FO: Sushi Wallet

Yarn and Pattern: Sushi Wallet kit by Pick Up Sticks
Purchased at: The Knit and Crochet Show, Oakland CA 9/30/07
Needles: Clover Size 10 Straights
Lining: Britex Fabrics, San Francisco, CA (from stash)
Beads and findings: General Bead, San Francisco, CA (from stash)

Notes:

Unable to decide between the "mini sushi" and "maxi sushi" versions, I did a little bit of both, embellishing the sushis with orange and yellow beads (like the roe that sometimes tops sushi). I actually decided to make lots of sushis in one go for future wallets and in case of felting weirdness. There is plenty of yarn included in the kit, so go nuts with the sushi.

I always line bags, however small, so I chose a kinda-coordinating fabric from stash and went to town. The final addition was the bead-charm zipper pull. When I found the "sorta looks like sushi" one in my stash, I swooned.

It was a fast, fun project. The kit would make a great gift for a knitter, and the FOs nice gifts for your friends. Roomy enough for a little evening clutch, methinks.

Cape-d'oh!

Did you know that I got an A in 11th grade geometry? This is the only math class in which I got anything higher than a C. In fact, I am sure I earned (yes, earned) a D at some point in some horrific math class. I had to drop out of Pre-Calculus senior year to avoid an F.

Despite that solitary A, there is apparently one fact of geometry which eludes me: pentagons have five sides. This is how I know Norah Gaughan is a scientist. She knows pentagons have five sides and designed her capecho accordingly.

This is why, when I cavalierly took out one pentagon in the top row of my capecho to make it smaller (thus more fitted), I failed to realize just how drastically I was throwing off the configuration of the lower row and, thence the sleeves.

I still think I can save it. It might look weird and be a bed jacket forevermore, but as soon as I take it out of the naughty basket, (a) I will take pix, as damning and laughable as they may be; and (b) try to fix it.

In the meantime, I will finish up my Sushi Wallet (felted and awaiting zipper and sushi sewing-on), continue on the Cap Shawl (pic below) and promise never ever again to bend the laws of geometry.

The Weekend in Pictures

I went to the Knit and Crochet Show in Oakland this weekend. It was momentous not only because I took Friday off for the occassion, but also because it was the one exception I made to my yarn fast. I fully expected to gorge myself on all the yummy yarn I could stuff into the ginormous goodie bags we were given -- there were plenty of opportunities to do so -- but I did pretty well. I bought only things I really wanted, after thinking about them carefully. All but the laceweight are for projects I had been kicking around for a while. [ETA: Oooh, I just figured out what to knit with the laceweight! Muir. Totally.]



Back: 4 skeins of Rio de la Plata, hand-dyed, handspun wool from Uruguay (for Adult Surprise Jacket)

Right: Two skeins of Argosy Zen 4 Ply, hand-dyed cashmere (for feather and fan scarf of my own devising - kinda like the chevron scarf concept, but lacier). The lone greenie behind them is a ball of Moda Dea washable wool, the one gem from the goodie bag. I am going to use it in the Knitted Ruana from Folk Shawls.

Left: Weavette hand-held loom

Center-ish: Sushi Wallet Kit, Yarn Place "Graceful" Laceweight in a subtly variegated green.

Front: Unfortunately you can't see these too well. These are Abalone shell buttons, one of which is destined for my Capecho. I couldn't decide between them, so got both.



The three tweedy hanks are Peruvian Tweed, 100% alpaca, light worsted, for a Pi Are Square Shawl. I got tons, actually, so there is at least one other project in there too. On top of them are a hank of Tilli Tomas "Rock Star" with glass beads, and a hank of Tilli Tomas "Pure and Simple," both going into my Knitted Ruana. The needles are Asciano rosewood, handmade and absolutely gorgeous. I am saving them for the cashmere f&f scarf. On the plate are antique pewter buttons for my Juno sweater, a Gita Maria sheep shawl pin, and an Abalone/ebony shawl pin.

I also had classes on Friday (Fine Finishing with Nancie Wiseman) and Sunday (Disaster Recovery with JC Briar). Both were excellent. I had never taken a knitting class before, and being a self-taught knitter, I had a lingering belief that there was no knitting skill I couldn't teach myself if I wanted or needed to do so. However, there is something about being in a classroom setting that forced me to do things step by step, and not try to devise shortcuts for doing things by the book. I found I got better results than I might have done on my own. I also found that I have a little more confidence and less resentment about finishing things properly, now that I have seen for myself that it can be done, and isn't as painful as I imagined. The excellent results are worth the additional effort.

Among other things, the Disaster Recovery class inspired me to finally recondition some yarn I'd frogged a few months back. It is the Andean Silk I am using for my Capecho. I doubt I will need it for the Capecho, but it would be a nice addition to the Knitted Ruana when I get to that.