February 2008 – The Knitting Doctor

Yarn Porn

I got a couple of requests from my Oodles of Yarn post, for more yarn porn.

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?).

And for Debi:

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!

Random Things From My Day

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.

Oodles Of Yarn!

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!

$350 Is A Lot Of Yarn, Buddy

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.

You All Make My Day!

I’ve been given an award!

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”.

Claudia, of Claudia’s Blog

Kris, of Knitting Wannabe

Dorothy, of Missouri Star

Stephanie, the Yarn Harlot

Tiennie of Tiennie Knits

Chris, of Stumbling Over Chaos

Marjorie, the Prime Time Knitter

Alice, of Miss Alice Faye

Francesca, or Fluffbuff

Jane, of Quiddity

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.

Face Lift!

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.

There you go! I’m off to forage for lunch.

Big Grey

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.

And I have one more Hawaii photo to show you.

Sweet Pea liked Hawaii, too.