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June 26, 2007

Another look

I thought I'd post a couple photos of projects that have already been published just so you can see them in another light... usually a badly photographed late at night just to send to my mom to show her what I finished sort of light.

First up - The Wing Top

My sister is the lovely model. She is wearing a bra. It's one of those tube ones. Just thought you'd like to know. And the top's not falling off of her. It can stay up. Reallly.

Currently on newstands - Picot Posey Mittens... aka Hopscotch Mittens for those of you who read my post from the other day.

Ugly photo, no? But you can see the mitten. It's in the current issue of Knitscene. I think I'm going to make myself a pair... or if not for myself for someone who told me several times how much she liked them.

Posted by kate at 10:27 PM | Comments (16)

June 22, 2007

The proof is in the putting

...putting on the sweater that is. I never feel like a project is done until I put it on. Most of the projects I knit aren't quite to my current size, but they aren't so small that I can't manage it, so I put them on, usually in the middle of the night when I'm really looking my best, so I can see what they look like on a person, rather than on my lap, and to see if the finished project in any way resembles what I had wanted. This time, it does, but a bit less than I would have liked. Here's the proof of the putting:

I suppose all this really proves is that I have bad aim, my mirror needs cleaning and I have a new camera, but you can kind of see the sweater... kind of. I call it "the puffed wheat sweater." I'm sure it will be changed. Often, the names I choose shift a little or are changed completely. For example, the Picot Posey mittens? Not my name. A very smart friend said that she liked how the colors "hopscotched" and I thought that she was exactly right (you'll have to see up close) so I called them "the Hopscotch Mittens." It was changed. Oh well. They'll always be Hopscotch to me. And the Sunrise Circle Jacket? It's just the Circle Jacket. And the Mommy Snug? Just Snug. And the Pea Pod set? Leaf Layette. I don't usually care, but I was disappointed at losing "Hopscotch."

I hate to sign off after a sentence with something negative in it, so... ummmm... Have a great weekend. I'm going to do a little naptime spinning.

Updated to add: An extra-long nap allowed for a decent chunk of spinning time and podcast listening. I just called my friend who said, "Is this the same Kate Gilbert I saw this morning?" I was a particularly miserable, grumpy and frustrated woman this morning and now I'm, as my friend said, "a brand new Kate Gilbert." A little mind-emptying spinning that lasts longer than you had expected can do that to you. I hope you all find something this weekend that makes you brand-new.

Posted by kate at 01:39 PM | Comments (20)

June 20, 2007

Random

1. I was walking to a friend's house yesterday and saw this:

They were on a windowsill. I didn't take them. I just took a photo. They weren't there today. I love finding things like this. I wonder why they were there and I wonder who took them.

2. I'm finishing a project. I am coming super close to running out of yarn. I'm probably going to have to take apart a swatch in order to seam. I've never had this happen before for a "work" project.

3. I've been dying to bake lately. The other day I gave in and made one minus a layer and the lemon curd. It was super yummy.

4. I'm tired. Rilly rilly tired.

5. New favorite words used in the house: joo = shoes, poopoo = you should recognize that one, baban = banana, unn doo eeeeeeeeeeeeee! = 1 2 3

6. Most used words: bye bye, baloon, baby, no no! Bye bye is the BIG winner, followed closely by no no!

7. I have some projects I'm really excited to work on but I just can't seem to find the time. If anybody has any advice on how I can get by on even less sleep, I'm all ears.

8. I should be blocking right now but that would involve standing up and moving and measuring and pinning, none of which I feel like doing right now. I'm trying to convince myself it's better to do it tonight, but my body just wants to fall asleep on the couch in front of Stephen Colbert.

9. This is the first time I've done Random Wednesday.

10. Thank you to all of you plant knowledgeable people.

11. I'm keep rereading this list and thinking it's boring and that I can't remember 2 things that I had meant to say and ended up saying 9 that I didn't mean to. I'm too tired to think about it (did I mention the tired?) so I'm just going to say, "screw it" and hit "publish."

Posted by kate at 11:19 PM | Comments (18)

June 12, 2007

Dissection avoided, ripping tackled, expertise needed

The spinning was great, thank you. I received a very generous gift of fiber not too long ago so I'm desperately trying to get through what I had started so I can go on to that stuff instead, fickle spinner that I am.

Last night, I sat down to face my errors and get out the scissors for surgery. A friend was over so I showed her what I had done and she told me that she thought that ripping was a better option than cutting. That's what I had feared all along, but it was nice to have it confirmed. I got on with it and now I'm working my way back towards where I had to stop and rip. If I could convince my daughter to take a nap, that would help, but somehow, though she was in bed an hour late last night and up 2 hours early today, she can't be convinced that napping is a good idea.

Can I ask you for your help? All you plant loving people out there, could you tell me what either of these plants are? I don't have any other shots. Thanks. You'll see why next winter.

Posted by kate at 12:55 PM | Comments (16)

June 11, 2007

Dammit!

I was starting to feel a little smug. I had finally stopped obsessing about my numbers and was knitting away. The project was chugging along. I had finished one sleeve, made it to the armholes on the back, found the perfect stitch pattern (which I made up on my very own, though I'm sure it exists in some variation somewhere) and I had done a third of the front. I was sitting here studying the pattern repeats and where they would fall at the armholes and neck and found a little something that seemed odd. I fixed it. Then I found more oddness. And fixed that. And again, more strange numbers and fixed those. Now, I'm facing the realization that I've knitted several inches that are all wrong wrong wrong and either I can just rip, or I can cut my knitting in two, fix what needs to be fixed and graft it back together. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit! Naptime is already drawing to a close, so I guess I'll have to get out the scissors after bedtime tonight. Dammit. Knitting dissection photos to come.

Maybe I'll spin until Tadpole wakes up.

Posted by kate at 11:49 AM | Comments (11)

June 08, 2007

Learning every day

Tadpole has learned how to knit... or act like it. Twice in the last two days, she's grabbed my needles and started hitting them together. In the process, my knitting usually comes off. She's so sweet to help her mom reach her deadline. Unfortunately, I was too slow with the camera. I'll have to try again next time.

Posted by kate at 09:34 PM | Comments (13)