time to face the facts. I have a whole-lotta yarn.

One more photo. I just love my boys. You all know that. Here is a photo of Chase at my last monthly knitting. He firmly planted himself next to Melinda. We thought he was drawn to the color of her knitting. Sort of matches his own coloring. You can barely see the knitting because it does blend in with Chase quite well.

Arrived on Christmas Eve! Perfect Timing!

When I got home from work, this was sitting in our living room. Yeah!!!!

I love getting things from overseas! This package was from Virtual Yarns.

Enclosed in this nice packaging was a book that I have been dragging my feet in purchasing.

It is The Children's Collection by Alice and Jade Starmore. I love the elephants design(reminds me of S.Africa). See Karen's latest blog post on December 24th, 2007. You will see the design I am talking about.

The next photo deserves a little explanation....

At my last monthly knitting gathering Melinda arrived wearing a lovely scarf. It looked so cozy and warm. It was just beautiful.

I was smitten. My brain said "I must knit this!".

Melinda was wearing the Seaweed Scarf. She did some nice blog entries on it. Here is what will be my Seaweed Scarf with 2ply Hebridean in the Wild Orchid colorway:


I absolutely love Virtual Yarns packaging. Even the tape is nice:

What? Nihon homework? Yes. I AM doing my homework! Just no details yet! I have to take photos.

Yes, I did knit something for Greg for Christmas. That photo to come as well.

For Baby Harris

Who is Baby Harris?

Baby Harris is the baby of Tony Harris. Tony was an ex-WSU basketball player that was playing basketball in Brazil when he unexpectedly disappeared. You may recall the news stories of his sudden disappearance.

Ryan, of Dulaan fame, organized a Baby Harris project. Knitters and others answered the call to make something for this baby(and mom).

Here is what I created:

Here is a close-up of the eyelash detail I added for this elephant. For some reason I just have this clear picture in my head about the elephants I saw while we were in South Africa last year. I just recall their long eyelashes.

I hope Baby Harris enjoys this little blue elephant. I also hope that Baby Harris and his/her mom knows there are a lot of folks out there that care about them. I am one of those people.

Personalized Fair Isle

I'm taking a class from Janine Bajus at Churchmouse Yarn and Tea on Bainbridge Island called Personalized Fair Isle - Choosing the Colors you Love.

Our first session was two weeks ago and we have a follow up session this afternoon.

This class is to help you choose the colors you love and apply them to either an existing design or your own design based on a color inspiration. Your color inspiration could be a painting, a photo, etc.

Here Janine is showing her Acorn Sweater(?) with her inspiration for the color. This was an interesting case because if you look closely at the photo - she has one row of the pop color and it is a very bright green. Your eye/brain does not detect it right away(not even in person). It was interesting to see her other swatches for the pop color because how it looks really is dependand on how it plays with the colors it is paired with. This is the challenge of design!

When it comes to designing with color....well that big ugly thing called "lack of self confidence" comes out like a BIG DOG!

Honestly now. I go into the class full of self doubt, nerves and thoughts like "I'm not good at this". "I can't do this". Life is like that.

You have a fear. You can either go towards it or you run away from it. I'm more the type to go towards it because life is much more fulfilling if you tackle your fears.

Janine is the right person to take a color class from. You know what that day felt like? Well it was draining because I was working with my fear(which takes a lot of energy). Then things opened up. I felt like Janine was the person that came to my prison cell(of sorts) with a key to release me from my self imposed color prison.

My approach to playing with color completely changed by the end of the day. Oh! The possibilities!!! Wow.

I love her approach to color. Yes there are "rules". Her approach is more of a playful way to navigate this huge subject. She filtered the concepts to maneageable guidelines. A person can get overwhelmed with rules but this is about fun!

I'm a rule follower(because it is safe) . I just need the nudge to say it is ok to get outside the box. It is ok to develop your own sense of color.

I learned another valuable lesson - you just need to open your eyes to color. When you look outside, at a painting, a photograph you see color. Really look at the colors. What nuances do you see? Yes, it may look the main colors in a painting are blue, red, gold, yellow. But if you were to try to describe the painting..how would you describe it? (To me this is like taking the time to smell the roses)

This is my first swatch. I chose a very difficult design for my first attempt. This is Luskentyre from Alice Starmore's A Scottish Collection. I have always been drawn to this design but the colors she chose were just too yellow for me. To to Marina's finished items for 2006 and scroll down to Luskentyre to see how Starmore conceived this design.

Keep in mind this is my FIRST attempt. More versions to follow!

I gotta run to get to class...

One more photo. How cute is this? This is from a latte' at Trophy Cupcake.

Enjoy your Sunday!