xMeePx

Sandy

Hurricane Sandy as chronicled on my iPhone.

One of my Sandy projects, Tallin by Kate Gagnon Osborn.

My LYS had a pre-Sandy sale where I picked up some nice new yarn and needles for my mom.

What else do you really need when the world is ending?

Pre-Sandy baking.

Sandy project #2, Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig.

My mom's first ever knitting!

We were lucky enough to still have gas and hot water so there was a lot of pre-bedtime baking to warm up the house for the night.

Once it got to dark to knit, out popped out the cheesy romance novel.

Mom casting on her first scarf out of Rowan Big Wool.

My sister reading me a bedtime story for my daily 3pm nap.

I hope that this post find you and your loved ones well. Sandy was definitely an experience that I would never want to live through again. While we had no power for five days, we were able to cook and shower thanks to our gas not being cut. Many people in Jersey City and Hoboken weren't as lucky as I was. Please visit the following links to help donate to the cause.

Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/hurricane-sandy, call 1-800-HELPNOW, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10.

Rebuild Hoboken Fund: www.rebuildhoboken.org

The Best DPNs EVER!!!

I refuse to knit my socks on anything other than DPNs. I get many weird looks and comments for this. All of my knitter friends think I'm insane, but I don't care. I will knit my socks on DPNs until the day I die! That being said, I've been on the search for the perfect DPN and that search is finally over!

When I first visited 2 Stix & A String, aside from my other yarn purchases, I made the obligatory dive into the sale bin and came up with two skeins of this crazy sock yarn. Why not? It was only $3 each. So away I went with my purchases and my sock yarn remained in my stash pile for a few weeks.

Once I finally got around to knitting my yarn, Karen pointed out her Dreamz Sock Needle set since I insisted on knitting my socks on DPNs. I looked them over and dreampt about them for about a week. Finally, I convinced my mom I had to have them and she bought them for me as an early Christmas present. OMG!!! That's all I have to say. If you are a DPN sock knitter and hate knitting on metals, you must run out and get yourself this set! These are the smoothest needles I've ever knit on. They're just amazing. (This is the part of the post where I repeat myself over and over again.) I LOVE THESE NEEDLES!

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the finished socks yet, so I will leave you with pictures from my walk this morning.

Blocking Party

A week full of blocking!

WIP Wednesday

A little sample knitting for the lovely Kelbourne Woolens ladies.

My new knitting home...

Back in July I received a message on Ravelry from Karen letting me know that she was opening a new shop in the area. The address looked so familiar, and sure enough, it was right across the street from church. After peaking through the windows as the progress went on, I finally stepped in a few weeks ago.What I found was a super cute shop where I could knit to my heart's desire. Karen is so friendly and helpful and has really made her shop very inviting. I've loved spending my Sunday afternoons in the shop with her taking advantage of some much needed me time. Come by and say hello to Karen, you definitely will not be disappointed!

2 Stix & A String
234 1/2 York St, Jersey City, NJ 07302
(201) 435-5408    2stixandastring@gmail.com
Hours: Closed Mon.  Tue-Fri 12-7pm  Sat-Sun 10-6

Insomnia

Two things have plagued me from a very young age. Insomnia and anxiety. Through much trial and error and counseling I have been able to control both to a manageable level. Learning and mastering the art of knitting has been an extreme help with my anxiety, almost completely eliminating many of my compulsions. I even learned a meditative breathing method to practice while knitting which has helped me to disappear into a great zen place when I'm working my needles (thank you Drew U. for having weird workshops). Unfortunately, like many people who battle with either or both of these issues know, they never completely disappear.

 

Insomnia is one of my biggest stressors causing my anxiety levels to spike. As you can imagine anxiety does not help insomnia (it only fuels it), so once I wake up, I'm up until I crash. Enter one of my "compulsions" if you call it. Cleaning and organizing. I'm a neat freak! Like to the point where everything in my kitchen cabinets is labeled, including where it all goes. I have folders and binders and notebooks for everything. It's an issue. The one area of my life where I'm glad this has not transferred over is my knitting life. I tend to look through my books/patterns and just leave them in piles where I was using them. I have a million projects scattered around, and it honestly doesn't bother me (a very big deal).

This, however can cause for a somewhat disruptive routine to begin when I'm trying to find that US#6 40" circular, or that second skein of yarn needed for that project I put down two months ago. So tonight, in my insomnia fueled organization kick, I've finished my knitting life organization project. I undertake this project about 2-3 times a year.

Last week I organized my stash over two separate nights. From top to bottom; fingering, DK, chunky, worsted. You may recognize the top bin as my 30qt rubbermaid full of sock yarn from a previous post.

