Two Words on Felting: No Superwash

I've had success felting two Kitty Pi beds for my cats. I'm into this whole felting craze. My cats are into this whole felting craze.

I love the excitement of putting this humongo knitted thing in the washer and taking it out in a completely different, yet usable, form. Call me crazy. I love it.

So when my friend Marissa found this adorable felted purse pattern and made herself this purse, I wanted in, as well.

I had just purchased some beautiful black superwash wool and had a ton of black eyelash yarn from an abandoned project. Why make another hat? I would make a fuzzy black purse instead.

It knit up in hours. I was ready to felt. But not before Acacia could examine the fluffiness of my knitted item.



Here's what it looked like pre-felted:


And here's what it looked like post-felted:

Funny. They look exactly the same.

And that's when I learned this important point: Superwash is secret knitting code for "doesn't felt."

Not with one run in the hot cycle. Not with two. Not even with THREE and an overnight soak in hot water.

Superwash. Washable yarn. Go figure. It's treated so it doesn't felt. Yet I missed this concept entirely.

The black, fluffy, stretched out non-felted purse is now in the trash. I couldn't even bother ripping it out.

Now I've got the right wool and I'm starting again...

Cascade 220 felts nicely. I know. It's what Marissa used...

You Can Take the Girl Out of New York...

This summer will be 13 years since I moved from New York to San Francisco. While I much prefer the weather and my lifestyle on this coast, I guess I'm still a New Yorker at heart...

You Belong in New York City

You're an energetic, ambitious woman. And only NYC is fast enough for you. Maybe you'll set yourself up with a killer career Or simply take in all the city has to offer.

What City Do You Belong In?

Happy Birthday. Hope You Like Your Present. Now Give it Back.

That's pretty much what I told my friend Terry when we had dinner for her birthday.

Terry had always commented on how much she liked the first poncho I knitted. So I knew that I would make her one, it was just a matter of when -- because there are two kinds of knitters: those who knit for others and those who knit for themselves. And since I fall into the second bucket of knitters (aka: the selfish bitches) finding the time to knit said poncho for Terry would prove to be difficult.

Almost a year passed before I finally took the plunge and purchased the yarn. Because her birthday is in December my procrastinating was justified. (See how naturally I justifed that??)

Once the yarn arrived I began the project. Also on deck was a matching hat. This is a really easy pattern and you can make it with Lion Brand yarn. (ewe. I know. But it works for this pattern, I swear.)

Before the poncho was finished, and before the hat was even started, I called Terry to schedule a birthday dinner where I would present her present. Dinner was approaching fast, and I just ran out of time. Not to mention, it was January. So I was late on many fronts.

What do I do?

Bring it with me anyway. Unfinished. But nicely wrapped!


Happy Birthday.

I promised the matching hat and weaved-in ends hanging everywhere would be done soon -- after she gave me back the present I just gave her. And now, almost two weeks after our dinner, Terry's birthday gift is finally complete!


Poncho




Hat


Up close view. I used a Berrocco eyelash yarn for the trim.

Is Ugly the New Pretty?

This is my completed Zephyr poncho from the Rowan Plaid book. I finished it over a month ago but didn't have the heart to post anything about it.


Rowan Plaid "Zephyr" Poncho

Why?

Because I hate it.

Is it possible that ugly is the new pretty? If so, then I'm in luck. But since it's not, I'm SOL.

All that time. All that yarn. All that money. And now I get to rip. Again.

I hate the ripping. But I hate the ugly, so I guess I'll have to rip.

My friend Marissa says to take off the fringe and maybe that will help. My husband says to post the completed disaster on ebay and hope to get 20 bucks for it. I say I'll just rip and make something else out of the yarn. One day. Like 2025.

I already have the yarn to make the Rowan "Thunder" poncho.




But I'm afraid. Very afraid...What if that one is ugly too?

What do you think?

Kntting Books, Worm Farms and Horrified Friends

My sister and I decided that we would tell each other what we wanted for Christmas this year since we are both convinced that the other is the hardest person in the world to shop for.

I asked for this:


Barbara Walker's classic Treasury of Knitting book

My sister gave me a hard time.

Suzie: "A stupid knitting book?? That's what you want for Christmas? Is that the best you can come up with?"

