Eleven Stitches

A Perfect Storm

Thanks for all of the nice comments on the last post.  It's so invigorating to have my artwork to get such a warm reception!

Due to some mechanisms put in place quite a while ago, a phenomenon occurred in the Eleven Stitches mailbox earlier this week.  I got four packages in two days.  Some might even call it (hushed voice:) a perfect storm.

Last week, I ordered some yarn from Sundara.  It was some of her "Limited Edition" yarns, and I was proud of myself for being fast enough to snap some up. This is Charcoal over Cotton Candy in sportweight.  Love. It. I hear that Knitting on the Road has some patterns for thicker weight yarn, so I'll be looking there for inspiration.

In March, I also ordered some of Sundara's anniversary Cherry Blossom sock yarn.  Sundara said it took her so long to get it to me because she had over twice the number of orders than she expected.  I'm not surprised-- she's so talented!

In February, All Things Heather put out a request for donations to Reach for the Stars. I donated, and as a thank you, Heather sent me some of her wonderful yarn.  I didn't make any color requests, so she just sent me a random skein.  It's so lovely, and it's a perfect color for me.

In January, I joined the Socks that Rock Rockin' Sock Club.  The April shipment arrived in the mail in the same day as my All Things Heather yarn.  It's very pretty, and the silk content gives an interesting effect to the color.  Almost a barber pole look.

So there you have it.  Things I did in January, February, March, and April made me a very happy girl on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. (I'm loving the macro mode on my new camera, BTW.  It really shows off the yarn!)

Eye Candy Friday

Well, I just talked about my art quilts, but I realized that the ones I've shown so far haven't been all that "arty".  Here's two of my favorites.

Me: A Work in Progress  54" x 66"

This my fingerprint.  I inked it, scanned it into a .bmp image, altered that to create a pattern, had the pattern printed out, and then made the quilt from that.  It's in my favorite colors, and I had plans for a more intricate quilting pattern on it that I have yet to do.  So it's a work in progress.  I like that.

My Zebras 25" x 61"

I'm really fascinated with black and white fabrics.  They all contain only two colors, yet they provide such a range of tones just by the thickness of their lines and the density of the pattern placement.  This is actually a gradation of black and white fabrics.... there are 12 of them all together.  It was almost as fun to make this quilt as it was to come up with the concept.

My Story (Part of It)

Several years ago, I graduated from a Small University with a degree in Computer Science.  I moved to Maryland and started working at Government Place with my shiny new degree, and I actually upgraded to a Masters Degree (also in Computer Science) from Big University.  Life was good, but I started to notice that I would come home from work and spend the entire evening quilting.  In fact, I was thinking about quilting during the day, and I could not wait to get home and start quilting again. 

It just so happens that Government Place had a gallery in one of the main employee areas, and it welcomed its employees to put up their work for a month at a time.  I signed up for a month, and spent even more time putting together a series of quilts.  I had 21 pieces in my show (these weren't full bed size-- they were mostly crib sized) and I sold several of them.  I was quite impressed that strangers were willing to pay a fair amount of money for something I made. 

This success really made me yearn for something more.  My job was interesting, and I was good at it, but it just wasn't satisfying enough.  Life events (meeting a boy, falling in love, having a long-distance relationship) caused me to move to Princeton, and I found a new job at Medium Sized Company. This job was new and interesting, and that yearning for something more quieted a bit.  Of course, as the newness wore off the yearning came back. I began idly talking about someday going to art school.

Last summer my friend A asked me why I didn't just start now.  Seize the moment, and all that.  I started looking at programs in the area, and ran across Art Therapy.  It's a mix of psychology and art.  I went home and told my boyfriend that I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I think that art alone wasn't enough for me to take the next step, but this therapy element was exactly what I needed.  I could still work with people.  I could make a positive difference.

I started taking psychology classes at Local University.  I got more into the subject the more I learned about it -- a very good sign.  When it came time to apply to schools I was nervous.  I had the psych credits all tied up, but the only art experience I had was what I had done on my own.  With some encouragement from David, I went for it. 

A couple of weeks ago I had an interview.  I was terrified of two things: a) I would be rejected b) I would be accepted.  It didn't seem like there was any way out of being terrified, here.  In fact, there was a third option.  They really liked me.  They exclaimed over my portfolio (yay, real artists liked my stuff). They said I needed more art credits. Maybe I should defer for a year and catch up on those?

As soon as this was suggested, it sounded like the perfect option for me.  I'll have another year to decide if this is what I really want to do. I'll get to take art classes and enjoy myself.  The only drawback is that I can't get started on this new venture right away, but the truth is that I'm not quite ready.

I promised I'd tell this story when I had an ending, and I got a rejection letter in the mail on Monday.  It stung a little bit, even though it makes perfect logical sense.  Truthfully, it's not an ending to this story.  It's a preface to next year's story.

Uncharted Purls

I've turned the heel of my Merino Lace Sock. It's been a really great knit so far.  The pattern is simple enough to memorize, but it still keeps me thinking with the three different lace stitches.

I did notice a problem after I turned the heel.  The purl stitches that were in between each lace pattern were not on the instep chart. 

At first I thought this was a design element, but it bothered me that the purl stitches weren't there to set off the lace.  I really like that effect.  I then noticed the picture in the book, and there are definitely purl stitches on the instep.

