Posts Tagged ‘Knitting’

  1. Behold, The Scarf of Madness

    September 12, 2010 by ChiaLynn

    The Scarf of Madness on a Chia

    And my cleavage.

    Last year, I bought two skeins of recycled sari silk yarn at Jeni Originals in Laramie, Wyoming. It’s gorgeous, gorgeous stuff, but it’s also really difficult to work with. It’s thick and thin and thick and thin, and it tears, and it’s fuzzy when you didn’t want it to be, and sometimes it’s so tough it rips your fingers. (This is why NovySan calls it The Yarn of Madness.)

    It sat and glowered color at me for months, and I kept trying different patterns, and it would spit and snarl and refuse, and I’d put it back in the drawer and stare at it periodically…

    And then, I realized that what this beautiful, antisocial yarn needed was a friend. Something to break up the thick, heavy rows it settles into all too easily, and make it shine. “Black,” I thought. “It needs a plain black silk.”

    At first, I intended to knit it double with said black silk, but then I found a pattern for a bias-knit, double garter scarf and realized that this was it.

    And it was.

    And it was good.

    Category Random Babbling | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  2. Fascinating

    September 6, 2010 by ChiaLynn

    These two squares were knitted on the same pair of size 8 circulars, out of the same yarn – and they are not even close to the same size.

    They are, obviously, different patterns – the red and white is a double-garter bias knit, and the blue and white is Ilga Leja’s Shadow Boxes pattern (with an error or two of my own design), and that affects the final gauge. Also, I realized when I finished the red and white that the white yarn is just a teensy bit thicker than the red (or blue) – it’s got a sparkly thread in it that adds a bit of bulk.

    Still, I swear I measured them both at about 8 inches early in the knitting. Now one of them’s a little over, and one of them’s a little under. And that’s one of the things I love about knitting – that unpredictability. It’s maddening, yes, but it means that each and every piece is truly an original.

    Category Random Babbling | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  3. Where to begin?

    April 15, 2010 by ChiaLynn

    I think almost everyone who reads this knows by now that I quit my job last week. Well, I gave notice a month ago, but the 9th was my last day. My energies will now be spent on redefining myself as a freelance writer and solo attorney.

    This week, though, was meant to be a vacation, and it has been. NovySan and I spent Monday at the art museum and the beach; Tuesday, while he was at work, I did a bit of cleaning and a bit of reading and a bit of gardening and a bit of knitting, and it was glorious; yesterday, I planted a few more things and watched Crimson Rivers while he worked on my car.

    And then today, I got the news that I’ve been accepted as a contributor over at Pop Bunker – which doesn’t mean you’ll never be treated (and/or subjected) to one of my movie posts, but does give me another outlet for them.

    And now, I’m taking Boneshaker outside for a bit, then planning to come back in and do some dishes and maybe watch some movies and knit some more. (I’m making myself a Doctor Who-type scarf, with this gorgeous tweed yarn from Knit Picks. Which reminds me – I still owe the world pics of NovySan in his Doctor Who scarf.)

    Category Random Babbling | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

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