Variegated Yarn

Better late than never, but I’m finally updating. It’s been a busy few weeks. I got sidetracked last week with a bit of guilty reading. My mom bought me Kate Jacobs’ The Friday Night Knitting Club last week, so it kept me busy for a day or two. Although the book was centered around the world of knitting, it had a very human element to it. It had well-developed characters, but the plot line was a bit predictable at times. Though you wouldn’t need to know about knitting to read it, it does help. They do talk about specific knitting terms, but the book focuses more on the stories of the characters than on the knitting. A good read, but a quickie. I’m used to reading books that give me a lot of brain-food (cyberpunk, fantasy, historical, biographies), so it’s unusual for me to finish a book so quickly. Still, it was fun.

This week I managed to finish the iCord for the iPod. It works quite nicely as a purse strap, and I’ve already begun using it so that my iPod doesn’t get tangled up in my purse pocket.

Front:

Back:

I also went back to the gym belt. I ended up using my stashed ball of Noro Kureyon (Ania, if you’re reading this, I’d be the happiest sister in the world if you brought me back a few balls of Noro [in any thickness or colour variation] from Japan – - it’s so bloody expensive here!!), but I set aside my dreams of using cables. I do think that I’ve got the general idea of how to make simple cables, but I really needed to have more of a flat belt for use in the gym. I ended up using a rib pattern (still not flat, but moreso than cables) and then attaching the hooks.

I have used it several times already (I’m at the gym almost daily) and it’s quite comfortable. I don’t even notice the iPod when I’m doing cardio, and I don’t have to shift it around when I’m doing weights. It really was a great idea. I’m thrilled with being able to make my life easier through knitting.

I’ve started to work on a little tote bag for myself. I grabbed some yarn from my stash (originally designated for a scarf for my sister, until I decided to make the Coffee Scarf), and began knitting a simple pattern on 5.5mm circular needles (Knitpicks Harmony… soooo smooth and nice). I knew the yarn was variegated (much like the Noro) before I started knitting, but what has resulted from about 20 rows of knitting is a weird blue-camo print of sorts. Neat. I’ve got the pattern worked out in my head, now I just have to make sure I don’t do anything silly. Realistically, this is just a tote for a novel or two. I’m just looking for something small to carry a book in when I’m going to a coffee shop. My purse is too small to hold a book, and I don’t want to carry around bigger bags just for a single book.

Variegated yarn has become my new favourite yarn type. It’s such a surprise when you’ve knitted a few rows. Sometimes you can see the pattern and colour variations after 20 or so rows, sometimes (like in the case of the Noro) the colours never really repeat and you’re anxiously waiting to see how the next beautiful, bold colour will blend.

I’m going to try to update next weekend (on time), but I’m volunteering at North-by-North-East here in Toronto, and I’m figuring it will suck up a lot of my time.

Good night, everyone!

~ by tripknit on June 8, 2008.