I appreciate your supportive posts on the fix to my shawl, but don’t forget an important fact. The simplest solution would have been to pay attention in the first place so that I didn’t make the mistake.
February 15, 2007
From Susan — Happy Birthday, Surly!!
My blogging partner, best friend, knitting buddy and favorite sister has a birthday today! It’s her mumble-mumble-th birthday!
Just don’t let her near the (sh-h-h-h-h-h-h-h) candles!
PS — Sally had an “incident” with birthday candles earlier this week.
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February 14, 2007
From Susan — Monkey Love on Valentine’s Day
A dear knitting friend sent me this card — two creatures in the throes of Monkey Love.
This picture is more than a little disturbing and probably illegal. 😉
I am extremely happy and relieved to announce the completion of Sleeve Numero Uno:
Are the rest of you as sick of this project as moi? I’ll try to take a picture of the whole sweater in the next few days. In the meantime, I am going to pick up the second sleeve and then pick up another project. I will work on this at home in the evenings, but I need a break.Â
Sally and I are going to start a mini-knitalong in the next few days. I want a portable project (no, I don’t mean socks). For me a portable project is MINDLESS knitting that does not require me to pay attention or do heavy lifting in the brain department. Socks are knit on such tiny needles that I really need to focus to see what I am doing — remember, I have old eyes.  I want to be able to knit while I visit with friends over lunch or at my knitting group and therefore socks do not fit my definition of MINDLESS, portable knitting. Portable, yes…
Anyway, have a great Valentine’s Day!! Any special plans??
February 2, 2007
From Susan — I Believed It!
Sally sent me a link to the Bride Wigs Out YouTube video and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I feel so used! It is a hoax (the video has been pulled off YouTube — probably so the perps can make money off it somehow).Â
My sleeve is progressing — 3″ and counting. (Because this picture is from my scanner, it is very true to color). I hope to get much more knitting time this weekend.
I didn’t get my promised sewing done, though I did cut the dress out. You have to be in the mood to ________ (fill in the blank — here it is “sew”), and I was not.Â
Another goal of mine is to see a few of the Oscar-nominated films. I vow to do this every year, but I usually only get to 1 or 2. I love movies, love the Oscars and look forward to it every year. Knitting and movies are the perfect combo, except it is hard to watch GREAT movies and knit. This explains why I love watching movies over and over — once you know what is going on, you don’t need to pay attention and yet you still feel like you are watching it. More quality knitting time ;).
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January 11, 2007
From Susan — Shout Out to Surly
Just couldn’t resist a comment re: Sally’s Bohus: Wow! It looks great! I love the hemline and picot neckline. I will definitely consider something similar in my Large Collar. I agree that the tightly ribbed waistline is very dated and terribly unflattering for those of us who said goodbye to our waists long, long, LONG ago :(. The ribbed look works if you have a figure like Audrey Hepburn.Â
And welcome to the knitting Clay fans out there.  I have been Sally’s companion at MANY Clay concerts. I am the tall one in front standing next to the short one holding up the cell phone. Clay has actually spoken on that cell phone to some lucky listener out there.  Please check out our July 26 post to see Sally with you-know-who.
Oregon progresses with unnatural speed: slower than seems humanly possible — microscopic speed. I’ll post an update in a few more inches. Met a snag with the Moebius — it may become a UFO…
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PS — I am wearing long underwear today — 2 degrees and windy. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr :(.
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December 8, 2006
From Sally — Men Knitting
Why do men who knit get so much attention? Don’t answer that. I know. *waves to men who may be reading blog.*
Here is a little video on Men Who Knit.
As for my own knitting, I picked up my Sunrise Circle Jacket again — if you recall, I had put it down earlier because I can’t count, and I am almost finished with the last sleeve/front. I’m hoping to be able to wear it by next week.
October 26, 2006
From Sally — Look Ma, Even More No Fingers
Pleased with my first pair of glovelets, I’ve already started a second. These are out of Jade Sapphire’s 4–ply cashmere called Keja, in a sort of Chinese red. I am in love with this yarn; I want to marry it and bear its children. My webcam doesn’t do justice to the colour and I still don’t have a working camera. Imagine a gorgeous, perfect red and you have it.
These will be a gift, but I have enough to make a pair for myself. And I just might have to.
