First the blog news. I’m not sure that this combined blog thing is working. I think I’m going to reanimate Lake City Mommy, but change the name to Kalamazoo Mommy and use that as my personal blog and keep KMK as my knitting blog. So look for the link to the new “Mommy Blog” here in the next day or so. That way people who want to read about my life (friends/family etc) aren’t forced to slog through my knit-talk (though I can’t understand why anybody wouldn’t want to read knit-talk…LOL) and the people who want to read about knitting only, don’t get bogged down in my personal stuff. Of course I strongly encourage everyone to read both as there will definitely be overlap between and b/c I’m just cool like that…tee hee.
As for the other part of the title. I was just watching Knitty Gritty and it was the Annie Modesitt Combo Corset T episode. I’ve seen this episode about three times and the first two were very early in my knitting career. It has always intrigued me as a project, but frankly sounded like gibberish to me. I didn’t understand any of the concepts and watching I thought to myself that this was something I’d never be able to do. Watching it today, though, it all made sense to me. I was watching and I realized that the concepts were ones that I understand well now and I’m definitely adding it to my list of projects to cast on. I have some gorgeous silk that I bought over a year ago in the vain hope that I’d be able to make this one day and now that day is here. I don’t have the time to work on it right now, but I plan to start it as soon as I get the Christmas knitting out of the way, or at least well under way. I have enough silk (two different colors) to make two of these and I have someone in mind for a gift of one for X-mas. I think she will really appreciate it and get wear out of it. So I get to work on it and not blow off X-mas knitting. Yay me!!
I’m having trouble figuring out how to deal with the Magic Loop issue. I really want to start using this method so I can finish my felted bowls (which are on a holder b/c I didn’t have the right size DPN) but I don’t think I have good needles for it. I know the Denise needles are not a good choice b/c the cable is too think for anything but bulky yarns, I have some cheap internet circulars that come in nice long sizes, but the cables are cheap and sucky and they tend to kink and flatten in the position I bend them into. I have a decent collection of Clover circs. that are 36″ and I’m wondering if those aren’t a better choice. I’m really looking for suggestions re: what kind of needles (or kit) are good/great for the ML technique? Thanks.
Watching the Knitty Gritty episode also reawakened my desire to crochet. I haven’t done that in over a year and I want to find a patern that I can work on that’s simple and easy to put down whenever I need to. I’ve never really done much more than a blanket with crochet – sadly, never really thought of it as useful for anything else. I have some patterns, though, from a crochet magazine that I’m going to look through and then search the web a bit for something fun to do.
I have designed my first thing. Nothing big, but I’m still proud. I’m involved in a scarf swap (my first swap, how fun!!!) and I was pouring over patterns for my swap pal, Melinda (who’s a pretty cool chick, btw) and I just couldn’t find anything that I liked, or if I did like it, it didn’t go with the yarns I want to use for her (I’m going for feminine, decadent and a little bit fun and funky). So I’ve come up with a design using some stitch pattern books and I’m getting started on it tonight. Wish me luck.
Knitting for my Sanity 