The Yarn Truck came this weekend! I don’t know what happened, they just deliver this stuff when I’m working. Ok, ok, I’ll reset the shopping counter, if you all insist. Part of the problem with ordering online from vendors who are also bloggers who know me is that they can bust me big time when I break the yarn fast and don’t “fess up”.
The top yarn is Dream In Color Baby, in the color Flamingo Pie. I bought this from Kris, and honestly, I’m pretty sure she must have a warehouse across the street from my house. I ordered it, and it was here 2 days later. Go there, she might still have some left. This will be a shawl someday, when I quit squishing it and start knitting.
The second yarn is from Shelly at Butternut Woolens. It’s her once-a-year special, the Rabbit’s Foot angora blend, color Foxglove. This will make some great socks. I just love this yarn. It’s soft and fuzzy, and that photo does not do justice to the colors. She included a little sample skein of one of her other sock yarns, which are equally lovely.
We’re off tomorrow on another adventure. One of my sisters lives in North Dakota, the other in Phoenix. Guess which one we’re all descending on for a week in March? I’ll be in the sunny state of Arizona for a week. We have lots of activities planned for the week, including a few* adult beverages! I’ll try to post from the road. I’m off to pack the knitting projects!
Oooh, shiny! It’s nearly impossible to photograph that accurately. It’s much more, well, black, with hints of color as you turn it in your hand. It is just lovely. This is the color Grawk. I could not possibly resist a hank of yarn with the name Grawk. It’s Socks That Rock Raven series Silk Thread, enough to make something lacy (perhaps this?).
That’s Shoefly sock yarn, from Angora Valley Fibers. Yes, it really is that bright. The color is labeled “One of a Kind”, and I don’t see this yarn on their web page. They do have some fairly wild colors, though, Debi, including a lime mix in their Lacewing fingering sock yarn.
Last night was the first night of Wintergrass. Thursday is often sort of a ho-hum night. It’s not terribly crowded, and usually the bands are less well-known, and sometimes, um, a little dull. This time was different. The place was packed, every group was great, and the last half of the evening was devoted to Black & Bluegrass, with some outstanding music from a few African-American old time string bands. Old time string bands are my favorite, so I was sad it was over. My favorites tonight were Laura Love & Harpers Ferry, and the Ebony Hillbillies. The rest of the weekend has a great line-up too, so I’m looking forward to what’s next!
Here are just a few random photos and comments of the day:
Notice how Riley and Lewey’s facial markings are similar!
My newest knitting bag. Go here to get your very own. This one is the Carpetbagger Briefcase/Purse, measuring 12″ by 17″ by 5″, and it’s plenty big, but not too big. They have a larger one which is much more expensive, and would be a little too large to actually carry around.
I spliced in the final ball of the Icelandic lace shawl. Now that the end is in sight, it’s starting to get fun again. I hardly want to put it down.
I love this stuff for lace knitting. Put a little on your hands, rub it around, and that pesky sticky yarn just glides through. Real unscented talc, not that fake stuff; you can get it here.
Wintergrass starts tonight. We have festival passes for the whole weekend, so I’m just ecstatic. John, not so much, though he humors me. We’ve finally come to a solution. I show up Thursday night at the beginning, and don’t miss a note until Sunday evening. He comes and goes as he pleases, and we’re both happy.
While you’re here, check out “What I Am Listening To Now” on the sidebar. There are some of my current favorite bluegrass artists over there.
Now, to go get the knitting ready. I think the Cobblestone sweater will be perfect: miles and miles of stockinette in the round. That Icelandic stole won’t be in the bluegrass knitting queue, though. I’m not a complete idiot.
The astute reader will note that the yarn buying ticker was reset. This past weekend was the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat, and I had no illusions from the beginning of this little yarn fast of making it through that one without buying yarn. I mostly bought sock yarn*, with a couple of skeins of laceweight thrown in for good measure.
If you think I’m going to post individual photos of all that, you’re delusional. Let’s just say that when I fall off the wagon, I fall hard.
I had guests here for the Madrona weekend. Kris had also signed up for classes, and Dorothy just came along to shop and play. They all stayed here all weekend, and we had a blast while John waited on us hand and foot (thanks, Sweetie…that was the best Valentine’s gift!). Dorothy brought Maggie, her Corgi pup along for a play date with Lewey. Lewey is seriously in love. Here are a couple of photos from the weekend.
