Jon's Knit Blog

Pressure!

Since this is probably my last blog entry for 2005, I feel like I should say something of vast significance. And yet, I have just about nothing significant to say. I went by a great knit shop today, and I had a drink with an interesting guy.

Then I came home, had some Mac & Cheese, and then I knit four rows of Zauberflote.

And the only thing I was really thinking is that wow, Zauberflote is now bigger than Rosetta. Probably by a lot!

My New Year's Resolution probably ought to be to have at least a slightly more exciting life. So here's to what will hopefully be an interesting 2006. Sound good?

Change of Gear

So tonight I'm going to blog more about being a foodie than about being a knitter - mostly because I had a really odd experience at a restaurant on Tuesday after work. I was having dinner at the bar of a nice restaurant, and there was a man sitting a few stools away who was enjoying what looked like some very nice red wine. He even commented on how big the wine was. He kept talking about it.

And I as was enjoying my wine and a lovely hunk of beef, this man also ordered some steak - and when he finally started eating his beef, he ordered Champagne.

Now, if you're much of a foodie, or any sort of an oenophile, you know that some red wines are really meant to be enjoyed with food. This apparantly includes the wine he was drinking at get-go. Champagne, traditionally, is not thought of as an accompaniment to steak. I guess you could try it, but it does seem like it would have made more sense for him to drink it the other way around.

Not that I'm the type to tell anyone what to do, but it was a bit odd in my opinion.

Anyhow, I did drink a lot of red wine myself.

Today, though, was a non-drinking day. I slept late (as a response to the drinking from the night before), then I went to the opera, and then, just know, I picked up Zauberflote and knit two more rows. I'm knitting each row more quickly, which is pretty cool. The only drawback is that since I've knit over 64,500 stitches in this sweater, which means that there is a big mess o' knittin' in my lap when I'm working on it. I am sort of dreading how huge it will be by the time I get to the cuff of the second sleeve. But it will be pretty, and hopefully it will fit someone I like and they will like how it looks! Guess we'll see in a few more months...

On "Happy Holidays," Plus A Knitting Photo

And once again, as it were, Christmahanukwanzukah, aka Festivus, is upon us. Yet this year, it's full of debate about whether we should say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" or something else.

I vote for "Merry Whatever, Bitch."

No, seriously, I don't. But I think that people have made way too much of a big deal about how we greet people during the holiday season. As a lapsed Jew, I come to this from a rather unique perspective. See, once anyone finds out I'm Jewish, they get all bent out of shape to want to wish me a Happy Hanukah. And while that's all nice of them and everything, there are a few things about it that they don't realize.

First of all, almost none of them know a thing about what Hanukah celebrates. And while I could type the whole story of the Maccabees here for you, I'll simply give you this link.

Secondly, Christian people assume that since Hanukah is close to Christmas, time-wise, and since there are gift-rituals that have become a part of the way it is celebrated, that it's a big deal, like Christmas. Well, it is actually a rather minor holiday on the Jewish calendar. It's not the kind of holiday where you have to stay home, or spend the whole day at temple, or fast, or anything like that. I mean, it's a very happy time for the Jewish people, but all the "Happy Holidays" and "Happy Hanukah" stuff is just... more than it's supposed to be in my opinion.

I guess I think the whole Christmas/Holiday debate this year has been silly. If you're going to get offended by people wishing you a merry yet not-applicable holiday, you need to get over it, because it's going to happen. But if a store wants to be non-religion specific, or if they want to contribute to the "decommercialization" of Christmas, well, let it be.

Anyhow. You came here to read about knitting. And you shall!

Look at that armsteek. I'm really impresed with how much less time it's taking me to get through each row. And it's not because they're shorter. Honestly, the rounds are only two stitches less now with the steeks and the decreases, and it's a tad more confusing to keep track of where the pattern sits on either side of the arm steeks. But I'm getting the rounds done a lot more quickly than before! And that is something to be proud of. Of course part of it is that I'm becoming more familiar with the pattern. This is the fifth repeat, after all. But I like to think that I'm actually knitting faster. Mostly because it would be a good thing if I were.

