"Whatever Event Prompts a Knitter to Paint Her Nails"

I laughed so hard when Del posted,

"I hope you had a great time at whatever event prompts a knitter to paint her nails, LOL."

because I didn't go paint my nails as I intended. Why? Because I had to knit some more! So I finished a Lizard Ridge square instead. We're diehards aren't we? I hoped I'd be able to touch up my mani at lunch today and I did. Why use up valuable knitting time at home?

The event Olga and I attended was a lecture at the Corcoran Gallery of Art given by Andre Leon Talley, Editor at Large, Vogue Magazine.

He had a great slide show of his favorite spring fashions and took questions later. He was so entertaining, charming, and funny and not at all imposing in person as he appears in Vogue. Talley dressed simply in a grey suit and white shirt. But he had on black pumps with huge rhinestone buckles, made especially for him. Andre just had to be Andre, I guess. Some of his favorites of the season included Chanel, Peter Som, Versace, Vera Wang, Balenciaga, Missoni, and one of mine, Prada. Here are few shots of the slide show. If you're interested in seeing better photos of the full collections, go to Style.com.

Someone asked what he thought of the movie, The Devil Wears Prada, in which the Merrill Streep character is alledged to be based on Vogue editor Anna Wintor, Talley's boss. He wouldn't even entertain the question. Don't blame him. I'd want to keep my job too! Someone else asked him what effect Project Runway has had on the fashion world, but he said he has never watched it. We were gossiping with some people at the reception afterwards and we figured out that he wouldn't admit to watching PR because Nina (Garcia?) is the editor of Elle, a Vogue competitor.

There were some great looking people at this sold out event. It was good to see that some part of Washington is fashionable and attends these events.

Andre singled a few well-dressed women in the crowd during the question and answer session, including the young woman on the right in the picture below.
I loved the woman in the hat. She was throwing back martinis at the reception later.

She made sure I got one too.

This young Houstonian, Julia, was appalled that there's no dress code in DC. She was shocked that people don't even dress up for church! (Many folks in the South and in Texas still have special Sunday clothes for church.) Julia proudly told us she dresses as approriate for the occasion and volunteered to posed for me. She even whipped out her own camera. I've toyed with the idea of copying The Satorialist, posting shots of well-dressed Washingtonians, but I'm too shy to ask people if I can take their picture.

Really, on the whole, most Texans dress up more than the Washingtonians I see everyday. Not big hair necessarily, but more make up, more jewelry, albeit subtly done. I remember when I moved here from Texas, I was stunned too. Then I began to dress less. I'd feel underdressed when I went home, so I'd put on more makeup and jewelry on when I got to Dallas DFW, so that I'd feel confortable when I landed in El Paso. On the way back to DC, I'd pare down a bit. Now I just do whatever I feel like according to mood - women should feel free to choose. (Talley said, "It's not what you wear, it's what you project.") But I've noticed lately that I'm slowly reverting to my old Texan ways. Decades-old habits die hard! I feel better when I'm dressed and made up, though these days that may mean only earrings, lipstick, blush, powder, mascara, sunglasses, and clean jeans!

Olga and I and another attendee had our picture taken for the society pages of DC Modern Luxury. Our first! I'll let you know if they actually get published.

Much Better

This is much better. Notice the absence of buttonholes? That's because I decided to reknit the left front again when I discovered that I knit looser than I did 2 years ago.


My options were to use smaller needles or continue with the larger hand. The latter is the better option, I think, since I really don't want it the cardi to fit as tightly as it does on the model.

I realized at the outset that I might have to re-knit the entire sweater.

I'm going to an event tomorrow night, so I'm going to go paint my nails.

The Perils of Procrastinating

There are many perils of procrastinating, I realize, but this one is specific to the Michael Kors Cable Cardi. Besides forgetting how to read the instructions, apparently I forgot what size I was making! I forgot that I cast on 53 stitches for the front left side two years ago, and cast on 48 last night for the right side.

