MITKNIT

A fun commercial & the making of video

2010-03-16T15:42:00.000-04:00

...and I'm back :)

2010-03-06T15:15:00.003-05:00

Like every year, coming home for spring break has rekindled my knitting obsession!

Two weeks ago, I made my sister a floppy hat. I have officially now gone through all 55 pages dk hat patterns on ravelry and favorited every floppy hat of a specific shape...the new plan is to mass produce floppy hats until it is too warm to wear them.

Following the floppy hat phase, I plan on going back to mass producing socks...lace, cabled, plain, short, tall, small, big, any kind! (open to suggestions!) One summer I made 18 pairs of socks....and I am convinced it can be done again. Right?
(I'll let yall know how that goes...:P)

Meanwhile, my mother is very ashamed of me for neglecting my Ishbel shawl....so she has officially assigned me a certain number of rows per day for the next week.

I suppose I better get off my computer and get cracking. Joyatee, how on earth do you knit so much during the school year? How do I be more like you? :)

Wanna see my stash?

2010-03-04T23:05:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to log my entire stash onto Ravelry. Here's the sock yarn portion of it--33 pairs of socks possible. Gotta get churning!

P.S. The fact that my laptop was on Ravelry was completely unintentional! I guess that just shows my true colors.

Brooklyn Tweed Anyone?

2010-02-23T14:48:00.003-05:00

Jared Flood, a.k.a. brooklyntweed.net is coming to the Common Cod Fiber Guild March 12. Anyone interested in hearing him talk? I'll be there! (Usually, their meetings are in Stata, too!)

http://www.commoncod.com/

I don't feel so badly anymore

2010-01-23T21:39:00.002-05:00

World's Biggest Stash

IntSweMoDo2010

2010-01-04T17:26:00.003-05:00

So I think I'm officially joining IntSweMoDo2010. For those of you who don't know what that is, it stands for International Sweater Monthly Dodecathon in 2010. This only counts for adult sweaters, however. Last year I completed 5 adult sized sweaters/dresses. I made one toddler jacket (which could have been mine, for all that matters) and one baby jacket. I also have 3 sweaters that are ~ 1/2 way done by the end of 2009. Given that all of this was knit most from April on, I think I can make it if I make a conscious effort. Hopefully, this will also actually get rid of sweater quantities of yarn that i have in my stash. Wish me luck!

P.S. WIPs count towards this total. I set a more realistic goal of 10 sweaters in 2010 (like the ring to that?), but I'm secretly hoping I will make the 12 in 2010. :D

Disappointment

2009-11-19T01:42:00.005-05:00

I subscribed to Interweave Knits (finally) this fall because I ALWAYS like at least 2 patterns in each issue. I figure buying a magazine with 21 patterns in it for $6, and actually using 2 of them ain't bad, so why not subscribe? It'd be even cheaper.

I LOVED the Interweave Accessories magazine they came out with recently. My subscription was for only 4/year (8/2 years actually), so the accessories issue doesn't come with it. I was alright with that because I knew the winter issue was coming up soon, and how would I possibly keep up with all of the interweave patterns I wanted to make? (I'm a loon when it comes to buying yarn, I understand. I'm saving up for when I move to some crazy place without yarn stores. I'm not as much of a loon when it comes to buying patterns [not books]. I know [kind of] realistically what I can finish.)

Unfortunately, I think Interweave has failed me. :( They released their pattern pictures online. There isn't a single garment I like! I (semi) like one thing in the entire magazine (enough to contemplate making it, and then deciding against it)--the covers for the paper lanterns. And that was only because it was a pretty lace pattern. The light shined through the lace to get a really cool effect. Maybe I will make it. Still, I'm disappointed. :(

Proposed Project for Neha

2009-11-13T16:37:00.002-05:00

Hello from California!

I hope things are going well for everyone back in MA. I've discovered that it is not nearly cold enough here (at least yet, but it doesn't seem to get too too cold) to make my usual winter items! Friends don't REALLY need the same gear! I am working an AWESOME pair of socks (clessidra) right now. Turns out I like knitting socks.

I ran across this pattern (when I'm sure I should have been working...on lab things...on my test...) and I thought it might make a great project for Neha...so I thought I'd share. Although, chances are, she's probably already seen them and made them....Mini Holiday Stockings!

I hope to get pictures up soon. What is everyone working on these days?!

Not quite SABLE*, but getting there

2009-10-21T23:38:00.002-04:00

*SABLE = Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy

Oops.

2009-10-19T19:13:00.001-04:00

Knitting Day

2009-09-11T17:19:00.005-04:00

Today is a knitting day, or I hope so, at least. I know that Boston is supposed to be a city where people knit a lot. Unfortunately, I have never seen anything that really proves this... until today!

I was riding the T in the morning on the way to campus. I usually have my sock knitting in hand, but I opted to read a book for the Literary Society this morning instead. Voila, the lady in front of me was knitting the Circle Socks in Knit Picks Felici (the discontinued Gelato colorway--I remember thinking-that's the ice cream colorway! but I couldn't remember the exact name) on KnitPicks circs, of course. Is it sad that I knew all of that before trying to find the circle socks link on ravelry? I wanted to pull out my socks-on-needles, but I was slightly embarrassed switching hobbies in the middle of a short T-ride. A little Asian lady sat next to her and proceeded to ask her about what she was making. Their conversation turned into which good yarn shops were around the area. According to her, they were Woolcott, Mind's Eye, Stitch House, and Wild & Wooly--the best. The Asian lady even wrote down "Wild & Wooly in Lexington" on her newspaper. I was thinking 'You forgot Windsor Buttons,' but I didn't mention it. (I have yet to go to Stitch House.)

Then, today at the foodtrucks, I was waiting in line at Clover to get my chickpea fritter sandwich. There was a girl wearing a handknit shawl. I know I've seen the pattern before, but this time the yarn and the pattern were a bit more elusive. It was similar to the style of Ishbel, but the border lace was more like Evelyn Clark's Shetland Triangle. I also wanted to say it was knit in Malabrigo lace, but I could be wrong about that, too. She had a handknit hat stuffed in her pocket, as well. I wanted to ask her what pattern her shawl was (and proceed to ask her about the hat), but she was engrossed in a conversation with her friend. I decided not to further my stigma of being the crazy yarn lady.

