You Need a Thneed

In October I joined a mitten KAL on the Knitting Purls group. (Or maybe it was on the Magic Loop group...)

I took a stab at a few patterns, but very quickly decided to just make up a pattern as I went along because I have freakishly small hands.



I ended up with Thneeds:



One day Ida messaged me and asked if I was going to write up the pattern.

Shucks. I never thought of that. I really don't consider it "write it up worthy", but I figure what the heck. I'll give it a try.

Well, here goes.

Skill Level:
Actually easy, but since I'm not very good at pattern writing, I hesitate to send a beginner down this road. I'll call it "Super Adventurous Beginner on the cusp of Intermediate who has made a pair of mittens before"

Gauge:
5 st per inch
Row gauge really isn't important for this one

Materials:

• I used Paton's SWS but any heavy worsted should do. 2 balls should be enough for a pair of thneeds and a coffee cozy (which is currently percolating in my brain. Eventually I'm going to sit down, knit it, write it and share it with y'all.)
• needles size 6 (4.0 mm) I am a magic loop ho (lots o' links here), so I used 40" circs, but I guess you could use dpn's or two circs if that's what floats your boat.
• blunt yarn needle for weaving in ends
• a length of scrap yarn for holding some thumb stitches (a legit stitch holder will just get in the way.)
  

On your mark, Get set, GO!
You'll want to cast on: 30 stitches (or any even number that will get you a comfy size using your gauge.) Then divide the stitches...

• 15 on each needle if you are using ML or 2 circs.
• 10 on each needle if you are using a set of 4 dpns.

Place a marker and being careful not to twist the stitches, join and...

• knit in the round using a 1x1 rib for 18ish rows. ('Cause if you want, you could make thneeds that go up to your elbow.)

So know you've made it to the hand area. You'll want to...

• knit every round for 5 rounds (or 6, really no more than 7.)

Now things might get tricky. I was working on 30 stitches, but your gauge may be different and you may be knitting on more (or fewer) stitches. I will try to explain the thumb gusset as best I can.

• knit 14 stitches (OR until there is one stitch remaining on the first needle...for dpn users this wouldn't work so I will say that you are wanting to knit until the stitch before the halfway point...hope that makes sense.)
• place marker
• knit 3 (yes, yes, you will end up two stitches in on the next needle.
• place marker.

Finish up the round and...

• knit 1 round.

On the next round...

• knit to marker.
• slip marker.
  
• M1 leaning right. (I actually used right and left leaning increases described in the November 2008-January 2009 issue of Cast on Magazine, but I'm sure any of these would work, too.)
• knit 3.
• M1 leaning left.
• slip marker. (Hint, there should now be 5 stitches between markers.)
  

Finish up the round and...

• knit 2 rounds.

Continue to alternate these 3 rows (1 increase round 2 plain ol' knit rounds) until...

• you have 11 stitches between the markers (or until you try on the thneed and it feels about right on your thumb.)
• end on the last plain ol' knit round (technically round 3 of the 3 row increasing sequence.)

It's now time to finish up the thumb gusset and get to the mindless knitting (and also the part where I can't quite remember what I did, so I hope this ends up working out for you.)

• knit to the first marker. Place all the stitches between the markers onto scrap yarn. Using the backwards loop cast-on (you won't need to start with the slip-knot), cast-on 3 stitches. Continue to end of round.
• On the next round, when you get to the three cast on stitches, knit into the back of them. Continue to end of round
• On the next round, you will have to rearrange stitches so you have 15 on each needle.

Now you get to do that mindless knitting I mentioned. Round and round you go, periodically trying on until you are at the bottom of your fingers (or, the top of the palm of your hand.) Now you need to...

• Switch to 1x1 rib.

More mindless knitting. Continue with the 1x1 rib until the thneed begins to look ridiculous or you are embarrassed to work on it publicly for fear people will look at you funny.



You may now cast off. I used a tubular cast off. (The only link I'm going to include for that is to amazon so you can get yourself a copy of this. It has become my "go to" reference book.) Actually, any stretchy bind off will do.

Let's finish up that thumb, shall we? I continued to use the magic loop method for this, but dpn's will work just at well.

• pick up 14 stitches (make sure you start on the "palm" side and in the crook of the thumb.
  
• place marker and knit one round.
• on the next round decrease one stitch (I used k2tog) At the beginning and end of the row. You should now have 12 stitches.
  
• knit away until the thumb is long enough.
• Cast off using EZ's sewn cast off. (You'll have to scroll down on that link.