I took an all day class from Evelyn Clark on Designing Lace Triangles, which was terrific. She is a great teacher, and I learned a lot about shawl structure, as well as some techniques that will carry over into non-lace knitting. The following day was a morning class from Kathy Connelly on learning to knit continental style. I learned to knit as a confirmed “thrower”, and wasn’t all that convinced that I could learn this particular new trick. During the class, I knitted several rows of garter stitch, then some stockinette. Ok, this isn’t so bad, I thought, but nothing to write home about. Then I tried a K2 P2 rib pattern. Oh yeah, baby, now I see the point. I’m now a converted “picker”. Once I finish the projects I currently have on the needles, I’m never going back. All in all it was a great festival…good classes, and a great market. Combine that with wonderful friends, and what’s not to like?
This coming weekend is the annual Wintergrass extravaganza, so I’m getting my bluegrass knitting lined up. Next time I’ll post some project photos!
*Because we all know that sock yarn doesn’t count!
We had a little excitement around here yesterday. Lewey the Corgi is affectionately known around here as the Garbage Scow. He just eats stuff. It helps that he’s low to the ground, so at the park and on walks, he just runs with his head down and his mouth open, scooping up whatever is in his path. Mostly it doesn’t seem to bother him. Tuesday night he started vomiting rather prodigious quantities of everything he’d eaten, all over the house. It seemed to stop, and yesterday morning he seemed better. Then he ate again, started the cycle all over, and late yesterday we made a vet appointment for him for this morning.
As the evening wore on, he became more and more “not-Lewey”. He was listless and looked fairly pitiful, along with throwing up over and over. By about 11PM when we were getting ready for bed, he couldn’t walk without staggering a bit, and we had to pick him up to carry him upstairs to his bed. We decided to throw in the towel and took him to the all-night emergency vet. Several hours later, after xrays, meds, and poking and prodding, the diagnosis? “We think he must have eaten something.” No kidding. The good news was that it didn’t sound like a bowel obstruction, and he looked like a new man after some fluids and some nausea meds.
This morning? He’s dashing around, ate a little bowl of blended chicken baby food, no throwing up. He’s back at our regular vet now to get their blessing, but I’m pretty sure he’s back to normal. But Buddy, that was my Madrona yarn money. Don’t do that again.
Both Shelly and Laritza made my day by giving me this award! I get to award ten other fine bloggers who make my day. Some of these may have already gotten this badge of honor, but I figure it can’t hurt to be mentioned more than once!
It’s difficult to pick just ten. I have a couple hundred knitting blogs in NetNewsWire, though I don’t have anywhere near enough time to keep up with all of them. Here in random order, are some of my “regulars”.
I could go on an on. The list is long, and these ten bloggers are just a very small sample of the wonderful talent and humor out there. These lovely women, along with Shelly and Laritza, really make my day! All of you, go nominate ten other bloggers who make your day.
And Kris and Dorothy are going to make my week. They are both coming to stay with me this weekend, for a fun and knitting-filled vacation! The Madrona Fiber Arts Festival is this weekend, and both Kris and I are signed up for classes on Friday and Saturday. On a whim, I asked Dorothy to join us, so she’s packing up her yarn and needles, and Maggie the Corgi, and heading south for a few days. Now I just need to go take a shower so I don’t have to pick Kris up at the airport in my jammies.
And yes, I am planning to fall off the “knitting only from the stash” wagon for the weekend. There will be some lovely goodies there, including Shelly’s Butternut Woolen sock yarn, and my credit card has cooled off enough that I really NEED to buy more yarn.
I decided to give the blog a new look! A little remodeling and renovation never hurts, I say. What do you all think?
John says “thanks” for the compliments on his new sweater. I still haven’t managed to get it away from him for a good blocking. I guess it will do just as it is.
I have started a new project:
It’s the Cobblestone sweater from the Fall Interweave Knits. The yarn is Classic Elite Skye Tweed, Tapestry. It’s a little weird to knit with, sort of rough and “stringy” feeling, but once it’s washed and blocked it gets very lovely. This one will be for me!
I’ve also gotten far enough into the do-over of the Madeline Tosh Amaranth sock to show another picture. This one should actually fit. I’m surprised at how different the stripes look just by adding a few stitches around. The first photo is the too-small sock, on fewer stitches, just for comparison.
I finally finished something! After months of knitting, John’s Big Grey sweater is done, and he loves it. And it fits. Here’s a photo:
Project Specs:
Yarn:Peace Fleece worsted, color Negotiation Grey. Pattern: Father/Son Pullover, from Peace Fleece Needles: Knit Picks Options circulars, size 6&7 For: John, my sweetie pie Started: September 2007 Finished: Yesterday Modifications: None, really. Oh yeah, I picked up fewer stitches around the collar than the pattern recommended. What I learned: I still like knitting plain stuff. Both of us tend to dress like the Lands End Poster Child, and our wardrobe is, um, rather plain. A plain grey sweater was just what the boy wanted, and it’s just what he got. This is one of the few sweater patterns I’ve seen that actually uses short row shaping for the shoulders, so you don’t have to convert it yourself. The neckline also uses short rows, and instead of binding off the neck and then picking up stitches for the collar, it leaves them live. It’s a well-written pattern, with no glitches that I discovered.