(Notes? What notes?!!? I've learned my lesson. I bought a little notebook for the kinds of annotations I failed to make. It also has pockets that will be useful for small strands of yarn or swatches, and graph paper for sketches. No more scattered notes!) I caught the mistake when I checked to see if the two sides matched. I've only knitted two inches and I can stand to practice my buttonholes anyway. Now to cast on for the sixth time - the first five attempts at buttonholes weren't acceptable. I know I should be practicing on swatch. It's too late now. Well, it's not, but I'm not going to.

This means I'm two stitches short on the sleeves too, both of which are finished. Fortunately, they knit up quickly, and I'm using Grumperina's no cable needle method, which makes the knitting go even faster. (Nik had a good tutorial too, but I couldn't pull it up on her site.)

I forgot to show you the Skacel purple lace weight yarn I bought on sale at Stitches East.

It's 100% shrink resistant merino wool. I got 1375 yds for $15. I'm thinking of Eunny's Print O' the Wave Stole (PDF).

And the Karabella Roses that the Karabella rep was giving away:



How could I forget a freebie?

Stitches East

At the last minute Olga's husband, Jason, got the day off and kindly offered to drive us to Baltimore to attend Stitches East. I hadn't been to Baltimore for at least a decade and had forgotten than it is only an hour drive away from DC. We didn't take classes, but spent four hours at the market. There were hundreds of vendors there and we were wild-eyed with excitement from the moment we walked in. Our first stop was Habu. I found and bought the thread-like slubby yarn in moss green and pink that I saw in their New York shop in May. (Click on each picture for a closer look.)

It was one of those yarns that made an indelible impression on me and that I regretted not buying. I have no idea what I'll make out of it. I also bought some novelty yarn for scarves

and catalog of yarn samples, which they will mail to me later. I bought these beautiful stone buttons from Cheryl Kumiski Glass Studio (no buttons on her website) that I envision on some Habu sweater.

I have no idea which sweater I'll make, but I know I would have regretted not buying these buttons for whatever sweater I ultimately choose. I'll have to choose carefully, because, frankly, most of their sweaters are better suited to small-boned, thin women, not broad-shouldered ones like me.

I was delighted to find these lighted needles that Wendy blogged about.


I plan to knit some deep purple Kidsilk Haze gloves with them. The dark color and "halo" of the yarn and its ultra-fine gauge make it hard for me to see it on the needles I had, so I thought illumination from the needles themselves might help. They were also cheaper than the ones on the Kpixie.com site.

Interweave Knits exhibited Eunny Jang's Venezia Pullover and the Kate Gilbert's Equestrian Blazer, patterns for which are in the current issue. They are much more beautiful than the pictures show. Eunny's sweater is generally not my style, but after seeing it I'm coming around. And the Equestrian Blazer is just simply elegant. The picture doesn't show the gentle tapering at the waist or how perfectly the collar falls. Hope it fits as well as it hangs on the hanger.

There were surprisingly few sales. Webs had a stall there and they were selling lots of yarn, but the prices - of Kureyon at least - were the same as the prices on their website. I bought some Trekking and Jojoland for socks from other vendors, but no STR from Blue Moon Fiber Arts - nothing moved me.

I found Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk and Gedfira Gigante among those few sales. Don't know what I'll make of the Alpaca Silk, but I'll make a cardi like the one Olga was wearing out of the Gigante. (I was too wild-eyed to remember to take her picture!)

Woolstock Yarn Shop was selling it and other bags of yarn at 50 or 60% off! I wish I could have taken a picture of all the women madly sorting through the huge bin of sale yarn, but cameras were not allowed in the hall. Or, rather, we were not allowed to take pictures. Gigante looks kinda bleh here, but it knits up beautifully. And I love knitting with yarn that is variegated and varies from thick to thin. It made perfect sense to wear one of your handmades to an event like this. I wore my Pomatomi, but who could see them inside my shoes?!!? Interestingly, I saw few others wearing their knits. I saw a Diamond Fantasy shawl, a Clapotis, some domino square cardis, and one or two scarves. The rest of us must be making socks. Gotta re-think that, huh? Oh, I'm not going to quit making socks! I'm just sayin'... well, I'm just sayin'.