Thirdly, it's finally cool enough (usually a bad thing) to wear the sweaters I made this summer! They're obviously handknits, but they're warrrmmmm and cash iroha is yummmy against the skinnnn :D One of my friends asked if I knit the sweater I was wearing and I got to reply, 'yes!' Now off to spend my Friday evening..... knitting in my room & watching episodes of Lost. :D Yippee!

exception?

2009-09-10T07:40:00.003-04:00

.....can I propose an exception to the pact?

If I order 2 balls of knit picks essential in 2 different colors, for a specific project that I cant find the right color for :(, and I promise to finish both balls within a week of their arrival....can I get them?

thoughts/comments?!

Photography

2009-08-19T10:44:00.001-04:00

18Aug2009 092
Originally uploaded by smiles_joy_25

Many knitters have such stunning pictures on Ravelry, I have decided to try my hand at photography, too. (A way to waste money on things other than yarn, perhaps?) Yesterday, I shelled out quite a bit of money to buy a Digital SLR. I figured it would be a nice birthday present for myself. I can't wait to get it in the mail and play around with it before school starts.

I have been packing to move to our new apartment. McCormick has a really cute little sewing room that holds a bunch of sewing supplies along with sewing machines. It's so convenient (but the room is HOT because there are no windows or air-conditioning). Well, I decided I should take advantage of McCormick's button collection from the sewing room before leaving. I went through and sorted the buttons to find some buttons that will go with one of the next projects I have in mind. I decided to pull out my point-and-shoot camera and capture the sorted colors. I wonder how this picture would come out with a better lens.

To top it all off, the MIT Student Arts Association sent out an email yesterday inviting everyone to take some art classes. My roommate and I both decided that we were gonna take one of these classes, assuming we'll have more time as grad students (ha!) So now, i am signed up for "Street Photography" on Fridays 4:30-6pm. I hope it's good :D :D I hope I can use my DSLR a lot, too. I can't wait! :D

Warning: potential future rut

2009-08-03T07:42:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was quite the day.

First, I decided to go back to my lace project, which I started in March....and oops....apparently last time I worked on it I messed up big time. I ended up ripping out the whole project, and stowing the yarn and pattern far far away.

Second, I blocked my prairie tunic and although I haven't seamed it up yet, I can already tell its massive. And by massive, I mean humongous. I think I should rename it "maternity dress."

Third, I got really motivated that I was down two projects, or the knitting of them at least...so I cast on a pair of simple lace socks. In a gorgeous Araucania sugar cane yarn of the wrong weight.
One word: frogged.

So currently I am proud to say that I only have two projects on the needles, and one of them (a noro scarf) I dont intend on revisiting til the winter.

At least I have an excuse to start a new project? Or 3? Hopefully today will be a better day...

I'm trying

2009-07-29T15:16:00.001-04:00

Must. Not. Buy. Yarn.

I need a new way to take a break at work other than ravelry.com, yarn.com, and knitpicks.com. I just want everything at those 3 sites. Any suggestions?

the pact

2009-07-27T09:43:00.005-04:00

i feel the need to state this publicly in order to make it equally publicly humiliating for us if we fail: my mum, my sister and i have made a pact that we will NOT be buying ANY yarn until christmas*.

i suppose trades on ravelry would be okay, and we agree that the purchase of patterns may be necessary to maintain some level of sanity, but still NO YARN. it doesn't matter if it's a one-of-a-kind, hand-dyed, rare variety of silk and cashmere blend on clearance for $3 per 100 grams; the three of us will be knitting from our stash for the next six months.

voting poll is now open: can we do it?

i've already decided to tempt fate and made plans to go to the marketplace at Stitches East, which is in october. i can go to just look, right? still, i somehow feel that the knitting gods may strike and that i should be extra careful with gauge swatches for a while.

please wish us all luck.

*except for one skein that i have been looking for in order to make a gift. don't worry, this was part of the stated deal, despite the appearance of fine print.

Stash-busting?

2009-07-26T09:19:00.002-04:00

I realized a simple something. I want to knit with all of the yarn I have. I don't want to die before I finish using my yarn. I want it all to myself. (Selfish, I know, but who said all knitters are nice?) Therefore, I must take some serious stash-busting measures.

At least I don't have a sock yarn stash quite this big yet. I think I can finish what I have in a lifetime.

Must....knit....
:)

UFO's

2009-07-17T09:09:00.004-04:00

According to my ravelry, I have 14 WIPs. This means that I'm honestly trying to finish these 14 projects in the near future. (Can anyone guess how long the near future is? If I bet, this would be amusing to bet on.) I'm making progress on some of them, but sometimes, it gets a little overwhelming. I start a project thinking it's the best thing in the world, and it deserves all of my attention. I do spend a fair amount of time working on it (depending on the project, that's either 20 minutes or 5 hours), but then another project comes along...

According to my ravelry, I have 10(!) projects hibernating. This means I was trying to be realistic(!) and weeding out the projects that I won't work on in the near future (again, I wonder how long the near future is). I have every intention of finishing them and showing off their beauty (to my mother), but it all depends on how soon I finish my WIPs.

According to my ravelry, I have 58 projects. Subtract the 14 WIP's, 10 hibernating projects, and 2 frogged projects--I really only have 32 completely projects. That's actually not that bad. It's been less than a year since I've joined ravelry, and clearly, I've gone nuts over knitting.

Now the goal is to do something about the other 24(/26 projects if you include the yarn from the 2 frogged projects) in the next year. Nevermind my (evergrowing) stash.

Sockiversary...

2009-07-10T12:49:00.000-04:00

Well guys...its been a while since me (or anyone else) has posted on this thing...but I felt like I should say hello, since its officially been a year since I started knitting socks. When I completed my first pair of socks….all I could think was “Why would ANYONE in their right mind decide to knit socks???”

26 pairs of socks later….here is what I have realized....I have my own version of “you know you knit too much when ____” .... only for me, its "you know you knit too many socks when ____"

So here goes.

