Fan Girl

Today I went out for coffee. I expected I would get to the cafe before the person I was meeting, so I brought along some knitting. Halfway there, I realized I was wearing my awesome knitting t-shirt and my Minimalist Cardigan. Luckily, I got to the cafe second, so I didn't have to face the decision of whether to be Knitting Girl, wearing a knitting t-shirt, wearing a handknit, and knitting, all at once.

We sat outside and a guy walked by asking for change. We told him we didn't have any (which was true) and he walked away. As he left, he remarked that he liked my sweater. Perhaps in a moment of TMI, I said, "Thanks! I made it!" (I don't know if any of you feel the need to tell everyone who remarks on something you happened to have made that you made it! but I do. Probably because I'm so shocked I actually like something I made enough to wear it.) He turned around and looked more closely at my sweater. Then he said it really needed a button. Or maybe a zipper, which are really simple to install, you know. Then he asked if the seaming was the hardest part. I said yes, and he said it looked like I had messed up on the shoulders (which, technically, I did). They just didn't look right. He then proceeded to talk about how matching a straight line to a circle is hard, because of physics and equal and opposite reactions. Eventually he walked away, revealing he wasn't wearing any underwear and was in dire need of a belt.

Two for you, one for me

In the midst of my many small holiday projects, I started a new scarf for myself. It's My So-Called Scarf, out of some yarn I got in Berkeley, back at the Great-Yarn-and-Fabric-Binge of 2007. I originally got the yarn with a hat in mind for Mike, but he was disdainful of the brown / blue blend, so the yarn has languished in my stash, moving across California and then up the coast to Oregon.

Unfortunately, it looks like 100m (2 balls) are just not going to be enough. So far, I've got 12" of scarf. I'm already through the first ball. I just don't think a 2-foot scarf will cut it.

I'm using US 10.5 (6.5mm) needles, instead of the 11s called for in the pattern, and the fabric is really dense. I could rip back and go up a few needle sizes, or Mike has suggested making it into a neck-warmer, which might actually be a good idea for biking through the winter.

The stitch is great though. It's really rhythmic, and I got into a nice groove while watching Viva Las Vegas last night.

I've got a commissioned gift FO to share, but I just put it in the mail yesterday and it has to make its way all the way across the country to DC. And I don't even know if it had enough postage to make it. Let me know, Claudia, so I can share it with the world!

Extreme Makeover

I'm trying out a new layout.

What do you think?

The Craziest of Gangs

Me and my friends on our way to the Halloween party. Let me give you the rundown.
A Dinosaur. (Down in front) A Battery (of the pair salt & battery... assault & battery!). A To-do list. The Right to Arm Bears. A Giraffe. A jellyfish.

We were in front of Burger King, waiting for the bus, entertaining the patrons.
And a close-up of the giraffe, which won first prize at the costume contest! Mike spent all day being crafty and sewing up his costume. He started at 9 am with a sheet and ended up with this at 3 pm.

Oh, the horror!

There's a crime scene is my living room!

Luckily Mike cleaned this up before I got home, so my tender little eyes didn't have to see the bloodshed our little kitty caused.

That is the remaining nearly-full skein of Cascade 220 from the Minimalist Cardigan. I haven't ventured into the yellow bag where the yarn awaits its final fate to see how much can be salvaged.

I had it in the bag to work on my first end-of-finals / surviving law school / holiday present. We went to a town hall meeting about a $54mn spending package to improve the streets of Portland for pedestrians and bikes (3 people have been hit and killed while riding their bikes here, in the last three weeks alone). First of all, it was lovely to go to a town hall meeting and feel like a part of the community. I've been so transient since high school, and it is nice to feel like I'm settling down to one place.

Second of all, it was lovely to sit at the back of the room, listening to the presentations, getting all the inside gossip from the woman who's lived here for 39 years, and knitting away.

The result is this: A Mug and French Press Jacket for my friend Katie (who I hope does not read my blog - look away Katie!)

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in Garnet
Needles: my go to some kind of metal, size 7 or 8 dpns from my mom's stash
Notes: Since I don't have five needles of a dpn set large enough for this pattern, I attempted to use four and still follow the directions. I came up with a very large disc, much too large for the bottom of any coffee cup I know. So I frogged.

I tried again, but still, it came out all wrong. So I frogged.

Then I gave up on the idea of a mug jacket with a cute little button to go around the handle, and settled on a simple coffee cup sleeve. In the end, all I used from the pattern was the stitch pattern. I really love the smocking, and it's a lot easier than I thought it would be.

Katie drinks a ton of coffee- at least a latte a day- and while she usually uses a real mug, sometime I see her with a paper cup. This sleeve helps her cut down on at least a little of the paper usage, subbing in for those cardboard sleeves to help keep your fingers from burning on the cup.

Apologies for the terrible picture. It's 8 am and the sun hasn't risen yet. Also, the camera screen is broken (still).

As for the wonkiness of the sleeve... I can only direct you to the carnage witnessed above.

Look Ma! I finished my sweater!

Yaaaay, sweater!

I'm clearly very excited to be wearing my new sweater. One would think that being outside, in the cold drizzle, would make me this happy. However, I LOVE this sweater. It came out just perfectly.

Pattern: Minimalist Cardigan, from Interweave Knits Fall 07
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in Garnet
Needles: Rosewood US 7s

Notes: I thought I might be taking on more than I could chew by picking a sweater to knit during my first month of law school, but it turns out I was wrong. This sweater was the perfect thing to take my mind off school and case books and memos. I could pick up my knitting and an hour or two later, have a finished sleeve!

The pattern was easy to follow and progress was quick. I'd never seamed for real before, so I looked up some tricks online and decided to use the back-stitch method, since the fabric is pretty thick. I think I did it right- let's talk again after I've worn the sweater a few times.

I made the 34" size, and I probably could have made the next size up for the front panels to drape as they do in the Interweave photo, but the shoulders and sleeves and back all fit perfectly.

I love cardigans, and I usually wear them open, or maybe with just the center button buttoned. I might put a clasp on this, but for now I really like it the way it is.

Look for this sweater worn exactly the way I've got it on now- over jeans and a regular shirt, or perhaps looking a little profesh for a trip to the downtown community development law firm where I just started doing some pro bono work.


I have something else on my needles now, but it's holiday knitting for one of my most dedicated readers, so check it out on Ravelry if you're curious.

I've got other holiday ideas for people who don't read the blog (I think) so I'll try and get those projects going so I have something interesting to write about.

The Hard Life of a Sweater

Dear Diary,

Monday, I was just a bunch of parts, waiting to be made whole.

Tuesday, I came together and took a field trip to the spa! Aaah, it's wonderful to just...

The today, I took a nice long bath.

Maybe tomorrow I'll make my public debut...

Love,
The Minimalist Sweater