The Goodbye California Post

First, goodbye to the Knit Cafe:

Me, Mary, Mary Heather and Suzan on my last night....

The Knit Cafe was one of the first truly wonderful places that I found when I moved to LA last November. During my few months of un- and under-employment I met up with my similarly situated friend Heather to knit and talk for hours on end. After the second time I spent an entire day there, Suzan called and asked if I wanted a job. In February I started working Thursday nights and every other Sunday. In my short time there I have met many wonderful people and enjoyed much good company and conversation. Thursday night was my last night. We had our book group evening, which included wonderful chocolate dessert and a reading by Julie, who has the voice of an angel:

Book group has settled into a routine of no one reading, everyone knitting, Julie reading excerpts aloud, and wonderful food. It's a great new tradition and it made the perfect last night. I'll miss everyone there, especially my fellow staff who are some of the most talented, giving knitters that I know. If you're in the LA area, it is the place to knit. I'm not even going to try to replace it.

I was planning to start and finish one last project before leaving LA, but now I don't think that's going to happen. I started working feverishly on the Chevron Tank by Interweave's Ann Budd (link to free pattern at right), but got side-tracked in the middle of last week by some gorgeous Berroco Suede that I found myself making into a poncho. I let myself knit an entire skein of it before returning to the Chevron Tank, but am now working only on the tank until it is done, which should be very soon. After that I can work on the poncho to my heart's content with little intermissions in which my other WIP's get some much deserved attention. Here's a picture of where I was on the Chevron Tank yesterday morning:

Whoops! I'm still sideways....

It's a very cool pattern, but it is sized rather large (I had to downsize it and I think it my still be a little on the loose side) and the yarn is a bit chunky. I'm withholding judgement until it's all done, because it's possible that the effect will be really unique and something I'll like, but I'm also making plans in my head to re-size and re-guage the pattern next summer for something like Tahki Cotton Classic or Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. It's actually a much simpler design than it appears to be and really lends itself to tinkering, so if you're considering it but would need to adjust the sizing a bit, I'd suggest giving it a whorl. It's very manageable. The yarn, if I didn't mention this before, is Blue Sky Organic Cotton. It's really beautiful in a rustic way. I can see it being great for a cozy cardigan. Here's a closeup of the stitch pattern, the lovely triangular point, and the reverse side, which I think is really cool. And here's a glimpse of the beginnings of my Very Harlot Poncho.

Our plan is to leave LA on Wednesday and drive through Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to New York, where we'll spend a few weeks hanging out in the Adirondack Mountains on Lake George. This is instead of Italy, which we've decided to postpone until next September when we have less chaos in our lives and more financial reserves. Moxie's parents have a house on the Lake which we used to go to at least twice every year when we lived in Chicago. We haven't been there since we left Chicago, so it should be a really wonderful reunion. Sometime near the end of the trip we'll head up to Boston to see his family for a few days and then head down the coast to DC, where we should have a lovely brownstone (rental) awaiting us...

I haven't decided whether I will blog during our transition or not. Sometimes I think I could use a little rest. (smile.) However, I may be so excited at finishing the Chevron Tank that I will post from Lake George. You never know. If not, I will see you all in about a month. Be good and keep knitting. xox J

Who's Behind?

I'll give you one guess, and if you haven't gotten it already, then you are even more behind than I am. Although I haven't posted any pictures, I did pick up Charlotte once in a while this summer and had gotten as far as the second color - very exciting! Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the lace (shocking!) and discovered it late enough in the game that I decided to frog everything. Here's my Charlotte now:

Yes, I do realize that is just a pile of yarn...

I know that the "fix" need not have been so drastic. At the Knit Cafe I fix far more serious snafus all the time. But I was feeling a bit dramatic, I was ready to get some projects off of my needles (apparently any way that I could - I finally frogged Open Praerie, too), and I had determined that Charlotte was (and is) a high-maintenance girl. She needs attention. You can't just casually shrug off Charlotte for months and then expect her to behave. So I've decided to tackle her anew at a later date when I can focus on Charlotte and Charlotte alone and do her all in one stretch. This may well take place in January, as Charlotte is a spring knit in my mind, but I leave it open to my own whims. Fear not, she will be completed! And as a bonus, I have stuck to my promise of a true Knit-Behind.

Others have not been so gracious, but have instead been stitching away diligently and flaunting their beautiful work. I last posted on the Charlotte's Web Knit Behind about three months ago, so there has been much activity. (Re-read that last post if you want to dust off the cobwebs... pun intended.)

