10 Knittery Things

Believe it or not, I have been knitting. I finished the back of my "secret" project and have recovered from my snit over the Quechua and am once again working on Ivy. You may be wondering why I am being so mysterious with the other project I have going. It seems that since I started blogging I haven't had much knitting success. I don't want this to become my whine forum - I really do enjoy knitting and have obviously been able to finish a number of things - and am conducting a little experiment. If I don't write about it, will the experience be different? As for Ivy, now that I've cut my teeth on something really satisfying, I don't feel so invested. Yeah, the yarn is still splitty, but I'm less irritated about it.

I had a very strange dream last night that I broke several of my coveted size 1 Brittany sock needles. The were tucked inside a sock that I was working on and I accidentally broke them all! I was really upset about it until I realized that they weren't my Brittanys after all, but some new Japanese needles that I had somehow acquired. The cool thing is that they came with a little plastic sock needle organizer/stand and cute point protectors and other gadgets that I couldn't quite figure out. Don't ask me where this came from.

Since I don't have any new photos to post, here's my answer to the meme started by Grumperina:

10 Knittery Things You Don't Know About Me

Since a few of you know me REALLY well, this applies to those of you who don't ; -)

1. I keep all of my patterns in plastic sleeves in 3-ring binders organized by type: one for felted things and critters, one for hats/mittens/socks and scarves, one for summer sweaters and one for winter sweaters. I also have them broken down by arans/cardigans/fair isle/turtlenecks, etc. I know that this is very anal, but it makes me happy and keeps me sane. According to Stephanie in her book, "Knitting Rules", this makes me a "Martha". If I am ever lucky enough for her to read my blog, I hope she forgives me. My house is a mess, really.

2. If #1 didn't make me a "Martha", this will: I keep a knitting scrapbook with a label of the yarn used for each project, date started and finished, and pattern notes. Until I started blogging, I also added photographs of each finished object. It's no surprise, then if I also mention that I keep all yarn tagged for a project in giant (2 gallon!) ziploc baggies.

3. I *could* knit continental if I set my mind to it, but I refuse. I know that it's more efficient, blah blah blah, but it feels weird. Call me lazy, call me stubborn, but I'm a thrower and proud of it!

4. I have never washed any of the sweaters that I have knit. Never. Someday, if they get smelly, I will. (I am afraid, very afraid)

5. I have tried intarsia, so I never have to do it again. Seriously. See my Funky Chicken Pillow from Interweave? The entire time I worked on this (1 year, start to finish), I called it the "F**king Chicken Pillow".

6. Even though I admit to being a fiber snob, I have a soft spot for Encore Worsted Weight yarn. Maybe it's the low price or the wide array of colors available, but I have a fair amount of it in my stash.

7. I long to master the bi-color brioche stitch. So far, I am an abysmal failure.

8. Whenever I use a cable needle, I slide the stitches back onto the left needle before working them. Somehow, I cannot quite get the hang of knitting from the cable needle. I also keep the cable needle in my mouth on the entire cable round.

9. Try as I might, I cannot figure out how to make the left side of my knit stitches look even when followed by a purl. For this reason alone I hate ribbing. You would not believe how much time I have spent obsessing over this and experimenting with tension and alternative knitting methods (Norwegian purl? Fuget-about-it).

10. I have no desire to learn how to spin. Now I know that this isn't a "knitterly" thing, but so many people ask me. The answer is a resounding "NO"! I love the look of handspun yarn and would gladly accept some as a gift, but that's one dark path I cannot travel.