En garde

I've used today to finish up some writing elsewhere about the out-of-state event I was at the past five days, so today you get a cat doing battle with a knitting needle.



I know, I'm scraping here.

Questions

Some queries while I work on a scarf but have nothing worth writing about it...

I've noticed that my Knit Picks Options US 7s are looking a little tarnished. Is this normal wear and tear, or is this a flaw with the needles? I know I know at least a few of you also own these needles.

I haven't added any Ravelry groups in forever. Any absolutely worth keeping tabs on?

Knitting blogs worth reading?

DIY

Would you ever make your own double pointed needles?

I understand that knitters take pride in what they can create with their own hands, but this seems to me like one of those situations in which you'd be better off spending a few dollars more to have something manufactured. Talk about the potential for gauge inconsistencies.

I'm skeptical that one would have most of the supplies on hand, but maybe it's just me. Only an additional buck to fashion your own needles from pre-cut dowels, though?

Now that's a needle

Oh look, it's another story about how knitting is gaining in popularity due to the economy. Well, it is one of those stories and isn't. The story begins that way, but then it transitions into something else.

Apparently there's a shop in the Cleveland area that sells enormous needles and crochet hooks. We're talking US 35s and 50s.

It's too bad that the only picture on the site showing someone holding the needles is in the big stitch knitting header. Photos of the tools on their own don't convey how huge these things are. Almost the size of baseball bats? Inconceivable!

Women's work

Blogging about the 1975 film Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles seems better suited to another place I write, but here it is nonetheless.

I'm guessing most of you haven't heard of it, let alone seen it. There are good reasons for that. From what I've read, it's never been distributed on home video in the United States. Also, it's 201 minutes of long takes of a widowed mother of one doing domestic work, often in real time (or long enough for it to seem as such). One other thing...she also brings one john into her home each afternoon.

It's a highly regarded film, particularly among feminist academics, and it's easy to understand why. Essentially Jeanne Dielman documents the mundane life of the housewife and the affect it has on her. The soul-crushing length and tedium is the point. For example, when Jeanne rises in the morning, we see a lengthy, unbroken shot of her making the coffee, getting the table ready for her son's breakfast, and shining his shoes. However long it took to do it as how long the static camera stares at Delphine Seyrig, the actress whose terrific performance is critical to the film.

Anyway, this was not a place where I expected to see knitting, but there's some quality knitting time in this art film. On the first day Jeanne gets out the sweater she's making for her son and knits awhile. If only she spent as much time knitting in the film as she devotes to some of the other household chores. (She knits briefly again on the second night.) Of course, knitting makes sense as something to have her doing because practically everything the character does could be marginalized as women's work.

Jeanne's needles fascinated me because they looked like those I commented on when writing about that B-movie with an extended sequence of knitting. The straight needles appeared to have metal tips kind of like Knit Picks Options, but the rest of each needle looked like flimsy plastic or something that gained a curve with use. Were these de rigueur in the '70s?

There's one other knitting-related scene. As a knitter I say the scene is too brief, which is not a complaint I imagine gets leveled at a slowly paced film nearly three and half hours long. You see, there's one scene where she goes to a yarn shop to find the right yarn that she needs to finish the sweater. (She is probably visiting a craft store as it looks like bolts of fabric are in the background, but that's close enough.) I'm embarrassed to say that this scene passed for some serious excitement for me. Then again, this is a movie in which tension is found in a scene of Jeanne peeling potatoes.

If I sound dismissive of the film, I'm not. I liked it, perhaps more than I expected considering the imposing running time. It works as intended and lives up to its reputation. Nevertheless, I'm well aware that most of you would consider it to be pretty boring, but then again, it's unlikely you'll run across it anyway.

Look, it's knitting

Was tonight the first time I've knitted in June? It's hard to believe, but I think so. What a month.

I can't say that I got much done because a) the Chevron Stripes Hand Towel from Mason-Dixon Knitting is not something I'm fast on and b) I discovered that one of the aluminum needles is bent. Whether it was that way when I picked them up is uncertain. I was tense, so is it possible I bent it in the course of knitting and purling?

I assume that the stitches knitted on this bent needle will be fine, but I've stopped because it is a little awkward to use.

With the time that this project is going to take and a WIP blanket that's been languishing, it's clear that I need some instant gratification knitting.

The dishwasher and the delivery

An entry in the infrequent but recurring series "Things I Love About My New Apartment":

-A dishwasher

I enjoy cooking, but I hate cleaning. I'm sorry to say that in my dishwasher-free apartment I lived up to the single man stereotype of a sink full of dirty dishes and kitchenware. I didn't feel good about it, but apparently I didn't feel bad enough about it to clean the stuff before mold made an appearance. It's shameful. Those days are behind me, though, as I bask in the wonder that is the dishwasher. OK, so the first time I flooded my kitchen floor not unlike Bobby Brady and the washing machine, but we'll chalk that up to inexperience. No longer do I wait until I've run out of plates or until the stack in the sink starts to smell. (Sadly, that's not an exaggeration for comedic effect.) Thanks to this glorious invention I am a reformed man on the matter of kitchen cleanliness.

