the Akamai Knitter

I joined the masses and dived in head first (no pun intended) into the Koolhaas knitting frenzy. Within two days, I was able to finish a man’s hat.

Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood

Yarn: Swish  in Jade from Knit Picks

Needles: Size 6US/4.0mm and size 8US/5.0mm

Started: February 3, 2008

Finished: February 4, 2008

Size: Men’s

Despite the needle gymnastics I went through, this was really fun to knit. It was easy to get into a comfortable rhythm with the pattern. I was able to clip along at a steady and even pace.

The yarn was soft and willing to yield to the twists and turns I demanded of it. (What with not using a cable needle and all.) Hopefully, the recipient of this hat will find it warm and cozy as well.

I am a little worried that the hat will be too big. Since I don’t have much experience with the size of most men’s heads, I plan on taking it along with me to Aloha Knitters on Thursday to get a consensus. It’s just a little over 9 inches in height if that tells you anything.

Despite my concerns over the size of this hat, I’m already thinking of knitting another one in preparation for next Christmas. That would let me chalk up two scores to my name for A Loose Knit Group, whose project for this month is hats.

Ahh. The heady smell of accomplishment is sweet and these small projects sure do give me a high! :)

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So the Patriots didn’t win. As much as I wanted them to have that perfect season, the weekend wasn’t a complete disaster.

There was college basketball.

There was good food.

(Bulgogi, namul, and an island favorite, macaroni salad.)

There was hat knitting.

(Koolhaas by Jared Flood.)

There was stole knitting.

(Japanese Feather Stole by Anne Hanson.)

And there was the comforting presence of felines.

Like I said, it wasn’t a complete disaster. :-)

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At last! The gloves are finished!

Pattern: Annemor #11 from Selbuvotter by Terri Shea

Yarn: Knitpicks Palette in Marine Heather and Cream

Needles: size 2US/2.75mm Knitpicks Harmony Circulars

Started: 12/26/07

Finished: 1/25/08

No modifications.

I cannot tell you how happy I am that these are done. Did you see the fingers? All done. No more fingers. Did you know I hate knitting fingers? I might have mentioned it, but it bears repeating. I hate it. Yup. Hate it.

The thumbs I don’t mind so much. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with thumbs. Not so with the fingers. They seem to go on forever. Even though the thumbs on these gloves seem enormous, there were still only two to do. Much more manageable then eight long fingers.

Did I mention the thumbs are ginormous?

Other then that I did enjoy the knitting. The pattern is beautiful. I loved doing the back of the hand. I loved the cuff. That part of the glove knitted up quickly and painlessly.

In fact, I’m thinking of throwing on a pair of mittens on the needles. Mittens have no fingers. Only thumbs. Like I said, I can handle thumbs. Thumbs are manageable.

Hrm. Mittens.

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I’ve been attacked by a viscous virus known as Second Glove Syndrome. Hetty knows of that which I speak.

I started in enthusiastically as most knitters do when embarking on a new project. Then I got to the fingers. Pesky fingers. Still, I muddled my way through them. That is until I got to the thumb.

Do you see a finished thumb?

No. You don’t.

I let that glove sit and languish for well over a two weeks and Christmas is soon becoming nothing but a distant memory. I let distractions get in the way of the goal line. There were socks, earrings, and there was even a new camera.

In desperation, I joined a group in the hopes it would motivate me. The thing is, if you don’t ask for help then you probably won’t get it and I just couldn’t muster the courage to ask.

So I settled in and had a little talk with myself. It basically went something like this:

“Friend has cold hands. Friend need gloves. Finish gloves.”

“I don’t want to finish gloves. I hate knitting fingers.”

“Friend need gloves.”

“I hate fingers.”

“Friend need gloves.”

“Can I at least cut her fingers off first?”

That went well. Don’t you think?

So I let it go and knit sleeves until I finally got so disgusted with this albatross around my neck that I threw the second glove on the needles, thus bypassing the thumb. I figured I’d deal with fingers and thumbs another day.

Unfortunately for me, the body of the glove went by rather quickly.

Argh. Time to bite the bullet and knit fingers.

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It’s a dark and dreary day here in Hawaii. A perfect day for staying in and curling up with my knitting. Before I get to that I thought I’d share a Scheyer update.

It’s our second week with him and he’s actually let us pet him! I cannot tell you how ecstatic I am. It took all I had not to squeal with excitement, which would have totally scared him off into hiding for another week. Let me tell you, this boy has quite the purr box.

Scheyer is very much the night owl. Luckily, I am too and I managed to get a better shot of him as he looked warily on.

In the midst of all this kitten love, there has been knitting. I managed to finish off the three-colored gloves and start another pair.

(Since it’s been such a cloudy day I had to use the OTT Lite for these craptacular pictures.)

Pattern: Annemor #8 from Selbuvotter by Terri Shea

Yarn: Knitpicks Palette in Blush and Cream; Knitpicks Essential in Grass

Needles: Size 2US / 2.75mm

Started: 12/11/07

Finished: 12/26/07

While I really like the results of working with the three colors, I doubt I’ll be trying this again anytime soon. I had a hard time maneuvering the three different yarns with my two hands and it really disrupted my rhythm. This really frustrated me.

I think it also skewed my tension as these came out a lot smaller then my other gloves. I’m hoping that blocking will stretch them out a little. I’m going to have to wait for the atmosphere to dry up (it is very humid here, ick) before I block them though.

As soon as these were off the needles, I threw another pair on.

These are also from the book Selbuvotter. I actually finished the hand while at knit group last night, but when I came home I noticed I left out a crucial part of the design on one side. I just couldn’t live with that, so I ripped it all out.

It wasn’t even that painful since I’m having so much fun with them. Since I have to wait before I can put in an order more glove and mitten yarn, I see this as a chance to give to do more of what I love until more precious supplies arrive.

At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. The other half of my brain is wondering if I could possibly start the Wing O’ The Moth this weekend. That yarn I got for Christmas is really calling me.

I have a litany of justifications as to why it would be perfectly reasonable to cast on. Besides, how much harm could it be to have a weekend project for me? This is supposed to be my hobby after all, not a job.

I see yarn winding in my future.

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