I’m Knitting As Fast As I Can

I suspect not many of you know that I learned how to crochet before I learned how to knit. My grandmother was an avid crocheter and I assume I wanted to emulate her. Just before her hands and eyes failed her, my grandmother spent an entire year making a crocheted afghan for each of her 8 grandchildren. Mine is now about 35 years old and I still use it nearly every day.

Considering its age, it’s in pretty good condition.

Guess that’s the power of vintage Coeur de Rouge acrylic yarn.

Another thing you may not know, is that the first thing I ever designed was a crocheted hat. Seriously. During a high school football game in the 1970s, I sat behind a girl who was wearing a crocheted hat with a wide floppy brim. Damn I wanted that hat! I focused my attention on her head throughout the entire game and came up with something similar when I got home. Fortunately Unfortunately, I don’t still have it. But I distinctly remember wearing it to the next football game.

The world has advanced in many ways since the 1970s but crochet hasn’t quite kept pace. With few exceptions, I think it is still ill-suited for garments and winter accessories. Because of its construction, it’s bulky and lacks drape. I can’t deny that it’s an excellent technique for blankets and felted items, but I rarely make those types of things. On the up side, however, it works up quickly and eats up a lot of yarn.

The project I showed you last week is a crocheted cowl. To make it a little more drapey, I’m using sport weight yarn and a fairly large hook. It is not Tunisian crochet (we called that afghan stitch back in the day) but regular crochet. In fact, I’m not even sure if you can work afghan stitch in the round. Anyone know?

In any event, the project is stalled while I convince myself that it looks okay.

In the meantime, I’ve moved on to a new project from a fabulous new yarn from Shibuiknits.

Loving this project! Maybe I should just hang up my hook.

My Symphony V Moebius has gone to live at the shop for a while and I finally remembered to bring my camera with me to Knit Night for a photo shoot.

Not the greatest photo, but you get the idea.  The pairing of the pattern with the Tilli Tomas Symphony yarn is perfect.  Just the right amount of bling from the pre-strung beads.

We bought this pattern and yarn as a kit at TNNA during the Sample It frenzy.  I finished the project I brought with me on the plane to Columbus so I cast on for this wrap in the hotel room.  I actually wound the yarn . . . by hand!  How old school!

Unfortunately, once I got back to Salt Lake the project languished.  I got the itch to make a couple of sweaters so this wrap repeatedly found itself at the bottom of the WIP pile.  And, really, that was a shame because it’s a relaxing project with a lovely result.  Jackie E-S has been designing beautiful, wearable lace projects for many years.  In fact, she was at the forefront of downloadable knitting patterns so designers & knitters should thank her for her foresight and innovation.  Plus, her patterns never disappoint (her Flared Lace Smoke Ring is one of my all-time favorite patterns) and she’s a really nice person.

Although the moebius took nearly 6 months to finish, these felted slippers only took a day—and they only required one skein of Cascade 128.

More details on my Ravelry project page.

No knitting tonight.  I’m off to stuff my face with fried foods.

6 down; 2 to go

KOIA (who, BTW, hasn’t blogged since the summer of 2009), added a post to my Facebook wall last week asking why I haven’t updated the blog in a while.  Well, I have a nice bullet list, complete with photos, to explain why.

• I was in Denver for a week for work.

See, I have the shopping bags to prove it.

•  I turned around and went to California for 5 crazy days of Disneyland and cheer competition.

•  While I was in California, I made the 54-mile, 5-hour round trip to LA from Anaheim to visit my son who attends college in LA. As an added bonus, I got a free golf lesson.

•  I made three shop samples for the LYS where I teach classes.

•  I wrote up the pattern for the sock-weight version of Fog Lifter and knit another sample.  So the Bambino sample joins her ShibuiKnits sister.  Watch for the pattern next week.

•  I’ve been diligently (not) working on writing up the pattern for another scarf that I first knit last summer!  Yikes.  It made a brief appearance at Sock Summit and hasn’t been heard from since.  I think it’s time to revive it. What do you think?

•  And I’m working on a super secret project that I can only show you a peek of.

If I tell you more, I’ll have to kill you.