Lazy Knitting

OK. I have to say something.

At first I though it was simply tacky. Then I thought it was lazy. Then I started to get irritated. Now I'm verging on angry.

I'm talking about the glut of novelty "yarn" that is now flooding the cheap yarn market - giant swathes of pre-knitted, crocheted, or otherwise assembled material that merely has to be gathered in a bit to create some kind of hideous frothy tentacle scarf thing. AND THEY ARE CALLING IT KNITTING.

It is not.

Figure 1: Frothy tentacle scarf thing

Figure 2: The "yarn"

Even if you think the end result is adorable - fine, whatever, taste is personal (even if you have none).  But I have spent years honing and building on my knitting skills. I take great pride in the complex geometry of my cables, the delicate intricacy of my lace, the perfect shaping and blocking techniques, the obscure methods for casting on, binding off, and increasing nearly invisibly that lend professionalism to my work.

But with the advent of these new ruffle yarns, they are telling would-be knitters that knitting doesn't actually require any effort. And this where I draw the line. This crap is the paint-by-numbers of the knitting world. I'm not saying I would never paint-by-numbers. It might be fun. But I wouldn't call it painting.

Any pattern to make scarves from these "yarns" is practically required to mention how easy and lightning fast it is. Some of these patterns don't even require hooks or needles - you just string a separate piece of yarn through and cinch it up like a drawstring. It's insulting.

If you don't really want to knit a scarf, just go buy a freaking scarf.

Stash and Stock

Motivated by the upcoming street fair at my local high school, I've decided to make a serious effort to knit and crochet for shop stock.  Up to now, I have crafted exclusively for myself, for gifts, or on commission from family and friends.  I'd like to be able to have a stock of small, quickly sellable items on hand both to populate my Etsy shop and to fill up a table should I want to buy a spot in a street or craft fair.  I won't be able to participate in the one I mentioned - it's only two and a half weeks away and I'd never make enough in time.  But it's never too early to prepare for the next one, whenever that may be! And in the meantime, perhaps I can actually get some Etsy traffic.

I've always been timid to undertake the crafting of items with no certain destination.  What if I spend a ton of money on the supplies and the finished objects just gather dust?  Lately, however, I've been giving so much thought to my future yarn shop (and I'm leaning towards Yarn Kiss as the shop name), that I feel more prepared to make judgment calls about what sorts of FO's I can profit from.  For example, I'm not going to be able to sell warm winter scarves and hats at a street fair in July.  But it would be simple enough to whip up a whole bushel of baby booties and hats in lighter weight, brightly colored yarns, and I have a feeling those would be popular!

While the weather is certainly getting warmer, I've gotten so many effusive compliments on my first entrelac scarf that I've decided to whip up three more of them and put them on Etsy as quick as I can.  They may not sell until fall, but hey, I can keep them tidily packed away until then if need be.  I bought six skeins of Lion Brand Amazing in three different colorways, a dark (Arcadia), a light (Strawberry Fields), and a bright (Regatta).  I'm about 20% in to the Arcadia Scarf:

Alpaca Snag

I picked up the charcoal grey crocheted alpaca sweater I'd been working on, which I had lazily titled "Another Alpaca Top," since I made it with the leftovers from the top I made for my mom a couple Christmases ago. I had bought ten skeins for her sweater, but somehow drastically miscalculated, and I wound up only needing five. I had assumed I would have plenty to work with, since I was making a top of basically the same size, with the same tiny sleeves, a much lower neckline (hers was a mock turtleneck, mine is a scoop), and even mostly in the same dc-blo used for hers as well. Perfect, right?

I ran out of yarn (almost) with about ten rows left to go on the back of the sweater - the front was done ages ago. I have a partial skein left, probably enough to do the cap sleeves. So, decision time: the design of the pattern makes it very stretchy. I could seam it up as is, missing those couple inches, and it would probably fit. However, this means that, once it's sitting even, the seams will be rotated just a little towards the back, which means the sleeves will also be attached a bit further in along my shoulder blades. I have no idea how noticeable it will be, but I feel like I have little choice! I can't even rip out a few rows from the bottom hem to shorten it and add it to the back width, because the rows are vertical! Well. It's either seam it and see how it sits, or frog the entire thing and stash the yarn for some future use, which I am really loathe to do.

On the plus side, if it comes out well, it really is such a lovely color and texture. It would probably be nice enough to pair it with a pretty, floaty skirt and wear it to my brother's wedding next month. Heck knows I'm having trouble finding a dress that's either weather-appropriate or affordable.

I promise pix when it's done, no matter what the final verdict!

New Year's Resolution

I spent some time working on the Lavender Leaves Scarf this morning, a belated Christmas present for a coworker, and I was feeling guilty that I hadn't yet started on the blanket for my mom, or the fingerless gloves for my friend, or the vest and cap for my fiance's grammy. I resolved to get started on all those things right away.

A few minutes later, I realized that was insane, and I revised my resolution. I hereby promise (and I apologize to those who will have to wait longer for their handcrafted goodies) that I will not start one single new project OF ANY KIND until every single one of my WIPs becomes an FO.

I will not include things that are hibernating or that I hate and may wind up frogging anyway, which includes the Phedre's Vow top, the Ducky socks, and the Fruity Pebbles socks.

I will, however, have to finish the Cabled Boatneck Sweater, Another Alpaca Top, the Bella Scarf, the Lavender Leaves Scarf, and the Brick Alley Blanket. OK, well, the blanket might be an exception because if I wait until I finish that, I won't start anything new until next year!