Now, I just need to get it away from him so I can do a little post-sewing blocking.
Here are a couple of post-Hawaii photos to show you what we came back to last week.
Ick, ick, ick. The snow didn’t last long, but we had ice on the streets for several days, and the forecast is just rain and more rain. And I have had the cold from hell the past few days. I rarely get sick, but this one really knocked me out. I was pretty sure it was Ebola for a few days there.
We’re on the road again (wait, wasn’t that a song?), this time to Hawaii. We got here on Friday, and we’re using a week of our timeshare on Oahu. It’s a beautiful place, certainly, and made even lovelier by the fact that January so far has been one of the all-time greyest and rainiest in the Pacific Northwest. I really needed to get out of Dodge before I started shooting holes in the refrigerator. A little sunshine midwinter goes a long ways towards getting me through the season without spending time in a sanitarium.
Here are a couple photos of where we are:
On the knitting front, there have been a few knitting accidents lately. The purple Langsjal Jóhönnu stole is proceeding without incident, thanks to judiciously placed dental floss lifelines. I haven’t needed to rip back to one yet, but I’m certain that if I stop using them, I’ll make a colossal error and have to rip the whole thing out. The lifelines stay. They may brand me as a knitting wuss, but there you have it.
The grey Peace Fleece sweater is nearly done. It would be done by now, but I had some issues with the sleeves. I finished the first sleeve and was well on my way on the second one, when I decided that the whole thing looked rather suspicious. I put the front and back together, and then pinned the first sleeve in and had John try it on. I was a bit concerned that the whole mess was going to fit Andre the Giant, but the body seems to meet with his approval. The sleeve? It reached past his fingertips. So I re-jiggered the sleeve increases on the second sleeve, and it looks like it will be about the right length. Now I have to rip out the first one back to where I changed the increases, I’d estimate about a third of the first sleeve needs to be reknit. I brought it with me, but I’m not so excited to knit on heavy worsted weight yarn when it’s 80 degrees outside.
Then there are the socks. The yarn is Madeline Tosh sock yarn in the color Amaranth. I’ve gotten about this far on them:
That would be one sock, a little over half done. I’ve been concerned all along that this was going to be too small for my big feet, but marched on, knitting along anyway. Just call me the Queen of Denial. I tried it on yesterday, and I was right. I can barely get them over my instep. I thought about just finishing them and giving them away, but I need a new pair of socks, as I haven’t really finished a pair in a long time. And I really love this color. So I ripped the whole thing out and started over yesterday. I have about an inch of ribbing done at the moment.
And that’s all there is in the knitting news. We’re off to church, then to Chinatown for dim sum this morning. I wonder, are there any yarn stores in Hawaii?
There is a little trend going around the blogs of knitting directly from the unwound hank of yarn, instead of winding it up into center pull balls. I’m pretty sure that the knitting-directly-from-the-hank knitters, who shall remain unnamed here, were just pulling our legs on this one. I rolled my eyes at the first blog report on this, but then when two or three more reported that this was the best thing since sliced bread, I decided to try it.
I’m here to report that, with certainty, this clearly does NOT prevent yarn barf.
And no, I didn’t take pictures, but it just took me the better part of an hour to untangle the mess that ensues when you try to get all smarty-pants and follow the latest knitting fads. I wasn’t about to leave the mess spread over the entire kitchen floor with the pet menagerie drooling around the edges like a pack of wild hyenas, while I went to fetch the camera. Let’s just say that from now on, I’ll be dutifully winding my yarn hanks into neat little cakes.
I promise knitting progress photos in the next post. I’m off to wind yarn.
Oh, and Dorothy reminded me that I needed to add Lewey to the sidebar. If you look over there to the left, there he is!
I hope you all had a lovely New Year’s Eve! John and I had a nice quiet evening at home, with champagne and veal chops for supper. “Lights-out” was at about 10 PM, as I just came off a 7 day work week that was a little like an Olympic luge run. I really did try to stay awake until midnight, but I found myself sitting at the dining room table after supper, with my knitting in hand, having fallen asleep right in the middle of a row.
In honor of the new year, I am going to make a few resolutions. I don’t usually do this, as they don’t last very long, but here goes.
I’m going to try to knit only from stash in 2008*. That means buying no new yarn, unless it’s for gifts for someone else. And no, it won’t work if I buy it as a gift for someone else, they already have it and give it back. I think that’s probably cheating. We’ll see how long this one lasts. I might have to take a sledge hammer to the computer to have any luck with this. I probably need to expand this one into not buying stuff in general that I don’t need, but let’s not get carried away here.
