Knitting: January 2008 Archives

There's a phenomenon among people of my generation that's been described as "tribe formation." In simple terms, it means that people my age (roughly members of Generation X, for those who are wondering) have a tendency to form strong bonds with their friends, and to view them in a way that previous generations might have reserved for biological relatives.

There are plenty of reasons for this, some sociological, some to do with individual personalities. In my case, it's largely a function of my innate longing for solitude, combined with a desire to spend my time mostly with the few humans whom I feel understand me - or at least part of me. It's not so much likeminded souls, as that implies that I only want to be around people who share my opinions on everything, and really, I often find it more interesting when my friends have different ideas, because then we can discuss.

But to put it more succinctly than I have in the past two paragraphs, I have tended to choose friends over family whenever I had a choice. That's changed a bit in recent years, as I've developed different, more interesting, richer relationships with everyone in my immediate family, but I still really, really dig my friends. I choose them carefully, and I tend to have a few close ones rather than a passel of arm's length pals.

Anyway, several things occurred today that put my friends front and center in my mind. And funnily enough, they coincided with a bunch of crazy things happening in my family that are gonna require my immediate attention and a significant expenditure of energy.

#1: (yeah, you knew there was some kind of list coming, didn't you? even though I hadn't necessarily foreseen it myself): This post of Shannon's. Yes, that was me, and it was a secret Rhinebeck gift I'd been sitting on for a few months waiting till I'd finished her friend's cap and finally, finally got to send.

#2: This post of Cari's, which I think is just an incredibly neat idea, and a swell piece of writing to boot. I may have to do that sincerest form of flattery thing at some point and start posting little tidbits of my own, because the concept rocks.

#3: I started some zippity knitting on the Welcome Back scarf (cue the Mr. Kotter theme for those of you who are old enough and/or nerdy enough to remember it; the blonde could sing all the words, I am sure - not so much because he is nerdy [he isn't] but because he has a weird talent for knowing the words to television songs), having realized that Friday is the recipient's birthday, and would be an appropriate time to present her with said present.

#4: I have recently realized that most of my closest friends now live in the city, following several years of diasporic tendencies. This is a very hopeful feeling, especially since one of the things I used to find hard about being here was the random loneliness that would hit and hit hard. It still does, to be honest, but it's less of a strain when there are things like birthday parties and dinners at friends' apts and movie nights and wine nights and so on to look forward to.

#5: My sister needs my help, and I have to go help her. I would honestly rather stay home, but she is scared, and I would be, too. And I love her. So there will be late-night posts from the lavender room in her pretty house.

It's weird, the ways of friends and families, and maybe it doesn't matter where the people who enter your heart come from. It's more important that they're there, isn't it? (That goes for rambunctious, affectionate, darling, demented little cats, too.)

PS. Oh gad, how could I forget today's most important detail! I ordered this for Snow White, and many thanks to Shan (she of #1, above) for lending me her Ravelry account so I could do research! So helpful. And so much frickin' fun that I put myself on the waiting list, at last.

PS2. A couple of longtime readers (bless your hearts; I love you) have asked what happened to my nearly two years' worth of old posts (yikes; time flies and all that). They do still exist (um, I think) somewhere on my messy server, and they will eventually reappear properly archived right here on our stage, but I have to cut-and-paste them all in by hand, for reasons best known to Movable Type and best quietly ignored by the rest of us, lest they waken the sleeping tiger in my breast and I go on rampage against the vagaries of technology and generally just tear up the joint.

PS3. The subtext of items 1 and 2, is, of course, that I have been noticing that some blog friends can turn into real-world ones, and I find that both remarkable and lovely.

Really. I walked so far that the little nubbly treads on the bottom of my left shoe had worn down by about 1/2 inch by the end of it. When I got to my spa appointment (nothing luxurious, I assure you), and the technician asked me if I'd done my run today (she knows my ways), and I told her, no, but that I'd walked 140 blocks, her eyes just about fell out of her face.

