Friday, September 14, 2007

Santa is coming

Sooner than you think. It occurred to me yesterday that September is almost over. That leaves me just about 3 months for Christmas knitting. I’m not going nuts just a few things. Something for mom – something that will be useless for blog fodder cuz she reads the blog. A new hat for Laurie – I love seeing my knitting being used on a regular basis it makes me smile. There will be a few “caps for kids” for the guild - that’s a late November project.

Then there’s the biggie.

My brother, my cousins, and myself have beautiful hand knit Christmas stockings, bought for us by a good friend of my Grandmother’s. After my Grandmother passed we got a few more cousins and my Mom felt that they should have stockings that matched the rest the cousins. She started in July and knit the three young cousins stockings matching the ones that we had. It started a trend. When my cousin Maria had a baby she made him a stocking, my niece Alexis has one too. Mom’s is making plans for a new stocking for this year’s new addition. Stockings for everyone – the woman is nuts.

I’ve got myself new godson. I suppose he needs a stocking to match the rest of the crew. Did I mention these stockings are extraordinarily complicated bits of INTARSIA?!?!? I don’t do intarsia. I don’t want to do intarsia. Intarsia is not one of those knitting techniques I’d like to learn. It doesn’t look like fun. It doesn’t sound like fun. I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna! Mother swears if I just suck it up and do it one stitch at a time like any other complex bit of knitting it’s easy. She thinks I might even like it. I think she might be smoking something when I’m not looking. I’ve seen the ugly tangle of yarn that comes from all those bobbins. I’ve seen her spend an hour sorting it all out before she begins to knit.

Please, please, please tell something wonderful about intarsia. Tell me it’s not as awful as I fear it will be. Tell me your favorite tips and tricks to keeping it all sorted out so I don’t get a big ass mess of yarn barf. I’m one of those knitters that feels the knitting absorbs the good vibes you give it. I don’t want to hate this experience and give Cameron a stocking filled with not so much love. Tell me something good…. Please.

Comments:
My Grandmother knit Christmas stockings for my Dad, my Mum and my Sis. My Mom knit my Christmas stocking. She used double stitch (I think thats what its called) to kinda fake intarsia. There is also an episode on Knitty Gritty where they used double stitching on a bag to make it look like it was intarsia. (I hope that makes since! I think I should go to bed now)
 
If you are at all anal about things, intarsia can be FANTASTIC! The counting, the twisting, the following a color chart. Ahhh, I love it!

It can go really quickly because it's so rewarding. It isn't, "oh, I just knit another inch... whatever" it's "Ooooh, look... that's Santa's leg and I'm almost up to his belt!"

You can do it!
 
Ummm, joys of intarsia...?

I've got a great pattern for a cabled christmas stocking!
 
"...big ass mess of yarn barf." You almost had me spitting my food on the screen. Sorry, no tips on intarsia, but thanks for the laughs.

G
 
Something good about intarsia? Um.... If you say it really fast several times, intarsia-intarsia-instarsia-intarsia, it makes your jaw hurt. Oh. Yeah. That's not good, either.

Have fun!
 
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