I snapped this photo in a hurry on Saturday morning,
right before I tucked iTunes gift cards into each of them, wrapped them, and tucked a birthday card into gift bags along with. You see, I was headed for a double birthday party, and both birthday girls have iPod minis.
Then, with almost just enough time to get to the dock for the party boat, I dashed out to the car--legs shaved, hair blowdried, makeup on, dressed up. And the frigging car didn't start. Wouldn't even turn over. The car that had been to the mechanic's for service not two weeks prior. I swore and slammed the garage door, believe you me. And since Jane had the other car parked at the Oakland Airport, I was just plain shit out of luck. All dressed up and noplace to go--with birthday gifts in the front seat. That I had made myself.
So I got out of the car, dithered awhile, then walked my dressed-up self downtown and went shopping and to a movie. I couldn't stand to be in the house by myself when I should have been socializing.
The iPod mini cases are made out of Louet Sales' Euroflax. Size 2 needles, 16sts wide. Basically, they're envelopes, knitted in one long strip, then seamed up the sides. I made what I'm calling a prototype first, because it turned out not so pretty. I knitted my long strip, then held the yarn and elastic thread together to single-crochet sides. The iPod mini is only a half-inch thick, so I figured about three single-crochet stitches would be easy to pick up and would make fine stretchy sides, as long as I put something elastic with the linen yarn.
In practice, this makes a stiff, bulky block that pulls the whole little thing out of shape and looks like hell. (I didn't bother to photograph. The prototype is picking up lint and dust in my knitting toolbox.) So on version 2 I just widened the strip by a quarter-inch on each side and did a regular seam. I would have liked to see how well I did on fit, but I'll have to deliver the gifts some other time.
You want to know what's boring? 72 inches' worth of I-cord--that's what's boring. Over July 4 weekend, while Jane drove (the so-called "reliable car" as opposed to my shitball beater, which got her to the airport *just fine*) I knitted I-cord.
So now I can resume work on the furry orange thing (I have, and I now have two-thirds of two sleeves), or the springy green baby hoodie, or Jane's snowflake hat. Her birthday is in two weeks, and last week I was thinking that I'd finish that and surprise her with it.
I was bombing along, switched colors, working happily through the chart, when I realized that the stitches weren't bunching up on my 16-inch needle, meaning that the hat couldn't be much more than 16 inches around. So after admiring how well the colors work together,
I ripped out and untwisted every stitch. When I let go of being pissed off about the whole car thing, I'll cast on again on needles two sizes up, and add a pattern repeat. (Nope, I will not make a gauge swatch. And yes, I know it's not her fault that the car broke down when she wasn't home.)
Honestly, I'm getting burned out on gift-knitting. I'd like to finish something for myself for a change.
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