Me, defined

mad-knitter --

[adjective]: Like in nature to a kangaroo

'How" will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Yea, I can live with that. I kind of like kangaroos. Tough, but soft and a bit unusual. I like it.

Kos and Colbert

In ambivalent anticipation of both Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart coming back to air on January 7 (although I love them both, I can't stand that they are going forward without their writers - strikes don't work unless there is suffering and that suffering spurs negotiation), I offer you two of my favorite people in the world, The Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas and Stephen Colbert, together on the same stage.




Let's hope the writers are able to return to work ASAP. Otherwise, the shows can't possibly be what they were, and I'll surely lose more and more respect for Jon and Stephen. I really can't believe they are doing this.

I Got Tagged

I tore myself away from the New Year's Day Dirty Jobs marathon (and an Intervention marathon yesterday...how much better can it get???) to check on my friends' blogs, and I see that I was tagged days ago! Sorry all, it's been a hectic holiday week, but I'm here now :). Yankee Lagniappe tagged me for knitter's resolutions for 2008. And I think knitting accomplishments for 2007 too? I'll start there, cause I'm not really a New Year's resolution type of gal.

Knitting Accomplishments for 2007

1) Joined the local SnB, and I knew immediately that this is where I belonged. Thanks to all my SnB friends for making my 2007, a trying year at times, a bit brighter!

2) Visited WEBS for the first time with a long-time online friend whom I met in person for the first time that day! It was so much fun, a trip I will never forget.

3) Tried spinning with a drop spindle. A bit challenging, mildly rewarding thus far, and in the end something that gets pushed aside for other knitting projects most of the time, but something I will come back to when my life settles down a bit (though I am afraid that won't be til my ten year olds hit college!).

4) Visited my first sheep and wool festival with a great bunch of friends. Yarn is hip and cool and trendy and all, but I know it was my friends who made this day the wonderful experience that it was :).

5) Sold my first knitted items. *That* was quite a heady experience. So neat. I'm grateful to those who would this year welcome my little projects into their homes and their lives. Thank you!

6) Completed a project with a short row/wrap and turn combo. Challenging, but darn it, I was committed! And happy with the completed project.

Is that it? I don't know. I didn't set out to do too much this year, and frankly, some days just making it through the day was something to celebrate, so I guess those 6 things are quite enough.

Knitting Resolutions for 2008?

I don't know, I just don't do this kind of stuff. How's this...I resolve to go to SnB, to be there for my friends, and to keep knitting. Those are things I am happy to accomplish in 2008.

Thanks for the tag, Yankee! I tag anyone who is reading this and who is interested in thinking about such things.

Happy Holidays

To all those who celebrate, a Merry, Merry Christmas. To everyone, a peaceful, healthy and fulfilling New Year.

A new Meme

Time for another knitting meme, courtesy of Wife, Mom, Knitter. Thanks!


1. What are your favorite things to knit?

Socks, I think. In general, though, I prefer not to knit circularly and would rather just knit on two straights. So I don't really know why I am in love with socks now. Masochism, maybe.


2. What yarn/fiber do you like most?

I just recently began knitting with a wool/silk blend, and I am really liking it. Something about the sheen of the silk, and the way the yarn falls kind of heavily as you knit with it...ahhh, it's late, I am not explaining it well.


3. What needles do you tend to use (i.e. type/material)?

Well, metal dpns, that's what I prefer to knit socks on. So, in my current sock craze, that is what I tend to knit with right now. But I *prefer* to use two long metal straight needles. I knit with a needle tucked under one arm (just like my mom and sister, so I'm guessing that's where I learned it), and so that's the type of needle that is most comfortable for me.


4. Do you tend to knit more in one specific part of the year than others?

Yes. I seem to knit more in winter.


5. What style of knitting do you use?

I throw. With one needle under my arm...or as Wife, Mom, Knitter calls it, "pit knitting". Mmmm, that always sounds *so* attractive!


6. Do you consider yourself a “fast” knitter?

I don't. Some friends have called me fast. I think this is because using the "needle-under-the-arm" method can make some projects go fast, but unfortunately, this method doesn't work so well with dpns, and so I'm not a very fast sock knitter. It doesn't really matter so much to me whether I work fast or not when the project is for me or for family, because I really just enjoy the act of knitting. But if someone else is waiting on a project of mine, it bothers me to go slowly.