After Googling  "Merino Lace Socks" + errata, I found this post on Manning Knits. Liz wrote me and said that she had heard from Interweave Knits, and they reported that the chart was correct in the original magazine, but it had the error in the Favorite Socks book.  The second printing of the book corrects this, but I noticed that the books in both LYSs I visited yesterday had this error.

If you do knit these socks, the error should be apparent to you and easy to fix.  I just thought I'd point it out that you should do what you expect to do on the instep :)

Acquisitions

I made a few purchases this weekend.  My friend C needed to get to some crafty stores, so we stopped by the Wooly Lamb and Pennington Quilt works (which is right next door).  I had never been to the Wooly Lamb before, so it was interesting to actually visit the store. They had a big store with a lot of yarn, but strangely I wasn't drawn to much of it.  I'm not sure why.  It could be that there wasn't much of any hand-dyed sock yarn, and that's what usually gets me.

I was able to pick up some older Vogue and Interweave Knits magazines at half price.

It was nice to visit Pennington Quilt Works again.  I hadn't been there in awhile.  I was specifically looking for some backing fabric for a small quilt I've been working on.  This fabric seemed to fit the bill.

I also picked up some Amy Butler fabrics.  They're so fun!

But my biggest acquisition this weekend was a new camera!  I had been thinking about getting one for awhile.  I've started to keep my camera with me all the time, and my old one was a little bit too hefty to fit comfortably in my purse.  It also used 4 AA batteries, and I was going through batteries like candy since I started blogging.

This actually a step up from what I was planning to buy.  When I got to the store, this camera was on sale for the same price as the one I was planning to get! It only weighs 6 oz. (old camera was 11 oz.), and it has an optical image stabilizer, so lower light pictures will be easier to take!

Eye Candy Friday

The sun has finally returned to Princeton. Perhaps we will have some Spring this month.

Edited to add: Further evidence from lunch today.  This is why I keep a camera with me!

And Now For Something Completely Different

I wasn't quite ready to tackle my second Child's First Sock, so I thought I would cast on for a different pair.

This is a Merino Lace Sock from Favorite Socks.  The pattern is styled in a similar way to aran sweaters, but it uses lace patterns instead.  There's three complimentary lace patterns altogether. I think it makes for an attractive sock, and it's also interesting to knit.

I'm using the Wollmeise yarn (colorway is Brombeere in medium), and the colors are absolutely fabulous. They're so rich, and even though there's a riot of different colors going on, the entire sock reads as one color.  This is great for showing off the fancy lace stitches.

The yarn itself is not as stretchy or soft as I hoped.  I've also had issues with it splitting, but this is mostly when I make a mistake and have to tink back a few stitches.  In the end, the yarn is definitely worth using.  I'm thinking, however, about ways I might improve its texture.  I'm planning to knit a test swatch and swish it in water with some conditioner.  I also might try the Pure Laine yarn on the Woolmeise website, and see how it compares.  I'll have to find something that works, because I want to experience more of these fabulous colors!

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try again

The first Child's First Sock was no match for me. 

I am very stubborn.  I couldn't stand letting the sock win, so I ripped it back the day after I realized it didn't fit. I added 14 extra rows to the heel flap, bringing it to just over 2 inches.  The fit is now perfect!

I got my replacement Ming yarn in the mail.

And I was able to complete the back.  I picked out the ribbing along the bottom so I could reknit it in the blue.  It seems to be a good match.

Kristy: 2
Problem Knitting: 0

I'm sure all of you were wondering if Sasha approved of the yarn I bought at Loop.  It was touch-and-go for awhile, but it all worked out in the end.

Two Cities, Two Days

Here are the promised pictures of what I got at Loop.

Malabrigo Worsted Weight in Rhodesian, 3 skeins.  Destined to become a cable-y baby sweater.

Koigu KPPPM in P602 and P415

Schaefer Anne in Shan.  I've been wanting to try this yarn, and this was my first time to see it in person.  I'm excited to work with it!

I also picked up a copy of Knitting on the Road.  I've seen a lot of great socks from this collection patterns, and I'm happy to now own a copy. 

Yesterday David and I went to New York.  We had tickets for this:

And we also got to go backstage afterwards and meet the star of the show!  David is friends with Bebe's father, and he made sure we got to meet her.  Getting buzzed in to go backstage?  So cool.

Bebe was so nice, and we had a lot of fun talking to her about the show. I feel so fortunate that I got to meet her and see her perform!

Happy Friday the 13th

I had to get up very early (for me) this morning to go to Philly.  Things went very well, I think, and I feel quite good about today. I'll give you the whole story when I have an ending to it :)

One VERY good thing about Philadelphia was finally getting to visit Loop!  Wow, this was a great store. I wasn't given permission to take any pictures inside, so you'll just have to imagine a whole rack of Koigu yarn.  (I think it was 16 cubbies altogether!) There was also Malabrigo, Blue Sky Alpaca, Alchemy, and Lorna's Laces.  Wow!  It took me some time to take it all in.

But I did manage to pull myself together and pick up a few things. 

I'll give you more details when I have the energy to take some photos.  I'll leave you with one of my favorites.  Malabrigo worsted weight in Rhodesian.

Actual knitting content will return very soon!