Emily knits

RIP John Updike

2009-01-27T19:28:00.002-05:00

A few hours ago, I read about the passing of the author John Updike. If you haven't read him, you should. I recommend:

The Witches of Eastwick
The Widows of Eastwick (a 20 year later follow-up to The Witches of Eastwick)
The Rabbit novels

RIP

Free at last, free at last

2009-01-05T08:30:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I am stealing a great Civil Rights phrase and using it for something silly: a [Finally] finished object:

The Crazy-making blanket (once known as the Learn To Knit Afghan) is complete. I even wove in the ends.

I think the blanket-making bug is out of my system. Unfortunately I am halfway through another blanket. (Good thing it is a cold winter!) I am halfway through with a blanket that is a combination of the Knitters squares from The Great American Afghan, The Great American Aran Afghan, The Great North American Afghan, and Vogue Stitchionary: Cables. I'm too far along to rip it out, but I don't really want to finish it either. Way to start a new year.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T22:00:00.002-05:00

2008 had some high points and some (really) low points, but I'm conflicted about kicking it to the curb. I realize that I don't have any choice - 2009 didn't ask my opinion about arriving and arrived it has.

We are still early enough in the year to hope that the lowest points 2009 brings us will be on par or better than the highest points of last year. May 2009 and bring us all health and happiness.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-06-20T12:40:00.002-04:00

Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!

Rejoice! Not only because it is my birthday (although that should be reason enough) but because a Cardiff based psychologist as declared that June 20th is the happiest day of the year. (No, really - he has an equation and everything. It is very scientific.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2158104/Today-is-the-happiest-day-of-the-year-according-to-Cliff-Arnall's-maths-formula.html

still here

2008-05-19T15:05:00.002-04:00

and still in a life funk. But, at least it has been sunny, mostly. This morning on NPR they did a story on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I was so tickled by the idea of these two entities: NPR and BTVS overlapping I just wanted to post the story link. It actually was pretty interesting.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90584068

funk

2008-05-08T13:58:00.003-04:00

While I may be too late to help make Stephen Colbert google's Greatest Living American, I wanted to share a little laugh (who couldn't use a laugh?) courtesy of S'n'B last night:

Eddie Izzard as Darth Vader in LEGO!

About the funk of the title, I am in a knitting funk. I just can't seem to find something that appeals to me and that I can actually use for myself. I don't know, perhaps it is just the general life funk that has finally crept into my knitting which is well, really bad. I just looked over my 2007 charity knitting stats and I realized that I am not being as generous this year. Oh well. That is the sum total of emotion that I can generate over that.

I need (at the least) for the knitting funk to go away. Soon.

Silent Poetry Reading

2008-02-02T20:11:00.000-05:00

Here is my poem for the blogger silent poetry reading on Groundhog Day.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

full text is here http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/530.html

My favorite part:

610 Farewell, farewell! but this I tell
611 To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!
612 He prayeth well, who loveth well
613 Both man and bird and beast.

614 He prayeth best, who loveth best
615 All things both great and small;
616 For the dear God who loveth us,
617 He made and loveth all.

Happy Groundhog Day or Feast of St. Brigid if you celebrate

NaNo 2007

2007-11-30T15:07:00.000-05:00

It's official - I'm done.

The story isn't finished and I probably have a million typos and inconsistencies (John became James etc) but for the moment, I'm done.

Official wordcount: 50,326 words.

Surprisingly enough, the words the end were not among them

NaNoWriMo

2007-11-30T10:20:00.000-05:00

The end is in sight.

So little time (13.5 hours) and so many words to go...

Presents! (both the giving & receiving)

2007-11-28T09:10:00.000-05:00

My Ravelry Scarf Exchange swap is complete.

