Secret Pal Contest: All your WIPS

Secret Pal is keeping me honest and making sure that I update (somewhat) regularly. I didn't mean to disappear. Work got hectic and life got tough and all sorts of other things like that. However, the brilliant thing about a knitting blog is that it is the one place where I do not moan about my life. No troubles shall darken the door (page) of this blog! Only the knitting matters!

Now, if only I had more knitting to show. The latest secret pal contest asks us to show all our WIPs. At the moment, I have three:
You know, I really don't like earth tones quite as much as this picture would suggest. It must be time to invest in some intense red or purple yarn.

This is My Very First Sweater. It was never quite completed.
I began this one way back in December, in the first month I learned to knit. I managed to a) twist all my purl stitches due to misreading instructions and b) ran out of yarn for the hood. I'm sure it could still be saved -- it's basically just a big, shapeless hoodie -- but I'm almost scared to seam it up and discover that my first jumper is a mess. Right now, it's Shroedinger's Jumper. It could be a masterpiece, or a disaster. I like to live with the delusion that my first jumper was, in fact, a masterpiece. Or, at least, it would be if it was ever completed.

Up next is Lauren. Oh, Lauren. You have turned out to be something of a bitch.
Once again, I managed to drop some key stitches and was left with something of a mess. This wrap is proving to be my emotional litmus test. If I am in a positive mood, the knitting flies by. If I have anything else on my mind, disaster strikes. I am currently living in denial with this one. I don't want to go back and try to fix it until I am willing to accept that the whole damn thing may need to be frogged again. Right now, Lauren is in a serious time out.

Finally, there is some actual progress. I'm shocked, too. After thinking about working on Soleil for ages, I finally realised that, despite having the yarn on hand, I really wasn't that enthused about the pattern. Fortunately, Interweave Knits swept in and saved the day with the Summertime Tunic. It's a very straightforward knit, perfect mindless knitting in the round.
I'm not thrilled with the ribbing, which seems to be one of my knitting weaknesses. It never looks even, no matter how careful I think I am with the tension. However, I'm back to straight stockinette now, and I'm hoping that a bit of blocking will sort it out.

I'm already starting to look around with increasing desperation for my next pattern. I need a break from all this simple knitting with tough cotton! I think I'm about to start a shrug made with some handpainted alpaca, so hopefully there will soon be an addition to my WIP list.

Secret Pal Contest #5: My fave knitting spot

Secret Pal 10 asks the question: What is my favourite knitting spot?

Well, I don't really have a fave spot, in the sense that I have created a specific environment that nurtures my knitting and best allows me to relax and enjoy the craft. I don't seem to have a house set up for such an ideal spot, Instead, I do my knitting where I do most of my activities: in bed. I wish my life were as dirty as that sentence makes it sound.

There are several factors that contribute to this. Firstly, I am deeply, inherently lazy, and I do enjoy a proper lie-in. Also, I live in a large and very drafty house, and the downstairs rooms tend to be freezing all winter long. In an effort to keep my heating bill down and my feet warm, I am likely to be found wrapped in my duvet from October through April. Plus, I am no good at simply sitting in chairs. I have to fidget, change positions, stretch out. The bed just allows more room for my natural restlessness. Yes, I am both lazy and restless, often at the same time. It's an odd state to be in, I assure you.

I have created an entire office around my bed. I mark my papers there. I watch television. I work on my computer. Occasionally, I even sleep. And, yes, I knit. Sometimes I sit up in bed, often with a cat on my lap. Sometimes I hunch over, in a variation of yoga's child's pose, often with a cat on my shoulders. When I am being properly lazy, I even lie on my stomach, propped up on two elbows, often with a cat on my back. It's not always comfortable, but it gets the job done. This also explains why everything I make contains copious amounts of cat hair.

Someday, I will create my fantasy knitting environment. It contains a separate study, with bookshelves lined with baskets of yarn on every shelf (and a few books, of course). I will have a chaise longue, the perfect cross between a chair and a bed, where I can stretch out and still have back support. It's a red chair, by the way. I'm pretty sure of that. There, I will knit in peace and comfort. Except for the cats climbing on me at all times, of course. Some things will never change.

Mail call

My first secret pal package arrived today! I have been informed that this was the non-knitting package, and it was filled with wonderful surprises: what looks like a very fun book from an author I have not read before; a coffee scented extravaganza of candles and incense; a Dorothy Perkins gift card (apparently, they have lots of great tall clothes); and a cute cat magnet. Yay, unexpected gifts!

Thank you very much, Secret Pal! I appreciate all the time that was spent putting this package together, and I'm sure I will enjoy all the items.

Secret Pal Contest: Oldest Yarn in Your Stash

To be fair, I've only been knitting for five months, so my stash doesn't have much of a history. Even so, as sad yarn goes, this one is a doozy. Isn't she a beauty, in all her salmon pink glory?

This is only the second skein I ever bought. The first was a chunky blue wool. I bought it with a pair of 10mm needles with the plan of making a scarf. Instead, I got ambitious, started learning stocking and rib stitch and practicing increases and decreases, and the end result was that I made something resembling a blue whale far more than a scarf.

Thrilled with my success, I ran out to my tiny local crafts shop. This shop only carries acrylics, but I didn't even know what that meant at the time. It was yarn! That was good enough, right? This one was on sale, and I was quite certain I could make something fabulous from it. Yes, only five months ago I believed I could make something beautiful from one skein of salmon pink acrylic. Ah, I was so young and naive, back in those distant days of 2006.