Then she told me, merrily, about her clients who'd complained about having to walk 7 blocks from the subway. I guess she's been beautifying a fleet of suburbanites lately. We had a lovely little chat while she inflicted a little pain on me (as gently as possible; she is really, really nice), and then I went home on slightly tired legs.

Earlier today I found the very perfect yarn (yes, I know, perfect can't be modified, but I am being creative) for a friend's Welcome Back to NYC - We Missed You Honey! scarf. But still no Snow White yarn. I went to three yarn shops, looked at Cascade 220 (nice-ish colors but maybe not soft enough for against the skin), Pear Tree Merino (drab colors and too inclined to pill), Cashmerino (trop cher), Manos (not soft enough, and the handpainted is probably wrong for this project, as much as I adore watching colors shift as I knit), various pretty Italian merinos that would bankrupt me, and so on.

At home, I got back on the Interweb and looked again at the Kathmandu Aran, the Elann Sierra Aran, the Peruvian Highland, the Swish (yeah, still not jazzed about those colors; I should offer to do color development for Knitpicks - they need me!), sidled on over to kpixie and eyed both the expensive and the less expensive options. It's a conundrum. If it's soft enough, it's too pilly or too expensive or both. If it's cheap enough and study enough, it isn't soft enough. If it manages to be soft enough and relatively sturdy and relatively affordable, the colors leave me cold.

Goodness me, I have really never had this much trouble choosing a yarn before. I know that phrasing sounds uncharacteristic (when have you ever heard me say "goodness"?), but I feel quite out of my depth, and it seems to call for language I'd never use. I suppose there isn't really a tremendous rush about it, but it would be nice to get this project underway while the weather is still cool enough to tangle with wool.

In the meantime, there are two scarves and a First Pair of Socks to get on with. Yes, I also bought sock needles.

PS. I am well aware that this is the largest number of knitting posts I have probably ever created in such a short span of days, and I have no idea why that is so, other than that I have grown weary of talking (or even thinking) about boys and am taking a break from all that for a while. In theory. Also, I suppose I had some sort of interesting thoughts as I walked and walked and walked, and there was a relaxing solitary dinner in my current favorite restaurant, in which I managed to order exactly what I wanted (I am not always capable of identifying it in the moment of ordering), and to sit for as long as I liked without feeling terribly awkward for being sans companion or book, and it all just Went Well for once.

When it comes to sexy yarns, Malabrigo may well be the rockstar to end all rockstars. Purely on touch alone, it would be among the top three, and I include cashmere in that running (if you ask me, sometimes a really velvety merino can feel better than cashmere). But if you add in the amazing colors (and their beautiful, often lyrical, names), well, there's almost no contest.

I have been hunting far and wide (well, as far and wide as the Internet will take me) for the right yarn for the fair Snow White. It is a challenge. It must be affordable, because I am not replete with cash, and because I shall need 740 yards of it. It must not be fussy to work with, because the pattern is going to intimidate me enough as it is. But above all, I think, it must be dreamy; it must have enough allure on its own to keep me encouraged and jazzed, because I have a feeling there will be fits and starts and bouts of discouragement involved, and I really, really, really want to finish this pattern.

Malabrigo is, of course, far too pilly and too dear to use for this. But an alternate merino might be the way to go. Alpaca is out, I think, because I may be slightly allergic to it. Last year, I made a scarf from a blend with just 20% alpaca, and I find that I don't wear it that often, because though it feels soft in my fingers, it also tends to prickle my neck. So merino or merino with a bit of silk in it (if I can find something affordable like that) would be ideal.

I considered Queensland Kathmandu Aran Tweed, but was dissuaded from it by Shan, who was skeptical of the suitability of a tweed for the sleek Snow White (and I think she's right). Also, I read a blogger's review of it, who noted that it has a tendency to stick to itself and be fussy. Not the right sort of behavior for a long-project yarn.

I also considered Knitpicks Swish Superwash Worsted, which is nicely springy to knit with, but I just can't get excited about any of the colors, and I think I need to be excited.

So tomorrow - or more likely Sunday, since my dad is visiting tomorrow - I am gonna do the rounds of the downtown yarn shops. Probably just here, here, and here, since these are the ones in my usual trajectory. Even though the prices are better online, I think I need to see the yarn to feel the love.

