The Not-Quite-Lucky Sweater

We had so much fun at Wicked on Wednesday that Sunday we decided to go lotto for tickets before it left the next day.  So Sunday morning arrived and I found myself, as I often do on my day off, wide awake before 7 am.  This is a serious condition with which I seem to have been cursed -- the inability to sleep in.  I blame my parents, as it seems I should for all problems of such gravity.  When I finally admitted to myself that there was no way I'd be able to fall back to sleep (sometimes I can trick my brain into thinking I have to go to work, then I drift right off), I brewed a pot of coffee and settled in with my knitting.  The night before I had knit the left front button band on my Kaleidoscope, so all I had left was to finish the right front button band, sew on buttons, block, and weave in ends.

By ten, when we were to leave, I was sewing in one of the final ends and was determined to wear the sweater to the theater.  I had joked on Wednesday night that I could have it done in time to wear for the lotto, and by golly, if it was within reach I was totally going to do it.  As I struggled to brush my teeth and apply eye liner at the same time I realized something truly upsetting.  The buttons would not stay closed.  Not because the sweater was too small, but because the button holes were too large!  Somehow, despite my careful gauge swatch and needle choice, despite all the math I did to rework the button band for five rather than six buttons, I managed to forget that I had gone up a needle size, which made the buttons I had carefully selected from my meager stash just shy of large enough to fit.  Not to be deterred I found my shawl pin and used it to secure the second button in place, leaving the top to flop over in a manner I hurriedly deemed flirtatious.

On the way to the theater Andrea and I joked about the fact that we never win anything and how the bright spot of our day would realistically be cleaning out the refrigerator.  I knit on the sock I had started just in case we actually got to see the show and we strategized about where to pick up more coffee to sooth our disappointment.  As we pulled into the parking garage I noticed a sign that featured the dates of the show run.  May 2 - 27.  And then it hit me.  I knew from looking at my project page that I had started this sweater on May 2.  And I knew that I was wearing the sweater I had "finished" that morning on May 27.  It was fate.  We needed some luck and we grabbed on to that for all we were worth.  When we met up with the cast outside the stage door we'd tell them of the unintentional creation.  It was the sweater of destiny.

What we learned that day is that a sweater really needs to be finished before it can be lucky.  I still need to reinforce the button holes, weave in the final ends, and give the bottom edge a good blocking before I can call the Kaleidoscope done.  But I did wear it on Sunday.  And while it  eventually got too hot for even fingering weight wool, my little sweater can be considered not-quite lucky.

Maybe lucky-adjacent, if you will.

Soccer Time

Time passes in weird ways.  I'm aware of how long it has been since I graduated from high school, since I finished college, and since I defended my thesis.  I am aware of how long I have knit and just how much I have progressed in the many facets of my now adult life.  But sometimes time just stands up and slaps you in the face.

On Friday my high school played in the women's soccer state championship game.  The only time any team has made it to the state championship is when my brother's cross country team competed his freshman year.  Needless to say, this is a huge deal and as an alumni who was working only a few miles away, I of course had to go.  I am, after all, a Lady Gryphon myself (just not in soccer).  So I dug out an old basketball tshirt and met up with my family at the game.

It was a most surreal experience.  I try to go to things at the high school in which my brother is involved.  When my sister was still in attendance I went to things they did together, but attending living no less than four hours away for the past six years has made it difficult to go to much.  So it had been quite some time since I had seen the students of our small school en mass.  And it was like time had suddenly jumped.  The five year old I used to babysit is now taller than me.  The sixth grader I tutored in math is now a senior and I'm pretty sure has no idea who I was.  A girl who was the youngest on our rec swim team was the star of the game.  And my own little brother was somewhere in the student section -- tall and yelling with his ever deepening voice.

We lost horrendously, but it was a great time.  I got to see my family, if only for a few hours.  And I even worked on the longest sleeve ever.

FO: Elphaba Beret

Wednesday night marked a significant event in my life.  As a long time theater fan, raised on the soundtracks of opera and musicals, it was always disheartening to have to say I had never seen Wicked.  I owned and loved the book, I thought the music was splendid, but I had not actually seen it on stage.  So for Christmas my roommate, a certified Wicked fanatic, bought tickets for us to see the national tour when it came to our area.  Wednesday night we finally got to use our tickets and sat in the front row for one of the most magnificent productions I have ever seen.  I would rave on and on about the dialogue and the staging and how I may or may not have cried during Defying Gravity, but you can read all of that on any high school girl's facebook page provided you can decipher all of the emoticons and glitter.

As a thank you for buying my ticket I decided to make Andrea a hat to go with the shawl I made for her last year.  The only problem was that the shawl was in lace weight and Knit Picks does not make that particular color in any other yarn.  Thanks to a Ravelry de-stash I was able to score two skeins and decided to knit with two strands held together.  All that was left was to pick a pattern, which took a while but I finally settled on Springtime in Philadelphia, as I had always liked the pattern and it used a light fingering weight.

Elphaba Beret in Knit Picks Shadow, Midnight Heather

I only used about half of each skein.  The entire hat is knit on size US 2, 2.75mm needles as I do not own US 0s.  To make up for that I decreased the stitch count when I got to the ribbing and knit it all through the back loop to make it a little tighter.  The color is really hard to photograph, but I love it.  It hints at all the colors in Elphaba's black dress.

Our Glinda was played by Tiffany Haas, and we were honored enough to be at Anna Eilinsfeld's debut performance as Elphaba.  It was a really fun night and I'm glad that even though Andrea's seen it now five times she will still let me drag her to lotto for tickets this weekend before the tour leaves town.  Maybe I can talk her into wearing the hat again.