First, the giving:

I would love to take the ~~high~~ adult road and claim that giving is better tahn receiving, but I just can't. The receiving:

Eat your heart out ladies, that is a malabrigo scarf I have there.

quick update

2007-11-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

I am knitting the 16th square of a mini-Learn to Knit Afghan for the December Afghans for Afghans newborn drive. I'm trying desperately to use up the Lamb's Pride in my stash. I love the colors of this yarn and I really like feel of the fabric it knits up into, but I can't can't can't stand the mohair. Especially the shedding mohair. Everywhere.

I just keep telling myself that there is no place like a mohair-free home.

two posts in one day?

2007-11-07T13:15:00.000-05:00

Just finished today's writing and my new word count is: 11,704. Casualty count?

1 ruined Halloween courtesy of the aftereffects of a hurricane
10 frightened children
1 frightened, threatened protagonist
1 murder victim
1 Elvis impersonator assaulted (by said protagonist)
1 child in pirate costume made fun of (by other children) for his too dignified monocle
several pounds of halloween candy drowned in rain water (I'm not sure how many unhappy children that converts into, however)

On the knitting front, I have completed my Ravelry Scarf Exchagne Scarf. I just have to block it. (No pictures until I mail off the scarf and assorted goodies)

NaPoBogMo vs NaNoWriMo vs NaKniSweMo

2007-11-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

Boy am I glad I didn't sign up for two out of the three - I can barely keep up with the one I did sign up for. Besides, who do I think I'd be kidding if I said I was going to blog everyday for a month? Knit a sweater in a month? Hah! (Knit a blanket square everyday for a month, maybe...hey, there's an idea NaBlanKnitMo, anyone? Who's with me?)

Anyway, I am participating in NaNoWriMo or the National Novel Writing Month. This is my third time, and if I hit the 50k mark, it will be my second "win." In an effort to keep myself honest, I am embedding a progress meter here. Let's see if it works

somebody stop me!

2007-10-16T11:22:00.001-04:00

I have yet to block & assemble my learn to knit afghan, in fact, I have yet to stop making squares.

Initially I aded one square (the hounds-tooth check from A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker) to the 63 in the book so that I could have an 8x8 afghan instead of a 7x9. Never one to leave well enough alone I have knit another 8 squares bringing the total up to 72 squares for an 8x9 afghan. If I don't move on to the next step soon, it will become a 9x9 and then a 9x10 or even a 10x10 afghan. I only have a queen sized bed!

I just can't seem to get out of the blanket/afghan/throw rut, however. Why I can't commit to a sweater right now is anyone's guess. Argh.

Pictures of the last 20 or so squares to come, hopefully later today.

Farmhouse Yarns

2007-08-19T10:35:00.000-04:00

aka Stash Enhancement

Jenn, Sami, and I ventured out into the wilds of Connecticut and went to Farmhouse Yarns for her "fill-a-bag" sale. It was something alright. I originally planned to buy nothing (yes, feel free to laugh here - can you imagine me leaving a yarn sale empty-handed? Apparently neither could I) having just come along for the ride. Yup.

But, I didn't do too badly - the three of us split a bag ($159 for all the yarn you can shove in a bag and shove is the operative word here) and I came home with 6 skeins of yarn. By my standards that's practically nothing, anyway.

The loot:

2 skeins Bessie (mohair/wool)in Rainforest
2 skeins Bessie (mohair/wool)in Wine Rose
2 skeins Andy (100% merino wool)in Violet

Visually:

*Yes, there is a skein missing - one of the violet skeins is already on its way to becoming a pair of fuzzy feet slippers for me. It's getting cold here and felted slippers seem like a perfect use for this yarn*

IN which I admit to being Monkish and prehaps a lousy person

2007-07-29T09:37:00.000-04:00

So, as most of my S'n'B friends can tell you I do a lot of charity knitting. A. LOT. OF. CHARITY. KNITTING. In fact, outside of a few things I have knit for my mother, my cousin, and my blanket (nope, still not blocked nor sewn up but the knitting? Yup, still finished) just about everything I have knit since starting again has been for charity. Since February of 2006 (when I began again) I think the list of recipients is as follows:

Warm Up America
Dulaan Project - both 2006 & 2007 deliveries
Afghans for Afghans
Blanket of Hope
Gracious Parcels
Red scarf Project
Warm Woolies
Caps to the Capitol
The Snuggles Project

I'm sure there are others, but these are all I can come up with at the moment.

