Birchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirch

It's all I can think about. Birchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirch. Have I started Martha? No. Worked on the bolero for the shop? No. Finished my socks? No. Birchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirch.

112 rows complete. 71.6% done. Birchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirchbirch.

Thursdays are For What the Hell is This?

Meet Victoria.



From the front she's a dull, though ungainly, tank top.

But from the back...



...she is an unholy jumble of ruffles, ribbons and backlessness*. What the hell is this all about?

*I would like to see this on a live model just to see how low that back goes. *shudder*

Social Knitting

Nona had a post today about knitting in public. I knit in public everywhere--the zoo, the mall, the playground, the grocery store--you name it. But I also knit socially. I have a bit of an insane social knitting schedule.

On Monday nights I go to Queen Anne and knit with the Purlygirls. This is a pretty lively group. And it can be pretty big sometimes. On average there are about 15 knitters each week but sometimes we get up to 25. Lately it's been a little smaller, which is nice, because you get a chance to talk to different people.

One Tuesday night a month I have a group that I started. This group is mainly moms that I know through my sons' schools, babysitting coop and friends of friends. This group is intimate and quiet.

On Wednesday nights I go to Seattle Stitch 'n Bitch. I found this group when I went to Debbie Stoller's book signing for the first Stitch 'n Bitch. It used to meet twice a month and now meets weekly. There are over 350 people on the mailing list. But there is only a very small core group of knitters who come pretty regularly then lots of people who come very occasionally. It's a pretty mellow group. We knit, chat and eat really good food.

On Thursday, after work, I knit with a small group of friends I met mainly through the other groups. We have bonded into a very tight little group. We usually get together on the weekends too. We really let our hair down in this group. We bitch and laugh. It's really like therapy for me.

It sounds crazy, doesn't it? But this is not just about knitting. This is the only time I have all day to sit and talk to adults. I spend 12 hours a day with my kids (mostly with my now 5 year old) and a mom needs some grown ups to hang out with. And it helps that the grown ups share my passion for knitting. I have made some very good friends from my knitting groups. And that's saying something. It's hard to make new friends when you're a grown up. So go find yourself some knitters.

Manic Monkey Monday

My youngest son had his fifth birthday party yesterday. He wanted to invite all 18 children from his preschool class so I scheduled the party during the week of spring break to try to cut the numbers down. We ended up with six guests. A nice size. My son wanted to have a monkey-themed party because of a photo spread he saw in Martha Stewart Kids. I copied the cake.



His ears a pretty crooked but I think he's cute. My son loved it.

After the party I passed out for a few hours. Wes took the kids shopping for a present for the next party we had to attend in the evening--my best friend's daughter. After that party I went to Purlygirls, having eaten nothing but cake all day. I finished the first Magic Stripes sock last night.

I also finally got a beauty shot of my completed Backyard Leaves.



I feel ready for another nap already.

Weekend Report

I had a very fibery day yesterday. I went to the Spin In at Weaving Works from 10-4. I met lots of other spinners. I also got to sit and spin for six hours straight. When it was all done, I didn't feel like I had actually gotten much accomplished. I pretty much filled a jumbo bobbin with Coopworth (?) roving left over from my spinning class. I came home and attempted to Navajo ply it. I don't think I quite have it. Then I knit with friends in the evening from 7-11ish. My back was so stiff by the time I left.

Today I worked at the shop. I finished a lacy tank top for a shop sample. I didn't get any pictures but I'm not too crazy about it anyway... I've also been knitting a sample one skein lace scarf from Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb. Hot damn! That stuff is nice. It just gets softer and softer and it's so easy to work with. We got some Noro Daria in a new colorway that's really intriguing to me. Maybe I'll finally make a little purse from some of it.

I've completed eight repeats on Birch. Yeah me. I'll be under 200 stitches in no time.

I'm also halfway through the foot on the first sock. Christy asked why I was still knitting it if I didn't like the yarn. I have two answers. 1) I may like it more when it's done and washed. 2) If I don't like it when I'm done, I'm donating them to the Dulaan project. So either way, I'm still knitting them. Plus, I really needed some simple around and around and around knitting.

Progress

Birch is picking up speed. I've completed my 6th repeat. The rows are still taking nearly 15 minutes to knit. I don't want to say anything more positive than that and jinx myself.

I'm making a pair of socks from Lion Brand Magic Stripes. Eh. The yarn feels cruddy. The colors are blech. I just turned the heel on the first one.

Thursdays are For What the Hell is This?

I don't know what this model did to piss off Spiderman but, damn, is she in trouble.
What the hell is this?

Lacy

Backyard Leaves blocking


32 rows of Birch

Knitalong News

Hello knitalongers!

Is anybody out there still knitting the Shapely Tank or Tee? I may retire this knitalong from my sidebar. I will keep the blog up though since it has some useful advice on it.

How about Butterfly? Anyone still working on Butterfly? We had a flurry of finished sweaters a while back and then an eerie quiet. Why so quiet?

And lastly Martha. I'm still happily adding names to the Martha knitalong. I may even start mine soon. Marti is making me look bad. She's already finished the back of hers. I just found a blogger destashing her Rowan 37 for a mere $15. Someone had better jump on that bargain.

One Seam and a Bazillion Ends

That's how far I am from finishing Backyard Leaves. I feel like I've had this one hanging around for quite a while. It feels good to finally finish it.

There's also a new project on the sidebar. I'm attempting to write a pattern for a simple short-sleeve top-down bolero for the shop. Wish me luck.

Knitting With Scissors

After the steeking success of Retro Prep I find myself stalking my other knitting projects, scissors in hand. I think I will steek my Rosedale. I love the sweater but I often find myself thinking that I had wished I made the cardigan version. I'm also toying with creating a sweater for a steeking class at the shop. How does Kureyon Cut Up Cardigan sound? (Or do I need to spell it all with Ks?) In reality I'll probably just show people how to steek on a little swatch. Yawn. Maybe a doll sweater. We'll see.

Last night, my friend Cass had a game night at her house. We played Cranium which I've never done before and Trivial Pursuit which I haven't played in a decade. I still kick ass at TP. I worked on Backyard Leaves while I was there. I'm halfway through the second half of the scarf. I may actually finish it before next winter. We'll see.

Happy Sunday.

Friday FOs

I'm feeling a little bit cruddy tonight and ended up sleeping instead of going to my son's school for a huge all-school potluck and student performance. Bad mommy. I also look far too disheveled to model Retro Prep. So here's the boring laying-on-the-blocking-board shot.



And here's the Dulaan sweater made from acrylic. I haven't' figured out how I want to deal with closures. The pattern call for sewing on snaps and buttons but we all know that's not going to happen.



Thanks to you all for making What the Hell is This? so much fun. I love seeing all of your responses and interpretations.