FemiKnitMafia

Okay folks. I have a request. My friend Steel Womb had her hysterectomy last Thursday and was supposed to leave the hospital on Saturday. There were some complications, which are fairly minor from what I can gather. She and her partner/finance L have been there for an extra 3 days already and now the docs are estimating another 6 days! Steel Womb and L are going absolutely stir crazy. But they DO have a laptop and internet access in the hospital room, so this is clearly where we can help. Go team!

Can you please post links to your favorite hilarious, heart-warming, sexy,
inspiring, or just plain raunchy websites in the comments?

Steel Womb is a knitter, but L is not. I can’t wait to see your ideas. The girls will be delighted and eternally grateful, I’m sure.

Okay, here’s the crappy part: I mailed this little womb last week, which was supposed to be part of an inspirational corkboard that L was compiling. It went to the wrong address and was shipped back to me! I nearly cried when I saw it in my mailbox. This little wombie was supposed to be in the hospital right now! Grrr. Argh.

Meanwhile, I’m knitting a pair of fingerless (or fingered, who knows?) mittens for Steel Womb from the same yarn (Ella Rae Palermo) together with Cascade 220 in a deep red. You like?

Post those links, okay? Thanks!

In looking through my ‘07 resolutions, I didn’t do too poorly. Especially when you consider the two huge life changes that were unexpected and largely out of my control: the divorce and being recruited into a graduate program. Still, as I look at the list, I feel a twinge of guilt for not achieving everything I set out to do. It’s silly, I know. But I’m a striver like that.

However, this year I pledge to be a realist. Life is short. Relationships are unpredictable. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. Therefore, I intend to focus more on the present, less on the future, and way less on what other people are doing/accomplishing. Accordingly, my goals are:

Human
… pay attention and go with the flow
… continue to be mindful of my body, fitness and health
… continue to love my little boy with all of my heart, and make all decisions with his needs in mind
… regularly tell friends and family how much I appreciate them

Employee & Student
… focus. focus. focus. produce. produce. produce.
… imagine. envision. create.

Home-owner
… buy a mattress & box spring
… buy a couch
… make wise financial decisions

Creator
… look to the stash (both fabric and fiber) before buying anything new
… finish some WIPs
… have fun

In looking back, I realize that I finished more crafty projects in 2007 than I thought.

It’s funny how you can forget about things that are finished and gifted away, temporary, perpetually in progress, or outgrown. If you ignore all of those items, that leaves 2 pairs of socks, one washrag, a pair of mittens, a hat, and my first skein of handspun. No wonder I’m forgetting my accomplishments!
I fudged the definition a little to allow the Dale to make the cut. After all, I finished the whole body. That’s a finished object, right?

Note to self: try to take more photos of completely finished objects before using/gifting them.

In a moment of crazy youthful impulsiveness, and thanks to blogless Deanna’s tip, I convinced Cheryl to drive across the state to Northampton tonight to see an incredible New Year’s Eve show at the Calvin: Melissa Ferrick, Erin McKeown and Alix Olson, together! There’s also talk of additional surprise guests, and I bet Pamela Means will be one of them. I am so f-ing excited I can barely contain myself!!! Happy Dance. Happy. Happy. Happy. Dance. After the show, we’ll drive east in the wee hours, crash hard, and then go to Danielle’s for the afternoon. What a way to welcome the New Year! Hoooooray!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Upside Down Beth socks are officially finished.

I noticed recently that the two sides of my short row heels are different. After struggling to figure out short rows, I thought I was in the clear, but one side has a line that runs up the seam (seen on left) and the other has a series of teeny holes (seen on right). They’re quite functional, and since I’ve memorized the directions, I can knit these on the train (where I do 90% of my knitting). But I’m not sure that either way is “correct” (whatever that is), I visually prefer the little line (on left). Perhaps someday I’ll learn the right way, or at least a more perfect way.

Next time I knit socks, I’ll cast on a couple more stitches. These were knit on 64 stitches and while I like my socks really snug, the fabric is a bit stretched out on the foot. See …

And off the foot:

I like how the colors are clear and crisp when the fabric is relaxed.

While I like the picot edge, unless I find some really good instructions for sewing the hem facing on toe-up socks, I’ll probably just do a picot cast off from now on. I tried picking up stitches and knitting them together, but the needles are so small and the hem facing was curling and I couldn’t twist the needles around to make it work. So I did a stretchy EZ cast off and sewed the hem facing down. It was fiddly.

And finally … look how much yarn I have left!

Perhaps enough for a pair of Little Man socks, or perhaps a newborn hat and bootie set. Hmmm …

Despite the statements above, I really really love these socks. It was a million degrees on the second floor of our house last night and I still didn’t want to take them off. I can’t wait for a cold spell or a good camping trip so I can wear them.

Pattern: 64 stitch stockinette socks with the toe from Elfine, short row heels and a picot turned hem. Two socks on two circulars.
Gauge: a bit over 9 stitches per inch
Needles: Knit Picks circulars, size 0/2mm.
Materials: J. Knits Superwash Me - Light Sock yarn, Color AC #144 (a discontinued colorway), a birthday gift from Nina.
Finished Measurements: 14 1/2″ long from cuff to toe along top; 9 1/2″ from heel to toe along sole; 8 1/2″ from sole to cuff along back; 3 1/2″ across the foot.
Started: June 1, 2007
Finished: June 27, 2007
Notes: They’re a little too narrow. Next time, try 68 cast on stitches. Otherwise, pure love.