Even Dirty Commies Deserve Nice Hats

This weekend I went to a big socialist meeting for our national organization. Some of you out there, and by that I mean the three of you who aren't related to me, might not know that I've been a card-carrying member of a socialist organization since before I could legally vote. However, I grew up in a house where Trotsky and Lenin were well-represented in our home library, so it's not like anyone was surprised when I broke the news.

Anyway, those of you who are not at odds with the capitalist system may not realize how much these people can talk. This was a three-day meeting, with a full agenda. It takes them 15 minutes to basically state that they are anti-war in a fancy way (well, that's an exaggeration, but not much of one). Time limits mean nothing to them. We got up at 6:45 am to get there on time, stayed until 7:00pm, and then went out for drinks and more political ranting afterwards. I should also mention that I don't drink coffee and there were no other caffeinated beverages available. So, I turned to knitting to keep me awake and focused. Those that don't knit assume that we're not paying attention, but we know better. We know that the repetitive, unceasing motion keeps you from fidgeting, keeps you from boredom around hour 11, and has other good benefits. Such as my finished Shedir:


Unrelated, but like the dart board? My mom sent it to me in a totally unexpected Valentine's Day package. I hit the bullseye earlier today and refuse to let Jon remove it. I'm very proud of my successful darting.

Isn't she lovely? This hat conquered the conference. Initially, I (and the other two knitters who were there) were getting a lot of flack for it, and many friendly quips were thrown our way when people got up to speak (further showing the low regard time limits were held in). But, curiosity got the better of them. They'd walk by and look at it, and were struck by the simple beauty of the cables. And they'd touch it and say how soft the yarn was. By the end of the first day, they were generally interested in when it would be finished and whether I would knit them one too. You know what? I'm also quite fond of it.
Yarn - Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk (50% alpaca, 50% silk; 146 yards) in plum purple. This yarn is exquisite. Soft, and shiny, and it knits up into this amazing lightweight fabric that is remarkably fluid.
Needles - 34" size 3 addi turbos. So trusty.
Pattern - Shedir from the breast cancer special issue of Knitty. The only modification made was that I knit 3 repeats of the cable pattern before decreasing instead of 5. I did this in part because I was afraid 5 repeats would make it too long, as Eunny discussed here, and also because I was afraid I'd run out of yarn. It turned out to be just shy of a perfect length, but not short enough to warrant adding to the brim, and I only had a tiny amount of yarn left, so my estimation was about right.

Remember what I said about the socialist thing being long? Well, after finishing Shedir, I had time to make Jon half of the biggest sock ever.

Ok. Maybe it doesn't look so big in the picture, but let me just share some specs: the leg is 10" around, the heel flap is 5" long, and the widest point of the gusset is 13" around (I tried it on earlier, and I can wear it as a sleeve....I don't have little stick arms, either). Over a foot. Impressive, no? And, I've already used up about 1 1/3 skeins of yarn. Apparently, his feet are about the size of pre-felted slippers. They're turning out to be a good fit, though.

I'm using the same upscaled dragon pattern as I did for these socks. I generally don't like knitting the same pattern twice in a row, but I (prudently) brought yarn for a second project with me to the socialist meeting in case I finished Shedir. I decided that at the last minute, though, so I just grabbed something I could knit on my size 3 addi circular so I wouldn't have to deal with finsing yarn and needles. So Jon's socks it was.

Year in review

So, I know it's been 2007 for about a week now, but this is the first chance I've had to really tally up everything. So how's 2006 been for me? Pretty eventful, I'd say. In knitting terms, I'm still a wee baby, as I started knitting in Novmember 2005. Just counting from January 2006, here's the final tally:

• I made about 10 hats (some for me, most for others)
• 4 scarves (1 for me 1 for each professor who wrote me reccommendation for grad school)
• 2 Clapotis (1 for me, 1 for my mom)
• 5 bags (2 for me, 3 as Christmas presents)
• 7 pairs of socks (3 pairs for me, 3 for others, and 1 tiny pair that will never fit me unless I ind my feet)
• 3 pairs of armwarmers (all Christmas presents)
  
• 6 nautiloids (for me and my friends)
• 2 cat toys (a wonton and a blue crab of my own design)
  
• 1 steering wheel cover and matching pocket for a car I no longer have
• And, last but not least, my very first sweater

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I think I'm probably most proud of the sweater, since I was pretty convinced is was going to take me a good two or three years to work up to it. It did take me about 6 months to finish, though.

It was a pretty good year in non-knitting terms, too. I graduated college with a ridiculously intricate honors project under my belt and started grad school in my chosen field. I'm somewhat financially independent, and feel a little more like an adult. I drove around the country all summer with a finicky car that nearly stranded me in the vast, empty openness of Wyoming. I gained some weight and lost some weight. All in all, it was stressful and busy, but productive and ego-boosting at the same time.

And now for pictures of current projects!

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I'm about halfway through a scarf I'm making for Jon's mom. Basically, it's a modified 2 x 2 rib with straight ribs alternating with twisted ribs. The twisted ribs are mirrored so they twist towards each other, which I think looks pretty cool (see in the closeup?). Because every row is the same, it's perfect mindless zombie knitting. In fact, the day after Jon and I got back from New York, we went to go see Apocalypto and I came up with the pattern in the dark during the movie. Ultimately, this was more satisfying than the movie itself, which mostly consisted of one dude running through the jungle being chased by other dudes.

I also started the Shedir hat a couple of days ago with this awesome wool and angora yarn I got from the Knitter's Anonymous destash. I had high hopes, but the yarn is too fuzzy and is completly obliterating the cable pattern. I'm going to frog it and try and do something that fits the yarn better. There's not that much, so I'll probably make a hat. Maybe something lacy? Or beaded? Who knows.

Meanwhile, I keep plugging away at the wee braids bolero. I'm just about halfway done with the body. Progress has been kind of slow because I hate the needles I'm using. I'm working with a 16" size 9 bamboo circular, and the yarn is sticking to the needles like glue. It also doesn't help that the stitches are all squished together because my bust size is considerably larger than 16".