spring chickens and magic scarf

spring is in full swing and summer is looming here in ol' georgia. it would be easier to see (and relate with others about) if i was to talk about the flowers in bloom, or the nests going up in the trees, or the endless parade of wedding processions coming out of the church across the street. but for me, and others living with children every day, it's easier to tell when summer is in the hearts and minds of, well, pretty much everyone, if you observe with even the slightest attention the behaviors of five-year-olds. in fact, if i were to conduct a (series of) psychological experiment(s), i'd put a few adults with no children or experience with children into an environment where they wouldn't be able to tell (by any conceivable means) what season it was. then, when they'd least expect it (spring), i would release twenty five-year-olds into their environment and have them guess what season it was. (they'd be able to.)

it's weird calling them five-year-olds now. they were all four when we got 'em. i've been used to calling them all four, but now there's only three little four-year-old stragglers in my group of twenty, and they're so grown up now. i've been through hell and back with these kids (can you say "lots of rainy days in a row with no indoor play area"?), like i have with the kids every year before, but this group seems closer to me. i feel more of a familial bond with these little children who could in no universe resemble me than i feel for my own cousins. after all, i don't know my cousins' favorite transformers, or what their favorite pastimes are, or what they will avoid eating.

but these kids. i found myself telling anna (my co-teacher) the other day while she was lettering the names for the summer journals for the kids, "you're gonna wanna make sure angie and ayri have purple lettering, and zy's favorite color is orange now, not yellow, remember?" i don't even call them by their full names anymore. not one of them escapes without a pet name, whether it be "julie-boots" or "cam-jams", "angie-bear" or, simply, "tree frog". (oh, tree frog. i will miss you most of all.)

it was just so funny today, seeing them (all) eating school-pizza lunch, remembering how many of them wouldn't touch it in august. seeing them be so independent, settling their own conflicts (with their words, even!), helping each other... it just made me feel good about the community and the atmosphere of learning we've been able to establish and foster. sigh.

i know i'm counting the days until summer break (6), but i'm gonna cry on the last day.

in other news, i've got a little project on the needles that i don't really expect to come off for some time, but that's okay. it's inspired by (really just a blatant copy of) jared flood's romney kerchief. again, i know. i'm in love... with his patterns, anyway. since his wool was handspun, i picked up some sock yarn (lang jawoll magic sock) and squinted at the computer screen for a couple of hours until i (think i) figured it out.

mmmm sexy.

it's one of those nice little knits you can come home and relax to (or sneak a few rows in on a lunch break) and not have to worry about it, since it's basically just straight knitting. he pretty much explains how to do it on his blog, so i won't worry about going into any particulars here for fear of any copyright infringement (the man lives off his knitting patterns. buy some).

work it, baby. make LOVE to the crappy camera.

it's one of those triangular kerchiefs/shawls that starts at the center and radiates outward. if you'll allow me to write out my pattern?

yarn: sock yarn, or the like.
needles: i'm using circular US 3, 3.25 mm
gauge: doesn't really matter, does it? it's meant to be a kerchief shawly thing. but mine's 26 sts to 4 in, or 6.5 per inch.
notions: 4 st markers. (optional?) i'm the kind of knitter that gets distracted easily, especially when it's basically rows and rows of increasing garter stitch. i frequently don't... finish a row. (hush, you.) i find that different stitch markers help me when i increase on the 4 points where you increase. (i used increase a LOT in that sentence. increase increase increase. now it's lost all meaning.)

CO 11 sts.
k for 3 rows.
on the next row, start "mountains and valleys" pattern. (why not a catchy name?)

mountains and valleys pattern:
row 1 (RS): k3, m1, k to center stitch, m1, k center stitch, m1, k to last 3 sts, m1, k3.
OR, with markers: k3, slip marker, m1, k to marker, m1, slip marker, k center st, slip marker, m1, k to marker, m1, slip marker, k3.
row 2 (WS): k all.
row 3: as row 1.
row 4: as row 2.
row 5: as row 1.
row 6(WS) : k3, p to last 3 sts, k3.

repeat pattern until you are nauseated, or until yarn starts looking like it's about to run out (in 6 rows). at that time, end on a WS row.

edging:
k for 6 rows, or, if you don't want a simple garter stitch edging to go with your simple pattern, do somethin' fancy. i won't tell you what. it's your thang. then bind off. please read jared's original blog entry if you intend to use all yarn available, since he talks in his post about weighing the yarn to make sure you have enough.

finishing:
there'll be a little bloop in your top straight-edge of your triangle. use the tail of the yarn you cast on with (you left it there, right?) to sew together that little bit of seam to make it un-wonky. (vague, i know. but you'll know what i mean.) then it's best to block the thang. the BT uses blocking wires. do whatever you have to.

a note about the m1's: on the right-hand side of the (RS) increases (there are no WS increases), i picked up the running thread purlwise with R needle, slipped it to the L needle, and k through the back of the st. on the left-hand side of the increases, i picked up the running thread with R needle knitwise, slipped it to the L needle, and knit as though it was a normal stitch through the front . however, m1 as you see fit. i didn't use yarn overs in mine since it didn't look at all like jared had used them in his.

well, friends, it's another day. i'll let you know if i get a cease and desist order from brooklyn tweed.

koolhaas and friends

yesterday and today were lovely. seventy to seventy-five degrees all day. it inspired me to make a hat. ladies and gentlemen, a koolhaas, made quite easily in a single weekend. what a thrill!

(no fear, there are clothes! it's a sarong, you just can't see it. sorry.)

SOR-RY.

really, though, this hat was like a torrid love affair over the weekend in cabo. never dull, always exciting, and over far too quickly.

it's also got a really great difficulty-to-awesomeness ratio. let's talk about that for a second.

it's pretty fair to assume that, in knitting (as in life), the difficulty of a project usually matches the beauty of the finished product. that stockinette top-down hat? nothing pretty, but hey, it was easy. not to mention the beauty in its simplicity. the estonian lace shawl that ate your lunch and keyed your car? the most gorgeous heirloom on two needles. note the corollary to this rule: some ugly projects can be quite difficult (i'm sure you've seen an ugly christmas fair isle sweater) and some beautiful projects can be pretty durn easy.

it seems as though jared flood (designer of the koolhaas, and others) repeatedly finds the tiny blessed point in the knitting venn diagram where "easy" and "beautiful" meet. this hat, my friends, is not only fun and (relatively) easy, but it's something you won't mind giving to those non-knitters at christmas. and they (dare i say it?) MIGHT like it too.

speaking of muggles, i did want to take a minute to talk about relative stash sizes. i've been reading a (few) book(s) recently by stephanie pearl-mcphee, and she talks of stash sizes that would rival the libraries of alexandria. i'm okay with that. in fact, i thought i had one of those stashes, mostly because anyone who comes into my house can plainly see it. and they comment on it.

it's only on two shelves, for gosh sakes!

doesn't look like much, right? except for the other stuff on my bed.

that might be what they're commenting on.

still, it's not like it looks like a yarn store. the yarn harlot has closets full! CLOSETS!

i'm just talking like this because i'm jealous.

so, it looks like i still haven't been to the doctor. (hush, you.) my finger's looking fine, though, no inflammation, no ooze (not that there was any before, but i just wanted to reassure you). that's all about the chipmunk bite from now on. we'll never speak of this again.

happy mother's day.