Rainbow Chills

Sometimes when somebody loves you

Sometimes when somebody loves you
Miracles somehow appear
And there in the warp and the woof is the proof of it
Charlotte's web

There must be something more to us than you and me
It must be tangled up somehow with destiny
I used to think the sum of one and one was two
But we add up to more, me and you

How very special are we
For just a moment to be
Part of life's eternal rhyme
How very special are we
To have on our family tree
Mother Earth and Father Time

Specs:

• Pattern: Charlotte's Web Shawl
• Pattern Source: Knits from Painter's Palette (Koigu single pattern)
• Designer: Maie Landra
• Yarn: Koigu in 5 colors, color codes forthcoming
• Yarn and pattern purchased: at Loop
• Needles: US 7 Knit Picks Options
• Started: February 18, 2008
• Finished: February 28, 2008
• Knit for: my Mom for Mother's Day
• Modifications: I didn't knit any edging on it. I may add something but I doubt it. I will definitely not be adding fringe.
• Notes:

My mom and I went to Loop on MLK day and she fell in love with the shop sample. I have never been a big fan of this shawl because I think the color variegation obscures the lace but my mom just adored it. She's been a crocheter for my whole life but had never stepped foot into a real yarn store before that day and was just bowled over by all of the options. I went to Loop last Monday and took advantage of the President's Day sale and got the yarn and pattern for this. Michelle is doubtful that I'll be able to resist giving this to my mom before Mother's Day but I'm going to try.

Two things made this knit go so quickly-- my love of knitting lace and the joy that is koigu. I really love to knit lace. It's so interesting. I will admit to having a problem in the rows between 30 and 50. I just couldn't get it. I kept ripping back and starting those rows over and over. But after that, I got it and it just flew off the needles. I haven't worked with Koigu in quite a long time. I may have only used it one other time- about 4 years ago for a pair of socks. I really loved knitting this.

I blocked it using my blocking wires. I think I'm doing something wrong with them. I keep reading that blocking wires make things so much faster but I feel like it takes much longer for me. Threading the wires through is a pain. Michelle suggested that perhaps it is taking longer but that I'm doing a better or more thorough job. That's possible. I don't know. Does anyone have any blocking wire words of wisdom?

Thanks for your contest guesses. No one guessed that I was knitting Charlotte's Web, a Koigu pattern that made the rounds about four years ago. Have no fear, there will be more opportunities for winning yarn in the coming months. Michelle and I will be launching our fundraising for the Arthritis Walk on March 1.

Note: All lyrics are from songs in the Charlotte's Web animated movie released in 1973.

Blogiversary and a contest

Five years ago this week, I published my first blog post. An excerpt:

Thursday, February 27, 2003

Hey from Christy. I am new to the blogging world but since I am always looking for a forum in which to write, I thought this was a good one.

I am not your average 20-something lesbian. I do live in a city- close to bars, bookstores, coffee shops and the like. I do love the Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, Jodie Foster, and Kissing Jessica Stein. And I did bring a U-Haul on my second date (or something like that). But I am certainly not your stereotypical softball playing, cargo pant wearing baby dyke. Sometimes though, I wish I were.

I wear skirts, knee boots, and lipstick.

I am partnered at 24. Seriously committed- ceremony and all. We even have the requisite cat. Her name is Lulu and she wears a rainbow collar around her neck. Christy, Michelle and Lulu- the typical lesbian family.

I read. Alot. Libraries everywhere have my picture posted. I am the worst at returning books on time. This week, I am reading The Hidden Life of Otto Frank by Carol Ann Lee. Biographies are not usually my thing but this one is really good and I have a special place in my heart for Anne Frank .

My first blog post about knitting was in June. I think I taught myself to knit in April or May. I took a sock class in June and that was pretty much the beginning of my complete obsession with knitting socks.

I have loved the ways that blogging has enhanced my life over the past five years. I have met great people and learned so much. Thank you for reading and for being a part of this tiny space.

In celebration, I'm having a contest. Two skeins of hand-dyed yarn to the person who can guess which viral knitting project (that is, a project everyone made, that caught on like wildfire) I am currently knitting.

Hints:

• It's one I've never made before.
• There are hundreds of finished projects on Ravelry.
• The pattern was originally published more than a year ago.

Send your guesses to my email at cms519 at yahoo. Everyone with a correct guess will go into a drawing. The winner will be announced on Thursday so get your guess in by Wednesday at 11:59 PM.

Note: If you were there last week when I bought the yarn, you are ineligible for the contest. Sorry!

Blanket

Specs:

• Pure and Simple Baby Blanket
• Source: Easy Knit Baby Blankets by Bev Galeskas
• Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece
• Needles: US 9
• Start date: May 2005
• Finish date: February 2008
• Gifted to: Rachel Louise

Katy gave me this yarn three years ago after I admired her version of this blanket. I'm so glad I have finally finished this.

Relief!

Annetrelac

I picked up some Noro Kureyon sock yarn back on MLK day when I went shopping with my mom. Craig and Laura mentioned that a fellow sock enthusiast at the shop, Martha, was knitting Annetrelac socks with her Noro sock. It sounded like a great idea to me so I cast on about a week or so ago.

I absolutely adore the process. I have never knit Entrelac before and when I realized how much turning was involved, I thought it would annoy me. Nope! I love it. It keeps me engaged in the same way that knitting the Curlicue does. One of the things I like best about these socks is that there's a very clear pausing point. When I get to the end of each level of blocks, I ask myself whether I want to knit another round of blocks or not. I like neat stopping points. (I hate to stop reading in the middle of a chapter, too!)

Specs:

• Pattern: Annetrelac by Sandy Beadle
• Source: Interweave Knits, Holiday 2007
• Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Wood double points in 2.5 mm (did I mention that I got the dpn set for Christmas from Michelle? I love it)
• Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock, colorway 184, lot A

I had a thought when I cast on for the second sock last night to try to make the colors line up but in the end, I just cast on and started knitting. When the colors are this loud, does it really matter if they match? Not to me!

I'm taking sock #2 on our trip. We're heading to Alabama tomorrow to visit our very good friends, Michael and Suz. We're going to meet Rachel whose baby blanket I finished on February 4, her 2nd birthday. I started this blanket in May 2005. Before I knit my Pi Shawl. Before the first of three Curlicue Blankets. I'll take pictures before I give it to her. Stay tuned.

Jody asked me recently if I'd ever again knit another baby blanket. The first thing I need to do is finish the one other blanket I have half finished right now. It's the second of the Moderne Baby Blankets for the twins. I know that it's terrible that Aidan has had his blanket for a year and Jenna still doesn't have hers. Argh. Anyway, after I finish that, I do think I'll continue making baby blankets. Contrary to what this post indicates, I have given blankets to people before the baby has been born in the past. Or, at least gotten it to the parents before the baby can walk around the room carrying the blanket.

I'm crazy, right?

Note: These pictures suck but so does the light here. I miss the sun.

The personal and the political

From time to time, someone will ask me why the legalization of gay marriage is important. There are 1138 federal benefits of marriage. This post by one of my favorite mom-bloggers sheds some light one one of the most recent ways that not being married to her partner Cole has affected their family. Bah.

In my life, the personal is political and vice versa. Today, citizens in 22 states will have the opportunity to have their voices heard. If you live in one of those states, please vote today. VOTE! My vote on April 22 may or may help to decide who the candidate for the Democratic party may be. I'm hoping that many more states will get to vote before a candidate clinches the nomination. I am strongly in favor of a national primary but since that is clearly not a reality right now, please take advantage of having your voice heard if you are lucky enough to live in a state where your primary falls early enough to matter.