Jessi is finished, but this is where I have to admit to not understanding Live Journal. I can't find anything. It turns me into an inept computer boob. If she hadn't sent me the link herself there's no way I could have searched it out. Embarrassing. Does this mean I'm getting old?

I can't figure out if Ang is behind or ahead, but this Charlotte is one that she made this summer. I found and it's cool, so you get to see it. I love the Morehouse Merino she used. Very subtle. Ang has some other wonderful lace projects going on in the present. I recommend checking her blog out if you haven't already.

Abby is also done and her Charlotte is almost as beautiful as her paintings, which I love.

Tiffany the bloody princess is finished and just recently conquered a last errant stitch. Go read about her exploits. It's always good to know how other people trouble shoot. I'll reveal my geekiness - these are my favorite knitting entries.

Else is done and sent me some beautiful pictures a few months ago which got lost when I cleaned out my e-mail attachments folder. I've requested replacements, so if she forgives me and sends them along, I'll update this post to incorporate them. Heck, I'll give the woman her own post. She deserves it. For now you'll just have to take my word for it that her Charlotte is fabulous.

Lee Ann aka Uncle Leona: Here's where some stunning photography skills come in handy folks. My god what a gorgeous picture! Every time I see one like this I go to my needles! (Well, at least for a row or two.)

Maggie completed her Charlotte and found another one of those cool, distressed wood fences to photograph it on. Where do you people find those? I'm I the only one who doesn't have one?

Natalia finished Charlotte last month and took some really great close-ups of the lace. Another geeky Julia thing - I love details, especially for lace. It helps to see what you're aiming for.

Morgan is our most recent finisher. She's teasing us all by waiting to post pictures. Keep checking back at her blog to see the newest Charlotte in all her glory.

The ever colorful Caryn finished a beautifully colorful Charlotte for a friend. Quite a gift, yes? Here's her pal Emily sporting the finished product at a wedding.

Ricki is making more versions of Charlotte than I can imagine or keep count of. I'm putting her in the "done" pile for this post, because if you go to her site you'll find many Charlottes and some are complete. This one is headed for blocking. Ricki, when you are *really* done you will just have to let me know!

Finally, several knitters are making great progress: Maggi, Larissa (in pure white - pretty cool), Monica and Laurie (scroll way down).

Whew! That's eleven new Charlottes finished this summer for a total of 19 completed. We have 58 knitters signed up, so if even a fraction of us finish, there are quite a lot of Charlottes to look forward to. I'll update you again in another 3 months. Perhaps by then I will have made some progress!

New Entry, I Promise!

Alright, I know that it looks like deja vu, but really there is something new here. I've updated the honeymoon gallery to add Abigail, Sharon, and of, course, myself! I now have 33 distinct honeymoons in the gallery - pretty cool!

We're getting ready for our move to DC, so in these last few days I'm attempting to clean up old business on the blog. I'm updating the gallery and hopefully posting on the Charlotte's Web Knit-Behind (I know it's a Knit-Behind, but I owe you guys an entry). I have this terrible suspicion that I have forgotten to add someone to the honeymoon gallery, so if it's you, please send me a note ASAP, and I will get you in there. Otherwise, it's going to be a while!

P.S. For others who are planning stripey projects that would otherwise require weaving in lots of ends, go check out fellow Pretty Posey Angela's solution to color changes. She made a really cute scrappy baby vest and got great results by simply twisting her ends up the side. It's like magic!

Anouk Scraps

Once one is finished with Anouk there's the obvious question - what to do with the scraps?

I made the largest size for Anouk in the pattern - 18 months. It calls for 4 skeins of the orange color and then one skein each of green, red and purple, of which significantly less than a skein of yarn is used. I had a skein and a half of the orange leftover and a lot of the other colors, too. This yarn is so great, that you just simply can't let it go to waste. So, I re-worked my honeymoon pattern so that it was tighter with less dramatic decreases and increases at the waist, incorporated a plain ribbing, and changed the top by making 4 V's rather than doing the armholes differently. (You simply seperate the V's all at once rather than doing the armholes further up - I'll write it out eventually for those who need the guidance). The result was that the armholes look neater and fit more closely. Plus, I think it uses slightly less fabric - voila!

I had many a scary moment where I thought that I might run out of yarn, but in the end it worked out. The only downside, was all the ends that needed to be woven in:

The V's alone had 128 loose ends - yes, I did count them! - which was a lot for a little tank. Still, I think the result is worth it. This is a piece I really will get some use out of. Especially since it is not my normal color scheme. It adds a little umph to my cream and blue wardrobe.

What's that? You wanted to see Anouk?

We all know I aim to please....