Why am I reciting this? It's not to feel like a good person or lay all this out so that other people can tell me what I good person I am. I am laying this all out because I have come to a place I never thought I'd be - sick and tired of helping other people.

Does this make me a bad person? I got an email from the Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation about needing even more stuff and I deleted it unopened. I did the same thing to an email I got from Afghans for Afghans recently. I just feel good-works out, if that made any sense.

But that is not the sick (ill, not gross)part of the story - Even though the thought of more charity knitting right now hurts my brain, I have a nearly overwhelming compulsion to knit for whatever cause comes along. There is a pleading voice inside my head that whines on about how much need there is in the world...

So, I decided to rob Peter to donate to Paul. Does that make sense? Here is what I mean. I have a box designated for Warm Woolies. I was originally going to send them 25 items but somehow it has grown (yes, Virignia, knitwear really can multiply) to 34 items. Not happy with 34* I was going to add some more before mailing. For anyone else knitting for Warm Woolies, I earmark my things for the Rosebud Reservation. But then I got the email from Pine Ridge reservation and teh thought of cold women & children who are also victims of domestic violence set that voice a-chattering. It told me to knit, knit, knit wile my wrists beg me not to.

Now the real question: Is it ok for me to take out items from the Warm Woolies box (leaving the 25 I originally decided to send) and put the remaining 8 items into a box for Pine Ridge?

Am I a bad person for leaving people cold on one reservation while warming people up on another?

*To explain the Monkish tendencies, I like even numbers over odd numbers (except multiples of 5) but multiples of 10 are nearly perfect numbers. So, having 34 items needles at me to become 35 items and 8 items puches to be 10. But 35 and 8 are better than 33 and 7. Argh.

ravelry!

2007-07-24T13:50:00.000-04:00

I got my ravelry invite this morning and have been on it pretty much ever since. I have several projects up, but I am not looking forward to adding my stash. Perhaps I'll just wait until after tonight's swap.

Webs!

2007-06-25T14:31:00.000-04:00

We took a stitch 'n' bitch field trip to Webs on Saturday! I have never seen so much yarn in one place before. It was an experience - I have felt overwhelmed (by a location) only once before and that was in Las Vegas. Las Vegas (or the strip anyway) both fascinated and disgusted me, and that says something given that I am from New York. Anyway, I almost left Webs empty-handed, but ultimately bought a few things:

2 skeins Lorna's Laces Shepherd worsted in Rainbow colorway; purchased to make an EZ baby surprise jacket/sweater for Miss Izzy
2 skeins of Malabrigo worsted in Cuarzo colorway; purchased to make a scarf/purse combination for Miss Mikaela (even I know you can't make presents for one sibling without having presents for the other sibling)
2 skeins of Valley Amherst (Webs' house brand) in black and 2 skeins of Valley Rainbow in plum colorway; purchased to make a felted stained glass purse for me.

Pictures to come - I've already cast on for the purse, the sweater will come next. I haven't yet figured out what scarf I'm going to make for Mikaela. I'm thinking I may do the Branching Out scarf from knitty but I have some other thoughts. I'm not really in any hurry - Miss Mikaela's birthday isn't until December, and Miss Izzy's birthday comes around in January.

Oh, and before I forget: I am down to my last 5 squares...

light at the end of the knitting tunnel

2007-06-21T12:46:00.000-04:00

I still have to take pictures of my latest knitting adventures (ha!) but I am very happy to report that I have only 6 squares left to knit.

The end is in sight! (The first person to remind me about the washing/blocking/assembling portions of the blanket gets a punch in the nose.)

Also, I just wanted to thank my friends at the New Haven S'n'B for making my birthday such a nice day yesterday. I especially want to thank Heidi for the cupcakes, Sami for the wallet, and Suzy for the flowers.

