stranger in a strange land

Okay, okay. I admit. The title of this post is a little bit hyperbolic/melancholly/ridiculous. I got the fortune of moving to my new home with a group of people excited to have me here. It's not like I'm sitting alone in a dark hovel surrounded only by books and yarn lit by candle light as rain water drips conspicuously through the ceiling.

I think I mentioned in my last post that I hadn't really connected with the knitting community in town yet. Well, last night I decided to be proactive about it! I got on Ravelry and looked up people in the area, as well as groups for the LYS's.

I'm taking a second to admit to you that I've relocated to Louisville, Kentucky. I don't know why I haven't mentioned that on here yet. I'm sure I had some cryptic reasoning that I've since forgotten. I'm generally an open book, so withholding that kind of info here seems... silly.

Anyway.

So I looked up stuff on ravelry.It turns out a couple people in my friends were residents of the area already (crazy small fiber world, eh?) (they were dudes. I always add other male knitters when I come across them on ravelry. Solidarity, man.) In my searchings I realized that a yarn store I had already been to (and liked, I might add) had a "stitch and bitch" night on Thursdays. It just so happens I have some free time tonight, so rather than sitting at home and watching yet another episode of Arrested Development on Netflix (not that there's anything wrong with that, ask me how I've spent the rest of this week) I would get out and enjoy the day, and top it off with yarnie times!

So now I'm sitting at Heine Brother's Coffee, enjoying an iced soy latte and working away on one of my many deadline projects at the moment. Part of they hyperbole of the title is the fact that I knew the barista when I walked in. I guess I'm not so alone in this world ;)

After this, I'll be headed to The Knit Nook for their stitch and bitch, and I'm very excited to do so. I'm looking forward to making some Fiber Friends.

ALSO! Aside from the crazy busy-ness of this upcoming weekend (lots of great music happening this weekend), Kentucky will also be having it's first fiber festival! (Kentucky Sheep And Fiber Festival) Hopefully I'll have time to stop by on Sunday. *fingers crossed*

Ambulacrum

My final box arrived at my new home today. It feels weird to call it home, because I'm really only staying here until I've gotten a couple paychecks under my belt and find my own place (probably sometime in june). It also feels weird to call it home because, even though all of my boxes are here, they're staying packed. Well, except for a few necessities.

I had to excavate a few balls of teal Cascade Greenland for a project that has me up against a snug deadline. Not a tight one, like I don't need to stay up all hours working on it, but it'd be good to get it done. I'm really excited about it, though, the most I should say is that it's a pattern for winter accesories. I can't wait to tell you more about them when the time comes.

This particular project has been a firm reminder to me that, as much as I think I know, there's always more to learn. I knit a sizable portion of the project over the last few days and realized today I need to rip back almost to the beginning and make them a smidgen larger. That's always vaguely humbling because you know I tried them on multiple times along the way and convinced myself over and over that they were okay the size they were. No, no. I know better than that.

One of the things that I always enjoy incorporating into the design process is the personal challenge to utilize a new technique, or an unfamiliar technique, into a pattern. Part of this project uses a few things that I know intellectually, but I haven't applied in all seriousness to much of my knitting. I guess that's part of my process? I hear about a technique, and I tend to read about it obsessively, and then I find patterns that use it and knit them. Then I try to think of applications for that technique within my designs, and often I will build a design around an idea. Sometimes this works out well, othertimes I realize that bordering an entire vest in I-cord sounds like a fantastic idea technically, but in execution? Well, it needs some rethinking.

That brings me to the pattern I want to highlight for you in this post, Ambulacrum.

Pattern: "Ambulacrum" by David R. Castillo (on ravelry)
Yarn: Universal Yarn Dolce Merino in colorways "Arabian Spice" and "Forest Green"
Needles: Addi Turbo circulars, US4

Gauge: 6 sts/inch in stockinette

Sizes Available: One Size fits most (approx. 20-23" circumference)

Price: $5.00 us (buy now)

Like any good post about a pattern, I have to take a moment to gush about the yarn used to knit up the sample. I honestly can't tell you how much I loved working with Dolce Merino, because there are no words. I've used it in another pattern I'll tell you more about later, and I love love love it. It's a 50/50 blend of Microfibre and Merino, which means it's INSANELY SOFT. It's just luscious in your hands! It knits up very comfortably at the gauge of this pattern, but it could easily work a little bigger (5.5 stitch to an inch, maybe) and definitely be very comfortable working smaller. I really want to try it in some colorwork (keep an eye out, eh?).

The point is, it feels great in your hands, and it feels even better on your head.

Ambulacrum is a 'slouchy hat'. It can be blocked and worn like a beret or tam, or you can embrace the natural drape of the yarn and just wear it somewhat amorphously. Scientifically, ambulacrum refer to the groupings of tube feet on creatures such as sea urchins and starfish, which I felt were thematically echoed in the stitch pattern.

This hat is a further exploration of my infatuation with twisted and slipped stitches that travel over a design. It's kind of become a thing that my friends give me a hard time about, because I've been playing with it a lot for a while now, and that's what lead me to designing this hat.

Knit out of DK weight yarn, this hat is good for springtime and fall, though I bet it would help you out in the winter too. I can't wait to see it knit up in all sorts of fun colors and yarns!

"Ambulacrum" By David R. Castillo

$5.00 US