Knitting a Friendship One Stitch At a Time. Chapter 2

So now that you know what happened last year let me catch you up on what's happening now.

While preparing for my move with the standard amount of stress and drama and whatnot I was ending my days as I normally do, on Ravelry.  In a not so rare moment of thinking " What will become of me?" I decided to start searching for knitting groups in the UAE.  Now I know what you're thinking because I was thinking it as well.  " Knitters in the UAE.  Give me a break.  There's probably no such thing", but  after only a couple of searches I found what is now my knitting safe haven here in the sandbox.  The UAE Amiras!

They looked innocent  enough so I decided to hit "join group".  What followed was pretty damn fabulous.  Once I joined I got access to all their chat threads and discussions and low and behold I realized I'd found my peeps again.  They knit all kinds of things and are from all over the world.  It's an amazing crew of yarn addicts who help and support each other.

Sadly I haven't any photographs of any of them but they do indeed exist and are not merely a figment of my imagination, I promise.  To say that they speak my language would be an understatement.  I thought MY stash was huge but I've got nothing on some of the Amiras,  and yes J I'm talking about you!  When I ramble about the virtues of Malabrigo sock they know just what I'm talking about.  When I whine about the fact that I now have to order yarn on line, they feel my pain.  There are some beginners but most have blown me away with their superior skills.  One even says she enjoys seaming and offered to seam our work for us.  Now if that isn't a gift from the knitting Gods then I don't know what is!!!

We meet most Mondays and sip coffee and eat lunch with yarn in our laps all the while.  We people watch and knit away the better part of the day.  Their motto is " Once an Amira, always an Amira" and I hope that for me that will always be the case.

Thanks to them I'm not underground on my own again ( Insert deep sigh of relief here)

Bisous,

G.

You're Not the Boss of Me

That's what I've been saying about  a project I started in March or so.   I think I labored over this pattern more than with any other thing I've ever knit.  What a process!

I named this project "You're not the boss of me" because completing it began to become an obsession for me.  Right, let me start at the beginning.

It all started on a rather chilly day in either February or March but as I've mentioned earlier, Brussels can be chilly even in bloody July!  Anyhoo I popped into a cute little out of the way yarn shop in Watermael Boisfort to find a DK weight cotton for a great sweater called "Paloma" which was in a Kim Hargreaves book that I ordered on line.  It seemed simple enough.  A boxy body with fitted sleeves in a drop stitch pattern.. Easy Peasy I thought.  If I could knit lace leggings then this would be a piece of cake.

Not effing likely!  What began as an easy knit stayed in my basket for weeks.  In typical Gazelle fashion, other projects came and went but this one was always in the back of my mind because I was SURE  that I'd wear an off the shoulder cotton loosy goosy jumper.

As my move to the sand box grew nearer and nearer I reached for Paloma more and more. I had memorized the pattern and there was little shaping involved.  At the beginning of the summer I chose to take it to Canada with me, knitting mindlessly, occasionally putting it up to me to check for size. It went with me on planes to and from Canada, trains to and from Montreal and I think it even went to the Cote D'azur on a beach day in Cassis.  It was one well traveled bit of knitting.

What I hadn't factored into my knitting was the fact that my mind was NOT focused on my sticks.  Part of it was in Dubai in my new and empty house.  Part was on a container with all my worldly possessions on a ship sailing somewhere between Antwerp and Jabel Ali.  Part was on what my teen daughter was doing at the University where she was attending a summer program and if I'm completely honest, part was on a pair of Citizens for Humanity jeans that I was debating over.

At one point I put the completed front piece up against me and realized that two of me could fit in there!  After much swearing, which by the way comes far too easily for me, I realized I had to frog it all and start over.  The finished piece was supposed to measure 55.5cm in diameter and mine was coming in at over 65 cm.  Blocking not to mention wearing it was going to make it even larger.

So I cast on once again and committed to it.  The summer passed and as I left Canada for my annual trip to Provence I continued to knit it.  I eventually finished both front and back but in yet another ridiculous moment I realized that it was STILL too big.  I was so angry at myself for presuming that it would somehow miraculously get smaller the more I knit but once again I had to take it apart.  I mean I knew my family life had been flipped completely upside down and everything but really Gazelle, now you're  knitting like a novice?

