Knit and the City

It is so hot in my house without airconditioning, that when I got home last night after knitting circle, and sat on my plastic toilet that had been baking all day, I totally burned my ass. Just thought I'd share that.

In my Happiness Happens Here Marathon, my first priority should have been to get my central air fixed, but instead, it was to knit Tulip, the first leg of the half of the half. As you can see, I've hit the ground running. I'm making good time, and hopefully, I'll be able to keep up this fast pace that I've established.

And, 2 days into my No Yarn Buying Pledge, I had my first real challenge last night - surrounded by Anne, Handmaiden Sea Silk, Claudia, all of my friends - I lived up to my oath, and not only did I manage to sit in Rosie's for nearly 3 hours without buying anything, I didn't even touch anything. I just knit.

Tulip is knit on 5's (the pattern calls for 7's, 5/inch), in the round from the bottom until the armholes. At the armhole, the front and back are separated, and the armhole/neckline shaping takes place in reverse stockinette. The yarn is cotton, Katia Jamaica, and while I love the colors, I'm not loving knitting with cotton. This is the first of 2 projects I have on my August Happiness list in cotton, and I'm really not looking forward to finishing the next, a cardigan for my niece in Classic Elite Premiere (luckily, I only have a sleeve, and a ruffle to go). Both the Jamaica and the Premiere are soft, but they are so easily splittable, and while you can't see them in the picture above, there are a few bitched up stitches that are really bothering me where the yarn split, and I didn't catch it.

Tulip is designed by Lisa Shobhana Mason, who, coincidentally, taught me how to knit. I started knitting about four years ago. I had just broken up with a bad boyfriend (bad = had family in another state that he neglected to tell me about, got engaged to his babymom when he knocked her up again, and got married in front of my face in the courthouse by a Judge who knew us as a couple), and wanted to make some new women friends. Making friends had always been easy - in college, you have an entire dorm full, and then there's interaction in class, at parties, etc. Then, I graduated, and started a new job, in publishing, a mecca for recent graduates who needed started jobs. Law school, again, a whole sea of people suffering under similar circumstances. But, once I was in a job for five or so years, and had squirreled myself away with a boyfriend for a year, it just wasn't so easy. At that time, Rosie's,which back then was Sophie's, was teaching classes at night through Temple. I went through a string of Temple nondegree, fun night classes. I took sushi making - and the only man in the class of 10 people happened to be another former bad boyfriend (bad=still married, although separated, lying and saying divorced), who at least took me aside after the first class and apologized over and over again about how bad he had been. Then, I took mosaic making with my friend Ellen. I mosaiced a bread basket I picked up at a thrift store, she did a mirror - neither of us could even carry our project to and from class by the end of the six weeks, so it never even got grouted. We did have quite a few margarita's at Copa following class, however, and Ellen nearly picked up a DUI on her bicycle (I convinced her a cab would be a much better idea after she fell off the bike 3 times after just trying to get on). So, knitting was my last ditch effort at a hobby, and making new friends. And, apparently, it worked.

Anyway, Lisa Mason was my teacher, and I got sucked in. If you're interested in knitting Tulip, you can buy the pattern here, and in more exciting news, Lisa has her first book being published in September, and you can preorder your copy here.

Next up is finishing the Clap - this heat better break, because I have no desire to sit with wool on my lap, in my underwear in front of the t.v. with my fan blowing hot air around the room. But, I remain committed to the race, and knit onward I will.

I checked out the Sock Wars site last night - and there are over 200 knitters signed up. Good luck to the warriors - I will enjoy watching from the sidelines.