Pictures to come.

Squares, part 2

2007-06-14T10:32:00.001-04:00

Square 51: Variation Cables in Bottle Green
Square 52: Single-Stranded Lace in Violet
There are another 3 squares, but I have yet to photograph them

Next up: pictures of my Warm Woolies donations (aka impossibly small sweaters, vests socks etc)

squares!

2007-06-14T10:25:00.001-04:00

Square 46: Bobble and Leaf in PeacockSquare 47: Houndstooth Check in That's Purple & Aran
Square 48: Willow Bud Tree in Aran
Square 49: Serpentine Cables in Navy
Square 50: Inchworm in Bottle Green & Aran

Bet you thought you could escape...

re-enlisting in Stashalong 2007

2007-06-13T14:35:00.000-04:00

I am reupping for another three months with option 1 - no new yarn unless I absolutely need it for a particular project that cannot [in any way, shape or form] be satisfied by my stash knitting.

My commitment: No new yarn purchases (excepting free days) from June 13, 2007 through September 13, 2007.

Pictures and more details to follow...

Seven random things

2007-06-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

Heidi tagged me and I have been too long in answering. So, here goes.

1. I am left handed but knit, use a computer mouse, and I'm sure I do many other things right handed. Have you ever tried to cut paper with a one of the left handed scissors they used to give left-handed kids?

2. I love to cook and bake.

3. I wrote a novel during NaNoWriMo 2004. Please don't ask me anything about it - I haven't looked at it since November 2004 - writing an entire novel in 30 days made me really sick & tired of it.

4. I am an equal opportunity caffeine abuser - coffee, tea, mate, chocolate.

5. I love opera, but the best live musical performance I ever saw (aka had the most fun at) was an Alice Cooper concert. (I did go to the concert with the same friend I sometimes go to the opera with - at least I'm not alone in my nuttiness)

6. I love movies of all different kinds, especially classics and movies so bad they're great (Conan the Barbarian for example.)

7. There is a strange collection of foods I don't eat - avocado, mushrooms, organ meats etc. I'm not sure they have anything in common other than the fact that I don't eat them. I'll cook them for you though, but I warn you - I'll only be guessing the right way to make them.

more squares

2007-04-18T14:22:00.000-04:00

Square 42: Tilting Trellis in AranSquare 43: Cabled Lattice in Violet
Square 44: Faggoting (yes, it is a knitting term) and Fancy Rib in Royal Purple, unblocked
Square 45: Vine Leaf Panel in Palm Green

knitpics!

2007-04-18T14:10:00.000-04:00

Square 37: Wrung Rib cable in That's PurpleSquare 38: Four-Rib Braid and Open Cables in Peacock
Square 39: Leaning Stripes in Bottle Green & Palm Green
Square 40: Twisted Panels in That's Blue
Square 41: Ripple in Aran & Burgundy

LTKA update

2007-04-18T12:33:00.000-04:00

45 squares are now done!

I have made/am making a few changes to the plan:

Substitutions:

Book: Assorted Mock Cables to be replaced by Serpentine Cables
Book: Trinity Stitch to be replaced by Saxon Braid/Celtic Cable

Additional Square - I will be adding one square, a multicolored Houndstooth Check

Pictures of the completed squares (not in any order) to come

baby knitting

2007-04-10T17:58:00.000-04:00

I have a box (no pictures - is seeing a taped cardboard box blogworthy? Just take my word for the box) with 30 knitted items for the Dulaan project. I originally signed up for the "Dulaan 10,000 or Bust" drive - which obligated me to knit five items. I knit 50 total (the first 20 went out in a box back in January) which I think means that I can leave Dulaan alone until 2008.

But, I came across another site, Warm Woolies (just google them, linking is beyond me at the moment) that is collecting warm clothing for children in orphanages etc. I have two baby sweaters for them so far, and another two toddler/small child sweaters on the needles. They seem impossibly small to me:

Above: a sweater made from lamb's Pride bulky in Aztec Turquoise & Brite Blue
Above: 12 month size sweater made from Bear Creek (super bulky) in Bubblegum

knitting update

2007-03-27T11:10:00.000-04:00

Pictures to come, but I have completed another three squares and some quick (but sweet & unbelievably tiny) charity knitting.

