Restless Knitter

I was sitting on the sofa, watching something I’d recorded on the dvr, when the dog bumped against the back of where I was sitting.  Then she bumped it again, much harder.  What the hell is she doing back there?  I stood up to see just what she was doing and saw she wasn’t anywhere near.  That was when I realized I was experiencing my first California earthquake.  Only lasted a few seconds and nothing was broken, though I did hear the glasses rattle in the cabinet.  MIL called 6 minutes later to make sure I was okay.  I think those people are glued to the news 24/7.

Despite not actually doing any knitting or weaving, I’m still buying magazines and making plans for future things.  Because we don’t have enough crap around here, I’m considering building an inkle loom or something similar to do card weaving on.  I don’t like the belt method, or at least I don’t think I would.  I want something I can warp and walk away from if I need to.  I’ve been using pegs clamped to furniture but I don’t like doing that either.   If anyone has any experience on card weaving on an inkle or something similar, I’m all ears.  Off to research…

It seems like I wait so long between posts, I never know where to start when I actually get off my duff and do it. Let’s see. I completed the knitting on the little hooded cable jacket, minus the hood. I read on Ravelry that the hood was useless and after contacting one of the knitters that made it, I could see why. I, too, opted to knit a collar. I was having a hell of a time attaching the sleeves and it still sits with only one sleeve attached. If this next little sweater is any indication of how long it will take me to get that one done, it’s going to be awhile.

I finished knitting and seaming this one two years ago!

Minus the collar, that is. The one that I had finished didn’t want to fit the sweater. I did the logical thing and put it aside for 2 years instead of spending 30 minutes knitting a bigger one. I’ve now knit a bigger one and attached it. Let’s see how long it takes me to sew on the buttons.

I stopped working on the lace shawl. I lost my knitting mojo. For awhile there, I gained some weaving mojo. It started with card weaving, which flopped. On to the big girl loom. Still not perfect, but getting better.

And what weaving project wouldn’t be complete without breaking another leather cord. In the middle of the project. Maybe it’s time to break down and replace those bad boys. With something besides nylon cord from Home Depot. Hey, it works in a pinch.

Then I lost my weaving mojo and now nothing is getting done. I’m feeling… lost, is the only word I can think of. Without going into a long explanation, I’ll just say that there STILL is nothing set on The Man’s job. I think that’s why I’m feeling a little homesick right now. Homesick and no mojos seem to make for a lost Restless Knitter. So… I’ve told the man that I want a trip to Atlanta for my birthday in September. Probably not the smartest thing to do, it will probably make me feel even more homesick, but I just want to see people that I haven’t seen in what feels like forever.

I thought I’d at least try to fix the hole in the Maltese shawl. I could tell before I even got into it that it was going to be more trouble than it was worth so rip it went. I’m still being rebellious and not using a lifeline (aka I am a dumbass). Eighteen repeats in, so far so good.

Hey, here’s something you don’t see everyday. Every other day, maybe.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of this pattern. I really like the way it looks with multi-colored yarns. It’s perfect for car knitting, which is where this one came to be.

To keep from getting burnout on the shawl, I started a baby cardigan. Ahh baby knitting. It doesn’t have to be exact, within reason. It will fit some baby eventually. If only knitting a sweater for me were so flexible. Though I’m not sure I like the idea of thinking I’ll grow into something. This will be the Cabled Cardigan from the Knitting For Babies: Blankets, Booties, Bibs & More booklet. I was moving right along on this. Both sleeves and the back are done. The fronts are too. And then…

Seriously, why! You may have to click for bigger to see it but it’s still quite glaring for me. Why did I miss that one cable? Why didn’t I notice before I finished the whole front? Both fronts really, since I knit them at the same time. I’m not going to rip the whole thing out but I will have to rip down to the neck shaping. I will fix it while I contemplate only knitting garterstitch squares for the rest of my knitting life.

Daughter has gone home, making me very sad face. We had fun though. We went to Venice Beach to people watch, and while later watching Dancing With The Stars, saw the same man in gold that we saw at Venice. (Dudes, some of you do NOT need to be walking around in nothing but a speedo, yuck.) We also went to the the LA Fashion District. I’m not a big shopper (unless it’s yarn) and didn’t find anything for me, but I plan on going back when I have more time.

After picking up Daughter at the airport and arriving home, we took her out to show her where the rattlesnake had been. The little bugger was back. Unfortunately for him, The Man was home and the snake lost his head. Last night, a gopher snake decided under the deck would be a good place to get away from a barking dog. Once we got the dog in, he made his way over to the side yard. This one was probably 4 ft long. I have to tell you, I’m not too fond of all these snakes in and behind my yard.

Oh yeah, knitting. There has been some of that going on. I was searching for who-knows-what and came across something that was double-knit. The original search long forgotten, I moved on to looking for charts I could use and came up with this.

It’s a hotpad/potholder/dishcloth, I haven’t really decided yet. I used Sugar ‘n Creme, on a US 7. I’d played around with this before but had never actually made something. My original thought was a baby blanket I dreamed up in my head. After doing this small piece, I’m having second thoughts on the blanket. I enjoyed knitting this one but I’m not so sure I’d enjoy a full blown blanket. I’d also need to treat the edges differently. Sloppy is ok for this but not for a blankie. Oh, and speaking of baby blankets, I’m going to be a Nana again.

From some leftover Jaggerspun Zephyr

I picked an easy pattern out of a stitch dictionary and knit until I ran out of yarn. It was a partial ball so I can’t tell you how much I used.

After I finished the scarf, I started The Maltese Shawl from Victorian Lace Today (page 162) using the Misti Alpaca Lace yarn I got while in San Fran.

Oops, do you see what I see? There’s a hole. Yes, I know there are a lot of holes, however there’s one that is bigger than the others. It’s not supposed to be. It looks like when I did a k2tog, I missed one of the yo’s that was supposed to be in that k2tog. No one would probably ever notice but me, but it’ll drive me batshit crazy that it’s there. Because there’s lace knitting on both sides, I’m not so sure I can fix it. Should I attempt to fix it? Leave it? Rip since I’m not that far in? Attempt to fix it then get pissed that I couldn’t fix it and rip it? It goes in time-out until I can decide.