Hi! How's everyone out there doing? It's been kind of quiet around here. I have to admit, even though I've been knitting constantly, I haven't been posting here because I kind of felt like I was taking over the place, and that's pretty uncool. But I had to break my silence, even if it is just for a little shameless promotion. I hope my compatriots won't mind.

A few weeks ago my sister, who volunteers her time at the local VFW in North Carolina, asked me if I'd be interested in knitting a blanket for the VFW auxiliary's special project this year. All the blankets will go to Victory Junction Gang, which is a camp for kids with illnesses or handicaps. All of these kids visit the camp at no cost to them and take home a teddy bear and a handmade afghan as souvenirs.

I fell so hard in love with this cause that I created a new blog dedicated to it: Tricot du coeur. I've collaborated with some really talented artists to gather together some really cool prizes for a drawing at the end, and everyone who completes a blanket will be eligible to be entered.

It's early days yet, and we've already got a few people signed up, but what we really need right now is some word of mouth. So please check out the site, consider joining us, and even if you don't, please consider telling your friends. My dream is to hand over tons of blankets for these kids, all through the power of the internet.

Thanks, and happy knitting!

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9:12 PM, September 14, 2007
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If this is getting to be too much of The Vivi Show, I humbly apologize. I have what is known in some circles as Newbie Knitting Obsession. Once I discovered I enjoyed knitting, I immediately thought of every possible occasion for knitting up gifts for friends and family and I've been hunched over with needles and yarn ever since. This means that I'm also cranking them out at a fairly steady pace and can't wait to show them off.

But trying to finish up projects in order to present them as gifts in a timely fashion can also lead to putting too much pressure on yourself, which can quickly suck the fun right out of knitting. Of the half a dozen or so projects I've done so far, at least three of them were franticly knit to meet a deadline I'd imposed on myself. I don't put myself in that position on purpose, believe me. My latest FO is a fine example.

Way back at the end of April I decided to knit up an Anouk pinafore for my friend Doc's third child who was due at the beginning of June. Plenty of time, right? So I ordered the yarn on May 1st and in the meantime worked on a project for Doc's second child:

Monica tank top from knitty.com

So I finish that off and wait in vain for my yarn. Three weeks go by before the website tells me that my order is shipped. At this point I went ahead and started another project, which isn't due until the end of June. Finally the yarn arrives on May 25. Cool, I'm thinking I have at least two weeks to knit. But then I learn that Doc's heading to the hospital a week early. If I want to present this dress in person, I've got exactly one week to knock this out.

Well, I did it. My house is a disaster, my fridge is empty and I have piles of letters to respond to and other errands left to rot, and the dress was still damp when I presented it to Doc, but by golly I did it.

This is definitely the most challenging project I've attempted to date. My knitting tension in stockinette stitch still leaves a lot to be desired, but other than that I'm pretty happy with it.

I really like these little heart shaped buttons I found at the sewing store in Troyes. I would have loved some flowers or ladybugs but they were either too small or the wrong color. The pockets are actually supposed to be closer to the green trim, but the first one got away from me when I was sewing it on, so I just connected the flower all the way down, and I liked it enough to do it again on the other side. I was reeeeeeeeally tempted to try to do the pockets in intarsia, but in the end I decided it wasn't worth the risk of totally screwing it up in the eleventh hour.

So that's it! No more deadline knitting, if I can help it. From now on my gifts may be late, but they will still be made by hand and with loving thoughts, instead of frantic ones.

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8:34 PM, June 3, 2007
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Oops.

"Candy Striper Messenger Bag" from Stitch n Bitch Nation

I ended up stuffing the bag with plastic bags (thanks Ronica!) and put it in an old pillowcase and washed it with a couple of pairs of jeans for a full wash cycle. This turned out to be a bit too much. After my initial panic - it nearly was just a ball of felted wool until I soaked it in warm water and reshaped it - I decided that I quite like the size. The truth is, I already have a messenger bag that I use almost daily and I can really use a new shoulder bag.

It took three days to dry out and I sewed in the zipper and sewed up the straps today.

The only thing that I'm not happy about is the cream colored strips, which ended up rather dingy. I'm not sure if that's due to overfelting or just the risk you take when felting light and dark yarns together.

Overall, I'm quite happy - I have a new bag and I have a better understanding of felting in my French washing machine!

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8:36 PM, May 4, 2007
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Now it's starting to look like something!

I've got to weave in the ends and knit the top, and she's ready for felting.

Which leads me to a very important question: how should I felt it? Heather Dixon, who wrote the pattern for Stitch and Bitch Nation, suggests putting it in a pillowcase and throwing it in the washing machine with a couple of pairs of jeans. I wouldn't hesitate except that I know there are vast differences in American and French washing machines - the former lasting a mere thirty to forty minutes, while the later can run on for about two hours. I'm afraid I'll end up with a tiny hard mass of wool in the end. On the other hand, it is pretty big...

What would you do?

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11:30 AM, April 30, 2007
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One of the first patterns that jumped out at me in Stitch n Bitch Nation was the messenger bag. I LOVE big bags! The perfect bag for me is big enough to put a folder inside - maybe my French residency file or my medical file for going to the doctor - so I can easily carry it with me but keep my hands free (or worse, keep me from putting it down somewhere and forgetting it) if I'm making multiple stops on the town. I bought the wool when I was visiting a friend in Boston in February (Lamb's Pride Bulky) along with a cool brass ring for the strap.

I don't know if you've seen this pattern, but to the knitting debutante like me, it can look pretty daunting. However, I've decided that I'm going to use as much of my stash as I can before I buy any more yarn, and hey, what better way to learn than by jumping in over your head, right? OK, that's not really true, but since I am very much A Knitter Without a Circle (physically, at any rate, for what is Knots if not an online knitting circle?) for the moment, the best way for me to learn is to challenge myself and learn with what tools are available to me - books, online tutorials and patient friends with email. So, I jumped.

But first, I have to show you this:

Since I don't have a decent knitting shop in the town where I live, if I want anything knitting related and I know I won't be heading to the big town for a couple of weeks, I have to order it online. This pattern calls for 10mm needles, which I didn't have, so when I decided to start this pattern, I knew I wouldn't have use of the car for a while so I had to order them. What I got from Phildar were these monsters. These aren't needles, they're TREES! And just in case you think I'm exaggerating, they are shown next to my sensibly-sized Brittany 6mm needles.

So! Let me show you what I've got so far...

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3:18 PM, April 19, 2007
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This is probably not the best season to write about it, but this is probably the best thing I’ve ever knitted!

Andie showed me the way and let me borrow her size 12 needles, Aimee gave me the pattern and helped me learn how to do the mattress stitch (thanks girls!). I used Rowan’s ribbon twist yarn (but any big, thick yarn will do) and voila!

This capelet is very easy and fast to knit. My friends were so excited when they first saw it that they started bringing me yarn so I could knit one for them. In total, I have knitted 7 other capelets for friends and their kids last Christmas (no wonder I haven't touched my needles since last December!). And I gave mine (pictured above) to one of my good friends so I have to knit one for myself again, probably next fall :)

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12:09 PM, April 12, 2007
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