Still soldiering on with the blanket...

LTKA to date

2007-03-18T09:46:00.000-04:00

no new knitting - my wrists are beginning to bother me, so less knitting for me :(

the first 36:

square 35 & 36

2007-03-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

Square 35: Arches in Navy

Square 36: Arrowhead Mesh (unblocked) in Peacock

squares 33 & 34

2007-03-09T08:55:00.000-05:00

Square 33: Bias Stripe in Aran & That's Blue

Square 34: Lacing Cable in That's Purple

halfway through! (in pictures, even)

2007-03-07T11:58:00.000-05:00

Square 30 (#54) :Seafoam in Aran & Navy

Square 31 (#28): Twining Rib in Royal Purple

Square 32 (#34): Double Cables in Burgundy

In completing 32 squares, I am officially over he halfway hump of the blanket.

knitting news

2007-03-05T17:33:00.000-05:00

pictures to follow, but I finished 3 squares this weekend, bringing my total up to 32. That means that I am halfway through.

I thought it might just get put away until next winter, but we had snow today - anything goes, I suppose.

LTKA and charity squares knitting

2007-02-25T11:15:00.000-05:00

Square 28 (#26): Twisted Columns in peacock & navy:

Two charity projects, all (not surprisingly) squares or rectangles, anyway:

Gracious Parcels: 2 squares (now 4 courtesy of being a slug yesterday evening):

Blanket of Hope: 5 squares/rectangles/strips:

squares!

2007-02-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know this is getting monotonous, but bear with me. I really want to get through this blanket.

Square 26 (#24 in the book): Cottage Check in aran & peacock
Square 27 (#25 in book) - The Wave, in that's purple:

finally, a new square

2007-02-19T09:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, so my blanket is creeping along - I now have completed 25 squares. I also surprised myself by doing a few squares out of order (OCD much?) but have gone back to trying to finish them in order.

So my 25th square, which is square #23, the honeycomb in navy & that's blue:

new squares

2007-02-12T07:38:00.000-05:00

Square 33: Simple cables with moss stitch, in peacock

Square 21: florentine Frieze in aran & royal purple

Square 30: Twisted lattice in aran

squares

2007-02-06T20:11:00.000-05:00

Square 19: Instant Plaid in burgundy & royal purple
20. Scale quilting in bottle green & palm green (cascade 220)
22. Diagonal Weave in aran & navy

No, there is no mistake here, I skipped square 21, "Florentine frieze" because I need to concentrate on that square and could not do that during stitch 'n' bitch.

stash enhancement

2007-02-06T20:06:00.000-05:00

First, the spoils on the Superbowl XLI sale:

1 skein Naturally Nazareth wool in summer
1 skein Eco Wool in red
2 skeins Eco Wool in silver grey
2 skeins Cascade 220 in Hyacinth Purple
1 skein Cascade 220 in Dark Plum

pics to follow

2007-02-06T10:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, more squares to show. I am now officially one-third done knitting the Learn to Knit afghan!!!

I have finished 21 squares. Suddenly this project feels less-than never-ending. Unfortunately, I have made zero progress on my other quilt. Must get back on that soon.

Confession time:

I bought yarn on Sunday - ok, it was my stash enhancement day, but I bought yarn I don't even know what I am going to do with. Yarn Garden had a superbowl sale with all yarns priced at 41% off. How can you pass that up? So, I bought three skeins of eco wool and some cascade 220 (5 skeins.) I got to the register, and all that yarn cost me $53.00. I almost bought more. I didn't because we were headed to Yarn Barn afterwards. I ultimately didn't buy anything there - not for any attack of conscience or responsibility but because the sale was disorganized, the store was a zoo, and the line was at least 40 people long. So, I got away with yarn and no strike on the stashalong, but ever since (yes, it's only Tuesday) I have been thinking yarn. Buying yarn, stocking up on yarn...projects for the eco wool - realizing that I should have purchased more eco wool etc. Oh, I can feel a strike coming on. Damn.

more family pics!