You know you have knit too many socks when:
- Every roommate you have ever had owns a pair of handmade socks by you.
- You have scanned through all 204 pages of sock patterns with fingering weight yarn on ravelry.
- You have about 19 balls or skeins of sock yarn in your stash.
- You start knitting a sweater with yarn designed specifically for socks.

- You have started making baby socks for unknown babies of various sizes.

- You have made more pairs of socks than you own.

I also had to steal this one from Penny’s Blog…it was too good to pass up.

“You judge your friends by whether or not they are ’sock-worthy’”

…..nuff said.

Currently, to mark the occasion, I am knitting my first pair of toe-up socks. The thoughts going through my head right now are something along the lines of “why on earth would anyone knit socks from the toe up??”

Hopefully my feelings will change…

We’ll see.

Progress

2009-04-29T23:02:00.002-04:00

6.556 Final Project: 2%
6.334 Design Project: 3%
Thesis: 18%
Lap Blanket: 33%
5.310 Lab Reports: 80%
Lace Shawl: 100%!!!

Need to weave in ends, block, add fringe and then ship off to my mother. Just in time for Mother's Day. Hopefully, just in time to give me enough time to finish the other tasks (minus lap blanket).

Some like it hot

2009-04-27T21:31:00.002-04:00

I have two roommates, who(m?) I love dearly (and I talk about all the time). One is from New York. The other is from Pakistan. I am from Louisiana. Naturally, we have different temperature differences:

New Yorker: cold but sunny
Pakistani: hot and dry (but not sunny)
Louisianian: warm and semi-humid

The weather is gorgeous outside. Our dorm turned off the heating system. Therefore, the temperature inside the room cannot make up its mind! (We are all doing our best to change the room's climate to our favorite.) During the winter months, our room is always just hot/warm.

No need to worry, though--any time I get cold, I have a perfect excuse to wrap my legs with the lace shawl-in-progress-that-is-getting-huge. Perfect study break! Hehe--life's quirks are wonderful. :)

Working on > 1 project at a time!

2009-04-25T23:37:00.003-04:00

Sometimes, an excellent project comes along. The project is so excellent, that everything has to be stopped in order to finish it. This project is the perfect combination of yarn, colorways, and pattern--and even work on a thesis is secondary to this project. Meet--the uptown boot socks.

As soon as the fun part of that project is over (the last knit stitch on the first sock; grafting is not fun), another project calls: socks knit from a sock flat inspired by a friend's (Dawn's) project. It's the first time I've knit socks from the toe-up and I try doing a short-row heel. Despite the holey heel, as soon as the heel of the first sock is done, the lace shawl I was originally working on looks kind of interesting again.

I've got a stockinette stitch boring sock leg to complete and I just want to veg out and watch some tv on a Friday night, so I decide to pick up the garter-stitch blanket I was working on. The second ball of yarn is ending, so I push through and add the third ball of yarn, but somewhere between the beginning and end of lion brand fun fur yarn, 145 stitches/row in garter gets boring. Meet lace shawl once again, and during tv-watching, this means dropped stitch.

So now, it's Saturday, and I went off campus to enjoy the weather by myself (i.e. shopping) and I needed subway knitting, so the sock flat returns to the scene. When I get back home, however, I realize that the lace shawl is really close to being done, and Mother's Day is conveniently close.

So my knitting progress in the past week (yes--the uptown boots sock began Saturday 11:30pm) has been scattered. I just wish I could have finished something instead of making little progress on everything. Hopefully, I'll be able to send my mom something nice for Mother's Day (never mind that I had made a swallowtail shawl earlier in the semester with the same idea in mind.)

P.S. I still don't have the courage to wear any of my own hand-knit shawls--they all go to my mom. Has anyone had any luck with successfully wearing a hand-knit shawl?

do you ravel?

2009-02-28T11:50:00.002-05:00

if you haven't heard of Ravelry, you should probably stop reading this right now and go check out www.ravelry.com. if you have heard if it, i'm willing to bet you've already been on, checked the new patterns, qu-ed a favorite, and commented on a project by now.

Ravelry is sort of a facebook, but for knitters, and way better. instead of looking at the sordid details of your stalkee's latest romance in her status or on her wall, you get to see what projects she's working on, which projects she plans on working on, and whether or not she finished that aran sweater. those are the important things, anyway.

Ravelry allows you to talk the knitters you're jealous of, the knitters who you know you're better than, and your baby sister's progress on her lace. it allows you to post your WIPs (works in progress) and you can identify the kind of yarn you're using so that when someone falls in love with it, they can try to re-create it. you can look up patterns, both for free and for download, and laugh at the most ridiculous ideas (chapstick cosy, anyone?)

i called home this week to talk to my mum and i said, "what are you up to?"
she said, "oh i'm on the computer doing some work."
but a moment later she confessed, "well...actually i'm looking at your shawl on Ravelry."

and this is my dear mother who had never googled anything until she started buying yarn online.

i started creating my profile last week, but then i had to stop because the "dog ate my homework" excuse stopped working in the second grade. now it's the weekend, so go update your profile.

knitting rut

2009-01-09T22:18:00.002-05:00

well, i feel like a schmuck, having decided that blogging was a cool thing to do and we should all participate...and then not posting in, err...months?

i've hit a knitting rut, which was brought on by the second mitten syndrome. i'm making convertible glove/mittens for my mother (promised to her a year ago)...i finished the first one and cannot bring myself to go beyond the cuff of the second one (fingers are terrible i've decided). i don't have any other serious knitting projects (what?!)...but i finished the following: two hats (one ear flap! pattern found here, although i had to alter it because i was using a thinner yarn), a long skinny scarf, an almost completed mug cozy, and a christmas stocking. i finished those projects in about a week (except the stocking), then started the mittens. after completing that first one, i probably haven't knit in at least 1.5 weeks. what?

now, i'm headed off to mexico on wednesday. and as i do before each trip, i wonder what i'm going to take with me to knit on the plane and during layovers. i will have two trips at least to california after that, so i need something for those, but they're far enough away i haven't given much thought to what to take. so, since i have this beautiful yarn for a shawl and a pattern in mind for it (picked the pattern, then the yarn, like a good little knitter), i figured, why not just pick up the pattern and take that, since lace is light and not too warm in mexico. of course, i only decided to do this yesterday, less than a week before i'm scheduled to leave. and of course, my local knittery didn't have it in stock, fiddlesticks knitting is in canada and can't get the pattern her fast enough, and no other store (NONE) within about an hour of my house carry the pattern either! so of course, after waiting for my frustrating to dissipate (many hours), i decided to look for new projects and decided on a blanket, made in pieces so i could carry only small portions at a time...i was looking at ravelry for patterns and found this. i like the first picture, and not the second. i like both the color combinations and the stripes. i thought about manually creating stripes by using many different balls of yarn, but threw out that idea after realizing how many many many ends i'd (shreya'd?) have to crochet in. so now i'm thinking about self striping or hand painted yarns. anyone have any suggestions? hopefully something i can purchase relatively inexpensively in the next few days before i head off.

hoping this will break me free of my rut.

so everyone knows...

