Research

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:

1. Always having a pair of socks on needles (and hopefully not the same pair over a long long [year?] period of time).
2. Lacework! I want to knit scarves, shawls, and then..... tablecloths for our big dining table to match the newly painted walls and china.
3. Truly get good at fairisle knitting--I'm talking like 20 sthg colors going on.
4. 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.
5. 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?
6. 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.
7. I should learn how to get fit right, too, though I've gotten progressively better at it.
8. 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?