2007-02-02T10:58:00.000-05:00

Ok, get ready for more cute baby photos (the antidote to today's unpleasant weather)

1. Mom & baby:
2. The sisters:

Baby love. Have a great weekend!

squares 17 & 18

2007-02-01T09:27:00.000-05:00

I know, I know what a surprise - I'm posting knitting & squares.

Square 17: Woven Tweed, colors: Aran & Bottle Green

Square 18: Hexagons, Colors: Aran & That's Purple

square 16

2007-01-28T09:20:00.000-05:00

Square 16: Double Scroll, knit with Navy & That's Blue. I'm not really sure I like this square, but after the silly mistakes in the last few (which I just left in - what better way to announce this is handmade? That's my story & I'm sticking to it.)

So, this square brings the total to 16 (yes, that is 16 down and 47 to go...):

It is more colorful than I was imagining, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. But I'll worry about that later. It's not as though I think I'll run out of yarn anytime soon.

But, finishing square 16 also means that I have completed two sections of the afghan (knit/purl combinations & mosaic patterns).

Section 1: Knit & Purl Combinations:

Section 2: Mosaic Patterns

squares, squares, squares

2007-01-25T21:58:00.000-05:00

My Lord, it's cold out. I just checked my local weather and the actual temperature is 17F and "it feels like 4F." Let's not discuss the wind howling outside. On to more pleasant things...knitting!

I have three new squares to present in my LTKA:

The details:

Square 13 - Greek Cross in Peacock & Aran

Square 14 - Chevron in Aran, Burgundy, Royal Purple, & That's Blue

Square 15 - Stepped Fret in Violet (Knitpicks' Wool of the Andes) and That's Purple

P&S yarns is closing Sunday

2007-01-24T16:38:00.000-05:00

Do i go? I don't think I need any more wool for the LTKA, but somehow I feel a pull toward playing hooky tomorrow and heading into NYC. Argh.

Falling behind

2007-01-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

I am off-track on my LTKA. I was hoping to finish a square every day or two, but these mosaic squares are taking much longer than I anticipated. The reason? I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just moving more slowly? Perhaps the cold weather is taking a toll on my hands? Could be either or them, or a combination. But, I also noticed something that is a cross between annoying and annoying - most of these squares are done in garter stitch with slipped stitches to create the pattern. Ok, so I get the whole "feel the nubby texture" idea (the whole point of this afghan is to explore new styles/patterns/techniques/textures etc) but all of them? That adds at least two repeats of each pattern to the square. Methinks I may do the final mosaic squares in stockinette, just to see what it's like...

The suddenly freezing cold weather has been good for something

2007-01-20T21:04:00.000-05:00

Details

Square Name & Number: Square 12 - Harlequin
Yarn Colors: Aran & That's Blue

At this rate, I might actually finish this blanket in 2007!

LTKA square 11

2007-01-19T20:30:00.000-05:00

The details:

Square Name: Miniature Mosaic
Yarn: Aran & Burgundy

knitting family news

2007-01-17T10:58:00.000-05:00

Taking a break from the knitting news, I am very excited to announce a new family member...

Meet Isabelle, born yesterday afternoon (being held by her very happy dad):

Since mom isn't pictured, a photo from the wedding last year:

"Learn to Knit Afghan" progress to date

2007-01-15T19:02:00.000-05:00

I have completed the first section of the Learn to Knit afghan [book], knit & purl combinations, and have done two squares from the mosaic section. The author suggests that you use four colors - 2 dark & 2 light - but I went a little yarn ~~crazy~~ happy in a yarn store, so I had more than 4 colors and not really enough of any of them (28 oz each of the light and 12 oz each of the dark) to use only four colors. I know myself well enough that if I went back to the LYS "to buy more of the colors I had already chosen" I would have come away with WAY TOO much yarn (yes, I am a yarn addict, how did you guess?).