In other news, please forgive me in advance if my posting for the next few weeks is rather spotty. I'm on the planning committee for a big conference that is the second week of January. And just to make matters worse, my mom is coming back to the City the first week of January. Because, you know, I don't have enough stuff to occupy my time. And work hasn't been, like, you know, totally insane the past few weeks, causing me to need to have at least a little bit of time to recuperate.

So bear with me, because I ain't goin' nowhere.

It's Still Not Fair

I don't like going back to work after only getting one day off, instead of two.

Especiall when said day off was spent trying to have a normal Manhattanite life in spite of the fact that I had to walk to Lincoln Center to see the opera tonight - from 86th Street and York Avene, where I'd been on an errand. Mind you, I understand that my commuting issues were negligible compared to what a lot of people had to go through, but it was still annoying. Although on some level, it was a nice walk.

Unfortunately, what's really not fair is that because of all the extra time at work, not to mention the planning I've been doing for a Convention we're having in January, I haven't even picked up Zauberflote in a couple of days. Hopefully, though, the armsteeks have not unknit themselves. If all goes according to plan, I'l find out tomorrow evening.

Oh, and a very kind blog reader (OK, it was Phyl) asked what I wanted for Christmas. Well, I have an answer. I want a boyfriend. And I want better yarn storage. And I know that I'm getting one out of the two for sure! (It's only yarn storage, don't get that excited.)

What I Don't Like

You know how sometimes the Transit Union goes on strike and makes your life really difficult?

You know how sometimes when that happens, after a long day of trying to work through it, helping lots of visitors from out of town determine how they will survive said transit strike, you just really need to get drunk for the first time in a while, and you figure you deserve it because tomorrow is your day off?

You know how you go out and drink lots and lots and then the cabbie tries to rip you and your friend off by charging $10 more for the second person to go six blocks further so you both get out at the first stop, and don't give him a tip then get to walk six blocks in the cold while you're drunk?

You know how you come home and pass out?

And how come it never fails that in such a situation, when you finally do wake up, there's a voice mail from work that someone called in sick and can you please please pretty please drag your sorry hung-over ass in to work as soon as possible?

That ranks very high on my list of "What I Don't Like."

Wish me luck...

Decreases

So I have added the arm steeks. And I even had two rows where I got to do armhole shaping. There's one more to go.

And then, guess what? I get to knit straight through to the neck shaping.

There are two options: Knit something else for a while, or keep on trucking through Zauberflote.

My worry is that if I put Z aside that I might never pick her up again, and I really do want to finish this sweater.

In other news, I need to figure out when my class will be. I'm really excited about the idea of teaching how to do this kind of knitting!

In other, other news, egads, I can't believe what's going to happen if the MTA really strikes. Talk about making life difficult...

Wow, that was a really boring entry, wasn't it?

OK, then let's have a question, and you can post your answers in the comments, ok? Here's the question du jour:

What do you hope you get for Christmas/Hanukah/Chrismakuh/Kwanzaa/Winter Solistice/Whatever Else you Might Choose to Celebrate? And you're not allowed to say "My two front teeth."

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like a Sweater

So here's something exciting:

Of course, it's Zauberflote. I like the way that photo shows the texture. It actually gives you a sense of what's actually going on with the yarn.

But I got to have another wonderfully productive night. And to tell you the honest truth, I probably knit a tad faster than I should have - which I can tell because the tension on the backside looks a little bit loose. I'll deal, though. Because guess what happened:

Yes, ladies and gentlemen: that's an armhole steek! And there's another armhole steek on the other side. And 54 rows to go until I get to the front neck steek.

I do believe that means that we're potentially past the 50% point on this sweater. Yay!

Good and Bad

Good news for me: I finished 7 more rows of Zauberflote this evening, meaning there are 7 less rows to do until I get to the armhole shaping. And I can't believe how much I want to get to the armholes.

Bad news for "West Wing" fans: John Spencer is dead. He was a great part of a great show (well, back when it actually was great), and it will be sad to watch the show evolve without him.

And that is all for this early Saturday morning.