After months of trying it still wasn't anywhere near being finished.  Now I'm not a professional or anything but I'm a pretty good and experienced knitter and I'll be damned it I was going to let a drop stitch boxy jumper get the better of me.  When we moved to Dubai it was weeks before I picked up any knitting again.  At one point I didn't even know where it was in the house.  As September came and the kids went to school I found the large pieces and set about giving it another try.  I researched Ravelry this time for tips from those who had completed the project and worked on multiple swatches with varied needle sizing.  The problem was that Brussels was long gone and there was no way to get more yarn.  I had to stick to the original needle size but this time I cast on less than was called for and made the adjustments.  There were no new projects at first because there are no knitting shops here in Dubai.

Two shades of dark blue.  Mmmm

There is however the Internet!  Even though I hate on line shopping I began to order yarn from places like Sweden and the UK and Canada and even from Portland Oregon.  I got some lace weight linen from one of my favorite yarn shops in Gothenburg, Sweden to make a two color " Color Affection" by Veera Valmaki.

I also ordered some wonderful Pima Cotton to make a "Heyden's Pullover" from a great little shop in Toronto called Americo.

I am after all extremely challenged by the fact that buying wool is out!  It's just too darn hot here to knit with it so I have gotten creative with the cottons and linens.  My New Jersey knitting girlies had told me about a great yarn called Shibui.  I hit the web again and ended up ordering some fabulous yarn to make an "L 1" shawl by Antonia Shankland.  Feast your eyes on this people.

Naturally I had to wait to receive all of these treats and I think I was grateful to have the time to finish Paloma.  It was slow going but I wanted to be sure I was knitting evenly and the fact that it's black and that my vision is going didn't help matters.

It's been almost 4 months since I arrived in Dubai and Paloma is finally finished.  Towards the end I became obsessed by the idea that I wasn't going to let it get the best of me.  C has been laughing at me all along and although at first she was interested in making it as well, my trials and tribulations have put her off.  She won't touch it now and I don't blame her.  I've been whining about it for months!

Et Voila!  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  I know you can barely see it on the black form but I'm not in the mood to pose for a photograph.  Would I recommend it to a fellow knitter?, yes but with some intense advice.  Was it a labor of love?  Not in the least but I persevered and I think it shows.  Remember Paloma, I rule.  Not you, me!

Bisous,

G.

Knitting a Friendship One Stitch At A Time. Chapter 1

I can't possibly go forward without explaining what  and who happened to me last year.  I will call this  post a love letter to my knitting soul mate.

You see I stopped posting because I went back underground with my knitting for a while there.  I was still doing it in the spring of 2011 but in truth I had lost my Mojo just a smidge.  Upon my return from holidays I found myself without any knitting peeps and I had pretty much resigned myself to knitting all by my lonesome.  Then, at the beginning of the new school year I met someone who was to become my yarn partner in crime.  The day we were introduced I don't think either of us knew just how much knitting mischief we were about to make together.

I 'm a fast knitter, she's a fast knitter.  I'm a natural fiber girl, she's a natural fiber girl.  I like simple and chic and she, well you see where I'm going with this.  It truly became a match made in knitters heaven.

What started out as us trying to start up our school knitting group turned into several pilgrimages a week to yarn stores not only in and around Brussels but in different countries as well.  Why limit your yarn options to two or three shops when you can shop in France?  We met all the time to knit and to show and tell and advise each other on the yarn that the other just HAD to have.

I even convinced my girl to take a crochet class with me.  Now normally this wouldn't be such a big deal but the class was being given in French.  My French word bank was void of any knitting and crocheting vocabulary and my American buddy was new to her French speaking environment.  In the end we persevered and learned heaps from the lovely Peggy and the other students.  The result was a beautiful scarf from a Japanese pattern  which we both made out of Malabrigo sock.  We wore them with pride all winter. Crochet rocks.

Not too shabby considering I hold my hook
like a knitting needle.

