The Knitting Pirate

I am so glad I went to SnB last night. I’d really missed the companionship and conversation – and I made a new friend who lives near me! My favorite parts of going to a SnB are seeing what projects other people are working on, touching the yarn, looking at the patterns, and sharing tips and advice. Though it’s a wonderful community, Ravelry doesn’t quite give the same sense of togetherness as being in a room with fifteen or twenty other knitters all at once.

It took me about 45 minutes to get home, so insisting on leaving at 8:30 is the right thing to do. That gives me enough time to unwind a little bit before bed. Of course, I didn’t get very much knitting done, but I had a lovely salad and glass of wine for dinner, and a ton of fun. I’m not sure if it’s realistic to go every week, but I’m going to try to get there as often as possible. Next time, I should remember to bring pictures of the house. Everyone asked me how I like living up on the mountain, and I just grinned and said I love it!

The second Garter Rib Sock is about three inches long now, so maybe I got more accomplished than I thought. This weekend I will be attending an SCA event called Defending the Gate, run by a couple of my friends, and I’m certain that I can make a lot more sock progress there. Since the mother-to-be for whom I’m knitting the Baby Surprise Jacket will be there, and I would like it to be a surprise, I’m going to put that project away until after the weekend.

Lately I have been spending more time on Ravelry than actually knitting. This is because I have internet access from work, but I can’t sit at my desk and knit. Yesterday I re-organized my stash by breaking apart an entry that included several colorways of the same yarn, and re-listing them separately by colorway. Today I did some queue re-arranging. For those of you without Ravelry accounts, you poor things you, the next few projects include plain brown socks for Pirate-Husband, Clessidra socks for myself, and a Napramach bag (here’s a picture of someone else’s) for a gift.

I do plan to finish the four projects I have on the needles first, of course.

Then I’d also like to do some work on the progress bars that appear in the right column. There’s lots of help available and some wonderful examples of what can be done. I just haven’t had the time to work on them yet.

Tonight I’m going to SnB for the first time in a while. I’m meeting another knitter who also recently moved to Haymarket, and I’m quite excited to be seeing everyone again! It’ll also be nice to get some work done on the Garter Rib Sock. I’ve not touched it since I started the Baby Surprise Jacket, which has taken priority for knitting at home. The Sock-in-Progress, whatever it is, is always my traveling project.

There’s been so much going on lately that it’s keeping me from making significant progress on any of the knitting or spinning projects. I did get a lazy kate but I haven’t even taken it out of the box yet. Now that the bedroom is finished (with paint, if not with furniture) I think I’m going to haul the spinning wheel up there. It will make the room seem less empty, and I’m much more likely to spin if it’s upstairs, rather than hiding in the basement!

Twenty-five rows into the Baby Surprise Jacket, and I’m aching for something other than garter stitch. Knit knit knit knit. Knit knit. Knit. Knit knit knit. Every so often there’s that respite of knit two together – a stitch I don’t particularly like. Knit knit knit.

On the positive side, I love how the colors are playing out. I am thrilled with the softness of the yarn and the drape of the fabric. I am really looking forward to giving this one to the mother of its recipient. Not only does it seem like it will be something she will love, but I know she is one of the friends who can appreciate the work it takes to knit a sweater.

The only thing I feel bad about is that I’m not working in superwash wool. I may include a bottle of Eucalan with the sweater, and of course washing instructions.

Knit knit knit knit. Knit knit. Twenty-five rows is approximately 25% complete. I can do this.

Friday evening after work, I decided it was time to get started on a Baby Surprise Jacket. I’m using merino worsted from 100purewool in Trieste, a dark green with blips of light and dark pink. First, of course, I had to wind up the yarn. But where was my swift and ball-winder? Certain that it was in one of the boxes labeled “Pirate’s Room,” I searched for half an hour with no luck. Finally I called Pirate-Husband. “I remember putting them in one of the giant boxes,” he said, “I think on top of all the alpaca fleece.” Sure enough, there it was! I wound up one of the hanks and got started. Swatching on a US 7 needle gave me a good gauge and feel, so I cast on… and then it was bedtime.

Saturday morning I was up early and got started knitting. When Pirate-Husband got up, I told him, “This yarn I’m using is soft like.. like.. a horse’s nose.”

“That’s a really funny way of describing it,” he said. “A horse’s nose? Really?”

“Yeah! You know, the tip of a horse’s nose, right between the nostrils, where it’s all velvet soft? This yarn feels like that.”

Later, when he came up to see my progress, I made him pet the yarn, and he said “Huh! It *does* feel like a horse’s nose!”

I may be crazy, but at least I know my softness indicators.

Anyway, I only got six rows into the project because the weekend was dedicated to painting the great room. It’s done now, except for a little bit of touch-up on the edges. I’ll be so happy when the house stops looking like a construction site!

Edited to add: See that comment? It’s so obviously spam, but it’s so amusing to me that I’m leaving it there. “Infernal pink” indeed!