Me: "She who asks for a Worm Farm can't really be scoffing at my request for a Knitting Book, can she??"

Side Note: Yes. My sister really wanted a Worm Farm for Christmas.

I think her friend David, who she has been friends with since junior high, had the best comment:

David: "What the hell has gotten into you both? You scare me! One is asking Santa for a Knitting Book and the other wants a worm farm? Are you mad? Have you both lost your minds? A knitting book! A worm farm? You want a worm farm? Please... I'm going to have to order a second bottle of wine with breakfast if you keep this nonsense up any longer..."

Well, Santa did OK. I got my knitting book and Suzie got her worm farm.


Start of a scarf - the first project combining two patterns from the book

No news yet on the worm farm is coming along...or if David opened that second bottle of wine...

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to New York

I saw a "feather and fan" sample scarf in my LYS that I just had to make.

It was made with Bouton d'Or Melody, which is a mohair yarn. The only other time I knitted with mohair I mixed it with a straight wool yarn and it was really easy to knit. I was soon to discover knitting solo with mohair was a big pain in the ass.

The needles were small, the yarn was both lumpy and hairy. This pattern has a lot of K2tog's -- and the lumpy-ness and hairiness of the yarn made really difficult to see what the hell I was doing.

I started the scarf and loved the way it looked, but absolutely hated knitting it. Using my F-Factor rating system, I gave it an F-5.


Pretty. But so hard to knit...

I was leaving on a 10 day trip to NY and decided that the only knitting project I would bring with me was the Scarf of Hate. I had a 5-6 hour plane ride each way and the assumed down time during the trip. My reasoning was that if this was the only project with me, I would be forced to knit it.

And while I easily could have bailed on the project (given the trazillion others patiently waiting to be started), I didn't because I knew what the completed scarf looked like and I really wanted it.

So off to NY I went, me and my Scarf of Hate.

I knitted on the plane. Knitted and knitted. I knitted occasionally at my hotel when I had a free moment. And somewhere about day 5 of my trip, I got used to the hairy, lumpy yarn. My scarf was moving along nicely and I no longer felt the same level of hated for my yarn. You could even go so far as to say that I started to enjoy this project.

Even with a NY yarn store visit and purchase (ie: new project!) -- I continued knitting the scarf formerly known as the Scarf of Hate.


A Blurry Image of Completed Scarf of Hate No More


Close up of Feather and Fan pattern

Feather & Fan is easy. I'd like to try it next with a less fluffy yarn because I'm thinking the pattern would be even more visable. Here's the pattern if you'd like to do it yourself:

CO mult of 18 + 2 (the scarf I made was 38 on size 8 US needles)
Row 1: K
Row 2: P
Row 3: K1, *(K2 TOG) 3x, (YO, K1) 6x, (K2 TOG) 3x; REP from * to last
stitch;end K1.
Row 4: K
REP these 4 rows.

It helps to place a marker after 1st stitch and before the last stitch. This way, you can easily keep track of the 18 stitches of pattern repeat.

Kitty Pi a Little Late for Christmas

Yeah, I know. Cats don't know it's Christmas. They might be intrigued by all the wrapping and ornaments and the smells of the stuff we drag out of the attic every December -- but they have no concept of the gift giving season.

That's why I wasn't too concerned that I didn't complete my Kitty Pi in time for Christmas morning. But I did, however, finish it. While my husband likes to think it was to give our cats a belated Christmas gift, I'll let you in on a little secret: it was to get rid of the bulky yarn taking up valuable space in my yarn drawer.

I got the pattern from Wendy Knits. I bought the yarn several months ago but never had dpns in size 15. I hadn't knitted successfully on dpns before -- I normally work with two pairs of circulars, but I could just not figure out how to cast on 9 stitches and then increase in every stitch with the two circulars. I was a frenzy of wires and needles so I worked in dpns. I guess you could say I'm no longer a dpn virgin. Imagine that.

Anyway, on to the Pi. I used Paton's Up Country wool (Crazy Aunt Purl swears by the stuff and I am as bummed as she is that's it's been discontinued...)



Here's the Kitty Pi all knitted up but not felted yet.


