DisKnit: Ravelry vs. Family Revels (1-0)

Above be the project I pretended to work on while four of us brought together by the wonders of ravelry talked last night. Despite the efforts of some souls who thought we should leave my sacred neighborhood boundaries we gathered only a few blocks from the center of [my] life. Everyone was entertaining. The service at the local Cosi was as bad as I've come to expect, but they didn't bug us to order more. Two of the attendees were on the consume less theory, so that was pleasing. I was not in such a state since I'd gotten to work late, rushed home to walk the dog, and wanted food. Still it was better than being harassed by irritated staff. The project above is the selfish knitting inspired by a trip to my original yarn store (now mecca): Webs (aka: www.yarn.com). Mom bought me enough of the pretty green stuff for a sweater, inspiring me to drop all other knitting in favor of swatching. The idea is to the base of a sweater inspired by the interweave Bonsai Tunic, but switch to a different top.

So to return to the wonders of ravelry which I know KBrow has been disdaining but to which . . . I have finally figured out. Here's why it is so fantastic: you look up a pattern you are considering and see multiple pictures of the patterns on people with different body shapes. If every catalog did this, none of us would buy clothes online anymore. But for the thinking knitter, then you can start figuring. Yes, the lace pattern, and the loose part over the hips is good, but none of that deep v-neck that just doesn't work and requires careful thinking about tops. No, no. Instead, I'll keep the fitted part under the bust, but then do a U-Neck, and long sleeves. I do live somewhere where it is damn cold right now, so . . . sleeves are key. I haven't done all the figuring yet, but . . . it should work, and allow me to stay on the sacred circular needles. There is, of course, the father's aran sweater but . . . I am in need of some selfish anticipation.

So Ravelry wins because 1) it let me has a nice social knitting nite last night and 2) is letting me compose my pattern.

And Family revels well. Stress. Curtis liked the snow, but there are no pictures of him in the snow. Revealing, I think. My grandfather is a remarkable 100 year old man now. But . . . parties for 100 year old men are . . . difficult.

My brother and mother liked their scarves (mom, even finished her own, she knew I was stressed):


Mom's sweater below the scarf is one she knitted herself. I bought her at webs some yarn for a hat like I made Patty (felted Drops pattern) and a cupcake hat for one of her great grandchildren (remarriage explains it). Otherwise, I will not discuss so called family revels. I am in sore need of a selfish vacation to go with selfish knitting.

Brother's is one I frogged and reknit with the convenient "hole" for wrapping while biking. Here he is in acrylic glory:


So those of you who want to find me on ravelry I am DisKnit. Those of you who want to disdain it, you know I am all for disdain. Meanwhile, I wonder if I care what happened in Iowa? Why should I? I am the DisEnfranchised Knitter after all.

The Organizing of the Yarn (or out of the fog)

So I'm on Ravelry now as DisKnit (let me know if anyone else is there and then I might have "friends." And so this has inspired the organizing of the stash. There are so many other things I should be organizing: my finances, my dirty clothes, my head; but Ravelry says enter your stash and I shall obey. I don't have a sexy stash, because I buy too much cheap weird yarn on sale and then . . . I buy the same color of yarn over and over again. Up in Maine at Halycon I bought green tweed yarn from Jo Sharp for a hat. Sure enough I have beautiful green tweed yarn from Ballybrae (from a failed sweater of years ago). Then many rose colors, etc.

Alas, the digital camera took a fall last night during a fabulous event. The DisKnit met Roz Chast. My college roommate JL and I met at to Politics and Prose and got to laugh as Roz Chast explained herself and her newest book and her process. She was as crazy and neurotic as you'd suspect from her cartoons. If you've never seen them, go see the Cross Country Knitter in the cartoon bank:
http://www.cartoonbank.com/product_details.asp?sid=33779

Perhaps we should all have a knit-along across the country. It would have to be 3500+ mile long scarf for me to get to KBrow, but some of you would get there faster.

