really, I don't or, rather, haven't. hence the absence. there's been little to no knitting in the last month. that isn't entirely true, there's been 'halted knitting' which doesn't make for much blog fodder. I can also blame being busy and lazy at the same time (trust me, it's very confusing being me), I mean everyday I wake up not knowing what day it is. it took me an hour or two before it hit me it's thursday not tuesday. (oh look at that, it's the 21st. crap.) or I can blame feeling pretty bitter (makes sense doesn't it) about certain things and not wanting to come here and rant. don't get me wrong, I've had some awesome things happen this year, but with that also comes some negativity that I'm pretty tired of. so maybe this is all a long winded way of saying "I'm tired!".

anywho, let's talk about that pile-o-knits on my kitchen table:

this poor shawl has been 'mid-tink' since July or some nonsense like that. I finally put it out of it's misery earlier this week. I don't feel too bad about it since it's basically been sitting next to my t.v. since summer and I don't think I ever loved the yarn to begin with. the colors are great but the yarn turned my needles and hands purple! I washed the yarn in cold water and it just kept on bleeding. needless to say this yarn won't be headed back into my stash. I already chose what yarn I'm going to try it in next time, now I just need to find the time.

oh puffy sleeved cardi, how I love thee! I felt like I was about to run out of yarn on this one so I stopped mid-row frustrated and have been ignoring it ever since (it's been a month and counting). there is hope though, I found out I can get more yarn soon. let's keep our fingers crossed.

hats are the bane of my existence and I'm not sure why. I can knit sweaters, lace, socks etc but hats?! there's always something wrong with them or they take me forever. I finished the yak hat (no pics) that turned out way too big for me, but luckily it fits the boyfriend. now he wants another hat, with a tighter fit and thicker for skiing. this is where the double knit hat above comes in. sounds good right? but, there's always a but:

1. I hate the green yarn I'm using (nashua creative focus worsted), it's the thing sweaty hands are made of.
2. I couldn't get into the right knitting rhythm so my hands were hurting a lot at the beginning.
3. It takes twice as long as a regular hat....duh.
4. Every time I work on it I hear "I hope it fits!" coming out of the peanut gallery. bastard.

it'll get done soon since we're planning on skiing around new year's. I swear though, this will be the last hat I knit!

I promise I'll post again tomorrow! I have an fo and some awesome knitted gifts I need to show off. there's the rest of that pile too!

Posted by bitter purl at 01:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

this weekend was way too short, so short in fact that I lounged around and didn't do much yesterday! mostly because I was so tired from hanging out with leah (we didn't want the fun to end! well that and I dragged the poor girl all over philly in the cold).

this is pretty much all the sock knitting I did between friday and monday, I was that close to getting another pair done for socktober. oh well, maybe I'll work on it when Angela comes to hang out. unfortch, I think I already have to undo that meager progress because maybe I kinda, sorta, perhaps picked up the wrong needles. oops

I love the little collar

I would have those socks done if I wasn't so enamoured with this little jacket. it's a short sleeve puff sleeve blouse/cardi from stef's upcoming book - I get a little preview since a) we're good friends and b) I'm going to let her borrow it as a sample model. nope, I don't feel any pressure at all! my stitches are juuuuussst fine. this is knit on 6's (4mm) and uses about 800 yards I think - I happen to have just enough yarn I'm trying out for the store in the right weight. the yarn is a wool/cashmere/angora blend which is making a cozy knit. I was worried about the angora content, but so far so good. There's a little bit of flying angora, though nothing has been making me sneezy or itchy.

I don't know how much of the finished sweater I can show, once I get there I'll check with stef. I bet this will be a fast knit (words of doom).

another sample I'm lucky enough to play with is this pumpkin color yak. yeah.100% yak dude. it's so freaking soft, especially after you wash it. the resulting fabric is buttery with a nice drape. this knits up to worsted or aran weight (5.5mm, 4.5 spi, 100gr/165yds) and I think it's destined to become a hat (probably from lmkg). I've been helping the company with color and price suggestions, but I wanted to ask you guys what a comfortable price point would be for you. like I said, I think of this as aran weight, it comes in a 100gr hank, and it's a luxury fiber up there with cashmere - how much do you think a hank should be? here's another picture for you if that helps.

sorry this post seems to be going all over the place, but I'm currently hiding from all the kids looking for candy. I even went out to dinner tonight just to avoid them. I feel like I'm in training to be that crotchety neighbor all the kids avoid. ("that's where old bitter purl lives, I wouldn't go there!") but I'm nice to knitters...

sometimes.

TAKEN!

think of this as my litte treat for you - or my monday give away.....on tuesday. yeah. that's it.
so if anyone would like a bunch of db yarns, just let me know in the comments. all I ask is for you to pay shipping.

and you even get a random halloween link that has nothing to do with knitting- a halloween history. I especially love 2004.

happy halloween!

Posted by bitter purl at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (48)