October 13, 2006
From Sally — National Knitting Week
October 14th through October 21st is National Knitting Week. I’m sure I don’t have to encourage any of you to celebrate with needles and yarn. Have a great week!
October 6, 2006
From Sally — Answers to some questions
Hi. I’m responding to some questions posted below. Ali asked:
“I can see that the provisional cast on on the sides would be a great improvement when it comes to the side seams. The jacket I did had shaping on the sides as well, so there were multiple cast-ons. I’ve yet to tackle the provisonal cast-on but want to try it. Would it work when you have a staggered edge rather than a straight one? Seems you might end up with a whole lot of loose ends, losing the advantage of the better seaming.â€
You’re right – the provisional cast on works better if you aren’t doing multiple cast ons (for shaping), unless you want to cast on all of the stitches at once and then “activate†them according to the instructions (the cast on numbers) using short rows. You will end up with a bulky and awkward seam if you do it the way that Debbie Bliss suggest, esp. if the pattern is using a heavier yarn. I know this from experience. I knit her Lara sweater following the original instructions (except for the way the collar was done; I didn’t want a seam in the middle of the collar). I regret having done it that way because the seam is unattractive and I don’t think that the underarm shaping (meant to give more of the feel of a fitted sleeve) added all that much. It certainly wasn’t worth the seam issue to me. So I would either forego the staggered cast on and cast on all of the necessary stitches at once or cast them all on at once and use short rows to get the desired shaping. (That way you still get the benefits of the provisional cast on.)
Here is the Lara sweater I’m talking about. (Not a photo of mine; mine is in Minnesota with Susan because I asked her if she could do something to make the seam more attractive!
My favorite provisional cast on is the one using a crochet hook that allows you to place loops on your knitting needle. Here are some illustrated instructions:
Crochet cast on I crochet a few loops before crocheting over the knitting needle, however. I find it easier to get going that way. Once I have the number of stitches I need, I crochet a few extra loops at the end also.
Note: I answered this question assuming you were talking about increases right at the sleeve/body join. If you are talking about staggered increases to give some kind of waist shaping, you could still use a provisional cast on and short row or you might possibly use a provisional cast on and some decreases. I’d have to see the pattern you’re talking about; I’m not familiar with her garter stitch jacket.
Ali also asked:
“Can you explain to me about the Koigu yarn and how that works to track increases?â€
It’s simple. I take a length of waste yarn (in the case of my Nina sweater it was some leftover Koigu). Each time I do an increase, I “lay†the yarn between two stitches further into the row so that the waste yarn gets knitted in to the garment. It helps me keep track of how many total increases I’ve done and the spacing is obvious enough that it makes counting the rows in between increases easier. When I don’t need it any more, it pulls out easily.
And Carrie — I forgot, in my comment to your comment, to answer you about the length of the the Nina sweater. I am hoping mine will now be about 28-29″ long after blocking.
August 9, 2006
From Susan — Attention Surplus Disorder (ASD)
This newly diagnosed disorder runs rampant among the knitting community. In fact, researchers now believe that ASD was first isolated in knitters and then spread to other crafters, though these secondary carriers do not tend to exhibit the same severity of symptoms. Could you be an ASD sufferer? Ask yourself these questions:
1) do you sit for hours on end doing the same repetitive motion over and over AND (this is key) find JOY and comfort in the activity?
2) do your non-ASD friends marvel at your ability to spend months, even years, on the same project, since when they tried knitting they just couldn’t “get into it”?
3) are you unable to leave the house without a knitting bag?
4) when unable to knit, do you become agitated, nervous, lose the ability to concentrate? In other words, do you exhibit the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder?
If you answered yes to any of these questions (and if you were truly being honest with yourself, you did), then you too suffer from ASD. I’ll admit it: I’ve got it bad.
ASD sufferers often think we are superior to those with ADD — after all, we have our finished knitting projects to show for it (at least some of us do). However, this could not be further from the truth. We both exhibit the same aberrant social behaviors: unkempt homes, neglected children, poor performance reviews. Substitute “I’d rather be knitting” for “I just can’t seem to stay focused” and the problem becomes clear.Â
We need the support of the community, but we do not want a cure. Accept us for who we are. We have ASD and we are proud.