Tonight I organized all of craft books and magazines. Magazines sorted in boxes by publisher then in chronological order. Knitting books top shelf in alpha order by author. Loose knitting patterns in binder tabbed off by category then alpha order by title. Sewing and crochet books in alpha order by author. All needles and notions in their proper bag. And of course my two bins of accessories within easy reach of the door to grab as I head out for the day.

That ends my knitting life organization project. Goodnight and sweet dreams.

Let's catch up...

Boy was that a long radio silence. The past year has brought so many changes that I really don't even know where to start. I will attempt to catch up on everything that is life here chez xMeePx over the next few posts.

This summer has been a bitter sweet one. It has been quiet and eventfull at the same time. Friends were gained, and others lost. And in the midst of all of this all I seem to find time to knit are socks.

First up are the Monkey Socks. This is my second pair that I have made. I'd forgotten how beautifully simple this pattern was. The only change to the pattern is making a traditional Sl1, K1 heel flap instead of the one the pattern calls for. The yarn is Crazy Zauberball in Indisch Red. Absolutely love the way these turned out. Ravelry Link

Next up are my absolute favorite socks of all time!!! While at B&N one day, I picked up the Joy of Socks bargain kit and have been craving to make the Chick Flick Socks forever! Boy was the wait worth it. I knit these up using Zitron Trekking XXL in a pink colorway. The yarn had been sitting in my stash forever and I'd completely forgotten about it until I began organizing the craziness that is my sock yarn stash. I absolutely love this pattern; it reminds me of a butterfly's wings fluttering. Needless to say I blasted the AC and wore them while watching Dirty Dancing the second they were finished. Ravelry Link

Last, but certainly not least are the Cadence Socks. After yoga class on a sunny Sunday afternoon I wandered into Modern Yarn in Montclair. I was looking around the shop and completely fell head over heels for this yarn. Did I have a project in mind for it? Nope. Should I really be buying more sock yarn? Nope. But did I buy it anyway. Yup! I rush home, and like a maniac start frantically searching ravelry because I've GOTTA knit with this yarn. I just have to! And that is the story of these socks. Boy does this yarn compliment this pattern perfectly. The stitch definition is absolutely amazing! And the squishy feel of the yarn is like dipping your feet into heaven. These are definitely my second favorite pair of socks that I've knit thus far. Ravelry Link

Hello. My name is Mia and I'm a sock - yarn - aholic.

Shawl-athon 2012: Part One

So here I am one day, sitting at my computer wondering what to knit next when I recieve a text message from none other than the lovely Margaux Hufnagel. What was in that text you might ask. Well, it was this link: BT Fall 11. I quickly opened it up, because who could really resist? After drooling for a few minutes, I promptly responded with something along the lines of, don't you realize I'm in school this semester you evil person!?!?!

But evil, she is not. If anything Margaux is one of my many knitwear enablers and I love her for it. We quickly made plans for an Ashby knit-a-long. While the KAL didn't work out quite as planned, (have you even started yours yet M?) I did manage to whip it out in about a months time.

Pattern: Ashby by Leila Raabe
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Kumara in Crema
Needles: US #8 & 9
Ravelry Link

Knitting this pattern was a wonder. I absolutely love Kumara, it's so soft and silky as you knit it up, adn the stitch definition is absolutely beautiful. The pattern was very well written, and the construction is ingenious. I actually think that this would make a really beautiful heirloom baby blanket, if time ever allows me the oppotunity to whip one up.

Until next time,

Happy Knitting!

FO: Emma's Mittens

I have been looking for a perfect mitten pattern for quite some time now. It seems that I'm aways making hats, cowls and shawls, but never mittens. Enter in an emergency wisdom tooth extraction and what else do I do but spend hours on ravelry while happy off of those wonderful pain meds the doctor gave me. I really don't know how I came across these mittens, but I did, and sure enough I had the perfect yarn for them too.

Pattern: by Minh Hoang
Yarn: Fibre Company Canopy Worsted in River Doplphin, 2 hanks
Needles: US #6 DPNs
Ravelry Link

These mittens are so incredibly beautiful, they took my breath away. The pattern is very well written and simple to follow. I made three mods to the pattern which I was very happy with. The first was to knit the cuff ribbing in a one by one twisted rib. Second was to knit only three reps of the chart pattern before the thumb. And last but not least, I worked a different bobble, which I though popped a little bit more. I am extremely happy with the way these turned out and now I have a complete set of accessories. A knit style post will be in order once finals and the holidays are over.

Happy Holidays!

xo, Mia

Sundays @ Patricia's Yarns

Truly Purple by Lisa Gentry, made in Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool in Midnight Lake

Ravelry Link