7. Who is your favorite knitting author(s)?
8. What is your favorite by said author(s)?

I don't know....I just don't think I'm all that into it. I like some books, but I'm not in love with any books or authors. I'm such an anti-intellectual when it comes to knitting!


9. How long ago did you learn to knit?

In the stone age, it seems like. I guess in reality it was 30 years ago. Well, if you ask my kids, or even me on trying days, that *was* the stone age.


10. How do you knit small in-the-round objects?

On dpn's. For hats, a circular and then to dpn's when decreasing.


11. What is the most useful technique you’ve learned so far?

Gosh, I can't think of one. I must be cranky tonight.


12. Do you prefer to knit fine gauge items, mid-range gauge items, or large gauge items, or do you like it all?

Small gauge. I think those nice neat small rows are so cute. For me, the more it looks like it was knit by a machine, the better. I'm warped that way. I don't really get into bulky knitting. Hah. Well, I just figured out why I like knitting socks so much.


13. How do you like to knit your sweaters?

Flat, on straights. I don't have any issues with seaming and so I'm never looking to eliminate it by using circ's. I'm boring, but predictable. The idea of a circularly-knit cardigan that is steeked to preserve the pattern of the colorwork, now *that's* something I could get jazzed about...that may be in my future.


Who do you wish to tag?

Nobody! I can't! Wife, Mom, Knitter tagged every knitter/blogger I know, LOL!
If anyone is reading this and has not yet done it, consider yourself tagged! Have fun!

Kucinich on Colbert

Funny. Runs a bit long for the MTV generation, but still a hoot. I gotta say, after all that we've seen in the campaigns so far, no one's been able to truly sway me from Kucinich.

Catching Up

OK, for weeks I’ve talked about posting pics of this great yarn I’ve bought for projects I have planned, and then life got in the way….well, so did Rhinebeck, but I’m not complaining :).

So, without further ado, the yarn:



This is the bonafide Rowan 4-ply cotton I’ve bought for my partner’s modified Isabella. I love the color, and look how it knits up!

Gorgeous. I can’t wait to work with it! Unfortunately, it took forever for the store to get it in, and it arrived here a bit too late for me to get a short sleeved sweater knit even for late fall, so I will be keeping this project on hold for a while and will try to get it done for her for the spring.

Next, the yarn-I-never-stop-talking-about-and-should-knit-already, the Silky Wool purchased for the Moderne Log Cabin blanket!

I just love these colors. I took a chance because it was impossible for me to figure out how to see them all together while I was ordering the yarn (maybe because I’m an idiot, I don’t know), so I tried hard to picture them together and luckily, it worked out fine :). I can’t wait to start. And if I want it ready for summer, I’d better start soon! I hear that this blanket can take forever to knit.

And finally, this beautiful, beautiful sock yarn I received from Sami at SnB. I found this simple lace sock pattern for my daughter in my good ole Paton’s Happy Feet book, and the colors and self-patterning have just transformed the sock. I’m so, so pleased.

I did actually knit two child’s earflap hats to finish off the hat/booties/mitts set I knit (same yarn as mitts and booties here, pattern is here), but I was on a tight deadline and both flew out of the house moments after I finished them and long before I could get my mush-brain to remember to take pics. But just look at Julie’s pic and my hats look like that, in navy with I-cord ties. Yea, that’s right, just like that :).

I knit another pair of Berry Sunburst socks

but almost didn’t include the pic cause they look almost exactly like my first, so I thought…who cares? But I realized I do have something to say about them… I used the WEBS podcast sock calculator pattern for these, and they came out bigger than I had intended, wider all around. I was disappointed about this. It still made a lovely sock, but not what I had expected. There are other sock calculators around the web, and I may look into those. But I don’t think I’ll be knitting from this pattern again.

Well, that was a lot. I’ll try (once again) to post a bit more often so I don’t have a crate-load of stuff to post. Then again, after Rhinebeck, I’m sticking to a strict yarn diet and won’t have new yarn to show for a while. Hopefully. Then again, there’s that Yarn Ahoy sock yarn I’ve been coveting…OMG, when did I turn into a knitter with a stash and a yarn habit????