2009-01-03T18:50:00.002-05:00

I bought some sock yarn today.

oops. I felt guilty all day.

also, I have been sitting at the computer for about an hour, thinking about how Shreya is getting way ahead on her brickwork repeats. The worst part is, I had caught up with her by the 1st...and now I am back to being wayyy behind.

oops.

I swear, I'll catch up and maybe knit some socks tomorrow.
I better get crackin....

(Neha)

competition is healthy...right?

2008-12-29T22:26:00.003-05:00

This evening, my sister noted that I had not posted on the mitknit blog in a long time. Now, granted, I do not go to MIT and therefore am not a legitimate member of mitknit, but apparently, Shreya and I are the only people that post on this blog?

I don't have too much to say today, except that I have become overly obsessed with lists. This past weekend, I managed to not only sort through all my yarn, but actually create my own mini inventory of every ball or skein of yarn that I own, including its color name, dye lot, weight, and any extra information I could find on the labels. Literally any information.

(Yes, I admit I am a weeeeee bit OCD, but what if I lose the label after starting a project and not continuing it? How on Earth will I find the label within all that clutter, aka the one folder I have containing all my yarn labels? But... seriously, who am I kidding? I don't think I could lose the label to a ball of yarn if I tried. (still OCD though))

Anyway, doing this brought me to the realization that...(drumroll please).....its time to stop buying sock yarn! I have now told myself that I will not buy ANY more sock yarn, no matter how fancy the stripes are, until I have finished the 13 balls of sock yarn that I listed in my inventory (in addition to 6 balls of Noro Silk Garden and some lace yarn that I don't count since it resides in the basement). Basically, I have my work cut out for me.

13 pairs of socks. No big deal, right? That is only 130 hours of knitting socks. I could knit straight through for 5.4 days, finish all my sock yarn, and still have time to buy myself some sock yarn before heading back to school.
yeah....no.

Now that I have my priorities straightened out, and have been solely making socks since mid July (with some hats and scarves thrown in there).....instead of knitting socks right now, I am working on a brickwork scarf pattern, given to me along with gorgeous hand dyed yarn by my aunt. Shreya is working on the same pattern, but started a couple days before me, so she has a head start.

Obviously, even though I started later, this is quickly developing into quite the race. Since we are using the same yarn, the same size needles, and the same pattern, the competition is perfect. (Now all I have to do is catch up to her....) My mother is doing the shawl version of the same pattern, but since she started late last night and is working simultaneously on a cabled sweater, I will cut her some slack.

I am currently resisting the urge to stay up until some ridiculous hour in the morning while Shreya peacefully sleeps, until I not only catch up to her, but get one repeat past where she is.

I will probably have to hide my needles from myself...otherwise I might just do this.
In fact, I should probably go upstairs now.

Happy New Year and Happy Knitting!

<3 peace <3

(Neha)

Decreased productivity

2008-12-13T14:39:00.004-05:00

I just thought I would alert the public....

This is only the second week since July that I have not made a single pair of socks.
Nope, not one.

I finished my knitpicks essential carbon twist sock number one over Thanksgiving break, have not progressed beyond ribbing on the second one. I seem to be progressing at a pace similar to Shreya....by the way dearest elder sister, hows that pair you started in September going?

Well, I guess that means I am studying hard, right ? (makin' my mother proud)

Don't worry,
Factory will re-open starting one week from today. :)

Most people make two of the same mitten...

2008-12-02T09:21:00.006-05:00

Unlike my lovely sister, I chose to make two mittens in the same color and ...wait for it....using the same pattern!

Disclaimer: This picture is not meant to hurt Shreya's feelings. However, the owner of this photo is not responsible for any emotional damage following its viewing.

a lovely couple

2008-12-02T01:48:00.002-05:00

i finished a second mitten!!!

now if only they matched...

Credit where credit is due...

2008-11-30T09:42:00.002-05:00

So...at some point during a lapse of judgment, I decided that the mittens Shreya was trying to knit (she mentioned them in her last post) really were not particularly difficult, and that she made them complicated by adding stripes unnecessarily. I also decided that since they involved less knitting than socks, they would take less time and be easier. So I decided to make a pair of my own for a friend, using a solid green sock yarn.

I got throught the ribbing and thumb shaping wondering why Shreya didnt just quickly knit up the second mitten...I mean, a couple of hours is a small price to pay for warm hands all winter. By the time I got through the thumb shaping, I was already deciding what color to make my next pair in.

Then I thought that since I have never had second sock syndrome, I won't get second mitten syndrome either.

And then I hit the fingers....and realized that knitting 14 stitches in the round is rather obnoxious, and wondering why anyone in their right mind would knit gloves.

I now give my sister all the credit in the world for not wanting to make the second mitten in that set. I just thought I would announce to everyone that I will now cut her slack when it comes to finishing certain projects. She is absolutely correct. Frozen fingers are definitely not enough motivation to make those mittens.

i really must.

2008-11-11T07:45:00.002-05:00

i really must finish that second mitten. i refuse to buy mittens because i'm halfway done with making a pair.

halfway. two hands. one mitten. it's pretty intuitive.

you'd think something like frozen fingers would be good enough motivation but i seem to have more than a mild case of second mitten syndrome. i finished the first mitten last march.