Pre-felted with an inspection by Chance


Further inspection by Chance


Kitty Pi is now felted but not yet blocked

I only had to wash it once in the hot/cold cycle. I think next time I may try the warm/cold cycle instead because I feel like it shrunk up a bit much. (Next time? Yes, I bought enough wool for two kitty pi beds...)


Again, the inspection team at work


After blocking and drying, Moneypenny loves her Kitty Pi


She refuses to share


Beat it, Missy. This Pi is all mine. Wait for the next one to be knitted...

Who Would Do This To A Baby?

The Lion Brand yarn company. They call it "a clever baby headband" -- part of their "one-hour holiday projects."

I call it pathetic. Making this kid a fashion victim at such a young age just can't be good.

Who Invented the Phrase: Ripping is a Part of Knitting?

Because I'd like to give them a big kick in the ass, thankyouverymuch.

I haven't been blogging so much, but I have been knitting. And ripping. Lots of ripping.

I started a new seemless sweater because I fell for some beautiful orange Nashua Creative Focus Worsted 75% wool/25% alpaca yarn.

Self, I thought. I've made two of these seemless numbers so far: a crew neck sweater and a cardigan. Who's counting that I really don't wear either becasue the crew neck just looks dorky and the cardigan needs to be reblocked or reknitted or who knows -- sold on Ebay.

But I saw this orange wool and thought: Maybe three's a charm?

So I bought the wool and start making my third seemless sweater -- this time with a v-neck. I followed the pattern but altered it slightly because I wanted a deeper V than the pattern called for. How cool was I altering a pattern to adjust the V? I'm such an advanced knitter!

Not so fast hot shot.

About a third of the way through the sweater I looked at it and thought -- "WTF? Am I making this for Barbie? Because it sure looks teeny." No way this sweater is going to fit across my bust. This is an alpaca/wool blend. Not expando-elastic.

I made an emergeny trip to Urban Knitting, where I bought the yarn, and showed Helen my work-of-art-soon-to-be-disaster sweater.

Helen: "Oh yeah. This is way too small. Your gauge is supposed to be five stitches to the inch and you have five and a half."

Me: "Well, um. yeah, mumble, mumble. I know that, mumble, mumble. I just figured I would make it slightly bigger than the pattern says."

And this is when I was reminded: I am Math Challenged.

More stitches to the inch on your gauge and your project will be SMALLER, not BIGGER.

Doofus.

And so I ripped. 350 yards of beautiful orange yarn. Now nicely wound up waiting to be started again using bigger needles that give me a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch.

It was a painful lesson.

Ben is Annoyed with My Blog

As I'm sure many of my IIFs are. (That's Imaginary Internet Friends, pretending that I have some left.)

Meet Ben.
He's one of my co-workers at my not-so-new-anymore job.

His official job responsibility is to manage all of the company's PR efforts. His unofficial job responsibility is to plan all of the drinking-related events for the office.

He has a fully stocked bar here at work (hi HR -- it's locked up. really...), a "lounge" area where imbibing employees gather, and he occasionally accepts kisses from the women participants, as you can see above. He's quite the little party planner.

On top of that, he's oddly obsessed with my knitting blog.

Ben: "Stacy -- you need to update that blog. I'm sick of looking at that stupid ostrich."

Ben: "Um...Stacy...what's up with that blog? You've really got to keep that up."

Ben: "Stacy, why don't you blog about my latest press release. It's Ok that it has nothing to do with knitting. It's a great release. You should write about it."

So here is my latest entry. For you Ben. And for anyone out there who still checks in with me on the off chance I've posted something. Anything.

I promise -- I will be a better blogger. I've got so many bad knitting projects in my queue, many that have been ripped out, some that have been finished and ridiculed (ie: not sure I can wear outside my house) and others that just deserve to be blogged about.

Coming soon. Good entries. I promise. In the meantime, enjoy Ben. BTW, he's single, and clearly likes to be kissed.

What A Cat Would Collect

Meet Henry

He's a Katrina hurricane survivor.

He came to us from the Lamar Dixon shelter in Louisiana through the Marin Humane Society's "Operation Orphans of the Storm."

We're fostering him until he's a little more adjusted to life away from the bayou in Northern California. (Read: F.O.S.T.E.R.I.N.G. he will not become kitty number 7 in our house...) Not that I don't love him. But six cats are plenty for me.

