March 22, 2004
A "Terrible" Party
When co-workers asked me what I was going to do this weekend, I said I was going to a knitting party, which was true—I was going to a Knitting Soiree at the house of the Terrible Knitter of Kent. What I didn’t tell them was The Real Truth, that Knitting Soirees usually end up being about everything but knitting. I was at the Terrible Knitter’s house for, lessee, seven hours, and I knit ¾” of sock cuff—and even I’m not that slow of a knitter. So, wot happen'd? Well, in short, I:
- played with the smoochywoochy-snookumwookums-cuddlebunny Border Collie
- scrootched three of the four cats in Just the Right Places until they went cross-eyed and started to drool
- talked a lot (no comments from Dear Readers who are familiar with my motormouth)
- watched the daughters groom their horses and inhaled big snootfuls (snootsful?) of that rich, sweet, salty, leather-and-hay barn smell which someone should package and sell as a perfume
- watched the daughters ride their horses and giggle, uh-lot
- poked my nose into what everyone else was knitting (Kit's self-designed tam; Janine's celtic-inspired Fair Isle pillow; the Terrible Knitter's alien illusion-knitting scarf; and Sheila's Elizabeth of York) or spinning (Sheila's variations-on-bright-pink silk)
- poked around in knitting books
- noshed on snacks
- snarfed down the lovely dinner of salmon (barbecued by the Terrible Knitter’s husband, henceforth referred to as “God;” don’t ask why), salad, scrumptious two-flavored homemade bread made with pesto dough and sun-dried tomato dough braided together, and a really sweet and spicy carrot cake
- and capped the evening off being mesmerized by a symphony of frog chirps, which one never gets to hear in the city.
Thank you, Terrible Knitter, for opening up your home to us and hosting such a fun, relaxing get-together!
And what did The Mysterious K do while I was off Not Knitting? She finished her sidetable! Here, a picture of the table in progress, as she finished putting (three? four?) coats of polyurethane finish on it:
And, here, a couple of pictures of the finished objet. Note the tapered legs, the result of the TMK's Satanic Dance With the Table Saw.
Now that the table is finished, we did start down that path that all knitters are familiar with, the path of "why, I could have just gone to the store and bought one for ___ dollars," but, in the best interest of TMK's mental and emotional health, decided it was best not to pursue that line of thinking...
Knitting Knews
At recent Guild and Feral Knitters meetings, I have been carefully scrutinizing the various ways knitters do two-handed knitting and by this weekend I felt I had done enough “research” to give it a go myself. Here are the results:
In the interest of complete disclosure, not knowing any better, I did purl across the back, dropping one color and picking up the next but, now, after some looks from other knitters that said, "oh, you poor befuddled twit" and the accompanying helpful suggestions, I now know to knit in a circle, make a steek, and just cut the fabric. Look out, world!!
Posted by Ryan at March 22, 2004 10:17 AMjust knit in a circle and steek, she says casually, causing me to gasp audibly in admiration. Can I WATCH when you do that the first time, cuz I am freakin' terrified to CUT INTO my knitting. I'm perfectly FINE about cutting into things (mostly of the wood variety) with saws n all, but this steeking thing....eeeeps.
The side table is Beautimonius, and to further add to the Knitting Comparisons...can you make ME one? I won't even GO to that place of *gosh, it looks good enough to be store bought* cuz that just wouldn't.be.nice.
FUNNY, but not.nice.
Quilt Ladies meets at MY house tonight and I think I will print out multiple copies of today's Mossy Cottage post to share with my Circle of Friends....who will find it hysterically accurate.
You know, Greta, until yesterday I think I would have been terrified of cutting my knitting, too, but there was just One Little Moment when Dear Reader Janine showed me her pillow (which was knit in the round with steeks and then cut so she could lay it flat, pick up stitches and add borders) and mentally I made a leap from Here to There and found myself thinking, oh, that's all it is. And I guess that instant journey from Here to There, and my new, casual attitude about steeking, is just showing up in my writing now!
I am flattered that you would print out my post. I hope they enjoy it!
Posted by: Ryan on March 22, 2004 11:17 AMi knit in a most unique manner that involves a wild tossing of yarns and grasping of needles- it vaguely resembles someone trying to send semaphore signals- recently i decided to try something more 'proper' and probably something that might be recognized as an actual knitting technique- all i can say is that i have an all new understanding of the saying about 'old dogs and new tricks'-
your swatches are gorgeous and i am waiting to hear all about the actual cutting of the fabric- i like the ez recommendation that one go and lie down for a few moments afterwards to recover from the trauma-
beowulf sends 'big mwahs' to frankie-
Posted by: barb in texas on March 22, 2004 11:30 AMJust reassure TMK that she couldn't possibly buy the experience and knowledge she gained making that table and all that experience adds up until the day she makes something that couldn't possibly be bought in a store!
