The Next Big Thing

Stick a fork in the spotted sweater:  It's done.  Won't say I'm sorry to see it bound off, either.  Enough's enough with that yarn and that design (2 just alike in a row is a substantially less-good idea than it seems).

And so another honeymoon begins:  This is from Harrisville, whose mill has been producing wool yarn since 1794.  How cool is that?  I love that I can take part in a little history by supporting them.  And the yarn is dreamy too - sticky, evenly spun 2-ply in the kind of super-saturated colors that call to mind your first box of pointy new crayons.  True Love.

A little birdy told me...(okay, it was 20 repeats of a little birdy)  Did I mention this thing is BIG?  It's been a while since I made anything Man-Sized, and I'm beginning to remember why:  More sweater = slower progress = DUH.  More's the woe for DH.  Fortunately, he doesn't complain.  He must not realize that he is underprivileged, owning only one (1) handknit made by his wife.  And that one isn't even my own design - it's someone else's pattern that I wish I had come up with.

Expanded View:  Expansive Sweater.

I am digging this motif, and the dream yarn?  Well some yarn just knows what it wants to be, and seems to get there with or without me, which is a welcome relief from what I now realize was kind of a battle to the finish line on that last project.  Guess I just had to push through the wall.  Now that I'm on the other side, I am really enjoying knitting.  I especially love this part of every project:  I have already figured out how many stitches there are in the body, and I don't have to do any more math until waaaaaay up at the shoulders.  I can just relax and work on it without thinking (for now) about how someone else will be able to reproduce it.  That part is fun, too, but I can wait.

Here's to the peace of closure, the smugness of completion, and the romance of the new.

Faster Pussycat, Knit! Knit!

Last night I had the great good fortune to be invited to meet Miriam Tegels who holds the Guiness Book world record for Speed Knitting.  We admired each other's nearly matching sweaters, and she demonstrated her ultra-prestissimo technique to a pretty respectable turnout of 50 or so Portland knitters.  Here are some of them:

And this is our sponsor, the lovely and talented owner of Knit Picks, Kelley Petkun:

You know how in TV shows about wild animals, they sometimes have to film the gazelle, or shark, or cheetah in super-slow-motion so you can see  how they go in for the kill?  Well that is what we  need for Miriam.  The woman is a total blur.  She is a delightful, unassuming, white-hot streak of a knitter.  No lie, people:  this lady has established the land-speed standard for knitting, working 118 stitches in one minute, in an officially timed trial.  She shattered the previous records of English and American knitters, bringing home the glory to her little village in the Netherlands.  Miriam is also a wife, mother, and Yoga instructor, which I believe is a Trifecta in the knitting world. 

I met gobs of neighbor knitters, including Mims Copeland, who is adorable, and took a picture of me with my leopard project (I swear, it's almost done) for the blog she does for the Oregonian Newspaper.

It was a super evening of snacks, yarn, prizes and knitters.  What more could we ask for?

Carnage

Warning: Today's posting contains graphic images of sweater violence. Those who are weak of constitution or will should proceed with extreme caution.

Let the steeking begin!  At last, both sleeves are finished and the time has come to inflict a little damage around here.  Some people get really twitchy at this stage.  I always experience a rush like people describe getting from bungee-jumping, or eating Scottish food.

 { Insert knarly armhole steek carnage here }

Oh, The Humanity!

Hi-Viz blue yarn is used for marking purposes and picked out after cutting.  Yucky orange sewing thread helps me cut properly by being easy to see, and will be hidden under facings at the end.

This is my favorite:  Neckline Shrapnel. 

My students totally freak out when they first understand that we will be knitting the neckline with no shaping, and then cutting away the excess.  I like to bring along a little leftover scrap like this one to illustrate how very little waste there is with this technique.  Looks gory, though, no?  Now all I have to do is join the shoulder seams, pick up and knit the neck finish, and insert the sleeves. 

Tonight I am going to meet the World's Fastest Knitter.  She's in the Guinness Book and everything!  Man, I hope she has some tips for me.