Sunday, February 19, 2006

I'm Alive

Yes, I know, I haven't posted recently. I have a really good excuse. My hands & arms have been acting up, so there has not been much knitting or computing around the PuNk rAWk household. It has been freakishly cold for the Bay Area this past week. And that certainly hasn't helped anyone's achey muscles & joints. If I didn't think it would totally gross everyone out I would post a post-op photo of my elbow. It was a 7 inch incision. The surgery was a year and a half ago, and I still have no feeling in certain areas around the scar. Though in the areas that I can feel... OUCH! I am not looking forward to the feeling coming back in the remaining numb spots!
I did not make it to Stitches West this past week. I had to work. The lack of funds wouldn't have made it much fun for me anyway. PLEASE... Just allow me to believe that!!
I DO want to include something knitting related in this post. So please enjoy these old photos of yarn porn...

Although at the time of purchase, I had very definite ideas for each and every strand of these yarns, I am pretty sure that none of it has been knit up into anything. It is all safely snuggled up in one of the many many yarn stash receptacles around my house.

Does anyone have this book? Any thoughts or comments? Love it? Hate it? I want to give sweater knitting a go again. I made ONE sweater about a month or two after I first learned to knit. It was beautiful, a 2x2 rib. All of the stitches were even & nice. I had completed the entire thing only to find that it was way too HUGE!! So I vowed that the next time I tackled a sweater it would be top down, & in the round so that I could try it on as I go. All of the patterns that I like are knit in pieces... BLAH! So I want to learn how to either convert flat knit patterns to round, OR just design my own damn sweaters.

10 comments:

  1. aww Im so sorry about your arm! I hope it's feeling better.

    as for the book, it's an amazing book. don't expect patterns or anything, it's more about the concenpt of knitting from the top and how to apply the technique to your own designs. I highly recommend it

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  2. Hope your arm feels better soon...

    I have the book, but haven't read it. I have knit quite a few sweaters from the top down and love it. Not only can you try it on as you go, there's minimal finishing when you're done.

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  3. Oh, your poor arm! A seven-inch incision? I hope you are feeling 100% soon.

    I bought the book recently and am obsessed with it. Not to sound like a total cheeseball, but it's really liberating to feel like you can make something like a hat or a sweater without someone else's pattern.

    As Yahaira said, it's not really a pattern book, though there is a pattern for some really lovely harem pants that she promised to knit for me. Har.

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  4. I missed Stitches for the same reason -- and I've been waking up with numb fingers for the past couple of weeks. I have to be careful because my livelihood involves keyboarding nearly full-time.

    Knitting from the Top is good for basic technique on knitting in the round. It gives you a good understanding of how things are constructed and lots of "jumping-off-point" ideas. I bought my copy in the mid-80s, and it has a lovely poncho photo on the cover.

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  5. I'm sorry about your aches and pains! That stinks and I hope it subsides soon. I'd like to recommend the *free* top down raglan generator available at woolworks.org. It's a plug in thing so you can use whatever gauge, stitch pattern, etc you'd like. I still think you should get the Barbara Walker book if funds are available, but this is a good temporary and cheap sub.

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  6. Im sorry about your arm!! Im sending you lots of warm weather thoughts! It stinks to not be able to knit.

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  7. glad yer back, but hope ya get well, dammit! I need my PRP! Been stalking yer blog hoping for a post. Love the yarn porn and am intrigued by the book...

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  8. I hope that your arm feels better. Sorry, I've never read that book. But, I too, want to try the top down method. Can't wait to see what you get started with.

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  9. I am curious about that book now! Knitting top down, sounds interesting and totally smart!

    So sorry to hear about your arm! Man, that's tough! I hope it feels better soon.

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  10. I have been wondering about that book too. It seems like such a good idea, but anytime I have a few extra bucks it goes to yarn...

    FEEL BETTER!!

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