A blog about my life, knitting, and other stuff.

January 30, 2015

Twenty Impossible Years

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The last time I saw my father, my wedding

Twenty years ago my father died. My parents split up when I was 14 and I stayed with my dad. He was my whole family, the person who I depended on to know everything, be everything. I was 24 when he died. I had been married for five months. Suddenly everything that was good about my childhood fell away.

He has missed knowing me as an adult. He had missed meeting and knowing his grandsons. I see things all the time and think, "He would have loved this." Sometimes it's a song, a book, a joke, a meal, a moment. All the things he's missed these last twenty years. 

After twenty years it still feels impossible that he is gone.

January 29, 2015

Putting a Lilly Pulitzer spin on X-ing X's. #rosekimknits



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Thursday Is for What the Hell Is That?

Ugh. Folks, we've seen this before now a million times. This "edgy," deconstructed, I-live-in-a-dystopic-future-where-all-the-sweaters-are-sad-and-have-lots-of-holes is so overdone.

And yet here it is again.


Locking the model in a chicken coop for several weeks before the shoot was a nice touch though.
And also I'd like her lipstick. Thanks.

January 28, 2015

It Doesn't Take Much

The new Doubleknit podcast knitalong is a Stash Declutter. That was enough prompting to get me to cast on a new hat. 

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This is my standard worsted-weight recipe. I cast on 88 sts (or something like that) on a smaller needle, knit ribbing, switch to a bigger needle and knit until the hat is about 7". I hold it against my hand for this. If it reaches from the base of my palm just past my fingertips I'm ready to start decreasing. On 88 sts I do 8 decrease "wedges," so k9, k2tog around, etc. 

I have a little of the green left so I started a new X-ing X's that will have a contrast color band. If you knit an X-ing X's please add it to Ravelry so I can see your hat!

January 26, 2015

X-ing X's

Oh look. I knit a hat. Because I never do that. #rosekimknits Untitled Untitled
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 Now you can knit your own. Download the pattern here.

The name is from Aligators All Around from Really Rosie, one of my childhood favorites.

January 25, 2015

Another Xing X's. I'll post the pattern tomorrow. #rosekimknits



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January 23, 2015

Isabella modeled the start of my Quicksilver last night for me. #rosekimknits



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Doubleknit 101

The newest podcast is live. Prepare for lots of laughter (ours, not necessarily yours).

January 22, 2015

A satisfying end when knitting with handspun yarn. #rosekimknits



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Thursday Is for What the Hell Is This?

Guys, it's so exciting. Have you ever wondered, "What happened to all my half-finished latch rug kits that I started in the 70s?"

I found them!




They've been turned into man-dresses, or dude-frocks, or guy-gowns, because OF COURSE THEY HAVE.



January 15, 2015

Thursday Is for What the Hell Is This?

You know how sometimes your grandfather gets up from the table with a napkin tucked into the front of his pants?
It's kind of like that.
But with a doily.


That is also in the back.


Maybe from a different angle?



No.

January 13, 2015

Cambrian Cowl

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Pattern: Cambrian Cowl from Coastal Knits
Yarn: Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande
Needle: US10
Notes: This is a very quick project. You could do it in a day except that you need to block the top portion before picking up stitches for the bottom portion. You definitely don't want to skip the blocking or this will be a sad rolled-up tube. The pattern calls for 150 yards. I knit the top portion off of one skein and assumed that if I started the bottom portion continuing with the same skein I'd run out (there's 110 yards in a skein). So I started the bottom with my second skein. When I finished and weighed everything I discovered that I had exactly one skein's worth of yarn but now in two balls! Oh well, live and learn.

January 12, 2015

I Resemble That Remark!

Today on Savage Chickens there is a cartoon that is meant to be about cats. We knitters know better.


January 11, 2015

Song of the Sea

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Pattern: Song of the Sea by Louise Zass-Bangham
Yarn: The Alpaca Yarn Company Paca Peds
Needle: US6 Addi Turbo
Notes: This is a lovely, simple lace pattern. It's extremely intuitive and just flows. 
The yarn I chose was a gradient kit I got at a Sample It! at TNNA several years ago. You heard that right. It's supposed to be a gradient. I had two skeins of the lighter green which I could not tell apart and three skeins of the dark green that were also indistinguishable to me. I striped them for several rounds where the light met the dark to make the transition less jarring. I don't think it helped (or hurt) that much. But, seriously, how is this a gradient?

January 8, 2015

Thursday Is for What the Hell Is This?


The description on these says they are "wolf  slippers." I don't see anything lupine about them. They also call for "faux bear claws" which, according to the pattern, is something you can pick up at the craft store. I haven't been to a craft store in some time but I don't recall there being a fake animal parts section.

My biggest issue is that I just see these as an extension module for the Baby Mop Onesies. Now you can finally deep clean those baseboards!


January 7, 2015

CustomFit #4

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Pattern: CustomFit Cardigan (details below)
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica in Flame (This color is impossible to capture! Every time it's either too orange, too pink, too bright, not bright enough.)
Needles: US6, 7  and 8 Addi Turbos
Notes: Gauge, you meanie. I'm guessing since this is a handspun yarn the gauge of my swatch did not exactly match my sweater. I added a bit of length to compensate. I intended for this to be a bit longer but in the end it's a good thing or I would have run out of yarn.
To shape the collar I changed to a larger size needle every 4", just to make it flare out slightly. Then I used two sew-on snaps to secure it.
It's not a relaxed coat I envisioned but it's so warm and cozy and still fits very well.

Design Details:
• Relaxed fit
• Style: cardigan
• Length: Tunic length
• Sleeves: Full-length sleeve
• Neck style: Crew neck
• Neck depth: 3"/7.5 cm Below shoulders
• Hem edging and height: Garter Stitch, 3"/7.5 cm
• Sleeve edging and height: Garter Stitch, 3"/7.5 cm
• Neck edging and height: Garter Stitch, 12"/30.5 cm
• Button band allowance: 4"/10 cm
• Button band edging and height: Garter Stitch, 4"/10 cm

January 6, 2015

January 5, 2015

Stash-Diving Decision-Making

A very kind podcast listener sent me the Quicksilver pattern as a gift on Ravelry over the weekend. I've been knitting again on my Song of the Sea over the last few days but I've also been itching to start something new. And not another sweater!

I had also been contemplating my stash this weekend and thinking, as most knitters do, "I have got to do something with all this sock yarn." With that thought in mind I feel that my Quicksilver must be knit from yarn I already own. I did a little sifting this morning and came up with two color combinations.

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For this I'm thinking of using the grey/black with the blue/green (bottom right) for the stripe and the bright teal (it's SUPER bright in person) for the mesh lace.



For this combo I feel it could go any way. Right two color stripes with bright, light blue for the mesh. Or the two brightest blues striped and the bottom right for the mesh. Or the bottom right with the lighter blue for stripes...you see what I mean.

I'm leaning toward the more subdued top combination. Any opinions?

January 3, 2015

100th Episode!

Erin and I just posted our 100th Doubleknit episode. I can't believe we've been podcasting for over six years. Thanks to all of you who have listened to our ramblings along the way.

January 1, 2015

Final FO of 2014, a hat. #rosekimknits



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Thursday Is for What the Hell Is This?

I don't know what the designer is going for here (I assume it's something like, "Dead-eyed girl dressed as kitty cat") but all I'm getting is BaneCat.