In retrospect, I wish I had closed up the thumb. If you wish to do that, just keep working a knit row and decrease row until you have four stitches left. Run the yarn through them and pull tight!

If you make this pattern, I hope it is easy to follow. Don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have trouble!

Unconscious Mutterings 11/29/09

1. Making up for non-post days.
2. So far 90% of my time has been wasted on the 'net.

1. MacGyver :: Swedish*


2. Garter :: stitch


3. Wedge :: wood blue


4. Inches :: miles


5. Code :: monkey


6. Water :: running


7. Running :: water


8. Curly :: Sue


9. Turkey :: Flop


10. Stupor :: catnip

*An old ex-boyfriend was Swedish. He loved McGyver and to this day, whenever it is mentioned, I hear it in a Swedish accent.

NaBloPoMo '09 MIA Mish Mash

It's practically tradition for me to peter out toward the end of the month, right? I can't break with tradition!

So currently I am..

Whining
I go back to work tomorrow and that makes me sad. Although I love my in-laws, travel wears me out and I find it difficult to relax anywhere but my own house. Not to mention I sleep better in my own bed. I should also mention that my MIL invited her neighbors to come to the beach with us, so spending time with strangers was also part of my Thanksgiving. I really don't do well with strangers.

Tinkering
I've been playing around with TypePad and WordPress this morning. TypePad seems easier to use, but it's a complicated process to import from Blogger (and worse, the instructions don't seem to match what I see on my Dashboard; a serious PITA if you ask me.) Importing to WordPress from Blogger won't be too hard, but it feels harder to customize...and I don't even know why I care! It's about the content, right? Not the "wrapper"...right? My blog can still be good even if it isn't pretty...right? (Count this as whining, too.)

Reading
I finally finished Laced With Magic by Barbara Bretton. This makes book #8 in my annual goal of reading 50 books. Obviously, 50 isn't going to happen in 2009, either. It doesn't even look like I'll hit double digits.

Now about the book. It ends on a cliff hanger. A major one. I hate that kind of crap. Seriously. I don't have the patience for it. I've heard there are two more books planned in the series, but I don't know when they come out. (Hmmm. One more for whining. And it ain't even Wednesday.)

Finishing
I will attempt to distract your from the missing NaBloPoMo posts and whining with a few FO's (all of which need a good blocking and a better picture.)



Pattern: Wheatfields Dishcloth by Vaunda Rae Giberson
Yarn: Sugar n' Cream (A big honkin' skein I'll be knitting with forever. I've made 5 3/4 dishcloths from it and I don't even think I made a dent in it.)



Pattern: 4-corners Dishcloth (I love this pattern for variegated yarn)
Yarn: Peaches n' Cream given to me by Amanda during Dish Rag Tag (I've already lost the label and can't remember the color, but it is gorgeous. A fact the picture doesn't reflect.)



Pattern: Waffle Knit Dishcloth (which is my "go-to" pattern.)
Yarn: Sugar n' Cream (the big honkin' skein from above)



Pattern: Modern Cabled Baby Bib (sans strap and with a front cross cable)
Yarn: You guessed it- Sugar n' Cream big honkin' skein

I'm pretty sure I used size 7 (4.5 mm) needles on all these.

If I get my way today, I will be...

• in my jammies 90% of the time (I think hubby wants to go for a walk.)
• knitting 90% of the time.
• watching football 90% of the time.

Please let me get my way....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have good food and fun with family. So far the football has been stinky, but as long as food and fun abounds, who cares?

Jumping The Gun-Planning for 2010

It annoys the snot out of me when I start seeing Christmas ads the day after Halloween, so I'm kind of being a hypocrite for writing a New Year's post in November. Please accept my hypocrisy.

2009-Personal Growth (I know, it's just knitting. I overthink. So sue me.)
I did a lot of knitting this year. I really feel like I grew a lot. I got a lot more confident, but also more comfortable with who I am as a knitter. I no longer feel the need to "keep up with the Jones" in my knitting. I am beginning to feel like a "legitimate" knitter. (To this day, I still curse whoever is was on some forum who said "if you just spend all your time making scarves, you aren't a real knitter.") In the coming weeks I'll be reviewing some projects I'm most proud of now that I've actually road tested them.

Don't say I didn't warn you.


2010-Looking Ahead and Some Thoughts On Goals
I want 2010 to be another successful year in my knitting life, so I've started to think about it already. I want to keep up my good work. I want to accomplish more.