(they're really cool mittens - that kind where you can fold back the flap and have the half-gloved fingers. they're made with yarn (50/50 wool/silk) that em dyed for me last year, blue and white stripes. i'll post a picture later, but like i said, really cool mittens.)

I can't sleep tonight

2008-10-20T01:32:00.000-04:00

I found a moth in my room.

I know, I know...

2008-10-14T22:06:00.005-04:00

I know I am supposed to be finishing up this pset, and I know I should be studying for my test tomorrow. However, this is a perfect opportunity to work on the boring st st scarf for my roommate's birthday. Yes--the scarf is making more progress than my pset is. It really is lovely yarn, though.

I also know it's not nice to talk about politics (or religion) the first time you meet someone, and I feel like I'm still getting to know this blog. What I am about to show you is inappropriate, but adorably cute.

Hurrah! Let's hope tomorrow's last debate goes well.

Research

2008-10-05T23:33:00.006-04:00

At MIT, research is an integral part of the amazing technologies MIT produces every year. So I figured if I'm at MIT, I might as well be doing research on the more important things in life ... knitting.

As I get more and more into knitting (and less and less into technological research), I've discovered new skills I want to acquire:

Always having a pair of socks on needles (and hopefully not the same pair over a long long [year?] period of time).
Lacework! I want to knit scarves, shawls, and then..... tablecloths for our big dining table to match the newly painted walls and china.
Truly get good at fairisle knitting--I'm talking like 20 sthg colors going on.
Get finishing down to an art! I've discovered that I hate (almost with a passion) ribbing (it's worse than stockinette stitch!) and weaving in ends. Argggh! I try so hard to match my stitches but it's so obviously glaringly a weaved-in end right there at the doughnut that hugs my hips and doesn't need the bulging weaved-in end! Okay--maybe not that bad, but my goal is to get good at it. I don't have to like it, I just want to get good at it.
I want to dye my own yarn! Dude-I want to make my own self-patterning yarns for the sock that will be on my needles. How awesome would that be?
If I'm going to be this involved in the process of making a garment, I might as well learn how to go through the whole process of collecting fibers, combing them, dying them, spinning them, balling the resulting yarn (WITH my Amazing ball-winder that everyone is welcome to come by and admire...oh, and ball up some yarn, too, I guess), knitting it, weaving-in ends (argh!), finishing it, and wearing it (granted, it's a fitted piece.) Was that the correct order of how to create a garment? Something else to learn.
I should learn how to get fit right, too, though I've gotten progressively better at it.
Learn weaving and quilting. That's not quite knitting, but it's got to do with textiles, so they're in the family. I'm a broke college student who spends her last scrapes of money at knitpicks.com. I don't need to get invested into weaving and quilting (or spinning for that matter) quite yet. I'll save that for my more tranquil, have-money-laying-around years. ;)

So all of this has nothing to do with research, but as I have been trying to acquire skills and techniques to improve my above list, I have been learning a ton. In fact, I am fascinated by the knits of other cultures. Latvian or Estonian mittens/socks are popular. Ukranian cross-stitch is popular. (I'm compiling a bunch of Ukranian cross-stitch patterns from the internet into a color-coded booklet for my god-grandmother. She hasn't discovered the joys of Google yet, but she loves the joys of her grandchildren. Hey--I get amazing brownies out of it.) So my new obsession-ish is Japanese lace:

I have thoroughly researched (googled) and found this amazing Japanese artist, Naoko Ichida. Her works are absolutely gorgeous. Her books, of course, are nearly out of print and cost $67 and $42. Too bad it's not on knitpicks.com--40% off until the end of October. Christmas present, perhaps?

Progress

2008-10-01T14:36:00.004-04:00

I swear I have been making progress:

The dress

The second sock The ruffled scarf for the roommate's birthday
(ugh! those ends! I probably have enough weaving for another MITKNIT meeting)
The switching of summer & winter wardrobes
The Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop Installation
The MIT Work Week :D

Arrghh!

2008-09-25T13:54:00.001-04:00

The sock was too big.
Ripping out.

Yarn Harlot is coming to Boston

2008-09-21T18:09:00.001-04:00

from www.yarnharlot.ca/blog

Boston -- Wednesday, October 15th, 7 pm , Hosted by Porter Square Books (With Common Cod Fiber Guild)
Event will be held at St. James' Episcopal Church 1991 Mass Ave. Cambridge, MA Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Seating will be first come first serve. Portersquarebooks.com Tel: (617) 491-2220

Does anyone want to join me to go see her? I'll try and make part of a sock for the event!

:)
Joyatee

The beginnings of another WIP...

2008-09-16T12:54:00.000-04:00

No pictures here

2008-09-12T09:43:00.002-04:00

Yesterday in my class on how to give presentations (for course 6 people who have no social skills), our professor asked us to do an impromptu 2 minute presentation on the topic of your choice. I pulled out my knitting, and here's the outline of my presentation:

The Importance of Knitting and Why You Should Knit
1. Stress-Reliever
a. The repetitive motion is soothing to the mind
b. Studies show knitting produces the same calming brainwaves whether you're a beginner or an expert
2. Isn't limited to the Stereotypes--My mother teaches montessori school to 3-6 year olds. Montessori is a program heavily based on teaching children life skills using tactile activities. Knitting is a great activity, and the little boys in her class love it! They all made little coasters for their parents last Christmas. So it's NOT an "old granny" hobby.
3. Allows you to Multi-task
a. during movies/tv
b. during lectures
c. on the subway
4. Can get only more and more complex
a. always a challenge but can always keep it simple, too
b. I brought out my knitting at this point and compared my sweater's simple stockinette stich to a cabled legwarmer--showing them the patterns and how you can use multiple needles for knitting in the round.
c. like a video game but better---there are unlimited levels of advancing in knitting.

So I think I was too enthusiastic about my presentation. See y'all Sunday!

Knitting Fun!

2008-08-31T13:22:00.017-04:00

I knit so much this summer, but it was a blast! For those of you who don't know, I helped out with a program for rising seniors in high school. They spent their summer at MIT and had a very work-intensive curriculum (what's new?). So, as a diversion, some people saw me knitting and wanted to learn and thus began.... The MITES Knitting Club!

