Sunday, November 13, 2005

Earth Wind Fire and Ice

Last night, my Mom and I had on-ice seats for this!!! (Read more here.) Wow, it was so much fun!! Earth, Wind and Fire rocked!!! The audience was on their feet, and the skaters looked like they were having so much fun. Nicole Bobek wasn't there (that happens a lot with skating shows due to injuries and such), but instead Naomi Lang and Peter Tchernyshev were there!!!! If you follow skating, you know they had dissolved their partnership and it didn't seem to end on good terms, so we were so happy and shocked to see them skating together and having so much fun. (And let me tell you, Peter is one hot guy!!)

The show was great. My mom clapped so hard at the end that her ring FLEW OFF HER FINGER and landed on the ice. The skaters were coming back to do the re-takes (which is where they re-do any jumps they fell on, so it can be edited in for a perfect performance on TV), and we were scared someone would skate over it and fall. So, I told the usher, and when Brian Orser came out, they told him to remove it from the ice. So up pops my mom, and not only did Brian give her the ring back safely, but she got a big hug from him too. She was thrilled!! Anyway, it will be broadcast on NBC on December 17th, so tune in! Maybe you'll see me in the audience.

In knitting news, I successfully turned the heel on my sock!! It was so cool. Want to see a picture?? Yeah, so do I. The little heel is no more. I got all messed up working the gusset. I had my stitches split among the needles any old way, and got so confused as to where I was supposed to be working the decreases. It was so frogged up, I had to rip it back to the heel flap and I'll try again. I found a great on-line tutorial that I'll use on my second try. I almost got so frustrated that I frogged the whole froggin' sock, but I stopped myself in time.

To try and keep from feeling like a total knit-loser, I finished up my second Fingerless Mitt. Thank goodness, it was a success!!


Fingerless Mitts
Pattern: from Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cranberry

These were a really easy knit and knit up very quickly. On the first mitt, I followed the pattern as written. They are knit flat, and you pick up stitches from one side to do a Three-Needle Bind Off for the seam. I ended up with a very wide, ugly looking seam. When I knit the second mitt, I used a Provisional Cast-On, so I had live stitches when BO time came. This worked perfectly, the seam on the second mitt is completely invisible.


I think even in the picture you can see how ugly the seam on the right is. The left one is invisible. Next time I'll also make the thumb hole one stitch bigger. It fits, but I think it would be more comfortable if it was a bit looser. These would make great last minute Christmas gifts, because they are a fast fast knit. Very satisfying if your craving a FO!!!

6 comments:

Cathy said...

Your mitts came out great! I love the color and what a great idea to change your cast on for them. I too love ice skating and I'm so happy you and your Mom had such a wonderful time. Now the next time there is a REAL cutie ont he ice, you'll know enough to let the jewelry fly (after they are done skating of course) ;) I'll be sure to watch in December.:)
Cath

chris said...

Your fingerless mitts came out AWESOME!! I really love that color- in fact, I just ordered some of that Cranberry to make my sister's Christmas gift. Doing the provisional cast-on was a great idea- the seam (or lack of one, rather!) looks great. Although honestly, the right side looks great to me, too, so what the frog do I know? ;-) And you make me so jealous with your up-close and personal encounters with the skating stars!! Brian Orser??!! Not only are you in the first row, but now your mom gets to HUG Brian Orser?! I'll definitely be looking for you on TV that day- remind me as the day gets nearer so I don't forget! And good for you on the sock... I made that exact same mistake with my first sock, but I wasn't smart enough to frog it like you. So now I have a deformed sock. (I've told you this story already, huh? I feel like I'm turning into my MIL, telling the same stories over and over and not really being sure whether I did or didn't :-P) Now you'll have a perfect sock when it's all said and done, so frogging was worth the pain. I'm so glad that you got a chance to knit this weekend! :-)

knittinmom said...

You are not a knit loser! You're a winner, really! I don't think anyone makes it through the heel turn & gusset their first time. Don't you remember the saga of the MIL sock? And how I had to rip out the gusset THREE times before I finally got it right? And that was not my first sock... And look at you with the provisional cast-on! See - you rock!

Jillio said...

cool mitts, yo! and don't worry about the sock. you'll get it! i don't think i've ever made two socks the same way, and no sock has ever been exempt from a frogging or two. you are not alone ;)
after a while, you'll get the idea that all socks have generally the same anatomy. it's all good after that. then you can design your own socks by configuring your own stitch pattern, changing up the heels, or adjusting the length of the cuff.
i also have to put a plug in for circulars (cuz i'm a poster child like that). when you're working with two, it's easier because you'll be able to separate the heel stitches from the stitches that go along the top of the foot. you'll also know where to begin the decreases on the foot / toe because you'll have the stitches evenly divided on the two needles; the decreases will always be near the ends.
you'll get it. i mean, you can do a provisional cast-on. i haven't even tried that yet. ;P so you've got what it takes!

Ragan said...

Wow. I love ice skating...my parents used to take me to see the "Ice Capades" in Montreal. And...I really like those fingerless mitts. I am getting started on some for my step-daughter.

Jen said...

hey the fingerless mitts look great! I was just complaining to DF that my hands were cold... maybe I could get him to make me some of these with leftover yarn... How much yarn did you need?

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