Tenho Jeito

Pattern: Perfect Periwinkle Turtleneck Tube Vest by Stefanie Japel in Fitted Knits
Yarn: Every last bit of 2 skeins of Cascade 220 Wool
Needles: 3.75mm (US5) Addi Turbos
Thoughts: Many.

In Brazilian Portuguese, there's an expression ... jeito or jeitinho. If you have jeito, it more or less means that you're clever and resourceful. When I was in high school in Brazil, I had a friend whose rocket for the science fair landed in the neighborhood behind the school. He found it in the hands of a little kid, who insisted that the rocket was his but gamely offered to sell it to my friend. That kid had jeito.

A jeitinho is your resourceful and clever solution. Yesterday, as I was finishing up this tank, I was deeply engaged in working a jeitinho. I made the smallest size, which called for 2 skeins of yarn. In trying to make it as long as possible with just the two skeins, I ran out of yarn before finishing my bind off. Aarrggh! I had tried the sweater on, though, and felt that the neck was a little longer than it needed to be. So I unravelled from the cast-on edge back about 4 rows or so and then cast off with a size N crochet hook. That made the neck edge a little ruffly, but at least it goes over my head. And I had enough yarn to finish my bind-off.

Valuable lessons learned: unravelling from the cast-on edge is a major PITA!

I am still contemplating undoing the bind off at the bottom and adding some more ribbing in a coordinating color, probably espresso brown. What do you all think?

How to Get Out of a Rut

1. Catch up with your favorite podcasts.

2. Browse your library.

3. Embrace the fact that you are a process knitter. Let your WIPs be WIPs.

Boteh Scarf; Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Mother Lode

4. Ascend the learning curve.

Clockwise from top: Socks That Rock in Garnet, Koigu KPPM in Springwater, Sundara merino sockweight in Hydrangea, Sundara merino sockweight in Bird of Paradise

5. Play with your yarn.

Campfire Socks; Cider Moon Glacier DK in Mardi Gras

6. Cast on something soft and gorgeous and warm.

Now I'm a Believer

Pattern: Cabled Footies by Leigh Radford in One Skein
Yarn: About half a skein of Peace Fleece
Needles: 3.75 mm Knit Picks Options circulars
Modifications: Decreased the toe a little differently to make it less pointy.

So, here they are, the entrelac-break footies. They're pretty cerebral, as socks go. The originals were pictured with Kierkegaard, but these are reading Hannah Arendt.

First of all, another big thank you to Brianne, who gave me this yarn a long time ago, either because I won a contest or she's a sweetie or, most likely, both. I have to say, I had heard many wonderful things about Peace Fleece, but I was a doubter. In the skein, it felt so scratchy. And kind of puny ... the stitches didn't look so pretty. But, then, I gave them a Eucalan bath. It made ALL the difference. Now I know what people mean by "the yarn really bloomed." I love this yarn. I am tempted to hoard.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments about my Lady Eleanor. I am about halfway done with it. This weekend I started the Must Have Cardigan (more on that soon) and it's nice to alternate between the entrelac and cables.

A bit of randomness: my friend Preeti and I have a new blog project! It's called Cleveland in Photos and we post a picture of our city every day. There's a fabulous and interesting community of city daily photo blogs that are well worth visiting. Anyway, drop by if you'd like a closer look at my wonderful hometown.

Also, check out Preeti's blog for a more "mathematically rigorous" version of the Knitting Happiness graph!