This is still MIT, after all, so you can see people studying in the background.

Yes, you did see correctly! That IS a boy knitting (and talking on the phone to his girlfriend back home)--he was actually REALLY good! And yes, we had two crocheters amidst our group. We had another impromptu meeting in my room.

Yeap. There's another boy (whose mom is a ridiculously amazing knitter and whose brother knits, too, but he wanted to learn from non-family members.)

So what did I knit this summer that caused so many kids to want to learn how to knit? Well, I don't have pictures of most of it, but I knit BAGs. A lot of bags (only pictures of two here):

Lining, courtesy of my mother who was watching some Bengali soap opera at the time:
Me: Mom, dearest, what are you doing?
Mom: I'm busy. Don't bother me. Find something to eat in the pantry.
Me: Uh-huh. (Run to my room, grab all of the pieces necessary. Thread a needle. Run back to my mother and hand her everything.)
Mom: Wait, what's this?
Me: Oh, I don't know.

18 minutes later, after her soap opera is done, she comes to my room, and hands me my buttoned, completely lined bag. :D I love mothers.

Here, I was out with some friends with the top I was knitting during the semester (it's actually kinda cute), and another knitted bag. Details below.

And now, I'm off to do something more productive with my life. I just finished up Hey, Teach. It fits quite nicely.

And I found two more unfinished projects looming on my table...

Maybe I'll go finish one of those.

Six Flags Amusement

2008-07-14T00:22:00.011-04:00

I've finally sat down to add to this blog. Woohoo. I have much to say & add.

Yesterday (meaning Saturday), I went to Six Flags New England with MITES, the summer program I'm working with. My boyfriend, Carlos, unfortunately does not like roller coasters because of the queezy feeling he gets. I don't like super spinny rides (like the teacups) because I get nauseous. We also both forgot our bathing suits, so how did I amuse myself at the amusement park? By knitting! I knit a portion of the shrug I'm currently working on.

I'll upload personal pictures for this shrug after I finish the back or something. This is using my first ebay purchase, and boy have I gotten addicted since.

Carlos's birthday is coming up, and true to form, I'll buy/make him things I'm more interested in than he is. Carlos's passion is cooking. (Thank God because I burn Easy Mac all the time.) He usually hates movies, but last year, he agreed to go see Ratatouille with me. Though he didn't really like the movie, he did kind of like the character, Remy. So when I saw Em's post with Remy, I decided I'd make one. Luckily, I also keep lots of my scraps (maybe not the 1 inchers, though), so I had just enough black, white, and pink. I even made him a little apron, like one of the comments suggested. It probably took about an hour to crochet up and another hour to put him together. I didn't put on whiskers yet, and I'm debating about whether or not I should. Carlos saw the original and didn't like the whiskers because they were too long. We'll see... I still have a few more days.

So, my sewing skills are really poor, though I've always loved cross-stitching. When I embroidered on Remy's eyes, I accidentally made the right eye smaller than the left eye. Funnily enough, Carlos's right eye is actually a tad bit smaller than his left eye. Here's a picture of us on the one ride we went on at Six Flags (this little sky view thingie which lifts you up into the air and gently brings you back down.) He was squinting a bit, but he still has it.

I'm definitely suffering from unfinished project syndrome, but oh well. I may have to take Em's advice of having only three unfinished projects at a time. I must finish like 7 projects then to only have 3 left. I decided I wanted to have a quick in-between project. (I was working on too many sweaters.) I picked up a book on knit bag patterns (Vogue Knitting Bags Two). The knitting part was super fast and easy. The hard part is the lining. This is my first project involving lining, so that was interesting. I just need to make several more bags or such to get a hang of this lining (pain in the neck) business.

I tried making a little card pocket inside the purse, but I realized I place the card holder a little too low. Oh well. I'll try and show the finished product when I get around to actually putting it together. The diagonal pattern was wicked awesome, though.

I wanted to post some pictures of sweaters my mom made for me when I was little, but I think that calls for another post and another day when I'm more rested.

Happy Knitting! :)

"I like making a piece of string into something I can wear"

2008-07-10T22:36:00.003-04:00

Hi all readers! (the number has increased to four, thanks to Joyatee for reading it :P)

Anyway, I figured I would tell everyone how I finished the "simple seed stitch" baby dress that I was working on....and I recommend that no one ever attempts to make one....this dress is made up of a knit seed stitch bodice and a fabric attached skirt, which made it seem super simple and a quick project....Actually, every time I attempt to combine sewing and knitting (cough cough, lining purses, cough cough), it ends in dissatisfaction. But if you know me, you know I will keep on sewing...cause thats what I do.
Unfortunately, the pattern for this particular dress was vague; it didnt tell you how to make the skirt or how to attach it, except to give approximate measurements and a make-do picture...

Moral of the story: simple projects are a lot more complicated than they seem...which makes me wonder....does this mean that complicated projects are simpler than they seem? I mean, knitters always say that once you know how to knit and purl you can approach any project, so my plan is to test that theory.
I am going to attempt a project that is much too difficult for my knitting level (not hard to do) and hope that since its so complicated, it has explicit instructions, rather than "heres a picture, figure it out..." On my next project, my creativity is going right out the window, and I plan on following every detail of the pattern obsessively. I will let everyone know how that goes.

Thanks for listening to my frustration with that dress, I will upload recent project pictures soon.

In conclusion, I would like to share with you the 10 principles of knitting (from Finely, a knitting party, a knitting store in PA):

10 Principles of Knitting

1. It's all about the awesome yarn choices. Simple stitches & patterns create gorgeous pieces.

2. Strive to relax and have fun. Do not strive for perfection.

3. Be clever & daring. Take a risk!

4. Every mistake can be fixed.

5. Swatch, swatch, swatch.

6. Set goals, not deadlines.

7. Never stop learning.

8. Share the legacy, teach someone to knit.

9. Put your signature on each gift.

10. Knit with love.

<3 Neha

ps. I'm still open to using everyone's scrap wool for one skein projects :)

mr. rain man can we have a rainy day?