Wow, what a completely prosaic and knitting-centered post. Instant passport to Dullsville. And really, I meant to list some other sexy things, but I got all hung up on Malabrigo (and that is what a truly sexy yarn will do to you). But let's continue with the original program for a moment, just to diversify a bit.

Things That Are Sexy, According to Lizbon*

1. Malabrigo
2. Vin Diesel, particularly in Pitch Black
3. dark chocolate, especially in a liquid state
4. Beaujolais in a short round juice glass
5. The color orange, in the right light and circumstances
6. Hot boys on track bikes. Long-legged blonde boys on track bikes get rated extra super sexy and then I have to leave the room for several minutes.
7. Dusk
8. The smell of lavender
9. Cool rain on a warm day
10. Bare feet
11. The smell of sawdust
12. Deep voices, particularly those of men of African descent
13. trombones
14. The freedom to stay up late for no reason other than that I am not ready to be done with my day yet
15. The occasional scary, but not too scary, movie
16. oils
17. The color silver, again in the right lights and under the right circumstances
18. old, soft cotton sheets
19. old, worn leather coats
20. big black boots
21. campfires
22. a good pair of hands

*This is by no means an exhaustive list and is reflective only of what I am thinking at this very moment. Tune in for further installments at irregular intervals.

What makes your list of sexy things? Yarns (in both senses of the word) welcome, of course.

Oh look, I finished a hat. Again. It is a chemo cap for Shan's friend, who is in need of such things. I had to knit it twice, since the first time my guesstimate resulted in a cap fit for a Conehead. Yes, I swatched. Sometimes swatches lie.

This time, the result is a close-fitting little skullcap with ruffles. I hope it isn't too small. I used my own tiny head as a model, figuring that my hair is so freaking short (I am sporting the Auschwitz look, and yes, I know that is a horrible, awful, tasteless, terrible, dreadful joke. I am sorry. I had relatives who died in the Camps, too. What can I say? Sometimes I am rude and crude without meaning to be) that it might simulate the dimensions of a head denuded of hair by horrible chemo drugs. Oh god, that's an even worse statement. I am sorry. I should go be where people are not.

On the flip side, the blonde would probably laugh at both of those remarks, which maybe tells you something about my taste in men.

Where were we, before I'd alienated half the Western world? Not that half the Western world can be counted within my readership, but you know what I mean.

Okay, so, Shan's friend wanted some pretty things to put on her head during a difficult and unpretty time, and I was really very happy to oblige, and I even had some exquisitely soft Merino in my stash that I thought would suit. So I got to work, knitted it up, fracked it up, let it sit through the holiday-knitting-rush, picked it back up, ripped it out, knitted it up again, and voila. Kinda pretty, I think.

It's already on its way to the great white north, where the intended recipient dwells, and where, I imagine, winter will last long enough that she will still get some use out of it. Assuming that it fits, that is. See aforementioned in-poor-taste notes about the dimensions of my tiny head.

Anyhoo. On to other knitting. Miz Fury's mittens, and Then What? I have so much pretty new yarn I am almost choked with it, and it's going to be very hard to decide what to knit next.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am not replete with boy-toys, so I shall probably be doing more knitting in the next few months than I have done thus far this Woolly Season. Which means I have some choices to make. Here are the contenders:

From left to right, the yarns are:
1. Handpainted Yarn bulky merino (except it's really an aran-weight) in Noche Lunar, 2. Twist of Fate Spinnery 50/50 wool and alpaca worsted in natural chocolate brown, and 3. Malabrigo worsted crack -er- merino in Verde Esperanza.

The respective projects would be:

1. A narrow Clapotis
2. The long-awaited Wrap Sweater (from my own sketch of months ago)
3. A simple scarf (seed stitch or mistake rib or somethin' like that) or perhaps more fingerless mittens (pour moi, this time), though really I think I want a scarf out of this green, which is far more intense and teal-like in person than in the photo.

So...votes? What to do first?