The solution? A jewel-toned afghan with using most of the Patons Classic Merino I purchased. The colors (always subject to addition - I am now back in CT with access to my knitpicks yarn) are:

Aran (cream/off-white)
Burgundy
Bottle Green
Navy
That's Blue
That's Purple
Royal Purple
Peacock

The pictures:

I. First section (knit-purl combinations)

Back row (or top?): Garter & Rib (7) in bottle green, Striped Stockinette (2) in aran & bottle green; Middle row: Basketweave (3) in burgundy, Diagonal rib (5) in aran, Rose fabric (8) in burgundy & nvay; Bottom row: Twisted & Crossed rib (6) in that's purple, Lattice with seed stitch in that's blue, Striped garter in aran & navy.

II. Mosaic patterns
Left: Horizontal chain (9) in peacock & navy
Right: Diagonal chain (10) in aran & royal purple
Both squares are much richer in color but the flash washed them out.

The state of knitting affairs

2007-01-15T11:27:00.000-05:00

My progress to date (1/15/07) on my blanket:

Actually, the fourth strip is complete, I apparently didn't photograph it in it's entirety.

The details:

100% wool - Cascade 220, Wool of the Andes, Fishermen's Wool, Classic Merino, Sol, Kureyon, Silk Garden
Patterns taken from several stitch books
Approximate finished dimensions: 100"*100"
Borders/Edging: Each strip will have a single crochet border in black, and then the strips will be sewn together and the entire blanket will be bordered in black wool

2007 Stashalong Goals

2007-01-15T10:59:00.000-05:00

This is the stash (or at least the skeins I photographed):

Why yes, it is a lot of yarn...I recently created a spreadsheet to keep track of my ~~gluttony~~ spoils, and I have 340 skeins of wool which translates roughly to a little over 60,000 yards of wool. This is not counting the acrylic, wool-acrylic belnds, carry along yarns etc.

So, onto the stashalong goals:

Option 1: I will NOT BUY yarn for the next 3 months unlesss I need something to complete a project currently in progress (see #2)
Option 3: Finishing UFOs - I have several UFOs to complete. I can't officially select this option as I have only two UFOs I want to complete during this challenge. Unfortunately for my wrists they are both blankets:

Queen Sized Afghan for my bed - I have 4 strips of 10 complete, each strip comprised of 9 or 10 squares of knitting, each with a different pattern. My goal is to have this completed by July, becasue that will be one year since I began it. In reality, however, I'll take it any time before it gets cold again next fall/winter.
Learn to Knit Afghan from Barbara Walker's Learn to Knit Afghan Book - I have completed 10 of the 63 sqaures and am currently working at the pace of one square every two or three days. (Pictures will follow soon, when I upload them from my camera.

A new year, a new blog

2007-01-09T19:11:00.000-05:00

Blogger wouldn' let me move my blog from the "old" blogger to the new one. So, I did something [that for me] more terrifying than dropping a needle mid-lace pattern, I hit the delete button. Then, I hit the "yes, i am sure" button, and the old ergknits is gone forever. Welcome one and all to the all new Emily Knits site.

A little ~~boring~~ bit about me: I am a graduate student, studying epidemiology. Yes, I am one of those do-gooders (as my TA recently referred to me) that wants to save the world one sick person at a time. I also try to save the world one knitted object at a time. My "charitable knitting" tally for 2006 is:

Red Scarf Project: 2 scarves

Dulaan Project: 46 items

Afghans for Afghans: 3 items

Soaring Eagles Project: 7 items

Snuggles Project (through Hugs for Homeless Animals): 7 items

Warm Up America: 6 items

My Sister's Place: 1 item (it was a twin-sized blanket, though)

Caps to the Capital: 16 items

As much as I enjoy knitting for others, I have recently come around to the notion of knitting for myself as well. This is largely what my knitting in 2007 will be about.