Eight Is Enough

I'm pretty sure I knit eight rows of Zauberflote today. And that's probably enough. (Although since I'm not 100% sure where I started, there's a chance I knit nine rows, which would have been more than enough.)

And since a row is 349 stitches, well, egads.

And since you probably don't want to do the math yourselves, I've done it for you. That's 2792 stitches. Jeez, imagine how much that would be if it were in a bulky yarn... or even worsted! Then again, Z. is lovely, and I'm content.

Of course, I'll be even more content in 15 rows, when it's finally time for armhole steeks and this sucker gets interesting.

In other news, I'm not looking forward to tomorrow at work. If this transit strike really happens, it will not be a pleasant day to be in the City, know what I mean? Especially given that it's meant to be the last shopping weekend before Christmas.

But I will, just like Miss Gloria Gaynor, survive. Regardless of where I made you leave those ****ing keys!

I Really Do Knit. And Blog.

I have now finished the 10th row of the 4th repeat. The best part of that news is that it means I have only 29 rows before things get interesting: Armholes! Granted, there's a lot going on in the pattern, but I'm just insane about having the most difficult knitting project in the Land, so I need to have something to make this more complicated, and I think that armhole decreases and extra steeks will fit the bill nicely. Plus, I just read about an interesting new way to cast on steek stitches which I'm just itching to try.

Yes. My life is lame. The biggest source of excitement I currently have is a new method to casting on steek stitches.

Oh? You want to know what it is? It's actually almost brainlessly simple. Instead of alternating colors and doing loop cast-on, you use both colors at the same time to be the two pieces of yarn for long-tail.

In other Zauberflote news, I thought you might like to see the backside:

In non-knitting news, it's still crazy at work, and I can't wait for the end of the year to bring life back to the pace it is "supposed" to have. Of course, with the threat of a hotel strike looming over next year (like that fiber pun?), well, next year isn't exactly looking like it's going to be "normal."

But what is exciting is that I get to go to bed now, and I don't have to work tomorrow. Whoopee!

Weekend Update

The Good News: I knit six rows of Zauberflote tonight. Granted, one was a single color row that took a fraction of the amount of time a pattern row takes.

The Bad News: I dropped a stitch. Of course, given how sticky the yarn is, I couldn't find it the first time I went across that row again. I did find it the last time, a few years after I'd fudged something resembling a Make 1... so I have to figure out a way to ladder it up and half-graft it to something. Fun, no?

The Obituaries: RIP, Mr. Pryor and Mr. McCarthy.

Thing I've Learned About Knitting # 2463

Don't try and do two-color patterned stranded knitting when you're so tired you can barely see straight. Just don't.

(Don't worry too much, though, I had an adrenaline-fit of just enough duration to be able to tink back and fix what I messed up, drop a stitch, pick it up, and finish the round. Although it could still be a royal mess - I have yet to look at it this morning...)

Blast You, Woman!

Alright, unlike Stewie, I really do love my mother, but she has some weird qualities.

For example, we were in a taxi today going from SoHo to her hotel (in Times Square) and I had a bunch of stuff I was going to discuss with her. But she started talking to the taxi driver - and had a chat with him for the entire time we were in the cab! (Ed. note for you non-NYC people: It's unusual to talk to the taxi driver. Especially if you're in a taxi with someone you're related to) I mean, sure, he had an interesting story and all, but I just think it's odd to talk politics and religion and gender roles with, um, people you don't know.

Seriously, my mom and the Afghan taxi driver were discussing burquas. Not that there is anything wrong with them. Just isn't it a tiny bit weird for a Jewish-American woman to chat up an Afghan man about arranged marriages and how old his kids are when he starts them in with wearing a burqua?

Anyhow, I knit one row of Zauberflote last night, and didn't hae any time to knit today, which is depressing but must be dealt with.

And I don't know if I told you, but I bought a new chair recently - it's apparantly coming from Italy and should be here sometime in January - and this will be my new knitting chair. It's going to be great! It rocks, it reclines, it's pretty and above all, it's SUPER comnfy! So I can't wait to get it!

Also, I can't wait to get more details about the stranded knitting class which I will apparently be teaching early next year! As I've said, I'll keep you posted with all the details so that you NYC readers can sign up!