-Package acceptance at the rental office

This is what spurred today's topic. I arrived home and found a sticky note from UPS on my door. They tried to deliver a package to me, but I wasn't there to sign for it. No worries. The delivery person dropped it off at the rental office, an option I didn't have at my last place. No more hassles of needing to be home at the right time or having to go to the shipping company's office. This isn't an issue except when awards season kicks into high gear. Then the packages requiring signature confirmation arrive regularly.

Earlier today I read that Fox Searchlight is already sending awards screeners, although I didn't think I was high enough on the list to be getting them yet. My birthday is in a couple days, so most likely this unexpected package was a birthday gift. Whatever the case, I love getting mail. I located the box with my name on it and knew from the address that it was a present. Since my birthday isn't until Friday, the package sits unopened until the big day.

Nah, just kidding. Of course I opened it, although I knew what was inside before slicing the packing tape and prying open the cardboard lid. The return address was a giveaway. My parents sent me the Knit Picks Options needle set. (Rather, I should say that my mom sent it as my dad probably has no idea what gift they gave.) I can't wait to begin knitting with them, and I have a project (or projects) in mind. I want to make log cabin blankets from Mason-Dixon Knitting for Christmas gifts.

Continuing ed

The secret project is in full swing. Already it has been an educational experience.

I'm knitting from a pattern in a book. The secret project seemed like something I considered within my abilities even if it's calling for learning some crochet. The listed materials are the author's fancy-schmancy yarn, but I knew I could find the equivalent at a local store.

I questioned the number of rows that should be worked for ending on a wrong side row--the book listed an odd number--but I figured that knitting one more or one less wouldn't present a problem. Upon reaching that point, I learned two things.

First, the yarn I am using is not giving me the gauge called for in the pattern. The width is as it should be (or close enough), but I have to knit a couple extra rows to match gauge. (Moving down a needle size might have been enough to obtain it.) By the time I realized this I decided that I liked the way everything looked, so who cares if I have to knit more? I should have plenty of yarn to get the job done and would rather not start over.

Now it's time for me to confess my dirty secret. I have never knit a gauge swatch. Not one. I probably haven't made anything so far where it's mattered, but I am aware that this could get me in trouble down the line. I like knitting plenty. I'm not wild about pointless knitting, which is what most swatch knitting strikes me as being. I'm willing to listen if I'm way off target, though.

Second, I shouldn't automatically assume that a pattern in a book is error-free. Indeed, the number of rows to be knit was incorrect. It should have been an even number, as the corrections page on the author's website stated. Although it's probably a fluke that the last two book patterns I've attempted have had mistakes--and this latest one was fairly apparent, even to me--I have learned that it doesn't hurt to check the publisher's site before beginning.

I was knitting the secret project on straights, but as I went along, it seemed like circular needles would be more sensible. I got the proper circs and knit the secret project onto them. Sure enough, it will be easier to manage the secret project on circular needles and easier on my wrists when I've knit a significant amount.

After knitting socks almost exclusively for the past month or so, it's nice to use some bigger needles. The US 9s felt unusually large at first, but I like that the project is taking shape quickly.

I would be remiss in posting today if I didn't pass along my thanks for this dishcloth.

Jennifer made it for me as a housewarming gift. For as many dishcloths as I've made, I could use some for myself. This will be quite handy. She did a great job with the colors. Actually, it's a perfect match of my high school's colors. Thanks Jennifer!

Apropos of nothing, although maybe I can tie it to my personal reading history post, take a look at this pizza box.

You see the spelling error, right?

Gauging progress

Just so that we're clear, I'm not that far along on my first "big" sock. My talk of starting another pair of socks was about my eagerness to have multiple projects on the needles, not an indication that I'm close to finishing what you see above. I couldn't start another pair if I wanted because apparently my Knit Picks order, placed Monday, is still "in process". One word: boo!

Call it buyer's/knitter's remorse, but I'm a little worried that I might not like how these socks look when they're finished. The variegated yarn is creating slanted circles that may look silly. They'll feel great, but if I'm too embarrassed to wear them...

I have encountered a question of gauge and knitting needles to which I have not found a satisfactory answer but which has not kept me from pushing forward. I'm using Takumi bamboo US 6 dpns; however, unlike all other US 6s I've come across, the gauge is given as 4.25 mm rather than 4 mm. I'm working from the assumption that this will not create a problem. I just find it curious that apparently there's no standardization from one manufacturer to another.

The screening schedule and energy-draining arctic conditions in my office have bitten into my knitting time, but I'm ready to make serious headway on these socks. In an IM chat with my mom, I told her that I'm knitting socks. Her response was, "Hmmm." She followed with "Hope they're soft." Like the rest of my family, I think she still has no idea what to make of this knitting hobby that's taken hold of me.