Old School

I spent my day Monday dubbing betamax masters (who here remembers beta?). This process involves some initial set up and then watching several hours of footage, making sure that the audio levels and the video synch up, etc. I figured that it would be most industrious to knit while I kept an eye on the video. The footage was from the 1970 National Woman's Day Women's Liberation Rally and it was really fantastic!

There was an interview with a man on the street where the camera person questioned this young fellow's views on feminism and liberation, where it was determined that the man not only cooks and cleans for his female roommates, but they had also taught him how to sew the patches on his jeans. I have a feeling that this gentleman has gone on to do well with the ladies.

I wonder how many of these activists ever dreamed that 40 years later, a man would sit in a studio, watching and preserving the footage from these rallies, marches and performances, while knitting socks.



Right on.

Packing

So I thought it would be really fun to pack my yarn, organize it and reminisce about projects of yore. Turns out that packing my stash is really depressing. I saw a picture online of a woman's destash efforts once. There were hundreds of plastic grocery bags filled with yarn on two folding tables. I always said to myself that I wouldn't let it get that far.
Well, I may not have a metric ton of wool, But I have much more than I'm comfortable with. I filled two giant rubbermaid tubs with yarn. While that may not sound like a lot, one of those is filled completely by ends and partial balls left over from other projects. What the hell am I going to do with 35lbs (I weighed it, AND remembered to subtract the weight of the empty container) of half-used skeins? I feel like I just binged on an entire apple pie and chocolate cake and now I have to live with nausea and self hatred.
Oh well. I also found this!



It's an apron I had made for an installation last year. The outside is red-orange vinyl with white trim and the inside is lined with a grey sheepskin. It's freaking beautiful. I can say that modestly because I didn't sew it and I totally forgot that I had it. I'm hoping I'll find a good use for it.

In knitting news, I've been working on the sock as a packing avoidance tactic. Andrew used Harry Potter. So we're pretty much screwed.



The heel is knit with the same yarn as the leg I dyed in a mint green color. I used a strand of grey lace weight mohair as the reinforcement and I think it lends the whole sock a Grinch Who Stole Christmas feel.



I like how the red borders the green.

I hope y'all have a wonderful day. I'm gonna pack.

Insert Bad "Dye" Pun Here.

I really like dyeing yarn but I don't get around to it as much as I would like to. This is probably because I am constantly lining up new projects that don't require my beloved hand dyed yarn. Oh well, at least I have pictures.

This is a hank of merino lace weight I dyed for my cousin Amy. Does she knit lace? Couldn't tell you. It's pretty, though.



Here's a close up:



I also dyed a skein of self striping sock yarn last fall that lingered in my stash for months.



Close up:



This is it in ball form:



And in sock form:



These will serve me well in the winter months. Carry on.

Meme

Everybody has a favorite part of the knitting process. Some people like to cast on for new projects, some like blocking, some like the tricky parts and some like the mindless parts. My absolute favorite part of the knitting process is washing my project for the first time. It's at this point where the yarn you've been playing with for an eternity becomes a real life garment. I love how yarn gets softer when you wash off the milling oil and the wool relaxes into the stitches you've set up for it. Oh, full immersion! How I love thee.



I have been tagged by the intriguing sacha for a meme. Yes, that's right. I am a grown man and now the term "meme" has been added to my vocabulary. Maybe I should balance this out with a trip to the hardware store so I can look at power tools (I heart my random orbital sander). Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they
have been tagged and need to read your blog.
Here goes.

1. I am enamored with Afro-Caribbean religions such as Santeria, Vodou and Candomble. I see them as beautiful expressions of the human spirit as it relates to the life force and the world around it. I do not actively practice these religions but I have an intense respect for the men, women and children who do.

2. I put myself through undergrad as a professional body piercer. It was a very important part of my life where I got to meet many wonderful people and develop a respect for the individual, whether they were heavily modified or just getting their ears pierced. I was very fortunate to be able to interact with people by calming them in a potentially frightening or vulnerable situation and help them celebrate when they were excited about making themselves more beautiful in their own eyes.

3. I am heavily tattooed. It's hard to determine an overall surface coverage but I'll venture to guess that about 35% of my body has been tattooed over a total of 60 hours. I never thought I would have more than a few tattoos because I was much more interested in piercing, but over the years I have developed a respect for the art of tattoo. I get my work done here by wonderful people who are extremely talented. I love all of my tattoos and have none that I regret.