Posted by: Laurie on March 22, 2004 03:05 PMThe swatches are gorgeous, and the table is gorgeous.
Both worth doing.
much love, y'all!
Posted by: Anne on March 23, 2004 04:39 AMNow those are some great looking fair-isle swatches! I can't too see what you make with this new found talent.
The table by TMK is lovely too! Is the leaf part of the design or was it just on the table? Either way, I love it!
Posted by: Rebecca on March 23, 2004 08:16 AMOn TMK's behalf, I say smooches to everyone for their compliments on the table. I may be a little biased but it really is a pretty little table, and the finish TMK used makes the top feel like silk. Now, if I can just convince her to use a coaster. I don't know what it is; maybe it's a butch girl thing, but she hates to use coasters.
Now that the table is done, TMK has moved onto a beadboard wall cupboard. As always, I'll post photos of the finished product!
Rebecca, the leaf is a gift I received from my sister for Christmas. It's made from a real leaf that has been reduced to just its veins and then dipped in metal. This one was dipped in bronze and green metal and is beautiful. It's a Christmas ornament, really, but I can't bear to put it away.
Posted by: Ryan on March 23, 2004 08:27 AMIt was a joy to spend time with you at Terrible Karen's. I, too, made amazingly little progress on my knitting--I'm so glad that the pillow top steeking inspired you to cut yourself! Oops, poor wording.
Your swatches are great, by the way, and as I said before, you will find that knitting a full garment is usually easier than swatching because the repeats become so, well, repetitive.
Laurie's comment above about TMK's table is perfect, and the perfect response to those who might ask the same question about our knitting. Although, to be honest, I never went through a knitting phase where people would comment that the garment could have been purchased. It was probably a combination of dropped stitches, mismatched side seams, and strange fit that informed them this was not something to be casually picked up at the Gap.
We missed you at the Ferals last night--more amazing knitting appeared around the table. Dear Reader Mary B. started her first Fair Isle in wonderful shades of deep purples and greens. Hooray!
Posted by: Janine on March 23, 2004 08:53 AMTrust me, Janine, I missed being at Ferals last night too, but it was time to be Adult and admit I was spending so much time having Knitting Fun that the rest of my life was going to pot. Although I would much rather have been at Ferals, I decided last night was my night to get the annoying chores of life taken care of, especially getting some food into the cupboards, which had developed a layer of dust from lack of use! I promise I'll be at the next one (which, by the way, is when?).
Posted by: Ryan on March 23, 2004 09:08 AMWhere do all you Puget Sound knitters live? I live in Tacoma and would love to meet all of you.
I also read Fiber Raven Soiree.
Hi, Pat! Welcome to Mossy Cottage!
We'all are scattered around from Kent to Northgate to Bellevue to Bothell and everywhere in between.
Even though it's a long drive, maybe you could come to Guild one month and meet some of us. If you decide to do this, let me know and I'll make sure to meet you there.
Posted by: Ryan on March 23, 2004 12:03 PMOkay, okay, I can't take it any more. The way I make a FI swatch is to knit across every row, right to left. At the end of the left side, break off the yarns, knot them together. Begin again, tying a knot at the right side, and knitting across. My swatches don't end up half as neat and tidy as yours -- mine are kinda homely and hairy from the yarn fringes on the edges -- but they are only knitted, never purled, and end up accurate for gauge since one knits in the round and never purls in [traditional] FI work. Sorry I didn't pull out one of mine while you were over at the chateau on Sa'ddy. All would'a become quite clear. And you would've appreciated why I was praising how nicely soft and flat yours were!!!
Posted by: Karen the Terrible on March 23, 2004 08:46 PMDelurking to ask (great site, by the way!): what's so bad about purling fair isle? Maybe it's how I knit (I hold the yarn between my right thumb and forefinger, and sort of flip it around the needle) but I've never had any trouble knitting back and forth in stranded knitting. Am I missing something?
Posted by: Rana on March 31, 2004 04:23 PMHi, Rana! Welcome to the blog!
There's nothing in principle wrong with purling fair isle; I just can't do it! :-)
Posted by: Ryan on April 1, 2004 08:23 AM