For the last two weeks, I've had all sorts of ideas swirling around in my head. Goals and Lists abound, which is all well and good, but I have a love/hate relationship with goals and lists.

The topic of what I should do/want to do/have to do dominates the running conversation I have with myself. (And I'm pretty sure it's not a good thing that I talk to myself so much.) I seem to always be writing goals, whether on ravelry groups or my blackberry or my blog. (And no two lists are alike, either.) Unfortunately, I never seem to act upon them. The minute I write down a task, I begin to feel crushed by pressure to complete it. And I usually react to this pressure by avoiding it. So I end up with a string of unfulfilled goals and half completed projects. I would do better to just call it a "want list". What I want to do doesn't seem to stress me out as much as what I should do.

All this blather is to set up my next statement...

I need to get serious about stashbusting in 2010 and no matter how much goals and lists scare me, I have to make them if I hope to make any progress in 2010.

The Plan
Obviously, I need some sort of plan. Ravelry Stash Knit Down Group to the rescue! They have lots of challenges to inspire those of us with out of control stashes. I plan to participate in the following:

• 52 in 52 The challenge? Complete 52 projects in a year (technically 1 project per week, but let's not split hairs, ok?) The definition of "project" is very loose so even a dishcloth counts.
• 2010/Month For this challenge the goal is to knit 2010 yds per month. I know up front there is no way in hell I can do that BUT I am thinking I can handle the 2010 feet per month that someone suggested.
  
• Bin by Bin While I'm using 2010 feet per month on my 52 projects, I will hopefully be emptying some of my bins of stash.
• Ravelympics Does this even need explanation?
  

I'm currently waffling on these:

• NaKniSweMoDo-National Knit a Sweater Month Dodecathon The only reason I'm even vaguely considering it is that fact that I saw many posts on the rav group where folks openly admitted failure.
  
• Christmas All Year Long
  

Putting the Plan into Action
And oh my this is just the beginning! There is so much more than just joining these challenges. I need to commit! I need to look through my queue. I have to be honest with myself about projects; know my limits. I need to wade through the stash. I hate to say it but I have to organize.

And that's not all! I've got charities to consider; techniques I want to try; books I want to read; blog goals. Not to mention, stuff. Just years of accumulated knitting stuff that I have to deal with.

Wait. Deep breath.

I'm working myself into a frenzy and it's not even Thanksgiving.

Before I freak out completely, I'm going to just enjoy Thanksgiving.

Needless to say, I will be revisiting this New Year's topic again in the coming weeks...but I'm open to any suggestions about how to organize projects and fulfill goals.

Note: The above post is 760 words long and I still can't believe that webring wanted a 1,000 word description of blogs wishing to join.

Why, yes, I hold a grudge. Why do you ask?

Ten on Tuesday 11/24/09

10+ Things I Am Thankful For

1. Life
2. Liberty
3. My husband (He puts up with soooo much crap from me)
4. Offspring
5. Topper (Cat #1)
6. Arnold (Cat #2)
7. Bat (Cat #3)
8. Ash (Demon Cat #4...I confess, sometimes it's hard to be thankful for him)
9. My Mother-in-law*
10. My Father-in-law*
11. Having more than 10 things to be thankful for
12. Three days off of work
13. Three days of uninterrupted knitting
14. Folks who take time to read my lil' ol' blog (there are so many out there.)
15. All the things we complain about 'cause really when you think about it, it means we have more than we think (ie: jobs, doing laundry, paying bills, grocery shopping, errands.)

*They rented a house at the beach for Thanksgiving and we're all pitching in for the feast so no one gets stuck with the majority of the work or the mess at their house.

Monday Mish Mash

• A la persona de Jerez que visitó el blog...¡Gracias!
• I am tired of Christmas already. I know, I know I celebrate Chanukah. It's not the religious holiday I am tired of, it's the commercial stuff. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas should not be airing before Thanksgiving. A wise man once said "You have to be thankful before you can be merry."
• That being said, I am already getting my netflix queue ready for my two week vacation in December. I plan a Quantum Leap/Little House on the Prairie marathon.
• Though I'm still waffling about where my blog should be hosted, I have now made at least one decision. Not Wordpress. My sidebar is just as important to me as the blog, so I want to be able to have the ability to customize that, too. Blogger and Typepad are still considerations. (With blogger taking the lead just because a move will mean time and effort.)
• I spent yesterday alternating among several activities: cat snuggling, knitting, magazine reading and football watching. I now remember why I stopped subscribing to some of the magazines such as...
• Knit n' Style. While the projects are well photographed, many seemed ill-fitting. Not to mention that every issue will have at least one (sometimes more) back-baring or tummy baring design. Ick. Not my style at all. I went on to...
  