2008-07-08T21:57:00.001-04:00

well, i'm pretty sure that neha and i are the only other ones reading this right now, but maybe someone someday will find this whole exchange entertaining.

on that note, when i was in high school, a friend of mine wrote a blog he was pretty sure nobody read. in it, he happened to mention his dislike for a certain girl in our grade. unfortunately she was secretly reading the blog...and he named names. definitely an oops! so maybe we'll get lucky and someone will be secretly reading this. it is, afterall, on the internet.

anyway, i don't know anything really about blog life, swaps, prizes, giveaways, or stash reduction (i like my stash thank you very much) so i'll leave all that to em. i also don't know much about horses, mercury, viktoria mulliva, or solidworks but that's not really the point.

what i do know, however, is that i really liked neha's idea of calling all scrap wool. if you don't already know her, neha is the type of person who can't bear to throw anything away, from wrappers to her favorite candy to parts of long-forgotten broken toys, she puts it all away neatly in plastic bins and stores them away for safekeeping. when it comes to scrap wool though, she's the worst. anything longer than about an inch goes into the pile, the pile grows, and then out of the blue, we wake up one morning with a fantastically multicolored pompom sitting on the kitchen table. it's almost like christmas where she's the santa claus.

so you can imagine her inherent inability to waste even the smallest bit of leftover bits of yarn from different projects. last week, she made a lace hat out of the leftover bit from a merino sweater that my mum completed about two years ago. so listen to her call and dump those scraps you don't want onto her!

another idea for using up scraps is a friendship blanket (which i think em mentioned but in an entirely different form). after our high school graduation, my best friend and i decided that we were going to knit patchwork blankets so that when we went away to our separate colleges, we'd each have one of these blankets on our bed. we used up as many of our mothers' scraps as we could, knitting two of every square. we finished all the squares, then began to crochet the squares together into a patchwork blanket. she finished hers (and mine is on my list of unfinished projects). nothing matches, the squares are all different sizes, but the blankets still remind us of our friendship and that's what we love about them.

looking for input!

2008-07-07T22:18:00.004-04:00

hello blog readers! i'm hoping that someone more than shreya and neha are reading this....one of the things i've discovered about blogs and blog life are both swaps and give-aways. swaps are a GREAT way to share projects you've made or to find inspiration for new projects. one website that i've found in my latest conversion to blogging is swap bot. this is a photo of what it looks like. you can find swaps for EVERYTHING. things you want to make, things you want. one of interest is a friendship afghan...every round you make 6 squares for an afghan, sending 3 to two different people, receiving 3 from two other people. after doing this for 10 rounds, you have enough squares to make a blanket!

the other thing i've discovered are these give-aways that bloggers have. it's a FANTASTIC way to empty out your stash. what happens is that people post what they're giving away and maybe show pictures of what they're getting rid of. then anyone who's interested can post a comment on that post and the blogger uses a random number generator to pick the winner, then ship whatever the give-away item is.

in an effort to get all of you involved, we're thinking about holding some give-aways. what i'd like you all to do in response to THIS post is give us some ideas of what you'd like to win! yarn? needles? other knitting accessories? POST COMMENTS WITH IDEAS!

if you like the idea of blogging and would like to do some reading of your own, let me give you the links to my personal favorites! i read these obsessively every day, hoping for new posts :)

futuregirl makes amazing bags and other crocheted items. she also has a bunch of good tutorials and links to other crafting blogs.

the purlbee is a blog from a store and has AMAZING tutorials and patterns for knitting, crocheting, and quilting.

i hope to hear from you guys soon!

best stitches and happy knitting!

calling all scrap wool!

2008-07-06T18:00:00.000-04:00

Well, since Em and Shreya both posted, I figure I should too....

So in efforts to pick up the pace of this blog, as well as get new ideas for projects....we would like to know what is everyone working on? What wool are people using? and who has the most unfinished projects? I'm gonna take a wild guess and go with Em or Shreya, but I'm sure someone can beat them :P If you read this blog and dont post a comment about something, you should feel guilty. I need project ideas! I am almost done with mine!

I am currently making a baby sundress, with the top part knitted and the bottom part a fabric skirt, it is adorable and I hope to post pictures soon! However, after using this pattern, I have come to appreciate patterns that are clear as to what you are supposed to do...isnt that the point of a pattern? I wasnt even sure whether to knit the pattern in the round or not....and only after completing it in the round did I figure out that the pattern meant knit it straight....even though it said clearly to use round needles...

I have also been making lace edged hats from projects that had leftover wool. They have come out excellent, and are super easy to make, as well as a nice change from the normal hats we have been all making for the sale. Also they don't use much wool....which is nice. Anyone who wants the pattern just let me know. (Also, anyone who isnt sure what to do with scrap yarn, just send it along, I will happily turn it into something and send it back to you or donate it to Dana Farber...)

And, in conclusion, GO FEDERER!

update!

2008-07-06T17:40:00.000-04:00

i was inspired by shreya's post, to post myself. we'd really like to get this blog up and running, a bit more lively with comments from all of you!

i just thought i'd share some exciting news about my own knitting projects. first of all, i promised myself that i can never have more than 3 unfinished projects working at the same time, where i define "finished" as having finished the knitting...since i currently have two sweaters which need to be made up and two shawls that need to be blocked...

which brings me to my SUPER exciting news. i finished knitting on the PEACOCK SHAWL! i'm sorry i don't have a picture, but i'll upload one as soon as i get home. i now need to block it and it's complete!

i'm working on an argyle stocking which is really exciting. i wanted to work on both my color work (using one color per hand and carrying ever >3 stitches) and i've always wanted to make something argyle...this is a great project for both! i've turned the heel and now have to knit the toe.

sorry this is short; i'm on a family reunion-y vacation in burlington, vermont, so i have to get going to the chocolate factory!

best stitches and happy knitting!

ps please feel free to post comments, demanding pictures or more information or sharing how your projects are going! we'd love love LOVE to hear from you!

bad karma

2008-07-06T17:21:00.000-04:00

so in my email last week, i poked a little fun at ripping out fifty rows of a project. well, guess who just did what? (hint: look at the title of this post)

the men's final of wimbledon is currently playing and has been since 9am. my sister and i sat down to knit around 10 this morning. we were merrily knitting and watching until the dreaded rain delay. the ball boys and girls are trained to cover the court in 10 seconds, and that's about how long it took me to rip out a total of about 15 inches of armhole shaping. i tried it again, then realized the lengths BEFORE the armhole shaping didn't match on both sides. and off came the stitches once more. by the time play resumed, i'd ripped out another three inches. twice. now, halfway through the fourth set (and four hours later), i'm nine inches of knitting behind where i started this morning.

in other words, a net loss.

meanwhile rafael nadal is fighting a much tougher battle - looking for his first wimbledon title (but four time french open champion) against roger federer, defending wimbledon champion five times over. c'mon nadal!!

hello from taiwan!

