Ravelry Wait (Part 1)

Only 8140 people ahead of me on the waiting list for Ravelry! WOO HOO!

On a project note, I got relatively nothing done knitting wise this weekend. I think I only got about an hour's worth of knitting all weekend. Sigh. I was working. And the Husband and I were walking around exploring the rest of the time. Oh well. There's always today. :)

Nerd Score

Okay. Everyone knows I'm a nerd, but I didn't think I was very far from normal. So on the recommendation of a friend, I took a test to rate my nerdiness. It was bad. I scored a 99, and they mocked me with "All Hail the Nerd God". Okay, so it has officially been proven that I am only 1% normal. Whatever. At least the Husband thinks I'm cool.

And My Envy Grows...

So Amanda is finally on Ravelry, and I'm green with envy. I'm eagerly awaiting my invitation and today the Ravelry look up page said this:

Found you!

• You signed up on July 10, 2007
• You are #15594 on the list.
• 8371 people are ahead of you in line.
• 5765 people are behind you in line.
• 32% of the list has been invited so far

Sigh. I have quite a wait ahead of me. And everyday until I get my invitation I'll be checking this page and imagining the greatness that awaits me.

Back to Knitting!

Okay, so I'm back in Berkeley, married and with Husband in tow, back to work, and also back to knitting. I didn't get a chance to knit for a while, what with all the last minute wedding details and all. But I'm back to it. And I've discovered something. If you use circular needles, but the connecting wire is too short, it really does mess things up. I sometimes use circular needles if I'm traveling because then I don't have to worry about losing a needle somewhere. Anyway, I've been using circular needles for making my baby afghan strips but the wire was too short. After a third of a strip I decided I couldn't stand it any longer and I bought new needles. (Now, to anyone else this would have been a simple decision and not have taken so long to do, but did I mention I've been on my honeymoon and going to work everyday?) So I dragged the Husband with me to Stash where I bought straight bamboo needles in the size I needed and the rest of the yarn I'll need for the baby afghan. He was very patient while I looked over the knitting books (I couldn't resist). Anyway, I started using the straight needles right away, and it was SO much better. But I did notice that the new needles are slightly bigger than the others of the same size. The knitting is now more regular and a little looser. In the end, I don't think the difference in the first portion and the rest will be noticeable, so I'm just continuing on from here rather than starting again. I don't think I could stand to rip out the 100 rows I've done so far.



While I was at Stash I did pick up a sock book. I bought Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd. I haven't yet delved into sock making but that's next on the agenda. I wanted to get a book and start looking at the particulars and variations and pick out a pattern. I think I have just as much fun looking at patterns and reading about variations and options as I do actually casting on for the next project. I can't wait. Any recommendations on a pattern for a first time sock knitter?

Yarn for Baby Blanket

I didn't say anything about the yarn I am using. It's Dalegarn, aka Dale of Norway yarn (good eye, Sarah). I found it in this nice little yarn shop in Berkeley called Stash. It has limited selection, but what they have is very nice. I've never used Dalegarn before, but I really like the quality of the yarns I have seen. This yarn is called Stork (very appropriate for a baby blanket, so someone knew what they were doing when they named this yarn), is 100% cotton, and cost me $5.00 a skein. I'm using (1) white, (8) pale pink, (3) pale yellow, (5) pale blue (it's green), (6) sky blue, and (7) lavender. Stash is the only yarn store in Berkeley I have access to, since it's only 3 miles away from my apartment, and I don't have a car. Yes, I walked 6 miles for yarn in 95 degree weather and I'll be doing it again next month. Ain't exercise grand?

Baby Blanket

I've decided to stop wasting time trying to get my blog updated with all my old projects. I'm just going to put in what I'm doing now and move on. :)

I am currently obsessed with making a new baby blanket. I liked the pattern on this website:
http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/baby/lace.htm
However, I wanted to use 6 different colors, and I couldn't go against the "grain", so to speak. So I modified it into strips. I started making it with a garter stitch on the sides, but after knitting for way too long, I found the seaming was not going to look the way I wanted. So I pulled out a week's worth of hard work, and I'm sick over it. I'll be using the mattress method for joining, which I haven't used before, so it'll be a nice experiment. Here are my colors: