Entre-what? The life of a slow learner.

Some students should come with warning signs, don't you think? I had a professor in one of my master's courses who taught about the engineering involved in network communications, and when a topic was particularlly involved or complex, he would pull me aside after class, or even ask me point blank during class, "Mindy, did you understand what I was talking about?" He went on to tell me why he asked me this - because if I could understand it, he knew that the rest of the class probably caught on.

I don't know what my warning sign would be exactly, but for Jim, who taught me Beginner Socks, it would have been "Beware of Impending Melt Down". For Lisa M., who taught me Beginner Crochet, it would have been "Beware - 3-weeks to Learn how to Chain". Now, for Hope, who taught Entrelac today, my warning sign would have been, "Beware - 1 hour to create the I-cord required by the pattern just to begin the Entrelac portion, which will then completely blow my mind." I'm not even going to try to make one for the Sweater Class.

Entrelac is quite beautiful. Lisa J. has the most beautiful felted entrelac bag ever, and this is Quant from Knitty, the pattern we were to make in class today.

And here is my progress after 4 hours.

Robin was whizzing through the pattern like she'd made a hundred entrelac headbands. The I-cord? It took her a minute or two. Personally, I think she was sandbagging the whole time.

Really, all I have to say is, Remedial Entrelac is in store for me once I pass Remedial Crochet. Is it possible to go backward in learning? If it is, then I'm about to get arrested for speeding - in reverse!

Back to Crochet

One last thing about the biker vest first (more pictures below). I added a bit of fringe to the back of it in order to hide the fact that the "H" is a little too low. I'm mailing it off today, in hopes that my dad will get it and deliver it to my brother this weekend.

I'm excited to have started a new crochet project that is turning out pretty good, thanks of course to Courtney at Rosie's. She's having a $20 drop in crochet class every Monday night. There are a few of us who attend regularly, and we love the smallness of the group. The individual attention is incredibly helpful, especially since this is remedial learning for me. Nevertheless, I hope you guys stop by sometime, or tell your friends about it. We're thinking of making it a little Crochet Circle. Who knows. Courtney's just going to see where it goes.

Anyway, I started a pattern from Carol Meldrum's Easy Crocheted Accessories. It's a little purse/shopping bag, and I'm making it for myself. I have a rule that my first attempt at a new type of project (other than simple swatches) should be for myself...just like the sock monkey that is pictured. The odd balls are for me to look at and be encouraged as I improve. Of course, now I need to make a cuter sock monkey for you to see, so I can prove that I can make one that doesn't look like a third grader put it together.

Biker Monkey

I took these pictures while on the phone with my dad. His low, baritone, "ha, ha, ha" is his signature way of saying how much he likes something. I'm thrilled. The back is a little big, and the "H" is a little low. It's probably more a 6-9 month outfit, rather than the intended newborn. Something tells me he'll wear it at lease once as a newborn.

Now, as for the monkey. This was my first sock monkey, and it was actually a total whim while I was at my folks' house a couple of years ago. I stole a pair of my Dad's socks, and started cutting. Anyway, this poor malformed monkey was born. Don't make fun of him for his deformities, such as a tail that is twice as long and three times as thick as his leg. He just doesn't have the best genes, I fully admit. I'll try to make another sock monkey before I leave Philly, so you know I can make a properly formed one.

A Different Kind of Baby Knits

It's a good thing that we're close enough for me to be over my concern about what you guys think of me, and that I'm resolved in knowing that to you, I'm the odd, eccentric, matchy-matchy southern girl. So since we're close, I'm revealing to you that I'm making my nephew (due in May) a little motorcycle outfit. My father recently purchased a new motorcycle. He sold his last one to pay for a semester of my college education - undeniably sweet, isn't it? My brother has also been jonesing for a bike since before the baby was a twinkle. Just to put you over the edge and seal your opinion about me and my family, I thought I'd also let you know that my sister-in-law has ridden Dad's bike several times throughout her pregnancy.

All right, go ahead. I know what you're thinking - Shock! Awe! You're crazy! I knew something was wrong with you people from the other side of the Mason-Dixon. This just further proves that ya'll are all nuts!

I'll spare you from the rest of our strange ways, or I'll at least vow to introduce them to you gradually - for your health's sake.

My dad has been hunting everywhere for a little biker outfit for the baby to wear when he holds the baby on the motorcycle for a photo op. His hunt has been unsuccessful, so I am making Dad a newborn biker suit to give to my brother. This is the vest. The britches are next. It's Berroco Suede, and I'm having a lot of fun making it. I'm more tickled about giving it to my dad than to the baby. It's my attempt to repay him for him sacrificing his favorite toy for my college education.

Matchy-Matchy Ruffles

A ruffle hat for my friends' baby,

who is four days late because she

was waiting for me to finish.

Philadelphia Flower Show

The Philadelphia Flower Show is a convention-sized indoor garden.

Because it's such a large event, I dug for the gems and found a few of my all time favorite plants. Here is a sampling of my 100+ pictures.

.

Witch Hazel

African Violet

Cymbidium Orchid

(My wedding flower)

Butterfly Orchid

I also purchased two orchids, which I'll photo with my next knitting success.

That's More Like It!

Well, with Emily's help, I've completed the newborn Emily mitts. I'm so pleased with how they turned out. Emily and Lisa were surprised at the edging, which I thought was exactly according to the pattern's instruction to wiggle the I-cord "in and out of every other rib".

Just another example of me not reading a pattern correctly. Fortunately, Emily liked it, and the others thought it was cute. Sometimes it works, and (as the below blog entry exhibits) sometimes it doesn't.

The Koigu was the key, and Wendy helped me pick out the colors. Wendy is quite funny. She picks yarn, buttons, and patterns that are anything but standard, and I'm what she describes as "too matchy-matchy". I'm a cliche in my color choices, and Wendy is trying to help me think outside the box. I do think about the colors before I purchase, but I usually still end up with matchy-matchy options. I am working on it though, Wendy!

I'm working on a matching hat, which is cast on at the right of the small picture above. Lisa Myers' pattern called "James Dean Hat". The baby is due Sunday, so I better get busy. It's the last piece of my gift package for the baby. Then, I'm hoping to start something fun for myself, and keep working on my nephew who is due in May.

This Can't be Right!

I finished what is supposed to be the first of a pair of Emily Mitts - the newborn version. However, I can't imagine a newborn with this tiny of hands. I've seen Emily, Lisa, and Robin's mitts, and I think they all made the 6-month version, so naturally they were larger. But nevertheless, this seems so much smaller. I think my gauge was right: 8 stitches & 12 rows to the inch. What do you think? Do you have a newborn whose hand you can take a picture of next to a quarter? In the meantime, I'm going to cast on the 6-month version. If nothing else, I can use this mitt as a thimble.

Crochet - Back with a Vengance

I happened to be over at Rosie's today "turning in" my final project for Lisa M. for use in her upcoming project. I dreamily flipped through patterns, longing for the day that the baby blanket finally notes "Finished" with a smiley face on my Ravelry page. Courtney, master of all things fiber and created with fiber, happened to be in the store. I mentioned that when she had time, I'd like to schedule a private session with her - a remedial crochet course. Her reply, "What are you doing from 6-8 tonight?" Note, it was 5 when she asked. Rosie's was having a Beginner Crochet course (which I of course informed her that was still too hard for me), and that only one person had signed up. The 1 person, plus a Rosie's employee were going to be there, and she invited me.

Yay! Everyone has had a favorite teacher in their life. For me, Courtney is that teacher. Since I've already been through Beginner Crochet and, in Courtney's words, "flunked", I'll pick a project other than those I've already tried and failed from that class. I'll go ahead with the basic "face cloth" (aka washcloth) that is the first project. Then, I'm going to work on one of the adorable stuffed animals that I have queued in Ravelry.

...but I'm still working on the baby blanket too. There are 90 days until that kiddo enters the world, and he's going to be cold. It's up to Auntie to keep him warm, so that's top priority.

Since We Last Spoke

I have been working on a list of projects with time deadlines lately, and haven't wanted to take a break to blog, lest I lose my momentum. Last week, I finished a small project for Lisa Myers, owner of Rosie's Yarn Cellar in five days. Below is a picture of a portion of this project. I loved the color combination. This week, I'm knitting the opposite color combination of the same pattern.

I started these Emily's baby mitts yesterday, and as all my projects go, I started over and over until I was casting on for the third time a few hours later. This picture is after my first cast on, not my last. This is for the same baby as the sweater and hat.

Even on the above project of Lisa's, I had to re-start after casting on the 192 stitches and completing several inches of the project. This happened at least 4 times. I started the reverse color version of this project yesterday, and I just shed the first inch. It's just the first re-start.

This repetitive behavior makes my one-week goals even more challenging. I learned this behavior from my father who says, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing a thousand times." He says this after several hours of starting over and over, and the number really doesn't seem that far off. I think it's now become a family tradition. We don't give up, we just don't ever succeed quickly.