And now, beloved readers, it's time for me to go to sleep!

Here's Something Cool

One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of you have commented that you wish you knew some of the techniques of all the crazy color knitting that I do.

Well, gues what: If you live in the NYC area, you're going to get a first hand opportunity to learn! The details aren't finalized yet or anything, and you'll be the first to know, but it looks like there's going to be a Fair Isle Hat class, taught by yours truly.

In the meantime, I've been practicing my own stranded knitting skills by knitting on Zauberflote. I got 5 or 6 rows done tonight (I can't remember where I started!), and so I'm finished with row 35 for the third repeat. Which means that there are only 43 rows to go 'til we get to the start of the armholes. I'm looking forward to that! Because, as you know, I'm an insane knitter and that means that I'm getting bored with simply knitting the pattern in a straight tube. It's a good pattern and all, but since it's a long jacket rather than a cropped cardi, well, there's a lot of knitting to do.

That said, I think I'm doing a really good job. I am keeping the tension even and most of the floats across the back look pretty good. I think that you'll see some picture in the next couple of days. I just didn't really feel like being photo-y this evening. So instead of getting pictures, you get to imagine being in my class! Unless you're not in NYC, in which case you get to feel sad that you won't get to be in it... sorry!

Need a Laugh?

If a bit of brilliant political humor suits your mood, read this OpEd piece from the Times!

Clearly, There's Something Wrong With Me

As in, I like to start project too much.

Remember how I said I was going to post the chronicles of my stash? Well, here's part one. And it's acually the list of projects which are currently in process, including the ones on long-term hold or in dire need of frogging. It also is clinical proof of my obsessive love to start projects (and, apparantly, my dread of finishing them.)

Go to the next page of the entry only if you are of strong mind...

In Progess:
1. Seed Stitch Scarf (Colinette Giotto) - ends still need sewing in.
2. Pinwheel ("Child's Geek" from "Loop-d-Loop") - needs blocking and seaming.
3. Flouncy scarf in Pink Giotto - ends need weaving.
4. Intarsia Scarf (in 3 colors of Zara - the one on the cover of that Vogue Knitting Scarf mini-book) - 1/2 done.
5. Orange Koigu hat - 1/2 done - need to knit the crown.
6. Polka Purl Dot - need to finish the dreaded bind off.
7. A scarf in a Dia ribbon yarn in Brioche Stitch.
8. A Scarf in Koigu and Butterfly 10, held together, in Mistake Rib. About 1/2 knit.
9. A Koigu scarf, knit as a stockinette tube. Not much done here.
10. GGAAA. I think I have 6 or 7 of the squares done, and I think I'm planning on having 12.
11. A Cute Baby Hat I made a long time ago out of Zara. Just needs to be sewn up, and maybe have a pom-pom.
12. A hat for my mom. I knit the head-part and I need to create a brim out of this funky yarn she liked at the yarn store.
13. The purple poncho I made for my sister. I need to revise the neckband.
14. Second Sock # 1: I have one sock in plain stockinette done in a red/gray Lorna's Laces colorway I believe is called Embers. I haven't even wound the second ball to make the second sock.
15. A Purple cotton (Butterfly 10) baby sweater out of "Lace from the Attic."
16. Sweater for Dad, in red and black Naturwolle. About 50% done.
Zauberflote
17. The Big Gay Wedding Afghan
18. Luckenbooth Brooch - a Ron Schweitzer design for Yarns International I started some time ago and temporarily set down because I didn't feel ready to do that big of a Fair Isle project.
19. Alchemy sweater - in a silk/merino blend. A sleeve is done, I think.
20. Koigu Hat - in one KPPPM and two solids - I think all I have done is cast on.
21. Dale's Norge 2000. One sleeve done.
22. Sockotta sock - about 2/3 done with the first of a pair.
23. Raglan sweater in Colinette Prism. Too big, need to frog.
24. Modified entrelac shawl in Prism Wild Stuff - red and black.
25. Some weird yarn that I don't know what it is in a rainbow-y colorway in which I started a sideways scarf.