Henry looks like he's been through a lot. He's super skinny. (So much so that he has kind of a bobble-head that Hollywood celebrities get when they decide that a size 0 is fashionable.)

He's cut some cuts and missing fur. But he is SUPER friendly and loves people. And he's a big head butt-er. His table manners could be a bit more refined, as he tends to chew with his mouth open and spill out food, but hey, we don't know much about his family upbringing.

We named him Henry because his head reminds me of Pink Panther. Originally I wanted to name him "Mancini" for Henry Mancini who did the score for the movies. But my husband thought that was just way too stupid (considering I had just come back from my Italian class when I had this brilliant idea) and he suggested "Henry."

Perfect. He looks just like a Henry.

And coincidentally -- he is.

Because his original guardian from New Orleans found his profile on Petfinders.com the day after we took him home. And guess what her name for him was? Hank. How coincidental is that?

This woman unfortunately can't take him back because she's elderly, recently had a stroke and lost her husband earlier this year. She's a bit of a crazy cat lady, as she claims to have owned 16 cats when the storm hit. (Not that there's anything wrong with crazy cat ladies...)

So luckily Henry found his way safely to the Bay Area and is now happily living with us in Marin --soon to find a new family he will adopt full time.

Anyone looking for a handsome, white, people-loving kitty from the South who just needs a little more meat on his bones?

Knit and Wine

My husband collects cars. Some of them are named after cats. (For any of you who know my husband's CrazyCatMan escapades, you will not be shocked by that last sentence.)

One of his cars is a 1967 Mercury Cougar.



Once a year, other folks who own classic Cougars get together in wine country for what's known as the Catistoga Run. (Get it? A play on words with the wine country town of Calistoga and "run" because cougars run fast. So very clevah, as my mother would say.)

This past Saturday was this year's Catistoga Run.

What do I do? Bring my knitting. Because, hey. I'm going to be in a car for a while, I'm not the one doing the driving...and I've got a poncho to finish.


There's a glass of Zinfandel with my name on it in the next tasting room. Gotta hurry and finish this row.



They're pretty impressive all lined up in a row. (Row. Knitting. Ha! I made a funny.) Anyone need to use the litter box before the next winery?



So I wined a little. And knitted a little. All-in-all it was a pretty nice day as my poncho nears the finish line.

Progress, If Ever So Slowly

It's been a while since I've blogged. My apologies to any of you who read this blog regularly and were sick of that ostrich photo that lingered for weeks...

I've been quite busy what with a new job, knitting a zillion things, and taking a new Italian class at the local community college. Blogging just fell by the wayside. I'll try to keep up more frequently.

Here's the update on my latest project(s) -- my Rowan Plaid obsession: Zephyr, Wind and Cool. (Poncho, scarf and hat.)

Wind and Cool are done! Yay! (OK, so I have to re-seem the hat because I screwed it up, but that's a quick fix.)

Zephyr is about 52% done as the pictures below show. Who knew that cats who never venture outdoors could get so excited about a poncho?















Well, no Chance. It's actually my poncho. I know you like it, but you're a cat, you're a boy, this poncho is purple, and, um, you're short. You'd trip on the fringe. But I'll let you sleep on it if you promise not to bite.

I Guess They Took Some Crap

This arrived in my inbox yesterday:



Hmmm. I wonder what could have prompted such a communique? Berroco has been consistently sending free patterns via emails containing the most beautiful projects. Maybe they finally got wind of some blog bashing going on in which they were a frequent feature.

Can't say I know for sure, I'm just guessing...

Honey, I'll Be A Little Late For Dinner

My husband, who has been traveling like a banshee lately, made a surprise dinner reservation for us at a great place in Sausalito on Monday night.

Traffic has been so light thanks to summer vacationers, I figured I'd get there in no time flat from the city after work. So when I hit a backlog of cars leading up to the Golden Gate Bridge, I was puzzled.

Until I saw the cause of the backup in the news today:



Poor little ostrich. Her butt broke the rear window of the van in which she was traveling when the driver suddenly accelerated -- and she landed on the bridge pavement.

Let's just say that if *my* butt broke the window while a driver suddenly accelerated on the Golden Gate Bridge I don't think I'd ever hear the end of it...

I'm just saying.

WTF???