So I have no knitting pictures to post since the camera is waiting for its battery to charge to see if that will help its recovery. Here is the last blurry picture of us with roz chast (she is on the right -- I like us all in glasses!):


The Agatha vest/short sleeve sweater is up to the division for the armholes!! I must return to Jack's Aran so it might be done for christmas for my dad, but after the horrible month of October, selfish knitting has been useful. November already feels much better.

My great aunt's memorial service was good -- her knitting was mentioned regularly (taxidermy did come up once). I think there is something about the creativity and usefulness of knitting that is worth of admiration. My aunt and I knit in our hotel room at night.

Oh, and I don't have to go the office all next week, since we have a monday holiday and then I go to North Carolina for work meetings and get to stay with my earliest friend. Oh and Curtis can come and his lump was benign. Yippee.

DisKnit

DisKnit: Progressions

Here is the knitting I've done lately here in the District. It isn't a great picture, but the pattern is pretty (Agatha from Lavold). As K-Brow knows I've been pretty down and not inclined to wh-log (whine-blog).

But in response to her implication, I do have to say that just because I have a house cleaner every two weeks, my house is also a mess as this picture will show:


The Memorial Service for my great aunt is November 3, I'm dithering about travel plans, but my mother announced that there is a great yarn store in Bath where we'll be staying:
http://www.halcyonyarn.com/ So if anyone needs something, let me know! I think I'll buy a skein of something marvelous for each of Kristi's daughters and daughter-in-law since we are all knitters.

DisKnit: Casting About for a Theme (not found)

Since my gift knitting is either on hold or off to recipients, I have decided to embark on some selfish knitting. I have Elizabeth Lavold's second book and decided to do a tank from it with a lace pattern. In a knitting and worldly tragedy , my version of one of her sweaters was stolen from my car -- I'm sure they thought my laptop was more valuable, but it was damn sad to lose a wearable, self-made sweater (the design was this one: http://www.ingenkonst.se/sjc10_e.htm)

The sweater I've embarked on is:
http://www.ingenkonst.se/sjc17_e.htm
I'm using a dark red apalca yarn from KnitPicks which I hope I have enough of. I have naturally converted it to the round since the shaping is identical. Are any of you out there as committed to knitting in the round as I am?

This long weekend has been pretty slow for me -- my social circle in Washington DC is very small -- but I did go bike riding up Rock Creek to Maryland -- the first time I've ridden my fancy road bike in DC. A couple of riders checked the bike out, which is always satisfying.

Today, Columbus Day, the intrepid CurtEye (Curtis in latinate) and I went to the Vet. Shocking bill since it was guilt trip so I bought all the frontline and heartworm medicine from them. I always feel on a first visit to a vet I must buy stuff from them before I go off to other cheaper sources. In Sacramento, the prices weren't that different than the discount stores, but clearly NW DC vets need to charge a lot more to afford their prices. Let's not even talk about how much the mole removal is going to cost, and the fact that I have to do it on the day after Turkey Day. But at least the guilty conscience about neglecting the dog is over. It just means that there will be no clothes buying or yarn buying for me.

Reading report: Finished Miles and Me by Quincy Troupe. Good, but I didn't learn as much about Jazz as I wanted. I think I need to read Miles: An Autobiography by Troupe instead. Last night I started a book on Beethoven. I'm obviously on a learn some more about music kick. I have no musical training and a poor voice, but I'm intrigued by the process and the social construction of it all. But I'm obviously going to have to go to the library tomorrow and return my current books and get something else. Suggestions welcome?

Cooking report: nothing to speak of, though I bought some nice apples at the farmer's market on Saturday as well as asparagus from Chile or somewhere. Gym Report: have to go see the foolish trainer tonight and say she's not much use. Self-discipline is going to be the rule.

K should be recovering from jetlag and capable of posting soon, she'll have to provide the amusement since I don't think I've managed much of it today.

L from DC