| tah dah! |
wednesday 02.11.2004 |
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wow, my very own knitting blog. kisses to my webmaster!
it so happens that i got a knitting magazine in the mail yesterday called "knit'n style." i don't remember subscribing to it. i have never wanted to subscribe to a knitting magazine because they're hit-and-misses. i like to go to borders and browse through them before buying any. normally i prefer only the winter issues when they feature true sweaters. i've been brainwashed by the righteous mrs zimmermann so i prefer wool garments. because i'm not a fan of cotton yarn, i don't need the non-winter issues with patterns for cotton summer sweaters. what are summer sweaters anyway? jumbo shrimps?
so, back to the magazine, gosh, i hope gina (she's the only one, other than my webmaster, who reads this blog) didn't give me this subscription because it sucks. come on, knit apostrophy n style? their patterns are horrible. and their props for their model pages are distracting and ugly. god! what gets me is that this magazine costs the same per issue as vogue and interweave knitting. but, urgh, it's no where near the class of the other two.
i really hope that, in a moment of extremely poor judgement, i myself bought the subscription. otherwise i don't think i can bear having to confront the giver, whoever it may be, about the poor taste.
if i could ever master html, i would like to create an e zimmermann page. i adore her. she has a great hand in my formative knowledge of knitting. she is a singular genius in practice and in style. she's innovative, frank, clever, and modest in one fell swoop. no amount of adjectives will ever do justice in describing her. she is on the altar in my mind. may the force of e zimmermann be with me.
i bet that if gina watched elizabeth, she'd be a knittin' foo right now just like me.
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| manifesto |
friday 02.13.2004 |
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yesterday i managed to get myself invited to a knit+bitch group in the los angeles area by a very nice person known as q. the problem is: i'm at least 100 miles from los angeles. as much as i'd like to hang with sheep of the same fleece, it's not possible. it's probably a good thing because i'm socially inept; i can't play well with others. regardless, i was very pleased with the invitation.
i am going to blog about my knitting self today.
i was exposed to knitting at the annoying young age when kids run around asking adults, "what are you doing? what are you doing?" the neighbor i bugged taught me to do the easy e cast on. she gave me a ball of yarn and one needle so i would leave her alone. i would sit next to her and cast on and on. and then i discovered rope jumping.
around may of 2001, i received a belated valentine's day present from the mega talented miss jang, a terrific hat of her very own unique creation. i admired and admired it some more: even handed stitches, seamless color changes, perfect fit, etc. i was inspired. but not to knit, funny enough. i was inspired to give my very own hand made gifts.
in november of 2001, i decided to crochet scarves for xmas presents. some time during the production of the scarves, i realized that crochet stitches are not very tight. the nature of crocheting creates little voids whereas knitted fabrics seem very consistent in texture. this made me want to try knitting. i think the decision was also prompted by an article in martha stewart's living magazine. i had always been reluctant about wielding two needles until that article made me think i could handle it. so, i made g-lo take me to fabric town where i bought a pair of size 10 needles and began knitting.
at first i knitted by pure memory. the casting on was a snap but the knit stitch was not going well. i knitted into the back of the loops so all the stitches were twisted. i would knit little 2"x2" squares with a ball of cheap acrylic red yarn. this caused my husband to accuse me of being a communist for making little red squares. by the 51st square, i figured it out. i was so pleased, i gave it to g! i believe she still has it draped on the chest her lion gargoyle.
around january 2002 i found an early 80s instructional video tape by linda davis complete with big half-tinted glasses and bad electric guitar interludes. the first time jg saw her, he actually screamed. good thing that 80% of the video featured her hands. at the time, ld was my guru. she taught me to knit correctly and the technical lingo. she also taught me to do cables. i was elated.
i made hats. i bought cheap ebay yarn. i made more hats. jg wisely said, “if you are going to invest all that time knitting, you should get good yarn. i bought ebay wool yarn. i made more hats. at this time all my hats were replicas of the encouraging miss jang's. i made them in slight variations and was proud.
then i had to quit knitting so i could prepare for the licensing exam. over a year of no knitting progress.
around april of 2003, i discovered elizabeth zimmermann, the grande dame of knitting. in short, i became a knitter.
because of the big ez i knit the way i do. for example, i knit with the yarn in my left hand and i can knit independently of patterns. in her modest ways, she instilled this maginificent sense of confidence in me. i can knit anything i want.
that's how i feel at least. and so far, so good.
these days i knit a hat a week, sometimes two. i managed to perfect a fitted "seamless" beanie pattern that can be knitted on two needles. (it looks positively seamless although it does require one row of weaving in the end.) i always have one or two projects on the needles ready for tivo marathons and the occasional car trip. i can't knit in the dark yet but i'm working on it. my goal is to be able to knit and to calculate lateral forces simultaneously.
i will try to share my projects on this web site. hopefully in time i will have a better time management routine that will let me knit and blog regularly. i don't know if anyone would even care to read this stuff but if you're a knitter, please leave me a comment. just a hello would make my day!
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| cat on the hat |
friday 02.13.2004 |
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that's ohdawg loving the hat i made for julia.
standard dawgy in my seamless beanie |
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| ponchos y gatos |
thursday 02.19.2004 |
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q is my officially my knitting buddy. that's all we talk about now: double pointed versus circular needles, buying yarn at stores vs online, pattern giving and reading, etc.
she gave me a poncho pattern yesterday that required ten to fifteen hours. this means 45 hours for someone like me. i rip and knit and rip and knit about seven times on any given project. this particular poncho pattern calls for all sorts of crazy stitches and color changes. 45 hours is a way low estimate.
on the needles right now i have two cat hats: one white, one gray. i have some bright green fuzzy yarn. is there such a breed of cat? no? martian cats, may be?
i'm also trying to finish extending jg's sweater. i made this sweater last october but it was on the short side. so i ripped off the ribbed hem and knitted downward. now i have to do a fancy zimmermann bind off so it would remain elastic.
next up i have to finish my own sweater. i made it with limited hand spun yarn so i had to dream up a pattern to accommodate the yardage. it worked. i'm weaving the parts together. aiming for that zimmermann seamlessness.
while i'm still high on myself, i should go ahead and boast about this one ridiculous goal i have: i would like to publish a pattern on knitty. why not? everyone else is doing it! |
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| gato dos |
tuesday 02.24.2004 |
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repeat performance at my webmaster's request
i really enjoy making these hats! i wish i knew more about cats so i could make different faces.
today q and i talked about bamboo circular knitting needles. i'm hooking her up with my dealer. i get 95% of my supplies through ebay. the remainder 5% is from public libraries, thrift stores, and few on line stores. rarely are there ever better deals than those on ebay, which require patience, risk taking, and some expertise in bidding. i highly recommend ebay. disclosure: i do not own ebay stocks.
reasonable on line suppliers:
red barn farm, my trusty needle supplier
knitpicks, free shipping
smiley's, excellent prices for some yarn
that's all i know. if you know others, please share with me.
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| spookybot |
thursday 02.26.2004 |
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introducing my knitting blog mascot, spookybot!
spooky with sexy green eyes |
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