2008-06-18T23:12:00.000-04:00

well i have been doing quite a bit of knitting while in taiwan! i spend a fair amount of time sitting around, so i've had a great opportunity to catch up on movies that i've wanted to see and knitting i've been meaning to do. i brought my peacock feather patterned lace shawl, the green baby sweater for emma's baby, and some knitpicks yarn we bought for baby blankets (i'm making a baby blanket in the shell/star pattern which i've made before). for a pattern, see here.

speaking on knitpicks, i wanted to rave a little in praise of their yarns and website. i have recently become a fan of their yarns, as has shreya. i'm currently working all three projects just mentioned in their yarns. the lace is worked in alpaca cloud lace yarn, in stream heather. it's a beautiful yarn that works very well for the peacock lace i'm working on. the other two projects are worked in swish dk; the baby sweater is a cable pattern in asparagus, and the baby blanket is in storm and white. i should mention that i'm not the only one who's working in this yarn. shreya's mom, theresa, is working on an amazing blanket pattern, twice to make two identical blankets, that is worked square by square, each in a different color with a different pattern. she's using the wool of the andes in a variety of colors. i can't wait to see the result! shreya has also worked on a variety of projects using yarns from knitpicks, as has joyce, our resident crocheter. last i heard, she was working on a couple of different baby blankets.

knitpicks also has a great section of tutorials in their blog section. one of them has proved to be very informative and helpful for my shawl (yet to be finished). it's a pdf on how to block lace. another one i'm fond of is the kool-aid dying tutorial. this is one of the pictures from the pdf.

i'm very interested in trying this out...guess i've got to buy some bare blanks from knitpicks to dye. alternatively, i could buy some wool-silk from sarah's yarns, which took the color very well from the natural dyes we used in anne's dying workshops.

well i've rambled on enough and it's time for me to run to lunch.

best stitches and happy knitting!!

remy!

2008-06-02T14:19:00.000-04:00

it turns out that my job, working at MIT in the hemann lab, isn't the kind of job that functions nonstop. there are moments of down time, where i can surf the web or just relax and talk to people. my bay-mate, a grad student, usually has music playing (and so i've learned a lot more about bands i like and bands i didn't know). sometimes it just sounds like noise to me, literally! the other day, i was looking through blogs and patterns of knit and crochet items. if you need something to waste time...here are some blogs and pattern sites that i like to browse through.

first and foremost, the inspiration for the upcoming crocheted cotton bag project (see future post for updates!), future girl! you can also try craftster, which has a variety of other kinds on crafts besides knitting and crocheting, but it's still really fun to browse through. for knitting patterns, knitty is a great source of patterns and advice. they have a large archive and also release patterns on a regular basis. another site that has nothing to do with knitting or crocheting or crafts of any kind, but is still worth checking out, postsecret. people mail in postcards with a secret on it to this man, who then scans them and posts them on his website. you'd be amazed what kind of secrets you can find out.

it turns out that blogging is a complete and separate world that you really don't appreciate until you start to read some of these. first of all, there are blogs about just about everything...a friend of mine reads blogs about babies and children! second, there's this sense of friendship between people who may have never met, but feel a sense of connection with someone who makes a form of art they can appreciate. they do "exchanges" where each person makes something for the other person and then they mail them to each other. some people will have random drawings for a set of random things that they've cleaned out of their stash (what a great way to clean out your own things! or to be randomly inspired by someone else's things!!)

anyway, instead of rambling on, let me share the pattern i found. it comes with a story. my mother and one of her younger sisters both attended MIT, married MIT men, and ended up living in neighboring towns. as it happened, they both had a girl, then a boy, resulting in a set of four children who grew up near each other, occasionally sharing the same house. my older cousin, sarah, me, my cousin pete (my age), and my younger brother ted form this little group and we're more than cousins but less than siblings. anyway, sarah had just moved into her own house in worcester, so we decided to make thanksgiving dinner, just the four kids. after we had prepped the night before, we watched ratatouille. i fell asleep somewhere near the end and missed a substantial portion of the ending. the next day, after the family came over and we had consumed far too much food, we all watched ratatouille again, since our parents hadn't seen it. i fell asleep again. in the same place! so there is still a chunk i haven't seen. maybe this wasn't a great story, but my point is that i found this online and thought he was adorable and wanted to share him, so maybe he'll get made!

the pattern for his construction can be found here. i hope that someone makes him! and if you do, please post your pictures so we can all see him. as another reminder, if you'd like to share what you've been creating or patterns you've made up or found, please don't hesitate to email me or shreya or post comments here!

best stitches and happy knitting!

welcome!

2008-05-23T13:30:00.000-04:00

hi all. shreya and i have created this blog so that we can update you on our lives and post stories about all of you and your knitting! i have to look into it, but we might be able to post patterns here and if not, you can always email us and we'll get them to you. i do have another blog that's just me rambling on about life (the rambling may bleed over here) and i have made it a point to never post without pictures because i know i don't like reading blogs with no pictures....

other notes about this blog:

-the weekly emails that you all get will be posted here every saturday after they are sent out. there will also be a link in that email to this blog every week as a reminder to check this out!

-you are welcome to post comments on anything you see here! if you'd like to post an actual post with pictures of your work or your musings on something, just send me or shreya and email with the post content and it'll get put up.

-we will be maintaining lists of members, projects, anything we can think of really...so if you have a good idea, let me know!

so this entry wasn't very exciting...but here is the promised picture, from our very first meeting of MITKNIT last fall.

look for more posts to come! best stitches.