None of that, of course, explains the current state in which the yarn finds itself. These days, my yarn is carefully stored in one of my dressers. Three drawers of my dresser, to be exact. At that time, I stored it carefully in...plastic bags. Ahem. Now, one day, I returned home to find half of it laying on the floor, one long strand trailing behind it. I followed that strand up the stairs, to the landing, around the corner and up the rest of the stairs to a rather exhausted looking pile of pink fuzz.

Through careful investigation, I have narrowed down the potential suspects and believe I have found the culprit. Would you trust this cat?



Some day, perhaps, I will get rid of this yarn, but at the moment I have quite a soft spot for this pink mess.

Secret Pal

I'm joining in Secret Pal 10! Any excuse to buy more yarn, right? But first, the questionnaire:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I am something of a yarn snob and love soft, touchable fibers. Silk, cashmere, alpaca...mmm. Since I am not independently wealthy, however, I do tend to buy blends, though I avoid acrylic whenever possible. Really, I'll knit with anything that feels good and looks pretty.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a Lantern Moon needle case that I love. Since I bought complete sets of bamboo circulars in three sizes, I'm rather swimming in needles and had to devote three dresser drawers just to my circulars. The extra straights go in a vase near my bed (I do most of my knitting in bed).

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Only since December 2006. I'm a newbie, but I really just took to it. I started my first jumper two weeks after I learned how to knit. I figure that, so long as I know my knits and my purls, I can figure out any pattern. I'd describe myself as an advanced beginner/slow intermediate. I can do most of the intermediate work; it just takes me a few more tries than someone who has been doing it for years.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I do! It's actually on amazon.com, since I'm an expat American living in Sussex. It's something of a mess, as I remember I have it once every six months, add everything I'm obsessed with at the time, and then promptly forget about it. I still want everything on it, though. It can be found through my email address, majea7 at gmail dot com.

5. What's your favorite scent?
I'm not really a perfume person, though I will wear oils or other, non-chemical sorts of things. I especially love amber and ginger, and tend to fall in the 'floriental' category. At least, that's what the nice woman at Nordstrom's told me.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Sometimes. I don't turn down chocolate, that's for sure, but I rarely think to buy it for myself. I'm more of an ice cream and baked goods sort of person. Mmm, ice cream sundae.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Are you kidding? Other crafts would only take away precious knitting time. Spinning seems like it might be interesting if I had more time, but at the moment it doesn't really appeal.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Anything. Really, anything. I'm something of an idiot when it comes to classical music or opera, but that's not the fault of the music. I particularly like the 'alt country' genre, although I hate that name. And yes, MP3s are fine.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love rich jewel tones and earthy naturals. Red, purple and green are my favourites, and I have a particular soft spot for all shiny things. Shiny is a colour, right? I'm not a big fan of blue or orange, and pink is only okay in small doses.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
'Family situation' sounds like some kind of horrible pregnancy euphemism. I don't live with any other people, if that's the question, as my family lives in the US and my partner lives in Kent. I do have a small, furry family: two Bengal cats that are completely, utterly mad.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, yes. Hats, when it's cold. Mittens, when it's freezing. Ponchos, never. Why would I choose to wear a tent that adds ten pounds to my frame without feeding me ice cream first?

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I love knitting tops and seem to always have at least one on the go. Jumpers, tanks, t-shirts, etc. Scarves are great as presents, though they can get boring. I think I'm going to start knitting shawls next, as they seem rather appealing.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I'm just about to finish Sahara, and am debating whether to start Soleil or Green Gable next. Of course, I'm already hitting the pattern books to line up my next six projects.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes, I think so. It doesn't happen very often, but I like it when it does.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
For the most part, I do longer projects on circulars, shorter ones on 10" straights. I have a lot of bamboo and occasionally find use for metal needles, though my particular preference is the Lantern Moon rosewood ones. When I claim my calling as a lady of leisure, I will invest in a complete set of those. Maybe the ebony or blond wood ones, as well. I am fascinated by the Namaste glass ones, but fear them. I've given up on birch, as I seem to break every set I touch.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No, but someday I will. Oh yes, I will.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
December. When I first learned to knit, I started a bunch of scarves in various textures, patterns, etc. About halfway through, my skills had improved so much that I was appalled by the initial work and abandoned them. Someday, I will frog them and give the yarn new life.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I love Christmas. Food, wine, family, presents, days off work...it's perfect. At least, until you have to go back to work in the dark, rainy days of January.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Really, no. Perhaps I should develop some interesting and eccentric collection as a conversation starter.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Lots of them! I'm a fan of some of the Rowan magazines, particularly the last one based on Morocco. I'll have to hunt that link down. The others I want are on my Amazon wish list. As for yarn, I'm pretty much dying to try all of it, although Koigu is especially tempting.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I haven't done any Intarsia or Fair Isle work yet. That's next on the list.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I haven't knit any socks yet, and I managed to break the set of DPNs I bought to knit my first pair (see above re: birch). As soon as I get another set, I'll try again. I'm an Amazon with very big feet, also. I'm actually embarrassed to say how big, so let's just call them 'really long and skinny', okay?

23. When is your birthday?
16 September.