For more FO's visit Tami's Amis

A Real Knitter

If you had asked me a few weeks ago if I would become completely addicted to knitting a stockinette sweater, I would have said that you were crazy.  No, my brain is too active to knit plain stockinette, even when I'm reading.  I'm just too much of a multi-tasker.

And I would have been wrong.  In the past two weeks I have not been able to get the Kaleidoscope out of my head.  Since I took the above picture Monday night I have finished the body and knit seven inches on the first sleeve.  I just can't stop!  I tried it on last night with a tank top and found it to be completely charming.  I am glad I decided not to try the modifications for a higher neck but rather stuck with the original almost off the shoulder design.  This might be the beginning of a new aesthetic for me.

The best part is that all the guys at work have been completely fascinated by it.  They've watched the garment come together from when I cast on for the opening weekend of The Avengers.  Last night one asked me just how many sweaters I had knit for myself.  I had to stop and really think about it, but I could not give him a definitive answer.  I guess I really can call myself a Knitter.

Under the Sea

I don't like to blog much about my yarn acquisitions.  I don't like to feel like I am bragging or showcasing any wayward financial behavior.  But every once in a while I get something that I just have to show off, and last week was one of those times (onces? whiles?).

Last week I got two lovely packages from Dragonfly Fibers, filled with all sorts of fun goodies.

The first is my May shipment of Club Dragonfly.

As always, the lovely folks who put together these shipments outdid themselves.  The pattern this time around was a great pair of socks by RosiG.  I am actually not planning to knit these out of the yarn we received, but the pattern is pretty rad.  The extra was a lovely set of stitch markers, and who doesn't need more stitch markers?  But the kicker, as always, was the yarn.

Dragon Sock in Octopus's Garden

Have I mentioned that this is totally my colors?  Because it totally is.  I know it's intended to be socks, but as soon as I opened it I knew this wanted to be striped with a grey.  Maybe a shawl from the upcoming Knitscene Accessories?

And then, on Saturday, I got the motherload of all yarn packages.

Speaking of grey -- three skeins of Selkie in Black Pearl.  This was my very generous payment for the Lonicera I sample knit.  When I opened it I just started petting the yarn.  And then I shoved it in Andrea's face and made her pet it.  And then I continued to cuddle it for a good ten minutes.  It's just so soft!  On the one hand I'm enjoying the warm weather we are having, on the other I cannot wait for it to get cold so that I can knit this up into something spectacular!  I'm thinking something hooded, cuddly, and with enough of a pattern to show up the great stitch definition.

For someone who is not particularly fond of the ocean, I am super psyched about this oceanic themed yarn!

Magical Joining

I have decided that I must have some sort of knitting ADD.  I have too many projects on the needles and get myself over-stimulated.  But it's just so much fun!  Since I returned home to my stash and my snuggly project bags I have not touched the Kaleidoscope.  Instead I have been working on my Umbre Lovre.

I am loving the stripes as much if not more than I loved the mosaic blocks on the edge.

Last night on the way to zumba I listened to the latest episode of Knitting Pipline, in which Paula explains how she uses the Russian Join.  At first I tuned it out.  After all, I used to always weave in ends.  And when I taught myself how to do a felted join when I knit my Gramps Cardigan I thought it was magic.  But when I got home I realized that I was going to have to join some yarn very soon and I did not want to weave in ends because I did not want any added bulk in weird places on the fabric.  On the other hand I could not felt them because this is knit out of Knit Picks Comfy Sport, which is a cotton blend.  So I decided to dig out my grandmother's sewing supplies and go for it.

(From last night when I first gave it a shot)

I love this join.  It was so much fun to knit (Chris was suitably impressed) and so far has proven very resilient.  I did not watch Paula's video, just followed her verbal instructions, and out came magic.  The way it is work involves taking a sharp sewing needle and weaving the end of your yarn back in on itself. 

(From this morning when I decided I may possibly need another skein at work today)

The best part is it is all but invisible from the front side.  You really have to look to see that a few stitches are thicker than the others.

Now I just have these ends hanging inside that I really don't know what to do with.  Has anyone done a Russian join before?  Do you just snip them off or do you do a little weaving?

To see more explicitly stated FOs, check out Tami's Amis.

Exciting Endings

Exciting things are happening around here.  As you would expect with an impending marriage, but other life-stuff is starting to change soon.  I'm going to be all vague here and non-disclosurey because I have to be, but I can promise I'll fill you in as soon as I can.

In the meantime, here's a look at some exciting stuff that has happened in the lives of some people who have made guest appearances on the blog.  Aka, a look at what happened to cause all of that knitting last weekend:

On Saturday Chris, who my brother very affectionately calls "Lawyer Boy", graduated from, well, law school.  Both my parents and his parents drove up and we had a lovely time planning wedding stuff and chit-chatting while we waited for him to cross the stage.

All I have to say is only Chris would take the opportunity to fist-bump the US Attorney General.  Yes, I have video evidence, it's just trapped on my phone.

And then on Sunday my sister graduated with an associates degree in nursing.  If she continues with the program she will graduate next spring with a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing, meaning she's basically very smart and can stab people with needles really well.

In all seriousness, I am extremely proud of both of them.  The past three years have been a host of struggles and triumphs for all of us and it was great to witness both cross this particular hurdle.  In 2009 we all graduated, Chris and I from college and Eva from high school.  Now they have both managed to achieve a level of success that I know they both sometimes doubted they could reach or even want.  In today's economy a degree is no guarantee of work.  But they both did it any way and I am proud to count them both as my family.

Now if they can just survive their licensing exams this summer.