So tie me to the WIPping post, and 50 lashes if I even think about starting anything new until I get out from under the heaps of unfinished work.

Crochet - Yer Doin' It Wrong

You know, I like being a member of the Crochet Guild of America. Even if it's true that I knit now far more than I crochet, still, I like that sense of belonging. Especially since having been featured in Interweave Crochet's reader's gallery.

But, I cannot help but cringe at what the crocheting ladies of the guild consider to be fashion-forward examples of their illustrious craft. Each Crochet! Magazine (the guild's own publication) that finds its way into my mailbox every other month has me gasping in horror. Why they continue to insist on publishing (and naming as Editor's Choice, no less) the spectacularly tacky works of Tammy Hildebrand is beyond me:

And that photo doesn't even SHOW the "edgy, asymmetrical hem." Seriously, people, it doesn't matter how many times you try to convince us that asymmetrical buttoning is trendy or daring; you will always look like Seymour Krelborn.

Of course, Crochet! Magazine wasn't satisfied with merely one eye-searing masterpiece from Ms. Hildebrand. Oh no. Take a gander at this beauty:

I get good laughs out of my Crochet! Magazine subscription (which, after all, is free with guild dues), but if I actually want to crochet anything out of a magazine and not open myself up to public ridicule and personal mortification, I think I'll wait for my Interweave to show up.

Interweave Loves Me

So, I'm pretty damn excited. I got a message on Ravelry from one of the editors of Interweave Crochet indicating that I have been chosen to be a part of their Reader's Gallery in the next issue. This particular reader's gallery will apparently focus on hats.

For those of you who aren't regular readers - the Reader's Gallery is a collection of something like four to six photos of finished projects made from patterns published in previous issues. I've always been mildly jealous of the people who get featured, but I never thought my stuff was nice enough to submit.

Turns out, I didn't even have to! They contacted me! The nice editor lady - one Toni Rexroat - asked if she could use a photo of my Chullo Hat, which I made last winter. I asked, of course, if I could take some truly nice pictures of the hat to send her so that she wouldn't publish the rather half-handed pics I snapped back when I made the hat. Those pictures were merely for Ravelry and Facebook. THESE pictures will be going in a nationally distributed magazine in all its full-color glossy glory.

This afternoon it turned unexpectedly sunny, and with the trees in our yard turning some pretty rad colors, we whipped out the camera and I posed my yarnie heart out on the back deck. In the best pics my eyes are either downcast or closed entirely, since, of course, to get the good light, the sun needs to be shining right in my eyes.

So, without further ado, here are my submissions, the two best of the lot:

Speed Crochet

So, my birthday was this Saturday. (Pause for cheering.)

Among the various things the boy and I did that day was to visit The Naked Sheep, one of my favorite places in North Portland, which is now, sadly, quite a long way away from where I live. But we had to be in that part of the city for other reasons that morning, and so, knowing that I would get a birthday discount, we headed over. He decided that whatever I wanted to purchase there that day (within reason, of course) would be my birthday present. Isn't he sweet?

I walked away with the Harmony Guide for Cables & Arans (which I've wanted for ages, along with the Lace & Eyelets Guide) and a single skein of blue-and-copper self striping Wisdom Yarns Limerick. I would have gotten more - it's a nice, soft dk merino - but this lonely skein was all there was left in the sale basket, and I just knew I could do something small and lovely with it.

After riffling through and discarding several ideas, most of which got discarded because they contained interesting and beautiful cables which would have been totally lost in the striping, I finally settled on the Clapochet by Crochet Kitten. This crocheted version of the very popular Clapotis Scarf is, like its knitted counterpart, designed to be shawl width, and therefore normally requires something in the neighborhood of 800 yards of fiber. Having only 175 to work with, I narrowed it down a great deal, and only made it about 60" long.

I chose the crochet version over the knitted one, not because I haven't learned how to do drop stitches (how hard can it be to learn?), but for the much more important reason that the crocheted version stripes with the grain of the diagonal, rather than across it, and I much prefer this look. Cross-grain striping, in my humble opinion, distracts the eye and obscures the stitchwork.

The most amazing thing about this project, though, is that - and anyone who has done one-skein projects will understand - I did the entire project in one afternoon, the very afternoon after I bought the yarn, which means this project wins the prize for fastest progression from yarn purchase to project blocking I've ever accomplished. And the weather is just perfect to wear it to work today!

Hiatus

So, immediately after my last post, significant time was spent gearing up for PAX. Which rocked, as per expectations. We made lots of new friends, a handful of which even live very close to our new home in Hillsboro.

The night after we returned from PAX, all hell broke loose on the home-buying front. Long story short, we wound up staying temporarily in Gresham, and commuting from there to work (almost an hour each way) until the delayed close date and subsequently even more delayed move date on our new house.

During this entire time, I never found time or peace to knit anything at all except a few rows on the Muppet Scarf. Even now, there is still unpacking to be done, walls to touch up, furniture to be arranged, and a birthday to prepare for - yes, friends, this yarnie is turning 27 two weeks from tomorrow.

To make matters even more exciting (and crazy busy), the boy and I have been engagement ring shopping! *squee*

I was so excited to start my very own yarn-and-hardware blog, and so disappointed with myself recently for not having any reasons to update it. So, even though the most I've done in the past six weeks is get nearly to the end of the first ball of dark orange Sirdar Snowflake, I wanted to share.

To end this post, I'd like to publicly vow to pick up the hooks and needles again in earnest the very moment the last empty box is collapsed and recycled, the last spackle patch is painted over, and the last piece of furniture is in place and put to use.

THERE WILL BE YARN.