I’m seriously going to try to stop fretting about crap that I can’t do anything about. I think this one will last until about 2PM today, but I can try.
I am indeed going to finish that purple Icelandic stole. I am working on it, really.
And the Peace Fleece sweater for John, that’s going to get done, too.
And I’m going to blog more. There, that’s it.
Happy New Year to all of you! I’m going to eat my black eyed peas now.
*Yes, I really said that publicly. I may have to eat my words.
Lewey would like to thank all of you for the good wishes and congratulations. His 1st birthday was December 14th, and in honor of the occasion, we took a family vote (a little before our 2-week trial period was over) and decided that he’s staying as part of our family. He’s very happy to have a permanent home. He’s also settling in just fine. He had some food aggression issues at his former home, due to being in a house with another non-neutered male Corgi. The breeder that rescued him also had him “fixed”, and that plus a little focused training seems to have fixed the issue. He’s sweet, smart, and a fast learner. The cats didn’t get to vote, by the way. He’s already learned that he can’t chase cats around here, but doesn’t always succeed in the attempt. They both have claws, so sooner or later he’ll learn the lesson the hard way.
Now, on to knitting. We pretty much have your same three projects going here, a big grey sweater, a purple Icelandic lace stole, and a pair of socks. Just so I could have something new and different to show, I started and finished a pair of mittens this past week. I realized that I did not have even one pair of mittens or gloves to wear, which is sort of ridiculous, given the 12 boxes of yarn balls I have stashed in every closet and corner of this house.
Way back when, I bought several colors of Brown Sheep Handpaint Originals, 3 skeins of each. I think I was planning on socks, but this stuff is perfect for mittens. Here they are, a couple of in progress shots, and then finished.
What? You didn't think I'd drink white wine with red mittens, did you?
Project Specs:
Yarn: Brown Sheep Handpaint Originals, color Sara’s Dress (I love that name!) Pattern: Plain mitten, from Ann Budd’s Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns. Needles: Pony Pearl Dpns, size 3.75mm. For: Me, the one without any mittens. Started and Finished: in the past 2 weeks, December 2007 Modifications: Pretty much none, but it’s one of those generic patterns that you can do a lot of things with. For future reference, I made these using the “6 stitch/inch gauge, 44 stitch around” directions. I could go down a size next time and still be happy.
What I learned: It takes very little time to make mittens. This was my first pair, and for those of you new-ish knitters, I’d rate mittens easier than socks. I just love this yarn. Thumbs are cool to knit. But I don’t so much like the spiral decreases at the top of this, finished with pulling the yarn tail through the last four stitches and drawing it closed. Next time I’d try my standard toe finish, which is the paired decreases at either side, then grafting the fingertip end.
I have quite a bit of yarn left over as well. Is it enough to make another pair? Out comes the Magic Scale, and we’ll find out:
Just a couple grams less than half left. So if I make a bit smaller size, I’ll get another pair of mittens! Surprisingly, my sweetie said he would wear this color and would love mittens, so maybe I’ll give him these and make myself the second pair. Isn’t that sweet–matching mittens!
And just so you don’t think I’m completely ignoring my other projects, here’s Big Grey. I have the front and back done, and here’s where I am on Sleeve Island.
Bring on the piña coladas, I might be on this island awhile.
John and I got an early Christmas present for each other yesterday. We had been talking about adding another pup to the household, and then last week we heard about a rescue Corgi that a local breeder had available. We went to visit yesterday, and we all liked each other enough that he came home with us.
Meet LLywelyn, AKA Llywey (Lewey!)
He’s a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, tricolored, and just a week shy of a year old. We have him on a two week trial period, but we’re pretty sure he’s a keeper.
Here are a few more photos:
Dog behavior and intuition continues to amaze me. Riley, though she’s a confirmed alpha bitch, likes other dogs and has a blast when various family dogs come to our house to visit. She knew in an instant that this was different, and that Llywey was no visitor. They are getting along though, and I suspect will be great buddies once they work out the hierarchy to their satisfaction. I also suspect that little Llywey has never been exposed to cats. He’s chased Willie around the house a few times, but I’d bet that stops after the first time Will gets tired of it and whacks him on the nose. Lucy has kept her distance, though she came out of hiding and slept in her usual spot on our bed last night, so I think all will be well eventually.
That’s all the excitement here. Oh, except for the rainstorm this past week. It didn’t affect us much here, other than a lot of general sogginess. The main interstate highway south of us is still closed by flooding, which is creating all sorts of havoc in the region.
Next time, knitting and Nanowrimo (yes, I finished).