I received the KnitBits newsletter from Berrocco the other day:



Are they kidding me? Does anybody think this "vest" is nice? I think it tops (no pun intented) anything in my "Just Because You Can Knit It" post of a few months back.

I know that the more patterns a yarn company can put out there, the more yarn they will sell, the more money they'll make, the more yarns they can produce. Blah, blah, blah, blah. I get it. I'm in marketing.

But this thing? What were they thinking?

Dear Berrocco: I've got a few cats with a couple hairballs they'd like to add to this "design." But I don't think anyone would notice...

I'm a Ho

Are you a yarn ho? I am.

I guess it could be worse. I could be a ho on 9th Avenue turning tricks. Instead I'm a Yarn Ho turning web pages and buying yarn like a love-struck teenager.

Lately I've been lusting after Rowan. I guess that makes me a Rowan Yarn Ho. I can't help myself. I love their yarns. I'm obsessed over their yarns. And their pattern books, too.

My favorite new obsession?

Rowan Plaid.

It all started with an innocent purchase of 3 skanks of Plaid in Lavender Mist from my LYS. I wasn't sure what to do with it so I shoved it in one of my many yarn drawers.

Then I found 3 skanks of Plaid in Spicy on ebay. I started knitting a 2x2 rib hat and matching scarf. That's all it took. I was hooked on Rowan Plaid. Or shall I say I became a hooker for Rowan Plaid? (Just continuing with the whole Yarn Ho theme here...)

Which led me to buy the Plaid Collection pattern book.



Which led me to buy yarn for not one, but two ponchos. (I'm pretty sure my What is Ugly, What is Not radar is operating at full-bore again so I'm not afraid of repeating the Razor's Edge Poncho disaster...) But if you think said radar is still on the blink -- do tell. (I won't be insulted, really. Just think of the time you'll be saving me.)

Poncho #1: Zephyr

Poncho #2: Thunder

While this model looks quite lovely jogging on the beach sporting Thunder and a Monica Lewinsky beret, I doubt that's how I'll wear mine when it's completed...But you nevah know...


The Zephyr poncho is part of a "set" -- hat, scarf and poncho

I'm half way through the scarf and almost finished with the hat. (And when I finish, I'm wearing it the next day. I don't care if it's 75 degrees in San Francisco -- it's foggy here in the morning. And cold...)

Then it's on to Zephyr and Thunder. God I hope my radar is working again.

Houston, We Have A Problem

It's called the Razor's Edge poncho.


I thought it was so cute.

I saw this pattern months ago in the Stitch 'n Bitch Nation book. I've blogged about my issues with the pattern: I couldn't get the lace stitch to line up. Alas, the pattern was wrong in the book. Their errata web page pointed me in the right direction and I've been knitting this thing like a lunatic for weeks, amazed that my lace stitches were looking so groovy.

But then my husband saw my work in progress.

Me, to husband with squished up nose: "What? Don't you like it?"

Husband: "Well. It's not my favorite of what you've done."

Me: "What do you mean? It's cute."

Husband: "It's so old lady."

Me: (to self): "Oh, you just can't see how the final piece will look. It's a poncho. It'll be cute. Really."

I kept on knitting. I finally got to the point where I could put my head in the hole and try on the project that had been consuming me.


And I hated it.

My husband kept making fun of it. "Old lady. Old lady. Old lady."

Where was the cute poncho from the book? What went wrong? Why was this so thing so friggin' ugly? Was it really ugly? Was I just being swayed by my husband? Was I losing my own ability to recognize ugly?

So I showed it to my friend Marissa.

Marissa: "Well...the color is nice."

Thanks. That's like when you ask someone "does my ass look fat in this?" and they reply with, "those are beautiful shoes."

So the Razor's Edge must be ripped out. It's too big. It's too ugly. And by now, I hate the whole idea of it. It's been a week since I've made the decision to rip, so I'm less sickened by all the time and money I've spent on this thing.

But being the yarn ho I am, I've moved on. My new friend is Rowan Plaid. I've got too many waiting projects to get all weepy about an old lady poncho.


Here's a 2x2 ribbed scarf and hat set in progress.


And my first attempt at cables!

So screw that Razor's Edge.


For now it sits in a bag in my closet until I find the energy to rip.