C's scarf with a Kim Hargreaves design she later made

The months passed with us encouraging each other constantly. While Brussels can be a dark and wet place in the winter or spring or even summer for that matter,  we made the best of it, making toasty and cozy sweaters and scarves to keep ourselves warm.  With the new year came the hope of Spring and we did our best to switch to lighter yarns of cotton and linen.  Projects were started, put aside for new and more exciting ones and the WIPS started to pile up all over the place.  As every knitter knows, some came to be while others now reside in our stashes.  I'm happy to say that most became something and I have C to thank for that.  We tried our best to keep each other on track.

As Spring began it's ever so slow start in Brussels I woke up one day with the idea that I would like to yarn bomb the school that our children attended.  C was immediately in and we set out to find other parents to help.  Because we were planning it at school it seemed only fitting that we involve students as well.  The result was nothing short of spectacular.  In the end we had over 20 parents and students produce a yarn installation on campus which was viewed by the entire school community on it's annual International day.  I haven't felt such a sense of accomplishment in quite some time.

With the onset of Spring came some big news for us both.  We would both be leaving Brussels, she to return to the U.S. and me to Dubai.  While we were both excited to start our new adventures I think I can speak on her behalf when I say we were quite saddened to have our mischief making  cut so short.  We did our very best to drown our sorrows in yarn and to promise to stay in touch.

C with what we BOTH know to be
a Caipirinha in her hand.
When on campus, help yourself
to a drink svp.

And that we have!  My knitting Bestie and I still chat almost every day, several times a day about yarn and life, and yarn and moving, and yarn and kids and then more about yarn.  She has returned to the land of Winter and snow and sends me pics of her warm and toasty wool on big needles.  I on the other hand send her daily rants on the trials of knitting in 40 degree heat.  This linen obsessed old girl is growing quickly weary of knitting on 3.5's!  While she often mocks me she is as always a constant source of inspiration as I hope I am to her.  I miss you Madame Chereeeel.

                                     

Ok so I just re-read the post and while it's WAAAAY too sentimental, I meant every word!

Stay tuned for my next post on how I met a whole brand new bunch of yarn addicts right here in the sand box.

Big love from the land of the sunshine,

G.

Summer Lovin' Happened So Fast

Holy Cow where did the time go?  Bad, bad knitter!  Here's a fav Summer song for your viewing pleasure.  FYI I know every single word of this little ditty.  That's just the kind of girl I am.

I spent so much time on the go this summer that I totally put aside this fun verbal run-on project.  Apologies all around.

So here's the scoop.  I knit in three different countries this summer.  Cool or what.  I went "home" to Canada and brought my Lurex sweater avec.  I would post a pic of it but the camera just isn't picking up the metallic-ness of it.  I have to get one of my kiddies to take a pic of me it and will post that soon.

So I took the knitting with me and it pretty much sat on my Mom's coffee table for the next three weeks.  What were you thinking Gaz?  Anyhoo there it sat but then I took my babes to NYC for a couple of days and that's where the knitting fun started!  Yes Girls I finally made the pilgrimage to the "Wool and the Gang" shop in Soho.  It was the size of a shoe box but oh so heavenly.  The were nice and didn't think I was too much of a psycho so all in all I think I'd be allowed back.  I happily left with my new "Sexy Back" kit in hand.

THEN the kids and I joined the Swede and went to Provence where we always hang out in August.  That's when I got the needles out.

The Lurex stayed in it's bag while I started with the "Sexy Back".  Whipped it up in 3 days!  Here it is in all it's glory.

 I'm really psyched to wear it.  If I were to make another one, and will have to since two different people have asked, I'd make it a bit longer.  All in all I'm really pleased with it.  Thank you WATG!!!

THEN the Lurex came back out!  A fab pattern from a great book called Weardowney Couture.  I found the title on Amazon UK.  It's lovely but not if you're looking for a quick knit.  Most of the patterns are with smaller needles but my oh my are they pretty.

So NOW I'm on to a couple of things ( big shock that I'm doing two things at once).  I have started making a slouchy,( a running theme in my clothing since my summer diet of cheese, the best baguette in the world and Rose wine has made me look like Danny Devito as the pengiun from the Batman movie) RED sweater.  It is quite simply scrumalicious.  I can't knit it fast enough and with the weather in Brussels getting rather chilly, I have to hustle.

