Easy steps

From

Photo, Unfilodi.com

to

in 3 easy steps (remove tag, pull out yarn tail from the center, start knitting), to

YarnTomato.com

in 12,653,908 extremely difficult steps.
I do not know why I don't have any problem knitting from international brands' yarn hanks, but when I have to knit from an Italian hank most times as soon as I start knitting the hank goes BOOOM!

Good evening

As Berlusconi was finally quitting I was happily and quickly purling on the stockinette section of this wool and silk shawl.

The dyslexic knitter at work (with a touch of Britishness)

Let's talk about serious stuff. In a woman's cardi, where do the bloody buttons go? On the bloody left front or on the bloody right front?

Little Nubs

How comes that I have fallen in love with the look of something so utterly boring to knit as moss stitch?

At the Biella The Wool Company

On March 22 I went to Miagliano to visit the Biella The Wool Company. I will have more to say about it in the future, by now I have posted the photos. They are not the best quality because... Uhm, because I was taking them and because I forgot the camera so I used the cellphone.

To help Japan

Purchase Olgajazzy's patterns. Until the end of the month Olga will donate the 85% iof the price for each of her patterns to relief organizations dealing with the earthquake and tsunami survivors.

Startitis is bad

So, I have three vests on the needles (one almost completed, one stopped for lack of a yarn ball, one stopped fullstop), a pair of socks, two shawls, and likely a few other items scattered around, and yet on Sunday I got a very bad case of startitis. I spent the whole morning walking aroud the room, getting out my stash and sorting through it to find some yarn that inspired me, putting it back and repeat a few times. Ended upselecting the SWTC Karaoke (colors are better seen here) that I received with a swap ages ago (from Lucia).
I started swatching and toying around with it until I decided on an entrelac study, which turned out to be somewhat similar to this Not Enterely Entrelac scarf pattern but I just learned it this morning. Frogged because I was bored already, considered making another Shag, decided it was too boring once again and frogged, consiered making something in intarsia, but I will probably decide it's too boring yet once again... Shesh! I hate startitis!

Not much done

I haven't been posting because I actually don't have much to say. After finisching the Cat's Paw Socks I have kept knitting on the vest (I am now a bit further compared to the pic here: I have started some decreases to shape the waist, all done on the back to keep the vest from hiding too much of my bum's shapes! ^_^) and started a new pair of socks. dome a bit of spinning and... Well, set up a couple of knitting courses that are supposed to start at the end of February: one is a beginner and one is for circular knitting. Both will be held in Milano, check out the courses page in the top bar for more informations (being updated next).

As for the socks, what can beat good old, plain stockinette with a k1, p1 rib border for relaxation (and who cares if they are a bit boring!). One sock got done in a week, the other has been started yesterday and I am already at the end of the quite deep rib border. Reliable Dutch heel and French toe complete them. Comfort knitting at its best!

(Not) as granny did

This morning I had an interesting talk with my grandma. Well, not much of a talk since she's a non fluent apahsiac. I was working on the vest I started on New Year's Eve and I was at the point of transferring all stitches on a signle circular and start working on the body, so I was moving stitches around like a mad woman using a number of cables and two different sizes of tips from my Denise set.
She looked at me for a while and said a string of syllables with the overall meaning of "I did anything, sweater and all, with just two knitting pins, how comes that you spend all of thee money to buy fancy tools". I avoided to tell her that for the Denise I didn't spend a single eurobuck since that was a gift. The point is that to me working back and forth on two neeles is a huge waste of time and effort: it's more difficult, it takes more time, it does not allow you to knit except on a chair or stool, and leaves you with pieces that need sewing. Sewing! Oh, my...
But in the very end, there is also another reason why I love haing so many tools, even those I do not usually use like the row counters: I am a geek inside. As I am delighted with each and every new software application I download and install on my Android smartphone, I am equally delighted with each and every new knitting tool I lay my hands on. I have two different types and three different sizes of stitch holders, and still always use scrap yarn to hold stitches, I am a geek! I am not my granny.

Seems I'm back to blogging again

This time it will be a knit-only-blog and in English. It would take time to say why I took this decision, so I will avoid. As you can see, the blog is still largely a draft. it will be a work in progress (do not visit the pages yet, please!).