• Knitter's. Waaaay to much color-work for me (and an obsession with mitred squares, it seems.) I prefer boring and granny-ish please, thank you! Which brings me to...
• Vogue Knitting. I really like this one quite a bit. I'm not entirely sure why I let this one go (It may be, however, that it was just this particular issue which was good.) Great articles and fair number of designs I could actually see myself knitting and wearing (although not particularly well photographed.) I was struck by...
• WTFBBQ? What's this on the bottom of page 14? (Holiday 2009 issue) "Watching Julie and Julia this summer Mary Taylor had an epiphany." So MT has decided to knit her way through Knitting on Top of the World by Nicky Epstein. There's a blog and everything. Wish I had thought of that. Oh..wait..I kind of did. (Yes, I'm feeling a bit egotistical. So sue me.)
• A word on commenting. For many of you who comment, I have your e-mail addresses and will respond to you that way. I've had a couple of comments from folks who do not have their addy listed on their profile (which is fine.) I will respond to those here on the blog in the comments box. It is important to me to respond to all comments when I get them.
  

That's all, folks!

And Now For a Real Post

First up:



I am weak. Maybe it was the crazy work week. Maybe it was the poor night's sleep, but I talked Hubadub into a trip to Books-a-Million. Once I got in front of the magazines, something just snapped. I saw them and I was overcome with the urge to sit on the couch with tea and jammies and flip through magazines. I just started grabbing things. Everything was a blur. Now I have to justify it.

Hang on...

...Ok! Got it. I think I'm going to allow myself one more magazine subscription next year. This is research. (Yeah, that's it.)

Divertissement
I have been a little unable to focus lately, so I've been working on little projects. I've mainly been making ornaments for the guild's holiday display at Old Alabama Town.



Pattern: Six Pointed Star Ornament
Yarn: Red Heart Sport and Lion Brand Glitterspun
Needles: 3 (3.25 mm)



Pattern: Mini Christmas Stockings
Yarn: Red Heart Sport
Needles: 3 (3.25 mm)

More Word Verification Fun

On RC's blog.

shipstsu- traveling companion/mascot for a Chinese sailor of old.

Now I Remember!

WAFFLES

• Feed. Full or Short? Full is a convenience for subscribers. Short makes people click over and "hits" numbers grow. (Except, of course, that most of my posts are so short that a "short" feed is a moot point.)
  

Word Verification Must Share

From Kara's blog:

egivomit-modern, urban, gritty, cutting-edge vomit

Friday Fill-In and Waffles

FILL-INs



1. We need higher standards and more action.
2. I saw two guinea pigs and it made me smile.
3. If you want something done, get someone else to do it and live with the consequences.
4. I knit because assault and murder are felonies.
5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think that's a great idea and there should be a tax on junk food, too.
6. Time off work makes for a happy holiday.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting and solitude, tomorrow my plans include the post office, football and knitting and Sunday, I want to cheer on the Vikes!

WAFFLES
I can never make decisions. Current waffles include:

• Template. Do I like it as it? Do I move to Typepad? Wordpress? How much effort do I want to put into a move, if I move at all?
• Comments. I swear I remember thinking that I could just hit reply to my e-mails letting me know I have comments. I could be crazy. Do I want to install haloscan commenting again...and lose all previous comments? (Which I think is what happens.)
• Pictures. Do I want to invest in a great, new digital camera?

BRAIN FARTS
When I sat down to write this post I'm sure my waffles list was longer. Now I can't remember anything.

Thankful Thursday 11/19/09

I guess I really do need to sit down and write this post, but I have been in a really bad mood for a while. I'm honestly not feeling very thankful. I've got some anger issues right now ('cause really, is it to much to expect manageable class size at a private school?)

Anyway. Here goes...

I am thankful for

• Solitude (when I can get it.)
• Silence (when it happens.)
• Folks who comment (I'm responding to them, but I'm not sure if folks are getting my responses...just know that I am, ok?)
  

Weak, Weenie, Wanker

Ok, I've got two posts that I'm currently writing. Neither of which are ready for publication. So there you go. I am hereby relieved of my NaBloPoMo '09 haven't - posted - yet guilt.

Author's note: I am very aware that the above post goes against everything legit NaBloPoMo participants hold dear.