4. I am a performance artist. My undergraduate degree is in digital media and I will be starting my MFA in performance this fall. You can see pictures of my work here
Many people don't know what performance art is. Most people ask me if I'm studying to be an actor. I have resorted to telling those folks I'm a sculptor.

5. I love Swedish Fish

6. I am obsessed with Sweden. Many have asked me why and the only thing I can come up with (besides the freaking awesome knitting, weaving and nalbinding) is that any country that has a huge death metal scene and yet maintains its place as the world's largest consumer of milk per capita, not to mention this, is fascinating.

7. I am an avid pacer. I pace for hours a day. I have ever since I could walk. My parents soon discovered that toys were wasted on me because I preferred to pace back in forth during my conscious hours. As I have matured, jumping, skipping and my preferred loping have been added to the mix.

Alright, that's seven. I have to demure from tagging because I really don't know anyone who hasn't done this meme yet and I really don't think I can bring myself to send someone a comment with the word "meme" in it. Alright, off to the manly world of drill bits and spackle.

Still Going

I am not a sock a week kind of knitter. I normally work on them for not only months, but seasons. The trekking sock is moving right along, though. It's amazing that I can knit 4 inches of foot in 3 days but I started these socks last August. Hopefully I will be done pretty close to the start of next week.



Unfortunately, I've already picked out two new pairs of socks I want to knit. I'll just add them to the next pair I have to knit, the two sweaters, pair of gloves, hat and multiple scarves in the line up. Those items can be started as soon as I knock out the WIPs I've got now. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time while I start grad school this fall, right? Oh well, at least projects in yarn form are nice to look at too.


That's Pastaza, a bulky single ply 50/50 wool/llama blend. It really is that color, too. Be still my heart.

The Black Stripe of Mystery

So I was working on my sock, hoping to make decent progress to show ya'll like any good blogger would, when I came across something unusual.

You can see it in the stitches on the right needle. My multi-hued yarn has a black ply. Now this may not seem unusual except that this, my friends, is the first time black has shown up in the yarn. I've already knit one whole sock, as well as the leg heel and gussets of the second sock. Was it intentional? I don't know, but there be a good length of black yarn in the middle of my second sock.

This is what the stripe looks like so far. Keep in mind there's still a whole lot of black left.


At least there is the unparalleled joy that reverse stockinette brings me.

Le sigh...

The Line Up

Alright. we're going to start this blog just as our ancestors did before us. That's right, it's roll call.

First up we have socks


This is a pair of trekking men's size 12 socks in a 5x1 rib pattern. I started these, oh, last August. I think I only knit a round or two every few days. I'm knitting the heel flap on the second sock now. Likely hood of finishing? Strong.

Next we have a scarf:

This is Elsebeth Lavold Angora in a 2x2 rib. If manlier colors ever existed, I want to know about them. In a subtle army green, subdued brown and grey blue stripe, it will work with everything I own. I started this February and I've got about three feet done and four to go. Finishing? In the bag, yo.

Okay, moving along. There is a vest. Yes, I did say vest.

This is the back of the Bob Dobbs vest from Domiknitrix. I'm going the intarsia route because I really didn't want to spend the next seven years of my life doing duplicate stitch. Her instructions on the website for converting the pattern are really helpful. I just happened to find them after I figured it out with a calculator and finished the back. All that's left is the intarsia front and the facings. Odds of finishing this year? It could happen, right?

Last but not least, we have the stole.

What we have here is a lace stole knit in Euroflax sport weight. The pattern is Drooping Elm Leaf from Barbara Walker's Treasury 1. I really love this pattern and the yarn, but there are some downsides to this particular project, or at least my ability to finish this project. I started the stole as a wedding present for a friend who is getting married in about 4 days. I'm 30 hours into the pattern and about a third of the way done. Also, I was sure that 520 yards of yarn would be enough. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Maybe it'll be done for a one year anniversary gift.

Finally, in other news we have the yarn I can't wait to use.

This is Unikat. It's distributed by skacel and I'm pretty sure it is the best thing that has ever happened to a sheep product. It's a felted single ply and I want to make love to it. Eh, maybe not, but it is super dope.

All in all I think I have a good assortment of stuff to keep me occupied until I cast on for the winter knitting. I'm thinking that having the entire world know what a lazy knitter I am will force me to finish them all a hell of a lot quicker. Otherwise I'm going to have to get a lot better at the art of distraction.
Look! Buddhist kittens!