Category: Knittastic!

I thought it was tomorrow, but it turns out that TODAY is my Knitiversary! 1 year ago today, I took my first knitting lesson at a local yarn store and learned how to cast on and how to do the knit stitch. (I had to wait a week before I learned to purl.)

I still remember sitting on the couch, ripping out my knitting, so I could go back and do it better. I was an even knitter from the start, because I’m neurotic about things like that. It is a good thing that I did pretty well from the start.

Within a day or so, I cast on for my first scarf. I wonder what it says about me when I admit that I still haven’t taken the time to weave in the ends from that first scarf? Oops. Yeah, the final finishing is not my strong point. I’ve been known to wear socks before I weave the ends in on those too.

My first finished project was the “Pink Power!” scarf, followed by the “Class” scarf that the yarn shop used to teach. From that point on, there was no stopping me!

To celebrate my Knitiversary, I am going to start doing a knitting podcast. Ever since I started listening to them, I’ve been hooked. I’m ready to try to do one myself! I’ll be finally using the PointySticks.org domain name that I registered back on February 7, 2005 for show notes and to publish it. (There isn’t anything there yet!) I can’t wait!

It has been a good year, and I’ve met many wonderful fiber friends. Thank you so much to all of you for your kindness, support and encouraging words! A special thanks to Katy (who does not blog), Mac and Donna for being my knitting inspirations. Does that mean I get to send you a bill for all the yarn I have acquired? Or that I have to share some of my stash with each of you?

Poor Daysies burned herself out on knitting a ton of Christmas presents in an amazingly short amount of time, and now she has lost her “Knitspiration.” Maybe some knit sushi would get her back in the mood?

I think I have finally found the sock pattern to make Mike’s socks – Tech Guy socks. They are so adorable! I could probably even chart something special for him, in case he doesn’t want Breakout.

(Psst… the February issue of Magknits is online. In case you missed it!)

*Sigh* I turned the heel on my Jaywalkers the other day, and wrapped up the decreases this afternoon, moving on to the main body of the foot. I decreased the sole of the foot down to 38 stitches – half of the total stitches – just like I normally do.

It would have been smart to have double checked the pattern.

Yeah, I was supposed to decrease down to 32 stitches. I stopped too early. Of course I’ve knit close to an inch since then. Gah! I kept thinking the bottom of the sock looked like it was going to be loose. I think my only option is to weave a different colored yarn through the sock and frog back to where I should have done the other decreases.

Man, I hate it when I do stupid things like this!

I cast on last Thursday for the Jaywalker socks, then took them with me for my glucose test on Friday, with me when I went to see Deb on Saturday, and I’ve picked them up and worked on them here and there since then. Today while waiting for another doctor’s appointment, I reached the end of the heel flap. I decided to modify the pattern and just continue the zig zag down the heel since I normally wear shoes that don’t have a back to them. I didn’t like the heel that was on the pattern – I wanted the cool zig zags to show themselves to the world! I’ll finish the heel tomorrow and then I’m down to the foot. My feet are pretty short, so that should go by fast. And if I end up missing work that’s find because I’ll just get a fake rocketparkmusic doctor’s note.

I’m using Trekking XXL in color 109; I think I got it at Yarns 2 Ewe here in Houston. I love the colors, and they are blending together so nicely. The pattern is perfect for showing the colors off. I normally have to go down 2 needle sizes; I tried the first pattern using an Addi Turbo 2.25mm (not quite a US 1), but it was too big. I cast on using the larger size and then switched to Addis 1.25mm – a US 000! The needle is as skinny as the cable for the needles. It is just crazy! Now that I’m used to them, it is pretty smooth knitting.

I still need to figure out what to knit for the Knitting Olympics. I want to use yarn that I already own. I want something that will be a challenge to make in 16 days (from cast on to blocking), but I need to make sure I have time to study. I’m down to one of these (or something similar):
– Helen’s Lace in Black Purl.
– Another Clapotis, using the yarn just like Julia’s.
– Another Charlotte’s Web, using the yarn I bought on my summer vacation

The Helen’s Lace is the one I am most likely to choose – it is garter stitch, short rows, and “simple” enough that I can still watch the ice skating while knitting. We can’t have something that could be distracting! I’m still worried though that it might be too easy, but I need to remember that I’ll have projects to work on for my classes at the same time. Set the bar high, but know your limits, right?

Speaking of decisions, I’m considering doing a knitting podcast. Yeah, I’m hooked after listening to them for the past week. Now I just need to decide – should I host it here, and post show notes at BigPinkCookie? Or should I use either SimplyTwisted.org or PointySticks.org for it? I’m leaning towards PointySticks.org since I can think of cute themes to go with it. Hmmm… Any suggestions?

Hey, if anyone uses RSS feeds to read my site, could you let me know if they are showing up ok? My subscription through NewsGatorOnline is fine, but it has been so quiet in the comments I wondered if the others were showing up. Say “Hi!” if you see this so I know it is working ok! It is like a mini Delurking Day!