Fingers are overrated...

So, the sweater is currently on hold until I puzzle out some sleeve issues. But in the meantime...We have gloves! I have wanted to knit these from the time I first saw them in Stich n' Bitch Nation. The pattern called for Noro Kureyon but my LYS was out of the colorway I wanted, so I voted for my old stand-by Silk Garden-- in the same colorway, no less.














Stephanie is pleased.

Here I am, once again...

Well, it's been almost six months... good grief. But I've suddenly been inspired to blog again-- blame on my new knitting group (made up of my own peers-- it's a dream come true!) or on the new issue of Knitty. Or even on my new sweater that I am making... oh, did I not mention that? Well, here it is, in progress...
I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out. It's Lion Brand Homespun, and just the basic sweater pattern. It's refreshing to do so much stockinette knitting after some of the more complicated things that I've fouced on. This is my first BIG project-- and my mom made sure I bought all the yarn at once so that I didn't loose steam, like on the blanket (I will finish that some day!).
I think I'm a little burnt out on school. The knitting group last night was refreshing--it was amazing not to knit alone. And now I have my roommate hooked. She is amazing, by the way. Some how (and I still can't figure out how) she keeps managing to make random yarn-overs in the middle of her knitting. She has increased almost ten stiched since she started. But the amazing thing is, you can't tell. Her knitting is as straight and neat as anything. It's amazing.

I got comments! Thank you so much, folks. They make me very happy. It's also really encouraging. I had gotten a little discouraged on the blanket, mostly because of the cost of the Noro. I am a poor starving college student, after all. But I did finish this!
It was hard to get a good picture of it, but here it is, my Heartbreakenly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting. The flower is out of Nikki Eptstein's Knitting Over the Edge. I'm still trying to figure the closure. I'm thinking velcro or something. Maybe snaps. A button would be ideal with the eyelets and all, but I really want the flower there. And the whole ribbon thing in the book made absolutely no sense to me, so I just kind of made it, Stephanie style. I also made up the cast-on meathod for the sleeves. I read the real way somewhere later, but my way seemed to work just fine, although the stiches were a little looser than I would have liked. I'll use the "real" way next time. That's the thing about being the only knitter I know-- I have to figure things out on my own. I've always learned very well through books and things, though. I learned to knit from a Klutz book. And I've been hooked ever since. Also in pure Stephanie style, I took the liberty of jazzing up the back of the kimono with flowers. I'd never done any kind of embroidery before. It was fun. I want to figure out some sort of lining, though, to hide the stitching on the inside.

More MDK Projects

Ladies and gentelman.... it's a dishcloth! This is the first one I made. I misread the pattern and shorted it a few bands, but my mother absolutely fell in love with it, so I gave it to her. The smaller size makes it ideal for her to use in the shower. I made another one, however, almost an exact replica, but with the proper amount of bands this time! (I counted how many there were in the picture in MDK--there are thirteen, in case you were curious.)
The blanket is also making progress. I've actually done about two more logs since the picture. I think it's coming about quite nicely. The yarn tab is killing me, though. I've had to halt proceedings for a bit while I recoup my losses and buy other things. Like food. I've got a good supply of cheap cotton to keep me busy, though, so I won't be at a loss for things to knit. I'll be busy working on all those other MDK beauties, like the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono. I'm thinking about making one in dark blue with one of the motifs from the Kumo jacket, posted on Knitty, to make it just a little more Japanese. I might also expiriment with other Aisan designs and construction concepts, since, as I'm discovering, the pattern is amazingly versitile.

Progress!