Yarn Pr0n Friday: STR Pink Granite

It seems strange to feature yarn from a sock club kit even if it is Socks that Rock! But it's my favorite so far. It's pale pink, cream, and gray.

I may actually knit this soon.

Blogs are for Bitching, Right?

I thought I was going to have one more pair of socks to celebrate the end of Socktoberfest. All I had to do was kitchener the second Broadripple that I'm making for my Mom. Pulled 'em out at lunch, and this is what I discovered:

Well, shit. I couldn't believe that one is significantly smaller than the other! I knit them both with US3 Addi Naturas, with the same number of stitches. My colleague Tonya said that I may have stretched the first by trying it on. That might explain why the first one is wider, but not why it's longer. Obviously I'll have to frog it. Thank goodness they're for Christmas, because I'm not in the mood to frog right now. I'm using elann Esprit, which is much like like that stretchy Cascade stuff (I'm clearly too lazy to look it up right now. You know the stuff.) I don't even like knitting stretchy yarn. Someone said that the inside of the sock made up of this yarn feels like those terry athletic socks, so since Mom likes bed socks, Voila! Well, HUH. At least I gave Tonya her laugh for the day. She couldn't help herself! She smirked every time she saw me for the rest of the day. I shouldn't complain too much. The first one came out OK.

I don't like these Addi Naturas either. The point of the needle is much sharper than metal Addis, which I like, and the join to the cable is seamless, but the yarn gets stuck in the groove where the wood joins the metal (see arrow).



I did finish My So Called Scarf. I may redo the end with a crochet cast off a la Harlot. I think it will be tighter.

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay
Color: 107
Needles: Lattern Moon Circs, US 11 ( I really like these needles. The join is smooth and the ebony knitting surface is as smooth as they come.)
Mods: None

Buttons, Socks and Pins

Olga and I went yarn and button shopping yesterday. I'll show you the yarn Friday. I found the perfect buttons for the Michael Kors cable cardi at Aylin's:

Sleeves, back, and left front finished, I can now start the right front. Wish me luck.

It was nice to have company while prowling yarn shops, especially with such accomplished company. Olga is a designer and has great ideas and suggestions. She convinced me to buy some Rowan Yorkshire Tweed (it's purple, so I was an easy sell!) for a pair of gloves, and suggested an interesting design. She even turned me on to this great Japanese ice cream.
We got it at Trader Joe's. Each small serving, about two tablespoons, is covered in a chewy dough. The flavor pictured here is green tea and it's delish. The chocolate is even better.

I finished the first Flow Motion sock last night. I think I'll have enough yarn to make the leg longer than the pattern calls for, so I'll cast on the second sock from the center pull when my second set of Addi US3s arrive, then knit each one until the yarn runs out. It was hard to take pix that properly show the instep design and the heel flap. (Click each picture for a better view.) Now I appreciate the strange angle of the shot in VK.



I love the pattern on the leg and appreciate the ingenuity of the design, but, you know, it's not exactly a fun knit. Though Pomatomus didn't have a memorizable pattern, watching the pattern evolve produced a certain hypnotic effect, while knitting Flow Motion does not. Perhaps that is because the pattern isn't evident while you're knitting, thus you don't get the same sense of accomplishment as you progress. The best part of knitting this sock was the heel flap because you don't have to pick up stitches. I pick up stitches just fine actually, I just don't like to do it. I always fret when the picked up stitches aren't even, rip and pick them up again, though it's just a sock heel that no one is likely to see. I hope I don't develop second sock syndrome.

Thanks to fellow blogger Bekka, who sent me this beautiful flower pin!


It's simply gorgeous!

Yarn Pr0n Friday: Soxie

This is Soxie, from the Great Adirondack Yarn Company, Inc., which I ordered from Webs.


The colorway is Kenya. It's 100 percent superwash wool. 360 yds. I haven't chosen a sock pattern yet.

