Pages

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Ready....Set....Knit!

Halloween was quiet Chez Quimby last night. Mr.Q had a gig, I stayed home and kept the cats in until the fireworks and hollering died down outside. I did wear a costume for work, and of course neglected to take a photo of the whole get-up. I got one of my face with my phone camera:


What you can't see are the curly tail and tufted ears that I was quite proud of, thankyouverymuch! Or the bits of feather stuck to my shirt and gloves. It was great fun walking around swiping and hissing at students who hadn't done their homework. And purring when I got petted. Mrrroww!

But no parties or hooliganism for me. I stayed home, watched a DVD, and blasted through some more Christmas knitting. Which I am now putting away for the month of November, since I am clearly crazy and have decided to do this:


Some time ago, Mr.Q absolved me from making him more socks for awhile, if I would knit him a sweater. Again with the clearly-crazy thing, I decided that I could think of nothing more fun than knitting a sweater for a hulking Viking. NaKniSweMo is probably the only chance I have of getting a decent start on the thing. I'm not necessarily expecting to get it done in a month (though of course my competitive nature may have something to say about that!) but I'm hoping that I'll at least get enough done that I'll be motivated to plow through and finish it in time for Christmas.

(Along with, you know, all that other Christmas knitting I've assigned myself. Because clearly, I am a certifiable wingnut.)

Anyhoo. After I finish a few odds and ends this morning, and fortify myself liberally with coffee & Baileys, bought specially for the occasion, I am going to cast on and get down to business. I'm going to take a whole pile of this:



And see if I can't turn it into this. I did a swatch last night, and...ummm...well, it's going to be a fine, rugged outerwear sweater. And the yarn's not too bad to knit with - a lot better than I'd expected, actually. But I have been really spoiled with The Good Stuff lately, and Malabrigo, it is not. This is Real Wool - sturdy, a bit rough, and sheepy-smelling. A back-to-the-roots kind of thing. I'm feeling kind of pioneer-y or something. Yeah, that's it. A regular Laura Ingalls Wilder, except with central heating and Harmony circs and a Bodum. And no corset, that's important, too.

Alrighty, then. I do think the coffee's ready...awa we gae!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

you make a loverly kitty and I love the sweater you are knitting for the viking hulk!

yarnpiggy said...

I thought the daily blogging thing was hard (and yes, I'm continuing it for November)...you are craaaaaaazy.

Wanna ride to the Grind tomorrow? Maybe go a wee bit early and score a good table? I'm willing to smack some scrapbookers around if need be.

tammy said...

Nice pattern, most excellent Canadian yarn, 30 days to get it done. Why do I suddenly want to sing that Jerry Reid song from Smoky & the Bandit? 'We got a long way to go, and a short time to get there. We gonna do what they say can't be done!'

You go girl!

Anonymous said...

You make a beautiful cat!
Dad

Rabbitch said...

That's a nice sweater!

No, I am not doing NaNoWriMo *or* NaNoKniMo this year. I'm only just starting to get my sanity back; that would push me over the edge.

Arctic Knitter said...

Nice Sweater choice! I'm too going to try this NoKniSweMo craziness. Of course - dutifully cast on, worked a pattern repeat, made mistake, ripped out, checked size - too big. Damned gauge.

Thank God for Coffee!

Tiny Tyrant said...

I joined too in the hopes of finishing my husband's Cobblestone this decade.

Stella said...

I like that sweater! I hope you don't mind if I attempt to make the same one for the boy. Got some really nice wool from the farmer's market last year. He's been hinting at a wool sweater for a while. I had previously knitted him an acrylic sweater.

"Ah.... if this sweater was wool, I wouldn't catch on fire." Excuse me, but do you plan on jumping through fire hoops in the near future?

I wish you luck for NaNoKniMo. I might attempt the same thing, but not officially. Still in my selfish knitter phase.