Sorry, haven't posted in a while. Much thanks to Aara for her comments! I feel much less alone in the knitting world. It's still a little lonely being the only college girl I know who knits, scratch that, is obsessed with knitting. Well, I take that back. I don't know if obsessed is the right word either. I mean after all, not every surface of my apartment is covered by a handknit, I don't have a cat, yarn is not taking over my closet, and, most importantly, I plan to keep knitting. This is not a flash-in-the-pan thing, as are most obsessions. This is something I plan to do forever. I love thinking about drying my dishes with clothes I knit, cuddling with my boyfriend in my Silk Garden blanket, maybe even draping it at the end of our bed someday when we're married. I love thinking about having kids all outfitted in Heart-breakingly Cute Baby Kimonos and having enough burp cloths to last through the Tribulation. I don't plan on becoming some great knitting designer or something. I just like being able to make small, personalized contributions to my world. Maybe that's what I like so much about Mason-Dixon Knitting. It made knitting real again, accessible to the average-ly talented knitter such as myself. I mean, we can't all be Debbie Bliss or even Debbie Stoller, for that matter. Not all of us will take very well to knitting all of our sweaters by hand. But we still like to knit. And for people like us, there are always more dishcloths, baby blankets, and rugs to be knit.
I find I have a difficult time explaining my knitting to my friends, or my boyfriend, even. To them it seems either antiquated or trendy, something their grandmothers did or some sort of cute hobby that I'll dabble in and then get over. I don't know how to explain to them that it helps me get in touch with something in myself that I feel is lost a lot of the time. I'm all for being an independent woman, but I sometimes I feel that the feminist movement, with all their good intentions of giving women more options have somehow unintentionally robbed us of some. Yes, I am glad that I can be a steel worker if I really wanted to. But what if I really want to stay at home and cook? What if I want to look after my kids and knit them blankets and stuff? Is that so bad? Am I somehow failing woman-kind by choosing more traditional roles? Can't I like being domestic? And, can't I be domestic and independent at the same time? I love going to school, being about town, working, voting, doing all those things that woman couldn't do for a while. I like to think that women can be tough and sensitive at the same time. Also, sometimes at my school, I feel like there is pressure on us girls to have big careers and ministries and then only marry when we want, like a husband is the icing on the cake of a successful life. I remember one speaker who said that she went to college, made her own money, got her PhD, bought a couple houses and then decided that she wanted to get married. She was so proud that she never depended on a man for anything. I admire her motivation and self-sufficiency, but I wonder if that has to be the way for all women. I mean, is there anything wrong with depending on a man if he has proven himself to be trustworthy? I like being able to lean on my boyfriend for support. And he likes it that I lean on him. It makes him feel manly.
Yeah. I dunno. I somehow got waaaaaaayyyyy off topic. But I guess the point is I'm young and female and like to knit and cook and favor traditional relationships. I fear I am a dying breed. And I'm not saying that anyone else has to be like me. I would just like it to be ok that I am like me and not be cast as being traitorous to my bra-burning sisters.
So. Yes. Blanket. I have made progress, as the title suggests, although I now find it ironic, considering the tangent I somehow found myself on. But anyway. Here it is so far.

Hopefully, the picture is somewhere on the blog. It's having issues uploading for some reason...

I have come to grips with the fact that no other knitters will know I exist for a long time. I am ok with this (I tell myself...). That makes this blog kind of like an empty room. A wide open space with only a few things on the walls and one sole occupant. And while that occupant is alone, she can also say whatever it is she wants without worry that anyone else will hear or critique her. She knows her friends won't bother her in her little world of sticks and string and for sure that her boyfriend wouldn't touch a knittting blog with a ten foot pole. So.
Welcome to my room.
I have made a revolutionary discovery. It is called Mason-Dixon Knitting by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. I love it. I was feeling quite discouraged as a knitter, but their down to earth advice and easy to follow patterns have inspired me.
So much so, that I have decided to take a leap with my precious Silk Garden and start a blanket, using the log cabin method, but without changing colors when I turn. And the square arrangement is a sort of hybrid between the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket, the Moderne Baby blanket, and my own whims and imagination, in true Stephanie style. This is what I got so far.
I love the way I get a different effect every time I turn the piece. It's the lazy girl's way to get a colorful blanket without having to change colors all the time and without having a billion ends to weave in, although I don't mind that so much. The fabric is so soft and warm. I can't wait to cuddle up in it... with a friend, of course. ;)

Hot Summer Nights.... I mean Knits

So it's a warm May night. College kids are out for the summer. Most kids my age are out on a date or hanging with their friends at the theatre or In N Out.
I am sitting at home, taking pictures of yarn.
You gotta love my life.
Here are the results, anyway.

My Noro Silk Garden, Color #230 that was eleven frikin' forty-nine! I bought it because it was beautiful, but I felt incredibly indulgent about the price. I debated for a week whether or not to return it, but decided just to keep it eventually. I make a nice hat or scarf or something out of it. Because, you know, there is such a demand for such things in the middle of summer in Southern California.

This is my wool collection. It is all Lion Brand worsted weight. I made a number of hats out of it last summer that got hoisted onto my unfortunate family and friends. I don't really know what to do with it. I mean, it's wool. And again, Southern California. Doesn't really mix. I could make a scarf... I guess. Sheesh. But I really hate scarves. I do. Not wearing them, just knitting them. Takes a long time and it's quite repetitive.