Oh yeah but I'm also whipping up a basket for my ever growing number of creams and lotions.  Middle age is hitting me hard and I'm finding solace in over priced cosmetics...Nuff said.

Now girlies, you are all caught up!  The next thing on my agenda is to come up with a sassy ( Whoa where'd I pull that word out from) name for my knitting group.  I'm liking the following and would love to know which one you guys prefer.  How about ""Obsessively Creative"? or " Eat, Love, Knit" ?

Holla Back will ya?

Big love,

G.

 
               

Knitter's Day Out

The Modes Museum in Antwerp held an exhibit entitled "Unravel: Knitwear in Fashion.  You just KNOW I had to go.  A scheduled tour with some ladies, both knitters ( believers) and non-knitters ( non-believers)  was arranged and it took all of my patience to wait and not to jump the gun and go the very next day I found out about it.  Here are some pics a friend took of the exhibit.

This was a huge piece of knitted rope that was probably 10 ft wide.  It was one of the few things we were allowed to touch so at one point we all jumped on it and had a lay down! 

I Want Candy

The colours from this video remind me of this great yarn! BTW Don't you just love this video? Taken from one of my favorite Sofia Coppola films- so hard to pick a fav though. Not only does it make we want to eat some cake but it also inspires me to dance around my kitchen quite a bit...for your viewing pleasure. Pay close attention because there's a really quick shot of a Converse All Star High top! Only Ms Coppola would dare to make a period film about one of the worlds most famous historical women and set it to a soundtrack including "Bow Wow Wow"!

Couldn't you just die! Isn't this yarn just like cotton candy? Or wait, more like pink lemonade???

I simply HAD to have it! The yarn is from Debbie Bliss and is called "Angel" for obvious reasons.

It's a very fine and delicate Mohair and when I went I went to pay for some other yarn I had chosen, it called out to me. As usual I had no idea what to do with it but again, as usual, I bought all three of the balls that they had. I asked the owner of the shop what I might be able to do with it and she told me of a really easy rectangular wrap pattern. Oh yeah but what you have to know is that I was doing all of this conversing in French. Now I can can speak French pretty much like a 12 year old! This bums me out to no end because I pride myself on being articulate with sales staff in shops ( read: overly chatty). Anyhoo so the shop owner proceeded to dictate the pattern to me as I wrote it down on a scrap of paper. Sounded fine so off I went.

My family and I were heading down to the family summer house in Provence in the South of France the next morning so naturally all my knitting came with. The house "dans la Sud" ( see...like a very clever 12 year old) is beautiful but can get a bit boring when the sun isn't shining so I go sown there prepared with things to keep me busy.

What I loved even more about the upcoming project is that it called for 7mm needles. The shop owner kept saying that it knitted up ever so fast so I was really keen. What she forgot to tell me was to remember that Mohair can be so fragile that at times it becomes a gigantic pain in the Ass!!! Pull on it too hard and it tears. Dare to drop a stitch or have a make an error in the pattern and you are doomed. Because of the size of the loops in the work I had to pull the piece apart if I saw an error a couple of rows down! Fiddly, very fiddly but I love the way it looks now that I have the hang of it.

She was right though. The pattern is really easy. It's a three stitch repeat on an odd number of stitches that goes: K1, *K2tog, YO, K1*, to last stitch and then K1. Just do that over and over on both sides. It's a lovely and simple lace pattern that looks pretty but not too old fashioned.

Doubt I'll wear it around much but I think it'll look wonderful draped over the end of a bed somewhere in my house.

C'est Magnifique non?

Bisous,

G.

Ceci N'est PAS une "Brief Update"!

Yish where did the time go? I bet some of you were thinking "there, I knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up" but nope, not this yarn babe!

In truth I've gone back underground again. Spring is a challenging time for many new knitters since many don't want to have yarn in their laps when the sun is shining and the weather is getting warmer. I've lost most of the crew I was knitting with but am not really bothered. For those of us who are true yarn addicts, the better light means that the yarn looks even more scrum-a-licous! Bring on the heat! I'll start knitting in Linen!!!

