Getting It Off My Chest

This has been bugging me for a week now so I'm going to have a little rant.  I took a class last weekend which involved sock-making.  My friend and I both had self-striping yarns for our socks, mine being a Regia that looks like this:

Pretty, n'est-ce pas?  

Well, the instructor seemed to feel it necessary to comment during one of her talks that this type of yarn "offended" her.  Obviously she is of the hand-dyed, hand-spun, hand-everything ilk.  More power to you.  I, however, have more eclectic tastes and if I feel like knitting my socks with shredded plastic bags I will.  I was very offended by that remark, especially since she had been around the class and seen what everyone was working with.  She made a similar comment about machine knitting.  I really dislike this kind of snobbery where if you didn't raise the sheep yourself in your organic garden, shear it, clean and card it, spin it, knit it on needles carved by aboriginals in Timbuktu you are not quite a "real" knitter. 

I knit because I love it.  It relaxes me, satisfies me, soothes me, boosts my ego, entertains me....I could go on and on but you get my point.  I love to knit.

Sometimes I work with luxury yarns like cashmere (Sweatermaker) ~ Piano Mitts by Catherine Ryan:

or bamboo (Sirdar Flirt) ~ Coraline by Ysolda Teague:

or hemp (HempWol) ~ Amelia by Laura Chow:

and sometimes I like to knit socks with a good sturdy self-striping (so it looks pretty) yarn.  So there!

Oh, and one more thing ~ don't be complaining that the "endless garter stitch" or "rows and rows of stockinette" drove you crazy in a pattern.  Did you not look at it before you started and see that the entire front, back and sleeves were garter/stockinette?  Kind of like complaining about the rain in the Pacific Northwest.  Okay, I do that a lot. 

It's In The Genes

Sanctuary Much

Yesterday's walk in our nearby bird sanctuary.  What a beautiful place.

 

  

  

Chickadees, juncos, sparrows, towhees, mallards...and this red-winged blackbird who had the most beautiful call.

 

Back home to a little bit of spring in the front garden.

 

Men At Work (and Play)

Today was Ikea Expedit assembly day.

Who would have thought that a shelf unit could be so much fun?

Even good for a couple of flying leaps!

 

Outside for a run-around, a bit of soccer and some tree climbing~

~~The big guy is sporting Sundog from Twist Collective Summer 2009 and the little fella is modelling Sheepish by Alana Dakos (Never Not Knitting).~~

Nano's New Duds

The old iPod cozy was looking very ragged so I made a new one.  Zune Wallet is the pattern.  KnitPicks Main Line is the yarn.

I like that it folds over; the old one was basically a sock and the iPod slid out into my purse.

In other knitting news I finished my hair of the mo cardi,  Vera, knit in Drops Vivaldi.

 

It turned out to be a bit too loose around the neck.  I have since tightened it up a bit by simply running a length of yarn across the back and pulling it in.  Much better.  It's a lovely cozy cardigan, light as a feather.

It's a grey day today, inside my head and outside as well.  I have a migraine.   Rrrgh.  Tomorrow will be a better day.

Can It Be?

Yes, these are snowdrops taken from my front garden this morning.  It has been so warm that the bulbs are starting to come up and trees are starting to bud.  Unfortunately we are bound to get some freezing temperatures in February, causing these brave little souls to disappear.  

Pretty Things and F.O.'s

Check out these pretty stitch markers that Tink gave me for Christmas. I get a smile with every row - love 'em!  The pattern is Eastlake by Norah Gaughan.



Vine Yoke Cardi (pattern by Ysolda Teague) - knit with Malabrigo Worsted (hollyhock)


Ribbit (pattern by Susan B. Anderson)


Piper (pattern by Christa Giles) - knit with Patons Classic Wool


Cropped Cardi with Leaf Ties (Pattern by Stefanie Japel) - knit with Berroco Ultra Alpaca

And, of course, some vanilla socks - knit with BMFA Socks That Rock