Vida is muerta.

Or at least crooked. The needle layed across the front shows how crooked it is. Yikes!

How did this happen? Could it be the reverse stockinette? I am scratching my head. I rinsed it in water and blocked it but I am not convinced that will solve my problem. I am going to query the KnitList. They know just about everything about knitting. (Amazing wealth of knowledge on that listserv.) And I really don’t want to start the front if I have to change something dramatic to make it symmetrical.

I bought some sale yarn from elann.com this week. This Highland Peruvian Wool (in Dusky Purple and Wisteria) is for my first French Market Bag (free pattern here). I have been wanting to try felting for a long time now, but I think my block has been a lack of a washing machine that I can control (I use the machines in my condo).

I know I can hand-felt but the machine looks a lot easier. So in a couple of weeks I am going to R.I. to see my parents, and celebrate my mother’s 70^th b’day, so I am going to try it out on her machine. Now the pressure to get the back knit in time. I also hope the colors aren't too subtle. I didn't want to the obnoxious color-scheme route because this bag is kind of large.

There is a nice gallery of finished bags here. Too bad the blog owner isn't still posting finished pics.

I also bought Berocco “Hip Hop” on sale for $5.25 a skein. I love the colorway of this yarn, my pictures don’t do it justice. I might try felting a swatch of this to see what happens to the colors, if they melt together in an interesting way, or not.

Fun in D.C.

Yesterday was Smithsonian day. It’s Folklife Festival time here in D.C. and I had more fun than I thought I would. I did my regular volunteering gig in the morning at the Freer Gallery and stuck around, got some lunch – ugh, 30 minutes in the Mekong Delta food line – which took the edge off the maddening food line, and hung around to listen to some live folk music.

I heard some great bluegrass (Whitetop Mountain Band) and got my fill of all types of Irish music including my favorite Highland pipes. Robert Watt was great and very dramatic with his bald head and funky glasses. Four Guys and a Dog were great, too, go see them if you can. Fun, lively, toe-tapping, people out on the dance floor, they had the tent rocking.

Will pie be the next big thing?

I went to see "The Waitress" yesterday afternoon – our office closed at 3 o’clock for the long weekend. After getting past Felicity (Keri Russell) playing a troubled, depressed woman, and Jeremy Sisto as an abusive husband, I ended up really liking this movie.

It’s not the Southern chick flick that you might think. But it was moving and honest and the characters were interesting. Including Andy Griffith who was great.

I wonder if this movie is going to make pie the next big thing?

And I watched "Roman Holiday" last night, too. Such a cute movie. And Gregory Peck is the sexiest man ever.

Knitting progress

So here is the progress of Ballerina Top and Vida. Could these projects look any more different? Cool, subdued purple in wool and bright and brash turquoise in cotton.

My left wrist is remembering how cotton can be hard to knit in that it does not give like the wool yarn does. But Vida is interesting because it is a reverse stockinette, giving the fabric a really nice pattern to a solid color.

I am altering the pattern a bit on Vida. I am making the knit side the RS, although the pattern shows the purl stitches as the right side. Why go to all the trouble of reversing the knits and purls only to hide the way the twisted knit stitches look? I did learn that the twisted, or reverse stockinette, is often used w/ribbon yarn, which makes a lot of sense. I have found that ribbon yarn can look messy when knit. I think using a reverse stitch makes if lie flatter and it looks neater and more defined.

It is taking me longer to knit, though, because knitting and purling backwards is awkward. And the cotton is so stiff. But I would like to wear it this summer so I better get cracking!

I am making the sleeves for the Ballerina Top longer than the pattern is calling for. And now I am wondering if the sleeves will be too wide because I did not spread out the increases for the prescribed 13 inch sleeve that will be a 20+ inch sleeve now. So I will see how that works out. I have frogged this yarn about 4 times now, what’s one more trip around the yarn winder! (I am soooo glad I bought that thing last year.)