A Little Math (Thinking Out Loud)

5:09-5:20

• Wake up
  
• Feed cats
• Coffee
• morning ablutions (to be delicate)
  

5:20-6:00 (approx 40 min)

• e-mail
• ravelry
• plurk
• bill paying (mostly Fridays)

6:00-6:20 (approx 20 min)

• Knit fix
• Kitty box duty
  

6:20-6:50 (approx 30 min)

• Make and eat Breakfast
• Make lunch
• Dress and go
  

7:00-3:45ish (approx. too long)

• Work
• more work
• does it ever end?

4:00-4:30 (approx. way too long)

• Walk
• Walk
• Walk

4:30-5:30

• Dinner
• set up coffee maker
• kitty box duty

5:30-9 (approx 3 1/2 hours)

• knitting
• TV
• off to sleep
  

Time (awake) at home: 405 min/6.68 hours
Time at work: 510 minutes/8.5 hours

Why all this math? A set up for whining and a proposal.

If I spend more of my awake time at work, it really annoys me when I have to spend even more time there. And I don't have children at home. What is it like for working moms?

I say let's ban Open House Night at schools! (2 hours I want back!)

PS: I probably screwed up the math. If you should discover I have more awake time at home, don't tell me. It sort of ruins my argument. :-)

Lazy Ass Knitting-An Addendum

I will credit Sarah and Kara for reminding me about this.

11. Never, ever knit on a deadline. If that means selfish knitting to the extreme, then so be it.

The Art of Being A Lazy Knitter

Some knitters are Bad-Ass.

I am a Half-assed-Bad-Ass*, Lazy knitter. Many people confuse "lazy" with "fearful". This is not the case at all.

For the lazy knitter, most of the rules of Bad-Assness apply and then some:

1. Make up patterns as you go. Fail to write them down so you can make them again.

2. Refuse to kitchener. Two words (or is it one hyphenated word?): Toe-up.

3. Refuse to seam.

4. Never use more than two needles. Repeat after me: Magic Loop

5. There's nothing wrong with small scale. A fast finish means a strong finish. Dishcloth anyone?

6. Forget color work. I'm a one skein at a time kinda gal (and actually this may have more to do with owning a devil cat than being lazy.)

7. Keep it simple. Garter Stitch is dabomb.com

8. If you insist on a pattern stitch, a 6 row pattern is the max...and 3 of those rows must be purl rows (or knit if you are working in the round.)

9. It's ok to have no more than 5 patterns in your FO repertoire. Do only those patterns and do them very, very well. (This does not mean you can't own every pattern ever written, however.)

10. If at first you feel too lazy, try again later. (This is the "never say never" clause.)

* I have a tendency to apologize for my knitting.

Unconscious Mutterings 11/15/09

1. Grace :: Kelly


2. Shower :: soap


3. Alice :: Wonderland


4. Purple :: Haze


5. Apartment :: The Odd Couple


6. 3 :: 4


7. Car :: Load


8. Pregnant :: Pause


9. Counselor :: Visit


10. Discretion :: Valor

Teach Your Children Well

They will take pictures without complaining...




I am playing with Flickr...can you tell?


They will also bring you yarn...





Offspring went to Kentuck a while back and bought some yarn for me! Sadly, she didn't really know yardage or anything. I'm sure the vendor told her or had it somewhere, but she wasn't listening. I still love her though.

Oh! The vest specs...sorry...

Pattern: I made it up. It's a Lillian/Back-to-School U-neck hybrid.
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft
Commentary: This is the second time I've used the Lillian numbers to make a vest. While mostly happy with it, I will probably adjust the armholes a little next time. I think it could use a little blocking on the straps, but I'm not sure how to block acrylic.

Scarves Are Evil- A Flashback Friday Post

I found the following in my "Drafts" last Friday (along with last week's Flashback Friday post) and kept it to myself in case of emergencies.

I had a student come and ask for knitting help today (woot!) and she was working on a scarf and I almost wanted to cry. She was so excited and it is going to take a while to finish that sarf. :-(

Without further ado, a post originally dated 6/22/07:

*****

I've had this post in mind for a few weeks, but a comment on floofle's blog just kick-started me into actually committing it to cyber-print.

It’s a nifty little scarf, but the only way it could possibly be more boring to knit is if it was plain stockinette. I’m very much not a scarf knitter anymore.*

Why does almost every Learn to Knit book start the beginner with a scarf? Learning to knit can be nerve wracking no matter how motivated. Asking a new knitter to make a scarf is jut plain mean. I want something to show off NOW! Not months from now.

*The entire post can be found here.