I'd be lying if I told you I was being organized with my projects. Is it wrong to have four, yes 4 on the go at the same time? I'm thinking NO so don't even bother answering! BTW that's just the top 4 now. I've got some older projects on the back burner not to mention yarn for a project that has yet to be determined.

I went to one of my local yarn shops here in Brussels because I had just finished a fab cardie project in a lovely Merino in charcoal grey. It was meant to be my cosy cardie that I could wear around the house to keep me toasty and I've gotta say it's terrific! It was so easy peasy that I was ready to make another tout suite! I've been meaning to post a pic of me in it but when I'm in it, I'm also in a nightie and Uggs and that look is not one that I'm ready to send out into cyberspace it you know what I mean.

Anyway so I hopped in the car on a rainy Saturday afternoon and went to see R at one of my fav yarn shops. Now going to see R is always a bit of a stressful situation for me because the woman, however knowledgeable, is sometimes hard to talk to! Don't get me wrong or anything. I wish I could pretty much LIVE in her shop and I get a buzz just walking in there, but I can almost HEAR her heaving a sigh of frustration at the very sight of little old moi. Ok, ok, so most of the time I'm a difficult customer but that's only because I'm super picky about what I knit. Anyone who knows me KNOWS that I love fashion, and that I'll only knit what I think I'll wear. The knitting world is only now slowly catching up to what's current and although I'm loving that designers have a newly found love of knitwear, I'm getting impatient with the very limited range of chic and cool patterns out there for girls like me to knit.

EEEK, just read what I wrote and it's quite the rant not to mention I took a bad ass tangent from the whole yarn shop story. Anyhoo it's the truth damn it, because knitting takes a hell of a lot of time and it isn't free and I refuse to forsake chic-ness just so I can declare I made it myself!

So what I end up doing most of the time is hassling her by picking out the yarn first ( is it really all my fault that it looks like candy to me all spun and fluffy and I just HAVE to have it?) and then saying "so I'm thinking about a loose V Neck sweater, can you hook me up?". She shows me the patterns she has, which are predominantly from La Drougerie, and while sometimes I get lucky, most of the time I don't.

Anyway so this last time I saw her I had my Phildar ( LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Phildar patterns. The yarn is shit but the patterns are the some of the most fashionable out there) pattern with me. Piece of cake I thought but boy oh boy was I off the mark. I showed her that I wanted to make the same cardie in a cotton or linen, and was told that it would never work as cotton was much heavier and linen would look horrid. Fine, I complied, bummed though I was but as I was turning to leave I saw the most delish looking Noro yarn in a yellowy,orangie, fuchsia pinky combo! I was in love I tell ya. "Ooooh R, what is that and what can I do with it?" I asked her.

 She began to tell me about Noro and how beautiful it was and how it knitted up. She then brought out a knitted shoulder bag made from the same yarn. As beautiful as the yarn looked in the ball it was not quite so pretty knitted up. I told her I would pass even though she was trying to convince me to make a sweater out of it. Now I ask

you, where the Hell was I going to wear a yellow, orange and hot pink sweater? Nowhere...that's where!

In the end I went home empty handed. In typical Gazelle fashion however, I was not letting the Noro thing go. Got home, went to the computer and found out all I could. Not all the colors were as bold as the one I had seen in the shop. The next day I visited my OTHER fav knitting shop and found a beautiful color combo! Now normally I'm not a variegated yarn kind of girl but there is not that much contrast between the beautiful purple and the blue and the green. Its lush and warm and I am constantly inspired at the look of it. It's become a real labour of love to knit and although it may not turn out to be the most fashionable thing I've ever knit, I will love it forever simply for it's artistic merit.

So that's the upside! The downside is that it's Noro "Sock Yarn" which means, wait for it, I have to use a 3 mm needles to make it up. A 3 mm needle is positively teeny weeny so when I'm saying its a labour of love I am NOT kidding. Heavy accent on the LABOUR bit!

Here is what it's looking like so far:

Interesting Non? I'm loving it! I'll keep you posted as to how it evolves.

Yikes! I have so many other things to write about but this entry is already far too long for my liking so I'll save the other stuff for some upcoming posts.

Big Knitters love,

G.