Just Nicky

Obsession November 14, 2006

Stripes September 19, 2006

I finished Finn’s jumper yesterday afternoon/evening. I avoided the neck pain and headache, I think, by knitting in small bursts of 40 minutes (the length of an ER episode) and making sure I was moving around in between. I cast off too tightly on the neck, so I pulled out the last couple of rows this morning and redid them on slightly larger needles.

I intended the jumper to look kind of rough and ready and I think I’ve succeeded on that front, although the holey bits around the neck are just a result of my poor work knitting up the stitches. It’s huge on Finn because it’s a size 5/6. I’m hoping this will give him years of wear out of it.

Finn seems to like it, although it’s a bit hard to tell through his obsession with the ‘wobot game’ - the new Star Wars Lego Playstation game - that he and Mark are playing at the moment.

I’ve got the knitting blues September 18, 2006

I seem to have lost the knit thing in the last couple of months. Since I chucked a little tanty over my sister’s socks I’ve barely attempted anything other than a couple of dishcloths and a simple jumper for Finn.

The jumper is in Anchor Magicline in blues. I’m using the same pattern I used for this jumper but without the triangle design across the top. I’ve done the body and one sleeve, so there’s probably 2 evenings work left in it.

The problem is that every time I spend an evening knitting I wake up with a sore neck and a headache the next morning. This has only been happening in the last few weeks as I’ve been trying to get back into knitting. I must be tensing up or sitting strangely when I knit, but I can’t for the life of me work out how or why. The prospect of pain and discomfort the next day is really putting me off finishing the jumper and starting any other project.

I hate sitting in front of the telly without a project to work on and it’s particularly frustrating with the new baby coming. Being born in late March the little one will be just the right size for cute jackets and hats through winter, not to mention little socks/booties. I also would like to get onto knitting some Christmas gift ideas I have, but it will have to wait until I have this issue sorted out. Meanwhile my stash is giving me dirty looks - all that yarn just sitting getting dusty, it’s a crime.

Sock blocked August 18, 2006

It is Rhonda’s 50th birthday in a couple of weeks and, as has become my practise, I was going to knit her something for it. I didn’t want to knit her wrap or a scarf because she already has some I’ve done for her and I’m a bit over the idea. I decided instead to knit her some socks. With the time and yarn I had available I figured I could knit her 2 or 3 pairs of cute socks in different patterns and that would make a nice birthday present.

Thus far I’ve managed to knit 0 pairs of socks - none, zip, nada. I’ve started with the same yarn about 4 times and each time something happens to stuff it up. It’s not the yarn’s fault. I just keep making mistakes that can’t be fixed without ripping the whole thing out. In the end I had to put it down because the frustration was reaching boiling point. And I haven’t knitted anything else either. It’s put me off entirely for the moment.

I can feel the moment passing and I think I will feel like picking up the needles again this weekend. But the question is, do I try the sock idea again, or not? I’ve started to think that the 300g skein of blue and purple yarn I bought at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool show would make a lovely Clapotis, but I’ve already knit 3 of them and 2 of those were for The Mavis and Andy. I’d like to do something for Rhon that’s just for her. I don’t feel like I have the time to suss out a new pattern, though. I need a month or so to allow for stuff ups, etc.

Decisions, decisions… I could spend all day mulling this over and I quite likely will. In the end I know the right idea will pop into my head and, whatever it is, it will be fine. I’d just like it to hurry up and pop already.

Helen’s Birthday Present August 12, 2006

We went to lunch for Helen’s birthday today and I gave her her present, so now I can post about it.

Yes, I knitted a Clapotis for her.

Bendigo Wool … and sheep too. July 23, 2006

We trundled off to Bendigo yesterday to visit the Sheep and Wool show and to see Finn’s Grandy and Helen (although I completely forgot that Helen was in Bendigo until Friday night).

At first I thought the show was going to be all sheep and no wool as we wandered past and through tent after tent of sheep and alpacas, but eventually we found the main shed full of wool crafts. There was some very boring stuff there - all beautifully made, but sooo boring - however once I got past that there was some lovely things to look at and, of course, buy.

I bought 2 balls of the yarn at top left, but the other must still be in the car (I hope). The big skein is likely to become my sister’s birthday present in September, unless I fall too much in love with it. I was most excited to find the needle rolls, though, since I’ve been looking at them online, baulking at the prices (usually $50 +) and promising myself I’d make my own, one day. The large one for straight needles was $18 and has 9 pockets. The smaller one is intended for circulars and cost $12.50. The best thing is that I can use these as a template for making my own - when I finally get around to it.

There were other sheds of wool crafts where I would have liked to have bought some bits and pieces, but we were rapidly running out of cash and nobody seemed to take credit card, which is not such a bad thing as it stopped me from going overboard.

Jaywalker pour homme July 16, 2006

Mark’s Jaywalkers are finally done.

They’re knitted in 8ply yarn. I used the same number of stitches as the pattern said for working with sock yarn, but knitted on larger needles (2.75mm) and did fewer rows for the heel flap.

They haven’t been washed yet and I’m hoping they’ll be much prettier once that’s been done.

Halfdome July 13, 2006

Halfdome from the latest Knitty.

Knitted in Patons 8 ply cotton. I did in the round because I didn’t want to have to seam it. I probably should have just seamed it. I also reduced stitches after I should have stopped, so it has a little ‘nipple’ on the top.

I knitted it for Mark as he needs something to keep his head warm but tends to find wool too scratchy. I’m thinking of doing a couple more for him from the stocks of cotton yarn I have so that he has a range of colours to choose from.

When not buying yarn… July 7, 2006

I buy books about knitting! Books about knitting socks to be specific.

A couple of weeks ago I caved into temptation and ordered some books on Amazon.com because I really, really wanted them and I’m convinced that it’s cheaper to buy them from there and ship them here, rather than buying them locally. They arrived while we were away.

The first book is Nancy Bush’s Knitting Vintage Socks. I heard Nancy interviewed on a knitting podcast (can’t remember which one) and read some really good reviews of the book. I hadn’t seen it in Borders here, which is about the only place I’d expect to stock it. Essentially Nancy has taken a 100 year old book of sock patterns and reworked them using modern yarns and more realistic needle sizes (eg. one pattern for children’s socks was originally worked on 1mm needles in crochet cotton and she’s adjusted it to 2mm needles in sock yarn).

The other book is Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I originally saw this one in Borders and it cost about $55. At US$16.47 - about AU$23.00 by my guess - it was definitely cheaper to buy it from Amazon. This book is a kind of DIY guide to knitting socks. It gives the reader a breakdown of sock antomy, yarn weights and gauge (not that I ever swatch a damn thing, something I must get into the habit of) and a series of stitch patterns with instructions on how to use them.

My first mittens July 2, 2006

I decided that Finn needed some mittens to keep his little paws warm, so I set out to knit them, in spite of finding perfectly serviceable $3 gloves at Best & Less.

Here they are. Much too long and a little too narrow, but quite cute all the same.

I blocked them properly (well, as properly as I know how) before seaming because they were so curled up that I doubted I would be able to sew them properly. It was a bit like pinning insects - not that I’ve ever done that…