Socks and Gadgets

From this commuting sock project with DPNs piercing the bag:

to this:

I read about this DPN holder in VK, Fall 2006, and ordered it from Woolworks, Ltd. As you can see below the needles are inserted into the tube and closed with a cap.

Now that I have it, I would have been better off with one of those one-piece jobbies - fewer things to lose on the bus or Metro. I didn't expect it to be so rough-hewned.

It looks like an amateur metal worker made it. Nothing against amateur metal workers, but one would expect the holder to be sleeker and show no evidence of soldering.

The sock attached is my Grey's Anatomy KAL Jaywalker. When I reached the toe I realized my stitch count was off and had to frog back to the heel. So much for actually watching Grey's Anatomy and knitting at the same time.

I couldn't resist casting on Cat Bordi's Flow Motion sock from the same VK, Fall 2006. I love the pattern on the instep:
It's slow going because the lace pattern is not memorizable, though there's a certain logic to it. I probably won't even have one done for the end of Socktoberfest.

The real genius of this pattern is the heel flap on this toe-up. You don't have to pick any stitches!

The yarn is April Showers superwash merino from Brooklyn Handspun.

Wimp Ass Yarn PrOn Friday

Noro Kureyon, Colorway 95

Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks That Rock, Lovers Leap Colorway

(actually redder than appears in this picture)

Sundara Yarn, Grey over Periwinkle Colorway

Don't worry, I'll get the hang of this camera and its software!

Been knitting Lizard Ridge squares like crazy. They're addictive. I started another pair of socks but I don't like the colorway with the pattern, so I'll rip it. I finished Mom's Christmas socks, they're waiting for kitchenering. Haven't found buttons for the Michael Kors cardi. Everything else is languishing...

Got a makeover at Nordstrom last weekend. My favorite YSL makeup artist is leaving. Whine! She got job in her field of broadcasting, so good for her. Anyway, another makeup artist had this on: It's a long, black, v-neck cable-knit sweater. Kinda hard to see - click on the picture to see it closer. Looks great with the silver chain necklace, leggings, and boots. Maybe next season.

Michael Kors Cable Cardi

The two sleeves for the Michael Kors Cable cardi are done. I'll post pix later. I've figured out where I was on the left front (I think) and resumed knitting, marking the spot just in case I figured wrong. Here's my progress, the back and left front:

I've followed the instructions as well as I can, and the gauge is spot on, but I don't see how this collar is going to wind around the back. It's like knitting in the dark. There's no errata on the VK site. I hope I don't have to frog the whole thing. Anyway, I have to knit buttonholes on the right front, and I think I'll buy the buttons first so that I can knit the buttonholes to fit.

By the way, for those of you interested in Lizard Ridge, Got Yarn is selling a kit.

Knitting, Knitting, Knitting

Another pair of socks completed.

Pattern: Anastasia (PDF), by Pepperknit

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill, can't find the ballband, so I don't know the colorway

Needles: Two Addi Turbo 16" Circs, US 1

Modifications: I used the Lana Grossa Jojo short-row heel (PDF) instead of Wendy's as written in the pattern. Still not entirely pleased with it. This pattern requires EZ's sewn bind off, which I loved. It's easy and relaxing to do and much stretchier than my usual. I used the Turkish cast on. I loved knitting these socks. I have a lot of yarn leftover. I may re-knit them with the extra yarn later.

Third and Fourth Time are Charms

My third and fourth attempts at the Lizard Ridge squares were much, much better. The yarn in neither skein broke nor was excessively thin. I've memorized the pattern now, so this afghan might become a commuter project after all. These squares are addictive.

Addendum: The colorways are 139 and 95, respectively.

Thanks to everyone for all your kind comments about the Pomatomi! I'll respond personally as soon as Blogger allows!

Two Pomatomi

Just in time for Socktoberfest!

Pattern: Pomatomus

Yarn: Brooklyn Handspun Hawaii Joy

Needles: US1 Bamboo DPNs

Modifications: None