Knitter's Block

I think I am having a period of knitter's block.
Usually when I stare at the mounds of colorful yarn in my room, the skeins call me to project after project, idea after idea, and today: Nothing.
I have five skeins of a strangely variegated gray and pink/blue/green/yellow Greek yarn that my grandmother gave me. I want to use itbut nothing is coming to mind.

I think some of this has to do with the weather. It's not Phoenix or anything, but the weather here has been between mid-80s and low 100's for the last three weeks now, and very very humid. Everything is sticky; not exactly knitting weather. I'm actually afraid that if I start my fall knitting now, the fibers will stick to me and feel gross. So I'm either waiting for: a) cooler weather, or b) cooler yarns. And I mean temperature here, baby. So get the hell down there thermometer!

Camping

I apologize for the lack of posting this past week, but I now I am officially back from my sort-of escape from civilization. My camping trip to the Franconia Range in NH. Niel and I spent two nights and three days out in the woods, enjoying the very hot and muggy weather from underneath a canopy of trees. We stayed at Russel Pond State campground. We had tried six other grounds before we found an open spot, and I think we only found the one we did because it was sort of hidden from the road, and I stumbled across the stairs to it when I flashed my flashlight around. It ended up having three sets of stairs, and we later learned that our lot was nicknamed "Cardiac Hill" because of all the stairs.

On Saturday, we drove up the Kancamagus highway to the Flume, and hiked the whole path. The breeze coming down the canyon from the rushing water was such a relief from the heat and humidity.

I searched in town for a yarn store, but the only craft store seemed to specialize in quilts only. They carried knitting needles and books, but no yarn. I was dissapointed.

I also believe that I was bit by a spider? I need to see my doctor to confirm or rule it out.

So, I didn't do any knitting while camping. It was pretty wet the whole time, and I spend a bit of time hiking. The leaf and rock patterns gave me some ideas for some really organic knitting, so I'm excited to start new projects. More on my knitting tommorow!

The matching handbag!

It's been a few weeks of my mom wearing her new tank around, and it has been (surprisingly) nice weather to do so. Being in New England, you just never know. She asked me about a week ago to make a matching handbag for her. I made two rectangular panels edged in seed stitch. Here's the pic:
I finished the flat knitting, and I folded it up to sew the sideseams. Right now I'm adding hemp (bracelet-making hemp, not hemp yarn) to the top and knitting the handles out of it. I just picked up stitches all the way around the bag, knit up 4 rows, and then binded off all but eighteen stitches, four groups of six stiches. There are two groups on each side of the bag, and my plan is to knit them up and then increase on the inside and decrease on the outside until they meet, then make three or four rows to connect them and finish the handles. I'll post a pic when I have a chance to take a picture. I think it lookes great, and the earthy color of the hemp doesn't take away from the vibrant colors of the cotton.
Thanks to Scott for taking the pics.

knitting GIANT

Check out this giant knitting I learned about in Thursday's Boston Globe:
The Knitting Machine
click on "work" and "big projects"

This man has made two 25-ft long knitting needles and knit a 20ft x 11ft American flag with CRANES (yes Cranes) for Independence Day.

A tank for my mother

While my mother was in Los Angeles becoming a yoga instructor, I was here in Massachusetts planning and knitting her a tank top. I found a beautiful hand-dyed cotton yarn on sale at the North Andover Sheep Shearing Festival. I wound it into three and half good size balls, and knew it would turn into something for my mother, as a surprise for when she got back. I thought of something that she could wear in the summertime, throw a jacket over in fall or spring, and something she could wear in the yoga studio. A tank top seemed to be the right choice.
I measured a sweater of hers that I know fits her well, and I made a pattern, using a gauge swatch that I had washed and dried in hot water, and on high heat.
It took me about two weeks to finish. I shortened the distance from the shoulder to the underarm decrease because it looked too long when I tried it on. Also, the space between the shoulders sagged outward. I wanted to tighten it up without frogging the whole top, so I added a tie to cinch it tighter.
I was so excited to give her the shirt and have her try it on to see if the fit was right! When she finally came in from L.A., I gave it to her. Her response: “Cool.”
That was it! I was pretty heated that she didn’t seem to appreciate the amount of time and energy I spent making it for her.
A few days later, though, she was wearing the tank, and telling me how many compliments she’s gotten on it. She even asked me to make her a matching handbag. But we’ll save that for another post.

Here’s the finished tank: